The smell of crispy alcohol, musty cigars, cologn, and perfume surrounded the couple as they walked beside a now bustling casino. They decided they might as well spend the rest of the day having a little fun.
Sure, it was irresponsible of them. Shock collars were making a come-back, and here they were, doing nothing to solve things. But, with the latest events, things had gotten difficult for them. They needed a little break if they wanted to work as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Plus, who knows what could happen. It's good to cherish small things like this every now and then.
You may not get another chance to.
"This district is amazing!" Judy exclaimed.
Nick stopped dead in his tracks. "Don't tell me you've never been here before."
"Nope," she chirped. "But I've always wanted to."
"Well, let me show you around." Nick began to walk at a brisker pace with her paw in his.
He led her down the busiest street in Sahara Square. It was the busiest for a reason; the attractions it had there, such as casinos, shops, hotels, monuments, and more, are of the highest quality. You will simply have the better experience here, if your wallet can take it.
Judy couldn't keep her head facing a single direction. Dazzling neon lights warmly glowed as they painted their surroundings, including the many crowds of people, with their colors. Fireworks boomed overhead, almost showering the district with tiny particles of color. Statues of various things, such as a sphinx and a comical palm tree, stood proudly as beams of light illuminated them. Exotic sports purred at red lights before they growled to life and shot down streets, barely staying under the speed limit.
And most of all, she could see the nighttime stars and the multi-colored neon lights reflected in Nick's eyes as he also took in the district and its colorful beauty.
"Carrots?" She was being far too quiet.
"What? Oh! Sorry." She nervously shuffled about. "Just…"
"Entranced by everything?" Nick finished for her. She nodded yes. He smirked. "The last time I remember seeing your eyes that big was when we visited the Naturalist Club." She groaned. "Except, that was out of shock and awkwardness, not sheer awe."
"Please don't bring that up again… but, yes, you could say I'm in awe." And not just of Sahara Square.
"It does have a certain beauty to it. But it's no cute bunny." He then took her paw and motioned with his head towards the casino, suggesting them to visit it.
"Gambling? Nick, no. We are not blowing our money. Plus, we can't stay here long anyway. We have to work tomorrow… and fix the mess the Mayor made."
"I was thinking more along the lines of, 'Let's visit the nice restaurant they have inside the casino and enjoy one last good meal before Zootopia gets any worse.'" He took a few steps towards it. "C'mon Carrots, I won't gamble. Never had anyway. Well, not without tipping the odds in my favor…" she flashed him a glare. Nick had learned quite a few things, almost illegal things, back during his years of conning. "I'm only suggesting for us to come here so that we can enjoy the best food Sahara Square has to offer. Trust me, this restaurant is that good."
She stood completely still for a moment, acting like she was weighing the pros and cons of visiting a restaurant with Nick again. She loved teasing him. "Well… what do I get out of it? Other than a meal I could get for cheaper somehere else?"
"A 'wild' time with your fox." He almost snickered at his pun.
"Tempting…" she put her paw under her chin in a manner that made it look like she was in serious thought.
"You won't have to pay a dime." This rabbit was going to empty his wallet faster than any vixen he wooed in the past.
"I don't knoooow," she began to walk the other way.
Time to utilize his charms. Nick caught her before she got too far, wrapping one arm around her waist and planted a little kiss on her cheek. "If you go, you'll get something else out of it." He applied a sly, mischievous look.
"You better deliver, fox," she laughed, turning around. "Let's go." She really was looking forward to the restaurant. She just enjoyed teasing Nick.
Together, Nick and Judy crossed the street and took in the sight that was the casino Nick had picked out for its amazing food. It also happened to be the largest casino in the entire district, considering the fact that it was a skyscraper that was shaped like an enormous letter 'U' that had the endpoints of the 'U' pointing towards them.
It eas as beautiful as it was large. Its outside walls were made to look like sandstone with blue neon lights slightly hanging on them. A huge water fountain was placed in front of its front door with four obsidian statues of elephants that had water shooting out of their trunks. There was also a fifth larger one in the middle that was also shooting water, except it was shooting directly upwards in the air, creating more of a spray instead of a steady jet the other four had. A newly paved road circled the fountain. The massive front doors had a roof above them that ran out towards the fountain for about twenty feet. Sandstone pillars, with obsidian accents, held up the roof.
In orange neon lights, the name of the casino, Lenox's Resort, cast a warm light upon each and every customer.
"Resort, huh? Eh, I wouldn't stay here." Judy preferred more quiet places. Though, it is an interesting find. Normally, a casino is just that; a casino. She had never seen one that had rooms for rent before.
"It is a bit more luxurious than you think, Carrots. The rooms, or more like luxury apartments, put some of the richest celebrities in Zootopia to shame. They even have diamond door handles. Stupid and incredibly expensive, though."
"Impressive. Though, I still stand by my previous statement. This place has too much going on to really make it a vacation spot."
"I wouldn't stay here, either. My wallet couldn't take it. C'mon, let's go," Nick said, pulling Judy through the main doors. They were in too much of a hurry to read a sign that they practically bolted past.
Silently, the doors closed and Nick and Judy were locked inside.
They never noticed.
Instead, they were stunned by the organized chaos in front of them. There were hundreds of slot machines on the bottom level, but apparently, there just wasn't enough for every mammal. Each one had a line of gamblers behind it as they waited their turn.
And a camera locked itself on the couple.
There was a stair case beside them with a sign next to it that Judy read to herself. The next level above them, it informed her, consisted of only poker tables. The levels further up also specialized in their own thing.
It was a smart way of organizing things. If you are here for poker, for example, you won't get lost searching for them. An entire level of the casino was dedicated to just them. You just need to know which level they are on, and the signs tell you just that.
"C'mon, Cottontail. We have to take the stairs, with the elevators being worked on and all." He pointed to a corner of the casino where several workers and the elevators were. "Just remember, it'll be a long climb. The restaurant is on the top level." He was waiting on the stairs, having already taken a few steps.
They shouldn't have came here. This casino had a shady past, one that would keep any sane individual from visiting. Neither of them knew of it, though. The ZPD didn't even have anything on the place. Its owners were good at hiding their actions. "That's fine by me. So, I'm assuming you've been here before. What's on their menu?"
"That's a surprise. But don't worry your cute little tail. They have plenty of food for predator and prey alike." Zootopia has always been keen in supporting prey 'and' predator equally for the most part, not just one or the other. That may change soon, but at least it hasn't yet.
That idiotic Mayor wanted to ruin the very thing that made Zootopia what it was.
It took them several minutes to finally reach the top of the building where the restuaraunt was located. It was named, 'Growler's Perch,' and was surrounded by crystal clear glass that allowed its guests to look out upon much of the district.
No easy exit. The only one was the front door theh entered through.
It kept the look of the casino for the most part. Sandstone and obsidian made up most of the restaurant, but there were touches of blue and orange on the tables and the large chandeliers that hung overhead.
The smell of hundreds upon hundreds of different seasonings and spices swirled around the couple, and the sizzling of food rung in their ears. Cups clicked and clacked, forks scraped against ceramic plates and bowls, conversations mixed and rumbled, and a soft acoustic guitar plucked in the background.
It felt like a safe haven, in a way. No murmers of shock collars, and predator and prey were both eating here. Smiles were stuck on their muzzles and casually made conversation with each other as if nothing had happened, as if a little hare, who just so happens to be Mayor, isn't bringing back shock collars for predators.
After a moment, a tall cheetah, slightly taller than Nick, made his way over to the fox and bunny. With a curious eye, he led them to a table far in the back of the room, snug against a corner.
And the farthest away from the only exit in the entire restaurant.
It was somewhat private and they had a great view of the rolling sand dunes, the swirling dust lifted by the wind, and the city that stood proudly in the district.
"Hey, Nick... I just wanted to say thanks. I appreciate this." He smiled in return. "But, after today, we cannot waste time."
"I know, I know. I can't get it out of my head. But we need this. After this, no stopping." He winked.
"Good. We'll stop Keegan. You know that, right?" She reached her paw across the small table and laid it over her mate's.
"We are," he exclaimed proudly, "the best officers in Zootopia, after all.."
"Not the humblest, it seems," she grumbled with a hint of a smile on her lips. She knew he didn't have that big of an ego. Not really. He was still just joking around. But, in a way, it was quite true. Bogo regarded them with very high praise, much of it resembling what Nick had just said. They also had the best record out of any officer in Zootopia.
Nick smiled and looked out the absurdly large window pane. He could just barely see the moon. Black clouds blocked much of it. He didn't need to look at the menu. He knew exactly what he wanted. "Hey, Judy? They do have this great carrot casserole. You may like it."
"Because I'm a bunny?" She put a paw on her hip and stuck her tongue out at her best friend.
He smirked and simply said, "Yes," in a very mocking tone.
Judy looked at the menu with a exaggerated sigh. After flipping through two pages, she did see the casserole. It actually looked quite appetizing. It was served with a side entrée of fruits, and the main dish itself consisted of carrots, of course, with potatoes and various other vegetables. A yellow dressing smothered the veggies. Various spices and seasonings floated on top. There was also an added option to add her choice in cheese, but they would be charged an additional two dollars.
"How are you holding up? Honestly." Her voice was quiet and soft.
"You want the honest answer, or the one that'll make you feel better?"
"Nick… honest, please."
"Well, I'm scared out of my mind. He wants to kill predators, Judy, or at least oppress us to the breaking point. He won't stop at collars. I doubt that." She looked down and agreed with him in her head. "If we don't stop him, then he'll get just what he wants; a city without predators. Or, maybe with predator slaves. Who knows."
"He couldn't do that. He shouldn't be able to do any of this."
"But, Judy, he is. And no one, not even other nations across the ocean, have attempted to stop him yet. If I had a guess, I'd say they even support him."
"I don't understand it." She shouldn't have brought this up again. Today was supposed to be their last happy get-away before, as the saying goes, 'the shit hits the fan.'
That would happen sooner than they both expected, anyway.
"I'm a predator, remember? My kind are the ones who murdered and killed trillions of prey thousands of years ago. Longer than that, even. We were the cruelest of beings back then. Things are different now, but people remember the past."
Judy could only nod and squeeze her partner's paw for a moment before she could figure out what to say. "No predator would ever revert back to that. Not without an outside force forcing them to go savage again, such as Night Howlers, and they affect prey too."
"Not all prey know and believe that. There will always be a belief that predators can go savage at anytime." Judy had a brief flashback of that first press conference. The one where she nearly lost her best friend. "That we are naturally like this, even after hundreds upon hundreds of years of evolution that changed our… diets. I can't think about eating real meat without gagging, and most other preds can't either, but some prey just don't believe that." He paused. "And now, if we fail, predators will be killed and oppressed by the city we helped build."
"We won't fail. I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I lo-"
Their waitress scurried up to them, a hippo, and interrupted the couple. She could barely hide her disgust. "Are you Mr. Wilde and Ms. Hopps of the ZPD?" Both nodded yes in response. Things got tense all of a sudden. "Is it true that you two are dating? A predator," she spit, "and a prey, dating?"
Nick and Judy looked at each other and slowly stood up. They noticed the doors they entered through had closed. What was going on?
The hippo spoke again. "To think… the highest regarded officers in Zootopia are dirtier than just about any criminal they've ever arrested. Didn't you see the sign?"
"What sign?" Nick was about to run. So was Judy.
"At the front door. Any interspecies relationships, particularly between predator and prey, are not welcome here. And yet you walk in, paw-in-paw, with hearts in your eyes. We have our ways of dealing with disgusting, unnatural mammals like you." She grinned.
…..…..
Night Wolf here. I would just like to say something very quickly. I apologize for the delay. Life has a way of asserting itself and messing with people's plans and projects. I wanted to get this out much sooner, and I feel guilty for failing that. But, it shouldn't happen again. Hopefully. :)
And, just so you know, things will heat up in the following chapters. Mayor Keegan is trying to bring back shock collars, and Nick and Judy's relationship will feel the burden of those who believe their relationship is disgusting (which isn't, but some people are less accepting than others). This casino and restuaraunt is not alone in its beliefs. And, unbeknownst to Nick and Judy, it has a shady past. A past full of violence. How will they get themselves out of this mess? Ah… mild cliffhangers.
Side note: Once again, please forgive any spelling errors. This app doesn't let me know of any errors and it's possible for me to overlook them. Oh, I want Microsoft Word to functuon and perform properly again.
Well, that's all I have to say. Until next time! :)