Chapter 11 Apples and Blueberries

What are you doing...what are you doing...WHAT...ARE...YOU...DOING?

On the outside, as Nick led Judy through his garden and towards his orchards just beyond, he was the calm, collected Don Wilde that Zootopia had grown to recognize. The charming, debonair figure who even though he was a tad bit peculiar, was beloved by all.

On the inside...Nick felt a war playing out between his mind and heart.

Why did you go and say that to her! Why are you leading her on! You can't like her!...cried his mind, as it shot cannonball after cannonball towards the hardened iron walls that surrounded his heart on all side.

Why not?...his heart would reply, only angering his mind all the more. The battle continued far into the tour as Nick tried to figure out what was going on with him. Sure he had seen a whole new side of the Capitan, and thanks to his eavesdropping a few hours before, also knew of how scorned she was by those who should have been helping her. Was it just pity that caused him to give her such compliments; a feeling that she had probably never gotten them before and deserved a little happiness?

...or was it much like what his heart was saying, that maybe it was the honest truth?

The fox barely noticed where they were, until he felt a paw holding him back.

"For a fox at dusk, you have quite poor eyesight."

The comment, coming from such a sweet sounding voice broke him from the battle waging inside him and forced him back to the waking world. Looking down, he realized that one paw was firmly planted on solid ground, while the other was floating above a small creek that ran across his blueberry orchard and divided it from the apple trees he grew on the other side.

Nick pulled his paw back, grinning down at the bunny who's infectious smile and slight giggle brought a smile of his own to his face.

"Thank you from saving me from a soggy demise," he laughed, pointing two fingers at his eyes before switching them to facing the water gurgling by, as if saying he was watching the brook carefully.

"I guess that makes us even then?"

Nick nodded at the apt statement. "It would seem, Capitana Hopps. How often does a fox become so lucky as to be saved by such a beautiful bunny, no?"

And there it is again...If a tiny version of him lived in his mind, it would be throwing a fit towards him and his silver tongue. The Don noticed the slight blush of the rabbit's cheeks, followed by downward cast eyes and shuffling feet.

You're not supposed to flirt with the enemy!...he mind yelled at him.

She is no enemy of mine...his heart shot back again. Just say what you feel and tell me Nicky, since when did you last let your heart decide?

"Thank you," came a hushed whisper from the bunny that Nick had to strain his ears to hear, even in such close company as they were with linked arms. "Not many mammals have ever called me that, and this much either..."

Her sentence turned into mumbling which soon traced off into a soundless whisper.

Both his heart and head quieted as Nick focused on the rabbit, his inquisitive nature taking command of this thoughts and actions. "You mean to tell me, that nobody has ever complimented you on your beauty before?"His mind gave him another dirty look and he almost wished that the voice telling him not to care about the rabbit was a tiny fox on his shoulder that he could simply brush aside.

"Ah, I know why!" Nick stated, trying to bring back some semblance of joviality to the conversation. Judy's ears perked up her gaze switched from her feet to his face. "Bunnyburrow must be full of blind rabbits as that is the only way that could have happened."

Judy groaned and shook her head, but Nick took heart when he heard her giggle slightly. "I wish that was it. The bucks growing up thought it odd that a rabbit would want to become a soldier when there were perfectly good carrots to farm."

"Certainly not all bunnies have such a lofty dream of being a carrot farmer though," Nick interceded. "I'm guessing that much of your family would have wanted to see the rest of the world, correct?"

Judy grinned sheepishly. "Does visiting Deerbrooke on a dare count as world travelling?"

Nick blinked, realizing from his studies of cities in Califurnia that Deerbrooke was only a short thirty miles away from the outskirts of Bunnyburrow...which meant.

He stared back at Judy, whose smile was slightly lowered. "I'm the farthest away from home that any one of my 278 siblings have ever been."

Nick's jaw couldn't help but drop. "278 brothers and sisters?" he gasped.

The bunny nodded. "As of when I left for the military academy, that was the number. "It may have grown since then."

"Aye carumba..." Nick breathed. "You really are an interesting rabbit to have broken such from tradition."

As if a cannonball had struck her in the chest, Judy froze, her smile growing rigid and he could see the fire of joy in her amethyst eyes doused by his words as she lowered her head.

She removed himself from their entwined arms, placing her cap back upon her head. "I...I should be going."

"I didn't mean it like that," Nick blurted out, causing her to halt in her tracks. She turned to him, her gaze a much more neutral tone than before. The fox sighed, running a paw through the fur between his ears. "What I meant is that it takes a special and wonderful individual to break from such well seasoned traditions for their dreams."

Judy snorted. "If only that were true."

"Capitana Hopps!"

Judy froze at the sound of Nick's voice, as he shouted at her. What was just seconds before was smooth and warming, was now filled with authority and weight. Turning to him, she saw his eyes narrowed and his finger pointed towards her.

"I will not see any senorita put themselves down in front of me," he stated forcefully, walking towards her. Judy stood her ground, wondering what the fox was doing as he stood directly before her. "I think I have heard you degrade yourself enough for today, and for a lifetime, Capitana, and I will hear no more of it. For you to have chased after your dream, and it being the most challenging of occupations, that of an officer in the army means that you should be proud of what you have done. Not many can do what you did, especially among us smaller mammals."

When Don Wilde leaned down, placing his paws upon his knees, Judy found herself looking straight into his eyes.

"You are unique among mammals."

She saw the truth of his statement in his eyes, and realized that perhaps the fox was not just stating something that he felt would lift her up. She saw him reach for a nearby bush and pluck several berries from it. "I'd even say you are a bit like the oft-overlooked blueberry."

"Are you saying I'm short and plump?" Judy quickly replied, her muzzle hinting at a grin as a moment of shock showed on the Don's face as his ears perked up. They both chuckled before he continued.

"Not at all, quite the opposite," he replied as he plopped a few blueberries into his open muzzle. "You're heavenly and sweet. And when given the right opportunities and cultivation, you can become the best of all berries, or in your case, mammals."

Again with his silver tongue...Judy thought, allowing his words to drown her recent worries with his kind words. Before she could even form a thank you, Nick brought a paw up to clasp her own.

"Hermosa coneja, never put yourself down," Nick stated, placing a gentle kiss upon her gloved paw. Judy couldn't help the blush that rose through her ears. "Your smile is too dazzling to be replaced by a frown."

"I...I don't know what to say," Judy softly stated, her ears burning under the deep blush. "Besides that you are quite good with a rhyme." She dared to look up, only to see a warm smile grace the Don's features and she silently cursed her luck as he laughed.

"I do try," he chuckled. "Though you could have always said I missed."

"You missed?" Judy asked, perplexed at the fox's statement. "How?"

Nick shook his head, clucking his tongue. "It would be such a trivial matter if it were anyone else, however..." His gaze fell upon hers, and she could feel his paw above her, gently pulling the glove off her paw. "A true gentlemammal always kisses a beautiful lady upon her ungloved paw."

He leaned down again, placing another kiss upon her fur, in between her knuckles.

Judy's ears felt like they had been lit on fire and she quickly yanked her paw back, snatching her glove from the fox's outstretched paw and putting it back on.

"Does the Capitan not like to be treated like a lady?" Don Wilde asked, his eyes showing a bit of hurt at her sudden anxiousness.

"No, it isn't that Don Wilde," Judy stammered, brushing back her ears.

"Nicholas," the fox stated, placing a paw upon her shoulder. "Please call me that."

Judy eyed his paw, hoping beyond hope that the fox hadn't noticed her nose slightly twitching at his touch. Not due to worry of what he might do, but due to how close he suddenly was. "I just realized I need to head back to the fort."

Although he seemed a bit saddened at the news, the fox took it well, bowing with a flourish. "Then I shall escort you back to the villa and call for a friend to guide you back as the sun appears to have nearly set upon another beautiful day."

Judy nodded as they turned to leave, when a loud noise in the distance stole her attention from the fox, as her ears swiveled in the direction of the noise.

"What is wrong?" Nick asked, raising himself up to see over the bunny in the direction her ears were turned. With the height of the blueberry bushes, he knew that the Capitan couldn't see beyond them, but his extra foot height allowed him to see perfectly what was happening down below them in the apple orchards.

He cursed his luck. Of all the times that they show up, it has to be when she is here so I can't chase them away as The Fox.

"What is it?" Judy asked, turning to see a scowl on the vulpine's face.

"The Muchachos Boys gang," Nick spat out. He looked down at Judy who was looking up at him with confusion.

"They are a group of banditos that have enjoyed to pillage my vineyards and steal my produce." He fought hard not to growl as he watched the three hyenas running through his apple orchard nearby.

If it weren't for Capitan Hopps being there, then he'd chase them off himself as Zorro.

He turned back to look at the rabbit, but gasped when he saw she was no longer by his side.

"Capitan Hopps!" he shouted, noticing a pair of grey ears weaving through the blueberry orchard. "Wait! It's dangerous to go alone!"

He saw the rabbit turn towards him, and with a gleam in her eyes he saw her draw her sword.

"Then I'll take this!" she shouted back raising the sword above her head as she raced through the bushes towards the sounds of the bandits.

A growl erupted from Nick's throat as he raced off after the rabbit. He knew that the Muchachos Boys Gang was incredibly violent and he had nearly lost several workers in his fields to them when they had attacked in the past. The Capitan could handle herself if it was a fair fight, he was sure of that after their meeting just the previous night.

However, this gang did not fight fair, and she'd need all the help she could get.

You can't fight them head on Nicholas...the fox thought, skirting through his bushes and popping out on the other side to the sound of riotous, barking laughter that he knew belonged to the leader of the gang, Enrique Eduardo Sanchez Pablo Escarbar Tonto Hiena del Fuego Pantalonas.

Or as Zorro liked to tauntingly call him...Ed.

Nick skid to a stop when he saw the three hyenas surrounding the small Capitan, who didn't waver from her stance, sword drawn on the leader of the gang while all three drew their own.

He took a step forward, nearly slipping when he stepped upon a loose apple rolling on the ground.

Nick grinned. As Don Wilde, he may not approve of swordplay, but there were certainly other ways to fight.

Judy let out a sigh of relief as she darted off towards the thugs invading Don Wilde's property. This was her natural element, living in the thrill of a coming battle against villainy in the fight for justice for all mammalkind. It hadn't come a moment too soon as she was certain she had almost lost her ability to speak or even think after Nicholas had kissed her paw.

It's Don Wilde you dumb bunny! Stop being so familiar with him!

Judy raced through the blueberry fields until she sprinted headlong into the abutting apple orchard. Hearing the gang nearby, she slowed, ears swiveling to locate their exact location. Once she had it, Judy raced towards it, sword at the ready in case of an ambush. As soon as she saw the three criminals, she halted.

"Muchachos Boys! This is Capitan Hopps. You're all under arrest."

The three hyena's jumped at the Capitan's voice, looking around expecting a larger animal to have yelled at them. It was only until she 'ahem'ed' loudly that they bothered to look down at the scowling rabbit.

"Awwwww!" One of the hyena's cooed. "Isn't she the cutest!"

A second cackled in laughter, slapping his knee with his paw. "Did you hear that fella's? We're under arrest!"

"Why are we resting again?" the third hyena spoke, only to get smacked behind the ears from the first one.

"Shut it Shenzi."

Judy glared at all three that were staring her down. "As I said, stand down. You will hereby accompany me to Fort Zootopia where you'll be placed in a cell until your trial. At which time you'll-"

A sudden bout of cackling interrupted her as all three hyena's burst into a fit of laughter.

"As I was saying..." Judy tried to continue, unable to be heard over the chortles of the other mammals.

Glaring at the larger animals, Judy sliced her sword through the air, creating a humming sound that instantly got their attention. Leveling the sword towards the one she assumed was the leader, Ed, she stared him down until she brought a scowl to his face.

"I guess she ain't playing with us, boys," Ed stated with a snort. Nodding his head, all three drew their own swords, which were larger than Judy's entire body, ears included, and began to surround her.

"What do you think Banzai, do you think the cute little rabbit will last thirty seconds?"

The hyena behind Judy cackled, yet only one of her ears swiveling showed she paid him any head. "Maybe if we are extra careful so we don't ruin any prime cuts for dinner."

Judy scowled. "I'm giving you one last chance to surrender peacefully."

"How about you just die quickly, eh?" Ed stated, taking a step forward as the other two closed in.

An apple slamming into the hyena's face temporarily stunned him, as a second glanced off his forehead. Ed looked up, only to have a third fruit slam straight into his nose, knocking him back onto his short tail with a groan as he clutched at his now bleeding nose.

"How about No...she will not be dying today," a firm voice stated from behind the group. Judy and the other two hyenas turned abruptly to see Don Wilde standing roughly ten yards away, bouncing two apples in one of his paws. "Now, if you remaining banditos please vacate the premises, then this beautiful master of the sword will not have to teach you Manners 101, something of which your mothers should have taught you as tiny bambinos."

"What did he say Shenzi?" Banzai asked the other animal.

"I think he told us mother is fat."

Nick raised an eyebrow, "How did you ever get that from what I said?"

Both hyena's looked at each other, shrugged, then darted towards the fox.

Both were halted within seconds as first Shenzi was knocked to the ground, finding his stomach to be the recipient of a double pawed rabbit kick, and Banzai found the two apples Nick was juggling to find both of his eyes in rapid succession, one of which had a large bite mark out of it.

Nick was munching merrily away at a third apple in his paw as Judy turned, watching the two hyenas stand, only to be joined quickly by Ed.

"Looks like that pelt and the cutey need to be taught a lesson in their roles in life."

"Oh, I can assure you we've both have lessons about that," Nick retorted, taking another bite of an apple. "And apparently have rejected them wholeheartedly. So retreat from orchard before you bruise any of my fruit with your harsh odor."

"That's it!" Ed yelled, charging forward.

Nick, knowing he had to act the part, acted startled, leaping behind Judy while secretly plucking more apples from a nearby branch. To her credit, Nick watched as Judy didn't even bat an eyelid at the three charging predators, but instead simply darted headlong herself into their charge.

Apparently it startled the bandits just as much as the fox, as each paused for a moment as the rabbit slid in between and underneath their legs. Banzai attempted to look between his legs at where the rabbit when, only to yelp as her sword swatted his backside, flipping him over onto his head with a yelp. She turned and rolled underneath's Ed's blade, the hyena growling at the rabbit as he brought back his sword for another strike, only to be caught in the back of the head with another apple.

Looking behind him, he snarled at the fox, causing Nick to feign being frightened by dropping his apple to the ground. It caused enough of a distraction and the fox grinned as Judy's foot smashed into Ed's face, toppling the mammal to the ground in an unconscious heap, drool dripping from his mouth as he landed. Judy turned to her last foe, Shenzi, who was staring wide mouthed at the bunny.

"You ain't supposed to be like that. You're...you're supposed to be..."

"Some cute little bunny?" Judy grinned as she leveled her sword at him. At the move, Shenzi dropped his sword and fled, only for a red blur to speed after him.

The apple caught him directly on the back of small of his back, dropping him like a sack of flour. Groaning, he raised his head, only for a second apple to smash so hard into the back of his skull, that the fruit exploded, its juicy remnants trailing down the side of the hyena's face as he slumped to the ground.

Judy took a step towards the mammal, only to trip as Banzai grabbed her leg. Before the hyena could even snarl at her, Judy jumped onto her back, pulled her legs towards her chest, then released them full force into the animals skull.

Banzai let out a goofy cackle before dropping to the ground.

Dusting herself off as she rose to her feet, Judy sheathed her sword and glanced towards Nick.

"Are you alright?"

Nick nodded, "But of course. I had the best swordsmammal in all Califurnia to protect me."

Judy grinned, feeling a slight blush creeping up her ears as several mammals came running towards them, a leopard leading the pack.

"Are you alright sir?" the feline asked as he approached Nick, followed shortly by a short tan fox and a female honey badger.

"Yes, thanks to the wonderful Capitan here," Nick supplied graciously, bowing towards the mentioned rabbit. Sneaking a peek at the bunny, he grinned as he saw her look at the ground, idly kicking the dirt with her hindpaw in embarassment.

Does she not get praise that often? Nick wondered, before his mind went back to the conversation he had overheard earlier. No...she must not get it at all if she can't handle something as small a compliment as that.

The smile Nick had melted into a frown at the thought. Maybe with a little more work, he really could make sure this Capitan didn't turn out like the others.

Then again...he thought ironically. I had the same thoughts about Capitan Skye...

He shook his head of those thoughts, before turning to his servants. "Did any of you bring rope with you?"

They shook their heads before the leopard jogged towards a nearby shed. Don Wilde turned towards the honey badger. "Honey, can you write a note and send it by pigeon to the fort? Tell them that Capitan Hopps has captured the Muchachos Boys Gang and needs assistance in carrying them back to the fort, can you do that for me?"

The badger nodded. "You darn right I can!"

"Good," Nick laughed, just as the leopard returned with several lengths of cord. "Ah, Diego, thank you. Please help the Capitan in tying up our guests."

"Most certainly, Nicholas."

In less than a minute, the three bandits had been hogtied tighter than a fermenting barrel, with each finishing knot the rabbit tied earning a grunt from the imprisoned mammals. As the last one was secured, Judy turned to the fox, giving him a curious look.

"Where did you learn to throw like that Don Wilde?"

Nick frowned at her. "How many times must I remind you, it is Nicholas, or simply Nick."

"Alright, Nick," Judy muttered, finishing tying off the knot around Ed's paws. It felt so wrong to be referring to such a noblemammal by their first name. It seemed so...intimate, especially for talking with someone as important as a Don of Califurnia. "Where did you learn to throw like that."

The fox smiled. "I spent two years in Pawtugal studying agriculture and in my spare time played cricket until I became quite good."

"You seem a fox of many talents then," Judy replied with a grin. "I wonder what other secrets are behind that mischievous smile."

Oh...Nick thought as he grinned. You have no idea...

AN: So, what do you think? And these two still have a dinner tomorrow...oooohhhhhh boy. XD