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The Family Vulpes

Chapter Four:

B&Business as Usual

Looking back, if Val could have told her younger-self that despite how much she hated working fast food, despite how much she truly loathed the Bug Burga restaurant chain with an almost fiery passion, that she would agree to willingly keep working there beyond her legally required three-month sentence, her younger self would have found it impossible to believe. A Pre-community service debt Val would have more readily believed that her older self had been replaced by some sort of pod-mammal from one of those terrible old sci-fi movies before she would willingly accept that she would ever 'sell her soul to the mam' and become a wage slave. To be honest, even now the vixen felt she would have been unable to explain herself in a way her former self would accept. After all, she had quickly managed to score a pretty lucrative side hustle doing something she was legitimately passionate about within her first few weeks at the Bug Burga. A successful business venture that only continued to grow in size and value as her reputation spread around the underground racing scene. Hell, by the time she was roughly halfway through her mandated period working the night shift at the restaurant, the vixen had managed to scrounge up enough money to replace half of Red's damaged parts outright. And with only a month and a half of fast-food servitude in her future, Val was feeling pretty confident that she would easily be able to raise the other half, perhaps even with enough leftover cash to throw a little bonfire party in honor of Red's resurrection, complete with the ritualistic sacrifice of her Bug Burga uniform to top off the festivities. A great big final "Rut You!" to the establishment, as well as a symbolic representation of her newly regained freedom.

So why did she stay? How could she even properly frame the series of events and nuances that ultimately led to her deciding to keep a part-time position at the place until the restaurant met its grisly demise just a few months ago during the whole mess that was the "Zootopia's Last Night" terrorist attacks? To say it was complicated would have seemed like a cop-out in the eyes of a teenage Val, and to try to explain it would have taken longer than even her current self's attention span could truly endure.

The shortest answer Val could have provided was that, while her bike repair work was extremely lucrative, it also lacked the stability that a licensed, day to day job could provide. But even that would have just been recycling her father's own excuses for keeping the job rather than her own. If she had been willing to stand by that alone, she might as well have gone on to add just _'how crucial an on the books job is for a resume in terms of work experience'_to her excuse. For the most part, these were things Val had never really cared about and still didn't. After all, at that point in her life the vixen was nearly done with high school. And based on that experience, she was damn sure she never wanted to set foot inside another _'school'_for the rest of her life. In her mind, she was already a skilled enough rider and mechanic, so what purpose did two to four years doing everything but working on bikes serve other than to get her a scrap of paper and no real world experience. Of course, she would never tell her father that. It was a conversation that never went anywhere and ended with both mammals suffering from a mutual headache.

But staying on at the Bug Burga would prove to offer the vixen an out to those conversations, as well as a way of putting the older tod to some degree of ease about her situation as well as her plans for the future. While the paycheck was weak in comparison to what she could pull in from a minimum of two repair jobs a week, It still offered a rather lean life-line should her underground garage work experience any droughts. It was indeed a _'stable'_job, as her father had claimed. And what's more, in the tod's eyes, while the clientele for both lines of work was equally questionable, the Bug Burga offered more _'actual'_security. Cameras, locks, a large, intimidating co-worker to look after her, these were all things Val's in house garage was sorely lacking. Of course, her father was quick to express his lack of doubt in the vixen's ability to handle herself in threatening situations, but it did little to stem the dubious and questionable glare the vixen had levied at him at the time. It's wasn't like her father could have presumably done any better should he have been home while Val was dealing with a 'ornery client'. After all, the heaviest equipment the old tod worked with on the daily was a computer mouse or stylus. But with no expensive home security system, and without him able to be there at all hours to act as one, it left the vixen significantly more vulnerable, at least in his opinion.

While those prospects were promising, tempting even, they hadn't proven strong enough factors to push the vixen over the edge in her decision to stay on at the restaurant chain. The job was still painfully dull, and while she had admittedly developed a slight fondness for her co-workers, Vernon more so than her manager Gus, the larger monotony of the shifts always felt all-consuming and inescapable. Even with her phone to keep her company, the minutes seemed to just trickle by to the point where she had actually caught herself hoping that some idiot customers would show up in the hope that it actually might make time feel like it was moving a bit more briskly. Even what little entertainment she could draw out of flustering Vernon started to grow stale by the tail end of the second month, and with the wolf being largely buried in his college studies for a bulk of theshifts slow periods, a great deal of conversation would inevitably shift to the wolf's school work. A topic that, to the vixen made scrubbing toilets seem like high-class entertainment by comparison.

Val could barely sit still most of the time, her normally casual and laid back nature being stymied by the inescapable quiet stillness and harsh fluorescent lighting filling her with a constant, low thrum of anxiety. It sat in the pit of her stomach, constantly pulsing and gnawing at her insides. It was a sensation that simply refused to leave until she had made it to the safety of her father's bark car at the end of her shift. She wanted to be doing something, anything else. Fixing a bike, lounging around the house, hell even hanging out with her co-workers anywhere else but at Bug Burga if it was the only alternative. But, she had to be there. She had to endure the debilitating boredom due to her little slip up with the ZPD. Spending most of her time just sitting there, waiting for a customer to show up. Staying any longer than three months, putting herself through more of that painfully dull drudgery of a job would surely have her stress shedding as badly as her old 'mam in no time.

But what had ultimately made her stay was sort of a combination of factors that took place on what had been meant to be her final shift. On her last day, she had been ready and eager to leave. To march out of the restaurant with her head held high and a beaming smile plastered across her muzzle. She even considered giving Ol' Gus one last good scare and watching him freeze up and fall to the floor before heading out the door. It was something that always put a smile on her face since the day Vernon had accidentally let it slip that the older billy had a genetic '_fainting'_disorder. One that proved far too entertaining for Val not to exploit at almost every chance she got. And considering it was her last day, what harm could one more for the road do? Luckily for her, Gus had shown up a few hours before her shift was scheduled to end, so the option remained on the table as the clock counted down the final minutes.

The billy had spent a majority of his time going over paperwork and lamenting to both her and Vernon about the number of employees that would be leaving the restaurant within the next few weeks. A good portion of the day shift were students, and with the fall many of them would be returning to college for the year. Unfortunately for Val, the goat had been continuing to complain about the circumstance when her father arrived to pick her up. He was a good ten minutes early, and by that point Vernon had been used to letting the older tod in to wait out the last ten minutes and sometimes catch an early breakfast. And of course, the older fox had been well within earshot when he heard Gus once again whining about the major hit his workforce was about to take.

Cameron hadn't even stopped to quietly discuss the idea with Val before loudly suggesting to her manager that she might be interested in taking some of those open shifts on herself, something that caused Gus to immediately perk up, while at the same time earning a horrified and infuriated glare from the vixen herself. However, Cameron didn't even flinch in response, instead going on and on about how 'good it would be for her', that 'not only would she be helping herself out, but also her new 'friends',_something Val was quick to scoff at. Val of course resisted. She argued that she had '_done her time'. There was no way she was wasting one more of her precious nights working in 'purgatory's favorite restaurant'. It was admittedly mildly entertaining to see Gus drop to his hooves and knees, begging the vixen to stay out of clear desperation. But it was ultimately a combination of parental guilt, coupled with Gus' promises to transfer her over to the day shift and to keep calling her in for a night shift a _'rare last resort'_that would eventually see her reluctantly sign on to stay. That, and of course her father using the _'puppy dog'_eyes trick on her, a trick she had spent years honing and using on the tod himself. Val couldn't help but be offended, disgusted even to see her father resort to such cheap tactics. That was her move, reserved for her use only. She was the one who was supposed to play dirty, and yet her goody-two pads of a father had ripped the page right out of her playbook and shamelessly used it against her.

It was a part-time position, as it was before, and as Val insisted it would remain. With her private garage gig still in her back pocket, Bug Burga would act as her '_keeping up appearances'_job. At the very least it would keep her father off her back about higher learning and life plans for the foreseeable future. It wasn't a clean win in Val's book, but at the very least her nights were once again her own, and more importantly, her side hustle had succeeded in getting Red back on the road, and in what Val believed to be in the best condition of its long and storied history since coming off the factory line. Of course, at that point she still had a few more months of waiting until she could legally drive again. But knowing that by next Summer, the vixen would once again laying claim to the old, beaten down roads of the back dunes was enough to keep the vixen's head held high. Despite working at the Bug Burga, the vixen had managed to get a tight grip on her life once again, and this time she was going to make damn sure she didn't let it slip through her paws once more. But as she would learn, having control of her own life would do little to prevent those closest to her from doing the same for themselves. And while Val had found stability in her own life, the winds of change began to bristle through her fur as it whipped around her, passing her by as the other mammals in her life walked along with it.

High school graduation was practically a blur to the vixen as she thought back to it. Her grades had never been stellar, not that she had ever really cared about that sort of thing. Shop class had been the only_'class'_that had ever been able to hold her interest, but one exceptional grade did little to distract from the rather lengthy list of borderline failing marks that had graced nearly every report card she had brought home since entering high school. She had just barely managed to squeak by in terms of actually graduating, and had it been just about her, she wouldn't have even cared to show up for the ceremony. It was for Ellie's sake, at least primarily. Obviously, her father would never let her get away with not showing up to her own graduation regardless of whether the possum was in the picture or not. But it was hard not to be happy for her 'sister' considering how proud she was of her accomplishment. While not making valedictorian, she had still finished at the top of the year'sclass with high honors, and considering Ellie's background, her achievements served as a powerful success story in terms of overcoming diversity and hardship. The kind of success story that was set to open doors for Ellie. Doors that as it turns out, Val wasn't entirely happy to watch her walk through.

Ellie was a sister to her, even if she hadn't exactly been formally adopted by the family. She was the only mammal Val could admit she truly cared about, second only to her father. She wanted to see her happy. To see her follow her dreams just as much as Cameron did. But the vixen hadn't really considered what that would mean for their odd little family unit, not until the discussions of grants and scholarships grew farther and farther away from Zootopia as the summer stretched on. From the finest art school in Zootopia, to the finest in North Mammalia, until finally, the possum was offered a scholarship from what most mammals considered the finest art school in all of Animalia, the Prench academy of Fine Arts.

Just the prestige of the name alone, of having even been offered a chance to step foot in the place would offer Ellie the opportunity to do anything she could have dreamed of career-wise. And they were offering free room and board. Ellie would have been a fool to pass it up, and despite how much it pained Val to urge her sister to 'go for it' and leave her and Cameron for a school an ocean away,she wasn't going to kneecap Ellie's dreams for her own selfish reasons. It was a tearful goodbye, mostly on Cameron's side of course, but the vixen found it hard not to shed a few tears of her own as she gripped Ellie in a vice-like hug at the airport gate. Ellie promised through tears of her own that she'd always come back for the holidays and summer, and that she'd call the pair of foxes every day. Trying to sound tough despite her tears, Val gave her what had become something of the Vulpes family motto,_'no promises'_as she forced a weak smile to her muzzle, a smirk that at the very least had earned a matched, yet earnest one from the possum. It had hurt so bad to let Ellie free of her grasp, even more so to watch her walk through the entry gate, waving Val and her father a final goodbye before disappearing through it. Three months minimum, that's how long her first semester would keep her busy. Three months without her "Ellie Vanillie" to hang out with, to crack jokes with. In that moment, Val found herself thinking that she would have rather taken on three months of night shifts at the Bug Burga if it meant having her best friend to come home to when she was done. But this was something Ellie had to do, and Val would be damned if she was going to do anything but support her sister's dream.

However, with Ellie gone there was a feeling of darkness that now hung Vulpes house, a gloom that Val hadn't remembered feeling anything close to since the loss of her mother. It had spread and seeped into every corner of the home, an inescapable air of depression that only seemed to deepen as Cameron became increasingly, noticeably withdrawn. Of course, Val was used to the older fox being somewhat of a recluse in terms of having a 'personal life'. He had never been the type to go out to a bar, or a club, and as Val grew into adulthood their little family trips and outings grew less and less frequent as she became increasingly resistant to taking part in _'cutesy family crap'_as she put it. Family dinners had been rare even when Ellie was in the house, but without her they had all but ceased, Val electing to take her meals in the garage while Cameron would take his in his office. The emotional gap between the pair was noticeably widening, and the vixen would have been lying if she said she hadn't been slightly concerned. As much as a dork as her dad was, as uncool and geeky as he could be, she still loved the old tod. And while Ellie was out blossoming in Prance, Val was watching her father wither at home, for reasons Val couldn't be entirely sure of. At least that was until the "Zootopia's Last Night" incident.

Just days before, she and her father were dealt a particularly painful blow to their already strained household with the news that Ellie would be staying in Prance for Summer break. It was part of an exclusive internship gig, and with a limited window of opportunity to accept it before it would be gone forever. Ellie, being her usual timid and nervous self, had asked Val and Cameron whether she should accept it or not. Whether Ellie was ultimately looking for an out, looking for someone to tell her to come home Val was unsure, but like her father, she knew telling her to skip out on the job would have done her sister a huge disservice. So despite how much they missed her, or how much it hurt to advise her to go for it, the pair ultimately encouraged her. Val could still remember how acrid the forced words of support had tasted as she urged her sister to take the job. Summer plus the fall semester meant at least six months without having Ellie around, an almost criminally long amount of time. But once again, Val was not going to be the one to clip Ellie's wings for her own selfish reasons, and neither was her father apparently as he feigned an equal amount of supportive enthusiasm until the call ended.

Had that been the worst the week had to offer Val, it would have already been more than enough for the vixen to deal with. But it seemed that fate had pulled out all the stops in terms of doling out setback after setback for her.

It had barely been two days since Ellie had called with the bad news when Val found herself suddenly, unexpectedly unemployed. Of course, it hadn't mattered much at the time, at least at first. Val still had her side gig, and while business was on the slower side, with summer coming she had expected it to pick up with the uptick in street races. But even with that thought in the back of her mind it still hadn't prepared her for pulling up to work to find the place practically torn open from

the inside out. She had arrived at almost the same time as Gus, although it appeared the goat had more of an inkling to what had happened than she had. Sure she heard about the attacks, but she hadn't heard they hit the restaurant she_had worked at. Looking back, it should have been obvious they would go for that Bug Burga considering who was working there, but the whole scene had taken the vixen aback to some degree. Still, she did her best to play it off when casing the place and checking on her'friends_'.

Poor dumb Vernon, the wolf had really gotten himself neck-deep in that mess. The vixen still couldn't recall ever seeing the wolf so tired and haggard-looking as when she strutted in on that day. It was enough to tug at her heartstrings ever so slightly. After all, while she didn't regard the wolf the same way she cared for Ellie or her father, she had gotten fairly close to him over their time working together on and off. And despite all the lurid teasing, the vixen came to see him a sort of an older brother, albeit it something she'd never admit aloud. It was that pang of sympathy, coupled with the lingering shock from the overall situation that had led the vixen to foolishly entrust the wolf with her prized possession. Even now, she still couldn't conceive exactly what she was thinking handing Ol' Red over to the frazzled, shell shocked wolf. The fact that he had pleaded with her to trust his judgment had completely caught her off guard. She was so used to seeing that wolf as simply dumb and aloof, she was comfortable with that version of Vernon. To see him so sullen, his tired eyes burning with an almost scary look of...determination? She simply hadn't been prepared to turn down that wolf, leaving her to hope that her snap decision would at least make for a quick path back to the goofy, aloof mammal she had known previously. Vernon knew how to ride bikes to some degree, she knew that. But she figured he'd just speed off somewhere and lay low. Heck, maybe that would have been the case had those cops not been so persistent. But still, thanks to that error in judgment, Red ended up taking an impromptu diving lesson in the canal district.

When Val arrived home that day, she was immediately pulled into a tight hug by her terrified father, Cameron already showing signs of stress shedding as he praised the gods that Val was safe and sound. He, like her, hadn't heard anything about her Bug Burga location being hit until he was preparing to go to work himself, and was terrified that she had been there during the attack. It was a perfect storm of a moment for Val, the months of growing distance between them coupled with her recent talk with Vern before handing off her motorcycle had left her feeling oddly vulnerable, shaken even. And it was when Cameron tearfully admitted praying to Val's mother as he squeezed her, the vixen felt the dam give way.

Hugging the older tod back as tightly as she could, the vixen felt her usual mask begin to slip. Tears flowed from her glimmering blue eyes as she found herself apologizing for everything, even things she hadn't actually done as she buried her face into his neck. She clutched her father's shirt tightly in her fists as she admitted just how much she missed Ellie, as well as how things had been before. She even found herself admitting that she missed their dorky family outings and vacations. She had just wanted things to feel somewhat normal again, even if she knew they couldn't truly go back to the way they were.

She could feel Cameron's grip tighten as the older tod nestled his muzzle atop her head. He apologized for making her feel isolated, and as it had turned out, while Ellie leaving had hit him as hard as it had hit Val, it had also been a sobering moment for the older tod. It had made him realize his girls were well and truly grown up, and the time was coming for not just Ellie, but Val to spread her wings and leave the nest. It was something he knew was necessary, like Val had with Ellie's departure to Prance. And the thought remaining ever-present in Cameron's mind had been slowly weighing on himand drawing him into himself. Much like Val, it seemed Cameron didn't feel comfortable sharing his negative feelings with anyone but his closest relatives, and even then only under duress. Only in his case, it was out of fear of being a burden.

As weird as it sounds, the vixen considered that interaction the only highlight of that day. The fact that Val and her father had both bled their emotional wounds together had helped them recover a degree of normalcy in their lives that both mammals needed, to dispel some of the darkness that had been hanging over the home since Ellie had left. The rest was filled with the ever-evolving news cycle about the high-speed chase and subsequent disappearance of Vernon and the sheep he was with. The fact that the 'chase' story was coupled with security camera footage of Val's bike careening into the canal didn't exactly help, especially with ZNN choosing to loop the video several times in succession.

Red hadn't exactly been totaled in the incident, but getting him back into working order would be no small feat. Once the ZPD had finally released the bike back into her custody after it was deemed _'no longer pertinent evidence'_to the greater "Last Night" plot,the vixen was tasked with disassembling the entire bike, drying out what parts she could save, and using her nest egg of saved up cash to replace the parts that were totally unsalvagable. Of course Vernon was hyper-apologetic, promising he'd pay her back in full for all the damage he had done to her precious Red. But having worked alongside the wolf, Val was well aware of how criminally small their paychecks were, and that wasn't counting what she presumed the wolf paid out for tuition and rent, worries the vixen didn't have. Needless to say, she couldn't afford to wait on the wolf to get Red back on the road, instead agreeing to a payback plan that she anticipated would take years for the wolf to pay off.

Despite the magnitude of the work at paw, Val as always was no slouch. And while it took a few sleepless nights of nearly constant work, It didn't take long to have her faithful steed up and running once more. With her hard work and talent, once again Red would rise from the ashes like a phoenix. And in that time Val would see the return of family dinners and other quality time that both Val and her father hadn't realized they had so desperately needed.

It had only been about a month ago when Gus reached out to Val about her current job. Another clerk stint, but nothing involving food thankfully. Apparently, the billy had given up on the fast-food chain, following his own dreams of running some sort of nerd shop. Of course, it did take some convincing to get the vixen on board. While the "Last Night" had caused a noticeably significant drop in private repairs, presumably due to the uptick in ZPD patrols stifling street racing, she had started to get used to life living solely on her side gig, and returning to some sort of 'on the books' wage job was seemingly less and less desirable as the days went by. But at the very least it would do a decent job of both easing her father's own separation woes while also making him think the vixen had some sort of plan in motion for her own life. A path to her own _'dream'_much like Ellie's and Gus', even if hers was nothing more than a sham.

That was how Valerie Madison Vulpes had found herself in this surprisingly large store filled with a nauseating amount of geek paraphernalia, the place still smelling like a musty attic despite how fresh and clean everything looked. The vixen leaning on her paw, staring off at nothing in particular as she reflected on her past. Val let out a bored sigh, her coif of hair bouncing on the tip of her nose as she exhaled dully.

Working at "Shatterhorn's Table Top Gaming" was fairly boring for the vixen, though thankfully not as boring as the old night shifts at Bug Burga. Plus, the position came with significantly more perks, at least in her eyes. For one, she didn't have to actually cook anything, or handle any sort of greasy, inedible foodstuffs. On top of that, there was no shortage of comfy couches to lounge around on whenever the store wasn't particularly busy, or if she just felt like it. And hey, the store was even crammed with several vending machines, all filled with foodstuffs that were considerably higher end when compared to the slop Bug Burga served. All prepackaged and factory sealed, and totally free to employees, a policy Val abused heavily. To her, it was sort of a step up from the old restaurant, albeit not a huge one. There was still the major drawback of getting leered at by weird, socially inept nerds trying to muster the courage to ask her out on a date. Apparently, this was something Gus had chosen not to warn her about before offering her the position, and something he would later admit had actually been part of his plan to draw in more customers from the onset. He had likened her position as the store's_'nerd bait'_to serving a similar purpose to the vending machines, to keep the customers in the store and spending. Val would have found herself almost disgusted by the idea of being used as though she were a piece of meat on a hook if she hadn't found herself oddly impressed with Gus' clever business practices.

When it came to putting off the dorks that ambled into the store looking to bed a vixen, she did try to use some degree of restraint in shooing them off. While they tended to annoy her, she had spent enough time in her life around the dorks and outcasts of Zootopia to know how they thought to some degree. Her father and Ellie were total dorks, as well as Gus and Vernon and so on. So it did make her feel a pang of sympathy to the shier mammals that approached her, however slight though it was. The vixen was well aware that if she were to shut down someone like her sister as severely and cruelly as she was actually capable of, it would have traumatized her, more than likely preventing her from ever being able to build up the courage to ask any mammal out on a date for the rest of her life. Even with the more persistent types, Val would do her personal best to dial her fury down to something closer to a five on the 'piss-off'_scale rather than go in guns blazing. Instead, she would bottle up that building irritation and quality material, saving it for the particularly cocky, overconfident types. The ones who waltzed, or rode into the store on their obesity scooter stinking like a pair of wet, moldy socks that had been left at the bottom of a gym locker for several decades while somehow believing it to be an _'alluring musk'. Those who didn't even have the courtesy to try and pretend to at least be shopping for something before coming up to the counter and coming on to her. It was those mammals that she reserved the most delightful 'scenes' for, making sure everyone in the store had their attention drawn to Mister Catsanova as she gave him a thorough dressing down, delighting in every second as her mark struggled to keep up with her back and forth before ultimately crying to Gus to get her fired.

Unfortunately for them, Gus didn't care much for those types of customers himself and was more than happy to allow Val free reign in terms of driving them out of the store. From his perspective, whatever revenue that could have come from the larger purchases those _'whales'_as he called them tended to make, were entirely mitigated by the amount of customers they drove out of the store with their _'charming personalities'_and distinct lack of personal hygiene.

Of course, the vixen had never deemed dating any of the customers entirely out of the question. Although she had only been working at the shop for a little under two months, she had seen a surprising amount of mammals come in that were actually normal looking. Even some, she could argue to herself were good looking, too good looking to be into the kind of crap they were buying anyway. Still, regardless of their rather embarrassing interests, the vixen allowed herself to be somewhat open to the possibility that a mammal who actually thinks it's fun to shop at Shatterhorn's might be capable of making a convincing enough argument for the vixen to give them a real shot. After all, there had been a few mammal's that had surprised her well enough to earn a brief stint in the sack, some doing a better job than...others...

Val shuddered as she thought back to her first repair job and the caracal that had commissioned it. Despite doing an impressively decent job at pissing her off when they first met, the feline had proven to be a pretty cool guy. He may have had a terrible taste in bikes of course, but his flub of an introduction had proven to be a one-off in regards to his character. The vixen of course had never been one to let the species barrier get in the way of a possible fun night. There were so many different mammals in Zootopia, too many in fact. So many flavors out there for her to sample in order to find her personal favorite_'taste'. She had even given other girls a whirl with the help of Ellie when they were a few years younger. Of course, that experiment had ended with both coming to the conclusion that they were decidedly straight mammals. But the experience had still left Val a plethora of males in all shapes and sizes for Val to sink her teeth into, and Arin had been one of the lucky few she had decided to take for a _'test drive'. Unfortunately for the vixen, the experience had proven to be anything but pleasurable.

Why Arin had never seen fit to have his 'barbs' lanced as most felines did in their teenage years, the vixen would never know. When she had asked him about it, he quickly became defensive, evading her simple question as much as he could and ultimately never giving her a straight answer. It made it very clear to the vixen very fast that there was definitely some baggage there. Still, Val wasn't one to back down from something challenging without at least giving it a try, a try that lasted for all of one _'debatably'_good rut before the vixen was totally over it. Despite his small size, the painful raking of his spines inside her was a turn off at the least, and too painful to actually derive any pleasure out of on her end at most.

Of course, of the few guys she'd been with, Arin still hadn't been her worst lay...

The vixen's eye's listed lazily off to the side and downward, catching a glimpse of her most recent and disappointing one night stand as he pulled out a number of booster pack boxes for a bunch of card games Val hadn't cared to remember the names of.

Lewis Mustgrave stacked several small cardboard boxes in his rather short arms, doing his best to balance them as he rose to his feet. The diminutive otter let out a slight sigh as he arched his back to better stabilize his load, awkwardly reaching one of his arms over the stack in order to adjust his rectangular, black-framed glasses before quickly slipping it back under the stack in his grip. Unlike Val, the otter had been an 'in-store' hire rather than a transplant from the old Bug Burga employee roles. His 'knowledge' of geeky garbage had impressed Gus enough to take him on alongside the vixen, as well as going so far as to invite him to his little _'nerdy game sessions'_that went on in the backroom once or twice a week. Gus even let little dweeb take part in sessions during store hours on occasion, essentially paying Lewis to have his version of 'fun' with the 'big billy' and the rest of his dorky crew while the vixen was left to work the counter. And while Gus had advised her several times not to bug them during said sessions unless it was an emergency, the vixen took great delight in disrupting their sessions and eating their food whenever she felt like. It was only fair for her to get a taste of Lewis perks for being forced to cover his shifts after all.

Lewis turned his attention to the vixen smirking down at him, flashing her a dull, half-lidded gaze as he struggled to maintain his equilibrium. The otter let out a tired sigh.

"Ah yes, that shit-eating grin I know so well. Let me guess, that 'sparkling wit' of yours has deluded you into thinking you've got some funny commentary for me? " Lewis asked, a hint of irritation in his voice as he spoke. "No, please, please, what's on your mind? I'm _dying_to know..." The otter added, with a sarcastic emphasis dripping from the word _'dying'_as he uttered it.

Val smirked. "Just thinking about how much of a limp noodle you were in bed." The vixen replied with a chuckle.

Lewis rolled his eyes.

"Funny to hear coming from Miss 'Size Queen'," Lewis muttered his rebuttal.

The vixen let out a sarcastic cackle. "Miss Size Queen?" She asked, placing a paw to her chest as she feigned a look of offense. It was a short-lived expression, one that quickly gave way once again to Val's signature smug grin.

"Dude, I don't think there's an otter alive you could please with that micro-dick." Val snickered. "Maybe you'd be able to please a mink?" She continued. "A ferret? At least something more...in ratio to your size."

"Why don't you go make time with some big dumb rhino then." The otter scoffed, taking a tentative step away from her as the boxes wobbled slightly in his grasp. "The kind of thing one would expect from your typical slutty vixen type."

Val furrowed her brow at his biting reply, sneering for the briefest of moments before a devious idea suddenly popped into her head, replacing her smirk just as quickly as it had withered away.

As Lewis went to take his next step, Val quickly stamped her foot onto the otter's tail, causing him to fall face down into the stack of boxes he was carrying, the cardboard crunching loudly as he face-planted into the pile. Some of the boxes buckled under the impact, spraying a few stray packets of cards out in all directions as Val struggled to stifle her giggling.

Lewis wearily perked his head up, taking a moment to adjust his glasses before leveling a searingly hateful glare in Val's direction.

In response the vixen raised her arms defensively, rolling her eyes as she pretended to look innocent.

"Geeze, you okay squirt?" Val asked, doing her best to keep just how amused she was from seeping into her tone. "Those stubby little legs of yours trip you up again?" Val shook her head, feigning disappointment. "Tsk, tsk tsk. All this time and you otters still haven't gotten your land legs..."

Lewis opened his muzzle, his whiskers twitching slightly as he seemed to be readying a rather biting rebuttal to the vixen's act. But the words never came. Instead, his muzzle simply hung open for a few moments before ultimately snapping shut, the otter letting out an audible huff as he leaned up on his knees and began collecting the assortment of spilled booster boxes and stray packs.

"It's not worth it..." Lewis muttered, in a voice so low the vixen could barely make it out. "Just two more hours and I'll be as far away from her as possible."

With that, the little otter rose to his feet, carrying off the damaged boxes to one of the aisles and promptly disappearing from Val's line of sight, leaving the vixen to snicker to herself.

In truth, it wasn't really Lewis' size that was a let down for the vixen, more so that he had no_'A-Game'_ to back it up with. Perhaps the videos she'd seen online of otter's rutting a variety of other mammals had set her expectations too high. She had heard from multiple reliable sources that otters were all muscle in terms of body form. Hard, rugged, made to please on every level. But perhaps that translated better to female otters rutting with larger mates. It would have certainly made a good explanation on why the latter category was so much more substantial than the former. But even that alone could have been tolerable if the mammal had known anything about foreplay. Once he had 'gotten his', the limited effort he had put in at the start had completely evaporated, forcing Val to finish the job herself. To her, that was an unforgivable sin, and so for as long as she worked alongside the otter, she vowed to make sure to never let him forget it. At the very least she hoped it might compel him to improve for the sake of whatever unfortunate female he managed to get his claws on in the future.

"Val!" The sudden, loud utterance of her name had the vixen's ears standing at attention in an instant, her head quickly snapping to the source of the sound coming from the front of the store. Standing in front of the _'community'_corkboard was her manager Gus, the gangly billy with the recently installed prosthetic horn to replace his naturally deformed one, along with one of his equally nerdy, although shorter sheep friends.

"What did I tell you about disturbing you co-workers in a manner that puts our products at risk?" The goat scolded.

Val offered her boss a somewhat sly smile. "That I should only do it when you aren't around to see it?"

Gus let out a tired sigh. "Some of those booster packs could have cards in them up to five hundred dollars." The billy gestured to Lewis as he approached, the otter still struggling to balance the now damaged boxes in his paws. "You know how our customers are about their collectibles. If they pull one of those big cards and it's creased or bent I'll never hear the end of it." Gus shook is head. "Last think I need is our stores Yip page bombarded with negatives reviews."

"I'm glad you care more about the product than your employees." Lewis interjected sarcastically. "What about all the harassment I have to endure from that she-devil on a daily basis?"

Gus rolled his eyes.

"Okay, should I fire you too?" The goat said bluntly.

Lewis let out a huff. "Whatever." He grumbled, before toddering off behind the nearest aisle with his tower of cargo.

Turning his attention back to the bulletin board, the goat held up a sheet of paper to it before pressing a large stainless steel staple gun to one of it's corners before firing it with an almost ear-splitting crack.

Val's smirk returned. She could smell the potential amusement in the air.

"Hey herbs. What'cha doin'?" The vixen asked, her mischievous grin widening as she eyed the pair.

Gus let out a rather tired sigh as he slid the stapler to the other corner of the page and fired it again. With his task apparently complete, he finally turned his attention back to the vixen at the counter, flashing her a half-lidded, disinterested stare.

"Not that you'd care..." The billy started, lolling the staple gun in his hoof lamely as he spoke. "But I'm trying to recruit a new, semi-reliable member for my regular BnB gaming group."

Val's grin grew even larger, the vixen showing off her fangs momentarily before rolling her eyes.

"You're right. I don't care." The vixen chuckled, jerking her head back slightly in order to lazily shift her coif out of her eyes.

Gus let out an annoyed huff, the billy opening his mouth as if he had a rebuttal at the ready, but it was cut short by his diminutive companion.

"You really sure you want to bring a new mammal into the gaming group?" The sheep piped up, shrugging as he spoke. "I mean, it's going to be awkward working a new guy into the group, even if he knows what he's doing."

Val didn't really know much about "Broomie", the ram that had drawn Gus' attention away from what could have been a fun little back and forth. In fact, she only knew three things about the hornless ram for certain. One, Broomie wasn't his first name, but the vixen hadn't cared enough to remember his actual first name. Two, he had been friends with Vernon and Gus since at least as far back as high school, maybe even longer. And three, the ram was currently dating a rather massive and intimidating looking she-wolf with a thick Grrrussian accent that Val had yet to build up the courage to take a stab at teasing. Unlike Vernon, the vixen was pretty sure that wolf could snap her in half without even breaking a sweat, and not in the fun way either.

"Lewis managed to integrate just fine," Gus replied, glancing over his shoulder briefly back toward the counter. Val quickly turned her gaze down, pulling out her phone to act as a cover as she kept an ear pointing at the billy's conversation.

"Ain't that right Lewis?!" Gus raised his voice slightly, his gaze shifting toward the shelving.

"If it's about overtime shifts, no thanks!" Came a reply from somewhere behind the racks of card game paraphernalia. "You'd have to put a gun to my head."

Val covered her muzzle with a paw, trying to stifle a laugh as she kept her eyes vaguely focused on her phone. Now she remembered why she had even given Lewis a shot with her in the first place.

"Says you," Broomie muttered quietly. "But I wouldn't exactly call him a 'Ruminerd' just yet, y'know?"

Gus levied a rather skeptical expression at the ram, which caused Broomie to raise his hooves defensively.

"Hey, hey, don't give me that look, you know it's not a pred thing!" Broomie replied nervously. "I mean Vern's a pred, and I'm even dating a pred!"

"Ah, the old 'Some of my best friends are preds' defense," Gus replied shaking his head. "Honestly, I thought you were above that sort of prejudice Dylan."

Broomie furrowed his brow, letting out a derisive snort.

"Don't even joke like that Mam'." The ram shook his head, placing his hooves on his hips.

"I just mean...y'know..." Broomie began to fumble with his words, the ram seemingly struggling to figure out just how he wanted to say whatever was on his mind. "We all have history, y'know?" The ram finally managed. "You, me, Vern, Joel, Mellie..." Broomie sighed. "Claire when she still hung out with us."

"Well, distance tends to break up tightly knit friend groups," Gus muttered, turning his attention back to the flier for a moment, running a hoof across it in an apparent effort to better flatten it against the board. " Distance, life responsibilities..." Gus rolled his eyes, letting out a soft snort. "And the fact that some of us can't get over that the guy they were crushing on fell for another ewe."

That reply had caused Broomie to wince slightly. Whoever this 'Claire' was, it seemed that her departure was still a sore spot for the group at large.

Gus shook his head, gesturing to the flier with his stapler. "What would you have me do Dylan? Do I either seek out some new blood to help keep the group together or let it die a slow, painful and withering death?"

"Th-that's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Broomie replied.

"It's true though..." The goat replied. "Mammals start leaving the group for one reason or another, and with no new players to come in it becomes easier for those of us left to just give in to passing up BnB because it seems less and less worth putting in the effort for." Gus sighed, offered a rather weak shrug. "Besides, you don't build a history with folks out of nowhere. We were all the new guy once, even you Brooms" The billy chuckled.

"But Gus-" Broomie spoke up.

"Look, I'm pinned to the wall here," Gus interjected, cutting the sheep off as he gestured more frantically to the flier with both hooves. "I'm as pinned to the wall as this flier! This is a desperation move mam'!"

Broomie looked like he wanted to speak, but Gus didn't seem ready to give him the chance.

"I can't afford to keep postponing this campaign until everyone has consistently free Saturday nights!" The billy continued. "I've already pushed it back as much as I feasibly can." The goat huffed. "But now with Joel's little trip to Japanda going from a two-week excursion to a three month or longer-term stay," Gus continued, his already intense glare sharpening as it fixed on the diminutive ram. "And with _you_and Vernon becoming consistently flakier due to your relationships-" the billy's tone had more of an edge as he uttered the word _'you'_as opposed to Vernon's name. "I need theextra security." Gus crossed his arms defensively. "I need at least two mammals aside from myself at these games in order to move the planned story along at the necessary pace, and I can't exactly do that if I'm just leading Lewis around."

"Why don't you just do a Snipe call or something?" Val interjected, dropping the facade that she wasn't in fact eavesdropping momentarily. "That's how I keep in touch with my sister in Prance." The vixen offered the mammals a halfhearted shrug. "You could probably play a game that way, right?"

Gus flashed the vixen a dull glare.

"I'm sorry, did I ask for your input there Honest Jane?" The goat replied, raising his staple gun in her direction and firing off a round. They both watched as the miniature metal clamp flew about a foot away from the gun before harmlessly dropping to the ground.

"I thought you didn't care anyway, so just bury your nose back into that phone of yours like you usually do when you're supposed to be working." The billy added, making threatening yet empty gestures with the stapler gun. "Go on, Scram!"

Val let out a huff, more to blow her coif of hair out of her eyes once more as she went back to pretending to send texts on her phone, her ear remaining tuned to the goat and rams conversation.

"It's not the worst idea." Broomie murmured quietly.

"Ha." Val laughed smugly, earning a quick glare from Gus before he turned back to his friend.

"Look, I already considered that," Gus admitted. "But the time zones are just too different to line up properly." The billy rubbed the back of his neck uneasily with a free hoof. "Besides, if I'm going to go through that much trouble, to be honest, I'd just prefer he be here in the flesh for the session anyway."

"Sounds like someone's just being picky..." Val murmured, her eyes never leaving her phone as she fiddled with a dull puzzle game.

"Could you please-!" The goat hissed, flashing the vixen a death glare that had about as much of the intended effect as having a kit try and scare an adult. Val simply smirked, causing the billy's glare to quickly falter as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Just, do something! Something that keeps you out of this conversation!"

Despite Gus' clear irritation and annoyance with the vixen, out of the corner of her eye, she could see the diminutive ram sizing her up for a moment before a look of inspiration seemed to strike him like a thunderbolt.

"What about taking on one of your other employees. I mea-"

Gus flashed him a hateful sneer, his yellow eyes practically slits as he glowered at his diminutive friend. "I swear on sweet Cervidwen's hooves if you finish that sentence I will butt you out of this store. I won't even hesitate."

Val chuckled softly.

"The fact that you hate the idea so much makes me almost want to play." The vixen said with a wide grin. She had easily picked up on what Broomie was suggesting. Val leaned both elbows on the counter, flashing her boss her 'winning smile'.

"But luckily for you my distaste for that nerdy crap is just a bit more intense than my love of tormenting you." The vixen admitted.

Gus' head sank, the billy shaking his head for a brief moment as he placed a hoof to his temple.

"Why did I even offer you this job again?" The goat murmured before straightening back up. The billy let out a loud sigh, one so exaggerated it made his nostrils visibly flare. "I had my out, and I welcomed the_'Crimson Devil'_back into my life with open hooves."

"Love you too Buh-buh-Buddy..." The vixen said with a wink, playfully mimicking a bleating stutter.

With a soft jingle, the entrance door suddenly swung open as a large bull moose rolled in a stack of boxes, each labeled with the familiar logos and brands of the various foodstuffs that filled the vending machines. The vixen knew him as the delivery and maintenance guy, but that was pretty much all she knew of him. In fact, the only reason she could tell him apart from the other delivery mammals who came by the store was his notable lack of horns. It was always a rare sight to see a horned mammal who shaved down his headgear. Even if it did make getting in and out of stores a hell of a lot easier, a cervid or caprid's antlers were a lot like a fox's tail. They were an important, symbolic thing, especially to males, as the mammal with the biggest and well-maintained set was seen as prime dating material. An alpha among males. But that didn't seem to bother this moose in the dowdy grey jumpsuit in the slightest. Or if it did, he certainly never showed it in their store.

"Well, what about him?" Broomie asked, pointing to the moose as he was checking his clipboard. The moose stopped scribbling, glancing down at the diminutive mammal who was gesturing to him.

"You don't hate him, and he technically works here right?" Broomie asked, pointing at the moose directly. "And hey, he looks like the BnB type. You'd be better off getting him to join us then open things up to the general public."

The moose furrowed his brow quizzically, turning his attention to Gus as he handed off his clipboard and pen.

Taking the pen in his hoof, Gus pointed the tip back up at the lumbering moose.

"Oscar here isn't technically an employee." The goat said, swirling the point of the pen around for a moment before he began to scribble on the pad. "We have a neat little arrangement. Our storage room makes a convenient place for his employees to store their cleaning supplies, and we get free cleaning to boot." Gus continued. "Not to mention Oscar knows mammals. The kind of mammals who were able to get that mess of a situation with the pipes in the basement under control for dirt cheap."

Signing off the last of the sheet, the goat handed the clipboard back to Oscar, patting one of the boxes with his hoof. "And of course, super cheap name brand vending machine snacks."

"It is the least I could do," Oscar replied, placing the clipboard under his arm as he propped the dolly load of boxes back onto its wheels.

"Least? Hell, I'm the one getting the deal here." Gus replied with a smirk. "Which is why I wouldn't think fair to ask him to join or little BnB game group, as I ask enough of him already."

The moose chuckled. "The game was never my strong suit." He replied with a smirk. "And I'd need to be paid competitive rates to give up the work hours. Saturday nights are some of my busiest." He added, before wheeling the cart of boxes off toward the nearest vending machine.

"Exactly, and why would I pay someone to play a game for hours and hours that are supposed to be purely for fun?" The goat scoffed. "Just because I own a store now doesn't mean I'm made of Zbucks over here."

The vixen furrowed a brow at the billy's statement, making a mental note to throw his words back into his face the next time she decided to amble into the back room during one of their store hour gaming sessions that included her co-worker.

"Fine, whatever..." Broomie grumbled in defeat. "I'm just throwing stuff out there...didn't need to square up horns with me over it, geez." The ram added, crossing his arms and averting his gaze from the billy. Val watched from the corner of her eye as Broomie seemed to take on the posture of a pouty kit, twisting a hoof against the rug as he continued to silently grumble to himself for a few moments. Gus seemed quick to pick up on the ram's change of demeanor as well, his eyelids drooping to half-mast as he crinkled his snout at the smaller mammal.

"Oh, what is it now?" Gus snapped, his patience clearly worn through at this point.

Broomie let out a huff.

"Well..." The ram mumbled. "You gave that really pissed of glare when you mentioned how me and Vernon were 'too busy' with our mates..." He snorted. " Like what I was doing was somehow worse than Vernon, even though he was doing the exact same thing."

The billy rolled his eyes. "By Hornunnos, this ram..." He uttered with a sigh. "I can't believe you are still on that."

"I'm just saying I don't deserve a look like that when Vern's equally as guilty mam'." Broomie continued to whine. "I guess I know who your best friend really is."

"Vernon has just started at a new job, an important one considering Mayor Snow was the one who got him the position." Gus chided, wagging a finger at the diminutive ram. "Not only that, but Vernon's mate is a semi-successful author who more than likely is staring down the barrel of a massive amount of publicity touring once the hard copy of her book drops. Tours that Vern is more than likely going to have to go on with her as he's technically the co-author."

Gus lamely pointed the stapler at Broomie.

"By comparison, you have way less change going on in your life." The billy added, glaring at Broomie once more. "And I don't see your schedule growing as chaotic as Vernon's in the near future. So yeah, I'm gonna cut the mam' a bit more slack. Deal with it." Hus concluded with a derisive snort.

Broomie's arms remained firmly crossed, the sheep letting out another stream of grumbles.

"I mean...Talia has me exercising a lot." The ram finally managed. "It leaves me kinda...too sore to play most of the time!"

Gus rolled his eyes, letting out a long, tired sigh as he leaned his head against the cork-board in frustration.

"I'm so terribly sorry for asking you to come sit and relax here instead of in front of your computer or with your precious, precious comic collection."

"Alright, first off you know as well as I do that BnB games can get intense!" Broomie replied with a snort. "And secondly, don't belittle my comic book collection. It'll be worth way more than this store someday."

Gus let out a huff. "Look, I'm not asking you to carry the game here Dylan!" The goat retorted, his head remaining fixed against the corkboard. "I just need participation, otherwise all I'm doing is telling a story."

"I just don't see why you'regetting your stomachs so twisted over this mam'." Broomie bleated, uncrossing his hooves as he tried to strike a more casual posture. "I know you're tired of putting it off, but wouldn't it just be easier to postpone it till after the holidays?" The ram pleaded. "Things are only going to get more chaotic with everyone's schedules leading up to Yule, so why not just wait till after the new year?" Broomie asked. "You've waited this long to start this campaign, so what'rea few more weeks?"

"Because I've made Melly wait long enough as it i-!" The goat stopped himself just shy of finishing his sentence, his head still firmly resting against the cork-board as though it were glued to it.

Broomie titled his head slightly, furrowing his brow in mild confusion.

"So...this campaign is important to Melly?" The sheep asked curiously. "How so?"

Gus ran a hoof through his tousled mane of head fur before turning to address his friend.

"Look...I'm..." The billy cleared his throat. " I wanted to keep this a secret as long as possible, alright?"

The mere utterance of the word secret had Val back to leaning over the table as she watched Broomie give his friend a brisk nod. The vixen was all ears, at least until both mammals looked in her direction, forcing her to fix her gaze back on her phone in an effort to hide her interest. Forget the amusement factor, the scent of possible blackmail was in the air now.

"I had it planned so that the very end of this campaign, allowing some wiggle room for sick days and unforeseen circumstances, would end on the night of mine and Mellie's anniversary." The goat continued, now in hushed tones. Unfortunately not hushed enough for canine hearing despite what he may have believed.

"At this point, I'm almost entirely out of that window of flexibility for scheduling, and if I don't get at least one back-up mammal to get these sessions rolling within the next two weeks, my whole master plan is ruined."

Broomie stared at him quizzically for a moment before a sudden flash of realization seemed to overtake the ram.

"Wait, your anniversary?" Broomie's eyes widened. "You don't mean you'regoing to finally-!?"

Gus cut him off, nodding briskly while holding up a single hoof in order to 'shush' his friend.

"Yes!" The goat hissed.

For a brief moment, Broomie had the widest of smiles. The sheep grinning practically ear to ear.

"Gus, I can't believe you're gonna- I mean this is huge!" The ram sputtered.

Gus held his hooves up, gesturing them downward a few times as he seemingly tried to signal his friend to stall the building hysterics, but that did little to calm Broomie, his smile now visibly wavering as tears began to form in his eyes. Dylan wiped away the start of a tear as he began sniffling.

"Aw Gus Mam', I'm so proud of you..." The sheep replied, clearly touched by Gus' intentions. "My little kid's finally growing up..."

Val stifled her laugh with a paw as she watched the scene.

Gus turned, flashing the vixen a scowl as he fired another staple in her general direction before turning his sneer on his diminutive friend.

"I hate when you call me a kid." The billy snorted. "I mean, I'm older than you, the joke doesn't even work."

Broomie tried to cover up his amusement with a hoof momentarily before his attention seemed to shift back to the gravity of Gus' plans.

"Well, at least now the rush makes more sense." The ram admitted. "But two weeks?" Broomie hissed softly as he sucked in his breath through parted teeth. "Talk about a tight deadline."

"Failure is not an option," Gus replied, holding up a finger. "Come hell or high water, this campaign is going off without a hitch, and my Mellie is getting the proposal she deserv-!"

"Gussy?"

Val could see what little color there was under Gus' fur drain at the recognition of his mate'svoice. The nanny now stood in the corner doorway of the store, her hoof still placed on the knob as she began to round the entrance.

Had the vixen not been aware that Melanie Gessenay was actually Gus' mate, the nanny goat would have probably been a dead ringer for his sister, or cousin, at least in Val's eyes. To be fair, most goats looked largely the same to the vixen, but the prospect of them being related added to her arsenal of crude jokes and teasing to levy their way. And unlike her mate, Melanie was somewhat decent at taking a joke, as well as keeping up with her.

Currently dressed in light blue yoga pants and a sleeveless tank, the nanny with the massively over-sized oval glasses and head fur pulled back into a ponytail began to make her way over to the group of mammals standing in front of the community board.

"A-And I mean the original star wolves trilogy is a bit over-rated, I mean honestly." Gus barely managed to squeak out, turning his focus sharply to the diminutive ram to his side before 'smoothly' pretending to notice Melanie sidling up to them.

"O-oh hey Mellie." Gus offered the nanny a meek smile.

Placing a hoof on her mate'sshoulder, Melanie leaned in, planting a soft kiss on Gus' lips.

"Gus, did you forget I was practicing my yoga or what?" Melanie said, leaning a hoof on her side as she cocked her hips. "I could hear you from our apartment you were being so loud."

"You could hear us!?" Gus sputtered nervously, the goat's composure quickly faltering as visible terror overtook him. "W-What did you hear?"

Melanie giggled, a look of mild confusion crawling across her muzzle.

"Just you, yelling." The nanny replied with a smirk. "I mean, it was all a muffled buzz, but I recognize your voice."

Val could practically see the wave of relief wash over the billy as his previously tense stance seemed to slacken. Only now did Val realize much to her disappointment that she had totally missed a perfect opportunity to push Gus over the edge into a full faint.

"I know I can't really judge as I'm just as bad. But you said you'd at least try to keep the store quiet while I was practicing my stretches."

Gus managed to force a laugh, bracing his neck with a hoof. "R-Right sorry..." The goat muttered. "M-Me and Broomie just got a little carried away about Star Wolves is all, right buddy?"

The billy nudged his friend, the ram still seemingly shell shocked for some reason. Broomie finally managed to furrow his brow, sneering slightly as he looked up at Gus.

"Dude, woah..." The sheep shook his head in disbelief." What inthe rut was that?"

Gus tilted his head slightly, a look of nervous confusion overtaking his features.

"Brooms? What?" Gus asked.

"I know you were reaching for something and all, but you can't just make a total dag munching statement like that and expect me to just roll with it." Dylan snorted.

Melanie glanced at her mate skeptically, which only seemed to heighten his nervousness.

"N-Not now Broomie, c'mon-"

"Do you actually have a dags opinion like that? You really think the original trilogy is overrated!?" Val could see that Dylan was now clenching his fists as he stared daggers up at the billy. Gus took a step back, nervously eyeing his mate for a moment and offering a meek smile before turning back to the furious looking ram encroaching on him.

"I-I mean, no, of course not." Gus admitted sheepishly. "I me-mean I just heard some stupid customer say it. I would _never_say that!" Gus managed to sputter. "I loved the original trilogy."

Broomie continued to glare at his friend for a moment, nostrils flaring as he let out a rather sharp breath before finally backing down, the ram looking somewhat reassured by Gus' fearful reply.

Once again Val was doing her best to hide her amusement, barely able to contain her desire to laugh as she watched the shit-show unfolding before her.

"G-Good, good." Broomie managed, slipping back into his previously relaxed posture. " Cause If there is one thing I will square up horns to defend the honor of, it's the original Star Wolves trilogy. You should know that by now."

By now Melanie had taken up a similar posture to Val, the nanny trying to stifle her own snickering with a hoof while using her other arm to support her elbow as she eyed her increasingly sweaty looking mate.

"What's with the staple gun?" Melanie finally managed to ask, gesturing to the boxy metal device in his hoof.

Gus raised his staple gun up, looking at it with a somewhat vacant gaze which gave off the impression that he had no idea what it actually was for the briefest of moments before the light bulb appeared to go off behind his eyes.

"O-Oh right!" Gus stammered, quickly shifting out of his mate's way before gesturing to the cork-board.

"I was putting up a flier." The billy chuckled nervously as he spoke. "Trying to draw some new mammals in for my next BnB campaign."

"New recruits eh?" Melanie asked, crossing her arms and flashing her mate a somewhat dubious expression. "Are you totally sure you want to bring a stranger into the group?"

Gus' previous nervousness seemed to evaporate slightly, giving way to mild exasperation as the billy let out a sigh. It seemed as though the billy was setting himself up to have the exact same conversation he had with his sheep companion just moments before all over again.

"I mean, I know I'm not gonna be able to make every session, but are we really that short on players?" Melanie cocked her hips once more as she eyed her mate with a look of mild concern.

"Remember the last mammal you brought in?" Melanie added, in a hushed tone.

Gus furrowed his brow in confusion. "Lewis? What's wrong with him?"

Melanie nodded. "He kinda gives me the creeps."

"Thanks." Came Lewis' voice from behind the aisle, causing Melanie to jump slightly. The nanny blushed slightly, slouching as though she were trying to hide herself to some degree.

"Thank you," Broomie whispered in quiet agreement with Melanie's statement. "See, she gets it." The ram added gesturing to the nanny as he eyed Gus sharply.

"And that's why you creep me out Lewis! I can't tell where you are half the time!" Melanie replied, chuckling nervously.

"Maybe if Gus would buy taller chairs for the gaming table, people would actually be able to see me!" The otter snapped back.

"Maybe if you'd just use the damn booster seat..." Gus muttered.

"Those are for pups! I'm not going to degrade myself by sitting in one!" Lewis replied, ire rising in his tone.

Gus rolled his eyes, letting out a snort. "Dawn doesn't complain about the booster seat, and she's a hero to the city."

"I'd say the fact that she previously took a stab at becoming Zootopia's first dictator more than evens out her right to object to anything." The otter replied.

Val did her best to keep her snicker from being audible, lightly pounding a fist on the counter to keep from breaking at the otter'scomments.

"Anyway, new players means more of a drive to keep up the sessions, right?" Gus turned his attention back to his mate, apparently choosing to ignore Lewis. "It'll reinforce confidence in the group, making everyone else less likely to flake."

"But I mean, wouldn't it be easier to just wait till everyone else's schedules opened up more?" Melanie asked, adjusting her frames. "I mean, I know my weekend classes will be done after Yule, and I imagine everyone else will probably-"

"No, I have to start the new session now." Gus cut her off. " It's crucial that I get this thing off the ground before Yule or else my plans will be ruined."

The billy went silent, his eyes widening as panic started to overtake him. Val could practically see the sweat seeping out of his fur as his mate began to eye him suspiciously, the nanny leaning in closer as she inspected him.

"What plans?" Melanie asked, her green eyes tightening as she scanned her mate.

Val leaned in intently, certain that the billy was more than likely about to faint of his own accord.

"I imagine he means his plan to drum up a little community around this place, yes?" Oscar interjected as he wheeled his dolly loaded with now-empty boxes alongside the pair of goats. The bull moose placed a hoof on Gus' shoulder, apparently breaking the trance of terror that had overtaken him. "Yule is a busy time of year after all. You'll probably get the most eyes on that flier now rather than later."

"Y-Yeah!" Gus suddenly spat, giving Oscar's hoof a pat before offering his mate a strained smile. "Not only will we have the cream of the crop to choose from in terms of recruits, but it'll make our customers more aware of the fact that we'll be hosting games here." The goat flicked his hooves in Melanie's direction as he prattled on. "That's positive word of mouth, and eventual customer retention and sales once we're ready to actually post the reservation time slots for the public gaming room."

Melanie's gaze grew all the more scrutinizing as Gus find himself shrinking beneath it.

"I'm confused, exactly does advertising a slot for a private BnB session promote the store to mammals looking to form their own groups?" The nanny asked, squinting at the flier." I don't see anything on there about the public game rooms at all."

Melanie crossed her hooves, throwing Gus a rather skeptical gaze. " And so after you pick out aguy or girl, what are they going to tell others in terms of positive word of mouth? That they are part of a private game at the store, but they'll be opening public games eventually?" The nanny continued. "And one mammal probably doesn't have a wide network to go all 'word of mouth' on right?" Melanie squinted slightly. "It seems like flawed logic to me."

"W-Well..." Gus glanced up toward where Oscar had been, only to find the mysterious moose long gone, something that even had Val blinking in surprise. The vixen hadn't noticed him slip away either.

"Unless there's something you aren't telling me Gussy..." Melanie cooed, the sweetness in her tone barely masking the hint of menace beneath it as her glare grew ever closer to the rapidly shrinking billy.

Val began mentally counting down as all the tell-tale signs of one of the billy's faints began to show. It would be mere seconds now until she was sure he'd hit the floor with hilarious rigidity.

"Three, Two..."

"AwooooooOOOOoooo!"

A sudden, loud, joyful howl echoed through the shop as a very familiar looking gray wolf made his way into the store, a modest stack of books balanced carefully on one arm as his other paw remained bracing the side of his muzzle.

The rather bombastic entrance of Vernon Hunter had vacuumed all of the building tension and drama out of the room in an instant, much to Val's ultimate disappointment. Once again, dumb old Vernon Hunter had spoiled her fun. Or was it Vernon Hunter-Bellwether now? The broad-shouldered country bumpkin of a wolf with the warm green eyes had supposedly had some sort of shotgun wedding involving that crazy ewe he had hitched himself up to at the start of the fall, and had for some reason decided it was a good idea to keep both last names. What his reasoning was the vixen was ultimately unsure, she hadn't exactly cared to listen to the nitty-gritty details of the whole sordid affair as the wolf was terrible at telling a story without getting to the point fast enough to keep her interest. But regardless, she'd probably still call him Vernon Hunter if she needed to use his last name. It was just less complicated that way.

"Howdy y'all!" Vernon chirped happily, his tail wagging at a mile a minute as he scooped a book from the top of his stack and shoved it into Gus' free hoof. In a matter of seconds, the wolf had forced a copy into the hands of his three friends before they could even utter a single word.

"W-what's this?" Gus finally managed to murmur as the wolf ambled his way up to the counter with the remaining stack of novels. Vernon leaned against the counter, propping himself up with an elbow as he smiled proudly in the direction of his friends.

Gus looked as equally confused as he was relieved, the wolf having apparently done well to dispel his growing impulse to faint.

"That wouldn't by any chance be related to the last down payment for Red's repairs that you owe me, would it?" Val said, leaning her head on her paws as she offered the large wolf her usually smug smirk.

The wolf's proud smile faltered almost immediately, his relaxed posture withering as he turned to offer Val a nervous smile.

"I-I'll have it fer ya next week I promise." The wolf chuckled uncomfortably. "With interest, I swear it."

The vixen chuckled. "It's always 'I'll haaave it fur y'all next week.' with you" the vixen replied, deploying her terrible stereotypical southern drawl in her efforts to tease the big wolf. "Let's not forget I trusted you with my most prized possession, and you went and nearly totaled it!"

The wolf rolled his eyes, clearly tired of hearing the same shtick by now. But the way the wolf still bit his lip every time showed the vixen he still was harboring quite a bit of guilt over it, and that was always fun to exploit.

Val leaned back slightly, draping the back of her paw against her forehead as she feigned being slighted by Vernon's tardiness.

"Oh Vernon, and here I had come to see you as an older brother." The vixen pouted, forcing her lip to quiver as she continued her_'dramatic performance'_. " Yet I barely ever see you anymore."

"Val-." The wolf tried to interject, but the vixen wasn't done.

"Are you really going to start ghosting me like this just because you_utterly_wrecked my bike and promised to pay for the damages?" The vixen shook her head dismissively. "And here I took you for the honorable type."

The vixen returned to leaning over the counter, flashing Vernon a wide, satisfied smirk.

"You're lucky the sex is so good or I'd actually start to feel slighted with you stringing that poor ewe along as a side piece," Val added, her grin widening enough toflash her fangs.

Vernon flashed the vixen a dull, half-lidded glare, letting out an irritated huff.

"That ain't funny," Vernon grumbled.

"Glad to see I can still get under that pelt of yours Big Guy." The vixen replied with a chuckle. It managed to earn another scoff from the wolf as he crossed his arms defensively.

Vernon had been overly prompt with paying the vixen back, presumably using up a hidden nest egg of his to help get Red back on the road as quickly as possible after his little 'mishap' with her prized motorcycle despite the payback plan they agreed on. While still ultimately paying in installments, the wolf had paid back a bulk of the principle estimates way faster then Val had actually anticipated. And as of now, the wolf had already paid off the last of the repairs with his previous payment to her. But he had made the mistake of not asking the vixen for an itemized list of the prices for replacement parts, or even what parts actually needed to be replaced, and so the vixen had managed to weasel in one extra little payment bonus for herself. Sure it was shifty, shady, and everything one would expect of a fox, taking advantage of a friend's generosity like that. But for Val, it was fair enough game. In her mind, the additional payment was warranted for all the_'emotional duress'_she had suffered thanks to nearly losing Ol' Red thanks to the wolf's ineptitude and poor judgment.

Glancing up at the wolf and noting how quickly his mood had soured, the vixen's smile slipped slightly. His tail had been a grey blur of moment when he had thrown open the door, but now it sagged like a withering tree frond.

"Keep the interest," Val muttered with a sigh. Ineptitude or not, Vernon's friendship was still worth having, even if it meant forgoing the little extra cash she could have squeezed out of him. She could be heartless sometimes, but even she wasn't that heartless.

"Wait, is this?" Melanie muttered, running a hoof across the book jacket as a smile crawled across her muzzle.

Vernon's mood immediately turned around, his tail now billowing the vixen's coif of hair over her other eye as it began to wag furiously.

The large wolf gave a vigorous, happy nod.

"Uh-huh!" The wolf chirped excitedly.

"Can you..Pth..." Val sputtered, trying to block the wind from his tail with her arms.

Vernon glanced back momentarily before quickly backing away from the counter, rubbing the back of his neck as he offered the vixen a sheepish grin.

"S-Sorry." The wolf uttered, before turning back to Melanie.

"Yep! Yer lookin' at the official hard copy!" The wolf added cheerily.

"I thought this wasn't dropping till tomorrow?" Broomie replied, carefully opening the cover and peering inside.

"It is," Vernon replied, clapping his paws together. "But with Dawn bein' the author and all, we got a bunch of advanced copies to share with family and friends!"

The vixen threw a curious side-eye at the small stack of novels the wolf had left on the counter, leaning her cheek into her more dominant paw in order to free the other and reaching out to slip a copy of the stack. Settling it down in front of her, Val ran her sky blue eyes across the cover text.

"Predator Seeking Prey" The vixen read in her mind, taking note of the rather odd, decadent wisps sticking out from various parts of the font. The words were spaced widely across the book, the word 'Predator" sitting high on the top, while "Prey" sat near the bottom. The word 'Seeking' was significantly smaller than the others, sitting dead center on the cover, and flanked by what looked like a Medieval depiction of a wolf chasing a sheep around the central word.

_"Written by Dawn Hunter-Bellwether and Vernon Hunter-Bellwether"_Val continued to read, the credit sat just below the word Prey. As her eyes drifted back to the top of the book, she titled her head in mild confusion. From what she could tell, it looked as though the author's credit seemed to be listed once again above the word "Predator", although it was upside down and backward.

"Woah, check this out!" Gus suddenly interjected, holding the closed book in the direction of Melanie and Broomie.

"Predator Seeking Prey." Gus read the title from memory before flipping the book upside down. "Or Prey Seeking Predator?"

Val scrunched her muzzle in confusion before repeating the billy's actions, spinning the book around on the countertop. With a simple spin, the vixen now understood why the author credit had been repeated, as well as just what all those odd extra flourishes on the title fonts were for. The title of the book now read, "Prey Seeking Predator", and the medieval drawings toward the center of the book now appeared to have the ewe chasing the wolf.

Vernon nodded excitedly.

"Proud to say I suggested the ambigram idea," Vernon said, closing his eyes and smiling proudly.

"Not bad Sheep Dog." Gus chuckled. "Not bad at all."

"Can't take the dork out of the wolf eh?" Broomie added with a laugh of his own.

"Hey, I'll have you know Dawn was absolutely giddy over the idea." The wolf retorted.

"She really is perfect for you, sheep or not," Gus added with a smirk.

"Nerdiness transcends species, my friend," Vernon replied with a smirk.

"Wait, so these are for us?" Broomie asked, flipping a few pages into the book before glancing back up at the wolf.

The wolf flashed the ruminids a dull, half-lidded gaze.

"What Dy'all think 'advanced copy fer friends and family means'?" The wolf laughed. "Of course they're for y'all!"

"That's kind of you Sheep Dog." Gus added as he began to flip through some of the pages himself.

Vernon crossed his arms, smiling warmly as he leaned against the nearby wall.

"First Editions copies. And me and Dawn even signed 'em for ya." The wolf said, flashing his fangs as he grinned. "Probably be worth a purty penny someday, although we hope y'all wouldn't sell 'em on us."

"I've heard it's selling really well in digital," Melanie murmured, the nanny's attention buried somewhere toward the later pages of the novel as she spoke. "Of course, I figured you guys might hand out hard copies so I did my best to keep from reading it until then."

"It's number one in Amazoo's books section and it's only been out fur a week!" Vernon added happily. "And all them reviewers are just gushin' over how good it is!"

The wolf lolled his head slightly, gesturing a paw at nothing in particular as he spoke. "I mean, there were a few negative reviews, but those was few and far between"

"Well, I don't think there's any book or movie or any kind of media out there that doesn't have at least a hoofful of bad reviews, no matter how good it is," Gus said reassuringly.

"Even the classics like the original Star Wolves trilogy," Broomie added, earning a slight wince from Gus.

"Dawn's agents are already talkin' book signin's and tours and whatnot." The wolf continued, closing his eyes comfortably as he crossed his arms once more. "I figure iffin' you want, we could even do one of'emhere and help build-up yer business." The wolf smiled. "I mean, iffin' it's as big a seller as they are projectin', it's guaranteed to bring in some serious sales fer ya."

"I appreciate that Vern." The billy replied, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and averting his gaze. " But, I mean..." The goat trailed off, averting his gaze slightly. "I know I sell books at this store, but this isn't really a _'book store',_y' know?" The billy managed to utter, cringing at his own words as Vernon's ears sagged slightly.

The wolf tilted his head in mild confusion.

"Y'all sayin' ya don't wanna sell it here?" Vernon asked, his tail starting to sag.

"Well, I m-mean.." The goat stuttered, looking increasingly uncomfortable as he struggled to let the wolf down gently. "I mean, this seems more like a romance novel y'know? Not really a....nerdy book."

Vernon frowned, the wolf bracing the back of his neck with a paw.

"I mean-" Vernon shook his head softy. "Naw, naw yer right."

The wolf shrugged weakly. "I'm sorry bud, I'm just a little over-excited is all. I'm just so proud of my Honey Lamb. She really did all the hard work and put her heart and soul into this thing and I-"

"His rough...dexterous claws maneuvered with an unexpected, yet welcomed grace. Trailing up my taut flesh with a degree of pressure that had me enraptured as he approached my breasts. It danced dangerously between titillation and torment as my breathing grew increasingly ragged." Melanie interjected, the nanny seemingly reading straight from the book as spoke. "The way they danced on the buds of my nipples felt as though he were shooting electricity through the tips of his claws, yet I still craved more. My back arched in desperation, calling out to his muzzle, entreating it to suckle with his rugged....fangs..." Mellie placed a hoof over her muzzle, looking as though she were both trying to stifle a laugh as well as hide the very visible blush that had formed beneath her fur. "Gotta say, you're braver than me putting something like this in here. Wow."

Val and Vernon's ears shot up immediately, although for entirely different reasons. While Val's muzzle was quick to curl in delight, she could see the color drain from under Vernon's fur, his tail freezing in place as he looked back to the group of caprids. The vixen leaned on her paws once again, glancing at the nanny expectantly and praying she would continue as her tail swished lazily from one side to the other. 'This day just keeps getting better and better' The vixen thought to herself.

"Woah! I-It says that!?" Gus said, trying to stifle laughter of his own as he quickly began flipping through his copy.

"The overwhelming feeling of fullness as I straddled atop the massive predator had shaken me to my very core. For a moment I found myself blind, my vision white and hot as I felt my muscles squeezing desperately at his length. Trying to hungrily draw his heat deeper into my own." Broomie was chiming in now, clearly having found the section Melanie was reading from as he read the passage in the best sleazy commentator voice he could muster. "I was almost ready to climax from the act of taking his girth to it's full hilt, knot and all. But as much as I wanted it..nay, needed it. I refused to give to such lurid pleasure without working for it. For my mate's sake as much as my own, I was going to give him the ride of his life, even if the end result left me as saddle sore as an old western ostrich rider, the quivering mess of pleasure I would be left as preceding it would be well worth it."

Vernon was visibly sweating now, his muzzle hanging agape as Val felt a blush of her own starting to build beneath her fur. The vixen tugged briefly at the neck of her shirt in an effort to let off some of the heat that seemed to be building.

"His orgasm was tremendous, a white-hot fire that filled the very depths of my being in ways I had never experienced or could even conceive. Again my vision was white, nothing but the timpani drum of my own heart beating filling my ears as my hooves dug into his pelt as deeply as they could. A desperate clawing to keep myself tied to the ground, tied to him, or else I'd simply float away. I gripped him hungrily, my womb suckling at each renewed pulse of his essence as though it were an ancient predator sucking the marrow from a bone. All the while my body shuddered and quaked as though I was experiencing my own personal earthquake, localized entirely within my sex."

Gus was reading now, grinning wildly as he flicked his gazes over the rapidly crumbling canine near the counter.

"It was an indescribable high, the effects of a drug impossible to replicate by any mortal mammal, and in that moment I was addicted to it. I would always be addicted to it. Even in the afterglow, as my spent body crumpled against his own, burying my face into the sopping wet fur on his chest, I couldn't bring myself to break the tie. To even consider pulling his sword from my stone. I wanted to live connected to him like this, in this moment for all eternity. Lost in his heat, in our love..."

Gus raised a brow as his grin widened.

"Sheep Dog." The goat smirked smugly. "You animal."

Broomie tried to stifle his giggling. "Damn Vern, I didn't know you had it in you."

Vernon's eyes were wide now, the skin beneath his fur nearly as red as a tomato as he stared off toward his friends. Not at them, but through them. His brain seemingly struggling to process all he had heard.

"S-She said S-she..." The wolf finally managed to stutter. Suddenly Vernon shot up, the wolf standing straight and tall before he made a frantic run toward Gus and the others. The wolf had rushed at them so fast, the mammals flinched, holding their hooves up defensively as the wolf bore down on them. Vernon stopped just short of the group, snatching Gus' copy of the book right out of his hooves as he began to hysterically flip through the pages.

"SHE SAID SHE WAS GONNA CUT OUT THE MORE EXPLICIT' STUFF!" The wolf shouted, causing the three caprids to wince. The wolf was whining softly as he came to stop at a particular page. Val watched as his eyes wildly scanned across the text, his whines and whimpers getting louder and longer with each line read. The wolf dragged a trembling paw across his scalp.

"T-teeth to tails..."The wolf uttered, nearly inaudibly.

"Doesn't look cut out to me..." Broomie said with a chuckle.

Vernon's attention snapped to the ram, and in the blink of an eye, the wolf had quickly wrenched his copy of the book free of his hooves.

"Hey, I was still reading th-!"

Vernon didn't even acknowledge the ram, turning sharply on his heels toward Melanie and ripping the book from her hooves as well, clutching all three copies to his chest fearfully as his eyes flitted wildly from point to point.

Val shrunk into her shoulders, quietly slipping the copy of the book she had snagged below the counter with as little visible movement as possible. After having a goldmine like this just drop into her lap, and hearing what she heard, the last thing she wanted was for Vernon to steal it back before she had a chance to scan through the most embarrassing parts herself.

The vixen quickly went back to pretending to check her phone as the lumbering wolf tromped back up to her counter, clumsily sweeping the remaining stack of books into his arms and gripping them as though they were the last life preserver on a sinking ship.

Vernon glared at the vixen, his wild yet suspicious gaze actually managing to draw some sweat from the her. Val usually had a great poker face, but the desperation in the wolf's eyes actually had her growing increasingly worried that if she didn't come clean, he was liable to do something drastic. For a brief moment, Val couldn't help but wonder if that was the same expression the wolf had on his face when he had drowned her motorcycle. It was a thought that, despite her best efforts, caused her to shudder.

"Hey Vern..." Gus' voice was weak, almost inaudible to Val over the tension that now filled the store.

"You didn't send any copies of this to anyone before finding this out did you?"

Val didn't think the wolf's eyes were capable of growing any wider than they already were. But as a fresh look of absolute horror crawled across his muzzle, his terrified eyes seemed about ready to pop out of his skull altogether.

"OLDWYN'S GREAT GREY MUZZLE!" The wolf spat, nearly dropping some of the books his arms in the process. Vernon struggled to clasp the loose books back to his chest as he clutched a paw over his lips.

"I SHIPPED OUT COPIES TO THE WHOLE PACK JUST THIS MORNIN'!"

The door was practically blown off its hinges, bell-ringing out frantically as the wolf bolted out of the store, leaving everyone inside to stare at the portal where the wolf had once been as it slowly creaked to a close, and leaving the store in momentary, deafening silence.

"Shells preserve us." Lewis piped up from somewhere in the store, the first mammal to break the uneasy silence. "Did she really write all that?"

"Yes..." Melanie said, a wry smile crawling across her muzzle as she glanced at her mate, looking to him for what seemed like some sort of help. "Yes, she did."

Gus already had his hooves clutched firmly over his muzzle, having dropped the stapler entirely as he struggled to keep from laughing. Broomie didn't seem to be fairing any better, the ram beet red as he struggled to contain his laughter.

"Damn." Lewis replied, leaving the mammals struggling to hold their laughter for a few moments before adding. "Was kinda hot though."

Melanie broke in an instant, the other ruminerds quickly following suit as they struggled to keep from collapsing from laughter.

"I-It w-was, wa-wasn't it?" Melanie bleated between choking fits of laughter.

While not as overwhelmed with laughter as the rest of the mammals in the store, the vixen was struggling with her own snickering fit.

"I thi-think I've c-changed m-my mind." Gus said, struggling to catch his breath as he wiped a stray tear from his eye. "There is no way in H-Hades we are not selling that book in the store." The goat continued, doing his best to chase away the lingering laughter still wracking his frame. "I don't care if we have to buy through the distributor against Vern's wishes, we cannot let a golden opportunity like this go to waste."

"Oh Gus, how devilish of you." Val chimed in, chuckling. "I approve."

As the caprids broke into another fit of laughter, Val reached under the counter, glancing over her shoulder in each direction before pulling the book out once more. She held it below the lip of the counter as she eyed the cover once again, her sky blue irises tracing the serif's of the gold lettering as she swabbed it gently with a paw and smiled.

This book was practically a gift from the gods themselves. And endless well of material that she could use to fluster the dopey wolf to no end. That much alone made the book a fine addition to the pawful of books she actually owned. But she would have been lying if she didn't agree with Lewis' sentiment. It was, indeed, 'kinda hot'. Val smirked slightly, biting her lower lip with a fang impishly as she thought back to some of the excerpts Vernon's friends had read aloud. Those chapters were definitely going to require some very intense study, and multiple times too as far as Val was concerned. Maybe she'd even have to go as far as buying a digital copy as well. After all, those e-books were way easier to hold with one paw.