That cover picture of the wolf and tiger cub won't leave my imagination and keep putting me a state of cuteness adoring 'Daaaaawwwwwww'. Hopefully this offering to the Zootopia gods will convince them to stop torturing my dreams with images of ridiculously cute animals.

Disclaimer: Don't Watch The Movie! It's a trap made by Disney! Once you watch it you'll never get away; you'll be stuck forever thinking about foxes and bunnies and tigers and wolves and boxes and funnies and wigers and... oh, you already watched it? Well... Disney now owns your soul as well as the movie.

Approved and Edited by: Cimar of Turalis Wildehopps. (Watch out people, the rumor is he's one of the top admirals and pirate lords of the WildeHopps fleet. If he starts getting Wolfeyer ships under his control then the world might be doomed to die under a sea of fluff)

Chapter 4 – A New Day, A New Beginning

Nadine found herself sitting in a fancy restaurant trying to remember why she was there. She looked across the candle lit table only to find herself staring at the pompous face of the buff siberian tiger that had been the last guy she'd gone out on a date with… what, a year, year and a half ago? And what had his name been, again? Rick? No, Mick? Maybe Dick? No, but he sure had been one though; He probably just had a really really small one and was just trying to compensate.

She snickered, and then the oddity of the whole situation hit her again.

Wait, what the… I thought I dumped him after that dinner? What is going on…? she looked around the restaurant in confusion, then down at herself and realized she was wearing an actual dress. She certainly hadn't bothered with the hassle of wearing a dress and makeup that night, that had been just a first date after all and she hadn't even been sure if she really wanted to go out with him.

This makes no sense, why am I- Nadine froze as her gaze traveled back up to find that the black and white striped tiger was gone and instead that there was a gray and white wolf sitting across from her.

"Ralph?!" she spluttered in confusion, What the hell?! "What are you doing here?"

Ralph didn't respond. Instead he leaned forward placing his elbows on the table using his paws to prop up his grinning muzzle, and looked right at her, the gold flecks in his eyes sparkling playfully.

She was about to ask him again when his grin widened and he motioned with his paw, making a ridiculously silly imitation of a feline batting at her, with and equally silly and teasing, 'Rawr'.

Nadine's heart rate spiked dangerously and she nearly choked on her own breath as the glass of water she hadn't even realized she'd been holding slipped from her fingers and hit the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces. She just stared, dumbstruck, at the wolf across from her.

Did he just? No… Can't be… he wouldn't have!...

Thu-dump. Thu-dump. Thu-dump. Thu-dump. Nadine could feel her heart frantically beating away like a drummer at a rock concert, frantically wailing away on the drum set as if intent on breaking them. The room suddenly felt hot, too hot. Everything around her was blurry. All she could see was the table in front of her… and the grinning wolf.

Thu-dump-Thu-dump-Thu-dump. Her heart seemed to beat ever faster as her mind spun.

He wouldn't have!... but he did… but he Wouldn't!... would he?

Thu-dumpThu-dumpThu-dump

The grin on his muzzle grew just a touch more, matching the teasing sparkle in his eyes.

It was too much. Something in Nadine, something beyond her control, something base and instinctual, took over and answered the challenge.

She roared back at him, roared like she had never roared before in her life. Roared so loud that any mammal, no matter how tough or strong or determined should have cowered. But Ralph just leaned across the table and lightly booped her on the nose with a finger, silencing her roar in a single motion.

Her heart skipped a beat. The rooms temperature was beyond sweltering, beyond searing, it felt like her face was pressed against the open doors of a blast furnace.

"You let your guard down!" Ralph said in a ridiculously pleased voice, still grinning as he tapped her nose a second time, sending her whiskers twitching as her heart skipping another beat, while he whispered,

"Boop!"

Nadine snapped her teeth at his paw but he was too quick, pulling it away, now happily laughing. She roared and leaped over the table, but her dress inhibited the movement and she missed her prey, falling short.

Ralph's finger tapped her nose again and he said in a delighted tone,

"Boop!"

Nadine snarled and split the hem of the dress with a claw, giving her legs more freedom.

Ralph tapped her nose again and then fled, laughing as she chased. He turned his head calling out behind him,

"Boop!"

She chased the smiling, happy wolf through blurry hallways but could not catch him. He was always just ahead of her, turning down endless corridors, winding and weaving through innumerable doors. She'd pounce thinking she'd have him and then he'd slip away, having tapped her nose before dashing off.

"Boop!"

She roared again, defiantly, still giving chase or was he chasing her? She shook her head. She would catch him, and when she caught him she'd make him pay, she'd boop his nose-

"Boop!"

She roared again.

"Boop!"

But he got away.

"Boop!"

She was close on his heels but his tail whipped behind him.

"Boop!"

Her heart was racing, thundering. And he tricked her, beat her, tapping her nose again but his voice had started to shifting, changing from the happy playful wolf she liked being around to something else.

"Beep!"

Nadine frowned stopping, and Ralph turned, tapping her nose again.

"Beep!"

Something wasn't right. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

"BEEP!"

She looked at Ralph, still smiling at her as he playfully tapped her nose another time. And the knot of worry grew.

"BEEP!"

She grabbed him, pulling him close, looking at him, sniffing him, trying to figure out what was wrong with her wolf. But Ralph just continued to smile, his expression now looked almost robotic as he tapped her nose again.

"BEEP!"

Her worry turned into terror, as his beautiful gold flecked eyes now stared past her vacantly as he spoke in a machine like tone.

"BEEP!"

Nadine clutched him to her not sure what was wrong, not able to do anything and she opened her mouth, screaming out his name in desperation.

"BEEP!"

Nadine's eyes popped open as she screamed Ralph's name and pitched her blaring alarm clock across the room where it smash into the wall. It gave out one last warbling, broken 'BEEeeplop' before falling to the ground, its face cracked and casing smashed in.

Nadine sat up panting, looking around wildly. But she was in her bedroom and the only thing the early morning sunlight peeked through her blinds showed was a room devoid of a certain wolf.

"It was a dream." She mumbled to herself trying to calm her racing heart and breath, "Just a dream, Ralph's alright, it was just a dream. He's…"

Her brow furrowed as her jarred awake mind started to slowly think again, recalling just what had happened in that dream that was already starting to become hazy as she fully woke up.

"Was I dreaming about Ralph?!" she muttered in disbelief, only for a slew of scattered memories of her dream to resurface. An exhilarating chase interrupted by a blaring alarm, a gray paw booping her, a candle lit table and a playful little roar from a familiar wolf.

Her heart rate shot back up again and she swore violently. Then swore again.

There was a pounding sound that resonated up from her floor, followed by the shout of the old codger of a goat that lived below her.

"It's too early in the morning for that, go back to sleep!"

He pounded on his ceiling a few more times for good measure and then Nadine could hear him muttering loudly, "I swear, this apartment started to go to the dumps when they started letting preds in; That neighbor of hers is bad enough, always making a racket with who she brings home, but now her too?!"

Nadine's face flushed but before she could respond, another voice joined the first, "Oh, hush Herald, those nice young girls are no louder than we were when we were young. Put that cane down and come back to bed."

"Ya, listen to your wife, Herald! And leave Nadine alone!" came a shout from the wall across Nadine's low ceilinged, but spaciously cozy apartment, where her friend, a fiery little bobcat lived next door, "She hasn't gotten laid in far too long anyway!"

"Shut it, all of you!" Nadine bellowed not able to take it anymore, and burying her face in her pillow as shouted, "I just had a bad dream! That is ALL!"

"Ouuhhh! A 'bad' dream?!" Megan called through the wall, emphasizing 'bad' in a way that made it sound extremely naughty, "Why Nadine! I didn't know you were into that, you bad kitty!" she said, snickering.

Nadine growled and threw her pillow, sending it sailing out her bedroom door to smack loudly against the far wall where the other cats voice had come from.

The bobcat only laughed in return.

"Shut it Megan!" Nadine snapped, to another laugh.

"There, feel better now Nadine?" Megan called back.

"No, now I'm irritated!" she growled.

"But you aren't thinking about that dream anymore!" Megan called back sweetly and Nadine snapped her muzzle shut and instead of responding just glowered at the wall. The bobcat was right though, she wasn't thinking about the hazy details of that dream anymore.

There was one last loud snicker and a, "Your welcome!" from Megan and Nadine huffed getting up to start her day. She could use a good morning workout to distract her from this mess she'd woken up to. Maybe a long run and some extra time in the gym with the boxing bag.

That she decided with another huff was probably a great idea. She really felt like punching something right now, what she didn't know...but hitting something would be nice.

…

One run later and Nadine felt considerably better as she slammed her wrapped fist into the punching bag, imagining that it was her stupid alarm clock. Megan and her downstairs neighbor's loud comments and exchanges where nothing new, though Nadine was usually just a spectator listening to the free apartment comedy show. She was used to it and Megan, though seemingly incapable of ever being serious, was a good friend that always was there to help, if in a roundabout and sometimes annoying way.

Nadine visualized the face of her alarm clock and smashed her other fist into the bag, sending it rocking again.

She really wasn't too irritated by her neighbors, and she felt like blaming Ralph was a bit unfair since he hadn't even been there… though he had been the one to get her into their ridiculous bet. He was just playing around though, starting another friendly game between them. He was just being Ralph. She couldn't blame him for being the way he was. Anyway, she liked how he was; always up for a game or a challenge. It was what made being around him so much fun.

Nadine spun, slamming the heel of her hindpaw into the bag with a resounding THUMP that sent the heavily weighted large bag careening back and forth on its hanging chain, and consequently for a few of the other mammals in the gym to look at her with respectfully impressed expressions and maybe a hint of mild anxiety. The bag came swinging back toward her, and Nadine caught it with a powerful right hook nearly doubling it over on itself before sending it rocking back in the other direction.

Nadine though didn't notice the glances, and instead followed up the punch with another combination, feeling a smile form on her muzzle and her tail snap behind her as she pummeled the bag.

If Ralph wanted to play, then she'd play. She'd win this bet, this game, she promised to herself, grinning now and hit the punching bag with even more force. No little misunderstanding was going to stop her from winning! She jabbed her paw forward twice, then threw a powerful straight punch and moved forward as the bag rocked back. There was nothing Ralph was going to be able to do to stop her! Hah, he wanted to challenge her?! The bag started to swing back and she hit it with such a strong uppercut that the bag was lifted clear into the air, its chain coming unhooked from the ceiling.

Nadine's smile split her face. Ralph, might have the lead… for now, but today was a new day. A new beginning. She could already see the expression on his face when she made her opening move. She'd take her time, toy with him as she slowwwly came prowling forward to boop his nose. She'd make it clear that despite everything he could do, she was going to win.

Boop me, will he? Nadine thought grinning for all she was worth and moved, turning in a full roundhouse kick that hit the bag as it started to fall toward the ground and sent it tumbling in a spinning arc to land a good five feet away from her, where it skidded a few extra feet along the ground before coming to rest.

Nadine gave a satisfied growl, her tail snapping one last time and headed over to grab her water bottle, all the while thinking happy thoughts about how she was going to enjoy beating Ralph at his own game. She smiled broadly, failing to notice all the other eyes in the gym following her in terrified awe or the trail of sand the broken punching bag had left in its wake after skidding across the floor.

She grabbed her stuff, downed the entire water bottle and headed toward the showers still smiling to herself.

I hope you're ready Ralph, because here I come! Nadine thought and smirked.

Boop Count

Ralph: 3

Nadine: 0

Dream Ralph: 16

(Dream Boops don't count! :P )