Fluff File 8: Night train to Moonich.
.
AN: This is a weird one that didn't make the original cut. (Too much going on, not enough words to tell it in.) Regardless, hope you enjoy it in all its flawed glory.
.
It was a quick photograph that she captured. A team of ungulates in brown uniforms marching towards the Reichstag building, which was now aflame. Judy Hopps, aspiring photographer, had just seen some of Bellwether's goons set the fire, a month since Lionheart made her chancellor. She'd heard things about what they could do and, finding a phone, she called a very special number and received instructions. Get the sleeper from Baalin to Moonich, and make contact with a fellow member of the brotherhood. At the station, purchasing a ticket, she spotted suspicious sheep from the corner of her eye and acted like she hadn't seen him as she stepped aboard.
Soon they were rumbling along, making heavy progress. The gilded decor inside was rich and opulent, especially for a lowly photographer like herself. Camera held close, she entered the restaurant car, crockery and cutlery rattling with the train as the din of conversation murmured around her. She was looking for a fox. Her eyes settled on one, red fur a dark maroon in the dull lights. She watched as his paper was lowered, and his green eyes briefly flicked her way.
Nick Wilde saw her, then saw her again. That bunny was certainly looking at her and, on a whim, he gestured to the seat in front of her. She hurried over, excited. "You're Jack's contact!"
"Am I Jack's contact?" he asked, smiling. "Yes, yes I am."
"Good," she replied, handing over a camera. She paused, breathing in and out. "That… and this trip, are a lot to me," she said, looking up. There was a pause. "Hopefully it'll all be worth it."
"I'm sure it will be," he replied, nodding and packing up his things. He left quickly, weaving past a server who was going the other way. Judy sighed with relief as he did so. They'd get to the other end and do this! The server, a pale coloured vixen, asked her a question, but she didn't notice. She was too giddy at what she'd just done. It was like a spy thriller, and… -She was distracted as the server snapped her fingers again, trying to reach her. "Do you know who Jack Savage is?"
"Uh…." Judy paused. "I may know one…"
"And his catchphrase is, 'A hare's breath…"
"-Away from danger," Judy finished. "How do you know?"
"I'm Skye," she said, relaxing. "Took a while to find a fitting uniform, now where is that camera."
"Oh…" the bunny replied, suddenly feeling quite dumb.
Further down, Nick was in a bathroom. Camera out at the mirror, he took a pic, a dumb grin on his face. "Best free gift ever!" he boasted, taking another 'self-photograph'. Why couldn't all bunny's give him free gifts! -Then a sheep barged in, angrily chasing the camera. Nick yelped and ducked underneath his legs, racing away. That bunny could have it back! She wasn't in the restaurant car, maybe the lounge? He entered it as a waltz was on, quickly merging in with the dancers. It wasn't long before he saw the bunny, and a vixen, waltz up to him. "Camera," the latter ordered. "NOW!"
"Sure," he replied, handing it over on the next waltz around. Dancing away, he felt a pair of hooves in his paws, and looked up to see that his new partner was the sheep. "RUN!" He fled, the vixen too, as the crowd screamed. The sheep was almost upon them, only to fall down. Glancing back, Nick saw that the bunny had tripped him. She was with them now as they entered a sleeper carriage, only to find the end blocked. His wool blocking the corridor, the sheep approached.
"Doug," the vixen scolded. Her body, tail especially, was all fluffed up.
"Skye," he said, smiling. He cracked his muscles, looking at the three eagerly.
"Jack," another voice said, and the sheep turned to see a striped bunny behind him. "Let's make a deal, I give you my codebook, you let us go." He gestured to a nearby room. "Private chat?" The sheep nodded and they entered in, closing the door. A few seconds later it opened again, Jack dusting his paws. "Come on in," he said, and they all saw a room sans sheep. "Doug may have exited the same way I came in," he said, gesturing to an open window. Nick gave a snorting laugh, Jack nodding. "The new recruit approves of it," he said, before turning to Judy. "I welcome you two to the brotherhood." Judy was excited, and while Nick could have backed out, something made him stay. Down came the soft beds of their cosy sleeper cabin. For tonight, as the train rocked them to sleep, the four resistance members, two newly minted, could rest easy.
