“Are you okay, Becky?”
The rabbit sprung up at the sudden voice breaking through the ambient Q-funk soundtrack, a gentle relief washing over her when it turned out to be Niall. “Yeah, I guess,” she replied, slipping her PET back into her pocket.
It was always the same story with any gathering of this nature. Becky – Bex to those who knew her well enough - would be called into a group of people she half-knew from a class or two, something would be said that aggravated her, then the group would offer a vague apology and hastily dissipate. The cycle would continue three or four more times, until everyone at the party had been involved at least once, leaving her stranded on the perimeter with only her packmates as regular company.
Niall, luckily, was one of them. The scruffy little spider would usually pop up every so often throughout the evening as he meandered from one thing to another, trying to be a little more involved with the night’s activities. “Is no-one talking again?”
“Nope.” Becky shook her head, tightening her bandana a little. She was far too used to it by now. “Same fuckin’ deal as always. What about you, how’re you finding it?”
“Mm, it’s still a bit much...” The spider glanced over his shoulder at the other dozen or so people mingling in the front room with them. “I’ve had a couple drinks, though, that might be helping stuff,” he added, fidgeting with the straw in his semi-empty glass of a shocking pink liquid.
The rabbit simply watched as the drink swirled a bit. “Probably,” she agreed, right as a buoyant, blue-haired bird came bounding up alongside them.
“Guys!” Kimmie exclaimed, “We’ve got Beat Blast upstairs! Can you believe that?”
“Beat Blast?” Becky asked the taller girl. “Isn’t that just an arcade thing?”
“It used to be, but they made a console version about a year and a half ago with a dance pad that you can plug in and everything and it’s upstairs and it’s all working and it’s so much fun!” The cockatiel gestured frantically throughout her explanation, bouncing on her toes with excitement. “You guys have gotta try it, come on!”
“We’ve-…upst…do we have to?” Niall stammered, caught off guard as always by Kimmie’s unabashed enthusiasm. “I mean, not like ‘do we’…are we going up there right now?”
“It doesn’t have to be right now, but you -have- to give it a try at some point, you’ll love it!” she pressed, slinging an arm around the spider’s shoulders and pulling him alongside her. “Bex, what about you?”
“Nah, I hate that kind of shit, you know that,” the rabbit replied dismissively.
“Aw, Becky…” The bird’s shoulders sagged slightly. “You shouldn’t be spending the whole night standing around on your own. I know you’d rather be somewhere else, but do you not wanna try and enjoy yourself at least a little?”
Becky scratched behind one of her ears. “I’d be a lot happier if there weren’t other people here,” she huffed.
“I-It’s a party, though…” Niall chipped in with a quiver to his voice, toying with the remnants of his drink a little more. “There’s gonna be other people.”
“I know, Niall, just…” Becky stalled for a moment, then quickly shook her head and turned herself away again. Before she had too much time to dwell on the matter, though, she found an arm snaking its way around her shoulders.
“Beckyyyyyy~…” Kimmie pressed on in that sing-song voice of hers, gently pulling the rabbit up against her. “Please?”
Becky peered up at the eager cockatiel, and as much as she didn’t want to think about dancing for a crowd, she wasn’t going to be the one to leave Kimmie disheartened. Besides, it probably would be better than confining herself to a night-long sulk. “Alright, fine-“
Kimmie immediately half-squealed in sheer joy, hugging both Becky and Niall quite tightly, squeezing them both against either side of her chest. Niall could only manage a nervous squeak as one big yellow breast pushed up against the side of his face, whereas Becky quickly brought an arm up and pried herself away from the over-endowed girl’s over-eager embrace.
“But, Kimmie…” she interrupted, raising a finger, “I’m getting a drink first, ‘cause I’ll fucking need it.”
“Okay!” the bird nodded. “So, I’ll see you up there in a little while?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Uh…Kimmie? Can…can you let go of me, please?”
“…oh.” She relinquished her hold on the stammering spider, who quickly tried to readjust his shirt while trying to avoid looking back at the bird too much. “Sorry…” Kimmie said with a sheepish smile. “It’s gonna be great, though! I’ll be waiting, okay?”
The two others agreed, and the bird headed back upstairs with some extra spring in her step, catching the attention of a number of onlookers. The flustered Niall squirmed in place slightly, and downed the remainder of his beverage straight from the glass. He took a steady breath before following after Kimmie, leaving Becky to slip over to the kitchen.
It was an open-plan affair, allowing the entertainment to flow effortlessly from one part of the room to the other, along with the people. A group of a half-dozen or so were heading Becky’s way as she approached, split in two to allow her a little more space between them than would be normal, then merged back together once she had passed. That left the kitchen empty for Becky, spare for a well-dressed zebra and an equally well-dressed fennec fox.
“Hey Bex,” Vince greeted her, noticing her arrival and straightening himself up a little “How’re you feeling?”
“Not too bad,” she said, sliding her hands into her pockets. “What about you guys?”
Vince paused for a moment, casually flipping his hair to one side. “…pretty good,” he replied, flashing a knowing smirk to the zebra alongside him, and earning a keen grin in return.
The fennec’s style could hardly contrast more with the basic baggy tee and cargo jeans combo that the rabbit had opted for – sleek high heels, split-sided dress that came to a stop midway down the thigh, simple clutch bag, silver teardrop ear clasps that doubled as hearing aids - Sensory Transliteratory Operations Plastics, to give them their full title - and subtle lip gloss and eye shadow for the finishing touches. Vince looked good. And he knew it.
“Great!” Lucas said, the host holding one arm snugly around Vince’s waist. “Are you enjoying the party?” he asked Becky, “I know it’s not normally your thing.”
“Yeah,” she abruptly replied. “How’d you get this past your parents?”
Lucas took a look over his shoulder for someone who wasn’t going to be there. “They don’t actually know,” he told her, leaning over and lowering his voice a little. “They’re in Anchorsway until tomorrow, so keep it quiet.”
The corner of Becky’s mouth flicked up for a second.
“It does all seem to be running smooth, though,” he said, surveying the downstairs action, “So I think I’m gonna head off to my room, and slip into something a bit more comfortable.” The zebra ran his hand down from Vince’s waist, giving the fennec a squeeze on the rear and a sly wink.
“Hey…” Vince moved Lucas’ arm away, canting his hips to one side. “Do you really want to be doing it in front of everyone?”
Lucas’s eyes widened for a second, before he broke into nervous laughter. “Becky, how do you put up with this guy? Honestly?” he asked, as he eagerly made his exit.
“I don’t throw parties!” she called after the zebra.
“Happens every time…” Vince said to himself, smoothing his dress out at the back, watching the host cantering out of the room. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m trying too hard.”
“Vince, you ain’t even gotta -try- at this point!” Becky told him, grabbing a glass from the counter. “You just show up and people are all over you.”
“That comes later,” he added with a playful smirk.
The rabbit half-chuckled at that, and started setting herself out a drink. Dark blue to begin with, but with the addition of one sachet of powder from the bowl left out for the guests, and a moment’s fizzing, it quickly turned the vivid pink she had seen others drinking. She was about to sample it, but paused when she felt the fennec moving in behind her, gently taking a hold of her shoulders.
“If you ever want to head back, just let me know, okay?”
Becky allowed herself to shift back against her packmate, as a faint yet familiar warmth ran from the back of her neck, right down her spine, all the way to her toes. “Yeah…” She spotted the fennec’s jet-black bangs in the periphery of her vision, she glanced over one shoulder, her eyes met his, and Becky smiled. “…thanks, Vince.”
“No worries, Bex,” he smiled in return, slowly running his hands down the rabbit’s arms, “Hope you have a good time.”
The rabbit allowed her arms to fall out of her packmate’s grasp as he headed off to join his companion for the evening. Taking a sip of the drink, she felt…soothed, almost. The lingering tension in her neck had all but gone, along with the hint of a scowl she typically wore. She surveyed the party scene she found herself on the edge of, and allowed herself another sip. Maybe tonight would be okay.
“Wow, Becky, I didn’t think you were actually gonna turn up!”
Or not. Arriving alongside her was a polar bear she recognised from their time together in the high school Tackle Toss team…and their time together in the principal’s office. “Oh-…” she began, her tongue catching a curse before it left her mouth. “Hey, Hender.”
Hender Greenway - cornerstone of the Midbourn Manta Rays, as he was quick to point out to anyone unaware – scanned the situation, with other high schoolers dotted around the room, and Becky conspicuously on her lonesome. “You’ve not scared everyone away again, have you?”
“Piss off,” she flatly replied. How they could still remain teammates was anybody’s guess.
Hender let her reply linger for a moment, cocking a scarred eyebrow. “…that’s why it happens, in case you’re wondering.”
“Well I’m not.” Becky glared up at the white-furred bear. “What about Dog and Bonehead?” she asked, “Where are they?”
“They’re off doing their own thing.” He gave a nod toward the door heading out into the back garden. “You know how they are.”
The rabbit huffed, as she looked off somewhere in the distance. “Yeah, I wish I didn’t, though…” she muttered to herself.
Hender chuckled to himself. “C’mon, they’re nowhere near as bad as you think-“
“Stacy doesn’t give two fucks about anything, ever,” Becky cut him off, “and Mikey’s the most obnoxious little shit I’ve ever met! Why do you even hang out with them?”
Becky’s scowl had not only returned, but intensified, while Hender looked on almost in disbelief. “You know what?” His arms folded across a broad chest. “Stacy’s lackadaisical and Mikey’s a prankster, but they’re still a lot better than you. You’re reckless, you’ve got no control over your temper, you’re -super- violent! The only thing you’ve done since you arrived in Midbourn is try to start fights, even with people who’d never met you.” He allowed himself a half-smile, looking down at the rabbit almost with pity. “You’re a thug, Becky.”
The girl in question clenched her jaw. “Only when people like you start pissing me off…” she growled through gritted teeth.
“Becky, if someone’s annoying me,” Hender chided, “I don’t put them in the hospital.”
“Fuck off, that happened once!” she snapped. “Four years ago!”
“I’m just saying!” He raised his hands in defence. “Things might go better for you if people didn’t think you were gonna beat them up!”
A silence had fallen over both rooms, with only the host’s choice of music for the evening permeating through. Becky stood staring daggers at Hender for a moment, before turning away and taking another mouthful of her drink, wishing there was some way she could get him to leave her alone. The bear smirked to himself behind her.
“One of these days your pack’s going to get beaten up too.”
----
====
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A frustrated reflection stared back at Becky from the bathroom mirror. What she needed right now was some space of her own, and in a house where almost every room contained some aspect of the party, the thankfully vacant bathroom was her best bet, although it still couldn’t fully separate the bunny from the commotion she had left behind. She could still hear the anxious voices from outside fretting over what they had seen. She could still feel a lingering throb in her left hand where knuckles had met teeth. It had kept itself balled into a fist since then, and she had to try and consciously make herself relax.
She closed her eyes.
Breathe in.
Pause, two, three, four, five.
Breathe out.
In, pause, out.
And again.
Her eyes opened, and Becky’s reflection was no longer one solely of anger, but instead......she looked sad. Almost mournful, even. The rabbit had never been afraid to get her hands dirty if she felt she needed to, but it seemed as though everybody else just didn’t want that. How many times had people said Becky was dangerous to be around? And how many times had she ended up proving them right? It was like the murmurings in the schoolyard said; even her fur was crazy.
A faint pulsing reminded the rabbit that her hand needed taking care of. Running some cold water over it would do the trick, she thought, it had normally worked in the past. She held her hand underneath the tap, turned the handle for cold…and nothing happened. “Hmf.” She turned the handle further this time, but rather than water, the faucet spat out a slimy black mess, bouncing out of the sink straight into her face.
“Ugh, gross!” Recoiling in disgust, Becky tried to wipe her eyes clear of the sludge, while the faucet was now delivering a torrent of water, which was being thrown in all directions by the curvature of the sink. Blindly grabbing for the handle, she managed to shut off the faucet with a dull squeak after a couple of attempts. The rabbit was left shocked as quiet returned to her surroundings, the countertop and floor around her dotted with puddles, but Becky herself was soaked. Not only that, the black mass was all over her face, her torso, one of her arms…
“…son of a bitch…” Grabbing a towel from the nearby rail, she started off trying to get her hair dry, and then set about wiping off the muck from herself. It just wasn’t her night, was it? If being shunned by every other pack and dealing with Hender wasn’t enough, now even the plumbing was acting belligerent. It just brought Becky’s mind back to why she hated this kind of thing in the first place. Finishing up, the bunny stared angrily at the towel in her hand, as if it were somehow responsible as well. Strangely, it didn’t seem to have a mark on it, but it didn’t matter. She’d had enough. “Fuck it.”
Hurling the towel into the sink, Becky stormed out of the bathroom, barging her way past a couple lingering just outside. The chatter quickly faded as the room noticed her re-emergence, most of those gathered only giving occasional nervy glances in her direction, even though she had no intention of looking back at them. People stepped back from her path as she made straight for the front door, flinging it open and taking a step outside.
“Yo, Becky.”
She spun around at the voice from back inside, and instantly spotted the culprit: an afghan hound with hair halfway to the back of her knees, wearing the same plunging tee, scuffed pants and loose overshirt she was always seen in. “Not cool.”
Snatching at the handle, the rabbit slammed the door in response, and disappeared into the evening.
“Chick needs a leash or something,” the dog opined to no-one in particular. She ambled across to the couch, dropping into the seat alongside Hender. “You okay, dude?”
“I’ll be fine, Stacy.” The bear lowered his hand from his mouth to speak, revealing a bloodstained grin, along with a scarlet smudge on one side of his chin. “It’s not the worst she’s ever done.”
“What is that girl’s problem, anyway?” asked a sloth sat on the arm of the couch. “The two of you were just talking, and then –BOOF!-, right?” He threw a quick punch against the air in front of him.
“Mikey, gimme that back…” Stacy swiped the beanie hat from his head with a titter, letting a mop of deep purple hair tumble free. “It doesn’t suit you.”
The sloth began a frenzied ruffling of his own hair, bringing it to just the right amount of dishevelled where its vivid red streak ran down over one eye. “There, is that better?”
“Nope.” Stacy, now with her hat back atop her head, slid an arm around Mikey’s hips, pulling him from his perching spot down into her lap and letting her drape both arms across his waist.
“Awesome.” Mikey threaded one arm behind Stacy’s shoulders, gently stroking one of her low-hanging ears with the other hand. The two shared a fond look, and quickly pressed their lips together.
“If you two really want to see Becky going full aggro,” Hender suggested to the pair, “then you should actually show up to our next Tackle Toss game, instead of sneaking off when it happens and OC’ing in the bathroom.”
“You cannot prove that’s what we do in there!” Mikey retorted, drawing a snicker out of the bear.
“Mikey, I’ve seen the state of your hair afterwards,” he explained, “and even then, Stacy’s bandy-legged walk is a dead giveaway.”
The sloth and the dog glanced at one another, each flushing a faint shade of pink and exchanging a mischievous grin.
Hender leaned back into the couch, wiping some of the blood from his chin with the back of his hand. “There’s gotta be some way to keep Becky under control, though,” he pondered. “You’d think her dad might be able to do something about it.”
“Nah.” Stacy shook her head. “He’s always doing police stuff and being dead serious about it all.”
“And he’s a freak!” added Mikey.
“No he’s not, he’s just tall.”
“Yeah, freak tall! What is he, seven feet or something?”
“Six ten, I think? Ish?” Stacy offered.
“Exactly,” Mikey exclaimed, “he’s ruined tall people!”
Hender couldn’t help chortling a little at that, giving them another look at his bloodied mouth. “Must be where Becky gets it from, I guess.”
“How?” asked Stacy. “Her dad’s a lank, and Becky’s......really not.”
“No, I mean why she gets so angry all the time,” he clarified. “Like when you stole her gym gear,” he continued, pointing a finger at the pair, “remember how mad she was?”
Mikey burst out laughing, having to hold onto his companion to keep himself upright. “Man, that was great, she was raging at everybody!”
Stacy too was giggling away, tightening her hold on the sloth a little. “I still can’t believe no-one worked out it was us…”
“Maybe you guys are really good at that kind of thing.” Hender brought his hand back up to his mouth for a second, then examining the red smudges that had been left on it. “I should probably go clean myself up.” Pushing himself off the couch, the bear pointed himself toward the bathroom, not before giving his packmates a parting jab. “Don’t do anything dumb while I’m gone, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“We’ll be good.”
Hender shook his head with a smirk and strode his way out, leaving the dog and sloth nestled on the sofa, lazily hanging onto one another. Mikey turned his eyes up at the ceiling, scritching softly at Stacy’s neck. “Wanna go see if there’s a room spare?”
“Tcheah,” she replied, grabbing his hips and lifting him out of her lap. She rose alongside him, and the two swiftly made their way upstairs, noticing a fidgety spider kid coming the other way. “She’s gone,” Stacy told him as they passed.
Niall stopped midway down the staircase at the sudden news, watching the two of them head upward for a second. He scratched at the back of his head, took a step into the downstairs space and looked around at the gathered groups. It all seemed to have settled down somewhat since he was last there, but it felt a little unnatural, as though the evening had been forcibly subdued……and Becky was nowhere to be seen.
“Ah…” The spider kept one eye on the room downstairs, as he steadily began heading back up, wondering if the others knew about their missing packmate. Just then, an ascending fantasy-style jingle rang out from one of his pockets, and he quickly fished out his PET. A message had appeared on the pack’s group chat:
[PatchBunny: You know where to find me.]
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There was always something about the general environment that a city would become associated with as it grew. Locksmouth had its sinister archaeology, Harbington had its fourth agricultural zone, and Midbourn had its river. Being located almost halfway along the course of the river that bisected the city gave Midbourn not only its name, but also its reputation in the early days of its existence, as the dome played host to a wealth of tradespeople and their goods making the journey between the coast and the mountains inland. With trade came money, and the city boomed, a new construction project starting up almost as soon as the previous one had finished. But nothing lasts forever, and with the advent of inter-city transit, along with the massive transport potential of The Ring, the densely packed Dockside dragged the rest of the dome down with it, the now largely vacant landscape standing testament to the city’s ultimately flawed ambition. Midbourn had prepared for the future, but its future had never arrived.
Amidst the paradoxically hectic yet empty layout of the dome, Ashworth Park offered residents a little island of calm. Connecting both halves of the Residential sector, it gradually descended from ground level on either side into an outstretching expanse of green, split in two by the central walkway and contained in an overarching glass tunnel. There were only two structures of any note within it; a gently curving stage opposite a raised seating area at one end of the park, and a commemorative tiered fountain near the other. The rest was predominantly pathways and flora, but then that was the appeal of the place. It offered a moment’s peace from the outside world, and when you wanted to head back, the world was never too far away.
That was where Becky found herself, sat on one of the benches near the perimeter, gazing up into the darkened waters flowing overhead. In the daytime, the rippling sunlight was almost its own spectacle, combined with what wildlife one might occasionally catch a glimpse of. Now that the sun had set, however, and the park was being lit by the strips embedded in the supporting arches, it was only vague shapes that could be made out. A clump of something swam up and over the tunnel. Jellyfish, maybe? No, they wouldn’t be this far upriver, Becky thought. She caught a glimpse of her reflection up above, even that looked more like a silhouette.
The rabbit peered towards one end of the park, then the other. It was empty. Quiet. She had her solitude. No voices, no background music, just the faint hiss of the fountain behind some small trees. The distant echo of the subtran every few minutes as it ran beneath…
…and the tight drum beat sounding from behind her. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her the offending device, which was flashing an image of a slightly older rabbit, looking not unlike a leaner, buzzcutted version of Becky. ‘Dad’, as it was labelled. A tap of the screen brought up a call, seemingly interrupting a chat between the older rabbit and someone offscreen.
“-ou coming along, Alan?”
“I’ll be there in a moment, Murphy, I’m just calling my daughter.” He turned back to the screen and flashed a haggard smile. “Becky, Hi!”
“Hey dad,” the girl frowned, “You look like shit, are you alright?”
“It has been…” The older rabbit pressed a palm against his temple as he thought of the right word. “…madness here these last few days, but the good news is that nobody’s too badly hurt anymore. I think a good night’s rest, and I’ll be all set to head home tomorrow.”
“It’ll be good to have you back, in that case.” Becky nodded, still frowning a little. “You always get beat up whenever you’re in Locksmouth, why the hell do you keep going there?”
Alan looked off to one side for a moment. “…have you seen what’s happened to this place? We’ve got buildings smashed, subtran stations half-missing, the ground’s been torn up all across the dome,” he explained, “Locksmouth had barely put itself back together after the last attack, they need as much help as they can get!”
“But it’s always you, though!” she retorted.
“I’m a police officer, it’s my job.”
“If they need help, why do you never let me go with you? I’d-”
“Becky,” he sternly cut in, “there is no way you are walking into a situation like Locksmouth, even if I’m there as well, and especially not just to fight people. We do not need any more of that here.”
His daughter gave an indignant huff.
“Anyway,” he moved on, trying to ease the tone slightly, “what have you been getting up to?”
The girl shrugged. “I went to a party, stuff happened, then I left the party.”
Alan watched her momentarily. “Stuff?”
“…yeah, stuff.”
“…what kind of stuff?” he asked. “Was someone trying to get-“
“It wasn’t my fault, okay?” Becky suddenly insisted.
The older rabbit pinched his brow with one hand. “Oh, for goodness’ sakes…”
“Dad, Hender’s an asshole!” She leaned a little further in toward the screen to stress the point. “He’s always trying to prove that he’s better than everyone somehow, and then he’ll dangle it right in front of your face without having the guts to actually come out and say it! Every chance he gets, he wants to show me up as some kind of unbalanced hell-raiser!”
“Do you not think,” Alan suggested frankly, “with how many times I’ve had to pick you up from the principal’s office, he may be right?”
Becky’s eyes narrowed, and her mouth fell slack. “…dad, what the fuck.”
“You keep saying he wants to rile you up,” he told her, “and you keep letting him rile you up. You’re the one that turns things physical more often than not.”
“Okay, first of all, no I’m not,” she countered, “and secondly-“
“Look, Becky,” Alan wearily rubbed his eyes, “I need to get some sleep now, we can chat about this when I get back, but in the meantime, just…...try and stay out of trouble. Okay?”
Slumping back on the bench, she returned to watching the dark waters above her. “Okay.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow, take care.”
“Yeah, you too.”
The call blipped to an end. Becky pushed herself up and wandered deeper into the park, down one of the smaller side paths weaving between the trees. The deeper she went, the lighter her mind seemed to get, each quietly echoing footstep nudging her concerns a little further behind. Sliding her hands into her pockets, she let her thoughts take a back seat, and allowed her well-trained legs to carry her onward for a while.
A few moments later, the rabbit’s ear twitched as something else began to make itself heard. Keeping watch in the direction of the noise, she headed back toward the larger central path as the sound gradually became a trio of voices, giving a small smile and nod when she recognised them, before arriving back in the open.
“Hey Becky!”
“There she is!”
“Ohmigod, why did you have to run off like that?”
“Hey, guys.” Becky offered a wave as she headed over to the rest of her pack. “Yeah, sorry about disappearing again, after the whole……yeah.”
“You just didn’t want anyone to bother you for a while?” Vince gauged, earning a reluctant nod from the rabbit. “Hey, no worries,” he added, easing her back amongst the group, “as long as you’re feeling better now.”
“Did you actually hit him with the glass?” Niall wondered aloud.
“What?!” Becky spun toward the spider, incredulous. “No, I just punched him in the mouth!”
Kimmie stepped back a little, exchanging a worried look with the fennec alongside her. “Did you have to?”
“He said you were gonna get beat up!”
Vince’s brow furrowed slightly. “Hender’s never tried to rough any of us up, though,” he refuted, in an effort to assuage Becky’s concerns, “has he?”
“I don’t care if he has or not,” she rebuffed. “He can bug me all he wants, but the second he brings you guys into it, I’ll knock his fucking lights out.”
The fennec lowered his head for a second. “Not that we don’t appreciate you looking out for us, Becky, but you’re perhaps going a bit too far there.”
“Wouldn’t you?” the rabbit challenged. “If someone was saying the people you care about are gonna get smacked around, would you not try and stop that from happening?”
Niall rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought punching someone was the same thing as punching someone else.”
“…no,” Becky stated, looking from Niall to Kimmie to Vince, none of whom appeared to be following. “Okay, you guys just don’t get it.” She threw up her hands in defeat and began walking back to the entrance of the park, the three others quickly setting off in tow.
Kimmie broke into a semi-jog, and was the first to catch up to her packmate. “Hey, you don’t have to get mad,” she chimed. “They’re just trying to get under your skin, it only works if you let them. Besides, they probably know they’d be in for a fight with you if they did go after us, and nobody wants to get into a fight with you.”
“Yeah, you could really hurt someone if you wanted to,” Niall supplemented as he flanked the pair. “If you picked them up and ran them into a wall, I reckon you could probably break their back!”
“That is definitely going too far,” the bunny scoffed.
“What if you did it gently?” he followed up.
“If I-...?” Becky peered quizzically at the smaller spider. “…Niall, how many drinks have you had?”
“It wasn’t too much or anything, I only had f-…uh…” the spider stuttered briefly. “…four? Three? I’m not…” He called to the fennec behind them. “Vince, what was it?”
The black-haired boy shrugged his shoulders with a smirk. “I wouldn’t know, my hands were pretty full back there. Although would you guys mind slowing down a little?” he asked, gesturing to his footwear. “I can’t run in these, especially not uphill.”
The trio came to a stop and allowed their fourth packmate to rejoin them, a resigned smile crossing Becky’s face as he approached. “Sorry I dragged you all out of there, by the way.”
“You didn’t, though,” Niall told her, “we all came looking for you.”
“Exactly,” Vince continued, laying an arm around her shoulder as they walked. “There’s gonna be more parties some other time, isn’t there? And if you’d rather hang out somewhere else with just the three of us, I’d certainly be happy with that.”
“…well yeah, but-“
“Oh! D’you wanna head back to mine, in that case?” Kimmie jumped in, hopping on the spot as the idea came to her. “We could watch a movie or play video games or just goof around and stuff, and there’s a whole bunch of snacks and drinks downstairs, it’d be awesome!”
Niall broke into a hopeful grin. “That would be awesome, I’d love it!”
“I’m game,” Vince said, looking over at Becky.
The rabbit silently looked back at him, until he raised an eyebrow in her direction. “Okay,” she conceded, “I’d actually really like to do that.”
The cockatiel excitedly pumped a fist. “Sweet! I’ll call my parents and let them know!” She dove into her cleavage with one hand and skipped a few steps ahead of the rest of the group, holding her chest steady with her free arm and quickly withdrawing her slim pink PET, emblazoned with a white heart.
“Why does she have to keep it in there?” Niall lamented to himself, as the foursome gradually ascended from the underwater sanctuary and returned to the relaxed landscape of the riverbank and the cool air of the night.
