With Fur There Is Love
Chapter 6: The Great Outdoors
Judy was getting more and more curious as to where she and Nick were going camping at. Nick was driving along the river between Savannah Central and Sahara Square, and it didn't look like they were in a forest at all. They were still in Savannah Central. Judy looked out her window before bothering to ask.
"Nick, where are we going?" Judy asked, gazing out her side window, seeing the river. Nick chuckled.
"Why would I want to tell you now, it'll spoil the surprise," Nick smiled, stopping at a 4-way stop. After letting two cars pass, he then continued down the straight road.
"But this doesn't look like a forest," Judy countered, continuing to look around her. Nick continued driving down the road. However, he'd occasionally notice Judy staring at him dreamily from out the corner of his eye. Whenever he'd turn his head towards her, he could see she had turned her head back the moment he looked at her. He shrugged off the gesture and focused on the road.
After about 20 more minutes, Nick arrived at what Judy could describe as a toll booth like structure. Nick drove up to toll booth operator, rolling down his drivers side window.
"How many are with you today?" the toll booth operator asked, who was a seal. She had a cap on, and dressed in a uniform.
"Just her and I, miss," Nick answered politely, taking out his wallet.
"That'll be 20 dollars," the seal then said as Nick took out a crisp $20 bill, and handed it to the seal. She put it in the register, and lifted the gate. "Have a nice trip, you two!" she added, waving as Nick drove towards the terminal.
Judy then found out where she was. There was a very huge boat, enough to fit mammals of all sizes. Painted white on the outside, with many windows on the exterior, and a huge balcony on top of the ferry. Judy was mesmerized by the beauty of it.
"Nick, we're going on that?!" she asked quickly, her mouth gaped in awe at the sight. Nick nodded, with a smile on his face.
"Yes, Carrots, we're going on that ferry, and that'll lead us to our destination," Nick answered, smirking at the rabbit. Judy blushed lightly before sitting back into her seat. Nick carefully drove his car into the lot as the guards safely guided him into it. Parking the car, Nick and Judy got out of the car, and Nick locked it up. They approached a bear who was the captain, in a black uniform with gold stripes on his shoulders and sleeves, and a paw emblem.
"Welcome aboard!" the captain said proudly, saluting as Nick and Judy both returned it.
"Thank you, kind sir," Nick said, smiling. "Where should we go on the ship?" he then asked as the captain stepped away from the entrance to the stairwell.
"Go to the third floor, there is a balcony to go outside and an indoor area. Have a nice ride, and we'll be departing shortly!" the captain answered, waving as Nick and Judy both nodded and went up the stairs, catching glimpses of what was on the other floors. The first floor seemed to be for large mammals, as elephants, hippos, and other large mammals. The second floor seemed to be for medium sized mammals like tigers and bulls. Going onto the third floor, they found their mammal size, with the indoor room being filled with foxes, wolves, bunnies, and many other small sized mammals. The outdoor area was almost empty, with only a couple foxes and wolves outside. Inside the indoor area, there were chairs and tables dotted around the room with a small restaurant area in the corner of the room. Nick was surprised at how updated the place looked since the last time he visited it since he was 16 years old.
"Wow, this looks… nice," Nick commented awkwardly as Judy was puzzled at his saying.
"What are you talking about? It looks awesome!" Judy exclaimed, gazing around the room and through the glass where the balcony was. "So why are you surprised?" she then asked. Nick snapped back into focus after eyeing the restaurant menu from afar.
"It's different, last time I've been on this ferry was since 23 years ago," Nick answered, looking around the room. Judy nodded and faced him.
"Well, what do you think of it now?" Judy asked, winking. Nick chuckled, smiling.
"It looks amazing, a vast improvement on everything since my last visit," Nick answered, winking back at Judy, who giggled. "Well, what would you like to do while we're on here?" he then asked, looking at Judy. She thought to herself for a couple moments, observing the area as she was thinking.
"Let's just find ourselves a couple seats, and wait until we can see the forest, it'd make an amazing picture spot," Judy said, smiling as she found a couple seats at a table near the outside windows. They both sat down across from each other and glanced at the view from their seats. Just then, a voice came on over the intercom.
"Good afternoon, everyone and welcome aboard the Kattitas! I am your captain, Oscar, and we will be sailing shortly! Next stop: Alberton, which is east of Tundratown but across the Polar Strait, which will bring us to the exotic and vast territory of the Eastern Forest. ETA is 7 PM. Enjoy the ride, and thanks for choosing us!"
After the intercom turned off, Nick and Judy stared at each other, with Judy wide eyed at how long until they reach their destination.
"What are we going to do for the next 3 hours?" Judy asked. Nick looked around the room.
"You want to eat dinner now? Might as well order our food to get it ready to factor in the long wait times," Nick replied, pointing with his right paw at the restaurant corner. Judy went to reach for her wallet before Nick stopped her. "No, it's on me, Carrots." he then said, smiling as Judy did also while putting her wallet away.
Just then, they felt the ferry beginning to move. After they lowered the water to the correct height, the ferry took off, sailing out of the terminal and on it's way to the forest. Nick and Judy then looking at each other again.
"Alright, Nick, let's go," Judy said, the two of them walking up to the counter of the restaurant, which had a huge line of maybe 10-15 animals. After about 20 minutes of waiting in line, they got to the front of the line at the counter. The host, wearing a red uniform, who was a skunk, was at the station.
"Hello there, you two. You need a menu?" The skunk asked, setting down a pile of menus on the counter. Nick and Judy nodded as the skunk handed them two menus. "When you're ready, our waiters will take care of you two, have a nice day," the skunk then said, waving as Nick and Judy walked away from the counter and sat down at their table. After about 20 more minutes of looking through the menu, they found out what to order, at least Judy did, Nick was struggling with what he wanted to order.
"Judy, what are you ordering?" Nick asked anxiously, studying his menu as Judy put hers down.
"I'm ordering the fettuccine alfredo with a side of fresh carrots," Judy answered, looking at Nick with his menu in front of his face. "You got something you want yet?" she then asked. Nick put his menu down, looking away from Judy for a bit.
"Um, Judy, is it alright if I order fish?" Nick asked very anxiously as Judy looked at him puzzled for a moment, and then understood why he was concerned. He felt like it was wrong to eat meat in front of a prey. "I can order something else if you're not OK with it." he then said before Judy then stopped him.
"Nick, you don't have to do that. You can order what you want, and I'm OK with it," she responded as Nick gave her a 'You mean it?' look. "Yes, Nick, I'm sure. Fish is a more acceptable type of meat in this culture, so don't be afraid because of me, Nick, I'll be fine," she added, giving of a small smile. Nick nodded and pushed his menu gently into the center of the table along with Judy's. Nick then flagged down a waiter who came over to their table.
"Hey there, you two!" a waiter said, who was a female sheep, wearing the same red uniform, but with a few slight modifications. "What would you guys like to order?" the female sheep then asked.
"I'll have the fettuccine alfredo with a side of fresh carrots and a water," Judy said as Nick then looked up at the waiter.
"And I'll have the fish and chips with a water as well," Nick said, handing the waiter the two menus. She took them into her hands.
"Alright, we'll get those dishes out to you as soon as possible!" the waiter then said before leaving to get the orders to the kitchen. Nick and Judy then waited patiently for their food. About 30 minutes passed before their food was ready. After the waiter handed them their dishes, Nick and Judy were ready to eat their meals, but Nick still had some uncertainty in his mind.
As they focused on eating what was on their plate before them, Judy was in delight at how her meal was tasting. The pasta was cooked and seasoned perfectly, the alfredo sauce was savory, and her side of carrots were crisp and sweet. Her mouth watered as she ate her meal
Nick, however, was distant. He really only ate some of his french fries, and kept trying to take a bite of his fish, but was only able to when she looks away. Not even half of his fish was gone. Even when Judy told him it was OK with her for him to eat fish, he still felt that it was wrong for him to do that. After eating a few more fries, he dropped his fork in shame, and put his head down, closing his eyes. Judy noticed this when she heard the fork make a loud "Ping" after it hit his plate, and put down her silverware and focused on Nick.
"Nick? Is everything alright?" Judy asked, staring at Nick calmly as Nick breathed out deeply before lifting his head back up.
"It's just that… wait, no… um… just that…" Nick groaned and put his hands on his forehead. Judy saw how he ate barely any of his fish, and acting on a swift decision, she grabbed Nick's paw and held it. She interlaced her fingers with his fingers, them being larger since his paw was a bit larger than hers, and felt the soft fur on his paw. Nick immediately had a growing blush on his cheeks, and on impulse, he squeezed her paw and held onto it in return, keeping their fingers interlaced, and looked at Judy in her eyes, a clash on clash with violet and emerald.
"Please, Nick. Tell me, what's the matter?" Judy asked, still holding his paw. "You didn't eat much of your fish at all, and you seemed quite distressed when I asked you about it, so what's bothering you?" she then asked, looking at his eyes. Nick's paw trembled, but in her grasp, he felt calm, and that trembling subsided.
Taking a deep breath, he spoke. "I know, I know you told me that it was OK for me to order fish, but I still think it's wrong of me to eat it in front of you," Nick said, closing his eyes as her expression softened. "I'm sorry, Judy, but I can't eat it in front of you." he added.
"He really does care about me," Judy thought to herself, and gave Nick a small smile. "Nick, you've come such a long way to get us here, on this romantic ship ride. I deeply appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. And I've told you, Nick, it's OK with me if you eat fish, you are a predator. I will not judge you, Nick, please, I promise you that," she said, smiling as Nick slowly softened his expression and continued to hold her paw. It felt nice to him, and he liked the feeling of closeness and warmth he was getting. As did Judy, she was floating on clouds. This was a huge step towards their relationship, she felt in love. A few minutes passed before she decided to let go of his paw, and Nick nodded.
"OK, Judy. I'm sorr-" she stopped him as Nick opened his mouth.
"No need to be sorry, I understand how you feel, but just know that I am OK with what you do," Judy winked as Nick smiled. They then focused back on eating their delicious meal. Nick was able to eat his fish with the worry leaving his veins, and he was able to savor the delicious taste of his fish. It was flaky, salted perfectly, and the taste melted in his mouth. Judy was busy savoring her pasta and carrots. After about 20 more minutes of eating, they were finished. Finishing off their waters, Nick left the money for the meals in the bill book, along with a tip, and they got up to go back to some seats nearby an empty table closer to the outside entrance. Nick sat next to Judy and pulled out his phone, playing a fighting game on his phone, while Judy read one of her crime books. About an hour passed before they heard a voice on the intercom.
"Attention, all passengers. This is your captain speaking, we'll be arriving to Alberton in about 30 minutes, so be prepared to exit the ferry!"
After the voice vanished, Nick and Judy looked outside. They saw that the ferry was sailing close to shore, but it was enough to see the vast, beautiful forest. Many trees could be seen, high mountainous terrain, and a beautiful landscape. On impulse, they both went outside to the balcony, which was empty because all the other animals were making their way to the exit to get off the ferry once it arrived. Judy stood over the railing and looked at the vast scene before her. The water, the new territory, everything amazed her. Nick had a lot of fond memories being on the ferry, and seeing the land, and he was excited seeing it again. He rested his arms on the railing and looked outward.
"It looks so beautiful, Nick, it's so relaxing!" she exclaimed, feeling the cool breeze pass over her, as did Nick. The breeze did feel nice, but he felt something even nicer. After they sat down on a nearby bench positioned at the railing, he felt Judy grab onto his paw tightly. Nick blushed at the action, but he instead pulled her closer to himself, putting Judy at his side. She too, then blushed, looking up at Nick, who had a smile planted onto his face. He wrapped his arm around the bunny and held her close to himself. A wave of relaxation passed over the two, as Judy snuggled into Nick's warm body, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt like she could fall asleep and be in this moment forever. As for Nick, he felt the same. He rested his own head on top of Judy's, feeling warmth and comfort as his cheek nuzzled the soft fur on top of Judy's head. He hummed in relaxation as both stayed in this position for quite some time, gazing at the water and forest before them.
A long time passed before they heard a loud horn coming from the ferry. They then saw the ferry was at the Alberton terminal. Judy groggily got out of Nick's hold, even though she didn't want to.
"That felt amazing," Judy said, smiling at Nick, who got up from the bench. He smiled, closing his eyes.
"It was, Carrots. I loved that," Nick answered, winking at Judy, who had a blush on her face.
"I'm glad I'm here with you, I'm excited to go camping," she said, hugging Nick. He blushed, and hugged the rabbit in his arms. They held each other for a few minutes longer before they let go of the embrace.
"I am too, Carrots. Let's go," he said, smiling and headed for the exit as Judy followed behind him. After getting down to ground level, they patiently waited for all the animals on board to take their cars out of the terminal before they were able to get inside Nick's convertible. Being guided outside of the ferry and onto the new territory in Judy's eyes, they drove down the first road in the center.
The roads were quite winding and long, going through fields of acacia trees, oak trees, and birch trees as well. Judy took multiple pictures from her phone.
"Nick, where are we going?" she then asked, staring at Nick who had his sunglasses on.
"We're heading to a special hiking trail, I've been here before. You are going to love it," he answered, smirking at Judy as he put his eyes back on the road. Judy could only wander how far the lot would be. They passed huge scenic spots, such as the large hill they drove over, revealing more of the massive exotic territory, and also passing by a few flower meadows as well. About 30 minutes of driving passed before they arrived at the lot. Nick parked his car in one of the spots, took off his sunglasses, and shut the car off. They both stepped out of the car and Nick opened up the trunk.
"How are we going to take all of this stuff with us?" Judy asked, putting on her hiking backpack as did Nick. He lifted the cooler out of the trunk, as well as the tent box, and opened it up. He discarded the box, and put all the contents of the tent in the carrying bag. He then tied the bagged tent to the cooler with a spare rope he kept in his trunk, and they were ready to go hiking, at least Judy was. Nick had to wheel a huge cooler and tent with him through a forest trail.
"This is going to be hard," Nick thought, locking up the car and lead the way into the forest trail. However, he felt the cooler to be a lot easier to carry in his hands, since it was much lighter than it was before. He picked it up by it's handles and continued into the forest.
The trail first consisted of a lot of straight, uphill hiking, but with more steep inclines downward. Nick was exhausted walking uphill with the cooler in his hands, and the tent on top of it made it harder for him to see what was ahead of him. Judy guided his footsteps though, much to his relief. Seeing many exotic trees and flowers, Judy was in awe at how beautiful the forest looked. She had never known of this territory, and it amazed her. She wanted to explore more of this, maybe with Nick as well. They went up and over a few of the steep uphill inclines, and went slowly down the steep downhill slopes. Nick was scared he'd fall, because with all the weight he was carrying, he fears he would lean forward or backward too much and fall. This fear skyrocketed when he came upon a familiar, but the steepest of the drops on the trail.
They hiked about a mile before they came across a particularly steep drop. Nick's eyes gawked in horror, he remembered coming across the drop 23 years ago. It was quite a scary memory for him. Judy bumped into his back when Nick stopped in his place, leaving Judy confused as Nick stepped aside to a flat part of the trail, sitting down and setting his stuff on the floor.
"Nick, what's wrong?" she asked anxiously, going up to Nick who was sitting down against an acacia tree. He looked quite distressed, holding his chest to regulate his now irregular breathing. He stared forward in the direction of the steep drop, and Judy didn't understand why. She decided to prod him more. "Are you scared something bad will happen?" she then asked. Nick looked up at her.
"This place has a bad memory to me," Nick rushed, closing his eyes as Judy's ears drooped. She thought for a moment about what would she do in this situation. She spotted the cooler.
"Here," she said, taking Nick's backpack clip, and clipping the handle of the cooler onto it. Nick observed her, and looked up at her. "Was that all or was there something about this slope that's scaring you?" she then asked, looking at Nick's expression. He looked frightened as he nodded.
"First time I ever was here, this was after the hazing at the Ranger Scouts, I was 9 years old. My mother took me to this forest to go camping to prove I didn't need to be in some Scouts to go camping," Nick started, smiling slightly as Judy's heart warmed. "We were hiking along this same trail, and I came across this steep drop. I tripped, and fell down the steep slope," he then added, looking down the steep slope, shuddering at the height. Judy's eyes widened at his statement. They were on the gondola lift a while back, and he wasn't scared of being that high. Looking at the steep drop of the slope and interpreting Nick's memory, maybe he was.
"Did you get injured?" Judy asked, kneeling down to Nick's level.
"I twisted my arm very badly, but my mother patched me up, and we had an amazing time camping," Nick smiled for a moment. "So yes, I'm just scared the same thing will happen if I try to go down that slope. I'm scared I'll drop everything if I try to go down." he pointed at the slope, and got up with the cooler and tent now attached to his backpack. It felt much easier and lighter to carry for some reason. Judy thought for a few moments of what to do to ease his apparent fear of heights. She thought of something brilliant, something that would truly answer one of her own questions as well. She immediately grabbed Nick's paw, and interlaced their fingers together. Nick blushed heavily at her action.
"Nick, I need to ask you something," Judy paused, looking at Nick's eyes, which were full of worry, and his cheeks were reddened. "Do you trust me?" she then said as Nick's eyes widened. He took a deep breath, calming himself.
"Y-yes, I do, I'm just scared," Nick shivered, walking a bit closer to Judy. Judy looked at his eyes again.
"Do not worry, Nick. I got you, just hold on tight," she answered, inching towards the center of the slope. "We're going to walk down this, together. I will hold your paw tightly, and I will not let you go, you understand me? I will not let you fall." she finished, giving a slight smile. Nick took another breath again.
"I understand, Judy, now let's get down," Nick said, shaking a little as Judy first stepped forward, her feet now on the incline of the slope. Nick then took a step forward, and he was now standing on the slope. In his mind, his head was whirring with fears and worries. He closed his eyes, and gripped Judy's paw tighter. She squeezed his paw in return for assurance. They then slowly made their way down the slope. Nick's mind was still whirring, but he felt a lot of ease holding onto Judy's paw. He felt content and warmth. Along with Judy, she felt warmth as well holding onto his paw, it felt good to her.
After a few long minutes of stepping over fallen logs and rocks on the slope, they finally made it down to the bottom, and Nick felt accomplishment. He immediately hugged Judy tightly, taking in her scent. She smelled like blueberries, his nose tickled in delight.
"Did you use blueberry soap, because you smell good," Nick chuckled, still holding the rabbit in his arms. Judy blushed heavily before she continued to hold onto Nick.
"Yes, Nick, I did," she said, letting go after a few minutes.
"Thank you, Judy, thank you so much," Nick said, smiling at Judy as she did the same.
"You're welcome, Nick. This was a great moment for us, we both trust each other," she said sweetly, smiling again as Nick blushed, and then chuckled.
"Hey, I have a question," Nick asked, looking down at Judy, whose ears perked up.
"Yes, Nick?" she answered.
"Can I hold your paw again? I want to hold it until we get there," Nick blushed, scratching his head as Judy had a blush on her face. She thought for a moment, and then grasped his paw again, holding it like she always had, with loving fervor.
"Of course Nick, I will, you dumb fox," Judy smiled, giving the fox another hug before they continued to walk together along the trail again.
"You sly bunny, you never cease to impress me," Nick answered, smiling as he focused back on the trail, guiding Judy in the direction towards his secret place. They continued to walk through massive groves of trees, and this time the path was relatively flat in elevation, which eased Nickt to comfort, and even more as he held the paw of the one he loved. This camping trip would be the perfect time to confess his love to her. Justin and Elizabeth's talk with him earlier did put away a lot of his worries he had coming into this trip, and he felt more confident. He figured that he'd tell her the next day when the sun is shining and they are together.
Judy felt like she was floating on clouds. She felt comfort and warmth in her heart and soul as she held Nick's paw. She loved him so much she could just confess to him right now. However, something in her mind told her not to yet, and she did not know why. She decided to also tell him tomorrow, perhaps in one of the flower meadows she saw walking down the path with the fox. Putting her eyes on Nick, they continued to walk down the trail.
They walked together for another mile, and then, there it was. Or so, Judy thought. Nick stopped in place as they arrived in a huge open area. Mountains and groves of trees surrounded the area, and there was a huge lake ahead down the hill. The sun was beginning to set, its orange sky illuminating the area. Judy was mesmerized by all of this nature, and she looked at Nick, who was smiling at her.
"Nick, this is beautiful! This place looks amazing!" she shouted, jumping around in joy as Nick set his backpack, tent, and cooler down. He too was mesmerized by the beauty of the scene. It brought back many memories of himself when he first came to his area. Truly, this would make a wonderful weekend of exploration, fun, and hanging out together.
"It looks fantastic, Carrots! We have an amazing view of the area, the sunset, and a huge place to camp! Now let's set up this tent!" Nick smiled, heading towards the tent bag and gently opened it up, dumping the contents. There was the tent itself, and an air pump. Judy raised her ears in curiosity as she looked at the instruction manual that was also inside the bag.
"Nick, why is there an air pump here?" she asked, flipping through the manual and finding almost no instructions except for a part list and the words, "Just pump it up,". She was now even more confused, scratching her head. Nick laughed as he was spreading out the tent, which had a color scheme of sky blue and black. He put the tent stakes provided in the ground just in case there was high winds or rain.
"Because, Judy, this is an inflatable pole tent, and I can just use this ar pump and our tent will be ready in minutes!" Nick chuckled, putting the air pump hose nozzle into the tent, and then began to pump up and down. The tent began to take shape as air was being put into it. The inflatable poles held the tent up as more air was being put in. After about 3 minutes of pumping, Judy tapped on Nick's shoulder, wanting to pump up the tent a bit. He stepped aside, rummaging through his backpack for things while Judy pumped up the tent. A lot more pumps later and the tent was finally up. The outside was immense, taking up the size of two elephants put side by side. The huge open and flat area they were on fit the tent perfectly. Judy stepped back alongside Nick as they both admired the tent's size and cool design.
"Nick, this tent looks so huge! It's huger than what's pictured on the bag!" Judy shouted as she gave Nick a playful punch on the shoulder. Nick smiled.
"It looks like it too. You want to look inside?" he smirked as Judy nodded eagerly, picking up her stuff and the two unzipped the front and stepped inside, bringing everything in with them. The inside looked much huger to them than was the outside. It was almost the size of Nick's entire living room, dining room, and kitchen space combined. Judy gawked at this huge size, and laid down on the tent's floor. It was soft and cozy.
"This tent is amazing! It's so soft and it feels wonderful!" Judy shouted, rolling around on the tent surface as Nick laughed and began to unpack his bag to set up his sleeping bed. Judy did the same when she saw Nick pull out his sleeping bag box. After setting up their bedding a little away from each other, along with a couple blankets, they reconvened in the center of the roomy tent, sitting next to each other.
"So… what would you like to do next, Nick?" Judy asked, smiling as Nick blushed for some reason, which in turn, caused Judy to giggle. "You look cute when you blush by the way." she then added, winking playfully at Nick.
"W-what! What are you saying?!" Nick stammered, his blush growing heavier. Judy laughed, smiling again as she inched closer to Nick.
"I said you look cute when you blush, you dumb fox," she answered as Nick's blush reached its peak, and he stayed that way for a while, then he thought of something as he eyed the cooler.
"Would you like to watch the sunset together, and the stars?" he asked, carefully making his way to the cooler and pulling out two containers, one with blueberries, the other with mulberries. Judy smiled sweetly as Nick handed her the mulberries.
"I would love to, Nick!" Judy exclaimed, hugging the fox before her again. Nick held her tightly and affectionately for a few moments before they parted. "Let's go!" she said, walking outside the tent with the mulberries in her paws. Nick grabbed one of the blankets and took it with him outside. She found Judy closer to the hill that led down to the lake, a few feet away from her. The sun was almost down, still glistening it's orange color. Nick spread out the large blanket, and sat down on it with Judy. They sat really close to each other, putting the fruit containers on the ground next to them, and began focusing on the sunset.
"It looks so beautiful," Nick said, eating a few of his blueberries as Judy smiled, silently taking a blueberry from his container and ate it. Judy's face was covered in mulberries as she looked at Nick.
"Yes, Nick, it does," she said sweetly, eating more of her mulberries. "It reminds me so much of what I used to do when I was little." she then said, laying her head on Nick's shoulder. Nick smiled and wrapped his arm around her body, and held her close to him. They both sighed slightly at the wonderful feeling. Nick then thought of something as he stole a mulberry from the mulberry container.
"What did you do as a young kit, Carrots?" Nick asked, staring at her eyes. Judy's eyes widened as she focused on Nick's emerald orbs. She was flattered he had interest in knowing about her life in Bunnyburrow. Giving Nick a small smile, she ate another mulberry before opening her mouth to speak.
"Growing up in Bunnyburrow, I loved my huge family so much. 275 kits, it was quite packed and hard to do things sometimes, but I love my family," Judy answered, humming sweetly at the memories of her childhood. Nick ate another blueberry. "We did everything together as a family, and I loved it! My parents, they are the best, and I'd do anything for them." she paused, her ears perked up in delight. Nick smiled at her, still interested to know more.
"What did you do as hobbies growing up? What did you like to do?" he asked, looking at Judy's eyes again as she had her head firmly rested on his shoulder, it felt relaxing. Judy thought to herself for a couple moments before she continued.
"I LOVED nature, it amazes me, and I have so much fun being around it! Every weekend when I was little, my family would visit our grandparents' house, which was an hour away from the farm, and there was this vast forest that I would explore when we were up there," Judy paused, containing her feelings of excitement from the memories. "I would explore its vast size, sitting by the pond that was there, picking flowers, and having fun everyday in the forest, and I never wanted to leave." she continued, smiling at Nick, who also beamed. "So, being at this kind of place, it brings back a ton of memories!" she finished, laying back on the warm blanket. Nick chuckled, laying on the blanket as well.
"That sounds like a fun life," Nick said, looking at the night sky which was filled with many stars, making the shapes of many intricate constellations. After gazing at the sky for a few minutes, Judy decided to ask Nick something.
"Nick?" she said as the fox hummed to show he was listening. "What was your life like before the hazing?" she asked as Nick shot up from the blanket, sitting up immediately after her question, his eyes wide, and his head whirred with worries. After thinking for a while, he opened his mouth.
"I grew up in a slummy part of Savannah Central, the southern area of it. My family was above average in income, but we didn't live in a good area. I've been taken advantage of by many other mammals, probably because they expect foxes to be troublemakers," Nick paused, eating more blueberries. "In school, they'd mainly use me as a ways to steal things for them, and I didn't want to, but they made me do it anyway," Nick continued, wiping his eyes as Judy's expression faltered. She never knew Nick grew up in that condition. "I had an extreme love for nature. It was something I could explore and enjoy, relieving me of a lot of stress. There would be days I'd spend my entire day in a forest my parents drove me to, and it was wonderful." Nick added, rubbing his arm. Judy pondered at his response.
"Was that why you wanted to be a Ranger Scout?" Judy asked, her eyes shut. Nick looked down at Judy in worry, waiting for her to open her eyes. She did after a couple seconds. Nick shuddered before continuing his story.
"Yes, I wanted to be a Ranger Scout so badly. If nature made me this happy in life, and relieved me of so much stress, I thought this would be a great opportunity to meet others who are on the same path. They were so nice and kind to me when we first talked, but I was wrong," Nick rushed, pulling out his wallet. He showed Judy a business card that had the Ranger Scouts information on it. "But then that whole muzzling business went down, and I don't need to remind you of that again." Nick said blandly as he paused, putting his head in his paws. Judy got up from the blanket and hugged him from behind. Judy felt extremely bad for him, hearing the sour memory be told again. They stayed in this position for a while before Judy stood up.
"What happened after all of this?" Judy then asked, rubbing Nick's head gingerly as he sniffed again.
"After that incident, my parents started fighting back and forth a lot. They got divorced when I was nine, and I chose to live with my mother. My mother and I both loved nature, and she took me camping to this spot, and I had a great time. I still love nature, and I went through high school, but I wasn't able to go to college," Nick sighed, wiping his eyes of a stray tear. Judy's ears drooped.
"Why, Nick? What happened?" she asked. Nick held his chest.
"My college application got denied multiple times," he answered, stretching his arms a bit. "I didn't know why, but the general reason was probably because there was only a small percent of predators in the college I wanted to attend, so I gave up." Nick sighed, putting his head down. Judy patted his back.
"What did you want to study?" she then asked. Nick thought of this for a couple minutes.
"Maybe environmental science..." he answered, pausing slightly for another blueberry he popped into his mouth. "...Maybe information technology. You don't grow up in the nineties without being told how great computers are gonna be," he added, twiddling his thumbs.
Judy felt warmth that Nick and herself both share a love for nature, and she would want to make sure this would be a wonderful camping trip. However, as these dark times resurfaced, Judy wanted to make sure Nick felt at ease and receive that closure he might be looking for.
"How was life up until you met me for the first time?" she asked desperately as Nick stared at her in worry. "Nick, I promise you, I will not judge you because of your past, you hear me?" she then said as Nick nodded, opening his mouth.
"I've been taken advantage of many times, doing dirty work for others, and then they pin the blame on me, and that's when I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to survive, I wasn't making a living at all, and I needed a way to get out of my trouble. So I became a conman when I was 12. I needed a way to bolster myself, so I wouldn't be so afraid all the time. Might have worked a bit too well." Nick said emotionlessly. His eyes lacked a particular luster, his ears were drooped, his tail was down, he looked emotionally drained. Judy observed him for a couple minutes, for she never seen Nick like this before.
"Do you regret doing conning?" Judy asked anxiously as Nick nodded his head.
"Yes, I do," he said blandly again. Judy felt a whole new feeling inside of her, she leapt at Nick and hugged him.
"Nick, don't be afraid. I am proud of you," she started as Nick's eyes widened in confusion. "I am proud that you have came this far in life, despite your hardships. I am proud that you kept walking forward no matter the circumstances. You are an amazing person, Nick, you know that?" Judy smiled sweetly, hugging the fox again. Nick smiled wide, holding the rabbit tightly in his arms. "No matter where you get stuck, or how stuck you are, I will not abandon you, Nick. I will do everything in my power to keep you up on your feet." Judy finished, letting go of the fox and grabbed onto his paw, interlacing their fingers again. Nick blushed and smiled. "Now let's do some more stargazing, shall we?" she giggled, laying down on the blanket as did Nick, their paws still connected.
"Thank you so much, Judy," Nick mumbled loud enough for her to hear, and she squeezed his paw.
"You're welcome, Nick," she answered, putting her eyes back on the sky, watching the stars. They continued watching the stars and talked to each other for a couple more hours, before they grew drowsy. Judy checked the time on her camera: 11:45 PM. Her eyes widened, and so did Nick's when he glanced over at her camera screen.
"Wow…" Nick pondered, standing up along with Judy, letting go of her paw as he closed both fruit containers and picked them up. "Time does go by when you're stargazing, doesn't it?" Nick asked, putting the containers of fruit back into the cooler, luckily none of the ice had melted. He shut the cooler and put it inside the tent. Judy came in behind with the blanket and set it in the corner of the huge tent, and then went to her backpack, pulling out a nightgown.
"Nick, can you close your eyes? I need to change into my nightgown," Judy asked nervously, staring at Nick. He obliged, facing the corner of the tent and covered his eyes. After a few minutes, she whistled, and Nick turned around, his eyes still covered. "You can open them now, silly." she chuckled as Nick took his paws away from his eyes. Judy was dressed in a simple, violet nightgown. Nick zipped the door of the tent shut, and got into his sleeping bag for bed.
"Goodnight, Judy, I had so much fun today, I can't wait until tomorrow!" Nick said happily, putting his head on his pillow. He heard Judy chuckle and sigh delightedly.
"Goodnight, Nick!" she answered back, snuggling into her sleeping bag and fell asleep. Nick, however, was getting a bit restless. He stayed wide awake staring at the ceiling of the tent. His mind still was filled with fears of the next day, how he would profess his love, what would he do, what if she says no. It was all he could think of, and it drove him up the walls that he was so worried all the time. After more contemplating, Nick finally was able to sleep, closing his eyes with a smile on his face as he snuggled into his sleeping bag.