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Chapter Seven: A Cold Reception

Dawn was doing everything she could to try to keep herself from trembling hard enough for the others to notice. In the process the lamb had stopped paying attention to the casual conversation that had been going on between the other wolves now seated in the comfortable and inviting den of the ranch. It was supposed to be simple little meal. She would meet Vernon's brother Zach and his mate. The worst she imagined that would happen would be Zachary making some off color comments, maybe the couple taking an immediate dislike to the ewe, or even Vernon and Zachary getting into an heated argument over Dawn's presence.

At first it all seemed like it was going to go smoothly. As the couple made their way back to the main hall of the house, Dawn caught her first glimpse of the wolf she presumed to be Zachary. The wolf was still in his police uniform, albeit stripped down of all the bells than whistles that went with it. The wolf ran a paw through his grey fur, playing with it slightly as he passed along the reddish tips. Like his brothers, the wolf had areas of soft white fur around his face and muzzle. But what stood out was the fact that only one of his eyes had white fur around it while the other had simple grey. It was unusual to see that sort of lack of symmetry. Zachary let out a howl before his steely grey eyes fell on the approaching couple. Dawn expected the next words out of the wolf's mouth to be a greeting, but before the wolf could open his maw again Vernon quickly snapped it shut with a paw.

"Turn off the howl, we all know you're here." Vernon chuckled.

Zach pulled his muzzle away, a look of hurt forming on his face as he placed a paw to his chest.

"Just like you to assume I'd let out another howl Puppy." Zach said sarcastically, giving Vernon a smirk.

Vernon narrowed his eyes at the slightly shorter wolf, and slowly Zach's confident smile faltered.

Zach shrugged, shaking his head. "Okay, I was..." Zach grinned broadly. "What can I say, some of us indulge our natural instincts with pride."

Vernon let out a scoff before Zach's eyes fell on the little ewe. Dawn internally braced for whatever barbs the wolf was preparing for her, but was surprised to see the wolf flash a genuine smile.

"And you must be Dawn right?" The large wolf crouched down to the lambs level, extending a large paw her way. "Heard about you from Ma, I can't believe you are the little lamb Vernon used to pal around with!"

Dawn warily extended her hoof, still uncertain of the wolf's intentions. Zach gingerly clasped her hoof, giving it a careful and delicate shake.

"Never thought I'd hear about you again, much less you getting together with my dumb ol' little brother." Zach gestured his head toward Vernon as the taller wolf let out another scoff.

"U-um....nice t-to meet you." Dawn stammered as the wolf released his grip.

"Where's Vanna?" Vernon drew Zach's attention back to him as the wolf rose to his feet.

"She's locking up the cruiser. Making sure our gear is all wrapped up tight." Zach chuckled. "Not like anyone's gonna steal 'em around here. But you know Vanna, she's a stickler for procedure."

"And professional, which I wish would have rubbed off on you by now." Vernon smirked.

Zach gave a hard laugh. "Oh that's good. You're on you're guard today Puppy." Zach rubbed the fur on top of Vernon's head roughly. Dawn couldn't help but smirk, it was kind of odd to see a mammal as large as Vernon getting treated that way. It appeared that no matter how big Vernon got, at the ranch he was always the runt. She couldn't help but see herself in that moment, and feel a pang of sympathy for her Puppy Love.

Vernon shoved his brother's paw away, clearly irritated.

"C'mon Zach!" He hissed. "Not in front of y'know..." Vernon trailed off as he glanced at Dawn.

"Aw cheer up Pup." Zach didn't miss a beat. " I'll try to take it easier on you this weekend. Can't completely embarrass you in front of your new mate." The wolf flashed a snarky grin. "I'll leave that to Ma."

Vernon let out an aggravated huff. The wolf opened his mouth presumably to retort, but he was cut off by a feminine howl. An almost hypnotic look came over Zach's face, and before another word could be spoken Vernon clasped Zach's maw shut again.

"That'll be Ma." Vernon muttered. "Let's just get to the Den, you can get some more jokes in once we're settled in okay?" He sneered at Zach. "I'd rather endure that then listen to you howl for the next twenty minutes."

The strange look faded as Vernon released his brother's muzzle.

"Y-yeah, yeah." Zach gave a weak chuckle. "Besides I'm getting hungry anyway. Those shortbread cookies are calling out to me."

"Among other things." Vernon grumbled.

As the group entered the den, Dawn could see Wade and Mrs. Hunter were already seated across from one another. The she-wolf was in the midst of pouring Wade a piping hot cup of tea. Turning to greet them, Audrey gave the cushion next to her a rough pat.

"There y'all are, I was startin' to wonder." Audrey mused. "Sit on down, I want you all filled up before we hit the corn field."

Dawn found it odd that Zach rushed to take the vacant seat next to his Mother rather than wait for his wife, but the ewe was more concerned about Audrey's mention of what sounded like field work. Dawn motioned for Vernon to lean down, which the wolf quickly obliged.

"What does she mean by 'hit' the corn field?" Dawn whispered.

"Ma probably wants us to help pick some corn for the stall tomorrow." Vernon whispered back, a quiet chuckle emanating from his throat. " You can help if ya want, but don't have to Mutton Chop."

"O-oh no, I can help!" Dawn whispered back, trying to appear eager. " I'd like to try at least." Dawn wasn't sure how much she corn she could pick, but at the very least it seemed like a great way to further bond with the family.

"C'mon you two!" Audrey piped up, breaking up Dawn's impromptu huddle. "No need to hide in the corner, there's plenty of room on the love seat!" Audrey waived a paw at the plush two-seater across the table from her.

With Vernon's help, Dawn clambered up onto the sofa cushion. Once she was properly settled, the large wolf eased into the seat next to her. The couch was considerably large, but the ewe had become accustomed to that sort of thing living with Vernon. Still there was something about the vacant space surrounding the ewe that was making her feel more awkward and uncomfortable than usual. Dawn couldn't help but think that maybe it had to do with her own fears of inadequacy. The ewe wasn't a wolf, or even a predator. And yet here was this tiny, meek little ewe taking up the spot a she-wolf should probably be taking.

"How do you like your tea darlin'?" Dawn's was pulled out of her thoughts by Audrey's sudden question.

"O-oh!" Dawn jumped slightly. " I g-guess a half a cup of milk and three sugars." The ewe timidly adjusted her eyewear.

"Alrighty." The wolf smiled as she began to craft the brew, adding spoonfuls of sugar to a fairly standard white mug.

"So where's Vanna?" Wade asked Zach.

The russet wolf shrugged. "Still packing away the gear I guess." As Zach took a shortbread cookie from the platter, he threw Wade a curious glance.

"What about your girl." The wolf scratched the fur on his chin with his cookie. "Giselle right? Where is she?" Zach dug his fangs into the cookie, snapping it in two.

Dawn could see Wade visibly tense up slightly at the mention of the giraffe.

"Even Vern brought out the lil' miss, so what's your excuse?" Zach pressed further.

"She had a family emergency Zach." Audrey tutted. "Poor thing's Father is sick."

"Well ain't that a shame." Zach replied, placing his paws on his knees. "Would have been interesting to see one of us finally bring a she-wolf back."

"Like you should talk." Audrey gave her son a playful swat. "You were the first one to bring another species girl home. If anything you started that trend."

With the last of the milk stirred in, Audrey held the piping hot mug of mint tea across the table toward Dawn. "Not that I mind. I don't care what kind of pelt my daughter-in-laws wear. Here you go darlin'."

The little ewe did her best to close the gap across the table, but could barely reach the cup from her seat. After a few moments struggling Vernon stepped in, taking the cup from Audrey and passing it to Dawn.

"T-thank you Puppy." Dawn said, taking the cup. Settling back down in her seat, the ewe took a ginger sip of the brew. It was pleasant, not quite as good as her Mother's, but still a decent cup of tea.

"Ah, you call him that too! That's adorable!" Zach cooed.

Dawn could see Vernon blushing fiercely, his ears sagging in embarrassment. Dawn placed a hoof on his leg, rubbing it gently in an attempt to reassure the wolf. Vernon returned the gesture with a rather weak smile.

"W-well he calls me Floofy." Dawn stammered. " I-It's something we used to do back when we were l-little."

"Floofy huh?" Zach sipped his own tea. " That's sweet, ya know me a Vanna have pet names too."

"Oh?" Dawn replied.

"Yep, she's my lovely little kitten, and I'm her-"

"Mutt." Wade chuckled. Zach flashed Wade a mild sneer.

"Trust me, it's endearing when she says it." Zach assured the other couple.

Dawn suppressed the urge to giggle at Zachary's own clumsy rebound from being embarrassed. Zach was surprisingly more lighthearted and jovial than the ewe had expected. On top of that so far the wolf seemed to be completely avoiding any of the more sensitive subjects she had expected he might venture into. Needless to say the ewe was starting to feel her confidence in the whole re-union rising.

But that hopeful feeling quickly evaporated as the creak of a door drew Dawn's attention to the entrance of the Den. As the door swung wide open, Dawn's eyes fell on one of the largest tigers she had ever seen. The massive orange and black stripped tigress had to duck as she made her way through the door and into the room. Like Zach, she was still clad in a very basic Meadowlands Police uniform. Her sharp yellow eyes seemed to give a quick scan of the mammals, lingering uncomfortably on Dawn for a moment before Zach cut through the sudden silence.

"Speak of the devil, there's my little kitten." Zach gestured to the large tigress.

_'Little'_was definitely a sarcastic use of the word. This tigress had to be as big as Lionheart, but her countenance was entirely different. Despite the fact that Lionheart had been a jerk, the mammal exuded charisma and a friendliness to the public that Dawn knew was half the reason he got elected. Only she had ever got to see his true, colder side. But even then he had an animation to him. Vanna's aura exuded a cold sternness, which was only heightened by the lack of response to Zach's playful nickname. Vanna coolly made her way over to the armchair next to her husband and gently sat down. Dawn could hear an audible creak as she filled out the seat, the chair clearly straining to keep the large mammal up. She saw now why Zach had quickly taken up the space next to his Mother, the one armchair Vanna now sat in was the only place she could even fit.

"Hello everyone." Vanna said quietly.

Zachary stood up on his chair, giving the large cat a kiss on the muzzle before settling back down into his seat. Vanna didn't even flinch.

"Well the rest of you all know Vanna, of course." Zach said. "But Vanna, I'd like you to meet Vernon's new gal, Dawn Bellwether." Zach gestured to the ewe.

Dawn could feel her breath stop as Vanna's yellow eyes fell on her once again. The ewe clenched her teeth to keep he jaw from dropping open in both awe and fear. Vanna squinted at her slightly before slowly extending a massive paw out to the sheep.

"Hello Ms. Bellwether." Vanna said. "I'm Vanna Hunter."

Dawn did her best to extend a hoof without allowing it to tremble. There was an intensity in the tigress' eyes, and the ewe wasn't sure if it was something that was always there or if it was directed at her.

"D-Dawn Bellwether." Dawn couldn't help but stammer as she took Vanna's paw. The large tigress gently closed her paw around the ewe's hoof, giving her a soft, albeit mechanical handshake. Dawn let out a quiet and relieved sigh as the tigress released her grip.

With Vanna introduced, the wolves went back to discussing various things, but Dawn couldn't help but keenly focus on Vanna. The tigress had taken to preparing her own cup of tea, only occasionally replying with one word answers to the wolves conversation. Every time the tigress' eyes fell on Dawn she quickly looked away. Part of the ewe was ashamed of her behavior. She didn't know much of anything about Vanna, and yet here she was actively trying not to tremble before the massive tiger. Dawn knew she wasn't in any danger, despite her ancient prey impulses telling her to flee. But the other part of the ewe could sense a deeper mistrust coming off the tigress, something that was making Dawn actively aware of the of her past misdeeds not yet discussed by the family at large.

"Dawn, you okay?"

Dawn was broken from her vigilant trance. Turning to Vernon she realized she had unknowingly began to bury herself deeply against his side. The large wolf gingerly wrapped a paw around her, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly.

"Yer practically balled up into me Honey Lamb." Vernon added.

"O-oh." Dawn stuttered. "I-I'm fine."

Despite her reply, Vernon's look of concern remained unchanged.

"You sure?" Vernon pressed.

"I-I'm fine really." Dawn gave a vigorous nod, but her faltering voice betrayed her true feelings.

"So how'd you two get together anyway?" Dawn's attention turned back to the room. The question had come from the seemingly eager Zach, the wolf in the midst of popping another cookie into his maw. " I mean after all this time, how'd you run into each other?"

"W-well...er..." Vernon coughed. "We met at work. Gus hired her on as my co-worker for the night shift."

Vernon eyed Dawn uneasily, it was clear the wolf really didn't know how to proceed from there.

"Oh, so Gus hired her on?" Zach grinned. "How is that old billy by the way, still got that messed up horn?"

Vernon gave a brisk nod. "Yep, same old Gus, same old buggy horn."

Zach chuckled. "Ah that's rough, that goat was always a good kid." Zach took a sip of his own tea. "But I'm getting off track, so you two met on the job and then what?"

Vernon nervously eyed Dawn again, clearly looking for help.

"W-well we didn't even recognize each other at first." Dawn jumped in. "If I hadn't heard Vernon's nickname we may have never even realized it."

"Naw, I think we would have figured it out." Vernon said. "Heck, we were spending so much time together there's no way we wouldn't have made that connection."

Zach chuckled. "Maybe, maybe not." The russet grey wolf gave a shrug. "I mean it's no secret you don't like to dwell too much on our childhood Vern. I imagine memories of Dawn would have been buried pretty deep."

Dawn could feel Vernon tense up slightly, the wolf seeming to cringe at even the mention of his past. A brief and awkward silence fell over the den.

"Of course none of us even remembered Dawn till you told Ma about her. I mean we remembered you having a sheep friend, just not the name." Zach grinned weakly. "But hey, I imagine Dawn would eventually recognize you, she seems like the smart type." The wolf clearly was trying to bring to conversation back to a lighter tone.

"O-Oh, well thank you." Dawn smiled meekly. "B-but to be honest if I hadn't been through therapy I may not have remembered him either." Dawn shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "I had my own childhood trauma to sift through."

"A-after that things sort of...well they just sort of took off from there." Vernon chimed in. "Dawn moved in with me and...well...I mean..." Vernon scratched the back of his neck, flashing Dawn an uneasy glance. Dawn could tell Vernon was trying to carefully avoid all the more sensitive situations that arose during their time together. The fire, the police chase, almost getting killed. It wasn't the kind of topics that Dawn wanted deeply dissected by the group either, but at the very least they couldn't avoid it for the whole visit. These were the events that had pushed them back together, for better or worse. Dawn took Vernon's paw into her hoof, intertwining her fingers with his own. The ewe gave the wolf a reassuring smile. Vernon gave a weak smile in return, his tail wagging slightly.

"Vernon took me in after my apartment was burned down" Dawn faced the group, doing her best to keep her gaze away from Vanna in order to brave her way through it. "And while Vernon asking me to stay was entirely innocent, living together sort of pushed us closer and closer together, romantically speaking." The ewe gave Vernon's paw a squeeze. "But what really ended up becoming the catalyst for us admitting our feelings to one another was...well...I'm sure you saw the news." Dawn gulped as she finished her statement.

The room had grown quiet again, and Dawn's nerves were causing her to periodically squeeze Vernon's paw.

"Y-yeah I had seen that." Zach mumbled. "T-that was a real close call for the city." The reddish grey wolf took a sip of his tea. "As well as yourself."

"That was pretty brave of you to put your life on the line like that." Audrey added.

Dawn heard what she swore was a slight huff from Vanna, the first sound she had heard from the tigress during this turn in the conversation. She could see Vanna's eyes were on her again, but she shifted them away as Dawn looked at her.

"Yeah, I don't think I'd be willing to expose myself to night howler gas like that." Zach added. "I saw some of the pictures from those Bug-Burga attacks." The wolf paused for a moment, placing his tea on the table as a look of discomfort crossed his muzzle. "I've never seen anything so horrifying, and I've been on the force for six years."

"I have." Muttered Vanna.

Dawn turned her attention back to the tigress in surprise. It was probably the most the feline had said since she first entered the Den.

"Well of course you have kitten." Zach chuckled awkwardly. " Vanna has more years under her belt then I have. She used to be at Precinct Two in Savannah Central before she transferred out here."

Zach stood on the couch, placing a paw around his wife's shoulder.

"In fact that's how we met." Zach grinned, placing another kiss on Vanna's muzzle. While the tigress' face remained unchanged, Dawn could see a hint of red forming below the fur on her muzzle. Seizing the opportunity to shift the subject away from herself, Dawn jumped on the thread Zach had supplied.

"Oh, really?" Dawn asked.

Zach seemed to beam with pride. "Yes ma'am. When Vanna transferred out to the North Meadowlands P.D., Pa assigned her as my partner."

"To keep you in-line." Vanna added.

Zach laughed. "Yeah, Dad said I had a bad habit of getting myself into dangerous situations."

"That's because you like to have something to brag about." Vernon added.

Zach sat back down, sneering at Vernon as he crossed his arms defiantly.

"Hey, I can't help it if I'm an amazing cop! I didn't get to be deputy just because our Father is the Sheriff." Zach snorted.

"It helped though." Vanna added, taking another sip of her tea.

"Vanna! You're supposed to be on my side here!" Zach whined.

Vanna let out a sigh, turning her attention to Dawn and Vernon the tigress gave them a shrug. "But he is a good cop."

"Thank you kitten." Zach replied. "Anyway, so Dad thought having a partner would be a good experience for me."

Zach closed his eyes and shook his head, shrugging as he did. "Now I hated the idea, last thing I wanted was a partner." Zach stabbed a paw toward his looming bride. "And if you can imagine, Vanna was a real pill. A real by the book, hard nosed, city cop."

Vanna simply nodded, taking another sip of her tea.

"But after working together for a while, well..." Zach smiled warmly as he began to reminisce. "some embers kicked up." Zach placed a paw on Vanna's larger one, gently rubbing it as he eyed the big cat affectionately. " Theose embers became sparks, and then a fire, and next thing we knew we were trading vows at a tithing ceremony."

For the first time during the entire conversation, Dawn saw Vanna's face light up as a smile curled across her muzzle. The lumbering tigress slowly leaned over her mate, placing a dainty kiss on the top of his head. Zach in turn gave her muzzle a gentle caress, causing her to emit a pleased chuffing noise before she eased back into her seat.

"Been about two years since then, although it seems like just yesterday." Zach added.

"Yeah, I remember the ceremony." Vernon said. "That was the last re-union I was out for right?" The larger wolf asked.

"Yes Vernon." Audrey replied. "Although you live so close you really have no excuse not to make it out every year." The she-wolf tutted.

"MaAAaaa..." Vernon whined. "You know I had school!"

"MhhHmm." Audrey replied, sarcasm lacing her response.

"And work!" Vernon continued.

Dawn giggled quietly as the wolf continued to whine like a little puppy, living up to his nickname.

"Do you give the others this much grief when they don't show?" Vernon griped.

"Yes I do." Audrey took a sip of her tea. "It's a Mothers job. That and asking for grandpups." Audrey smirked.

Vernon threw his paws up as he let out an aggravated sigh.

"Teeth to tails Ma, you ever gonna drop that?" Vernon continued.

"She hasn't stopped with us." Zach added. "She's been on us to adopt."

Another warm smirk crawled across Vanna's lips. "Daily."

"Hey, I don't care where my grandpups come from, or even what species they are! I just want some already!" Audrey huffed.

Pups, or lambs were a concern of Dawn's. More so out of fear of what Vernon's family would think of losing another shot of getting some blood related grandpups. But considering Audrey's response, the ewe felt somewhat relieved. Dawn definitely wanted to have kids, but part of the price of being with the one she loved meant she would never get to actually carry any herself, nor would Vernon ever be a Father genetically speaking. Still knowing that if they adopted a pup or a lamb it would be loved by Vernon's Mother regardless was a weight off her shoulders.

"Anyway, that was a really beautiful ceremony." Vernon sighed, returning to the previous topic at paw. " And you two looked perfect together up there, like you were made for each other." The wolf smiled broadly.

"Aw shucks Vern." Zach blushed as he traded glances with the large cat. Vanna had her own deep matching blush as she stared into Zach's eyes.

"T-thank you Vernon." Vanna replied.

"Yeah, that transfer she took out here must have been...fate or something." Zach sighed, patting Vanna's paw gingerly.

"I-If you don't mind me asking." Dawn mumbled. "W-why did you transfer in the first place?" Dawn gingerly took a shortbread cookie from the platter. "Was Savannah Central really rough or..." Dawn trailed off as she saw the joy drain from Vanna's face, replaced with the same coldness she had entered the Den with. The tigress released Zach's paw, clearing her throat before speaking.

"Well, I transferred out because of the growing...er...issues in the city." Vanna's stare fixed on Dawn, sending a shiver down the ewe's spine. "Let's just say It...wasn't really a good fit for me in the long run."

"That was...what kitten?" Zach asked. "Four years ago?"

"Close to five now..." Vanna mumbled.

"Wasn't that during..." Wade trailed off as realization slowly began to dawn on the rest of the group. However Dawn had already put two and two together when Vanna mentioned how many years ago she had made the transfer. A quick rough estimate placed Vanna's departure right around the height of Dawn's terrible night howler scheme, when anti-predator sentiment had been in full swing. Dawn slowly placed her hooves over her mouth as she realized what exactly had driven Vanna out.

"O-Oh gods...I...I" Dawn stuttered. "I-I'm so-so sorry. If it-"

"Don't." Vanna said, placing her tea down gingerly on the coffee table. "What is past is past. As an officer of the law I firmly believe that any mammal who has paid the dues set upon them by a judge and jury has paid their debt to society." Vanna sighed, her cold eyes still fixated on the now shivering ewe. "I am also a firm subscriber to the belief that rehabilitation is a highly successful way to treat offenders." Vanna took a small cookie from the nearby platter, delicately balancing it between her fingers.

"And besides..." Vanna muttered. "If Vernon is vouching for you, you can't be all that bad." In that moment, the tigress offered the ewe a small grin. Her piercing eyes softening for just a moment.

"Ahem" Vanna turned back to her mate, quickly popping the small cookie in her maw. "I came out here because I had long grown to hate the grittiness of city life. And if I hadn't, I would have never met my little goofball here." The tigress mussed Zach's hair roughly.

Zach pushed the large feline back, chuckling as he did. "Kitten! Not in front of the family!"

Dawn felt awash with relief. She wasn't sure if Vanna would ever be somewhat of a friend to her, but at the very least the tigress had been kind enough to deftly ease the elephant out of the room. Whether it was just for Dawn's sake, or if she really felt that way the ewe wasn't sure. But for now she had seemingly managed to move past the worst of Dawn's past with little issue, and for that the lamb was grateful.

"So when's Pa getting home?" Wade asked.

"Dad said he'd be back for dinner." Zach replied. "He's finishing up some stuff at the station."

"Pfft." Audrey scoffed. " Your Fathers just trying to get out of helping pick corn." The she-wolf took a large swig of her tea before placing her empty mug back on the table.

Zachary gave a hard laugh. "Ma, he swore he had some cases to review. He seemed earnest enough."

"Oh I'm sure he did seem earnest." Audrey chuckled. "But he also always seems to have cases to go over when there is farm work to be done. Either that or working on your house."

Zach put his own teacup down, placing his paws on his knees.

"Well do you want us to keep livin' in a trailer across down the street or you want us to have a house?" Zach laughed. "I mean, we can't be thinking about grandpups without a nice home to raise 'em in can we?"

"Y-you live that close?" Dawn asked.

"Oh yeah." Zach replied. "What with our jobs and all, it seemed like the best idea to stay close by."

"And because you can't cook for yourself." Audrey added.

"MaAAaa!" Zach's whine was nearly identical to Vernon's.

"It's true, he can't" Vanna stated bluntly, setting her own empty tea cup down.

"Ugh, traitors on all sides here!" Zach huffed, crossing his arms.

Dawn did her best to stifle her giggles, she was trying to be polite after all. But really her chances of being heard over Vernon's own laughter were pretty much slim to none.

"Luckily, some of us can cook for ourselves." Vernon choked out in-between laughs.

"Oh good for you." Zach sneered back.

"Vanna, y-you don't cook either?" Dawn asked.

The tigress ate another shortbread cookie before clearing her throat.

"I grew up rural, but I never learned to cook. Then once I got to Zootopia I never really had to." She muttered. "It was always easier to get Bug-Burga or something, especially when I became a cop."

"Oh." Dawn replied.

"What about you?" Vanna asked. "Surely Vernon can't cook for you? If I remember prey diets are a bit more nuanced than a preds. We just don't have the taste buds for it."

Dawn twiddled her hooves together nervously. "Well, y-yes." She stuttered. "If it's a big meal, we usually cook separately."

"Y-yeah." Vernon scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "B-but I am learning. Slowly but surely."

"See!" Audrey gestured a paw at her large son. " Now if you were willing to sit down and learn like Puppy I wouldn't have to be cooking you dinner every day!" The she-wolf let out a howl of a laugh.

At that point Zach stood up. The wolf wiped his paws on his shirt briefly before grimacing at his Mother.

"Well, if we're done with riding me up and down the farm I think I'm gonna head out to the field." Zach pointed his thumb at the entrance to the den.

"Oh Zachary, don't be like that." Audrey tutted. But by the time she said it the wolf was nearly at the door.

"Don't be jealous because I'm the favorite!" Vernon called out after his brother. Dawn could hear Zach let out a scoff as he exited the Den.

"Hey now." Wade laughed. "Who you trying to kid. Everyone know I'm Ma's favorite."

Vernon opened his mouth to speak, but Audrey cut him off.

"Oh don't you boys start that now!" The she-wolf smirked. "You know I love all you boys equally."

"Some more equally than others." Vernon chuckled.

"I'll tell you boys what." Audrey mused. "You are all my favorite, and I love y'all equally, buUUUuuuut..." Audrey lingered on the word but, stretching it out teasingly. "I may give some bonus points to whichever one of you picks the most corn."

Wade was immediately on his feet, adjusting his faded cap tersely. "I'm going to pick circles around you and Zach!" The wolf stabbed a finger at Vernon before bolting toward the door.

Vernon let out a soft chuckle as Wade disappeared beyond the entrance of the Den.

"See that right there is why I'm the favorite, pointless competition doesn't get me as riled up." Vernon gave Dawn a wry smirk. Dawn giggled, shaking her head in disbelief. The ewe had never grown up with siblings, and assumed the little show she had just witnessed was a little taste of what she had missed growing up without them. As silly as it was, the ewe couldn't help but be a little jealous herself that she didn't have family quite like that.

"Welp, even so." Audrey stood. The she-wolf began to gather the empty mugs as she continued. "Bout time ya'll get out there, I'm gonna need a lot of corn to run the stall for tomorrow. The roasted and buttered corn is our most popular seller."

Dawn watched as both Vernon and Vanna rose to their feet, Vernon giving his pants a quick brush to free it of shortbread crumbs.

"You're not coming Ma?" Vernon crossed his arms. "And you say Dad's trying to get out of work." The wolf chuckled, shaking his head.

Audrey retorted with a sarcastic laugh of her own. "And you think you're my favorite?" She tutted.

As Audrey came around to Dawn's side of the table, the ewe quickly finished off her tea before gingerly handing it off to the wolfess.

"You know I got dinner to work on, I'm cooking for seven tonight." Audrey picked up the cookie platter, leaning it towards herself to keep the few stray leftover cookies from spilling off. "And I'd like to have it all done before your Father gets back."

Dawn began to make her way off the large loveseat, clambering down the cushion. However, before the ewe could touch the floor she suddenly felt a pair of familiar paws wrap around her. The ewe let out a squeak as she suddenly felt herself swoop through the air before coming to a stop high above the room. Looking down, the ewe could see she was now seated on Vernon's shoulders, the wolf smiling back at her.

"Welp if we're gonna be picking, it'd be best if you were high up." Vernon grinned widely. "It'll be easier to reach everything." The wolf arched his eyebrows.

Dawn gave the wolf a playful swat. "Vernon!" She tried to hide her growing smile. "I told you not to do that without warning me!"

"You know you love it!" Vernon laughed.

Audrey was stifling a laugh of her own. "You two are too cute." She cooed.

Much to Dawn's surprise, even Vanna appeared to be smirking at the pairs antics. She gave the couple a short nod before making her way to the door.

"Well I guess we'll head out there Ma." Vernon said, gesturing his head toward the door. Audrey gave the couple a dismissive waive as she grabbed the last of the mugs, stacking them on the platter.

"Good, I'll call y'all when dinner's up. You go have fun." She replied.

"Yeah, fun." Vernon gave a sarcastic laugh. Glancing back up at Dawn, Vernon gave her another smile. "Having you out there will make it a bit more enjoyable at least."

Dawn giggled, giving the wolf a gently pat on the head. "I would think carrying me around would be worse."

"Pft..." Vernon chuckled. "Please Darlin', carrying you around is like I just let my head fur grow in a bit longer, you're like air."

Dawn giggled as the wolf began to move toward the exit of the Den. Gingerly, Vernon lowered himself to allow them to pass through the door without Dawn hitting her head. Finally clear of the doorframe, Vernon waived back at his Mother.

"See ya later Ma!" The wolf yelped.

Dawn wasn't sure how the whole corn picking thing was going to go, but at the very least the ewe was growing comfortable being around the family. So far she had seemed to make good with nearly half the Hunter pack. If things kept going the way they had been, she was looking at a fantastic weekend.