Chapter 2 Ski Patrol

Written by Johnsoneer

Edited by Cimar

Being a Ski Patrol Officer came surprisingly naturally to Nick. Not that the work was as easy as he was hoping for, but it never really felt like work to him. He expected there to be routine patrols and spending endless hours in one place checking lift tickets, but in reality, the job was much more fluid. Judy would take him to just about every corner of the mountain and assist skiers with various problems, everything from a lost child to an injured skier trapped in a crevice. Nick proved more than capable because of his ability to work mammals over and his impressive skill at charming and calming frantic skiers.

While Judy was much more 'by the book', Nick struck up conversation with the patrons of Royal Peaks, learning about their families and tastes in food. They were always much more amicable afterwards if they needed the skiers to follow certain rules or vacate the area. Nick found himself enjoying it unironically; the ins and outs of day to day work. While there were no more exciting fiasco's like the snowmobile chase on day one, Nick was still able to put his skills to use and keep his mind off of his life back in Zootopia.

The Ranger, or 'Fluff' as he called her, was a workaholic in the most admirable way. Even the annoying parts of work like the early start times and the menial patrol tasks she approached with an enthusiasm that began to rub off on him. Perhaps she had a harder time dealing with difficult skiers, but she always smiled as she greeted them regardless. She carried that energy throughout the day, and Nick began to wonder where she was getting it all from.

Nick wondered a lot about his boss and partner. There were times when they quipped and snipped at each other, but there were other times when she would do something that took him completely by surprise. One such time was when Nick was helping teach a group of kids about slope safety, he caught her stealing a glance at him while working with a young panther cub. The cub was sad because he missed his parents during the day, so Nick joked and played and tickled the youngster eagerly until a smile was a bit more permanent feature on his little face. Nick looked up to see Judy watching him intently, which she quickly realized and looked away bashfully before continuing her own work. She wasn't smiling, nor rolling her eyes, so the look was brand new to him, and it puzzled him just as much as it intrigued him.

What was also odd was how the Ranger's quarters were so far removed from everyone else. The entire platoon of patrol officers were housed in a barracks-style cabin which featured a warm fire, bunk beds, and a fridge full of beer...which the college kids made use of almost nightly. But while Nick enjoyed their lively company and roughhousing, the Ranger would bid them all good night and take a snowmobile on a narrow pathway further down the mountain. According to his newest and deerest friend John, she had her own private cabin where she kept to herself. It was always a little disappointing because right as the group was beginning to unwind and bond after work, she would disappear. It was a strange feeling to have for Nick, considering he spent all day every day with her on the slopes.

It was early one Wednesday morning when he decided to bring it up with her. The two of them were on the edge of Raven's Rift, which was a dangerous but exhilarating slope that only the most promising skiers could tackle. It was shaped like a giant bowl carved into the mountain side, and since it was so steep with so few trees, it was prone to avalanches. The ski patrol's job was to wake up early after a night of snowfall and drop small concussive explosives onto the mountainside using a drone. The idea was that the explosives would set the avalanches off before the skiers could get buried by them, and while Nick did not consider himself a morning mammal, he was always game to blow something up.

"We should give these bombs names," Nick said as he flew the drone higher along the ridge.

"Why would we give names to things we're about to explode and bury in snow?" Judy asked with a scoff.

"What better way to dedicate a memorial to old friends? I'll go first," Nick explained and held his fingers over the release triggers. "I'm gonna call this one Terry, after this stubborn elephant back in Zootopia who refuses to serve ice cream to foxes."

"Ahh," Judy said, catching on to Nick's idea. She hopped over to the snowmobile and opened up her thermise full of her usual morning joe. "To Terry!" she toasted.

"To Terry," Nick agreed and pulled the trigger. The small red stick of dynamite fell from the hovering quadrocopter gracefully, landing in the snow nose-first. A few moments later, they saw a red flash along the side of the mountain, followed by a loud pop that was more than certain to wake a few sleeping hotel guests in the name of 'safety first.' Nick was able to get a little snow to trickle down from the blast, but the miniature avalanche did not last very long.

"My turn," Judy said, taking the controls from Nick. "This one is named Lucy, after one of my sisters who ruined the only date I ever went on in college."

"How'd she manage that? I figured you'd have an easy time ruining a date all on your own," Nick jabbed.

"Keep talking, Slick, and the next one will be named 'Nicholas'," Judy said and hit the release. Once again the explosive sailed down onto the slope and erupted in fire and smoke, sending another line of snow trickling down the mountainside. "If you must know, Lucy came in drunk while we were having dinner and started ranting off all my poorest qualities, like how I'm a little boyish and work all the time, so he left me with the bill. I gave up on dating in college after that."

"Well," Nick said, pulling the controls from her and bringing the drone a little further down the mountain. "I'd say Lucy saved you a headache if the guy just up and left after hearing you're tough and determined."

Judy gave him a sideways glance, expecting him to slide some underhanded, quick-witted insult in with what was a very genuine compliment, but he never did.

"Alright, this one here is Chuck," he said with confidence.

"And who is Chuck?"

"Chuck is a beaver I knew back when I tried to join the junior ranger scouts when I was a kid. Trust me, I could name a stick of dynamite after each guy in that troop, but Chuck get's preference. Have a nice flight, Chuck!" he said and dropped another bomb. This one blew and caused a larger chain of snow to slide down the mountainside, kicking up a bit like white smoke as it drifted down.

"Nice one," Judy complimented her work. "What did Chuck do to earn such a special place on Raven's Rift?"

"He uh . . . he muzzled me," Nick said hesitantly.

"What?"

"Yeah, uhm. . . I tried to join the troop when I was a kid, but foxes aren't exactly trusted amongst most prey circles, so...he muzzled me and they laughed me out of the room."

"Nick . . . that's terrible," Judy said with a concerned look on her face.

"Not the end of the world," he shrugged. "Started hanging out with a bad crowd after that, so my mom sent me to live with my uncle at Deer Valley to set me straight. I met tons of prey and predators up there that were much kinder to me, so in a way I guess it worked, just not as much as mom might have wanted."

"Wow. You want to drop a few more Chucks while we're at it?" Judy offered.

"Nah we've only got two left, and it's your turn!" Nick said and thrust the controls back into her paws. She smiled and steered the drone towards the side of the mountain they had not touched yet, positioning it just above the tree line.

"Alright then, if we're brining up gradeschool dick bags, I dub this death-stick Gideon," she said firmly and released the explosive. She had to admit it was liberating to watch things explode in the name of old enemies.

"And what did Gideon do to earn such an honor?" he said, watching as the explosive set into the snow.

"He was a grade-A jerk, callin' me a dumb bunny and making fun of my dreams. When we were kids, he scratched me right across the face and left a nasty mark."

"Ouch. Maybe we could fly this thing back to Bunny Burrows and pay Gideon's house a visit," Nick said as the charge blew, sending another impressive slide of snow cascading downwards.

"Nick!" she said with a laugh. "That's terrible."

"It's okay, feline's have quick reflexes, so I'm sure he'd land on his feet."

"He's a fox, actually," Judy said. Nick dropped his smug smile and looked at Judy in surprise. All this time, she treated him like his species was non-existent, like she did not even notice he was a fox. It was her most endearing quality, so he assumed she had plenty of amicable experiences with foxes before. The truth was she had been bullied and actually attacked by a fox long ago, yet she never made it an issue with him once.

"Don't worry, Slick. Foxes are jerks, bunnies are jerks, everyone's a jerk. You're just a jerk that's easy to be around," she said with a light smile, watching the snow roll to a stop as Bomb-Gideon's work was now done. Nick hesitated, not sure of what to say to her. There was no way she could have known, but the casual compliment really meant a lot to him.

"Okay," he said after a moment, taking the controls again. He zoomed the drone to the highest point of the mountain he could reach and positioned the last bomb ready to go.

"Who's this one?" Judy asked.

"This one is named Judy," he said and hit the release.

"Wha . . . you hateful sack of horseradish!" she scolded him as 'Judy' flew down and plopped into the snow. "There had better be another Judy in your life."

"Nah, one is a pawful enough," he said with a smile.

"What on earth did I do to deserve that?" she said, folding her arms over her chest. Nick smiled at her and leaned down onto his knees.

"This is for every time you disappear right before the rest of us start having fun every night. They keep offering you to join in, but you always hop on that snowmobile and vanish."

"Well sue me for not wanting to get piss drunk with some college hooligans!" she spat.

"Hey, no one is getting 'piss-drunk', as you so eloquently put it. None of us would be in any shape to work afterwards if that were the case. Besides, John is a fun hooligan, and Mark showed up last time too. You're the only one I'm missing," he explained.

There was a slight pause. "That you're missing?" she repeated with a smile.

"That we're missing, and yeah, we all wonder when you'll join us for some fun. So how 'bout it, Fluff?"

Judy looked down at the ground pensively, a little annoyed by Nick's insistence, but more timid than anything else. What confused Nick was that she was never shy around the other patrollers. In fact, she was downright gregarious, so he could not put a finger on why she was so hesitant to hang out with everyone after work. Just then, the explosive went off and sent the largest bank of snow yet barreling down the mountain. It roared as it tumbled past the trees and through the previous piles of snow they set off earlier. Bomb-Judy was the best one by far.

"I'll think about it," she said and downed the rest of her coffee.

"Okay, my turn!" John said and opened another can of beer with a crackle and fizz. The other's sat on the cozy furniture nestled around the fireplace as the wind lightly blew snow up against the dark window. Mark, a large moose sat by the fire on his side enjoying their game. The wolf twins, Darcy and Danny, shared a large chair across from Nick. John was on his feet, though noticeably stumbling as he walked from one side of the living room to the other.

"Think you'll beat the fox this time, eh?" Mark said with a smile.

"I've got him this time," John said eagerly. "So this was back in undergrad at ZU, I was a lowly sophomore majoring in business management at the time."

"Lie!" Darcy said eagerly and pointed an accusing finger at the deer. "You majored in biology. You're a bio grad student now!"

"I did major in biology," John nodded, a sly smile growing on his face. "But that was after I changed it from business Junior year, so it was not a lie."

"Drink!" Danny said and smiled as her sister rolled her eyes and took a large swig from her can. John cleared his throat and continued his story.

"I played a little guitar during the summer months at night to earn a little cash on the side."

"Where did you play?" Nick asked.

"Flake's Donuts," John answered.

"Lie," Mark said confidently. "Flake's closes at 6pm, eh? Drink."

John rolled his eyes and growled at the moose for calling him out. He raised the can up to his lips and took a hearty swig as punishment before continuing again. "Fine, I played on the street corner. So I'm playin' one of my favorite tunes by Fur Fighters and getting really into it before some lion places a few dollars in my case-"

John's story was cut short as the door to the cabin swung open, letting in a breeze of winter winds and snowflakes before the newcomer closed it behind her and removed her hat and scarf. Nick's eyes widened as he watched Judy shake the snow from her long feet and folded her jacket up neatly by the door.

"Could that really be the Ranger?" Mark said with a hoof on his head. "Up is down, left is right, eh?"

"Sorry if I'm interrupting, guys. Thought I'd join you for a little while, if that's alright," Judy said. She looked over to Nick and smiled at him. He didn't say a word back. All he did was smile back at her and pat the open seat next to him, inviting her up onto the sofa. She lept up and folded her leg across her knee. One of the twins fished into the cooler and took out a small-sized can of Royal Peaks' local brew. It was still a tad big in Judy's paw, but she took a few bountiful sips from it all the same.

"Where is everyone else?" she asked.

"Either sound asleep back there or trying to score at the resort bar. We're here just enjoying each other's company and playin' fib-catcher," Nick explained. "John's up now."

"Fib-catcher?" Judy asked, looking puzzled.

"It's a game of my own design," Nick said and proudly put his paw on his chest. "Basically, one person tells a true story about themselves, trying to sneak a few lies into the story. If you catch a lie and call him out, he drinks. If you call him out and it's true, you drink. At the end of the story, for every lie they successfully got past you, you have to take another drink."

"I see," Judy said with a nod. "So it's a game of stories."

"Yeah, but Wilde over here cheats," John complained. "Before I ever get to gloat, he'll call us out on every lie as if he heard the story already."

"Hey," Nick said with mock hurt on his face. "What happened to all of that energy before? I thought you said you had me this time."

"I do!" John said, slurring his words a little. "Okay, to catch the Ranger up, I was a sophomore in college playing guitar for spare change during summer nights. I was playing this Fur Fighters song when a lion came by and dropped some money in my case. Mark got me on one lie so far."

"Okay," Judy said and nestled into the warm sofa by the fire. "Go for it."

"Alright, so I'm getting so into this song that I don't even look up to see who it was. I play out the whole song, and right as I get to the end the lion starts singing the rest of it out with me. When I finish, I look up at him, and it's David Growl himself!"

"What?" Judy said, the twins gasping as well. "That one's got to be a lie."

"Think so?" John said.

"I agree, there's no way," Mark said and shook his head in disbelief.

"Well then, loyal staff of Royal Peaks Resort, I hereby command you both to drink!" John said with a huge grin on his face.

"No!" Mark said with a gasp. "You played a song with David Growl?"

"Less gasping and more drinking," the deer commanded happily. Judy laughed and took a swig from her beer before demanding more from John.

"What happened next?"

"He thanked me for the song and gave me two backstage passes to his benefit concert that night," John said confidently. The others were quiet, looking back and forth at each other, waiting for someone to challenge his bold statement. Eyes finally rested on Nick, who sat quietly rolling the beer can in his paw.

"All done?" Nick asked.

"Done," John said with a nod. "Would you like to know how many drinks you're taking?"

"Three," Nick said back and let his eyes droop down into a half-lidded smirk.

"Wha? How did you know?" John said with a frown.

"The David Growl part was real, which makes the rest of it seem believable too. But you were not playing a Fur Fighters song at the time. I'm guessing it was one of his other bands. Also, he did give you tickets to his show, but it wasn't that night, it was a different night."

"Gah!" John muttered, stomping his feet on the floorboards angrily to the amusement of the rest of the group, who each shared a good chuckle at his expense.

"What about the last lie?" Judy asked him.

"David Growl never thanked him for the song. He is too cool to be so polite."

"And how could you know all of this?" Judy asked with a skeptic eyebrow raised.

"Fox's intuition."

"Darn . . . *gulp* . . . You . . .*gulp* . . . Fox!" John cursed as he drank out his punishment with one final gulp and crunched the edge of the can on the end of one of his antlers.

"That can't be good for your horns there, deerest," Mark said with a shake of his head.

"He's too drunk to care. He's been losing too much," Darcy said, shooting a glance back to where Nick and Judy sat. "I think it's your turn, Ranger."

"Me?" Judy said bashfully.

"It's not hard, just think up a story and pepper in some embellishments," Nick suggested. "But you'll have to make it a story I don't already know."

"Huh, that won't be easy. I've told you a lot already," Judy said, putting a paw to her chin and pondering her choice of stories.

"You talk too much, Fluff."

"That's Ranger Fluff to you, mister. And I think I've got a story for you," she said and slugged his shoulder. Nick laughed her off and nestled in for a story with a drink in his paw.

"The floor is yours, Ranger Fluff."

"Okay. . . so this was a few years back, after I finished college and started at the academy. I was bunking underneath this massive hippo named Higgins who liked to play practical jokes on me."

"I'm gonna say lie," Mark decided. "There's no way they'd bunk a rabbit underneath a hippo, otherwise you'd get squashed getting up in the morning, eh?"

"Nice one," Judy commended him. "His real name was Wolford and he was a timberwolf." She smiled at her co worker and took a swig from her can.

"Rewind a bit. What academy was this?" Nick asked her.

"The Zootopia Police Academy," Judy answered after she finished a tall gulp.

"Lie!" John said enthusiastically. "You'd be a cop right now if it wasn't."

"Drink," Judy commanded simply. The deer's jaw dropped at having lost another so quickly and got up to fetch himself another beer, grumbling under his breath.

"So what did this 'Wolford' guy do to prank you, eh?" Mark asked.

"Not just me, pretty much everyone. It was always pretty harmless, but he got himself a reputation as a jokester pretty quickly. One night, I noticed him sneaking out of the barracks, and instead of reporting him, I quietly followed him out."

"Lie," Nick said with confidence. "You tried to follow the rules first."

"Hugh," Judy sighed and took a drink. "Yeah, I woke up Snarlof and asked if we should report him. Snarlof was the one who suggested we follow him, so we tailed him quietly as he went to the training pool. Turns out he had a lady friend in town, a cougar, and they would sneak into the academy pool late at night and swim around."

"Hmmm," Nick said loud enough to catch her attention. "I'm betting this is all technically true, but from your blushing I can tell you're hiding something too."

"Ughh, fine. They were . . . skinny dipping," Judy said looked away bashfully. The poor rabbit was more than a little embarrassed by the memory. Mark's jesting was not helping either.

"Turns out you're a bit of a peeping polly there, eh?" he said with a laugh.

Judy tried her best to shrug him off and continued her story before any of the others could get one in as well. "Anyway, me and Snarlof hatched a plan to get him back for all his pranks, so we waited for just before he was about to kiss the girl before we struck."

"Struck? What did you do?" John asked with bated breath.

"Well . . . you know how timberwolves like to howl a lot? . . .Oh! I'm sorry if that was rude of me, girls," Judy said and covered her mouth in shame as she looked over at the twins. Darcy and Danny both shrugged her off and urged her to continue her story.

"You're not wrong. We howl a lot," Danny said, her sister nodding along.

"Wolford was a good example of that stereotype. So we waited for right before he was about to kiss her and we both howled as loud as we could!"

"Did he howl back?!" The Nick asked.

"Oh, he howled with gusto! The girl was furiously trying to shush him but he just kept going. Poor guy was belting it out so loudly he woke the drill seargent up. The last thing Snarlof and I saw before we headed back to our bunks is our drill instructor, this massive white polar bear, storm into the pool room in her jammies and start screaming at Wolford who is butt-naked in the pool with his girl."

"You clever bunny," Nick commended her prankery, offering her a light clap. The others all laughed and clapped along. "But," Nick continued, "The fact that you said 'white polar bear' was redundant, so I'm going to call that as a lie."

"Darn it, fox!" she said and took a stiff swig of her beer. "You are good at this. Yeah, it wasn't a polar bear, it was a Rhino, and he was pissed. Wolford got three weeks of kitchen and bathroom duty for that, and we all gave him the nickname 'Night Howler' after that."

"So is that the end of your story?" John asked, thinking back and wondering what lies he might have missed.

"That's it. I hear Wolford is doing well these days. He married that cougar and works as an officer in the city. . . so did I get you guys?" She wondered, her eyes darting back and forth

"If it wasn't the Hippo or the Academy thing, than I honestly have no idea," Danny remarked.

"Got me too," John nodded. Mark put a pensive hoof to his chin and thought for a moment, looking the rabbit he had worked numerous winters with up and down.

"One thing is not adding up, Ranger," Mark said. "If you did go to the Police Academy, then why aren't you an officer now, eh?"

Judy's face darkened a little, her eyes wandering down towards the fire. She swirled her drink in her paw for a moment before she forced a short smile as best she could.

"I flunked out," she murmured.

"Lie," Nick blurted out immediately. Judy looked up at him from her corner on the couch, noticing his confident glare. There was just no way a rabbit like the Ranger flunked out of the Police Academy. She must have quit for something better, or maybe she was making more money working for a rich resort. Nick's confidence was strong, right up until she smiled weakly at him one more time.

"Drink," she said simply. Nick's eyes widened, his smile fading from his face. The others got quiet as well, regarding their boss with concerned expressions.

"I'm . . . I'm sorry," Nick mumbled.

"Course you are. You lost, now drink," Judy said, her smile growing on her face. She tilted Nick's beer up from it's end and forced a few heavy swigs down. He gracefully accepted defeat, hoping by the very least it would help brighten her mood back up.

"I'll be damned, Ranger. You beat the fox at his own game!" John said and toasted to the rabbit's victory. The others followed in suit and returned the toast as the mood in the room gradually began to improve. Even though Judy was beginning to seem just a little tipsy, Nick did catch her look at her watch.

"Alright rabbit, give this fox a chance to earn his honor back. I have a new game for you, and it's all of you against me this time," Nick said and looked around the room challengingly.

"What's the game?" Judy asked him.

"I call it 'Figure out why I took this job'," Nick explained. "The rules are simple. You guess why I'm here, and if you're right, I'll drink every last one of your beers AND I'll take tomorrow's shift watching the kids. Guess wrong, and you drink."

"I don't think that's really fair, eh?" Mark said with an accusing finger. "You could be here for any number of reasons. There's no way to tell if we're getting closer to the right answer or not."

"Yeah," Judy agreed. "I say we get to ask you one yes or no question before each guess. That way we'll get closer."

"I'd say his punishment more than makes up for it," Darcy argued.

"Fine then. If we lose, we cover for you and you get the morning off tomorrow. How's that to even things out?"

"Hmmm," Nick pondered her offer. There was no real way they'd get the right answer completely, given how drunk John was and how much the others had in their systems, so it was a pretty easy way to earn the right to sleep in.

"Deal," he said and nodded towards the rest of the group. "The game is over when you finish your drinks."

"Okay, I guess I'll go first, eh? My question is, have you ever worked a job at a ski resort before?"

"Wait, Mark," Judy began, but Nick was quick to cut her off.

"Yes," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Darn it Mark, I knew that already!" Judy said with frustration directed at Nick. "He used to live with is Uncle in Deer Valley."

"Did you really?" John asked in amazement.

"Uh-uh, only one yes-or-no question per guess, now let's hear it," Nick told Mark. The poor moose was at a loss and decided to throw a wild guess.

"Uhm . . . did you get fired from your last job?" he asked.

"Drink," Nick commanded to Mark's chagrin. The moose raised the can to his lips and finished it off.

"Me next!" John said and eagerly leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "I already know you're not here lookin' for love."

"How do you know that?" Judy asked.

"Because," John began, shooting a glance over to the wolf twins sitting across from him. "He hasn't laid the moves on either of them, and he'd be crazy not to." Darcy folded her arms across her chest and scowled at his ham-handed attempt at flirting.

"If that's your way of trying to get us to join you in the bunk tonight, it's not working," she scoffed.

"Speak for yourself sis," her sister said, smiling coyly at John who looked more than a little excited. Nick had enough of their flirting already.

"Ahem," Nick coughed and scowled at his friend. "Your guess?"

"I'm gonna say you're here because you can't afford vacation on whatever part-time gig you have back in Zootopia so this is your way of getting out of town," John guessed.

"Good try, but you still owe me some drinkin'," Nick said and pointed at the deer's beer. He sighed and downed the rest of it, looking the worse for wear by the second. There was more than a good chance this herbivore would pass out in his chair and never make it back to his bunk.

"My turn," Darcy cut in. "First, a question. Is there anyone missing you back in Zootopia? Anyone hoping to see you come home soon?"

Nick had to hand it to her for asking such a clever question. Either answer would write off lots of possibilities. He agreed to play the game, so he answered honestly.

"Mm-hmm," he said with a nod. Judy looked over at him for a moment hesitantly, right on the cusp of saying something else. She opened her mouth to speak, but decided better and instead sheepishly sipped her drink again.

"Okay then," the young wolfess said. "I think that this is a bachelor party of sorts. Maybe you're waiting to get married when you get back, or maybe you haven't popped the question yet, but I'd say either way you're here to do some soul-searching and find out if she's really worth it."

"My my, I must give you credit," Nick began. He could have sworn he saw Judy tense her grip around her drink in that moment. "You've got quite the imagination on you. But if I was ever so lucky to find someone like that, I wouldn't need a break to know she was worth it. You may now drink."

"Oh come on!" she cursed and lifted her drink up. There were only a few drops left anyway so she tossed the can aside with a 'harumph' and crossed her arms across her torso.

"Oh, oh, me next!" her sister Danny said eagerly. "That mammal who misses you back in Zootopia, is it your mom?"

"Yes," Nick said with a smile.

"Aha!" she exclaimed. "Then I wanna guess you're here because you got dumped. Wife left, girlfriend cheated, fiancé broke it off, any of those! You might hide it well, but you're here to nurse a broken heart amongst strangers!"

Nick smiled again, shaking his head. "Best guess so far, I'd say. But not the answer we're looking for. No vixen has had the honor of my company for some time."

"You should work on that," John slurred, not having the strength to lift his head from from the headrest on his chair. Danny finished her beer as well and gently placed it on the coffee table in front of her.

"Huh, all of you only had one guess left of beer, didn't you? I'd say this worked out nicely," Nick observed, looking at his drunken compatriots. John and Mark both resigned to defeat at this point, and the twins seemed content with looking on quietly.

"I've still got some left, Slick," Judy said, turning to face him directly.

"So I see. Care to venture a few guesses? You could just save us both the trouble and give me the morning off now."

"I've got at least two guesses worth in here, so let's not be so hasty. I get a question first, right?"

"Of course."

"Alright, so my first question is this: do you like it here?" Judy asked him.

The question caught Nick off guard and made him furrow his brow. Her face was very genuine, like it always was, but it seemed like a silly way to waste her question. He had a hard time trying to figure out what her play was, so he instead decided to play defense and keep his smug grin on his face like normal, waiting for her next tell.

"Yeah, sure I do," he said. "Free skiing, beer, good times with good company? Who wouldn't?"

"Sure," Judy said, nodding along. "Okay, so I need to guess now, right? I'm guessing you did something less than legal and are laying low for a while out here until the heat blows over."

"My my, really thinking like a cop, aren't you?" Nick said, placing a paw on his chest in a show of insult. "How dare you think I would ever do anything illegal. You hurt me, Ranger."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I hurt the foxy's feewings?" Judy jested.

"You did indeed," Nick answered. "It'll make me feel better if you take a drink."

Judy did as instructed and sipped her beer, stopping just short of finishing it and looking back up at Nick. Oddly, she did not seem the least bit annoyed by guessing wrong.

"Got one more left in here. So I get another yes or no question, right?"

"Yeah, same rules as before," Nick said.

"And you have to answer it, right?" she clarified.

"Yup."

"Alright. Nick, would you . . . that is, would you ever consider . . ."

If her play was trying to disarm him, it was working well. He looked at her in confusion as she glanced at the floor with a sad gaze. It was as if she lost most of her desire to win the game and was simply going through the motions for him now. Her normal competitive spirit gave way to a milder, more hesitant bunny who spoke softly. Finally, after another moment of looking at the fire contemplatively, she sighed.

"Do you like blueberries?" she asked simply.

"Fluff, are you even trying anymore?" Nick asked her.

"Yes or no, Slick," Judy answered back, keeping her eyes on the fire.

"Yes, quite a lot. But I get the feeling there is something else going on here." For some reason, the Ranger saw fit to ignore him.

"I'm guessing you're here because you just wanted to ski."

"I . . . no, that's not it. Fluff, are you-"

He was cut off by the sight of Judy downing the rest of her beer in one go and placing the can on the table beside her. She picked up her gloves and began to place them back on her paws.

"Well, looks like you get the morning off, Slick. I still expect you at the lodge by lunchtime. I better get back before the wind gets too cold," she said and moved to leave.

"Judy," Nick said and reached out instinctively, placing a gentle paw on her shoulder. "Is there something wrong?"

She turned, looking up at him with wide, almost hopeful eyes. Nick could tell there really was something bothering her. The look on her face was both heartbroken and hopeful, like she was scared and happy at the same time. It was odd, he noticed, how such a small bunny could feel so warm to the touch. As quickly as her guard was dropped, it went right back up. She smiled at him, shaking her head and shrugging his paw off.

"I'm just beat, Nick. . . and it looks like they are too," she said and gestured to the others. Nick had practically forgotten they were not alone in the room. Every single one of their drinking partners had fallen asleep in their spots by the fire. The two wolves were nestled neatly together with one snout on top of the other. Mark was laying along the length of the fireplace on the floor with a pillow nestled under his large antlers and head. John laid back with his mouth wide open and breathing noisily.

"Amateurs," Nick scoffed. "You're sure everything is okay? Would you like some company on the way home? It can't be that far."

"Nah, Nick. I've done this too many times now to get lost, so don't worry about me. And uhm . . . thanks. Thanks for bringing me out here tonight. I had a great time," she said and smiled at him.

"Thanks for coming, Fluff," he said and returned her smile. She turned and made her way over to the rack where her coat and scarf were waiting for her. She wasted no time on ceremony, simply zipping up and heading out the door without another word. The cold wind blew in lightly for a moment before she closed the door behind her quietly enough so as not to wake everyone.

The outside air that took her place in the room wafted its way close enough to softly kiss Nick's nose.