-Scientific Spring Part 3-
Nick, with the help of the Zebra conductor who had been keeping an eye on him, managed to get his luggage off the train. The fox had barely taken a few steps down the train platform when it happened.
Some memories remain with folks till their dying days. Whether it was the first time they saw fireworks, their first kiss, or maybe the birth of a pup. For Nick one of those memories was when he arrived at Manta Bay that day.
His eyes went wide in surprise as his friends suddenly charged him. The fox was wrapped up in a hug first by his cousin Emily, then Trisha, Delta, a small set of paws that were Sarah. He tried to not to let his tail swish too much when he felt Judy join in. Atom was the one that brought up the rear, having just finished hugging a pair of college wolfs, his pawstep's could be heard as he hurried over and wrapped his arms around his friends. Unfortunately, he had also caused a bit of an unbalance which soon caused the group to tip over and land with a thud on the train platform.
The gang couldn't help but groan and laugh as they piled on top of one another. Nick looked around and his bright green eyes widened as he realized Judy and him were just inches apart. Her beautiful smile and laughter filled his senses as she looked back at him.
"Welcome back to Manta Bay Nick."
"Glad to be back Judy."
It took them a bit to finally leave the train station. The group having gotten somewhat giddy and rowdy now that they were all back together. It wasn't anything Jean couldn't handle as she managed to corral the gang and get them moving. Delta and Atom helped with Nick's bags and such, mainly because the fox had his paws full. Sarah who remembered Nick and all he had done for her in the past saw him as some brotherly figure. In her mind that meant he was supposed to give her a piggyback ride. The doe happily wrapping her arms around the fox's neck as she held onto him. Nick looped his arms for Sarah to put her legs through for even more support.
Judy had tried to apologize and convince Sarah to use her own feet to move around. Nick, however, brushed the comments aside and said he didn't mind. Judy smirked as she looked from her sister to the fox currently carrying the multi-colored cutie. She strolled next to Nick, a slight skip in her step that Emily and Trisha couldn't help but whisper about.
"Funny how she got it when he arrived."
"I know right," Emily joined in the gossip. "It's like watching you every time Delta comes round."
That comment earned Emily a slug on the arm from the smaller mammal at her side.
When they arrived in the parking lot everyone loaded up into Jean's minivan. Being a fox vehicle meant it had more than enough room for everyone to spread out. While Emily sat up front with her mother Trisha grabbed Delta by the paw, something that caused the painted dog to grin happily, and had him hold up with Atom.
"Newbies in the back," Trisha teased as her tail flicked.
Her plan was obvious to Emily and Jean. The others seemed somewhat oblivious. Especially Sarah who happily sat in between Judy and Nick. The multi-colored cutie beaming up at Trisha whose eyelids drooped. The brown doe couldn't be mad at that sweet smile though.
Ok, …plan B…need a plan B.
Trisha was so focused on what was happening in the back seat with the visitors to Manta Bay that she had completely forgotten to let go of Delta's paw. The canine, however, didn't seem to mind. Far from it, he kept looking straight forward, occasionally glancing at his paw still holding the smaller bunny's.
"So when did you two get here?" Nick asked as he buckled into his seat and looked over at Judy, his view of the gray bunny somewhat obstructed by a pair of black and white ears.
"Yesterday," Judy said as she finished making sure Sarah was properly buckled. The car came to life and Jean put the vehicle into drive as she drove the gang back to her place. "We are staying at Trisha's."
"We built a pillow fort yesterday," Sarah exclaimed as she waved her paws wildly about.
"Really now," Nick said with a smirk. "What did you call i-"
"Fort Trisha! My house my rules." Trisha said from the center row which caused the three mammals in the back to laugh.
"So when did you find out you were going to the camp?" Nick asked a constant smile on his face at the whole situation they found themselves in. He still couldn't believe it. Not only was he here in Manta Bay and about to go to this rather fun sounding camp but Judy was here to share the experience with him.
"About a week ago," Judy said with a bright smile as she looked forward.
Nick's gaze followed Judy's and he saw how a pair of bright blue eyes were staring back at the front seat. Trisha's thick black tipped ears were raised up and from the looks of it, she was wiggling with excitement.
"Thanks again Trisha," Judy said sweetly.
"Yeah, thanks!" Sarah nearly shouted with joy.
Trisha's eyes went to Nick who tried to find the words to say just how grateful he was but apparently, it wasn't needed. The brown doe simply gave Nick a wink as she tilted her head in his direction. Nick returned it with his own nod, a kind of silent thanks to the sweet brown-
"Actually you should be thanking Atom," Emily pointed out from the front seat.
Trisha's eyelids drooped as she looked to the side. Atom suddenly sat up and turned around, his mouth open in a happy pant as he waved at the three in the back.
"Yeah that hugging booth of his raised most of the money," Delta pointed out, still looking towards the front of the car.
Trisha turned to look at Delta and cleared her throat. The painted dog looked over at the small brown bunny and suddenly realized he was being stared down.
"But Trisha raised a lot with her lemonade stand idea!" The painted dog added quickly, fearing for his own life.
"Well thank you, everyone," Nick said happily.
"Yes thanks, guys," Judy added.
"Thank you again!" Sarah chimed in.
When they pulled up at Jean's house Nick was surprised as to how many vehicles were currently parked on the front of the street.
"Someone throwing a party?" Nick asked as he eyed all the cars.
"Yeah us," Jean said from the driver seat as she pulled into a vacant spot on the driveway.
The gang piled out of the car and stretched their legs. Nick noticed a Manta Bay police cruiser parked nearby and nudged Judy's arm with his elbow. The doe smiled at the fox's touch before realizing what the tod was pointing at.
"Well, guess dad is here," Delta grumbled as he helped Atom unload Nick's bags.
"Dad?!" Judy asked as she suddenly spun around. "Your dad works for the Manta Bay police department."
"Uhh…yeah..." Delta said as he tilted his head slightly.
"That is so cool! Can I talk to him? I want to join the ZPD! What's their academy like here? Do they have a large police service?"
Judy began to rattle off question after question to the confused looking painted dog. Nick couldn't help but smile at how Judy acted about the new information. His ears flicked slightly as he felt a pressure on one of his paws. He looked down and noticed that Sarah had grabbed one of his paws and was smiling up at him with a pair of lovely pink eyes.
"She talks nonstop about being a police officer," Sarah explained.
"Really?"
"Yeah, but lately she just talks about Manta Bay," Sarah said innocently.
"Probably because of the camp."
"Yeah, but she also likes to talk about Halloween, The snowball stuff, Trisha."
Nick smiled as the smaller bunny listed off subjects that her sister liked to talk about, trying to remember every little topic Judy liked talking about. He couldn't explain why but it all felt rather important that he knew this stuff.
"She doesn't seem to like talking about you though," Sarah explained which jolted Nick back to reality.
"What? What do you mean? She doesn't like talking about me?" Nick felt his whole world start to spin at the sudden revelation that the sweet doe from Bunny Burrow didn't like him.
"Yeah, she always turns a bright red and starts shouting and trying to cover my mouth whenever I tell my littermates about you. She also laughs nervously and her ears turn red too."
Sarah may not have fully understood what all this meant but Nick did. The broadest of smiles remained on his muzzle as he looked over at Judy who with the help of Trisha was pestering Delta for information.
She turns bright red….like….blushing?
As it turned out there was quite the party waiting for everyone in the backyard of Jean and Emily's house. Nick's uncle Rob was busy grilling some beetle burgers and vegetables when the group arrived in the backyard. The fox looked up as he heard the sliding glass door to the house open. He had a beer in one paw and raised it at the newcomers.
"Well well well here comes a whole mess of trouble," The fox chuckled as he set his drink down and walked over. "Nick, how was the trip?"
"Good Uncle Rob, thank you again for having me," Nick said as he was wrapped up in a hug and given a firm pat on the back by the older fox.
"So polite," Jean said as she patted Nick on the shoulder.
"Can you teach Emily?" Rob asked.
"Hey!" Emily shouted as she hurried over to her dad and tried to tackle him to the ground. Rob let out a grunt and began to tumble to the grass but everyone knew it was all in fun, Emily was a fraction of the fox's size and he could easily take her on. Rob, however, loved to rough house with his daughter and soon the two were in a playful shoving match before he had to return to his grilling duties, taking Emily with him to show her how to grill.
"Nick!" Peggy said as she hurried over.
"Mrs. Rose!" Nick said in surprise as he felt the bunny wrap her arms around him. He began to have an understanding of where Trisha got a bit of her bubbly nature.
"Oh gosh not you too!" Peggy explained as she nuzzled into the tod who returned the hug. "Aunt Peggy. Its what the girls have been calling me all weekend so it only seems fair."
This was extremely odd to Nick but also very welcomed. He would never have thought he would have a bunny for an aunt, even if it was just a title.
"Aunt Peggy!" Sarah chimed in and scurried over. Turning Nick's current hug into a group hug.
"So this is the fox I have heard so much about?" Came a deep voice from the snack table.
Nick looked over and saw a large painted dog in a police uniform stride over. Every step carried with it some authority and Nick felt suddenly rather nervous. Even as a young tod in Zootopia he had always been treated oddly by members of the ZPD who sometimes saw him as trouble waiting to happen.
"Yessir," Nick said as he stood up a little straighter. Peggy rolled her eyes at the painted dog who approached, she then scooped up Sarah and moved to the side, the multi-colored bunny purring as she nuzzled into the older doe.
"Name's Larry," The painted dog said, his demeanor changing to one of warmth almost instantly. He held out a large painted paw towards Nick who took it and gave it a firm shake. "I'm Delta's dad."
"He is also the law around these parts!" Trisha explained as her head suddenly popped up from behind the large painted dog's. While Nick hadn't been looking Trisha had managed to climb up the back of the police officer who took little notice of the sudden invasion in personal space, it seemed like he had grown used to this.
"I am an officer for the Manta Bay police department yes..."
"If you are really nice he might let you taze someone!" Trisha offered.
"No!"
"Or maybe fire his gun off a few times into the air."
"Yeah that's another no," Larry said as he rolled his eyes and smiled down at Nick. "You're used to her by now right?"
"Or maybe if you ask real nice he will let you run someone off the road!"
"Delta!" Larry shouted.
Delta suddenly hurried over and stopped just beside Nick, the fox smirking over at the painted dog who couldn't help but laugh at what he was witnessing.
"Take your girlfriend and go cause trouble somewhere."
The smirk on Delta's muzzle suddenly vanished as a look of surprise crossed his face.
"Dad!"
Trisha meanwhile was still holding onto Larry's shoulder but she was no longer making eye contact with the canines in front of her. She was instead looking up into the sky, a pleased smirk on her lips as a light blush went up her ears.
"Ohhhhhhh someone is in trouble," Peggy teased from the snack table.
Nick looked over and noticed how Peggy, Sarah, and Judy were all looking over at the scene, all of them giggling at Trisha's embarrassment.
"What? Oh come on it's not like it's a secret," Larry explained as he turned to look at Peggy. "I mean you and I both had to go over to Rancho the other day because of that stupid librarian losing her cool because of-"
Larry couldn't finish as Trisha suddenly wrapped her paws around the painted dog's head and put her paws over his muzzle.
"What's that officer big mouth? I think I hear a donut shop being robbed!"
Larry took the hint and played along.
"Oh no! My one weakness!" The painted dog said as he scooped Trisha off his shoulders and set her down. He then struck a heroic pose and hurried back into the house.
"I keep asking mom if I am adopted," Delta grumbled as he put a paw to his forehead.
Nick, however, had a knowing smirk on his muzzle as he leaned over towards Delta.
"Librarian? What happened in the library Delta?" Nick asked with a muffled chuckle.
Delta's ears flicked and he slowly turned to look at Nick, "What happened by the fireplace last time you were here Nick?"
Nick's eyes went wide as he stared at the painted dog, he thought it over for a second then simply asked, "Truce?"
"Truce."
The barbeque itself was a unique experience for Nick. He didn't have many other friends belonging to other species and most foxes kept to themselves in Zootopia. The mammals of Manta Bay, however, were different, especially Trisha, but it was a good different.
Rob and Jean had several large picnic tables in the backyard already which meant everyone could sit together and chat. Rob would wander down the tables on occasion and try to force anyone with space on their plate to have another item from the grill. Peggy and Jean kept themselves busy as they ate their food but also kept an eye on the kits, making sure drink glasses were full and Trisha was behaving herself.
Nick watched with mild amusement as Jean wandered over in time for Trisha to finish constructing a small village out of vegetables only to declare a monster was in the area as she started to grab paws full of the village and stuff them in her mouth.
"What have we said about playing with our food you little goof?" The fox asked the small brown bunny.
"Make it entertaining!" Trisha said, her cheeks stuffed with veggies.
To Nick's surprise, Jean reached out and gave Trisha a gentle rub between her ears, "That's my girl."
"Oh, so you have been the bad influence!?" Peggy shouted from down the table. "I keep wondering where she gets these notions! I'm trying to raise a mature bunny here!"
"Oh please Peg, I have driven by the park more than once to see you on the swing asking one of your boys to push you higher so you can do a flip," Larry teased as he reached over Nick's shoulder and grabbed a bottle of mustard for his beetle dog.
Nick snorted as he looked down at Peggy who gave the large painted dog a playful stare.
At one point Sarah, who had been sitting next to Trisha for most of the meal wanted to join Judy. The small multi-colored bunny scurried under the table and popped her head up between Judy's legs. Judy snorted as she helped her sister up on the bench. The thing is space was somewhat at a premium on this side of the table which meant Judy had to scoot closer to Nick. Their legs pressing against one another.
"Sorry Nick," Judy said as she wiggled to give her sister some room.
"Its ok Judy," Nick said as he took a bite of his burger, he was really just doing it to hide the sudden smile on his lips. After swallowing the bit of beetle burger in his mouth he turned to look at Judy. Before he could speak however Judy smiled up at him.
"I am really glad you made it Nick," Judy said sweetly, her beautiful purple eyes looking up at him.
Just like that Nick didn't know what to say. He had been planning on asking how things were back in Bunny Burrow or how Judy and Sarah's family was. His mind, however, went blank as he looked down at the bunny.
"I'm really glad you're here too," Emily whispered on the other side of Nick which brought the tod back into reality.
"I'm really glad you're here too Judy," Nick mimicked his cousin.
"Smooth dork…super smooth," Emily said in a low voice before taking a sip from her drink.
After lunch, Peggy suggested the gang head over to the local park to work off some of their food. Judy and Sarah tried to stay and help clean up but Peggy wouldn't let them, insisting that she needed someone to distract Trisha while they took care of things at Jean and Rob's.
Larry had to get back to patrolling the city, having used his lunch break to spend time with them all. The painted dog started up his cruiser and turned on the lights which caused Judy to bounce in place. He then blared the siren for a second which caused the gray doe to suddenly reach out and grab Nick's paw as she stared at the Manta Bay police cruiser.
"Just go already!" Delta shouted at his father who gave his son a wink and then waved at the rest of the kits in the driveway.
Once the cruiser rolled away and they all calmed down Delta rolled his eyes and turned to the others. He looked like he was about to say something but suddenly closed his muzzle as a knowing smirk appeared on his face.
Judy was still holding Nick's paw from all the excitement, his own digits having intertwined with the small bunny's.
Sarah had noticed this as well but had a completely different reaction. She hurried over and grabbed Nick's other paw and giggled happily. It was then Judy realized what she had been doing but thanks to her little sister she no longer needed to let go to save her from embarrassment.
"Shall we head to the park?" Emily asked as she walked down the driveway, as she passed Delta she leaned up and whispered something in the painted dog's ears which caused them to fall flat on his head, his eyes going wide. The young vixen then looked at her cousin and gave him a subtle wink.
Had this group been walking the streets of Zootopia they would have probably gotten a few odd looks. The gang was a bit of an odd bunch. There was the brown bunny who was hanging on the shoulders of the brown painted dog. A fox walking paw in paw with two adorable bunnies. Bringing up the rear was a light colored painted dog who had his arm around a young vixen's shoulder who giggled on occasion and would prod the painted dog who snorted happily.
The park that had been suggested by Peggy wasn't very far from Emily's house. It only took the group a few minutes before arriving at the large series of wooden structures. Nick let out a low whistle, having not seen many playgrounds like this back in Zootopia.
"Its been around forever," Trisha explained as she turned to look at the out of towners, her arms still wrapped around Delta's shoulders, his tail had not ceased in its wagging since they left the house.
"Well except last summer when it was being repaired," Emily pointed out.
"Or the summer before that when it caught fire," Delta added much to the annoyance of Trisha.
"Whats that Atom?" Emily playfully began, the yellow painted dog having not signed anything but seemed excited to have his name mentioned. "And the summer before that when it hadn't even been built yet?"
"OK! I get it!" Trisha shouted as she looked straight ahead. She then leaned close to Delta and nuzzled her cheek against the back of his fur. "So it is still kind of new but its been here long enough for me to claim it as Trisha park."
"That's not what its called"
"Shut it, Emily!"
The park didn't just have the large wooden structures that looked like a small castle, it also had swings, a seesaw, climbing ropes, and a metal roundabout. The group separated when they arrived. Some of them pairing off to explore what the park had to offer. Trisha jumped off of Delta and grabbed Sarah by the paw as she led the smaller bunny into the wooden structures followed closely by Delta, their squeaks of laughter filling the park.
Emily and Atom darted over to the roundabout. Emily grinning excitedly as she sat in the center of the large metal disk and held onto one of the poles as Atom began to kick his feet into the tanbark on the ground causing the roundabout to spin.
Nick suddenly felt a little nervous. He looked at his friends as they scattered and began to enjoy the different activities of the park. Which left him with-
"Want to hit the swings?" Judy asked without missing a beat.
Nick smiled at the small gray doe next to him and nodded, walking over to a set of swings that sat vacant nearby.
Remember those memories one cherishes forever? As it turns out Nick would have many of those moments from this trip. One of those memories was sitting on the swings with Judy.
The two caught up like they had been old friends that hadn't seen each other in ages. In fairness that was kind of what they were. Having not seen each other in weeks. Each of them sharing stories and catching up.
Judy telling Nick about school, her aspirations of joining the ZPD, the play she had been in during the Bunny Burrow harvest festival. To her own surprise she felt so at ease with Nick she revealed something that she hadn't even told her parents about yet.
"I couldn't just sit by and let him take those tickets," Judy explained as she gave Nick a weak smile. She then brushed some of the fur on her cheek aside and revealed the three scars that had been hidden. Nick's eyes going wide.
"Judy! I am so sorry that happened," Nick began but Judy quickly waved her paw in the air.
"Its ok, just a scratch, some mammals can be jerks ya know?"
"Yeah…I…know," Nick said as memories of the scout meeting flashed in his mind. The expression on his muzzle must have given something away as he felt a paw on his own. He looked over at Judy who had moved her swing closer to his, a look of concern on her face.
"You ok Nick?"
Nick blinked a few times and looked up at Judy and gave her a warm smile.
"Yeah sorry Judy, just kind of got lost in thought."
"What kind of thoughts?"
Nick mulled it over but decided for now not to bring up what had been eating away at him. How he had been mistreated by mammals he had thought were his friends. Instead, he decided to focus on the here and now. The now being in the park with Judy in a kind of peaceful silence. Which was weird since Trisha was around.
Nick's ears flicked as he sat up a little straighter. His gaze going towards the wooden structure in the park, realizing that everyone else was missing.
"Um, where did everyone go?" Nick asked hesitantly which caused Judy's ears to go up. She looked across the park and noticed what Nick had as well.
Her ears twitched and turned slightly. After a second or two, her eyelids drooped and she nodded towards the wooden structure. Nick glanced over and noticed several different sets of ears all raised and pointing in their direction.
"They are laughing," Judy grumbled.
Nick felt his heart race as an idea popped into his head. He calmly reached over and grabbed Judy's paw and gave it a squeeze.
Judy's ears stood more erect as her eyes widen in surprise. She looked down at her paw now intertwined with Nick's.
"Let them," Nick said simply as he smiled at Judy who tried her best not to blush. "So broken up any other major crimes back home?"
Judy stammered at first, her throat having gone dry. She, however, found her voice and smirked, "Well there was the case of the missing cookies from the cookie jar."
Had Nick possessed the same hearing Judy did he would have heard the commotion going on over at the wooden fort. Both Emily and Trisha let out a series of "awws" as they peaked through a set of holes in the wooden fort. Atom let out a gagging noise and crawled away. Sarah and Delta, however, were busy sitting nearby stacking their paws on top of one another to see whose would remain on top. Sarah giggling as her tiny paw was covered by the larger mammals who laughed along with his friend, his eyes, however, looking over at Trisha on occasion, taking note of how the brown bunny seemed to gush at the sight of Nick and Judy holding paws.
The next day couldn't come fast enough for anyone in the group. While the rest of Nick's arrival day was filled with more silliness and fun memories, like the one where Atom and Delta managed to get the roundabout spinning so fast that Sarah nearly went air born. Nick, however, managed to catch the doe before she was flung off, her bright pink eyes wide as she laughed happily. The gang was all eager for the camp to begin.
As the sun set over Manta Bay the gang said their goodbyes. It was obvious to everyone present that a certain pair didn't want to part. But after some convincing everyone managed to pull Sarah and Atom apart, the pair having been enjoying a hug that lasted so long that Sarah nearly fell asleep as she nuzzled into Atom's warm painted fur.
Trisha, Sarah, and Judy were picked up back at Emily's house. The three bunnies waving farewell to their friends from the backseat of Peggy's car. Judy smiled right at Nick and waved her tiny paw in his direction. The smirk on his face caused a warm feeling to fill her up and she didn't look away from the young tod till the car turned a corner and he was out of sight.
That night Trisha noticed how Judy had this distant look on her face as she brushed the fur on her ears. The brown bunny couldn't help but smile, having a feeling what had caused a silent happiness to come over Judy.
"She has been getting like that ever since winter break," Sarah pointed out.
"I wonder why?" Trisha whispered as she continued to brush Sarah's fur as she sat behind the smaller doe.
As the two does gossiped and giggled over Judy the gray bunny tuned them out as her mind went back to earlier that day. Images of a swing set with Nick and their paws intertwined played over and over in the young bunny's mind. She had no idea why she enjoyed the memory so much but it didn't matter.
Judy had been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized how fast time had gone by. It wasn't until she felt a tiny paw on her wrist that she came back to reality. She looked down just in time to see Sarah close her eyes and yawn before looking back up at Judy. It was a signal that it was time for bed. Judy was led to the top of the bed where a surprised looking Trisha was climbing under the covers. Sarah didn't say a word as she crawled under the covers and rested her head on Trisha's shoulder and closed her eyes, nuzzling into the brown doe. Trisha couldn't help but smile as Judy joined her and laid down on the other side of Sarah but scooted closer so the multi-colored was wrapped up between the two other does. She then wrapped an arm around Trisha who in turn moved closer. Her bright blue eyes full of happiness as her eyelids slowly drooped closed.
Judy listened to the soft breathing of her sister and her friend. The soothing sounds helping her drift off into dreamland. The last thought that crossed her mind before she was completely out was of Nick standing in Emily's driveway smiling at her.
A few blocks away Nick sat in bed as he stared up at the ceiling to the guest room he was occupying at Emily's home. He had been smiling all day and it was so refreshing to the young fox. He didn't get many days like this back in Zootopia. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy for so long. Between the kindnesses of his family, the silliness of his friends, and the feelings he got when a certain gray bunny's paw was wrapped up in his own, all of it was just so much that Nick was just filled with a kind of pure happiness.
Normally Nick had trouble getting to bed these days. He would normally worry about what the next day would bring, what trouble he would be accused of, what bigotry he would face. Tonight though he didn't have any such worries. He smiled as he closed his eyes and fell into a pleasant sleep, for the first time eager for what tomorrow held.
The morning finally came and fortunately for all those youngsters going to the summer camp, it went rather quickly. Similar scenes played out at the different houses across Manta Bay as the group got ready at each of their homes.
Delta was woken up by his father who came in banging a pot with a large wooden spoon, having just finished making breakfast for his son.
"Come and get it before I feed it to the fish!"
"We don't have a fish dad…"Delta grumbled as his eyes struggled to open.
"Well come and get it before I walk your breakfast to the aquarium and feed the fishes there!"
The young painted dog groaned, his eyes still closed.
"In nothing but my bathrobe, boxers, and slippers. I'll be sure to tell them all; Hey I'm Delta's dad! Anyone seen his bunny? She is brown, big blue eyes, and what was he said…oh right…these really big beautiful ears that-"
This was enough of a threat to get Delta jumping from the bed as he hurried to get ready.
Peggy meanwhile was gushing over how cute the girls looked in their camp shirts. Every year the camp sent out a care package before the event. It normally contained a few shirts that were included in the price of admission. The colors and designs on the shirt changed each year. This year it was a teal shirt with a large jellyfish with a smiley face waving and holding a sign that read: Manta Bay Science Camp.
The older doe was taking picture after picture of the girls. Asking them to strike the occasional pose before taking individual pictures. She kept insisting that it was all for Bonnie and Stu back in Bunny Burrow but Trisha pointed out that her mom just liked taking pictures. The young brown doe didn't hesitate to pose in whatever picture her mother asked for though. Judy thought the one with Trisha standing behind Sarah, her arms wrapped around the multi-colored doe's shoulders, was especially cute and couldn't wait to see it.
Over at Emily's house, a pair of young foxes sat at the kitchen table, their tails swishing as the sweet smell of pancakes filled the room. Rob was humming to himself as he flipped the thin breakfast food in a pan on the stove.
"So we will pick you all up at the front of the aquarium this afternoon and then come back here, Rob and I have dinner plans with some friends so you two will be on your own for dinner, we will leave you some money for pizza," Jean explained as she sipped her coffee and sat down at the end of the table.
"Don't we sleep over at the aquarium?" Nick asked in slight confusion.
"That's not till the end of the camp," Emily pointed out.
"Nick just doesn't want to sleep at our dump that's all," Rob chuckled from the stove.
Nick's eyes went wide as he tried to insist that wasn't the case.
"No he just couldn't get any sleep with your snoring from down the hall," Emily shot back.
"I do not snore!" Rob said as he turned to look back at his daughter but noticed the knowing looks coming from both the girls. "Ok, so I don't snore that loudly! Nick back me up here."
In another kitchen, in another home in Manta Bay, a lovely looking painted dog hummed a sweet tune as she cut up some fruit. Her ears flicked and she looked at her watch.
"Oh geez, he should have been downstairs by now," The painted dog said worryingly.
"I'll wake him, mom!" A young painted dog in a junior ranger scout uniform said, her light blue eyes raising from her activity book.
"Thank you, Shell."
The painted pup skipped from the kitchen singing a campfire tune she had learned at her last scout meeting.
"Save the last pinecone for me boys, save the last one for me, I've been home reading those book of rules so just save the last one for me."
She had been told the rangers out in the town of Fairfax sang it around campfires at night, since she would be visiting the forests during the summer she wanted to know everything she could, being the only girl in her troop meant a lot was expected of her.
When Shell reached the door to her brother's room she shook with excitement and knocked. She then slowly pushed the door open and peeked inside. No one appeared to be in the room at first but she knew better. Shell looked over at the bed where a mountain of plush animals sat, slowly rising and falling.
"Pssssst!"
There was no response.
"Big brother?"
Still nothing.
Shell took in a deep breath and tiptoed in. If he wasn't awake then he deserved a good scare to get him up, besides what were little sisters for. Shell reached the side of the bed and took in a deep breath, planning to shout her brother's name to get him up. If it meant causing him to have a mild heart attack that was just a bonus.
Before she could say anything though the pile of plush animals burst into the air as a painted dog with bright yellow eyes burst from his sleeping spot.
"AH!" Shell managed to get out before being tackled to the ground and wrapped up in a strong hug. The young painted dog began to burst out with laughter as her brother nuzzled into her neck and snort. "Atom no! Stop! That tickles!"
"You two ok?" Came a shout from downstairs.
"Were fine!" Shell shouted as she was lifted off the ground and carried out of the room by her loving brother who held her close in a hug.
With the kits and pups all woken up and fed, it was time to be dropped off at the aquarium. The camp was about to begin. Jean drove Emily and Nick to the aquarium which sat on the edge of the bay that the city got its name from. Nick was amazed at the large series of gray buildings that sat nestled by the sea. The main building must have been roughly 5 stories high with buildings of various sizes connected by a series of walkways and paths. Scaffolding covered the sides of several of the buildings as tarps covered up a few windows.
"They are currently remodeling the outside," Jean explained as she parked in the large parking lot. "Apparently after it's done they will hire a local artist to paint a mural on the side of the building. Till then it's not much to look at."
"But the inside is really cool," Emily added excitedly.
Once out of the parking lot the three foxes approached a series of tents with banners on them. They walked up to the registration table where a friendly porcupine sat in a dark blue shirt.
"Welcome campers!" She said excitedly. She blinked a few times as she looked at Emily and then a happy smile crossed her lips. "Oh wow! Emily, how have you been? I was one of your counselors last year."
Emily tilted her head slightly with a sly smile, "Carol? Yeah, I remember, you were super fun! Are you a counselor this year?"
"Sadly no…" The porcupine said as she lifted her leg slightly and revealed a cast.
"Oh, dear are you ok?" Jean asked.
The porcupine nodded, "Just fine, little skiing accident. But I refused to skip a year volunteering. So I'm on registration detail. Speaking of which let's get you all figured out so we can get you to the camp."
Carol looked at Nick, the fox giving a weak smile.
"And who is this handsome young fox?"
"Nick Wilde," Nick said politely.
"My cousin from Zootopia," Emily said proudly.
"Oh, Zootopia? That sounds neat. Bet you have lots of fun adventures there."
"Yeah," Nick lied.
"Let me just find your paperwork, did you register together?"
It took a minute or two but Carol found their paperwork. While most of them had notes scribbled on them Nick noticed how Emily and his paperwork had yellow sticky notes on them which caused Carol to snort.
"Oh that's right, should have remembered, your group had a special request."
"Special request?" Jean asked in slight confusion.
Carol let out a long sigh and gave Jean a knowing look which caused the Vixen to roll her eye, "Trisha?"
Carol simply nodded, "Trisha."
"Oh this is going to be good," Emily laughed.
Nick had a confused look on his face which Carol noticed. She leaned on the registration table and gave Nick a warm look, "We try to accommodate requests made by our campers. The request from Trisha was you all be paired together. And that you have a certain counselor for your camp. She also wanted to swim in the shark tank but I am sure you understand we can't do that."
Nick snorted at the explanation and let out a sigh.
"Do me a favor you two, keep an eye on her and don't let her pester Dave too much, he doesn't know he has you all again."
"This is the 3rd year, he should know by now there is no escape," Emily insisted.
Carol laughed and instructed them where to go and to enjoy the camp. Jean said her own goodbye, giving them both a hug before shooing them off, insisting it was time to go have fun and to behave. The vixen then turned to Carol as the two caught up.
"Let's go find the others," Emily said as she grabbed her cousin by the paw and led him down a large cement ramp that would bring them to a small entrance park in front of the aquarium. When they arrived they were met with a sea of other mammals in similar shirts all milling about waiting to start their various adventures.
"Over here!" Trisha shouted and bounced up and down so Emily and Nick could see her. As they approached Nick noticed how Judy, Sarah, and Trisha were all in the same teal shirts that Emily and Nick had put on that morning. There were many other mammals in the same colored shirt with the spring camps logo on it. There were also mammals running around in different colored shirts. There was a group over by a railing in bright green. They all looked far younger than the members of their camp.
There was also a group in dark red shirts. The mammals in this group looked somewhat older than Nick's group.
Another had a kind of dark green, these mammals were all carrying various sketch pads and art supplies. Nick couldn't help but tilt his head as he watched a cream colored bunny excitedly bounce in place as she chatted with a fox wearing a large red scarf.
"Good morning!" Sarah shouted as she let go of Judy's paw and hurried over. Emily smiled as she received a hug from the multi-colored doe who had really come out of her shell on this trip, she was no longer hesitant to find affection from her friends. Once Emily had received her hug Nick was next. He wrapped his arms around Sarah who purred into his stomach, the tip of her black and white ears brushing up under his chin.
"You all ready for an awesome scientific adventure?!" Trisha nearly shouted.
Sarah let go of Nick and turned around quickly, her tail flicking in excitement.
"Heard you tried to get us in the shark tank," Emily snorted as she walked over to her friend and smiled.
"Yeah, they said no but I am willing to bet if we distract them long enough we can get in there."
Judy rolled her eyes at the brown bunny's comment and then looked over at Nick. Both of them smiled at one another as their eyes met. Each of them displaying an odd little trait. Judy's ears raised up as a light blush formed while Nick had a dumb grin on his face, the urge to laugh with happiness was almost too much.
The moment, however, didn't last very long thanks to some snickering coming from the side. Both Nick and Judy turned to see Emily and Trisha staring at them, a pair of smug looks on both their faces.
"Hey, Trisha?" Judy began to ask as a mischievous smile crossed her lips. "They have a library here?"
Trisha's eyes went wide as her ears fell limp behind her back, "What do you know?"
"Just what your mom told me," Judy said as her lips curled. "That if you get a little rowdy to just mention libraries."
"Betrayed by my own mother…"
Emily roared with laughter and gave Trisha a nudge, "Oh snap, Bunny Burrows, got some dirt on you!"
"Shut it, Emily!"
"Bet Delta may know where to find some books," Nick joined in.
"Oi! Wilde! I'm gonna throw you in the shark tank!"
"I like libraries," Sarah said happily as she skipped over towards Trisha. The brown bunny let out a sigh and brought the multicolored cutie into her arms and gave her a hug, nuzzling her cheek against the top of Sarah's head. "I heard you and Delta though really like libraries though!"
Trisha's eyes popped open as her ears shot back up. Apparently, Sarah was now in on the joke, Trisha realizing she was outnumbered.
Fortunately back up soon arrived for the bunny in the form of a hug attack from Atom. The painted dog hurrying into the middle of the group, his tail swishing back and forth, he then held up his arms and began to hurry around his group of friends, making sure each of them received a hug or two. Nick couldn't help but notice how the painted dog had a few quills sticking out of his fur.
Delta walked up from behind Nick and gave his friend a pat on the back, "Sorry, we got held up. Atom wouldn't come in till Carol got a hug and you know how hard that can be sometimes." To prove his point the painted dog reached to his shoulder and pulled out a quill. "So what did I miss?"
"We were just talking about you, Trisha, and libraries," Nick said with a sly smile as he looked over at his friend.
Without skipping a beat Delta poked Nick's arm with the porcupine quill still in his paw. The fox letting out a surprised yelp before laughing. It didn't hurt too much but was just more surprising. Though he had just been quilled he couldn't help but smile at the painted dog, knowing Delta would only do it as a joke to a friend.
Before things got too out of paw with the new arrivals a kind of excited energy went over the crowds of campers as several larger mammals came from inside the aquarium entrance and walked over to the different groups of kits.
Trisha's tail flicked and she began to shake with excitement. Judy made her way over to Nick and leaned closer to the fox.
"So when we got here she kept asking if they got her request. She kept talking about how she wanted a particular counselor," The gray bunny explained.
"Emily mentioned something too," Nick added. "any idea who we are getting?"
"No idea but Trisha keeps saying he is the best one to have as a leader," Judy said as she looked up at Nick.
The bunny then scooted closer to the fox and wrapped her arms around his waist slowly.
"Good morning by the way," She said sweetly.
Nick tried his hardest but his tail gave him away as it flicked back and forth. He put his arms around Judy and took a risk, gently running a paw down the bunny's ears.
"Here he comes!" Trisha said as she started to jump up and down, waving her paws excitedly.
Judy and Nick snapped to attention quickly but remained next to one another.
Nick noticed the counselors were all different species. There was a slender looking cheetah who was already standing next to a group, explaining all the fun they were about to have. A brown bear hefting up two bunnies in his large arms and spinning them around as they laughed. A Zebra who had taken a knee to comfort one of his nervous-looking group members, explaining that this was going to be a ton of fun. Nick looked around and began to wonder who would be leading them through the aquarium.
An odd-looking puffball began to approach their group and Nick tilted his head. The gray and black mixed fur made him look slightly dirty. Nick was a little confused as to what he was looking at. It hit him when the mammal stopped right in front of his group, his eyelids drooped as an annoyed look crossed his face.
"It's my favorite raccoon dog!" Trisha exclaimed as she hurried over and wrapped her arms around the pudgy mammal.
"Why Trisha? Why did you request me?" The mammal groaned but patted the brown bunny on the head none the less with one of his small black paws.
"Because you are the best Dave! Sarah come meet Dave!"
Sarah didn't need to be told twice. She managed to wriggle free of Atom who had been holding the bunny close. Her small paws carrying her over to the raccoon dog who kept the same bored look on his face but lifted his other arm up so Sarah could easily wrap her paws around the raccoon dog's waist.
Dave let out a sigh as he kept looking forward, "You getting in on this too Atom?"
The yellow painted dog nearly jumped into the air as he clambered over, wrapping his arms around Dave's head and holding him close.
Nick looked over at Delta for some kind of explanation as to why they had specially requested this mammal. Delta shrugged and leaned over, "This is the third year, Trisha heard one of the other adults say they never see Dave smile so ever since then she requests him and tries to get him to laugh."
"That's kind of cute," Judy chuckled.
"Alright campers," Dave mumbled as he managed to get free. "Welcome to the Manta Bay aquarium spring camp."
The way the raccoon mixed mammal spoke made it sound like he was about to collapse from boredom. Nick and Judy, however, couldn't help but giggle as Trisha climbed up behind Dave and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She then popped her head from behind Dave's and smiled at her friends.
"The world is her jungle gym isn't it," Dave mumbled before letting out a sigh. He then noticed Nick and Judy and gave them a polite nod. "See we have some newcomers. Welcome. My name is Dave."
"Dave the magnificent!" Trisha exclaimed.
"Dave the stupendous!" Emily added.
"Dave the awesome!" Delta tossed in.
Atom hurried in front of Dave and turned to his friends. He made a series of paw signs before stepping to the side and throwing his arms up as if showing off Dave like he was a new car. Everyone, including Dave, turned to look at Delta who snorted.
"Dave the ice cream!"
Once introductions were done and rules gone over it was time to enter the aquarium. The different groups of campers split off to enjoy the variety of exhibits. As it turned out one of the benefits of the camp taking place during the refurbishment was that the aquarium was closed to the rest of the public. Which meant they had the whole place to themselves.
Dave led them underneath a gigantic blue whale skeleton before stopping just beneath it and pointing up. Everyone looked upward as the raccoon dog explained some interesting facts about the whale. Trisha chiming in.
"Dave killed this one himself ya know," Trisha began, still holding onto their counselor.
"No I didn't," Dave said, his expression the same as when they had all met.
"Dove right into the water and wrestled it for 2 whole days," Trisha continued as she smiled down at Sarah who hurried up and listened intently.
"That didn't happen."
"When he was done he cooked it up and gave the whole town whale burgers."
"Why are you so weird?"
The next exhibit was a large tank that looked like it was filled with a forest. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was seaweed. Judy and Sarah had never seen such a sight, their paws pressed against the glass as they tried to get a closer look.
"It's like the forests back home," Sarah said as her eyes scanned the swaying seaweed.
"Where is home, Sarah?" Dave asked politely as he walked up stood next to the multi-colored bunny.
"My sister and I are from Bunny Burrow," Sarah said happily as she turned to smile at Dave.
"So is it more like Bridgewood or Bunny Brook?"
Both Sarah and Judy turned to look at Dave in surprise.
"You know about Bunny Burrow?" Judy asked.
"Of course he does," Trisha exclaimed, "He knows everything."
"Its brighter back home though," Sarah mumbled as she looked back into the tank.
The young bunny had a point. The inside of the seaweed tank was somewhat plain and drab. While the water was clear and looked cool the backdrop of the dark green sea plant didn't do much to spark the imagination. The occasional silver-scaled fish would lazily swim by and didn't do much to make the tank exciting.
Dave looked from the tank and then to Sarah. A pensive look on his face before he reached down and took the young doe by the paw and led her away.
"I think I know a place you will like," The raccoon dog said as he led the group through the halls past several other exhibits.
Dave gave short explanations to each exhibit as they passed but kept them moving. He told them they would visit those spots later but for now he wanted to show Sarah something, he kept reminding them to behave themselves though because he was kind of breaking their schedule by taking them to a certain exhibit.
"Remember to try and not disturb the art camp as they need to focus on their drawings," Dave instructed as the group came around the corner. Before them, a large tube rose from the floor and went all the way to the ceiling and was filled with every color imaginable. The coral exhibit was truly one to behold. The aquarium staff had painstakingly created a reproduction of a coral reef. The different species of coral made the tank look like it was filled with colored rocks of various shapes and sizes. The coral, however, wasn't the only thing giving off bright colors. The fish that normally inhabited the coral out in the wild all had their own palate of bright colors and the tank in the aquarium was no different. Schools of fish swirled around the tank in some kind of coordinated dance of color.
It was no surprise as to why the art camp had chosen this tank to use as a kind of inspiration for their drawings. Several mammals in dark green shirts with the art camp logo on the back sat spread out around the tank. Each of them studying the exhibit before putting their noses back to the large art books resting either on the floor or in the mammal's laps.
The whole scene was actually somewhat serene and exactly what many of the young artists needed to concentrate on creating bright and vibrant pictures.
One such mammal was currently chewing on the end of her sketch pencil as she tilted her head slightly. There had been a beautiful parrot fish in front of the red panda just moments before but she had looked away for just a second and found it had vanished.
Her lips curled into a smile however when she spotted him once more, hovering over some bright green elkhorn coral.
"There you are," She mumbled softly to herself as she continued her sketch, pleased with how everything was turning out. She was already planning on a new color scheme for him which would-
"Needs rockets," Came a sweet whisper behind the red panda as she felt someone climbing on her back, making her bend forward slightly before a pair of brown arms wrapped around her shoulders for support.
"Parrotfish don't have rockets, Trisha," The panda giggled as she felt a soft cheek rub against her own.
"Well then yours would be the first," Trisha said matter a factly.
"First what? Parrotfish in space?"
"Uh….yes!"
"Why would he need to go to space?" The young artist asked, chuckling at her friend's suggestion.
"To fight the evil space lord, duh."
"Trisha you are so weird," The red panda pointed out.
"Yes but mom says I'm loveable," The doe teased. "And you know it's a good idea."
There was a sudden squeal of happiness nearby and the two looked over to see a cream colored bunny laughing as Atom lifted her up and gave her one of his famous hugs. The painted dog began to spin around with the bunny still wrapped up in her arms, causing the does feet to flail.
"Atom hugs are the bestest!" The small doe exclaimed as the twirling came to a stop. The bunny spotted Trisha and her chocolate brown eyes widened as she began to wave. "Hi, Trisha."
"Hi Oceane," Trisha said as she beamed at her friend from school. "You draw any space fish?"
"Space fish?" The bunny asked as she tilted her head slightly. Her confusion was soon replaced by more giggles as Atom buried his muzzle into the side of Oceane's neck and snorted. "Atom that tickles!"
"See Velvet, no one else is drawing space fish," Trisha pointed out. "You could be the first."
"Or you could let me draw in peace," the red panda suggested, knowing full well this wasn't an option. She couldn't help but smile though as her friend continued to offer suggestions on how to "improve" her current work. Most of them involved some kind of addition of jetpacks, rockets, or torpedo tubes.
As the science class and art class mingled Judy and Nick found a spot by the large tank that was relatively vacant. Both of them were so engrossed with the different array of sea life that they didn't really notice much of what was going on around them. Nor did they notice just how close they were standing to one another. This changed however when Nick reached up to point out a small group of clownfish that darted by. His arm gently brushing against Judy's. Instead of moving away though the young doe couldn't help but lean closer to the fox as she looked up to where he was pointing.
"That one has a smaller fin on his side than the others," Nick pointed out.
Judy squinted slightly and noticed what Nick was talking about.
"Poor little guy," Judy cooed as she watched the small fish struggling to stay in one spot. A slightly larger clownfish swam over and nudged the other, helping it stay in one spot.
A larger queen angel fish swam lazily over the clownfish, its bright yellow scales shining in the lights of the exhibit.
"They are so small," Nick pointed out with a snort.
"And what's wrong with small?" Judy asked with a chuckle.
"What?"
"You make it sound like small fish can't do anything," Judy said as she smirked up at the larger mammal, amused at how his emerald eyes widened.
"I didn't mean anything by it, Judy, honest," The fox said as he raised his paws up in defense.
"Nick."
"Yeah?"
"I'm messing with you."
A look of relief came over the fox who let out a sigh before smiling at Judy who scrunched her nose at the fox.
"I like their color too," Judy said as she looked back at the fish in the tank.
"Color?"
"That kind of orange is my favorite," Judy said absentmindedly as she studied the clownfish that swam upward towards the top of the tank.
Had she looked over at Nick she would have seen one of the biggest and dumbest grins on the young tod's face.
She likes orange! I am kinda that orange. Or is it red? Should I ask what she thinks of red? Maybe she likes red too.
Nick's thoughts were interrupted when Judy leaned against him gently. He looked down and noticed how she was gazing at the fish in the tank. Did she know she was leaning against him? Did it really matter? Why did her fur feel so soft and wonderful?
Nick decided to simply enjoy the moment and looked back at the ecosystem of color before him.
The moment didn't last long as everyone's attention suddenly went back to one of the artists.
"Ummm….hello!?" A fox in an art camp shirt said loudly.
Judy looked over and her eyes widened in panic as she noticed her younger sister currently sitting in the larger mammal's lap, her arms wrapped around his waist as she nuzzled into him. The fox had a large red scarf wrapped around his neck, which Sarah began to bury her head underneath only to poke her adorable little face out of and smile happily up at the fox she was currently hugging.
"Sarah!" Judy exclaimed as she began to walk over. From the looks of it, Sarah wasn't in any danger as the fox had simply wanted to return to drawing, the small multi-color doe interrupting his work.
"What? I thought we were supposed to hug the art campers," Sarah said innocently as she nodded over at Trisha and Atom who were still either holding or laying on one of the art campers.
"Zieg! How come she gets a hug?" Oceane exclaimed as she scurried over, having freed herself from Atom momentarily.
"Because she just crawled on my lap and- ack!" The fox let out before the cream-colored bunny reached him and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling into his cheek.
"I want one too," Oceane explained with a purr.
The fox groaned and began to squirm in his seat, it was obvious he was trying to stand up but with Sarah, in his lap and Oceane holding him from the side, the larger predator was having trouble getting up.
"Hug pile on Zieg!" Trisha announced as she scrambled over.
"Yes, go bug- I mean hug Zieg," Velvet said with a laugh. While she acted relieved to be rid of Trisha she had secretly enjoyed the moment with her bubbly friend.
"I am trying to art over here," The fox complained but it fell on deaf ears as Trisha reached him and stood on the other side of the fox that Oceane was on, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh no…no no no!" The fox exclaimed as he saw a certain painted dog running over on all fours, an open mouth grin on his face. With a bunny on either side of him and one curled up on his lap, the poor fox couldn't escape.
There was a thud followed by fits of laughter as Atom joined in on the group hug. His weight tipped the scales and caused Zieg to fall on his back as the bunnies and painted dog wrapped their arms around him.
"Poor guy," Nick chuckled.
"Trisha!" Judy shouted which caused the brown doe to poke her head up from the pile of bunnies and painted dog. "Nick looks like he needs a hug."
Nick's ears fell behind his head and his eyes went wide as three bunnies charged after him. The fox quickly high tailing it as he ran around the coral exhibit.
"Delta? Little help?" The fox in the red scarf pleaded as the larger painted dog pup lifted him up in a bear hug.
"Oh yeah, like I have any control over him," Delta laughed as he watched the fox squeezed by his friend. "Whatcha drawing?"
The brown painted dog picked up Zieg's sketch pad and studied the rough outline of one of the larger fish currently swirling around in the tank.
"Needs rockets," The painted dog suggested before setting the pad down and strolling back up to the tank.
The rest of the camp flew by in a blur of laughs, hugs, and Dave with the same bored expression on his face. While at first glance one would think it would be boring to have the raccoon dog as their guide it turned out Dave really knew his stuff. Even though he spoke in a monotone voice and didn't seem as vibrant as other mammals that worked the aquarium he still made for an interesting part of the camp. Other counselors would actually seek him out for information when they were stumped by one of the camper's questions. Dave would take a deep sigh and then explain the answer. Whether it was about certain fish migration patterns, the size of certain seaborne predators, or the fact that male seahorses were the ones that gave birth. His answers were elaborate yet simple at the same time, grasping everyone's attention as he explained in the same bored tone.
The camp wasn't just interesting thanks to the aquarium and Trisha's constant attempts at getting inside one of the tanks. It was fun because Nick grew even closer to his group of new friends. During the past visits to the seaside city, he had only been there for a short while. Sure during the Halloween trip, he had spent the night and during the holidays even his mother had stayed at Jean's with him. Most of those times had been spent with his family though. He loved them all of course but to have a chance like this to just hang out with mammals his own age did the fox wonders.
Top that off with the fact that it wasn't just the mammals of Manta Bay that he got to spend time with and you had one happy tod. For all the hardships Judy had faced thanks to a certain fox back in the Burrows she had not only warmed up to Nick but started to see him as one of her closest friends. She was rather popular back home. Her positive attitude and general excitement about the world made it so she was well liked. She, however, didn't have that many predator friends. She also didn't have many friends that made her smile the way Nick did. He didn't even have to do much, sometimes it just took a smile and Judy felt her knees go weak.
One of the most important mammals in Judy's life was her sister Sarah. Sure she had over 200 other siblings and her littermates were always very close to her. Sarah though was special and Judy fought so many battles to make others see that. The fact that Nick saw that at the very beginning meant so much to Judy. It also meant so much to hear the young multicolored doe laugh so much and so loudly.
There was a moment by the touch tank that really showed Judy what kind of mammal Nick was. Sarah had been hesitantly staring at a starfish that sat right in front of her. While other members of their group stuck their paws, or in Trisha's case head, into the tank to see what certain sea creatures felt like Sarah seemed slightly hesitant. That was until Nick strolled up beside her and started to whisper something in Sarah's erect ears.
Judy watched from a distance, her own paw gently caressing another starfish. She, however, was so focused on Nick and Sarah. The smaller doe bit her lip and nodded hesitantly. Nick then smiled and gently placed his paw into the water and began to run it over the starfish. Sarah watched for a moment before dipping her own paw into the water and poking the small sea creature. She then opened her paw and gingerly placed it next to Nick's.
"See, not so bad right Sarah?" Nick asked sweetly.
It wasn't a condescending tone, it wasn't an annoyed one if anything it was one filled with pride. Nick was proud of Sarah.
Judy felt a tear roll down her cheek but quickly rubbed it away, only to realize her paw was covered in seawater. She froze and gagged which caused Nick and Sarah to look up. The doe felt the blush going up her ears as a smug smile crossed Nick's handsome face. Sarah meanwhile pointed into the water and jumped up and down.
"Judy The starfish is so rough! I thought it would be more squishy."
"Alright everyone, time to go check out the stingray tank," Dave said as he corralled his campers back up. He then looked over at Trisha whose head was soaking wet and rolled his eyes. "You know where the towels are right?"
"You mean superhero capes?"
"Trisha…"
While every exhibit, activity, and team building game was fun, everyone couldn't wait for the final night of the camp. The night they would get to sleep in the aquarium in front of the tanks. As it turned out their group got to pick which tank to sleep in front of. The coral tank was already taken sadly. Judy thought the jellyfish tank would be neat, the glow from the jellies acting like a night light. Sadly that tank was taken. Sarah suggested the seaweed tank, but wouldn't ya know that one was gone too.
Suggestion after suggestion was already taken. The other counselors having found a way to reserve most of the tanks ahead of time for their groups. Dave, however, was undeterred when he found this out and simply told them not to worry as he knew which tank was the best one. This of course started a whole guessing game with Trisha and Emily shouting out more absurd suggestions as the day went on.
"We do not have a jellybean tank, Emily…" Dave would mumble.
"What about a pinecone tank?"
"No Trisha…that just sounds weird. Who would want to sleep next to a pile of pinecones anyways?"
Half the group raised their paws which caused the raccoon dog to roll his eyes.
The night of the sleepover they all met inside the large Aquarium lobby. All of them holding sleeping bags and backpacks filled with snacks. Group after group were led off by their counselors to get ready for their evening nestled by the large tanks. When Dave showed up everyone was rather excited, the suspense having built up over the course of the day. The current bet was a giant ice cream tank, Atom insisting that it was a real thing and just hidden away somewhere in the building.
"Ready?" The fluffy mammal asked as he inspected his group, something odd was in his eyes. Nick could have sworn that Dave was actually….excited?
Everyone nodded and followed the raccoon dog through the halls. They passed the other groups of campers. All of them setting up their sleeping bags on a series of air mattresses that had been brought in for the event. A few were already changed into their pajamas and gossiping with their fellow campers.
They passed exhibit after exhibit when suddenly Trisha's ears perked up.
"No way…."
Dave didn't look back but a slight strut in his step told Trisha she was onto something.
"I didn't think we could! It wasn't on the list. I have been here for 3 years! It never showed up!"
"where are we going?" Delta asked.
Emily looked over at the painted dog and shrugged.
Judy and Sarah hurried up beside Nick and gave him questioning looks, the fox, however, was just as confused as them. The only one who didn't look confused was Atom who signed something that caused Delta to snort.
"He says, Ice cream Tank."
It wasn't the ice cream tank. It was something even more spectacular.
The Manta Bay aquarium boasted many wonderful exhibits and projects. The coral tank was well known. They had one of the largest touch tanks in the world. Their ecosystem exhibits and deep sea tanks were some of the few in existence.
One exhibit, however, stood out. Images of it were plastered on postcards, calendars, books, and posters that mammals could buy in the gift shop. A few years ago it was just called: The Big Blue Tank.
After two manta rays, however, were rescued from the wild and rehabilitated it was renamed The Manta Tank after its two star residents. Housing such large creatures though required a large tank which the Aquarium already possessed. Sitting at 4 stories tall with 1.2 million gallons it was the largest windowed tank on the planet. It wasn't just inhabited by two manta rays though. Fish of all shapes and sizes called the tank home. They would lazily swim around in giant circles and patterns, ensuring that there was always a fishy friend to look at on the other side of the glass.
It was also the perfect place to enjoy a slumber party.
They had visited the tank on the first day of the camp so it wasn't exactly a new sight. The situation, however, was just something beyond words for the gang who all stood in front of the tank, still holding onto their sleeping bags, all of their eyes on the large tank.
The silence inside the large viewing area was interrupted by Trisha who dropped her sleeping gear and suddenly rushed Dave, burying her face in the raccoon dog's stomach.
"It's the best Dave," The bunny said, her voice muffled as she held the mammal close.
It took them a little while to set up all their sleeping gear. Dave had several inflatable mattresses set up in front of the large tank. While Trisha wanted to sleep right up against the tank Dave managed to convince them all to keep things a few feet from the tank, insisting it would help with the view.
The raccoon dog had to constantly come round and realigned the mattresses because Trisha and Sarah would try to find ways to stack them in an attempt to make a fort. On one occasion Trisha tried to get Sarah to distract Dave which only worked for about a second as the bunny became somewhat distracted by one of the giant manta rays that lazily flapped by the large viewing window.
Carol arrived a little later to help walk the girls to one of the restrooms nearby so they could change. The porcupine had a bit of a slow time at it because of her cast. Judy offered to help the mammal who smiled and said she could manage. When they returned to the viewing area each of them was dressed for sleep. The boys had returned as well. Judy couldn't help but snort at the fact Atom had the same captain carrot pajamas as Trisha. The bunny and painted dog both striking the hero's familiar pose before Trisha was scooped up by Atom and hugged.
It took a while but eventually, everyone managed to get settled down. Each of them were soon nestled in their sleeping bags looking at the large tank. Judy watched as a large sunfish clumsily moved across the viewing window. She looked to her side and smiled at Sarah who was memorized by the large fish. Beyond Sarah Trisha laid in her own sleeping bag, her attention on Delta as the two chatted. Judy looked over her shoulder and towards the other members of her group. Nick's attention was on the giant tank before them. Emily was busy giggling at Atom as he crawled around in a few circles on top of his sleeping bag before plopping down and closing his eyes.
Judy didn't realize how tired she was until she was curled up in her sleeping bag. With every passing second, her eyelids grew heavier. She let her body to the rest as she laid in her sleeping bag, the last thing she saw before sleep took her was Nick whose bright green eyes glanced in her direction, a warm smile crossing his lips as he watched the bunny drift into dreamland.
Against one of the walls to the large viewing area, two mammals sat on a regular spring mattress. Carol was unable to have an air mattress because of her back. Dave, however, didn't mind, having grown used to such an arrangement a while ago. The porcupine rested her head on the raccoon dog's chest as she looked across the room towards the campers who each began to drift off to sleep.
"This was really sweet of you Dave," Carol whispered as she patted her paw on the other mammal's chest.
"I try," Dave mumbled.
"You succeed," Carol whispered, leaning up and gently kissing the raccoon dog on the cheek.
The smallest of smiles formed on Dave's lips as he watched his campers fall asleep and held sweet Carol close.
-Sometime later-
Judy's eyes fluttered open and she smacked her lips before letting out a yawn. There were no windows to the outside but judging from how everyone was still curled up, Dave and Carol included, it was late in the evening. Judy blinked the sleep from her eyes as she looked around. She felt a sudden surge of panic course through her tiny body when she looked over at Sarah's sleeping bag which sat empty nearby.
The gray bunny sat up in her own sleeping bag and looked around quickly, her heart rate going up before she spotted her sister. She had to stifle a sigh as she spotted Sarah's head poking out of Trisha's sleeping bag, the top of the bunny's head nestled up against Trisha's chin, her black and white ears sat on either side of Trisha who looked rather pleased as she held Sarah in her arms, the two staying nice and warm in the shared sleeping bag.
Judy then scanned the rest of her surroundings. Delta, Emily, and Atom were all asleep. Nick, like Sarah, was not in his sleeping bag. Judy's ears raised as she noticed Nick sitting at the foot of his air mattress on the floor, looking up at the large tank before him. His expression was one of content as his eyes scanned the large aquatic tank in front of him. He looked so happy and at peace that Judy couldn't help but stare at him for a moment or two before deciding on something.
As quietly as she could the bunny crawled from her sleeping bag and onto the floor. Nick's ears flicked and he turned to look at the doe who froze mid-step and gave him a nervous smile. They stared at one another for a second or two before Nick nodded his head, signaling Judy to come closer.
Neither of them spoke as Judy made her way over to Nick. The bunny sat down right next to Nick and rested her head against his shoulder. Joy filled the small bunny as she felt Nick raise his arm only to bring it around the small gray doe, bringing her closer to him.
One of the large manta rays swam by in its majestic migration around the tank. It slowed and turned to one side, showing the two young mammals its large black and white streaked back. Nick and Judy watched the sea creature as it made its way through the water.
"Nick…" Judy began but sadly she hadn't thought about what words to use next. She wanted to say something though. She wanted to thank him, to comfort him, to just remind him what a wonderful friend he had been during this camp. Instead, she asked him a simple question. "Will you write to me when this is done?"
Nick didn't even hesitate as he squeezed Judy close, "Sure Judy, only if you write back to me."
"Of course Nick," Judy whispered as she nuzzled into the fox. She felt so content in that moment that she let her eyes slowly drift close as a sea turtle waved its fin, pushing its body through the water in the tank.
"Sarah too," Nick whispered.
"Oh for sure," Judy giggled.
Nick chuckled as he ran a paw up Judy's arm. Judy let out a pleased sigh. The feelings she felt were strange but so wonderful she didn't dare question them, even if they were unfamiliar.
"whats so funny?"
"I actually have some postcards you will like."
"Really? What are they of?"
"You'll just have to wait and see officer Hopps."
Judy smiled as she kept her eyes closed, her nose wiggling as she breathed in the fox's scent. The two young mammals remained silent as the cool blue water in the tank shimmered before them. Nick holding Judy close as they both drifted off to sleep once more.
Hey all!
Wow, so sorry this kind of turned into a long chapter. Scene after scene just came out and before I knew it we had 13k in words. Guess you can see why I split this thing up into 3 parts.
I'm sure some of you may have noticed a few familiar faces in the art camp scene.
Thanks to OceRydia for Oceane, Ziegelzeig for Zieg, and Red Velvet Panda for Velvet. When I first started writing that scene I didn't have any characters planned but I wanted it to be special. Thanks to your characters the scene was so much fun to write and I thank you all again for the use of those characters/sonas. And I think I speak for a lot of people when I say thank you for the wonderful works of art you all have made for this fandom!
As always thanks to my best bud Fox in the hen house for the continued use of his adorable creation Sarah Hopps. I mean scene after sweet scene just came to mind and I think one of the reasons this story is doing so well is because you created such an adorable little bunny that we are all falling in love with.
Thank you all for your patience with my works. Not just here but in my other stories which haven't been getting much attention. I have been having to deal with a lot of drama and stress because of a certain project in this fandom and it has made writing for me somewhat stressful. Its stories like Manta Bay though that keep me going.
Thank you all again for your patience, reviews, and support.
Cya at Manta Bay!
-Blue