Dear Reader,

I would like to take a second to thank all you who have taken the time to read my little story, despite my best efforts to drive you all away. I realize that the last chapter was a little boring (and I apologize), but now that we've transitioned into the final act; it is all down hill from here.

Enjoy,

Finnick made a leap of faith, and barely caught the edge of the table. To a regular fox, the bishop's private quarters were already uncannily large. To the miniature fox, the furniture was nearly insurmountable.

Kicking his hind legs uselessly at the air, Finnick barely managed to hoist himself up onto the table's surface. Blowing out a deep breath, the sand-fox took a moment to straighten his suit jacket as he was reminded of exactly why he had never become a cat-burglar. Looking about the horse's massive dining-spread, the fox let a smile slip as he spotted his target; a large goblet.

Sauntering up to the imposing cup, Finnick let out an impressed whistle as he sniffed the glasses contents. "Early riser, are we?" spoke the fox to nobody in particular as he analyzed the enticing aroma of the bishop's red-wine. Reaching into the depth of his suit-jacket, Finnick produced a small green bottle with no label. Giving the vessel a quick exploratory shake, the sand-fox removed the bottle's top but stopped just short of adding the mystery liquid to the swirling red.

Finnick licked his lips as his inner turmoil unfolded. It would be such a same, though the miniature fox, to "waste" so much wine. However, it was still strikingly early to be drinking, even for Finnick. Grinding his teeth together in resignation, the tan predator's shoulders dropped in defeat as he re-stopped the bottle. Lifting the massive cup to his lips, Finnick took a long pull of the hindering elixir.

The instant the wine touched the fox's tongue, the pleasure centers of his brain lit up, assuring the canine that he had made an exceptionally good choice. Finally pulling the cup away from his lips, Finnick swallowed and felt a pleasantly tingly sensation in his nose. However, Finnick's bliss was quickly interrupted as his over-sized ears trained in on the sound of an intruder. With lighting speed, Finnick emptied his mystery-vail into the wine and dashed behind a potted Aloe plant which sat in the middle of the table. Thanks to the massive size-difference of the bishop's chamber, Finnick was able to disappear just in time for the massive equine's appearance.

Finnick bit the inside of his cheek as he listened to the thudding hoof-steps of the devout mammal making his way towards the table. The fox's ears swiveled about as they zeroed in on the sound of the bishop taking his seat. However, the pleasant tingling which Finnick had been experiencing was rapidly spreading through the fox's snout and creeping down his throat. Overwhelmed by his body's own defense mechanisms, Finnick let out a single audible sneeze.

"Bless you, child" came the Bishop's deep voice.

Wiping his nose with the back of his paw, Finnick offered a quick "Thanks," before his heart all but stopped. Finnick's eyes grew wide in fear as he froze solid, if the bishop knew he was here, surely the gig was up. The fox held his breath for an impassible moment.

"I know you're there, Finnick" spoke the holy-draft-horse, "you don't need to hide from me…"

Weighing his options, Finnick finally decided to come out of hiding and face the preacher.

"And to what honor do I owe such a…" bishop Clyde paused to briefly look Finnick over from top-to-bottom as he swirled his wine-glass "such a Fine visitation?"

The bishop's hungry gaze sent a foreign shiver down Finnick's spine, before kindling the embers of an idea. "I'm h-here…" Finnick fought to pick out an angle of attack "I'm here too… make a… confession. Yeah!" Finnick summoned his most polite smile as he continued to formulate his con.

"Is that so," replied the bishop, visibly disappointed. "Well, child, confessions aren't done snout-to-snout. If you want to con-"

Finnick's heart skipped a beat as the holly-equine made to set down his glass. "No, wait!" blurted Finnick a little too forcefully. Finnick realized that if he let the bishop set down the glass, the con was up; he needed Bishop Douglas to drink the wine. "I-It's not that kind of confesion!"

"Really, now…" questioned the horse, tilting his brow incredulously at the fox's advances. "Go ooon…"

"Y-Yes, you see…" emboldened by the horse's interest Finnick attempted to ignore the tingling sensation which was returning with a vengeance. "I-I've got this… feeling… that, uh, only happens when… you're around!" Finnick began to sweat as he fought to stay off the creeping tingling sensation which was clawing at his throat.

"Is that so, little one…" replied the bishop, looking about the room to ensure that no one was there to overhear their exchange. "And these… feelings… you've been having… do you feel that they are, pure… in nature?"

Finnick watched as the bishop brought his cup within sipping distance of his own snout, only to pause with the goblet meager inches away from drinking. The tingling had escalated to a near squirming sensation and Finnick felt his stomach turn a little. Panting slightly in an attempt to maintain composer, Finnick answered "honestly, I-I have no clue what is going on with me right-now…"

The massive horse bit down on his bottom lip in an attempt to stop it from quivering as he watched the tiny fox in front of him. "Oh mercy…" mumbled the horse allowing a flustered cloud of steam to escape his lungs.

Sitting upright in his chair, the draft-horse made to set down his glass, but Finnick was too quick. Darting forward, the miniature fox caught the bottom of the glass and pushed the cup upwards tilting it towards the horse's muzzle. Instinctively, the bishop swept forward to catch the wine before it spilt and took a long flustered pull of his morning vino. However, Finnick's victory was short lived as his stomach made a mad dash for his throat. Fortunately, years of drinking had prepared Finnick such an occasion and the fox's iron gullet refused the back-draft.

Swallowing hard, Finnick seized the bishop's distracted moment to dive off the table and escape out of the door in a tan blur.

Having finished the entire glass of wine, the massive horse looked about his chambers for the miniature fox while fanning himself with a hoof. "I do declare," spoke to the horse upon realizing the Finnick was in fact gone "I think that little fox has given me a case of the Vapors…"

Outside of the bishop's quarter, Finnick made a mad-dash for the groom's-room. Finnick's sweaty paw-pads nearly slid out from underneath him on the church's polished-marble flooring as he careened around a corner. The fox tried desperately to diagnose what was happening to himself. Finnick reasoned that he hadn't drank that much of the wine, and yet the fox felt borderline nauseous. Frantically barging into the groom's quarters, Finnick slammed the door behind himself before running smack-dab into the middle of Rocket and Nick.

"Finnick, where you been big-guy!" It was Nick whom excitedly welcomed his pint-sized companion back. However, the fox's keen eyes quickly picked up on Finnick's slightly disheveled appearance. "What happened to you… you look, awful."

"I-I was in the Bishop's quarters…" coughed Finnick before gritting his teeth in a bitter attempt to quell a rising storm in his stomach.

At Finnick's admission, Rocket's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Giving a paw-signal across his throat in an attempt to keep Finnick from saying too much, Rocket accidentally snagged Nick's confused attention.

"Finnick, what were you doing in the bishop's quarters…" asked Nick slowly, with a rising tone of accusation.

Finnick opened his mouth to speak but no noise came out. At this point, Finnick's fur had a visible damp appearance which he was trying to ignore. Closing his mouth, Finnick tried (and failed) to give an entirely convincing shrug.

Nick's brain ran a mile-a-minute as he began to piece together what had happened. "Rocket," Nick turned his scalding attention to the exceptionally-guilty-looking raccoon as he spoke "what was Finnick doing in the bishop's quarters?"

"It's funny, really" laughed the raccoon in a failing attempt to appear calm under pressure. "Well, you see… Finnick and I were thinking-"

"No…" interrupted Nick as he began to grind a knuckle into his brow in frustration.

"Stay with me, Nick" pleaded Rocket as he waived his paws in an attempt to salvage the situation. "Finnick and I w-were thinking tha-"

"Tell me you two knuckle-heads didn't decide to poison Bishop Clyde Douglas…" spat Nick, entirely despondent at his two cohorts.

Both Finnick and Rocket stood in stunned silence. Prompting a pained whimper from the miniature fox, a heady gurgling noise emanated from Finnick's poisoned stomach breaking the stalemate. Panting in discomfort, Finnick pointed at Nick, confirming his fears.

"Brilliant!" spat Nick, throwing his paws up in resignation. "Absolutely perfect! Tell me, Finnick, did you drink anything while you were in there?"

"How'd you know?" asked the miniature fox, looking from Rocket to Nick and back.

"Because I also poisoned the Bishop!" spat Nick, gesturing at his own chest with a thumb.

"Y-you…" panic began to grip Finnick as all of his symptoms began to make sense "you poisoned me, Nicky. Why?"

"I told you two not to try anything!" spoke Nick to Rocket. At this point the fox was too disappointed to even be angry.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" mumbled Finnick to himself.

"That recently, eh?" asked Rocket with all too much enthusiasm.

Nick spun on his heels to confront the raccon before being stopped by the drone of a pipe organ. Hurriedly checking the time on his phone, Nick muttered a silent curse from between clenched teeth. "I swear you two could make me late for my own funeral!"

Making his way to the door, Nick stalled to address Finnick with a pointed paw; "I swear to the powers that be, if you throw up on anyone important while were out there… I-I'll…" Nick's shoulders dropped in defeat as he shook his head "I'm gonna be honest with you, I'll probably cry."

Oh hot-diggity!

Did you just read another whole chapter? Yes, yes you did. Did you enjoy it? I sure hope so! If you did, then read another! But before you go, please be sure to write a review, leave a favorite, or make a suggestion. I do this for me, but also for you guy. So please, give me your thought.

-Enjoy the next chapter!