Chapter Text
Francine
I don’t know how I ended up at Mystic Springs.
I also didn’t know why I was just staring at a punching bag.
Theoretically, I should have been doing something with it, but for the life of me I couldn’t think of what.
“Francine?” A voice came from behind me.
I turned vaguely in the direction of Nandi.
She didn’t say anything else. She just pulled me into a hug. The elderly elephant’s warm skin soothing me ever so slightly.
I started crying.
Nandi stroked my back. “Shhhh…”
#
Judy
Satya was not the Elephant I thought I’d be comforting, but life really knows how to throw you curveballs.
We were sitting on Francine’s stoop watching traffic, an untouched box of donuts between us. The weather was mockingly warm and cheery
The elephant next to me sighed. “Do you think I should leave? Go back home? Give Francine space?”
I shook my head. “She wanted you here.”
Of course the door was locked right now and she wasn’t answering the doorbell so maybe a request for space was implied.
Satya picked up a donut, examined it, then put it back down. “I… Have no idea how to sort all of this.”
She wasn’t the only one. I’d freaked out when I first saw the video, but now I just felt numb. I kept trying to analyze the situation and it was just too crazy to wrap my head around. A deathbed confession? A mysterious poisoning? Francine being a billionaire?! ”
It was just too much. I had no idea where it left my friends or the case.
I narrowed my eyes. I’d just have to figure it out then. Starting at the low hanging fruit, I turned to Satya. “So how are you feeling about your mom’s case being reopened?”
The elephant flinched. “I… I’m absolutely terrified.” she said finally.
I groaned. “Okay, I get that.” Okay, this sucked. I got up and dusted myself off. “We officially need to blow off some steam. What do you do for fun?”
The elephant looked uncertain. “Uh… I mean lots of things? I do have this one thing I like, but It’s sort of embarrassing.”
I shrugged. “Would you rather be feeling embarrassed, or this?”
#
Satya
I grabbed the mike and belted out the lyrics like no one was watching. Letting my voice drop as low as I wanted.
“ I've been singing with my band
Across the wire, across the land
I seen every blue eyed floozy on the way, hey!
But their beauty and their style
Went kind of smooth after a while
Take me to them dirty ladies every time!”
I shook my hips with the beat.
“C'mon!
Ooooooh, won't you take me home tonight?
Ooooooh, down beside your red firelight…”
The lights of the stage, the strum of the guitar, the beat of the drums from oh so long ago…
They coursed through my veins. They rolled down my spine. In that moment there was nothing but the sound.
I leaned back and let the final piece roll over me.
“Oh, (I know) you gonna take me home tonight? (Please!)
Oooooh, down beside that red firelight
Are you gonna let it all hang out?
Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go 'round, yeah
Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go 'round! ”
I cut the player.
I’d expected silence and shock, but instead there was a round of applause.
In the audience Judy was jumping up and down on her seat. “Woo!!”
Okay, I could see why Francine liked her.
I cleared my throat, consciously shifting my vocal chords back up into position. I said “Thank you.” and slipped off the stage while the hippo announcer came back up to bring up the next contestant in the Karaoke contest.
Apparently there was a $100.00 prize tonight.
I’d feel extremely guilty if I won.
I slipped back to the table with Judy. Ah Zootopia, the only city in the world where you could find a Karaoke bar that sat both elephants and rabbits.
Granted, they’d pulled out a completely separate table for her and plopped it on mine, but the point still stood.
Judy leaned over her tiny table. “Oh my god, that was incredible! Why would you ever be embarrassed by that?”
I scratched awkwardly at the back of my neck. “Oh, you know… The whole trans thing means my voice is kind of a touchy subject.”
She tilted her head. “Do you like the sound of your voice when you sing?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess, but it instantly outs me.”
Judy narrowed her eyes, “I will personally suplex anyone who gives you crap for that.”
“I appreciate it.” The mental image that conjured was as entertaining as it was implausible.
“Oh she’ll do it, don’t you worry.” came a voice.
A certain red fox hopped up on the table. “Howdy ladies!”
Judy practically tackled him in a hug. “Nick! You made it!”
I looked away with a blush, I hoped I wasn’t being too much of a third wheel.
Nick hugged her back. “Like I’d miss a party at my favorite Karaoke bar.”
Judy let the hug go, but kept hold of his hand. “You missed an awesome performance by the way.” She gestured to me.
I chuckled, embarrassed. “I mean, I’m crazy out of practice. I’m sure you’ll sound way better once you hit the stage.”
She shot me a serious look. “I would not inflict my singing on my worst enemy.”
“Hey, I like your voice.” Nick said with a smirk
Judy just smiled back at him.
My heart was melting. I took a sip of water and gestured to the pair of them with my trunk. “So how long have you two been together?”
The pair stiffened.
Nick scratched at the back of his neck. “Uh… we… aren’t dating or anything.”
I blinked at them. “You aren’t?”
The rabbit shook her head. “Nooo…”
“Oh,” I said. I took a quick look around us. “So… Why are we in an interspecies bar then?”
They started looking around as though they were just noticing all of the mixed species tables, the lingering paws on hooves…
The queer newsletters by the front entrance.
They both seemed a little bit shell shocked.
I stared at them. “... So, how long have you two been coming to Crosswalk?”
Nick buried his head in his paws. Judy was rubbing her temples.
I waved for a barmaid. “I’m going to get you two some drinks.”
#
Francine
My head was in Sarah’s lap as Carly leafed through the stacks of documents in front of her. At rodent size they took up a surprisingly small amount of space on Nandi’s coffee table.
I didn’t spend as much time in Sarah and Nandi’s apartment, mostly because The younger members of my roommates did not yet understand that there were moments where Nandi forgot where she was stepping.
One near miss and Danielle and Carly had banned them from coming in altogether.
But Nandi hadn’t wanted to leave me alone, they had a nice couch and Sarah had a nice lap. So here we were.
Carly got up with a small pile of papers. “So… You are now an extremely wealthy woman.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I guess.” It was way too weird to be real in my head yet.
I did, however, remember a very important detail. “How much do you need me to generously pay you for your consultation here so that Kyle can get all the medical work in the world?”
Carly just stared up at me and smiled. “Thank you.”
I snorted. “Just get me a number Car.”
She nodded. “I’ll do that. There is the matter of how you want to manage the property…”
I don’t know why, but the fact that I owned buildings weirded me out more than anything.
“Are there people already managing them?” I absolutely did not have the business savvy to be a landlord on my own.
Fortunately, Carly nodded. “For most of them, that’s the case. It seems like you’re listed as the controlling shareholder in the property management company that administers them… With 49% under Amanda’s control.”
I flinched. “How immature would it be to just buy out those shares so I didn’t have to talk to her?”
Carly looked down. “I… I’m sorry, I’m not sure it works that way. If you want I could give her an offer.”
I rubbed at my temples. “Let’s… Burn that bridge when we come to it.”
Sarah signed something to Carly, but I couldn’t make it out from her ludicrously soft thighs…
Okay, I could see why Nandi Married her.
“That asshole Lionel didn’t bother hiring me on.” Carly said, apparently in response. “Honestly I’m amazed a paralegal like me even got her foot in the door.”
I nodded, she had time then.
I braced myself, got up and made myself as presentable as possible. “So… How do you folks feel about moving…?”
That got a tilted head and a raised eyebrow from everyone.
“Move where?” Sarah signed.
I smirked. “The Family Fortress”.