FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Rainforest District - Tinderspire Apartments - Fourth Tier Canopy, Forest Block 2A Thursday - 6:23 AM - Clear Skies/Slight Fog - Rainforest: Wet/Humid w/ Heavy Fog

Steven Stinkman was sore all over. More than anything, he was sore in his loins. He groaned as his flopped over onto his stomach, his eyes focusing on the snoring body lying beside him. Courtney was blissfully asleep with one leg draped over his and the rest of her practically spread eagle, forcing him to cower in one, small portion of the bed. Both were naked, having had a long evening and night of love-making.

Stuffing his face back into his pillow, he screamed inwardly at the predicament he was in. He didn't really know why females were attracted to him, first his mom's neighbor and now Courtney. He hadn't asked for any of this. He was just minding his own business, trying to get by and do a good job at ZNN and get paid. These sorts of situations were so far off his radar that he didn't have to think about them, yet here he was, in bed with a voluptuous skunk who wanted nothing more than his babies it seemed. Good thing he used lots of protection, but it was only a matter of time before that went out the window.

Determined that he wasn't quite ready to be a father just yet, he slowly wiggled his way off the bed on his stomach. He was almost to the floor, his left side dangling off the edge when his foot was caught by hers. It slowly wrapped itself around as she rolled onto her side, grappling him with an arm and bringing him in to spoon. She nuzzled his neck and cooed.

"Good morning, baby." She murmured as she began to nibble and suck on his ear.

He shivered involuntarily. He wasn't ready for another round. "G-good morning, Courtney." He responded back, not wanting to be rude.

She huskily whispered into his ear. "You want a quickie before you have to get to work?"

"Uh...Sadly, no. As amazing as that would be, I have an early start today with a meeting with Mr. Lagopus." He lied.

Her expression perked up. "Oh! I didn't know you knew the head of ZNN personally! That's so exciting."

He actually didn't, but he did have a very convincing story as to how it could be possible. "Well, when your mom is a CEO of a major Zootopian bank and investor in ZNN, you tend to get to know the fox pretty well."

"I always thought it odd." Courtney mused, grinding up against him a bit in thought, raising her hind paw to his nose. "Odd that a fox would be trusted enough to run such a vast enterprise."

"Well, strangely enough, he's the boss and everyone working there respects him!" He chippered, wanting to be out of her grip and getting ready to leave. He almost succumbed to the paw she presented to him, her now knowing it was one of his weaknesses.

"Really?" She really was surprised. "I always figured ZNN wasn't really taken that seriously by all the other news companies because of that fact." She jiggled her toes in front of his face.

Steven scowled at this. He didn't like to be reminded of the fact that he was working for a lesser known network. Sure, it wasn't the best job in Zootopia, but it paid the bills and he enjoyed his work there. "Well, either way, it's my job." He said a bit coldly, using this moment to push her hind paw out of the way, get up and hop onto the floorboards.

Courtney's ears drooped. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Look, how about I make you breakfast? I'm pretty good at that!" She tittered, sliding off the same side as Steven, giving his rump a nice squeeze in the process and causing him to yip.

Rubbing his backside at the grope, Steven glared after her as she skipped into the main living den, humming as she did so. He threw on a light t-shirt and some khaki shorts, being sure to slip a small black cylinder into his pocket. He never started the day without his scent can anymore. It was one of the few ways to utilize his scent in times of danger while still maintaining dignity. Finally, he plopped his iconic ZNN hat onto his head, smooshing down his ears.

He knew he needed to have an excuse to disentangle himself from Courtney. Knowing her, she would want to stay in all day and just snuggle, copulate, or worse, force him into some sort of marriage proposition. Did she even work or have any sort of job?

"What are you cooking?" He sniffed, delectable scents coming from the small kitchenette. His eyes widened with surprise as he noticed she was using the small oven top range installed into the counter. "Wow, you know how to use that?" He never really gave it much attention since he didn't quite know how to cook himself. He let Murana do all that when he was living with her.

"Of course! My dad taught me how to cook when I was little. Being a single parent and all, he wanted to make sure I was self-sufficient and taught me many things so I wouldn't be helpless." She turned to him and smiled. "When and if we ever get a car, I can help fix it brand spanking new if it ever breaks down."

Steven whistled softly. He had to admit, Courtney had some pretty useful skills. Maybe he had misjudged her...a little. "So, what are you making? I don't really recognize it."

"This?" She pointed at the pan with the spatula. "I figured I'd take the bananas you had on the counter getting overripe and make us some fresh banana pancakes." She brought her hind paw back up again and flashed her pads. "If you want, you can have some toe-st for dessert."

His mouth watered at both the description and her dessert. He honestly hadn't had something so homemade since Murana's cooking. Granted, she made waffles rather than pancakes and her paws smelled much stinkier, but they were still delicious. "I could take a few..." He admitted, sitting down politely at the small two-person table, stuffed in the small window nook area opposite the kitchenette.

"Great!" Courtney beamed, flipping a few onto a plate and drizzling it with some syrup she miraculously was able to find in his cupboards. Steven had forgotten he even had that up there. "Hope you love it, honey!" She simpered, nibbling a bit on his ear as she went back to make her own.

His stomach growling at him to unnecessarily remind him how hungry he was, he scooped up his fork and began tearing into it with gusto. He nearly melted with delight as the flavors in his mouth coalesced into a harmony of blissful sweetness and memories. "Mmph, this is just like my mother's!" Steven said with mouth half full.

Courtney glanced back at him. "How is she doing today? I haven't seen her since Tuesday. We need to go tell her we're getting hitched."

Steven blew out chunks of pancake onto his table. Ignoring the stinging in his nose from food particles, "What? No...no...wait." His mind was racing for some excuse to get out of whatever fate Courtney had planned for him. "She's very particular about the types of girls I get with and more so if we were ever to marry. We'd kinda need her approval." He lied through his teeth.

Sliding the fresh pancakes onto her plate, she tilted her head at him, "That's odd. She seemed very eager to get you and me together."

"She was just trying to make me feel better since I was having a down day." He blurted out, not thinking.

Her face fell as she sat down. Steven almost felt bad for having to burst her bubble. However, it brightened up almost immediately, "Well, that's okay. I'm glad she got us together. She has good taste and I'm very happy she has you for a son. If she hadn't adopted you, I would never have met you! We should call and tell her the happy news!" She exclaimed smiling, thrusting her hind paws at his to play some 'footsie' with him.

Heart racing again for an out, knowing his resolve would break if she tempted him anymore like this, Steven set his utensil down beside his plate. "That's the thing, Courtney." His serious tone caught her attention as reclined back in her chair to eat. "I haven't seen her since Monday. She won't return my calls. She hadn't shown up to work at all yesterday. I think something is wrong."

"Oh...well, you were with me most of Tuesday on our date, so you can't blame her being missing for that long." She recapped for him.

Their date started off nice like any other. They had a nice lunch together at Misty's on the Vine, a very nice outdoor restaurant in the fifth canopy of the Rainforest District. It was right next to a zipline attraction, all the way down to the forest floor.

However, throughout the course of the day, things got progressively weird and her bits of craziness started to shine through to the point he didn't call her back after they parted. So his surprise at her sudden appearance the previous day and now waking up naked in bed with her this morning was more than warranted. In reality, all he truly wanted was some company during a day he felt miserable after leaving his mother like he did at the coffee shop.

Courtney seemed very concerned, raising a paw to her chest in sympathy. "Do you want to go out together and look for her?"

He shook his head quickly, "No, I've spent the last two days off work. I need to get back. She's a big girl and can take care of herself." He had to stifle a sniffle. "I have to check in with my job and see what I've missed."

"Alright." She bounced, stabbing her pancake and slicing off a piece to eat. "I'll stick around here and freshen the place up for us!" She giggled. "I always did want to be a housewife for someone!" She practically swooned at the thought.

Raising his upper lip in a cringe-worthy way, Steven remarked, "Right. Well, please try not to move too much of my stuff around please. I'd like everything the way it is now."

She waved a paw at him, "Oh, stop. You won't even know I've been here. It'll just look very clean! Go have fun at work. I'll be here when you get back. Besides..." She waggled her eyebrows at him, "I might have something fun for us to do tonight!"

Gritting his teeth and showing off his best smile, Steven divested himself from her invasive paws, snuggling and grasping at his inner thighs with increasing urgency. He grabbed his keys and nodded at her, "I'm sure it'll be great, Courtney! See you later."

"Don't worry, Steviepoo! I'll take care of your plate for you!" She serenaded.

He hastily exited his apartment and shut the door. The future outlook of his single life was looking bleak. He couldn't stand up to the torrential wave of bachelor destruction that was Courtney. What he needed was some reassurance and maybe some backup from his mom. Maybe he could convince her that Courtney was clearly not the girl for him and then she'd have to back down.

Maybe Murana would be back at her apartment now? It was worth a shot to check before heading into work. He should probably apologize for his words and actions this past Monday. He couldn't bear the thought of not being able to talk with her another day. He sighed deeply. He really was a momma's boy.

---

Savannah Central - The Red Lion Apartment Suites - Forest Penthouse Suite - Den 23A Thursday - 07:54 AM - Clear Skies / Variable Winds

Steven did a few, light leg stretches outside Murana's apartment door while waiting for her, trying to relieve the perpetual soreness he felt. After a few moments, he knocked again. Still nothing. He dug around in his pockets and pulled out her key. Even though she had moved him out after Anthony demanded he get a place of his own, she still was thoughtful enough to have a key made for him to her place just in case he ever needed to come back.

Happy at this thought, he turned the key and opened the door, relishing in the grass carpeting between his toes as he flexed and moved them through the individual blades. Mom truly did have the best décor and taste in home decorating. He had heard she paid off the owner of the apartment suites to allow her to blanket her flooring with this luxurious grass. With an internal irrigation and pesticide system built into the floor, it was kept bug free and always freshly green.

"Hello?" Steven called out into the silence.

Shutting the door behind him, he looked around the empty house. It seemed almost untouched since he last left it weeks ago. Mother was a creature of habit and did not like too change around her apartment much. He wandered the den and eating area, looking around for any signs of life. Even their neighbor's glass doorway in the wall was securely shut. It seemed nobody was home at all.

Heading further into her bedroom, Steven spied Murana's CEO blouse and skirt draped over the bed. He tilted his head. That was odd. She wouldn't just leave things out so haphazardly like that, especially in the middle of the day. If she wasn't in her uniform for work, was she out and about in her vigilante suit? Why now? He knew she only operated at night predominantly.

Missing his mom something fierce and regretting cutting her off completely after she took his note, he sprawled out on the bed. He buried his face into her clothes, breathing in deeply the scent of her still lingering on the fabrics.

He always loved her scent. He couldn't get enough of it. It was the first smell he could remember after being rescued. After spending years in the musk mill with nothing but the reeking odor of musk from the multitude of other mammals, the intoxicating aroma of her was like the fresh breeze of freedom. He owed his life to her.

"Still sniffing your momma's clothes, eh?" A suave voice echoed from the doorway.

Steven nearly jolted out of the bed, his tail rigid and standing straight up. "Zoey!" He gasped, his flight or fight response still surging through his veins.

Zoey Javan was the adorable minx of a mongoose that lived literally within the walls of Murana's apartment. Given the nature of smaller mammals living alongside larger ones in the Red Lion Suites, the building contractors had to make the most use out of the available space in the structure. So, sometimes mammals had to co-exist as neighbors. Thankfully, Murana and Zoey were longtime friends and usually got along well together.

"It's more the paws specifically," Steven tried to correct, "but there isn't any sort of crime for enjoying a particular smell."

With arms crossed and stark naked, she shrugged, looking completely blasé about the whole affair, "Hey, it's none of my business what sorts of kinks you are into. I'm hardly the one to judge." She smirked at him.

"It's not a kink!" Steven retorted, feeling a bit offended. "It's just...I have sappy attachment to my mom's scent. That's all."

"I'm sure..." She leered, hopping down the single step to the grass carpeting of the bedroom, wiggling her toes lewdly. "Just as sentimental as my paws when last you smelled them."

Steven gulped hard at this. It was no secret to those who knew him that Steven had a particular olfactory fetish where he was keenly interested in hind paws. The mere smell of them literally brought euphoria to him. When he was still living under Murana's roof as her adopted son, their neighbor, Zoey, discovered this peculiar trait and used it to great advantage not long after his 18thbirthday.

"Hey...um, that's not what I came here for though." Steven slipped off the edge of the bed, taking a few steps back.

The tawny mongoose just kept advancing, her hips swaying seductively. "I'm almost hurt that you didn't come back to see me. You seemed quite smitten with my paws. If those aren't the reason, then what did you come here for?"

Feeling a numbing burn shooting up and down his limbs, Steven said with dry throat, "Ah...I'm actually here looking for my mom. Have you seen her?"

She shook her head, "I'm afraid not, but do you know who I haven't seen in a long while? My little skunkbutt!"

As much as he was excited for what he knew Zoey had in store for them both, Steven also knew he needed to find some way to defuse the situation so he could focus on his search for Murana. He and Zoey had a long, secret tryst that spanned from the time he was of age to when he finally moved out of the apartment on his own. She had apparently been keeping an eye on him for a long while and dutifully waited out the years until he was legal before giving him one of the best birthday presents he had ever received.

She sniffed a little, crinkling her nose. "Oh my...and is that another female's scent I smell on you? You have been getting around since you last left me! To think I caused this innocent flower to fall from grace." Her eyes were alight with passionate fire. "Guess it's time to see how much he's learned!"

Steven went to put his paws up, trying to ward Zoey off as she surged in to give him a big hug. "Wait, I haven't learned that m-"

He was already lost in a daze. The mongoose had her limbs wrapped around him, tail curled tightly around his. One of her legs already raised high with hind paw cradling his face, the inebriating smell of them making him lose all sense of reality. He didn't even realize he was being gently lowered to the ground as she planted kisses all over his face. The out-of-body experience of an older, more experienced female taking care of him was like rapture.

Sometimes Steven hated how much he loved to smell things, how much it made him weak in the knees to the point of complete submission. Yet he just couldn't help himself when a pleasing aroma was brought before his nose. It didn't help that every female he knew that was interested in him discovered this fact quite quickly.

Like most of the previous night with Courtney, he was in bliss. He saw the motion of his body and arms, yet he didn't quite connect that it was him that was moving them. Everything seemed to happen in a trance as he completed every task Zoey had set out for him to do. He didn't even have time to think about any guilty feelings for cheating on Courtney - in fact, he wasn't even sure it could be called that since they weren't officially an item. Just something Courtney forced upon him. He really needed a backbone when it came to females.

He hadn't even realized she was already undoing the button of his shorts, pulling them off with purpose. He just laid his head back and relaxed, turning over to look at the other side of the room when something unusual piqued his interest. Murana's eye mask was just lying on the floor of her closet in plain view for all to see.

Mother was never this careless in hiding away her outfit from Anthony. The mere fact it was visible for anyone who was looking for it caused alarm bells to sound in his head. Suddenly, the hazy fog that covered his brain lifted and he immediately pushed Zoey off of him, swiftly getting up and pulling back up his shorts.

"Hey!" She cried out, affronted. "What the hell?" Her tail was swishing angrily as she reached out to bring him back down to finish what she had started. "Don't you like us doing this anymore?"

"I do." He admitted. It was very pleasing, but he had other priorities right now. "But I'm still worried about mom. Look." He walked over and picked up the mask.

She stared blankly at it, blinking. "Okay, so what?"

He flushed as he realized something, "Oh, you probably don't know anything about this do you?"

Still on the floor, she shifted onto her rump as she leaned back on her arms. "You mean the outfit she wears when she goes out on the town late at night to murder people by burning them alive? Yeah, I know nothing about that at all."

Steven gave her a look, "Well yeah, that." Guess she did know about mom's double life. "Point is, she's very careful about hiding this from Anthony...unless he knows too?"

Zoey rolled her eyes at him, "Highly doubtful. Both of us would have heard about it long before now. Can we get back to us now?" She grinned, spreading her legs in invitation.

He shook his head, looking up towards the slide-away panel in the ceiling, it looked slightly ajar. "No, I think something is seriously wrong here."

He scrambled up the racks of clothes as Zoey sighed, realizing she wasn't going to get anything out of the skunk. Reaching the top of the upper shelf, Steven reached out and pushed aside the panel and saw a sealed baggy that had not been fully closed. The reeking stench of his musk emanated from the opening, clearly drenched in what looked to be Murana's folded vigilante suit. Plopping down lightly to the ground with the bag, he walked over to Zoey who had already put on her sweatpants and was pushing her head through a blue tank top.

"When was the last time you saw my mother?" Steven asked urgently.

Zoey stared at the bagged suit, "Probably Tuesday morning. She and Anthony had quite a row that day. About you, actually. I wouldn't be surprised if she just kicked him out for good this time. Both left in a big huff and I've honestly not seen her since."

His breathing began to get fast and panicky. "She's not been at home. She's left this out in her closet." He held up the bag. "She hasn't been seen at work and now there is a cop on her tail asking questions about her."

"A cop?" Zoey's ears popped up. "You think she was picked up?"

He looked down and frowned at the mask. "No, I don't think so. He seemed to not really have made any connection to her and the Dark Flame Wolf when I talked to him yesterday."

Zoey thought on it a few moments, tapping her chin. "That is indeed weird." Shaking her head to clear her mind, she hopped on the bed and turned on the news. She much preferred the big screen Murana had compared to her dainty one tucked away in her cramped apartment. After a few moments, she tapped him on his shoulder, "Hey, Steven? You might want to take a look at this."

He turned around at her insistence and saw live helicopter footage of a downed aircraft with dirigible qualities in what looked like a bird motif. It had crash landed in the vast expanse of the Sahara Square desert, and many cop and news reporting cars were gathered at a healthy two mile distance as it seemed a very malevolent field of electricity was blocking any closer access to the aircraft.

"You think Murana would know anything about this?" Zoey inquired, pointing at the screen.

"I don't know anything about this..." Steven stood agape. He had never seen anything like that in his life. "But, I bet Murana might be out there right now checking it out. I mean...I would. It's a fantastic story." His eyes bulged. "Wait a minute. It is a fantastic story! I should be out there reporting on it!"

He scanned the screen and tried to identify the vehicles surrounding the crash site, he had yet to see one for ZNN. That would mean he could be first on scene! After a tap on his shoulder, he turned to Zoey. "So you going there, then?" She asked with a yearning look.

He nodded resolutely. "I have to. Not only is it my job, but maybe I can find mom there too. It's a long shot, but I don't think she'd let something this big go uninvestigated."

Smiling forlornly, she bowed her head. "Alright, Steven. Go find your mom. We can catch up later."

He hesitated a brief moment before moving in to hug Zoey, which caused her eyes to shoot open in surprise. "Thanks, Zoey. You've been a good friend to me."

She beamed and patted him on the back before parting and keeping a paw on each of his shoulders. "And you've been a fantastic lover. Thanks for letting me pop you."

He blushed furiously at this. "Y-yeah...It was fun."

"Next time then?" She smirked.

Steven thought about it a moment before winking at her, "We'll see, 'Zoey Toey' can wait for now." She giggled at his nickname for her.

Giving her a peck on the cheek, he bounded off through the living den and out the door. Hearing the door slam shut behind him, Zoey sighed heavily. She truly did love that little guy. Sliding off Murana's bed, she picked up the discarded bag and stuffed the eye mask into it. Zipping it up securely this time, she took the time to hide it back up into the compartment space as a gesture of good will towards her neighbor.

---

Sahara Square - Northern Sand Dunes - Three Miles Northwest of the Oasis Hotel & Casino Thursday - 10:02 AM - Sporadic Clouds / Heavy Winds

The entire air was filled with the hum of arcing energy. It was not hard to notice the bubble of electric currents encasing the strange ship that fell from the sky in the early morning hours that day. It was large enough to be seen several miles away and of course all the tenants of the upper floors of the Oasis had fantastic views of the downed aircraft. Each patron was taking millions of pictures with their phones, each and every one going viral. Probably everyone in Zootopia knew about this mysterious ship by now.

Steven was biting his nails as he quickly paid off the bus driver for the fare and leaped out of the carriage onto the dusty asphalt. He had to expeditiously take public transportation routes that wove back through to his house where Courtney was thankfully not present so he could grab his backpack and video recording equipment. Charting a course to get to Sahara Square quickly, he finally made it within an hour's time.

Adjusting the brim of his ZNN cap on his head, Steven nearly skipped down the road to the cluster of vans and cop vehicles huddled at one end of the freeway. There was still no ZNN news van in sight. What the heck was Lagopus doing? All the other news agencies would be getting the drop on this before they would! Shaking his head at the incompetence of his superiors, he whipped out his camcorder and shoved a paw through the holding strap and aimed it directly at the crash site.

Attaching a wired microphone to his shirt collar, he began filming. "Hello, Zootopia! This is Steven Stinkman here, reporting live from Sahara Square at what looks to be a crash site for a very archaic airship. That's right folks! This is no blimp or even a plane that many are used to seeing. This is, in fact, a legitimate airship, complete with ballast balloons and propellers. It truly looks like something out of history!" His voice was both evened and excited.

He shifted his camera over to where the cops were congregating just ahead of the news vehicles. "And here we have Zootopia's finest out here this morning cordoning off the site. Not like we need any incentive with that field of electricity blocking anyone getting to the downed airship." Steven faltered a bit as he saw through his lens the recognizable visage of his 'dad', Anthony Wolford, barking orders to a few other officers.

"Grizzoli, I need you to trace the cordon as far north as the barrier wall to the west. Fangmeyer, I need you to do the same to the east. We do not want any civilians breaching this perimeter until we can figure out what we're dealing with." He turned to the side and got the attention of another, smaller colleague. "Swinton, I need you to coordinate with Precinct 3 here in Sahara Square and request additional assistance in containing this situation."

Turning the camera off, Steven tucked it back away into his pack and walked up to Anthony. "I see you're wearing your new rank well." Steven noticed, seeing the new shiny bars on his lapel.

Sniffing with irritation and turning to look down at Steven, Anthony's face contorted into a grimace, "What do you want, rat?"

"Is that any way to speak to your son?" Steven snarked, folding his arms and glaring at the wolf who married his mom.

"You're only my son because Murana adopted you into the family long before I came along. If I had a say, you wouldn't even be within thirty feet of my family." He hissed, trying to keep his voice down from being overhead by his partners.

"Wow. No wonder she kicked you out of our home the other day. With an attitude like that, I wouldn't want you in my house either!" Steven accused loudly, enough to earn several stares from other officers.

Sensing the inquisitive glances of his colleagues at the altercation, Anthony gripped Steven's arm a bit roughly and drew him off to the side out of earshot of most of the others. He leaned low to be on eye level with the diminutive skunk, "Why are you here? What do you want? Come to gloat? It's because of you that Murana and I are having troubles!"

Feeling strangely bold despite this menacing wolf just inches from his face, Steven riposted, "Funny, it's because of you that Murana and I are having troubles. It all started when you convinced her to kick me out, and now she's run away most likely because of your bad attitude."

Anthony blinked, not comprehending what Steven said. "What?" His snout scrunched up trying to deduce the statement. "Murana ran away?"

"Yeah, apparently Zoey hasn't seen her since you two had a big fight. I was just at her apartment. I thought for sure you would have come groveling back by now and seen her before I visited." Steven susurrated.

"I have a bit more respect for myself than she does to be doing that." He snapped.

"What a sad person you are. She loved you and you couldn't see that even after you left. No wonder she chose me over you when it finally came down to it. Good to hear that mom defends me even when I'm not around." Steven finished with finality.

It took all of Anthony's willpower not to reach out and strangle this smug little skunk to death. He fingers were flexing and his claws were sharp. Gnashing his teeth, he tried to control his temper, "So have you just come here to rub my failures in my face or did you want to tell me more about the fact Murana is missing?"

"Well, I don't really know about missing just yet. I know she hasn't been seen in about a day or so, at least not by me." Steven replied, thoughtfully going over the last few days.

"Did you check at her work? Sometimes she gets absorbed in her job so much that she forgets to come home." Anthony offered, the current wave of jealousy over Steven passing.

"Of course I did. I checked early yesterday morning when I..." He caught himself. Steven didn't really want to say exactly what he was upset with Murana about. Anthony still had no clue about his wife being a vigilante-by-night. "When I stopped by to ask her for something at the bank. Her new secretary didn't really give me any positive answers as to her whereabouts."

"Hmm, that is a bit worrying. Especially since she has not returned any of my calls." Anthony reasoned, looking troubled.

"So you did come groveling back and called her." Steven cracked a smile.

"Stop it!" Anthony glared.

"Excuse me, I know you." A voice called out from the side.

Both turned to see a rabbit and wildebeest in uniform approaching. The rabbit was obviously Judy Hopps, the sole bunny cop in the entire force. Even Steven was aware of who she was just by word of mouth alone. The other made him groan, however. It was the same wildebeest that came to his house yesterday to question him on his musk mill experience and his mother. He was making a direct beeline for him.

"Ugh, what do you want? I've told you everything I know." Steven wailed, taking a few steps back instinctively to hide behind the larger frame of Anthony.

"You two have met?" Anthony remarked, surprised.

"Yes." Ralph replied abruptly for Steven. "I was just doing some off duty investigation that led me to the doorstep of Mr. Stinkman here, which led me on the trail of his mother, Mrs. Wolford."

"Off duty investigation? This is highly irregular...wait." Anthony's brain caught up with the conversation. There were too many things happening at once here. "Why are you after my wife?"

Ralph grunted as Judy elbowed him in the ribs, electing him to respond before this conversation spiraled into a direction nobody wanted. "What Officer Grayz is saying is that Mrs. Wolford's name came up during the investigation of a prior case that Mr. Stinkman was involved in."

"Although I wouldn't be surprised Steven would be involved with anything relating to Murana, I don't understand why you two would be on it." Anthony gave a withering stare at Steven, who remained oblivious to it, his eyes only on the wildebeest.

"Wait, your son is Steven here?" Ralph finally connected the dots, his hoof pointing at the skunk.

"Not by choice." Anthony growled, crossing his arms. "That still doesn't answer my question."

"Well, we believe your wife might have been instrumental in a specific case over a decade ago and Grayz here would have liked to speak with her about it to get some more information regarding those who were responsible for the crime." Judy explained.

"So you're investigating a cold case." Anthony stated flatly. "That's dumb. There is a reason they are called cold cases. They should be left in the past, where they belong."

"Not when it involves the Dark Flame Wolf." Ralph interjected.

Anthony scoffed, "Now the Dark Flame Wolf is involved in a case with my wife and estranged son?" This jab at his character drew a glower from Steven. "What other crazy nonsense are you going to be telling me next, Grayz? If you don't mind," He indicated the big aircraft in clear view of them all, "I have a potential situation that could turn serious at any moment and need to devote my time to this."

"That's the reason I came to your son in the first place. I was trying to track down your wife to ask her some questions and the only person remotely available that was connected to her in some way was Mr. Stinkman here." Ralph stepped to the side to get a better view of the skunk. "I didn't actually make the connection she was your wife until late last night."

"I told you all I know, ok?" Steven shouted back, feeling a bit insecure with both the prying cop and the unlikeable father-in-law right beside him. If this continued any further, he might go into a panic attack and need his inhaler to calm down.

"You couldn't find her either?" Anthony probed, queuing off the fact that here was yet another person who couldn't track down his wife. If it was Steven, that was one matter, but here was a fellow colleague who also couldn't find Murana. Now it was getting downright concerning.

Ralph bowed his head in the affirmative, "Seeing you here with Steven, I had hoped you would know where she was, for sure."

Anthony looked away a bit embarrassed, "We...had a fight the other day. I actually haven't spoken to her since."

"If you don't mind me asking," Judy offered, "What was the fight about? Maybe that could help tell us where she might have gone off to?"

Anthony pinched the bridge of his snout as he considered his options. On one hand, he had a full scale operation here to attend to in Sahara Square, on the other, he had his wife to worry about.

He looked at her, "It was about...having children. She had mentioned to me the other day that she couldn't have any, so she was looking at local orphanages for replacements now that Steven was moved out. I didn't really like that, since I wanted a wolf cub of my own with her. So hearing about this from her really set me off."

Judy's ears dropped at this, clutching her chest with a paw. "I'm sorry to hear that, Wolford." She almost wanted to reach out and put a paw on his arm, but he was a bit too tall for that and she doubted he'd appreciate it much. "It must have been quite a blow to you."

He looked balefully behind him at Steven, who was still placing the wolf between him and Ralph. "It was, Hopps, it was"

"Did you say local orphanages?" Ralph grilled, not really privy to the entire emotional quagmire that was unfolding before his eyes.

"Yeah, she mentioned she had found some raccoon somewhere and wanted him as a second son." He responded without much emotion. He was just drained already of this conversation and just wanted to get back to his job.

"I'm going to get a brother?" Steven asked with wide eyes.

"Through no effort on my part." Anthony snarked.

Ignoring the family squabble, even Judy picked up on what Ralph was hinting at. "She didn't happen to tell you what orphanage she went to, did she?" She put on her best smile.

"Yeah, she did. Some Tail Hollow place down in Happy Town." He sniffed, his attention returning to the conversation. "I'm actually not really sure where it is."

"Not a happy part of town, that much I can assure you." All turned to see a red fox in uniform with a snazzy pair of aviator shades. Clopping alongside him was a rather irritated brown horse with outdated trousers and buttoned work shirt, complete with suspenders to keep his loose pants up.

"Nick! Detective Oates!" Judy beamed, feeling utterly star-struck at her favorite detective coming over to pay a personal visit to them out here in Sahara Square.

"Good to see you too, Carrots." Nick smiled as he took off his shades and clapped Ralph on the arm as best as he could reach. "What's up, buddy? Any luck finding the ghost of Dark Flame Wolf?"

Ralph shot an accusing look at Judy who just raised her paws up in supplication, "Hey, he's my partner and friend, I had to tell him what you were up to."

"Actually, I do have a few leads, just trying to see how they pan out." He drawled, not really happy about his business being so public within the police community.

"Anyway, thanks for the ride, Oats'n'Honey." Nick clicked his tongue, winking at the detective, who just snorted in disdain. "I got it from here."

"Good." Oates grumbled. "I have to get back to the station and deal with more nonsense with this Mr. Big fellow."

"Oh my, Mr. Big?" Nick feigned ignorance of the name. "Going after the big moneymakers, eh?"

"Hardly." Oates grumped. "Bogo thinks the latest bail posted for this lemming arrested earlier this week for assault and battery has something to do with Big's enterprises."

"That's a pretty big leap of logic." Ralph was stunned. He knew of the name, Mr. Big, but despite all the negative press attached to his moniker, there was very little attached to his name that could be proven. Much like the current case he was working on, he noted.

"Not as 'big' as you'd think." Judy said knowingly.

"So what are you all up to?" Oates asked the group, even though the question was clearly meant for Hopps.

"We were actually just discussing them leaving on some fool's errand about the Dark Flame Wolf so I can focus back on this crash here." Anthony roughly thrusted his paws towards the obvious field of death before them.

"Ah, Dark Flame Wolf. Been tracking her for quite a while. Nothing tangible has come up, sadly." Oates shook his head, seemingly not unhappy about the issue.

"Just as fruitless as that Impaler case you keep saying you'll solve any week now, huh?" Nick ribbed, clearly having fun with his equine escort.

"I'll have you know, we are dealing with a master criminal here! He is very hard to pin down and leaves very little evidence for us to track!" Oates brayed, pointing a hoof at Nick.

"Let's all calm down now!" Judy stepped in, holding paws out for peace between the multiple parties. "It's clear there are several matters here that need to be addressed. For one, we need someone to stay behind and take care of the downed aircraft over there, however Anthony and Steven are both worried for Mrs. Wolford and her whereabouts. So, how about this: Nick and I will assist the situation here while Anthony and Steven go investigate what happened to Mrs. Wolford. Does that sound good?"

"I'd like to join that search, if that's alright?" Ralph interposed.

"I don't think the crew would take a fox and bunny seriously unless a more reputable detective was on the scene with you to back up your authority." Oates reminded.

"Excuse me? Hold your horses, Mr. Fruity Oates. I do believe Officer Hopps has more than proven herself to the others that she can handle this." Nick defended her, seriously upset with the horse's tone.

"True." Anthony admitted, stepping in and placing a paw on Nick's shoulder. "But Oates is right. Neither of you are a sergeant like me or a detective like him. He'd need to accompany you if I were to leave to go find my wife."

"Reality is cruel." Nick huffed, folding his arms and looking down angrily at a patch of sand on the road.

"Maybe one day we'll be detectives ourselves, ok, Nick?" Judy proposed, giving his arm a little squeeze. She returned her attention back to Anthony, "So, do you want to go find your wife while we take care of things here?"

Anthony looked from Ralph, to Steven and back to Judy again. "I'd need to get clearance from Chief Bogo before I go." He said drearily.

"Nonsense!" Oates burst out unperturbed. "Let me handle Bogo. You go find your wife. Officer Hopps and I have this all in hand."

"Officer Wilde, too." Nick raised his paw to remind Oates he was still here.

"Err...of course." Oates conceded, looking put off.

All eyes turned to Anthony, the one to make the call. Steven could tell he was struggling hard on deciding what he should do next. He was just promoted to sergeant and had a responsibility to uphold his new position and prove himself worthy of the task, but he could also see in Anthony the turmoil of his potentially missing wife. The fact they did not end on good terms when he saw her last did not bode well for her current whereabouts.

"You do still love mom, don't you?" Steven asked.

That did it. With a determined look, Anthony brought up the walkie-talkie to his muzzle, "All units, all units. This is Sergeant Wolford. I am being reassigned, Detective Oates will be managing the situation here with the assistance of Officer Hopps and Wilde. Please refer to him for anything further." With that he clicked off and handed the device to Oates. "Grizzoli and Fangmeyer are extending the cordon further north while Swinton is requesting more help from Precinct 3. You got everything from here?"

"Of course. Wasn't really looking forward to diving deep into this Mr. Big thing. Don't run the race if you don't have the nerve sort of thing." He grinned at his own humor, everyone else just blinked at him. "Either way, I can handle this. Come on, Officer Hopps...and, um, Wilde." He added as an afterthought.

"Good luck!" Judy whispered to Ralph before heading off with the other two.

"So what was the name of that orphanage she said she found that raccoon in?" Ralph asked.

"Tail Hollow." Steven piped up, reading off the copious notes he had been taking on his notepad during that whole conversation. "In Happy Town."

"I do believe I saw your wife this past Monday there." Ralph confirmed.

Anthony's eyes widened, "You were there? Why?"

Ralph shifted a bit, "For personal reasons of my own, but I did recognize her earrings from that day."

"Wait, what?" Both Anthony and Steven said in unison.

Ralph stuttered slightly, "W-well, as I said before, I was investigating a musk mill incident which led me to your son, Steven. He confirmed a few things for me to include a present he gave her of a pair of earrings that matched the one found at a crime scene." He pulled out a small evidence baggy with the pine tree earring visible to everyone.

"What are you trying to say?" Anthony narrowed his eyes.

"I think what Ralph is trying to say," Steven stepped in, getting between the two, "Was that Tail Hollow might be a good place to start looking for her since she was last seen there by any one of us." He looked at Ralph meaningfully, almost as if to will him to keep his mouth shut on what he most likely suspected of his mother.

Anthony regarded the two suspiciously before waggling a finger at Steven, "Fine, but one or preferably both of you better start telling me what's going on when we get there. I feel like I'm being left in the dark and I don't like it one bit! Come on, we'll get in my car and I'll drive." He waved them to follow as he stomped off towards his vehicle.

Steven breathed a sigh of relief. He had no idea how much Ralph knew at this point about Murana, but it was probably already a lot more than what Anthony knew. He had no idea how Anthony would react if he found out his wife was the Dark Flame Wolf. To make matters more complicated, Steven was sure Ralph was probably questioning Anthony and wondering how much he knew or if he was a corrupt cop covering up for his wife's activities. This was going to be a fun trip to Tail Hollow, that much was for sure, Steven gathered.