A shiver ran down the Nick's spine as he looked up at the black night sky over Tundra Town. No clouds to be seen and yet fresh powder still piled up around them thanks to the snow machines around the district. His face scrunched up while his paw reached for the dial on the console, only to find that the heat was turned up all the way. A small huff escaped his lips and he jammed his paws into the pockets of his thick jacket. "What did we do to get the big man to put us here in the middle of the night?" Fog flowed freely from his lips while he spoke, reminding both him and his partner just how cold it was.
"Maybe he's still mad about us letting Flash go." His eyes watched Judy speak. He knew she had to be feeling the cold more then he was, at least he had lots of fur to keep him warm. Rabbits had such short coats. He gazed up at her hands gripping the wheel of their patrol car as she drove, he could see how tightly she was holding on. A little frown danced over his lips, but it didn't stay, quickly being replaced with one of his smirks.
He leaned back in his seat just a bit, "We should get you some gloves if you're going to be the one driving us around. Wouldn't want your little fingers freezing off, do we?" He spoke with a grin, showing off his sharp teeth to the bunny, though his eyes were soft. "Really though, maybe we should stop at a gas station and get you a pair? You've got to be cold, even with the jacket. Maybe some coffee too. I know I could go for a cup of joe."
A quick nod was his first reply before the bunny gave him a shiver and a groan, "Yeah, coffee sounds great." The tod could see it on her face, she wanted to suggest that earlier but didn't want to sound like she was trying to take extra breaks.
He pulled one of his paws out from his pocket and put it on her shoulder, giving her a little shake, "It'll help keep you awake too. I don't want you slamming us into a street light or something." With a scrunched up nose he pulled his hand back, turning to gaze out of the window now though, ears slightly dropping against his head. He felt a slight tightness in his chest too, like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"You alright?" Judy called out to her partner, "Your ears a drooping." She pointed out, though she did her best to keep her eyes locked on the road as a distracted driver was a dangerous one after all. Her eyes still drifted to the fox from time to time just to check on him.
With a swift shake of his head, Nick was once again wearing his trademark smirk, though his ears still looked a little limp. "Huh? Oh yeah, fine. Just bored." The fox's body tensed up a bit as his partner took a turn, heading for the first place that looked like it would sell them coffee. "I bet the boredom is just killing you, isn't it? We haven't had a single exciting thing happen in a week. Though I don't mind really." His gaze was on her from the corner of his eye, watching her.
A tiny huff escaped Judy's lips, "You're telling me. Ever since the missing mammals case, we've been given nothing but patrols! I want a big case again." His eyes watched her face closely, observing the way her brow tightened and her ears twitched. He would bet money her paw would be thumping right now if she wasn't driving.
"Come on, the calm stuff ain't so bad. I for one don't mind keeping the near death incidents to a once a year thing. Heck I wouldn't mind if we never have to run though the canopy of the Rainforest District again!" A strong shudder rolled over his body while he recalled them almost falling to their deaths, he never wanted to see the ground coming up at him that quickly again.
As his thoughts drifted towards that moment again he felt his chest tighten up. She was saying something to him, but right now he was spacing . his eyes stared unfocused out the window, the fur on the back of his neck was standing up just a bit now. Something didn't feel right. There was a tight feeling in his gut, almost like there had been when they were running through the museum, trying to get away from the rams."Nick! Are you listening?" The harsh tone of her voice got his attention once again, his ears perking and turning towards her.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, Fluff." A grin began to creep on his lips once again slowly as he didn't say another word. Though suddenly he was jerked to the side, making his head bonk the window slightly as the car turned sharply. That was going to be sore in the morning. "Jeez, rude."
A little giggle escaped Judy's lips while she stopped the car and pulled the keys from the ignition, slipping them into the pocket of her fluffy jacket. "Oh it wasn't that bad. Don't be such a kit about it."
Nick rubbed the side of his head, a scowl on his muzzle, "I'll remember this next time you bump your head, Carrots." Though he got a bit of dark satisfaction while he watched the bunny get out of the car only to start hopping from one paw to the other on the cold snow. "Better hurry inside, you don't want to get frostbite on those cute toes of yours.
She didn't need to be told twice clearly, she bolted for the door of the gas station, rushing right inside after slamming the car door shut as she took off. Nick on the other paw stepped out into the snow, letting it crunch under his pads a bit. The cold didn't bother him as much as it did the little bunny. For that matter, neither did being out this late.
The fox closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, the cool night air filling his lungs. He smelled a medley of scents. The most powerful one was of course the moist aroma of the snow. Though mixed in was a bouquet of breads and other baked goods from the bakeries around Tundra Town already starting on the day's wears.
He was always impressed by folks who got to work just before sunrise. Though his time in the police academy had helped him to get used to it. His ears flicked softly while he just listened to the city, taking it all in. It was so silent right now, a few cars starting in the distance. The dull sound of music from the one or two bars that hadn't kicked everyone out yet. It painted a picture for him, the picture of a city he loved.
Even still, as he began to pad towards the gas station he moved a paw up to grip his chest and his face contorted just a bit. "What's wrong with me? Things are good... just because things are going well doesn't mean something bad is going to happen. Calm down Wilde." The little pep talk he gave himself put a smile back on his face while he hurried into the convince store.
"Welcome to the Pack Mart." A voice called out from behind the counter. It belonged to a white wolf who looked pretty bored. He was wearing a red and black button up shirt with the stores logo on the chest, it looked a few sized too big for him. He didn't even look up at the officer as he spoke his rehearsed lines, "We've got a sale right now, buy a coffee and get a muffin for half off."
Nick gave a little nod and couldn't help but notice the cover of the magazine the wolf was gazing at rather then watching the store. Gazelle was on the cover. Though it wasn't one of the more credible pop culture magazines. No, this was one of the magazines that usually talked about finding proof celebs were cheating on their lovers, or their taxes or had murdered someone. He didn't even bother to read the cover, he was sure whatever story it was trying to sell was one hundred percent fake.
Something far more pleasant caught his attention though as he hurried along to meet up with Judy. The scent of carrot cake flavored coffee. A grin spread over his lips again, "Is that carrot cake I smell?" He asked while grabbing himself a paper cup. "Please tell me it is, because that smells amazing."
His partner was softly humming to herself as she added various creamers to her drink. He recognized the song in her heart as one of Gazelle's big hits, "Try Everything." That bunny really loved that song. "Yup, you should try it. It's to die for!" He watched her hips sway a bit while she began to stir up the coffee. "You know Nick, this weekend we should go catch a movie and get some dinner, how's that sound?"
Nick followed her example and began to pour himself some of that fragrant coffee. "This weekend? Hmm... sure. It's a date. But you're paying for the movie, I'll get dinner this time." He watched her face out of the corner of his eye. He loved to tease her like this. The way her nose began to twitch the moment he said date, the subtle hints of pink under her gray fur. All while he casually added only a tiny hint of vanilla creamer to his coffee, acting as if what he said was no big deal.
A soft thumping was heard from the bunny's paw against the floor, "It's not a date Nick." She huffed and quickly lidded her coffee, grabbing a muffin to go with it, heck it was half off after all. It didn't surprise the fox that she grabbed one with little bits of carrots in it.
"If you say so, Fluff." A smug look spread over his face while she stomped off towards the cash register. He hurried along behind her though, forgoing a snack of his own. he put his coffee down next to hers, "We're together. And can I get a scratcher ticket?" He fished his wallet out and handing the bored wolf some cash before Judy had a chance to protest. "You owe me breakfast after work." A little wink followed his words before the tod headed out the door, stuffing his change into his pocket.
"One of these days Wilde, I'm going to beat you to it." The bunny skipped alongside him, closing the distance between them with ease thanks to her speed. "One day you'll reach for your wallet but it'll be too late. Then you'll be the one owing ME breakfast!" Having said her peace the bunny bolted to the car, not wanting to stand in the snow longer then she had to.
Nick on the other hand moseyed along, taking a few sips of his coffee before finally reaching the car and climbing in. "Maybe one day Carrots, but you'll have to be quicker then you were in there." With triumph in his eyes the fox put his paws up on the dashboard while the pulled back out onto the street. He reached into one of his pockets for a quarter, using it to scrape away at his lotto ticket. He let out a chuckle and showed it to his partner, "Check it out. I won ten bucks. Guess today is my lucky day!"
Once their patrol resumed the partners sat mostly in silence, the glow of Nick's phone illuminating the car while he tried to keep himself from falling asleep. "Huh, did you know Gazelle is going to put out a new album in a few months?" He asked. With how big a fan she was of the pop icon, He wasn't surprised to see her face light up at that news.
"Of course I know that. I've already pre-ordered my copy." A grin was plastered on her face as she went on, "Which is a good thing because that means I'm going to get to listen to the preview track in a few weeks. Which is going to be awesome I'm sure!" The car shook softly thanks to the giddy bunny rocking in her seat ever so slightly and shaking the wheel along with her motions.
The sharp sound of coffee being slurped filled the car as Nick sipped his coffee, "We should see another one of her shows. That last one was pretty good I have to admit." The fox smiled softly as he thought about going to the show with her. His face softened, a real smile replacing the smirk he usually had. That concert had been some of the most fun he'd had in a long time, perhaps the bunny next to him was due some credit for that.
Any train of thought he had was interrupted when a piercing roar echoed through the sleepy streets of Tundra Town. "That doesn't sound good..." Of course Nick braced himself against the door quickly as he felt the car turn abruptly. He flipped the sirens on, "Maybe we'll get lucky and someone just stubbed their toe." Another thunderous roar put that hope to rest and made the fox sigh, "Of course not."
Nick prepared himself for work again, the night had so quiet and relaxing actually that he almost wasn't ready for something to happen. The fox checked his belt, opening each pouch one by one to check their contents. He pulled his paws down from the dash too and took a nice long sip of his coffee. The burning feeling making his eyes open up a bit wider. "Let's do this."
The trip to the source of the roar wasn't a long one, it had been just around the corner, out front of one of the last bars open at this hour. Two massive polar bears were tussling with each other. Their large paws landing slaps and punches on one another. Each time flesh met flesh the fox's ears pinned against his head. "Fluff, maybe we should call for backup, those guys are pretty big and angry and... you're already jumping out of the car..." his chest rose and fell quickly as he let out a sigh and got out of the car to follow his eager partner.
Judy bounced up alongside the two bears, the top of her head didn't even reach their knees. "Sirs, cease this at once. I'm Officer Judy Hopps with ZPD!" A large paw almost found it's way on top of her while the two titans shifted, leading her to scramble back and land next to her partner who was looking down at her with a raised brow.
"So what's the game plan Carrots? Calling backup is still an option. We could get Horn down here. He's a big guy." Though he could see clearly on Judy's face she wasn't about to just throw in the towel so soon. This was her problem to solve and by god she was going to do it. "Or you could try asking nicely again, see if that works." Nick sipped his coffee which he had of course brought with him from the car.
The little bunny rubbed her chin, her brow furrowing as she pondered. With a snap of her fingers she spoke up again, this time her voice was as loud as she could muster, which for a little bunny wasn't too much really. "If you don't stop right now, we'll be forced to taze you!" Still the bears fought on, leaving the bunny to thump her paw against the snow, she wanted to end this without anyone getting hurt.
"Hold this." Wilde passed his coffee off to Judy and leaned down, gathering up a sizable snowball from the slush on the ground. He took a moment to line up his shot, closing one eye and even sticking his tongue out just a bit before he lobbed the bunch of snow right at one of the bear's heads. "This should get their attention."
The powder burst when it it one of the bear's head and sure enough it got his attention. Though not in the way he was hoping. With a massive roar the fox found one of those giant paws coming right for him, claws fully extended. Nick saw his life flashing before his eyes now as that gargantuan claw sped towards him, easily as big as he was. His eyes clenched shut and he braced himself for the end. 'Maybe today isn't my lucky day...' he thought to himself.
However the end didn't come. Instead all he felt was something slam against him, but no pain. Though he was knocked onto his back and felt something warm splatter onto his face, along with a cry of agony.
A moment after hitting the snow Nick's eyes shot open to confirm his fear. On top of him was his limp partner, the snow around them stained red already with bits of fluff littering it. "No... no no no! You dumb bunny!" He climbed out from under the bunny as carefully as he could, taking in the scene before him. She was almost perfectly still, the back and side of her jacket were shredded and crimson was pouring freely from the hole. The red pool was mixing with his coffee that she'd dropped when she tackled him.
Nick's face contorted and his eyes began to dart about, his mind running a mile a minute. Quickly he pulled his own jacket off and laid it on top of Judy, dropping to his knees and putting a paw on her side to apply pressure to her wound. "Hang in there, Fluff." The fox hastily grabbed his radio and called for help. "Officer Hopps is down. I need back up and an ambulance at the corner of Halibut and Trout in Tundra Town and I need it now!"
Both paws found their way to her side and the panicked fox leaned most of his weight onto her, trying to stem the flow of blood, "Fluff, hang in there. Don't leave me! Come on, Judy, just stay with me, please!"