Just another little author's note. I'm not spoiling anything, but I'll be as detailed as I can about what's coming up in this story. There will be a total of 20 chapters (not including the prologue and as-of-now-unwritten epilogue) in Primal: AaZootopia Fanfiction. Keep an open mind while reading these next few chapters, but remember one thing;
"'If he returns,' Zdanskyi politely but forcefully corrected. 'You should know never to put too much faith in a hope, Chief.'"
Judy stood at the desk with a blank expression. Her mind was as colorless as the walls and ceiling of the small office she had been led into were. Her thoughts wandered aimlessly while her eyes scoured the massive window pane just beyond the barren desk in front of her. The morning sun that had greeted her in the early hours of the day had been blocked by clouds that had rolled over the gently sloping hills of the institute like a slow tsunami, and now the outdoors was little more than a grey-and-green wet wilderness. She couldn't help but be enthralled by the sight and feeling, and she had an almost primal urge to launch herself out the window and cool her hot body.
If I survived the fall. She dryly thought to herself, slowly moving her eyes off the moisture building up on the other side of the window down to stare at a neat stack of papers resting on the corner of the white desk just in front of her. There was a chair just beyond it and another one right next to her, both just as massive in size as hers was to compliment the equally gigantic desk.
Maybe I should buy some furniture in these sizes. She lightheartedly thought to herself, a small smile forming on her face. It'd probably be easier than paying a fortune more for their custom made rabbit-sized equivalents. Although that'd mean I'd have to find a bigger apartment to put them in. Oh well.
Suddenly uninterested by the subject of furniture, Judy shifted her attention away from the stack of papers and towards the hushed voices coming from the other side of the closed door behind her. She tilted her already erect ears in its direction, but she could only hear scattered and ambiguous fragments of the conversation.
"Put... Doctor... as if... shock," Was all she managed to scrape together before the conversation abruptly ended. She perked her ears a little higher as the sounds of heavy pawsteps and a door opening entered her ears, and she only looked towards the mammals who had joined her in the office when the door was shut behind them and they came into the corner of her vision.
"How are you feeling, Ms. Hopps?" Doctor Zdanskyi earnestly asked, a polite and reassuring expression on his face, as he rounded the side of the desk and sat in the chair opposite her. Chief Bogo followed closely behind him, walking to sit in the chair beside her with his back hunched and body facing towards her. His stern expression that never seemed to leave his face was edged with melancholy, but his gaze was filled with power and comfort.
"Great," She honestly replied as a toothy grin crawled onto her face. Doctor Zdanskyi's positive expression fell at her answer, and he raised an eyebrow in suspicion as his eyes cut over to stare at Chief Bogo. Judy followed his gaze and locked eyes with her superior officer who's expression had also become sullen.
"Are you sure?" Doctor Zdanskyi cautiously inquired, his wary eyes darting away from Chief Bogo's and back to her gleeful ones as the Chief moved up his arm to rest on the side of the desk.
"Why wouldn't I be?" She warmly answered as she raised a paw out to her side, her smile becoming quizzical while she kept the remainder of her face polite. "There isn't anything to bring me down!"
Doctor Zdanskyi's eyes quickly darted back to Chief Bogo, who was now sternly staring at him unflinchingly, before he nodded and leaned forward to lift the paper at the top of the stack in front of Judy towards him.
"Right," He warily but supportively began, as if he didn't trust her answer, and his eyes moved yet again to flick between the form and her warm smile. "Well if for any reason you need a moment to process your emotions then please speak up. It's very unfortunate that I must present you with this decision only a few hours since your partner's death, but time is still not on our side if we wish to continue to keep this, regrettably sorrowful, situation away from the public eye. We need to discuss what we are to do with Mr. Wilde's body."
The smile fell from Judy's face along with straightened her ears at the mention of the name, and she felt her jaw clench in anger and her muscles tighten as a memory from the night before began to play itself in her mind.
"I can't guarantee that the treatment will work," Doctor Zdanskyi had explained as he accompanied her down the dark, deserted hallway. "The drug has only had a very, very limited range of testing, if that. But judging by the claims of the team who've developed, I believe that it could help your partner's condition and help to restore his control over his body, although I'm not sure how its side effects will affect him in his condition. If you need more information I can provide you with descriptions of the medicine, but are you open to using such a drug? The final call is always yours."
"You killed Nick!" Judy furiously hissed at Doctor Zdanskyi, taking a threatening step towards him while she accusingly pointed a finger at his calm face. "You were the one who thought of using that damn pill to "help" Nick! And now he's dead! It's all your fault!"
Judy didn't try and stop the fiery and sudden rage spreading throughout her body. She let it consume her completely, and she leaped forward off her chair, aiming her short, dull claws at the Doctor's infuriatingly neutral face. But before she even reached the desk only a few inches in front of her Chief Bogo's hoof darted in front of her and caught her body in mid air, blocking her opening to the doctor's face and forcing her to return to the chair.
"You killed him!" She shrieked in anger, her purple eyes beginning to turn a dark shade of red, as she tried to force her way past the Chief's immovable hoof firmly holding her in place. "You killed him! You killed him, and you don't even care!"
The fury already inside her small body grew tenfold when Doctor Zdanskyi calmly rose from his chair and walked around the edge of his desk. His expression was just as still as it had been before, and Judy watched him with violent interest as he rounded her chair and walked across the room to open the door leading out into the grey hallway. The Chief's hoof moved with her as she turned her body to follow Zdanskyi, her anger not diminishing even for a moment even as the tiger sorrowfully yet reassuringly glanced over his shoulder and closed the door behind him.
"He did it," Judy scornfully exclaimed, turning to look at the Chief's stern yet grievous face as he took his hoof off her body and rested it on his knee. "He was the one who thought of using that medicine from Drussels! And it killed Nick almost as soon as he gave it to him! He murdered him!"
Chief Bogo just stared silently at her for several seconds, his wide, melancholy eyes becoming even sadder yet filled with understanding and even a twinge of guilt and regret. He eventually sighed and let his eyes fall to the floor in mild sorrow, but his posture and expression remained just as strong as it always was.
"You're in shock," He simply stated, his gaze darting up from the floor for half a moment to catch Judy's eyes.
"No I'm not!" She passionately rebuked, taking a powerful step on her chair towards the cape buffalo. "I'm angry because that freaking doctor was the one that killed Nick!"
"Doctor Zdanskyi holds no blame in Officer Wilde's death," The Chief replied, his head straightening and his eyes becoming filled with grief and guilt so strong that Judy was partially taken aback by it. "If you must blame anyone, blame me. Zdanskyi and I knew Wilde wasn't going to make it, so I went with my gut feeling and tried to delay what turned out to be inevitable. I'm the one who went looking for ways to give your partner a few more days, and Zdanskyi was following my orders when he gave Officer Wilde the medicine even though he disagreed with my decision. You have a right to be angry at me, and the guilt that I'm the cause for speeding up one of my own officer's deaths will haunt me forever."
Judy didn't know what to say, and she stood dumbfounded for several seconds as she studied the Chief's wide, solemn face. His eyes echoed sincere sadness, but that didn't stop her from funneling all her anger towards him. She was filled with fire once again, and she took a single, threatening step towards him with her paws flexed by her sides. She homed in on his face, suddenly feeling the violent urge to jump at him and attack. She tensed her muscles, ready to leap at him and his solemn expression, but before she could the memory from only a few moments prior flashed before her eyes. Her eyes widened in silent shock as she watched it, and all the anger and power in her body disintegrated into nothingness.
"You think this medicine will help him?" She had asked Zdanskyi after his explanation, shifting her half-asleep yet intent attention towards him. He wordlessly nodded in answer.
"How long do you think he has before it's too late?" She had continued, casting her sensitive eyes over to look him as he strolled alongside her.
"A day," He had answered, keeping his focused eyes locked in a stare with the end of the hallway. "Possibly two if he's able to manage it."
She had thought of the options laid out before her for several long seconds, and when she came to a decision she looked up from the floor and glanced over to the doctor again.
"Do it," She had said to him. "He only needs a few more days to completely regain control. If we can supply him with that then he'll be back forever; I'm sure of it."
"I'll get in touch with my sources," Was all Zdanskyi had said back to her, taking his signature clipboard from out underneath his arm and scribbling down something on it. "Hopefully I can have a supply of it here within these next few days. But one never knows when it will actually come; products out of Drussels go through Todderdam, and that hellholt tends to mess up arrival times significantly."
"It has to be here by tomorrow," Judy resolutely replied, more to herself than to Zdanskyi. "Nick and I are so close to breaking through. I can feel it. If this medicine even has the slightest effect on his condition then everything will be different."
"And it is," Judy whispered to herself, her huge eyes blinded by a flood of utter sadness and guilt in its rawest form. All the energy in her body collapsed along with what remained of her anger, and all her muscles relaxed while her ears fell limp behind her head in grief-filled defeat.
"And what is what?" Chief Bogo asked with hard curiosity, leaning further forward towards her as a wary frown came onto his face. Judy barely heard him over her thoughts that seemed to be screaming at the top of their lungs, and she slowly turned her gaze up from the ghostly white floor to stare blankly at his face with huge, silently heartbroken eyes.
"And everything's different," She elaborated, her voice quaky and her small, suddenly weak body beginning to tremble as a terrible smile crawled onto her face and as her eyes became filled with water. "I see it now, Chief. You didn't kill Nick, and neither did Doctor Zdanskyi. I'm the one who gave you two the permission to give Nick the medicine that killed him. I'm the one who ignored the possible consequences of the drug and who blindly used it just because I was scared I was going to lose him again. No matter how much I prepared myself to try and confront it, I just couldn't bring myself to think about it. And look where that brought us. He's dead now."
By now her body was violently trembling, and Judy felt her gaze fall to the floor as her legs gave out, and she fell onto her knees with her paws clutching her shoulders in a pitiful, lonely embrace.
"Oh god," She whispered, her voice no louder than a breath and filled with self-hate while a guilty and anguished smile was still plastered onto her face. "I loved him, Chief, and I'm the one who killed him. I killed Nick Wilde, the only mammal I've ever felt was something more than a friend. I loved him, and I wasn't even with him in his last moments. I ran, Chief, because I couldn't bear to see him like that. What's wrong with me? I'm always thinking about myself! If I had just stopped for a second to think about what was best for him, then... then... then..."
Judy couldn't hold back the tragic emotions filling every ounce of her body, and she collapsed into a crying fit, her voice suddenly gone and her arms squeezing her body tighter and tighter.
"Then he'd still be here!" She sorrowfully wept with silent self-hatred. Wave after wave of absolute and utter sadness washed over her, dragging her down into the depths of despair and away from the world around her. It was hate-fueled despair, because all the while she couldn't stop blaming herself for his death. Yet she didn't want to stop; it was the vicious, ugly truth that she'd have to live with for the rest of her life.
"But what's the point of living anymore?" She asked to herself aloud between two heavy weeps, barely noticing through her tear-filled vision as the Chief rose from his chair to kneel in front of her. "He's all I've ever thought about these past two years, and now that he's gone it's like everything's back to how it was before!"
"It's not, Judith," Chief Bogo comforted, but she didn't pay attention to what he was saying and instead turned her purple gaze upwards to look at his broad face, only now noticing that sometime during her crying he had moved his massive hoof to gently rest on her back.
"I thought it'd be easier," She confessed as a tiny, toothy smile emerged onto her face and as her arms uncurled from around her chest and fell to limply hang by her sides. "Losing him a second time. I kept on thinking to myself, 'He's not going to die. Even if he does, then at least you can remember the good times you had together.' But what good times did we have? All the time we were together was in some cell, and whenever we spoke to one another it wasn't really us talking face to face! It was just through something else! And when we finally did talk to one another, he died! Maybe If I had kept my mouth shut, then he'd still be here... maybe if I..."
Judy felt her voice trail off as her eyes became filled with water again, and she squeezed them shut and began to quietly cry. She didn't bother moving her arms off her thighs to curl around her again. She didn't deserve anything like that ever again. She didn't deserve anything.
"Judith," Chief Bogo lightly soothed, gently patting her back with his hoof, and Judy cracked open her eyes and gazed up at her superior. He was staring into her eyes on her eye level, as if he didn't want to strain her body by making her look upwards. An affectionate expression was on his face; the same expression a grandparent would have when they looked down at their crying grandchild, filled to the brim with reassurance and love.
"You're in shock," He warmly commented as a strained smile came onto his face, and Judy turned her full attention towards him, drawn in by his suddenly caring and benevolent attitude. "And you've blamed yourself for Wilde's death. Don't put yourself through any more hardship, Hopps. You've suffered enough for a lifetime. I know it's going to be tough these next few weeks, but I also know that you'll pull through."
"But he's gone..." Judy weakly protested as a weak smile crawled onto her face, but Chief Bogo slowly shook his head.
"He's only gone if we forget about him," He corrected, and he raised his free hoof to press against her chest as his expression became even softer. "What would he do if he saw you like this?"
"He'd laugh at me for being so emotional," She quietly confessed, and a small twinge of happiness pulsed within her chest as she imagined his mockingly wry yet sincere smile. "Then probably hug me."
"And what would he say?" Chief Bogo continued, letting his left hoof fall from her chest while his other tightened around her shoulders.
"He'd tell me to suck it up," She slowly answered with a quiet, sad, chuckle. "And he'd tell me that bunnies are always so emotional, but that it was okay to be that sometimes."
"Would he want to see you like this?" The Chief asked, and Judy felt her gaze widen at his question that seemed to come from out of the blue. Initially she was taken aback by the intrusive question, yet his kind expression and huge, patient eyes made her feel obligated to answer honestly.
"He wouldn't," She answered with a small smile still entrenched on her face, but as she spoke she could feel silent tears falling from her damp eyes and slowly dripping down her puffy cheeks. "He'd want me to be happy. But I don't think I can ever be genuinely happy again without him here."
"That's what we all think when we lose someone we're close to," The Chief reassured, his voice filled with sincere understanding and his eyes echoing sadness. "But we learn to live without those we've lost. We learn to remember them. We learn to be happy - without them. But all in good time. I'm not asking you to forget about your partner. I'm asking you to take a few days to remember him, and only when you're ready to confront the truth in a coherent manner acknowledge the fact that you'll never see him again."
Judy felt her heart burst in both pain and affection at the Chief's touching and emotional exposition, and she could feel herself beginning to break down into a crying fit again. She would never see Nick again. The one mammal she truly loved. Because she killed him.
Judy took a series of short, deep breath sand slid off the chair, her mind in a panicked rage while her feet began to absentmindedly take her towards the room's closed door that led out into the pitch white hallway. Her mind barely even acknowledged the fat that the Chief rose from his kneel and passed her to hold open the door for her, a suddenly serious expression on his face.
"I..." She began to say, but her voice was weak, and she curled her arms around her chest in a feeble attempt at comfort just as her gaze fell further downwards to stare at the snow-white floor. "I... need time. I need to go back to my room. Now."
Chief Bogo curtly nodded at her in response, and she quickly walked out the door and down the hallway, trying not to absolutely collapse emotionally in full view of her superior who's eyes she could feel boring guiltily into the back of her skull. The image of her partner's face flashed in her mind endless, and her already quick breaths further quickened to the point where she sounded like a speedboat.
Luckily there wasn't any mammal down the wide hallway that led out of the main hospital and into the outdoors, because as soon as she rounded the corner and was out of the Chief's view her dams burst and she began to cry even harder and more hysterically than she had before. So much had happened in the past few minutes that she couldn't decide whether to believe the Chief that he was the one guilty for killing Nick or if that was just a rouse to try and make her feel better. Whatever the answer she couldn't focus on it, because as soon as the automatic, massive glass door opened and she stumbled out into the grey, dreary outdoors the images of Nick's sly and happy face flashing in her mind and in her water-filled eyes changed to the last face she had seen from him; a struggling, pained, and tension-filled expression that made her feel even more guilt and heartbroken than before.
Nick had been buried almost as soon as he had died. Chief Bogo and Doctor Zdanskyi had both agreed that it'd be detrimental to leave his body out of a grave for too long after his death, although they had come to the consensus from different perspectives. Chief Bogo believed that leaving his body in the MGRI's morgue for too long would harbor suspicion from the staff, despite the fact that they were bound to their contracts to remain silent about past patients, dead or alive. Doctor Zdanskyi had taken the medical approach and recommended that his body be laid to rest as soon as possible as to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria.
His body had been zipped in a black body bag and carried out to the institute's cemetery by two of the staff immediately after Chief Bogo had given the order. The cemetery itself was at the far edge of the institute's large, gravel-paved garden, respectfully tucked away in its corner and bordering the tropical forest that surrounded the main building of the hospital from all sides. His grave was one of only a small pawful of others, although his was the only one that's tombstone had been kept blank for security reasons. As far as the city was concerned his two-year-deceased body was resting in his official grave in Longyear's Acres; a cemetery built in a remote but well-kept part of the Rainforest district.
When Judy had first heard of this she didn't know how to feel. She was emotionally numb after three days of psychotically crying, psychotically laughing, and feeling eternally wretched and dejected. She had left her dark and desolate suite only when she felt she could muster enough strength to visit Nick; nothing else truly mattered to her anymore, but maybe that was just her grieving mind talking. It was then she had learned of his burial and blank tombstone from Chief Bogo, who had been patiently waiting outside her door ever since she had retreated to her suite. Whenever he had tried to enter she had violently screamed at him to leave her alone, but he didn't seem the least bit affected by her outrage even after days of suffering through it. Their conversation was curt and emotionless and ended with the Chief escorting her to the mammal she loved and the mammal she murdered's grave.
But as she stood over the freshly churned earth with a box of fresh blueberries in her paws she couldn't help but feel immensely sad and weak once again. No matter how much Chief Bogo had reassured her, she couldn't shake the idea that she was the one that killed Nick. The one mammal she loved.
A shiver ran down her spine at those words, and she slowed her breathing to calm herself down and prevent another public break down. She killed him. That was something she'd have to live with for the rest of her life and for the remainder of her career, and that was something she'd eventually come to terms with, just like the Chief had told her would happen.
Judy let her eyes wander over every square inch of the grave, making sure to study every detail of it from the tightly packed dirt to the solid grey of the square, stone gravestone. It wasn't completely blank like the Chief had told her; right in the center of its top section there was the small, simple logo of the ZPD carved into the stone, and Judy felt her heart beat a little harder as she studied the simple symbol.
A wave of nervousness washed over Judy as her gaze traveled back to the packed dirt. It was the same feeling she had felt when she had first been to one of her neighbor's burrows, as if she didn't belong and almost wasn't welcome in her immediate surroundings. But she forced herself to stand at the grave's side, and eventually a small, sad, and farewelling smile formed on her face.
"Hey Nick," She sorrowfully greeted, and she could feel her barren tearducts trying to force out tears that had all been used the past few days. The grave remained silent, and the only sound Judy could hear was the rustling of the nearby trees' leaves by a gentle breeze.
"I guess this is it," She sadly yet emotionlessly acknowledged as she stiffened her shoulders and briefly glanced up from the grave, temporarily unable to look at it, but she quickly felt her eyes wander back down to it.
"I brought you these," She said with a twinge of melancholy merriness as she bent down and placed the small box of blueberries in her paws a few inches to the grave's tombstone's side, right on top of the freshly-dug earth. "I know they're your favorite."
Judy straightened herself again, and another wave of subtle nervousness washed over her as she awkwardly stared down at the grave. She couldn't help but sadly laugh at her inability to progress the conversation to anywhere meaningful, and she bent over slightly and affectionately stared down at the box of blueberries, picturing Nick's smiling face in its stead.
"You know I've never been one for having the last word," She dryly commented as she let her right paw fell into her pocket, pull out her carrot pen, and wave it in the air. "That's why I have this."
She squatted down again and rested her pen against the blueberry box's side, making sure that it didn't become dirty because of the dusty dirt around it.
"And you should probably have this, too," She emotionlessly added as she pulled a fox-sized phone from her back pocket and rested it beside the pen, a tiny smile still evident on her face. "You'll need it for pictures, won't you?"
The grave continued to remain silent, and Judy sent the tombstone a toothy, strained smile. She could feel heartbreak filling every fiber of her chest and water beginning to condense in the corners of her eyes.
"Goodbye, you dumb fox," She despondently said as her smile shut and shrunk to barely resemble a grin with elevated cheeks and as her vision began to blur. "'It's been a hustle, Sweetheart.'"
With those final words and a final throb of her hear Judy turned away from the grave and walked back along the wide, gravel path leading up to it. She shoved her paws into her pockets as she bit her lip and as a hurt expression formed on her face. She didn't want to leave him. She wanted to stay right with him, to spend the rest of her life with him. She wanted to marry him, start a family with him as the father, and grow old with him by her side.
But that's never going to happen, is it now, Judy? She rhetorically asked herself in guilty anger as she clenched her mouth shut and forced her eyes into a steady frown. Because you killed him. You're the one who brought this upon yourself. You don't deserve to have him.
Judy slowly nodded, acknowledging the fact, and turned her eyes upwards to stare at the light grey sky. The rain had come and gone, and the only reminder of the deluge was the thin, damp fog that hung in the air. It was as if the universe had been mourning for Nick alongside her. Although she was determined to never mourn for him again. She couldn't cry anymore with all this guilt, regardless of if she loved him.
Love... She miserably thought to herself as she closed her eyes, concentrating on the cool air flowing past her heated body.
If anything even mildly decent had come out of this terrible experience, then it was closure. She had never reached that when she thought he was dead at Arctic One. Maybe that was because she still hadn't realized her feelings for him; but now that she had, that made it even harder for her to forget about him.
Then I'll have to stop loving him. She regretfully and forlornly acknowledged as she opened her eyes, staring ahead at a bend in the gravel path that turned down a row of tall hedges. He's just some fox who was my partner on the force. He was a friend who I killed.
But as she rounded the dim corner and stared straight ahead at the end of the gravel pathway - where it connected with the concrete landing at the front of the hospital's main building - and the two mammals standing at the end of it, she couldn't help but feel another pulse of anguish beat from her heart.
He's more than that! A voice in her mind screamed at her, but she silenced it with hard and cold determination, turning her full attention towards the two mammals facing away from her.
"What happens now?" She coldly asked, and Chief Bogo and Doctor Zdanskyi both turned to look at her just as she strode up behind them. The Chief's stature was stiff and he had a gloomy and cautious expression on his face while Zdanskyi seemed more neutral and relaxed, just like he always did. It was almost rude given the circumstances.
"Ms. Hopps, how are you feeling?" Doctor Zdanskyi calmly asked with a slight inflection in his voice, and Judy glared at him without any kind of warmth or friendliness.
"You didn't answer my question," She noted, her voice menacingly raw, and Zdanskyi's ears and bright orange tail fell slightly along with the elation in his expression.
"My apologies," He formally apologized, his blue eyes suddenly holding a twinge of sadness and regret, and he opened the manila folder in his paw and began to flick through several sheets of paper. After several seconds of flicking past page after page he stopped, and a small frown became entrenched into his forehead.
"I'm sorry, Ms Hopps, but it appears that the forms I need you to sign weren't printed," He hurriedly explained, closing the manila folder and shoving it under his arm as he began to back away from her and Chief Bogo and towards the hospital's automatic doors a little ways down the concrete path. "I'll be right back."
Judy curtly nodded at the labcoat-clad tiger, who immediately turned around and began to brusquely walk down the concrete path. She turned away from him without a second thought, blankly staring at the empty parking lot in front of the concrete path as she took Zdanskyi's place beside Chief Bogo.
"Judith," Chief Bogo carefully began after several seconds of silence, shifting on his feet to face the parking lot alongside her. "We need to talk about what's going to happen with you."
"I don't think we do, sir," She coldly countered, turning her eyes to her side to stare at the Chief's grim face and clenched jaw. "I'm ready to return to duty. It's as simple as that."
"Just because you have on your uniform doesn't entitle you to determine whether or not you're-" Chief Bogo began, but Judy interrupted him before he could finish.
"Chief, we don't need to talk about Nick anymore," She hastily but calmly said, turning her gaze away from the Chief's annoyed and stern eyes suddenly looking down at her and back towards the parking lot. "I've settled my feelings with him. I've reached closure."
"In only a few minutes?" Chief Bogo questioned, his voice frustrated, and Judy clenched her jaw and flexed her arms that had orderly fallen behind her back earlier, annoyed by his stubbornness.
"In only two years," She coldly and harshly corrected, not bothering to turn towards her superior again and stiffening her ears as she carefully listened to the sounds around her. "The time it took doesn't matter. Only that I've reached closure."
"What kind of closure?" Chief Bogo gruffly questioned, his voice low and suspicious.
"A final one," Judy vaguely explained, not wanting to delve into the subject. "Nick's dead because I killed him. There's no point in being sad or guilty because of that; it's just something I'll have to live with."
The Chief remained quiet for several seconds, and in that time Judy turned even more of her attention away from him and towards her surroundings, focusing on the sound of rustling leaves and branches. She heard him open his mouth to speak, but words never came from him, and he stalked away from her without any kind of sound whatsoever. She could tell he was disappointed in her; but did she really care? No. He didn't know Nick like she did.
"There's no point in grovelling over who killed him, Chief," She called out to him without turning her stiff body away from the parking lot. "I did. That's the end of the story. I need to get back into the city, take up my position, and move on."
I'm more than confident that you can see where the story's direction is heading...
Primal: A Zootopia Fanfiction Chapter 18 - February 14
A Fox in Shining Armor: A Zootopia Fanfiction Chapter 6 - February 28
This chapter was last edited January 31, 2016