Although there was still a notable chill in the early autumn air, the mid-morning sun was shining like the brightest of summer days as Stephanie made her way down to the Calatonia Wharf. It was a mile long structure stretching alongside the city's main shoreline, about a thirty minute walk from the Theatre. Though mainly used as a shipping and loading dock during the winter and spring months, the wharf's main claim to fame was the annual Autumn Festival, which Stephanie had recently learned had been hosted for the last few years by a new organisation: the Fletcher Foundation.

So with the preparations for the occassion already underway, as evidenced by the set crew that were hard at work, Stephanie felt it was a good opportunity to finally reacquaint herself with her old troupe members.

The large, wooden stage at the very edge of the wharf was still there after all these years, just as Stephanie remembered it from years ago. Though she was rather surprised when she saw three small children that were all sitting and playing together in the centre of it.

Two of the little ones - a gorilla and a serval, both dressed in blue - looked to be around Porsha's age, while the third one - a smaller gorilla, clad in a vibrant red shirt - couldn't have been older than two. Yet despite their young age and diminutive size, Stephanie couldn't help finding the youngsters awfully familiar, especially the older gorilla girl, who clearly already had the makings of a diva.

"- and then the Pirate Queen swings in and... and, uh..." The girl cut herself off when she turned and finally spotted the unfamiliar wolf that was standing in front of the stage, before holding onto the smaller gorilla closer while she continued suspiciously eyeing the visitor. "Auntie! There's a weird lady looking at us!"

"Darling, I told you not to bother the crew members..." A more familiar voice responded as Stephanie looked over to the far corner of the stage.

The older gorilla that this voice belonged to wore a casual but stylish black blazer over a glittering white shirt, and seemed to have a slight limp on her right foot while using a long, black cane with a silver orb handle to steady herself. For a good few seconds she still had her eyes glued to a clipboard in her hand, though after Stephanie cleared her throat, the gorilla finally looked over, pulling an expression that almost made her look like she'd seen a long-dead ghost.

"Well well well..." She finally said, a friendly smile tugging at her face as the wolf climbed up on the stage. "Hello, stranger!"

"Hmm... hey, Florence." Stephanie chuckled, keeping her hands in her pockets as she tilted her head. "Long time no see."

"Oh yes, of course, Steph, I just... God, I just can't believe you're here!" Florence reached a hand forward for Stephanie to take, but was slightly surprised when the wolf pulled her into a hug instead, though this allowed her to catch the eye of two other adults passing by the stage. "Ooh... Caleb, Jane! Look who it is!"

"Caleb and Jane are here...?" Stephanie pulled out of the embrace, turning around to see the tall, slender caracal and the shorter serval that were stood there. "Oh my gosh... hey, you guys!"

"Stephanie!" The serval got up on her tiptoes while the wolf knelt down on the edge of the stage, allowing them to embrace. "Oh darling, it's lovely to see you!"

"Certainly been a few years..." Caleb smiled, though he seemed slightly put off by the wolf's much thinner frame. "You look, um... you look well, Steph."

"Aw, thanks. So do you guys..." Stephanie said, studying her old friends for another moment or two. "So, uh... so what's been kickin' the last couple years, huh? Ya still doin' your magic shows, Mr. Incredible Caleb?"

"Oh no no, not anymore." Caleb affectionately patted Jane's shoulder. "Yeah, I've not had the time after my two assistants settled down."

"Settled down?" Stephanie glanced over to Jane, her eyes widening as she noticed the ring on the serval's finger. "Holy crap, Jane, you and Gerald tied the knot?!"

"Yeah, five years next spring..." Jane held up her hand to show the ring off, beaming warmly as she glanced over to the much younger serval sat with the two gorillas a few feet away. "You might have already met our Tim there."

"Aw yeah, he's a cute little fella. Just you wait, though, he'll be a strapping young Adonis when he gets a little bigger!"

Stephanie chuckled as she glanced over to the little one, who's face turned a bright, embarrassed red when he realised he was being looked at. She then turned her attention to the two young gorillas Tim was still sat with, turning back to see Florence watching them fondly.

"Hmm... I take it those two are your girls, huh?"

"Eh, that noisy little drama queen here is my brother's daughter, Marilyn..." Florence playfully rolled her eyes, though she knelt down with a welcoming smile when she noticed her niece was carrying the smaller gorilla over to her. "This one's my Audrey. Hmm... my special little superstar."

"Aw..." Stephanie clicked her tongue as she watched the little one clambering up Florence's arm and finally resting on her mother's shoulder. "Y'know, call me crazy, but I always felt like ya had kind of a Mom energy, Florence."

"Oh, I'm flattered. But, um... but what about you, Stephanie?" Florence asked. "You had a daughter, didn't you? I um... I'm wanting to say Ferrari?"

"Yeah, it's Porsha, actually..." Stephanie corrected with a smirk. "You were pretty close, though. Y'know, cause of the uh... the car thing. But yeah, she's here with me, we're both doin' great."

"Ah, good..." Caleb spoke up again. "How long are you two here for, then?"

"How long? Oh... well, uh... f-forever, actually." Stephanie winced a little as they all looked at her, itching the back of her neck. "Yeah, I uh... things didn't exactly work out in Redshore, so we're kinda just startin' over. It's why I came over here to see you guys, actually."

"Oh..." Florence's eyes widened a little, her curiosity now piqued. "What do you mean, dear?"

"Well, I uh... I'm gonna buy the Prairie." Stephanie said, though she couldn't help noticing the utter lack of enthusiasm on all her old friend's faces. "Y'know, fix it up, get it open again, put on shows and stuff?"

"Reopen the Prairie? Steph, it's a bloody wasteland now!" Jane nearly laughed. "Last show we had on in there was the one where Florence fell and broke her leg!"

Stephanie glanced over to Florence again, noticing the gorilla grip her cane tighter in one hand while holding her little one closer with the other. "Well, uh... y-yeah, it's not exactly in pristine condition, guys, but it's nothing a little spit and polish won't fix! A-and I'm already savin' up cash for it, too, so if ya all chip in what ya can, then -"

"Stephanie, I um..." Florence cleared her throat, wincing a bit as the wolf looked over to her. "I really hate to say no to you, old friend, but um... I'm going to have to turn that down."

"What...?!" Stephanie nearly shouted, looking over to Jane and Caleb as they gave similarly reluctant expressions. "But... b-but you guys can't be serious, we... we loved that theatre! Y'know, the... th-the shows, the memories, it -"

"Yeah, and we'll always cherish them." Caleb interrupted, glancing over to the middle of the stage where Marilyn was pinning down and tickling Tim. "But we've all got other priorities now, Stephanie. Y'know, the... the children, the Foundation, the Festival. We can't afford to keep living in the past."

Stephanie couldn't help feeling her heart sink a little as feelings of disappointment and slight frustration slowly bubbled inside her.

"Well, that uh..." She cleared her throat, trying to sound less hurt than she actually was. "That's not exactly what I was hopin' for you guys to say here, but... but y'know, if that's the choice you're making, well... I can't exactly force ya to do this with me."

"For what it's worth, Stephanie, there's... there's definitely potential..." Florence hesitated, placing a hand on the wolf's shoulder. "It's not a path we're taking, but... but it doesn't mean you can't."

"Uh-huh... y-yeah, I know..." Stephanie sighed, forcing a smile while she climbed down off the stage, before putting her arms in her pockets as she started walking away from her old friends. "I just... I guess I just really wanted to make it like the good old days, y'know...?"

"Damn, baby, that's a lotta names!"

Although Stephanie had initially intended for them to enjoy the more scenic route home, she couldn't help admiring the sheer number and variety of signatures that had been etched onto her daughter's cast, while Porsha explained each name and the animals who had put them there in long-winded detail. Though this was still a perfectly fine way to distract her from the rather crushing disappointment that she'd felt from her visit to the Wharf a few hours prior.

"Hmm... I don't see Meena's name anywhere here, sunshine..." She said after some closer inspection.

"Ooh, it's this one here! See...?" Porsha held up her arm again, pointing to the barely comprehensible name written on the palm. "Y'know, for somebody with real big hands, she writes real tiny, doesn't she, Mommy...?"

"Yeah, she does. I hear that's a good thing, though." Stephanie pursed her lips. "Back when I was in school, they'd always get mad at me for writin' too big. Goin' off the lines, not spacin' it out, all that stuff."

Porsha nodded, but she now seemed more conflicted. "She was still real sad about what happened, though. She keeps sayin' sorry to me all the time..."

"She did? Aw..." Stephanie clicked her tongue. "That just means she cares about ya, sunshine."

"Yeah, I guess." Porsha shrugged. "But it was a lotta weeks ago, Mommy! And I keep tellin' her it's okay, but she just doesn't get it."

"Ah, that's okay... she's probably just shocked still, but that'll pass." Stephanie chuckled. "God, I wish folks would say sorry to me that many times, Porsha. I'm almost kinda jealous of ya!"

Porsha giggled, though she straightened up a little at the sight of the tall, wrought iron gate they were walking past. "Oh... I didn't know we was goin' this way home, Mommy... that's the scary stone place."

"Scary stone place? Oh come on, sunshine, it's just a cemetary! There's nothin' in there to be scared of..." Stephanie said as they stopped for a moment, letting Porsha get a better look. "See? Looks kinda nice, huh...?"

To Porsha's pleasant surprise, the Calatonia Cemetery was nothing like the gothic, horrifying wastelands that she'd seen in movies and music videos, and with its bright green grass, various colourful wild flowers and strong confident oak trees lining both sides of its various paths, it almost looked quite welcoming.

Though the two wolves' attention was quickly drawn to the very busy service that seemed to be carried out on the far side of the area. Fifteen rows of benches had been set out in front of the newest gravestone, though it's coffin still remained in the open, and the seats all filled to the brim with animals that were dressed in black to fit the solemn occasion.

"I suppose I'll start by saying that Graham Griswold was known for many different things to many different folks..." A rather familiar voice echoed off from the slightly tinny microphone, and Stephanie squinted a little at the podium to see a gorilla stood there, dressed fully in black as everyone else was. "Calatonia Kingpin, Boss, the Big Man, um... well, Mr. Griswold was probably the obvious one."

"Hey, that's Johnny's Mommy!" Porsha cut in as she leaned into the gate, though Stephanie had to hold her little one back so she didn't slip through the bars.

Stephanie had initially assumed that her daughter had just got her gorillas confused again - just as she'd mistaken the first one she'd seen for Florence on her first day at school - though after squinting a little, she realised that it was indeed Mary speaking at the podium, though her face and eyes were mostly concealed by the veiled fascinator hat she was wearing.

"Huh... I didn't know she knew Griswold..." Stephanie muttered to herself, cupping her chin curiously. "I wonder what she's doin' here..."

"What are any of 'em doin' here...?" Porsha tilted her head, her innocent gaze still fixated on the mourners. "What are they all sad for, Mommy?"

"Hmm...? Oh, uh..." Stephanie stammered for a moment or two as she knelt to Porsha's level trying to think of the best way to explain this. "Well, y'see, Porsha, that's uh... that's a funeral goin' on over there. See that long box...?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, there's a fella in that box who all these folks really liked..." Stephanie said. "And... and y'know, now that he's gone, sunshine, they've all come together to talk about how much they miss him. I mean, yeah, it's kinda sad, but in a way it's uh... it's celebratin' him too."

"Oh... okay..." Porsha let go of the bars of the gate and took a few steps back, letting Stephanie take ahold of her right hand as they continued walking down the street. They both remained silent for the better part of a minute, though the burning question on the five-year-old's mind almost seemed to be eating her up on the inside, until she finally came out with it. "Mommy...?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Am I gonna get a funeral too...?" Porsha asked.

"Aw geez..." Stephanie let out a scoff, trying her best to sound casual without slipping into an existential rant. "Well... probably. But don't you worry, sunshine, cause ya ain't gotta start thinkin' about that for a long, long time, sunshine!"

BZZZZZZZTTTTT!

The sound of the doorbell made Suki jolt up a bit, though she let out a sigh of relief when she went to the door to let her visitor. "Oh... thanks so much for coming, Charlie..."

At face value, the male saluki seemed slightly shorter than herself, though after Suki took off her boots she saw that she was now standing three inches shorter than her brother, just as she'd always been growing up. Beneath his grey suit jacket, Charlie's shirt and tie were both shades of green - contrasting the brighter green, blue and turquoise colour scheme of his sister's clothes - and the long, eagle-headed cane in his hand helped to steady the very severe limp in his right leg.

"Well, I'm here now, sis..." He finally spoke up as he took a seat on the long, white couch in the centre of the room, pulling a small, reassuring smile when Suki sat on the smaller seat opposite him. "What did you wanna talk about?"

"I um... I just really need some advice." Suki took a deep breath. "Y'know... legal advice."

"Ah. I suppose you're asking the right guy, then..." Charlie answered back, holding a hand over his heart as he dramatically reintroduced himself. "Charlie Lane, Attorney at Law, at your service."

"Ha ha, very funny..." Suki rolled her eyes playfully, before hunching forward with a more serious expression again. "It's about Stephanie."

"Stephanie Crystal?"

"Oh, uh... y-yeah." Suki cleared her throat. "It's um... it's about when she and Porsha left."

"Suki, I've already advised Mr. Crystal to file a missing persons report, and he wasn't interested in that." Charlie sighed. "Y'know, for someone so deadset on finding his wife and daughter, he doesn't seem that willing to try."

"Oh believe me, Charlie, he has his ways..." Suki let some bitter venom sneak into her voice then, gently drumming her fingers on the armrest while she thought to herself. "But it's not that, there's... there's a tape."

"A tape?"

"Yeah, from... f-from the night she left." Suki said. "She, um... she was planning to leave, yeah, but she... sh-she didn't leave willingly, Charlie."

"She didn't...?" Charlie raised an eyebrow, straightening his rounded rectangular glasses. "What do you mean by that, Suki?"

"Well, they... th-they got into a fight. Stephanie was talking about leaving, and... and taking Porsha with her, but Jimmy, he... he really didn't like that. So he had his thugs take her out..." Suki's eyes widened a little, and she shot up slightly to correct herself. "They removed her, I mean! Yeah, they didn't... they didn't take her out like that."

"Ah, okay..." Charlie reclined back on the couch, cupping his chin as he nodded knowingly. "Hmm... so let me guess. They tried to send her away, get rid of her, so she broke back in and took Porsha along with her?"

Suki hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah."

"Right, well that... that complicates things for Mr. Crystal, then." Charlie said. "And... and that's all on the tape?"

"Uh-huh. The fight, the threats, her getting dragged out..." Suki felt her eyes misting up a bit, though she couldn't help chuckling as she thought of something Jimmy would always say. "The whole shaboodle."

"Hmm..." Charlie thought some more. "Suki, if something like that were to get out, it... it'd ruin him."

"I know, and part of me just really wants to come out with it, y'know, for... f-for Stephanie's sake, but... but if I'm the one who does it, who knows what he's gonna do..." Suki said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And it's not just me, there's... there's you, and... a-and Ellie and Cherry. I can't put you guys through that."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, it... it's tough, I get it."

Suki sighed, her shoulders slumping with the weight of her dilemma. She looked at Charlie with pleading eyes, hoping that he would have a solution she hadn't thought of yet.

"Charlie, what am I gonna do...?" She whimpered, her voice filled with both frustration and fear.

"I... I really can't answer that right now, Suki." Charlie leaned forward. "But, um... but where's the tape now, do you have it?"

"Y-yeah, it's in my room... Jerry wanted me to destroy it, but... well, I didn't..." Suki prepared to stand up. "Do you wanna hear it?"

"No no, Suki, just... just sit down." Charlie sighed. "For now, you just need to keep it hidden and make sure nobody else knows about it. Especially not anybody at Crystal Entertainment."

"What...?" Suki's eyes widened in surprise. "But... b-but what about Stephanie and Porsha? I mean, they're out there hiding God knows where, and it's only a matter of time before he tracks them down! I have to help them somehow, Charlie!"

"I know, and you can, but you have to be strategic about it..." Charlie said sternly, reaching over to take his sister's hand. "Look, I know Stephanie and Porsha mean a lot to you, Suki, but you leaking that tape right now would just put even more of a target on their backs."

"Ugh..." Suki bit down hard on her bottom lip, feeling some small tears pricking at her eyes again as she removed her glasses to wipe them away. "So what, I just... I just wait, then?"

"For now..." Charlie said. "One way or another, Suki, that tape is gonna get out there. But you need to wait until the opportune moment. When Crystal's at his most vulnerable."

"Oh, terrific..." Suki rolled her eyes. "And how the hell am I even supposed to know when that moment is, Charlie?"

"Hmm... you'll know, sis." Charlie smiled encouragingly. "Trust me, you'll know."

Suki nodded, then reached over and pulled her brother into a tight embrace, burying her head in his shoulder. "Hmm... thanks, Charlie."

"Yeah..." He said warmly, slowly returning the embrace as he stroked the back of his sister's head. "Any time, Suki."

After another half hour or so of catching up, Charlie finally excused himself and picked his cane back up, prompting Suki to lead him over to the door. She watched him make his way down the steps, the sound of his cane tapping against the concrete becoming fainter and fainter the further down he went, before she finally stepped back inside the apartment and closed the door again.

Charlie's words still stuck with her for the rest of the night, even when she'd retired to her room and got into bed, and they continued to swirl in her head as she stared up at the ceiling.

"The opportune moment..." She repeated to herself, finally nodding in acceptance. "Hmm, okay... the opportune moment."

Author's Note: Just wanted to give another quick shout out to UNCLE SAM THE MAN, the creator of Suki's OC family (her brother Charlie, his wife Ellie and their daughter Cherry) from his wonderful Moon Family series. I really appreciate you letting me use Charlie here, and even though it's a fairly small role, I'll certainly do my best to do your OC justice! Take care!