“We’ll get right on it, dad.” Chip said.

“Good. Because the rest of all want to grill Sela…”

Sela padded with into the living room, taking his fate with grace.

“The only thing that is getting grilled tonight is the fish!” Chip said, loud enough for both rooms to hear.

Sam helped Chip prep all of the fish. Chip explained in detail all of the mise en place his father Stone had passed down from the fox tradition. The otters worked well with the foxes not just because they shared a diet but because they both had a deep love for swordplay and it’s lesser known cousin, knives being used to chop up stuff. The traditional mise en place became a meditative trance for fox chefs to go through once everything was set up.

“So there’s a method to your madness after all,” Sam said, watching as the last piece made it to the grill.

“It helps me get into a flow state when cooking which helps a lot. Especially when things run smoother that way.”

“Two minutes of setup doesn’t save much time up front but over… yeah I guess that was smooth.”

Chip smiled as he moved to clean his paws with his apron.

A loud gruff voice once again lifted over the living room.

“Sela, my boy have you met my two swords? They were my gift for retiring from the company.”

“Ah! They look great!” Sela said.

“I named them Stabitha and Slashley.”

“Why did you name them-“

And from the kitchen came a low growl of from the pit of Chips stomach.

“NOOOOO!”