Chapter Text
"That was crazy! I can't believe we made it in time for breakfast." C.L.A.D.E. Agent Sam Snow laughed as him and his partner, Kit Casey, bolted through the hallways of the CLADE building. "I know!" Kit replied, just as they neared the cafeteria and slowed down she added, "I still can't believe we got called for a mission in the middle of the night! Honestly, my favorite part of that mission was when the elephant nearly fell on you, your face was absolutely hilarious!"
"You were all- Oh, save me Kit! Wahhh!!! Bleh!!!" She mocked, lowering her voice in a purposefully terrible accent while making silly faces and flailing her arms wildly, bumping and nearly falling onto another agent as they were at the entrance.
"Oops, sorry!" Kit turned around and paused. She had bumped into a somewhat familiar looking reddish-orange fox wearing a dark blue and black hoodie, who was speedily exiting the cafeteria. "Huh..?" She mumbled something else that Sam didn't hear, stopping and looking at the fox agent as he quickly turned a corner and walked out of her view.
"Hey, Kit, are you coming?" Sam called back once he noticed she wasn't walking behind him, snapping her out of her dazed state.
Her ears perked up when she heard Sam call her name. "Yup!" She replied cheerfully, her fur bouncing as she joined her partner in the line.
"Kit," Sam joked, "You do realize you were the one who nearly got squished when you jumped in to tackle me out of the way, right?" He took a tray as he walked along the counter, adding some sweet potatoes and mixed salad for Kit and himself.
"Yup," Kit giggled, doing the same then walking next to him over to their table. She sat down, placing her tray down and playfully nudged him with her elbow, "You still owe me one for saving you, ya' know." She said matter-of-factly with a wink.
'She's so... interesting.' Sam thought to himself, eyes locked on hers for a moment, replying with a smirk, "I know." before sitting down next to her to enjoy a well earned breakfast.
Suddenly, a furious female wolf agent covered in paint stomped angrily into the room. "Casey!!!" Wilma, the wolf roared. In the blink-of-an-eye all the attention in the cafeteria turned over to the two, Kit, and the wolf, Agent Wilma Growler, the taller of the Growler twins, who was known for... well, let's just say she's a bit temperamental.
"Uhh...yes?" Kit returned cautiously, her face turning towards Sam for a second, then back over to her for an explanation. Sam eyed all the paint dripping from her as she stomped over to their table.
The room fell silent, except for a couple agents who were still eating, but enjoying the free drama show unfurling before them.
"I know this was you!" She accused, pointing a finger at Kit's face. "You set up paint balloons in my room!"
'What is she talking about?' He thought.
"What?!" Kit barked, her face brimmed with confusion and anger.
"Don't play dumb, Casey!" Wilma growled. "It's so typical of you."
Sam quickly jumped to her defense, stopping the argument from escalating. "We just got back from a mission ten minutes ago, and she was with me the entire time. Wilma, do you even have any proof that it was her?"
"Oh, you want proof, do ya'?" Her voice tinged with sarcasm, pulling out a tablet with a grayscale security footage from 10:36 PM, almost an hour before the two had been woken up for their mission, showing the slightly blurry silhouette of what seemed to be a fox; stealthily sneaking around Wilma's room in the dark with an object that was clearly a paint bucket and balloons in the other paw.
Kit's eyes widened in surprise.
"That wasn't me!"
"Yeah-yeah, sure, a likely story. And this footage is from last night," Wilma rolled her eyes, "Director Scratch will be waiting for you in her office. I'd like to see you explain that to her."
"Kit isn't the only fox at C.L.A.D.E., Wilma, it could have been anyone." Sam interjected, crossing his arms. "Plus, I know you still have a grudge, so what'd stop you from just blaming her first?"
"You wanna be that way? Then what's in...here!" She attacked, taking Kit's open pink bag and dumping its contents out on the table. "Hey!" Kit yelped. Wilma revealed an empty bucket of paint, the insides dried up. "See! What'd I tell you, Snow, she's guilty." She waved the box in her hand, eyes shrewd.
"That's NOT mine!" Kit argued.
Sam knew pranks weren't that much of a big deal, but he didn't like the thought of Kit getting in trouble, even if it was for something so minor. A small thought popped into his head. 'Could someone have planted that in her bag..?'
"How about you take a closer look at the camera footage if you still don't believe me, Agent Snow." Wilma retorted sarcastically, handing him the tablet.
"There has to be-" Sam paused, eyes widening.
'Whiskers, that's not good.' He thought, looking back at Kit, his gaze and hers met for a few seconds. She wouldn't have done that... right? Funny... he'd never noticed how she had flecks in her eyes, glistening like a million pieces of gold amidst the brown...... 'FOCUS!'
With a dejected sigh he confirmed, "The silhouette in the recording does match yours, Kit..."
"Ha! See, I knew it was her," Wilma taunted, "Even your partner knows it was you-"
"But still," He interrupted her, looking at Kit's confused face from the back of his eye. He'd known Kit a long time, and she would never do something that could possibly harm anyone...Would she..? He thought.
Just then, he remembered something Kit taught him on one of their cases together.
Don't always trust your instincts, always get all the facts before coming to a conclusion.
"We should conduct a thorough investigation, we're detectives after all."
"Sure, sure. Do what you want, Snow, but that partner of yours still has to go see the director." Wilma grinned, her voice tinged with something he couldn't quite place. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Wilma, can I check your room for evidence?" He watched as Kit shuffled out of the cafeteria, glancing back to him for a second before turning the corner.
"Just don't break anything." She growled, "I honestly don't see the point in searching, considering she's definitely guilty, but sure, go on ahead. It'll just prove me right."
--
As Kit walked through the hallway, she thought about everything that had just occured in the cafeteria. "What in the woolly world just happened?" she asked herself, fiddling with her claws as she walked.
'Did... did Sam really think it was me?'
'Why is this happening? I didn't prank Wilma...well, not this time anyway... so who did? And how did that paint get in my bag?!' Her mind raced with questions that she couldn't find any answers to, and it was irritating to say the least. "Ugh, twist my tail, this is so confusing!" She grumbled, her tail lashing in her frustration. She couldn't think of anything!
After what felt like ages, she made it to the Director's office door and knocked.