AZM Ch 01Nicholas Wilde gingerly stepped one paw down into the warm sand of the serene beach, shivering as the coarse grains squeezed up between his toes. “I hate the beach,” he muttered to himself indignantly. It was true. He simply didn’t like the beach at all; he didn’t like the smell of salt polluting the air; he didn’t like the grating cacophony of seagulls assaulting his ears all day long; he didn’t like waves taking him by surprise and knocking him over every time he dared wade out in the wake. However, every mammal can be happily persuaded to act against their own interests given the right motivation.

“Now where did that dumb bunny go?” Nick ventured out toward the ocean in search of his date, but she was nowhere to be found. The displeased fox stepped into the shallow water in an attempt to wash his fur of some sand that had already managed to bury itself in his coat while he waited for her to return. Though he didn’t enjoy being at