jtigerclaw and I bring you the next installment of the Leonard Mack and Vera La Tiérra story. Otherwise jokingly and lovingly known as "All My Foxes".

*organ music*

All My Foxes, on the FBC network, is sponsored by Top Fox Fur Wash. If you want your vulpine fur looking bright and shiny, use Top Fox! Find it in the fur care aisle.

*organ chord*

Silly joke over, on with the story!

---

Leonard Mack (Fox, F/C) turned his back to the basket and dribbled a couple of times. Time was running out. He felt a paw on his back. His defender was right on him.

It's now or never.

The fox turned around and went up with a hook shot.

"BZZZZZZZZZ!"

The ball swished through the hoop.

"We can do without the buzzer, thank you, Damien!" Kelsey Hampshire (fox) teased. The hyena laughed as he looked at the fox.

"Situation called for it, Coach K!" he joked.

Hampshire couldn't help but smile; he knew he had done the same on a couple of occassions. The practice was pretty light-hearted in general, but everyone was in a very good mood. The Minutemen had won their first four games of the FBA season and won all three games at home in very convincing fashion.

Mack cracked a smile himself as Forrest Stanley (Wolf, F/C) clapped him on the back.

"That was a great shot, 7-Up. Keep up that form and you'll be unstoppable," he said, sounding like a proud father.

The long-haired fox nodded and smiled, chuckling at the use of his new moniker. "Yeah, thanks, Forrest. I figured out that form a couple of years ago in Idaho and finally perfected it a little more last season," he said. The wolf nodded.

"I can tell; the game-winner you nailed against the Blanks was great. Great endin', too," he said, grinning wider.

Leonard's cheeks flushed a little bit as he unconsciously glanced over at Vera La Tiérra (Red Vixen, PG). The vixen was working on her one-on-one moves with Teo Masalia (Black Panther, SG), who was doing an excellent job shadowing her. La Tiérra still was able to drive past him and hit a running layup. When Mack looked back at Stanley, the wolf's grin was even bigger.

"Fraternizin' at the workplace, huh?" he teased. Mack's cheeks turned redder.

"Uh, not really..." he said. Forrest clapped Leonard on the back again.

"Hah, I'm just teasing you," he said, grinning. "Come on, let's get back to practice." The big furs went over to rebounding practice after their small chat, helping Otto Okkonen (Dragon, F/C) with his reactions and timing.

* * *

Mack exited the locker room with his new red gym bag slung on his shoulder. The Minutemen musket and letters logo was displayed smartly on the side of the bag, with Leonard's first and last name above and below the logo.

"Ola, Lennie!" Vera called out from the gym enterance, giving the fox a wave as well. Leonard smiled and went over to her. It seemed to relax him a little more if she was the one to initiate the conversation.

"Hey, Vera," he said, waving a little. "Say, I was actually wondering, earlier..." he started.

"Hmm?"

"Well... I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to my parents' farm when we go to Des Moines. Um, I floated the idea to them and Mom really seemed excited about it," he said, sounding slightly nervous and scratching the back of his head It was always an interesting sight to see the black-haired fox look flustered.

Vera didn't seem interested in that, though, as her eyes narrowed and she stared back at Leonard.

"That's something jou should have told me about first before jou asked," she said sternly. Mack threw up his paws defensively, starting to sweat.

"I-I-I... Vera, it was only an idea, I didn't mean anything by it... I thought it would be nice, really..." he stammered, convinced he did something grossly wrong.

Vera's expression softened almost immediately.

"Lennie... I'm not angry with jou. I appreciate the invite, really..." she said softly. The big red fox heaved a relieved sigh and rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

"That's good... uh, maybe I can drive you home?" he asked. The vixen shook her head.

"That's all right, Lennie; I'll drive home myself. Jou have a good evening, si?" she said, giving him a little hug. Mack put his arm around her for a second to return the hug.

"Sure, you have a good evening too," he said.

Jason Peterson (Spotted Hyena, C), Williamsburg's new rookie center, walked up behind Leonard and whistled.

"Boy, that was a bit awkward," he said.

"It's fine, Jason. Nothing you need to be concerned about. We like to call it 'Vera being Vera' around here," Mack said, half-joking. The hyena chuckled and flashed a smile.

"I get ya. Hey, I'm itching to go to that Manny's place. That's all I heard Lenny and Otto talk about. You wanna go?"

"No, I think I'm just going to go home and curl up on the couch with some food..." the fox mused. The taller hyena shrugged.

"A'ight. See you tomorrow then. They said Manny's has great ribs, i can't wait to try them out," he said, breaking into a huge grin. Leonard had heard of the hyena's rib-eating exploits and smiled.

"Just don't pop from eating too many ribs, we need you here," he said. The hyena gave out a whooping laugh and nodded.

"I'll remember that, see you tomorrow, Leonard," he said, leaving the gym.

"See ya, Jason."

* * *

Leonard curled up onto the sofa with FSPN Classic on the TV and some honey chicken and fried rice from Mei Shing Express. The night's game was a 1994 confronation between the then-division rivals Huntsville Mayors and Williamsburg Minutemen. The FSPN sports anchor host touted it as a classic duel between reigning MVP Jake Masters (Orange Tabby, SG, WIL) and emerging star Healey Davis (Cheetah, SG, HNT).

The warm and sweet chicken chunks and rice were delectable by fast food standards, and the classic game was interesting to watch. But those things couldn't fully distract Leonard from what was at the back of his mind.

Vera got upset at him because of the invite. The narrowed look in her eyes almost scared him. He'd never seen it before. Still, she wasn't really angry, she said. He loved the idea of showing her his boyhood home and his mother seemed so happy about it, too.

Maybe he'd ask her again...

* * *

The next practice day shaped up to be lively; Ain Iannizzi (Cougar, SF) had been making some waves yesterday with smooth plays and spectacular slams. Lenny Hicks (Coydog, PF) grinned as he walked over to Nathaniel as the hyena tied his sneakers.

"You feel threatened, DB? Seems like Ain is a real prime talent," Lenny teased Damien as they dressed in their navy practice uniforms.

"Grade A prime beef talent and don't you forget it!" Ain called from the other side of the locker room, causing the men's locker room to burst into laugther.

Nathaniel shook his head and smiled back. "Yes, BC, I feel so threatened that I'm gonna curl up and cry like a little pup," he said, sticking out his tounge.

Hicks laughed heartily in response. "I like to hear that. Just keep doing your job, Damien, you're doing great," he said. Leonard agreed as he pulled on his practice jersey.

Ain gave a smile himself and clapped Damien on the back.

"Not trying to usurp you or anything, Buckets. Just gotta do my high-flying act, y'know?" Ain said.

"Yeah, I know; thanks, Ain. It's not the first time I've played second banana, won't be the last, I'm sure," the hyena said good-naturedly, finishing his laces.

Just then, Vera, Eleanor Rigby (Deer, G), Marron Gwosdz (Arctic Vixen, G) and Tina McCall (Fennec Fox, G) came out of the locker room, chatting up a storm. The subject seemed very engaging, because the girls were all smiles and laughs.

Leonard smiled himself as he spied the brunette vixen. He gently tapped her on the shoulder and she smiled back at him.

"Good morning, Lennie; jou ready to practice?" she asked. Leonard nodded and smiled back.

"I sure am! Hey, Vera, you sure you won't reconsider? I was talking to Mom yesterday, and she said she was looking forward to having you as a guest someday. She seemed very happy about the idea," he said, reiterating what he told her last time.

Mack swore he saw Vera frown when he told her this, but she quickly turned it into a bit of a smile.

"Again, thank you for the offer, Lennie... I'll consider it," she said, though her tone was a little flat. Leonard wondered briefly if he had upset her again; he tried to brush aside the thought.

* * *

It became evident during practice that Vera was preoccupied with something. She looked like she was just going through the motions when shooting. The vixen showboated during a couple of neat three-pointers, but it looked like she wasn't into the display. Teo even asked her what was wrong when she made a half-hearted swipe at his protected rock and he blew by her for a nearly-uncontested layup.

"¿Que pasa, zorra? ¡Enfocate en la práctica!" he told her when he landed. Vera just shrugged.

"Estoy bien, pantera. Solo lanza la pelota," she replied. Masalia shrugged and shot the ball, Vera deflecting it slightly with an excellent jump and block. The deflection eased Teo's mind a little, but he still sensed something wasn't right.

Even Otto sensed it as practice neared the end. He sat beside Leonard on the sideline bench chairs and turned to him.

"Dude, Leonard, you know what's up with Vera? Her tail is drooping and she seems really zoned out. What's eating her, huh?" he asked.

Leonard covered his eyes with his paws and brushed them down his muzzle. "I have no idea, Otto, I've been trying to figure it out for the entire practice..."

Eleanor Rigby (Deer, PG) draped a towel around her shoulders as she came over and and sat by the two big bodies.

"I overhead that," she said. "Vera's got a bug with something. You can't suss it either, wacks?" she asked. Leonard shook his head.

"We're still trying to figure it out," the fox said. Eleanor nodded in reply.

"Well, I'll try to give you a paw, but she won't crack on yet..."

"Yeah... I'll try to talk to her later..." the fox replied.

"Gear. All righ', back to practice..." she said, getting back up and giving Leonard a pat on the shoulder as she jogged back over to Vera and Tina to work on more guard practices.

Otto stared at Eleanor and then back to Leonard.

"And some furs think I can't speak English because I'm from Finland," he said. Mack couldn't help but chuckle at that. He was a little concerned, though; if Vera wasn't talking to the other girls, she must be preoccupied with something. He had to talk to her.

* * *

Leonard walked over to Vera and put his paw on her shoulder as she was about to leave.

"Vera, you've been sulking all afternoon, and I think it's my fault... do you need to talk? We could do it over take-out, nothing fancy, just you and me," he said.

The vixen growled and pushed Leonard away with both paws firmly. "¡Dejame en paz!" she snarled, then she stomped off to her car.

Leonard's jaw dropped as he watched the vixen storm off in a huff. Otto couldn't help but stare in shock himself.

"Dude, what the heck did you do?" he asked.

"I don't know..." he said.

Teo wasn't around to translate for Leonard, but the fox knew in his heart what she had said:

Leave me alone.

What was going on?

* * *

Mack took a swig of his glass of sweet tea and placed it back on the table. Manny's was quite lively that night, especially given the Minutemen's success. The highlight of the evening was when Otto's cheeks turned red after their waitress told him he had such cute horns. It was a laugh-riot.

But Mack didn't feel much like laughing. The angry look on Vera's face wasn't easy to forget.

Teo leaned across the table to talk with his friend. They would have the conversation to themselves; everyone else was watching the spectacle of Jason Peterson, Eater of Ribs, rooting on the hyena as he chowed down on his third rack of meat.

"All right, look, Leonard, if we're going to get to the bottom of this, we have to figure out what you said before to her..." the black panther said. Mack nodded, munching on a french fry.

"She first seemed to get angry when I invited her to visit my folks' farm where I grew up," he said. Teo nodded.

"Don't you think that's a serious invite, man?" Masalia asked.

"Don't remind me, I feel like an idiot about that," he said.

"She seemed to be okay with it, though, so I asked her about it again the next day. That's when she got all depressed and angry."

"You think she doesn't like your mom?"

"I doubt that. She seemed to think Mom is nice when she talked about meeting her those times with the ... photos."

"Hahaha, yeah, that was great. You had a cute crewcut in high school..."

Mack put a paw over his eyes and Teo decided not to go down that route anymore.

"So you mentioned your mother twice, she gets upset, yet she doesn't hate your mother..." Teo mused.

Mack nodded, thinking a little more. Then it dawned on him.

"Maybe it's HER mother... she hasn't mentoined her once to me. Maybe something's wrong with her?"

Teo nodded. "Could be... I'd say go talk to her about it, help her get out of this funk," he said.

Mack nodded and munched on a chicken finger from the basket in front of him. Those were his thoughts exactly. Now if he could only talk to her...

* * *

Leonard found out that none of the girls had spoken to Vera since she left the gym, so he figured that she got some dinner and ate at her apartment alone.

He pulled into the driveway of her small apartment building and walked up to her door. The big red fox took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

"¡Largate, Leonard Mack!" yelled Vera from inside the door. Leonard knew what that meant without translation as well: go away.

"I'm not going away, Vera. Something's wrong and you're not telling me what it is. Please, talk to me," he said.

"Odio cuando andas de preguntona," she growled through the door. Again, Leonard felt like he knew what that meant; she was calling him nosy again.

"Listen, Vera... you know I care about you. We all do. Everyone's wondering why you're so upset. That was all Teo and I talked about at dinner."

There was no sound from behind the door.

"Vera, you can tell me what's troubling you. I'll listen to you. I want to help you. Don't you trust me?" he asked.

A half-minute passed, the only sound being the motor of a passing car. Leonard then heard the click of the door's lock as it was pulled aside. Leonard was then greeted by Vera's face as she opened the door. Her expression was neutral.

"All right, Lennie. Come in..." she said quietly, propping open the door fully. Mack walked inside and she shut the door behind him.

The apartment was nicely furnished, with a comfortable-looking sofa, coffee table and television in the living room. A dining table was set up near the kitchen, and a small hallway lead to a bathroom and bedroom.

The table was adorned with a black styrofoam box and crumpled sheets of aluminum foil. Vera must have bought some food from El Pórtico, the Mexican restaurant that they went to together that one time.

The vixen led him to the couch.

"Jou wan' to sit down, Leonard?" she asked. Mack nodded and took a seat, noting that she called him "Leonard". She sat beside him and rubbed her left arm, looking at the floor. She gave him a second look, then looked back down to the floor again.

"Vera?" Leonard asked, concerned. Vera looked up and finally met his eyes. She had that same look from when she was upset about being spurned for Rookie of the Year.

Only it was more forlorn, more sad.

"Leonard... this is really hard for me to say... jou must promise to never, never, EVER tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you..." she said. Her tone told Leonard she was absolutely serious.

Leonard nodded and put a paw on her shoulder, sensing she needed that reassurance.

"I promise I won't tell anyone else. Whatever you tell me, it doesn't leave this house," he said with a small smile.

Vera nodded and took a deep breath.

"Mi madre es una alcohólica..." she said.

Leonard nodded, understanding perfectly. It must have been hard for her to admit it to others because she told him in Spanish.

"She wasn't always a drinker. She didn't start until I entered high school. I wasn't sure why she started, but it grew obvious she was drinking more and more. I found many empty beer bottles in the kitchen and around the house.

"The day when it got the worst..." she said, then looking down at the couch. "... I still remember like it was yesterday.

"I came home and found three empty bottles of beer on the kitchen table. I then saw my mother. She looked really drunk and disheleved. She... started screaming at me about how life wasn't fair for her. I could see anger in her eyes. She then... she... slapped me across the muzzle, and called me an ugly whore. She said I didn't deserve to be beautiful. I cried myself to sleep that night..."

Leonard's mouth dropped open at that statement. Several tears trickled down Vera's cheeks as she continued to speak.

"I moved into a friend's house the next day, as I was still in school. I just packed a suitcase and left. I couldn't bear to be in the same house as someone who would do that to me..." she sobbed.

"I went into pro basketball soon after that. I tried to forget my mother, but... I couldn't just leave her completely. Others checked on her to see how she was doing, but I never went back home again after that."

Leonard nodded silently, the picture finally becoming clear to him. Emotion was welling up inside of him too at seeing her sorrow.

"Friends have called me to say my mother is still trying to stay sober, but they never said how she felt about me. I... I don't want to go back... She hates me. Alcohol always reveals the truth..." she said, whimpering.

Silently, Leonard took her in a gentle embrace. Vera sobbed and leaned her head onto Mack's chest.

"Why does she hate me, Leonard? Why?" she asked, sniffing.

Leonard didn't answer that question then. Vera must have been carrying this burden for so long, he thought.

He then said something, almost regretting it as he said it:

"She doesn't hate you... all mothers love their children..." he said, then thinking of his own mother.

Vera just kept her head on his chest and sniffled.

"I remember when she used to tuck me in at night and sing to me. She always made me canoas every week; they were so good..." she said softly. Leonard stroked Vera's soft auburn hair gently, trying to tell her he was there for her. Vera whimpered and sniffled as he did that. Maybe she was remembering her own mother stroking her hair...

A minute later, the vixen sighed as she sat back upright on the sofa, wiping her tears away.

"Lo siento, Leonard, I shouldn't have piled that on jou," she said.

"There is nothing to be sorry about, Vera," Leonard said quietly. "It's clear you had to say all that for a long time; I'm glad you told me. I'm sorry about your mother, but I hope your friends help her and I hope you feel a little better now," he said, giving her a smile. Vera nodded in reply.

Leoanrd then looked at his watch and frowned. "I need to get going..." he said, with a hint of reluctance in his voice. The red fox didn't really want to leave her after she told him such painful memories.

Vera nodded. "That's right. I need to get to bed as well. We have a big practice in the morning," she said.

When the two stood up, Vera embraced him around the neck and kissed him warmly on the cheek.

"Thank you for being here for me, Leonard. Jou're so kind and caring," she said.

"No problem, Vera..." Leonard said back, his cheeks beet red. He took her around the waist and the two shared a hug for several moments, with Vera laying her head on his chest again.

The vixen showed Leonard to the door and waved to him as he got in his car. As Leonard drove back to his apartment, his conscience sprung up inside his head:

"Hey, Leonard! Did you feel it?" said the voice.

"Feel what?" he asked.

"You know, her love!"

"Oh, come on, does she really love me?"

"Yeah! Why else would she tell you of such a deep, personal burden and ask you to keep it to yourself? She hugged you for a while, she let you console her closely for a long time. I think she loves you!"

"I don't know... I'd rather wait until she says 'I love you' to me..."

"Suit yourself, but I still say she loves you," the voice concluded. Mack continued to drive home in silence.

Maybe his conscience is right.