"I think we all have empathy. We just may not have enough courage to display it." - Maya Angelou
Empathy is perhaps one of the most important attributes that anyone can acquaint to.
Being able to put yourself into the shoes of another, and being able to understand and feel compassion for their woes is simply what makes us, us.
Judy knew what she was getting into when she first set foot inside that arena: She knew that one way or another, someone was going to exit that arena clouded in humiliation.
At the time, it did little to dissuade her from her efforts and goals: She wanted the belt, the title, and most importantly, the respect of everyone that was watching. She had forced herself to pipe up in front of a huge crowd simply to challenge Ivar for his title of champion, and she had endured a humiliating denial directly in front of that same crowd.
It was only when she trounced him did she finally convince them all of her true potential.
But at the same time, she realized that she never needed their approval in the first place.
So when she saw Ivar skulking away from the scene in defeat; The crowd completely forgetting about him and his own efforts, Judy knew what she had to do. Yet after trying numerous times to force her way through the large gathering of mammals, she eventually gave up and succumbed to their whims. For some time, she was bombarded with a multitude of questions, ranging from her thoughts during the fight to her origins. She calmly answered each and every one, all the while keeping her eyes trained on Nick, who stood near the back of the crowd, quietly smiling as he watched her wrap up the whole situation.
Eventually, Nick came over and helped her carry the belt down from the stage. It took both of them to carry it, and after making it out of the park, they both took a moment to stop and catch their breath. They set the belt down in the snow and did a few stretches while they rested.
Putting his paws on his hips and as he admired the golden snow-flake design on the front of the belt, the fox voiced his opinion.
"Gees... I still can't believe that you won, cotton-tail." He started with a whistle. "That part where you held him down with his own tusks? Genius!"
Donning a sheepish smile, the bunny shrugged before trudging over to Nick, and standing by his side, all the while admiring her own reflection in the belt's glittering pendant.
"Thanks... Never did I imagine that I'd end up picking a fight with anyone on our vacation." Judy mumbled, causing the fox to bark a laugh.
"Oh, knowing you and your ferocity, it crossed my mind a few times." He trailed off jokingly before snickering to himself.
"Nick!" The bunny elbowed him in the sternum. "Don't make me beat you up, too!"
"Case in point!"
"Ugh, you're unbearable sometimes!" Judy complained despite the cheerful smile spread across her face.
Shaking her head, the bunny crossed her fore-arms across her chest before staring back into the eyes of her own reflection, which shined a glittering gold against the snow-flake shaped center-piece that was adorned on the front of the belt. However, a flicker of movement in the reflection caused her to focus her eyes just a little bit more. She could have sworn that that large, lumbering shape in the background looked near identical to Ivar Obdenberg. Turning around and facing the source of the titular reflection, Judy stared wide-eyed at the thick-skinned walrus, watching as he entered the doors of Honey's tavern from far across the street.
"So, what are we even gonna do with this thing?" Judy heard Nick ask from behind her, his attention still trained on the likes of the belt lying on the ground.
The bunny looked down at her own feet, where she was shocked to see the fur around her toes stained a bright red color, her feet still painted in the blood from Ivar's defeat. Shaking her head and locking her eyes onto the wooden door of Honey's bar, which was still swinging slightly from having just recently been opened, she suddenly developed an answer to Nick's question, which was still hanging high in the air. Turning around and locking eyes with him, she spoke her mind stead-fast and with vigor.
"I think I have an idea." She said with a smile.
Stepping in through the smaller-sized doors and reentering Honey's bar, the two mammals were met with the familiar and cozy sense of hospitality that they had grown accustomed to during their last visit.
Slipping in quietly with the belt wrapped around their shoulders, Nick and Judy managed to capture Honey's attention when she noticed the two of them stumbling over themselves as they struggled to carry their new trophy. Walking over and helping them place the belt on the bars counter, Honey then repositioned herself behind the bar.
"Good to see you two again!" The badger claimed with a pair of bright eyes and a toothy grin. "I heard that you won the championship!" Honey said, pointing at Judy. "Nice job!"
"Oh, you heard about that?" Judy questioned, her ears suddenly perking up in interest.
"A'Course I did! That boxing competition's the most exciting thing that happens around these parts... Besides, information flies fast 'round here, doesn't it? Wouldn't take long for anyone and their mother to find out that a tiny little bunny like yourself would wind end up winning against a massive walrus!"
The honey badger turned around briefly and filled two mugs to the very top with some sort of frosty blue liquid.
"Drinks on the house... Again... Just for you!" Honey leaned against the bar, watching the two mammals as they seated themselves. "What brings you here again, anyhow?"
With the sudden reminder of why she even dragged Nick back to the bar in the first place, Judy's ears shot up in attentiveness as she scanned the area, searching for Ivar. She ended up spotting him by himself in the far corner of the bar, squeezed into a larger-sized booth. He held a mug of frothy brown liquid in his right paw, of which he drank from in small sips.
"We're actually here to talk to Ivar... You don't mind, do you?" The bunny inquired timidly
"Why would I?" Honey asked with raised eyebrows. "He came in here just a few minutes before you two did... Let's go and see him!" She exclaimed cheerfully.
The badger then leapt over the counter-top once again, grabbing Nick and Judy by the paw and carting them in the direction of the walrus, who's hazy yellow eyes were staring down the commotion, understandably. Judy couldn't help but notice that upon seeing her, Ivar looked away in humiliation; Retraining his eyes upon his drink, which he drank deep from. When they reached his booth, the three mammals all stood smiling, waiting for someone to initiate some form of conversation.
"Well, I'm sure you both know Ivar here! He's won the last eighteen matches in that boxing competition, 'till now, of course." Honey began, patting the walrus on the shoulder.
"Nineteen." Ivar said flatly. "Nineteen matches."
There was another brief period of silence before the honey badger decided to excuse herself back to the bar, which had a number of new customers crowding around it, leaving both Nick and Judy alone with Ivar, who glared at the two of them with a bored look on his face.
"Hey big guy..." Nick started, visibly nervous. "Whatcha drinking there?"
Judy could tell that he was trying to be smooth, like he usually acted around strangers, though this time it was quite obvious that he wasn't feeling very confident around Ivar.
"Vanilla-Vodka Float..." The walrus grumbled half-heartedly. "What do you bother Ivar for, fox?"
"Um, well, my wife here just wanted to, uh... Speak to you?"
Maneuvering Judy into the walrus's line of sight, Nick quickly positioned himself behind her before resting his gaze back on the walrus, who was looking back and forth between him, Judy, and even Honey, who was somewhere off behind them manning the bar. He sighed and leaned back in his side of the booth.
Meanwhile, Judy had perked up her ears and puffed out her chest in reaction to Nick putting her on the front lines. She soon mustered up what she wanted to say to Ivar.
"I just... I just wanted to apologize for the way that I acted back in the arena... Kicking you when I shouldn't have, and not helping you up... I'm sorry."
The walrus's faces seemed to soften at the notion of her apology, and his posture straightened out slightly as well.
"You are sorry for your victory?" He asked huskily, leaning forward with raised eyebrows. "Little bunny has no need to apologize: She won fair and square."
"You're not upset?" Nick asked timidly from behind the rabbit.
"Of course not... Well, maybe little bit. Ivar is just disappointed that nobody helped him out of arena! He almost chipped tusk trying to pull himself out!"
"Oh... I see." Judy squeaked, knotting her fingers together with regret. "Yeah, I should've helped you up... I'm sorry about that."
"It is fine, though Ivar thanks you for consideration." The walrus said before taking another drink from his mug. "Sit, sit! Ivar would like to talk with you both, no?"
Nick and Judy both looked at each-other upon Ivar's offer to chat. They simply shrugged and decided to go for it: They didn't have any plans scheduled anyways.
"Sure! We'd be glad to chat for a little bit! Right Nick?" Judy claimed, shooting Nick a glare of encouragement.
The fox chuckled as he looked back and forth between the bunny and walrus, who were both eyeing him with interest.
"Of course! I don't see why not!" He agreed with a smile on his muzzle.
The two smaller mammals then clambered up onto the opposing side of the too-large booth. While standing up, Judy's chin just barely reached above the table-top. Nick had it better, since he was just a little bit taller than her, though he was still minuscule in comparison to the walrus sitting across from him. After making themselves comfortable, Ivar began with a single question of his own.
"So, little bunny... Where did you learn such powerful fighting skills? You floored Ivar in record time!"
Judy was flattered by the walrus's compliments, and had to resist bringing down her ears to hide the growing blush around her cheeks. She looked to Nick, who simply shrugged in response. Judy nodded her head and decided that it wouldn't hurt to tell Ivar that they were ZPD officers: She figured that he had earned it, at the very least.
"Well, we're both ZPD officers, actually. Knowing how to fight is just another part of the job, really." Judy answered.
The walrus furrowed his brow and stroked his chin, seemingly thinking over the bunny's response. He then started chuckling to himself slowly, gradually building up until his laughter started to sound like he was choking. When he'd calmed down, Ivar raised his head and looked at the two mammals across from him before speaking out.
"Ah, yes: Ivar knows of the ZPD, but he never could have guessed that a cute little bunny such as yourself would have ever joined!"
Judy visibly winced when Ivar incidentally had dropped 'the C-word' but she kept her cool for Ivar's sake, only choosing to correct him in hopes that he wouldn't make the same mistake again in the future, near or far.
"Thanks, but, uh... Just be careful around us bunnies whenever you use the word cute, because it kinda comes across as offensive to us sometimes."
Ivar seemed to get the message, since he raised his bushy eyebrows and nodded in understanding before taking another drink from his mug, this time draining it fully.
"So do tell Ivar about yourselves. Being police officers, you must've done many things throughout Zootopia! Ivar rarely leaves Tundra-Town, so he always thinks that it is nice to hear about the experiences of others. So what have you two done together while working for ZPD? You ever have to arrest bad-guys?"
Ivar's peculiar way of talking momentarily threw off Nick, who had to reconfigure the walrus's words in an attempt to make them more understandable. The fox also noticed that the walrus didn't seem bothered by the fact that Nick and Judy were an inter-species couple. If he did, he certainly didn't show it.
"Oh man, don't even get us started!" Nick said, slapping his paw on the table surface. "You have no idea what we've been through after all this time."
"You got that right." Judy added, facing Nick before turning back to Ivar. "Being a police officer is no easy job."
"Yeah, and with us in specific, we may have gone toe-to-toe with a homicidal, psychopathic bat a few times, went undercover in a crooked bank business ran by an alcoholic rabbit, and even raided a warehouse in the middle of the desert trying to bring down the Sahara-Square's most wanted criminal!"
Nick's comment earned a confused look from the walrus, and a glare from the rabbit beside him, who elbowed his arm as well.
"What? I said that we may have done those things!" The fox said before crossing his arms. "It doesn't mean that we actually did."
Rolling her eyes, Judy looked back to Ivar, who's hazy yellow eyes were squinted in apprehension.
"Oh, don't mind him... Nick's a big joker. But yeah, we've done those things before... And more!" Judy concluded.
Ivar nodded and scratched at the whiskers on his chin, eyeing Nick suspiciously even past all that the two officers had just disclosed.
"Nick... As in Nikolai?" He asked slowly.
"Uh, no." The fox corrected. "Nick, as in Nicholas."
"Wilde... You're Nick Wilde?"
"Yep, that's me: Nicholas Piberius Wilde, in the fur, good sir."
The walrus's face slacked, and his expression became stony and unfocused. He rose from his side of the booth quietly, all the while avoiding eye-contact with his two guests.
"Ivar thanks you for the company, but he no longer wishes to stay."
Judy's nose twitched and her expression turned to confusion and concern when Ivar stood up and began lumbering off in the direction of the door.
"W-wait! Ivar! Where are you going?" The bunny called out to the walrus, who stopped, and spoke aloud without turning around.
"Ivar is going home... He doesn't like to do chat with con-artists."
"Con-artists... But..." Judy turned around and glared at Nick, who threw up his arms in an I don't know sort of gesture.
The bunny leapt from her seat and ran all the way over to the walrus, pulling at his pant-legs in an effort to stop him.
"Wait, Ivar! Just hear us out, please! We want to talk to you!" She pleaded.
Sighing deeply, the walrus slowly turned around and trudged back over to his side of the booth, soon joined by Judy, who jumped back up into her own seat, where she stood beside Nick and held one of his paws in his defense. Looking Nick in the eye, she quickly nodded her head in Ivar's direction, signaling the fox to speak with him.
"Look, Ivar, I may have done something that affected you in the past, but I promise... I promise that I'm a changed fox. I really am! I have a job, a beautiful wife and mate-"
Nick placed one of his paws on Judy's hip, pulling her closer to his side.
"-And I've completely given up hustling. It never got me anywhere in the first place... So I'm sorry, for what it's worth."
"Also, do you think that you could perhaps tell us what Nick directly or indirectly did to you in the past?" Judy added.
The walrus closed his eyes and breathed in slowly through his nostrils. For the first time, Judy noticed that whenever Ivar held his breath, his nostrils sealed over from the inside with a small flap of skin. It was a strange sight, but one that the bunny didn't dwell on for very long, since the walrus soon began to explain his past predicament with Nick.
"Many many years ago, a good friend of Ivar's - A seal, named Yuri - Told Ivar that he had bought lots of sea-urchins from a fox for a really good price, and that he used them in his restaurant. Urchins turned out to be very bad: They were untreated, and some were venomous. One customer nearly died from poison, and had health-inspectors come. They decided to shut down Yuri's restaurant after the customer threatened to sue, mostly because Yuri had no chance to win court-battle against him. Ivar doesn't recognize this fox, but his name is all he ever needed to know. You cost Ivar's best friend his restaurant and entire career. You should be ashamed!"
Nick lowered his vision and slumped his shoulders. In all his years of hustling, as he likes to call it, he'd never bothered to take into consideration the plight of those that he had tricked: It was always about him and his money. Nobody else. He'd never stopped to think about the repercussions of his actions, and how it affects those around him.
He was ashamed.
"You're right." The fox started glumly. "I should be... And I am. But again, I promise you: I'm no longer that selfish fox that I once was. I'm a completely new mammal."
His words were true to the core, and Nick only hoped that the walrus could see where he was coming from.
"Ivar understands... Anyone can be anything, eh? Who says that once greedy, inconsiderate, selfish fox cannot change his ways? Ivar can tell that you say no lies, Nikolai."
"Thank you... And uh, it's Nick." The fox corrected, pointing a single finger at Ivar.
"That's what Ivar said!" The walrus retorted, slowly rising from his seat.
"Okay! Great! Everyone's just so great!" Judy interrupted, sensing tension growing in the air around them. "Now, let's get back to chatting, hmm?"
Nodding his head in agreement, Ivar sat back down into his seat, all the while eyeing the two mammals who sat across from him.
"So you are police officers..." The walrus began. "Why are you here in Tundra-Town fighting in boxing competitions, then?"
"Good question, actually." Nick said, giving Judy the stink-eye.
The bunny could tell that the fox was still a little bit cross with her over jumping into a fight like the one that she had participated in earlier that afternoon.
"Well, we're actually on paid vacation, believe it or not. We still have about six days left until we're needed back at work, though." Judy answered.
"Paid vacation? Sounds to Ivar like you two have earned it!" The walrus stated with gusto. "Tundra-Town has many neat things to do and see. Where do you plan to go next?"
Both the fox and bunny took a moment to look to one another and ponder the previous question. In truth, they hadn't exactly planned out anything beforehand, especially since the whole paid vacation thing was thrown right at them just yesterday! After thinking over their response, Nick and Judy looked to one another and shrugged innocently.
"I guess we don't really know. We're kinda playin' it by ear, you know what I'm saying?" Nick replied, his comment on ears causing Judy's eyes to dart upwards to her own ears.
"Ivar knows what you are saying. In fact, he has suggestions for you to consider!" The walrus claimed cheerfully.
Nick and Judy hadn't considered exploring new places on their vacation, really. Still, they figured that no harm could be done in hearing out Ivar's ideas.
"Alright, lay 'em out, buddy." The fox requested, placing his paws behind his head as he did.
The walrus began counting off with his fingers as he listed various locations for Nick and Judy to explore on their vacation.
"There is the Cenote-Caverns in the Nocturnal-District, the Morzh-Iceblock here in Tundra-Town, the Chapparel-Cut on Outback-Island, and the magnificent Jungle-Bowl in the Rainforest-District! Now that is a sight! Ivar has heard of and been to many different places over the years, but few are as unique or as beautiful as the tropical islands of Pawaii! Lush tropics, clean beaches, and terrifying volcanoes, spewing lava and burning magma, tearing apart mountains and making things explode into tiny pieces!"
Though Ivar's description of a volcanic eruption seemed a little bit over the top, Nick was instantly hooked on the idea of visiting Pawaii for the remainder of their vacation. It would allow them to truly get away from the city, and it would be just the two of them on a beautiful island in the middle of the Pawcific ocean: Now that was a strong hook!
Looking over to Judy, he was somewhat surprised to see her expression fixated into the likes of apprehension and nervousness. Putting two and two together, Nick realized that Judy must've never seen, and probably never even heard of a volcano before. Chuckling to himself, Nick decided to reassure her of Ivar's frightening description.
"Don't worry, Carrots: I won't let any volcanoes hurt you..." He claimed, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Besides, they aren't that over the top."
Ivar smirked, his large tusks making the expression look more like a sneer.
"Don't worry, little bunny: Pawaii is safe place... Even with volcanoes! It has small town on the large island, with hotels and shops and restaurants for tourists."
"You been there before, big guy?" Nick inquired quickly.
"Only once before, few summers back. Ivar stayed at nice little cottage by the beach, which he rented from nearby hotel. If you ever go there, Ivar recommends doing that!"
Thinking over Ivar's suggestions, Nick considered the idea of continuing their vacation in Pawaii: Last he checked, the only way to get there was via boat. He also remembered that Outback-Island was a popular pit-stop for tourists making the trip to Pawaii. An idea came to him, and he welcomed it with hospitality.
"Ya know whiskers, I think that visiting Pawaii might be a good idea! We could do what Ivar here suggested: Rent a nice, cozy little cabin by the beach, and just unwind!"
"I don't know, Nick... This all sounds pretty expensive." Judy mumbled, causing Ivar to throw in his own comment.
"When Ivar visited, it wasn't that bad. You two could easily afford to rent cozy little cabin by the beach, like Nikolai said! Even with cop salary!"
The fox coughed a single time. "Nick." He corrected, between gags.
"That's what Ivar said!" The walrus claimed once again.
Judy giggled aloud, causing both the fox and walrus to look to her with raised eyebrows.
"Thanks for the suggestions, Ivar." The bunny concluded. "Maybe Pawaii is something we could do." She finished, looking to Nick with a warm smile, which he returned.
"Yeah, we could make the trip there soon enough! Though, we'd have to drop off your new belt at the apartment. We don't wanna be lugging that thing around all week, do we?"
Looking back at the gleaming-gold belt, which was still sitting peacefully on the counter-top of the bar just a few yards away, an idea suddenly came to Judy.
"I actually think I have a better idea, Slick."
Eventually, the fox and bunny bid farewell to the walrus and badger, who stood at the bar, waving as they watched Nick and Judy exit the bar empty handed, but with their minds full of new and invigorating thoughts and plans: Pawaii was something that they both considered an option, and hoped to be a reality.
All the while, Judy's new belt was not with her: Instead, it hung proudly from one of the walls inside Honey's tavern; Below it, a framed picture of Nick and Judy, their faces smiling and pointing upwards toward the belt, which Ivar proudly held above them.
The walrus may have lost the competition, but in the end, he was more than happy to be a part of their picture, which was as reassuring and welcoming as any family portrait.
After saying their goodbyes to new friends and old, the fox and rabbit left the bar empty handed in the end, but with their minds eager and ready for their next adventure.
Hey Everyone!
I just want to start off by saying thank you for your patience, as this chapter certainly took some time to whip up. As always, be sure to leave a review telling me your thoughts, and if you haven't already, please favorite and follow! Each and every single one is highly appreciated, and is the literal stuff that fuels my desire to keep on writing!
So yeah, be sure to do that! I'd appreciate it all very much, indeed.
Also, Nick and Judy will be taking a boat there, which will be launched from a canon region/district of Zootopia called The Docks: I won't cover very much on it, but it's basically a shipping channel and sorta boating area with seals, more walrus, and maybe even some things like narwhals and dolphins! After that, their boat will take a pit stop at Outback-Island, which I will be covering in thorough detail, and then they'll finally land in Pawaii!
That's all for now, and 'till next time...
Peace!