When a wayward traveller venturing from the northern fringe of Sahara Square down beyond the quaint street bistro, Varmint, missteps the turnpike heading yonder further Downtown, nearing Firth and Fir. They find themselves within the enigmatic and squalorous place.
As one would venture further within, they would find the world about them shifting and changing, altering itself as they follow the presumptive trail. Looming ahead and abreast the world would grow verdant, multitudinous and vibrant in its colors, for such would be the calling card of the Rainforest District. Unto such a variety of vibrant plants and natural formations would be present, the nearing thousand species that dwell and call this eccentric region home, would bustle to and fro, heading about their daily tasks, seemingly unconcerned or merely occupied by their duties and tasks to notice one whom may have wandered too far from the blazed paths. The winding trails, snake and trace the titanic roots of the heaving trees that tower o'er head, the monumental canopy providing shade to those animals that seek the respite from the searing heat of the Sahara's sun.
The barren earth of the footway would naturally herd and funnel the unwary further down along the myriad of estuaries that would dart and race across the surface of the cities district. Along further one would travel, the near perpetual drizzle and downpour from the water catering systems overhead would undulate the region in mire and muck, the many structures of the affluent and wise, residing far above, nestled among the majesty of the canopy above, far and dry from the muck and filth that populate the lower levels. The vibrant greens of the land above giving way as one would trail their eyes down the expanse of these mighty jungle woods, they would be given visualization of the proverbial tree of wealth, the rich on high, or those whom are more inclined to dwell above doing so, either by affluence or by regulatory statutes.
However the trail, like all would finally wind to its close at the foot of a wide estuary, the deep channel a murky brown from the low river bottom and near constant aquatic traffic that utilizes the channel for industrial means. Nestled along the steep banks of the river, row upon row of warehouses would reside, each of them akin to cookie cutter placed men of gingerbread. The heavy rainfall and near constant pursuits of the natural flora would leave these buildings in a near constant state of disrepair, the groaning of chipped and pitted timber would sing its song alongside the wheeze and clicking of rusting corrugated steel. Buildings this far below the skyhigh lofts of the wealthy would find themselves showered in near perpetual rain, the once neatly paved lots they each sat about would be thick would churning mud and refuse.
Whilst the bars upon each of these groaning bastions of steel would strive to keep out the bottom dwelling inhabitants of the jungles lower class, such measures would be entirely for naught, between the lack of constant patrols and security among this level due in no small part to manpower shortages within the ZPD, crime would be found rampant. Despite the Chief's most insistent and firm affirmations that the region would receive special attention from their investigations unit, the sheer size of the region alone and its complexity meant there was eternally a shortage of officers especially when crime was raft and afoot.
However, in such a rare stroke of either fortune or misfortune, a long vehicle plod its way forth from a mucky avenue, turning heavily about a narrow choke in the path, languidly the heavy and squat four door trundled into a slight nook among overgrown roots of the nearby trees, the massive gnarled hulks of wood providing ample cover from the downpour that raged outside… the stark white and black of the vehicles livery, nestled and shadowed under the roots makeshift arch. Feeling secure, the engine's throaty rumble was doused and in soft silence, it rested… waiting wearily for its mark.
Leaning forth with stern focus and controlled anticipation, Officer Judy Hopps, the law enforcement rabbit savant, surveyed the scene, pawed foot tapping a steady rhythm, on the matted floor of the car, her ears twitching from time to time, clearly caught up in the moment. Her eyes swiftly darted hither and yonder, moving between the sagging chain link fence and the heavy cargo containers that sit stacked neatly atop one another, she huffs quirking her brow as she moves to heft up a faded and worn notepad, idly scratching down descriptions of the building in question and its surrounding local, her hands darting furiously to and fro.
"Carrots… Might wanna slow down there, you might just burn a hole straight through the pad…" Judy responds with only a gruff huff of dismissal towards her partner. Lounging back idly within his seat laid-back and mellow, resided Officer Nick Wilde, recent anthropomorphic fox inductee into the ZPD. He would lean back, snagging a wide cup from the holder neatly between them, taking down a heft of the drink in a slow and methodical way, raising his brow towards his partner as he finishes "Ahhh, I see it's the ol' hardcore steak out huh? Ooo~ At least since this is my first time on such a wondrous detail, when we snag the perp, I wish to daintily read them their righ-" His snarky comment cut silent by a swift flick of Judy's paw, indicating for him to be silent, she frowns and glances over curtly towards Nick and motions sharply at their collective objective.
"Look if you're not going to take this seriously, why did you volunteer again. I mean here we are on a stakeout, I've been told to show you the ropes and get you acclimated to this whilst we've got at least six more hours of this till the shift and if you're gonna complain the whole time just like that watch job we did at Louie's…." Nick shifts and feigns insult, placing his paw upon his stark blue uniform, badge jingling softly in mock protest
"Me? Complaining, No it couldn't possible be true, could it? C'mon, you know I am pullin' your leg Carrots… besides I've gotta have something to keep me entertained whilst we vegetate in this hotbox…" He glances around, moving to flick sharply on the air conditioning, cool wafts of air dancing forth to stirr up his vibrant auburn fur…. He nods and shoots her an innocent grin "And another thing… if you start talking to yourself again…"
Judy would give him and firm look, her stern demeanor standing firm for several long seconds, however her vibrant amethyst eyes betrayed her faltering serious face, shortly before she cracks into a grin "Shoot, I nearly kept it up there didn't I? Alright, alright, you got me I am a bit on edge…. Look It's just strange alright topped with a heap of responsibility? Look, the call logs report that six calls pertaining to suspicious activity called in from the local housing project, gave this address, and to make matters worse its rundown, and we aren't exactly in the upscale part of town either this time… yeah?"
Nick idly rubs his jaw, scratching at his fur as he frowns slightly, casting his gaze back once again towards the warehouse, a nagging sense of caution urging him to call it quits slowly nibbling at his focus, he shakes his head "Yeah, Yeah I get it, creepy warehouse on the dock vibe doesn't really sit right with me, but I mean it's the weekend, the docks don't run a shift during this time, so why should we be worried?"
She shrugs, moving to lean back against her lifted seat, watching the water rivulets dancing down the windshield, as she adjusts her uniform with drilled and practiced precision, her ears twitching reflexively as she nods slowly "I don't know Nick, we've had several disappearances in this precinct, Bogo wants to write it off as merely disputes gone south, but I just can't shake this feeling something strange is going on…"
Nick shifts and emits a dismissive noise and chuckles lightly at the comment, "Pffft, we handled the Night Howler situation well enough, and that was a missing mammals case, maybe that's why Bogo put us on the case, eh? Might as well send in the experts to handle a job like this…"
She shifts and rolls her eyes, her grin fading softly as it fell from her soft features, "Maybe, but this just seems different, we had some clues compared to the bottom of the barrel we are scrapping now, I mean we aren't even sure if the purported string of break in's at this place correlate with the disappearances… Aside from the simple fact they occurred along the banks of the various rivers-"
Nick shifts and raises a paw, bringing both of them to his center, he lifts upward as he slowly sucks in air, holding it for a moment as he releases it, his hands inverting the movements. He nods quietly to her "Now, you try…. Look Carrots, more than likely it's going to be nothing, just a routinely call to watch-a-spot, then we zip on over heading for a quick bite to eat, then it's back to central and we punch the clock…" He leans back, idly flicking open his sunglasses, sliding them over his eyes as he leans fully back, reclining in his chair as the soft drizzle of rain patters on the roof overhead.
She grows still and glances back out, once more quietly observing the lonesome sight of the warehouse, before she lays down her note taking gear, she would lean forth and idly flick on the radio, scanning a few idle channels, the hiss of static dancing faintly among the stations, the dense rain and vegetation playing havoc on the inbuilt communications. "You know maybe you're right…. Maybe I am over-reacting, fine. I will concede your point, mister. Alright, well then I am not going to sit here in silence while you try and get your beauty sleep…" She shifts and leans back in her chair, taking up a pair of binoculars from the center console, resting it on her lap, she casts a glance at Nick, "Mhmm so you see that new sitcom, the one with the Apes?"
Nick remains in his position, his feet idly crossed as he speaks up with a snicker "Yeah I heard there is quite a bit of crap throwing on that show… Ahhh that was absolutely terrible, I am dying here" Judy sharply plants her face in her palm and shakes her head as he snickers at his own lame jokes horrific fate.
She shakes her head with a grin, and crosses her legs idly "Mmmh… Was thinking about going out for a bite tonight. However I wanted to know if you wanted to come along, maybe someplace you know, not related to fast food?"
Nick scoffs, and glances over, lowering his glasses with a flick of his wrist, a toying look in his eyes, "C'mon, what's wrong with fast food, it's quick and cheap.. Besides it's not like each of my paychecks from the Chief are fortunes."
Judy merely chuckles in return and lounges back, smartly gesturing towards him, "Yeah, yeah, You're just too cheap sometimes you know that? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're uptight and a penny pincher."
Nick merely rolls his eyes and releases a good natured sigh, drumming his fingertips on his chest as he clearly worked to try and stifle a snarky retort, but failed miserably. "Yeah, whole lot of irony hearing that coming from you, Carrots… " He pauses mid-chuckle, as something catches his attention, a slight shift of movement out of the corner of his eye, draws his focus upward towards the warehouse, the fence sagging slightly under the gale of water hailing down from above. His brow furrows as he spies through the sheets of water, a rent in the fences height, a modest rent splits the fence nearly a dozen meters away, something he could have sworn wasn't present before… he raises a hand, stifling Judy before she could object, sharply pointing towards the newfound damage "Hold up, stable that high horse... I spy with my little eye..."
Judy would pause her good natured retort, her tone growing serious as she peers into the mists of rain and curtly nods her head, ears standing upright, twitching slightly as she glances over, exchanging a grim look with Nick, as the duo shift, moving to unlock their doors, giving a cursory inspection over their duty gear before moving to leave, Judy exhales solemnly, a quirk to her brow. "Well, so much for a quiet night then..."