Judy sat lounging on the couch with her feet stretched out and her back against the arm rest as she played a game on her phone. Nick had offered to bring her book down to her, but she was too nervous about meeting Vivian to pay attention to anything she read. And with Vivian arriving shortly, Judy knew a movie was out of the question, too. This left her phone as her only means of distraction. The thought of looking back through her pictures of Nick had crossed her mind, but Judy didn't think being hot and bothered was a good way to meet Nick's mom's, so she had to settle with a game on her phone.
This particular game required her to find clues to escape various rooms she found herself in. She usually did pretty good on the game, but with her mind constantly jumping ahead to her first meeting with Vivian and worrying about how she would react to her son hooking up with a rabbit, Judy wasn't escaping very quickly. Even some of the obvious clues had her stumped.
Judy was trying to figure out how to use her latest clue when her ears perked up at hearing a car drive up to the house. The sound of the engine was different from Nick's jeep so she knew it wasn't him returning for something. Furthermore, it hadn't even been 5 minutes since he left.
With her ears perked forward, they shivered slightly to catch the various sounds being made outside the house, all while Judy sat quietly trying to guess who her visitor was. Turning her phone off and pocketing it, she swung her legs off the couch and grabbed her crutches. As the car's engine turned off, Judy stood up and began hobbling towards the door.
A car door opened and closed and then Judy heard the soft clacking of hooved feet on the stone walkway and then across the wooden porch. They both arrived at the front door about the same time. Opening the door, Judy saw a strange female standing tall (and towering over Judy) with one split hoof raised to ring the doorbell.
Judy really wasn't sure what to make of the creature. She was extremely tall with a thick, muscular upper body and a long neck. If not for her coloring, which was a dark reddish brown with zebra stripes along her arms, Judy would have assumed she was a short giraffe. Meeting the female's gaze through her thick glasses, Judy asked, "Hello. May I help you?"
Delilah was only slightly surprised to find the door open before she could ring the bell. Being a much larger animal, and thus larger ears, okapis had even better hearing than rabbits so Delilah had listened to Hopps make her way to the door even as she did. "Hello, Officer Hopps. I'm Delilah Aukstas from the City Council."
Offering her hoof to Hopps for a pawshake, a wide grin spread across Delilah's mouth as she caught the scent of the small rabbit before her. As Judy reached up and took her hoof, Delilah continued. "I just wanted to stop by and personally thank you and Nick for the work you did in discovering Bellwether's evil plot and stopping her."
Judy's eyes widened, then she waved her paws out in front of her, saying, "There's really no need to thank me. I was just trying to correct a huge mistake I made. If you want to thank someone, then you can thank Nick when he gets back. I wouldn't have been able to get the evidence or anything without him. I wouldn't even be alive right now if Nick hadn't fearlessly stuck by my side."
Delilah nodded. "Well, I certainly want to thank him, too. But was I seeing right when I passed him on the street a minute ago?"
Judy gave a flick of her ear. "Yes. Nick went to pick his mom up from the train station. But they'll be back shortly, if you want to wait."
With ears perked forward, Delilah was about to explode with happiness at hearing Nick was already introducing Judy to his mom. That, coupled with the fact Judy smelled more like a fox than a bunny, gave Delilah all the information she needed. Nick and Judy were obviously in a pretty serious relationship. Judy alone was proof, as there was no way the bunny could smell so strongly of fox unless Nick had run his paws all over her. And she wasn't talking about him rubbing his paws across Judy's clothes, either. Delilah had personal experience with rubbing her strong okapi scent all over Landon's furry body and knew how difficult it was to wash off (okapis, like foxes, had scent glands on their hooves that left their scent on just about everything they touched, nor did regular soap and water wash it off).
"I would love to come in and wait," Delilah replied. "I'm interested in getting to know you better, as well."
Stepping aside, Judy motioned for the much larger mammal to come in. Seeing as Delilah's large ears brushed the ceiling, Judy was relieved that Honey had the foresight to build the house big with high ceilings (even if the female did have to duck to get through the door). With Delilah taking the large couch, Judy hobbled over to the loveseat and climbed up. After setting the crutches aside, Judy turned to Delilah (she still had no clue what animal she was) and asked curiously, "So what did you want to know?"
"Well, for starters," Delilah said as she got settled more comfortably on the couch, "how do you feel about living with a fox?" At Judy's scowl, Delilah realized how her wording could be taken negatively, and hurriedly raised her hoof, saying, "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. Being in the city council I hear a lot of complaints about predators from specist prey, and vice versa, so it always fascinates me and warms my heart when I hear about close friendships between predator and prey."
Hearing the larger mammal's explanation, Judy relaxed. With a smile, she said, "Living with Nick is great. The house is a definite perk, but Nick has been an amazing roommate. He seems to know what I need and caters to them. He's always making me laugh and I really enjoy talking to him. He even plays the piano and sings to me, so there's never a dull moment around, even when my leg injury keeps me from doing a lot of the stuff I usually do."
Delilah nodded as she listened attentively. Judy was positively glowing while talking about Nick. And the fact she wasn't highlighting the convenience of living in such a large house (she knew Judy could never afford anything like this on her cop's salary) but was going on about how great it was living with Nick himself, strengthened Delilah's certainty that the bunny and fox were in a relationship.
With a smile, Delilah asked, "So, I'm guessing Nick is enjoying having you around, too."
Nodding as a wider smile spread across her lips while thinking of how much Nick was enjoying having her around (and thinking how much more enjoyable it would be once they were up at his cabin), Judy replied, "Oh, yes. Nick loves having me around and says he never wants to see me go." With a shrug, she explained. "The only place I could find or afford on my cop's salary was a rundown shoebox of an apartment with loud neighbors and absolutely no privacy." With a wave of her paw, Judy added, "Nick refuses to let me go back to it. Since he has the room, he insists that I stay with him."
Delilah immediately picked up on Judy's permanent living arrangement with Nick and she nearly squealed in happiness. Returning Judy's bright smile, she said, "I'm really happy for you. Like I said, it always warms my heart to hear prey and predators getting along so well."
Judy flicked her ear again. "I really am happy living with Nick." With a soft giggle, she added, "He's shown me that there's much more to life than simply being a cop." While thinking of all the ways Nick had shown her about life outside of her career, from their dates, the toys in Nick's garage, and the invitation to the rallies, Judy didn't realize her ears were getting a dark shade of pink as she thought of the more intimate things Nick had shown her.
Delilah hummed her agreement and didn't miss the rabbit's blush. Not wanting to bring up her suspicions about the two small mammals just yet, she focused more on Nicholas. "I heard he was raised by Honey Badgersen and inherited everything she had, so I can imagine he's going to be taking you on some wild adventures once your leg heals."
Judy started bouncing on the couch in excitement as she told Delilah about the Zootopia Jeep rallies that Nick was entering this year and how she was going to be part of the team, along with her mechanic sister. She also told her new friend how Nick had already taken her on a tour of the city in his gyrocopter. Delilah was delighted to hear of the fun the two were already having and of all the fun they had planned. The Jeep rallies sounded particularly exciting. Having never attended one before, she thought it might be fun if she and Landon were to attend one on the weekend.
After sharing her desire, they made plans for Delilah and a friend to attend on the Saturday of the August rally. They chit-chatted happily for a few minutes, but knowing Nick would be coming back soon, Delilah wanted to bring the conversation around to her suspicions. She had waited so long to find another prey in love with a predator that she was dying to have some girl-talk about her handsome predator and to swap stories with Judy about hers.
In an effort to bring their conversation back around to predators, Delilah said, "Nick is going to be back soon, but I wanted to tell you again how grateful I am for your dedication and perseverance in bringing Bellwether to justice." Placing a hoof over her heart, she continued, "I have a very close friend who is a predator, and all the laws and legislature Bellwether had passed and was trying to get passed had me scared for his well-being and his ability to keep his job."
With a shake of her large head, Delilah added, "And then learning about the shock collars has had me lying awake at night thinking about the nightmare that evil little ewe would have plunged the city into. Landon would have lost everything and our relationship would have been compromised."
Judy tilted her head in confusion. "Compromised?"
Delilah nodded, even as a knowing smile crossed her lips. "I told you, we're very close." Leaning forward and lowering her head so they were almost eye-level, she rested her jaw on her palm while saying, "As close as you and Nick are, if my nose is telling me right." Judy's eyes widened and then her ears dropped to her back, even as Delilah said, "You smell like a fox, not a rabbit."
Hearing Delilah's words had Judy in a panic. They were trying so hard to make sure their relationship didn't get out, and now this lady from the city council showed up on their doorstep and had them pegged immediately! Were they going to be on the front page of the Sunday paper!?
Seeing the rabbit's panic, Delilah reached over and lightly touched the bunny's knee, saying, "Relax, Judy, I'm not here to condemn you and Nick. And I'm certainly not going to be telling anyone else about it." With a wry smile, she amended, "Well, I'll tell Landon about it, but only because he can relate."
Judy was all confused here. It sounded like Delilah was admitting to being in a relationship with a predator, too . . . But she was on the City Council! How could she be in a relationship with a predator and the city not know about it!? There was no way Bellwether would have let her keep her seat on the council if she knew Delilah was crawling in bed with a predator! And what did she mean, Landon could relate?
Seeing the rabbit's confusion, Delilah explained, "I'm an okapi, and like foxes, we have scent glands in our hooves," she held up her split hooves, "that leave our scent on most everything we touch." With teasing gleam in her eyes, she further explained, "Landon always wakes up smelling more like an okapi and less like a feline. The scent isn't easy to wash off, either." With a shrug, Delilah added, "And like you, if Landon stays home for the day, he doesn't like washing it off either."
In their ancestral past, okapis left their scent on the ground wherever they walked. But as they evolved to walk on two legs and to talk, and as they no longer needed to mark their territory or to communicate through scent, their scent glands had shrunk. Okapis now leave very little of their tarry scent on the ground. The glands in their front hooves evolved to be even smaller, which meant that Delilah needed to press firmly and rub her hooves repeatedly across something before the scent would be transferred at a high enough level for the average mammal to smell. Which was good because the only thing she wanted smelling strongly of herself was Landon. And Delilah thoroughly enjoyed smearing her scent into his thick fur every chance she got.
Judy's jaw dropped. Then she pointed to the large female and stammered, "You . . . you're living with a predator, too!" Shaking her head, Judy amended, "You're actually sleeping with Landon—a predator!?" Although Judy had thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in Nick's arms last night and hoped to have many more nights in his arms, it was still shocking to hear of another prey female enjoying the company of a large, predatory male.
Delilah practically purred as she answered, "Oh, yes, and it's the best and happiest decision I've ever made." She watched Judy's shocked expression for several minutes, but as the silence dragged on, Delilah began to wonder if she had guessed wrong about their relationship. Maybe they weren't sleeping together, yet. But then why would the bunny smell like a fox? A moment later, her worries were put to rest when the rabbit doe finally responded.
Relaxing into the couch, Judy grabbed one of her ears and began petting it as she asked shyly, "So . . . so I'm not the only female who's fallen for a big, strong male from the other end of the food chain?"
Delilah giggled. "Hardly. And I'm sure there are many more females with their eyes on males from the opposite side of the food chain, as you put it." With a shrug, she added, "But whether or not they have the courage to cross the line and snuggle up with their male is another question." With a bright smile, Delilah said, "But I'm truly happy to learn you and Nick had the courage to cross that stupid line that so many mammals use to separate predator and prey."
Judy nodded as a smile lit her face. Learning that someone on the City Council was also in a pred-prey relationship was shocking, but then it begged the question: How did she keep her seat? With her brow furrowing in question, she asked, "If you're living and sleeping with Landon, why didn't Bellwether kick you out of City Hall or make an example out of you?"
Delilah's ears drooped. The fact she had to hide her relationship with Landon from the rest of the world always bothered her, but both their respective careers were important and so they had both decided to keep their love a secret from their coworkers and friends.
Taking a deep breath, Delilah told some of her story. "When I was little, my parents took us kits and left Zootopia and moved back to my peoples' ancestral lands, the Ituri Rainforest of Central Africa. I lived there about five years and then my family moved back to Zootopia. Because I talked and acted funny when I returned, I was heavily bullied. But then I met Landon, and he stood up for me and chased all the bullies away." With a sweet smile, she whispered, "He's been my closest friend ever since."
Judy nodded, lost in thought. She had a similar story with Nick. He had stood up for her and was there when no one else was. With a warm smile, she knew she had a kindred spirit in the large okapi female.
Continuing her story, Delilah said, "Landon took me back to the village where I spent my youth as a birthday present several years ago. We were married there in the village and spent a month traveling the forest for our honeymoon." With a shrug, she explained, "But when we returned to Zootopia, we didn't register as a married couple. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, we're both single. Everyone thinks Landon lives alone and I live with my sister."
Judy flicked her ear as her nose twitched. "Nick and I are in a similar boat. We're going to have a private fox wedding later this week, but since Nick is entering the ZPA in a few months, we don't want our marriage getting out."
Delilah completely sympathized with the small rabbit. But she was also excited as she finally found a kindred spirit with whom she could talk to about her strong, loveable tigard. And so she proceeded to ask Judy about Nick and what dating him was like (and was shocked to learn they only became a couple a few days earlier). She asked about the wedding plans and then shared her own wedding story and what the marriage was like in a small, native village of the Ituri Rainforest.
Judy asked plenty of questions of her own and they both enjoyed talking about their loveable predators while waiting for Nick to return home with his mom.
-/-/-
As Nick pulled into the parking lot of the train station, he heard the train pulling away and thundering on to its next destination. With his ears folded back, he had to hustle to get to the train platform and find his mom. Standing on the main level and looking down at the train platform, he easily saw his mom standing off to the side, holding her suitcase and looking around.
Vivian Wilde was wearing a blue sundress with sunflowers on it, and a white straw hat with a blue ribbon for a hatband and a bow at the back. The outfit made her look younger than she was, but she was feeling young today. She was finally meeting her son after far too long and she was also going to be meeting her soon-to-be daughter in-law. It was a day Vivian was beginning to wonder if it would ever come. But it had come. Now all she had to do was find her harum-scarum son who likes to worry his mother.
After sliding down the escalator railing and ignoring the shouts that followed him, Nick leaped over the head of a black-furred, white-whiskered bearcat before weaving through the crowd towards his mother. Stopping behind her, he said softly, "Hi, Mom."
Vivian slowly turned around and looked her son over. His countenance was definitely brighter from the last time she'd seen him. He was dressed better, too. Setting her suitcase on the ground beside her, she reached forward and smoothed out his shirt, saying, "Well, I see you clean up better when you have a girl to impress."
Nick chuckled as he ran his claws through his headfur. "Oh, come now, Mom, my usual clothes are the height of Zootopia fashion."
Vivian rolled her eyes. "Then why aren't you still wearing them? Hmm?"
Nick chuckled again, then said, "It's good to see you again, Mom." Leaning forward, he wrapped her in a big hug with his tail wagging when she returned the hug. "Sorry I've been such a rotten son."
Squeezing him a little harder, Vivian replied, "Well, if you mend your ways, I guess I can forgive you." Stepping back, she rested her paws on her son's shoulders and looked him over again with a critical eye. "You've lost weight."
Nick's ears flicked back briefly. With a shrug, he said, "I haven't really felt like eating much the last three months, and with the way Zootopia was, I tried to stay out of the public eye."
With a raised brow, Vivian asked, "Are you eating now?"
Grinning widely, Nick answered, "Oh, yes. Since Judy came back into my life, my appetite has come back full force."
Vivian gave a nod, then asked, "Well, shall we get going? I'm eager to meet the female who was able to straighten you out. Heaven knows, I've been trying for years with no success."
With a light chuckle, Nick picked up his mom's suitcase and escorted her to the jeep. Vivian waited until they were safely in the jeep and Nick had pulled onto the street before she began speaking about the bunny who turned her son's life upside down. "Are you happy, Nicholas? Are you really happy?"
Nick's ear's perked forward as he glanced at his mother. Before he could say anything, though, Vivian answered her own questions. "Of course, you're happy. I can see it in the way you carry yourself, in the perk of your ears, and in the sparkle of your eyes. That bunny really changed you, Nicky, hasn't she? It's like my little boy finally found his way home again."
Nick's ear flicked as he said, "Well, Mom, I'm not a little boy anymore, but yeah. It did feel like I was lost for a long time and Judy was the guiding light to show me the way back home."
Vivian nodded, then fell silent for several minutes, lost in thought. Finally, she asked, "Are you sure she's going to stick around?"
A slight scowl crossed Nick's face. "Of course, she's sticking around. We are getting married in a few days."
With a nod, Vivian replied, "I haven't forgotten. I'm just still having a bit of a problem understanding why a rabbit would want to marry a fox." Playing with her wedding band (she had never taken it off after John died), she added, "I'm happy for you, Nicky, but I'm still trying to understand it."
Nick nodded as his tail flicked beside him. "Yeah, sometimes it doesn't feel real to me, either." A wide, happy smile crossed his face. "But then Judy will look at me the way she does, and I'll feel her fingers in my fur, and she'll give me her eager kisses and then it's all too real." Wrapping his fingers around the steering wheel a little tighter, he added, "And then I just want to wallow in everything that is Judy. I want to experience every part of her and never let her go."
Vivian studied her son and could literally feel the intensity of his emotions. For someone who always shunned romance and serious relationships, it was strange seeing how intensely Nick felt for the bunny who had stolen his heart. But it was heartwarming to see at the same time. Her son had finally grown up and she was interested in watching the interaction between the two.
Wanting to lighten the mood, Vivian moved the conversation on to other things. As the two fell into easy chatter, Vivian told Nick about what she had been up to these past few months. This had Nick feeling guilty again as his mom had been too worried about him to do most of the things she enjoyed doing in the past. Vivian also told Nick about Anya and how she was stuck working this weekend and so couldn't come down with her.
This made Nick feel guilty again as he knew why Anya was working this weekend. It was so she would have time off when he came next weekend—which he probably wasn't going to make. He would have to find a good way to make it up to his sister. He'll probably have to call her later tonight, or maybe tomorrow, and explain some of what was happening. He still wanted to keep Judy a secret for the time being, but he should at least tell her in person that he wasn't going to make it.
As they continued talking, Nick headed for Tundra Town and at his mother's question as to why they weren't going straight home, he explained how he still needed to get an engagement ring that Judy could wear while waiting for their bunny wedding in the spring. The only place he knew that would treat foxes right was Francesca's, the jewelry store owned by the Big's. Although Mr. Big no longer wanted to kill him on sight thanks to Judy, Nick didn't trust his luck walking into one of Silvano's establishments as he wasn't sure the hit on him had been cancelled.
Vivian was quite upset that Silvano, an old friend of hers and John's, had a hit out on Nick. With a death glare to her son, Nick finally spilled the beans on what had happened five years ago that caused such a huge falling out between him and the mob boss who he had looked up to as sort of father figure.
Vivian was of course appalled to learn how Nick had been harassed by some of the females he had worked with, and especially how Nakita had set him up. But she was equally upset at Silvano for thinking Nick would ever be disloyal and disrespectful to him. She was especially angry that the small shrew refused to give Nicky a chance to explain himself. She was going to have a long talk with the tiny shrew while she was here. Maybe tomorrow night when Nick and Judy were having dinner with Daphyd. That would be the perfect time to pay her old friend a visit and set things straight.
FYI: Okapis, also known as the Forest Giraffe as they arethe only living relative of the giraffe, are solitary, elusive creatures that don't have much interaction with their own kind, or any other species. So, to communicate and let other okapis know they were there and to mark their territory, they have glands in their hooves that leave a tarry substance behind that is packed with their scent. Another interesting fact, the okapis are such elusive creatures that explorers had heard about them for decades from the native tribes living in the forest but had never seen one, so they thought they were mythical creatures. It wasn't until 1901 that Sir Harry Jonston acquired a complete skin and two skulls from one of the native pygmy tribes that their existence was confirmed. Before that, they were referred to as the 'African Unicorn' as explorers didn't actually believe they existed.
Okapis also have infrasonic hearing that picks up extremely low frequency sounds. To communicate with their young, and yet keep hungry predators in the dark on where their young are hiding, mother okapis send out infrasonic calls at about 14 HZ which their hiding young will respond to. The sounds are so low that humans and just about every other animal, including the hungry leopard who preys on them, can't hear them. Elephants also send out extremely low frequency sounds, so they could probably pick them up, too, but elephants are too big to live in the dense jungle.
The Bearcat, or Binturong, is a bear-like creature that likes to hang out in trees in South and Southeast Asia. They have a long, heavy body with stout legs, but despite its nickname, it isn't related to the cat or the bear. It has dense, black coat of coarse hair and a long, bushy, prehensile tail that tapers at the end and curls inward at the end. A Bearcat's head and body is about 2.5 to 3 feet long, with its tail being nearly as long. Bearcats are omnivorous, eating small mammals, fish, birds, earthworms, insects, and fruits, with figs being a large part of their diet. Bearcats are an important mammal for seed dispersal, especially for the Strangler Fig, for the animal's ability to scarify the seed's tough outer covering.
WingedKatt here. I hope you this chapter finds you all well. Next chapter, Nick will meet Delilah and Judy will finally meet Vivian.
Ch. 78 will post in 2 weeks. I hope you all have a great weekend. Take care and stay safe. If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know.
