Hello there, dear readers! I am so excited to have finished this new chapter of Found! This chapter was proofread by the, still, wonderful and amazing Trismegistus Shandy! This story was inspired by the astoundingly powerful Rehabilitation of Dawn Bellwether and the sequel A Lamb Among Wolves, both written by the excellent WastedTimeEE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found (Chapter 8)

 

by

 

Elite Shade

 

 

 

 

 

"That's my girl!" Vernon called out, a wide grin on his muzzle, his tail a blur. Alice had just scored a goal and was already jogging back to position. She looked up upon hearing that, and smiled a little awkwardly, the black pup's own tail wagging. Lily was perched on his shoulders, hugging the back of his neck as she peered over his head to excitedly watch the game. Vernon then turned his head to look back at Lily and smiled at her. "And there's my other girl." This made Lily smile and hug the large wolf.

Dawn giggled while she filmed the match on her phone, holding Trevor's hoof. "And that's my little guy." Vernon finished off, reaching over to ruffle the black lamb's head poof. Not for the first time since they had arrived, that had garnered a few stares that the family was pointedly ignoring.

"Oh! And Alice's got the ball again!" Dawn couldn't stop delightedly narrating as she filmed. Alice's team, The Dragons, was ahead by seven points and the family couldn't be prouder. Not that Dawn and Vernon hadn't already discussed ways to show that they were proud even if the pup's team had done poorly.

"Daddy, is Alice gunna get a trophie?" Vernon heard Lily ask into his ear.

"Well, her team has ta win a few more games first, but I'm thinkin' she's well on her way," Vernon said. "Why d'ya ask, sweetheart?"
"'Cause she's never gotten a trophy before, and I know that she really wants to win one," Lily said, watching her big sister energetically running around, passing the ball to a teammate, to have it passed back shortly after while she was in a position to fire it into the goal before the zebra boy goalie could stop it.

"Well, don't you worry, Lily," Vernon said, reaching up to ruffle Lily's headfur, making her giggle, "sooner or later, it's gunna happen, right darlin'?"

Dawn looked up at her mate and littlest daughter and smiled reassuringly. "Absolutely. In fact, we might even have to build a shelf just for trophies," Dawn said, suddenly thinking that that might be a fun project for them and the children to do together, her ears perking at the sounds of Lily and Trevor snickering.

"And what's so funny about that?" Vernon asked, having also heard the two.

"Mommy showed us the picture of you getting the dollhouse you built stuck on your muzzle," Trevor piped up, the idea of their father working on a project building anything sparking the memory.

Vernon looked over to his mate. "You just had to show 'em that picture, didn't ya?" Dawn nodded at this, looking a little guilty, but also like she might join in on the snickering.

"I'll have you both know that that weren't no dollhouse. When I first started work at the department it was as an internship, building houses for Little Rodentia. That there was a house for a nice mouse family that moved here from Manehatten, which we luckily got it unstuck just in time for 'em." Vernon looked proud as he spoke.

"But how'd you get it stuck on your nose, Daddy?" Lily asked.

"Well, I was finishin' up on some of the final touches on the inside... and I had to get real close to look at it... and next thing I knew, my nose was stuck." Vernon smiled at the sounds of Lily and Trevor's laughter, accompanying the sight of Alice passing the ball to a giraffe boy who scored the final goal for the game, bringing the total to 67 points to 66. Not only did he feel a swell of pride for Alice for her team winning the game, but also for how well she already seemed to understand and respect team work. Soon enough, after the teams both said good game to each other, and the kindly female black bear coach had a few words with her exuberant team, Alice was jogging over to where her family was.

"We won!" she said, jumping up and down.

"You sure did," Vernon said, reaching down to scoop Alice up into a hug.

"Congratulations, sweetie!" Dawn said, taking a second to save her footage of the game, making a mental note to send copies to the rest of the family. "You were amazing!"

Alice started to look uncomfortable at being praised so much, but her wagging tail belied her true feelings.

"I'm thinkin' that this calls fer a stop fer some ice cream," Vernon said, suddenly wincing at Lily's cheer, the little mystery mammal instantly noticing her father's reaction and remembering when she had been told about how sensative a wolf's hearing was.

"Sorry, Daddy," Lily said, to be met with a chuckle.

"That's okay, princess," Vernon said, still carrying a now very embarrassed/happy Alice in his arms towards the car, "just try to remember that yer old mam's ears are sensative."

Dawn and Trevor both shared a giggle as Dawn followed behind, putting her phone away.

"Well hey there, pretty lady," Dawn heard a voice say. She wasn't sure if she was the one being addressed, but she stopped and turned to see who had spoken anyway. Standing a few feet away from her was a ram with a sly grin, looking in her direction. It took Dawn a second to realize that he was the new assistant coach.

"The name's Leonard Hoofton," he said with that grin still plastered on his muzzle, "I don't believe that I've caught yours."

"Oh, w-well, I'm Dawn Hu--" Dawn said, cut off by the sudden proximity of the ram, instinctively thinking to pull Trevor behind herself.

"I saw that big wolf crowding you. If you want, I could have a talk with him and get him to give you some space at the next match," Leonard said with a wink. Dawn frowned at that.

The only mammal who is crowding me is you, Dawn thought, not vocalizing this so as to remain polite in front of one of her children.

"He's actually my mate," Dawn said explained. She frowned some more when she saw the ram roll his eyes.

"Oh, c'mon now. You don't need to go and make up excuses. A simple no would suffice."

Growing frustrated, Dawn switched the hooves that she was holding Trevor's in, and showed off the red half-moon tithe mark, ginning a little to herself at the look of shock on the grown ram's face, before continuing on, still holding onto Trevor's hoof.

"Who was that, mommy?" Trevor innocently asked.

"A type of mammal that is a perfect example of what not to be when you grow up," Dawn said chipperly, making her son smile. They soon reached the car, Vernon having already buckled Lily in, Alice sitting next to her.

"Everythin' alright, darlin'?" he asked as they approached, Trevor climbing in.

"Oh, I'll tell you about it later," Dawn said smiling first at him, and then at all three of her lambs. Once everyone was buckled in, Vernon drove them to the nearest ice cream shop. Dawn got out to put money in the meter while Vernon helped the kids to get unbuckled and out onto the sidewalk. Resuming her "helicopter" parenting style that had become her norm, the ewe took Alice and Lily's paws in her hooves, while Vernon started to carry Trevor. The large grey wolf held the door open for his mate and girls, following behind. He transferred the lamb to his shoulders, his tail swishing contentedly as he and his family waited in line.

"So what d'you think you'll have, Trevor?" he asked, looking up to see the black lamb scanning the menu.

"Oooh, can I have the chocolate turf crunch?" Trevor asked. Vernon smiled, figuring that Trevor would have picked his favorite flavor of grass-based ice cream.

"Well o'course, buddy," Vernon responded as the hippo in the blue jogging suit in front of them continued to stare blankly at the menu.
"And I think I'll be havin' the strawberry beetle cheesecake," Vernon said.

"What about you girls?" Vernon said, looking down, taking in Alice who seemed to have zeroed in on a specific selection on the menu. He looked up and wondered what it was before spotting the most likely choice. The caramel apple ice cream. Vernon chuckled.

"See something you like, Allie?" he asked, shocking the pup out of her almost-trance.

"Uh... maybe," Alice said, trying to look nonchalant, prompting another chuckle from Vernon and a giggle from Dawn.

"And what about you, Lily?" Dawn asked, giving Lily's furless paw a squeeze.

"Uhm... can I try the strawberry beetle like Daddy?" Lily looked tentative as she asked it.

"You sure can," Dawn said, pulling Lily a little closer when she noticed a few seated patrons staring at the little mystery mammal. She gave them a withering glare, but was thankful that Lily didn't seem to notice it.

"What'll you have, Mommy?" she asked, looking at the ewe in curiosity.

"Hmm, I think I'll go with the lemon forb sorbet," Dawn said.

"Maybe they should call it a lemon forbet," Vernon said, making himself chuckle. Lily and Trevor both giggled, while Alice held back, not trying to laugh at another terrible "dad-joke". In the time she had come to know her new father, the pup had quickly learned that he had a love for puns. She had even been told the story of how he had annoyed a sheep salesclerk at a store that sold all ewe-pun related items. Dawn rolled her eyes, but smiled at her mate's antics.

The hippo made his order, an octuple scoop of eight different flavors in a large mammal size chocolate and sprinkle coated waffle cone. Finally, it was their turn to order. The teenaged female badger behind the counter seemed relieved at the, comparatively, smaller orders place much more quickly. Seeing her reminded Vernon of his brother Ulric, who had sent another text asking about the shaved ape, referring to Lily, who had called earlier that morning.

Where he got shaved ape from, I'll never guess, Vernon thought to himself. Ulric's girlfriend, Honey, who, while sharing his belief in conspiracies and such, seemed much more grounded in reality, at least in comparison with his brother. The call had been about something to do with the tides changing, and how that somehow led to claims of a larger shaved ape in the woods of the Meadowlands. His explanations were long and, as per usual, contradictory. But the gist that Vernon got from it was that Ulric, as well as Honey, were going to be using his upcoming vacation time to search for a shaved ape... or catsquatch. Thankfully, that was going to be next week. They took their orders and found a booth to sit at. Lily and Trevor sat in Vernon's lap, while Alice was seated next to Dawn. The family all found Vernon getting a spot of his ice cream on the very tip of his nose and, no matter how many times he licked it, he kept missing the spot. They talked about the game and the trip that they were going to be leaving for in under two hours. Soon enough, they were piling back into the car, and headed home.

Dawn helped the children to pack, pretending not to notice Alice making sure to pack her stuffed bunny, Princess Floppington, after Alice had changed out of her jersey. Trevor packed some of his books, and Lily a few coloring books and her sketch pad. Once they were packed, Dawn packed her own bag, as Vernon finished up his. They shared a smile as their eyes met, leaning down to share a kiss. Checking the time, Dawn called a Zuber, driven by an exuberant aardvark, who drove them to the train station. Dawn pulled Lily and Trevor close to herself, while Vernon carried the luggage, with Alice helping. They received some more stares, a few notably unfriendly ones, as they waited in line together at the ticket counter. Vernon scanned his phone for their tickets, and then it was just a matter of waiting. So, after taking a seat on a nearby bench, that's just what they did. Vernon was taking turns with Trevor playing a game on his phone, while Alice sat between them and Dawn, who was keeping an eye on her and Lily.

Lily looked all around at the train station, as well at all the passing mammals. She was swinging her legs as she looked on in wide-eyed wonder at the massive trains.

"Excited, sweetie?" Dawn asked. Lily looked to her and nodded enthusiastically.

"Uh-huh! I've never been on a train before, mommy!"

Dawn spotted some passing mammals do a double take at the sight of the strange mammal calling the ewe mommy, but ignored them. She was delighted to see how enthusiastic Lily was.

"And what about you, honey?" Dawn asked Alice, surprising the pup.

"Uh... I... sure," Alice said. Dawn reached over and gave her a squeeze. Soon enough, their train had arrived, the passengers clearing out. Making sure that they had everything, they all boarded. Dawn kept a firm grip on Alice and Lily's paws as Vernon, now with Trevor riding his left shoulder, carried the luggage on board. He stored it in the compartment above, and took a seat. Dawn sat down, all three children between them, and they waited as the rest of the passengers boarded. Since this was a trip to the meadowlands, there were many caprids who boarded. Various sheep and goats walking by, picking seats, some taking note of the mixed species family. Of course, there were more than a few wolves heading to the Meadowlands as well, and some of them noticed the family. And there were many other different species that boarded, all either for the meadowlands or the stops along the way. Soon the train started to pull out.

All three of the children grew excited as they stood in their seats and turned to stare out the window at the passing sights. They went from the Savanah Central station, through to Tundra Town. The train stopped and some malmmals disembarked. A few more boarded, and then the train was off again. They soon passed through Saharah Square, the heaters having switched off in favor of the AC.

 

"See that spot over there?" Vernon pointed to an area where there was some construction underway, an artificial oasis being dug out of the ground. The children all nodded. "That area there is gunna to be where the library I'm designing is gunna be built!" Vernon said with pride.

"Wow! Can we go when it's built?" Trevor asked.

"Sure thing, li'l buddy," Vernon said, patting Trevor's head floof.

"I bet it's gonna be pretty." Lily said, entranced by all the different buildings they were passing. They came to a stop once more, and were soon moving on through the rainforest district. Alice looked up at the tree-top shops, while Lily and Trevor pressed their noses up against the glass, looking at all the greenery. After a stop there, it was time for the train to head to the Meadowlands. Dawn and Vernon shared a happy look, knowing that opting for this train line, while a little more expensive than the subway they had taken on their first trip out as a couple, was definitely the better choice, as it was much more scenic and clearly enjoyable for their lambs. It was another half an hour before they were pulling in to their station, Vernon once more resuming his role as defacto packmule, while Dawn herded their children out of the train.

Dawn squinted a little in the considerably brighter mid-afternoon light, after exiting the station, looking around. She stopped and smiled when she spotted a familiar beat-up looking pick-up truck parked at the curb. As soon as she spotted it, the driver's side door opened, and out came Audrey, her mother in law. The older she-wolf practically bounding over in excitement. She was dressed in her usual jeans and flannel shirt, and was sporting an excited grin. She came to a stop before them, her tail wagging so fast, Dawn was a little worried that she might sprain it. She looked them over, especially the children.

"Hiya, pups," she said, ecstatic, "I'm your grandma, Audrey!" She took note of the little black wolf pup standing in front of the other two, defensively, and remembered what Dawn and Vernon had told her.

"Hello," Alice said, polite and serious, looking surprised when Lily walked forward, a wide grin on her face. Vernon had explained to her, a few times, that grandma Audrey and grandpa Dorian were both nice.

"H-hi, grandma," she said, opening her arms. With no hesitation whatsoever, Audrey bent down and scooped her up, unable to resist also scooping up Trevor and Alice, who let out a surprised, and uncharacteristic yip, as they all found themselves being cuddled. Lily giggled, especially when Audrey started to sniff each of them over, comitting their scents to memory. This of course brought happy, and tickle-related, giggles from each of them.

"I'm just so darn happy to finally be meetin' y'all!" Audrey said, biting back a happy howl, not wanting to set off the other wolves that happened to be in hearing distance.

"Don't go crushin' 'em now, ma," Vernon joked.

"Oh, hush Puppy," Audrey said, giving the kids another loving squeeze. She did notice that the little hairless mammal was looking up at her, her head cocked to the side in curiousity.

"You and daddy have the same fur color," Lily stated.

"We sure do, Sweet Pea," Audrey said, cuddling her grandpups close still, not looking like she was planning on putting them down anytime soon. "Your daddy sure does take after me quite a bit." This made Vernon blush as he started to load the luggage into the back of the truck.
"And of course, I'm happy to have you two back here as well," Audrey then addressed Vernon, who was loading the luggage into the back of the truck, and Dawn, who already had her phone whipped out and was snapping pictures.

"We're happy to be back, with our little lambs, Mom," Dawn said, still feeling a surge of happiness course through her at getting to call he older she-wolf that.

"Y'know, ma," Vernon started as he loaded the last piece, which was Trevor's backpack with the Samurai Snakes logo on it, "You can't really drive while huggin' all the pups at once."

"Can too," Audrey said, before giving one more squeeze, and then setting them all down, "but let's not risk it." Dawn was already at the ready starting to herd them towards the truck, while Vernon hopped up into the back. Dawn helped the children up and get settled in, reaching over to help Alice with her seatbelt after she had climbed up herself and found her to be having a little trouble with it. Audrey smiled brightly as she clambered back in and fired up the engine.

"Dori wanted ter come, but he's still on his shift. Don't worry though, he'll be along shortly," Audrey said as they pulled away from the train station and headed in the direction of the Hunter Ranch.

"Is Grampa really the sheriff?" Lily asked, looking over to her grandma, expatcantly.

"He sure is," Audrey said proudly, "He's the sheriff of the entire North Meadowlands."

It wasn't much longer before the ranch started to come into view. They started passing the crops of corn and pumpkins as they turned onto a gravel driveway. Audrey pulled them to a stop, putting the truck in park, and stepping out. Vernon smiled at the sight of the two-story building, looking just as good as it always did. The two-story wooden home in clear view bringing back memories that made his tail swish. He hopped out and started to unload the luggage, just as Dawn was hopping out. Vernon saw his mother exit the driver's side door, once more cuddling all three pups close in her arms, effectively carrying them, much to their delight. Even Alice who, as per usual, was trying to look embarrassed. It was then that a cruiser pulled in, with the sheriff's logo on the side. Out stepped the large white wolf that was Dorian Hunter, who removed his wide-brimmed hat to wipe his forehead, smiling as his steel grey eyes took in the new arrivals.

"Hey, Dori!" He turned to his mate as she held up the pups in her arms for him to see, "Look what I caught!" Which elicited not only some more happy squeals from the children, but a deep rumbling chuckle from the old law dog. His chuckle tapered off a little when he spotted the strange unknown mammal in his mate's arms, and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly, but he was quick to remedy that as he approached. The feeling of deja vu still pestering him at the back of his mind.

 

 

 

 

 

I really hope that you enjoyed the new chapter! Please feel free to leave a review!