AN:/ Sorry. That's all I have to really say in this Author's Note. We stayed longer than I first anticipated.
And I just got back home, when I promised I'd miss some updates for a day and a half. Now, it being more than three days later. -sigh-
Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy! :D
It wasn't raining. Hallelujah.
I expected humidity, and damp air. Well, I got that. Didn't expect all the... Nature.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love trees, and.. Bugs. Yeah. It's fine. It's not like every step I take, is complete slippery torture. "Guys... I hate the rain forest.. It's always so.. Wet, and heavy. And I am choking on air itself, here!" I whine, unable to control my baby-voice.
My baby-voice is a mix of hillbilly and cooing.
"Good grief, were you raised in a barn?"
"You know, people say that when someone keeps a door open, right? I see no doors, Nick."
"Peach. I meant your accent." Nick rolled his eyes, as I quickened my pace, hopping from one almost dry spot to another.
"For your information, I have two grandparents who live out in the country, who own a farm, and I visit them often!" I say, defending my country-background. I could see Judy look to us both out of the corner of my eye. I turn to her, as Nick turned to me.
"Really? My parents own a farm in Bunnyburrow, where I lived with my brothers and sisters." Judy says, smiling. I grinned back, playing with her ears. She slapped my hand away and tugged on my chain.
We were on our way to Manchas. About halfway there, we got lost.
So here we were, now, on the correct way to the jaguar. It had been awhile since I spotted a decent sized insect, so I was relatively calm. I didn't want to think too much, so I began talking.
"I now know the reason why this is one of the most least populated districts." I muttered, recalling Wikipedia and it's information on the districts themselves. "It's like an oven-hot tub mix." I make a disgusted face.
"Why do you talk so much, Peach?" Nick has asked, as we passed by a deep hollow, filled with dripping tree branches and vines.
"...I hate the silence." I reply, looking down. He had paused in what he was going to say, because he cleared his throat. He stayed silent.
Seriously?
Judy then nudged me, and pointed to a house, or an apartment. I think it was yellow.
"Oh! The really nice Jaguar-dudes place!" I say, pointing too. Judy chuckled as I ran over, smiling. I really liked Manchas' character. I thought he was adorable, and felt pity because he was so startled from the attack.
I waited for Judy and Nick to come over, and turned to Judy and gestured to the doorbell. "How about you do it? After all, you know Manchas'. He's familiar with you." Judy said, and I tilted my head. Well, okay then.
My nose twitched, and my 'ears' flicked. I turned to the door, and pushed away some vines.
Ringing the doorbell, I step back and look to the ground, as Judy spoke. "Mr. Manchas? Judy Hopps, ZPD. We just wanna know what happened to Emmitt Otterton." My eyes glazed over, and shook my head. Oh no.
This is where things get really serious from here on, don't they? I know.. I know it all ends well, but.. But being here, with them, it.. It feels so much more real. Much more nerve-wrecking.
I can feel my heart wrench at everything that will happen, so soon. I'll be there, in front of it all. Can't I change a thing?
"Vivian? Is that you?"
I gasped, and shot my head up. I now felt the pressure against my arm, and something wet dripping down my face. Looking around, I jolt, and pull my arm out of Judy's grip. I can't do physical comforting contact.
"U-Uh, ... W.. We-... Y-Yeah?" I ask, my voice shaky. Gazing up, I see the jaguar, and putting my hands behind my back, I step forward.
"Y..Yes?" I say again, trying to sound more casual.
"Are you alright?" He asks, concern clear in his tone. I held back a cough of embarrassment, from crying in public. "Of course! What gave you that idea? I'm completely fine! I was totally not crying, yeah, out of pure joy! And excitement! Woo!" I say, smiling crookedly, chuckling, swinging my arm. Then seeing his unchanging facial expression, I blink.
"Ah hah... Hah.. ..." I freeze, and my chuckling fades away. Feeling my ears lower, I hunch my shoulders.
"Sorry." I say, flicking my eyes side to side between his feet. Still no shoes.
"Vivi, its been 2 years, how could you even try to be sarcastic to your Uncle?" He sighs, and shakes his head. "Just like your father, you are..." He closes the door.
Oh, great. What did I miss this time?! And Uncle? HOW? He's a JAGUAR! I'm a FOX!
I then feel my fur stand on end, and start to step away. This part, no. Oh no. No. I remember. How could I forget? Why did I blank out?! It wasn't the time!
I could hear the lock, the metal. No.
Standing there, I heard Judy's voice, but couldn't register what she was saying. No...
I can do something. Right? Right? I can. I need to.
The gun loading echoed in my ears. From the movie, from real life. From this dream. My eyes squeezed shut. Why?
I cant do a thing. I shouldn't. Everything will be fine in the end. Like in all Disney movies. Its just hard to watch, and do nothing. You can do something, but you shouldn't.
I shuffled my feet, and shook my head. Clearing my mind, I needed to focus. This was going to get nutty.
There was a sound of something clattering, and the jaguar inside gasped in pain. Crap.
Judy grew confused and concerned. "Mr. Manchas?" She steps up and open the door, and we all see him squirming in pain. I froze, ears lowered. I grabbed Nick's wrist, and tugged on his arm. "Nick." He ignored me.
"Buddy?" He peered inside. I felt vulnerable, and cornered. The cuff against my wrist chaining me to Judy made my heart fall into my stomach. Dear Lord. "Nick!" I whisper-yelled, tugging his arm harder, trying to get his attention. "He-No-Alright, Let's-a go!" I say to both of them louder this time.
"Are you... okay?" Judy probes again, though turning to me slightly, furrowing her brows. I involuntarily latch onto Nicks arm, really wanting a teddy bear.
Manchas turns to us, his green eyes glinting, soon his pupils thinned into slits, and began growling. "LETS-A GO, NOW!" I scream, Italian accent ringing in my own ears, dragging a frozen Nick, with Judy at my side. "Run, run!" She yelled, knocking some sense into Nick.
"What is wrong with him?!" He asked, as we raced out of the house, the rain pelting me. I tripped over a root, I think, and fell to the ground. The cuff scraped against my wrist as Judy ran faster than I, and pulled me along just as the savage jaguar clamped down near my ankle, thankfully nawing on air.
"A-Ah! C-Carrots! OW!" I screamed, as she turned back, eyes wide.
"I.. I don't know!" She answered Nick, and grabbed the chain, and pulled hard, dragging me to them, as I landed in a heap. I scrambled to my feet, and ran with them again, rubbing my eye, trying to get the dirt and rain water out.
We reach the bridge, and were halfway, until Manchas' crazed chasing flung us around. I looked over the edge of the wooden bridge. I hesitated. "Jump!" Judy yelled, and the both went down. I was pulled over the edge, and screamed as I landed on Nick, he got up, and pulled me along, Judy running, dragging him. "Come on!" Being chased on the large branch that was below the bridge, we head into a log. A log?!
"Crawl, crawl!" Judy orders, ducking. I dive inside behind Nick, and remember about lowering my head. I speed up to in between Judy and Nick, and grab the back of his head, and force his head down. "Head down!" Judy says, as Nick and I continue to crawl, Manchas ripping apart the wood above us as she talks on her radio.
"Officer Hopps to Dispatch!" She yells. I groaned. There was no answer for awhile, and Judy kept yelling into it.
"Clawhauser! Clawhauser, listen to me, we have a 10-91! Jaguar gone savage! Vine and Tudjunga!" We exit the log, and keep running, with Manchas on our tails. Literally.
"It's Tujunga!" Nick corrects, as Judy slips and loses her grip on the radio, and it falls out of her hands, Clawhauser's voice ringing out as it fell down.
I swatted away leaves, as I see the Sky-trams. "There! Head to the Sky-Trams!"
I gasped as I felt something grasp onto my tail, and was pulled back roughly. "Ah!" I yell out, falling onto my torso, my paws having no grip on the wet wood. "C-Carrots!" I yell out, ears back, eyes wide. Judy turns to me, halfway to where Nick was at the gondola.
"Suzanne!" She yells out, and runs to me. One, the chain. Two, she was a police-bunny. Three, maybe we were friends?
I dug my claws into the wood, and tried to crawl away, as Manchas growled out at my attempt of escape. His grip on my tail tightened, and in my quick surprise, and to Judy's horror, he pulled and threw me to the side, and I crashed through an empty area of the fences surrounding the area. Screaming in fear, I tried to grip onto anything, but my 'fingers' fell short of the wood. I then choked in pain, as the cuff on my wrist dug so deep into my wrist it drew blood that ran down, through my -fur- on my arm and to my neck as I dangled from the side of the wooden dock.
"S-Suzanne... Are you alright?" I heard Judy's voice, as I felt the chain move. I winced.
"Let me think about it for a bit, okay?" I say, squeezing my eyes shut. I couldn't see a thing. This wasn't how the movie went. I have no idea what was going to happen. Nothing.
"Peach! Hurry! Grab on!" I looked up, to see Nick with wide eyes leaning over the edge, with his arm outstretched. I looked down to the abyss of sorts below me, then raised my other arm, not pulled above me, and reached out to Nick's paw.
"...Nick, I can't reach." I say, frowning at the inches in between my supposed rescue from a fall to the death. I wiggled my 'fingers'. Still no distance covered. The growling above had me freeze.
"Where's Judy?" I ask, my voice shaking. He didn't look back. Instead, he gripped onto the bar beside him, and reached down. I frowned, retracting my own paw. "Peach, come on, reach farther. You can do it."
"Where's. Judy." I ask, stern. "Stalling." He answered immediately. I narrowed my eyes. "She told me to pull you up while she distracted Manchas." He further explained with a strained voice, as he tried to lower himself without falling as well.
That is, until Manchas was seen hovering above the distracted Nick, and let out a hiss. Nick looked behind his shoulder, and away from my startled expression, and gulped. "What? I cant see! What?!" I ask, moving my head, trying to get a better look.
Then Nick decided the best thing to do, was slide off the edge, and fling his arms around, grasping onto me, as I tried not to screech in pain. "Nnggh-.. Ow.. Ow ow, oh ow.. Nick. Why." I ask, through gritted teeth, and wondered how Judy was doing with all this weight.
"Judy?" I call, and I heard a grunt, and some scratching noises.
"Y..Yeah?" She answers, obviously occupied. I stared out, and kept a straight face.
"Can you just send us off with a warning this time?" I say, smiling, holding a key in my right hand. Nick's eyes widened. "No! What are you doing- Peach!" He said, shaking his head side to side. "Suzanne, what do you- Wait, no! What do you think you're doing?" I then heard Judy, as Manchas grew angrier at not being able to catch the now cornered bunny.
He slowly began to cage in, and she sprinted under him, and ran closer to where Nick was, and stopping just beside him, gripped onto the bars that kept her from falling off at the weight of the foxes below her. Manchas was gaining, lowering himself further to the ground, ready to pounce.
I begin to unlock the cuff. "Peach.. No,- Stop it- Peach!" The desperate tone in his voice made me turn and glare at him. No. I am not supposed to change a thing. And if Judy got hurt, or if Nick cared this much, no.
"Stop what, Wilde?" I ask, raising an eyebrow, the key slowly turning. "We'll be fine. Don't sound so worried!" I say, slowly smiling. "I don't want you to die because of me." I add, staring up at Judy, and as if in slow motion, Manchas raced over, ready to pounce, just as the lock clicked. It seemed to echo.
The pressure of the metal digging into my skin faded, and I fell. The sound of someone screaming made my ears and heart numb.
This is all a dream. Right?
I peer around the edge of a tree. I giggled, and soon seeing the familiar grey, I quickly leaned back, covering my mouth to hide my giggles. Daddy wasn't going to find me! Like Momma said, I can blend in.
I crouched down when I heard crunching leaves. I turned around the other side, and looked to the side, trying to spot Daddy. Where is he?
"Boo!"
I yelled, and felt two big paws clamp down on my sides, lifting me up and above a furry head.
"Ah! No-! Daddy found me!" I yell out, between giggles, and he set me on his shoulder, spinning me around.
"Ahaha! Of course Daddy found you!" He says, laughing. I kick my back paws around, and he loosens his grip. I turn onto my back and shove my right foot into his cheek, giggling at his squished up face, before pouting.
"Hey! Momma said I blend in! Daddy just has super-vision. I told you not to use that this time!" I say, crossing my arms. He only smiled.
"Daddy's sorry. Will Vivi still play with Daddy?" The large red fox said, as he sat down with his daughter in his lap, gently patting down her matted fur atop her head.
He could see the baby fox think for a bit, before nodding her head, her large chocolate colored ears flopping a little.
"Yeah! Daddy's fun, and gives good hugs." She said, narrowing her large golden-brown eyes, turning to look up at her Dad. "Even if he's a cheater."
Chuckling, the adult fox started tickling the younger one, and as the two laughed, night slowly came over the Earth, and the sky darkened, as the leaves fell. The reds, browns, arm yellows, rare purples and some greens littered the floor of the world.
And the both of them were happy.
"Well, time for bed kiddo."
The blue crayon fell to the floor inside the living room, the dark brown flooring creaked as the sudden weight of the adult fox. "Aww!"
The random assortment of drawn on papers surrounded a young fox cub, the bow right above her left ear sparkled in the light, the dark gem in the middle glowed as she finished the small touches to her masterpiece.
"C'mon, you know Momma gets upset when her baby doesn't get good sleep." The older fox smiled warmly down at his daughter, who stood up and stumbled over to him, holding up a picture.
"Oh! Did you draw this?" He asked, leaning down to gaze over the poorly drawn picture of them both, in a pile of what he knew were leaves, but looked like brown and red rocks. She nodded enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah! It's you and me!" She pointed to the taller, then to the shorter scribbles.
"Yeah? Well it's really good. Now, let's go, quit stalling." Her father scolded, and the girl pouted, before getting picked up, as the taller fox went up the stairs, and through the hallway to her room.
Reaching a door at the far back to the right, he turned the knob and opened it with his foot, the cub in his arms smiling at the sight of her room.
He walked over, across the carpeted floor, and set her down on the blanketed bed, the night-light beside her made his smile weaken.
"Okay, goodnight kisses." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed, as the fox climbed over, and kissed his cheek, and he did the same to her, ruffling her oddly peach colored fur. Just like her mothers.
She crawled back under the covers, and snuggled in, smiling. She then gasped, and dug underneath the covers, and pulled out the picture she drew.
"Can you give this to Momma for me?" She asked, handing it to her father. He took it, and smiled. "Of course. Want to put your name on it?" He suggested, turning it over, showing the blank side.
The little one nodded, and her Dad got out one of his important pens from his shirt pocket, and gave it to her. She used her lap to write down on the back of her colored memory.
"Vi-Vi-An...Sa-Vage..."
She smiled, and handed the paper and pen back to her Dad.
"Goodnight, honey."
"Goodnight Daddy."
He gently closed the door after turning off the light. He put a paw to his temple, and shook his head. He stepped away, and walked to his own room. Flicking on the light, he peered inside.
The mess was enough to make him turn it off and walk to his bed in the dark. He sat on the right edge of the bed, and set his elbows to his knees. He put the drawing onto the nightstand beside him.
His paw nudged something, and he turned and picked it up.
The only remnant he had of his wife.
Her picture, framed and dusty. His paws shook as he placed it back. He stared down at them, and soon covered his face with them, body shaking as well.
He could never tell her.
He would never.
Through blackness, and green and black. I blinked once, everything a blur. Blinked twice, and the soft light and shine from the green blobs made my eyes squint. Blinked a third time, and my brain clicked.
I was sprawled out on a random branch, near the ground, felt constricted from the rope like vines hugging my arms to my torso. I shut my eyes. I shook my head, and regretted it. The pounding was storm-like.
My ears twitched. I heard something, like the wind. Although it grew louder. What is that? I opened my eyes hesitantly, and shifted my shoulders, turning my head slightly to the side, at the odd angle. There was this weird red splotch in the middle of the sky.
My eyes began to focus as the splotch began to move, before the sound came again. Closing my eyes once more, I raised an eyebrow in confused exhaustion. I heard a loud whirring, and the branch below me vibrated. I let out a breath, and soon felt a palm of sorts rest against my forehead, I winced at the sudden contact. I don't like physical contact. Go away.
"G.. Guh.. W'..Way.." A series of mumbles escaped my lips, as I tried to move the pressure away by wiggling my body to the left. "I don't think she likes you, Judy." Said a voice, familiar. Though it sounded sad.
My eyes squeezed even tighter shut, the voices loud. Too loud. "Their going to give her a dose of morphine, and when she's completely conscious, send her on her way." The softer, higher voice said, apparently ignoring what the first lower one had added. "Oh really? And who's going to go explain everything to Cheif Buffalo Butt if someone has to watch her?" The first voice asked, sounding smug.
"That's why your going to watch her."
"Wait, me?! Why do I have to?"
"Careful, I heard any dosage of morphine to a semi-conscious mammal can either turn really bad, or really funny." The voice began fading away.
Then there was silence. Then noticing the constraints for earlier were gone, I adjusted my position, and opened my eyes.
I groaned, and went to put a hand to my head, rubbing the sore spot beginning to grow on my skull, and slowly sat up, before getting pushed back down. "Hey, calm down there, peaches. You just fell over 4 stories. I think you need to rest." The first voice echoed in my ears. They flicked.
"I think I... Have rested enough." I muttered, slowly. I felt tired. I don't want sleep though. Before my eyes shot open, and I turned my head, and stared at the fox beside me.
I wasn't on the branch anymore. Heck, I was inside a police car. Where's the ambulance? Nick saw my surprised and confused look, and explained.
"They had you get checked out, and all you had was a small concussion and a cut tail." He said, pointing to my slightly bandaged head, and wrapped up tail. "Heh. Some feat." I grumbled, feeling like crap. He chuckled. "You'll be fine in about 30 minutes or so, the morphine dose was small too. So it won't be too bad."
I smiled at this, and snuggled into the seat, a fuzzy warm, safe feeling washing over me. I had this stupid grin on my face, as my eyes drooped. I felt so sleepy. Oh, the morphine.
"Good. I still want to go with you guys.. It's really fun n' stuff." I sigh, rubbing my eyes lazily. "God, your just as slow as Flash." He laughed, and from his spot at my side inside the police car, he stared out at the window. "I have to babysit you, which isn't fun when your not talking." He rolled his eyes at my scoff.
"Mm, yeah. Your a cool babysitter though." I say, giggling uncontrollably now. He turned to look at me, as I sat up, cross-legged, swinging my body side to side, with a tired look on my face.
The morphine was kicking in. "Oh! And your really funny. And adorable, like when you had the shocked face when Judy hustled you. It was so funny! I wanted it as a wallpaper." I giggle, now hugging my legs. He looked shocked. Adorable?
"Oh. Really?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. I nod with a serious face, eyes still droopy though. "Uh huh! I love your personality. You act so sly and uncaring on the outside, because you don't want to get close to anyone, and don't want anyone to get close to you. Because the world sucks and believes stereotypes. Because they judge you as a shifty and untrustworthy fox." I grew a sad look.
"On the inside, you're still a scared, but kind fox. You're still the 'you' you have always been, no matter how much you try to hide it. Because you are so much more than that." I copy Judy, remembering their conversation in my hazed mind. It made my smile widen.
"And that's what I love about you." I say, nodding my head at my own words, smiling warmly, though in a silly way up at Nick."You're awesome!" I giggle, clapping my hands softly.
He is one of my favorite characters in Zootopia. Of course I said something like that in my drowsy state.
He didn't say a word, only patted my head, and sighed. Though he was grinning like a total dork. I didn't notice, because I was already fast asleep, curled up close to the other door.
It changed something though. I didn't mean for it to, I really didn't.
When he left, to go check on Judy, and stop Chief Bogo from taking Judy's badge. As they waited for the peach-furred fox to wake up, Judy noticed the smile on her friends face.
"Hey Nick? Whats up? You look happy. Everything go well with Suzanne?" She asks, tilting her head to look up at the dazed fox. He hummed and looked down at the bunny beside him, only to blink rapidly and shake his head.
"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine. Everything went fine." He said, acting casual now. Too casual. Judy squinted her eyes.
"Okay. What did she do?" Nick turned to Judy, and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, "What did she do?""
"Exactly what I mean, 'What did she do'! To you! Your acting like you're on cloud nine." Judy exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips, as they waited for the fox, now laying on a bench by the Sky-Trams, and for a gondola.
Nick scoffed, and rolled his eyes. "You're looking too deep into it, Fluff." Judy raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? So there's something?" Judy chuckled, and secretly took out her carrot pen, and waited to click it on.
Nick's eyes widen at his mistake, and groaned, slumping his shoulders. "Would you just get off my case, Carrots? If you want to wake her up, go ask the peach some questions."
Judy smirked, and shrugged. "Okay. I will." She walked over to the half-asleep fox. She tapped her shoulder, and the fox turned around a little to look up at the bunny at her side from the corner of her eye.
"Nn? Judy? What..." She groaned, sitting up, rubbing her eyes.
Judy put her hands behind her back, and stood straight. "Miss Daniels, this is an interrogation. What do you think of Nicholas Wilde?"
The fox stared at her with squinted, sleepy eyes. "Uh..." The fox started, and Judy took that time to turn the pen on. "Well, he's funny. Uhm.. His ears are adorable. And his tail is so~ fluffy!" She giggled, the morphine clearly leaving her body as her eyes stopped glazing over. And Judy had most of what she needed.
"Do you like him?"
She gasped, and put a hand to her heart, a sarcastic glint in her tired eyes. She held back a scoff. "Why, how dare you even ask such a question! Of course I like him, silly! How can I not?" She giggled, closing her eyes mid-grin. Judy nodded, and clicked off her pen.
"Alright. That is all I needed. You can go back to waking up now." Judy said, turning back to Nick who was right behind her, reaching for the pen. He froze.
Judy raised both eyebrows, and had a sly grin on her face. "Oh.. Do you want this, Nick?" She waved it in the air. His eyes followed it, before he relaxed his leaned over position, and shrugged. "Pff. No. I just remembered you still have my recording." He defended, staring straight at Judy, his face impassive.
She clicked it on, and the sound of it rewinding had his ears flicking.
"His ears are adorable. And his tail is so~ fluffy!" She fast-forwarded it. Nicks ears lowered slowly. "Of course I like him, silly! How can I not?" They began to turn a dark shade of red, the ends looking black instead of dark brown.
"Yeah... I don't need you to tell me. I already know." Judy says, smirk growing. Nick frowned, and rolled his eyes.
"And the worst part is, I don't think she meant it in the way you thought. Pretty sure you realized that earlier, too." Judy adds, walking to the end of the Sky-Tram, where I was, rubbing my eyes.
I hadn't heard a thing, and couldn't remember if the color orange was actually just an embarrassed yellow.
So of COURSE I missed ALL of what just transpired between the two mammals.
AN:/ Jee. This is a crappy chapter. I'm trying to slow the plot down, and not make the chapters as long and fast-paced as they usually are. This is what I got.
Sorry! I legit just got back, and all I had time for was this before they send me away again. My updates may be a bit slower, but I can manage the usual daily schedule after a few days.
I really wanted OC-chan to kick and bite her way into their hearts. And Judy is actually friends with OC-chan, and I hope to make longer and heart-to-heart convo's with them both.
Oh! And The past scene, is when OC-chan is knocked out.
If you're confused about what exactly happened, Suzanne knew of the vines, and managed to catch Nick in them. Judy had fell down after them to escape Manchas. So the both of them went where they were supposed to, and Suzanne fell there as well, but instead of getting caught, she twisted and broke free, having most of the one that caught her mid-fall fell with her, and tangled her up. She landed onto the branch, not as hard, but still a good fall that gave her the concussion.
So, yeah. I may try to add in different POVS. I'm not too bad at them. But I tend to drag. :3
Thanks for reading! ^^ And have a good rest of the day/afternoon/night/morning!