Chapter 13

Tension Rising

/

I can't define what I have felt when looking in your eyes

But I know the sting when others do the same

I cannot say what we long to hear most

But still I need to hear you speak my name

Oh, what a foolish pair we are

That we dance around a blazing truth

And let others seemingly steal our prize

Despite only needing to show our simple proof

Anger burns and we fall to charring pieces

And we miss the reality of our now shared life

They never sought us, we imagined it in them

And we torture ourselves with our own made strife

-0-

He hadn't even the foggiest clue how he'd ended up here, but Nick would have recognized Allontray Park any day, at any time of day. It was a favorite of couples and mammals out for quiet scenic jogs, being located on the edge of Savannah near the bay. With paths lined by subtropical trees and hills topped by overlooks to the water and small mountains beyond, it was typically a peaceful and serene location.

It certainly wasn't peaceful for him at the moment though. Something felt wrong; Nick imagined himself being grabbed by unseen hands, pulled down along the sidewalk ahead of him toward an unknown destination. The park was oddly empty, and the fox was perturbed by the lack of activity as if the place had been forcefully cleared out by some antagonistic entity. At the very least, there was one mammal he somehow knew should have been there, was certain should have been walking by his side, because she was never far from him.

"Judy!" he called out, padding slowly along and unable to stop and gain his bearings. His ears perked high, straining for some reassurance that he wasn't totally alone here, but no answer came. A sense of urgency took over the pull he'd been feeling and drove him forward, and he picked up his pace, nearly jogging down the path. The sidewalk curved, rounding a particularly thick stand of trees before it opened up to one of the overlooks facing the south end of the bay. From here, one could see the Tri-Burrow train rail in the distance cutting off into the foothills toward the hills beyond.

The view, however, wasn't what made Nick stop dead in his tracks. No, ahead of him was something else he could not possibly overlook.

She stood there, backlit by the moon hanging in the sky above and wearing a reflective silvery white, slim shoulder-strap dress as she faced away from him. Though he approached, none too silently either for he didn't have any reason he could think not to mask his presence, she did not react at all to his presence, only staring ever forward.

"Judy?" Nick called again, but the rabbit didn't answer, didn't even twitch an ear to signal she'd heard him. The tod reached forward to place a hand on her shoulder, to try and wake her from whatever odd trance Judy stood in, only to reel back when he passed straight through her like she wasn't even there.

Or like I'm not really here, Nick's mind whispered in terror.

"Judy!" he yelled again, scrambling around her so that he could at least see her face. That was when he realized that it wasn't in fact only the two of them on that overlook. Judy was staring, not at him, but at the other rabbit that knelt before her, holding her hand and looking at her with an adoring yet disturbingly hungry gaze. He was light gray, with a trio of black stripes on each cheek that joined along the back of his head and a double band of black stripes on each of his ears.

Nick felt as if someone had punched him in the gut, and he gasped for air as he stumbled back at the sight.

"Jack?!" he cried, feeling betrayal and fury rising up like bile in his throat. Jack ignored him though just as Judy had earlier, standing up and joining the female in a long, passionate kiss, one that spread their hands apart as they leaned close and displayed the intricate golden band that flashed prominently from Judy's finger, practically blinding Nick in its message.

The fox could only stand there, wanting to throw up but unable to move a muscle as the two separated again and shared adoring smiles with each other. Then, Judy vanished, along with the park and everything around them, and Nick was left staring at Jack across a blank black and brown void. The reynard snarled and clenched his fists, the first time he felt like he was doing what he wanted of his own accord, but Jack moved first and faster, landing a kick into Nick's stomach hard enough to make him see stars and lay him out on his back, gagging.

"You think she would actually ever love you?" Jack sneered, advancing on him and kicking him again before he had even the notion of trying to recover. "A fox? The mammal who turned his back on her when she needed you? A former con mammal, a criminal? Pathetic. Of course she fell for me."

"No! Judy! I"-

Nick sat bolt upright, panting hard as his palms dripped with sweat, and in a panic he whipped his head around to get his bearings. When he recognized the reflected-sunlit guest room he and Judy had been borrowing in the Caniston house instead of that distant park or some undefinable space, he began to relax, letting out a weary breath and falling back against his pillow. A chuckling, half-choked sob escaped his throat, and he closed his eyes and dragged one paw down his muzzle.

"Just a dream," he said shakily, smiling faintly to himself. "Okay, a nightmare, but still just a bad dream. We're good."

Shaking his head, he propped himself partway up again and glanced over at the mattress that Judy had been using, suddenly coming to the realization that said rabbit had not also bolted out of bed to see what was wrong when he'd screamed her name a moment ago. Both of them were more than happy that they could catch sleep again in their own separate beds, unknowingly for the same reason, but it was more than close enough that either one would know if something was troubling the other.

It was empty.

Nick blinked, feeling his heart start racing again as he stared at the perfectly made bed with a distinct lack of sleeping lapine. For another few seconds his mind flashed to his dream again and all the worst-case scenarios that he could possibly conjure up, before he clamped down on his mental stream and forced himself to be calm. Driving himself into a panic never helped, he knew that from experience. Of course the bed was going to be empty; the first couple of days had been exceptions to Judy's early-riser policy, and there was no requirement for her to wake him up with her now, so why not let him sleep while she kept herself busy?

What is she keeping herself busy doing without me though? Nick wondered, before snarling at himself. Quit being a kit, Nick! What does it matter? It's not like she's some adolescent who needs you to hold her paw, and she's not committed to you, or ever will be; she's an adult and can do as she pleases, right?

Not like that line of thinking actually made him feel any better though. Rather, it caused the reynard to feel queasy all over again and somewhat forgotten by his partner, and the sensation was refusing to leave now. It didn't help that he knew this was the last thing he should have been thinking about in the current situation too; make sure that they were all safe, then fret about feelings, that was the order that his priorities should have been in.

Nevertheless, Nick soon found his way out of bed and marched over to the closet, picking out one of the sets of clothes Jack and Skye had brought over from his and Judy's apartment and getting dressed before heading out of the room to find where everyone was. There were two options at nine in the morning, but they were on opposing levels of the house. Scowling, Nick decided to try heading up to the kitchen first. If they weren't there, then at least he could grab something to eat before heading down to the training room. If he could eat, with how his stomach felt.

"Your ears are going to be a main target if they know anything about how rabbits work; guard them, make sure you know exactly where they are relative to your stance and theirs at all times."

Judy nodded, dropping into a defensive crouch with her ears folded back as she watched Jack. In her hand was yet another weapon she'd never used before, but apparently as one of the other lapin's favorites: a karambit. With her tendency to end up in close combat with opponents they had mutually decided that practice with hand-held, small weapons would be best suited to her style, and since all the other possible trainers were larger and built very differently from her, Jack was increasingly ending up as her sparring partner in these close-range practices. He knew how she would think and instinctively act best out of everyone, and gave the most useful advice therein.

Case in point, as she readied for practice moves Jack immediately began correcting her stance to better her natural strengths and guard her weaknesses.

"Lift your arms up higher," he instructed, gesturing with his hands. "You want your face, neck, and abdomen guarded; if you are fighting against someone else proficient with blades you will not come out of the fight unscathed; the winner will be injured, the loser dead. It's far better to gain those injuries on your arms or legs than near vital organs."

He stepped forward, and gently grabbed Judy's left arm, dropping and curving it to cross her trunk before lifting her right up to hold the knife in that hand in front of her face, the blade arcing outward and in a position to catch or deflect attacks and deliver her own. The male stepped back then and nodded, looking her over, and Judy tried not to wince at the expression; if it weren't training, and it wasn't the ever dead serious Jack Savage being the one scrutinizing her, she would have likely chewed out or punched the poor buck that gazed at her like that.

Nevertheless, she did flinch slightly when he stepped forward again, pushing on her left shoulder and hip.

"Step back slightly, on your toes and ready to push off at a moment's notice," he instructed, ignoring the reaction. "Never be flat-footed and keep in a reactive stance." He pursed his lips, and out of the corner of her eye Judy noticed the door to the sparring room open. They weren't alone anymore, but she couldn't make out who it was at the angle she stood. Not that she could focus on that though; Jack continued speaking a moment later as he tilted her chin up slightly.

"Careful not to stay too tense," he said coolly. "It'll slow your reaction time. Don't be too loose however either, but do not let yourself lock up. That's a certain way to lose your fight."

"Am I interrupting something private here?" came the sing-song tone of Nick's voice, causing Judy to jerk out of her stance as she stood bolt upright and turned to locate him leaning against the wall. Unconsciously, she shuffled ever so slightly away from Jack too, something neither male missed. Nick's expression was teasing, but even Judy could read that there was a tinge of discomfort in his eyes as he looked between her and Jack; from what she could not say, not that it mattered too much at the moment she decided. The words that had preceded his speaking up weren't the best to hear out of context.

"Nick! You're awake!" she exclaimed, to which the fox snorted.

"How observant; since when do you not wake me up when you decide it's time to start the day?"

Though it was nonchalantly expressed, Judy caught an almost accusative undertone to the words that she wasn't expecting, and it set her on edge.

"Wow, Slick, wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?" she quipped. "I know you like to sleep in, and Embron made it rather clear that we don't have a strict schedule while we're here, so I thought I'd be nice and let you sleep since this training's been harder on you. But excuse me for being altruistic; was I wrong to do so?"

Nick's expression suddenly turned uncomfortable and embarrassed, and though he tried to hide it both rabbits saw his tail twitching anxiously. He hadn't realized he was letting his irritation leak out into his words, and in talking to his partner of all mammals.

"N-no, sorry, I didn't mean it that way I swear," he said, holding up his paws. "It's just…well, first time I've woken up in over a year without either some sort of Carrots-required alarm or you being the alarm. Threw me off a bit, and with all that's happened I had a moment."

"Oh," Judy realized, shoulders slumping. "Sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"But you are interrupting Ms. Hopps' training," Jack interjected. "We have work to do still; I'm sure Embron and Skye are waiting for you to make your presence known so you can start as well, so it would be wise to find them."

The tension in Nick's stance returned in double, and it seeped into the air between them. "Oh, did I burst your bubble there Stripes?" he trilled. "Sorry, didn't realize it was a crime to check up on where my partner disappeared to before starting my sessions. No schedules, no harm."

"And I might take that up with Embron; no structure at all is not the best way to go about this. And prolonging your learning will keep you here longer and leave you at a higher level of risk should you have to leave for any reason before we determine you are ready."

"Look, Tiger Bunny, we're learning a lot. I'm sure we'd be able to hold our own at this point at least long enough to call in backup or find an escape. Is it so hard to slow down a little every now and then?"

"If you think you're proficient enough, Wilde, then show me you can hold up," Jack ordered stoically, turning fully to face the fox with a stone gaze and stepping away from Judy with his paws clasped behind his back. Nick quirked an eyebrow, and his scowl broke for only a moment as he registered the words.

"Pardon?"

"If you think that what you have learned thus hence is enough to slow down now, then show me," Jack repeated. "Grab any weapon you like, or just your bare paws, and try to keep me from being able to take you down or injuring you."

Inside, all of Nick's confidence in his claim, which had been riding on his bad mood from the morning, evaporated at the look those icy blue eyes were giving him, but his ego and stubborn will pooled into the memory of his dream from earlier and developed other plans.

Squaring his shoulders (so much as he could with how they sloped), the tod set his jaw and put up his fists in a defensive stance. He'd been in paw to paw combat with Embron more than anything else and thought he'd been doing well, so that's what he went with. Jack looked him over with the same outwardly emotionless stare that he'd been wearing since Nick had walked into the room, before nodding once.

"Very well," the lapin said, taking two steps forward but not changing his stance otherwise. "This is what you choose?"

"Yes," came Nick's flat reply, followed by a groan from Judy, who had been watching this boil up from the sidelines.

"Oh come on guys," she admonished, "is this really necessary?"

"Yes," was their simultaneous reply, and she could only face-palm. Nick spared her a quick glance, and had just enough time to question himself again whether this was over the top or not before Jack moved.

The lapin darted forward, arms swinging up as he pivoted on one foot. Nick moved to block a strike and punch past his arms to land a blow, but Jack moved faster than he could track, grabbing onto his arms and using them as leverage to swing himself forward, delivering a heavy kick to the fox's gut before dropping back and spinning to sweep Nick's legs out from under him.

Nick yelped in a strangled gasp (he had no air, and had been desperately trying to suck back in what had been forcefully expelled from his lungs at the same time) and pitched forward, where Jack was waiting. The rabbit grabbed his shoulders and flipped him as he fell so that he landed hard on his back, winding him even further than the tod already had been. Then Jack planted a single foot directly on Nick's chest, his arm still at the ready just in case Nick had had it in him to keep trying at that moment.

"Less than two seconds," he said coldly. "I can still bring you to the ground in under two seconds; this is exactly why I said you are not ready yet, and why training to your absolute limits is a must. Any Primalist will not go any easier on you, and mammals like Saber will give you even less leeway where they can."

Nick didn't have any words at that moment (not that he could have said anything while still sounding like a beached whale from his winding), so he only offered the rabbit looming over him a silent, bare-toothed snarl.

At this, Judy could not take standing aside any more and huffed furiously, stalking forward with heavy intent to shove Jack off if he didn't move and reprimanding Nick in the same sweep as well.

"Alright, both of you, that's enough!" she yelled, earning a visible flinch from both the males under her gaze at the glare she leveled. "What are you two, kits? Move, Jack."

The buck acquiesced, stepping away and letting Judy help Nick to his feet. Then, she cuffed the fox on the ear.

"Ow! Hey!"

"You're both being ridiculous," she reprimanded. "So Nick interrupted, not the end of the world. Five minutes is not that much of a setback, but this is! And Nick, what on earth?! Grow up and let Jack do his job, okay?"

The fox's ears fell even further back than they had been sagging already, and though he didn't show it Jack was fighting to prevent his from doing the same. The fuming female was right, they were both being irrational.

"My apologies Ms. Hopps," he said quietly. "Perhaps it would be wisest for all of us to take a break for a short while. I uh, I'll go find Embron for now, I have something I need to discuss with him anyway." He gave a short nod, and walked briskly out of the room, ushering away a confused Skye that just so happened to have the poor luck to show up right then and leaving behind two mammals perplexed at his sudden change in demeanor.

Judy sighed, deciding it was for the better, and looked tiredly at Nick. "We talked about this not even a week ago," she breathed wearily. "Nick, this isn't like you at all; unhappy about sleeping in, getting snappy over little nothings, I mean cheese and crackers you've gone from sarcastic to downright abrasive! What is it that's getting under your fur so badly, huh?"

For a moment Nick felt an overwhelming urge to just blurt it all out; his dream, his concerns about her, his emotional state whenever she was within 50 feet of him. But he checked himself just in time. He'd already decided that he couldn't possibly tell Judy, not without risking having her around at all. He wouldn't lose her friendship, not over something like that.

"It…it's nothing Carrots, really," he waved off, leaning against the wall again and looking away. "This training, getting used to basically a whole new reality, Savage is a stick in the mud…it's all just a lot I guess."

"Yeah, it's a lot, but I've seen you shrug off a whole lot more before," Judy pressed. "There's something else going on. You know you can talk to me."

Not about this, Nick thought morosely. He shook his head. "There's nothing to talk about really, save for the fact that I think you two are getting a little too touchy but I assume that's just how rabbits are, fine with close contact all the time."

"Excuse me?" Judy exclaimed, cutting him off from saying more. "Uh, no, that's not it at all; yeah, rabbits are naturally close mammals but I still like my personal space. But even some of the training at the Academy kind of felt violating so I think it just needs to be shrugged off and dealt with; you can't learn sometimes without really close corrections. It's not like he's going to kiss me the next session; I know you notice his apparent lack of emotional expressions, not sure if he could even feel such a thing if I'm honest."

The image of Jack kissing her in his dream crawled up Nick's spine in a cold shiver, but he forced himself to shrug it off and latch onto Judy's attempt at lightening the mood.

"Yeah, look," he said, "I just think I've finally found someone who really rubs me the wrong way. Should use him as a scrubby; he's nothing but rough edges after all."

Despite her wanting not to, Judy couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter. "That's not nice Nick."

"Fine," the fox grinned, "a substitute for sandpaper then."

Now she fell full on into giggles, and gave Nick a soft punch to the shoulder. "Shame on you," she admonished, "but that's certainly more like the Slick Nick I know. Come on, you do need practice and I want to keep training, so since you scared Jack off and he took Skye with him you can be my sparring partner until they get back."

Nick groaned, though inside the thought did make him feel a little better. He hadn't actually sparred with his partner in over a month now, and the past few days they had barely trained together at all.

"You've got an unfair advantage over there Fluff," he jokingly complained, putting his fists up again despite it. "You've got a shiny little weapon still in reach and your cuteness disarms all opponents."

"Hey, no more of the C word here, or I'll use that shiny little weapon," Judy huffed. "You've got a silver tongue and one of these days it's gonna be forcefully cashed in. Now put 'em up or I'll just pummel you on principle."

"You did what?"

Neither Embron nor Skye were happy when they heard Jack's explanation for why he wasn't down training Judy at the present moment. They'd both been more than curious, Skye from the moment she'd been ushered away from the sparring room and Embron from when he saw her confused expression as they'd walked into the boid room to find him, and it only took a little pressing for Jack to spill his mistake.

"I pushed it, and I will admit that I was wrong in doing so, even if I am somewhat irritated that we could have continued the session without the interruption," he said, shrugging. "Wilde is not in the greatest of moods today, and his jealousy, or envy, maybe both, was coming out more than usual and I reacted before I had thought out thoroughly what that would do. But, you both know that if Wilde is not dealt with concerning this then it could become a serious problem soon."

"So why not just tell Nick, when you catch him on his own, that you have no interest in Judy?" Skye wondered. "Address the problem then, and if he hasn't said anything to her it won't be awkward revealing it to her then via third party if you're alone, and you alieve his obvious worry."

"Nuh uh, no good," Embron disagreed, putting the snake he was holding back into its tank before turning fully to them. "If he doesn't realize it himself yet, and that is still a possibility, then trying to tell him he can stop worrying about you stealing Judy's heart will just make him close off and become even more bitter, less likely to admit what he's feeling, and a whole lot more defensive about anything related to it. If he does know, he's also not going to believe the object of his jealousy until he has solid proof. So long as you don't display some sort of other romantic interest in someone else or stop working with Judy –not an option, we all know- he's going to be abrasive around you."

"So can you broach the subject with him somehow then?" Skye asked. "You or Scarlet? You guys are good about reading people and their emotions; you talk to him."

The coyote stared at her for several moments, before letting out a sigh and dragging a paw down his snout. "Alright, fine," he relented. "If I get the opportunity to speak with Nick in private, I'll find out where he stands on the matter and then if I can get an admission I'll see where I can go from there. But I cannot promise anything until the two of them figure each other out; anything is guesswork until then and matters of the heart are the absolute worst to dabble in."

He turned around again and moved over to a new cage, popping the lid and pulling out a young spotted python before setting it around his neck and starting the process of cleaning out the cage. The scent of the mess reached Skye's nose and she flinched, wrinkling her snout as she leaned away.

"How do you stand that?" she complained. "You have a better nose than I do!"

"I've learned not to breathe in while cleaning," Embron said, "and after thirty-plus years some things just don't bother you anymore. On a different subject though, have you two gotten any leads yet? Best defense is a good offense, and if we can drive them out or better yet arrest them, we can ensure Hopps and Wilde's safety for at least a little while longer."

"They keep off most main communications networks and channels," Jack groused, "so we can't track any conversations. That one net leak that told us they were in Zootopia was a lucky break, but we've had nothing since. The city Precincts have also reported nothing out of the ordinary; no eagle sightings, no Moschus, and since we don't know who else is all involved we cannot send out other search alerts for anyone."

"So we're stuck waiting for them to make a move then," Embron growled, throwing the old bedding away and filling the tank with new substrate. Once satisfied with the layout, he gently picked the python up off his neck and set it back down in its home. "The concern is whether or not, then, they'll attempt to wait us out, or set up a lure to draw the two officers out. Have you figured out if they could pull any leverage on either of them?"

"Only perhaps if they manage to get ahold of one of their friends for a ransom trade," Skye mused. "Of course, that would break their code for not drawing huge amounts of attention to them, since a kidnapping, especially of anyone connected to those two, would hit the police force and media like a bag of bricks through a window. More likely is they have eyes about that can report in to the main group somehow. If we can just pin down already how they communicate and get around, that would be immensely helpful."

"Bogo provide any ideas in your last talk?"

"He still hates me too much to readily offer help to us," Jack sighed. He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "One bad run years ago, he still holds a grudge."

"Well, to be fair to him you did almost get one of his officers killed in that sting while you were there," Embron admonished. "We know you've learned, and changed, but fact is you haven't been around Zootopia much and Bogo doesn't know the same, so he can only run on his experience. The fact that you never drop that professional, 'holier than thou' persona does not help an inch either."

"Forgive me for staying focused on my assignments."

"Too focused; Skye told me how it was like pulling bad teeth to get you to actually enjoy that lunch break out in the city two days ago. You do need to loosen up, and doing so may help with your issues with Wilde too." The coyote looked pointedly at him, and Jack in return ignored the stare, instead just glaring at an equally unapologetic Skye.

Embron knew that trying to get this through to Jack would probably take a life-threatening event though, so he didn't try pressing the issue further right then. Instead, he looked at Skye, and frowned. "After what we just talked about you might look at me as though I'm daft, but I think you ought to head down and start training Wilde now; getting him used to the folding bows and handguns might be a good idea for today."

"You're right, I do think you're daft," Skye agreed, giving him a stink-eye. "Don't you think waiting a few more minutes for that mess to cool down and leave their heads might be better? I thought we didn't want to risk aggravating their 'hidden emotions' issues more."

"It's going to happen, we just want to avoid as much as is feasible. So for once, and I cannot believe I'm actually saying this, act like Jack if you're that worried. But some pressure might be healthy. It'll urge them to talk about it at some point because I know that neither of them can ignore forever that something's going on. Besides, Wilde needs someone to teach him as fox-to-fox at some point, and while I pride myself on that side of me I'm still only 18% vulpine."

Jack snorted. "You have to be specific, don't you?"

"I'm a scientist with a thing for details, what do you expect?" Embron grinned back.

Skye sighed and turned for the door with a wave of her hand. "I guess you're right," she admitted, opening it and looking over her shoulder as she stepped through. "But I still blame you if anything blows up today."

"Hey, we're not going to touch on explosives yet, but you know I don't make any promises."

"Ha ha. You know what I mean, smartass."

They were right; things did not stop simmering.

Nick found himself an hour later on the shooting range, practicing with flipping out the Caniston's custom folding crossbow and getting it to actually fold out set and ready in one fluid motion so that he could fire without any bugs in the move. Thus far, his technique there had been decent but his aim had not been stellar, and Skye pushed off the wall and walked over to him after the fifteenth time he'd successfully managed to whip out the bow into ready position, only to completely miss the target 25 yards down the range.

"Firing quick is all well and good, but only if you can also aim just as accurately and rapidly," the vixen said, sliding her paw over Nick's to nudge him into a better stance. She almost missed the flinch of his skin under the contact, subtle as it was as Nick tried to hide it, and how he leaned away slightly, and she bit back the urge to say some sort of sassy, flirty remark. Instead, she subtly rolled her eyes and tightened her grip, holding his paws in place as she pushed his left shoulder back with hers and her foot shoved his leg back to match.

"Line yourself up with your dominant hand; making sure your shot is in line is more important than being speedy. Doesn't do any good to have a quick-pull trigger if you miss and the other guy comes in to kill you or knock you out while you're reloading."

"Two questions really quick," Nick interjected, giving her a look. "One, why not just use a gun? Seems like that would be a lot easier option here."

"You notice how much the bow weighs?" Skye asked.

Nick nodded. "Not much."

"Exactly. Caniston signature, even this is lighter with the bolts it fires than your average pistol so folded up it's easier to carry, and it's a lot quieter than a gun so it's a better option for getting the drop on someone when you're trying to keep out of sight."

"Fair enough. Okay, Question Two: ever heard of personal space?"

This time she couldn't resist; sidling up even closer to the reynard, Skye batted her eyelashes and drawled, "What, do I make you uncomfortable Nick?"

"Nah," Nick lied, swallowing tightly, "but people usually like boundaries and you're breaking them here. Plus I think Carrots over there is getting envious of someone else being cuddly with my irresistible self."

Skye bit back a grimace as she caught sight of Judy standing with Embron and Jack on the other side of the range, staring at her with a dangerous shadow of a scowl starting to deepen on her lips. That was exactly what she was wanting to avoid, and she swallowed before rolling her shoulders and attempting to step back a touch while looking nonchalant about it. "Relax, Red; I don't have that kind of interest in you that way," she tossed off. "I forget I can be a little strong sometimes when joking around, but that's just me. So, you two are really close then?"

"Uh, best friends, but don't read more into that," Nick huffed, trying to focus on his aim again and not the female fox putting him off his game (or the fact that his ears were heating up at her insinuation).

"Of course, of course, all there is," Skye drawled, shooting him a knowing grin. "Bunnies might be cuddly, but foxes aren't most of the time. And, I don't think you're that kind of male normally in particular."

"You learn to take things as they come with Judy," Nick brushed off. "Is my stance okay here now? I thought it wouldn't be that different from when I'm using a gun, but you seem to think otherwise."

"My my, topic change," Skye chuckled, but she leaned back and took in Nick's positioning with a critical eye, letting the subject slide. "Better. Now, I heard that with bullets you're one of the best shots on the force, so let's get you to the same level with bows. Fire."

Down the range, Judy was trying her hardest to focus on Jack's lecturing about her own weapons stance (apparently how she tended to hold guns was part of the reason Nick just managed to surpass her in skill in this area; she had a suspicion that some amount of prior experience for him added in too though), but her gaze kept drifting toward where the snowy vixen kept stepping in a touch too close to her partner. It was burning her ears something fierce, and she wasn't entirely sure why, but it kept her from clearing her mind and staying on track. For now, she chalked it up to some sort of odd protectiveness she'd developed for the tod; she'd seen how Nick reacted when he got hurt emotionally, caused it personally even, and didn't want someone they had to work with to risk doing the same to him, even unintentionally.

Not that it was really her place to say anything though, right? But still, that nagging voice in her head told her to step in and stop this before it went anywhere, especially when Skye leaned against his chest and jokingly fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"Having your head somewhere other than the task at hand is a good way to end up dead or trussed up," Jack's voice cut into her distraction, and she jerked her gaze back to find him looking at her with a mildly condescending expression. "One has to learn how to trust their partners in all situations, no matter what the distraction at hand may be for them."

"Does she have to be so touchy-feely though while she's training Nick?" Judy asked before she could stop herself, gesturing to the two vulpines. Realizing it was the same argument Nick had had a problem with between her and Jack earlier that morning, but too late to take it back, she grit her teeth and shouldered on. "I thought a more professional interaction would be more applicable during training sessions; you've got no problem keeping yourself there overall."

"Skye cannot fundamentally change who she is, Hopps," Jack responded curtly. "Much as I might wish she would remain completely focused in these situations as well, she's not unlike Wilde and will banter instinctively at times, ironically something that might actually help train your partner. She gets the job done as necessary, in a proficient manner, and cannot be faulted for her personality bleeding through on occasion."

"Makes me wonder then if Nick's right about you having no personality," Judy mumbled under her breath, believing that he couldn't pick it up but missing Embron's subtle smirk at having caught the remark. The coyote softly nudged Jack with his paw, and the rabbit only sighed at both of them, focusing instead on the fact that Judy was again training her gun down the range, setting her stance with her right foot forward and her gaze lined up along the barrel of the weapon she clasped between both paws.

Jack bit back a sharper reprimand at seeing again that she was set too rigid and straight up, so he stepped forward and slid his paw over her right arm to try and get her to loosen up again. "Keeping steady is important, but as I said earlier if you are too rigid you'll risk hurting yourself, especially with higher calibers," he instructed, putting a slight bend into her elbows and them placing his other paw on her back to lean her forward. "Let your body weight compensate for the recoil. Your wrists will do most of it but this will keep you from falling back from rapid fire and get you to fall into the same position again so you can keep your accuracy in line."

He was suddenly aware of Nick's gaze on his interaction with Judy, but forced himself to stay focused. Clearly, there really was no avoiding irking the pair in some form or other. He stepped back finally though, nodded to Judy, and she opened fire, letting off five successive rounds before lowering her arms and clicking the safety on. Jack signaled to Skye to have her hold Nick off from firing, and pressed the button on the wall to draw the target back up to the head of the range. Judy's grouping was decent for the distance, all five within the red central circle, but still spaced apart enough that Jack pursed his lips with some concern.

"Keep practicing," he instructed. "You're within center, but grouping could be better. Practice quick-drawing your weapon as well. Embron will keep an eye on you for a moment. Excuse me."

Judy cocked an eyebrow, wondering where he was going, but shrugged and holstered the gun at her side before whipping it out again and racking the slide in practice. As Jack walked over toward Skye and Nick, he heard behind him a click, a frustrated huff, and Embron's offhanded, "Don't forget to reload," and allowed himself a mild smirk at the mistake.

Before the lapin could say anything to Skye however, Nick acknowledged his presence and turned to him, face straight but a scowl hidden in his eyes. "You have a girlfriend, Jack?" he asked suddenly.

Jack paused, looked at him oddly, but managed to keep his face level otherwise. "My position makes maintaining a relationship difficult at best, dangerous to impossible at worst."

"You're good at skirting questions, I'll give you that Stripes. Wanna give me a yes or no?"

"It's not really your bus"- Skye began to interrupt, but she stopped at a sharp shake of Jack's head.

"No, I do not," he answered instead, "and I am not looking to gain one either."

Nick nodded, though the spark in his eyes didn't dim. "I see," he muttered. "Well, in that case you're getting awfully close with Carrots over there. That necessary?"

"I assure you, Wilde, I have no interest in your partner outside of professional training," Jack replied flatly. "But words and mirroring sometimes get you only so far. I am sure you have noticed Skye, Scarlet, and Embron all doing the same with both you and Hopps as well so I do not understand why it must be brought up with me so often."

"And I've made my opinion of how close is too close clear to Snowflake over here," Nick quipped back, looking down the bow in his hands toward the target again. "Just making sure. But I will say this." He cocked the bow and fired, sending a bolt straight through the dead center of his distant target, a feat he'd only barely managed to get close to before and drawing a surprised and impressed look from Skye. Then he turned back to Jack, and his scowl manifested fully, green eyes turning dark as a midnight forest even as they seemed to simultaneously glow.

"If you do anything to hurt Judy, for any reason, I do not care what rank or skill level you have," the tod growled. "I'll make sure however I can that you regret it for as long as you live. As much as she's done for me, I'll do everything in return to keep her safe."

The intensity and severity with which the words were spoken actually made Jack take a single step back, uncertain if the look of nonplussed surprise actually crossed his face or not before he caught hold of himself again. Standing up straight and coolly narrowing his gaze to his usual strong outward demeanor, the rabbit only nodded once.

"Understood clearly, Wilde. I'm sure that means you will be fully committed to your training, and I doubt we will have any such issues."

"Peachy," Nick replied, turning away and staring at his target again without another word. He lowered his bow, folding it up and shouldering it, before as practiced earlier whipping it back out and up to functioning state and letting off another, perfectly aimed arrow.

Jack did not move, but his gaze did slide toward Skye who was staring at him as well. They shared a silent agreement, conveyed by looks rather than words.

It motivated him well, they affirmed, but to garner that harsh a reaction just from close training…they were entering dangerous waters with this dancing around that was going on. The cop duo needed to start figuring things out between them. Wilde knew, he definitely knew how he felt toward Judy, of that they had no question anymore, but he still believed it a mystery to everyone around him, and the stress of that was starting to break through in force.

A/N-Emotions are running high, and things need to be figured out...yeah, we're spending quite a bit of time in the Caniston house, but we won't be stuck there too much longer. Background's pretty built up and we're just about ready for action to start. There just needs to be a few...issues sorted out amongst the inhabitants, at least in part.

So, overall, what do you think? Was I decent at getting emotional reactions from everyone right, or was it off? Is this building up to things eating at you, or you okay with slower development? What ideas do you have for what could be coming up in the near future for everyone? I would really, really love to get a few reviews back, as this story is at more than 2600 views and 16 favorites (would love to see more though), but only 9 points of feedback and only 8 of those actually from real fans of the story. Please, let me hear from you, I like discussing things with my readers!

Until next time, HawkTooth out!