The particular district Nick was wandering in was called Copper Fields- although considering the space and location Nick doubted it truly had any fields- perhaps the namer was just a Dickens fan. The streets were made of sea floor that had been extracted during the construction of Rapture and the actual structure was composed almost entirely of cheap metal. Considering he wasn't likely to pull a job in the next hour and considering he was starving and tired- Nick felt that unfortunately he would have to rely on charity. Luckily the lower class neighborhoods were often more giving than the upper class ones- perhaps because most in the lower class neighborhoods knew that one day they too may have to rely on charity to survive. Fontaine's Homes for the Poor still existed, even if they were languishing without the attention of the man himself, but Nick didn't really want to be seen in one- using one almost felt like declaring an affiliation- an irrational feeling considering Frank Fontaine's status but still one he couldn't shake.
What Nick was hoping for was a bar, some place public where he can tell a hard-luck story and maybe get a meal. Now that wasn't hard to find, as eventually he came across a dive called "The Drunk & Sunk". He entered and surveyed the room; it was fairly standard fare- bars, tables, people- and really it was the people that mattered most. One thing he realized though was he stood out like a sore thumb- with few exceptions he was the only animal among them- and he realized his furry little change might come across to some as a measure of luxury. With his original plan falling apart in his head he saw some people playing poker in the corner and felt saved- even if what he was going to have to do was unconventional.
He headed over and nodded "Hello, mind if I join you?" the other players shrugged and one motioned for him to pull up a seat. "Now I don't have any cash but-" the motion suddenly shifted into a 'stop' gesture, "what are you doing trying to gamble with no cash?" asked one of the men, bearing a respectable beard, "you clearly have money if you look like that!" Nick forced out a chuckle and said "Relax… I'm just a little short on the liquid stuff… but if someone was willing to front me some I might provide some liquid stuff in kind…" Nick tilted his bag to show them the bottle of bourbon- inadvertently also showing his gun along with it. "So what you're saying is you're trading booze for money- pretty sure the bartender wouldn't like someone trying to steal his job…" replied the man softly, but suddenly the youngest-looking of them blurted out "Hey if you want money, how about you give us a show- drink that bottle and wait… uhh... 20 minutes- if you can throw it in the air and shoot it then I'll give you one hundred dollars then and there!" The former speaker rolled his eyes and sighed, "Pardon him, he's drunk and stupid and he's been winning all night- but if you want to take him up on his offer he does keep his word."
One hundred dollars would make things a hell of a lot easier- and the bottle wasn't that full- besides he's been downing bottles like it for years already- it probably wouldn't even affect him that much… Nick considered the intensely tempting offer of drinking one of his very few remaining possessions. Ultimately he agreed, "I'll do it… but before I do just be warned by that time I'll be drunk enough to shoot you if you try to stiff me." The youngster chuckled and nodded his head as he raised his own drink, "Cheers then hmm?" and so Nick reached into his bag and opened the bottle, nodding, "Mmhmm…" and he began to drink.
Twenty minutes later, or so the youngster claimed, the man who had a hobby of pickling his liver was stumbling. "I believe you owe us a show good sir!" said the instigator as he patted Nick on the back and lead him out of the bar with a fair crowd of people in tow. "Now just throw the bottle up and show us what a marksman you are." With his eye on the prize, Nick removed the pistol from his bag- it already loaded out of a preference for convenience and speed over safety- as he took the empty bourbon container in his left hand. He heaved it upwards and let it fly as he raised his gun to the sky.
A shot rang out- but there was no shattering of glass- at least not until the bottle hit the ground- for although Booker was a pretty good shot even while drunk- Nick hadn't quite gotten used to how his new hand felt on his weapon- causing his aim to be off. With the crash of failure the youngster simply laughed and headed back inside the bar as the crowd followed suit- less amused and more disappointed- leaving Nick alone. "There goes my meal ticket... and there went my last drink." he thought to himself dolefully- sighing in frustration. He put his gun away and turned around- only to come face to face with a bunny in a dress- or more specifically a woman with Lapine Magnetism.
"So you're desperate enough for cash that you're willing to make a complete fool of yourself huh?" she asked, she slightly shorter than Nick but her ears giving her a bit of an illusion of height. The fox just stared for a second before slurring, "I really jus' needed a bit to eat and a place to sleep… cash was just a way to get that…" The rabbit looked over the drunkard skeptically, before sighing and saying, "Come with me…" Nick was in no condition to turn away any offer of assistance at this point- and bourbon does not a meal make- so he obediently followed the woman away from the bar.
Nick couldn't really tell how far they had gone but eventually they reached a door. The rabbit pulled out a keyring from a sewn-on pocket of her dress and began to undo the locks before pushing the door open. It revealed a small living room with kitchenette, with a tiny bedroom and even smaller bathroom to the side. The woman entered with Nick right behind her, and then she turned to him, "So, sober enough for an introduction yet?" she asked. Nick chuckled and replied "Always- just can't guarantee it will be a good one- call me Nick, Nick Wilde." The bunny held out her hand as Nick took it and shook it, "Judy Hopps, nice to meet you Nick." Judy then went towards the kitchenette and began to look through the fridge, "I'll fix you something up- if only to keep you out of trouble- foxes are notoriously shifty after all." she said with a joking tone. Nick with his wits slowed didn't quite catch the jest though, "Wait, hasn't the tonic only been out for a couple months? How did we gain notoriety already?" Judy just laughs at that, "Sit down drunky, you might hurt yourself, it was a joke!"
Nick happily obliged, setting himself down on the small, somewhat frayed couch in the room, watching the rabbit begin to cook. For awhile he was silent, but then he asked "Why are you helping me?" For a second she turned, looking at him, before replying "I don't know, maybe I just think helping others makes you a good person- blasphemy in Rapture I know." Silence returned to the room until Judy piped up, "so how do you come to be a fox with not a penny to your name? You have some bad luck over this last month?" Nick gave a melancholy sigh, "Try bad luck and bad decisions over the past… 37 years." he paused to count them up in his head. The sound of a knife hitting a cutting board joined their conversation as Judy replied "37? Is that your age?" Nick shook his head, "No, 37 years ago was when I joined the Colorado National Guard- the first in many bad decisions that lead me to being a penniless fox."
Another moment, another pause, before Judy stated "Wait, so you must be over fifty years old then…" Nick mustered up a chuckle, "You mean I don't look it? Who knew the secret to looking youthful was to change species." The bunny commented "Just another Rapture genetic miracle- how long have you been a fox anyway?" as she continued to cook, Nick replying after a moment of thought "...maybe four hours perhaps? How long have you been a bunny- and why a bunny anyway?"
Judy put something in the oven- Nick smelled fish so he assumed that- before grabbing a small wooden chair that up to this moment had been set against the wall, her looking at the fox and replying "About a month, and I chose a rabbit because before I worked at the bar I helped my parents out with their hydroponics operation- we grew the best carrots in all of Rapture so I figured why not a bunny? Besides- rabbits are fast, agile, and know to run when trouble starts- useful around here. Oh, and my last name is Hopps- and I thought it would be kind of funny to be a rabbit with the last name Hopps." Judy leaned forward, clasping her hands and resting her head on them, "But if you're asking why I took Lapine Magnetism in the first place, well, just like those guys at the bar barely believed you didn't have money as a fox- people in the prettier parts of the city don't think you're broke if you've grown a tail- even if your clothes look shabby they assume since you afforded a luxury that Andrew Ryan himself has embraced then you must have at least a little class- ironically they treat you more like a person after you've become an animal." The rabbit sounded a bit melancholy as she finished her explanation, her gaze drifting off before returning to look at Nick, "Your turn." she said.
Nick sighed, debating internally between lying and telling his generous host the truth, eventually deciding on a middle path. "What can I say? I lost a bet." He crossed his arms, not elaborating further. "...you lost a single bet and that's why you became a fox with no money? Some bet!" Judy stated incredulously. "Well it was more than one bet… a couple bets… a few…" Nick admitted begrudgingly, "the point is betting was involved." Judy blinked and then said, "So you lost it all and thought becoming a fox could fool anyone who came looking for you right?" her deduction giving her an air of self-satisfaction. Nick just looked at her dumbfounded, "Uhhh… maybe."
Nick's expression was all the confirmation she needed, "Well considering you're broke how do you expect to survive long here considering I can't really house and feed you forever." Nick shrugged, "Well I was hoping to get back into private investigation- maybe after some security work since I have experience in both… it's just that I didn't really have time to line up a job and I was starving so… here we are." At the mention of PI work Judy's face showed renewed interest, "Private investigation? You mean you were a detective?" she asked excitedly.
Nick shrugged again, "Sort of- private detective like every other detective in Rapture but detective."
Judy beamed, "I love detective stories! They're always so thrilling and they always get the bad guy in the end!" she gets up out of her chair and heads over to a crude bookshelf in the corner stuffed with books, "Well, except for that one… and that book… and that one but it is part of a series so it doesn't count… anyway, you must have plenty of stories to tell!" Judy turns back to Nick, "and I'd love to hear them!" A timer rings and Judy heads back into the kitchenette to remove the fish, setting it on the counter. "Do rabbits even eat fish?" Nick inquires, as Judy turns her head at him with confusion, "No, but our insides didn't change much- only our outsides- didn't you read the directions?" Nick shook his head no and Judy just rolled her eyes as she began to plate servings. "Can you get the card table out? It's folded against the wall." the rabbit asked, and Nick politely set it up.
Judy brought plates and utensils out and set then down on the table and sat in the chair as Nick sat on the couch. "Thanks a lot for the food and hospitality, it really means a lot in this place, I owe you a lot." Nick said, as he began to dig in. "Well… if you owe me a lot… and you want to pay me back… I may have a case for you… just a small one, teensy-tiny." Nick paused and asked, "Well, what are the details I guess?" Looking over her plate, Judy began to tell, "Every evening at the bar this light-skinned guy with a dark, kind-of unkempt beard enters the bar- doesn't order anything, doesn't talk to anyone- just takes a seat near a corner and watches the room- I want to know what he is up to, if anything- and obviously if I was to be the person following him it would look bad because no one likes bar servers to be too nosy but if it was you- well, it'd still look weird but less weird. I just want to know if he's planning to rob the place or something really." Nick considered it, fork in mouth, before replying, "Sounds easy enough, I'll do it- if you give me room and board tomorrow night too- obviously I can't look for a job if I'm following someone." The rabbit nodded and held her hand out, Nick taking it and shaking it. "Then I suppose that is what I will be doing tomorrow then." he remarked as the two finished dinner in peace.