I made a few small but important changes to chapters 10, 26, and 28. I wrote that Nick had changed his middle and last name but kept the first. That has now changed because looking back, it'd make more sense to change it completely. So his original name is now Jason Francisco Fox.
Just The Beginning
Nick's voice reverberates into growls. Part of oldest language known to mammalkind. It's single note could be used many times and each have different meanings. This one's is a war cry.
He didn't know why, but he had one mission: stop them from leaving. And he was going to complete that mission even if he had to claw, bite, and kick these larger predators into submission. Every time one of them moved, he blocked their path. He ran a semicircle around them. Snapping his jaws by their hindpaws, his teeth clacking against each other as his mouth closed where they used to be. He corrals them to the corner, forcing them to bundle up closer in order for them to keep some distance away from him.
He didn't know why he loathed them as much he did. His hatred took the form of an imp, who begs for one of them to step out of line. So that way they could be made an example of.
His Mate reentered the den and he let himself relax just a bit knowing that she's with him again. However they aren't in the clear yet. Making sure to keep himself in between her and them, he waits for her instructions. His Mate gravitates closer to him and he relaxes even further. She called out to him and he spares a glance at her to make sure she wasn't injured or in distress. When she got close enough to run her paw through his scruff, he backed up to where one of his hind legs came into contact with her. Now he didn't have to focus on her since he will always know where she is.
The shrill wail that was off in the distance had gotten much closer, it's high pitch irritates his triangular ears.
Looking at the group in front of him, he sees a hatred in the Skunk doe's eyes. That hatred is being directed toward his Mate. His protective instincts scream for him to get rid of the threat to his Mate. His growls grow more intense and ferocious as he bares his teeth at the threat, his tail whips around behind him showing just how agitated the doe made him by looking at his precious Bunny like that.
An equine's whinny pulled his attention away from the mephitid. Turning his nose upwards, he is able to learn that the equine isn't the only newcomer. Glancing back toward his Mate, he notes how unconcerned she is with the new arrivals. Taking her lead, he ignored them and kept himself planted in between the original group and the exit.
Only when the new group began to surround and capture the threat did he let himself unwind. He sat down on his haunches, his ears unfolded and perked up, and his growling stopped. His Mate took ahold of his muzzle and turned him to face her. Her fingers wedged themselves in his mouth, shoving something down his throat. His mind started to open up before being forcefully clouded.
Judy watched as the intelligence return to his eyes before they were muddled by the drug. The Officers who arrived to assist her were a mix between Precinct One and Nine officers. She watched as they got to work locating and disabling the traps that were hiding. She was just glad that no one had been hurt by them.
"There's an injured mammal down the hatch, but I don't know what's down there."
"Alright, we'll go down but keep an eye on the savage."
Judy pursed her lips, trying to suppress her anger. Now is not the time or place to argue. Brushing her fingers through his fur to soothe her fury. But she did as she was told. She watched as the Officers combed over the residence with a fine toothed comb. Looking from afar as they discover traps at other points of entry. Small spike pits underneath windows, additional shotguns mounted to the doors, and razors hidden behind door handles were just some of the surprises left behind. They were not very well hidden, if at all, and obviously made by amateurs. A perimeter is soon erected around the house and Forensics are now on scene. The process of stripping any useful/relevant information was efficient under the supervision of Precinct One, despite being within Precinct Nine's jurisdictional boundary.
She still had his fur in her paws, threading her fingers through his soft undercoat, the action bringing her comfort. Feeling the warmth that radiated from his body, the power hidden within him as he leans into her touch, the close proximity highlighting the scent of his seasonal musk.
Judy realized just how unwise it was bringing Nick along with her was without backup. She had been waiting for reinforcements, but Nick went ahead without listening. Something could've easily gone wrong. The Warthog held Nick's life in his hooves, and has been most likely armed. She could say for certain as she didn't see it but it was a safe bet to make.
"Hopps!"
Her ears popped up and snapped in the direction of the voice. It belonged to Joseph, who waved her over once he saw that he got her attention. Grabbing Nick's tie, she walked the both of them towards the Timber Wolf.
"The Chief wants you to go home." He didn't look at her directly even one time. She saw his nose twitch and he seemed to become even more uncomfortable.
"What?! Why?!"
"You're off the clock. What you should have done was let us know what was happening before, we don't do things alone. Now go home, we'll take care of things here."
"Alright, have a good night."
His eyes occasionally land on Nick, whose behavior concerned him.
"Is he alright?"
"He's okay, it's just his meds."
"Then you should probably go sooner rather than later, this isn't the sort of neighborhood that you want to be high as a kite in."
Leading Nick to his car, she sat him down and buckled him in, making sure that his tail wasn't going to get caught on the door. After he had been settled in, she got into the driver's seat and begun the long quiet ride to Deerbrooke.
...
Amanda Lewis sat down on the ground in the front lawn, paws cuffed behind her back. She watched as that Rabbit pulled Nick around by the tie, leading him around like he was some sort of pet. It infuriated her to see him get treated like that. She saw her shove a pill down his throat and how despondent he became after the ferocious display. Surely she was giving him something that would make him act like he did, otherwise he would've helped them. He would've helped Kris and she would've gotten her boyfriend back. He wouldn't have threatened them while he was feral, he wouldn't have sided against her. She vowed that she would free him from the manipulations of that hunnybunny.
"Pst."
Samuel gave no indication that he spoke but she heard him well enough to recognize who it came from. His paws were already free and he's holding a cuff strip behind his back for her to take.
"You and Mary should go, you're small enough to get away unnoticed for awhile, hopefully they won't at all. But if they find out before you had enough time then me and Isaac will distract them for as long as we can."
"Thank you. We won't forget this."
The dark black of their coats is a blessing, easily blending into the shadows as they make their get away.
...
Judy sat upright on their bed, holding Nick's head in her lap and gently scratching his scalp. Watching the constant rise and fall of his chest. She was upset at Joseph for assuming that she went in recklessly, and she was also upset at Nick for ignoring her and heading on into the building. But most of all she was upset at herself.
She was upset that she lost her cool while she confronted the Interloper and her group. She was upset that she had let the Warthog get away (temporarily). She was upset that she put her Mate in danger. Not only did she not respect his wishes concerning his involvement in this case, but soon after she convinced him to go he is forced to go savage again. She dragged him back into a world that he so desperately tried to claw his way out of.
But most of all, she was upset because she knew that she would do it all over again. The things that chased him throughout his entire life had certainly done it's fair share of damage to him, however now is the time for him to end it with his own paws. It was also an opportunity to get a preview on the life that they will share once he graduates the Academy.
"At least we won't have to worry about me getting hooked on the pills because the comedown is killer."
Her Mate's voice broke her out of her reverie.
"You were out of it much shorter this time around, hopefully the side effects lessen the more you use them."
"Would make things allot easier if it did."
Judy stared at Nick's emerald colored eyes, and she can see the fatigue which had built up within behind them. She closes her's and leans forward to give a gentle kiss, the lip contact sending small sparks between them. She presses her paw to his cheek, reveling when he presses back.
"How're you doing?"
"I feel like my head is under mud."
"I'm not talking about that, I'm asking how are you doing after seeing your ex again. And after getting tossed around by that swine."
"Eh I could've done without it, but it wasn't the worst night I had."
"But it's up there?"
"Naw, I had some pretty wild nights out in my twenties."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
"Hmm... there was this one time that I tried to pull a Pawpsicle hustle but Finn had blew our cover because the vixen he was seeing at the time was across the street."
"Really?"
"Mmhm, he tried to get me to understand that he wanted to leave but I kept trying to finish the entire thing. He eventually got so upset that he actually spoke. He quickly realized what he done but it was too late to do anything, not only did Cow get mad that we tried to scam her but the vixen also noticed us. To this day, that has been a sore subject."
"What happened?"
"They're still together, but she really likes to bring it up and tease him."
Hearing Judy's soft giggles relieved him. Her mood is definitely improving, and if he had his way then it will never go back down.
"So what did the cow do?"
"She gave us the ice cream we wanted alright, dumped a whole sundae bowl on top of us. It took forever to clean it out of my fur and the tail got the worst of it."
"Oh no, not the tail." Her sarcastic tone had more than a bit of mirth underlying it. But it soon gave way to full blown laughter when he idly ran his paw over the appendage in question.
"Be grateful that my fur grew back, as it is you love my tail."
"Wait... grew back?"
"Uh huh, the sugar glued my fur together. The fur on most of my body was short enough to get it cleaned, the the fur in my tail as you know is much longer."
"Don't tell me." The expression in her face is as if she just told her the holy grail of secrets.
"Yeah... I had to shave my tail."
Full blown guffaws hit Judy so hard that she couldn't even sit up. She held her stomach and rolled side to side. Her laughs had a mixture of snorts and her hindpaws started to thump rapidly.
He would do anything as long as she was happy, even share embarrassing stories or follow her to the depths of the criminal underbelly of Zootopia.
End Note
I also updated/rewrote chapter 20 so check that out, I think you guys will like it. (;
