Bobby Thornbody, a young twelve-year-old Hawaiian-born porcupine, was a boy who loved nature and exploring quite a bit. Bobby lived in Huntington, West Virginia, where he had been living since he was five years old.

Because of this, he knew most of the town's layout pretty well. It wasn't often that he had something new to explore, as most places there had been in business for about as long as he'd lived there, but he still always enjoyed the scenery.

The tan colored cub had been out on a bike ride through town one afternoon, when he noticed a building in the middle of an otherwise empty grass-covered lot. This was odd because the lot was completely empty that morning and had been for several months, yet the building looked like it had been there for quite some time. Even more curious were the excess of vines that decorated the outside of the building itself. The vines covered most of the building yet they too looked as though they had been there for some time and were quite well maintained, despite the fact that there was no other greenery on the lot aside from the grass.

Unable to quiet his curiosity, the cub pulled his bike onto the lot. As he did, he felt a breeze kick up around him briefly. Bobby then pulled his bike up to a nearby bike rack, quickly securing it as he turned his attention to the building again.

The building covered a rather large area, but was otherwise only one story. As he approached it, he noticed the door had several different animal pawprints carved into it. Engraved on a silver-plated placard was what Bobby assumed to be the name of the building: T. Aropo Vine Zoo.

Bobby stood there, for a moment, contemplating the curious name of the building. He turned away briefly, back toward the street. Cars and other furs were just going about their day, appearing to take no notice of the building at all. Shrugging, he turned back toward the door of the building. Not even knowing if he'd have to pay to see the animals in the zoo, Bobby turned the doorknob and entered.

As he did, he looked around. He could see that the walls of the building were covered in wallpaper that looked much like the vines that covered the building outside. He also saw several strange looking plants he had never seen before, which piqued his curiosity even further, due to his love of nature.

Standing behind a desk nearby were two heavyset black horses, who were both talking to each other and who appeared to be twins. One was wearing a pair of blue shorts and a white, button-down tee shirt with the front completely unbuttoned, and the second was wearing a blue sleeveless tee with a pair of tan colored shorts.

“Pardon me, but... I have a question," Bobby said, trying to get their attention.

The two horses turned to look at Bobby. For several seconds, neither said a word, but then they both smiled. The one in the blue shorts spoke up. “Certainly, how can I help you?"

“Uhh... well.. How do I put this without it sounding weird?" Bobby thought for a moment. “How long has this place been here?"

“Not very long. About a month, why?"

“That's... not possible. I come by this area of town all the time and the lot's been completely empty ever since the restaurant that used to be here was taken down."

“Perhaps you just never noticed because you were used to it being empty?"

“Well.... maybe..." Bobby scratched his head. “But even then, how is it you have the vines growing all over the building? There's no way they could have grown this much in such a short time."

“I suppose you could say my brother and I have a magic touch when it comes to things like that," the other horse laughed.

“Well... whatever you guys did with it, it looks really beautiful outside... And it looks and smells really nice here too."

“Thank you, young man," the first horse replied.

Bobby smiled. “You're very welcome... Uhhh... while I'm in here, I might as well ask... how much do you charge to allow people to look at the animals here?"

“Hm? Oh! It's not THAT kind of zoo. We just call it that because of the wide variety of furs that come to spend time here. This place is more like a meeting place for furs to make new friends."

This made Bobby smile. He knew a lot of the furs in Huntington but he only knew a handful of them personally. “That's awesome! I'm always looking to make new friends. My name's Bobby Thornbody."

“It's a pleasure Bobby. I'm Theodore Aropo. And this is my twin brother Tidus."  Theo offered his paw, which Bobby shook before also doing the same with Tidus' paw.

“Theo and Tidus...." Bobby then suddenly realized something. “T. Aropo.... Heh, okay, well I guess that explains the name of this place."

“Yeah. Since both of our names start with a T, and we figured our last name sounded mysterious enough to draw people in, we went with it."

“Well, yeah, it certainly does sound interesting.... So... is this place free to the public then?"

“That it is," Tidus told him. He then indicated the large double doors behind him. “You're welcome to explore if you like."

Another thought entered his mind then. “This place... isn't a bar is it?"

“We wouldn't have even let you come through the door if it were, Bobby," Theodore snickered.

“Heh, that's a good point." Bobby smiled. He looked up and checked the time, seeing it was a little after noon, then looked back to the horses. “I gotta admit I'm kinda curious to see more of this place. Heh...  Hopefully I'll have something really cool to tell my dad when he gets home from work tonight too. I think I'll check it out then."

“Go right ahead," Theodore commented, walking over and pushing one of the large doors open.

Bobby thanked the horses before stepping inside. He quickly noticed the air was slightly cooler as he entered, which he assumed was because there were fans blowing. He looked around, and, sure enough, among the dozens of tables, he saw furs of many different ages. Some were cubs. Some were adults. Some were in groups. Some were sitting alone. Bobby also noticed there were several TVs around the large room, as well as a few bookshelves which housed both books and various games.

Off to one side, he also spotted a counter, manned by two wolves, one white and the other a grey and white color. They were both handing food to other furs that were sitting at the counter.

“Wow... this place is a lot bigger than it looked from the outside," Bobby said to himself. He walked over toward the bookshelf and scanned over the books, stunned when his eyes came across a copy of Edgar Allan Poe's poems. He had it at home, but enjoyed it so much that he couldn't resist grabbing it to read through again. He then looked around, trying to find a table. He eventually spotted an empty one near the bookshelf and padded over to it, taking a seat and opening the book to read.

He had no idea how long he'd been reading, but, eventually, a voice with a bit of a southern accent spoke. “Excuse me... would ya mind if ah sat in that other chair there? Mah dogs are barkin' an' ah'd like ta sit an' read fer a while."

Bobby looked up from the book to see a fat fox, wearing jeans and a blue plaid shirt. “Yeah, sure. Go right ahead."

“Thank ya." He sat down and set the book he'd been holding down on the table. It looked to be some kind of cookbook.

“Are you looking for some new recipes to try out," Bobby asked.

“Yeah, ah guess ya could say that, though mostly ah jus' look at the desserts," the fox told him.

“Nothing wrong with that. I make a lot of desserts myself," Bobby replied.

“Is that right? Well... It's nice ta meet a fellow baker." He offered his paw. “The name's Gideon Grey."

Bobby reached out and took his paw. “Hello Mister Grey. My name's Bobby Thornbody."

“Aw, ya don't have to call me Mister Grey, Bobby. Ah don't mind ya calling me by mah first name."

“Alright then, Gideon." Bobby couldn't help smiling at him. “I've been baking stuff since I was about seven years old."

“Well ya must be pretty good in the kitchen then, hm?" Gideon smiled.

“I like to think so. I bet you're even better though."

“Hey now, don't go sellin' yerself short there, Bobby. If yer tellin' me ya have been bakin' since ya were seven years old, ah'm sure ya can make some stuff that ah'd be surprised by."

“Well... how often do you come here? Maybe one day I can bring some of my cookies."

“Ah'm here every day. It's a nice place ta unwind after a long day of bakin'."

“It definitely seems that way. And if everyone here is as friendly as you and those twin horses up front, I'm sure I'll be coming back here a lot... By the way though, I don't think I've ever seen you around Huntington before. In fact," he looked around. “I don't recognize anyone here. And I've lived in Huntington for a long time."

Gideon chuckles. “Ah don't live in Huntington. Same is true fer most furs here."

“Wait..." Bobby cocked his head curiously. “How do you know that exactly?"

“Because ah know everyone here. We're all from either the Tri-Burrow area or Zootopia."

“Zootopia? Is that in West Virginia?" Bobby stared at the fat fox, trying desperately to process what he was being told, but he couldn't make sense of it.

“Well... not quite... though ah can see why ya would think that. Bobby, lemme ask ya somethin'. Do ya believe in magic?"

He couldn't help but give another chuckle at the question. “Yeah, I do. Why?"

“Since ah'm guessin' by yer reaction ta all this that you don't know what this place actually is, I'll let ya in on it. This place is kind of a link between yer home and ours. If ya were able ta see this place, then there was very likely a reason fer it, because this place is only accessible to furs with certain qualities."

Bobby went quiet for a moment. “That... would explain why this place seemed to come out of nowhere. But... I have no idea what it is about me that would have suddenly let me see this place. Especially since, as I said, I've been by here several times in the last couple months and I've never seen it until today."

“Ah don't know, but ah wouldn't overthink it. Ya think this is a nice place, right?"

“Well, yeah. And if this place really is like a secret clubhouse or something from another world, I kinda wanna know more about it."

“I'm sure ya will have plenty of time ta do just that..." Gideon smiled. Right at that moment, Bobby's stomach gave a growl, causing Gideon to chuckle again. “But fer now... why don't ya get somethin' ta eat? Larry and Gary over there can help ya."

“I would, but I don't have any of my allowance on me."

“Don't need it. This place offers free food...."

“Why would they..." Bobby stopped, then facepalmed. “Magic... right... Okay, yeah, I'll be right back."

Right then, Gideon's stomach growled too. “Actually, ah think ah could go fer a bite ta eat mahself."

Bobby stood then. “Wanna go together then?"

“Yeah, sure," the fox commented with a nod, rubbing his belly as he stood.

Seeing Gideon rub his belly, Bobby shivered briefly before making his way over to the two wolves. “Excuse me, but uhh...." He paused to think for a moment. “Could I get a cheeseburger and some fries? Maybe an orange soda?"

The white wolf, whom Gideon had identified as Gary, looked at Bobby with a nod. “Yeah sure. Hang on." He turned to the other wolf. “Cheeseburger and fries."

Larry walked up to what looked like a cabinet inside a wall, and opened it. Moments later, Larry produced a burger and fries from it, before also pulling a soda from it as well. He then put it all on a tray before handing it to Gary, who then handed it to Bobby.

“Here ya go."

Bobby looked at Gideon. “If you guys can use magic to make food, why bother cooking at all," he asked with a chuckle.

“Heh. The magic only works inside this building. Outside of it, our home is pretty much exactly like yours probably is."

“Got it," Bobby then turned back to the wolves. “Mahalo for the food."

“No problem," Gary replied with a smile. “And what about you, Gid? What did you want today?"

“Mmm... Sweet tooth is gettin' the better of me. Ah think ah'd like a bowl of yer chocolate ice cream, please."

“Sure thing." Larry walked over to the magic cabinet again and produced a large bowl of ice cream, handing it and a spoon to Gideon. “Here ya go."

Gideon took the ice cream, thanking the wolves before walking back to the table with Bobby. “A couple of nice guys, hm?"

“I'll say," Bobby smiled and took a bite of the burger. “Oh wow! This is good!"

“Heh, yeah, it's like the magic that exists in that box seems ta know exactly how people want their food... Be that how it's cooked... or, in my case, exactly how big a serving ya want."

“Okay, I have to say it, I hope I never lose whatever qualities it is that I have that allow me to see this place."

“Bobby... Somethin' tells me that won't ever happen," Gideon commented as he took a bite of ice cream.

“I hope you're right. This place is awesome."

Bobby spent most of the next hour eating and talking with his new friend. When he had finished, he pushed the plate back, rubbing his belly. “Mmm. Just enough to fill me full."

“Certainly hit the spot, that's fer sure." Gideon gave his belly a pat.

Bobby shivered again as he saw that and gave a nervous chuckle.

“What's the matter, Bobby?"

“Nothing. Just... heh.. Thinking about something."

“What? Ya mean mah big belly?" Gideon gave him a knowing look.

“I... uhhh... I didn't mean any offense by it. I'm sor..."

Gideon held up a paw to stop him. “Ah didn't say ah had a problem with it, Bobby. That's the second time ah've seen ya shiver like that when ah rubbed mah gut. If ya wanna give it a rub yerself, all ya gotta do is ask."

Bobby sat there in silence for a moment. “You... you're serious?"

“Sure am. Go fer it. In fact, if ya want, ah'll unbutton the shirt. Somethin' tells me that's what yer hopin' fer anyway, right?"

Bobby opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, he just blushed and nodded.

“That's what ah thought." Gideon unbuttoned his shirt then and leaned back, his belly now exposed to the cub. “How's that?"

Bobby took several seconds to summon up the courage then reached over with a paw to rub the fat fox's gut. Doing so caused him to shiver again, but it also caused Gideon to let out a quiet moan. Bobby raised a brow at that but didn't pull his paw away. “Feels so soft and..."

“Fat," Gideon said bluntly with a grin. “Ah'm fat. Ah know it. Ah like bein' fat. And ah gotta say... yer paw feels nice."

Bobby giggled a bit. He then started rubbing with both paws, which made Gideon moan. “Enjoying that?"

Gideon nodded. “Ah am. Quite a bit in fact."

Bobby raised a brow at that, but then something he noticed caused him to pull his paw back in surprise. “Uhhh..."

“What? Is something wrong," Gideon asked.

“You're.... Uhh...." Bobby pointed at the tent in Gideon's pants.

Gideon looked down seeing his tent, then looked back up at Bobby. “Ah'm sorry about that. It's just that yer paw felt so nice on mah belly and..."

This time, it was Bobby who held his paw up to silence Gideon. “I didn't say I was bothered," he commented, using Gideon's words against him. “It just surprised me. I'm kinda flattered."

Gideon cocked his head. “Ya are?"

“Yeah," Bobby blushed. “I haven't had a lot of luck finding someone to... share myself with."

“Well, ah hope ya don't mind me sayin' it, but ya ARE a pretty good lookin' cub."

Bobby's blush deepened. “Gideon?"

“Hm?"

Bobby stood then, showing the tent in his shirt.

“Would ya believe ah didn't even notice ya weren't wearin' pants?"

Bobby chuckles. “Yeah, where I'm from, furs don't always wear pants."

“And no one minds it? There's a naturalist club in Zootopia but ah don't go there often."

“Hehe... Nope, no one minds it at all.... So... ummm... Gideon.."

The fox looked at him with a raised brow. “Ya wanna touch it, don't ya?"

Bobby's eyes grew. “How do you keep doing that?"

“Doing what?"

“It's like you know what it is I'm thinking."

“Bobby, ya've been starin' ever since ya saw it."

“Won't.... Won't you get in trouble? I AM a cub after all."

He shook his head. “Nope. Ah assure ya, even if someone walks over while yer doin' it, no one will say a word."

“Really?"

Gideon stood then and turned him to face some of the nearby tables.

At many of the tables there were cubs getting affectionate with the adults they were sitting with, and, although Bobby couldn't see under the tables, it was pretty clear what was going on.

Bobby turned back to Gideon and blushed again. “Gideon..."

“Bobby, listen. Ah ain't gonna make ya do nothin' ya don't wanna, but as ya can see, we enjoy gettin' close ta others like that. And ah gotta figure ya enjoy the thought yerself, otherwise ah don't think ya'd have even been able ta come in here."

Bobby looked around again. “Honestly, yeah I.... I've had thoughts and fantasies about stuff like this once in a while. I was kinda thinking about it while I was riding my bike today. I want to find someone I can be close to..."

“Bobby, if ya stick around long enough, ya will find a lot of furs here would love ta be close ta ya."

“Yeah?"

Gideon nods. “And that includes me... Now, ah'll ask ya again... Do ya wanna touch it?"

“Yeah... Yeah, I do."