Ch. 10
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Hello there, dear readers! I am so happy to bring to you chapter 10 of Found! This chapter was proofread by the adorably amazing Trismegistus Shandy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found (Chapter 10)

 

by

 

Elite Shade

 

 

 

 

 

"So you're both stayin' fer two whole weeks?" Vernon asked Honey, who was sitting at the end of the table, a steaming mug of coffee between her paws. Dawn was standing on a stool right there in the kitchen, assisting Audrey with the morning breakfast, which was really just a thinly veiled excuse for the two to gossip conspiratorially.

"That's right. We're almost done setting up the rest of the surveillance equipment, and then we're going to catch, on camera, in high-def, catsquatch... or some teenagers out messing around." Honey shrugged with a smile before taking a sip. Vernon scratched the back of his head, still unsure of just what to make of his brother's mate.

I guess there really is someone out there fer everybody, Vernon thought before taking a sip himself. Just as he opened his mouth to ask for further info on just what it is that the two were planning on doing out in the woods, he noticed a certain black pup and lamb wander in, Alice with bed-fur and Trevor with bed-floof. He chuckled as they mumbled their morning greetings and looked at the doorway, waiting for their sister to follow behind, amazed at how chipper she always was in the mornings, a stark contrast to her brother and sister. After a few minutes of waiting, and still no Lily, Vernon frowned.

"Is your sister sleepin' in?" he asked his pups, who simultaneously shook their heads.

"Uncle Ulric wanted to play with Lily," Alice said, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

Trevor nodded, both his and Alice's eyes going wide at the sight of the stacks of pancakes Audrey set before them. This was just before Vernon and Dawn shared a look, and the large wolf excused himself from the table.

"Oh, Ully," Vernon heard his mother say under her breath, following behind Vernon while Dawn and Honey stayed with the pups. They didn't have to travel far to find Lily and Ulric.

"Morning, Daddy! Morning, Grandma!" Lily said from where she was laying on the floor, several pieces of paper spread before her, as she was drawing a picture on one with her bare paw covered in something black.

"Mornin', Darlin'," Vernon said, giving Lily a quick once-over before looking at his brother, who was already looking guilty.

"Look, Daddy! Uncle Ully is paw painting with me!" Lily happily declared. Vernon spotted a bottle of ink which he easily recognized as the type used for taking paw/hoof prints.

"N-no, Lucy," Ulric said, "I need just one single paw-print, that's really clear."

"It's Lily, Uncle Ully," Lily said with a giggle, planting her paw down on a fresh piece of paper.

"That's real nice, sweetpea," Audrey said, already focusing a partial glare at Ulric, making him cringe in fear, "now let's go show your mommy and brother and sister."

"'Kay!" Lily said, allowing herself to be scooped up in her grandma Audrey's arms, the older she-wolf gathering up all of the papers with ink on them. Vernon waited until they were out of the room.

"Ulric, what by the gods do you think yer doin'?" Vernon asked with a growl.

"I w-was j-just p-p-playin' with, uhm, m-my niece, Vern," Ulric said with a gulp and a sheepish smile, as he tried to hide the ink behind his back.

"So ya weren't tryin' to collect some paw-print samples to maybe run some tests on then?" Vernon crossed his arms and glared at Ulric, who started to wither a bit.

"W-w-well... I m-mean, I was p-planning to... uhm... hang it on my f-fridge once I was done analyzing it..." Vernon narrowed his eyes.
Back in the kitchen, Lily was showing off her "paw-paint" drawings.

"Well, those are pretty, sweetheart," Dawn cooed, giving her youngest lamb a hug, hearing a few sharp yelps and thuds coming from where she presumed her and Honey's mates were. After Lily, per Dawn's prompting, washed her hands and sat down at the table to her own stack, Ulric, pushed forward by Vernon, entered the kitchen.

"Hey kids," Vernon said, immediately dropping his serious expression and wagging his tail as he regarded his pups, "yer Uncle Ully and I thought it over, and decided that some paw-paintings sound like a good idea. And of course, we'll be taking all of 'em home with us when we're done."

"B-but!" Ulric was cut off by another look and instead meekly nodded his head. Alice and Trevor, now much more awake, both seemed a little excited at the idea. They made quick work of their breakfast, putting and rinsing their plates and forks in the sink, and then followed Vernon out into the living room, where there was already a tarp spread out for them.

"Do I even want to know?" Dawn whispered to her mother-in-law, who simply rolled her eyes.

"Just Ully bein' Ully, hon," she said, giving Dawn a quick hug. "let's just be thankful he ain't runnin' around the town rippin' his clothes off... again." Dawn and Honey both giggled at that. They entered the living room to see the lambs already at it, using the ink to make different pictures. Dawn spotted the Ulric standing in a corner, looking sullen. Lily saw this and frowned until she got an idea. She whispered to her brother and sister, who both nodded. Taking a clean piece of paper, they all three left a paw/hoof print on it. Lily then turned to Dawn and Vern.

"Mommy? Daddy? Will you put your prints above ours?" Lily looked up at them with her big blue eyes.

"Of course, sweetie," Dawn said, not hesitating to spread some ink on her hoof and firmly press it to the paper. Vernon chuckled as he followed suit, pressing his inky paw-pad down.

"There ya go, Darlin'," he said affectionately, rubbing her head fur with his clean paw.

"Thanks!" she said, picking the paper up with her own clean paw and walking over to Ulric.

"Uhm... Uncle Ully?" Lily asked, nervously. Ulric turned away from the corner, just as Honey sidled up to him to watch the event unfold, and looked down at his niece. She held the paper up to him, which he took and looked at it confused for a moment. "You seemed sad that you didn't get the picture you asked for earlier, so here you go! Not only does it have my paw on it, but also Allie and Trevor's and Mommy and Daddy's!" Lily beamed up at the wolf before her.

Vernon cleared his throat, getting his brother's attention. "What do we say, Ulric?"

"Uhm... th-thank you... uh... Lily," Ulric said.

"Good boy," Honey added with her own chuckle.

"Awww, don't I get a picture?" Audrey asked in mock disappointment, only to be surprised by a tugging at her jeans. She looked down to see Trevor holding up a picture, looking shy.

"I-I made you one, Gramma," he said. Audrey, her tail now wagging, took the picture and smiled wide.

"Well, this is goin' right on the fridge." She then started to herd the children, who had used up the last of the paper, to go wash their paws while she planned to hang up the picture.

Ulric's tail was wagging as he looked at his own picture. "We can analyze this and find out--" He was cut off by Vernon, once more with his arms crossed and looking at his brother.

"Ully, Lily ain't some specimen fer you, or anyone fer that matter, to examine," Vernon said with a slight growl to his voice. Ulric, wide-eyed and frightened, nodded his head while Honey gave a thumbs up afer putting an arm around her mate's shoulders and leading him down the hall.

"You know he's just going to analyze the paw print anyways," Dawn said, standing next to her own mate and looking up at him. Vernon sighed and looked down at the ewe with a smile.

"Yeah, I know, Honey Lamb."

"You know, any information he does manage to uncover could be useful, though," Dawn ventured. Venon rubbed his chin as he mulled that over.

"True, Lamb Chop, and Ully ain't one to keep somethin' to himself when he at least thinks he's solved a mystery," Vernon said, pulling his paw away to reveal an ink goatee on his chin fur. Dawn saw this and clapped both paws to her muzzle in an attempt to keep from giggling. Vernon looked at her, puzzled.

"What's so funny, Honey Lamb?"

"Oh, nothing," the ewe said, pulling her hooves away to reveal a slight ink mustache on her muzzle. Vernon smirked but chose to say nothing, still having yet to get his mate back for a prank or two that she had pulled. They made their way into the kitchen, to be met with peals of laughter. The day continued on, with Audrey excitedly getting to spend some more time doting on her grandpups as they headed into town for some sightseeing. While this was happening, Ulric and Honey were hiking back out into the woods, setting up the finishing touches on their surveillance equipment. The day out did have to be cut short, however, due to a storm starting to rumble in in the late afternoon. They returned back to the ranch to find Dorian checking to make sure that the backup generators were set up and ready in the event of a power outage. It was as Audrey, Vernon, and Dawn were all in the kitchen working on a special dinner, as Dorian was regaling his grandpups with funny stories from his many years as the sheriff.

"So, we start watchin' the security camera footage right there in the interrogation room. The entire time, this polar bear trucker is sitting there, tryin' ta deny that it's him on the video. Which is high-definition, complete with audio. At one point he even, while facin' the camera he somehow still hasn't noticed, answers his phone and says his own name, a few times since he seemed to have a bad connection. Each time, louder and slower." The kids all laugh along with their grandpa, just before a car pulls up. Practically bursting through the door, Zach comes bounding in.

"Hey kids! Uncle Zach's back!" he said, his tail a blur of excitement, before he started to play-wrestle with the three. Vanna entered shortly behind her mate, rolling her eyes but smiling down at her Goofball. She froze a little when she noticed that, while Trevor was giggling, having "pinned" his uncle as Alice prepared herself for a pounce, Lily had walked over to her.

"Hi, Auntie Vanna!" the little mystery mammal said, reaching up for a hug. Vanna complied, still looking a little unsure as she did it, handling Lily as though she were made of glass. She acted similarly the remainder of the evening leading up to dinner. The meal was a happy occasion, with Ulric and Honey joining in. However, Dawn noticed the tigress kept glancing nervously at the children. It wasn't until, after Ulric frantically announced that they were off to uncover the truth and he and Honey made their way to wherever they were set up in the woods, and Dorian agreed to watch the kids down the hall, that the adults discussed the change in Vanna's behavior.

"Is something wrong, Vanna?" Dawn asked from where she was sitting, leaning up against Vernon's side, on the couch.

"N-no... everything's fine..." Vanna said, looking away. She and Zach were sharing a love seat, the wolf dwarfed by his mate. Zack took her much larger paw in his and gave it a squeeze.

"We were just talkin' about becomin' parents is all. My Kitten is just a little nervous about it is all," Zach said, eliciting a deeper blush from the tigress.

"GOOFBALL!" Vanna said.

"Aww," Audrey said from the recliner, smiling at her daughter-in-law, "Y'all got nothin' to be nervous about, honey. Yer gunna both be wonderful parents."

"M-maybe..." Vanna said, sounding unsure.

"We've been discussin' adoption, but also tryin' naturally," Zach added.

"Zach, e-even if it's possible, I told you about how dangerous my mother was when she was p-pregnant with me! You could get seriously hurt if I smashed a chair over your head!"

"Kitten, I'm a lot tougher than I look," Zach said, puffing out his chest. Vanna chuffed with a small smile forming at the corners of her muzzle. "Besides, we can always adopt like Vern and Dawn."

The ewe and her mate both nodded at that. "It was a bit of a hassle," Vernon said, "but it was worth it."

"Maybe... b-but... I'm worried that I'll just be too scary for any cubs..."

"Aw, Ma could be outright terifyin' growin' up, but she was still a wonderful mom," Vernon said.

"What's that supposed to mean, Puppy?" Audrey asked, standing up with her paws on her hips. Vernon instantly looked anxious.

"W-well... aside from yer Glare, ya punched out that giraffe teacher."

Audrey rolled her eyes. "That's just what a mother does when her pups are insulted by some bigoted teacher."

"Still, Ma," Vernon said, only to have Audrey wave a dismissive paw.

"See, Kitten?" Zach added, nudging the tigress. "Ya can be scary if you want, but you can also be a big 'ol cuddly softy. You'll make a great mom!"

"M-maybe..." Vanna said, "m-maybe we can find a little cub or pup who could use a good home."

Zach's tail started thumping against the love seat and her. "Absolutely! Or they could even be some other species."

Vanna shook her head at that. "Oh n-no, th-that wouldn't work."

"Whaddya mean?" Vernon asked with a frown. "Sure, me and my Lamb Chop were primarily lookin' to adopt sheep or wolves, but we gladly took Lily as well."

"But... you don't even know what she is!" Vanna said, looking nervous as she stood up. "No one does. At least with her brother and sister, you both can relate to them and help guide them as they get older. But Lily? You don't know anything about her history, her species' culture, or anything that would be normal for her species' health as she grows up!"

"Maybe not," Dawn said hotly, "but she's still our daughter, and we're still researching everything we can about her!"

Vanna winced. "I-I just mean, that it's hard enough to connect w-with an adopted pup of the same species..." Vanna trailed off, shuffling her feet. "Lily's adorable, and I'm sure that she's as happy as can be now that you're her mom and dad... but neither one of you is... scary..."
Dawn and Vernon both relaxed at that.

"Vanna," Dawn started as she hopped down and walked over to give the tigress' leg a hug, "when I first met you, yes, I was nervous. But once I got to know you, I saw what Zach and everyone who knows you sees. A sweet, fun, and caring mammal."

Vanna smiled and bent down to return the ewe's hug. "I'm sorry if I made it sound like I had a problem with Lily... th-that wasn't what I was tryin' to say..."

"I know," Dawn said, releasing her leg. "Maybe it would help you get over your nervousness to spend some more time with your nieces and nephew?"

"Maybe..." Vanna said, still looking a little edgy. It was then that Dorian entered, scratching his head.

"Did someone just come in from outside?" the older white law wolf asked, "'cause the back door was wide open." There was a crinkle, and he looked down to see that he had stepped on a piece of paper. Picking it up, he recognized it immediately.

"What is it, Pa?" Zach asked his puzzled father.

"It's the picture that Lily drew for her Auntie Vanna. She wanted to surprise her with it, but why is it just lyin' here?" Dorian asked, noticing the sudden silence in the room.

"Y-you d-don't think that she... h-heard me?" Vanna asked, visibly upset.

"Lily?" Dawn called, heading down the hall, repeatedly calling her name. The others started to check the house, with Audrey filling her mate in on what happened.

Zach came back in from outside. "I saw some fresh footprints, she musta run out the back door. They lead into the woods." Vanna paled beneath her fur and, without thinking, she bolted. Out the back door she practically flew, following the footprints. She had just made it under the canopy of trees when there was the first crack of thunder. Like a switch being flipped, the rain started, coming down in big fat cold drops.

"LILY!" Vanna called, her voice almost a frantic roar as she looked around. The footprints already starting to become obscured in the downpour. Her ears could faintly pick up the voices of the others much further behind her, calling out for Lily as well. Vanna sniffed, trying to track Lily's scent, but the rain and the winds was making it hard. She followed it the best she could, but soon lost the trail.

Then her ears perked when she heard a sniffle coming from a nearby log. Examining it, she found that it was hollow, and that the sounds of sniffling were coming from inside.

"Lily?" Vanna asked, grateful to have night vision. Sure enough, there the little mystery mammal was, curled up and hugging her knees, crying. "Lily! I am so sorry!" Vanna said, kneeling at the entrance of the little mammal's hiding place.

"I-it's okay, Auntie... I mean, Miss Vanna," Lily said, straining to keep her voice even despite Vanna clearly seeing that she was struggling to keep from crying, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. "I-I'll be fine. I-I'll j-just g-go away, and then Alice and Trevor and... th-the Hunters c-can be happy."

"Sweetie," Vanna said, "Your family can't be happy if you just go away. I swear I didn't mean whatever it was that you heard!"

"B-but... i-it wasn't the first time... I h-heard th-that..."

"What do you mean?" Vanna asked.

"Back before we were adopted, there was another couple who was interested in us. They were Mr. and Mrs. Woolstein. He was a ram and she was a wolf. At first, they said that they'd love to take all three of us, and Trevor and Alice and me were all excited about getting to be adopted and getting to stay together. But then, Mr. Woolstein asked to talk to me alone... and he asked me i-if I really cared about my brother and sister, and if I wanted them to be happy."

Vanna listened, paying no heed to the rain running down her drenched fur, the pit in her stomach reforming as she listened.

"I said yes," Lily said, letting out a big sniff, "and he then told me that that was good. And then told me that they would be happier if they were adopted... without me. He told me how, because I wasn't a wolf or a sheep, and how nobody knew what I was, that it would be really hard for all three of us to find a home. But he told me that if I really cared about them, then I would let them have a home... by agreeing to not go with them."

Vanna felt her heart break as she listened, along with a flash of anger that an adult would ever say something to a child, especially one as vulnerable as Lily, before the fire was quenched by a tidal wave of guilt as she then remembered what Lily must have overheard herself say. The tigress mentally kicked herself as she continued to listen.

"Before I could say anything to him, Trevor ran in, having heard what he had said, and told him that I was his baby sister, and then Alice ran in and said that unless we were all going to be adopted, that we weren't interested. So the Woolsteins left, and Trevor and Allie didn't get a home or a family... because of me."

Realization of the weight that her youngest niece carried with her almost shattered the tigress' heart.

"But, Lily, all three of you got a family now. A big one! And your mommy and daddy love all three of you so much!"

"B-but, y-you said that--"

"Sweetie, I only said that because I... I'm scared..." Vanna said, wringing her paws. She heard some shuffling coming from inside the log and looked to see Lily poking her head out, looking up at her in confusion.

"What are you scared of, Auntie Vanna?" Lily asked, prompting a slight smile from her aunt.

 

"I-I'm scared about... becoming a mommy. I'm scared that I'm not going to be any good at it, and I'm scared that I'm too... scary... for any cubs to... love..."

"..." Lily said nothing as she crawled all the way out of the log and stood up. Not seeming to mind the rain, she reached up and hugged the tigress, who quickly hugged her back. "You're not scary at all, Auntie Vanna. You're gunna make a great mommy."

Vanna let out a chuff as she stood up, Lily still in her arms, and started to make her way back towards the ranch, hearing the frantic voices calling for Lily getting closer.

"I found her!" she called out, making her way through the foliage.

"LILY!" Dawn cried as she and Vernon rushed over. The wolf wordlessly took his pup into his arms and carried her inside.

"Don't you ever run off like that again, young lady," he said in a serious voice. Lily looked up at him and nodded, not used to seeing the serious side to her father. Vanna looked down at Dawn to apologize, but was surprised to find her leg being hugged again by the ewe.

"Thank you, Vanna, for finding my baby," Dawn said, removing her glasses to wipe at her eyes, her wool already drenched by the deluge.

"What's that ya got there, sweetheart?" Audrey asked as she was at the ready with some towels for everyone, taking it upon herself to start drying her grandpup. She noticed something clutched in her paws that Lily was holding close to her chest. Lily opened her paws to reveal a light blue egg in her paws, the size of her fist.

"I found it by the creek... I thought that since I was gunna be alone, and she was gunna be alone, that we could be alone together."
Vernon frowned, and not just at the part of Lily being alone.

"Can we keep her, daddy?" Lily asked, looking up at him, with her wide eyes. A part of him, terrified at the possibility that what she was holding was the largest raven egg he had ever seen, was drowned out by the part of him that was handily won over by Lily's wide and innocent eyes.

"W-well... we'll just have to ask yer mother..." he said, wincing internally about how unamused his mate was likely to be at him passing the buck on this. That was before Alice and Trevor rushed from around the corner to tackle-hug Lily, who managed to keep the egg safe.
Please don't be a raven. By Oldwyn, PLEASE DON'T BE A RAVEN! he thought to himself.

Dawn and Vanna, after talking a little bit more, headed inside, while Zach had to be found by Dorian after getting turned around in the woods, claiming to have heard someone moving in the bushes.

"Probably yer brother and his mate rootin' around fer evidence of catsquach," Dorian said. Unaware that a set of eyes was looking out from some shrubbery at them as they headed back to the ranch. A set of eyes not belonging either to Ulric or Honey.

Unbeknownst to all, further up the nearby creek was a truck with a flat tire. On the side was the name Pete's Pets and Supplies. Outside was a moose, on the phone, gesticulating wildly.

"I'm still waiting on septuple B, Pete." The moose listened for a few moments before rolling his eyes. "Yes, I checked on the cargo, and I recounted. And yes, we are one egg short than what's on the manifest. So I'm thinking someone miscounted somewhere."

He listened some more to the mammal on the other line, before sighing. "Fine! I'll check again. But I'm telling you, we only have twenty-seven Prench komodo dragon eggs! Not twenty-eight!"

 

 

 

 

 

Phew! And there you have it, dear readers! I FINALLY managed to push through my near debilitating case or writer's block! It was some seriously slow going! I certainly hope that you enjoyed the new chapter, and I also hope that you'll take the time to leave a review!

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