(A/N) Well, at least I didn't take three weeks this time! XD

I'm currently in the progress of trying to change my sleep schedule a bit, so as a result of that I haven't gotten much sleep lately. Writing is something that for me typically happens in random bursts, and in the last few days I've had quite a lot of those. I wrote almost a third of this chapter just today, and it's ended up way longer than any of the others. I hope everyone likes it, because I certainly enjoyed writing it!

My mood is being kind of weird lately, too. Sometimes I feel really great and energetic and everything's amazing, but then sometimes I'm bored and miserable and just feel like...ugh. I think a lot of it is because of my sleep schedule changes, so eventually that should change. There have been a number of other things going on in my life too, most of which I've mentioned here in my notes. It doesn't help that we're in quarantine until who knows when and nothing is happening. Sometimes, the dull constant nothing makes me kind of lose my mind.

Thankfully, I've felt pretty good the last few days. I was actually able to go hiking with my family yesterday, and Zephyr and I have been playing a lot of Mario Kart lately to help pass the time, so I feel mostly positive right now.

Alright, I don't know that I have much else to say, so I'll go ahead and let you read the chapter now. Enjoy!

Thanks to Zephyr Fyrian for proofreading!


Judy sat on her bed, desperately trying to focus on her homework despite the chaos. Since she shared a room with so many siblings, finding quiet time alone wasn't easy. To make it worse, today her siblings' favorite conversation topic seemed to be Judy herself.

Or, more specifically, Judy's friendship with Nick.

"—and then he growled at me," James recounted to a group of their younger siblings, "and I knew he was going to try and eat me, so I turned and ran—"

"Like a coward," Judy said in a dull, uninterested tone. "And he wasn't trying to eat you, but I don't expect you to understand that any more than the last fifty times I told you."

"What is your problem?!" James demanded, turning to glare at her.

"Well, it might have something to do with the fact that you keep spreading lies about my friends," Judy answered calmly.

James had a pouty expression, but didn't argue with her. As for the other bunnies who'd been listening to the story, they looked at James like he was a hero and regarded Judy with confused and mildly disturbed looks.

Well, almost all of them.

"You're being mean to Judy's friends!" Mallory said, hitting him with a plush bunny.

"Mallory!" James whined, trying to fend her off to no avail. "Stop hitting me! You'll understand when you're older!"

Judy snorted in amusement, unable to keep quiet.

"What?!" James demanded, turning back to her again.

"You think you're so mature," Judy said, "but you're such a baby. You seriously still can't get over me and Nick being friends? And now you're just pouting because he didn't listen to you when you tried to block him from the cafeteria."

"Yeah, to keep him from eating you for lunch," James muttered angrily.

"Oh, likely!" Judy said sarcastically. "You don't even like me! If you actually wanted to protect me, you'd stop being such a jerk and grow up!"

With that, she jumped off the bed, tapped James on the head with her notebook, and proceeded to leave the room.

"Me too!" Mallory said, assaulting James with her plush bunny again before running to follow her sister.

Judy couldn't help but smile. She didn't really blame most of her younger siblings for being slightly prejudiced against foxes, since most of them just didn't know any better, but it lifted her spirits to see that Mallory didn't buy into it at all.

"At least none of them are as irritating as James," Judy thought, still angry. "Ugh! Will he ever grow up?!"

"Judy!" Mallory said as they walked down the hall. "I sit with Brendan at lunch and the other bunnies think I'm crazy too!"

Judy couldn't help but smile; her sister sounded so happy sharing that piece of news. Almost as if being thought crazy by the rest of the school was some kind of achievement to live up to.

"Does Brendan ever feel…bad?" Judy asked, curious.

Mallory looked confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "You mean, does he get sad?"

"Well, yes," Judy confirmed. "I mean, does he get sad about being a fox?"

Judging from the little bunny's face, this confused Mallory even more than the first question.

"Why would he feel bad about that?" she asked. "Foxes are so pretty! They have fur like carrots!"

Judy chuckled, relieved that her little sister and Nick's brother hadn't faced the same kind of problems as her and Nick. Still, it made her wonder again just why Nick felt so ashamed about being a predator. It didn't seem to be something all predators experienced, as far as she could tell.

"Could it just be because he saw what Gideon did to me?" Judy wondered, rubbing the spot on her cheek where the scar had been. "Surely he knows he isn't anything like that! Just because a mammal has sharp teeth and claws doesn't mean they want to hurt anyone!"

The thought made her suddenly feel rather sad. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be ashamed of her own species. Even though she cared nothing for the stereotypes about rabbits, she never wished she was any other kind of mammal. She just wished everyone else wasn't so baffled by the idea of a rabbit police officer. She wanted to be seen as a bunny and a strong, brave mammal.

"You're right, Mallory," Judy said. "No one should feel bad about being what they are."


Judy sighed again as she entered the lunch line, following behind Samantha and June. Sharla and Nick were right behind her, and thankfully, James was nowhere to be seen.

Despite being energetic and very sociable, Judy was growing tired of sitting with different mammals every day. It seemed to her she sat with Nick sometimes, then with Sharla, Samantha, and June, or sometimes with Nick and Sharla…

"This would be so much easier if certain friends weren't so opposed to sitting with predators," she thought, shooting Samantha a glare she knew wouldn't be noticed.

Just as Judy was about to decide who to sit with today, someone else came running up to them: a light brown squirrel with thick-framed glasses, about the same age as Judy and her friends. She must have already gone through the line and found a seat somewhere.

"Hi, Judy!" she said cheerily. "Sam, Sharla, June…it's great to see you all!"

"Clara?" Judy replied. "Wow, where have you been?"

"I thought you transferred somewhere else," Samantha said.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a long story," Clara laughed. "Sorry I was gone for so long, but I'm glad to be back now!"

"Oh, by the way, this is my friend Nick," Judy said, indicating the nervous fox kit standing between her and Sharla. "His family moved here in the summer."

Clara turned to face Nick, a hint of fear evident from her expression. Nick must have sensed it, because he suddenly looked a bit downcast.

"Um…hi, Nick," Clara said, waving nervously. "It's nice to meet you. So, um, do you guys want to all sit together? There's still a lot of seats left at my table."

"Sure!" Judy agreed enthusiastically. "Let's all sit together for a change. What do you think, Sharla?"

"I like that idea, too," Sharla replied.

"Great!" Judy said. "Sam?"

Samantha narrowed her eyes at Judy, but didn't protest. June didn't say anything either, though she kept nervously glancing at Nick. It was evident that she and Clara were both still frightened of the fox kit, but they didn't seem to have anything against him.

Actually, Nick seemed a little nervous too, but Judy was hopeful that he would be able to relax once June and Clara got over their apprehension.

Clara led the way back to her table, the other five following behind her. They all took seats at the same table, though Samantha was careful to seat herself and June on the other side of the table from Nick, who sat next to Judy.

"So," Clara said, still cheery despite being a little nervous, "Judy, how did you and Nick meet? You said it was during summer?"

"Yes," Judy confirmed, proceeding to tell the story about what happened at the fair with Gideon.

"Wow, really?" Clara said, impressed. "Nick, you actually scared off Gideon?"

"Um…yeah," Nick answered.

"I really wish I'd been there to see it!" Sharla said. "He's such a jerk! But, he hasn't bothered any of us since then. He knows not to mess with Nick's friends, I guess."

"Yeah, it's too bad my brother won't take a hint, too," Judy complained. "A few days ago, he went and started bugging Nick, and Nick scared him away, but he still keeps annoying me."

"James?" Clara guessed.

"Yep," Judy said.

"Surprising," Sharla remarked. "He still thinks Nick's trying to eat him, doesn't he?"

Judy rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but he thinks he wants to eat me, too," she said. "Why would I be friends with someone who wants to eat me?"

"Well, after seeing you in that play, I'd almost think you want to be eaten," Samantha said.

"Samantha!" Judy thought. "Why'd you have to bring that up?! Now Nick is going to wonder what—"

"What play?" Nick asked, confused.

Judy took a deep breath; she was so embarrassed by that part of her performance in the play and really wished mammals would stop talking about it.

"It was the play at the fair," Sharla explained, before Judy had the chance. She proceeded to retell the story of the play, and then explained how Judy had so enthusiastically exaggerated the violent scene.

"I was improvising!" Judy said indignantly.

Clara laughed slightly; she hadn't been there to see the play. Nick, the only other one at the table who hadn't seen it, looked like he was lost in thought. Judy couldn't imagine what he was thinking, but she was sure it wasn't that she was a normal kit. Then again, she had never really tried to be normal anyway.

"Hopefully he doesn't think I'm crazy or anything like that," she thought. "Well, I guess I am a little crazy, but he already knows that…"

"Well, Judy, I didn't know you liked blood so much," Nick said jokingly. "Maybe you should have been a predator, then. Should we switch species?"

Clara and June both laughed, and Judy chuckled a bit too. Though the subject still made her kind of uncomfortable, it relaxed her to see that Nick and the others didn't seem bothered by it.

"At least they didn't have you act out that Trust Ritual thing," Samantha commented.

"What?" Judy replied, confused. "What's that?"

"Well, I don't think it really happened," Samantha explained, "but there's this story that back when Zootopia was founded—"

She stopped, glancing at Nick. Looking over at him, Judy saw that the fox was shaking his head urgently, his eyes wide. He must have known exactly what Samantha was talking about, and was clearly uncomfortable with the subject.

"Nick…?" Judy said uncertainly. "Why don't you want me to—"

"She's right!" Nick blurted out, presumably talking about Samantha. "No one knows if it actually happened and it's probably just a story anyway, so there's no reason to worry about it."

The table fell silent. Either no one else knew what Samantha and Nick were talking about, or they were just too afraid to speak up. Regardless, Judy was too curious at this point to just forget about the whole thing. Whatever this 'Trust Ritual' was, she was going to find out.

"What could it be that made Nick react that way?" Judy wondered. "Does he just not want me to know about it? And if so, then…why?"

But, there was no way to answer these questions now. So, the bunny kit continued eating her lunch in silence as her mind tried to formulate a plan. Because there was no chance that Judy Hopps would ever let a mystery remain a mystery. Not this bunny.


The next day at school, Judy hurried over to talk to Samantha as soon as she arrived. Samantha and June were always early, and Nick usually showed up a few minutes after Judy, giving her just enough time to get the information she wanted.

"Sam?" Judy said.

"Hi, Judy," Samantha replied, barely looking up from the book in her paws.

"I wanted to ask you about that…thing you were talking about yesterday," Judy pressed.

Samantha sighed.

"You mean the Trust Ritual?" she guessed.

"Yes, that," Judy confirmed.

"Your predator friend clearly doesn't want you to know," Samantha remarked.

"How do you know that?" Judy asked, a little suspiciously. "Maybe he was just uncomfortable with the story for some reason. Unless…since you know what it is, do you think there's a reason Nick wouldn't want me to know?"

"Well, after seeing you in that play, I can imagine…" Samantha muttered sarcastically.

"Ok, that's it!" Judy exclaimed. "What are you hiding? What does the play even have to do with this at all? I want to know!"

Finally, Samantha set her book down and looked Judy in the eyes.

"Fine," she said. "If you really want to know, I can't stop you. It's not like it's a secret or anything. If you lived in Zootopia, you would probably already know. But…I can't tell you. Ask one of your older brothers or sisters; that's how I heard about it."

"And why can't you tell me?" Judy inquired.

Samantha looked around the classroom for a moment, before leaning over to whisper in Judy's ear.

"I don't your friend to be angry with me," she said.

"What…?" Judy replied. "You mean…are you still worried he might eat you—"

"Shh!" Samantha urged, before leaning in to whisper again. "Look, if you're comfortable hanging out with predators, then go ahead! But I don't mess around with foxes and I will never let my guard down with one! They aren't like us, and you shouldn't assume you know everything they're capable of!"

Judy stopped, unsure of what to say. She hadn't expected Samantha to go off on her like that, so she didn't have a comeback prepared. She was both worried for her friend at realizing just how she really was, and also angry at her for implying all predators had sinister intentions. She really wanted to say something, but she didn't know what would work.

"She's…actually scared of him," Judy realized. "Not just frightened, but actually scared. How can she possibly think all predators are like that?! Foxes aren't that different from us; they just happen to look different! But…how can I get her to understand that?"

Feeling a little dazed, Judy walked away and took her seat; for a moment, she had completely forgotten why she was talking to Samantha in the first place. It looked like she wasn't going to get the information she wanted out of that bunny…but she already knew exactly who she would ask next. Hopefully, the bunny she had in mind would tell her what she wanted to know.


The next day was Saturday, so when Judy woke up, most of her siblings that shared her room were still asleep. Judy had always been somewhat of an early riser, but today she had even more reason to get up as early as possible. She had questions that needed answering, and she knew just who she would ask.

So, getting out of bed, she hurried out of her room and down the hall to another door. Without hesitation, she rapidly knocked on the door, then stepped back and waited. A few seconds passed, and the door opened to reveal a very tired cream colored bunny.

"Judy…?" Chloe said drowsily, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "You know what day it is, right…? Is there something you—"

"I need to ask you something, Chloe," Judy quickly explained.

"Huh…?" Chloe replied. "What is it? Something Mom or Dad could handle—"

"Um, I really would rather ask you," Judy said.

"Ok…" Chloe said, blinking several times to adjust her eyes to the light, before turning back to face her sister. "What is it?"

"Do you know about something called a 'Trust Ritual'?" Judy asked. "My friend Samantha was talking about it, but she wouldn't tell me what it was—"

"Oh!" Chloe exclaimed, her eyes brightening up all of a sudden. "Yeah, I learned about that in history class. I can tell you all about it; just give me a minute to get dressed, and we'll talk while I pick blueberries."

Before Judy could reply, Chloe rushed back inside her bedroom and closed the door. Judy stood in the hallway for a few seconds, wondering how long it would take her sister to get dressed. The way Chloe had reacted to hearing about the Trust Ritual also seemed a little weird, but Judy figured she wouldn't understand until she got all the information.

"She's not just hoping I'll walk away, right?" Judy thought. "Is she trying to avoid telling me just like Samantha—?"

Just then, the door swung open and Chloe hurried out, quietly closing it behind her so as not to wake anyone. Then, she turned to Judy with an excited look on her face.

"Ready?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Um…sure," Judy replied, visibly confused. "So…any reason you can't tell me here…?"

Chloe frowned.

"It's more fun explaining stuff when you have blueberries," she replied simply.

With that explanation in mind, Chloe led the way down the hall towards the door, and Judy followed her outside into the fresh morning air. It was still early enough that Bonnie and Stu weren't up, which Judy supposed made it the perfect time for her older sister to sneak more blueberries without them knowing.

"How often does she come out here and pick blueberries when we're not looking?" Judy wondered.

"So…" Judy started as they approached the blueberries, "are you going to tell me, or…?"

"Right!" Chloe said. "You said you wanted to know about the Trust Ritual, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Judy confirmed. "Samantha mentioned it and Nick seemed to know what it was, but he wouldn't let her tell me."

Chloe chuckled.

"Huh, I wonder why that would be," she said thoughtfully. "Well, anyway, the Trust Ritual is supposedly something that happened at Zootopia's founding, but no one's really sure anymore if it was actually real. Either way, it's a pretty cool story, in my opinion. So, you know how predators and prey used to be mortal enemies, right?"

"Um…yeah, everyone knows that," Judy replied. "And then they made peace when Zootopia was founded."

"Exactly," Chloe said. "So, the story says that, even when the mammals wanted peace, predators and prey still didn't quite trust each other. The predators still weren't convinced that the prey would accept them, and the prey…well, they were basically still afraid of being eaten. So, they came up with the Trust Ritual as a way for each side to demonstrate how they had changed their ways. Each of the species, or at least most of them, chose a representative to perform the ritual."

"So, what exactly is the ritual?" Judy pressed.

"Hold on; I'm getting there!" Chloe laughed, picking a few blueberries as she continued her story. "There were an equal number of predators and prey chosen for the ritual, and each prey was paired with whichever species of predator they had the worst animosity with. For example, wolves and deer, foxes and rabbits…you get the picture. Anyway, the ritual itself was pretty simple. The prey would expose their neck to the predator, and the predator would…sort of bite them? But not, like, enough to injure them or anything. And then—"

"And how is that supposed to be a sign of trust?" Judy wondered aloud.

"You didn't let me finish!" Chloe protested, eating a few blueberries. "At the end, the predator releases the prey and steps back, and the ritual ends. I don't know, they might have shook paws or something too, but that wasn't the interesting part so I didn't pay attention. But the idea was that the prey demonstrates that they trust the predator by allowing themselves to be in such a vulnerable position, and the predator shows that they value the prey's life and aren't mindless savages or anything by not taking advantage of their position, and also by releasing them at the end. That's the general idea, anyway. But historians don't really know if the story's true or not."

Lost in thought, Judy didn't reply right away. She still didn't understand why Nick wouldn't have wanted her to hear about it.

"Maybe because it makes him think about the negative attitude some prey have about predators?" she thought. "Does it remind him too much of all the prey who've mistreated him?"

As she was pondering these thoughts, something else occurred to Judy. She turned to her sister, who was currently stuffing her face with blueberries.

"How did you remember that story so well?" Judy asked. "From what Mom says, you don't pay much attention in class."

"Why did you ask me if you thought I wouldn't know?" Chloe countered.

"Um…" Judy said, realizing she was unsure of the answer herself. "I guess because it had to do with Nick, and you and Peter are some of the only ones who've never looked at me like I'm crazy for being friends with him. Well, and Mallory, but I figured she wouldn't know if I didn't already."

"Fair enough," Chloe conceded.

"So?" Judy inquired again. "Why are you so interested in that story?"

"Are you kidding?" Chloe laughed. "Because it's cool! Not that there's anything wrong with bunnies, but…predators are so much cooler! Those fangs look so incredible… I sometimes wish I lived back then, so I could participate in the ritual. Can you imagine what it would be like, having a predator's fangs so close to your neck…?"

"Um…terrifying?" Judy suggested, really not sure what else to say.

"I think 'exhilarating' is a better description," Chloe replied, lightly touching a paw to her neck as if trying to imagine the scenario.

Judy gave her sister a look somewhere between confused and disturbed, but Chloe was preoccupied staring wistfully off into space. In a few seconds, she snapped out of it and turned back to face her younger sister.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I was…imagining. Carrots and celery, why does real life have to be so boring?"

"Do you seriously want a predator to bite your neck?" Judy asked.

"Yes, definitely," Chloe said flatly.

"…Ok, then…" Judy replied, starting to feel very uncomfortable. "Well…I guess I should go back inside now. Thanks for telling me the story."

"No problem!" Chloe replied through a mouthful of blueberries. "Hey, if you need to know anything else predator-related, I'd be glad to help you!"

"I'll…keep that in mind," Judy answered, before turning and heading back to the burrow.

"Why does she like predators so much?" Judy wondered. "Well, I guess she does have a point that they're pretty cool, and we don't see very many of them around here. And yeah, their fangs are neat too, but…why on Earth would she want to be bitten? That's weird."


In the days to come, the tensions between Judy's friends slowly began to lessen more and more. Before long, instead of Judy sitting with different friends every day at lunch, she was regularly sitting with Nick as well as her other friends, with few complaints from any of them. It seemed like Nick was finally beginning to get comfortable around the others, and they in turn seemed less apprehensive of him. Even Samantha was reasonably polite to him now, though she still sat farthest from him and acted somewhat cautious.

With Nick starting to feel more comfortable, Judy held back from asking him about the Trust Ritual. He still didn't realize she knew the story, and since she didn't know why he was so uncomfortable about it in the first place, she didn't want to take any chances by bringing it up. Despite this, for the first few weeks, she was dying to ask him about it. For some reason, she just couldn't seem to get it off her mind, and her curiosity almost led her to just ask Nick about it anyway.

For weeks, it seemed the Trust Ritual story just would not leave Judy's mind alone. But as time went on, other thoughts made their way in and her interest in the story began to fade. There were other things on her mind, and she wasn't as worried about asking Nick why it made him uncomfortable anymore.

But soon enough, the fall semester ended and it was time for winter break. James was ecstatic about having time off from school, but Judy felt oddly disappointed. She had been having so much fun with Nick and all of her other friends, and even having to wait a few weeks to see them again seemed almost unbearable.

Judy refused to wait that long. About two or three days without school and she was already begging her parents to invite the Wildes over again.

"I don't know, Judy," Bonnie had said. "They're probably busy right now, with the holidays coming up. Maybe sometime next month."

But Judy was persistent. If there was one thing she never did, it was give up. And with no school to keep her busy, she followed Bonnie all over the house all day, coming up with every possible reason she could think of why Nick's family should come over, and eventually the mother bunny just couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, alright," she finally said. "I'll call May and ask her if they're busy. Now, if you have anything else to say, please go and tell your father."

Excited, Judy had immediately hurried outside to celebrate the occasion by bouncing around the farm. She eventually ended up eating blueberries with Chloe, again.

When Judy returned to the burrow, Bonnie had relayed the news that Nick's family would indeed be coming over to visit in a little more than a week. Unable to contain her excitement once again, Judy had spent the rest of the evening bouncing around the house with Mallory. James spent most of it whining, and eventually he got into a pillow fight with Chloe. Judy was pretty sure he lost, but she didn't stick around to watch.

Finally, after waiting what felt like forever, the day of the visit had arrived. Judy woke up early, as always, excitedly jumped out of the bed, and rushed out of the bedroom before James had the chance to complain about wanting to sleep.

In the kitchen, several of Judy's siblings were eating cereal, including Mallory. Bonnie was in the living room, trying to watch the news on TV, but Judy imagined it wasn't easy with all of the loud kits nearby.

"Judy!" Mallory exclaimed happily. "Are you excited about today? I'm so so so so so excited; I can't wait to see Brendan again! Mom said we can go pick some blueberries too!"

"That's great, Mallory!" Judy replied. "Hey, Mom, is it ok if I go wait for them outside?"

"Sure; go ahead," Bonnie said. "I think Peter's out there trying to help your father fix the car. Just make sure you put your coat on first. It's cold today."

"Ok; thanks, Mom!" Judy replied.

She quickly ran back to her room to retrieve her coat, and then put it on and headed back to the front door. Opening the door, she stepped outside into the chilly morning air, relieved that Bonnie had reminded her to wear a coat. It was even colder than yesterday, which had been one of the coldest days this winter.

Sure enough, Stu and Peter were standing over by the car, and Stu was in the process of explaining something Judy thought sounded very complicated. When he saw Judy, he smiled and waved. Peter turned around to wave too.

"Hey, Jude!" Stu called.

"Hi, Dad!" Judy replied, waving back. "Hi, Peter! I'm going to wait for—"

She stopped, her ears having just picked up a sound coming from the driveway. Stu and Peter must have noticed it too, as they both turned to look that direction. Just as Judy was hoping, a car was pulling up to the house, one she recognized as the Wildes'. As soon as the car parked, one of the back doors opened up and Nick got out.

"Hi!" Judy said happily, running up to her friend. "Do you want to go look around the farm again? We can go back to the blueberries, too."

"Go ahead," May Wilde said to her son as she exited the car. "I'm going to take Brendan inside, we'll be there when you're done out here."

"Ok, thanks," Nick replied. "Well, in that case…yes, I'll come with you, Judy."

"Yay!" Judy exclaimed. "Alright, follow me!"

With that, she took off running across the yard, Nick following behind her. Looking back, she saw that May was leading Brendan inside, while John was standing by the car and talking to Stu. It really was amazing how alike the two were, despite being very different species.

"So…" Judy said, after she and Nick were a good distance away from the others. "Nick, there's…something I've been meaning to ask you about."

"What is it?" Nick inquired, looking concerned. "You look nervous, Judy. Is everything ok?"

"I got my sister to tell me about the Trust Ritual!" Judy blurted out. "And I know you didn't want to talk about it and Samantha wouldn't tell me but I really wanted to know what it was and I don't know why you didn't want me to know and I'm sorry if you're mad that I went and asked but I was really curious and—"

"Whoa, calm down!" Nick interrupted. "So…you're saying your sister told you the story? The…whole story?"

"Um…yeah," Judy said. "Well, I think it was the whole story. She told me about how the ritual worked and that they did it so each side could prove they had really changed their minds about each other."

"Wait," Nick said. "Is that…all your sister told you?"

"Well, I think so," Judy replied. "Was there something else I was supposed to know?"

Nick sighed deeply, looking down at the ground. He placed a paw on his forehead as if he had some kind of headache. Clearly, there was something else about the story that Chloe hadn't told Judy, something significant.

"Did your sister tell you anything about the mammals that performed the ritual?" Nick asked.

"She said there was a predator and a prey in each one," Judy answered. "And they all had to perform the ritual with the species they were enemies with."

"Including foxes and rabbits," Nick added.

"Yeah, I figured so," Judy said, laughing slightly.

Nick looked at her with a solemn expression, as if he was a thousand years older than her and had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations or something like that. Judy was getting more confused with every minute; what had Chloe not told her?

"You really don't know, do you?" Nick asked. "Your sister didn't tell you how the ritual went for…our species?"

"Oh no," Judy thought, the realization hitting her. "But that couldn't be…! Isn't that exactly what they were trying to avoid when they came up with the ritual?"

"Nick, you don't mean…?" Judy said.

"Yes," Nick confirmed, shame evident on his face. "The rabbits trusted the foxes enough to send one of their own, but the foxes…they still hadn't changed their minds about the rabbits. They just saw the ritual as another chance to…"

He stopped, unable to finish the story. He didn't need to, though, as Judy understood exactly what he was talking about.

"No wonder he didn't want to talk about it!" she realized, suddenly feeling bad that she had pressed him about it. "He really shouldn't feel bad about it, though. It happened thousands of years ago, and no one even knows if the story is true or not."

"Anyway," Nick continued, trying to regain his composure. "If you ever wonder why no one trusts foxes…"

"It's still not fair," Judy said. "That's a really old story and no one knows if it's even true or not."

"It would explain why everyone thinks foxes are untrustworthy," Nick said. "And also why some mammals think rabbits are…um…"

"Dumb bunnies," Judy finished. "It's ok; I've heard that a hundred times before."

"It's clearly not true, though; you're one of the smartest mammals I know," Nick replied.

"Aw, that's nice of you to say," Judy said. "But if you look at my brother James, it's not hard to guess where that stereotype came from."

Nick chuckled slightly, which helped to ease the tension. Both kits continued walking in silence for several minutes, until something occurred to Judy.

"Hey, Nick?" she said.

"Yeah?" Nick replied.

"Does this mean that foxes and rabbits never got to…you know, formally say goodbye to the 'old ways' and everything?" Judy asked. "I mean, like all the other animals who did the ritual did?"

"Well, I've never heard of a fox and a rabbit performing the ritual again, so probably," Nick answered. "Why do you…?"

Suddenly, he seemed to realize what she was getting at, and turned around to face her.

"No time like the present, right?" Judy said, laughing awkwardly.

"You…you actually want to do the Trust Ritual?" Nick asked. "Right…now?"

Judy nodded.

"But…Judy, I could hurt you!" Nick protested. "Maybe we could just shake paws or something instead…?"

Judy frowned.

"Nick, you're not going to hurt me," she insisted. "If I trust you, then why don't you trust yourself? If this is about what happened with my paw, that was my stupid fault, and I'm not going to do that this time. Look, if you really don't want to, it's ok…I just thought we should try to fix what our ancestors got wrong."

"No…it's ok," Nick replied. "Just…let's get it over with."

Judy smiled, then took both of Nick's paws in her own, trying to calm his nerves. Wasting no time, she closed her eyes as she tilted her head back, exposing her neck.

"Whenever you're ready, Nick," she said.

A few seconds passed, and Judy soon felt the tips of Nick's fangs against her neck. The experience frightened her more than she'd counted on, but she trusted her friend and she knew he would never hurt her, so she held still and waited until he released her.

Judy opened her eyes, surprised that it was already over. Lightly touching her neck with her paw, she realized she wasn't even hurt. Her eyes then fell on Nick, who looked like he'd just had to disarm a nuclear bomb.

"He must have been so scared, thinking he might hurt me!" Judy realized. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked him to do this… I hope it didn't upset him too much."

"Judy…" Nick said, "can you promise me you won't tell anyone else about this? I…don't know how your parents would feel if they knew I almost bit you."

"No, we don't have to tell anyone," Judy replied. "But…it does kind of feel like we've done something important, doesn't it?"

"I guess you're right," Nick agreed. "We did what our ancestors couldn't do. I don't blame you for being scared, though."

"What?" Judy said. "I wasn't—"

"Judy," Nick said flatly, "I can tell. Foxes—we can smell it. You didn't know that?"

"I guess I didn't think about it," Judy sighed, defeated. "I can't hide that from you, then, can I?"

"No," Nick confirmed. "I just wanted you to know I don't blame you for it, so… Anyway, it's not your fault, so please just don't worry yourself about it. If it makes you feel any better, I was scared too, just now…"

"It doesn't mean that I don't trust you!" Judy explained. "I don't want to be scared of you, Nick; I just don't know how to change it."

Nick smiled.

"If you trust me and still want to be my friend, then it doesn't matter," he said. "I don't want you to force yourself to be my friend if it makes you uncomfortable, though."

Without hesitation, Judy stepped forward and hugged him. As usual, Nick seemed surprised at first, but he put his arms around her as well. It was impossible to avoid hugging if you were friends with a bunny, anyway.

"Being scared didn't stop me from standing up to Gideon, and it won't stop me from being your friend either," Judy said firmly. "I'm not going anywhere."

She stepped back and paused for a moment.

"And don't you ever blame yourself for this, even for one second," Judy continued, her voice becoming forceful, "because no matter what, my fear is not your fault. You're the best friend I've ever had, and I don't…I don't want to see you hurt because of me."

At those last words, Judy felt a few tears stinging her eyes, and had to stop. Having noticed her crying, Nick pulled her close and embraced her again, wrapping his tail around her as well. In that moment, Judy realized she didn't feel afraid at all to be so close to the fox.

A few seconds passed, and Judy heard Nick chuckle to himself.

"What's funny?" she inquired curiously.

"To think…the sweet little bunny was worried about hurting me, the big, strong predator," Nick remarked.

Judy giggled, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"You know what I meant," she said.

"Of course I know what you mean," Nick laughed. "But you don't have to worry so much about me, either. I can protect myself, you know. Not that I mind you standing up for me!"

"I know, Nick," Judy replied. "I don't think either of us are helpless, but…I think we're better off together, don't you?"

Nick smiled.

"Yeah, definitely," he agreed. "Now, if we're all done with that touchy-feely bunny stuff, I think someone promised this fox some blueberries."

Judy laughed and stepped back, wiping away the last of the tears.

"Right this way," she said, holding out her paw.

Nick carefully took her paw and followed her as she led them back towards the blueberries. A cold breeze blew across their faces as they walked, neither one knowing quite how important this day would come to be, but both having a sense that better days were soon to come.

Was everything going to change?


(A/N) Well, what did you think? I really hope it made sense. My mind is a truly strange place most of the time.

Wow, I've been wanting to write about that 'Trust Ritual' idea for a long time! I came up with that years ago, and I don't even know if I was thinking about Zootopia when I first had the idea. It was also part of one of my original stories (which I still haven't written), but I can't remember for sure if that was the first time I thought of it. Either way, I've known for a while now that it would eventually be a part of this story, too.

I feel like I should say something else, but I can't think of anything at the moment, so I guess that's all.

Stay safe, and I'll see you all for the next chapter!