Brothers in Hooves (Shorts)

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  Since Rocky usually had to get up very early to get things done at the Pastry Shop, he usually slept soon after he got home on weekdays.
  That's why he was rather shocked to hear the news of what happened to Raff straight from Nero as he walked into the kitchen through the back door.

Nero: Did you see the message on the group chat?

  He sounded a bit grim.

Rocky: No. I didn't have the time to.

Nero: Well... Raff got stabbed in the shoulder last night. By her mother.

Rocky: Oh... Wait, what?

Nero: Yeah, you heard it. But she's doing fine from what I've heard from Cindy and her. But her mom was arrested. Lots to process.

Rocky: And where are they now?

Nero: At Cindy's place. I gave Raff the day off but she'll still come here to hang out for the day.

Rocky: Fair enough. Will you need someone to cover for her as a waiter?

Nero: We'll see.

  With that, they started getting things ready for the day, with new freshly baked goods needing to be ready to go before opening time.
  Tyler and Nilo didn't take long to join either, making the process more streamlined like it had been in the past ten months or so.
  But then Rocky saw something: An empty Breakfast Basket in the corner of the shelves. The remains of a gift Harriet had gotten from her parents a few weeks ago, since she was in the last weeks of her pregnancy.
  Without much pondering, he picked it up, and started filling it with some pastries. Cupcakes, dreams, plain and frosted donuts, croissants... A little bit of everything they had done for the morning.
  The others saw what he was doing and didn't question it at all, before adding their own contributions.
  Soon, the basket had been beautifully filled, and as the opening time grew closer, Bryan, Takoda and Wendy arrived as well, also aware of what happened last night.
  Rocky was helping them organize the tables and display when Cindy walked in, gently holding the good arm of Raff. They both seemed tired, but relieved at the same time. The buffalo wearing a tank top that made her patched-up shoulder visible, like a badge of honor.
  But they didn't come by themselves, as with them also came two younger buffalos and a slightly older antelope. The first time Rocky had ever seen some semblance of their families.
  So as soon as Raff sat down in the cushioned seats of the corner of the diner space, the other four sat around her for a moment, and Rocky nodded to the others to bring the gift basked.
  She then stared in disbelief as she saw it coming her way.

Raff: No way... Are you serious?

Nilo: Actually, my name is Danilo, but you can call me Nilo.

  They all chuckled a bit at that, as the bunk placed the basket at the table.

Cindy: That was bad.

Bryan: And I thought Nero was the dad here.

Nero: Heh. Almost there.

Raff: You guys didn't need to do this.

Tyler: But we sure can.

Amy: You don't need to be this selfless all the time.

Scott: Remember, you got a sword to the shoulder last night.

Wendy: A Sword?!

Oliver: A Replica that our dad kept as decoration.

Takoda: Wow...

Rocky: Anyway, you deserve a treat.

  She then smiled, looking at every single one of them, and let out a sigh.

Raff: Alright. Thank you guys.

  The five of them started to savour those treats as Takoda went to change the sign at the entrance to "open".
  That little act of kindness might not help to solve the bigger issue at hand, but Rocky would make sure they didn't have to worry about it that morning.