u/Icicle_Snowy

INT. CANADIAN HOSPITAL VAN - NIGHT

The heavy metal doors SLAM shut. The roaring engines and shouting crowds outside instantly muffle.The interior is blindingly bright, sterile, and warm.

Canadian NURSES work with lightning speed, gently lifting ICE BEAR'S limp, greying body onto a patient bed. They strap an oxygen mask over his muzzle and hook an IV to his scratched paw.

GRIZZLY sinks into a seat across from the bed, chest heaving. A nurse presses a cold compress against his horribly swollen, purple eye.

Grizzly ignores the pain. His heart pounds against his ribs. He forces his good eye toward the rain-streaked rear window.

EXT. STREET - NIGHT (THROUGH THE VAN WINDOW)

Flashing emergency lights illuminate Agent Trout’s massive, black government vehicle. Inside the open back sits a reinforced steel cage.

PANDA is locked inside.

He is completely FAINTED, head lolled back. His battered body TWITCHES violently from the shock of tranquilizer darts. A dark smudge of blood from his tail stains the cold iron floor.

INT. CANADIAN HOSPITAL VAN - CONTINUOUS

Grizzly’s breath freezes.

GRIZZLY

(a choked, horrified gasp)

Panda...!

Grizzly lunges, SLAMMING his paws against the glass.

GRIZZLY (CONT'D)

(screaming)

NO! NO! STOP THE VAN! PANDA! TURN AROUND! THEY ENCAGED HIM!

The Nurse grabs Grizzly’s shoulders, firmly pulling him back as the van accelerates.

NURSE

Sir, please! You're heavily injured! We have to get your brother to the ICU right now! The local authorities are handling the border agents!

Grizzly presses his face against the cold glass. Tears stream through his fur.

In the distance, Panda’s twitching form grows smaller, swallowed up by the darkness of Agent Trout's shadow.

TO BE CONTINUED...?

[CLIP START!]

EXT. FARMERS MARKET - DAY

Customers gather around stalls buying fresh produce and sampling goods. The air fills with the warm harmony of everyday chattering.

LUCY, a bright, cheerful young woman, hums beautifully as she lifts a heavy produce crate. Her voice is full of warmth and butterflies. She places the crate down with a satisfied smile.

Then suddenly... A loud, echoing ROAR thunders in the distance.

Lucy lifts her gaze.

SOFIA, a furious feline, stomps her paws down angrily. The ground shakes violently from her impact hilariously!

Sellers and customers shriek, diving under tables for cover. Lucy simply blinks, lets out a surprised awe, and smiles softly.

LUCY

(Beaming; pulls out a tray of apple cider samples and sliced bananas mixed with cherries)

Oh, hey, Sofia! It's nice to see you again! What brings you here to my fine Lucy's Produce Stall? Samples? Kale smoothies? Juices? No—wait! Uhh... buying watermel—

Sofia SWIPES her paw violently across the counter!

The sample baskets stumble and cascade down to the floor. Fruits smash and roll across the dirt.

Lucy freezes in absolute shock.

Sofia storms in place, her feline ears pinned back as she bares her teeth in pure, silent jealousy.

EXT. FARMERS MARKET - CONTINUOUS

Lucy stands frozen, blinking down at a single, bruised cherry rolling past her shoe.

Sofia stands huffing over the counter, her ears pinned back, breathing heavy like a soap opera villain who just revealed a twin brother.

LUCY

(Voice cracking)

My... my organic Chilean cherries...

Sofia slams her paws back onto the wooden counter, leaning in so close her nose almost touches Lucy’s.

SOFIA

(Low, dramatic hiss)

Do not play innocent with me, Lucy the Farmer’s Market Girl. I see right through your artisanal, pesticide-free web of lies!

LUCY

(Genuinely bewildered)

My web of what now? I just sell squashes, Sofia.

SOFIA

Oh, really? Then explain why every single time we walk past your little tactical outpost of agriculture, my boyfriend turns into a broken, glitching anime robot?!

Right on cue, PANDA stumbles out from behind a nearby macrame plant hanger. He is holding a single stalk of celery like a protective sword, sweating profusely, and visibly trembling.

PANDA

(High-pitched, voice cracking)

S-Sofia! Honey! Cupcake! Please don't smash the squashes, they didn't do anything to our relationship!

Sofia doesn't look back at him. She keeps her death glare locked onto Lucy.

SOFIA

He stutters, Lucy. He stutters in three different syllables whenever you wave at him! Last Tuesday, you smiled and said "Have a nice day," and he fell backward into a display of hand-poured soy candles! He smelled like lavender vanilla for forty-eight hours!

LUCY

(Blinking innocently)

Oh! I remember that! I thought he just really liked aromatherapy.

PANDA

(Waving his hands frantically in the background)

I do! I love soothing scents! It helps with my generalized anxiety! Sofia, please, let's just go buy some honey sticks and leave!

SOFIA

(Ignoring Panda, pointing a sharp claw at Lucy's chest)

You think you can just stand there, looking radiant and oblivious in your perfectly coordinated denim overalls, while ruining my domestic bliss?!

From the shadows of the back tent, KALE steps out smoothly. He is wearing a floral apron, looking incredibly handsome, completely unbothered, and biting into a crisp green apple.

KALE

Hey, babe. Are we having a disagreement about the pricing of the root vegetables again? Because I told you, the parsnips are non-negotiable.

Panda catches one look at Kale's perfect jawline and athletic build, lets out a small, defeated whimper, and drops his celery stalk.

PANDA

(Muttering to himself)

Oh great, now his hair looks like it belongs in a shampoo commercial. I can't compete with this. I literally can't.

SOFIA

(To Kale, wildly dramatic)

Stay out of this, boyfriend of the home-wrecker!

LUCY

(Gasps, clutching her chest)

Home-wrecker?! Sofia, I have a boyfriend! He's right here! He eats apples and carries watermelons!

SOFIA

(Narrowing her eyes)

Exactly. A classic diversion tactic.

Sofia dramatically spins around on her heel, her tail whipping

Panda directly across the face. She grabs Panda by the collar of his hoodie, dragging him backward out of the stall like a sack of potatoes.

SOFIA

(Yelling to the crowd as she drags him away)

We are leaving! And we are buying our local honey from the stall across the street! The one with the less aggressive smiling!

Panda looks back at Lucy one last time, completely red-faced, giving a weak, shaky wave as he is dragged into the horizon.

PANDA

(Faintly)

Bye, Lucy... sorry about the cherries...

Lucy watches them go, completely stunned. She turns to Kale, who is still calmly chewing his apple.

LUCY

...Do you think she wanted a smoothie?

KALE

(Shrugs)

Hard to tell. Felines are notoriously picky customers.

[THE END!!]

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