Hello there, readers! First of all, I'd like to say GAAAH!!! I HATE writer's block! Secondly, YAAAY!!! I'm so happy and excited to bring to you the next chapter of Found! And I would like to thank two very wonderful mammals! The amazing author and artist, WastedTimeEE, for not only letting me write in their AU and use their characters, as well as for answering all of my many questions about them! And the second being the adorable Trismegistus Shandy (who's also an awesome author), for their proofreading and very much appreciated suggestions! Thank you both! Hugs! And I would also like to thank you, the readers, for your patience and for your words of encouragement (they help more than you realize)! Hugs.

"So he didn't know anything?" Dawn asked, the diminutive ewe unable to keep a note of disappointment from creeping into her voice.

 

"Sorry, Dawn," Judy said. The two were currently in Dawn and Vern's living room, Judy in her street clothes, a tray of prey snacks on the coffee table before them as they sat on the couch. "He didn't remember anything out of the ordinary, aside from finding Lily."

 

Dawn sighed, but smiled at her friend. "That's okay. It's just... this is all so frustrating. You would think that with a species as rare as Lily's, that they'd stand out."

 

"True, and that just makes this all the more strange. All we got was that Lily was found in an alley near the entrance to the Nocturnal District."

 

"The Nocturnal District?" Dawn asked. "That's still another clue. Lily did say that it got dark..."

 

"Nick suggested that maybe Lily's bio-mom was seen there, and he even got in touch with some old contacts to put out his feelers. But so far, nothing," Judy said, not sounding too hopeful about their chances. "Although he is meeting some of them right now. Well, he and Finnick."

 

"I hope that they're not putting themselves in danger!" Dawn said, feeling suddenly guilty for roping her friends into a potentially hazardous situation.

 

"They both assured me that they're not in any danger," Judy said, patting Dawn's hoof. "Hopefully it won't be a waste of time."

 

"Any kernel of information is invaluable, Judy," Dawn said with a warm smile. She noticed the bunny officer's ears perking and turning towards the front door.

 

"Oh. Vernon's back, and he's got the kits with him," Judy said, smiling, feeling a bubble of excitement at finally getting to meet Dawn and Vernon's kits. They didn't have to wait long before the front door was opened, in striding Vernon carrying Lily and Trevor in his arms, Alice right in front, all four of them laughing.

 

"And that's why yer Uncle Ully's been banned from all Snarlbucks everywhere," Vernon rumbled out with a chuckle, before spying the two females sitting on the living room couch. His muzzle broke into an easy grin.

 

"So did he find the ghosts?" Lily asked innocently.

 

Vernon let out a snicker. "There were no ghosts, Sweetpea," he said while gently squeezing her and her brother in a hug as he still held them. "It was just an albino puma whom yer Uncle scared and pestered." Vernon chose to omit the part where Ulric had started disrobing to reveal the anti-spirit runes he had drawn on himself with a marker.

 

"Heya, Honey Lamb, and hey there, Judy," he said, shifting the conversation, and his pups' attention to the couch.

 

"Hiya, Vern!" the bunny said chipperly as she watched the large wolf set down the children in his arms. She watched as Alice took her place before them, in a protective fashion, before they were herded their way. She had to coo at the sight of them, especially how Lily held her brother's hoof, smiling but now seeming a little shy at meeting a new mammal. She also noticed how the little black wolf pup was staring at her, almost confused-looking.

 

"Kids, this is your Aunt Judy," Dawn said, inadvertently putting the bunny on the spot. Not that Judy was put-off by kits.

 

"Hi there!" Her voice was gentle yet energetic and full of pep, which seemed to put the children at ease, although Alice did still seem to be a little guarded.

 

"Hi, Aunt Judy!" Lily said, her shyness evaporating to be replaced with excitement. The greeting was echoed by Trevor and Alice, both happily as well.

 

"Awww, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you're Lily," Judy said with a giggle to match the one the little furless mammal gave. "And this young ram must be Trevor," she said, noting how shy he still seemed to be, but he nodded and smiled at her. Then Judy turned her attention to the pup who was still staring at her, shifting her backpack a little. "And that means you're Alice, right sweetie?" Alice looked around quickly before nodding.

 

"Are you a princess?" Lily asked, prompting a coo from the females and a chuckle from Vernon.

 

"No, sweetie. I'm a police officer," Judy proudly said.

 

"Oh, I only asked because you look just like Princess Floppington, Alice's stuffed bunny," Lily said. Starting with coming home from the theater, Dawn and Vern had quickly learned that Lily was terrible at keeping secrets. Alice's eyes went wide and she blushed beneath her fur as her ears splayed flat on her head.

 

"Lily," she hissed to her little sister, "I used to have a stuffed bunny. I don't anymore!"

 

"But don't you take her to school with you in your backpack?" Lily asked. Alice shook her head no, but readjusted her backpack.

 

"Awww, it's okay, sweetie," Judy chimed in, making the pup practically jump and turn to her. "I brought a whole bunch of my stuffed animals to Zootopia with me after I moved here. In fact, I even had a special one that I kept in my bunk at the police academy.

 

"... Really?" Alice asked, sounding skeptical, to be met with a vigorous nod from the rabbit. "Yup! His name is Mr. Vulper, and he's a little stuffed fox." Judy, as well as Dawn and Vernon, both noticed how Alice's tail, which had been tucking itself, was now starting to wag. They both smiled at Judy, who smiled right back.

 

"Oh... uh... I gotta go put my school stuff away," Alice said, looking away, still blushing, before she dashed off, followed by Lily, while Trevor smiled shyly. Dawn noticed her little black ram standing there with a piece of paper in his hooves.

 

"What you got there, honey?" Dawn asked, patting the space on the couch next to her. Trevor approached, seeming nervous, and climbed up and found Dawn pulling him closer with an arm.

 

"W-we got to write an essay today, and Mr. Hornberg l-let us pick what we wanted to write..." Trevor trailed off before presenting Dawn the paper. She smiled when she saw the red marker A+ complete with a smiley face at the top. Her grin only grew wider when she saw the title of the essay.

 

My New Family, by Trevor Hunter-Bellwether. The essay was about how happy Trevor was that he and his sisters were able to find such a big and loving family. He described how much he loved his grandparents, talked about his wonderful aunts and uncles that they'd met so far, about how excited he was to meet the rest of them, and about how happy his new mommy and daddy made them all. Shifting her glasses, she wiped away a tear with a hoof before pulling her lamb into a hug, kissing him on his forehead. Judy cooed after Dawn collected herself and read the essay aloud, giggling at the sight of Vernon ruffling Trevor's head fluff.

 

"This here is worthy of the fridge," Vernon said, to which Dawn agreed. She handed him the essay before hugging Trevor close again, eliciting a happy bleat from the small ram. As Vernon was securing the essay to the fridge with a pair of banana magnets, his phone started to buzz. He fished it out and saw that it was a call from his father. He smiled as he answered it and held it up to his ear.

 

"Hey there, Pa," he said, looking out from the kitchen to see Lily proudly showing Princess Callibrie to Judy, the small lizard now dressed in some doll-sized princess garb, and Alice, now sitting on Dawn's other side, blushing as she showed Dawn what was apparently a school assignment of her own, which Dawn was praising and hugging her for as well, still one arm around Trevor, alternating between kissing each of their foreheads. The sight made Vernon's heart swell with joy so much, that after a minute, he realized that he had completely tuned his father out.

 

"Oh, uh, sorry about that, Pa, I missed what you said." Vernon stood there listening to the older law wolf on the other end. His eyes slowly started to go wide, and his tail started to wag. He turned away from the living room and spoke softly. "Yer sure? Y'all actually found another of Lily's species? That's wonderful! What're they called?" Vernon's questions were rapid fire, and he had to take a second to calm himself, so as not to attract attention.

 

"Huemans? How do y'all spell that? Oh," Vernon said, opening a drawer in the kitchen and pulling out a pen and a notepad of paper. He wrote down the species name as he listened to what his father had to say. Slowly, his tail stopped wagging, and his smile became a frown. Dorian was explaining how Marcus, a child, being all alone in the woods, was injured and sick, and showed signs of past abuse, in addition to malnutrition. Then Dorian explained the scars. Vernon had to bite back a natural growl.

 

"Has anybody been able to contact his parents?" He listened some more, his ears perking in confusion. "Really? Zach and Vanna? Oh no, I'm sure that they're gunna be great foster parents. I just figured you and Ma would wanna take him in yerselves. Oh."

 

 

In The North Meadowlands...

 

 

"Yeah, and yer brother and sister-in-law got a room in their place all ready fer the boy. They're both still purty nervous, especially Vanna, but Zach seems to be gettin' more and more excited at being a pa himself," Dorian chuckled. "And I have a feelin' that with them, Marcus'll start to feel safe. And then, if'n he feels like it, he might be willin' to share more about his species. 'Course, right now he seems just about spooked by everything. Anyways, I just wanted to keep you and Dawn updated on what's goin' on, son," Dorian said as he stood in the hall a few doors down from Marcus' room, where Zach currently was explaining to Marcus that he was going to be coming home with him and Vanna in another couple of days when the doctors deemed he would be all healed up.

 

"Huh? Oh that. Xavier took care of that part. Got all the paperwork in, submitted, and accordin' to him, expedited, so there's no need to worry on that front," Dorian explained, suddenly noticing his mate approaching. "Look, Son, I gotta go. I'll call ya later when I know more. Tell Dawn and the pups Gramma and Grampa say 'Hi'," the white wolf smiled as he put his phone away, before frowning. He had asked the doctor if he and his mate could use his office for a private conversation, with which the doctor happily complied. Dorian silently led Audrey in and closed the door behind them. The she-wolf was fidgeting, not liking what was about to come next.

 

"Now, Auddey, I gotta warn ya that this picture... it ain't a pretty sight..." Dorian said seriously to his mate. Audrey nodded, feeling a sense of foreboding.

 

"If I see 'em now, Dori, I can keep from goin' overboard when I see 'em for real," the she-wolf said. The white wolf nodded and, opening the folder he had been holding in his free paw, passed her the photo. She took a breath and looked down. She near-instantaneously let out a whimper as she saw the crisscrossing scars that almost completely covered Marcus' back.

 

"Sweet sawgrass," she said, her voice a hoarse whisper, "did he say what caused this?"

 

"... A whip..." Dorian muttered, unsurprised at the low growl that came from Audrey.

 

"Someone... used a whip... on that puppy..." It was a statement, not a question, her anger and revulsion were palpable.

 

"Yes... when he was eleven..." Dorian noted how Audrey's growl devolved into a whimper as she started to tear up.

 

"That poor puppy!" Audrey said miserably. "Who would do something so... so... savage?!"

 

"Well, he didn't seem to want to go too much into detail... but based on our little talk, I think it was his father." Dorian growled as he said it, remembering how the boy had tensed up whenever the subject of his parents came up.

 

"What kinda spineless, cowardly, sorry excuse for a male goes and does something like this to their pup?!" Audrey asked, incensed.

 

"I didn't get the details, Auddey, but... well... you've seen how afraid of his own shadow he is, and how he flinches away whenever someone tries to touch him..." Dorian trailed off.

 

"What's gunna become of that poor pup, Dori?" Audrey asked, feeling fresh tears in her eyes.

 

"Well... he's terrified of bein' shipped off to a random foster home... and possibly fer a good reason."

 

"What are you thinking, Dori?" Audrey asked.

 

"I was kinda thinkin' that since, y'know darlin', that if he entered the foster program, he'd probably be shipped somewhere far away from here. I mean, he's been livin' in them woods fer months, so stayin' here in the Meadowlands would definitely ensure that he stays someplace that's familiar to him. And also, he's the only other member of Lily's species that we've seen, ever..."

 

"Oh!" Audrey exclaimed, suddenly understanding what her mate was getting at. "You think we should take him in?" Her tail started to wag a bit. Dorian coughed a little and looked uncomfortable.

 

"Uh... not exactly, Auddey," Dorian said. "what with all the changes we're makin' at the ranch, I was thinkin' that maybe someplace close by where we could help when needed, with a pair of good and caring mammals."

 

"Yer thinkin' of Zach and Vanna then?" Audrey asked, nodding her head, her tail wagging a little. "Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea, Dori." Dorian smiled, his own tail swishing a bit.

 

"What with their house all finished, they got plenty of space. Also, I saw how Zach was able to calm him down when the poor boy was terrified out of his mind and clearly in pain. Plus, I already talked him into it..."

 

Audrey swatted her mate on the arm. "And y'all didn't think to bring me into the conversation before doin' that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

 

Dorian rubbed the back of his head and looked uncomfortable. "W-well, I saw an opportunity and kinda took it. Plus, I still had Zach talkin' about how excited he was fer when he and Vanna managed to adopt from earlier that day on my mind as it was..." Audrey rolled her eyes but smiled.

 

"Well, I just know that they're gunna do right by that poor pup," she said, bringing a smile to her mate's muzzle. They linked arms and exited the office just as Zach was leaving Marcus' room. The couple spotted their son, and the wide grin on his muzzle, his tail a happy blur behind him. He spotted his parents and jogged over.

 

"So I broke the news to him, and Marcus is real excited that we're gunna be his foster parents!" Zach looked like he was ready to let out a happy howl.

 

"Excited, was he?" Dorian asked.

 

"W-well, he was happy to be leaving the hospital and even happier that he wasn't gunna go in the system. He even said that me and Vanna both seemed nice, so that's a step in the right direction, anyways."

 

"Where is Vanna?" Audrey asked, wondering where her tiger daughter-in-law was.

 

"Oh, she was out getting some more things fer Marcus' room. Also, she said that since Marcus is an omnivore, that it's a good idea to stock up on a few different non-meat varieties of food."

 

"OH! Maybe Marcus would like to try one of my homemade pumpkin pies?" Audrey suggested, now feeling excited about having another grandpup to dote over.

 

"Good idea, Ma," Zach said, looking as though he was about to lift off the ground tail first, with how fast it was wagging.

 

"Now hold on," Dorian interjected, "remember that we gotta be ginger with the boy. Can't go overwhelming him all at once. He's in a strange place, surrounded by strange mammals that up until very recently, he was convinced were gunna harm or eat him. And he may not be convinced that that ain't gunna happen, not entirely at least."

 

Zach let out a whine but nodded, once his tail had slowed. "Yer right, Pa," Zach said, looking into his father's eyes. "I'm just so excited is all. In a couple of days, me and Vanna are gunna take our pup home fer the first time."

 

Dorian rested a paw on his boy's shoulder, chuckling. "I understand, Son. Just try not to go too overboard too quickly, okay?"

 

Audrey let out a huff. "I'm still gunna bake him a pie or two. In fact, I'm gunna head on back to the ranch and do just that," the she-wolf said, heading towards her beat-up truck. Dorian smirked after his mate, while Zach smiled.

 

 

Back in Savannah Central...

 

 

"You know what I am?" Lily asked in wonder. Presently, she was seated on Vernon's lap, cradling Princess Callibrie in her arms, after Vernon convinced her to take the princess attire off the poor lizard. Princess Callibrie chirped and nudged Lily's paw, a sign that she wanted to be petted, which the little furless mammal was happy to oblige. Currently, Judy was playing a game with Alice and Trevor while Dawn and Vernon had a little chat with their littlest daughter.

 

"That's right, sweetie!" Dawn said, excited. "Your Grampa Dorian and some of your uncles and aunties found a member of your species in the North Meadowlands."

 

"WOOOOOW! Are they a princess?" Lily asked. Vernon smirked, loving how Lily seemed obsessed with all things princess-related.

 

"W-well, actually, he's a young boy, a little older than you."

 

Lily was quiet for a second as she absorbed that information. "Was he all by himself?"

 

Dawn frowned, as did Vernon, but they both knew just how much they were going to share with Lily. "Y-yes... and he was sick, so they took him to the hospital. At first he was really scared, but then they calmed him down, and since he's by himself, your Auntie Vanna and Uncle Zach are going to become his foster parents."

 

"So I have a new cousin?" Lily asked, leaning into Vernon's embrace.

 

"That's right, sweetpea," Vernon said. "And while he hasn't talked a whole lot about yer species, he did tell us the name."

 

"What is it?"

 

"Human. Yer a species that's called human."

 

Lily was quiet again before she turned to look up into Vernon's face. "Can I be a human and a wolf?" Vernon smiled wide and hugged her again.

 

"Of course. Ya may be a human, but yer still my littlest pup, and never ferget it, little missy," he said, tickling her sides, causing her to giggle. Once Lily had calmed down again, she looked between her parents, smiling excitedly.

 

"Can we go visit my new cousin? Pretty please?"

 

"Absolutely, sweetie," Dawn said, taking one of Lily's paws in both of her hooves. "But we first want your new cousin to get all comfortable and settled in first, okay?"

 

"Okay!" At that, Dawn leaned over and hugged her daughter, as the two of them were wrapped in Vernon's massive arms, and Princess Callibire chirped. After a minute like that, Vernon cleared his throat.

 

"Now, how about we go tell yer brother and sister the good news?"