Opening Statement: Fourth installment in the "Seeking Forgiveness" saga, and this time there's a much larger jump in time... not saying why, but hopefully I'll make sense of it as I go. Anyway, I hope you readers out there enjoy.
Disclaimer: Zootopia ain't mine, it's Disney's.
A Hybrid's Folly.
The bell for lunch hour rang out through the school, all the mammals in class letting out various calls of relief at finally being free to go and play. This included one very unique child, a bunny at first glance but upon taking a closer look you notice things about her, such as her long ears ending in points instead of being rounded, her tail having just enough extra length to wag to and fro behind her, as well as her feet and hands having noticeable claws, not to mention that she was taller than her other bunny classmates; the school being in Bunny Burrow meant that a lot of lapine students were normal.
Who was this child? This kit with red fur on her body except for her stomach, face and tail tip which were covered in grey fur? None other than Kendra Wilde, daughter of the law keeping duo Judy and Nick Wilde; after the other nine kits had grown up and started pursuing their life long dreams, Judy had applied for the position of Town Sheriff, with her husband Nick as her deputy.
Back to the present, Kendra made her way to the cafeteria, sitting at a table with one of her friends, a ferret by the name of Stanley, "Hey there Kendra, what do we have for lunch today my friend?" Stanley asked nicely, Kendra grinning and pulling a Bug Burga box out of her lunch bag, "Only the best stuff Stan, though I only have the one... we can split it if you like-"
"Well look who it is! The hybrid freak and her little boy-toy," an annoyingly stuck up voice said, causing Kendra to squeeze her eyes shut and inwardly groan, "Not this crap again." Kendra thought, as she turned and offered her most convincing smile to the newcomer.
Nelson Bucksworth was a white tailed deer, and still young if the fact he didn't have his antlers was any indication. He wore a lair of loose jeans, a black t-shirt with a Guns'n'Rodents album art on the front and a black jacket, a typical look for a bully in these parts if ever there was one.
"Hey Nelson... so glad you could join us, but as it turns out I was just about to eat-"
"Really now? What do freaks like you eat anyway? Carrot salad with crickets on the side? Maybe a tuna sandwich with extra lettuce?" Nelson asked, Stanley face palming at the mere mentioning of the word "freak" in regards to his friend; Kendra was a nice girl, everyone knew that, but if you wanted to know what happens when she looses her temper then all you had to do was whisper that one five letter word.
Kendra's smile immediately dropped into a neutral scowl, as she turned away and returned to her business of having lunch, breaking the burger she had in half to share with her ferret friend as Nelson scoffed and stepped forward, positioning himself inches away from the hybrid girl. "Aww, what's wrong Kenny? Did I hurt your feelings?" Nelson asked, his voice laced with sarcastic venom that made Kendra twitch slightly in pent up anger, Stanley placing a paw to her arm and trying to act supportive, which had the effect of making Kendra's short tail start wagging gently.
"Oh look at that, her tail's wagging! Well isn't that just too cute!" Nelson shouted, Kendra freezing in the motions of biting her burger half and slowly turning to the deer that was taunting her, Stanley's eyes wider than ever before shooting a look of slight sympathy to Nelson, "You really shouldn't have said that man." is all the warning the deer got before Nelson found himself sent flying onto one of the further tables by a powerful kick, Kendra standing now and growling loudly as she stalked towards Nelson. For his part, Nelson's demeanor changed from the rough and tough bully he usually was, to the typical frightened look of a deer caught in the headlights, sliding himself as quickly as he could off the table and attempted to run, only to find that Kendra was there to block his path; being part bunny meant she was quick on her feet, easily dashing to intercept the deer before he could get away.
"I tried being nice to you Nelson... I really did, what with you calling me names-" at this point, Kendra started stalking toward Nalson, driving him into a corner of the cafeteria, "- making me feel weird for my being part fox... but you still didn't let up." Kendra explained, before Nelson stood up and looked around for a way out, though finding none close enough he went with a direct approach, glaring intensely at the hybrid kit before him and doing the only thing he knew would work.
"You're not supposed to exist, you're nothing but one of those stupid Night Howler babies!" Nelson shouted, this statement causing Kendra to pause and consider what the deer had said, before her eyes narrowed and a vicious growl let loose from her throat. Before anyone could even react, Kendra had rushed up to Nelson, kicked him to the floor, and then slashed the claws of her right paw across his face.
(Bunny Burrow Sheriff's Department: after the attack)
Judy sighed as she looked across the room, her daughter Kendra seated there with her paws cuffed to the table top, she had been wearing a muzzle but Nick quickly removed it and told off the staff of the school for such a harsh punishment for a first time offender.
Nick shook his head and opened the report that had been filled out and faxed over to their office, "Nelson Bucksworth, white tailed deer at the age of fifteen, known to have been the victim of domestic abuse a couple of times back in Podunk." Nick stated, as Kendra's ears drooped and she avoided making eye contact with her parents, even as Nick kept reading the form he was holding, "For his safety, Nelson is removed from his home in Podunk and set up with foster parents here in Bunny Burrow... names not specified, but they seem to have old fashioned values judging by how Nelson was quoted as calling you a "freak" as well as calling you... "cute"." Nick explained, glancing to his daughter, whom for her part was getting fidgety, her left foot started thumping below the table, a slight clicking being heard as the claws of her feet met with the wood of the floor a couple times.
Judy then leaned forward and patted her daughter's shoulder, "Please Kendra... tell me this hasn't been happening for a while." Judy said, Kendra slowly lifting her face to look into her mother's eyes, before a scowl found itself on the hybrid's features and she narrowed her eyes, "No... this has been going on for a while..." Kendra explained, placing her paws to the table and tapping her claws against the surface, Nick growling at the thought and shaking his head to keep any dumb ideas out; he was in enough trouble when Judy assumed he had attacked Jack first, he wasn't about to risk what he had simply to sate some primitive urge to protect and avenge his progeny.
"Kendra... what happened today isn't like you... you're kind, sweet and extremely gentle... what did Nelson do to you for that to change-"
"What is a "Night Howler Baby"?" Kendra asked, causing Judy's eyes to widen as Nick shut his tightly, "It would have to be while at work wouldn't it!" Nick thought, as he and Judy glanced to each other and sighed, "We'll tell you what that means later, but right now we need your statement... I know this is hard sweetheart, but it's only going to be harder if you keep quiet about it." Judy explained, even as Nick walked over and patted his daughter's shoulder, reaching down and unlocking her cuffs, "No need for those either, besides we're going to be ending our shift after this so it just makes it easier." Nick explained, as Kendra rubbed her sore wrists a bit and sighed.
(Later at Home)
"Okay Kim, you're phone is over here! Jason stop giving Alex noogies! And for the love of Serendipity herself, keep your feet off of the fucking table... THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO NICK!" Judy shouted through the house, Nick quickly sliding his feet off the table top and onto the floor as his children all gathered at the table for supper, a mixed meal consisting of a carrot and watercress salad, some grilled salmon, corn on the cob and, special for their hybrid daughter, a bowl of spicy glazed crickets; Nick and Judy loved all their kids equally, but had an unspoken rule that should one of their kits have a bad day that they'd get their favorite food during supper.
"So, how's working on the farm treating you kids?" Nick asked, a collective groan being his response, "Ugh, it's so boring Dad... I can't hardly get any reception on my phone unless I'm in the house," Kim replied, causing Kendra to roll her eyes and shake her head, taking a bite of her helping of the food and purring slightly at the taste. "Kim, you're not supposed to be on your phone when helping grandpa with the carrot patch," Judy said, as her daughter shrugged her shoulders and took a bite of her salad; Kim's goal in life was to some day make it as a model for Zootopia fashion, something her father Nick didn't completely approve of, but at the same time didn't try to hinder.
"You know, Mom's right Kim, if you were working anywhere else and your employer noticed you on your phone, you'd probably lose your job." Jason said, as he bit into his corn; Jason wanted to be a farmer like his Grandfather, not afraid to get his paws dirty in that regard, as Sarah scoffed playfully.
"Like Kimmy would ever give up being on her phone, she's borderline nomophobic." Sarah giggled, the violet eyed doe storing that line for her stand up routine; from a young age Sarah had a love for comedy, and an undying urge to make the people around her laugh. Joey sighed and took a bite of his own food, "Yeah, that's a great observation to make Sarah, perhaps you should be a therapist when you grow up... if you ever do grow up that is," Joey added in, a warm chuckle going around the table at his remark; Joey liked making people laugh too, though had the dream of being a writer, already having amassed a pile of note books with small poems and such in them that he'd written.
Jessica then poked Kendra's shoulder, "Kendra, can you pass the salad dressing please?" Jessica asked, Kendra nodding and handing the bottle to her; being the runt of the litter, Jessica was slightly shorter than the rest of her siblings, but what she lacked in height she made up for in determination, her dream was to someday become an officer of the ZPD like her mother before her, which if she succeeded would make her the second bunny cop in the history of Zootopia.
"Mom, the new Blueberry Phone is coming out soon, so if something were to happen to my phone would we be able to get one of them for me?" Tyler asked, Judy glancing to Nick and giving him a brief wink, an unspoken code for playing a hustle, "Alright Tyler, if something happens to your current phone then you can get the new one." Judy replied, Tyler doing a fist pump in victory; not so much a dream, Tyler has always had a love of all things technological, and strived to have the latest tech when it came out.
"Tyler, you do realize that they're setting you up, right?" Alex asked, as Tyler gave him a confused look and then shrugged, "Doesn't matter, I got what I wanted," Tyler replied, as Alex rolled his eyes; Alex's goal was to go into law school and study to be a lawyer, hoping to start a legal practice for the entire Tri-Burrow area. Vanessa then snickered and shook her head, "Oh Alex, you always take the fun out of things, it's fun watching Tyler getting hustled," Vanessa explained, as she took a hearty bite of her salmon; Vanessa wanted nothing more than to be a chef, and the salmon had been her addition to the meal for that reason, while Sasha grimaced at her sister's choice of food and shuddered, "How on earth can you even stomach that- it's meat!" Sasha asked, as Vanessa gave her sister a confused look and then shrugged.
"If I'm going to be a good chef, then I'll have to be willing to taste my own food... which come to think of it, could've used more more pepper and coriander," Vanessa replied, Sasha shaking her head and returning to her food; like Vanessa, Sasha wanted to cook, but wasn't into big meals or anything, Sasha wanted to become a baker, and had even asked Gideon Grey about becoming an apprentice during the summer. The meal went on like this as Kendra thought to herself.
"What did Nelson mean when he called me a "Night Howler Baby"? Aren't Night Howlers those blue flowers that make mammals go nuts?" Kendra thought, snapping out of her thoughts at the large paw on her shoulder, "Kendra? You feeling alright?" Nick asked, as Kendra turned to respond, when the words in her mouth froze; her Dad was a fox, her Mom was a bunny. She had nine siblings that were all born at the same time, and yet she was six years younger than them all. Kendra then gasped inwardly at a final damning thought, she was the only hybrid in the family, despite being six years younger, she was taller than all nine of her siblings, she was the only one with red fur, paw pads, claws, fangs, and enough tail to make it wag slightly, the others were just normal rabbits!
"I'm your only child." Kendra said, causing Nick's eyes to go wide and all the other rabbits to turn their heads towards Kendra's spot, Judy covered her mouth and glanced to Nick, whom looked surprised, but not hurt, "No, you're my youngest child-"
"Cut the crap Dad, I mean I'm your only biological child... LOOK AT ME!" Kendra screamed, placing her paws to her chest and taking a couple breaths, the other bunnies present looking to each other for any sort of understanding, "Kendra... now isn't the best time to have this discussion," Judy said, causing Kendra to whip her head to give her a hard glare, "Who's their father Mom... and don't even try to say it's Dad here because I'm proof that's not true!" Kendra shouted, Judy's ears drooping back as she sighed and fought against her urge to start crying, Nick noticing this and standing up from the table, "Kendra, there are better ways to get answers than this... and I won't stand idly by as you make your mother and my wife break down into tears!" Nick growled, gaining a growl in response before Kendra stood up and stormed off, loud stomping being heard before a door slamming shut issued.
Nick then turned to his kids and felt his heart break, they were all wearing a questioning expression, the unspoken question clear as the summer sun, causing Nick to sit and let out a sigh, "Okay kids... I know you've known me as your father your whole life... but the truth is-" at this point, Nick finally broke, his one personal rule of never letting them see that things got to him falling like glass from a broken window, and with that came his years of held back tears; from when his father had left him and his mother, the incident with the junior ranger scouts, the press conference and everything else that had ever gone wrong in his life, he let them fall freely, no longer trying to appear as a level head in his home, at this moment he felt like a total stranger, even as Judy tried her best to comfort him by petting his flattened ears.
It was after about thirty seconds of awkward silence that Kim stood up, walked over to Nick's crying form, and wrapped her arms around him, this action making Nick pause in his anguish before another kit, Vanessa, repeated the action, then Joey joined in, this going on until all nine kits had their arms around Nick's body. There were no words spoken, the act itself was enough, and soon Nick was crying for a different reason; despite what Kendra had implied, these kits still loved him as their father, no matter if they were sired by someone else.
"So... how long are we going to hold this hug? My arms are starting to get tired," Sarah finally said, her words having the desired effect of making the entire group start laughing, "Oh way to go Sarah, you ruined a perfectly good family moment," Jason said, as Sarah stuck out her tongue.
(an hour later, in the living room)
"Wait, let me get this straight... you knew that Jack was your father already?" Nick asked, as his nine kits nodded their heads, "Well it's easy to see that we look eerily similar to Mr. Savage, I mean how many other bunnies are there with stripped fur?" Tyler asked, Nick thinking it over and then face palming, Judy sighing and patting her husband on the shoulder, "Plus when Kendra came into the picture we kinda had a similar realization as she did tonight; we look nothing like you Dad, no offence," Jessica explained, as Nick chuckled and shook his head, "And the cherry on top of all this, Mr. Savage giving Mom an unmarked envelope with eighteen hundred dollars in it every month... that's a total of two hundred for each of us here... I may not be in law school yet, but even I can tell that's a child support payment." Alex stated proudly, Judy quickly glancing to her son.
"Those were meant to be private Alex, how did you even get an envelope to count the money inside it?" Judy asked, Alex grinning and flicking one of his ears a bit, "Slight of hand, it's a trick where I draw your attention to what's here... while I easily do something else, I didn't even have to take the envelope to count the money when you practically held it open like a deck of cards in front of me." Alex explained, Judy gaining a shocked look before she rolled her eyes and chuckled to herself, "If I even hear a single uttering of "hustle" I'm going to flip the table," Judy replied, Nick letting out a laugh that died down upon all ten bunnies flicking their ears towards the hall, turning to watch as Kendra returned, a guilty look on her face and her cheeks stained with tears, and her tail was visibly tucked between her legs, "Dad... I'm sorry for what I said... I'm so stupid... and worse of it is I can't even fall back on the "Dumb Bunny" excuse because I'm part fox-" at this point, Kendra started sobbing, though no tears came out as she'd been crying since she stormed off from the table, Judy quickly standing and pulling her daughter into her arms, the sight somewhat odd as Kendra was about half a head taller than her own mother due to her fox genetics, so Kendra dropped to her knees and buried her face into Judy's shoulder, "Shh... relax Kendra, it's fine... but we do have something to confess to you," Judy explained, as Nick stood up and walked over, lifting Kendra up into his arms before he walked back to his seat and let Kendra nuzzle into his neck.
"Kendra... the circumstances of your birth... admittedly wasn't completely natural," Nick explained, Kendra glancing up and sniffling a bit, her nose twitching as she regarded what her father had just said, "When that Nelson kid called you a "Night Howler Baby" he was referring to the procedure used by Inter-species couples, like myself and Nick, to be able to conceive a child... it involves a diluted solution of Night Howler extract to make the female receptive to any mammal DNA introduced." Judy explained, as she hopped up next to her husband and petted her daughter's ears, the hybrid kit sobbing softly and snuggling into her father's side; she may be now fourteen but that didn't mean she was any less of a snuggler than when she was still in baby fur.
There was a knock at the door then, Judy standing up and opening it, face palming upon seeing a certain smartly dressed bunny outside, "Hey Jack... you're just in time for the show," Judy said, Jack wearing a confused face before he sighed and shook his head, "You had that talk today, didn't you?" he asked, Judy nodding her head and motioning for the ZIA agent to enter, "Just wrapped up actually... they kinda already knew the truth anyways," Judy explained, causing Jack to chuckle and shake his head, "They must have gotten their deductive reasoning from- what's wrong with little Kendra?" Jack asked, taking notice of the sad, snuggled kit in Nick's arms, even as the fox glanced up and grinned, "Can one of you get her off? I gotta piss like crazy and she's latched onto me like a tick!" Nick said, Kendra nuzzling her face into Nick's neck and hugging him tightly. Jack couldn't take it, the scene was just so cute he actually decided to commit it to memory, and so he raised his phone up and took a photo, Nick groaning at the shutter sound, "Great, now you have blackmail material... Kendra I hate to say it, but snuggle time is OVER!" Nick shouted, leaping up and rushing to the bathroom, faintly hearing his daughter laughing in the living room at him.
"Oh God... I was wondering just how long he was willing to stay there." Kendra giggled, as she got up and wiped her cheeks on her sleeve, then noticed that Jack was there and yelped, turning tail and rushing down the hall to her room to freshen up, popping back out looking cleaned up and presentable, "Hey Mr. Savage, how long have you been there?" Kendra asked, Jack showing his phone to reveal the photo, "Long enough to snap this, hope you don't mind but I don't have any pics of you for my album, I mean it's no point to be godfather if I can't see you every day I'm on duty out there." Jack replied, Kendra's ears dropping behind her head as she face palmed.
(Next day, lunch hour)
Nelson was sitting by himself in the cafeteria, a bandage over one side of his face as he ate his lunch, when he heard someone sit next to him. The deer looked to his left and nearly leaped out of his skin when he saw Kendra, watching as she took out her lunch and started to eat. "You know, in some places it's considered rude to stare," Kendra said, causing Nelson to sit back down properly and shoot the hybrid a brief glare, "It's also considered rude to rake your claws across someone's face, but that happened too," Nelson replied bitterly, Kendra tensing from the memory and sighing before turning to face the deer, "Look, I'm not going to try and justify myself for clawing into you, but I am going to at least attempt at an apology... be the bigger mammal here and hope to clear my conscience," Kendra explained, Nelson slowly turning his head to regard the hybrid next to him, narrowing his eyes before he grinned, "Damn right you're going to apologize... even if the scars will make me a doe magnet-"
"I know about your domestic abuse Nelson... you don't have to act tough around me," Kendra whispered, Nelson freezing in his tirade before he slumped to the table top and sighed, "Oh thank GOD! You have no idea how hard it is to hold the tough guy act-"
"Oh, I can relate to that... you know how often I had thought of doing... well that-" at this point, Kendra indicated the bandages on Nelson's face, "- to you? You've been a major pain in my tail for the longest time... but knowing what you went through I can kinda understand why you did what you did... what I want to know is... why target me?" Kendra asked, Nelson shifting his eyes a bit as he thought about what to say, but before he could Kendra grinned with her eyes half lidded, "Okay, let me tell you a little story, and you tell me if I'm correct; a young buck with an open mind decides "Hey, I'm gonna be nice to the pretty tigress exchange student!" only to find out that things aren't that easy. At home this young buck is accosted for being a "Pred-Chaser" by his parents, and they try to fix their child." Kendra explained, Nelson's eyes widening as the hybrid next to him continued with her story, "The following day, our young buck goes to school with a black eye, and he's removed from his home and dropped into a house with foster parents who aren't much better than his real parents... but they don't hit him so it's okay, right? I mean words don't hurt as bad as a belt. This foster family finds out that a hybrid child is enrolling into the school, and the buck overhears them making a few dozen nasty remarks about them." Kendra continued, as Nelson looked around and tried no draw any attention to himself, "Okay, you made your point-"
"Then, our young buck finally meets this hybrid freak his foster family spoke of, and realizes that "Hey, she's kinda cute," but in fear of gaining a beating from his foster parents, the buck decides to try and drive his crush away by demeaning her... only for that plan to backfire when, hey guess what, this little girl got claws," Kendra explained, glancing over to Nelson and grinning wide at his face, "Does that sound right? Or did I miss anything?" Kendra asked, Nelson sighing and rubbing the side of his face, "It was a puma exchange student... how did you-"
"Call it the fox's intuition, but point is you're wasting your time crushing on me... I'm not interested in deer, no offence," Kendra explained, watching as Nelson's ears drooped to the sides of his head, "Oh... okay then... thanks for your honesty," Nelson said, Kendra noticing a tear rolling down the side of his face as she watched his heart breaking, placing one of her paws on his arm, "But don't be sad... trust me, you wouldn't want me as a girlfriend... I can be very pushy and I have no verbal filter... a good example, you're still a faun despite your age," Kendra explained, Nelson letting a laugh go as he shook his head, "Yeah well, the saying goes "Love is blind" right? What point would there be if you just leaped at every single chance you had..." Nelson said, as Kendra sighed and rolled her eyes, then held out a paw for the deer to shake, "So, how about we agree to be friends... and who knows, you might just win me over despite my disinterest in venison," Kendra replied, causing Nelson to laugh and slap the table, "Oh dear... you don't know what that means do you? But yes, we can be friends, if you're willing to forgive and forget-"
"I don't think I'll be able to forget so long as you have my claw marks on your face." Kendra explained, taking Nelson's hoof and shaking it.
And there we go, the grand reveal! Now I'm pretty sure that this may just end up being a main series of sorts, so yes there may be a fifth installment in the future, but for now let me know what you think in the box below, and I'll see you in the next update, PEACE!