Not every chapter needs to be longer than the last - this chapter right here is about 1300 words shorter than chapter 5. But I can assure you you'll love this one much more than that one.

Yet again, I'd like to thank everyone who was supported this story thus far. You've really helped me continue on.

AS another announcement, it is regrettable that my previous editor ColorUserPro can no longer work on this project, so if you are proficient in the English language and would like to aid me as this project continues then give me a PM!

I think I'll shut up now...

Hope you enjoy chapter 6 of Primal: A Zootopia Fanfiction!

Meat is sour. Poisoned. Contaminated.

Whatever word he used, the taste and smell of the fish matched it perfectly. It did not have the scent which would make his mouth water, instead only faintly smelling of the buffalo who had brought it to him.

Buffalo.

A small growl emerged from behind a strip of skin hanging off his teeth. The artificial taste continued to fill his mouth and the foreign scents absorbed by the fish made his nostrils flare. It cannot stand him. He swallowed the pasty mouthful with a loud gulp, his tongue protruding in disgust.

Buffalo brings bad meat.

His head dove into the meal again, ripping off a huge chunk of flesh. It tasted of nothing. It satisfied nothing. All it did was barely begin to fill his seemingly endless stomach. Yet even as he choked down the final bite he still felt hollow. He trudged over to the water, his paws chilled by the cool concrete, and gazed into the shallow puddle. He was thin - fur thick, eyes tired, and mind uneasy.

It must survive.

The buffalo prevented that. The poisoned meat he received would be his death, but it was all the beast would bring. Starvation or tainted meat. He chose the latter and there already was a slight aching feeling deep in his chest. A small snarl emerged onto his face.

It must survive.

The food wasn't his largest threat. At any moment the tiger could enter his cage, destroying the barrier between them with ease. His huge paws and sharpened teeth would tear him to pieces, his feeble body nothing more than a thoughtless meal. His snarl grew and his eyes began to burn.

It must survive.

There was one he feared and hated more than the tiger and buffalo pur together. It was much smaller than both of his other captors, which made his defeat at her paws all the more humiliating. The animal who had hunted him would be the one to end his life. Green fire erupted from his eyes, scorching his reflection.

Rabbit.

He had failed as a predator. The hunt had gone astray- it was the accursed rabbit who had not let him end his hunger! And now he was her prisoner. He could not escape from the grey box which contained him. His only hope would be to survive.

It must survive.

The thought of the rabbit sitting on the other side of the barrier let loose a growl from the most hateful depths of his form.

She watches it.

The sounds the rabbit made echoed in his ears. His growl became much more violent.

She mocks it.

The worst thing the rabbit did was smile. His claws dug into the concrete floor.

She taunts it.

The rabbit was his warden. He couldn't survive if she was around. He would continue the hunt, however that proved impossible with his fragility and confinement. Only one option would end his torment.

It shall wait. The rabbit will one day leave.

He turned toward where she had been standing, her paw pressed against the barrier to mock his repression. His eyes were full of cold fire, his snarl drenched in the purest form of hate, his claws dug painfully into the floor.

It must survive.

"Why you crashin' his place again, bunny?"

A smile grew on Judy's face as she watched Finnick fiddle with a lock pick, his small body hanging off the doorknob several feet above the ground. Why Nick needed such a secure entrance to his warehouse was beyond her.

"The ZPD found his will right before the trip," She began. Finnick's eyes were focused on the lock, filled with interest. "and he left me all of his possessions. So I thought 'Hey, why not drop by and see my new property?'"

A small feeling of uneasiness began to develop inside her. She never liked to lie to any mammal, and what she told Finnick wasn't one hundred percent true. She did have an interest in seeing her new property- If I can even call it mine - but the main reason for her visit was to collect some of her partners personal items for his rehabilitation.

The sound of a lock clicking entered her erect ears and Finnick fell to the ground a moment after, putting the tool of his trade back into his black and red shirt's pocket before he cracked open the humongous door. His hand gestured for her to walk in. My my, what a lady's fox!

"Bummer," Finnick responded as she obliged. "I was really hopin' for some of his loot."

Judy chuckled, her green blouse darkening as her eyes adjusted to the dim interior. She nearly gasped when she began to look around the inside of the warehouse, surprised by it's scale. It was much nicer than what she expected her sly friend to live in.

There was no shattered glass along the floor, no pilled junk in the corners, and no rotten woodwork fallen from the rafters above. The whole place was very well maintained - completely unlike the surrounding buildings. In front of her there was a huge canal-like structure which ran lengthwise in the middle of the room and led to two huge, closed metal doors on the wall to her right. Her nose scrunched up as the smell of the stagnant water which filled the canal began to plague her senses. She turned and looked toward the wall opposite the metal doors, and through the gloom her wide eyes picked out the outlines of furniture.

"Wow!" She exclaimed as Finnick shut the door behind them. "This place is so big! What was it before Nick lived here?"

"Some boatyard," He said, walking past her. She followed in his wake.

"That explains the canal."

"You mean his pool, bunny?"

"His pool," She exclaimed. "He swam in that?"

"You bet," The short fox responded. "Me, him and V turned that cesspit of crap into what you see today."

He took in a huge sniff.

"Pumps smell like they're busted," He whispered.

V? Judy thought, catching up to Finnick.

"Who's V?" She asked as she walked backwards beside him. Her eyes studied him with interest as his face began to show the tiniest amount of worry.

"Oh, just Voltaire," He responded with a wave of his paw. "He some friend of Nick's who ru-"

"-ns a bar down on 42nd street," Judy interrupted. Finnick looked up at her surprised. "I've met the guy. He's the one who told me where to find this place."

"I was wonderin' where you got that dirt, bunny," He huffed as he looked ahead again, smiling. "Nick didn't tell no one about this place."

I know. He didn't tell me anything. She thought, but deciding this was no place for regretful thoughts she smiled back and turned, walking side by side with him. Her mind wandered, thinking about what she'd discover about her long time friend as she and Finnick continued to cross the seemingly endless warehouse floor. Maybe I'll find out more about his past. Like a 'real' police officer!

"So, bunny, you headin' to the sentencing on Tuesday?" Finnick asked, striking up a conversation.

"I hadn't really thought about it," Judy replied, shrugging. "Chief Bogo said I wasn't needed at the trial since I put in so much effort into arresting him."

"Well you still got a few days to think about it," He said, eyes still focused on the furniture ahead. "But I thought you would've been 100% sure 'bout goin'. I could jerk off to that brute finally gettin' his punishment after what he did."

Judy scoffed and smiled at the crude comment. While she didn't particularly enjoy inappropriate humor, Nick had used it so often during their partnership that her mind had become accustomed to the occasional vulgar quip.

"You could say I've had other things on my mind," she said with a smile only she understood. I guess Nick's my own dirty little secret now!

The canal ended in a half-circle, carved steps leading out of the water so that the structure looked like an amphitheater meant for raccoons. A few feet in front of the steps was an extravagantly huge red-clothed couch facing toward the nearby wall, where an equally extravagant TV was mounted into place. Sitting in the left corner was a massive platform bed, considerably distant from what could be considered the living room. Storage drawers ran along the bottom of it and a dresser stood by its side.

"So this is the house of a 20-year con man?" She rhetorically asked. Her exposed feet were greeted by the soft touch of a woolen carpet as she made made her way to the couch.

"You bet your ass it is," Finnick said, staring up at her dangling feet from in between the black coffee table and the couch. "Listen, bunny. If I gotta smell that stank water anymore my nose is gonna kill itself. You hang tight while I starts up the pumps - then I can give you the grand tour of this pit."

"Whatever you say, Finn." Judy said, swinging her feet directly in front of his face. Finnick flinched back with a stern but lighthearted expression .

"You call me that again, bunny, and I'll bite your face off," He threatened. Judy just grimaced.

"Cops," he mumbled as he shook his head. He began to walk toward a small hatch in the other corner of the room and as soon as he was out of sight Judy collapsed back into the couch with a huge sigh, her eyes still taking in her surroundings. The modern, expensive furniture put her apartment to shame.

"Jeez, Nick," she said out loud to herself. "Who's fur did you have to comb to get such nice stuff."

Probably his own. A voice within her thought. He did make over a million dollars in his hustling days.

"You're right, brain," She responded, "Maybe we should consider going into his line of work. It'd pay more than that 40 grand police officer salary."

Yeah, but then we wouldn't get to make the world a better place!

"Right again."

Judy straightened and leaned back into the couch, letting the soft fabric support her head as her eyes shut. She was sitting on a couch purchased with untaxed money. It almost felt dirty to take even the slightest amount of comfort in it. Doing so would violate many of her highest morals, but a few days after his training ended Nick assured her that his whole tax evasion situation had been sorted out.

"You won't believe me Carrots, but the mayor scribbled out my debt to the city."

"I thought I told you not to lie to me."

"I'm not lying! I'm a changed fox, Cottontail. I thought you understood me."

"This isn't something to joke about, Nick. You could go to jail for the rest of your life for this! That tail of yours wouldn't last a day with some of the mammals I've put in there."

"You mean mammals like Bellwether?"

"Nick-"

"Listen, Judy. I'll get serious for a moment. I met with 'Mayor Mane' a few weeks ago and he thanked me for my assistance in solving the Night Howler case and congratulated me on being the first fox cop and yada yada yada. Boring stuff. But he did show me that same tax sheet you had when you hustled me. And he stamped a big, green check mark on it. Now If that's not 'reliving my debts' then I don't know what is."

One important question Judy asked herself many times over was did she truly believe her best friend's stories. Some years ago she would've said no. He always stretched the truth in some way, and most of the time that didn't matter a whole lot. But tax evasion was a serious crime, and in his situation it was one with incredibly dangerous consequences. She hadn't been joking - he could've gone to prison for the rest of his life. Yet she had never seen him talking with tax collectors, and whenever she looked through his mail in a PO box at headquarters while he was busy talking with Clawhauser or getting yelled at by Bogo there were no letters from the ZIRS or other agencies.

When it came down to it she was an intellectual rabbit. Stories alone didn't sway her. She had to have evidence, and in this case the evidence supported Nick - so was she ready to believe this somewhat outrageous tale of his so many years after he told her?

"Sure," She said after several silent seconds. "If I can trust him to have my back on duty, then I can trust him to sort out his own past."

And speaking of his past...

Judy slipped her paw into her right pocket and slowly began to feel the object inside. The touch of the plastic-rubber case was very familiar yet the contents held within it were completely foreign. Reluctantly, she pulled the object out and studied it as she held it in both paws.

His phone.

Even when she thought he was dead she could never bring herself to unlock the device. She knew her paws would take her straight to his photos. Back when his death was still fresh in her mind it hurt to see his face. Looking through his photos may have helped her get over his sudden departure, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She didn't want to get over him, she wanted him back. And now he was back...

As quick as she could, Judy swiped the screen and entered in the password. She ignored the "You have 9999 Unread Messages" notification and searched the screen until she found the photos app. As she looked at the last picture he ever took the same feeling of embarrassment which she had felt as he held her in his arms at Chief Bogo's welcome back ceremony flooded over her.

The picture was a selfie. He stood on the steps leading out of his canal with a sly smile and his signature half-lidded gaze. The illuminated water behind him was a bright blue instead of the dark green that was there now.

This picture won't help him get better. Judy decided, but she couldn't move her paw to swipe to the next picture. So why can't I keep my eyes off it?

Her eyes moved down from his face and her ears fell behind her in embarrassment. He definitely wasn't the most athletic mammal on the force, but he sure looked it in this picture. His wet fur was plastered to his muscular frame so that the outlines of his muscles could be seen with the naked eye - something usually very hard to do with thick fur. Yet he pulled it off perfectly. Too perfectly. His shoulders were wide, his chest puffed and powerful, his arms thin and fit. The top of his muscular core invited her downward, and her eyes wandered even lower.

His core was flexed, each muscle of his six pack clearly visible under his hanging fur. His wondrously cream white and orange fur. She couldn't help herself; her gaze ventured even further south and she could feel heavy heartbeats pumping blood to her cheeks.

He wore a one-size-too-small Prench[1] swimsuit which left very little to the imagination. It was barely an inch wide around his waist and only slightly wider a little lower. Judy was focused on what she couldn't see, her originally nervous gaze turned into an awed stare.

God - it is huge. Or at least looks that way.

The realization of what she was doing hit like a Horn Corporation train.

Wait. For carrots sake, what are you thinking, Judy Hopps? You don't have these kinds of thoughts for any mammal, let alone you're best friend! Let alone a fox! You're better than this! Remember all the years of police discipline, all the years of putting emotion behind you when you step into uniform? Hurry up and pull the plug on these lewd thoughts. It's flat out disrespectful, not to mention absolutely gross.

Yet she still couldn't draw her attention away from the photo. Her face burned as her eyes wandered all over it, taking in every pixel of his body. She wanted to bury herself in his thick fur, to curl up against his chest, to have his russet tail sweep around her to seal her in a den of nothing but him. These thoughts weren't driven by sexual needs. No, there was something more to them. It wasn't a drive to be with his body alone - it was a drive to be with him. To be with his sly smile and calculating half-lidded gaze. To be with his casual and carefree attitude. These thoughts aren't lewd, they're loving!

"Ahem," a heavy voice below said, making Judy jump out of her fur. She had been so caught up in her thought process that she failed to notice Finnick standing right in front of her, his giant ears sticking up from between the couch and coffee table. As quickly as she could her paw turned off the phone and slipped it back into her pocket before she hopped off the couch.

"Sorry," Judy said, paws clasped together. "I was just-"

"Oh, I know what you were doing, bunny," Finnick said with a rattled face. "Next time wear more deodorant."

Judy felt all the blood drain from her ears and took in a large sniff as quietly as she could. Even above the overpowering smells of stagnant water and Love anti scent deodorant[2] she could smell herself. Not just herself - her excited self. Any blood remaining in her face fled, nothing except an overwhelming cold feeling remaining. Finnick snorted and turned, and all Judy could do was twitch her eye involuntarily.

Those dang hormone suppressant pills said that they'd prevent situations like this! She thought as her eyes absently watched Finnick walk away. The box said 'to stop even the strongest of natural scents and urges'!

She bolted after Finnick, her ears and face nearly the color of Nick's fur.

"Finnick, I am so sorry! Just let me explain!" She pleaded with a nervous smile as she stood in front of him, holding both her paws out to stop him from walking any further. All he did was look up at her with a disgusted expression.

"No, bunny, I ain't gonna let you explain," He replied. "Cause there's nothin' to explain. You was gettin' turned on by a picture of a dead fox! And don't tell me it wasn't him. I seen how vixens used to look at him, all moony-eyed and flustered."

Finnick pushed past her with a huff and a shake of his head. Judy's ears flopped onto her back and her eyes grew huge as she turned to watch him walk away.

"You disgustin' piece of inter-species mammal screwing trash. Wantin' to bang your dead friend."

Now she was really and truly upset. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Finnick!" She yelled after him. "Please stop!"

He continued to walk away with a defiant stride, not bothering to look back. Her head suddenly felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and Judy fell to her knees, paws clasped together. She squeezed her eyes shut in a feeble attempt to stop the steady onslaught of tears beginning to rain down.

"Please, Finnick!" Judy begged him one last time. "I think-"

For the second time in minutes, realization hit her like a Horn Corporation train.

"I think I might love him!"

Both of her paws raised and covered her closed eyes. Even with the added support tears still streamed down her cheeks, pressed deep into her fur by the pressure of her paws. Loud sobs echoed around the warehouse, only pushing her deeper into emotional distress. Never before had she felt this feeling of absolute hopelessness and loneliness. Then she felt the careful touch of velvet against her chin.

Very carefully, as if she were a week-old kit, the velvet object raised her head while another one slowly removed both her paws from her face, ending her tears. After several heavy blinks and deep breaths she could finally see her comforter. Finnick just stood in front of her with a staunch expression, his paw still latched onto hers. Even when she was kneeling he was still a good inch from being on eye level with her.

"Love ain't somethin' you think about, bunny," He said slowly yet full of understanding, his right paw falling from her chin while his left squeezed hers. "It happens in a single thrashing, throbbing moment. It transcends life, death, and whatever's in between. Hell, it may even ignore species lines." He gave a weak smile and his grip tightened around her paw. "Follow me for a sec."

Judy sniffled and stood slowly, her back hunched as she looked down at Finnick. He walked right beside her, letting her set the pace as he continued to hold her paw. With slow steps they made their way to the bed in the corner of the room. It was only when they were very near the black oak piece of furniture that Finnick broke their pawhold and rushed ahead to pull open one of the massive drawers along the bottom. Judy peeked sheepishly over the edge of the wood as the small fox rummaged through Nick's folded clothes.

After several moments of digging his deep voice made a satisfied sound as he pulled a small case out of the top of a expensive looking burgundy tuxedo. He hopped back over the almost wall-sized drawer side a moment later and sat the metallic container on the ground before he eagerly monitored for Judy to come over. She obliged slowly, kneeling next to him as he popped open the worn tin box and took a small piece of paper from it. He held it out between them, the warehouse lights Judy hadn't realized had been turned on illuminating it.

"You know who this is, bunny?" Finnick asked, tilting the image in her direction. Judy studied the picture and found herself staring at an all-too-familiar face.

"Is that his mom?" She answered quietly, her voice still not found. Finnick nodded and smiled, his eyes locked onto the photo.

"This is Ms. Brook H. Wilde, mother of Nick P. Wilde," He said nostalgically. "She's the only mammal in Zootopia who truly loved him."

Judy's suddenly focused eyes moved off the picture and stared at Finnick.

"Every day she got up, made sure her son got a good breakfast, and went to work at her three different jobs. She didn't care about prejudice or what other mammals thought about her, she cared about her son. She cared about his future. So she worked her tail off doin' crap jobs so he wouldn't have to get his paws dirty doin' illegal shit."

Finnick shook his head slowly.

"But in the end, it wasn't enough."

"What happened?" She inquired quietly. She was filled with pity, but she didn't know whether it was meant for Nick or his mother. Finnick but his lip at the question.

"The most unfortunate series of events to happen to any mammal in history," He answered. "Nick went sour somewhere in his youth. He wasn't the goody little two shoes his momma raised, but a sly, devious son of a bitch which he was most of his life. 'Ats about when he got kicked from school, too, and his momma realized he was too far gone to be a productive mammal in society. But she still worked for him, cooked for him, took him to tutors and all that stuff a mother would do for her son. She worked herself to death for him, bunny."

All Judy could do was continue her stare as Finnick's eyes became glossed in memory.

"It was a late night for both of 'em," He started, his voice becoming slower and quieter as he continued on, "Nick had just gotten kicked out by one of his tutors and his momma had just got outta work. She was drivin' home when their car went headlong into one of those armored bank trucks." There was a moment of silence, and underneath his strong expression Judy could see heartbreak. "When the police got there it was already too late. The car was in a fireball, nothin' but ashes left inside."

Judy's pity drove itself to Nick. She had never realized how hard the first few years of his life were. Another moment of melancholy silence passed before Finnick gave a toothy smiled and turned to Judy.

"You're probably wonderin' why I told you all this, bunny?" He said normally, ending the solemn tone he held before. Judy gave a weak smile back and nodded.

"The point is, his momma loved him. She loved him no matter what he was, no matter how much he screwed up, right until the end," He said with such emotional intensity Judy didn't know he had within him. "Love ain't somethin' you can turn on and off for a mammal. You gotta love their good side and their bad side." Finnick gently handed Judy the picture of Ms. Wilde. "And you gotta forgive the mistakes they've made." His paw moved into the tin can again and brought up a thin metallic object. Judy clutched it hard as she held it up closer to her eyes for inspection. It was a silver black-light pen which used invisible ink, a toy she had become very familiar with in her youth when she dreamed of becoming a detective like Sherlock Foalmes.

"You got all his stuff, right?" Finnick asked, his head tilting underneath hers to catch her eye.

"You bet," Judy replied shakily, her mind finally able to put together coherent sentences again. Finnick smiled as he stood and put his paw on her shoulder.

"Then good luck, bunny."

With that he walked past her, his slow paw steps accompanied by the low humming sound of the water pumps. Judy stared after him, her knees begin to become sore from the kneeling. Her eyes flashed down, looking at both the photo and pen. This desire she had to be more than friends with Nick was a long time in the making. That plaguing pain she had felt in her chest over the time she thought he was gone forever had been her heart yearning for her to accept her suppressed feelings. It wasn't the love between partners as was so common in the ZPD, but romantic love - a type of love she had never felt for any mammal before. Finally, the words which she had deliberately avoided for so long presented themselves in the forefront of her mind.

I'm in love with Nick Wilde.

Yet Finnick was right. Love was about forgiving someone else's mistakes and still loving them afterward. Whatever this pen had to do with his past, she was up for any challenge it threw her way. She could feel it in her throbbing heart. She loved Nick Wilde, unconditionally.

"Finnick!" She called out after him as she stood up. "I have to ask, how do you know all this about Nick? I mean, I didn't even know anything about this."

Finnick turned, a huge grin on his face.

"Tell ya what, bunny. You sort out all these feelings you havin' and then we'll get together for drinks."

Judy smiled back and he turned away from her, cackling.

"You two mammals, man," He yelled as he opened the huge metal door, bright midday streaming past him. "If he were still here the whole world would be against you two - but I doubt either of you would care too much!"

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 31

Fourty Thousand: A Zootopia Fanfiction Prologue - TBA

Guilt, that Monster: A Zootopia Short Story - TBA

Dire Situations: A Zootopia Short Story - TBA

Footnotes:

Prench - language of prey, culture of Prance (country where mostly deer call home)

Love's anti scent deodorant - Dove's deodorant

This chapter was last edited on August 29, 2016