Chapter Three: Savage Predators?
Written by Panoctu
Edited by BeecroftA
Artwork by TheBlueberryCarrots
The silence of the ambulance station's kitchen was interrupted by the steady sound of water, dropping from the faucet into the sink where it hit the surface of a used ceramic bowl, and the soft ticking of the wall-mounted clock, hanging right above the door.
Most of the mammals working here had gotten used to those sounds and weren't bothered by them too much.
The groaning was new, though.
It originated from the gray bunny sitting at the comparatively big table in one of the height-adjustable chairs, slumped forward. Judy's arms were resting on the cool surface, her forehead resting on her arms with her nose barely touching the polished wood.
When she started to speak, her hushed words fell like stones into the relative silence of the room.
"Five times!" She said it like it was a curse.
"Five times they called us out because a 'savage predator' had attacked someone!"
Her voice had grown a little louder by then but was still dampened by the confines of the table's surface and her own arms.
"Savage predators my tail! Those mammals were anything but savage. Aggravated? Yes! Ranging from mildly to very drunk? Some of them, yes!"
"Profoundly horny?" the fox who had appeared on the threshold in time to catch the start of his mate's monologue added in a demure voice. "Yeah, that one tiger definitely was. No wonder the poor ewe was scared out of her fleece if you ask me."
The amused snort at the end of his statement destroyed the illusion of his serious demeanor.
"That doesn't matter!" came the unbridled reply from the doe, still without raising her head.
"Also, the 'severe injuries' they had reported were shallow scratches, caused by their own carelessness or in the heat of an argument. Something every sane mammal would just put a band-aid on, if at all. Do they even realize that they are wasting our time and valuable resources by calling us out for nothing? And as if that wasn't absurd enough, some of them want to be checked 'Just in case whatever causes those predators to go savage is contagious.' Are they kidding me? It's already bad enough that this hare brained, striped idiot from the ZPD stated during that press conference that there was probably a genetical cause for all this - what kind of fresh-from-the-academy-dumbass would say something like that in front of dozens of cameras without a sliver of proof? - but now other mammals start coming up with more stupid rumors? Ugh!"
By the time Judy was done ranting, and the relative quiet of the kitchen settled back in, another sound had been added to the collection of background noises. A rapid thudding, caused by one of the lagomorph's hind paws irritatedly thumping against the metal footrest of her chair.
Nick stepped up behind her, embracing his mate - the height of the seat working in his favor - and licked around the base of one of her ears soothingly
"Calm down, Sweetheart! The whole city is on edge. Predators are afraid they'll go savage and attack their loved ones. Prey are afraid to leave their home since they fear to be attacked at every corner. Many mammals have fled Zootopia by now. Admittedly, I'm surprised you appear to be so unaffected by this, considering... ", the tod's voice trailed off as if even he was too scared to voice his fears.
Finally, Judy raised her head from the table, squinting slightly at the sudden change in brightness.
Turning around in her mate's embrace as best as she could, she looked him in the eyes.
For once she could neither spot a trace of the mischievous sparkle that often sat there, nor signs of his usual poise that was often bordering on overconfidence. Only insecurity.
The doe took one of Nick's paws that were wrapped around her and pressed her lips to his palm.
She always marveled at how much bigger than hers they were and relished the contrast of his rough paw pads in comparison to a bunny's soft, padless paws.
"I could never be afraid of you, Nick." Her mauve eyes were fixed on his lush, green ones, willing him to understand and believe her.
"Even if you did go savage, regress to a mammal running only on instincts, I know you would never hurt me. Could never hurt me. You would recognize me as your mate, without a doubt."
She closed what little distance was left between them and pressed her lips boldly against his, sensing the outlines of his canines behind them.
She could feel how the tensed-up muscles in Nick's arms loosened up at last, and a barely audible sigh escaped him, once Judy broke the kiss.
Letting go of his bunny, Nick sat down beside her, sliding a cup of coffee in front of her that she hadn't realized her fox had placed on the table earlier.
He took a sip of his own before speaking again. "You know, Fluff, I had been wondering about something but forgot to ask you since we had been occupied with, you know, saving the city and stuff: how come your parents are visiting Zootopia? Considering everything that's going on here, I would have thought they'd rather stay in Bunnyburrow, barricading themselves in or something along these lines."
Turning her mug in her paws, Judy thought about the fox's question for a moment before answering.
"I had been wondering about that as well. It could be that they just really want to prove to me that they finally support my decision to live and work here, but frankly I doubt it. I'm more inclined to believe that they want me to come back home with them, but that's not going to happen, no matter how much they try to beg or guilt-trip me. And they both know that trying to drag me home by my tail would backfire. Eyes up here, Wilde!"
Upon mention of the doe's fluffy appendage - that had flicked at the right moment to cap it all - Nick's gaze had snapped to his mate's rear without him being able to help it.
Shooting her a not-so-apologetic grin, he cleared his throat.
"What about the possibility they've missed out on what's happening here?" he asked without much hope.
Judy just shook her head. "Remember what I said about my almost three hundred siblings and what the odds are they wouldn't get wind of this documentary? It's unlikely they are in the dark about the savage predators."
At that point, Nick's ears had folded back against his head.
If they know about the savage predators and are not coming here to show their support for Judy's work...
"... Then they'll try everything to get you away from the potentially dangerous predator you are living with."
Scrunching his eyes closed, he pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "Why did I think it was a good idea to talk to your parents about this?"
A small paw gently pried his own away from his muzzle. "They have no chance of getting me away from you. I have everything I ever wanted in life here. The job of my dreams. The perfect mate - even if he is driving me up the walls at times. Our own little apartment and the life we have started to build together. We will tell my parents about us today, and I'll make them see reason if it's the last thing I do."
As soon as the last syllable had left the bunny's lips, Nick had pressed a short but passionate kiss on them, conveying as much of his gratitude and love as possible before drawing back again.
"You know that they will turn the fact that I'm a predator against us, right?"
Looking a bit dazed Judy briefly shook her head before answering. "I know, but there is nothing we can do about it now, so let's worry about it when it happens. We should try to enjoy the peace and quiet we have right now, as long as it...", before the doe was even able to finish her sentence, the radio crackled to life, causing her ears to drop faster than Nick had ever seen.
"You just had to say it, didn't you?"
The fox's teasing was requited with a glare from his mate before Judy answered to dispatch, accepting that their short breather was already over.
Nick was sitting on his bed in the darkness of the station's dorm, the room only dimly lit by the little light that fell in through the half-open door.
The room brightened marginally when Judy entered.
She had seen the hurt in her mate's eyes before he retreated here after they had come back from their latest deployment.
Curse that damned meerkat! How dare she talk about my fox like that!
They had been called to a traffic accident, apparently caused by a pedestrian - a zebra - who had jumped from the sidewalk onto the street, right in front of a car.
The driver of the vehicle had tried to dodge the equine and rammed the car next to him.
The zebra had still gotten hit and the driver of the second car crashed into the vehicle in front of him, which had braked.
All in all, there had been four injured mammals. The equine who had caused the whole accident and the occupants of the second car: a family of three meerkats.
The driver of the other two vehicles had gotten away with no more than a fright.
Arriving at the scene, the wailing of a kit could be heard over the background noise the bystanders provided.
Tending to the unconscious, but luckily still-breathing father first, the duo found signs he had suffered a basilar fracture. Two standing by paramedics took over the transport of the male to the hospital, with the caribou and gnu being too big to directly treat small mammals like meerkats, and the zebra already been dealt with by another team.
In the meanwhile the doe and reynard had checked the mother and son, loading them into their own ambulance vehicle afterward.
Surprisingly enough the pup, who obviously had had a fractured arm, had shown no signs of fear for the predator and let himself be examined by Nick without complaining. Rather than that, the little one had calmed down considerably once Nick had started talking to him, explaining that his dad would be cared for and that he was there to help him as well.
The pup's mother, who had only sported some small bruises and abrasions and who Judy had looked over, was of a different mind, though.
She had asked if there were no other paramedics who could treat her son aside from 'that fox,' stating that she didn't trust a conniving creature like him and wouldn't put it past his kind to try and steal from them while acting like he wanted to help.
Before the bunny had been able to overcome her surprise and give the prejudiced female a piece of her mind, the pup had spoken up, telling his mom with all the beautiful innocence of a kit that it was all right. The fox was a paramedic and just wanted to help.
"That's what paramedics do after all," were the young one's words.
Her son's protest hadn't given the female pause though, but instead infuriated her to a point where it had seemed like she was about to get violent with her own son.
Only when Judy had threatened to involve the ZPD - officers had been talking to the bystanders who had witnessed the accident happen - for suspicion of child abuse had the meerkat stopped.
Turning on the doe instead, she had verbally assaulted Judy for protecting a 'sly pelt' like Nick, calling her a pred-lover amongst other things, getting herself worked up until she was almost hysterical.
Judy had had to give her a weak sedative while one of her colleagues had held the frenzied female down.
All the while Nick had continued to treat and distract the meerkat pup, not letting on that anything that had been said was bothering him. He had even joked with the young mammal that his mom must have been hell to deal with if he wanted to stay awake for a little longer in the evening, causing the kid to chuckle at that, despite his own injury and everything that had happened.
Now, out of sight, with Nick's head hanging and his ears pressed against his skull, it was hard to miss how much it had gotten to him. His paws were fiddling with the tip of his tail, which he had wound around himself protectively.
Without a word, Judy crawled onto the bed and up to her fox, mirroring his earlier gesture by hugging him from behind. Because of their size difference, she couldn't rest her head on top of his but instead leaned against his back. Humming deep in her throat, she nuzzled against the mammal she loved.
After a brief moment, she could feel his tail finding its way around her waist, and one of his paws coming to rest on top of one of her's.
"You really don't deserve to be treated like this, just because of me," the reynard stated in a voice so small, even in the silence of the room and with her superior hearing it was hard for the doe to distinguish the words.
"Nick, stop it!" Judy said while tightening the embrace a little. "Other mammals' prejudices are not your fault. You are the most wonderful mammal I've ever met, and I deserve to be with you just as much as you deserve to be with me, period! If other mammals don't like that, it's no fur off my back."
"You are a dumb fox, though. I've been so worried that meerkat's words had hurt you, but I should have known that you are more concerned about me than yourself. It's one of the many reasons I love you so much!"
Nick brought the paw he was holding up to his muzzle, pressing a loving kiss on it.
His spirits seemingly lifted, Judy gave him a small shove. "Okay, now get ready to clock out, take a shower and pick up my parents from the train station!"
Groaning in feigned despair, the reynard let himself fall backwards, trapping the startled doe under him.
Judy let loose a surprised 'eep' at first but started giggling immediately at her mate's antics.
"Nick, come on! We don't have time to fool around like this!" came her weak complaint, the laughter in her voice betraying how little it bothered her.
Nick rose just enough to turn over without his mate escaping him, and nuzzled the lagomorph's neck, pressing his wet nose to her skin.
"Can't we just have five minutes of peace?"
Judy - who was squirming, laughing, and trying to escape the moist, cold organ - realized that she had to resort to Plan B.
Putting her small paws on his cheeks, the bunny slightly lifted her mate's head, prompting Nick to look up and into the doe's eyes. Big, round, pleading eyes - quivering lower lip and drooping ears included.
"Could you pwease get ready? For me?"
Nick - unable to resist her strategy - pressed a small peck on his bunny's lips.
"You are not playing fair, Sweetheart."
He took his radio in one paw while getting up, quickly looking at the wall-mounted clock.
"Just two minutes of our shift left, so I guess it's fine if we clock out a little early."
Before he was able the press the button, though, dispatch was calling them, their timing once more impeccable.
Third time is the charm, huh? the fox thought to himself.
"Sorry, Myra, we are about to leave. Could you please send somebody else?" the fox interrupted the female on the other end right away.
"I'm sorry as well, Nicky-boy, but you two are the only small-mammal team that is available right now."
Sighing, Nick looked at his mate, seeing that she was already holding her cell phone in paw and was probably sending her parents a message about the delay.
"Alright, Brushy, what you got?"
"Savage mammal attack."
Judy stopped typing to groan, smelling another one of those false attacks.
Until Myra gave them the information about the victim.
"The attack happened at Savannah Central Station. The victim is a female lagomorph in her early to mid-fifties. Unconscious and bleeding from several wounds."