Revelations Part 2:

Judy dreams of Bellwether, and it's not a pleasant dream. She wakes and goes in search of Hugo and more blankets. She's directed to his bedroom closet, and while she's there she makes some discoveries. Embarrassed, she seeks to know more about her host and rescuer. The irony is that he feels the same way about her.

Thursday Morning at Hugo's place in the Snowy Hills

"SKRRRREEEEE!" Dawn Bellwether's savage shriek echoed down the hallway. Judy was already down on all fours, her stride fully extended and her ears laid flat against her skull as she pelted for the exit fire doors at the end of the hotel hallway. She slammed through them, and suddenly she was on a dark and dingy road on an island in the Muddy Swamp section of the Rainforest District.

"JUUUuuuuudddddyyyyyy…" Dawn's voice carried through the musty swamp fog. Judy cautiously hopped forward, her instincts screaming in her head to be wary. The fog rolled away suddenly, and Judy could see Dawn standing on the street corner curb, next to a storm drain. She was dressing in her blue cardigan, stained red and gray with her own blood and brains spilling out her shattered skull and down her crushed face. Her eyes were rolled back in their sockets and she moaned through her catastrophic jumble of crumpled jaw, missing teeth, and split tongue, "JUUUuuuuudddddyyyyyy…"

The ewe held up a small silver cylindrical object at the end of her bloody paw. It was the night-howler antidote! Judy needed that! But as she dashed forward to grab it from the moaning ewe, Dawn let it slip through her paw and into the storm drain. Judy dived for it, but her reach came up short, and it tumbled down into the waters below.

"Nooo!" Judy reached through the storm drain gate, but her short rabbit arms couldn't reach the auto-injector. She pulled her paws back to try a more direct approach, but she couldn't grasp the grate to pulled it out because her paws were burning badly. She held them up to the light and stared at in horror as a tide of blue washed over them, flowing up her arms like quicksilver. She screamed!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!…..."

Judy was left puffing and gasping, bent over in excruciating pain, as the waterfall of ultramarine toxin washed over her body towards her head, covering her completely until she was a statue in pure lapis lazuli stone. Her eyes snapped open to reveal only the pitch black of eternal night in a field of midnight blue fur.

She screeched and bolted into the bushes that lined the road, her call fading as she receded into the brush.

"SKKKrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee….."

Judy woke with a start, panting, her breathing rapid and strained. She lay on her side for only a moment, staring into the daylight lit room, before jerking her paws up to her face. She stared at them for a long while, as her breathing slowed and her heart stilled. Her paws were normal. There was no blue anywhere on them.

She was not Savage. Not now...

She shuddered, as waves of anxiety and stress slowly rolled down her slight frame. Oh, that was a bad one, she thought. She shivered, more from the after-quakes of terror than the cold, but it was cold under Hugo's coat.

She looked at the black coat in puzzlement. Where is Hugo? He's not in the coat. Where did he go?

She sat up, gathering the coat around her frame. As her ears perked up, she could hear Hugo speaking. Wait, did he just say my name? She hopped down off the couch, and wandered back through the kitchen, following the sound of Hugo's voice.

She poked her head through a door and peeked in. It was Hugo's office. On the left were shelves of large books, bindings thick and heavy. Scattered in among the books were pictures of Hugo and other mammals. Accepting awards, a lot of mountain climbing photos, and pictures of what looks like patients. On the other wall were embossed diplomas and certifications, gilded in gold, and set in dark teak frames.

Sitting in a high backed office chair in front of a large oak desk was Hugo. He was turned away from her such that she could only see his muzzle and the side of his body. He leaned back comfortably in his chair as he chatted with who ever was on the other end. Her ears quivered as she recognized the voice on the other end. Finnick.

Hugo asked a question, "And when does the good Professor want to meet?" He paused as he listened, "Well today is out for me and her, and you say you have court Friday, so how about Sunday morning? I'm completely free then. That give you enough time, Counselor?" He smiled on the phone for a moment, and then stiffened. He turned his head fractionally in her direction. His chair slowly spun in her direction as he turned to face her.

He put the phone down on his furry chest as he greeted her amicably, "Good morning, conejita. Would you like some breakfast?"

She was puzzled for a moment. How did he know she was there? She thought she was being quiet, and he was talking on the phone, so did he hear her? His coat covered her, and should have masked her scent. What gave her away?

The moment lengthened, pregnant with purpose and poise as he awaited her answer. She snapped back once she realized this, "Sure, in a bit. That would be great." She shivered under the intensity of his gaze, as if he expected something more from her, but she couldn't fathom what it was.

She gestured at the coat, "Where are the spare blankets? I'm kinda cold."

He pointed down the hall, "In the closet in the bedroom. Let me finish my call here, and I'll get them for you." he smiled at her.

It was a bit unnerving, that smile. Full of weight and irony. Judy backed away, "Sure. I can wait." She turned and walked down toward the bedroom, leaving him to finish his call with Finnick.

She walked into his bedroom. This was one room in the house she hadn't been in yet, mostly because she hadn't been invited in. In her former profession, it was always polite to wait for the invitation, unless of course she was in a dominating mode with a more submissive client and then she would walk in like she owned the place.

Had he invited her to go in? Or did he just tell her to wait? She stopped as she looked around. The bed was sized for mammals larger than just him, so he must either move around a lot in bed, or he's had partners who were larger than him.

Partners. Partners? That's what was missing here. As she looked around the room, she was struck by the sterility of it all. In one sense, it was all Hugo, tastefully decorated, with a large painting of a tropical river valley on the wall behind the bed, but fairly asuture otherwise. There was the obligatory dresser, with more photos on it, but nothing that indicated that somebody other than him had ever lived in this room.

She walked to the closet, opened the sliding doors, and stared into a pitch black well. Where's the light switch? She turned around and spotted it's small orange spark on the opposite wall. She flipped it, and a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling lit the small space.

Geeze, Hugo. Don't you own anything other than black suits? She asked herself with a small laugh. She strolled into the enclosed space, running her paws along the coat arms. The scent of clean cotton, starched wool, and a faint hint of leather emanated from the hanging items. No, wait, nestled in the back of the closet are other shirts, including one that…

She stopped in shock, before reaching in and pulling a light green shirt out of the company of polos and tee-shirts. Her mind ground to a halt for a moment as a memory cascaded unbidden through her mind eye. She held the button down shirt up to the light with her paws, her mind reeling, Why does Hugo have Nick's green shirt? No, wait, it's not. It's the wrong size; it's much too wide.

It wasn't Nick's shirt, but it was the same green palm leaf pattern he had worn when she had first met him, a lifetime ago. She held it up with her left paw as she traced her paw across it's surface; it even felt the same as Nick's old shirt.

Her muzzle lit with a wisp of a smile as she pondered that recognition. With her memory being as spotty as it was these days, it was funny to think that she could remember something as mundane as the weave of a shirt's cloth under her finger tips. She ran her paw ran across the front of the shirt, stopping at the pocket as she felt the raised pattern of embroidered letters. She held the shirt up to the light and read the golden letters to herself, Hugo, Bartender, Palms Casino and Resort. Huh. That's funny. He must have been an employee there or something, except that I don't remember this shirt ever being used by any of their bar staff when I was hanging out my escort shingle there.

"Hey there, conejita." A quiet voice sounded behind her.

Her heart leap up into her throat as she spun around in a panic, Hugo's coat and shirt sliding off her back and fell to the ground, the loss of that comfort causing her to clutch the shirt to herself as if it was some sort of shield against the threat of the unknown. Her brain skidded to a halt, her fight-or-flight reaction halted, as her senses recognized Hugo standing calmly in the doorway, dressed only in his black slacks from the night before, leaning to one side as his wide paw gripped the doorjamb. She stood there, her mouth gaping, her thoughts in turmoil as once again her anxiety and her libido had an immediate sparring match.

***We didn't even hear him sneak up on us! He's blocking the exit! We're trapped!*** Her anxiety screamed at her while her libido moaned, ***That's soooo not fair! He's not even wearing a shirt! Just look at all those muscles!*** In the midst of that tumbling mental chaos, all that she manged to get out of her mouth was a slow, "Uhhh..."

"That doesn't look like a blanket to me." He smiled down at her shocked form. "I forgot to tell you that they're on the upper shelf. Here, let me get them down for you." He walked into the closet and turned to one side, reaching up to the shelf above her head. She crowded back up against the far wall of the closet as he loomed above her. He pulled a cloth stack off the shelf in his arms and turned to look down at her.

Her ears are flushed? He wondered about that for a moment, before realizing that she's probably embarrassed to be caught rifling through his clothing. He smiled at that, seeking to reassure her about that, but as he peered down at her over his pile of blankets at her, her ears dropped down behind her head and he caught a whiff of fear. Now that was a scent he commonly associated with rabbits during his interactions with them, but he didn't understand why she of all rabbits would be afraid of him, that was until he realized that he was looming over her as she pressed her back against the wall. His mouth went to an "O" shape, and he quickly stepped back. You should know better, Dr Wiedii! He admonished himself, Encroaching into her personal space in such a threatening manner!

He turned, and quickly left the closet, walking out into the bedroom. He needed to recover from his own embarrassment, and she probably needed a few moments to recover from hers. It truly never occurred to him to think that her flush may have had another source.

Judy was trying to recover, but certainly not from embarrassment. She was ashamed that she had reacted so badly to his presence, expressing both her fear and her arousal so visibly, each recursively compounding the effect of the other on her body language. She stood, breathing heavily with her back to the wall, trying to get herself under control. She looked down at the shirt she was holding, I've got to hang this up and get out of here, or else he's gonna come back looking for me, and then what will I do?

But as she looked up, she was at a loss because she couldn't remember where she had pulled it out from. Where should she put it? Just hang it on the end, Judy! She pushed the shirts at the end away so that she could hang the shirt back up, but as she reached up toward the bar, she felt something odd pressed under her paw, something stiff and rough. She turned look and realized with a start what it was. A grin broke across her muzzle as she ran her fingers down it's length. I thought I smelled leather in here, her thoughts doing an 180 hairpin turn in her head, But this? Doctor Wiedii, I never! Well, the things you learn about some mammals…

It had been a long time since she had last seen a flogger of that magnitude. Cured crocodile leather. It's gotta be expensive, she thought as she fingered the fells, Rough texture but still so very flexible. And what's this? Her brows went up as her finger tips went down, Weighted tips, Doc? Ouch! That would so break me! Her tastes in recreational pain definitely didn't run that hard core. She wasn't even sure she could lift that monster, much less swing it. Now, the question is do you use that beast, or does it get used on you? She wondered.

"Are you alright in there?" He called from the bedroom.

"Yes!" She yelled back, almost shrilly. Good Gravy, now she was embarrassed! It's like when you realize as a teenager that your parents still had sex, and you don't know how to talk to them anymore cause the thought of them boinking absolutely icks you out. She quickly pushed the hanging shirts back together, hiding the black reptilian monstrosity. She looked down at her other paw, and realized she was still holding the green Palm's Casino shirt. I never put it back! She realized.

Keep it! She admonished herself. You're gonna need something to talk about, or else you're going to go out there and promptly shove your foot down your throat with awkward questions! Like… Gee, Doc, gone to any good BDSM clubs lately? She shook her head, trying to get her tongue in working order.

Why was this so hard to do? I can be professional and discrete! I've done this kinda stuff before, many, many times, with many different kinds of mammals. Except that every time I get into this kinda situation with him, it's like I'm fifteen all over again, crushing on some older dude because he's caring and mature, like some kind of latent father figure, making up for the lack of a functional dad in my life.

Judy groaned to herself, AAAARGH! Now I'm definitely going down the whole BDSM rabbit hole! Who's you Daddy, Judy? Her ears were flushed bright pink down their whole length now, as that entire thought train embarrassed the hell out of her.

Escape! She rushed out of the closet and thrust the shirt into his paws. Hopping up on the bed, she grabbed a fuzzy blanket from the pile and quickly covered herself with it as she sat down . Smooth, Judy, smooth! He'll never notice now!

Hugo was at a bit of a loss as what to do with his old bartending shirt she had given him. Maybe she was trying to tell him to cover up? He took it off of it's hanger, and threw it on his torso, but as he tried to button it up he realized that it wasn't wide enough for his torso anymore. It was too tight under his arm pits and across his chest, so he had to leave the last few buttons at the top undone. He announced to her, "It's alright, Judy. I've put the shirt on." Maybe his partial nudity was causing her to be uncomfortable, although with a previous career in pornography, he didn't think she would be this shy about it. Was Finnick actually right about her having an attraction to him?

Her muffled voice wound it's way out through the folds in the blanket, "When did you work at the Palms? I thought you were always a doctor?"

He looked down at the shirt. "Palms? Oh, I was a bartender there during one of my summers in medical school. It was just for a few months. They let me keeps the shirt afterwards, since it had my name on it."

She peeked out of the blanket at him, thinking everything on that masculine torso of his would be nice and covered now. NOPE! Sweet Cheese and CRACKERS! The shirt stretched tight across his bodybuilding frame, the poor buttons straining to keep the taunt cloth together, crushing his fur flat across his broad chest and arms, and emphasizing the underlying muscles. Oooo no, he's got to smell her now, cause she could certainly smell herself. Ohhh this bad.

She hadn't reacted this way with Skye yesterday, so she didn't understand why it was so bad now. Skye had plainly wanted her yesterday, so if it was just a matter of scratching that itch, she was pretty sure the vixen would have said yes in a heartbeat had she offered. But no, she had to tell the ready vixen to wait, while she tried to climb sleeping Mount Hugo instead. The only thing that stopped that valiant attempt had been his hydraulic powered cuddle mode. It had been like trying to make out with a car crusher.

Maybe that was it. She just wanted what she couldn't have, and what she could have she put right on the back burner. GAH! Stupid brain! She need to talk to a shrink or something, talk this all through, except the only one she knew was Finnick, and he was absolutely no help to her last night. Plus, how would she pay? She had, what, six bucks on her?

***Even if she did find one willing to talk to her, they'd still try to throw her in a padded cell just as soon they figured out how loopy she really was.***

Shut Up, Anxiety! She yelled back. She took a deep breath, and looked back up, but instead of looking at him, she tried to look anywhere else. No, there. On the dresser. Photos of cats. She reached a paw out of her blanket cocoon and pointed at them, "Who's that?" She asked.

Hugo reached across to the dresser, and picked up the largest photo frame to hand to her waiting paw. Setting it down in front of her, he point to the mammals in turn, "This is my parent's holiday photo from a few years ago. I was working in Zootopia at the time and couldn't get away to join them, so I didn't make the photo. Anyway, the little margay in the front, dressed in the gray suit, is my papa, Hugo Senior. He's the postmaster in my hometown. Standing behind him in the green dress is my mama, Olivia. She's the tallest jaguar there. She runs a empanada restaurant downtown. The shorter, more hunched over jaguar in the traditional dress is my abuela, Mama Aracilia. She mostly runs the household and annoys my father. The next two in the white suits are my brother Pedro and his husband Ernesto. Ernesto is an ocelot, while my brother, well you can see that his body is my opposite. He's tall like a jaguar, with a jaguar coat but built like a skinny margay, where as I am short like a margay, but with a jaguar's build." He gestured to his body. Pointing back to the picture, "The two little cubs playing on the grass are Ernesto's cubs, my nephews Enrique and Jamie. My brother and his family live in a big city on the coast, which is more liberal than the smaller town my parents live it. Ernesto is an architect, and my brother is a house husband." Hugo finished.

Judy traced her paw across the photo, "So your mother is a jaguar then! Marilyn and Finnick had talked about that yesterday, but I didn't know if they were pulling my leg or not."

"Si!" Hugo nodded, tapping on the photo, "That is my familia." He tried to wiggle his arms a bit, and frowned at the tight fit. "I am going to change my clothes. This shirt is much to tight. I don't know why I kept it." He walked off to the closet and slipped inside, partially closing the door.

Judy almost said something along the lines of please don't, but she managed to keep her mouth shut before her tongue totally embarrassed her again. Instead she called out to the closet, "How does that work, anyway, the whole margay/jaguar thing. Marilyn had talked about it, but I didn't quite understand. She something about who the mother was."

He stuck his head around the door, "How what works? Oh, mi mama." He pulled his head back in, but continued to talk, his voice carrying out to her. "Yes, yes… Margays have 36 chromosomes, and jaguars have 38, which is close enough that they can interbreed. But a margay mother isn't large enough to carry a jaguar hybrid kit, nor is can she carry them long enough for them to develop properly. Now, as a jaguar, my mother was big enough to carry a single full sized cub for the right amount of time, gestation wise. The problem was the I was in there to with Pedro as well, competing with him for space inside her, but they didn't know I was in there. When Pedro was born prematurely, they though he was going to be sickly since he was so skinny. And my birth was a complete surprise to everyone, except maybe Abuela, who was keeping careful watch. She had thought there were two cubs inside, but no one believed her, not even my mother. When I was born, I was so small that my lungs hadn't fully formed and I couldn't figure out to breath, so my Abuela took me from the midwife, who was having to deal with my mother's heavy bleeding, and she gave me breath." Hugo stepped out of the closet, dress in his comfortable white Tai-ji pants and robe.

He tightened his belt before continuing, "She had to breathe for me for 15 minutes before I figured out how to breathe on my own. If she hadn't, I would have died." He sat down on the bed next to her, and looked at the photo. "They split the load, Mama and Abuela, in raising us. Mama was bedridden for while because the blood loss she suffered during my birth, so she could only take care of Pedro, and Abuela took care of me."

Hugo paused for a moment before continuing, "Papa was horrified. He had thought he was going to loose his whole family that day, both his sons and his wife. So a month after we were born, he went to the town clinic and got a vasectomy, which very unheard of in those days. But he wasn't going to risk losing her again." He smiled sadly at Judy, "That's why it's just Pedro and I in our family. Twins without any siblings."

Judy pushed the blanket back over her head. She had a lot of siblings growing up which she took for granted. But in Amazonia, they tended to have large families. To just the two of them must have lonely. "But you got better, right?"

"Oh, yes. Once Mother's milk came in, we both started to put on weight. But Pedro's always been skinny, and I've always had lung issues." Hugo allowed, "Well, not lung issues. I was just allergic to my home."

"Yeah, Finnick said something about leaf molds." She added.

"Ah yes, Finnick..." Hugo smiled a quiet, and very wry, smile

What's with that smile? She wondered, "You were on the phone with him?"

He nodded, looking down at her, his eyes penetrating hers, "Yes. We had a nice long talk, he and I."

"Oh, cool. What did you talk about?" She said off-paw as she tried to lighten the mood, which had gotten heavy all of a sudden.

"You."