The bus approached its next stop, its brakes squealing as it slowly but surely came to a stop. Among its many departing passengers was Nick, struggling to keep his backpack steady on his shoulders. It was already heavy on a good day, but with the added books and assignments he picked up today, the weight was nearly unbearable. Nonetheless, Nick slowly made his way down the block to meet up with his friends at the stand. Along the way, he passed by The Watering Hole, a small concert hall where many touring and local acts performed.
Nick stopped briefly to look at the poster on the wall, advertising upcoming shows. He saw that a Furgazi tribute band was playing that evening, The Pouncing Souls and The Henzingers were playing together the next night, and what looked like a small local festival playing the night after that. Nick shrugged; he had no interest in tribute acts and he didn't really know the local music scene, but The Henzingers sounded like it would be fun. He quickly looked up tickets, but to his dismay, he discovered that they were already sold out. Nick sighed. 'Just as well,' he thought. 'Not that I'd be able to see them tomorrow, anyway.' He left the poster behind and continued down to where the gang were, eventually seeing Finnick, Honey, and Flash all there. The sloth was slowly saying something to the other two, the badger listening intently while the fennec was losing interest, eventually spotting Nick.
"Hey, look who decided to finally show up," Finnick said, chuckling to himself.
Nick glared at him before he pulled his bag off his back and went up to the smaller fox. "Here, hold this," he said, before unceremoniously dropping it into the fennec's arms. As he suspected, the weight overwhelmed his friend, who subsequently fell onto his back, crushed by the bag.
"OOF!" Finnick turned his head to look at the red fox. "What the fuck is in here?!"
Nick ignored him as he walked up to Honey and Flash, rolling his shoulders. "So, how're we looking today?"
The sloth shrugged. "Slow…start…but…there's…still…time."
"Any cops?"
Flash slowly shook his head. "Nope."
"Well, that's good." Nick took a seat. "So, what were you guys talking about?"
"I…have…a…new…personal…best…for…the…hundred…yard…dash," Flash said.
"Nice!" Nick held up his paw for a high five, which the sloth slowly gave. "What's your time?"
"Three…hours…forty…six…minutes…and…ten…seconds."
"Well, let's aim for three hours, forty-five minutes next time."
"That's…the…plan."
"Hey, um, sorry to interrupt, but," Honey interjected as she pointed over to Finnick, who was still struggling underneath the weight of Nick's bag, "do you think you should let him back up?"
Nick looked over at the smaller fox and shrugged. "Eh. Maybe in a minute-"
"You get this bag off me, Wilde, or I'm going to bite your face off!" Finnick growled out.
"Now, that's not really an incentive for me to help you, now is it?"
"WILDE!"
"I got you," Honey said, making her way over to him. She grabbed the bag and, with some effort, got it off the smaller fox.
"Thanks," Finnick said as he got up, slightly out of breath and annoyed. He turned towards the red fox. "What do you have in there? Bricks?"
Nick shook his head as he looked through the number of popsicles they still had. "Nope. I've got Skye's classwork and homework in there with my stuff."
"Why?"
"She's been sick the past few days, so I grabbed her work from her teachers. Oooh, that reminds me, I need to stop by the pharmacy on my way home." Silence answered him, and he looked up to see concerned looks from everyone. "What?"
Honey shifted uncomfortably. "When you say 'sick,'-"
"'Sick' as in she has the flu," Nick clarified. "Not the…other kind."
"Well, that's good," Finnick said, relaxing a little. "Is she OK?"
Nick sighed a little as he shook his head. "Not really. Skye doesn't get sick often, but when she does, she gets hit HARD." He then looked at his watch. "I'll probably only be here for an hour or so, then I need to get home to look after her."
"Why…you?" Flash asked. "Why…not…your…mom?"
"The doctors said that because of her treatment, Mom's more likely to get sick," Nick explained. "They don't want to risk her catching something as well."
"I guess that makes sense," Honey said, shrugging a little.
Nick snorted. "Not that it stopped her from going to work-"
"Wait, what?" Finnick interjected. "She's still working? Even with all of this happening?"
"'Bills won't pay themselves'," Nick said sarcastically, mimicking his mother. "The fact that she won't even let Skye or I help makes it even worse."
"That's a good point, why WON'T she let you guys help?" Honey asked.
Nick threw his paws up in frustration. "I don't know! It used to be because she wanted us to focus on school, but now, I think she's just being stubborn. At this point, you'd think she'd be open to it, but no, I guess that's too much to ask for." He huffed and crossed his arms, shaking his head.
Finnick took a seat next to him. "How is she doing?"
The red fox shrugged. "She's been having good days and bad days. Between treatment and work, I just wish she would take it easy. It's gotten to the point where she's so tired that she'll barely say anything to us when she gets home." Nick shook his head. "Makes sure to talk with Kii, though; she's been talking with her a lot lately."
"Who's that?"
"She's an old family friend who handles my family's legal stuff," he explained. "She actually almost had to help us out a few weeks ago with the police."
"What do you mean?" Finnick asked.
Nick shrugged nonchalantly. "Skye and I got arrested in Bunnyburrow."
"Wait, what?!" Honey exclaimed, turning to him along with Finnick and Flash. "Are you serious?"
"Yep," Nick answered. "Apparently, someone didn't like the fact that Skye and I are friends with bunnies and called the cops on us. Sat in a cell for about an hour before they let us go."
"…Was it a sheep?" she asked slowly and suspiciously.
Nick groaned, knowing how the badger would react. "Yes, it was a sheep who called, BUT," he quickly added, cutting the badger off before she could say anything, "I have a feeling they still would've called the cops even if they weren't. Older generation, y'know?"
"But the cop was one too, weren't they?" Honey demanded.
"Does it matter?" Finnick asked with a scoff. "Everyone knows that all cops are bigoted assholes." Nick cleared his throat and glared at his friend, prompting the smaller fox to add, "Bunny Girl doesn't count; she's not a cop yet."
Nick rolled eyes. "Thanks." He then pinched the bridge of his snout. "Yeah, OK, the cop was also a sheep, but-"
"See?!" Honey cried, arms outstretched in front of her. "It's all connected! Can't you see that?!"
"Now…hold…on," Flash said slowly. "Just…because…the…cop…was…a…sheep…that…doesn't…make…them…a…bigot."
"Exactly." Nick paused before amending, "Well, OK, I mean, he was a bigot," Honey's head whipped right to him, making him quickly add, "but not because he was a sheep!"
"Fine, but when they rise up and they start shaving your fur as payback for what we've done to them, don't say I didn't warn you!" Honey huffed as she crossed her arms, looking away. At that, Finnick got up and went to her, taking her a bit further back behind the stand.
"Honey, you know you shouldn't be saying things like that," Finnick told her. "You don't want to get another citation."
The badger sighed. "I guess you're right; there's still too much to uncover to get put away now." She then turned to him. "But if they come for me and get me, you'll be the one to expose everything, right?"
"I-" He stopped when he saw her pleading look. Finnick sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, OK, fine, I'll do it-"
The smaller fox was cut off as Honey suddenly hugged him, her larger frame enveloping him. "You're the best," she declared, all happy.
Nick smirked as Finnick relaxed. The two of them really were good for each other, as Honey could smooth out his rough edges, and Finnick could (mostly) keep her sheep conspiracy rants in check. However, the longer she held him started to make the red fox feel uncomfortable, so Nick turned around back to the stand, Flash slowly following him.
"Nick?"
"Yeah, Flash?"
"I…think…I…liked…it…better…when…they…hated…each…other."
"Fuck off," Finnick said from behind them, though he didn't make any effort to leave Honey's embrace.
Nick chuckled a little before he turned back to the sloth. "So, what about you, buddy?"
"What…ABOUT…me?"
"Anybody you've been seeing lately?"
Flash slowly shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe."
"'Maybe'?" Honey asked, letting go of Finnick (who quickly tried to hide his disappointment) and returned to them, the smaller fox following her. "What do you mean?"
"I've…been…talking…a lot…with…Priscilla…lately," Flash said.
"Priscilla? That cute sloth on the lacrosse team?" The sloth nodded. "But wait, isn't she already seeing that hyena?"
Finnick snickered. "Just because there's a goalie doesn't mean you can't score."
"FINN!" Honey slapped him on the shoulder. "That's awful!"
"She…said…that…she…was…ending…things…with…him," Flash said, ignoring the fennec's comment. "Guess…he's…not…the…patient…type."
"Well, I hope things work out between you two," Nick told him, patting him on the shoulder. Flash slowly smiled at that. He then grinned impishly and shot a thumb over to Finnick and Honey, adding, "Maybe you guys can go on a double date."
"NO," Finnick immediately said, shooting daggers at the red fox.
"Yeah, no offense, Flash," Honey added, "but I don't think any of us would want to sit through that."
The sloth slowly nodded. "Agreed." Nick snickered, prompting him to add, "Shut…up…Nick."
"Sorry," Nick apologized, not sounding apologetic at all, "but I'm picturing it right now, it's too good!"
"Yeah…I…bet," Flash retorted, rolling his eyes.
"If you like it so much," Finnick started, "then why don't YOU go on one? Didn't you say that you have a date with Bunny Girl coming up?"
"Wait, what?!" Honey interjected, looking between the two foxes, the previous topic now forgotten. "It's actually happening?! Really?!"
Nick rolled his eyes but grinned. "Yes, really. We're going on one the next time she's down here."
"Fucking finally!" the badger exclaimed, drawing attention from mammals passing by and getting an odd look from them. She ignored them and asked, "What're you guys gonna do?"
"Dunno yet," Nick said, giving a shrug. "She said it was a surprise."
Honey looked thoughtful. "Hmm, I wonder if it's a movie."
Finnick snorted. "Betcha it's that new slasher coming out next week."
"Which…one?" Flash asked.
"The one where the killer straps a muzzle onto his victims so that they can't scream for help as he cuts them open," the fennec answered, grinning a little. "The trailers look great."
Nick couldn't help but shudder a little. "Yeah, no. Pass."
"What's the matter, Slick?" Finnick taunted. "A little squeamish at the sight of blood?"
"Dude, I've seen the Evil Herd remake and all the Claw films; I can handle blood," Nick said. "It's the muzzle for me."
"The muzzle?" Honey asked, surprised. "Really?"
Nick nodded. "My dad let me watch Silence of the Lambs when I was little; that scene with Lecter strapped down with the muzzle on him made me terrified of them."
Finnick scoffed. "Seriously?"
"Have you ever seen that movie?"
"Well, no-"
"Then shut up."
The group of kits continued to banter back and forth for another hour, all the while selling popsicles. Eventually, they called it there, and after splitting earnings between himself and Finnick, Nick slowly reshouldered his bag. "So, do you guys know where the closest pharmacy is?"
"Yeah," Finnick nodded, pointing down the street. "There's one about three blocks down that way."
Nick sighed; that walk would've been fine normally, but with his heavy bag, it was going to be terrible. "OK, thanks. I'll see you guys later."
Everyone said bye, and Nick slowly made his way down the block, with Finnick, Honey, and Flash (on the badger's back) walking the other way. After a moment, Honey pointed in the direction they were going and asked, "Wait, isn't there a pharmacy only a block away from here?"
"Yep," was the fennec's only response.
"…So why-"
"He crushed me with his bag! Fuck him!"
Nick walked through the door to the apartment, closing it behind him with his foot. His stop at the pharmacy went longer than it was supposed to, but he finally managed to get some medication for Skye. He made it to the couch before he finally dropped his bag off, his shoulders screaming at him.
'Finn was wrong,' he thought as he rolled his shoulders. 'Bricks don't weigh nearly as much as this.' The fox sat down on the couch, letting himself relax for a moment after a long day. That only lasted for all of five seconds before he heard a heavy bout of coughs come from down the hall. Nick sighed as he got up and started digging through his bag for Skye's schoolwork. Finding and grabbing it, he then grabbed the bag of medication and walked down the hall towards Skye's room, putting on a disposable mask and softly knocking on her door.
"Hey, it's me; I'm coming in." There wasn't any response from the other side of the door, so he cautiously cracked it open, just in case she wasn't decent. Seeing her lying on her bed under her blankets made him sigh a breath of relief, and he entered the room. As Nick approached his sister, he noticed that she was shivering, clearly feeling chills. He grabbed a blanket that had fallen off her bed and gently placed it on top of her. The sudden added weight made the vixen open her eyes a little, finally noticing her brother.
"Hey," she quietly greeted, her voice a little hoarse.
"How're you feeling?" A groan escaped from his sister. "That well, huh?"
"Go fuck yourself," Skye mumbled.
Nick snorted. "Got some meds for you, hopefully these will bring the fever down and help with that cough." He then reached into the bag and pulled out the bottle of cough syrup, pouring an appropriate amount into the cup. "Here."
"Thanks." Skye slowly but surely sat up and took it, downing the medicine with a grimace. "Blegh, that's awful. Why does it have to taste so bad?"
"Probably so kits don't think it's juice or something," Nick replied, shrugging his shoulders. He then grabbed her schoolwork and held it up for her to see. "I grabbed your stuff from school; I'll just put it on your desk for you."
"OK," the vixen yawned, her eyes drooping a little.
"You should probably go back to sleep," Nick told her.
Skye groaned. "Ugh, do I really have to?" she asked, a whiny tone in her voice. "I've done nothing BUT sleep!"
"You want to get better, right?"
"Yeah, but-" Another yawn. "I'm not tired."
Nick cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" At her nod, he continued. "Well, in that case, then you can get started on your schoolwork! Let's see, you've got," he held up each subject, "history, English, and math. You've also got notes from Kris about that project you two are doing in biology, not to mention that you've still got to do that self-portrait in Mrs. Dean's class." He turned and set her work down on her desk. "So, what're you starting with?" Nick waited for a response, and when he got none, he turned to see Skye lying back down, having fallen back asleep.
''Not tired,' huh?' he thought, smirking a little. He then turned back around to her desk and started separating her work so she could easily find each subject. As he was finishing up, the todd noticed a notepad next to her drumsticks. Curiosity got the better of him, and Nick picked it up and read through it. It was a list of band names, with many crossed out, some heavily so. He had a small smirk as he read through the list, only for it to drop when he saw the last one at the bottom, uncrossed:
Dirty Blood.
Seeing those two words immediately brought Nick back to two weeks prior, when they returned home from Bunnyburrow. He remembered it clearly, as if it had just occurred:
Nick and Skye were the first to enter their apartment, their mother following shortly after. Vivian shut the door behind them, locking it as well. It was rather late in the evening, as the three of them left the Hopps home later than they had meant to, and traffic had been miserable. The kits heard the older vixen take a breath as she followed them into the living room. "Well, that took longer than expected, but we made it. What do guys want for-" She stopped when she saw the two younger foxes looking at her, expectantly. "What?"
"What did Grandma say?" Skye asked.
Vivian froze before her shoulders slumped, a heavy sigh leaving her body. "You're not going to let me put this off, are you?"
"Nope," came the white fox's answer, popping the 'P'.
The three of them stood there for a moment before Vivian went to the couch and sat down, her kits following shortly after. Another beat passed between them before Vivian finally asked, "Nick, what do you remember about your grandmother?"
The todd looked confused at the question, throwing a quick look to Skye before going back to his mother. "Uh, not much, I guess. I remember that she was pretty nice, though."
"Hmm." Vivian waited a moment before she turned to her daughter. "And you, Skye?"
The vixen's brow scrunched up in thought before she said, "I remember her saying 'Hi' to me, but nothing else. Honestly, it kind of felt like she was trying to avoid me."
"Because she was."
It got quiet between the three of them after Vivian's comment. Eventually, Nick broke the silence. "What do you mean?"
Their mother sighed. "There are many ways to describe your grandmother, many of them not good. But one thing you need to know about her is that she's from a generation where family status means everything."
Skye looked confused. "OK…?"
"That means you have to be their blood." Vivian looked down at her paws. "You could be the sweetest, the kindest, the hardest working fox in the room…but if you call yourself 'family' and you don't share their blood in any way, you're nothing to them." She scoffed. "Something about how you're 'impure', and not worth any of their time."
"'Impure'?" Nick asked, perplexed.
Vivian nodded. "They call it fola salach." She took a breath. "In the common tongue, however, it means 'dirty blood'."
She didn't raise her voice in the slightest, but Nick and Skye winced at the venom in her voice when she said the translation. Vivian continued. "Your grandmother and I have our problems, but we could've worked through them." She then looked up at her kits. "Not this one. No one calls my child that and stays in my family."
"…Oh," Skye softly said under her breath.
No one said anything after that. Everything suddenly made sense to Nick, from how they never talked to their extended family after that trip to his mother's reaction to Abby showing up to the Hopps home. He felt anger rise up in him at the thought of someone calling his sister 'impure', let alone someone he thought he could call his family. He turned to look at his sister, only to be surprised by her expression.
Or rather, her lack of one.
'Emotionless' was not a word to describe Skye, as she always wore her heart on her sleeve, but neither Nick nor Vivian could tell what the white fox was thinking as she sat there. And that concerned the both of them. Finally, she gave a short nod, got up from the couch, and left the living room. As Nick watched his sister leave, he heard his mother give a small sigh, and he turned to see her put her head in her paws, running them over her ears.
The sound of Skye's door closing brought Nick's gaze back down the hallway, and he wondered what he could say to comfort and support her, drawing blanks. Eventually, he decided that he should give her space for now and let her talk about it when she's ready.
Nick grimaced at the memory as he looked back at his sleeping sister. Two weeks later, Skye still hadn't talked about it with either him or their mother. Why did she put it down as a name? He lightly tossed the list back on the desk, making one of Skye's drumsticks roll off and land on his foot. Wincing a little, Nick picked it up and, after grabbing the other one, moved to put it by her 'drum set', which was a set of practice pads set up like a kit. Setting them down on one of the pads, Nick turned to leave when his eye caught sight of his sister's record collection. While not as big as his, it was still of a notable size, having been started around the same time as his. Looking over each record, he stopped when he saw the Counterbarks album that she had played for him, Jack, and Judy. Nick looked at it for a beat before he grabbed it and tucked it under his arm.
Skye let out a little groan, and Nick immediately went over to her and readjusted her top blanket, which was already starting to slip off her. Once he was sure that she was still asleep, Nick let out a tired sigh and left her room, leaving her door open and taking off his mask. He walked down the hall towards his room, dropping the record on his bed once he entered. Nick pulled out his cut from the stand that day, counting through it. They didn't have as many customers that day, which was to be expected; after all, it was starting to get colder outside, so there wasn't much demand for popsicles right now. Despite that, after splitting profits with Finnick, Nick found that he had made close to ninety dollars that day.
'Not bad, not bad.'
Nodding his head in satisfaction, Nick then split that up as evenly as he could and went to his dresser, opening the top drawer. Digging through his clothes, he found the two sandwich bags of cash he had hidden in there. He grabbed the one meant for the band fund and placed one half of the day's profit inside.
He held back a sigh; he knew that he needed to tell his sister and the bunnies that he had this set aside for them, but he figured it was better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. After all, he just wanted to make sure that they would have enough to get equipment so they could do their own shows. Nick knew that Jack and Judy already had amplifiers and effects pedals, so he figured they just needed a PA system, microphones, and a drum set. He shook his head; he'd let them figure out the specifics once he reached his goal of one thousand dollars. Nick then set the bag down and grabbed the other one he had set aside: the 'Help Mom' fund. It was slightly smaller than the band fund, but that was to be expected; after all, he would pull from it often so he could slip some money into her purse when she wasn't paying attention.
Nick knew that she would not be happy that he had this set aside for her, but he was not going to sit by when he could help her. Now, it wasn't as if he and Skye weren't doing anything at all; quite the opposite, in fact. They would help clean up around the apartment when Vivian was away for either work or treatment, and make sure that she didn't have to do too much when she came home in the evening. But for Nick, it wasn't enough; he needed to do more.
Sure, it seemed a little wrong to hide it from her, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. At the end of the day, it was for a good cause.
After placing the other half inside the bag, he hid both bags again and closed his drawer. With that all finished, Nick went over to his bed and picked up the Counterbarks record. He wasn't entirely sure why he grabbed it; after all, he told Skye the truth when she played it for him and the bunnies two weeks ago. But he and Skye both had a similar taste in music; if she liked it, there HAD to be something to it, right?
After setting everything up, Nick placed the record on his turntable, and after the short intro track, heavy guitar riffs, drums, and screaming vocals kicked off the first real song on the record:
(Counterparts – Whispers of Your Death [https/watch?v=13TUHs4up4I])
Nick shook his head as he listened to the track. Admittedly, he thought sounded better this time around, but he still couldn't get past the vocalist. By the time he got to the bridge of the song, he still couldn't figure out why Skye-
Make your cancer mine
That line suddenly hit the fox, sounding clear as day this time around. Nick quickly grabbed the lyric sheet and looked through the song. More lines that he had missed early on stood out to him:
I choked on the taste of tears until both of my eyes ran dry
Refusing to believe false prophets that claimed you would not survive
As the rest of the record played, Nick followed along in the lyric sheet, taking in every word. While not every track had the same theme of grief and death, the ones that did stood out to him the most, and while he might not have enjoyed the vocalist from a technical perspective, the pure rawness in their voice was no less effective from an emotional one. Eventually, the record came to a close, leaving Nick sitting there in silence. After a moment to take it all in, he got up and placed the record back in its sleeve. All in all, he wasn't quite sure what to make of it; did he like it for its emotional lyricism, or did he dislike it for how it sounded sonically?
Nick shook his head; it wasn't his record, and if Skye liked it, that was fine. He took a look at the time, and noticing it getting a little dark out, he decided that he should probably get started on his homework. Turning everything off, Nick left his room and returned to the living room, grabbing his books out of his bag and began to work on his math assignments. A few hours later, he heard the door to the apartment open and his mother come in.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Mom," he called back, setting his pencil down. A moment later, she walked into the living room. "How was your day?"
Vivian sighed as she slowly sat down, exhausted. "Long. Yours?"
"Fine enough," Nick answered with a shrug. "I picked up some meds for Skye earlier."
"How is she?" Vivian asked, looking down the hallway to Skye's room.
Nick shrugged again. "A little whiny, but she seems to be a little better."
"Did you grab her work from school?" At his nod, Vivian added, "You're a good brother, you know that?"
"Eh, sometimes."
The vixen smiled at that. "So, what do you want for dinner?"
"I dunno."
"Well, that's zero help." Vivian slowly rose to her feet and went into the kitchen, Nick following her. "I think we still have some extra sauce for pasta; that work for ya?"
"Yeah, sure," Nick said, grabbing a pot before she could. He moved to fill it with water when his mother cleared her throat, turning to see her stern look. "What?"
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Uh, about to make pasta?"
"No, you're not," the older fox said, moving to grab the pot from him. "I remember the last time you tried to cook something for us."
Nick maneuvered the pot away from her. "That was one time, and it was over a year ago. Besides, the stains came out eventually, remember?"
"'Eventually' being the key word here."
He rolled his eyes. "Look, you've been working all day; you can go relax. I can make pasta tonight. I mean, how hard can it be?"
"I can do it tonight," the vixen stated, reaching for the pot. "Give it here."
"Nah, I got it."
"Nicholas, give me the pot," Vivian ordered, her voice now strained.
"I can help-"
"I'm not invalid! I don't need your help!"
The silence that followed was deafening. Both foxes just stared at each other, not daring to move or even make a sound. Nick had a surprised look mixed with confusion and hurt on his face, whereas Vivian had a stricken look on hers. "I-"
"OK," Nick interrupted, hastily shoving the pot in her paws. "OK. I'm sorry, I…" He trailed off and instead quickly left the kitchen. He made it to the middle of the living room before he heard his mother follow him, slowly catching up to the young fox and placing a paw on his shoulder.
"Nick?" He stopped. "I'm sorry, I-I shouldn't have snapped."
The todd shrugged her paw off. "It's fine-"
He was interrupted by her suddenly giving him a hug from behind. "No, it's not fine. I-" She cut herself off before she released him and slowly went around to see his face. "Nicholas, talk to me."
"…I just wanted to help," he said softly, shrugging a little.
Vivian cupped his cheek. "Oh, sweetie," she led him to the couch and they both sat down. "You've been plenty of help this week, between cleaning up the apartment, keeping up with school, and looking after your sister."
Nick sighed. "It doesn't feel like it's enough, though."
"It is for me." Vivian put her paw on his knee and sighed. "It was just a very trying day, and when you add that to the problems Kii and I have been running into the past two weeks…" She shook her head. "It wasn't fair to take it out on you. I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted." Nick then realized something. "Wait, what's going on with you and Kii?"
Vivian paused before she huffed out a breath. "We've run into a bit of a snag."
"What happened?"
"You know how your father and I named Kii your sionna?"
"Yeah."
Another pause. "Apparently, she's not anymore."
"What?!" Nick moved back away from her slightly. "What do you mean? What happened?"
Vivian sighed. "Kii was going through our documents and making sure everything was up to date. When she got to what would happen if I or Jon both were to pass, though, she noticed that she wasn't listed as your future guardian for some reason. After a few calls, she found out that the criteria for becoming the sionna had changed and she had been revoked the title."
"What changed?"
"Apparently, the sionna, who is famously known for being a lone mammal, now needs to have a mate," his mother said, not bothering to hide her bitter tone.
"OK, so why would-" Nick suddenly stopped when he realized the issue. "Kii never married."
"Not just never married, she never even took a mate." Vivian ran her paws down her face. "She needs one because of some bullshit about how they need to be financially stable to look after children, as if being a lawyer doesn't pay well enough already." She shook her head. "Kii's been trying to get the decision reversed, arguing that the conditions changed AFTER she was already given the title and are null and void. That's why she and I have been talking more and more lately."
"Any progress?" Nick asked, suddenly a little anxious.
"Yes, actually," Vivian answered. "She managed to set up a hearing to hopefully get her title back."
Nick relaxed. "Well, that's good-"
"In four months." The younger todd stared at her. "Apparently, it was the soonest they could set one up."
Neither one said anything for a moment before Nick softly asked, "So, all we can do right now is hope that nothing bad happens for a third of the year?"
"Looks like it."
Nick looked down at his paws before he asked the important question on his mind. "What're we going to do if she doesn't get the title back?"
Vivian didn't answer for a long time before she took a deep breath. "We'll figure something out; we always do." She then looked at the time. "It's getting late; we need to start dinner."
"…OK."
"…You wanna measure out pasta for me?"
Nick tried for a smile as they both stood. "I guess it'd be hard for me to screw that part up, huh?"
About half an hour later, the two of them had finished making dinner. Nick dished out a bowl for Skye and, after putting on another mask, took it to her room, making a stop by his room first to grab her record. He reached her room, seeing her at her desk, working on her homework. Tucking the record under his arm, Nick softly knocked on her door frame, making her look up from her work.
"What's up, Slick?"
He held up the bowl for her to see. "Just bringing you some dinner," he said, placing it next to the vixen before he held up the record. "Also, bringing this back."
"Thanks," Skye said, taking a small bite. She then looked at the record and raised an eyebrow. "I was wondering where that went; I thought you didn't like it?"
Nick shrugged as he placed it back with the rest of her collection. "Well, you like it, so I figured I could give it another try."
"And?"
"I still don't know if I like it, but I think I understand it better now." He shrugged before gesturing towards her mess of papers. "What're you working on?"
"Biology," Skye answered with a sigh. "I've got a lot of catch-up to do for our project."
"And everything else?"
"Already knocked it out."
"Even math?" Nick asked, a little skeptical. Out of all her classes, math was the one she had struggled with the most in the past.
"I finished that first," she said, waving him off. "It was easy."
"Really?"
Skye nodded. "You know Micah? Judy's older brother? I've been talking with him about what we've been doing in math, and he's been helping me out whenever he can. It's actually starting to make a lot more sense now!"
"Are you sure it's not the fever saying that?" Nick asked, not fully believing her.
"Well, seeing as how I've been getting good grades throughout the semester since he's been helping me, I like to think it's that."
"If you say so." Neither said anything before Nick said, "I saw your list of band names earlier."
Skye coughed a little. "Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah." He paused before he asked, "Why Dirty Blood?"
"Becauseit sounds cool," came her answer, not even looking up at him.
The casual way she said it might've convinced anyone else, but Nick knew his sister. "OK, and the real reason?"
Skye paused what she was doing, not giving a response. After a beat, she said, "It's just two words."
"Yeah, two words meant as an insult towards you," her brother replied.
"Well, I'm taking them and making them mean something else." Skye put down her pencil and looked at her brother. "I'm not going to let the opinion of someone I barely know get to me, OK? She doesn't get to have that; fuck her."
Nick stared at her and smirked. "'Never let them see that they get to you', huh?"
Skye smirked back. "Exactly."
The todd gestured to the list. "You tell the J's yet?"
"Not yet," she answered, shaking her head. "I'll show it to them the next time we see each other." The vixen shrugged. "Who knows? They might say no."
"I doubt it; it's a cool name."
Skye shrugged. "Still, should probably run it by them."
"Sounds good." He paused before adding, "Hey, I don't care what she or anyone says about you; they can go jump in a lake. You're my baby sister; I've got your back."
Skye shot him a wry smile. "I thought we established that I'm older?"
"Not right now, you're not," Nick shot back. "You're still sick; it's my job to take care of you."
"…And that makes me younger all of a sudden?"
"Yep."
Skye snorted and shook her head. "You're an idiot," she said as she went back to her homework.
The two foxes then heard their mother call out, "Nick, I need you out here!"
"OK, I'll be there in a second!" the todd yelled back. He then said to Skye, "Well, you have fun with all of this."
"No."
"That's the spirit!" With that, he left her room and walked down the hall to the living room. "So, what's up?"
Vivian didn't answer, instead looking down at her watch. "Just a moment."
Nick's head tilted in confusion as took off his mask. "What-"
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
"Ah, right on time," his mother said, lowering her arm and giving a smile. "Could you go answer that for me?"
"Uh, sure?"
With more questions than answers, Nick went to answer the door, opening it, greeting ready…only for nothing to come out when he saw who was at the door.
"What's up, Slick?" Judy said, grinning a little at the fox's dumbstruck expression. Nick just stared at her, mouth agape.
On her left, Bonnie chuckled. "Close your mouth, dear," she gently told him. "Before a bug flies in."
That snapped Nick out of it, and he grinned as he quickly wrapped up Judy in a hug. "Hey! What's going on? What're you doing here?"
"What, can't a girl come and just visit her boyfriend in the city?" Judy asked, jokingly.
Nick laughed as he let them into the apartment. "Normally, you let us know that you're coming ahead of time." He then noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Jack?
"He stayed home this time around," Bonnie answered. "Josie had invited him over to her house for the weekend, so we decided to come out here."
Judy smiled as she took his paw, "I figured that since it was just me coming down, we could have our date this weekend."
Nick's ears perked up as his tail wagged. "Really?"
"Yeah. You down?"
"Yeah, I-" Nick suddenly stopped and let out a groan in realization. "Wait, no, I can't."
"Why not?" Judy asked.
As if on cue, the three of them heard a heavy bout of coughing come from down the hall. Nick sighed as he gestured in that direction. "That. Skye's been sick all week; I need to stay here and take care of her."
"Oh, honey, you don't need to worry about that," Bonnie said, waving her paw dismissively.
"But-"
"Why do you think I'm here?"
That shut Nick up for a second, looking between the two of them. He then turned to the kitchen to see mother standing in the frame, smiling a little. "You knew they were coming, didn't you?"
Vivian shrugged, giving a little smirk. "Surprise."
"Granted, we didn't plan on Skye getting sick," Judy admitted, "but everything else has been planned out. So, what do you say?"
Nick looked back and forth between Judy and his mother. "I…"
Vivian shook her head. "Nick, you've been doing a lot this week; you deserve a break. We'll be fine without you for a night, it's OK."
The todd barely had to think it over before he smiled. "Well, seeing as you're already down here," he shrugged playfully, "I guess we could do something together."
"Yes!" Judy immediately hugged him, bringing a chuckle from Bonnie. "Tomorrow night, you and me!"
"You guys hungry?" Vivian asked, gesturing into the kitchen. "We were just about to eat; we could dish something out for you two."
"Oh, yes, please," Bonnie answered, making her way over to the fox. "We didn't get a chance to eat before we left; I'm famished."
Bonnie and Vivian continued to talk as Nick broke off his hug with Judy. "So, what are we going to do?"
Judy grinned. "So, you like concerts, right?"
"Yeah."
"Do you like The Henzingers?"
"Yeah-" The fox stopped abruptly. "You didn't…"
Judy's smile grew bigger as she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out two tickets. "I sure did."
Nick took one and looked at it. Sure enough, it was a ticket to go see The Henzingers with The Pouncing Souls the following night. "These were sold out, when did you-"
"Earlier this week," she answered. "Like I said, I had this all planned out." Judy smiled. "What do you say, Slick? Fancy going to see a concert tomorrow night?"
Before Nick could answer, the two of them heard a massive yawn, and they turned to see Skye drowsily walk into the living room, holding an empty bowl. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Judy.
"...OK, I must really be sick," Skye mumbled, "because I see Judy standing there."
The bunny giggled and gave a little wave. "Hi, Skye."
"And now she's talking to me."
Nick smiled as he shook his head. "She's really here, you're not going crazy." He then turned back to Judy. "And to answer your question, Carrots, yes, I would love to go to a concert with you tomorrow." The bunny grinned, but before she could say anything else, a low growl came from her stomach, making the fox laugh. "Hungry?"
Judy nodded sheepishly. "A little, yeah."
"Come on," Nick said, gesturing over his shoulder, "let's get something to eat."
The two entered the kitchen and, after dishing themselves out, ate dinner with Vivian and Bonnie, with Skye occasionally chiming in from the living room, though she eventually returned to her room, saying that she needed to finish up her schoolwork. Finally, with dinner finished and everyone cleaning up, Nick asked, "Mind if Judy and I hang out in my room for a bit?"
Vivian nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."
"You two keep that door open," Bonnie said mischievously.
Judy groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Really, Mom?"
"Yes, really," the Hopps matriarch said. "Not saying that I don't trust you two…but I don't."
Nick chuckled as Judy grumbled in annoyance. "Don't worry Mrs. Hopps, we'll be good." He then nudged the gray bunny next to him. "Come on, there are some new records I want to show you!"
"First one to your room gets to pick the first one!" Judy said, racing past the fox.
"Hey!"
Bonnie couldn't hold back her smile as the two kits raced across the apartment and down the hall, laughing the entire way. Truthfully, she DID trust them to behave themselves, but what kind of parent was she if she didn't embarrass her child on occasion? She shook her head as she said to Vivian, "Those two are something else."
Vivian smirked. "Yeah, but I wouldn't have it any other way." Bonnie nodded her head in agreement as she went back to cleaning up. The vixen chewed on the inside of her cheek in contemplation. "Hey, Bon?"
"Yes, Viv?"
"I need to talk to you about something."
Bonnie stopped what she was doing and looked up at Vivian, noticing the look on her face. "Sounds serious."
"It is," the vixen confirmed. "And I want to let you know that you're under no obligation to say 'Yes,' and if you don't, that's fine, and-"
"Vivian," Bonnie interrupted, taking her friend's paws in hers. "Before you start jumping to conclusions, can I at least hear the question?" Vivian took a breath and nodded, and the bunny led her to the table, each of them taking a seat.
"Now," Bonnie started, "what's going on?"