The new tales from Zootopia

by Vindictive456

This story is a well thought out work of fan-fiction that will cover in moderate pace how Judy came back to the force and convinced Nick to be her partner, Nick's training to become an officer and his days at the academy, a weird new case involving corrupt mammals and a new dangerous drug, all of that sprinkled with the growing love between Zootopia's favorite pair of officers.

12. Episode 12: Visit

Author's note: Hello everyone, Valiant here and i have some news to share. As of recently i had made a few atempts to make this story more accessible, just a fancy way of saying i have been making the chapters a little more easy to digest, with more actions and descriptions out of the carachters but with smaller paragraphs. This story has been going on with full steam thanks to your support and this next chapter has a lot going on, i wish i could have placed more, but, it would have made it go on for hours. Not to worry, the next chapter is already on the works and promisses to be one action packed spectacle to behold, sorry if i can disclose any more of it right now, i really wat it to be a surprise. Furthermore, for those who do not know, i posted the first chapter of a new tale to peak your curiosity, it is a new piece of fan-fiction about everyone's favorite purple dragon, Spyro. His story is coming along rather well and i wish to experiment with it in paralel with the publishing of The new tales from Zootopia, if it doesn't work out i can always take it off my front page and get back on the grindstone. Not everyone will enjoy my particular ways of writting and... that is okay.

At any case... Hope that you like what i have been doing and on with the show!

Episode 12: Visit

Five long months had passed since Nick had gone to the academy and Zootopia itself continued to grow and to evolve during his absence. Zootopia's town hall was being reshaped from within and the city's board of directors all agreed on the need to choose a new mayor now that Lionheart and Bellweather were both behind bars. After plenty of meetings and democratic studies of the necessary documents an emergency election was to be held in accord to a statement reckoned by the board of mammals in charge, at least five different mammals threw their hats in the ring for the election and the entire city already seemed to have a favorite candidate in mind.

Damian Zeinhanart was a face that came out of nowhere, the charismatic zebra was one of the most talented district attorneys in the entire city, he grew by the upper side of the rainforest district, became an attorney at a young age and worked closely with a few of the most known politicians in Zootopia as a trusty and effective advisor. As he announced his campaign from out of nowhere it was hard for a few mammals to not be skeptical about him, he very much appeared to be just another face, manufactured with the intent to ease the minds of the population in face of the numerous problems that the savage mammals crisis inflicted upon the city.

It was almost six months after Bellweather was sent to jail and the mammals of Zootopia were still healing from what happened, there was still fear to be found in most parts of the city. Even so, the now appointed mayor had all the intentions of earning the trust of other mammals and make sure his plans to better the city itself along with the life conditions of everyone who inhabited it were put in effect, a good portion of which was to fund the services of rescue and support across the city with better equipment, all of which was bought with finances that crossed the paws of mammals whom he could absolutely trust. The hospitals were gifted new wings to better treat patients, the ZPD was presented with brand new equipment and the campaign to increase the trust of the mammals dedicated for protecting the city only made the law enforcers a more capable force.

During an average Tuesday morning, Judy was walking happily on her way to precinct one, she woke up, had a satisfactory breakfast and, right from that moment when she left her apartment, she figured that the day she had ahead of her was going to be eventful. As soon as she crossed the front doors of the precinct she found Benjamin placed in his regular post by the front desk, she walked ahead to cumpriment him and noticed that he had his eyes set on a small brochure held firmly in his right paw. She approached the front desk and saluted him by raising her right paw and saying:

- Hello Benjamin.

- Oh, good morning Judy.

The cheetah turned to her and cumprimented her right back with a chipper smile on his face, Judy decided to inquire about the reading material that he had previously:

- Are you planning to travel somewhere?

Benjamin grabbed the brochure once more and explained:

- I have a few vacation days coming by and my cousin Leena has invited me to spend some time with her on this hotel by the country side. I am still organizing my things around here before deciding on it but I am seriously thinking about going, it sounds really good.

As Clawhauser gave his speech about his trip he also showed the paper to Judy, she caught a few glimpses of the features, the rooms shown in the photos looked very comfy and the landscapes depicted were also very beautiful, the relaxation retreat looked like an amazing spot to enjoy some much needed time-off. Judy gave the folded brochure back to Benjamin, who soon returned to checking the words and pictures within it all over again, she decided to speak to him once more:

- It's going to get a little boring without you around, Benjamin. Fangmeyer and Francine are really cool to hang around but they are not much for conversation.

Benjamin looked away from the paper and asked:

- I thought you were enjoying your time patrolling with them. Don't you talk during your outings around Zootopia?

Judy rolled her eyes for a short second and answered:

- I do enjoy getting out on patrol with them and we do talk when we have time, it is very inciteful, but all Fangmeyer talks about outside of work is exercising, training and how Wolford seems to be getting on her nerves more recently, as for Francine, she just seems to want to talk about "cute guys" she meets as of late.

Benjamin laughed believing how truthful that actually was, he placed his elbows over the desk and leaned closer before asking:

- Are you not interested in… "cute guys" at this very moment?

Judy smiled and released a little giggle after hearing that question from Benjamin, she recalled as her mother and sisters nagged at her so she would soon find a love interest that would be right for her, she didn't show a lot of fascination for any male bunnies so she simply took the time to focus on other things that required her attention on a more personal form. After putting some more conversation in place with Clawhauser, Judy went on to the bull pen to get her assignments for the day, she sat on her chair and awaited for the arrival of chief Bogo, much like the other mammals in the room. After the caped buffalo entered the room, the officers called out in excitement for the day that was about to begin, the chief looked at them and spoke up in his thunderous voice:

- Alright everyone, settle down. We have quite the shift ahead of us. As you may be aware, the new mayor in charge has been getting all up in my case about improvements to the precincts recently and you all know how much I hate when other mammals come right at me and try to tell me how to do my job.

Every officer looked at one another as they knew exactly what the buffalo meant. He continued:

- After a long talk with the new mammal in charge, it was agreed that precinct one, along with a few others, would receive generous support from city hall. That means new gear for you and a lot of paperwork for me. I will have my hooves full for a good portion of the day getting the requests that have been delivered in order as the rest of you get to your patrols. Now, for today's assignments:

Bogo placed his reading glasses over his muzzle and opened the case file that was situated on his podium, he then proceeded to point out the tasks for every of the officers as he did each morning:

- Delgato, Wolford, you will be put on security detail, there is going to be a new assembly by City hall this afternoon and things might get rowdy with all of the mammals that will be attending the gathering. The officers over at precinct two will be there as well to handle any back up, but I am confident you will not encounter any significant problems there.

The two officers exited the room after being called and reassuring the chief with a collective nod that they had the matter well under control, Bogo continued:

Higgins, Galt, there was a car accident over at Melach and Willow, the EMTs made it in time but there is still plenty of unrest. Precinct five is calling upon for back-up and traffic up in Sahara Square is getting ugly. Rush over there and see if you can lend some help.

The two officers saluted and rushed out of the room to get into a cruiser as fast as they could, after making sure that they were placed on task, Bogo finished by saying:

- The rest of you will be dispatched in regular patrols for the day. Dismissed.

Every one of the remaining officers raised from their chairs and went on to their regular routines, however, Bogo's voice sounded off picking one exception in the room:

- Except you Hopps.

Judy directed her eyes at the chief after hearing her name being called out. She was just about to hop off her chair and get to her work station before she turned her head and found the buffalo pointing his hoof right at her and asking just as soon as he got her attention:

- I wish to talk to you for a moment, meet me in my office in five minutes.

Bogo exited the bull pen through the door on the side and Judy was left by her seat, not really knowing what that was all about. She couldn't really get a read on the chief's tone of voice, mostly because the timbre in his tone made him sound angry all the time he spoke at work, Judy slowly got down from her seat, as soon as she was standing on the ground she heard the voice of officer Mchorn speaking to her, the huge rhino who sat on the chair right by her right side asked:

- Geez Hopps. What did you do this time?

He was only joking with that question of course, Judy had been keeping in line with all of her obligations and assignment at precinct one, she wasn't a trouble maker by any stretch but she was also a little worried that this summoning might also be related to something serious. She turned around to face Mchorn and spoke up with a certain rise in her volume since she was positioned very far away compare to the rhino's overwhelming height:

- I didn't do anything.

After saying that, she thought for a few seconds before complementing that idea:

- At least, I don't think I did.

Judy exited the bull pen through the side door and walked a few steps across a hallway before coming to a door marked as chief Bogo's office, she waited outside for a little while, giving herself a couple of minutes before knocking slightly at the frame of the door. After the initial knock she heard Bogo's voice coming from the other side saying:

- Come in Hopps.

Judy gave a short hop as to reach the door knob and get the door open, she let herself in and found the caped buffalo resting on his chair, roaming through a few papers and envelopes resting over his desk. Judy walked a few steps into the room and began to feel the cold air of authority emanating from the chief descending over her, she closed the door behind her and turned around just in time to see Bogo gesturing with his hoof asking her to grab a seat, Judy seated on a small chair and waited, rubbing her paws together, anxious to know what he wanted to say to her.

Bogo didn't turn his eyes at her for a little while, he just kept looking for something hidden somewhere amidst the immense pile of papers in front of him. When he finally found exactly what he was looking for, he released a small puff through his nostrils showing off a look of relief in his eyes, he turned over to Judy, finding her seated with an antsy look stamped on her face, and asked:

- So Hopps… I have read plenty of your reports, it looks as if you are adjusting quite well to the routine here at the precinct. Commendable. It takes well worth a year before any rookie has the chance to operate as effectively as you. Plenty of the officers around the precinct say that you make it look easy.

Judy's ears raised and placed parallel to one another as she heard that small piece of praise directed at her, she remained quiet as Bogo continued to speak:

- I also caught a request that you placed to have a ZPD cruiser modified so that you could drive it yourself and use it to patrol around the city. I expect you to know that driving on patrol is a privilege reserved for responsible officers with partners to accompany them. I take it this means you already have someone in mind to be your partner.

Judy leaned her head to the side and her ears waved gently following that motion, she turned her eyes to the chief and answered with a bashful tone of voice that became louder and more assertive as her speech developed:

- Well, sir… I do have a specific mammal in mind but he is still taking the course at the academy. I want for him to become my partner as soon as he graduates.

Bogo raised his brow as he recalled one previous conversation with Benjamin a few days back, the cheetah disclosed with so many words how Judy talked about a specific fox that she had met and help to train for the academy course. Bogo also recalled a few reports that arrived from the academy itself informing of the progress of the mammals preparing themselves to become law enforcers, plenty of them showing the continuous progress of a red fox that captured the attention of the major in charge and plenty of the cadets. Not displaying much emotion towards that, Bogo simply placed the papers he was holding down before saying:

- I see. Do you really think he will qualify as an officer for precinct one?

Judy looked at the buffalo and answered him with the outmost faith:

- I'm sure of it, sir.

Bogo nodded to that and returned to searching through the pile of documents, he retrieved another couple of papers that were stapled together before turning to Judy and saying:

- The new mayor of Zootopia graced my office with his presence earlier this week, he wanted to talk to you but Wolford had already taken you out on patrol on the other side of the savanna. He wanted to deliver this to you.

Bogo handed the stack of papers he was holding to Judy, she leaned her body forward over her seat so that she could reach and grab the papers and read them without delay, she did so with moderate attention placed on the words printed on it. She was curious to see what the new mayor of the city had planned for her. Judy's eyes scrolled over the paper which was showing a small list of requirements that were necessary for a particular assignment, before she could figure it out for herself, Bogo spoke up, calling her eyes away from the sheet of paper and back to him, Judy saw as the buffalo was pouring himself a big cup of water while saying:

- Once in a while an officer from precinct one is called to pay the recruits over at the academy grounds a visit, it helps to get them motivated during their ongoing training. Every one of the officers from this precinct did that at some point, even me, apparently it was decided that it is your turn to do it.

Judy looked back at the paper in her paws and was quite static after hearing that, she flipped across the pages until she caught a sight of a major detail, on the bottom of the last paper in the stack there was the signature of the recent elected mayor written with impeccable cursive calligraphy. Judy drew a long breath of air after reviewing the relevant lines of the document, asking her approval and signature to travel towards the police academy and deliver a few rousing words to the new promising cadets for the force followed by the supervision of their training practices and the administration of a tough exam that she would have to supervise herself.

She kept her eyes placed over the documents but her ears twitched to listen to Bogo's voice as soon as he began to speak again:

- Mayor Zeinhanart was really excited with the prospect of meeting you, but he had little time for socializing, the city is still a bit of a mess and it is up to him to lead the clean-up crew. His words, not mine. He instructed me to support you on getting temporary accommodations on Gloversville seeing that getting so many things done would take you a couple of days at max.

Judy turned her sight back at the chief as she gave him her reassurance that she would have that aspect of her task well handled:

- That is not necessary, sir. I have an older sister that lives just a short drive away from Gloversville, she is studying over there in order to become a nurse. I can give her a call and get everything else organized while I'm there. I'm sure she won't mind having me until I am done with the examination of the cadets.

Bogo listened carefully to those words and released an approving huff of air from his nose followed by a single positive nod from his head, Judy looked at the paper once more and did her best to hold off her excitement. The bunny was just about ready to get out the door to fill the document and get to the academy as soon as she could, she wanted to return to her old training grounds and get a feel for that time once more, plus, she could get a little time to actually see and talk to Nick. This was really exhilarating for her and she didn't want to waste any time.

Judy hopped away from her seat and got back to the floor, but, before giving a single step in the direction of the office door, Bogo called out to her to disclose one last piece of information:

- Hopps! Wait.

Judy turned around and saw as he was extending his paw to give her a small file holder labeled with a red stamp on the outside, Bogo didn't say anything after giving the file to her, he simply let Judy open it and see what was inside for herself. Enclosed in the folder there were a few pictures and a number of coordination documents to set for the exam that she was required to administrate, one of the papers had a group of letters placed with a big font and colored in menacing red paint. As Judy read those two words a cold chill took hold of her spine:

"The Crucible"

She turned a scared sight over to the chief and asked of him:

- Sir… you cannot be serious. I… understand that the academy has the intention of preparing the recruits for anything, but I also have heard of this exam and it is definitely not recommended for the standard ZPD curriculum. Isn't there any chance to call it off?

Bogo gestured with his right hoof pointing at the rest of the papers arranged over his desk in a huge pile before answering her:

- It wasn't me who decided on it Hopps. This year's class has the potential of being one of the best and that caught the attention of the higher ups in city hall. They want this exam to be made possible and you are the lucky officer that gets to put it all in action. If you don't feel up for it I can always convince them to select another officer.

Bogo said so as he extended his left hoof in a subtle gesture, waiting for her final answer on the matter, just in case she decided to refuse it. After seeing that, Judy took another look at the document in her paws and thought hard about the obligation she would have entrusted to her, taking the time to instruct the cadets would be a great honor and how this could be a prime opportunity to check on Nick for herself, seeing as the fox was reporting to her increasingly less by recent times. She turned to the chief once more and gave her definitive confirmation:

- I'll do it, sir.

- Excellent. You can fill out the paper work and report it to Clawhauser on your way out. Your presence will be required at the academy grounds three days after the documents are submitted. Take your time and get acquainted with the program for the exam, it is not an easy task to accomplish.

Judy gave a hearty salute to the chief and walked out of the office, she went on to fill the main document in her paws with her signature and, just as it was instructed, report it to Benjamin by the front desk. After getting all of the documentation in order and receiving the confirmation that the academy personnel was informed about her decision, she decided to go back home and get ready by confirming on every detail she would need for her trip.

The first thing to get out of the way was calling her sister and ask if she would have any issue on accommodating her for the duration of the exam. Samantha Hopps was quick to send her reply after Judy sent her the text message with the question, the bunny on the other side of the line answered how excited she was eager to see her young sister and get a lot of talk out of the way in the flesh. With that out of the way, Judy booked a train for the next morning and packed the essentials for the trip she would take for the town of Dunsendale, just a few miles out of Gloversville.

After going to bed that night, Judy found herself having some trouble going to sleep, she was overtook by a sudden shot of energy as soon as her body touched the mattress and she reached to turn off the lights, her eyes were directed at the ceiling but the room didn't have any light and all she could see was total darkness. Even if she could see nothing more than a pitch black scenery, dozens of different images appeared to materialize in front of her line of sight in expectation for seeing Nick once more, the only clear sight she had of him for the past five months was a set of images still saved in her cellphone.

Not being able to close her eyes and get to sleep right away, Judy decided to grab her phone and get another look at the one picture that popped in her head, the screen turned on, illuminating the room a little bit and displaying the photo of Nick and herself on the day he left for the academy. His side smile as he held her closely was shown on the screen, a very welcome sight and she released a short exhale while looking at it for a few seconds, but she didn't remain holding on to wistfulness for very long as she remembered that the main reason she was going on that excursion was to make the cadets, including Nick, better themselves by the means of an advanced training exercise.

Still… she didn't see any reason why she couldn't surprise him with a little friendly visit before the whole thing, she still had plenty of time left for the administration of the exam. After turning off her cellphone and placing it back over the night stand, she tossed her head over her pillow, embraced her sheets and attempted to go to sleep once more, her mind was still percolating with the prospect of all the things that were set to happen and that she would be responsible during the days that followed but she was very much looking forward to it. The bunny went to sleep and awaited with great expectancy the next few days ahead of her.

---

Come the next morning, Judy was all set to take the trip to the town of Dunsendale, a remarkable place not too far from her quaint hometown of Bunnyburrow, the two places were very much alike, they had big fields, not a lot of buildings and the main staple for the economy was agriculture, however, there was one key difference. While the town of Bunnyburrow was recognized for the fields of fruits and vegetables, Dunsendale was filled right to its borders with fields of fragrant flowers and medicinal herbs. For the longest time, the pharmaceutical industry invested on the manufacturing of perfumes, dyes and medicines using the plants harvested from those fields, there was even speculation of a chemistry lab being built around there to make it easier to transport and develop the various products.

Judy woke up and promptly hopped out of her bed to get to her stablished obligations as quickly as possible, at first it looked like everything was happening so fast but it actually seemed to be unveiling in a favorable pace for her after a while. She grabbed her luggage and exited her apartment after making absolutely sure she was not forgetting anything she might need for the trip. After locking the door behind her, Judy was quick to get outside and call a cab that would take her to the western Savana so she could board the train. The streets were fairly busy on the way to the station but it didn't take too long for Judy to arrive, she waited for a few minutes for the train's arrival and went on her way.

As the train went ahead and crossed the borders of Zootopia, Judy gave one final look out the window and at the city she was leaving for the time being, she caught a sight of the rainforest, the tundra and of the desert before seeing the wide open fields by the outskirts. She was out of Zootopia and, about half an hour later, she had arrived at the outer borders of the Tri-burrow county and at the town of Dunsendale. Her sense of smell was already telling her that the dense air of the big city had stayed far behind her. After disembarking the train, Judy consulted her cellphone, now with an updated GPS locator, to guided her without any problems until the address of her sister's place.

Judy walked across the streets of the little town and passed a few stores shortly arriving at a residential area that had plenty of small apartment buildings grouped together in a set of rows each of them separated by walls and gates, she strolled until she reached the second to last gate on that street leading to a condominium named 'Astounding Acres', she hailed the moose stationed by the security hut close by and he let her inside to look for the apartment labeled 309. After getting to the first building inside the condominium boundaries and getting up two sets of stairs, Judy walked to the door marked with the number she was looking for and gave it a few knocks.

In only a matter of seconds the knob turned and the door swung open to reveal the image of a female bunny very similar to Judy but with a few characteristics of her own. The bunny holding the door open was wearing a clear green shirt with a very wide collar piece that fell to the side letting her show her right shoulder line in plain view, she had eyes colored with a bright tone of purple much closer to blue and was distinctively taller than Judy, her paws had the white tonality much closer to the tips of her fingers, her shoulders were a little broader and her ears didn't have a dark coloration on their tips like Judy's. After immediately recognizing one another, the two of them came closer and embraced in a warm hug as the taller bunny spoke up with plenty of affection in her voice:

- Jude! You're here! It is so good to see you!

Judy answered to that as she returned the hug and spoke as she was being gently smooshed by the arms of her sister:

- It is good to see you too Samantha.

After they were done hugging, Samantha looked at Judy from top to bottom and noticed how she had grown up since the last time they saw each other. From the perspective of her sister, Judy already had all the makings of a grown up female bunny that would leave the eyes of any buck wishing for more than just a peak. She placed a paw over Judy's left shoulder and said with tons of flattery:

- Wow! Look at you little sis. You have grown quite a bit since the last time I've seen you. I'm betting all of those city bucks are trampling all over each other just to get along with you.

Samantha released a little giggle as Judy shook her head and sighed. Judy didn't have a big interest in finding a love interest just yet and she was quite fed up with some of the members of her family trying to set her up with a potential mate, even so, she smiled with the complements from Samantha and replied to that by saying:

- You don't look so bad yourself, Sam. You did something with your ears?

- Why, I did, thanks for noticing.

The two sisters finished sharing sympathies for the time but Samantha's expression was becoming rather tense and Judy noticed that. The care free smile of the bunny by the door was becoming more tense and she was doing a poor job with trying to hide her true emotions. Before Judy could ask what was bugging her sister, she spoke up:

- You arrived here quite early.

- It was a short train ride. Can I store my luggage in your room for now?

Judy reached to the straps of her bags to hoist them up with the intent of carrying them inside, but Samantha hastily placed her arm across the door's threshold to halt her advance after realizing that Judy wished to head inside. Judy looked at her sister's arm extended horizontally right in front of her sight and heard as Samantha spoke with an uncomfortable tone of voice:

- Yeah… the thing is… I can't let you come in just yet. The house is… kinda of a mess.

Judy raised a brow to that, she knew from that tone of voice that a simple mess could not be the only reason why her entrance into the apartment was hampered. She placed her luggage on the floor once more and asked her sister:

- Sam, what are you trying to hide from me?

Samantha looked at Judy right into her inquisitive stare, the smaller bunny was scanning her expression in a frantic search for anything that might deliver a concrete answer. With an awkward laughter attached to her throat, Samantha answered:

- Hiding?! Me?! I'm not hiding anything from you Judy. I am just… well…

After a few seconds watching Samantha trying to come up with a plausible excuse, but knowing all too well she was a terrible liar, Judy's ears twitched as they heard the sound of a set of heavy footsteps coming from inside the apartment. She placed herself on the tip of her feet to get a better look inside the abode and identify the origin of the sound, it wasn't much of a surprise to find the image of a strong looking rabbit emerging from the hallway right behind Samantha.

From the depths of the apartment appeared an image that was unfamiliar to Judy, a tall gray furred male buck that walked nearby while cleaning his paws with a red handkerchief, he was wearing a black t-shirt with the symbol of a navy blue cross stamped on its left lapel. He was sporting a humble pair of jeans that showed a perceptible amount of tear by the knees and were held in place by a thick leathery tool-belt that holstered a few screw-drivers, a wrench, a ball-pin hammer and a pair of protective goggles hanging from the side. The buck was also holding a square shaped mechanical part under his left arm, he turned in the direction of the door and walked closer to Samantha, who was still somewhat unaware of his presence behind her, as Judy noticed that he also had a few subtle dark spots on his fur, including one right over his left eye which only called more attention to him. The buck was, admittedly, not a bad sight.

As he approached Samantha, he let out a few words with a calm and well-mannered tone of voice to explain the conclusion of his previously stablished task:

- Samantha, I finished checking on the air-conditioner in your room. Turns out the interior air-filtration panel had a lose tile by the right corner, that was the culprit causing the horrible sound you have been hearing. I can have it fixed for you in no time at all with some glue.

Samantha realized that it was already far too late to try and hide the presence of her house guest from Judy, she turned around to face him with a sweet smile and thank the buck for his services by placing her paw right over his shoulder and saying:

- Thanks a bunch, Daniel. You're amazing.

The buck's nose twitched for half a second as he smiled with that heartfelt complement, he turned his head to meet eyes with Judy and saw as she was just standing by the door holding her bags and waiting for a favorable time to come inside. He gestured his paw towards her and asked of Samantha:

- Who's this? I didn't know you're expecting company, besides me I mean.

Samantha placed her other paw over Judy's head and presented her to the buck:

- Dan, this is my little sister Judy. She came to spend a few days with me.

The buck's eyes shot open with surprise as he walked a single step forward and spoke up to cumpriment her:

- Wow! You're Judy Hopps, the police officer from Zootopia! Samantha told me lots about you. It's such a pleasure to meet you.

Judy extended her arm to shake the paw of the buck and properly cumpriment him:

- It is very nice to meet you as well.

Daniel turned back to Samantha and decided to take his leave for the time assuring her that he was going to get in touch when the repairs on her air-conditioning unit part were finished, she thanked him once more for his time and waved as he casually walked away to go inside the last door lined up on that floor. Samantha and Judy exchanged a look and the tallest bunny of the pair decided to give her sister a vague explanation of what had just happened:

- That was Daniel, he is the local fixer of the condominium, he is a very nice guy to have around and he has been stopping by every once in a while to fix a few things at my place.

Judy didn't give that a lot of thought, her sister was very well known to search for any opportunities for passion and thrills at any conceivable opportunity. Judy simply grabbed her luggage to carry it all inside while saying:

- I really missed you Sam.

Judy walked into the apartment and her sister followed soon enough to help her unpack the items she might need for her stay. The two of them stayed by the living room most of the time as Judy organized a few things for herself, Samantha mostly went back and forth into the kitchen to grab a few snacks and some soft drinks for them to share, every time she returned to the living room she found Judy placed in the same way as before, sitting over the couch with a little notepad in her paws as her eyes frantically read every word written in its pages. Attempting to get a conversation going and break the monotony, Samantha sat over the couch right next to Judy, leaned closer and asked of her:

- So… how are things over in Zootopia?

Judy's concentration was broken away from the notepad, she turned her head to face Samantha and answer:

- Things… haven't been too lively over there, the mayoral emergency election kept most of the officers by precinct one plenty busy for a while but it all calmed down after a few days.

Samantha shook her head and rephrased the question:

- I meant with you. How are things with you there?

Judy opened her mouth to answer but she decided to get something to drink before speaking again, she reached to the coffee table in front of the couch to grab a glass of iced tea and take a single long sip of the beverage before saying:

- Everything is going just great for me. I got a few new items to put in my own apartment back in the city, I bought a new file cabinet, a new mural to put on my wall and a set of kitchen utensils. I'm thinking about experimenting some more with cooking once that I have more free time.

Samantha let out a little smile after hearing that , she gave Judy's shoulder a little bump and said:

- Good for you. Anything else?

Judy searched her mind for a few short seconds before answering:

- A few friends invited me to hang out outside the precinct, Fangmyer and Francine showed me around an amazing bar were officers from different precincts like to spend some time. Great place, great drinks. It was really fun, but my schedule started to get more full and I haven't had the chance to go there with them as much. Now I only want to get ready for the test I will need to supervise by the academy, I heard it would be something entirely new for the cadets.

Samantha made a face of delight after catching wind of the way Judy was talking about that, she always had this curious glow to her anytime she referred to the most interesting bits of her job. Samantha was also satisfied with the apparent fact that Judy was having fun by hanging out with friends and not just throwing herself at work. Wanting to press further over the subject, Samantha pointed to the notepad in Judy's paws and asked:

- I take it you already have a plan?

Judy nodded her head and explained:

- After going on my way to the town of Gloversville, I'll get signed into a motel to spend the night, I will need to set one day aside for orientation and the next one for the administration of the exam itself. You really don't mind if I borrow your car, right?

Samantha shook her head but the answer that came out of her mouth was not the one Judy was expecting at first:

- Actually… I'm coming with you.

Judy's eyes shot open and she asked:

- You… are?

- I remembered that I have a few things that I need to buy over there, nothing too important just some minor errands to run, but I keep postponing it and I also want to check the place where you learned everything about being a cop.

Judy readjusted her body over the couch to face Samantha and put it all on the line for her to understand:

- Sam, I am not going there to have fun, it is going to be business. That's it.

The older bunny looked at Judy with a raised brow and a cheeky smile on her lips, she leaned closer to look Judy straight in the eyes and ask:

- Is it? Is it, really?

- What… do you mean by that?

Judy directed her eyes away from her sister for a moment, that is when Samantha was assured that there was more behind that trip than simply "just business". Judy always had this specific look on her face whenever she was focused solely in doing a certain task that wouldn't be considered enjoyable, a mere task or obligation that would demand her undivided attention. That look of intense concentration, that stare that she openly showed when she was about to take down a challenge, was nowhere to be seen. Samantha pressed the question further by saying:

- I don't believe you are just interested in performing your duties as an officer by heading over to Gloversville. There is something more over there, isn't it? Or might I ask… Someone?

Judy's cheeks were a little red after hearing the tone her sister used for that question, her ears flopped down and she held the right one with her paw, fiddling her fingers over it as she labored to formulate a congruent answer. Samantha scooched even closer to her over the couch to hear her answer loud and clear, Judy looked in a random direction and began to speak once more:

- Well… I…

Samantha pointed a finger at her as she exclamated:

- Ha! I heard a "well"! What are you hiding? Go on. You can tell me. Disclose your inner most secrets to me.

Judy smiled shyly with the way her sister decided to ask that of her and continued to speak:

- I have this friend… his name is Nick and he is a fox. We've met while I patrolled around Zootopia and he was the one that helped me get a better hang with living in the city. He is sweet and kind, he is a little annoying but he is a great guy and he is training really hard at the academy to join the ZPD, it has been almost five months since I've seen him last and I want to surprise him by showing up there. This would not be a part of my regular obligations and I might be breaking a few regulations, but I really want to see him again.

Samantha clapped her paws together after her mind was concretely made up on the subject, she placed her paw over Judy's right shoulder and said:

- Now I am *definitely* going with you. I have to meet this fox and see if he is all of that for myself.

Judy thought about protesting against that hasty course of action by her sister, but Samantha raised from the couch and disappeared into the hallway by the side wall as she rushed to her room to get her own things in order while saying:

- I'm gonna do my bags. I need to get a lot of things in order before I travel so I better get started.

Judy raised from the couch in an attempt to hold Samantha back but the mind of the older bunny was already set and made on the idea of Joining Judy in her business trip. Night came soon enough, Judy and Samantha had all of their luggage made and organized, they went to bed kind of late since they decided to sleep in the same room and Samantha pressed Judy into throwing as much talk away as they could until late at night, mostly about Judy's life in the big city. As a result the two bunnies woke up in a hurry, they had to take their showers, dress up and have breakfast in a rush before loading the car and get going so Judy wouldn't be late.

It was a really short drive to the town of Gloversville but Judy insisted on following her stablished schedule and start the drive as early as possible to not get any traffic. The two bunnies left Dunsendale and its fragrant fields behind, they spent more than an hour inside the stuffy interior of Samantha's car, they passed most of that time in silence but, right as they were getting at the halfway mark, Samantha turned the radio on and a few of their favorite songs started to play. They sang along and exchanged a few more laughs during the rest of the way until they finally arrived at Gloversville.

As soon as they arrived at the town, Samantha looked out her window for a few instances to detect a specific clothing store that she heard about from a friend, the only thing of major interest that she managed to find on their way was a furniture shop that she was also thinking about visiting. Judy also decided to look out the window from time to time, but she didn't look at the street or at the various stores passing by, she looked at the blue sky and at the small clouds floating up high as she imagined how the test would go, as well as the surprise visit to Nick. There wasn't that much time for her to keep wondering with her head in the clouds, in just a few minutes Samantha stopped the car and they were by the parking lot of the Zootopia police academy.

After exiting the car, Samantha and Judy walked together, they went right past the front gate and the front yard of the academy, Samantha wanted to learn more about Judy's profession but the younger bunny of the pair was far too distracted with her assignment and didn't wanted to slow down for anything, not even for a tour of the academy grounds. As they were approaching the front doors, Judy walking with a hurried place in front while Sam was clearly lacking behind, the elder bunny dashed closer to her sister and reached out to halt her walk while calling out to her:

- Jude! Hold up.

Judy stopped walking and turned her body around, she looked right as Samantha and asked:

- What is it Sam?

- Slow down for a bit, okay? You have been stressing yourself out since you woke up this morning. Take a second to breathe before heading inside.

Judy's ears dropped to the sides for a bit, she heeded Samantha's advice and took a deep breath before speaking:

- Sorry, Sam. I'm so nervous about today. I know what I'm required to do and how I'm going to do it, but I am still rather nervous. This is my first time back on the academy grounds and it has been quite a while.

Samantha gave Judy a little bump on her left shoulder and pulled her closer to ask a simple question in order to take her mind away from her initial worries for the day:

- So… this is where you learn how to be a police mammal. Hard to believe you actually got around to do so much, especially when it is clear to see that there are a lot of mammals much bigger than you or me going through it.

The two of them watched as one class of cadets marched by the yard on their way to another drill for the day, so many mammals of different species and all of them were much bigger than the bunnies. Judy watched that scene and heard as Samantha asked:

- Must be a little weird to come back to this place. How do you feel?

Judy gave two little bounces while in place and answered:

- I'm excited… but in a weird way. It feels good to be back.

Samantha gave Judy a little tap on her belly and joked:

- You must be a little car-sick. You used to get tipsy all the time on our old family road trips.

Judy smiled as she recalled a time when the entire Hopps family traveled on the road together, she turned to Samantha and showed a single finger of her right paw as she said with resolve:

- That only happened once. One time. Also, I ate asparagus for lunch that day. You know asparagus make me queasy.

- Oh, sure. Blame it on the asparagus.

Samantha pulled Judy even closer as the two of them showed off a little smile to one another, Sam looked around and released a little puff of air from her mouth while directing her eyes at the group of mammals passing by on their way to training:

- Then again, it could be all of this "eye candy" passing by. I know I, for one, am getting a little bit dizzy just by looking at it.

- Samantha!

Judy spoke out loud while launching a reprehensive but good-humored look at her sister's face, she then proceeded to give Sam a little tap on her chest so that he would behave herself. Sam released a little laugh and let go of Judy's shoulder becoming relieved for the fact that Judy didn't seem to be so tense anymore, the two of them made their way inside the academy's main building, opening the doors of the double doors together and meeting with the image of a young lynx by the front desk with her eyes closed and ears preoccupied with the sound from her earphones as her head bopped up and down with the rhythm of the song and her eyes were scrolling over the words of a book placed over the counter. Judy approached her and spoke up:

- Excuse me.

Nicole took her earbuds off as soon as she caught awareness of a voice calling out nearby, but she looked around and didn't see anyone, until Judy raised her paw to point attention towards herself and her sister:

- Down here.

Nicole placed her paws on the counter and supported her upper body over it to get a better look at the bunny calling out to her. Nicole's face was placed in an astonishment setting after seeing Judy, she released a little gasp and spoke up:

- Oh, Wow! I can't believe it!

Judy didn't know what that was all about, Nicole came closer to her by leaving the back of the front desk and approaching the bunny as to personally cumpriment her by shaking her paw. The lynx remained with a pleasant smile on her lips as she spoke up:

- I cannot believe you are actually here. It is really great meeting you officer Hopps. I saw you on TV a while back and have been wanting to meet you ever since. I'm Nicole, but you can call me Saby.

Judy released a little awkward laugh after understanding what was going on, seconds after Nicole released her paw, Judy said as a retort:

- It is nice to meet you too, Nicole. I came to get the organization for the exam that is to be presented this afternoon underway. I have all of the paperwork right here with me.

Judy reached into the bag she was carrying and retrieved a well-organized stash of papers, it was actually quite heavy judging by the effort she was making to hoist it up and place it over the front desk. Nicole glossed over the stack of documents and began to carry it herself, she turned her eyes over to Judy and spoke up:

- I'll take this over to operations so that they can check everything out, see if it's all in order. I heard that a big shot officer was coming over to give the cadets a talk, I just never expected that officer to be you.

Samantha came closer to Judy and spoke out with a bragging tone in her voice:

- Wow. My little sis is a 'big shot'. Who would've thought?

Judy released a little giggle after hearing those words, she gently pushed Samantha away and dismissed that comment by saying:

- I'm no big shot, Sam. I'm just doing my job.

Nicole started to walk away, carefully balancing all of the papers on her arms and being extra careful to not lose track of any one of them on her way to the administration. She held the papers tightly close to her chest and spoke up:

- We weren't actually expecting you for an hour or so. You are welcome to rest up and find something else to do until the time arrives to gather all of the cadets together. I'll head on out and deliver all of these for you.

Nicole turned around to face a hallway by the left wall near the front entrance and began to walk away, leaving Judy and Samantha behind, that is when Judy was reminded to ask about Nick's location. Before the lynx was completely gone, Judy called to her, asking to wait for a moment, Nicole's ear twitched as she heard Judy's voice reaching out to ask something that could be of major importance. Judy decided to approach Nicole, she gave a few steps her way before asking:

- I'm actually looking for someone. I wish to know where I can find a cadet named Nicholas Wilde.

Nicole released a single snicker after hearing the name of the mammal Judy was looking for, she rolled her eyes and answer to Judy's request in a most sinuous way:

- What else is new? I wonder what that knuckle head did it this time.

Judy was taken with a little distort after hearing that, then again she was not that surprise if Nick was getting himself into some trouble without her knowledge. Nicole pointed to the space just outside the front door with one paw after adjusting the papers she was still holding with herself on the other and said:

- Go right to the dormitories area right over there and find room 107 on the first floor of the first building. You will find him there, he is usually chilling in there with his roommates at this hour.

Judy followed the direction Nicole was pointing with her claw and thanked her for all the help she provided. Judy walked in the direction of the front door and gestured with her paw so that Samantha would follow closely, the two of them moved in the direction of the living quarters building by the right of the academy main structure. Samantha was walking right behind with a moderate pace while Judy was going right ahead and moving with a very chipper set of hops on her way. Samantha already knew that Judy was very excited to visit her friend and could not help smiling as she watched her sister moving like that.

After the two bunnies arrived at the first floor of the living quarters, Judy began to nervously fidget with every step she took, she rearranged her fur by passing her paws over her head with a rapid motion and adjusting her shirt to dismiss any wrinkles that she may have on it. It was pretty evident for Samantha to see that her sister was kind of nervous and that was just precious for her to witness, she never knew Judy could get nervous on that level, particularly when it came to a male, in Samantha's eyes Judy was always this unstoppable force that could not be halted by anyone or anything.

After they got to the door marked by the number 107, Judy didn't just knocked on it as she was planning initially, she just stared at the door frame and moved her paws aimlessly in the air in front of her, Samantha came closer just in time to hear as Judy mumbled to herself:

- This is it.

The older bunny halted her walk and remained right at Judy's side, just waiting for her to knock at the door. Judy looked at herself, giving one more pass over her shirt with both of her paws, before turning over to Sam and asking of her:

- How do I look? Do I look okay?

Samantha rolled her eyes after hearing that, she extended her arms and held Judy's shoulders as she ordered:

- Jude! Look at me.

Judy didn't understand what that was about, Samantha gave her shoulders a little shake and spoke again with increased determination:

- I'm serious! Look at me!

Judy's eyes were fully directed at her sister as she answered:

- I *am* looking at you! What is it?

Samantha took a long breath of air into her chest before positioning herself with a posture meant to deliver one epic motivational speech:

- You don't need to be anxious like this. You don't need to give a big production to present yourself to anyone and do you know why?

- I'm sure you're going to tell me.

- Because you are awesome! You don't just look okay. You're looking… *formidable*.

Judy moved her shoulders around to make Samantha let go of her, as soon as the older bunny removed her paws, Judy looked at her as she, once again, readjusted her shirt and said:

- Sam, I'm not trying to look formidable. I'm trying to look professional.

- Sure you are. Now, can you hurry this up and knock on the door already? I want to meet your friend.

Judy raised her paw and directed it closer to the door to give it an audible knock, however, she stopped her movement halfway when she took notice of one thing right from under her. Samantha kept on watching, but after she noticed that Judy stopped moving she turned her head to Judy and found her looking down, curious about what Judy had her eyes set on, she asked:

- What's the matter?

Judy leaned her body down to check for something, she placed herself down in one knee to reach under the door and pull out a playing card that was placed between the seam and the ground for some reason. After retrieving the card and raising to her feet once more to get a better look at it, Judy stared at the item with a perplexed look in her eye until Samantha leaned closer to her and asked:

- What is that?

Judy showed the plastic card to her and answered:

- It's a card. A very familiar card. It's an ace of hearts.

That is when the two bunnies heard a voice coming from the other side of the door, both their ears twitched as the mammals of whom the voice belonged shouted to claim ownership of the item while he opened the door in a hurry:

- Hey! That's mine!

The two bunnies stood in surprise as they saw the image of the one mammal holding the door of the dormitory open.

---

15 minutes earlier/ Inside the room

That morning didn't have much in store for Nick, Samuel and Alfred, the three friends were enjoying a free morning off together inside their room and just taking the chance to relax until the new stablished time for classes was to be announced that afternoon. Nick and Alfred were inside the bathroom getting their fur in order in front of the mirror while Samuel was sitting neatly over his bunk and viewing some news on his cellphone. Alfred was brushing his fur with a fine tooth comb when he turned over to Nick and asked:

- Hey, do you think I should trim my fur? I'm starting to think it is starting to get a little bit wild recently.

Nick gave a soft protest against that course of action but he didn't stopped admiring his ow image in the mirror as he did so:

- Leave it just like that. I heard that females dig a little comfort when they feel like getting in closely for a hug.

After hearing those words, the wolf took another look at his own reflected image and passed a paw over the soft patches of fur around his neck and cheeks, both were very soft indeed. He showed a little smile and put the comb down before walking away back to the main room. After Alfred went away, Nick started messing around by doing a few subtle poses in front of the mirror, checking his own physique, after more than five months' time stuck in tireless training, the trio had evolved quite a bit in terms of mind and physiology, Nick most noticeably amongst them, the fox's body was now tougher and stronger than before and he knew that fact all too well as he postured shirtless in front of the mirror, letting it show how his chest and neck were displaying a great yet subtle line of muscle mass, he felt like a super hero. Countless hours on the track paired with plenty of practice in the gym were shown in full effect across his upper body and he was very proud of it.

As Nick exited the bathroom, he found Alfred laying over his bed with both of his paws placed between his head and the pillow and Samuel sitting over his bunk, the deer looked very excited for some reason, Nick didn't take much notice of that, he was only focusing in taking as much time as he had to rest. The fox grabbed his deck of cards and began to aimlessly shuffle them around as he usually did to pass the time, he had a very delighted smile on his face as he did so, Alfred noticed that and spoke out:

- Well… you are looking more joyful than usual today my friend. What's up?

Nick stopped the shuffling motion of the cards in his paws and turned around to face Alfred before answering:

- I'm not really sure. I just woke up this morning feeling pumped up. I have this feeling in my gut that something big is going down today.

Alfred raised a brow after hearing that, he turned his head over the pillow to face Nick and his ears positioned themselves more widely to better capture an answer as he asked:

- A "Gut feeling"? How so?

Nick raised from his bunk and calmly walked to the center of the room as he gestured with his paws in the air and still having a hold of his lucky deck of cards in one of them, he took his time as he explained himself to his friends:

- It's just a… thing that I have sometimes. I can't really explain it with words. Occasionally I wake up with this warm sensation deep inside my stomach, almost as if something is digging a hole in my gut.

Samuel dropped in that conversation as he postulated without taking his eyes away from his cellphone screen:

- Are you sure you're not just hungry?

Nick pointed a claw at his friend and answered him with conviction:

- I'm not just hungry Samuel. It's something else. I know of it because it happened to me before. One time I woke up with this very same feeling and I found a hundred dollar bill in the middle of the street, on another time I woke up feeling like this and found out that my favorite restaurant was closing up shop forever.

Nick took one second to make sure that he had the undivided attention of his two comrades, he took a breath before continuing his explanation:

- Whenever I wake up and get a good hold of this feeling I have the certainty that something major is going to happen. I do not know if it is gonna end up being really good or really bad, but I do know it is going to be big.

Samuel was not buying that for even a second, Alfred on the other side was cautiously aware of whatever might happen that day, he was not very confident on his own intuition and he didn't believe in superstitions, but he trusted Nick's instincts. Nick sat on the chair near the work desk in the room to continue shuffling his deck, he didn't even bother to put a shirt on, that day felt a little warm and he wanted to feel the room's air-conditioning at full blast to refresh himself. Samuel took a look at the time and it was still quite early, they wouldn't have to go to their shift on the classrooms any time soon so he decided to make the time go by faster by burning away his energy with a few exercises. As it was customary of Samuel by this point, he hung himself upside-down from his bunk and began flexing up and down.

Nick was entertained by his friend's actions, he looked to the side at the deer's movements while still being attentive enough to rearrange the cards in his paws around. Alfred was somewhat distracted that day, he looked over at his two friends and spoke up:

- Hey, have you guys heard? An officer of the ZPD is coming over to the academy. Helen heard that there will be a very important exam coming up and an officer from Zootopia is coming here to administrate it, I think it is not going to be easy. At least that is the word around the academy grounds.

Samuel, brimming with confidence, continued to raise his body up and down as he spoke up with subtle raises in his speech as he continued to place the same level of effort into his exercise:

- No problem. We can take just about anything the academy throws our way. Since we banded together we have been almost unstoppable.

Nick positioned his feet to the floor and spun the work chair around to face the two of them, first he looked over at Samuel, he waited for the deer to stop moving for a moment and spoke:

- Don't go on getting cocky Samuel. We have been getting by the academy course okay, but the subjects of the tests have been getting more difficult and working together is one of the few reasons we have been getting by. It is a fact that we are quite the great team when we work in unison, but it all can change when we least expect it.

Nick spoke so as he showed his friends a card that was clearly displayed as an ace of spades, but as he spun the item around between his fingers, he showed it to them once more and they saw that the card had been transmuted into a jack of clubs. Alfred's eyes looked over and he was straight out astonished by that act of illusionism by Nick's part, he got up from his bunk and leaned closer to observe attentively and maybe catch a hint about how Nick was able to change the card in his paws with a single gesture with the added fact that he was wearing no shirt so there were no sleeves for him to hide any of the cards away. The wolf opened his jaw and asked without even thinking too hard about it:

- How did you even do that?!

Nick showed his signature side grin and began to answer:

- It's just an old trick that I picked up with a friend of mine. It is quite simple to pull off if you pay enough attention. It helps that I already know the cards in this deck front to back.

Nick began shuffling the cards once more, putting one half of the stack from the front to the back and repeating the process many times over, he retrieved a single card from somewhere in the middle of the deck and made sure that the two other mammals in the room were watching him, granted, Samuel was placed upside-down but he was still half of his audience, Nick prepared to unleash the full sight of his trick:

- Okay. Now, watch closely.

Unfortunately, as Nick was just about to unveil the trick, something went very wrong. He pressed the stack of cards in his other paw together between his fingers and one of them was caught in his index claw, that made the card flipped out of his grasp, it was flung away in the air and it spun around, gliding away like a little flying saucer, until it landed under the door of the room. After seeing that display, Samuel looked at the fox and said:

- Neat trick.

Nick gestured with his left paw in the air and spoke:

- That wasn't supposed to happen. Also, that was an ace of hearts, it was supposed to be a queen of spades.

He decided to get up from the chair and retrieve the card that had escaped from his grasp, he left the rest of the deck over the chair he was sitting previously and walked towards the door so that he could get down in one knee and grab it, but something unexpected happened. As he was just about to grab the plastic item, it absconded away from under the door, it vanished almost as if something else had grabbed it, his confirmation to that came as he detected the sight of two sets of shades moving from the other side of the door. Nick's mind entered in a state of near frenzy as he got up from the floor and reached for the door knob to open the door and confront the one that took his card away:

- Hey! That's mine!

He said so as he got up, turned the knob and swung the door open, revealing his own shirtless image to the outside world and to a pair of bunnies that was positioned just outside the door. One of the bunnies was unfamiliar to him, her clear eyes were staring him with unease and a noticeable shred of amazement, as for the other bunny on the right, the one holding his card in one of her paws, he recognized her on the spot, feeling a mixture of surprise and joy after seeing her face. The sight of her purple eyes, her adorable dark-tipped ears and her twitchy nose hit an unforeseen target in his chest, his breath was halted and he felt a sudden palpitation in his heart after seeing her.

As for the bunny, Judy was holding the ace of hearts firmly between her fingers and her grip only strengthen as the door suddenly opened, her gaze shot open with surprise and her breath became very shallow as the first thing she saw was the emerald sparks of Nick's eyes appearing in front of her. Judy's tail flailed upwards with a jolt that ran up her spine, her ears quickly positioned themselves parallel to one another and her feet nearly forced her into a bounce upwards after she caught the sight of the fox that, she just noticed, was not even wearing a shirt as he opened the door. Her eyes descended over his body but they quickly returned attention to his head after one short second.

The two mammals looked at each other for a few seconds and neither of them knew what to say for the duration of that time. The fox was the first one to speak out with his tone of surprise:

- Judy?!

The bunny right in front of him followed soon as she shouted:

- Nick!

In the face of that sight and also not being able to contain her own voice, Samantha also spoke up with a very delighted tinge in the back of her throat:

- Jackpot!

Judy turned her head to look at her sister for a moment before turning to look at Nick once more, the two of them continued stuck in an uncomfortable silence until there came a voice from inside the room:

- OH! Shit!

After noticing who was standing right outside the door, Samuel lost the grip on both of his legs which precariously supported him above the floor, he tried to secure his hold on the bunk but he was already falling and reaching the ground. First hitting his head, then his shoulder and finally his bottom as he tumbled down releasing a loud thud followed by a disgruntled moan of pain. Alfred raised from his bed to come at Samuel's aid while calling out to his name, Nick turned around perplexed and worried after hearing the loud bump of the deer's body hitting the floor, his eyes shot open with surprise but he could see no one was badly hurt. Judy and Samantha both gasped after witnessing that scene, with a lot of concern for the mammal that just fell down, Judy projected her voice into the room to ask:

- Are you alright?!

Samuel did his best to ascend from the ground on his own with Alfred positioning himself right by his side in case he needed assistance, he placed one of his hooves over his head as he slowly rose from the floor, wincing in pain as he tried to support his upper body over the bottom bunk. He turned his face all around to try and get a better feeling of awareness for his condition and began to speak:

- Ow!... Ow! I think… I think I just landed on my antlers.

He gave the right side on the top of his head a little poke and returned to mutter with low volume and tons of aggravation in his voice after feeling a sharp dose of pain from the very base of his antler:

- Yup!... I just landed on my antlers! Oh, God! This is the worst pain ever!

He completely raised from the floor and showed the palm of his hoof to Alfred signifying that he was going to be okay. Samuel leaned on the side of the bunk and waited for a moment until the discomfort on the top of his skull to subside, Nick looked over and asked:

- Dude, are you sure you are okay?

Samuel gestured with his left hoof and dismissed that by saying:

- Hey, I'm gonna be fine. Don't worry.

Nick turned around and returned to face the bunny waiting just outside the room, they looked at each other once more and the fox tried to break the ice by saying:

- I take it you did not expect any of this to happen today.

Judy smiled and released her retort:

- Evidently. Then again, this is you, so I really should expect the unexpected at this point. Even from your friends.

Nick showed his teeth in a little wide smile, he really missed that, hearing her voice, seeing her face, it was real nice to see Judy again. He gestured with both his paws to point at her and ask:

- Carrots, what are you doing here?!

Judy leaned forward slightly and answered to that as well:

- I came here to see you, you goof. I expect to find you training with the other cadets, instead, I find you slacking off.

Nick crossed his arms and leaned on the side of the door's threshold, he looked at the bunny with a raised brow and spoke up:

- We got the morning off carrots. You can't reprimand three hard working cadets for getting a little bit of rest after an entire long week of classes and practice.

Judy showed the card that she was still holding in her paw and released a typical retort:

- No, but I can reprimand *you* for bringing a deck of cards into academy grounds. Didn't I tell you that these things are not allowed in here?

Nick brought the claw of his right paw under his chin to give a little scratch as he humorously looked in his memories for a warning she had given him before he headed out to the academy:

- I recall you saying that games of chance and luck were not permitted, as per ZPA regulation. As such I did not bring any game that requires dice or a roulette, cards are an item for long hours of playing that require wit and skill, in addition to mathematical knowledge, furthermore, I am not using them to play, I am performing a card trick. You can give that card back and I can show it to you with great pleasure.

Nick extended his arm to get the card back from her but Judy recoiled her arm to take the card away from the fox's reach, Nick was a taken aback with that but he knew that the bunny was just playing around with him as it was evident by her little cheeky smile directed at him. Judy was very glad for seeing Nick once more after such a long time and she was even more glad to see that he has been clearly taking his training seriously as her eyes scanned him as he remained stationary by the door. The two remained in silence, smiling at each other for some time, but the silence between them was broken as soon as Samantha's voice projected a sound that resembled her clearing her throat to call for Judy's attention:

- "Ahem".

Judy quickly turned around to face Samantha who was positioned with a stance that made it seem like she was expecting Judy to do something very important. Judy understood that and introduced her sister to Nick:

- Oh, Nick, this is my big sister, Samantha Hopps. She gave me a ride here so that I could see you. Sam, this is Nicholas Wilde, the friend I was telling you about.

Samantha walked a single step closer and extended her paw so that she could cumpriment him properly, Nick extended his arm her way as well but he didn't move out of his initial position too much as he did so. They shook paws and Samantha spoke out as her eyes moved up and down over Nick in a discreet manner to study him better:

- It is great to finally meet you. Judy here spoke a lot about you.

Nick smiled as he shook the bunny's paw, he gave a side glance over to Judy and said:

- Really? Only the good things I hope.

After Samantha let go of his paw she made a mental note of the sudden warmth she felt after greeting him, Nick's paws were rough and strong but also very gentle. She reassured him with a very suggestive tone of voice:

- Oh yeah. Just… *lots* of good things.

Nick decided to take this chance and officially introduce Judy to his roommates, he subtly turned his body and gestured a paw to the interior of the room to point at them and clear a field of vision so that the two of them could be well seen:

- These are the two mammals I spoke to you about. These are my friends Samuel and Alfred.

The wolf and the deer looked at the door, both placed in an awkward posture, and cumprimented the bunnies right by the door with their own respective salutes:

- It's an honor meeting you.

- How's it hanging?

After giving his own salutation towards Judy, Samuel winced in pain once more, taking his right hoof to the top of his head and passing it over the base of his antlers. Worried about his friend, Alfred leaned closer once more and asked:

- Are you sure you are alright?

- Ouch! I think one of them went back inside my skull a little bit!

Judy made a humorous face of discomfort after hearing the remainder of pain still present in Samuel's voice, she clutched her teeth and thought to herself:

"So glad bunnies don't have antlers."

Nick was still leaning by the door and releasing a stylish dose of laughter due to his friends antics, Judy returned her eyes to Nick and she felt a nice warmth after seeing him smiling again. She missed that sight, she missed hearing his laughter. Her eyes deviated for a little bit as she returned to look at him as a whole, she slowly scrolled her sight over his torso and saw as the cream colored patch of fur was much better accentuated by his muscles, the same thing could be said about his arms. Judy then took notice of how the pattern of Nick's fur color was made, the cream patch of fur the began at the very base of his jaw curved itself subtly to follow his body's natural line, traveling along his neck, his chest and then disappeared into the lower half of his abdomen. It was a mesmerizing sight for her at that moment and she couldn't help but stare at it.

Realizing that the bunny had become silent after acknowledging his friends, Nick turned his head around to look at her again and found her scanning him with a very curious gaze. He gestured with his paws and called to her attention by taunting:

- Take a pic, carrots. It will last you a whole lot longer.

Judy awakened from her entranced like state, she shook her head and directed her eyes back at Nick's face, Samantha was almost breaking away in laughter after hearing that little bit of teasing coming from the fox and directed at her sister. The older bunny of the pair was biting her lips and snickering as silently as she could to not call Judy's attention towards her. Judy shook her head, placed her right paw over her forehead as she averted her eyes dotted with embarrassment and spoke out placing a request towards Nick:

- Nick, can you please just go put a shirt on?

The fox took a good look at himself and at his own coverless chest, he turned to look at Judy once more and asked:

- Why? Does this bother you, carrots? Does this make you… uncomfortable?

With a set of gestures that just screamed mocking and a tone of voice very reminiscent of the one he employed for Judy back at the naturalist club from quite a while ago, Nick continued to taunt her with his body. Her face was becoming red with frustration after hearing that specific voice that just pushed her buttons, even if she could occasionally find that humorous, this was not one of those occasions. She clutched her paws into fists and tried to make him stop that by calling out to his name:

- Nick…

Before Judy could get any more words out, he continued:

- Because this is not an uncommon way for any of the ones living in here to go about our own business on a daily basis. Beyond this threshold lies a "males only zone", a place where we are free to demonstrate our true selves and express our rebellious thoughts out in the open.

Judy placed the palm of her paw over her face, knowing all too well that there was no stopping Nick's line of thought when he was like that. Nick saw how he was leaving her more and more flustered and decided to press it a lot further by saying:

- If it was up to me, we would all walk around without shirts. In fact… That is a great idea.

Nick turned to his friends inside the room and gestured towards them before speaking:

- Guys, take your shirts off as well.

Samantha was definitely on board with that idea, as a bunny pursuing a promising carrier in medicine, her curiosity about analyzing the physiology of other mammals was definitely getting the best of her at that moment and she could hardly wait to get a live peek at all of it. After sounding a short gasp and displaying a very interested smile she sounded a little whisper:

- Yes!

Judy, right beside her, was not too thrilled by that prospective. She rapidly raised her arms, showed the palms of her paws in clear view of everyone and shouted:

- No! No one take their shirts off!

Alfred and Samuel were not intending on following Nick's example on that, the two of them were just stationed inside the room, positioned near the bunk-bed, not moving at all as they heard Judy saying that. To make their intentions clear, Alfred turned to her and showed a dismissive gesture with both of his paws as he spoke up:

- I wasn't! I won't! I swear!

Judy turned back to Nick and gestured with her paw pointing into the room while asking of him:

- Nick, please just go inside and put a shirt on.

Nick laughed once and decided to obey her request, he left the door open and slowly walked into the room to retrieve a shirt for himself. While he leaned down to grab a bag containing most of his clothes inside and looked for a shirt to wear, Nick turned his head around slightly in the direction of the door behind him and said:

- I forgot how much you just love to step all over my fun.

The bunny pouted with annoyance and shook her head after hearing that, she awaited with her arms crossed for Nick to get dressed properly and come back to the door so that they could talk. After Nick found a shirt to wear he started to put it on while retracing his steps back to the door, he returned to his previous position, leaning against the door's threshold, now fully dressed, and looked at Judy before asking:

- So, did you come all this way just for a quick 'hello', or is there something else?

Judy gestured with her arms, but she gave up on performing that motion half way through and just positioned her left paw under her chin before speaking:

- I'm here because I will be giving an orientation for an important evaluation program this afternoon. Every cadet will need to be there for it.

Judy did her best to sound professional as she delivered that message, Nick gestured with his head nodding in her general direction and squinted his eyes as he said:

- Sounds urgent. Any chance you can give me a hint of what this 'evaluation' is about?

She smiled, shook her head and continued to speak:

- Sorry, Nick. I can't say any more about it and I also can't make any exceptions, not even for you.

He turned his head upwards and spoke with a certain tone of disappointment in his voice:

- Well, I should have expected that. At least it would make it more fun.

- Nick, this is not meant to be fun. This will be a serious evaluation of the skills from every cadet. You need to stay sharp.

- I'm always sharp fluff. You should know that better than anyone.

- I should, although sometimes I can't help it but have my own doubts about that.

They just continued their conversation like they were the only mammals in that environment, the others merely watched as the bunny and the fox exchanged information and witty remarks in a rhythmic back and forth that was almost hypnotic. Samantha kept moving her eyes over the two like she was watching a tennis match, after they were done with just words, Judy came a little closer and Nick got that chance to lean down close to her and the two came together in a warm hug. As Judy was smooshing her cheek over the fur on Nick's neck, she spoke up with a sweet tone in her voice:

- I really missed you, you dumb fox.

To which he replied:

- I missed you too, clever bunny.

After the pair separated, Judy decided to leave for the time being. She emphasized how Nick and his friends needed to show up at the courtyard on time for the presentation she was going to give and he gave her his clear reassurance that they would be there on time. Judy gave him a little wave with her paw and she walked on her way followed by Samantha close behind. After the bunnies were gone, Samuel and Alfred came closer to the door, the wolf leaned down to get closer to Nick and say to him:

- Dude. I cannot believe we just met Judy Hopps.

Nick smiled at him and closed the door as he asked to both of his friends to quickly get in gear so they could prepare for the day they had ahead of them in advance just as the bunny had advised them to do. Meanwhile, outside the room, the two bunnies were walking far away from the living spaces of the academy, Samantha could not take the smile off her face as she watched Judy give the occasional little skip in the middle of their walk. After they stopped for a second to get a glass of water by the filter at the front lobby, Judy turned to her sister and asked:

- You have been uncharacteristically quiet Sam. What is it that you are thinking about?

After taking a single sip from the plastic cup of fresh water in her paws, Samantha turned to Judy and answered her question:

- Well… to be honest Judy, I'm a little crossed with you.

The younger bunny's ears twitched and placed in parallel to one another as she asked with surprise and suspicion:

- With me?! Why?

Samantha went ahead and finished sipping from the water she still had in the cup, she tossed the used cup in the waste bin, turned over to Judy once more and spoke up:

- You told me quite a lot about your friend and it all pent out to be true. You told me that he was nice, funny, sweet, you told me that he was witty and you even disclosed that he was a fox. You, however, did not reveal what might have been the most crucial detail of them all.

There was a long instance of silence after Samantha finished her sentence, Judy was listening carefully but she still couldn't figure out what her sister was talking about. The silence seemed to stretch itself for far too long before Judy decided to ask:

- W-what detail?

That is when Samantha got in close to hold both of Judy's shoulders and almost cause her to spill the water she had in her own cup. Sam gave Judy a little shake and spoke out with tons of energy to give her answer more emphasis:

- He is HOT Judy! Why didn't you tell me he was HOT?!

Judy did not know what to say to that, she was almost certain that Samantha had gone crazy. The younger bunny remained stunned locked in place as her sister rambled on and on about the chance to meet Nick for the first time:

- I mean, I can sort of understand why you didn't tell. That doesn't mean you shouldn't have told me.

Still locked by the direction that conversation was suddenly taking, Judy could do little more than look for a congruent explanation from Samantha, only in doing so, the younger bunny was tripping all over her own words and could not formulate a discernible response for that dialogue. In her attempt to talk back with her sister, all Judy could muster up speaking was:

- I… I don't even… I mean… he isn't… WHAT?!

Samantha smiled after hearing her sister muttering out those words, she walked two steps closer to Judy with a little swing on her hips and the grin still placed on her lips and spoke up:

- Oh, please. Were we looking at the same fox back there? Don't tell me you didn't notice it. I know I already asked you a ton of questions about him yesterday but now I have a whole lot more.

Judy was still taken completely off guard by that, she shook her head from side to side for a short second before turning to Samantha once again and asking with incredulity:

- WHAT?!

The quick paws from Samantha came close to grab Judy, she felt as Sam squeezed her left arm to inquire even more pressing questions about the fox:

- C'mon Jude, spill it! How did you meet him? How long have you two known each other? Was he always that ripped? Was that the first time you've seen him without a shirt?

Samantha released a little gasp after blurting out that last question and just before she reached a very precipitated conclusion:

- It wasn't!

That conversation was evidently getting off the rails pretty fast and Judy didn't want any of that. She gestured with her right paw so that Samantha would follow close as she walked in the direction of the front door and spoke out:

- Sam, I do not know what are you on about but you can go right ahead and drop it. There is nothing of the sorts to discuss.

The older bunny walked very close with a hurried pace, the conversation was far from over. As the two of them walked through the front grounds of the academy, Samantha continued to press over the subject:

- There are *tons* to be discussed about this. What's more, I could just sense all of the sparks flying as the two of you talked.

There was a huge blush building up on Judy's face at that instant, she halted her walk and turned over to Samantha to speak with a decisive tone and projecting her voice between her teeth:

- There were no "Sparks"! That is just silly!

That is when Samantha positioned herself right on Judy's path, blocking her route towards the front gate of the academy as to make sure she wasn't going to run away from the conversation. With a sarcastic tone, Sam answered to that:

- Okay, you just keep telling yourself that until you believe that's true. Also, the whole 'Dumb fox' and 'Clever bunny' thing… I'm guessing there is a big story behind that.

Judy released a displeased grunt from her mouth, she did not want to speak about that at that moment. She tried to get past her sister but Samantha gave a large striving step to the side, once again blocking the path to the gate before continuing:

- C'mon Jude, that fox was way more than you let out yesterday. You can't deny the sheer appeal of what I just saw.

Samantha gestured over her own body, placing the palms of her paws over her own figure as she listed the attributes that called most of her attention about the fox and placing a big prominence in each of them:

- I mean, the way he moved around... I am not that into predators, but that was just… mesmerizing. Those *arms*, those *shoulders*, that *chest*, those *eyes*… and that *voice*! Oh, my God. That voice!

Samantha said so as she raised her paws closer to the bases of her ears, she proceeded to make her point more visible and gestured with them bringing the palms of both her paws to the sides of her cheeks and continuing to speak with a very delighted tone of voice:

- It was like having someone pouring silk all over me.

She returned to look at Judy and at her, very annoyed and very embarrassed, face, to bring a very crucial point that had just occurred to her:

- Also, there is that ass. Please, tell me you checked that ass.

Judy's eyes shot open and her face blushed even more after hearing that. She delivered a little bump to Samantha's shoulder and answered to that with her arms placed paralel to her body and a squealy tone of voice:

- GROSS! I didn't check… Look, you need to leave.

The older bunny was very surprise with that, before Samantha realized what was about to happen, Judy was already turning her body around and pushing her forcefully in the direction of the front gates. Sam didn't want to leave just yet, she kept on pressing so that Judy would let her stay for a while longer but she was ultimately convinced by Judy to go and prepare their reservation for that night in a motel just like the had agreed upon during the previous night. Samantha exited the gates of the academy with her mind still grinding its gears about what had happened, Judy watched as her sister entered her car and left the premises, she took a deep breath and went on to prepare for the presentation she had to give.

Author's note: Man, i am beat! I will get some rest and be back to you guys really soon. Until then feel free to check out my other stuff and i'll see you all next chapter.