"You see the problem now?"

Oh yes, oh yes she did.

Now, Stella had to admit that for a while she was both surprised and unsurprised that RJ never really pursued any sort of relationship. Even though she never had any sort of attraction to the raccoon, she had to admit RJ was certainly a charmer. Quick wit, infectious personality, an ego that wasn't enormous but also could be backed up, they honestly all the makings of instant crush.

On the other hand, learning about all the baggage he had was probably what was limiting him. Sure, she couldn't blame him, especially considering that since RJ worked with Vincent for a rather…concerning amount of time, it's likely he had a hard time when it came to forming genuine relationships.

"What do we do?" Stella asked. Verne just shrugged in response, before looking back at Norbert, who was now deep in a conversation with Hammy. Honestly, she would've been fine leaving them alone, considering they were both just as talkative as one another.

"Honestly, I'd say just leave them alone for now." Verne replied, looking over at the two raccoons. "RJ's actually happy for the first time in weeks, I think he deserves this."

Stella really wanted to reply to this with how Verne now seemed to be flip-flopping between wanting to help her or not, but then she took a look at the two. RJ actually seemed to be back to his old self at the moment. Sure, he and Luby were exchanging small words and talking as if they were robots with social skill issues, but RJ was actually talking, he was more animated, and his voice didn't sound constrained.

Maybe this was for the best.

"Hey Stella, let's go, talk with the others." Verne spoke up, gesturing to a tree where the rabbits and a frog were at. Judging by the annoyed look on the frog, and the fact there was someone who sounded like they didn't want to be there, it was likely this was the caustic Jasper.

Oh how Stella was looking forward to interacting with him.

"Do you think Heather's gonna be okay?" Stella asked.

"I think so, Heather's good at keeping a level head."

Heather was okay…at least she thought so.

She watched with attentiveness as RJ and Luby interacted, with RJ laying down the charm that attracted her in the first place. She was glad that at the very least, RJ seemed to be back to his old self at the moment. He was actually animated, talking to this Luby girl.

So why was she feeling…bitter?

"You know, you're the first raccoon I've seen out here in a long time." RJ spoke.

"Oh really?" Luby asked.

"Absolutely, and I gotta say, none are nearly as good-looking as you."

The female raccoon let out a small laugh in response to RJ's flirting, and it was clear that the laugh wasn't one of mockery. Heather of course was relieved, considering that yes, RJ was actually acting like his old self again. Sure, the line was corny as all heck, but you know what, good for him.

So why did she feel so bitter?

She liked RJ a lot, don't get her wrong, but she felt she could've and should've been happy for him considering this was big for him. Judging by what he said, who knows how long it's been since he's seen a raccoon?

And yet, she felt a burning sense of bitterness deep within, even though she felt awful about it.

"Heya, what's up?" A voice from behind Heather spoke. Quickly turning, she expected to see someone behind her, like the rest of the new critters (save for that frog). However, there appeared to be no one there. Strange, Heather thought, and was initially about to write it off as just her mind playing tricks on her.

"In the tree."

Hearing that, Heather would turn around to see what appeared to a small brown mouse peeking their head out of a nearby tree. Must've been shy if it didn't want to show up with everyone else. As for why they wanted to talk with her, that was another question.

"Uh, hi?" Heather replied.

"I'm Zachary." The mouse spoke, before looking over at RJ and Luby, before grimacing.

"Aw man, just when I got the nerve…" Zachary mumbled.

"The nerve?"

"Yeah, the nerve to ask her out." Zachary replied, glancing at Luby. That prompted Heather to do a double take at this, mainly because Zachary was a tiny little mouse and Luby was a much larger raccoon. Heather didn't really judge different species relationships obviously. She liked RJ, and her closest friend in Stella was dating Tiger. However there was only so far one could go before they could suspend disbelief.

"Luby you mean?" She asked.

"Yeah, exactly." Zachary replied. "I know, I'm a mouse, she's a raccoon, obvious height difference, but come on, you can't blame me, right?"

Heather would look back at the two raccoons conversing. Honestly, yeah, she really couldn't blame him. From what she's been observing about Luby, she seemed relatively sane compared to everyone else, and considering that she found amusement in RJ's flirting style, that implied she had a sense of humor.

"Okay, but what you said still stands."

"That's not stopping you from making eyes at that other one despite you pretty much being an oversized rat." Zachary replied.

"I'm…actually an opossum, not a rat."

"Tomato, tomahto, whatever, same thing."

"Not really." Heather replied, only for Zachary to ignore her.

"Hey look, uh…oversized rat."

"It's Heather, and once more, opossum." She replied.

"Heather, thank you." Zachary spoke. "Look, I like Luby, you clearly like that other raccoon, maybe we could do a little bit of work together…help each other out."

Heather looked back once more at the two raccoons. Immediately, she felt conflicted. On one hand, yeah, she liked RJ, and admittedly, having a bit less competition would be nice. Plus, it would be a good way to make at least one new friend, even if Zachary was far from her first choice for a friend.

On the other hand, having the two leaders together could lead to something big, something that Verne would've liked. She's heard about him wanting to expand the family and see who else was around in the forest more times than Ozzie has fainted this week. However, what was keeping her from really going all out the most was that this was something RJ wanted, no, needed. He was happy for the first time in a while, and there was no way Heather was going to sabotage that. She may have a crush on him, but at the end of the day, he was his friend first, crush second.

Maybe there was a way to compromise?

"How about this?" Heather replied. "I will help you confess to Luby, and that's it." Zachary looked a bit surprised at this, but immediately shrugged.

"You know what, fine with me." Zachary replied. "But I already have a plan on how to confess, all I just need is someone to help set off the reveal, that's all."

A reveal huh? Seemed easy enough.

"I'm just gonna let dad know, alright?" Heather spoke.

"Alright, just make it quick, I'm not sure how long it'll take."

We're back finally, and now we have an extra member of Norbert's group here in the form of Zachary. He appears to like Luby, and has requested Heather's help to help him out.

I will admit this one will also be relatively more serious, and as a result this one might be a bit more difficult to write due to writer's block, but I'll try to work through it as best as I can.

Anyways, I'll see you soon!