Chapter 2: The Morning After
Before Stoney met the love of his life, he was a carefree surfer who loved to party. Sometimes he partied a little too much.
May I suggest the song 'Fell Asleep At The Beach'by Glades?
The blurry-eyed small tan-furred fennec fox sat up on the sandy beach and gave a toothy yawn. He licked his chops, frowning at the vile taste that remained in his mouth. Not too far from where he had been sprawled, he could see the white caps of the waves while they roared onto the shoreline and beyond them the bluish-green sea. The sun was just rising into the early morning's clear cobalt blue sky, appearing as if it was a yellow fiery ball escaping from the distant depths of the deep ocean. The fox yawned yet again and shook his blurry head, sniffing the familiar scent of the sea's salty brine.
Frowning, he lifted a sandy paw to touch a pinching pain that was at the bottom of his large left ear and hesitated when he touched something that strangely seemed stuck just below where the feathery white hairs sprouted from his cream-colored ear. "What the…" he muttered in surprise while he pulled at whatever it was, but it would not come loose. His bloodshot eyes widened when he felt the shape of whatever it was and that it was stuck right through the bottom of his ear. In a panic, he staggered to his footpaws and tried to look at his thin naked chest, his arms, and his legs to see if he had any other odd piercings or markings. There was a feeling of relief when he realized that, although he had lost his shirt, he at least still had on his brown cargo shorts and that his tail was only matted with sand and ruffled, but all the fur was still intact.
Running his paws over his eyes, he let out a prolonged groan and then gave another frown while he glanced around to see if anyone was watching him before he trod into the ocean and quickly waded through the surf until the cold water was waist-high. The fox could not help but give an audible sigh of relief as he allowed himself to be relieved of the fullness which gripped his bladder and the water near him became a tad bit warmer before the tide flowed back out.
"Just classy, mate!" a sarcastically sounding voice called out from behind him, and the small fox stumbled slightly in the undertow which pulled at his legs while he twisted to see who was watching. A slightly taller gray-furred wallaby was standing on the beach clutching two Styrofoam cups of coffee. "You could have gone to the bloody dunny, it is just a few hops down the beach."
He felt the blood rush to his ears and knew that he was blushing with embarrassment. After wading back to the shore, he couldn't help but give yet another yawn while he reached for the cup that his best friend offered him. Inhaling the comforting rich smell of the hot brew within, he gave a satisfied grunt when he lifted it to his muzzle and took a long sip. Closing his eyes, he gave his neck a vigorous scratch before finally asking, "Cooper, what the hell happened last night?"
The wallaby leaned back slightly on his long thick tail while he fiddled with one of the buttons on his blue checkered sports shirt before he gave his confused-looking friend a huge grin. "Stoney, don't tell me that you can't remember a bloomin' thing?"
The small fox slowly shook his head before he took another sip of the coffee. "I just remember being in the bar at the old pier with you and the other guys…wait! There was a pretty muskrat and she had a friend…she was a gorgeous white-furred stoat in a red string bikini. I remember dancing to Reggae music and I was between the two of them…I think I had my paws on the stoat's waist and the other girl was gripping and swinging my tail. Yeah, that's right! Someone kept passing us shots of something which was sweet-tasting, but kind of burned when I tossed them down. Wait! Wait!" the fox just gave out a long groan while he rubbed his neck. "Brah, don't tell me we were dancing on a table in front of everyone!"
"You were!" Cooper chuckled. "You were being a regular drongo, mate."
Stone gave out a long sigh and stared out at the sea again. The sun had risen above the ocean and was steadily climbing higher into the sky. There were now many other noises besides the steady rhythm of the waves as they rolled onto the sand. Behind him was the growing din of traffic caused by those who dwelled along the coast as they began making their morning migration inland to where they labored for a living. There were also the sounds of rattling and banging made by the merchants as they opened the doors to their shops which lined the wooden planked Boardwalk. He turned to watch while some of them rolled out racks of swimsuits and pulled out tables stocked with brightly colored plastic sand buckets, terrycloth beach towels, and seashell necklaces, all displayed with hopes of enticing the vacationing tourists to enter their stores in search of even more treasures.
Gently the fox touched the earring stuck in his left ear before he turned back towards the wallaby. " I can't believe I got my ear pierced?"
The wallaby next to him drew quiet for a few moments and then tried not to laugh when he said, "You should see the tattoo you got on your right bum, just next to your bloody tail."
Stone let out a soft curse while he reached around with his paw and felt his rear end, his ears flattened.
"Just kidding," the hopper laughed.
Stone cast an aggravated glance at the grin his best friend was giving him and then his ears shot up again when he heard the nearby roaring of the surf and turned to watch while the tide began to roll in towards the shore. "Well, Cooper, my friend there is only one thing we can do now!"
"What's that, Stoney?"
"Go surfing!" the fox proclaimed even as he took off sprinting down the beach towards the city park where the two friends were camping. "Come on, slowpoke!"
"Can't we at least eat breakfast first?" the wallaby shouted as he frantically hopped after his friend.
"Surf first, eat later!" the fox yelled back.
And so another day of adventure had started for Zootopia's champion small board surfer and all-around lovable beach bum, Stone Kole.