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The Family Vulpes

Chapter Two:

Wage War

If Zootopia was considered to be the crowning achievement ofjust what mammals of all stripes were capable of when they worked together, then the district of Sahara Square sat proudly as one of the moreprominent jewels in that crown. Much like its neighbor to the north, Tundra Town, a Purrculean effort had goneinto developing and actively changing the very climate of the district to suit the needs of the mammals that would come to live there. In this case, what was once a fairly temperate stretch of plains was quickly molded by the mammals who worked the land into what would become known as one of the hottest locations in all of North Mammalia despite its sizable distance away from the equator. This was thanks in no small part to the marvel of mammalian engineering found in the massive series of temperature-regulatingplants that encircled the district which allowed for the daytime temperatures in the summer to reach the same blistering extremes found in the heart of the true Sahara Desert in Central Afrikat.

It was what made the district so appealing to those mammals who hailed from desert climates across greater Animalia. Sahara Square acted as a home away from home, a place that felt comforting and familiar in all the right ways, with the added bonus of being largely free from the various strife, famine, and war-torn conditions that crippled many of the Animalia's actual desert civilizations. But even with the district possessing all the perks of a first-worldnation without the third world baggage, those mammals who found the sweltering heat of the dunes to be a paradise were comparatively fewer and farther between when compared to Zootopia's other districts. It was something that wasgreatly reflected in Sahara Square's overall limited sprawl, the bulk of its communal strip limited to about a third of its overall acreage. The rest of the district was left open and uninhabited, with few sparse clusters of apartments, trailer and industrial parks, and the Zootopian Military Reserve Base spaced apart like islands floating in a sea of shimmering sand.

The deserts of Sahara Square were said to hold many secrets much like its larger counterpart from which its name was derived. Some were well kept, hidden away in that lost ocean of dunes, only to be discovered by those mammals who were strong and tenacious enough to be able to endure the unforgiving heat to seek them out. But other secrets were quite open. In fact, one big _'secret'_which could scarcely be called a secret at all, was just how dramatically Sahara Square changed when the seemingly endless reign of the blazing sun finally gaveway to the encroaching dark of the desert night. When the scorching heatbegan to die away, finding itself replaced by a surprisingly sharp chill that crept its way along the night air.

It was something that wasn't as noticeable on the main street that hugged up tightly against the Oasis hotel, the hustle and bustle of the nightly congregation of mammals kept the streets just warm enough to bite back at the frigid intrusion. But the farther one got from the central hub of Sahara Square, the more that crisp coldness of the night would come to claim the land as its own. It was a transformation that most mammals who had never stepped foot in a desert, let alone many of the mammals who lived in the other districts of Zootopia and rarely ventured into Sahara Square had next to no clue existed. To them, Sahara Square was always hot. After all, every poster, every piece of media and promotional material portrayed it as a scalding paradise filled with enigmatic mirages and glistening golden spires. To imagine it any other way seemed to be a contradiction, and yet that was what the desert night provided, and to Val it was simply one of the many perks of living there that the vixen had come to treasure.

Val shuddered slightly as a cool breeze poured over the lip of the open window of her father's Bark car and trickled its way down the back of her coat as she leaned against the passenger side door. The sun had long since given up its tyrannical grip on the golden dunes of the land after the longest day of the year, and the icy chill of what Val would consider a perfect desert night fully enveloped the small, suburban strip of homes off Aloe Street. It was the first night of Summer, a night that would have been perfect for riding down the mostly empty, narrow strips of pavement that ran over the back dunes of the district like the threads of a spider's web. Cool wind whipping through her fur as she cut through the darkness on her screaming red demon of a Snarly, revving it as loudly as she wanted without a care in the world. There were no mammals to complain about the noise out there, no one to drag the ZPD out of thestation on their behalf to ruin her night. Just her, Red, and the sparkling sea of stars above to lose herself in. She could picture them in her mind'seye, glittering like diamonds amidst a tapestry of black and purple hues, the light pollution of the Oasis hotel just far enough away to barely obscure their true splendor. This was the perfect kind of night for riding, a night for the vixen to claim for herself. One that should have belonged to her.

But Red was gone. As far as the vixen knew her most prized possession was still sitting in a scrapyard somewhere, the battered husk of a machine inching ever closer to being gutted for parts by some other savvy motor-head or compacted into a cube of easy to store scrap slag. Her father had remained largely tight-lippedas to the ultimate fate of Red during her time spent in physical therapy. And in the time between the vixen had been largely confined to her room, the growing awkwardness of averting any serious discussions between the two about the true state of things forcing both her and her father torely heavily on Ellie as a go-between while the vixen served her sentence in terms of 'being grounded'. Under differing circumstances, having primarily Ellie for company should have been more than tolerable. But Ellie's overwhelming and hard to dissuade sense of guilt about the entire situation had made the possum's bedside manner a veritable minefield. Val found herself caught trying to maintain a difficult and delicate dance between easing poor Ellie's guilt and feelings of personal responsibility for her accident while at the same time trying to keep the possum from breaking down entirely and revealing the full scope of just how much lying Val had done to her father.

Ellie knew about the racing, and what's more she knew that Val hadn't been making extra money fishing recyclables out of the scrap piles at the old Cactus Grove Auto Dump for Mister Sandersnout. Val was sure those two tidbits of information getting back to her Ol' Mam had the very real possibility of sending the older tod into a full-scale nervous breakdown if the possum felt the need to clear her conscience now. It was a fact that only added Val's own sense of building guilt while consoling the possum, both for what she had put her through, and what she was still putting her through in terms of keeping those secrets. And so the prospect of even thinking of asking Ellie to broach the subject of Red's status to Cameron was shamefully unthinkable.

But even if she had Red, it would have mattered little. Though school was out, Val's weekends were now the property of the Bug-Burga Corporation. Her Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights found her enlisted into the servitude of the dive of a fast-foodchain thanks to her father's little agreement with the ZPD. From now until Sunday evening, recurring over the next three months, she was officially a wage slave. A prisoner of a different kind, wearing gold and crimson stripes instead of a pure orange jumpsuit. Being told what to do, and how to do it. And of course, forced to grin and bear it around the worst kind of mammals Zootopia had on offer. Customers. The only real difference is that at least she was getting paid, a paltry sum though it may have been, but at least it was better than nothing. Still, there was a part of Val that felt that given the choice between being a paid fry cook, or being penniless and having her summer nights to herself, even if it was from the inside of a small cell, the latter choice might have been preferable.

The vixen crossed her arms, letting out a quiet huff. Her sharp exhale momentarily causing the tip of her coif of hair to dance in the breeze before settling back against her nose. Val nestled deeper into the upholstered pleather seat, her glare momentarilyfixing on the two-storyadobe townhouse that sat in front of her just in time to catch sight of the front door swinging open to reveal her father.

The tall, lean, brown-hairedtod seemedto be in pleasant spirits, a sharp contrast to Val's current mood as he slung the tail end of a striped, earthy colored scarf over hisshoulder. Ellie seemed to be tailing closely behind him, the diminutive possum gripping the edge of the front door as Cameron turned back to face her. Val crooked an ear in the direction of the pair, despite shifting her gaze to the floor of the car.

"Now I'll be back in about..." The tod paused, tapping his chin for a moment as he seemed to be crunching the numbers in his head for an estimate. "Ehh...thirty minutes-ish?" Cameron added, pulling at the brim of his thin black and grey jacket in order to adjust the fit.

"I did want to stop at the Krogrrr to pick up some milk before I got back." The fox scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe some ice cream? Is there any left?"

"I think Val ate the last of it." Ellie replied meekly.

"That was _TOTALLY_you!" Val barked from the car defiantly, causing Ellie to let out a squeak as she retracted further behind the door. Cameron placed his paws on his hips, glancing to the ground momentarily as he shook his head.

"Well regardless, it was Val's choice on what ice cream I brought back the last time, so you get to pick for this run." Cameron replied with a chuckle.

"Um...m-maybe raspberry jelly ring?" Ellie muttered, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

Cameron smiled as he gave Ellie's messy black and white head fur an affectionate tousle, causing the possum to squirm under his paw bashfully.

"Alright, two pints of raspberry jelly ring ice cream coming up!" Cameron remarked cheerfully.

Val let out an exasperated sigh, crossing her arms defiantly once more as she slipped down into her seat. She hated raspberry jelly ring ice cream.

"So you know the drill Ellie, lock the doors, and if you cook anything on the stove remember to shut it off, okay?" Cameron continued, adjusting his rectangular spectacles as he spoke.

Ellie nodded affirmatively, giggling. "I-I know!"

"And if you take one of your _'possum naps''_outside of your room-" The fox tutted, raising a finger. "Please don't pick a high spot to hang from, or at least set up a few pillows underneath your hanging spot before you do." Cameron chuckled. " Last thing this household needs is another concussion."

"I know D-!" The possum stopped herself, blushing sharply. "I mean, I-I know Cameron."

The fox shook his head, letting out a soft chuckle. "Ellie, we've been over this." Cameron flashed the possum a warm smile. "If you want to call me Dad, it's okay sweetie. You are family."

Ellie's blush seemed to deepen, the possum's amethyst eyes drifting to the floor as her thick pink tail coiled around her legs as if she were trying to hide herself.

"I-I know..." Ellie replied meekly.

"If it helps you feel more at home, then it's fine with me." Cameron placed a paw on the possum'sshoulder. "And you know Val doesn't mind sharing her old Mam' when it comes to you." The fox chuckled.

Ellie glanced at Val from the side of her eyes, the vixen barelymaking eye contact as her ears folded tightly behind her head.

"I-I guess..." Ellie muttered.

Val chuckled softly to herself. After all, the vixen knew the real reason why Ellie did her best to keep from calling Cameron 'her father', and while she found her best friend's little crush on the old tod kind of gross as most mammals in her position would, she had been sworn to desperate secrecy by the possum. It was a promise the vixen madeunder the conditions of the ironclad contract that came with having been best friend's for life. A blood oath. And by the gods, Val was going to keep that promise. It was the least she could do for her_'little sis'_.

"Well, I suppose it's time to get going." Cameron chirped, the tod spinning on his heel as he turned to face the car. "I imagine the roads are going to be busier than average what with all the summer solstice celebrations going on, and I'd hate to make Val late for her big first day of work."

Cameron's proud smile made Val's stomach turn, and the vixen sank lower into her seat. To her, it almost seemed like the tod was enjoying this.

Offering the possum a passive wave, the older fox began his stride toward the green fox-sized compact.

"Remember what I said Ellie!" Cameron barked.

"O-Of course!" The possum replied awkwardly, wrapping her other gangly paw around the edge of the door for a moment before her eyes found Val's again. Ellie offered her friend a meek wave.

"G-Good luck Sis!" Ellie called out. Val merely shook her head, watching as Ellie's wave slowly withered, her awkward smile dipping before the marsupial slipped out of sight behind the door.

With a click the driver's door flew open, the ajar alarm ringing out for a few moments as Cameron plopped into his seat. The older tod let out a groan, taking a moment to make sure his large, bushy tail was tucked into the car before slamming his door shut, and leaving the pair in momentary silence.

Slipping his key into the ignition, Cameron glanced over to his daughter, his green eyes finding a rather bored-lookingvixen pressed tightly into the back of her seat with her arms folded.

"Seat-belt." Cameron tutted, as the older tod pulled his own over his shoulder, jamming it blindly toward the direction of the latch for a few moments before the telltaleclick told him it was secure.

Val sighed, but didn't hesitate to follow his instruction, the older fox waiting for the sound of that familiar click of security before turning the key.

Themodest-sizedcar rumbled to life, with the engine letting out a pitiful cry that, when compared to Ol' Red, sounded like a newborn kitten mewling. As if Val wasn't already in enough of a bad mood tonight, her father's persistent taste in lame economy vehicles made her mood all the more dour. Granted, she never expected her rather cautious, homebody of a father to buy some loud, wild sports car. But a bark car was at the bottom of the rung in terms of 'impressive vehicles", and while the vixen rarely cared what other mammals thought of her, the prospect of being recognized while riding in what the vixen would have jokingly referred to as a 'Whisker Price' toy made her want to curl into a ball and disappear.

"Honey..." Cameron uttered, drawing the vixen's eyes slightly. The older tod tapped the steering wheel a few times playfully with his paws as he offered his daughter a small, warm smile.

"I know this isn't...ideal..." The fox began, his smile faltering slightly as he braced the back of his neck with a paw. "But there's gotta be something you're looking forward to with your first job?"

Val remained silent, her answer encapsulated by her dull, unenthusiastic glare that remained fixed on her father's own, unwavering and unmoving for several seconds. But despite her_'reply'_, the older tod seemed desperate to raise her spirits.

"Vy..." The fox cooed, plying the well of pet names he had for her. "C'mon, there must be something?" The fox's smile broadened hopefully despite the growing sadness Val could see behind his eyes. "Surely being a fry cook in a nice, air-conditionedrestaurant is better than scouring that old boar Sandersnout's junkyard for scrap money in the blistering heat?"

Val continued her silent stare, the only change in movement coming from her brow as it furrowed slightly.

Cameron let out a tired sigh as his smile fell, the older tod shaking his head as he reached a paw out toward the radio. With a twist of the dial, the sound of ZNN news began warbling through the speakers. Low at first, but rising steadily until the fox seemed to find a volume he was satisfied with.

"Okay..." Cameron huffed. "The silent treatment continues."

Val turned her attention to the passenger side window, her form slumping against the interior of the door as she felt the car begin to move. Outwardly she appeared to remain cold, cool and collected. But inside, it had taken everything the vixen had to keep up the cold shoulder act.

'Something you're looking forward to?' The vixen turned the words over in her head again and again, the _'v'_in her brow deepening as the irritation continued to bubble up inside of her. Working at Bug-Burga was nothing to look forward to. Slinging greasy Bug-Patties and Cicada chips was a job envied by no mammal. For her father to even try and pretend that there was a positive buried somewhere in service industry drudge work was almost insulting, and that would have been under normal circumstances. Somewhere out inan alternate universe version ofZootopia where Val would have willingly chosen to work at the Bug-Burga, happily serving a bunch of fat, moronic mammals while wearinga vapid smile to go along with her empty head.

No, her father seemed to be forgetting, willfully or otherwise, that Val was being forced to work at that detestable place. And that meant that regardless of how truly awful it turned out to be, or how much she hated it, she had to stay. She had to endure three months sacrificing more than half of her weeknightsto grueling, thankless service work that she was forbidden from turning down. No matter how bad a customer she would be forced to tangle with, or how obnoxious her co-workers would prove to be, she would be stuck there. Chained to the Bug-Burga as all those beautiful Sahara Square nights passed by without her being able to truly bask in their splendor. The golden dunes and old back roads free of the tread of her tires. The air still and quiet, absent of Ol' Red's proud roar ripping through the star-lit night.

Val's blue irises glimmered dully as she watched the adobe structures creep by the car window, the vixen quick to wipe away a small tear that had begun to form in the corner of her eye as she thought back to Ol' Red's ultimate fate. In-between the passing scenery the vixen kept seeing flickers of pistons and steam, of large steel presses and smoldering blast furnaces. She could easily picture the ruined husk of her pride and joyin her mind's eye as she imagined it drifting lazily down a conveyor belt, inching closer and closer to the hungry steel jaws that would reduce it to an unsalvageablebrick of scrap in the blink of an eye.

Val grit her teeth, blinking sharply in an attempt to chase away the hateful mental images. But her efforts had merely managed to swap out one nightmarish fantasy for another. This time she could see old Mam' Sandersnout, his face and muzzle obscured by a welding mask as he haphazardly cut away at Red's frame. She could practically hear the old pudgy hog's voice as he muttered to himself, gleefully estimating prices for the various chunks of Red he cut away with about as much precision as one carves into a roasted chicken.

Val could feel another tear welling up in her eye, the vixen swabbing at it with a balled fist as she struggled to stifle the urge to scream in frustration. It wasn't fair. While the vixen knew it was true that she had broken more laws than even the ZPD had been fully made aware of, as well as the lies she had fed to her father were all on her, certainly, Ol' Red'sownership shouldn't have been a part of the punishment. It was supposed to be hers after all. It had been passed from her grandmother, to her mother, to her, even if that second passing had been unexpectedly premature.

Her mother had meant to work on the old bike with her. Even in her hazy kithood memories she could recall her mother's many promises about fixing up the old machine with her, and taking her for a ride despite the older vixen not being as skilled at handling the thing as grandma Viv had allegedly been. But those promises were stolen from the both of them. The potential memories of evenings bonding in the family garage, of learning how to repair and upkeep theold motorcycle together were reduced to little more than mere daydreams of what life could havebeen like had the cancer not snuffed them out in their crib. Marian's illness didn't care about promises she had made, and ignored the pleas to the various gods and goddesses to spare Marian's life forher and her father. It remained cold and unfeeling no matter how many tears the Vulpes family shed as it stole her mother away piece by piece until there was nothing left behind but wispy, murky memories and the few possessions she had left behind. A pawful of truly personal belongings that Val and her father now hoarded like priceless treasures.

Ol' Red had been one of those treasures, one that the vixen considered to be the centerpiece of her collection of memories that linked directly to what little she could actually recall of her mother. As well as the only thing she couldn't actively fit in the storage bin under her bed that contained her mother's Gamepup and other smaller personal items. Red represented a piece of the vixen she never truly got to know, and the long journey the little vixen had taken learning how to maintain and restore the old bike had been her way of honoring her mother's memory even before she had realized that she was just as much a natural at biking as her grandmother was. Ol' Red was meant to be a monument to Marian, a way to fulfill the promises the older vixen had been robbed of being able to keep. And with Red gone, and presumably inching ever closer to being scrapped by the hour, all of Val's efforts would prove to have been as pointless as her prayers for Marian's health as a kit.

Val struggled to shake away the pervasive thoughts, the vixen desperately trying to fix her attention on anything that would keep her mind occupied without directly inviting her father's commentary. The vixen cocked an ear toward the radio, hoping whatever ZNN was jabbering on about would create enough mental noise to silence the painful memories that were clawing their way up to the surface from deep within her soul.

"While under normal circumstances the package should have never reached any of the mammals in Gazelle's entourage without going through security screening, Chief Fadel Drome of the Sahara Square ZPD has speculated that the package had been slipped in along with other packages that had already been cleared by the singer's security team. This means that whoever planted the device either had access to, or had an accomplice with access to the backstageareas of the Oasis Hotel." Karla Mewler, the voice of ZNN'slate-nightnews radio explained, the vixen only sort of half-listeningas she stared out across the open dunes. They were nearing Vornoy Plaza now, and soon they would be passing under the massive wall of exhaust heaters that separated Sahara Square from Savanna Central.

" When asked if it were possible that this "Gazelle Stalker' was actually working as an employee at the Oasis Hotel, Chief Drome replied with a statement saying that 'At this time we can't rule anything out.'" The feline continued, her voice deepening as she tried her paw at doing an impression of the old camel. Val tried to keep herself from smirking. There was something to be said about the professionalism of those working in the late night time-slots at ZNN.

"Naturally the Oasis hotel has been closed down while the ZPD conduct their investigation, and the lockdown is expected to continue over the weekend as detectives review the hotel and casino's security footage and question staff members." Val could hear the faint tapping of papers on the other end of the broadcast, as though the leopard was straightening her notes. " When asked about the closing, the hotel's owner, Jacques Chacal, had this to say."

The radio's tenor shifted to a more masculine, swarthy sounding mammal, the background hiss in the audio presumably caused by wind buffetingthe microphone. "I, as well as the rest of the staff are truly shocked and appalled by the attempt on Miss Gazelle's life, as well as the injuries sustained by her backup dancer Armand Clawdio." The mammal said in a solemn tone. " But rest assured we are doing all we can to cooperate with the ZPD, and we here at the Oasis Hotel are committed to taking the steps to ensure that something like this horrific attack will never happen again." Chacal continued." Although I lament that the public won't be able to enjoy our facilities for the duration of the Summer Solstice holiday due to the ongoing investigation, and our efforts to improve security. It is a sacrifice we are willing to make for the future of all those who visit the Oasis Hotel, whether it's our patrons, staff, or performers. Safety going forward is our number one concern."

"Gazelle's dancer is still in critical condition, but is reported to be stable at this time." Mewler cut in at the presumed end of the sound bite. "We here at ZNN will keep you informed as the story continues to develop." Mewler softly cleared her throat. "That said, this concludes our top stories for the hour. Coming up next, it's the District Weather forecast with meteorologist Caleb Buckston."

"Can you believe that?" Cameron spoke up, snapping Val to attention. The vixen blinked rapidly for a few moments, her senses returning to her swiftly at the realization that her father was attempting to address her again. It appeared that Val had allowed herself to become a bit too distracted by ZNN's broadcast in her desperate attempt to re-bury her more painful memories to the point where she had stopped actively attempting to rein in her body language. The vixen was now fully aware that her ears were standing sharply on end, both skewed toward the radio and acting as massive red flags to clue theolder tod in that she was listening.

"Some crazy fan tried to permanently scar Gazelle with an acid bomb disguised as fan mail, and in our own backyardno less?"

Cameron shook his head dismissively. "Kinda scary to think that mammal is still out there somewhere..." The fox furrowed his brow worryingly, casting a sideways glance at the vixen. "Might even be a neighbor or something..." The older tod shuddered.

Val was quick to flatten her ears, the vixen pressing herself deeper against the passenger side door and letting out an annoyed huff sharp enough to fog up the window glass. Her father however, seemingly refused to take Val's little show as a sign that she was still not in the mood to_'talk'._

"I hate to say I'm glad that one of her dancer's opened the package instead of her but..." The fox prattled on while Val refused to look in the direction of the old tod, the Vornoy tunnel had made it dark enough for Cameron to show up in the reflection of the passenger side window. The fox was once again idly tapping his paws against the lip of the steering wheel as they sat in mild traffic, the weak smile pointed in her direction undercut by his increasingly sad green eyes.

"Still I'm surprised that someone managed to get past all those security measures." The fox continued. "The Oasis Hotel's security staff was one of the absolute best I'd ever seen when I used to work there..."

Val could see Cameron's reflection turn to gaze out of his own side window, the older fox letting out a sigh.

"D-Did I ever tell you I used to work there?" Cameron stammered slightly, the confidence in his tone starting to waver as he spoke. Still the vixen remained resolute, her arms crossed tightly as she forced a majority of her gaze beyond her own window and into the dimly lit side of the tunnel. While there wasn't much to look at, the last thing she wanted to do was give her old mam' the impression that she was listening.

"Back when I was starting college I worked there as a bellhop." The fox offered a weak chuckle. "Of course with most of that money going to my tuition I was basically living on bread and water for most of my first semester." Val could see the fox shake his head in the reflection.

"Thankfully by the time I met your mother some mammals on staff had seen fit to bump me up to black jackal dealer." The fox pushed his glasses back up onto his snout with a finger. "Not exactly winning the war against fox stereotyping by taking that job, but the pay was decent..." The older fox chuckled. "And I was a pretty mean shuffler back in the day." Cameron continued with a wry smirk."Although I learned to keep my sleeves rolled up pretty quickly while working the floor."

As they cleared the long, dark tunnel, and entered Savannah Central proper, her father's reflection dissipated, his image dispelled by the flush of bright commercial lighting that now assaulted the car from all sides.

"It made it possible to actually take M-Marian out on the kind of dates she deserved, instead of our usual campus picnics..." Cameron's tone quavered, breaking slightly as the older fox fumbled over Marian's name. "Not that those were bad mind you...just..."

Cameron's voice trailed off as the car rolled to a slow stop. From the corner of her eye, Val could see the red gleam shimmering from the stoplightthat hung high above the car. It took a few moments for the vixen to realize her father's droning commentary had finally ceased, the Bark Car now only filled with the relatively quiet background buzz of radio commercials. It would have been cause for a sigh of relief, if Val hadn't been concerned that making any form of noise at this point would simply invite more awkward commentary from the older tod.

Thankfully the silence lingered, the red light holding for what seemed like an eternity without so much as a word from her father before shifting to green. For a moment Val thought she might have been in the clear, at least until they reached the accursed Bur-Burga she had wrecked outside of. That was, until she heard another sigh from Cameron's side of the car.

They had only just begun to pull away from the light when Val noticed that the car had begun to sidle up close to the nearby sidewalk before crawling to a stop. The surprising maneuver had drawn Val's gaze to her father as she watched the tod throw the parking brakeon before reaching a paw out and turning off the radio.

Fixing his gaze on Val, the older fox's ears sagged sharply.

"Valerie." The fox spoke with a vague sense of assertiveness that Val knew wasn't genuine. Her father had never been great at conveying a sense of authority. The older fox frowned. "Look, I know you aren't happy about this." The older fox shook his head. "The gods know I'm not happy with it either, but please talk to me." The older fox pleaded. "I'd rather have you fighting with me for the next threemonths'worth of rides than simply have you shut me out entirely."

Val narrowed her gaze at the tod. "You seem pretty happy to me." The vixen hissed.

"Happy my daughter isn't locked away in the Glacier Falls Juvenile DetentionCenter for six months?" The fox was quick to rebut. "That she won't earn a criminal record over it? Wow, who'd have thought?" The fox chuckled dully. "I'm practically ecstatic." He added with a sarcasm reminiscent of the vixen's own.

Glancing back out the window, the vixen made a quick scan of the side street before spotting the mouth of Vornoy's subway terminal.

Flashing her father a dull glare, the vixen stabbed a thumb in the direction of the terminal.

"Hey, if you want an easy out on the silent treatment, I'd be more than happy to take the subway to 'work'." The vixen grumbled, the word 'work' dripping with bitterness as it left her muzzle.

Val suddenly perked up, feigning a look of mock innocence.

"Or if I still had my license I could drive myself!" The vixen mock cooed before slumping back into her seat and scowling. "Even if it was in a tinker toy like this..." the vixen muttered under her breath.

Cameron rolled his eyes.

"You know as well as I do that particular ship has sailed for at least six months Valerie." Cameron retorted, waggling a finger. "Your reckless behavior cost you that privilege."

Val let out a scoff sharp enough to cause her coif to bounce against her nose, the vixen defensively crossing her arms tightly over her chest once more.

Cameron raised his paws defensively.

"I'm not the bad mammal here, okay?" Cameron replied. "I'm not the mammal who made the call on taking your license away. I was too busy begging to make sure you didn't wind up in jail!" The fox huffed. "I didn't exactly have any 'wiggle room' in terms of negotiating!"

Val let out a derisive snort. "Did you even try?" The vixen spat back. "Ten PM to six AM, four nights a week for three months, and I have to be escorted to and from that crap hole like I'm a little kit?"

The older fox rolled his eyes again. "Have you ever heard the phrase_'beggars can't be choosers?'_"

Now it was the vixen's turn to roll her eyes.

"Valerie Madison Vulpes." Cameron snapped back, the older fox pulling the_'use of full name_' card to underline the severity of whatever point he was about to make. "You know as well as I do that it is not _my_fault that you are in this situation!" The tod's tone was low but firm. "So don't try to pretend that this is all somehow on me. I didn't encourage you to sneak out at night to take joy rides, nor did I encourage you to ride around on anunfinished bike!" The older fox huffed.

"No, I was the one who threw myself at the mercy of the ZPD on your behalf." Cameron continued, his voice softening as sadness began to douse the heat of ire that had previously taken hold of his tone. "I had to endure the overwhelming terror of nearly losing you in an accident that was completely and totally avoidable, and then I barely get any time to catch my breath before learning that I would be losing you to a correctional facility for half a year!"

The older fox let out a soft whine. "And if it wasn't for that wolf officer who took pity on me, you would more than likely be holed up in a frigid cold detainment cell up in Tundra Town!"

Val was shrinking deeper into her seat, but no longer out of defiance. Instead, the swell of guilt that had been sitting deep in her gut had begun rising back up to the surface. The vixen winced softly, her ears sagging to match her father's own as she watched the older tod run a tremblingpaw through his mane of brown head fur nervously.

"Six months Valerie!" The tod reiterated. "Saint Robin's quiver, six months!"

Cameron shook his head briskly.

"You may think you have limited freedom now, but Val, but that's still considerably more freedom then you would have been offered up there." The tod extended a paw, gesturing toward the vixen. "Instead of eight hours a day, four days a week, you'd be working all week." The fox continued, waving his paw around as though he were trying to paint a phantom image to fit his description. "With every aspect of your life regimented and monitored, twenty-four-seven."

The vixen's cringe deepened. While this information was not news to her, it was making it increasingly clear just how much the same information had been weighing on her father's mind. It only served to pile more guilt onto the vixen's plate.

"Six months locked away in Tundratown." The fox circled back to his previous statement as he began to whimper. "An entire half a yearwhere I would barely get to see you."

Val could see a sheen of moisture starting to form over her father's gleaming green eyes.

"Where Ellie would barely get to see you...and I ju-." The fox let out a hard sniffle before turning away from Val, the older tod pawing at his eyes just as stubbornly as Val had been earlier.

"I told myself I wouldn't do this tonight..." The fox said with a shudder. "I know I-I'm just telling you what you already know I just..." The tod trailed off for a moment, adjusting his glasses as he let off another sharp sniffle in an attempt to stifle his tears. Cameron drew some of the loose hair outof his eyes as he turned his attention back to the vixen.

"You know how much I worry about you Valerie." Cameron admitted. "I don't want to prevent you from spreading your wings but then things like this happen and I..." The tod paused, pressing his fingers to his brow before letting out a sigh.

"When I got that call about the accident that night, just hearing that got me so worked up I practically had one paw in the grave from the stress and fear alone." Cameron continued, lifting his lenses to swab the corners of his eyes once more. "If you had ended up locked away for six months that..." The fox offered a weak, withering chuckle. "That might have been enough to finish me off."

Val's head slunk deep between her shoulders, her muzzle downcast in shame. As she had suspected, this was more than likely just the tip of the iceberg that was the difficult discussion that her father had been sitting on since the night of her accident. It was a bridge she knew they should have crossed weeks ago, but she, much like her father, wasjust as reluctant to cross that bridge despite the fear welling inside her over Red's fate. Of course, that had meant that one of them would have to reach a breaking point sooner or later, and Val's attempt to stave offthe conversation just a little bit longer by being combative during their first real alone time together in six weeks had broken the proverbial dam on her father's side. And while she hated to see her father cry more than anything, it was time to put anend to the act and be honest with him as well. As honest as she could afford to be without giving the poor tod a stroke.

"Dad..." Val asked, her once defiant tone falling away into something softer and more genuine. "I'm sorry."

Cameron blinked at Val for a moment, his frown curling into a cautiously small smile.

"I'm sorry I put you through all that." Val said somberly. "You and El." Val shook her head. "I know I'm in the wrong, and I know I shouldn't be complaining but I just..." The vixen let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm just...Everything I was working toward got ruined." Val choked on her words slightly as she tried to maintain her composure. "I was so close to finishing Red's restoration and..." Despite her best efforts, the vixen's voice still cracked slightly. "I'm just having a really hard time dealing with it all..."

"It's okay my little Motorbug." Cameron cooed softly, placing a paw on the vixen's shoulder. "I understand." The older fox chuckled. "Believe it or not I was a teen once myself you know."

Val winced slightly, quirking a brow at the older tod as she tried to imagine her father as anything other than the dowdy old fox she had known all her life.

Seemingly recognizing the vixen's rather dubious expression only served to get another chuckle out of Cameron's muzzle.

"You may not believe it, but I swear it's true." Cameron continued, letting out a soft, errant sniffle. "Granted I think the worst argument I ever had with my mother was over spending too much time playing my old Preyga Genesis." The fox shook his head, patting Val on the shoulder. "But I suppose you and I are in an entirely different boat all things considered."

The vixen gave her father a nod of uncertainty, her muzzle scrunching up in a clear show of unease. Conflicted voices inside her mind argued with one another. If she brought up Red's conditionnow, surely that would make it seem as though her apology was all lip service. But her window was rapidly closing, and without all the loose ends in the conversation wrapped up, it would only lead to yet another awkward blow-up down the road.

"Something still on your mind Sweetie?" Cameron asked.

Val glanced down at her paws uneasily, taking in a long, slow breath of air as she took a moment to steel her nerves. The vixen focused on her fingers for a moment, bawling them in a matching set of tightened fists and periodically tensing and relaxing her paw muscles as she mustered all the courage she had.

Exhaling, Val unflexed her paws one last time beforeturningto face her father, her blue irises meeting his despite the voices in her head screaming at her to avert her gaze.

"Dad." Val started, wincing slightly. "What happened to Red?"

Cameron's emotions were written all over his face as the older tod's warm, concerned features withered into an almost pained, sorrowful expression. The old tod bit his lower lip for a moment before briskly turning his attention away from the vixen.

Releasing the parking brake, Cameron reached a paw out to the radio, flipping it on once more and fiddling with the dial for a few moments before settling on a music station. His actions left Val bewildered, albeit it for a moment. But the vixen wasn't about to let this go.

"Da-?"

"Hey, Black Vole Sun! Youused to lovethis song didn't you?" The tod barked blithely, reaching his paw out once more and cranking the volume on the song up twice as loud as it was. Turning his attention to the side window, Val watched as her father began scanning the cars passing him by for an opening.

Val let out a tired sigh. In mere seconds, the pair of foxes had managed to entirely switch roles.

Reaching a paw out, Val quickly shut the radio off before throwing the parkingbrakeback on.

Cameron turned back to his daughter, flashing her a mildly confused, albeitnervous expression.

"Vy, we're going to be late to-."

"Dad." The vixen said, her tone firm but gentle. "I want to know what happened to my bike." The vixen frowned softly.

"V-Valerie." Cameron stammered slightly.

"Look, Dad." The vixen sighed. "I don't expect to be riding him for a while." Val lolled her head casually. "Even when I get my license back, and the repairs are done, I don't expect you to be all gung ho about letting me head back out on the road anytime soon, and I can accept that." The vixen admitted with slight hesitance. She didn't exactly want to be mapping out a punishment timeline for her father to work by, but it was a risk she had been willing to take with Red's very existence presumably on the line.

Val frowned deeply, her eyes widening as she eyed her father, his wince deepening as she spoke.

"But I need to know if my bike is okay." The vixen whined softly. "I need to know he's safe."

Cameron seemed slightly flustered, the older tod's uneasy expression only seeming to worsen as he struggled to find his words. Val pleaded with her body language, her shimmering blue eyes wider than they had ever been as she fixed her gaze on his own as it continued to wither. The 'puppy-dog' eyes used to be a fairly lethal weapon in her arsenal growing up, but unlike her previous attempts to work the older tod over with them, this heartfelt glare was in earnest.

"Val. I-." The fox stammered, running a paw through his head fur. "Sweetie, li-." The fox took a moment, closing his eyes as he let out a tired sigh.

"Look Valerie, I think you need to focus on more important things than some old bike."

The vixen was left dumbstruckas Cameron stared back at her with a weak smile. Had he just said what she thought he had said? The vixen struggled against the rising mixture of feelings twisting at her insides as she tried to process her father's words, and just how dismissively he had uttered them.

Cameron's faltering smile quickly began to shrink, the vixen's confusion and hurt presumably written all over her muzzle as a glint of panic began to form behind the older tod's deep green eyes.

"I-I mean with thisjob you can get legitimate work experience!" The fox stuttered, his tone wavering in uncertainty. "Not only will you make more money than scavenging recyclables in that old junkyard for Mr. Sandersnout, but it's much safer, less intensive, and you can actually use this for a stepping stone on your resume."

Val opened her muzzle, but the words failed to come. Her father's continued confirmation of her 'cover story' putting her even more on the back paw in terms of forming an actual rebuttal. Pain, annoyance and guilt struggled for dominance inside her as her own lie was being thrown back in her face, all without Cameron being fully aware of it. It would have almost been funny that the Ol' Mam was using it as an excuse to further evade answering her question were it not for the damage the full truth could do to their already strained relationship. She did her besttrying to maintain her composure well enough to keep her lie in orderwithout himinadvertently digging any deeper into it while trying to form a response that would set the conversation back on the path to Red's fate.

The only time that had been spent in that junkyard scavenging had been strictly for Red's repairs, and thanks to Sandersnout's lack of knowledge in regards to the true value of some of Red's pricier components, the vixen had managed to snag most of them on the cheap. Although, the only reason she had been able to afford them at all was the cash she had raked in from those early race wins, some of which were high enough on their own to more than likely rival what she could make at Bug Burga over the entire course of her indentured service and then some. Afact that if proudly stated to her father would more than likely give him a coronary on the spot.

"Greeeaat..." The vixen finally managed to utter, defensive annoyance taking the helm as she feigned her father's cheery take. "I'm sure that with my new job, I'll be back on track to fixing Red in a decade or less!" The vixen flashed her father a wide, mock smile before crossing her arms and slumping down in her seat once more. Val let off a soft huff as her eyes shifted down to the floor of the car. It was a safe rebuttal, albeit one she wasn't entirely proud of.

Cameron shook his head softly, the older tod letting out an irritated huff of his own.

"Valerie." The fox uttered in a parental tone. "Don't you think there are more important things you should be focusing your life on?" Cameron asked. "You are young. You have your whole life ahead of you to start thinking about." The older fox continued, gesturing a paw at nothing particular. " Graduating high school, Going to college or getting a technical degree, getting married, starting a family of your own."

Val let out a dismissive snort. Cameron's tangent was growing farther and farther away from the topic at paw, and into territory the vixen found to be increasingly uncomfortable. When it came to her plans for the future, freedom was tantamount, and any sort of _'planning'_was far too rigid for her taste. Needless to say Val had just about reached her limit in terms of patience.

"Dad!" Val said, fixing her gaze on the older Tod's as her head snapped to face his direction. Her tone was firm, but the emotional well that was building up within had causedthe delivery to waiver slightly. "Please, just..." The vixen let out a shuddering sigh in an attempt to calm herself. "Please, just tell me where Red is."

"Valerie Madison Vulpes." Cameron once again invoked her full name, his tone growing stern as he kept his gaze fixed on hers. The tod's irises were unsteady from what Val could see, trembling slightly as if they desperately wanted to dart away.

"You're obsession with that old bike is unhealthy!" The tod rebutted. "Not just mentally, but as you've shown with this little accident, physically!"

The vixen recoiled sharply, the sting of her father's cold excuses so sharp it felt as though he had practically jammed his paw into her chest. Once again, the vixen found herself momentarily silenced by her father's words, her muzzle hanging open in surprise as she struggled for a reply.

She could feel the tears trying to force their way to the surface, and the vixen squinted tightly in an effort to force them down as a turbulent wave of sadness and anger fought for control of her tongue.

Cameron raised his paw slightly, the older fox seemingly stuck halfwayto placing a paw over his muzzle in regret. The same regret that was already evident in his withering expression and drooping ears.

"How...?" Val finally managed, anger starting to get the upper paw on her emotions as she glared back at her father. "How c-can you even say t-that!?" The vixen hissed, causing Cameron to recoil slightly.

"Y-You know that was..." Val's voice faded as she struggled to even bringherself to finishher sentence. "It was her's, Mom's." the voice in her head whispered silently, but all Val could do was mouth the words.

"And you just...just!" The vixen sneered, her brow furrowing as the fire burning in her chest began to swell.

"W-what if I-!?" The vixen stammered, she wanted to hurt him now. To make the older tod feel an equal share of the pain she was feeling over his curt dismissal of her feelings. "What if I said that your obsession with what happened to mom after all these years wasn't emotionally healthy!? Huh!?"

Val almost immediately regretted her outburst, the vixen slapping a paw over her muzzle as she watched her father recoil as though he had been belted in the gut. The older tod seemed to mirror her paw movement, covering his muzzle in horror as his deep green eyes quickly glossed over with a film of tears. It was a pitifully sad glare, one that immediately doused the flame that had been stoking within the vixen as she felt herself shrinking in her seat.

Cameron seemed hesitant to lower his paw from his muzzle, and when he finally managed to pull it away even slightly, it seemed to tremble as though the older fox had just seen a ghost.

"T-That's not even cl-'' Thefox tried to sound stern, but his words faltered as he tried to stifle an errant sob. Val's gaze drifted back to the floor in pure shame. Her father's abrupt dismissal of Ol' Red may have cut the vixen deep, but retaliating by dredgingup the way her father chose to mourn was more akin to plunging a knife deep into his chest and twisting it. She hadn't meant to go that far, but the words had spilled out before she could stop herself.

"You can't com-compare...I..." The tod trembled, another errant sob slipping out of his muzzle as he turned his attention away from her.

"I-I'm sorry...I didn't..." The guilt had returned, now intensified as the vixen stared down at her feet. Her thoughts now flooded with a deluge of depressing and painful questions and admissions. How had everything spiraled out of control so spectacularly? Just mere monthsago she had been so certain she had a tight grasp on it all. So confident that she was totally in control of everything in her life. The only real fear the vixen held any sense of concern over was that Ellie's guilt would eventually get the better of her, and she'd end up spilling her guts to Cameron and revealing the vixen's on-going ruse. The admittedly sometimes dangerous street races had felt like little more than a cakewalk compared to keeping the ever complex and growing series of lies straight at the time.

Yet now, after having reduced the old tod who had raised her to a shuddering, weeping mass slumped against the driver's side door, the vixen found herself yearning to have merely been caught sneaking back into the house, or for Ellie to have come clean on her behalf. In that moment, she would have gladly had the web of lies come crashingdown around her if it had meant her father had stayed angry. If he had simply scolded her, and forbade her from riding Red for however many months he desired. She may have been combative about it, surely, but she couldn't imagine things would have gone as far in that scenario as they had tonight. She wouldn't now carry the building fear that she had forever tainted her relationship with her father by way of her thoughtless words.

She had been so short sighted. The vixen had been so focused on Red's repairs she had stopped paying attention to the _real_risks.Everything she had been working toward for the past two years had been put on ice in the blink of an eye. The vixen found her demeanor shifting between obnoxiously angry and quietly panicked. Angry that she had been so close to finishing Red, and honoring her mother, and terrified that the last real link she had to the lost vixen might end up equally lost. While she managed to bury the fear and anxiety, the emotional trauma and sorrow deep inside didn't go away. It merely festered there, causing her to lash out at her father, at Ellie. Hurting them, and spreading that pain outward with no real explanation, hoisting those feelings on the only mammals who meant anything to her. Was Ol' Red really worth the hurt she had caused, and was still causing to those she loved? What had seemed like a simple answer before, when the stakes seemed so low, felt so much more uncertain now that she had driven her father to this point.

"Dad I'm..." The vixen sniffled, tears finally freely flowing as she warily looked in his direction. Cameron's gaze remained fixed in the direction of the passenger side window, his hunched form shuddering as he seemed to be stifling sobs of his own.

"I didn't mean to say that...I just..." The vixen whimpered softly. "I just..."

Val watched one of her father's ears perk slightly as it tilted toward her.

The vixen'seyes dropped back to her paws as she rested them on the central control panel of the car, a few of her tears leaving drops of moisture on the hard plastic frame.

"It's all I have to remember her by..." Val sobbed, swabbing her eyes with the hem of her coat.

"W-We were supposed to work on it together..." The vixen sniffled harshly. "She w-was supposed to ride it with me...She promised." The vixen shook her head softly. "And I can barely remember that much..."

Lifting her head slightly, the vixen could see that her father was now watching her, tears silently streaming down his fur as he listened intently.

"Almost every memory I have of her isn't really mine..." The vixen shuddered slightly. " It's all just memories from those old home movies of us." Val shook her head.

"Mom playing with me on the floor of the living room, giving me a bath, teaching me how to ride my first big wheel, it's all from the DVDs." She whimpered. "I don't remember them happening, I j-just remember the footage..." Val sniffled sharply, drawing her forearm over her eyes roughly in an attempt to swab away her tears.

"The only really clear memories I h-have w-were..." The vixen's head drooped as she covered her eyes with a paw, doing her best to maintain her composure as she began to shudder. "T-toward the end..."

"Oh Vy..." She heard the older tod coo softly despite his own warbly tearful tone.

Val felt a set of warm paws wrap around her back, pulling her into a tight hug as her father leaned her head onto his shoulder.

"I don't e-even..." The fox uttered, gingerly stroking the back of her head as he spoke. Despite Val's best efforts, her silent tears had begun to soak her father's scarf and ratty tee-shirt. "I'm so sorry..."

"No. I'm supposed to be sorry!" The vixen replied, quickly withdrawing from the older fox's grasp and wiping her sparkling blue eyes again. "I-I'm the one who...I said...!" The vixen shook her head dismissively. "I shouldn't ha-have..!"

Cameron lifted his lenses, pawing at his eyes for a moment before placing the same paw on Val's shoulder, his green eyes fixing on hers as they shimmered with soft tears.

"No." The tod uttered softly. "I...We..." The older fox sighed. "We both were in the wrong Vy." Cameron shook his head. " I-I wasn't considering...I..."

Cameron tilted his head back, the fox eyeing the ceiling of the bark car for a moment as he drew a paw to his forehead.

"I remember what M-" Val heard her father audible gulp as he struggled with her mother's name. "Marian promised." Cameron admitted, turning his gaze back toward the still tearful vixen as he placedhis paw over his muzzle.

The older tod closed his eyes, letting out a melancholy sigh.

"We had pla-" The fox broke into a weak chuckle, a warm smile forming despite his tears. "She had plans for that bike."

Placing his paws together, the fox leaned his muzzle into them before continuing.

"She..." Cameron shook his head. "She used to tease me all the time about how she was going to take mefor a ride on Red once she finished fixing it up." The older fox chuckled. " I would always tell her there was 'no way in hades' I'd ever get on that thing but..." Cameron's warm smile widened enough to show his teeth behind his paws. "Your mother always got me to do what she wanted..." Cameron sniffled sharply. " She always knew how to win me over." The older fox let out a wistful sigh. "I would have followed that smile of hers to the end of Animalia and she knew it." The older tod chuckled warmly.

Val was listening intently, her tears few and far between now as she watched the older fox reminisce about the vixen she barely knew.

"You may find it hard to believe, but your old 'Mam kind of had a reputation for being a stick in the mud." Cameron admitted sheepishly.

Vallet out a soft chuckle, amuseddespite her tears at her father's rather _groundbreaking_admission, any hope of keeping from breaking into a smirk was next to impossible.

Cameron rolled his eyes slightly. "Okay...maybe it's not that hard to believe..." The fox chuckled weakly. "But that's why your mother liked to consider herself a professional _'mud-stick'_remover." The fox sighed contentedly.

Turning to face the windshield, Cameron draped his paws on the steering wheel, his eyes tracing out and upward, presumably into the stars above.

"As soon as you were old enough, you and her were going to work on it together." The tod sighed. "She told me if I 'thought it was hard enough saying no to her, it would be impossible to say no to both of you flashing me those pleading smiles to come take Ol' Red out for a test drive.'" Cameron chuckled softly. "Her glowing smile, and that gap toothed cookie eating grin of yours, she knew I' d be powerless." The older tod sighed warmly. "Just as soon as you were done fixing it up..."

Val watched as her father's warm smile began to wither, his green eyes starting to shimmer once again.

"Even w-when..." The tod choked slightly. "When she first t-took ill, she swore as soon as she g-got be-be-" Cameron raised a paw slightly, biting into one of his knuckles with a fang as he struggled with his words. "We'd all ride Ol' Red as a family...we..."

Cameron glanced back at Val out of the corner of his eye, tears starting to well at the corners once more as he lamely wiped at them with a paw.

"I know how important that bike is to you Vy." The older fox admitted. "I understand it'sprobably the biggest connection to Marian that you have and..." Cameron sighed. "I-It's important to me too as much as it terrifies me..." The older tod shook his head dismissively.

"But you need to know that bike is nowhere near as important to me as your life." Cameron reached out, grasping one of Val's paws in his own. "You are the most precious gift your mother gave me." The tod whimpered. "You are the last real connection _I_have to your mother. And I nearly lost you that night."

Val began to squirm in her seat, tears starting to well once more as she felt the guilt rising in her chest.

"And I'm sorry if it hurts to say it, but if given the choice between you and Red, I'd choose you every time, paws down." the fox continued, his tone growing seemingly more stoic as he spoke. "Even if it was Marian's, that old bike means nothing to me compared to you and..."

Cameron withdrew his paw, inhaling sharply as he pressed the side of his finger to his lips.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm trying not to get worked up again it's just..." The fox whined, running a paw through his brown head fur nervously.

"I let you repair and ride that thing because you promised me you'd be safe..." The older fox's voice crackled as he tried to maintain some semblance of sternness. "That you would drive safely, and wouldn't take crazy risks an-and..."

Cameron placed his head into his paws momentarily.

"A-And you lied to me again and again. To my face!" The tod lamented.

Val once again found herself shrinking into her seat, her tail now coiling in front of her legs as the guilt continued to build. She could feel a phantom pressure seemingly constricting her chest. As if a pallet of heavy stones were now weighing down on her, and each bitter admission from her father added yet another stone to the growing mound. Her stomach felt as though it had been twisted into severalknots, the guilt and shame gnawing and burning at her gut with such intensity that it nearly made her nauseous. Of course it didn't help that she still had a lie or two that her father remained unaware of, and that fact made it all the more easier to simply sit in silence and allow her father to vent despite his reluctance to get 'worked up again'. It was clear he had been holding all of this in for quite some time, and it clearly hurt him all the more to continue spilling it. But much like her, she imagined now that his muzzle was open he wouldn't be able to stop until his emotions had been all aired out.

"And Ellie too!" Cameron continued, slapping a paw against the steering wheel before glancing back to his daughter. "You made her cry Vy."

That one made the vixen flinch, the feeling of an additional phantom stone being added to the press weighing down on her withering form causing her to shrink away even more. Sure, she had already known that Ellie had shed quite a few tears thanks to the lies, and because of Val's accident, something the vixen felt deeply guilty for already. But being reminded of it now forced the images of Ellie's tears through her mind in quick succession, and consequently added to her shame with all the force of a kick to the stomach. Suddenly Bug Burga didn't feel like nearly enough of a fitting punishment for the crimes she had committed against those mammals who had been foolish enough to care abouther.

Cameron let out a terse sigh, the fox lifting his lenses and swabbing at his tears with a forearm.

"I already lost your Mother, and I can live with losing that bike...but..." Cameron turned to face Val, his shimmering blue eyes puffy with tears.

"I couldn't bear the thought of losing you." The older tod whimpered, his voice cracking as he spoke.

Looking up into her father'sown tearful eyes, Val offered a meek nod, the vixen sniffling sharply as she pawed at her nose. She wanted to hug the tod, but a part of her felt almost much too ashamed to, the guilt from the remaining overruling the urge.

Cameron let out a rather somber sigh, his body seemingly trembling with his exhale as he wearily turned his attention to the road. For a moment his tearful green eyes found Val's as he glanced over his shoulder.The tod was silent, simply staring back at his daughter, but eventually he opened his muzzle slightly. It was clear he wanted to say something, but the words seemed to fail him as his muzzle softlyclosed and opened a few times in silence before he seemingly gave up, and shifted his attention back to the passenger side window.

The fox shook his head. "We're going to be late at this rate..." The older fox pressed a paw to his temple. " I wouldn't want to get you in worse trouble because I picked a bad time to..."

Cameron sighed,releasing the handbrake. His attention now keenly on the traffic in search of an opening, the older tod threw the car into gear.

_"CRUNCH!"_Val felt herself lurch forward slightlybefore coming to a sharp, abrupt stop. The vixen blinked rapidly for a moment, perking up in her seat and glancing around out of the various windows as she tried to make sense of just what had happened. It only took a moment for the vixen to spy the lamp post that was now tightly pressed up against the rear bumper of the car.

Val glanced down at the gear shift momentarily, the indicator light glowing under the solid 'R' symbol telling her all she needed to know as she shifted her gaze back up toward her father. The older tod was seated up straight and alert, his ears standing sharply on end as he clutched at his chest with a tightly gripped paw.

"Dad? Are you ok-?"

"I'm fine!" Cameron barked awkwardly in reply. The foxes ears slowly began to droop as he released his grip on his shirt.

"F-Fine, I'm fine...Did I?" The fox took a moment to peekover his shoulder, glancing at the light post for a moment before glancing over to Val with concern.

"Are you alright?" Cameron asked.

Val offered a strained smile, the guilt and unease still tugging at her insides despite the fender bender. "I'm fine Dad."

The older tod let out a sigh of relief, his ears sagging as he relaxed his stance and slumped slightly against the steering wheel.

"M-Must of...reverse...heh..." The fox's words were muttered and garbled. "Wrong gear." He clarified with a weak smile. Switching the car off, the fox let out an exasperatedsigh.

"So much for not getting worked up..." The fox muttered quietly as he unhooked his seat-belt. "Or getting there on time..." He added, before slipping out of the car to survey the damage.

The little 'fender bender' added a fewextra minutes to the trip, something Val wasn't sure as to whether she was grateful for or not. The interior of the car remained silent while she watched her father looking over the damage to his car, and while she wasn't one for lip reading, it wasn't hard to figure out what her father was saying when coupled with rather dramaticgestures. But the heavy emotional weight of the previous conversation still hung heavily in the now silent space, and it only felt more oppressive and weighty once the trip to the Bug Burga had continued in mutual silence. For the bulk of the ride, the vixen simply stewed in the guilt and sadness that had lodged itself beneath her breastbone. Her father's words doing well to periodically twist the ball of pain in her chest as they played over and over again in her head. About how she had hurt Ellie, about how she had hurt him. It had dulled the thoughts and fears of Red to little more than a whisper in the back of her mind.

When the vixen managed to bring herself to glance her father'sway, she found the tod's gaze fixed on the road ahead. His sharp green eyes still tinged with a hint of moisture despite his rather forced looking stoic expression. She felt compelled to say something. Another apology? Maybe a joke? Anything to break the deafening silence and tension that seemed to proliferate the cab. But the longer the silence dragged on, the less appropriate it felt to say anything at all. Each possible utterance or response feeling increasingly inappropriate or inept and forcing the vixen's gaze back to the floor of the car in shame. Val defaulting to halfheartedly studying the intricate design of the mass produced floor mat until she felt the smart car slow to afull stop, and the sound of the engine cut away.

Warily glancing up at her surroundings, Val could see the Bug Burga restaurant now stood in full view. Its outrageously bright yellow and green neon lights screaming up into the night sky, blotting out any trace of star light from being visible due to the intensity. Garish green palm leaves and jungle swags that had been worked into the architecture bobbed lightly in the breeze. It was the only real movement around the restaurant Val could see, as a more broad inspection showed that despite how well lit the place was, there didn't seem to be a soul in or around the fast food chain save for her and her father. It made the 'Open 24 hours' sign affixed to the larger logo standee facing the road seem almost ironic to such a point that it nearly drove the vixen to do a double take just to make sure it was actually affiliated with the empty looking restaurant, and not just an orphaned advertisement.

But the state of the Bug Burga hadn't been enough to distract from the silence that continued to linger in the air of the car. Aside from pulling into a space and parking, her father had remained as silent as he had on the remainder of the drive. Sheepishly glancing at the older tod, she found him simply leaning over the steering wheel, his gaze directed upward into the inky blackness of the starless night.

The tod remained silent, seemingly lost in thought for a few moments before surprising the vixen by being the first to break the silence.

"Th-that was quite a jolt wasn't it?" Cameron finally uttered, letting out a nervous chuckle.

Val wasn't sure how to respond, the vixen's gaze shifting to various random points on the floor as she tried to work out a reply.

"H-How bad was the damage?" The vixen asked meekly.

Cameron shook his head. "It's nothing..." The fox sighed. "I'll just need to have the dent pulled out, and the paint touched up, but she'll live."

"I..." Val muttered, glancing down at her paws nervously for a moment. "I mean, I could fix that."

Cameron chuckled, shaking his head softly. "I'm sure you could my little Motorbug."

The older fox turned his glance in the direction of his daughter, his soft green eyes still seeming to glisten with moisture. Val couldn't help but shrink a bit more under his gaze.

Cameron shook his head slightly, lifting his lenses in order to wipe at the lingering sheen of wetness with his forearm before allowing them to settle back on his snout. Taking a moment to better straighten the lenses, the fox let out a soft, tired sigh.

"I picked up Red from the scrap yard a few days after you first ended up in the hospital, Sweetie." The fox admitted, some sense of reluctance lacing his tone. "Red's been sitting safe and sound in the garage since then, although he is a little worse for wear..."

Val blinked rapidly in shock, her ears standing up sharply as the ball of guilt that had been squeezing her chest suddenly evaporated, the space now quickly occupied by a deluge of overwhelming joy. The vixen was beaming in moments.

"Really!?" The vixen spat, her tail wagging excitedly as she watched her father expectantly. "Are you serious!?"

Cameron's nervous smile was slowly overtaken by a warmer, toothy grin.

The older fox chuckled. "Why do you think I've been parking in the driveway for the last six weeks?"

"Why didn't you tell me!?" The vixen snapped back, more surprised than upset.

Cameron shook his head. "I wanted you to actually spend time 'recovering'." The tod chuckled. "If you had known Red was sitting in our garage, you would have been down there tinkering with that thing no matter what I said."

Tears were forming in the vixen's eyes once more, and Val did the best she could to stifle her sobbing with laughter as she gave her Ol' Mam a soft punch in the shoulder. It was all she could do to keep from leaping out of her seat and hugging him.

"You're such a jerk!" The vixen tried to sound serious between her fits of joyful laughter, however, the tone failed to come across. "You lied!"

Cameron recoiled from the playful slug slightly, the tod rubbing his shoulder as he let out a soft chuckle. "I wouldn't put a simple omission on the same level of a full blown lie." The fox shrugged, flashing his daughter a smug smirk. " I mean, I just didn't mention it." The fox held up a claw, bobbing his eyebrows playfully. "Perhaps swearing Ellie to secrecy as well could qualify as a lie, but..." The fox shrugged.

Val drew back in shock. It was a momentary reaction, quickly replaced by a strange mixture of amusement and mirthful outrage.

"You made Ellie lie too?!" Val practically squealed. "You monster!" The vixen laughed.

Cameron crossed his arms, throwing the vixen a dubious glare.

"Well isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" The fox tutted. "I mean you lied to me, it was only fair."

Val was practically giggling. "Y-you aren't supposed to lie! Y-You're-!"

"Old?" Cameron interjected dully. "Lame? uncool?" The fox retorted with a chuckle. "An older tod like myself deserves to have some secrets to himself, especially if I have to keep up with a rascal like you."

Both foxes were now practically laughing so hard that each cackle was a mixture of mirth and a struggle for breath. It was a fit that took several moments for the pair to come down from, Val taking longer to compose herself than the older tod as she did her best to chase away her lingering giggles. After such a weighty and painful discussion it felt so good to laugh, but it made Val feel even better to see her father laughing just as hard. And while it hadn't completely assuaged her guilty conscience, it had easily muted the lingering sting still fluttering within her chest. But despite the levity of the moment, the vixen found herself mildly perplexed by her father's actions. After all, he had always been a helicopter parent, especially where Red was concerned. And now, when the golden opportunity had presented itself to rid himself of that particular worry, he had chosen to save the bike anyway. Was it purely because it was connected to Marian in some way? Despite being torn over the possibility of ruining the moment, the vixen felt compelled to press the issue.

"B-But Dad...?" Val murmured, still trying to stifle the urge to titter. "Wh-What...?"The vixen took a deep breath, exhaling with a bit of a shudder as she eyed her father with a more serious glance. "I mean...why?"

Cameron tilted his head slightly, his ears skewing in slight confusion.

"Why what?" Cameron replied.

Val frowned slightly, the vixen glancing down at her paws as she flexed her fingers uneasily.

"I-I mean...you could have..." Val muttered. "I mean, I know it was Mom's too but..."

Cameron held up a paw, stopping the vixen mid-sentence.

"Valerie..." The older tod started. "Even if that bike had nothing to do with your mother, do you really think I would have just allowed it to be scrapped?" The fox shook his head softly before reaching a paw out and grasping one of Val's own. Cameron gave her paw an affectionatesqueeze, his green eyes fixing on hers as he flashed her a warm smile.

"There was no way I wouldn't protect something that meant so much to you as long as it was within my power to do so." The fox's smirk widened, showing off a rather snarky display of teeth. "Come now, you didn't think your old 'Mam could be that heartless did you?"

Val smiled widely, earning a chuckle from the older fox.

"Besides, I know well enough by now that trying to persuade you to give up cycling is a fool'serrand. " Cameron chuckled. "You are just as stubborn as your mother, and I know from experience it's useless to fight the current."

The vixen chuckled softly, swabbing away her lingering tears with a paw.

"T-thanks Dad."

Cameron released his grip on Val's paw as he raised it up to her face, the older fox affectionately patting her cheek. Cameron offered her a smirk.

"There's that cookie-eating grin I love to see." The tod replied with a chuckle. "Though those gaps have filled in pretty well."

Val laughed, pushing her father's paw away.

"Dad!" The vixen protested, readying another playful punch in the direction of her father's shoulder.

"Alright, alright." The older tod chuckled, raising his paws defensively and scooching away from the vixen's raised fist. "I think one of those was enough. You don't want me calling elder abuse do you?"

Val rolled her eyes as she giggled, lowering her paw. "Being a little over dramatic Dad?" The vixen flashed her father a half lidded stare. "You aren't _that_old."

"Well you had to get that snarkfrom someone." The tod replied, flashing his daughter a cheeky grin. Once again, the vixen found her eyes rolling. "You aren't just your mother's kit."

Shifting himself toward the driver's side door, the older tod began reaching to unbuckle his seat-belt. "Well, we've dawdled enough as it is." The tod remarked, prying his door open with his other paw as the seat-belt released it's grip. "We're already late, and I don't want those nice wolves or the ZPD to think we flaked on them." With little more than a soft grunt, Cameron was out of the car, leaving Val to quickly follow suit. Popping open her own door, the vixen releasedher seat belt and stepped out of the Bark Car, giving the door a hearty slam.

"By nice, you meant dumb right?" Val remarked with a chuckle.

Cameron slammed his own door shut with considerably less force. Now it was the older fox's turn to roll his eyes.

"Vy, you know I've taught you better than that." The tod remarked. "You would think with all the stereotyping we have to deal with, you'd be a little more...considerate?" Cameron added as he rounded the front of the Bark car, coming to a stop as he turned to face the restaurant.

Val let out a scoff as she followed her father's lead, the slightly shorter vixen taking a stand next to the older tod as they stared ahead to the looming neon monstrosity before them. The vixen crossed her arms, letting out a derisive snort.

"Pretty sure foxes aren't compelled to start yipping when they hear another fox do it." The vixen chuckled. "Hell, anyone can impersonate a howl and you're liable to set a nearby wolf off."

Cameron flashed his daughter a dull, half lidded glance.

"While that..." The fox lingered, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. "May be true, I only ask that you try not to make enemies out of the only mammals that were willing to help us."

Val rolled her eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"I'll try..." The vixen muttered.

The vixen felt a paw gingerly land on her shoulder, giving it an affectionate pat.

"That's my girl." The older fox chuckled softly. "You are well on your road to getting Red back."

That remark made the vixen's ears stand up sharply, Val turning to her father and flashing him a rather confused glance.

"Wait, you mean you aren't giving him back to me?" The vixen muttered.

Cameron smirked. "What did you think just because I told you where that bike was meant I was just going to give him back to you, no strings attached?"

Val's ears sagged sharply. Of course it couldn't have been that simple. She should have expected that getting visitation rights to her prized bike wouldn't come without some sort of conditions. The vixen let out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay..." Val muttered. "What do I have to do?"

Her father held up two fingers.

"Justtwo things." Cameron replied with a smirk.

"The first is simple." The older tod continued. "I want a promise that from now on you will listen to me and actually drive safely when you go out." Cameron said, tightening his grip on the vixen's shoulder slightly in a clear attempt to underline how important this point was to him. "And from now on I don't want anymore 'sneaking out'. Going forward I want you to tell me whenever you plan on going out, and where."

"Oh just those two things?" The vixen's grin widened slightly, revealing the barest hint of her fangs. "I'm fine with that."

Cameron shook his head before placing a finger to the vixen's nose and playfully booping her snout, causing Val to retract slightly.

"Please don't sass me while I'm trying to extend an olive branch." The older fox chuckled, earning a wry grin from his daughter.

"Alright, alright..." The vixen relented. "I promise I will drive safely from now on..." The vixen trailed off, earning an eyebrow quirk from her father.

"And?" Cameron added expectantly, his tone rising as he glared at the vixen.

Val rolled her eyes, letting out another exasperated sigh. "And I promise I'll keep you in the loop when I go out riding..." The vixen added, doing her best to remain appearing annoyed despite the urge to chuckle at her father's antics.

"If I ever get back to riding that is..." The vixen added, her ears sagging slightly.

Cameron chuckled softly. "Now, now, Red maybe busted up but it's nothing my talented little Motorbug couldn't solve in snap."

Val tried to suppress the warm smile now tugging at her muzzle due to her father's unexpected compliment.

"W-well, I guess as somewhat of a fixer yourself, you'd know." The vixen said, funneling that desire to smile into more of a sarcastic grin.

Cameron rolled his eyes, his muzzle scrunching up slightly in clear discomfort. "Hey, I thought I said no sass." The older tod tutted. "Besides, you know that kind of work ended with my black jackal days."

Val chuckled. "Okay, okay..."

The older tod smiled broadly, releasing his grip on Val's shoulder in order to pat it appreciatively.

"So..." Val murmured cautiously. "If telling you where I'm going wasn't the second thing...er....what was?" The vixen added in an uneasy tone.

"Ah yes." Cameron said, retracted his paw and pressedhis fingers together. " For my second condition..." The fox continued in a mock authoritative tone, a mirthful smile seemingly fighting to replace his pretend stoicism. It didn't take long for the fox to drop the act, the older tod placing his paw back on the vixen's shoulder as he offered her a warm smile.

"I only ask that you give your Ol' 'Mam just the first few weeks of driving you out to and from your new job..." The tod's smile widened slightly, his shimmering blue eyes fixing on Val's own as he spoke. " I know it may be a little selfish on my part, but...it would help put me a little more at ease after everything that's happened."

Val chuckled softly, averting her gaze slightly in an effort to stifle the desire to tear up at her father's earnest request.

"Okay, okay..." Val chuckled weakly. "I can do that."

"You don't mind that?" Cameron asked.

"I-..." The vixen murmured shyly. "I mean, I wouldn't completely hate it."

Cameron's smile broadened. Unlike Val, the older fox hadn't made any effort to force down the tears now forming in the corner of his eyes.

"Hug on it?" The older fox replied.

Val rolled her eyes, doing her best to suppress the urge to smile as she tried to keep up the appearance of being too cool to hug. The vixen crossed her arms once more, averting her gaze slightly. However, this did little to deter her father. Instead, Cameron spread his arms out wide, gesturing with his paws for the vixen to 'bring it in'.

"Oh come on now, you are never too old to hug your Ol' 'Mam." The older tod replied.

Val winced slightly, the urge to giggle pushing up against her rather forced grimace as she continued her standoffish act.

Cameron flashed her a dull glare.

"I'm warning you right now, I am absolutely willing to stand here all night unless I get that hug." The older fox chuckled. "I will even follow you around all shift if I have to."

Despite letting out an exaggerated and irritated sigh, the vixen was smiling as she gave in to her father's demands. Val wrapped her paws around the slightly taller fox, burying her head into his neck as she tried to hide her smile. It didn't take very long for Cameron to return the hug, his vice like squeeze while nearly crushing to the vixen, was something she knew since she was a kit was just her father putting all the love he could into the gesture. Of course, not to be out done, Val squeezed back as best as she could. But like the many times before, the vixen seemed to be unable to match her father's masterful hugging prowess.

"I love you Dad." Val murmured into the tod's neck fur.

"I love you too, my little Motorbug." Cameron replied, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Although it was something Val would have never admittedout loud, getting a hug from her father was something that always made her feel better. Despite how much she would protest, especially in public, the gesture still carried with it the same sense of comfort and safety it had when she was little more than a kit. But while there was a part of her that did want to linger in her father's affection after the bulk of the night had been spent dredging up painful memories, something in her father's terms of conditions for Red's release was prying at the back of her mind. Something that conflicted with the punishments that had supposedly been laid down by the ZPD.

Val was first to break the hug, drawing back quickly from the older tod as a confused expression crawled across her muzzle.

"Wait..." Val uttered, quirking a curious brow at the brown haired tod. "What did you mean by 'let me drive you to work for a few weeks?'" The vixen queried, her ears loping at differing angles. "I thought the ZPD said you _had_to drive me all summer?" The vixen concluded, squinting at the older fox suspiciously.

Cameron offered a meek smile, bracing the back of his neck with a paw. He shifted his gaze quickly, his guilty eyes trying to settle on anything but Val's accusing glare.

"Okay..." The tod admitted sheepishly. "That might not have been a mandatory requirement..." The fox glanced up and away from his daughter uncomfortably. "So much as it was a way for me to make sure you got to work and back safely..."

Val did her best to stifle a laugh despite rolling her eyes, the vixen crossing her arms as she lowered a dubious gaze at the old tod. "It's kitnergarden all over again." The vixen mused.

"Well I wouldn't say that." Cameron was quick to reply. "Unlike kitnergarden, I promise I won't spend the entire day in there with you." The tod admitted. "And hey, this kitnergarden pays you."

Val chuckled, uncertain for a moment whether her father was making a joke or actually swearing he wouldn't spend her entire shift at this place shadowing her every move. "Well, I suppose that is progress..."

The older tod offered her a rather cheesy smile in return.

With a sigh, Val turned her attention back to the eerily quiet Bug Burga, its neon glare still as intense as ever. The vixen casually brushed her coif of head fur out of her eye, only for it to immediately slip back into place the moment she let go.

"Well, I guess it's time to face the music." The vixen muttered. Glancing over her shoulder at her father, the vixen gave the older tod a slight eye roll. "I don't want to make a habit out of being late, right?"

Cameron nodded, the tod wearing a pleased expression.

"That'a girl." He replied.

With a final, curt nod, the vixen began her first reluctant steps toward the establishment. Each plodding, dragging of her padfalls drawing her ever closer to the empty neon jungle that would house her for the next eight hours.

"Have a good night on you first shift Sweetie!" Cameron called out to her as he began making his way back to his car. "And remember if anything goes wrong I'm just a phone call away, okay!?"

"Okay!" Val replied dismissively, stopping shy of the double doors that made up the entrance to the Bug Burga. Val rested a paw on the glass pane, drawing it open and catching it with her other paw.

"And Vy!" Her father called, drawing the vixen's attention once more. Looking out over the car park, Val could see her father leaning out of the passenger side of his car, the tod using an arm to support himself on the open driver's side door's rolled down window bay as a crutch.

"Yeah?" Val asked.

"Please try to smile even if it hurts to deal with bad customers, okay?" The tod asked, flashing the vixen a pleading smirk. "Remember that you can always vent to me or Ellie later when you get done with your shift."

Val rolled her eyes, flashing her father a rather sly smirk. "No promises." The vixen replied with a chuckled.

Cameron shook his head, chuckling softly to himself.

"No Promises." The tod uttered as he slipped into the driver's seat, slamming the door as he did so.