Bloody heck- Thanks for all the support. Now hurry up and read the story.
This one is the longest chapter yet - 6k words! Wow! I know that chapter 4 was a bit 'lackluster' at best, but some chapters need to be a bit boring so that others can grasp one's attention. This is one of those chapters.
Hope you enjoy Chapter 5 to Primal: A Zootopia Fanfiction.
And before I go, huge thanks to Anon for drawing the cover art. It's a bit hard to see, so the full image can be found at:
veryeagerperson [period] imgur [period] com /all/
Sorry about the strange formatting, just replace [period] with . and delete all spaces. Stupid Fanfiction . net! Stop removing my links!
The whole room had an almost erotically scarlet glow to it. Booths lined one wall and a counter with stools on the other, hundreds of bottles of alcohol behind it. Despite it's sleazy external appearance, the bar's interior seemed very well kept. There were no half-passed out mammals hanging off the seats, no scantily dressed waitress trying to pick up an extra tip, and no disgusting smell of old vomit making it's home in the floorboard's cracks. The entire place seemed almost welcoming.
Judy walked past the empty booths, light jazz music entering her standing-at-attention ears. This would be a good place to read the document. There were no patrons or employees to be seen, but Judy did hear some excited laughs coming from a closed curtain leading to another room by the end of the booths. She could imagine what was going on back there.
She hopped up onto one of the many empty stools, her paw carefully putting the container, with document inside, on the barren counter. She automatically moved herself into a sitting position, and for once felt comfortable in the public chair. Her shoulders were on height with the counter, her head easily able to look over the surface in front of her. Most public chairs required her to stand to be comfortable, so this was an especially rare occurrence. It almost made her feel like she was back at Bunnyburrow.
The only other positive difference between this place and home was the blissful sound of music instead of the endless screams and chatter of her younger siblings. There wasn't even this kind of peaceful silence in her own apartment - her neighbors saw to that. The music was the perfect volume, enough to be enjoyed yet not loud enough to damage her acute ears, but the room still lacked some other source of sound. Other mammals.
Her paw eagerly tapped the darkened wood in front of her, waiting for a server to come and take her order. After several more still moments she shifted.
"Hello?" She called out, her head flicking up and down the counter. "Is anyone here?"
The sound of a chair being hastily pushed echoed out from an open doorway past the end of the counter. Judy looked toward it, her ears homing in on the sound of rushed paw steps. A moment later a fox dressed in a flawlessly stereotypical bartender's outfit came out into the main room, almost frantically searching for the source of the outburst.
"Hi!" Judy shouted cheerfully, raising out of her seat a little to wave her paw in the air. The fox's eyes rested on her, showing surprise for half a moment before his previously perky ears folded behind his head. His stiff movements and gaze slowly becoming squinted convinced Judy that the vulpine was weary around non-predatory patrons. This was a predator's bar.
I might be his first rabbit customer. That thought excited her. Another first for Judy Hopps!
"What can I do for you, miss?" The fox inquired, his arms holding him up as he leaned over the counter.
"I'd like to purchase an alcoholic beverage," she responded nonchalantly. Nick had taught her that all foxes were suspicious whenever they met someone new. He was an exception due to his previous 'occupation' but the majority of his species followed that rule.
"The best way to a fox's trust is to break the tension," He had told her one day as he sat sipping his morning joe in the passenger's seat. "Act like you're on their side, tell a joke once in awhile. Heck, sometimes being a smart ass works," His sunglassed gaze turned toward her. "Just look at who I'm friends with now!"
The bartender relaxed somewhat, his arms becoming slightly bent and dirty emerald gaze not in as much as a frown as it had been a moment prior.
"Well then what can I get for you?" He asked politely, bending down and picking up a fox-sized glass from underneath the counter and plopping it down in front of her. Judy gazed over the wall of different bottles behind him, but none of their names looked familiar. Her mouth hung open as their gazes met.
"What would you recommend?" She asked. Without hesitation he spun and picked a jug from the wall before he placed it next to the now tiny looking glass.
"Pred's Apple Ale," He began, running his paw up the side of it. "The stuff's strong, but it's cheap and tastes pretty dang good compared with some other local brews."
Judy nodded. Nick used to drink this whenever they would go out after a hard day on the beat. It wasn't that alcoholic for a beer - the only time she had seen him really hammered off the stuff was at Bogo's welcome back party a few years back and she knew what had happened then. But that fateful night he had drunk a six pack of the drink. Surely one wouldn't hurt her.
"I'll take it."
The bartender popped off the lid and filled the glass to the brim with the yellow liquid, turned into a light pink by the colored lights, and slid it toward her. She caught it with both her paws and downed a portion. It burned at first but as more of it entered her system the taste became a satisfyingly crisp delight. Her glass fell back to the table and her thirst abandoned her through a joyful ahh. She looked at the glass, noting its contents had barely been dented. She wouldn't be needing a refill for quite some time.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the well-dressed bartender wiping a glass with a cloth by the door he had entered from, still behind the counter in case she needed him. His attention was drawn away from her, his eyes surveying the restaurant with careful attention.
Her paws rubbed together and she exhaled briefly and loudly. Time for work. As careful as her paws could be she lifted the cap off of the tube and she gently pulled the nearly century and a half old document from it. It's dated yellow fade and pitch black typewriter print only made her more cautious as she laid it out in front of her. She began to read the page, her mind taking the report in word by word.
THIS DOCUMENT WAS SUBMITTED TO THE ZOOTOPIAN HALL OF RECORDS ON 18 MAY , 1844
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN ,
THIS DOCUMENT IS INTENDED TO INFORM THE READER OF THE CONDITION OF THE LATE JOHN O. TRUNKLIN , THE LONE SURVIVOR OF THE ZCS PACHYDERM TRAGEDY AND WHO PASSED AWAY ON THE 2 JANUARY , 1843 . THIS DOCUMENT WAS WRITTEN BY HIS DOCTOR AND MONITOR OF THIRTY YEARS MICHEAL Y. ELANDREW . IT SHALL ALSO BE NOTED THAT THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT TO BE READ BY THOSE WHO ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH MR. TRUNKLIN OR HIS LINEAGE , WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ZCC AND ZPD.
Judy nodded. She wasn't one to violate rules and regulations, and that did include the one this ancient document laid out to her.
MR. TRUNKLIN DEPARTED ZOOTOPIA ON THE 17TH JUNE , 1812 ABOARD THE ZCS PACHYDERM AT THE RANK OF FIRST MATE WITH 128 OTHER CREWMEN FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAPPING THE NORTHERN LEMMINGMAN ARCHIPELAGO . THE VESSEL WAS SCHEDULED TO RETURN OCTOBER THE SAME YEAR IN ORDER TO AVOID THE WINTER ICE SHEETS . BY THE END OF NOVEMBER THE ZCS PACHYDERM HAD YET TO RETURN AND THE SHIP WAS CONSIDERED MISSING BY THE CITY . THE FOLLOWING YEAR THE ZCS HUNT SAILED FROM ZOOTOPIA IN LATE MAY WITH THE PURPOSE OF FINDING THE PACHYDERM . BY MID-JULY CAPTAIN BOVID OF THE HUNT HAD LOCATED THE WRECK OF THE PACHYDERM ON CAPELIN ISLAND . UPON INSPECTION THE BEACHED SHIP HAD SEVERAL LONG CRACKS ALONG THE SIDES OF IT'S HULL FROM THE PRESSURE OF ICE FLOW . MR. TRUNKLIN WAS FOUND IN A COMA INSIDE THE BRIDGE OF THE SHIP . THE CREW INCORRECTLY INTERPRETED HIM AS BEING DECEASED . THE HUNT DEPARTED FROM THE WRECK OF THE PACHYDERM AFTER A PROPER BURIAL FOR ALL OF THE LOWER-RANKED SAILORS . THE REMAINS OF MR. TRUNKLIN AS WELL AS HIS SUPERIOR OFFICER WERE TAKEN BY THE HUNT TO BE GIVEN A PROPER GRAVE . ON AUGUST 2ND MR. TRUNKLIN 'ROSE FROM THE DEAD' AND BEGAN TO ACT OUT IN ANGER AGAINST THE CREW OF THE HUNT . HE WAS RESTRAINED AFTER A MULTIPLE HOUR LONG STRUGGLE AND WAS TAKEN TO GREEN'S HILL HOSPITAL FOR NON-PREDATORY ANIMALS ONCE THE ZCS HUNT RETURNED . UPON MONITORING MR. TRUNKLIN FOR 29 AND A HALF YEARS, I, DOCTOR Y. ELANDREW , HAVE DETERMINED THAT DURING HIS TIME AT GREEN'S HILL MR. TRUNKLIN SUFFERED FROM A PRIMAL MINDSET .
Judy read the final sentence again, her paws pulling her glass of ale toward her. Primal Mindset? She took a sip, careful not to spill anything on the document. Does he mean savage? A 'primal mindset' almost sounds like savagery.
WHEN A MAMMAL IS PUT UNDER SEVERE MENTAL A/O PHYSICAL PRESSURE IN AN EXTREME ENVIRONMENT AND IS ON THE VERGE OF DEATH THEIR BODY AND MIND ENTERS A 'SHUT-DOWN' STATE . WHEN THEY REAWAKEN THEY ARE SOLELY FOCUSED ON SURVIVAL . WHILE SEVERAL OF MY COUNTERPARTS DIAGNOSE MR. TRUNKLIN WITH SAVAGERY THIS IS NOT A COMPLETELY ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS OF HIS CONDITION . SAVAGERY IS THE PRIMAL URGE TO HUNT OR INFLICT HARM ON OTHERS . MR. TRUNKLIN DID INJURE SEVERAL MAMMALS OVER HIS TIME AT GREEN'S HILL , MYSELF INCLUDED , HOWEVER THAT WAS ONLY WHEN THOSE MAMMALS MADE UNWANTED OR THREATENING ADVANCES TOWARDS HIM . THIS DEFENSIVE DEMEANOR MR. TRUNKLIN EXHIBITED DOES NOT RESEMBLE SAVAGERY BUT INSTEAD A PRIMAL MINDSET . A PRIMAL MINDSET DOES INCLUDE SAVAGERY AS A PART OF ITSELF , BUT INSTEAD OF THE MIND BEING FOCUSED ON INFLICTING HARM ONTO OTHERS IT IS FOCUSED ON THE CONTINUED SURVIVAL OF ITSELF . ONE WHO SUFFERS FROM A PRIMAL MINDSET ACTS UN-EVOLVED AND WILL ATTACK MAMMALS WHO MAKE THEM FEEL THREATENED . WHILE MR. TRUNKLIN IS CURRENTLY THE ONLY EXAMPLE OF A PRIMAL MINDSET , ANY PREDATORS WHO SUCCUMB TO THIS WILL MOST LIKELY ATTEMPT TO HUNT THOSE WHO THEY CONSIDER PREY . AS SUCH ANY MAMMAL AFFLICTED WITH A PRIMAL MINDSET , WITH SPECIAL REGARDS TO PREDATORS , SHOULD BE KEPT IN CONFINEMENT TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE OF ZOOTOPIA FROM THEIR PRIMAL INSTINCTS .
MR. TRUNKLIN NEVER IMPROVED HIS HEALTH OVER HIS THIRTY YEARS AT GREEN'S HILL . HIS WEIGHT REMAINED VERY LOW YET HEALTHY FOR AN ELEPHANT OF HIS STATURE EVEN THOUGH HE WAS FED PROFUSELY EVERY DAY . THIS MAY HAVE TO DO WITH HIS PRIMAL MINDSET ; IT IS NATURAL FOR AN UN-EVOLVED MAMMAL TO CONSUME LARGER AMOUNTS OF FOOD THAN AN EVOLVED MAMMAL . WHY HIS PRIMAL MINDSET NEVER SUBSIDED OVER TIME MAY BE MY EMPLOYER'S FAULT . AS A RULE , NO FAMILY MEMBERS MAY VISIT MAMMALS KEPT IN THE LONG-TERM MONITORING WING . MR. TRUNKLIN NEVER RECEIVED ANY CONTACT FROM OUTSIDE THE BARS OF HIS ROOM FOR THE THIRTY YEARS HE SPENT AT GREEN'S HILL . I WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE TO HIS LIVING RELATIVES FOR THAT . VISITS AND COMFORT FROM LOVED ONES , OR ANY OTHER ACTIONS THAT MAKE A MAMMAL FEEL THAT THEY HAVE SURVIVED MAY BE THE ANSWER TO ENDING A PRIMAL MINDSET . LET IT BE KNOWN THAT ALL PHYSICAL AND METAL EXPERIMENTS PERFORMED ON MR. TRUNKLIN DID NOT RESULT IN THE SUBSIDING OF HIS PRIMAL MINDSET NOR ANY IMPROVEMENT OF HIS CONDITION .
Judy mouthed 'visits and comfort' before she took another drink. So I have to make Nick feel that he's safe? Kinda cheesy - and that'd be hard enough if he wasn't primal. He's such a depressing fox...
IT IS REGRETTABLE THAT MR. TRUNKLIN PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 59 . UPON AUTOPSY HE APPEARED TO HAVE DIED OF HEART FAILURE , SOMETHING UNCOMMON FOR HIS FAMILY . THIS , ALONG WITH HIS YOUNG AGE AT TIME OF DEATH , LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT A PRIMAL INSTINCT NOT ONLY AFFECTS THE BRAIN OF THE MAMMAL BUT THE BODY OF ONE AS WELL . WHILE THIS CANNOT BE CONFIRMED BY MR. TRUNKLIN ALONE , IF IT IS CORRECT THEN ANY MAMMAL AFFLICTED WITH A PRIMAL MINDSET WILL NOT HAVE THE LIFESPAN OF AN EVOLVED MAMMAL BUT THAT OF HIS UN-EVOLVED SELF . THIS HEREIN ENDS THE FINAL REPORT OF MR. TRUNKLIN'S DEATH AND DIAGNOSIS .
Judy's paw tapped the counter furiously, her eyes flicking to her half-filled drink. Okay. Nick's primal. Not savage, but primal. That means he's in a survival state. All he's thinking about right now is to survive - he's not thinking about me, or Bogo, or anyone else. Just himself. That's nearly back to normal for him, I suppose.
Judy turned to her left, making sure she wasn't drinking right over the document. The taste of the ale was nearly ambrosial to her slightly drunk mind. As the liquid poured down her throat her blurred gaze focused in on the bartender at the end of the counter. His paw was still wiping the glass, his ears perked in her direction. His eyes burned into her head, a luculent frown only inflating the intensity of his idocrases. Judy swiped her gaze away from him and put down her drink. How very rude of him. He shouldn't be casting angry glares at his only patron! Though she was a non-predatory mammal - maybe he was just making sure she wasn't doing anything speciest. If she were caught doing something as disgraceful as that in a place like this, she could only imagine what the middle-aged fox would do to her.
Probably give me a huge tab and then kick me out. She thought, her mind attempting to put herself back on track. OK, back to the troubles at hand. If I were Nick right now, what would make me feel like I'd survived? She paused for a moment, her eyes flicking over to the bartender she couldn't keep out of her head. His prying stare was still cast at her.
"Can I help you?" She said. This distracting stare between them really needed to stop. Her partner was supposed to be the focus of the night.
"You wouldn't happen to be Judy Hopps, would you?" He responded after a moment's pause. Judy's heart rate quickened. Why does he need to know that?
"I am."
The bartender broke the stare between them and set down the glass under the counter. He casually walked over to her, his frown gone and replaced by a more respectful sight. His near-transparent shadow blackened the document as he hovered over her like he had done earlier in the evening. Judy watched unintimidated as he snickered.
"Mr. Wilde was my best customer."
Judy's eyes widened and jaw hung. She had not expected that. At least Nick's still the topic of the night!
"You knew Nick?" She said stunned, her body straightened and ears erect.
"Of course I knew Mr. Wilde. Every day after he turned twenty-one he'd come in, sit on the stool you're on now and have a glass of the same drink you're having now."
Judy was still stunned. This fox she had never heard of before had known her own partner nearly three times longer than she had! Why didn't Nick tell me about him? Wait, that's a stupid question. Nick never told me ANYTHING about ANYONE from his hustling years.
"Wow! Every day..." She repeated, her almost awed tone making the bartender chuckle quietly. "You two must've been good friends, Mr...?"
"Voltaire," The bartender said, reaching out his paw and shaking Judy's. "Mr. Voltaire. And friends is a bit of a strong word to describe me and Mr. Wilde's relationship."
"Was he as closed to you as he was to me?" Judy rhetorically asked, a toothy smile coming onto her face. Mr. Voltaire returned a less toothy one.
"You could say that. Our relationship was strictly professional."
"Ahh. So you were a conman."
"Not at all," Mr. Voltaire shook his head slightly. "He'd provide me with fairly large sums of cash and I'd provide him lines of communication with some higher-ups. As well as a place to sleep."
Judy froze. A place to sleep? Nick had always talked about his apartment but she had never visited nor seen the mythical location. All of his city records indicated he lived at 1955 Cypress Grove Lane. But that was where Finnick's van was parked - something she had learned when she returned to Zootopia to finish the Night Howler Case. Finnick called the bridge where she had found her partner 'Nick's Hangout' but she could never imagine such a vain person as himself living in such deplorable conditions.
"A place to sleep?" Judy's voice remained friendly.
"Yeah," Mr. Voltaire's eyes became glossed, pulling up a memory. "Must've been 4 - no, 5 years ago. He saved my tail from some ruffians travelling through here from Todderdam. Well, most of it, anyway."
Mr. Voltaire turned his head and flicked the end of his tail up onto the counter. Judy made a tiny gasp as she saw it's shorter-than normal length.
"To cut off a fox's tail is to cut off his pride," Nick had told her once. "Mine's already perfect, but yours could use some work, Carrots."
"I'm so sorry," Judy said stunned and compassionately, but frowning on the inside. Who in all of the great green earth was Nick involved with before we met?
Voltaire's tail swept off the counter and his gaze returned to hers.
"It's no worry. I'm still here, aren't I?" He said with a smile. "I'm indebted to Mr. Wilde for that. As repayment I convinced one of my girls' brothers to sell him some property down by the docks for a real cheap price."
"You mean one of the prostitutes in the back?"
"They prefer the term entertainer. Mr. Wilde went back there quite often," Mr. Voltaire dove more into the subject as the slightest bit of outrage edged it's way onto Judy's face. "Didn't you notice the sign?"
Judy turned and looked at the closed curtain, giggles coming out from behind it. There was a sign hanging over the blue fabric which read Don't Enter - We're having Wilde Times! The cursive font only added to the suggestiveness of it all. That sly fox! She angrily thought. After work he'd come here and be pleasured by a group of prostitutes? That's just so... dirty!
"They really liked him. Never any complaints, never any trouble. Mr. Wilde was very respectful with them," Judy nodded at the bartender's words. Her clenched mouth and frowning eyes were met with a mischievous grin.
"They also said he was fairly large for a fox," Mr. Voltaire said with he a flick of the head toward the curtain. Judy's face scrunched up and her arms made a pushing away motion over the counter.
"TMI," She said disgusted. She had no desire to learn about her partner's manhood. Mr. Voltaire's smile remained as he chuckled at her reaction.
"Out of all the mammals who'd want to know that, I would've expected you to be on the top of the list."
"And why would you think that?" She responded in a mock tone of outrage, disgust still lacing it.
"Cause you two had the 'friends with benefits' vibe whenever I saw you on TV," He continued.
Judy stared down his smile with one of her own. On the outside she seemed cool and collected but she could feel her heart's heavy beats and blood rushing to her ears. First Clawhauser and now this fox? She thought displeased. She never liked it when other mammals mocked or exaggerated her and Nick's friendship. They were not dating - inter-species couples were just flat out wrong! And one between a predator and prey? Inconceivable! Some would even say that a mere friendship between the two was a criminal offense. She and Nick had ignored the stares and hushed whispers they witnessed both on and off duty. They were officers of the cityz- they had a duty to protect every mammal, including those biased against them, regardless of their own opinions. And as if she wanted to be anything more than friends with Nick!
True, they spent a lot of time together outside of work but what were they expected to do? They were best friends! Nothing more! She was just some dumb bunny and Nick was her predatory friend. The very same friend she had lost two years ago. The very same friend who she had missed so much yet had miraculously returned to her. The same friend who gave her a shoulder to cry on whenever a day went south. The same friend who was always there, who was witty, caring, well-kept, and had some of the greatest fur sh-
WHAT AM I DOING? She screamed in her head. This is NOT the time or place for THIS kind of thinking! Trying to shake the embarrassing and somewhat pleasing thoughts out of her head, Judy took a drink from her glass, finding mostly air.
"I'll get you a refill," Mr. Voltaire said, beginning to turn. She stopped him with a downward flick of her paw.
"No, I'm drunk enough as it is," She lied. She didn't feel too hammered but it was getting late and she needed to leave soon if she were to get to work on time tomorrow. I need ask about Nick's house. Maybe there's something there which can help him.
"You wouldn't happen to know the address of Nick's place, would you?"
"Sorry Ms. Hopps, don't know that," He replied and Judy's ears lowered slightly. "I know it was some old warehouse down by the Dolphlyn Bridge, if that helps any."
It does! The memory of her apologizing to Nick underneath the bridge flashed into her mind as her ears perked again. She remembered a huge brick-and-mortar warehouse behind them as they hugged, smokestacks towering in the distance. That must be the warehouse!
"I don't know how he lives down there," Mr. Voltaire continued, shrugging, "But home's home, I guess. When I get home after surviving another day, It doesn't really matter what my house looks or feels like. As long as it's the same place I woke up in, I'm comfortable."
'After surviving another day... As long as it's home, I'm comfortable'. Judy repeated in her head. As if in an animated cartoon, a light bulb appeared above her head. That's it! There's no way to know for sure if it'll work, but it's Nick's best hope. Trunklin never felt like he had survived. No, he was cooped up in a cell for thirty years without any contact with the outside world. It's understandable that he didn't get better! Now If I were to not do that, then Nick might get better. I just need to talk to him, make him feel comfortable, and make him feel at home. All the stuff he's going to gag at...
Judy could see a visit to her partner's home within the near future. What she couldn't see was the burgundy paw waving in front of her face. In her thought process she had become completely oblivious to Mr. Voltaire, who had placed a check on top of Trunklin's document. She smiled awkwardly at him and his amused grin, her eyes darting away and paw quickly reaching down to her uniform's pocket to slap a 10 dollar bill onto the check. He casually picked up the bill with two fingers and walked down the counter, putting the currency in an older cash register with a 'ching' sound. Judy sighed, her paws shaking as she carefully rolled up the document and slid it back into it's tube. The alcohol was beginning to take it's toll - the strength of the liquor as well as it's serving size was meant for foxes, so to her smaller rabbit body it created a terribly great feeling of being half-drunk. Put together with her long and tiring day she was in dire need of rest.
"Have a great evening, Ms. Hopps," Mr. Voltaire said politely as Judy slid off the stool, landing lightly on her feet. "I hope I'll have the pleasure of serving you again."
"You will, Mr. Voltaire," Judy said over her shoulder, "Just probably not on a Thursday."
With that he chuckled and she pushed the door open, the cool night air enveloping her tired body as carefully as sleep's embrace.
"Needless to say Bogo was less than pleased with the news."
"Well that's completely understandable. Buffalo Butt doesn't exactly react well to bad news, does he?" Nick replied sarcastically as he wore his signature sly smile.
Learning about Zdanskyi's diagnosis and Trunklin's condition had been quite the surprise. Shock still echoed in his thoughts from the revelation only minutes before. A Primal mindset? Who would've thunk! He had been ever-so slightly doubtful of it at first, but as Judy went on to explain what it meant to be 'primal' he saw the very slight differences between the two conditions. He definitely wasn't as aggressive as the other savage mammals he had seen during the Night Howler Incident. No, his savag- primal self was in a defensive stance halfway underneath the cot, his tail curled around his hind legs and ears plastered against the side of his head as if he were afraid of the rabbit on the other side of the glass. At least the only problem he had with his primal self was it was making it difficult for him to hear the her through the vision as he stood in the darkness, paws in his uniform's pockets.
If his primal self was as un-evolved as he and Judy thought, then it had a right to be afraid! Judy had tranquilized his primal self on the ship. For a hunting predator to be defeated by it's quarry was utterly disgraceful! If anything, his primal self probably felt like the rabbit was the predator and he was the prey. Oh, how the tables have turned.
"Your condition isn't the only problem we have, Nick," Judy said flatly, her eyes almost becoming red with frustration.
"What's got your ears in a knot, Sweetheart?" Nick asked carefully, his smile still full of humor. Judy's eyes flicked around the room before coming to rest on him, all previous anger replaced by deep sympathy.
"A few days ago, right when we docked in Zootopia, Chief Bogo told Mayor Lionheart that you were alive and 'savage but confined'," Judy began, frustration beginning to radiate off her again. "This was before we figured out you were primal, so Lionheart was afraid that announcing a savage predator was back in the city would lead to a repeat of the Howler Riots."
"Smart," Nick said, nodding. He remembered the riots very vividly. The final and most violent night of protest was the same night he left for the academy. It was a beautiful goodbye present for him which made him remember the kindness of the city of Zootopia. Yes, it was always his dream to sneak out of the city at midnight as hordes of angry prey prowled the streets looking for predators to maim. He had never told flatfoot of his troubles exiting the city. Bunnies were far too emotional, and he had no desire to deal with an overly-apologetic one. Judy took a deep breath and Nick raised an eyebrow.
"So, in a press conference, he told reporters that you were laid to rest," Judy almost growled the last words and under a quick, sharp breath Nick heard her mumble 'stupid Lionheart'. Nick's eyes widened, his smile fell, and his ears became limp. If he could guess, he'd say he looked like when Judy threatened to take him to prison for tax evasion all those years ago.
"Laid to rest," He repeated, his gaze held unwavering with Judy's. A paw ran down the side of his face, pulling his jaw down with it. "So this is what it feels like to be dead."
"As if our lives weren't already difficult enough," Judy said, her paws gently tapping her legs as they swung back and forth. "But Bogo's going to sort out that mess. So I'm stuck with making you normal again - but I think that's a pretty tall order considering what I'm dealing with."
Nick gave an empty huff of laughter at her quip, his eyes still wide. He was dead in the eyes of the city. Not just the city - the world! His entire existence only know by a mouse's pawful of mammals - most of whom he barely knew as his co-workers. At least one of them is Carrots. And how was she going to cure him exactly? If there was a cure. From the sound of the doctor's final report about Trunklin, Judy was going off a 200-year old untested theory. That was even more ridiculous than inter-species marriage!
But that theory was the best chance at getting out of this mess, whether he liked it or not. And if Judy thinks it'll work, then she can be my guest to try it out.
"Well, I better head out," Judy said, sighing. "We've probably hit our ten minute mark."
"Yeah, you better get out before Chief Horny gets his horns in a twist," He joked in good humor. The '10 minute rule', as Judy called it, was one of Bogo's new rules which Judy had explained to him at the start of today's meeting. To avoid suspicion from other officers the Chief limited Judy's daily visits to that outrageously short time under the disguise of 'cell inspection', a job recruits were usually assigned to do.
Judy slid off the chair, putting her leather knapsack laying next to her over her shoulder.
Huh. Same one I coaxed her to buy right after she tasered me!
"Oh!" Judy snapped her fingers and her face lit up, "I met Mr. Voltaire yesterday."
Nick was hit with a wave of nervousness. Even after knowing the her for years, he still hadn't revealed much of his personal life to Judy. In fact, he hadn't revealed any of it to her aside from his muzzling in his youth. Looking back on it now, he regretted not telling her about his past after she had been so open to him about hers. But hers didn't include twenty years on the streets or debts and scams with some shady characters. Once he was able to communicate again his past would be hers to question and investigate. Well as long as she's not going through all my stuff, she can be my guest to talk to V. Hell, V wouldn't talk too much about our business dealings with Finnick! There's no way he'd talk about them with Carrots.
"We got to talking and he seems respectable- for a fox!" Judy said, smiling, "Not like you at all! Maybe it's because he lost a bit of his pride."
Nick understood the reference the bunny made and saw where she was going with this.
"Crap," He whispered under a breath.
"I think I'll drop by Casa de Wilde tomorrow," Judy commented, her smile growing.
That can of worms is open. He thought half-bitterly. He wouldn't be the one to tell her all about his past. No, she'd find the key to his past dealings in the warehouse. The best he could do now would be to hope that she overlooked his misdemeanors and continued to be his friend.
At least she won't find out about THAT hustle. Nick reassuringly thought as he watched Judy approach the glass and his primal self back up further underneath the cot.
She placed her paw against the clear surface and sprawled her digits against it. Nick raised his arm and gently put his paw against the vision, right over Judy's paw. Her smile chased most of the doubt and worry out of him. There was more than just the thick glass preventing them from being partners again, but of all the mammals he had ever met, and there were many, Judy was the most qualified to bring him back to the world- even if that meant she had to learn some disturbing parts of his past. He had leaped from the frying pan and dropped straight into the fire, but the sly bunny was standing next to it with a fire extinguisher. Even if when he returned every other mammal thought he was dead, they would still be friends- maybe. If she could look past his hustling years. Nick stared into Judy's magenta eyes with a smile full of love.
At Arctic One there had been very little to cheer him up. Especially after the power and the city-supplied rations ran out. During that lonely time in his life the only joy and hope he could feel came from his memories of her and their time as partners. His heart warmed thinking about her almost loving ambiance and her optimistic-to-a-fault attitude. It began to burn when his thoughts shifted to her gorgeously purple eyes and her stereotypical fluff ball she called a tail. His survival of that frozen hell wasn't because of his own urge to survive but of his urge to survive for their friendship. For their partnership. For her...
Jeez, Nick. What're you thinking? One side of his mind prompted.
I have absolutely no idea. The other side responded.
Well stop it! What happened to "Never let them see that they get to you"? Don't let anyone in too close, Nick! Remember your mother?
Well maybe it's finally time to let someone in after so long...
Yeah? Well maybe you should stop changing before it stops you. Permanently! Don't you dare get those kinds of feelings for a bunny!
The two sides stopped arguing and Nick had a sudden realization. His closed grin opened up and his gaze became half-lidded. His paw pressed harder against the glass.
"I think I already have," He said quietly.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! All other projects are on hold until this story has reached it's conclusion!
Primal: A Zootopia Fanfiction Chapter 6 - August 12th
Fourty Thousand: A Zootopia Fanfiction Prologue - TBA
Guilt, that Monster: A Zootopia Short Story - TBA
Dire Situations: A Zootopia Short Story - TBA
This chapter was last edited on August 24.