On Tuesday afternoon once school ended Angel & Elias headed to the wooded area carrying a basket of picnic food & supplies. Colby, Constance & Kelly also went with them unsure of exactly what was going on.

"I'm sure you 3 are going to be pleasantly surprised by what we have planned out here" said Angel with a chuckle.

"None of us have a clue as to exactly what's going on" said Colby.

"Are you going to tell us what this is about?" asked Constance in curiosity.

"You'll find out shortly. We're nearly at the picnic area" said Elias with a smile.

"All I can think of is that it's a special occasion of some kind. Exactly which 1 I don't know" said Kelly as everyone continued walking. They soon arrived at the picnic area where the contents of the basket were set out. Barton, Buster & 2 other male Anthro animals soon appeared. 1 of them was a lion wearing a black leather jacket over a white short sleeve shirt, blue jeans, black fingerless gloves, a black leather belt & black square toe leather harness boots who was the same age & height as Buster while the other was a raccoon dog dressed in a purple polo shirt, black shorts & black rain boots who was the same age as Barton. The lion's name was Lucas & the raccoon dog's name was Rogan.

"Hello everyone. It's good to see that you could all make it" said Barton with a smile.

"There are Anthro animals living out here?" asked Colby in surprise.

"We live in an underground village accessible via a large tree" said Buster.

"This isn't what I was expecting at all" said Constance in amazement.

"I see you brought 2 of your friends with you" said Elias as he looked at Lucas & Rogan.

"I'm Lucas the biker lion. Buster's my best friend" said Lucas.

"My name's Rogan. I'm Barton's best friend" said Rogan.

"I must say you all look nice in those outfits" said Kelly.

"Thanks. I'm glad you like them" said Barton as everyone sat down. They introduced themselves to each other & began talking about their lives.

"What do you all do on a daily basis?" asked Buster.

"Aside from attending school we usually spend time together playing with our friends, making movies, songs & TV shows & other fun activities" said Colby.

"That sounds exciting. We don't usually venture out far anytime we come up to the surface mostly because we want to ensure our own safety in the event we encounter people who might want to do us harm" said Lucas with a sigh.

"You don't have to be afraid around us. We're not hostile. You can trust us" said Constance in reassurance.

"That's good to know. I think you're all lovely" said Rogan with a smile.

"Thanks. You're so wholesome" said Angel with a chuckle.

"Have you guys ever been outside the woods before?" asked Elias in uncertainty.

"No. I don't think anyone in the underground village has ever gone beyond these woods. It's a health & safety risk because if we get seen outside the woods we'd likely either be killed, put in a zoo or likely studied in a science lab via unethical experimentation" said Barton.

"That makes sense. I think most people just aren't used to coexisting with Anthro animals. To them it's simply not how they'd picture living their lives" said Kelly.

"True. Even though we've never actually been out of the woods before There are several residents in the village who have always wondered what it'd be like to mingle with regular people. It's never acted on simply out of fear that such an experience would go wrong" said Buster.

"If you like we could show you where we live tomorrow. I promise you'll all be safe" said Angel in reassurance.

"Are you sure? We wouldn't be at risk of harm would we?" asked Lucas in concern.

"Not at all. If anyone thinks of trying to do you harm we'll keep them away" said Colby.

"I honestly don't think there are even that many people in Adventure Bay who'd have such a violent reaction to seeing you" said Constance.

"Who do you all live with besides each other?" asked Rogan in curiosity.

"There's both mine & Kelly's parents, Kelly's pet Staffordshire Terrier named Terry, our adopted younger siblings Cinnamon & Ronald & Colby & Constance's younger siblings Constantine & Cora" said Elias.

"How old are the younger siblings?" asked Barton.

"Cinnamon & Ronald are both 5 & Constantine & Cora are both 8" said Kelly.

"Barton & Rogan are both the same age as Cinnamon & Ronald" said Buster.

"You & Lucas are both 10 right?" asked Angel in uncertainty.

"Correct. That'd make us around the same age as you 4" said Lucas with a nod.

"I don't suppose you attend school in your village do you?" asked Colby in uncertainty.

"Yes. We have our own school with the grade levels being the same as regular schools" said Rogan.

"Nice. Monday to Friday is your school schedule right?" asked Constance.

"It sure is. School starts at 9 AM & finishes at 3 PM" said Barton.

"Just like us. Do you learn the same subjects?" asked Elias in curiosity.

"I believe so. Our daily lives are very similar to yours only we generally stay in the same area. In terms of technology, we don't have as much as regular people because of restrictions relating to electricity connection points underground. There's very poor signal down there" said Buster with a sigh.

"I guess that means you use books & other similar printed media to learn & research" said Kelly.

"It depends on the resources available to us" said Lucas.

"If we're lucky we might get to visit the surface for school trips soon. I'd like to have that experience because of how much more there is to know about the world outside the village" said Rogan.

"There are many things you could learn. We'd be more than happy to share surface life knowledge with you. For now, let's keep it simple just so that we don't find ourselves in any sticky situations" said Elias as everyone continued talking & enjoying the picnic. As night approached everyone went home with Elias & company remaining quiet about their afternoon to the adults so they wouldn't risk causing a potential panic. Later while lying awake in bed Elias wondered what else there was that he could show Barton, Buster, Lucas & Rogan along with other residents of the underground Anthro village.

"There are so many things I can think of to share with our Anthro friends. Maybe tomorrow or sometime in the next few days I could introduce them to the PAW Patrol. Ryder & the pups would love them. All I know is that we must be careful with these interactions. It takes just 1 wrong move to cause a town wide panic. A nice steady approach will benefit us all" thought Elias as he went to sleep.