(A/N) Wow. It has been way too long. I seriously can't believe it's been over three months since I updated this story. I honestly never thought something like this would happen, so I'll just take this moment to apologize to everyone who's been reading this story. Life has been crazy for me for a while now, and I feel like I'm just now starting to get back to a stable state of mind.

June was horrible. I won't go into detail as to why this time, but it was the worst month of what, honestly, hasn't been a very great year. July, though, was a huge relief. I basically went into what I called 'therapy' which isn't actual therapy, but rather just reorganizing my life in a way that allowed me to calm down. It was something I so desperately needed, and now I'm starting to get my life back together in so many ways. I have multiple writing projects (including this one) that are going to keep me busy for a while, so I'm going to try my best to not just give up and sink into depression again.

I don't think I realized back in March how hard on me this whole COVID-19 thing would be. I've never really thought I was that much of a social person, but after months of sitting at home and slowly losing my sanity, I find myself missing places I used to go before the pandemic. I miss going to my homeschool group, I miss going to Starbucks with Zephyr Fyrian, and so many other things. Nothing is the same anymore and I have no idea when this madness is going to end.

But I'm going to keep writing, because it's the one thing that seems to keep me sane.

It makes me so happy that you all enjoyed Chapter 10 so much! I loved writing that chapter and it's probably my favorite part of the story so far. Rest assured the Trust Ritual will be relevant to the story again...eventually. I was really excited about that concept and I'm glad it was so well-received! Note to self: careful not to get so excited by fun concepts that you forget blueberries don't grow in the middle of winter...

Also, I don't want to make any promises about 'uPdAtInG tHe StOrY mOrE oFtEn NoW' since that hasn't worked out so well in the past, but I am going to try my best to update as often as I can. I predict it will probably be slow at first, as I try to figure out what needs to happen in the immediate future, but I do have a lot of plans for stuff that's going to happen later on so the writing speed should hopefully pick up by then. Fingers crossed, again...

P.S. I saw someone say somewhere that 'XD' was a 'girl thing'? So logically, I'm just going to keep on doing it, because screw gender stereotypes. XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD

And now I'm going to stop this endless rambling and let you read the story. Enjoy!


The rest of winter break blurred by as Judy mulled over the events that transpired during Nick's last visit. She knew she couldn't risk telling anyone, but it took all of her willpower to keep it hidden. It had been such an unusual experience, and the more she thought back on it, the more it began to feel like some kind of crazy dream.

The difference was, of course, that memories of dreams became fuzzy and undefined as time went on, but this memory did not. It was a real piece of history now, and nothing could change that.

"So, why do I sometimes get the shivers when I think about it?" Judy wondered.

She had briefly considered telling Chloe what had happened, but hesitated. Of all the bunnies in the Hopps burrow, Chloe seemed the least likely to be upset by what happened; after all, she'd been pretty interested in the Trust Ritual herself. But on the other paw, she was Judy's older sister, and she might be worried if she knew that her little sister was letting predators bite her. Or she might not react at all. Chloe had always been kind of unpredictable.

Either way, the holidays soon took Judy's attention away from the Trust Ritual, and she easily put those concerns out of her mind for a while. By the time January came back around, she had already more or less moved on from the whole thing. School was starting back, and it seemed life would start getting back to normal.

When the first day of school came, Judy was up and out of bed early, as usual. She heard the sounds of James moaning as she climbed out of the bed and headed out of the room. Unsurprisingly, the kitchen was already filled with several of her siblings, including her little sister Mallory. Bonnie was rushing around the room, getting all of the younger bunnies ready for school, while Stu was sitting in his recliner and watching the news.

"Ah, just another regular school day," Judy thought as she entered the room.

"Judy!" Mallory said, running up to see her sister. "It's school day! Are you excited?"

"Yep!" Judy replied cheerily. "Are you ready to go back and see your friend Brendan?"

"Yay!" Mallory exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly.

Judy smiled; she was always impressed by how unaffected her little sister was by the rampant prejudice here in Bunnyburrow. Unlike most of Judy's siblings, Mallory didn't seem to have anything against foxes or even predators in general, nor did she appear to be fully aware of how widespread those negative attitudes were.

Now that she thought about it, she realized Nick's little brother Brendan was much the same in that regard. From what Mallory had said, it seemed Brendan had yet to experience any of Nick's self-conscious feelings about being a predator.

Just then, Judy heard some more familiar voices coming from down the hall.

"You're weird, Chloe!" announced the whiny voice of Judy's brother, James.

"Sure am," Chloe replied in her casual tone, just as the two bunnies came into view. "Being normal is for nerds. Hey, Judy, have you seen—"

"Ugh!" James moaned, running away from Chloe to join the other siblings in the kitchen. "Stop following me!"

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, like I'd follow you around," she said. Then, turning to Judy, she asked, "Have you seen Peter yet today?"

"No, I don't think so…?" Judy answered, checking around the room to see if her older brother was anywhere to be seen.

"Oh well, he's probably outside already," Chloe sighed. "Seriously, I don't know why he won't just let me read it…"

"Read…what?" Judy asked, genuinely confused.

"His history papers," Chloe answered, as if it was obvious. "Apparently in his class, they've been learning about the war; you know, the last one before Zootopia was founded and everyone made peace?"

"So…" Judy said slowly, "why exactly are you so desperate to read that?"

Chloe rolled her eyes again, letting out a sigh. Clearly, she was going to have to start from the beginning.

"There were predators in that war, Judy!" she explained. "I barely ever get to learn anything about predator history in class, other than that Trust Ritual story. They probably think 'little' bunnies like me can't handle hearing about 'scary' predators… Ugh, I can't wait three more years!"

With that, the cream colored bunny hurried out of the room, headed for the front door. Peter usually liked to go outside in the morning before going to school, to 'clear his mind' or something like that, so Chloe was probably going to pester him into letting her read his homework.

Interestingly enough, the exchange was the first time Judy had been reminded of the Trust Ritual in several weeks, and she suddenly realized today would be the first time she'd see Nick since their visit. She hoped it wouldn't make things awkward.

"Mallory, put that down!" James complained from nearby.

"No!" Mallory replied. "I want—"

And then she was interrupted by the sound of loud music coming from somewhere in the back of the house. As expected, Bonnie went storming down the hallway toward the noise, before the rest of the kits quickly returned to their usual morning chaos.

Sighing, Judy headed for the front door, figuring she might need to take Peter's advice and clear her mind before school. Knowing her friends, she knew there would probably be some kind of drama, so it would be nice to at least get a short break first.

"At least no one else knows about what happened during Nick's last visit," she thought. "That's one secret everyone doesn't need to know."


It felt strange, in some ways, coming back to school for the first time since the Trust Ritual. It was as if some invisible barrier had been broken down through that event, and Judy felt almost like a different bunny than she had been in the fall. Perhaps it was because so little often changed in the quiet town of Bunnyburrow. It was amazing to think that Nick and Judy might have just made history in such a small, secluded corner of the world, doing something their ancestors had failed to do so many years ago.

And still, no one knew. Not one mammal other than Nick and Judy themselves knew what had transpired during winter break, and at least for now, they would keep it that way.

"Judy?" said a familiar voice.

"Sharla!" Judy exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around her friend. "How was your winter break?"

"Um, pretty good, actually," Sharla answered. "It was nice to relax for a while. By the way…have you talked to Samantha in a while?"

"No, not since before the holidays," Judy replied. "I tried to ask her about that Trust Ritual thing, but she was acting really weird about it…"

Sharla shifted a bit, as if the subject made her slightly uncomfortable.

"I actually asked one of my older brothers about that…" she said nervously. "I…wish I hadn't. Did…did anyone tell you?"

"Chloe," Judy confirmed. "She seemed really excited by it for some reason. I don't know, I didn't think the story was that weird. I don't know why Sam acted like it's such a big secret."

Shivering somewhat, Sharla looked at Judy in awe.

"You mean…it didn't scare you?" she asked. "Not even a little?"

Until now, Judy hadn't really considered how the story might sound to any of her other friends, but in retrospect it made sense that Sharla would have been uncomfortable hearing about it. While she wasn't as apprehensive of predators as Samantha, or James, the idea of being bitten by one was likely still terrifying to her.

"No, it didn't scare me," Judy said. "I mean, I'm sure I would be scared if I had to do it…"

"Not entirely true," Judy thought, "but I don't want her to think she's the only one with fears. Besides, if she knew Nick bit me, she'd probably be freaking out about it for months."

Sharla smiled, relaxing a bit.

"Yeah," she laughed nervously. "I'm glad we didn't do that in the play. Well…I guess I'll see you at lunch, Judy."


As he stepped into the cafeteria with Judy for the first time since the visit, Nick was feeling noticeably uncomfortable. For some reason, though he knew none of the other kits should know what had happened, he couldn't stop thinking about the Trust Ritual.

"Alright, Nick," he told himself, "you need to stop worrying about that. Just…be cool. No one will ever have to know what happened…"

Taking a deep breath and making a promise to himself to keep his cool today, Nick followed Judy through the line. Samantha and June were already ahead of them, and Sharla had just come in behind Nick. Before long, the five were sitting at their table, Judy sitting between Nick and Sharla, and Samantha sitting as far from Nick as possible.

"Hi, guys; sorry I'm late!" said a familiar voice from behind them.

Turning around, Nick saw Judy's other friend Clara, and an unfamiliar brownish gray bunny.

"There you are," Samantha said. "I was worried you might have transferred again."

"No," Clara laughed. "Dad says there shouldn't be any more moving…at least not anytime soon. I was just showing Mark here around. His family just moved here from Deerbrooke."

"Um, hi, everyone," Mark mumbled, barely looking up.

"Hi!" Judy replied cheerily. "It's really nice to meet you. I'm Judy, and these are my friends…"

She proceeded to introduce the rest of the mammals at the table, ending with Nick. When Mark glanced at him, Nick felt himself flinch slightly. Seeing this new bunny, he was reminded of his encounter with James Hopps back in the fall, and suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

"Stop!" he internally berated himself. "If he's afraid of you, there's nothing you can do to change that. But there's no reason for you to be uncomfortable because someone else is afraid. Why should a fox be afraid of a bunny?"

"Hi, guys," Mark said, a little more audible this time. His eyes were quickly darting around, glancing at everyone, as if he wasn't quite sure who he was supposed to look at.

"Here, you can sit next to me," Clara said, pulling out a chair next to June and taking a seat.

Still glancing around nervously, Mark quietly took his seat by Clara and began to eat his lunch. The rest of the lunch period went by uneventfully; Mark barely said a word and Nick's thoughts were elsewhere. He kept glancing at Judy, for some reason feeling embarrassed. He didn't understand why, but somehow it was as if the Trust Ritual had now made him even more self-conscious about being a predator. He would have thought he was over that by now, but being here today and seeing Judy for the first time since his last visit…

Nick was relieved when lunch time was finally over. Without a word, he left the cafeteria and headed back to class.


Judy was just about to leave for the day when she came face to face with a familiar white bunny. As usual, Samantha looked mildly irritated. Judy could only guess what she might be upset about this time.

"So I heard you found out," she said.

Judy sighed.

"I'm guessing you're talking about the Trust Ritual?" Judy guessed. "The story you refused to tell me? Yes, I found out. Anything else you want to add?"

Without waiting for a response, she walked past her friend and started heading for the bus. Maybe it was a little harsh, but at this point she was beginning to get impatient with Samantha's attitude. Part of her would much rather be dealing with her brother James, or even Gideon Grey for that matter.

"Judy!" Samantha scolded, running up to join her friend. "Why are you so upset?"

Judy stopped, let out a heavy sigh, and turned to face the other bunny.

"First, you wouldn't tell me the story about the Trust Ritual because you're still convinced my friend wants to eat you," she said. "And now you're angry at me because I went and asked Chloe about it? What was I supposed to do? You were all keeping secrets from me—"

"It's not my fault!" Samantha cried, her voice breaking slightly. "The reason I didn't tell you is because…"

She looked around frantically, as if making sure no one was listening. Despite Judy's frustration, she couldn't help but feel a little bad for her friend; whatever happened had clearly upset her more than Judy had realized.

"Hey, it's ok," Judy said, softening slightly. "Why don't we go over by the trees and you can tell me?"

Samantha looked up, her green eyes starting to tear up. She nodded, and Judy held her paw and led them over to the edge of the school parking lot. There were several tall trees in the grass, providing a perfect spot to sit and talk. Judy was a little worried she might miss the bus if they waited too long, but right now she was more concerned with her friend.

"Alright," Judy said as they sat down under the shade of one of the trees, "so, what's going on? Anything you can tell me?"

"I…I didn't tell you the story because…um…" Samantha started, but hesitated.

"Yes, I know, because you thought Nick would try to eat you or something," Judy replied, trying her best not to get angry again. "But I actually talked to Nick about it and I don't think he's mad at you for—"

"That's not the real reason…" Samantha said, burying her face in her paws as if feeling ashamed.

"Then…what is it?" Judy pressed. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to, but you seem really upset about it. I just want to help you."

Samantha took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes, pausing for a moment before looking directly at Judy.

"I didn't want to tell you that story because it terrified me," she said honestly. "The…the story, I mean. When I first overheard my older siblings talking about it…well, that was a few years ago…and I couldn't sleep for weeks…"

Her voice starting to break again, Samantha stopped talking. Judy placed a paw on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. It was odd, seeing Samantha like this; she always seemed so confident.

"I'm sorry, Sam, I didn't know," Judy replied softly. "But…if you don't mind me asking…if it scares you so much, then why did you mention it at lunch that day?"

"I…I don't know," Samantha admitted. "I guess I was just trying to seem brave, like I wasn't really scared anymore. I mean…I don't think I really was until…um…"

Samantha quickly shut her eyes as they began to fill with tears. Judy wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close, all concerns about missing the bus now completely forgotten. All she wanted was to make sure her friend was ok.

"I had a nightmare…" Samantha finally said, her voice still weak and choked up. "The night after that day when I mentioned… I don't remember most of it, but…it was…I mean…I dreamed about the Trust Ritual story, but it was you and…"

"Me and Nick?" Judy guessed, trying to connect the dots in her mind.

"Yes," Samantha confirmed. "And you…he…I mean…it was just like what happened in the story…"

"I understand," Judy consoled, deciding she definitely wasn't going to say anything about what happened during Nick's last visit now. "But you know, Nick would never do something like that to me."

Samantha slowly pulled away from Judy, wiping the tears from her eyes again, and trying to regain her composure. After a few seconds, she spoke again.

"Maybe he wouldn't mean to, Judy," she said, "but sometimes…predators can't stop themselves. I just…I just think it would be better if you wouldn't get so close to him…"

"That's not true!" Judy blurted out, more harshly than she had intended. "I…what do you mean, they can't 'stop themselves'? Just because he's a predator doesn't mean he wants to hurt me, or anyone else!"

"You don't know that!" Samantha retorted. "Did you see how the f—I mean, Nick looked when he scared your brother? It's like he was enjoying it!"

"Pfft, I would have enjoyed that too," Judy replied.

"You're not listening!" Samantha insisted, standing up suddenly.

"I'm listening just fine," Judy replied, standing up and looking her friend directly in the eye. "You hate predators and think all they want to do is eat the rest of us. I don't need to hear anything else."

With that, she started back towards the bus, her sympathy for Samantha quickly slipping away.

"They're not like us, Judy; they're dangerous!" Samantha called after her. "I'm sorry, but it's not safe to be so close to predators! Think how your friend would feel if he accidentally hurt you! I don't hate predators, but predators and prey weren't meant to be friends! We're not designed that way…"

Judy took a deep breath and tried to tame the rage that was building inside her, before turning around to face Samantha one more time.

"How can you say you don't hate predators?!" Judy shouted, not even caring anymore if the entire school heard. "Do you hear yourself?! What do you mean we're not meant to be friends?! So, just because Nick has claws and fangs, I can't be friends with him?!"

"Judy, I'm sorry," Samantha said, "but—"

"SHUT UP!" Judy shrieked. "I don't want to hear it!"

Wasting no time, she quickly turned around and ran towards the bus, her emotions threatening to explode inside her if she didn't calm down soon.

But she couldn't calm down. Even as she rode the bus home, she couldn't stop thinking about the argument.

That night, she lay awake in bed, her mind refusing to accept what had transpired. She had known that Samantha wasn't comfortable around predators, but still…it hurt to hear such harsh words from someone she considered a close friend.

"How can she think predators and prey aren't meant to be friends?" Judy wondered. "Just because predators are designed to be able to hunt and eat prey? But that doesn't mean they have to! Why should it matter how sharp Nick's teeth are? He's one of the nicest mammals I've ever met and I know he would never hurt me…"

Unable to get the argument out of her mind, Judy was awake in bed for hours before she her sleepiness finally caught up with her and she fell asleep.


The next day, Samantha and June were noticeably absent from the group at lunch. As Judy walked to the table with her food, her eyes searched the room for the two bunnies. She finally located them, sitting across the cafeteria…with James.

"Why would they sit with him?" Judy wondered, accidentally saying it out loud.

"What do you mean?" Sharla asked, glancing around the room as if trying to figure out what her friend was talking about. "Should I know…?"

Nick, on the other hand, had already spotted Samantha and June sitting with Judy's brother, and gave Judy a look that clearly said, "What do you know that I don't?"

Judy sighed and set her food down on the table, turning back around to face Nick and Sharla.

"Samantha and I had a…little fight yesterday after school," she explained. "I guess she's just being petty, but I didn't think she'd go sit with James because of it…"

Sharla gasped, putting her hooves over her mouth. She wasn't at all a fan of drama, and always got uncomfortable whenever her friends weren't getting along. Nick, on the other paw, had a look of understanding on his face. Knowing Samantha, he probably could have guessed what happened.

"Well…what should we do?" Sharla asked, visibly flustered now. "What did you guys fight about? Should we go over and talk to her and see if we can work it out—?"

"She doesn't want to be friends with us," Judy said bitterly, taking her seat at the table and beginning to eat. "If that's how she wants it to be, then fine."

Nick and Sharla glanced at each other, and Nick shrugged. The two sat down on either side of Judy without any more deliberation and began to eat, but both remained noticeably confused. A few seconds of awkward silence passed before Clara and Mark arrived.

"Hey, everyone," Clara said cheerily, taking her seat before a look of confusion crossed her face. "Where are Samantha and June today?"

"Sitting with James," Judy answered, saying her brother's name with such distaste that Clara looked almost startled. "Sam's mad at me, so I guess she's decided she doesn't want to sit with us. And she's dragged her sister off with her too."

"Oh, um…ok," Clara said, sitting down uncomfortably. "Why is she mad at you—?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Judy answered flatly, a little more forcefully than she had intended.

She tried her best to ignore her friends' looks of concern as she continued to eat, not wanting to think about Samantha and June right now. Sure, they had argued before, but never quite as passionately as this time, and Judy wasn't sure whether or not they would make up. Ever since coming back to school as Nick's friend, Judy's friendship with Samantha had been a little shaky at best. She had never imagined them growing apart, but…

Finally, as soon as she was finished eating lunch, Judy got up from her seat and ran out of the cafeteria without another word. She didn't stop until reaching the bathroom, where she promptly locked herself inside one of the stalls and sat down on the cold, hard floor to cry. So much had built up inside her since the argument yesterday, and she couldn't hold it in anymore.

She didn't know why she didn't want any of her friends to see her so upset. Maybe it was because a part of her still hadn't quite accepted what had happened, and was hoping Samantha would come to her senses soon and it would all be over. But the worst part was that, whether or not Samantha came around eventually, there was nothing else Judy could do.

"Why won't you listen to me, Sam?!" Judy thought, screaming the words in her mind. "You've met Nick! You have to know predators aren't all bad! How can you be so—so—?!"

Feeling emotionally exhausted, Judy finally got up from the floor and headed back out into the hallway. She started back towards the cafeteria, but stopped when she saw Nick running towards her with a group of other students. Lunch must have been over now, and everyone was going back to class.

"Judy!" Nick called, looking relieved when he saw her. "Uh oh…did something happen?"

He stopped by her, a look of deep concern on his snout. In that moment, it took everything Judy had to hold back her tears. After crying her eyes out in the bathroom, seeing Nick looking so concerned about her, so focused on her feelings as the rest of the classmates kept on walking…filled her with so many emotions she felt overwhelmed. And yet, it was a good feeling. She so often felt like she was Nick's protector that she had forgotten he could look out for her, too.

Clenching her eyes shut to stop the tears, Judy threw her arms around Nick, not even caring anymore if anyone else saw. Softly, she felt Nick's arms wrap around her too, his claws so careful not to even scratch her. After a few seconds, they pulled apart and shared a brief glance of understanding, before Judy took a deep breath and they both went to join their classmates.


(A/N) Why, Samantha, why...?

I promise this entire story isn't just going to be me adding random OCs to Judy's friend group (even though it's kinda starting to feel that way right now). The main reason I added Mark is because I thought it didn't make since that Nick would be the only boy in Judy's friend group. (especially since Judy is a little bit of a tomboy)

In Chapter 12, this story will hopefully take a break from creating random new characters, and continue with something called 'plot'. (key word: hopefully)

That's all for now, stay tuned for Chapter 12! (predicted upload date: 2030)