Zootopia Downtown: Nicole's point of view

My father once told me "My darling daughter, never let your emotions take control of your actions, else you'll come to regret them later"I never really did agree with him on that. As a Kit, I always wondered about the other emotions, like love and happiness. But now, now I know what he really meant.

I would never forget how scared Nathan was, the fear on his muzzle made me realize how I failed as a mother, how I was the cause of his fear, how he was afraid of me. I realized that it must be scarring for a child to see their parents fighting, something that can change how they view the world. Something that I'd hoped that he would never see.

Nathan and I walked back home in silence, I glanced down at him, his usual cheerful self-was absent, instead, he looked sad, seeing him like that was distressing.

"What's wrong sweetie?" I asked, hoping to discover what troubled him. Instead of answering me he just kept silent, he turned his attention towards something else, ignoring me. It pained my heart, to have him ignore me like that…and possibly hate me.

It was the first time he did this, and it was because of Nick. In the seven years of Nathan's life, Nick was never there for him, he was never there for his birthday, his first Christmas, he was never there as a father. Yet he looked up to him, he adored him.

We continued our walk in silence, our apartment home just a few streets away. I was worried at what my son was thinking in that little head of his, I didn't want to lose my precious little boy, I didn't want him to get hurt in any way. I peered around the street, hoping to find something to take both, my son's and my mind off Nick, and there it was, Jumbeaux's Café; an Ice cream Parlour that had a reputation for refusing service to smaller mammals.

I prayed that the owner would be reasonable today; I bent down towards my red bundle of joy "Hey, how about some Ice cream? Hmm? Mommy knows that you love Ice cream" he was hesitant to accept my offer; I could just see him contemplating the thought of delicious Ice cream or Popsicle.

Eventually, he gave in to his sugary desires with a simple nod, finally, I was getting somewhere, I haven't gotten him to open up yet, but at least I have something to work on.

Upon arriving at the Parlour, I realized that our path was blocked by an Elephant sized wooden door. At first, I tried knocking, trying to grab the attention of one of the patrons inside the parlour to open the door "Excuse me" I shouted, but my cries fell on deaf ears.

I tried pushing the door, putting all my weight and strength to try to shove it open. Nothing, it didn't even budge, I looked up and saw the doorknob, the handle had to be turned for the door to be opened. Yet it was far above from the ground, too far for a Vixen such as me.

Frustrated I shouted, "How the heck am I supposed to open this?" I glanced over to Nathan, a smile grew on his muzzle, 'what was he thinking?' I wondered.

We sat on a nearby bench; we decided to wait around the Parlour until the door would open. While waiting, we got a few stares from passersby, I suppose two Foxes waiting near an Ice cream parlour, was a tad bit suspicious, almost like a planned robbery was going to take place, I chuckled at the thought.

I turned my attention back to my son, although I wanted to move on from today, I had to make sure it could never happen again. "Nathan..." I began, as I prepared myself for what was to come. "Why did you run away from school? I was so worried about you" I stated, feeling my ears fold back into a state of dejection.

He just stared at the ground; both his tail and ears began to droop "T-they didn't believe me, my friends called me a liar fox because I told them Dad was a cop" he mumbled.

It was as I feared, although indirectly, Nick was already causing so much hurt to my baby boy. "Sweetheart, remember what I told you?" I asked.

"Yeah...you said that mammals would always think that we're lying, just because we're...different..." he paused for a bit, letting out another sigh before continuing "but why?" he asked.

"Sweetheart, you're a big boy now, you need to understand that this is how it is and that you can't change who we are" I explained, as I reached out to pet his ears, hoping that he would understand my words now, so he'd never experience this sort of pain again.

"Now about your friends..." I continued, letting out a sigh "what they did was wrong, they shouldn't have called you names. But you shouldn't have told them about Ni-...Your father in the first place" I replied

"But..."

"Nathan" I called out, raising my voice "when you're older, then you'll understand...but for now, I want you to apologise to your friends, I'm sure they'll apologize too. And I want you to apologise to your teachers for running away. Okay?" I continued.

He let out a small sigh "okay" he muttered

Smiling at him, I began to rub his head, thinking about how he probably felt. I didn't like to tell him off like that, but I had to. It was best for him.

My thoughts were interrupted by a beckon "Mom" whispered Nathan.

"Yes dear, what is it?" I asked, trying to hide my tiredness in my voice.

Nathan was reluctant to answer; it was as if he was scared to say what he wanted. Finally, he had decided, he looked up at me with those blue eyes of his "Why did you hit Dad?"

Now, this surprised me, I wasn't expecting to be asked about something; even I wasn't sure about. "Why? Why did I hit Nick? Was it anger? Was it because he left me all those years ago? No, that wasn't it."

I wasn't sure myself, but I could only guess; that in my heart, I felt that It was fear, fear that Nick would try to take my kit away from me, that he would get between me and my son.

The thought of my sweet adorable son being taken from me was unbearable, Nathan is all I have left, he's the reason why I decided to live, instead of ending it that night, he's the reason why I'm living a happy life instead of a sad lonely miserable one.

My thoughts again were interrupted by a tug at my sleeve, "Mom?" I realized I've been caught in my thoughts again.

I looked down at my little red prince, his blue eyes; still staring at me, waiting for an answer, I decided to give him an honest answer "Well sweetie, to tell you the truth, I don't know myself" I lied, hoping to satisfy his curiosity.

"Oh!" he replied, surprised at my answer. With a bit of thinking, he continued "I think you should say sorry to Dad"

I thought about what he just said. 'Sorry? I haven't seen Nick in seven years, and I have to be the one to say sorry?' I let out a sigh as I examined my paws, tiny dried specks of blood-stained my claws red. I gave them a quick rub, trying my best to clean the blood off 'I guess I should at least apologise for scratching him' I noted to myself.

I looked down and smiled at my baby boy "Alright, the next time I see him I'll say I'm sorry"

My little boy then smiled at me and I smiled back, my little Nathan, he is the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't care if Nick found out about him; I just wanted my baby boy to be happy.

I rubbed Nathan's head, feeling his soft Red fur run between my fingers, "Mom" he spoke, in an annoyed tone. I ignored his pleas and continued roughing up his fur, my ears perked up as I heard a bell being rung, turning around I saw an Elephant open the door with a calf in tow, this was it our chance to get some Ice cream.

I picked up my son and hopped off the bench, holding his paw we slowly walking towards the door, there was still plenty of time before it closed, and that Elephant was still at the doorway, I turned my gaze to him "Alright honey, it's time for some Ice cream, what do you want?" I asked as we continued our walk towards the Parlour. As I was busy talking to my sweet bundle of joy, I didn't notice that the Elephant had already left and that the door had already swung shut until it was too late. I unknowingly walked right into the door, slamming my muzzle and body into the wooden structure.

I took a step back; wincing at the pain I just experienced, while my son was on the floor bursting with laughter 'Oh? Is that how it's going to be?'I thought to myself, as a smile grew on my muzzle. I slowly approached him, he was too busy laughing to move; which made him defenceless 'Perfect' I thought, I knelt towards him and began tickling him, making him burst out in laughter even louder than before.

"N-no, no, please stop" he begged, laughing as he tried to push my paws away. "Mom p-please" he cried, laughing as much as possible, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm not going to stop until you promise to never ignore mommy again" I joked.

"A-a-alright, I promise" he panted out, trying to breathe. I stopped instantly, worried that I might hurt him if I continued any further. Slowly he began to calm down, I looked around and noticed that we got a few odd stares, but I ignored them, what mattered now was that Nathan was happy again.

Nathan and I slowly stood up brushing dust out of our clothes and fur, I held my paw out for him to grab, and we held paws as we continued our walk home. 'What an eventful day' I thought to myself, I looked down at my boy, and he was back to his cheerful self, a smile on his muzzle. "Sorry that we didn't get you any Ice cream sweetie"

"That's okay" he replied.

I smiled as we continued our walk home, 'what a day, what a day indeed'

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