Chapter 32 Observations

Edited by Libious

The sun peaked in through the curtains, alighting the room in a wash of early morning light and gently bathing the rabbit laying under the plush cotton comforter in its soft, warm glow. Judy rolled over and snuggled deeper into the pillow, struggling in vain against waking up as the light began pouring into the room. Outside a cock crew, signaling the start of a new day.

Realizing that struggling against a new day was useless, Judy's eyes blinked open and she let out a rather large yawn. She smiled at the warmth and comfort she was in, not having felt this heavenly and contented since she'd arrived in Zootopia...

Judy's eyes shot open and she sat up in the massive bed, eyes flickering around the rather spacious room she was in. Where am I?... was the first thought she had followed quickly by the second as she lifted the sheets...

Where are my clothes?!

She pawed at the nightgown she was wearing, a soft lavender piece that was quite modest despite how it hung long on her, though how she'd gotten into it was what confused her. Memories came back through a haze of thoughts of the night before. The party and its frivolity, dancing with Don Wilde...that thought brought along a fleeting smile, one soon relinquished at the memory of Skye's attack on Nicholas and herself. After that the memories began to blur though she did remember sitting close to Nick inside the house, surrounded by guards while both bunny and fox nursed rather tall glasses of stiff drinks to help their frazzled nerves. After that...nothing.

"Aye caramba..."she muttered, wincing at the light headache she had. "I should not have drunk so much blueberry sangria..." Rubbing at her forehead and wishing the pain to stop, of which it simply mockingly laughed at her and continued to make her head pulse, she drew the covers away from her and made to slip from the bed. As she sat up, the room spun slightly and she let out another groan.

She slipped back under the covers, tossing them over her head as well as an extra pillow for good measure. A knock at the door broke her from her thoughts, and the rabbit's winced. "Who is it?" she moaned, pushing her paws to her temple.

"A certain bunny's favorite amigo?" Nick asked from the opposite side of the door.

Judy giggled, shaking her head under the pillows. "I'm fairly certain we are past that stage after our session last night, mi amor."

A deep throated laugh came from the fox. "Oh, I knew bunnies were quick but, should I be expecting you on one knee when I open this door?"

Judy snorted, causing a fresh wave of nauseous to hit her. She whimpered, clutching at her head.

"Are...are you alright Judith?" Nick's question was filled with concern. "Are you decent?"

Judy nodded, then after realizing how stupid it was to nod her answer both under covers and through a closed door, she spoke up. "I am, you may enter."

The door handle jiggled, then opened in a flourish as the fox strolled in, a platter of food and drinks between his paws. A heavenly smell arose from the dishes upon it that Judy could smell even from under the covers. She sighed in delight at the scent of cinnamon oatmeal, fresh carrot juice and, of course, blueberries.

Nick placed the tray down upon the desk next to the bed, shaking his head at the small lump underneath the covers as he lifted the tops from the dishes. "Less than a day into your vacaciones from work and I can't get you out from bed. That or you shouldn't have had that second glass of sangria last night." He turned around and gently lifted the covers from over Judy's head. Judy hissed at the light hitting her, blinking rapidly as she brought her paws over her eyes. When she finally pulled her paws away, Nick realized he had made a grave error.

Oh...how estúpido could I have been just now..! Judy's eyes were filled with a sadness that even her hangover couldn't hide. "I'm so sorry," Nick whined, smacking his forehead with his paw before sitting gently on the bed. He brought his paw over Judy's ears, lighting brushing them back. She let out a whimper and leaned into his touch, grabbing his arm as she closed her eyes.

"It isn't a vacation, Nick...it's a lost dream."

"I'm sorry..." Nick began, continuing to stroke her ears. "I didn't know you would lose your job like that."

Judy shook her head. "You're not to blame..." she muttered, sniffling a bit. "It's the desperado Zorro. It was I who decided to listen to him and just...throw my dream away on a hunch. I was such an idiota!" As she spoke more anger filled her voice until she pounded her paw into the pillow at the last word. "I should have never trusted that fox! He just wanted to get rid of me all along!"

Nick was frozen, not knowing what he should do as Judy broke down in front of him. The hangover was letting her emotions run free and free did they run. As Nick listened to her vent, she went on and on about how she should have never trusted Zorro. That even though she had found information that Bellwether was hiding something, it was now lost to the flames. "I could have just continued to be patient and possibly gotten more information on what that ewe was up to, but now, I have nothing!" She pounded the pillow once more before leaning out to grab Nick. The fox yelped in surprise as she pulled him towards her, snuggling into his chest as her breaths came haggardly. "The only thing I have left here is you..."

That single line, spoken with such hurt sealed it for Nick. "My bonita conejita senorita...you have so much more than a simple fox like myself. Why, I bet I could list a rather large amount of Zootopia that already miss you as Capitan and that are still here for you now.

Judy scoffed as she raised three fingers. "Sergeant Clawhauser, you, and Weidii don't count."

"What about the Ottertons?" Nick asked.

"They probably still hate me after I broke their child's sword."

Nick scratched at his chin. "I think you'd be surprised then. I just spoke with them a few days back and found that Mr Otterton wanted to personally thank you for your contributions to the city. If it weren't for a business trip to the mountains, he would have said so personally at the gala last night."

Judy's eyes raised to meet Nick's. There was a question within them, the rabbit probably wondering if he was telling the truth or simply trying to make her feel better. It appeared she reluctantly accepted his word, sighing as she leaned away from his touch. "I still have messed up though. Now the city is in control of a malicious ewe, Zorro is dead and your ex," a tiny tremor crawled down her spine and cooled her blood," is trying to kill us."

"Come now," Nick tutted. "Let us at least focus on the positives for now, no?" He brought the tray across from the table and sat it over Judy, who blinked in surprise. "What, have you never had breakfast in bed?"

"What?" Judy exclaimed, looking down at the tray which sat upon a platform above her legs.

Nick laughed as he placed his paws next to each other in the air. "Breakfast, in bed. With spaces between the words. You've never had this before?"

Judy shook her head, taking a piece of toast in her paw and idly playing with it. "When you have hundreds of siblings, nobody has anything special. Couldn't afford it." She set the toast down and picked up the spoon, pushing the oatmeal around in the bowl. "So no, I haven't had, breakfast in bed."

"Well," Nick stated merrily while clapping his paws. "You'll have that today. We have a lot to do today and I for one want an early start."

Judy peeked out the windows. "Isn't it past nine?"

"Eleven, actually," Nick shot back just as she began chewing the oatmeal.

"You can stop apologizing."

"I'm sorry..."

"..."

"I said it again..."

"Did you apologize for the eleventh time for spitting hot oatmeal in my face? Yes, yes you did. You were good ten apologies ago."

"But..."

"No buts, except for yours, which I'm wagering is adorable."

"Nick!"

"What, I didn't say cute."

"But..."

"Are you now talking about mine, or yours, eh?"

Judy just stood gaping at the fox, her mouth working up and down as she tried to form a response to his snarky and saucy comments. She finally growled in annoyance before stomping off the porch. "Just...let's go see if we can find any clues as to what happened last night."

Nick watched her stomp off, ears sinking a little as he trudged after her. The breakfast had been ruined after Judy had learned what time it was and coughed out the oatmeal she'd been about to eat. The piping hot mush had coated Nick's muzzle and Judy had leapt up to brush it off, only to upturn the entire plate of food onto the bed.

I'm never making her breakfast in bed again...Nick thought as he followed Judy out the door. She had changed back into her regular Capitan's uniform, minus the outer coat, but only after a long and lengthy discussion on how she had come to be wearing a nightgown several times too large for her without remembering how she got into it. Thankfully Nick had not drunk as much as the bunny had and could remember everything quite clearly, including how he had laid out one of Skye's old nightgowns for her to wear. It had hurt, especially considering what the vixen had just tried to do to them both, but it was the only night clothes he could find.

Of course he left out that little tidbit of information from the story when he had left Judy to get changed.

When Nick had come to check on her nearly half an hour after she had begun to change, he had found her staring in sorrow at the destroyed vestments. He simply walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her and rested his muzzle between her ears and let her weep silently.

It had been a long morning for both of them, however, as Judy left the house towards the place where Nick's servants had found his cousin, her attention was focused and alert. Nick watched in amazement at how quickly she could focus on the here and now. It made him smile, even as his gaze caught several guards standing at attention around his villa, as well as patrolling the outer areas. Since the murder and assaults last night, the guard had been tripled in an effort to prevent it from happening again.

Though the damage had already been done.

The rumor that Zorro had been killed had already spread like wildfire throughout Zootopia. Nick couldn't help but grimace at everything that had occurred. He'd almost forgotten completely about Gideon's appearance at the gala, meant as a way to finally and conclusively end any inkling of thought in Judy's mind that he, Don Wilde, was Zorro. Now everyone just thought that Zorro was dead, a far worse ending that could have occurred.

The death of his cousin was another strike that pierced his heart far more than any blade could. Gideon had been his only cousin in Califurnia, and a close confidant he could trust in. His eyes narrowed at the thought that not only had he been murdered, but that it had been Skye who had done the deed.

What has made you change so...?

Lost in his musings, Nick found himself already by the tree where Gideon had been found. Blood still stained the ground and tree bark where he'd been forever silenced by the vixen. Sadness permeated his soul at the loss of his cousin while Judy was already combing the area. The doe looked up, only to see Nick staring aimlessly towards the red smear against the tree. Wordlessly, she padded over to him, wrapping her paws around his waist and leaning her head against his chest.

Words weren't needed as Nick wrapped his own arms and tail around the bunny. The pair stood for quite a while in silence. It was only when Nick wiped at his eyes and pulled away did Judy dare make eye contact with him.

"What are you looking for, Carrots?" Nick asked, trying to bring himself away from the loss of his close cousin, scanning the area himself while glancing around the perimeter of the scene. He found it odd that no soldiers had arrived to do what they were now performing. Curse the lousy ewe!

Judy's ear twisted towards Nick as she continued brushing at the grass. "Anything that could give us a location of where we could find the murderer."

"Anything yet?" Nick asked as he paced near the tree, sniffing heavily but only catching the coppery scent of blood, trimmed grass and his cousins scent."She used a scent neutralizer, I can't even catch a whiff of her here."

Judy stood up, brushing her paws together. "Didn't find anything here, let's go to the other scene."

It only took a few minutes to cross the yard and head into the orchard. The scene in the woods was much more chaotic than that in the yard. Judy's paw went instinctively to her bruised ears as they swept down behind her at the memory of last night. Never had she felt so terrified as when Skye's dagger had been so close to severing...

"Judy, I found something!"

The doe blinked. So soon? Looking around, she noticed that Nick wasn't even in the clearing with her. Was I out that long with my thoughts? She saw his paw waving towards her from a ways into the garden and followed it. "What did you find, Nick?"

She found Nick leaning over a small bush, searching through it with his paws. "I don't know, I followed Skye's scent to here and there's something in this bush but I can't reach it-OW!"

He pulled back his paw, grabbing his thumb before sucking on it with a grimace. "Why did I ever have to plant rose bushes in the first place."

"Let me," Judy counseled, walking towards the bush. Eyeing the nearby ground, she found several larger sticks and a few of the pine cones that Nick had used to save her life the night before. "I think I have an idea, but I'll need your help."

"Whatever you need, bonita Zanohorias."

Judy felt a blush creep up into her cheeks and ears. "Sappy fox," she whispered, though couldn't help the swelling of love within her breast at the sound of such praise directed at her and coming from another mammal. Grabbing the sticks, she propped them under several of the lower hanging branches of the bush, then snapped several of the frills from the pinecone.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Nick asked as he crawled under the bush on her back, facing up and ears underneath her to keep them from snagging.

"Breaking the thorns," she answered as she hacked at several thorns just above her with the heavier and sturdier bits of pinecone. Going against the grain of the thorns, she easily pried them off one by one and with her smaller paws, managed it without getting stabbed. "This would be easier with a knife, but I don't have one on me. Pass me your paw."

Nick did as commanded, and pushed his paw under the bush and next to Judy. Noticing it was the same one that had been poked, a devilish smile came to mind. Barely seeing him through the leaves and branches, Judy leaned up and kissed his finger where he'd been jabbed by the thorn, then dropped a pawful of them into his outstretched paw.

Nick blinked as he felt what only could have been a lightly placed kiss upon his finger. "Carrots...did you just..."

"Did I just kiss your finger better?" came the reply from inside the bush as several items dropped into his paw. "Yes, yes I did. Now can you drop these thorns somewhere? I don't want to accidentally scrap into them on the way out. The fox nodded and withdrew his paw, tossing the thorns into another rose bush nearby before looking at his finger and smiling.

"I think I found it!"

The cry from Judy pushed his attention back to within the bush. "What is it? Do you need some help?"

A bit of shuffling came from within and the bush shook several times. A few grunts and heaves from the rabbit and then finally a shout of acclamation.

"Got it!"

He watched in amusement as Judy flipped over and shuffled back out of the bush. Nick couldn't help but stare at her tail she made her way backwards from the foliage, the appendage flickering every now and then until Judy fully pulled herself from the thorny predicament.

"I hope you weren't staring at my tail," she said in amusement as she brushed off the front of her lapel. Nick's ears shot up in alarm and he quickly mov ed his gaze to the ground, finding his feet rather impressive at the moment. A giggle from Judy told him he'd been caught red-pawed, so he simply raised his head and gave her a roguish grin.

"It is not such a bad bun for a bun. I'd rate it a 9 out of 10 tail wriggles."

Judy just shook her head and groaned. "Why did I fall for such an awkward mammal..." Her amused smile, however, betrayed her words as she passed across a wad of bloody leaves towards Nick. "This is what you had been sniffing out. Surprised the wolves didn't find it last night when they searched."

Nick grimaced, staring at the poultice with the dried blood on it. "So...it's a poultice of some kind?"

The doe nodded. "Yes, and this particular style I've seen before many times."

"You have?" Nick asked, eyes widening slightly. Again Judy nodded.

"Yes. This is a comfrey poultice, and my family has used this type for generations to help with aches, pains and bruises." She inspected it a bit closer, nose wrinkling at the bloody scent attached to it. "But there are a few other herbs in here I don't recognize. Though from the smell I'd say several came from the Sierra Nebeara mountains."

"Why do you say that?"

Judy looked up at the fox as she pulled a pawkerchief from her pocket and wrapped the used poultice in it. "That's where the comfrey plant grows. Or at least where my forefathers got the original plants from since they can only grow in that climate. That and there is a piney smell to the compress that reminds me a bit of home"

"But isn't home for you hundreds of miles away?" Nick asked as Judy began marching back towards the manor, the fox trying to keep up.

She nodded. "Exactly, which is what makes this all the stranger, no? Why would your ex-fiancee who disappeared mysteriously suddenly reappear and have in her possession a poultice whose origins stem from halfway across Califurnia. It doesn't make any sense." Judy kept walking, oblivious to the fact that Nick had completely stopped behind her. Only after silence pervaded both her thoughts and immediate area around her, the sound of vulpine pawfalls not reaching her ears, did she halt. Ears swiveling around before her eyes, she cast a curious look towards him.

"What is it?" she queried, turning to walk closer to him. Nick held a paw up to his chin, tapping it softly as a soft, yet affable and warm grin spread across his muzzle.

"You said this is a natural medicine your family uses, right?"

Judy nodded. "It is."

Nick returned the nod before clasping his paws together. "Well then my conejita hermosa, I might just know a guy..."

AN: It's back! Took some time to really figure out how I wanted to open this arc up, as well as plan out a few chapters ahead. That and the "What if...?" project has been a lot more monumental a task than I thought it would be as now almost 50 people are working on it. XD So I apologize for the delay, but, this is back. Can't promise weekly updates as I'm still working on several more stories for the "What if...?" project such as "Doppleganger", "Boxing Bunny", "Originals" and "Galactic Rabbit". But I will give updates to this about every two weeks is the plan, so look forward to more swashbuckling, hearthrobbing, Spanglish filled action to come!

Also, any guesses as to who they will be coming to see?