It was a long drive back to the bunker. Besides the fact that it was located on the other side of the district, Nate was being extra cautious about where he drove. He had been avoiding any major populations, normal trading routes, basically anyplace that there would be mammal activity. He also kept looking back at us occasionally, almost as if checking to see if I was still here. I smiled at him each time, and that seemed to help alleviate any fears he may have had.

There were many things on my mind during the trip back. How to continue my hunt for the Legionaries, how everyone at Hope was doing, especially the mayor. I was also very curious about the contents of the two large black crates that Holly brought with her from the Guardians base. I had asked her, but all she said was 'it's a surprise'. Despite everything that was on my mind, everything that should be prioritized, there was one thing that kept bugging me.

"I was wondering. How did you know where to find me?"

"Well, we had a… visitor." Holly seemed a little hesitant about telling me who it was.

"A visitor? Who?" I looked at Nate who seemed a little tense, even from here.

"Well 'livi, after you were taken, we were stopped by some mercenaries who were adamant about not letting us go. We… you'd think that with a deathwing and a psychotic mouse at our side we'd strike fear into them, especially since it was apparent that these examples were a bit dysfunctional, even for mercenaries. Truth be told, it was us who were scared…" Holly glanced towards where Nate was, her eyes sinking a bit before lowering her voice. "Nate he… we've never seen him like that. When he snapped us out of that dream thing, he was beside himself. Anger, fear, he was the embodiment of the most extremes of emotions. When the mercs attacked… I think it even caught Blanche by surprise how fast he reacted the… malice he showed them."

I looked at Nate. He was focused on the road ahead, but somehow I knew that simply hearing Holly tell what happened was affecting him. I wanted to go and comfort him, but Holly's damn crates were in the way. "What happened?"

"Then that ghoul showed up."

Ghoul? Who was she… "North?"

"Yeah, him. The moment he said he knew where you were, Nate looked like he was about to pounce. Thankfully the Guardians had sent a Tac to us, because if that Defender wasn't there to hold him down, I think… well North wouldn't still be alive to tell us what he knew."

Nate reacted… like that? I… I knew he cared for me, but I didn't think he would get violent. That wasn't him. I know it's bad to think this, but after hearing this, part of me is glad I wasn't there to see this side of him. "How did he know where I was?"

"He was at Wild Times when you were brought in. He… you never spoke too highly of him, yet he risked his neck to find us, and we still have no idea how he did it, just to tell us where you were. If he didn't…"

Mark placed his paw on Holly's shoulder. All of this, over me? I can see why they cared, but North? He tricked me, manipulated me, stole from me. Even after I threatened his life with a slaver collar, he still sought out my friends when I was in trouble? Maybe I misjudged him. I wanted to ask more, to find out what else happened, but the tension filled the small vehicle so thickly that it felt as if I was about to suffocate. There was time to find out more later, right now I was happy to be alive, and surrounded by my friends.

"So…" I needed a distraction, and there were two very large ones right next to me, "what the hell are these Holly?"

"Like I said, a secret project." She leaned in close and whispered, "after what happened, I kinda 'convinced' the Chief to gift me some .50 cal guns to mount on this bad-boy."

Despite her whispering, I think Nate must have heard her because not even a second later the APC came to a very hard stop, causing all of us to crash to the floor. "This is mine Holly, don't go messing with it."

"Hey you doof, you trying to get us killed?" Mark had been reading something during the trip, probably keeping his mind off of things. It's been forever since I had a good read, maybe he has something I can read?

"Your girl is trying to mess with my project!"

"Look Nate, what would happen if that damn boar were to come here, right now with an army to try to pry 'livi away? We need something to protect us, especially now that we have a proper form of transportation."

"I…" Nate seemed to pause for a bit, as if thinking over what she'd just said. I looked at the crates, did she really get these to protect me? "Y-your right. I… we need to do more to protect you Olivia. Yeah, I'll work on that. I still have the parts from when I removed the old turret…" he started to perk up as he started to get technical about this vehicle. "… if we reinforce the shock system, maybe add a mine layer? Why didn't you grab a Nuke Tube Holly? Just the thought of shoving a nuke up…"

"Um, what's a Nuke Tube?"

"Something that's thankfully not as common as your average gun. It's similar to a missile launcher only it doesn't fire your standard missiles, rather tactical mini-nukes. They may not pack the same punch as a standard size nuke, but they're strong enough to vaporize most anything within a hundred yards."

"Wait so you're telling me… they make miniature nukes?!"

"Yeah, there are even mini mini-nukes, ones that you can toss like a grenade. Smaller radius, but still just as lethal."

"I… what kind of monster miniaturizes something that deadly!"

"I don't know, but if Holly were to ever get one, well… she'd probably put herself into a coma from sheer excitement." I couldn't tell if Mark was teasing Holly or just being honest.

"Nate, would you really want something that dangerous?" I ignored Mark and Holly who were now throwing cutesy 'insults' between each other.

"I… I would. I would do a-anything to protect… you."

I wanted to protect him too, to protect all of them, and to do that, I needed to put a stop to whoever was after me. As long as I was in danger, so were they. That is exactly why, despite everything that's happened, I need to continue my mission. I was just afraid they wouldn't let me. I wasn't going to bring it up, not yet at least. Maybe if I plan this more carefully, to make sure nothing bad can happen to any of us, then just maybe, they won't oppose. It's taken me this long to realize that this is too big for me to do alone. I needed them to be by my side.

We spent the rest of the time in a much better mood. None of us remarked on any of the events that had transpired, trying our best to keep the air light and the moods good. I asked what Mark was reading, and it turns out he was a huge Jack Savage fan as well! He said he had all six of the books. Fuck the Legionaries, I wasn't going anywhere until I've read them all.

We finally arrived back at the bunker. I've officially spent more time here than in Hope where I had planned on making it my home. I still wanted to go back, I had a responsibility there. One that I didn't even have a chance to start before my entire world came crashing down upon itself.

As Nate was pulling into the hidden garage, it occurred to me that while I considered Hope to be my home, despite my lack of residency there, my real home was here, with my friends. I miss Hope, but if I had to choose between the two, I'd rather be here with my friends… my family.

I heard a swooping noise and saw Drake flying in just before the garage door started to close. Blanche was perched atop his head while Onion was grasped in one of Drake's claws. He set Onion down with a loud thunk before flying up into the rafters to hang.

"Miss! I really do dislike being handled like that. You saw what he did to that large robot, how he sliced right through its metal! If he gripped me any harder, I'd be split in two!"

"Calm down Onion. I told you, we needed radio communication between Drake and the APC just in case we ran into any trouble."

"I am sure between Mr. Valiant and yourself you can create some kind of communication device that he can use Miss."

"Possible? Yes, but I don't think Drake can ever be as… eloquent as you are. You'll get used to it."

Blanche jumped down off of Drake's head and landed on Onion and started to rap her paw against his outer casing. "You sure this ass-twat is really a robot, and not some small rodent operated do-hickey? I've never heard so many complaints from a tin can before."

"I object! I am not some 'tin can' I am a sophisticated piece of…"

"Alright! Calm down you two. You haven't had a charge recently Onion, you may want to go top yourself off, maybe run an internal defrag. As for you Blanche, please try to not get on anyone's bad side. We've all had a rough time. We all need to rest and I for one ain't going anyplace until I'm well rested. Agreed?"

Everyone agreed happily, except Blanche. "Whatever, as long as I got a drink in me I'm happy."

"I know I was bed ridden for a bit, but all I want to do is go lay down. Hey Mark, mind if I borrow your Jack Savage books? No? Good."

I didn't even give Mark a chance to respond. I knew he'd let me read them, but Holly couldn't be the only one who did the teasing around here, plus all I wanted to do was read something to take my mind off of things. Instead of reliving my own adventures, it'd be nice to read about someone else's for a change.

"I-I think I'll…"

I reached out and gently grabbed his tail, causing him to stop moving as I pulled him back to me. "You're not going anywhere. I like having a pillow when I read, and silly me left it back in Hope."

"W-wait… I'm not that puffy!"

"Well in that case, hey Holly, can I borrow Mark for a bit?"

Nate went to respond to my retort but Holly jumped in first. "Sorry! He's ALL mine, you're just gonna have to deal with your less puffy foxy."

Mark muttered something as Holly rubbed her face in his fur. I couldn't tell if she was trying to make someone jealous, or had a really bad itch. Nate seemed a bit… bashful? I really couldn't tell. Mark must have picked up on whatever it was because he nodded towards me. "She's joking you doof. I have a feeling that Holly's now in the mood for her own cuddles, so you go be with your bunny. And yes Olivia, you can borrow my books, just grab them quick before someone…" he nodded towards Holly, "… decides she wants a little privacy of her own."

Nate let out a small yelp as I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the garage. The past few times I was here, I simply crashed wherever, but now that I've gotten a bit more familiar with this place, I realized that between the two sleeping areas, Mark and Holly seemed to have made the first one their own quarters, so I decided that if Nate and I were to have any real time alone, maybe setting up in the second one would be best. From the looks of it they didn't get many guests as it was.

We got there before the other two, so I went into the first room to grab the books. Even though I've already read the first three, it's been such a long time that I wanted to reread them before jumping into the three that I never knew existed. Having the actual time to look around made me realize how much of a living area this room had been converted into. There was a small stove and refrigerator over in the back, with a few storage areas along with a large bookshelf that extended to the ceiling.

I recognized the Jack Savage books instantly and grabbed them. I got a little curious about what else Mark liked to read so took a quick glance over it. He had a few other novels that I wasn't familiar with, along with some military manuals, cook books, scientific research journals, hell there were even a few different encyclopedias. He really must like reading. What's this? 'Fifty Shades of Fur'? I didn't realize that there were that many colors of fur. I was curious now and took it off the shelf. It had a picture of a neck tie on the cover. That made no sense. I flipped open to a random page and read the first few lines… right before slamming it shut and shoving it right back where I got it. Why the fuck does he have something like that? It had to be Holly's, it just had to.

"Y-you okay?"

"Fine! I'm just peachy. Let's go, my books await!"

"Um, aren't those Mark's books?"

"Nope. Mine now. He won't be getting them back until I've read them at least a few dozen times. Let's go 'pillow', all I wanna do is read until I pass out."

I could've sworn that his ears turned a bright shade of red as we went to the adjacent room. Apparently the others figured that I would be staying in this one because my stuff had been neatly placed near one of the beds. While this room has some storage, it wasn't as furnished compared to Mark and Holly's. It had the same five double bunk beds that the other room had, but not much more.

"I hadn't thought of this until now, but where do you usually sleep Nate?"

"I don't really have a place. I just… I sleep wherever I happen to be. Usually my workshop."

"Well as long as I'm here, this is where we'll be resting. Now close the door before Holly tries to sneak one of her 'comments'."

"U-um… w-what are you d-doing?"

"What do you mean? I'm…" It had been such a long time since I was able to intentionally lay down that my body was just reacting to how I usually sleep. I caught myself starting to undress. Damn. I was so used to sleeping naked and alone that I didn't even think twice about it. Now that I have company… there's always…

"Sorry, It's just that… I usually sleep…" I whispered, not out of embarrassment, but knowing that Holly might be right outside listening in on us, "naked."

"Y-you sleep h-how? I… I-I usually just sleep in w-whatever. I d-didn't think…"

He was getting very nervous suddenly, I went over to him and placed a finger on his muzzle. "Shh. Don't worry about it. Like I said, it was an unconscious reaction to getting ready to rest. I won't put that kind of stress on you. However… turn around and close your eyes."

"W-what are you…"

"Just do it."

He closed his eyes as he turned around. I waited a few seconds to make sure he wasn't going to peek and then went over to my stuff from Hope. I had just remembered about the one gift that Mayor Swift gave me. I finally found it, neatly folded and wrapped in a towel to protect it from damage. I held it up in front of me. It really did look the right size. I still had no idea how she knew what my size was. The image of the mayor sneaking into my room with a tape measure sent a small chill down my spine. She wouldn't do that… would she?

I turned to make sure that Nate was still facing away and then I started to undress. I tossed my clothing over in a pile and started to pull over the nightgown. One of my ears got stuck on something so I had to pull it back. It was then I noticed there was something else attached to it. It was made of the same silky material that matched the rest of the gown. It was… a pair of panties? I then realized that the white ones I was wearing really stuck out with the rest of it, so I slipped them off and placed the silken ones on. I tossed them under one of the beds. I would have felt weird of Nate accidentally came across them.

The material of the gown and underwear felt wonderful on my fur. It was completely opaque so it wasn't revealing thankfully. I doubt I would have had the courage to wear it if it was even remotely transparent. I still felt… uncomfortable about certain parts of my body after what happened to me. If it was any other guy, I would not even think about wearing something like this around him. Nate though, I knew he wouldn't try anything. I felt, safe around him. I probably could be completely nude, cuddling close against him and he wouldn't try anything. Then again knowing him he'd be way too uncomfortable to do anything. Let's just hope he didn't mind this.

"Okay, open your eyes."

He slowly turned towards me. He seemed nervous. I honestly had no idea what was going through his mind up until now. If the light parts of his ears weren't red before, they were now. "W-what… y-you… W-what are you w-wearing?"

"This was a… gift from Mayor Springs. I figured that you… might… like it."

"I-It's…"

"You don't like it, do you?"

"No it's… y-you're… b-beautiful." He was acting like he was not sure if he wanted to say that word. It was… it caught me off guard.

"I… I am?"

"Y-yes you… I'm s-sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Y-you just… I wasn't sure if y-you would…"

"What? That I would get mad that you said that? This is what I think about that." I grabbed him by his collar and pulled him close. The feeling of both the silken fabric and his own body pressed against me felt… nice. I gave him a small kiss before I pushed him onto the bed. I jumped on top of him and kissed him again before moving into a position where I could lay my head on his chest. I heard his heart beat as his lungs inflated and deflated, causing my head to rise and drop with it.

"I-I… I love you."

I leaned up and gave him a kiss and whispered. "I love you too." I settled in and started to read. He just laid there, motionless and quiet as he held onto me with one paw and his tail that had snaked around my body. I think he fell asleep at some point. I had read a few chapters before realizing that I was getting tired as well. I gave him a quick peck on the lips and just laid next to him, the sound of his heartbeat lulling me to sleep.

Being underground had its perks. It never got too hot no matter what the temperature was outside, it remained relatively quiet, at least from the outside, and it felt much safer as long as you trusted everyone with you. The downside was you never knew if it was three in the morning or three in the afternoon without a clock. The Burrow at least had some kind of reactive lighting that dimmed and brightened based upon the current time, but down here it was either lights on or lights off.

I woke up very hungry. I couldn't even remember the last thing I ate, nor the last time I ate. Sure while I was at the Guardians healing they fed me nutrients through those damn tubes, but that's not eating. The reaction of your taste buds was part of the experience. Nate was still asleep, so I carefully moved his paw and tail as to not disturb him and got up. I searched through my belongings but all the food I had was either tasteless or simply tasted awful. What I wouldn't give for some of Petunia's cooking right now.

I remembered there being some kind of small kitchenette in Mark and Holly's area, I wonder if they had something a bit… fresher to eat? I guess it wouldn't hurt to check. I'll see if they're awake and ask them if they didn't mind me raiding their food. I can always pay them back. Hell, once we're able to go back to Hope I'll be more than happy to pay for a feast for us. I doubt Petunia would mind if the caps were good.

I opened the door and stuck my head out. I didn't see anyone out here. For some reason I half expected Holly to be leaning in trying to listening in on us. That girl is always trying to find a way to tease Nate and I. I really need to find some way to 'repay' her for it. Thankfully she wasn't there, of course I doubt anything happened to fuel her gossip.

It was very quiet in the hallway, save for the quiet humming of the lighting systems. I reached their door and saw that it was slightly ajar. I knocked and announced myself, but there was no answer. I slowly opened the door and saw that the room was unoccupied. They must have been elsewhere, probably checking up on the others. Blanche and Drake were probably in the garage and Nate had set up a charging station for Onion in the workshop. I think he was nervous enough being alone around me, let alone to have someone else with us in private, even if it was just a robot.

I moved towards the small refrigerator and opened it. I had hoped there was something fresher in there, but it was very empty. There was a small jug of something, was that… milk? Where did… I don't want to know. Some half opened rations and canned goods were there as well, but nothing that looked appealing. Guess I'll be sticking with the usual crap.

"Olivia? What are you…"

"Holly! I can explain! I was… I was hungry and was hoping you had some food I could eat that wasn't that pre-packaged crap."

"No, I mean what are you… where did you… oh, oh this is too good. I… I'll be right back. DON'T MOVE! Don't. You. Move."

"Um… was it something I…" it was too late. Holly was reacting very oddly for some reason. Maybe she had some real food for me?

"Holly where are you… oh hey Olivia… what are you wearing!?"

Mark was holding a mug in his hand and nearly dropped it when he looked at me. What was causing everyone to… oh fuck. I forgot I was wearing the nightgown! I didn't want them to see me wearing this, only Nate. Oh fuck my life, Holly is… I'm not going to hear the end of it, am I? Before I could respond to Mark, Holly came back and nearly knocked over Mark and she slid into the doorway holding… is that a…

"Holly! Don't you even think about it! Now put down the camera sweetie… You… no you are NOT going use that to blackmail her!"

"Oh but Marki, she's soooo cute in that!" She lifted the camera up towards me as I froze, not sure what to do.

"Delete that, delete that now." Mark was trying to pull the camera from Holly's paws, but despite being much shorter than him, he was unable to get it.

I snapped out of it and ran over to her, trying to get the camera from her as well. She was very good at playing keep away. I even tried to grab her tail, knowing that it usually ended up with a rather unpleasant feeling, but even that didn't make her drop her camera, but rather the other paw. One of her nails got caught in the fabric of my night down and tore it… right off my body.

"Oh… Oh! I'm sorry 'livi, I didn't meant to… W-where are you going?" Holly was genuinely trying to apologize as I grabbed the nightgown and tried my best to cover myself with it. Mark had quickly turned away when that happened, although I wasn't sure if it was from shock or embarrassment.

"I'm going to get my gun."

"Eep!" I heard a noise as the camera dropped from her paw and I think Mark finally batted it away.

I wasn't really going to get my gun, I was more embarrassed than anything at what happened. I just needed to put on some real clothing, and maybe lock myself in this room until my face and ears stop burning. I slammed the door behind me, forgetting that Nate is still asleep. Well, he was.

"O-Olivia what's wrong and w-why are you…"

"It was Holly. I have to say anything else?"

"Y-you okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit… flustered is all. I'm starving, you have anything better to eat than centuries old canned food?"

"Yeah, I think… oh! S-sorry…"

Why was he suddenly? Oh, I had thrown the torn gown onto a bed and wasn't even thinking about Nate being there as I took off my underwear and realized I was… completely naked… I wasn't sure if it was possible to compound the embarrassment any further, or if I was starting to feel that much more comfortable around him, but right then, I didn't care if he saw me naked.

"Nate? It's… it's okay. Y-you can… you can look… if you want."

"I-I… it's t-too…"

We had both proclaimed our love for each other, in a fashion, and were comfortable enough to kiss and cuddle with each other, so if things are going to work out between us, I should be willing to let him see… everything. It was just… I think it was just hard to be naked, in front of another mammal, especially a male, after what happened to me… but this wasn't that boar, this was Nate. Nate was different. He never tried to force himself upon me. Yeah, there was the time when he jumped on me, but that was just because I was being a stupid bunny, and he just wanted to protect me. Ever since I met him, he's only ever wanted to protect me. He's trusted me. Trusted me to stay with him, to protect him, to take his own protection. I needed to show him that I trust him as well.

"Nate?" I slowly walked up to him, his paw covering his eyes. He was visually shaking. I placed my paw on his and slowly pulled it away from his eyes. He kept them closed, and he was still shaking, but not from fear, no, it was different. "You can look. I promise, I won't get mad. Here…" I took his paw, still in my hand, and placed it upon my chest. His shaking seemed to calm down, but he was still nervous. I slowly moved it around, as if guiding his paw. I didn't move it down there, I still… I was afraid of what I may do. I still felt… unclean, despite everything they did to remove that boar's filth from me. It was going to take a long time before I was comfortable to do anything more intimate with Nate, but I had to start somewhere, and this was simply a stepping stone in the right direction.

"Y-you…"

"Open your eyes. It's okay. I want you to look."

He slowly opened his eyes, but closed them again very quickly. I took my free paw and moved them to his eyes, slowly trying to open his lids until he was willing to keep them open. I let go of his paws and slowly stepped back, letting him see me. He tried to move his paw to his eyes again, but I told him no.

"You… you're… I've never…"

"Seen a girl naked?" I moved back to him and gave him a kiss. "Let's worry about food later. I think I want a few more minutes of alone time." I moved him to the bed and guided him down. "You can… this feels more, natural. Just, please… don't go down there, I…"

He was the one who kissed me this time. He still seemed nervous about holding a naked girl next to him, but he seemed to be doing better. "I… I promise. I-I won't do anything u-unless you say it's o-okay."

I felt safe here, surrounded by my friends. Hidden away from everything that can cause us pain and misery. I knew this would end, that we'll soon be swept away on another dangerous journey, but right now I just wanted to revel in this moment. Right now, right here, next to the fox I love, I've never felt any safer.

Fallout: Zootopia After Show

Featuring:

'Stripes in the Morning'

[Stripes]

"Good morning Zootopian wasteland! This is your host C. Stripes back for our normally scheduled programming. I do apologize about being absent last time, but things have been so hectic and overly blah that I needed some… personal time."

[Max]

"What he means folks is that he drank himself into a drunken stupor so I had to fill in for his striped ass again."

[Stripes]

"Shut up Max, or else I'll have to make sure you work overtime Tuesday. So then folks, today we have a special guest, a mammal that needs no introduction… actually, I think an introduction is in order since many of you might know of him, although I'm hoping after today more of you do, the prairie dog who has enough siblings to make him a middle child, the mammal who has done amazing art for us, the one, the hopefully only, Quirky!"

[Quirky]

"Hello! Thanks for having me here. Glad to be here."

[Stripes]

"Glad to have you. So then let's begin our interview. I'll start with something very simple. How long have you been doing art and what made you get into it in the first place?"

[Quirky]

"I've been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil, when I was little my siblings and I would always have fun playing around on Kid Pix and we would draw on everything we could find. Walls, bed frames, novels, etc, our parents weren't too happy with that."

[Stripes]

"See my mom would have rather I do that than… Did you know that you can melt through carpet with a toaster? Ahem, anyways, does artistry run in your family, or are you the lucky one?

[Quirky]

"It doesn't run through the family it walks slowly, enjoying our company. My sister, younger brother, and I all enjoy art. It's a good family bonding hobby we have. My sister is the one who inspired me to keep on trying to improve and we enjoy helping each other out if we need help with certain pieces. We also think it skips a generation our grandfather was a great carpenter although our parents have no artistic abilities."

[Stripes]

"Now onto more specific matters. How exactly did you get dragged… I mean, involved with this little adventure of ours?"

[Quirky]

"I was introduced to this 'adventure' cough fanfic cough through a friend of mine on the Zootopian News Network site. And although this kind of cough story cough isn't exactly my 'cup of tea' the characters really grew on me and I found myself enjoying them, and then when I overheard some certain zebra wanted cover art for his broadcasts I thought I would lend a paw. I always like to help others. I also felt such a captivating story deserves some fan art.

[Stripes]

"I really do appreciate it, and you're right, this isn't usually my cup of tea either, I'm more of a coffee drinker. So tell us, out of every character, who is your favorite and who is your favorite to draw? Don't be shy if a certain striped equine is at the top of your list."

[Quirky]

Hmmmm… Well if I was to choose a favorite… It'd have to be ALL OF THEM. But probably Mark mainly because I feel relatable to him, being an older brother and sharing some of the same personality traits. (And also the fact he is with a girl named 'Holly' and when I was a baby there was a doll my sister had named 'Holly' and apparently I would snuggle and glomp it all the time, and my dad has video evidence to rub it in my face.) So yeah he's probably the one I have a bit more room in my heart for."

[Stripes]

"Well doesn't that just deflate the ego a little to not even hear my name mentioned. It's interesting that you picked Mark and even more so about the whole 'Holly' doll thing. Quite the small world ain't it? Anyways, let's see… oh yeah, so Quirky, do you have any advice for any budding artists reading this?"

[Quirky]

"Practice makes permanent. No one's perfect but if you want to have a permanent look down, keep practicing at it! And never compare yourself to others. Everyone has their own unique style the most important one to focus on is yours. And if you really like someone else's style figure out what it is you like and try to apply it to your own. Most artist's think that they will never be great, or that their work will never amount to anything, but you will never know the impact your art will leave on others whether you think it's good or not. Great Artwork is loved by others, but masterpieces are what inspire others."

[Stripes]

"That is some good advice, and the same can be said for writing as well. Remember folks, we would love to see any of your own artwork, just toss me a personal message or comment depending on where you follow the story at. I have one last question, but before I ask, do you have any questions you wanna ask our guest Max?"

[Max]

"Think you got it pretty well covered."

[Stripes]

"Yes, I have haven't I except… since apparently everyone seems interested in Max's new hookup, tell me, what's your ideal mammal?"

[Max]

"You overly interfering bastard! You don't have to answer that if you don't want to, I'll make sure he gets his due punishment either way."

[Quirky]

"Well… my dream mammal besides one of my species would probably be… a… ferret. They're so cute and are great cuddlers… Not… that I know from… experience… is it getting hotter in here, or is that just me?"

[Stripes]

"My luck, one will simply waltz right up to you and say hi. I guess matchmakers never make their own matches. Ahem, well then, looks like that's all the time we have today. Be sure to check out Quirky's art, it's safe for work by the way, over on Tumblr for all you real life mammals, just look for quirky-middle-child. Take care everyone!"

[Tiffany]

"I've got a letter for a… Max Redbridge?"

[Max]

"Oh look, a cute little ferret. That would be me."

[Stripes]

"Damn it! Where's a cute giraffe when I want one. I give up."

static