I am on call waiting and I am BOOOOORED…

Stuck the second chapter of this up not long ago and it is one of the many I haven't messed with for a while. Same as the others, multiple chapters done, but I'm sort of enthralled in something else right now. I'll get to it!

Disclaimer; I do not own Zootopia or its characters

Strand

Absorbed

The smell of freshly harvested crops and cut grass was a pleasant assault on the senses as dusk fell. He watched the blue in the sky change to hues of pink with hints of greens and orange. He had forgotten the sense of peace and calm being able to feel the earth actually turn slowly had brought him. A sensation of a slow tingle settled as he closed his eyes momentarily. His mind was snapped back to childhood and memories of spinning carelessly until the dizziness had overtaken him and he fell to the floor. The sensation of the earth moving was similar to how it felt just as everything started to stop moving and the eyes began to focus again. A happiness and sense of calm he was rarely afforded settled over him as he watched the swaying trees and the air bristled through each branch. The soft rustle of leaves seemed to be more of a soothing song than an unnoticed sound.

The thumping hadn't gone unnoticed. Even as at ease as he currently felt, he was on high alert. The state of things couldn't allow him to completely relax as he let out a long winded sigh of resignment to that fact. He didn't bother to look away from what he currently had his eyes fixed on. He could smell the cat long before he had heard him tromping through the underbrush. Neither of them were concerned about being seen or heard, but he was mildly irritated by the somewhat careless foot falls of a creature who should have been much more graceful. As he stood to fall in pace in a ginger stroll with the cat he finally looked him over thoroughly. Neither said anything as the cat followed his lead into a small grove where they sat on a bench after adjusting their clothing to allow it comfortably. The long standard issue trench coats that covered all their gear made movement difficult at times and comfort was a secondary thought.

The cat leaned back propping one leg over the other as his ears perked towards the fox. Long tufts of fur pointing towards him and whiskers that twitched slightly as a look of curiosity set into the amber pools that now settled on his face. "Why am I here Nicholas? This isn't exactly the kind of place where we usually meet and I can't see any reason from the looks of this little trot for us to stick around." The sarcastic tone in which those last words were said were laced with cynicism and the fox had to chuckle as he looked around. Small little cottages buried in the earth began to blink with light and in the park across the street where they now sat hummed with voices and music that vibrated through the air.

"I found her," came his dry reply as he leaned back into the bench allowing his arms to fold over the back and his paws to hang at his sides. The fox hid his amusement as he watched the lynx jolt upright and his eyes widened as his nose wrinkled in astonishment. His fangs peeked through his muzzle and now adorned a very confused and gawking face. He said nothing as the cat began to scan the surrounding area looking furiously through the faces of all the mammals he could see, only to land back on the fox with his ears half folded in an attempt to gain some sense of understanding.

"Where! Why didn't you call for a consult, the keepers, SOMETHING? What's wrong with you!?" The frustration was all but written on the cats face as he held his paws out pleadingly towards the fox. The fox simply raised a paw and pointed one finger towards the crowded park.

He lowered his head towards the stammering cat without wavering his eyes and said "There, the one who doesn't seem to fit, in blue."

The amber eyed feline scanned briefly before finding their target and the cat fell forward in an exaggerated laugh before rubbing his temple with one paw and looking at the fox again. "Nicholas, you have lost your mind fox. It's not possible." The fox smiled with a sarcastic gleam before leaning forward taking a slow deep breath and cupping his paws in front of him. The cat panicked looking at the number of mammals in the area before staring at the fox in shock again. "Don't," the cat said hastily.

The fox looked at him with an angry glare before taking another deep breath. "Mortals can't see embers Glee; you know that, if they see anything at all they will simply think it is fireflies."

The cat scowled at him in an open frown. "It is a waste of energy and"… he was cut off by the next long breath and a look of angry determination he was well aware of the depth of.

"It is mine to waste Glee."

The cat watched as the fox tipped his muzzle into his cupped paws before closing his eyes, and with a look of concern and familiarity he let out a groan as the fox began to exhale again. Heat thickened the air around them as a faint glow began to burn within the clasped paws, a glow that was quickly replaced with a shine that illuminated the outlines of his fingers. Fingers that curled tightly, every muscle tensed in his paws as the blood rushed around within them. The beat of his own heart could be seen at each pulse when tendons in them began to shine from the burning bones that now beamed brightly through the tissue wrapped around them.

He drew himself back and slowly clasped his thumbs over where his muzzle had pushed the air through his palms. He considered the cat for a moment before looking back at his dimming paws as he opened his fingers to reveal a glowing ball that seemed to hover just above his pads for a moment. He snorted at the light briefly as if to give it a sense of direction before running his thumbs through it breaking it into dozens of tiny lights that he huffed away towards the other side of the street. The two watched as the lights glided across the air and the fox smiled largely when they settled over the bunny who sat alone under the large tree as he watched a look of shock fall over the face of the lynx.

She sat up straight, looked directly at the lights and said "Hello," as if she were talking to another mammal. His mouth had opened so far that it made his face look longer than it should have; every tooth was showing with his tongue half curled into his mouth, and eyes so wide the fox could barely see the slit pupils as they narrowed in astonishment.

"I found her by accident, following another lead." He said as the cat looked at him as if he were suddenly sober.

"I didn't know it was possible Nicholas," the cat said in a whisper.

"No one knew it was possible Glee. If it hadn't been for an accident I would have missed her." The cat looked at him with consideration for a moment before tilting himself in a questioning pose. "She caught my attention when she wondered away from her family at the scene of a wreck. She seemed to be looking at something no one else could see. Then I watched her disappear into a gully and do something I haven't seen done in more than 900 years. Something she doesn't even know she did." The fox had turned away from watching the rabbit again to see the cat was now completely dumbstruck.

"She cupped a line?!" He nearly gasped at the fox.

"She did," he said without letting the cat see how surprised he had been watching it happen. The spotted feline slumped for a moment before beginning to reach into his jacket.

"No Glee," he said without hesitation.

The cat turned to look at him as if he were completely insane. "Nicholas- she's a rabbit! We at least have to post centries to watch her."

"The rules don't change because she is different Glee, if anything they need to be heavily enforced. She is different, her family knows it, but none of them think she is anything other than a little odd. She is still a teenager, a child. The choice still has to be hers." The fox watched again as she stood and seemed to bow at the lights dancing above her before returning the cat to his line of vision. "My being here has already drawn attention. These mammals are suspicious of outsiders, especially predators. She's safer if we just leave her alone. She's lost in a crowd here Glee, hidden in plain sight, and no one is going to be looking for a bunny."

The cat hung his head a little before sighing and shaking it in an objectioning manor. "This is dangerous Nicholas, and I don't like it."

The fox raised his eyebrows at the lynx before he laughed loudly. "Since when is finding the equinox not dangerous? I will find a local to keep an eye on her but no one else needs to know. I'll have to find a way to gain her trust when the time is right." The cat looked him over from head to toe with a growl before settling smug eyes back on his face. "I know Glee," the fox said sternly. Their attention was snapped out of the conversation with the surprise of giggling as they watched her stand with the embers just above her head.

She had bowed slightly and the embers that hovered above her now swirled around her playfully as she began to sway and dance. Hopping from one foot lightly to the other she twirled with every ember around her just outside of brushing her fur. The cat was training his eyes between the two watching them both as he saw the fox's face fall flat with wide eyes. The young bunny had stopped dancing and was swaying shyly as she watched the lights begin to dim around her. "Don't go away," she said softly as she watched the embers flicker. She lifted her paws and gently glided them through the air to have each speck follow suite only to form a dimming ball in her paws just in front of her muzzle. A dimming ball that suddenly began to surge with a renewed energy and brightness.

The fox was aware of the cats glare but was in a complete state of shock watching the rabbit do something only heard of in legend. Indigo eyes drew the tiny star close to her face and her eyes twinkled with flecks of violet as the sparks danced in her reflecting pools. She blinked suddenly when it finally touched her muzzle and fell into her skin making her entire body glow briefly. With a flutter of laughter she hugged herself and fell into the grass. The fox couldn't move, he just sat there with a breath he couldn't exhale. He tried to rub his damp paws over his pants and couldn't speak with the knot that had formed in his throat when he heard the cat clear his throat loudly. "That's just …." he mumbled before he snapped his jaw shut and whipped his head around to look at the lynx who was now rubbing at the back of his neck uncomfortably. The cat couldn't make eye contact for a moment as the fox shifted uncomfortably on the bench and adjusted his tie.

"None of this should be possible Nicholas. Embers are supposed to die within a few minutes, and a prey mammal, much less a RABBIT?" The cat was now deadpanning him with a look of unwavering concern and what he thought may have been a slight touch of contempt. The cat watched as he saw the fox's arm fall into his lap before he drew one paw up over his forehead to pull it down over his eyes in a heavy sigh. He couldn't think of a time he had ever seen the fox as anything other than calm and collected, although he was generally a smart ass in most instances. Now he watched with an earnest interest as a look of worry and confusion settled into the mammal who usually seemed as cold as if he had been recently shaved of all his fur.

"I can't believe Ena did this," the fox grumbled in a low whisper.

The cat didn't try to hide his emotion as he huffed and angrily crossed both his arms sitting himself up in an almost erect position. "You're a Guild- Fox. You know Ena has no control over the Equinox." The fox only scoffed up at him with a look plastered on his face that screamed help me, and the cat had to feel sorry for him in that moment knowing who he was looking at, and the ramifications of the event he just witnessed. The moment was brief as the fox tensed. His ears tilted forward and he felt an uncomfortable trickle down the back of his neck. When the cat noticed the change they both looked up to see the young bunny had moved a great deal closer and was staring openly from a line of bushes just inside the park.

Emerald and violet eyes locked on each other as his mouth fell slightly open and all the moisture was sucked off his tongue by the heat radiating through her unfaltering gaze as she looked at him curiously. "She can see us," he said in a shaky voice.

The cat leaned back sideways. Propping himself on the bench with one arm flung over the back and the other still held in a half crossed pose as he tilted his head back and a snarky grin spread from tufted ear to tufted ear. "Ohohhoho, no-no- no Fox. She can't see us. She can see You." This was said with an exuberance the fox found extremely annoying, an annoyance he usually would have addressed immediately if he wasn't currently entranced in the eyes of a young bunny, who seemed to be studying him with unkempt and unhindered attention.

"Judy, it's time to go home dear."

Judy. The cat didn't move save to watch the pair, Judy had turned her gaze towards her mother and the fox had been a blur. He watched as she turned back and scanned the area again trying to locate her curiosity only to bounce towards the sounds of her gathering family. He made no rush to move. He simply stood and strolled around bench and the large tree to find the fox holding his chest, heaving breaths and looking skyward. "Whe- hell, the Great Nicholas Wilde," he said while making a grand bowing gesture that moved his paws and arms outstretched in front of the fox. The fox leered at him as his brows began to thrust towards his eyes. He could feel his heart pounding and the uncontrollable urge to escape as he had darted behind the tree, but he was less than amused by the delight his comrade was having at having witnesses the events of the last ten minutes.

"I haven't seen you move that fast since the battle at the gates of Orin Nicholas." He cupped his paws behind his back as he openly smiled at the fox. A stark grimace and a slightly upturned curl was making its way up the fox's muzzle before the tips of his canines were showing. The cat was pretty sure that if the heat from the stare had been real it would have burnt a hole straight through his chest, but he still couldn't help but laugh and was making no attempt to calm the purr that was currently vibrating his fur.

"You're enjoying this way to damn much Glee," the fox snapped at the cat. He had turned and peeked around the tree only to gasp when he found himself nearly nose to nose with amethyst eyes staring him dead in the face. As she took a step towards him he took one back. Before he had time to react any further he found himself pulled down as she hopped up and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Not knowing what to do with himself he simply stood there in wonder with his hands held high as she moved her paws to cup his muzzle before placing a light kiss on his forehead. He blinked in shock before he fell back landing abruptly on his ass while looking up at her open mouthed, only to see her looking at him curiously for a few moments. "Judy?!" he watched as the young rabbit hopped off towards the distressed voice of her frantically calling mother before the family of rabbits were leaving the park and he finally relaxed letting himself slump back into the tree.

"I need to talk to Marceline."

"HA," the cat growled loudly. "Lenox couldn't even help you with this." The fox buried his eyes under his paws before he crouched forward and let out a long anguished moan. "Admit it Fox, that rabbit just hopped over your grave!" The cat didn't have time to dodge before the dark red paws had snatched him by the front of the shirt and coat, his teeth snarling dangerously close to his own muzzle. He tucked his ears back playfully and raised his paws in a surrendering gesture as he rolled his eyes backwards, but still chuckled at the fox he had never seen flustered before.

"Do you know how dangerously precarious the perch you have put yourself on at the moment is - Cat?" This only made the lynx smile broader hearing him refer to another mammal as a generalization of a genus because it was also something the fox rarely did.

"You can't blame me entirely Nicholas… I've known you for centuries and have never seen you, well…. like this!"

The fox slowly released the lynx and started straightening his own attire as if to try to undo the wrinkles he currently felt forming under his own pelt. "We need to get back, we'll have to take the long way and make several stops so we don't draw attention to this one." After realizing there wasn't a 'local' suited to watching the young Judy Hopps, the two had left after he decided that perhaps it was best no one was watching at all. They spent several months traveling, stopping in random towns where they would linger for a few days before they found themselves outside an inn. The place was dark, not well built or well kept, but would serve the purpose of them relaxing while they resupplied before entering a part of the world where no such commodities would exist anymore. The two had made their way to the farthest table where they had a clear view of the doors and windows and sat down when an older muskrat brought them water and took their order.

The pair had gotten through half their meal before the lynx started to look at the fox with a note of reluctance. "I know Glee. Don't pay any attention; I haven't to this point other than noticing they were around."

The cat kept his eyes trained on the fox as he spoke trying not to draw attention to the conversation or himself. "How long have they been tracking us?" The cat leaned back and looked at the fox before he settled into his chair and began to eat again.

"A couple of months now." The fox almost smiled when the look of frustration fell on the cats face. "They are small Glee, fairly harmless, hard to smell, hard to see, stealthy and hard to hear. I'm surprised they are showing themselves now. I'm sure it's because we are almost at the junction. Let them know we see them."

The cat considered his next questions carefully as he momentarily locked eyes with one of the three marmosets who sat at the other side of the inn. He wasn't concerned about their information if the fox had been aware of the fact they had been following them for so long, but he leaned in suspiciously as he whispered "Do you think they have any leads?"

The fox kept his face flat and expressionless as he replied. "I doubt it, or they wouldn't have followed us this far. They are just as blind as we are, but I am curious as to why whoever hired them is wanting them to let us know they are here." He shoveled another mound of food into his muzzle before wiping his mouth with a napkin and looked at the monkeys directly. All three had turned their attention to the two but made no open move to change their position. Instead they simply turned as if to resume a conversation they were having amongst themselves. "The inn keeper supplied the rest of what we needed to get home. I don't want any trouble so were leaving tonight." The cat couldn't help to look at the group and wonder how such small mammals could possibly cause a problem but he shrugged and agreed with the fox.

Once the two had gathered themselves and their belongings, they left the little town and entered the forest. After traveling for another two days through dense woods, the fox had stopped mid stride and sat down his gear before looking at the lynx, who had followed suite, already knowing the reason for the pause. "You haven't exactly tried to keep it a secret that you are following us anymore," the fox said loudly as he scanned the surrounding trees. The two watched as the trees came to life with dots of black and white covered in what appeared to be gray cloths tightly wrapped around nearly every inch of every marmoset save the little faces peeking through them. Within a moment they had fallen from the trees to form a tight circle around the pair and the lynx had instantly pivoted to pin his back against the fox in response. Both had taken a hard stance throwing their jackets to the side and now wrapped one paw around the shaft of their swords while cupping the sheath, keeping the thumb of the same paw resting over the cross guard.

His eyes were drawn instantly to the high pitched whistle of the monkey still aloft above their heads and he watched as all the others took a step away from the now battle ready pair in the center. The little monkey fell gracefully landing a few feet in front of the fox, who in turn, tightened his grip on his handle reflexively. The monkey looked at his paws understandingly before he took another step forward. "You wish to fight Mr. Wilde?" The fox didn't flinch but was sure the marmoset had seen the slight twitch of his eyes when he was shocked at hearing his own name fall from the monkey's mouth. The lynx let out a screeching yowl and the fox growled lowly in response before returning his attention to the monkey.

"Not"… he said with a noticeable hesitation as he raised one eyebrow angrily looking through the encircling monkeys, "If it could be avoided."

Seeming to be pleased with the response the little monkey raised one paw only to quickly snap his fingers. The encircling troop fell back another step before bowing their heads in a posture of submission that shocked the lynx enough that he dropped both paws to his sides before he turned to stand side by side with the fox. The fox made no move as both sets of eyes fell curiously onto the little mammal, who was now moving his tail back and forth in an easy sway before he clasped both paws onto his hood to pull it down. This revealed both ears with one that had been dyed a deep shade of royal blue. A color the fox noticed was also dyed into a small patch of the mummy like wrapping the monkey was engulfed within, one that no other among the troop was adorned with. This caused him to remove his paws from the sword and shaft after briefly glancing around to find the little mammal watching him with a renewed intensity of focus. He allowed his mind to wonder how long they had actually been following them given the fact the number of the troop was far larger than the few he had actually noticed slinking around them the last couple of months.

"We are not here for her Mr. Wilde." The monkey watched as the fox and lynx tensed, both taking up a defensive stance while reaching for their weapons again. They had both lowered themselves and were now leaning forward on bent knees watching intently. The little monkey took a step back as if to show he meant no harm. The fox had an angry grimace on his face, brows furrowed and eyes lowered into a deep growl as his lips turned up baring all his teeth while he glared at the monkey in accusation. "We are here for you."

This had torn an angry hissing growl from the lynx when he unsheathed his sword and started to lung towards the marmoset before he found himself caught in the paw of the fox standing beside him. As he looked around he saw that the troop had made no noticeable effort to move and their apparent leader had simply stopped and cupped both paws behind his back watching the two. The fox looked at the lynx for a moment before glancing through the troop and the lynx sheathed his sword as he let out a frustrated grunt. "We are Ameir Delphic. I am Sherik. We are at your service." The fox didn't try to hide his annoyance as he slammed both paws onto his hips and scowled at the marmoset. The monkey just watched as he leered at him with sarcasm and the lynx had folded his arms over and was watching between the two with a grin that was just as amused as it was patronizing….

The two remained quiet for the last stretch of their journey knowing they were still being followed. By the time they reached what anyone else would have seen as an old abandoned prehistoric den or forgotten cave the fox had let out a long sigh of relief as they wondered into the entrance. He grazed his paw over the stony wall as a clump of wet dirt fell into his fingers and he inhaled the scent of the damp earth not trying to hide the fact that he had obviously missed the place."Well, this has been an interesting little jaunt hasn't it Nicholas?" The fox looked at the lynx with an aggravated smirk.

"Oh Yes Glee, I just love the fact that I now have some religious nut wings shadowing me for God knows what reason, and God knows for how long. I can't imagine what they're purpose is , and am already dreading how much they are going to hinder my progress in what couldn't be anything but really bad timing." The fox had propped one leg over the other leaning into a wall while he scratched one claw through the dirt. "Glee… I, uh, we need to know if there is…" The fox trailed off as he realized the cat was watching him with a look of bewilderment. "Make sure it's just me they're watching."

The lynx watched him stammering and saw him catch himself in the mistake of referring to himself in regards to the request he was making. It only made him more curious about the future. All the possibilities that ran through his mind couldn't form a solid answer to the question itself. "I'll go fox, but I had hoped to hang around a few days. I'll head back out in the morning and send word once I know for sure."