CRASH!

Eileen Hopps was never one to consider herself exceptional. She, like all her siblings, had things she excelled at and things she struggled with. With a family as large as theirs it could be hard to find time to learn something from her parents or even find an older sibling that was proficient enough at a certain task to learn from. However, it would be near impossible to find a Hopps child that would complain about their parents not being there. It might not have been exactly when they needed them or even in a timely manner. But every Hopps could attest to their parents diligence in addressing and reassuring their children.

Eileen herself had experienced that. Her mother showing up at the right moment before she caught the house on fire the first time she was learning to cook, her father lifting her up when she was being bullied and no one else seemed to notice. Little moments like that were ingrained in her memory. So too were all the happy memories. The birthday she got the doll she really wanted, the first time she and her sisters started noticing bucks, her first kiss, falling asleep to the rhythm of Lucas's heart, things like that.

Last night, she was so exhausted that after settling in her room she flopped on the bed and fell fast asleep. Going to sleep so early the day before had the side effect of her waking early the next morning. When she woke, she found herself covered in a blanket she didn't remember being on the bed before. She didn't think much of it as she got out of bed and finally changed out of her travel clothes from yesterday. She went to check on Judy, having not seen her since parting ways yesterday. When she found her sister wrapped in a fox cocoon, she could only smile in awe. After collecting a few discrete photos for later, she quietly eased her way back out of the room and returned to the main area.

She stood in the main archway leading into the living room area and looked down the series of rooms. With the rooms ending at the kitchen, she got the idea that everyone could use a good hearty breakfast to start this new adventure together. Looking at the clock though, she noted it was still a bit early to cook when everyone else would likely stay asleep a while longer. So, to pass the time she went back to her room and properly unpacked her bags. Finding a place where everything seemed to fit naturally. She made her bed and contemplated on changing into different clothes for the day. With a shrug of her shoulders, she decided to stick with being comfortable. Her pajama pants and loose t-shirt would do through breakfast. The way it tended to hang slightly off her shoulder from time to time should also be enough to catch Lucas's eye.

Looking at the small clock on the nightstand, Eileen could see that the time had hardly passed. She'd packed enough to last a few days but it still didn't amount to much. She wanted to bring more but without knowing where they were going or for how long it didn't make sense to pack all the things she wanted to bring. Thankfully, she packed a small makeup bag to bring with her. Along with her toothbrush and furbrush, she eased past Lucas' room and into the bathroom at the end of the hall.

Eileen took her time, brushing and inspecting her teeth for any sign of imperfection. She then brushed her fur to perfection. Pulling out her small supply of makeup, she applied powder to her cheeks to cover the few brown speckles of fur so her face appeared perfectly white. She used mascara to accentuate her eyelashes and a little bit of lip gloss. She debated on using eyeliner, but in the end, decided it was better to make it look like she hadn't been awake and had as much time on her paws as she really did.

Done, she slipped back into her room and put her things on top of the dresser. Checking the clock again, it was finally a decent time to start prepping a meal for everyone.

"It's strange," she thought, "cooking for such a small group."

She didn't check on Lucas, she knew from the night prior that he said he was going to bed like the rest of them. While he was animated during their conversations yesterday on the way here, he looked exhausted. She wouldn't be surprised if he slept the entire day.

Besides, it would be nice to surprise him with a big breakfast.

She made her way to the kitchen and started looking through the cabinets. Supplies were scarce, but she did find an unopened bag of flour, fresh milk, eggs and butter. Pancakes it was then. Surely Nick could eat pancakes right? She was just reaching into a bottom cabinet to fetch a mixing bowl. Bent at the waist, her fluffy brown and white tail wiggling in the air.

"What ar-"

"EEP!"

The sudden voice behind her caused her to quickly jump back and turn to face the source. The mixing bowl and several smaller ones stacked within it, along with a few pots and pans beside it, all tumbled to the ground.

Crash!