Daylight slowly edged away and the sky was divided in two. One half was a deep dark blue and the other a fiery orange, vibrant and warm, like the fur of one Nick Wilde. He stared into his partner Judy Hopps' violet eyes as they prattled on about senseless nothings. It was the end of the day for them, and the end of a long week, though unfortunately it would be another week like this before the both of them could take a well-earned vacation. While nothing could top the Night Howler incident, there had been many stress-inducing tasks not unlike the case, and this painful slog was not one of them. Five years had passed since then, and the two mammals had seen many fortunes; larger apartments, higher wages, and a closer bond as true friends rather than an unlikely duo to name a few. As twilight turned to dusk, they opted to bring their car around the central plaza one last time before finishing up at the department and turning in for the night. Yet something caught Judy's eye, a smaller mammal whose black hoodie made them nearly unrecognizable.
"Hey Nick," she tugged lightly on her comerade's sleeve, "You see what I see?"
The fox furrowed his brow a bit, "Yeah, the plaza actually looks quite nice this time of day...oh, and the spooky hooded figure sure adds some much-needed personality to the place. Real nice touch."
"He's just kinda standing there. Whad'ya think? Should we...you know? This guy's freaking me out a little."
"Nothin' too bad. Maybe ask and be on our way. Hey, if we're lucky we might even be in for something interesting."
The suspicious figure was quite short, estimated to be barely an inch or two taller than Judy, though the silhouette more resembled Nick. The duo's attention was brought to this character's midsection where a bushy tail thrashed at calf level, muted grey tipped with a chocolatey brown and an auburn stripe decorating the underside. Most definitely some kind of grey fox, they surmised. The younger mammal's head darted in their direction as the fox and the rabbit stepped closer, though their face was slightly obstructed by the hood of their jacket. Their large ears perked up and a notch could be found in the middle of their left helix. The presumed-to-be grey fox's feet shuffled lightly as they backed away, and Judy decided to break the tension and spoke up.
"Hey, don't go," she called in a docile tone, "It's awfully late, what's a kid like you doing out here?"
Nick whispered a pssst to catch his partner's attention, "Hey, I was talking with Clawhauser the other day, and he mentioned some of the guys were alerted to look out for a kid, a girl from some orphanage." He paused for a second and allowed her to take in the information, "Grey fox, just like this kid. Think the name was...Marlene, or Maggie–No, Millie! They said her name was Millie Dakota."
Judy shot a thankful gaze at Nick and continued trying to speak to the young mammal, "My name is Officer Judy Hopps, and this is my partner Officer Nick Wilde. Pardon our invasiveness, but does the name Millie Dakota mean anything to you?"
"You won't find her, 'cuz she doesn't exist," the hooded figure hissed, "My name is Miles, and don't ever call me that again."
The grey fox's voice was...odd, to say the least. Clearly a child as suspected, but they attempted to pitch their voice down as if doing an impression of someone. The result was monotone and slightly nasally. Quite androgynous, yet slightly masculine. It was unclear why the young fox would do this, and it seemed tiring. Judy opted to use this new name to prevent further provoking the suspect.
"Alright Miles, you wouldn't happen to be from Greypaw's Home for Cubs, would you?"
The fox's notched ear twitched at that name. Their shadowed face clearly changed expression, though it could not quite be interpreted. They stuttered a bit as they gave a reply.
"A-and what if I don't say?"
Nick scoffed a bit and remarked, "She's a tough cookie, think you can get through to her, Carrots? I'm not fixing to be here all ni–"
"Cut the 'she' and 'her' crap," Miles snapped, "I'm a guy, don't you get it?"
Nick threw up his hands in a way that symbolized an apology. He continued where he left off, "So then, Greypaw. Ring a bell?"
"You mean the shithole orphanage? Yeah, only the worst place in Zootopia. Negative four-outta-ten, would not recommend." The grey fox snarked back, a sing-songy inflection slipping into the last bit of his sentence.
The officers looked at each other with the same general idea. If this was the kid who had been mentioned in the notice, surely the orphanage would be worried sick. This Miles character was certainly eccentric, and his air of oppositional defiance was more than enough to make things complicated. Something told the two of them that this wouldn't be easy. Regardless, they believed the best course of action would be to take him back. The sky had since become an even darker blue than before and the sun had disappeared beneath the horizon. It wouldn't be safe to leave the boy here at night. The rabbit officer chimed back in and restated her opinion.
"Well, I'll certainly take your word for it, but it's still quite late, likely past your curfew. Your caretakers must be wondering where you are at the moment. Why not let us give ya a ride back?"
Miles thrashed his head wildly, his hood flipping off and locks of his dyed teal hair swinging around in the process. His face was revealed, showing dark makeup and a small scar near his left eye.
"T-That won't be necessary! I-I'm not going back there, aight? I'm perfectly fine sticking around here for the night."
"I wasn't presenting it as much of a choice. I don't want to get assertive with you now, so if you'd kindly let me take you back we can resolve this easily."
Miles begins to sound much more anxious than before, almost shaking. "Nope. Nuh uh, no-way-no-how. I'm gettin' as far away from there as I can, so if you would kindly get off my case we can forget this ever happened."
Nick jumped in and pressed on a bit further. "Sorry kid, I'm not sitting here all day waiting for you to come around. We're going to settle this here and now, and I mean it."
The grey fox began shaking more and more and felt an almost prickly sensation on his tricep. He swiped his head around to see the fox officer's paw rested on his arm coaxing him forward. In a fight or flight response, Miles decided he had only one way out of this situation. His head darted to Nick's hand and he firmly bit down, causing the older fox to give a cry of pain. "That's it, we do this the hard way," he growled as he grabbed the yoke of Miles' hoodie. The boy winced as Nick effortlessly hoisted him up as if holding a kitten by the scruff of its neck and toted him to the car. Judy entered the driver's seat and Nick opened the left passenger door as he set Miles down, pointing a finger to gesture him inside. Defeated and riddled with anxiety, the grey fox compiled.
The ride to Greypaw was silent for the most part. Miles bounced his leg vigorously in a vain attempt to stimulate himself. About a minute after the car started, Miles jumped a bit as Nick turned around in his seat to face him.
"Hey," he muttered, "I didn't mean to be so rough with ya back there. Look, how 'bout a deal; I'll say I'm sorry for manhandling you if you apologize for biting me, 'kay?"
Miles looks away and hears Judy lightly scold Nick, something about "insult to injury" and "being a jerk." The officers returned to being quiet after this engagement. Miles began stimming more furiously now and felt his breathing get heavier. He felt like someone placed a cinder block on his chest, which was already under enough stress from being bound tightly by a near entire bandage roll. Everything piled up and the ride felt like it would never end. "Ohshit, ohshit, oh shit-shit-shit-shit-shit," he repeatedly cursed under his breath ad nauseum.
The car skidded to a halt as Judy parked on the curbside of Greypaw's Home for Cubs. Her companion exited and made his way to the opposite side of the vehicle. Miles was heard meekly calling out to the both of them.
"Please, just let me go. I can't stay here another minute!"
The passenger door swung open as Nick responded, "Sorry kiddo, that opportunity is long since passed."
The boy refused to get out of his seat as a method of protest, so the fox officer decided to once again take matters into his own hands. He opted to grab Miles' forearm, though much gentler than last time. He cringed as he was met with an odd texture. He pulled his hand away and noticed it was wet, splotched with red and smelled quite foul, the odor resembling pennies and saliva. The older vulpine looked down and saw Miles' arms were dotted with bite marks, clearly self-inflicted.
"Oh!" he blurted out, "Uh, Carrots, we have a bit of a problem."
Judy guided Miles inside and the woman at the reception, a slender wolf with tawny blonde fur and black rectangular glasses, looked ready to go home for the day. She noticed the two enter and looked up from her laptop.
"Good evening," she sweetly beckoned, "It's currently after hours, so I'd ask you to please com–Oh my stars! Millie, what happened here?"
The she-wolf darted over and examined Miles' arms, much to his discomfort.
"Bite marks," Judy clarified, "Self-inflicted, we had a bit of a stressful ride back here."
The woman nodded, "I see. Thank you for returning her, Officer, Millie can be quite a handful sometimes."
The wolf woman instructed Miles to clean up his wounds and he exited to the bathroom. Nick stepped into the lobby with a first aid kit and the two women motioned him toward Miles' direction. He nods and follows after the grey fox, knocking on the bathroom door.
"Occupied." came the boy's voice from the other side.
Nick called back, "You decent?"
"...Yeeeah?"
"Then open up, I've got first aid."
The door opened with a shrill creak and Nick set the box on the counter. The red fox took the wet cloth Miles was using and calmly instructed, "Don't rub it like that, you'll make it get irritated. Here, let me." The younger vulpine flinched away for a second and his older peer sighed.
"Look, I get it, you're upset with me because I was a jerk to you, but you gotta let that go. I'm trying to help you here.
Miles huffed and presented his arms to him. Nick soaked the cloth in the water filled up in the sink's basin and squeezed out any excess. He bent down and started dabbing the grey fox's wounds. The older fox looked up for a second to see Miles' embarrassed face, eyes staring off to the side to avoid contact with his peer. He smirked a bit as he set the cloth down and took out a roll of bandages. As he wrapped up Mile's arms, he couldn't help but acknowledge, Nick liked this boy. Something about him felt strange, but in a good kind of way. No perhaps that wasn't the right word. Special was more accurate. He felt like maybe there was more to Miles than just an angsty young man, and he wanted to penetrate that thick outer shell. Once finished dressing Miles' wounds, Nick tore out a piece of paper from his notebook and began scribbling something down. He passed the note to Miles, who promptly picked it up with slight confusion.
"What's that?"
"Can't talk now, Judy's waitin' for me. They'll probably ground you for a week or something for this kinda thing, but–" Judy softly called up for Nick, signifying he needed to leave. He quickly finished, "–Don't be a stranger, okay kid?" and made his way to the exit.
Miles scanned over the small piece of paper. It held what appeared to be a phone number and a short message:
Keep in touch!
~N
He wrinkled his nose as he folded the paper and placed it into his pants pocket. "Keep in touch?" He pondered, "Tch, yeah right." The grey fox made for his room and practically threw himself on his bed. The thin, firm mattress was less than stellar, but anything was welcome after that excursion. The boy couldn't help but have Nick's "Keep in touch" message go through his head. He couldn't explain it, but he felt like maybe giving this curious character a shot.
After their little escapade, Judy sparked conversation with Nick about the event on their way back to their apartment complex.
"You seem chipper. Happy to have gotten your share of adventure today?"
"Sort of. Even after all that chaos, I kinda liked that kid. A little moody, sure, but he was what–maybe twelve or thirteen? We all had those moments at that age."
The rabbit nodded a bit, but couldn't help but notice something. "You've got a page torn out of your notebook," she commented and followed with a playful remark, "You passing notes in class?"
Nick waved his paw, "Oh, my sincerest apologies, Miss Hopps. What's my punishment, detention?"
"Your punishment...reveal your secret pen pal!"
"Alright, I confess! But in the form of a puzzle. His name starts with an M, and ends with an iles."
Judy furrowed her brow a bit, "Why him?"
"I dunno, I'm curious, okay? I feel like there's more than meets the eye with him, and if I dig a bit deeper I'll uncover something remarkable."
"Just don't dig too deep, Buster. I mean, how'd you feel if a random guy twice your age came up to you and started sleuthing you up and down?"
His partner had a point. Nick couldn't be too overbearing or he might scare this new possibility away. He would elect to give Miles the space to choose whether or not he would continue speaking to him. Nick saw two outcomes: let Miles come to him and allow things to progress from there, or he is completely forgotten about and life goes on...or he gets ahead of himself and Miles treats him like the oddball he is. Why did the grey fox leave such a profound impression on him? It was perplexing to say the least. Nick sat in his bed that night thinking about it all. "Miles Dakota," his inner monologue droned on, "Just who are you, really?" He had to know, but he restrained his patience. Nick knew deep down that this was going to be the start of something wonderful.