A/N

Hello all, hope you guys had a good Valentines Day! Back with another chapter for the Lykoi fic. We'll see if Trinity can muster the courage to ask Nick about their family bond. See you down below.

-Don

Chapter 3: Fox Ties

Small waves brushed against a dock on an island north of the Canal District. The water reflected the vibrant stars from the night sky above. Sounds of the wind blowing along with the rustling of leaves and branches filled in the air. A bright full moon casted shadows across the land from surrounding terrain. With 70 degree temperatures, it was truly the perfect night to be outdoors – for camping or a simple escape from civilization.

Sitting at the edge of the dock was a teen lykoi gazing into the endless ocean. A part of her wanted to set sail into the dark abyss never looking back. What did she have to lose? Nothing as far as she was concerned. She stood up on her feet stretching her arms embracing the idea.

"I wish" she sighed letting her arms slowly drop to her sides. She turned around making a retreat towards the front of the dock where land awaited. Before she made it 5 steps, she suddenly heard a noise behind her. Startled, she jerked her head around facing the open water.

Nothing was there although she'd sworn she heard something – a voice. Now a bit more alert she turned around hastily making her way to land. Before her foot touched grass another sound was heard. This time she was certain it was a male voice. A slight chill ran down her back.

"Trinity" the voice called out ominously. Terrified, the lykoi slowly turned around. Her eyes widened at the sight of a dark figure standing at the very end of the dock where she was just sitting.

"He..hello?" She called out nervously. "Who..who's there?" Trinity squinted her eyes in hopes of recognizing who the figure was without having to get any closer.

The figure stood motionless. "Trinity" the figure spoke again with more clarity. "I just wanted to check on you to make sure you're alright."

Trinity stood there petrified. 'Make sure I'm alright?' she wondered. There wasn't a single male in her life who would be concerned enough to check on her. Even if there was such, surely they could check in a less creepy way. Before her mind could process it, she found herself slowly approaching the figure. All of her survival instincts had told her not to, but yet still she proceeded. As Trinity continued forward the light from the moon became brighter behind the figure. His silhouette was in the shape of a mammal with large pointy ears along with a large bushy tail.

Trinity was now within a few feet of the dark figure. She couldn't understand it but something was pulling her towards him.

"That's close enough" the mammal said calmly. The lykoi stopped in her tracks.

"Who..who are you?" she asked again nervously. "And how do you know my name?"

A brief pause ensued. "I think you know that answer" he spoke quietly taking a step back. "Just know I'm watching over you."

Trinity took another step forward. By this time she could make out more details of the mammal, his dark fur, white muzzle, and icy blue eyes. It was apparent now that she was staring at what appeared to be male wolf. She didn't know any wolves however; especially any that cared about her. The teens' forehead scrunched in confusion thinking of any mammal it could be before one final possibility crossed her mind. It couldn't be...

"Da-"

Suddenly the figure fell back into the water causing a huge splash. Trinity ran to the edge of the dock but saw nothing in the water. He seemingly disappeared but that was impossible right? Without thinking, she leapt into the water in pursuit of the mammal. He obviously knew who she was and she needed more answers. Upon feeling the cold impact of water she felt a sudden jolt in her body.

Trinitys' eyes opened suddenly waking up drenched in sweat. She was back in her bedroom in Zootopia. Looking over at her phone she saw it was 11:45pm. Upon arriving back from orientation she decided to stay in her room eventually falling asleep. She was out for almost 7 hours – likely due to the lack of rest from the night prior. The teen pulled the covers off looking around the dark room.

'What a weird dream..' she thought rubbing her head. It felt so real.

Letting out a yawn, Trinity walked towards the bedroom door. Although it wasn't her home, she at least felt comfortable getting a glass of water at this point. Carefully opening the door, she looked down both directions of the dark hallway. Everyone was likely asleep by now so she'd have to be as quiet as possible. She began tip toeing down the hall towards the stairs. Slowly making the decent down each step, she saw a light coming from the living room. The television was still on.

'Someone is still awake..?'

The lykoi made it down to the last step to see Jacob sitting on the couch. He had a pair of headphones on with a controller in his paws infatuated with the image in front of him. Trinity looked at the television to see a video game on the screen. A strange looking character was running around with a rifle in a field of tall grass. She rolled her eyes.

'Of course he's up playing video games' she thought while sneaking her way into the kitchen. Grabbing a plastic cup from a cabinet, she made her way to the water dispenser on the fridge door. Only filling it halfway, the teen pulled the cup to her lips taking a few gulps. Gently placing the cup into the sink, she began making her exit in hopes of not being noticed.

"My back hurts from carrying this team" Jacob murmured from the living room couch. "Look at my score and tell me I'm wrong" he snickered.

"Dork" Trinity muttered quietly creeping towards the stairs. Due to how dark it was, she accidentally missed the first step causing her to trip forward. Upon impact was a loud thud that could've been heard throughout the entire house. Jacob frantically flung his headphones off looking in the direction of the sound. His eyes locked onto the lykoi standing there frozen stiff.

He let out a relieved sigh "Oh thank god I thought you were mom" the young fox whispered with a relieved smile on his muzzle. "What are you doing?"

"I just needed some water" Trinity blurted out quickly trying to avoid conversation. She turned around preparing to head back up stairs. Her right ankle was throbbing from the impact of the fall causing a slight limp.

"You okay?" the young fox chuckled. "I heard that fall through my headphones."

"I'm fine" Trinity winced in pain after putting weight on her ankle.

"Hey Trin wait up" Jacob whispered standing up from the couch. "Are you still mad at me for earlier?"

Trinity stopped on the third step turning back at the fox. "It's whatever" she dismissed nonchalantly. "Not like I haven't been asked it a billion times before."

"Ah...okay well.." Jacob started. "I just wanted to say sorry again... I uh.."

"You're good" the lykoi replied quietly. "Get back to your video game."

"Well..uh.. maybe we could play sometime?" the fox spoke with a bit of optimism. "Have you heard of Furnite? I just got the new update."

"Goodnight Jacob" Trinity sighed continuing her ascend.

"Hey one more thin-"

"Don't worry I never saw you" Trinity quietly assured disappearing upstairs. She made it back to the room closing the door. It was dimly lit with the moonlight shining through the window. She gazed outside admiring the night sky full of stars. Her mind then wondered back to the dream she'd just had. That wolf she saw. Who was that..?

The following morning rays of sunshine pierced through the bedroom window. Trinity squinted her eyes almost feeling blinded. Usually she was an early riser but the sun in the sky determined she'd slept in late. She reached over to check her phone.

"10:36" the teen groaned closing her eyes again. She must've slept right through her alarm that morning. Thankfully she had 3 more days to get back in to the school morning routine. A part of her was surprised no one had come knocking to wake her up but honestly she didn't care. The more solitude the better.

After leaving the bathroom Trinity slowly made her way downstairs. The smell of food was indeed in the air – likely due to Judys' cooking. To her surprise however, there was no sign of the bunny. Upon entering the living room the television was on once again. On the couch this time was Nick. The lykoi looked in the kitchen with still no signs of Judy. She looked back at the red fox.

"Morning sleepy head" the fox greeted still occupied with the television. Trinity made her way to the side of the couch.

"Morning.." she mumbled quietly. "Where's everyone?"

"Judy and Jacob went shopping for school supplies" Nick answered reaching for the remote. "They wanted to have you come but figured you didn't want to be disturbed."

"Oh" Trinity replied. School shopping sounded underwhelming to say the least so it wasn't a big loss in her eyes. Although now, she was alone with Nick – her presumed uncle. If there was a time to ask about her father, now would be perfect.

"They should be back in about 20 minutes or so" the fox assured letting out a yawn. "Judy cooked for you so you'd have something to eat when you'd finally gotten up"

"Sounds good" Trinity said quickly. She stared at the fox. Outside of her mother this was her only known family.

Nick now noticing the prolonged silence scooted over. "Uh...well do you want to sit down?" he asked. "We can change the channel to something else if you want."

"No it's okay" Trinity answered taking a seat on the couch. "Um..what is it you're watching?"

"Paw Stars" the fox grinned leaning back. "My favorite show."

"Never heard of it.."

"It's about these mammals that go into this shop to sell their old junk" Nick explained. "Some of them have unique collectables and such while others are just trying to flip items."

"Oh..cool" Trinity murmured looking at the screen. Truthfully she didn't care about what was on the television. She was just looking for an opening to get the real conversation started.

"I like this show because it reminds me of my days when I used to flip stuff" Nick continued. "It was fun hustling back in the day – before I became a cop that is."

"You were cop too?" the teen asked fully intrigued. Her mom hadn't mentioned that both Judy and Nick were police officers.

"Sure was" Nick answered proudly. "Me and Judy were partners for awhile actually. Did all sorts of assignments. Her favorite was traffic duty of course" he laughed.

"She was partners with my mom too" Trinity boasted with a grin. "So... all 3 of you worked together?"

Nicks eyes shifted from the screen to the young mammal. "Yeah.." he said. "We did."

By this time Trinity could feel the fox was being far too brief about details which only enticed her more. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask about him – just to get it out. Reluctantly, she bit her tongue just a little longer.

"So uh.." she began again. "When you hustled...were you by yourself or..?"

"It was me and my buddy Finnick" the fox replied. "We used to run around the streets in costumes selling pawcicles and such." He leaned back kicking his feet on the living room table. "Good times."

'Enough...' Trinity thought. She couldn't beat around the bush any longer. For years she wanted to learn more about her family and now she finally had a chance to know. What did she have to lose?

"What about...my father?" the teen asked hesitantly. Nick became silent. His eyes dropped to the floor in that moment.

"He..uh" the fox began cautiously. "Yeah.. me and him used to hustle back in the day too."

While a slight frown grew visible on Nicks face, the lykois face brightened up with excitement. It was the first solid piece of evidence that her father even existed. Someone who finally knew him outside of her mom.

"What was he like?" she blurted out impatiently. "You guys were brothers and..he's a wolf..and"

"Easy.." Nick spoke calmly. He leaned forward reaching for the remote on the table. Raising it to the television, he lowered the volume. Nick let out a sigh placing it back on the table. "Alright, so here's the deal.."

Trinity sat there with her paws cupped in her lap. Her heart was racing with anticipation. This was it.

"I'm not sure what your mom has told you abou-"

"Nothing" the teen interrupted. "The only thing she's said about him is that he's a wolf and the name...Wilde – which is my middle name – came from him...which means.." The teen stared at the fox waiting for confirmation. "How..exactly..I mean if you're a fox and he's a wolf then.."

"Adopted" Nick responded quietly. "He was my adopted brother."

"Oh..." Trinity replied staring blankly at the fox. "Um..well..can you tell me anything about him?"

"I think it would be best if we wait until you and your mom talk Trinity" Nick answered with a hint of sadness. "It's a long story and-"

"Fine" the teen snipped in disappointment. She stood up from the couch in attempt to make a quick exit. Her one link to her father wouldn't even budge on any information about him. Her throat tighten up from frustration. It wasn't fair. As the teen began to retreat upstairs, the red fox called out.

"Hey Trinity" Nick spoke up now standing up to his feet. "I'm gonna go get some fresh air. I need to stretch my feet and I'm sure you're getting bored sitting in that room." The fox let out a load yawn stretching his arms. "You're welcome to join if you want."

The teen turned around. Despite her anger in the moment, the idea of being outside sounded far more appealing than locking herself in the room again.

"Come on.." the fox insisted. "Central Park is right down the road."

"O..okay." Trinity replied. "Let me just..um get ready." What did she have to lose in that moment?

After the two mammals got dressed, they left the house making there way down street. It was a nice sunny day in the neighborhood with mammals outside cutting their grass. The lykoi followed closely behind this fox who admittedly was still a stranger to her. After a few minutes of walking, a park came in to view consisting of a small basketball court and swing sets. The two made it to one of the benches on the far side.

Nick sat down on the bench looking off into the distance. Trinity sat down beside him doing the same. Her eyes wondered to a group of kids playing on the far side of the park. After another minute of silence, Nick finally spoke up.

"So..you're Dontes daughter" the fox mumbled taking a deep breath. The teen looked over at him.

"..Donte?" Trinity asked curiously. "Is that his name..?"

Nick was quiet for a moment longer. He thought about the last night he encountered him – his adopted younger brother. It was years ago on top of the old Palm Tree Hotel which was now a completely different building. All of the events that happened in those short 3 weeks raced through his mind. This was the same park Nick brought Judy to explain his family past and now 14 years later, he was back with the daughter of his wolf sibling.

"Okay kiddo here's the deal" Nick spoke up. "I'll tell you a thing or two about your dad but promise you'll keep it between us. We clear?"

A giant smile grew on Trinitys face. Finally she would get some answers. "Deal" she said full of excitement.

"Shoot" Nick said looking forward.

"Uh..." the teens mind drew a blank. She didn't know where to start. "Okay so his name's Donte..Wilde?"

The fox nodded. "Correct"

"Um..okay so do you have a picture of him or anything?"

"Not with me no" Nick said. "I'm sure my mom – your grandma Victoria may have one or two of us when we were kits. Don wasn't much of a picture taker."

"Oh.." Trinity spoke slightly disappointed. "Um..well have you talked to him in..awhile? My mom told me he passed away in a car accident before I was born."

The fox looked down at the grass in front of him. He figured Silvia came up with some story of what happened to the wolf and he didn't want to clash with it. But he knew the truth, and even all of these years later it still stung to think about. Nick had finally come to peace with his past and let go of all of the anger he had, but he could never forget what happened.

"Never mind.." Trinity said quietly. "What..what was he like?"

"He was ambitious" Nick replied looking over at her. "If there was anything he wanted he made it happen."

Trinity smiled proudly. "My dad was a go getter huh..? Was he a cop at the ZPD too?"

"Hm..no" Nick said with a hint of coldness. "Donte wasn't the type to take orders from anyone." Another pause followed. "Well think that's enough for no-"

"One more" Trinity interrupted eagerly. "Are we anything alike..me and my dad? I know my mom said I kind of remind her of you sometimes and.." she trailed off.

Nicks' ear twitched. Even in the corner of his eye he could see the undeniable resemblance Trinity had to the wolf. She had his blue eyes and white fur around her muzzle. Even her monotone soft spoken voice was similar to how he spoke. Although he'd only spent roughly 30 minutes around her, it was apparent this was indeed Dontes' daughter. Her characteristics and features solidified it.

"It's about time we head back" Nick said now standing up. "We'll continue this another time." A look of disappointment appeared on Trinitys' face.

"Promise?" the teen asked. The fox looked down surprised at the young mammal. Despite everything him and his brother went through – fighting and arguments, this was still just a kid he was talking to. It wasn't like she asked for this life. Like it or not, she was technically his niece.

He let out a sigh. "Promise" he said reluctantly. Nick wasn't keen on making promises he couldn't keep no matter how big they were.

Trinity jumped up from the park bench. "Up high" she said raising her paw up.

Nick grinned giving her a high five.

While he kept most of the past a secret, Nick could tell Trinity seemed to grow an admiration for her father. Although it was misplaced, he didn't want to be the one to shatter her heart with the truth.

The two eventually made their way back to the house where Judy and Jacob had returned from school shopping. Now that Trinity was settling in to her new home (aside from Jacob), the next task was at hand. Savannah High School.

A/N

Those who have read 'The Golden Carrot' surely remember Donte Wilde. If you know you know. We will see how Trinity eventually finds out the truth of who her father really was...anyways. Next chapter will be the first day of school for our hybrid mammal. How will the other kids treat her? We'll have to see. Thank you for the feedback and suggestions in the comments! See you all in the next chapter.

-Don