(A/N) Whoa, my chapters keep getting longer! How did that happen? XD
I'm currently sick and have been for about half a week now. It's getting better every day though, and it seems like it'll be over soon, but I can't say for sure. However, despite being sick, my mood has actually improved a lot more this week, and I'm starting to feel more like myself again. It's really weird what some medicines can do to your mental and emotional state; thank goodness I stopped taking that stuff. And I'm taking a different allergy medicine which seems to work well without causing me to lose my mind.
A few days ago when I was still sick, I had a burst of creative energy. I guess it helps that I haven't been required to do much in the last few days, so I've just been sitting around being lazy. But, even in my medicine induced haze (drowsy kind, not the stuff that depressed me), I somehow managed to write this whole chapter in a day. I can't really explain what happened; I hadn't been expecting to get so much done, but when I got out my laptop and started writing, the words just came pouring out. It's a rare occasion when the story I write matches so perfectly with the story in my head, but this time it did. I don't know if that means it's good or not, but it is what I intended for it to be.
Additionally, this chapter has quite a bit of dialogue, which is always the easiest and most natural part to write, at least for me.
Thanks to Zephyr Fyrian for proofreading for me again!
Enjoy the chapter!
Judy inhaled a deep breath of fresh air, then took off running across the farm. Glancing over to see Nick running alongside her, she couldn't help but smile. Nick seemed happy too, though he had been very quiet ever since they came outside.
Finally, Judy stopped and sat down under the shade of a tall tree, and Nick did the same.
"So…?" she inquired. "Do you like it here?"
"It's…amazing," Nick replied, his eyes still wide as he scanned his surroundings. "How…how much of this is your family's?"
"A lot," Judy answered simply. "It goes on so far that we're usually not allowed to go wandering around without someone older. We grow a lot of stuff; it's mostly carrots, but we also have tomatoes, blueberries—"
"Blueberries?!" Nick exclaimed, his face lighting up.
"Mm-hmm," Judy confirmed. "Do you like blueberries?"
"Yes, they're my favorite!" Nick replied.
"But—" Judy started, then stopped.
"What is it?" Nick pressed. "Is something wrong?"
"I…no, I'm just being a dumb bunny," Judy said, her ears drooping.
"You're not a dumb bunny," Nick replied, gently placing a paw on her shoulder. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I was just curious…"
"I was going to ask you a question, but I realized it might sound rude and I didn't want to hurt your feelings," Judy confessed.
"Oh…" Nick said. "Well…I don't know what you were going to ask, but…well, we're friends, so you can ask me whatever you want to."
"Ok…um…" Judy started nervously. "I was…um…I wanted to know…no, it's really stupid of me, but I didn't know that predators ate blueberries."
As soon as she said it, she felt even more ashamed. She turned to face the ground, not wanting to see Nick's expression. To her surprise, he didn't take his paw off her shoulder.
"It's ok; you wouldn't know because you probably haven't met that many foxes," Nick explained, "but we're omnivores."
"Really?" Judy replied curiously, looking up at him. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I know you don't eat other mammals or anything! I'm not that stupid! But I thought you ate, like, fish or bugs or something like that… I'm sorry, I should just shut up."
"No, it's not your fault you don't know," Nick said. "And yeah, we do eat fish and insects like other predators, but we can eat plants too. Blueberries, for example. And…you don't need to feel bad about asking me anything. I really don't mind. I just…well, I don't want to gross you out talking about what I eat."
Judy chuckled.
"It's fine," she assured him. "I mean, I wouldn't want to eat them myself…I do like blueberries, though! Hey, if you want some, I can see if my parents will let us go pick some. Chloe is always sneaking them when she thinks we're not looking."
"Sneaky…maybe she should have been born a fox, then," Nick laughed.
"Don't you hate that stereotype, though?" Judy asked, her mind going back to what happened at the Scouts' meeting.
"Yeah, I don't like that other mammals think we're not trustworthy," Nick admitted, "but sometimes it's easier for me to deal with things like that if I can joke about them. Makes them seem less…overwhelming, you know?"
"I guess I can see what you mean," Judy agreed. "I just…I hope you don't believe what those awful kits said about you, that's all."
"No, never!" Nick clarified. "But…I won't let anyone like that see that they get to me. Not anymore."
Judy placed her own paw on Nick's and squeezed it gently.
"I'm glad, Nick," she said. "Just…so long as you don't give up, not for anything. Always keep going."
"I'm not sure I could ever be as good as you are at that," Nick replied, "but I'll try my best."
"You'll do great!" Judy said optimistically. "And if you ever need someone to cheer you up and help you keep going, I'm always here!"
"Same here," Nick said. "I'll…I'll protect you, if you need me to. Not that I think you're helpless or anything!"
"Hey, everyone needs someone to protect them every now and then, right?" Judy replied. "And since you're a predator, maybe you can scare James off when he's bothering me! Oops…sorry, I shouldn't have said that…"
"No…you're fine," Nick said, though from his expression he was more upset than he was letting on. "I…I don't like it when other mammals are scared of me, but if your brother is being mean to you or something…"
"He's just an annoying brat, but I can handle him," Judy said. "I was just joking, really, but…I'm sorry. Do you still want to pick blueberries, though?"
"Yeah, as long as your parents are ok with it," Nick agreed.
"I don't think they'll mind; they let us pick them all the time," Judy explained. "But just to be safe, I'll go ask first. Come on!"
With that, she jumped up and took off running back across the yard, Nick following closely behind her. Both feeling energetic, they opened the door and hurried inside, where Brendan was playing with Judy's little sister Mallory.
"Aww, they're getting along so well!" Judy thought happily. "I should have known if any of my little brothers or sisters wouldn't be too afraid of him, it would be Mallory! She's a lot like me…"
"Hiya, Judy!" Mallory said enthusiastically. "This is my new friend Brendan and he's a fox!"
"I see that," Judy replied, smiling. "I have a friend who's a fox too; his name is Nick!"
Mallory turned to look up at Nick, and her eyes grew wide.
"Your eyes are so green!" she exclaimed with delight.
Judy took another glance at Nick's vibrant green eyes. For some reason, she thought it was adorable that someone who looked so nervous and innocent could have such ferocious looking eyes. Taking a look at Brendan, she saw that his eyes were kind of a golden brown color, softer and less intimidating.
"Um…I guess they are," Nick agreed.
"He is so cute when he's nervous!" Judy thought. "Wait, why did I just think that?"
"—so fresh and clean out here," Nick's mother was saying in the kitchen. "And there's so much space, too. Back in the city, I didn't like to let the kits play outside because those alleys were so filthy."
"Do you think you'd stay here or move back, if you had the choice?" Bonnie asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Mrs. Wilde answered. "There was a lot we liked about being in the city, especially Nick. I know he misses his friends in Zootopia, but I'm glad he's found a new friend in Judy."
"Hey, Mom! Dad!" Judy called from the living room. "Can I show Nick the blueberries and pick some? We won't wander off, I promise!"
"Yes, just don't pick all of them!" Bonnie replied.
"Oh, well now Nick's never going to want to leave," Mrs. Wilde laughed. "He loves blueberries."
"So does our daughter, Chloe," Bonnie sighed. "I can't tell you how many times I've found a stash of them in her room…"
Without any more deliberation, Judy grabbed Nick's paw and hurried back outside. Mallory and Brendan waved at them, smiling brightly, as the two older kits stepped outside and sprinted across the yard.
"Judy, wait up!" Nick shouted, struggling to keep up with the bunny as she pulled him along behind her.
It happened in an instant. Running to keep up with Judy, Nick took a wrong step and tripped. Instinctively, he grasped Judy's paw as tightly as he could, to keep himself from falling. Judy, still running towards the blueberries, unknowingly pulled away and caused Nick to lose his grip, sending him tumbling into the grass.
Judy gasped and stopped suddenly, feeling a sharp pain on her wrist and paw. Ignoring it, she hurried back to make sure Nick was ok. He looked a little dazed, lying in the grass, but he didn't seem to be injured.
"Nick, I'm sorry!" Judy apologized. "I should have been paying attention; I didn't mean to make you fall over—"
"No, I'm ok," Nick said, sitting up. "Luckily the ground is pretty soft, so it didn't hurt that bad…"
He stopped, his expression changing dramatically. Judy saw where his eyes were pointed and immediately understood.
"J-Judy, you're bleeding!" Nick exclaimed, gently holding her paw in his own and examining it closely. "I…I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I just…I tripped and—"
"Nick, don't be so hard on yourself," Judy said softly. "It's not your—"
"But look at your paw!" Nick insisted. "I know a claw mark when I see one! I must have cut you when I tried to grab onto your paw…"
He closed his eyes tightly, and Judy knew he was trying to hold back tears. At the moment, she wasn't even worried about her injury; all she knew was that she hated to see Nick like this. She knew it wasn't his fault, and she couldn't stand to see him beat himself up over it.
"Nick, please don't cry!" Judy said worriedly. "It was my fault. If I had been paying attention, and hadn't been running so fast..."
Nick opened his eyes, and it broke Judy's heart to see them so filled with tears. Not knowing what else to do, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. As she did, she started to cry as well. Nick was her friend, and she never wanted to see him so hurt. She knew that the cut on her paw was nothing compared to what Nick must have been feeling, knowing he had injured his friend.
"You…aren't mad at me?" Nick remarked, after about a minute had passed.
"Never," Judy said firmly. "You are the nicest friend I've ever had. Please, don't blame yourself for what happened."
"I…don't like to see you hurt..." Nick explained, his voice choked up.
"I don't like to see you hurt either, Nick!" Judy replied. "I don't want to see you like this! Cheese and crackers, you barely hurt me at all, and…and…"
She took a deep breath to calm herself, and then continued.
"All I'm saying is I don't like to see you being so hard on yourself," she explained. "I thought the predator/prey thing didn't bother you anymore. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like you're still…ashamed? And you shouldn't be…"
"But I can't change it!" Nick cried. "Because I'm a predator, I'm always going to be a danger to you, and…I really just want to be your friend."
Another stream of tears came pouring from his eyes, and Judy hugged him even tighter.
"You are not a danger to me, and don't ever say that again," she replied. "I don't know what kinds of horrible things other prey have said to you, but none of it's true. I understand being upset because of how you were treated, but you should not be ashamed of yourself just because you're a predator. You should never have to apologize to anyone for what you are. Do you understand?"
Eyes still filled with tears, Nick nodded, then put his arms around her as well and embraced her. Both of them remained that way for several minutes, neither one of them speaking a word, until Nick finally pulled away.
"Thank you, Judy," he said, wiping the tears away from his eyes.
"No problem," Judy replied. "And if we're being completely honest, I don't know why you wouldn't like being a fox. I wish my fur was that bright!"
Nick smiled nervously, and Judy realized he must have been feeling self-conscious at being given a compliment like that.
"I guess maybe other species don't usually compliment his appearance?" she wondered. "That's hard to understand. Foxes are so incredible! Ok, I'm not really sure where that thought came from all of a sudden…"
"Oh!" Nick exclaimed suddenly. "Sorry, I just remembered I still have my first aid kit in my backpack. I left it back at your house, but I can go get it and bandage up that cut."
"Oh, thank you," Judy said. "That's really nice of you, Nick! But…maybe I should wait out here for you to get back…"
"How come?" Nick asked.
"Um…I don't want anyone to find out what happened," Judy explained. "It was my fault, and I don't want anyone else to blame you for it."
"Oh," Nick said, his expression becoming serious again. "Do you think…would your parents be mad at me if they found out?"
"I…I don't know for sure," Judy admitted. "Dad would probably be upset. He was really mad when he found out about Gideon. I know that was different, but…I'm still worried."
"Ok; wait right here, then," Nick said. "If they ask, I'll just say I'm using the backpack to carry blueberries."
"Oh, right, the blueberries!" Judy remembered. "I promise; right after you put my bandage on, we're going to pick blueberries!"
"I'll be right back," Nick promised.
Some time later, Nick and Judy came back inside after they were done picking blueberries. Brendan and Mallory were still in the living room, but Peter and Chloe had joined them too.
"Wow, you sure were out there a long time," Chloe remarked.
"What can I say?" Nick shrugged. "I like blueberries."
"I see you're a mammal of excellent taste," Chloe replied. "We always need more of those around here."
"Hey, Nick?" Peter said.
"Huh?" Nick replied uncertainly.
"I just wanted to apologize for what happened at the Scouts' meeting," Peter explained. "I knew it was a bad idea to let those kits do initiation on their own. They're too immature."
"Well…thank you, but it's not your fault," Nick replied. "I heard you got in trouble for yelling at them, though."
"Yeah," Peter confirmed. "And I don't regret it either. I tried to talk some sense into their parents too, but they were somehow even more irritating. They're adults; they should know better than to let their kits behave like that. Mom would kill me if I did something like that."
"Judy!" Brendan said, having just noticed the bandage on Judy's paw. "What happened to your paw?"
"It got stuck in some thorns," Judy lied. "A stupid accident, that's all. Luckily, Nick still had his first aid kit, so he fixed it up."
Brendan and Mallory seemed satisfied with this answer, but a glance at Peter and Chloe told Judy that they were a little suspicious. Neither of them pressed the issue further, but Judy was pretty sure that they knew she wasn't telling the whole story.
Just then, there was an explosion of laughter at the kitchen table. Whatever had been said, John and Stu were clearly amused. Bonnie and May were just shaking their heads.
"Seems like they're getting along," Chloe whispered.
"Well, I think we should probably get going now," May said, standing up from the table. "I'm sure Nick and Brendan…and John…don't want to leave yet, but I wouldn't want to overstay our welcome."
"Don't worry about it," Bonnie replied. "It was really nice having you over. If it's ok with you, I think we might have to set up another visit sometime soon."
"I'd like that," May agreed. "I know the kits would."
"I wouldn't mind it either!" John added.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Nick said, looking at Judy. "It was really fun, except for…you know. I hope I'll see you again soon."
"Me too, Nick," Judy replied.
"Alright, Nick! Brendan!" May called from the other room. "Say goodbye to everyone! It's time to go!"
"See you later, Judy," Nick said.
He grabbed his backpack and headed into the kitchen, telling Brendan to come along. He did, though he didn't look very happy about it.
"Bye bye, Brendan!" Mallory said, waving to him.
"Bye bye, Mallory…" Brendan replied, less enthusiastically.
Judy sat down on the couch with Peter and Chloe, as Bonnie and Stu walked out to the door with the Wildes. She knew they would probably stand by the door and talk for a while longer, then walk to the car and keep talking, so it could be a while. At least, that was what Judy expected based on how her parents usually interacted with visitors.
Mallory went running back to her room, leaving Judy alone in the room with Chloe and Peter. As she sat there, she thought back on the events of the day. The visit had gone rather well, aside from the incident outside. It seemed like Bonnie and Stu actually got along with Nick's parents pretty well, which was great news. Especially considering how Stu felt about foxes.
"They're already planning another visit," Judy thought excitedly. "That means I'll be able to see Nick again soon!"
She let out a sigh, relieved that everything had gone well. Things were looking up, and it seemed there was a lot to be excited about. It was just the beginning of a brand new friendship, and Judy was looking forward to all the good times she knew they would have together. Friends like this didn't just show up every day, so it was up to them to hold on to their special bond.
"Well, time to go eat some blueberries," Chloe said, getting up from her seat.
Judy sighed. Some things would never change.
(A/N) Well, it seems like their parents are getting along... Is it too early to know for sure? Guess we'll just have to wait and see!
I really enjoyed writing this one, so let me know what you think!
P.S. I didn't know foxes were omnivores either, for the longest time. I think I found out because Zephyr told me.
