Okay, so I know it's been a while since I put out the last chapter, but I've been rather busy lately. And writer's block decided I wasn't going to write on some days. But that's beside the point.
Sit back, relax, put on an inspirational song (mine is The Freshmen by The Verve Pipe), and enjoy the chapter!
Nick's breaths were short and heavy as he continued to try and dodge Ardenhu Fangman's quick and powerful strikes. The two had been fighting for what seemed like hours. The fox was used to dodging attacks to wear the opponent out, but this wolf was in a whole other league.
It didn't take long before Ardenhu got a clean hit to his jaw, knocking him to the mat. The wolf took a step back. Nick laid there for a good moment to recover from the onslaught. Even if Ardenhu had said he was going to take it easy on all of them, it still felt like they were fighting an uphill battle all the time. This was nothing like the first fight they all had with him. He was trying harder now.
"Enough. You've gotten better, Wilde, but you need to be more aggressive. It's not always wise to wear your opponent down." He said as he brushed his sleeves off. "That goes for the rest of you. Use your size, strength, or speed to your advantage. I'll give you a more detailed assessment at a later date. You're all dismissed."
Nick groaned as he picked himself up off the mat, brushing himself off a little. He shook his tail out and turned towards Judy as she approached.
"You didn't do that bad." She said, patting him on the back. "You did better than most of us." Nick just sighed at her and slumped a little in mock defeat. His trademark grin was placed firmly on his muzzle. "Oh, stop!" She punched his shoulder. He rubbed it for a minute before walking towards the door with Judy in tow.
"I knew that. I just need to get better." He said. "But I don't wanna talk about that. My mom wants to have me this weekend. Do you have plans for Saturday?" Nick asked his rabbit companion.
"Yeah. I'm going back to Bunnyburrow for a birthday party.." She told him, "But that reminds me, do you think you could ask your mom if she wants to come out and celebrate with us?" Nick put a paw to his chin in thought for a moment to consider. It was still only Wednesday.
"I'll talk to my mom about it. If she doesn't want to come, then I'll arrange for her to come out there at some point." He said with a smile and a wink. She smiled back at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smile fade into a thoughtful frown as if she was deciding whether or not to say something.
"Something on your mind, Fluff?" He asked. His nose twitched as he caught a scent he hadn't smelled since the previous winter. The scent of a female in heat. His brows drew down. It was the middle of summer. He shouldn't be experiencing this scent quite yet. When he took a deeper breath, he could tell that it was coming from Judy. He forewent saying anything.
"No, nothing." She said dismissively, shaking her head rapidly. Nick blinked at this. She was acting rather odd now.
Nick shrugged this off as they walked out of the front of the precinct and towards their cruiser. Judy was the one driving this time. When they were both strapped in, Judy started the car and began pulling out of the parking lot. Today happened to be a patrol day. Chief Bogo had gotten into the habit of telling them what was to be done before they started training.
Nick set his elbow on the door and propped his chin up. As he looked out the window the thought of Judy smelling of heat returned to his mind. He hadn't read up on rabbit tendencies when it came to mating, but he did know that they usually mated for life. Something for later study, he concluded.
Before he knew it, their patrol was over and they were pulling back into the precinct to tally everything up. Nothing had happened on the ride, save for a few speeding violations. Besides his sore muscles and achy joints, the day had gone rather smooth. The special agent had pushed him further than he was used to today.
"Alright. All done." Judy said as she straightened the stack of papers in her paws. She pulled a folder out from her drawer and stuck the papers in it. "I need some tea or something." She said to no one in particular.
"Tea sounds nice," Nick said almost reflexively. Judy looked at him quizically.
"Never pegged you for the type to drink tea, Nick." She told him. Nick shrugged.
"I don't drink it that often." His eyes went back to the paper he was working on. He tapped his chin with his pen as he thought. The fox heaved a sigh as he continued to write his report.
'You know good and well she's in heat.' A voice in his head told him.
'Yeah, and I'm going to respect her boundaries.' He told it sternly and buried the thought of taking her as his own. It was something that he would never do. If he did, it would surely ruin what they had and he would be arrested.
Nick shook his head to clear it of those kinds of thoughts. It was starting to show in a way that it shouldn't. He started to think of how boring the paper in front of him was.
Judy came back not too long after with two cups of tea on a platter along with creamer and sugar. Nick took one of them and the sugar to sweeten it a little. It didn't take much for him. The fox sipped it as he gave the sugar back to Judy so she could use it if she wanted. Setting it down on a coaster, he got back to his paperwork. It wasn't long before he was done.
The fox leaned back in his chair to stretch. Pulling his arms taut, he could feel his joints aching and his legs burning. It felt like he had been through a military training program. Judy seemed either unaffected by it, or she wasn't showing any signs of pain. The latter was more likely. Nick pulled himself back into the chair and filed his paperwork away. Picking his tea back up he swung the chair to face Judy, who was silently sipping at her tea.
Nick hummed for a minute and sipped his tea. A small genuine smile slipped onto his muzzle. The tea was a holiday only special that tasted somewhat like apple cider. It reminded him of his childhood when his mother would make it for him.
"Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell rock…" Nick sang. He chuckled at Judy's reaction. A small smile touched her lips and she sipped her tea again.
"Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring…" The smile on Judy's face widened as she looked over her cup. Both of them started laughing at this. In the back of Nick's mind, he was stuck with his mother singing that song near the holidays. It was her favorite, so the two would listen to it every day through December.
The two finished their tea and set the cups down. "So…" Nick began, "What would you say to dinner and a movie this Friday? You know, before you go back home."
"That sounds nice," Judy told him. "Though I hope you'll be coming with me on this trip." She looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow.
"I'm not sure if mom will be able to come. She does want to spend some time with me if at all possible." Nick told her. He breathed a heavy sigh as he rubbed the fur on the back of his neck. Judy shrugged at him.
"It's alright if she can't come. It's just a get together for the litter is all." She smiled at him. It was one of those that made his heart hurt. He scratched behind his ear and looked at the clock that was between their desks. Almost time to knock off.
"I'll see what I can do. I've still gotta call her and it's almost four." He thrust a digit at the clock and stood up. "I'm gonna go grab a few things real quick. See you in the morning?" Judy nodded at him as he walked away.
Once he knew that Judy couldn't see him anymore, his entire facade broke. He was sweating so bad he knew it was going to mat his fur. His breaths were labored and quick. The scent that Judy was putting out was getting to him. It was one thing during the winter where he expected that type of smell. It was another when it was the middle of summer and was coming from his only love interest.
Nick walked towards the locker room to get a shower. He figured it would let his cool off and hive him a chance to brush the mats out of his fur. When he walked in, he could hear a shower running. He ignored this and began to undress, setting his police blues in a spare sports bag and pulling it taut. With that, he walked into the showers.
The mammal that was presently taking a shower was Ardenhu. To Nick, it looked like he was just standing there lost in space. His eyes were closed and he was letting the water run down his body. The fox started his shower and began pulling his claws through the fur on his arms.
"Something on your mind, Wilde?" Ardenhu said, causing Nick to jump. "You seem a bit distressed." Nick thought about it for a moment.
"It's nothing. I can deal with it." He said, shrugging a little. "Just something to get used to."
"Is it about Hopps being in heat?" The wolf asked abruptly. This made Nick narrow his eyes at him.
"How would you know that?" Nick asked. He hadn't told anyone about it. Although when he thought about it, Ardenhu had a better sense of smell than he did. It was probably obvious to anyone with a good sense of smell. "Don't answer that."
"It's not hard to tell that you like her," Fangman stated. "Love, even. Obvious to everyone but her, right?" Nick nodded. "Thought so. I recommend telling her, Wilde, canine to canine. You know how females can be. Even though she is a rabbit, your species doesn't matter."
Nick raised his eyebrow at him for a moment. "I would tell her if I didn't know that she has no interest in me."
"And how would you know?" Fangman asked. "The funny thing about lagomorph females is that they don't go into heat, so to say. Their pheromones only start becoming active when they are sexually attracted to someone." He said. This made Nick's mind go haywire. He tried to think of anyone that she would possibly be attracted to. It wasn't him, that much he was sure of.
The only thing he could think of is that she met someone on a day that the two were apart. The thought made his blood burn hotter than the water that washed over him. He sighed and turned it off. Once he was dressed he started his walk home.
As soon as he was past the front door of the precinct, he pulled his phone out and opened it. He flipped through his contacts to find his mom. Nick put the phone to his ear, hearing it ring.
"Hello?" Came the voice of a not-quite elderly fox.
"Hey, mom," Nick said, another smile coming to his face.
"Nick. I'm glad you called. How did your day go?" Marian Wilde asked him.
"It was okay." He told her. "I'm extremely sore because of it. The training was more intense than usual."
"I'm sorry sweetie." She told him. "At least your instructor isn't super harsh on you."
"Yeah. Hey, I wanted to ask you something real quick. Judy is going back to Bunnyborrow for a birthday party and wanted me to invite you for it." Nick said.
"I'd love to! When is it?"
"This Saturday." He told her. She made a humming sound as if she were considering it.
"I'll be there. Meet me at the train station, please, hon?" She asked him.
"Of course, mom. I'll call you back tomorrow if I can." He said his goodbyes and hung up. He fiddled with his keys for a moment to find the right one. Once he did, he unlocked his door and stepped into his apartment. He let out a long sigh of relief. The fox slung his sports bag into his room and slumped onto the couch.
He didn't bother turning the tv on since he knew there wasn't going to be anything interesting on. He closed his eyes for a moment and began reflecting on his day. It hadn't gone how he had expected it to. He learned more about Judy and rabbits than he knew, and his muscles were still burning from the training that morning.
With a groan, he got up and walked into his kitchen to find something to eat. The first thing that came to mind was cereal. He decided it would be good enough. With that decision made, he grabbed a bowl and the box of cereal from the cabinet. He set the bowl down and poured the bran into the bowl. He pulled open the fridge and grabbed the milk to pour it into the bowl.
After putting the milk back, he grabbed a spoon and sat back down on the couch. He took a bite and grabbed the remote to see if there was at least something he could watch while he ate. He found a movie he had already seen before and put that on.
His mind wandered while he ate. He knew that Judy was in heat, and now he knew it was because she was attracted to someone. He was dying to know who it was, but he wasn't going to ask her directly. That would be invading.
"Let's just think for a moment if it was us. That would make us happy." The voice in his head told him.
"Yeah, it would." He told it. He felt and heard his tail thumping on the couch. He sighed at himself and finished off his cereal and got up to put his bowl in the sink. After turning off the tv, he walked into his room to lay down.
Once he was comfortable, Nick pulled the blanket over him and closed his eyes. Judy filled his thoughts again. It was almost as if he couldn't evade thinking about her. With one last mental look at her face, he slipped off into the land of dreams.
Phew! All done now. I know that this chapter was a bit late, and I'll try to get the next out to you soon. I can't promise anything right now.
Anyway, reviews!
LenTa: Thank you for the praise. And you can write like me or even better. All it takes is practice.
Imjustlikehumphery: Thank you! And that's a secret.
Wolfx1120: I know I do too, I just have to get it done is all.
And that's a wrap. Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you'll come back for the next chapter when I finish and release it.
May inspiration light your paths,
Leon