Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia or Manchas, nor am I affiliated with Disney. I only own my OC, Chen. These ficlets are made for fun, and I'm not profiting from this in any way. (Unless you count the fun I have writing them, heh.)

This ficlet has been cross-posted from my art and writing blog on Tumblr. The original post can be found on . . Simply remove the spaces and an actual period.

Enjoy! :)


Upon waking, his world was still more than a little fuzzy. The last thing he could remember was opening the door to continue talking to the police… but he never got to, seeing as something had hit him. The memory of the pain was still there – it was small, like a needle had pricked his skin. After the initial sting had come the sensation of fire rippling through his body, and after that… his mind was clouded. He could recall actions he'd performed, almost severely injuring the officers that had come to talk, being taken away by someone whose face he couldn't remember. As it stood, however, those memories might as well have been part of a movie, because he couldn't remember doing them himself. It felt nearly as though he'd been watching someone else do all of it and had been helpless to stop it.

After all was said and done, he could at least be grateful that he felt like himself again. The radio in his room had told him the whole story, and it was a relief that peace had settled over their wonderful city again.

It wasn't long before someone came to check on him. The nurse who walked through the door was small in stature but well-built otherwise: a lovely, clearly intelligent panda who introduced herself as Chen Stalkson. Her mannerisms as she went about her work were quite subdued, which gave off the vibe that while she was confident in her abilities, she was also rather shy and withdrawn. Although he was worried at first, especially following the events of the past few weeks, that was put to rest quickly. The way she interacted with him made it very clear that she wasn't afraid of his predator status – she was simply concerned for his well-being, fearing that he may still be feeling poorly.

On the contrary, as he'd managed to inform her before her embarrassment got the better of her, he'd improved very much. A few sore spots and aches in his muscles still lingered, as well as the dull throbbing from the scratches over his face and eye, but they were a nuisance at best. It barely even hurt when she touched them as part of her examination, though she still apologized.

All of this was painstakingly recorded in the chart she'd been carrying, along with the answers he'd given to standard questions. The potency of the Night Howler antidote was cause for elation from both of them – expressed differently, and perhaps for slightly varied reasons, but there all the same. After finishing her exam, questionnaire included, Chen was glad to let Manchas know that he should be fine to go home the next morning.

It was good news that she rather obviously took delight in delivering, and the thought that he would be returning to his own bed soon was a comforting one. Surely, that fact making both of them happy was the reason that he'd pulled her into a hug, despite the ghost of weariness hanging over him and the two being strangers.

Surprised? Of course she was. But her action of returning the embrace could have been chalked up to the joy of the moment, even when they barely knew each other.

With the way they'd hung onto each other, however, and the smiles on their faces, an outsider could have easily mistaken the scene for a pair who held unbridled love for one another.