Author's Note:
I feel like I have slowly ebbed away from Nick's humorous side because of some of the serious subject matter so as he's getting over some of the darker things that he's been through, expect to see a little bit of that playful fox to reemerge! Thank you, everyone, for your well-wishes and concern. Things were getting better, slowly as they do, and then I immediately lost my job (laid off). I am getting back into the swing of things, but I was too down to really write for a while.
If you are just joining Guardian Blue for the first timeyou will want to check out Season 1 first, and I would highly recommend Thanks for the Fox before that as well so everything makes sense. ^^
It's obvious that Disney would have never green-lit that last chapter, whoo. So I am doing this series for fun and for the enjoyment of others, even if some of the situations are not completely safe for a family gathering.
Also! A HUGE shout-out to J. N. Squire for assisting with editing for Season 2! I have a tendency to add superfluous details and he is good about spotting them. I think having him as an editor will slowly increase the strength of my own writing as well!
Guardian Blue: Season Two
Episode 13: River
"And you're sure they're rare?" Skye asked warily, looking up and down along the banks of the slowly moving, and sharply winding river. The walk down the long and meandering path from the village to nearly the base of the mountain where it was located had been a fairly quiet one. Judy was mostly focused on Nick to make sure he was doing alright. Aside from having more trouble going downhill with his healing leg than climbing up, he was keeping up just fine. Skye added softly, in a mutter, "I can just imagine them around every bend. It's not a good headspace for me."
"Motti sees two her whole life," she answered quickly, obviously caring about how nervous the lady fox was. "Buibui is very not common far from the caves on the other side of this mountain. They only sometimes come out. River is more dangerous. Worry about river."
"What?" the vixen asked with trepidation.
"Thanks for that," murmured Jack as he had just finished loading their belongings into the wide, modern inflatable raft. Judy had actually expected they would be loading into a primitive canoe or trying to pack everyone onto a wooden raft. She scolded herself for forgetting that these mammals liked being away from the city and excluded from the busy lifestyle of the urbanites, but that didn't mean they hated everything modern. It was especially sensible that they would prefer the safest means of travelling on a river that clearly carried some risks.
Nick expressed his curiosity about those dangers as he asked, "While we are on the river, what should we be looking out for?" He helped Motti push the tan and red raft into the water in the lazy, shallow part of the river.
"Just stay in the raft," she answered. "Then, nothing is there to worry you."
"I can do that," Jack offered, jumping deftly into the inflatable raft from the side of the river.
"Will do." Skye added, hopping in less gracefully. Judy and Nick both climbed in, with Motti getting in last. She picked up one of two paddles that were lashed to the inside wall of the raft. Skye grabbed the other one and assisted on the opposite side. She seemed naturally inclined to just do things, Judy noticed. Skye seemed pretty high-energy where Nick assuredly was not.
"Would you believe I've never been in one of these?" Nick asked.
"We did a water rescue exercise in one, didn't we?" Judy asked. She sat down toward the back of the raft, actually impressed with the size of it. Travelling like this, despite it being a little warm, didn't seem so bad. It certainly was a new adventure she could talk to her family about. They didn't seem tired of the stories of her usual day-to-day work, but this was altogether different!
Nick answered curtly, "You got to be in this type of boat, remember they paired me with Francine for that exercise."
"Oh that's right. Francine in this thing would not go well," Judy mused. "I forgot, they had you on that hovercraft thing."
"I wanted to be in the raft. That thing was so loud!" Nick said as he sat down beside his bunny. Judy took a moment to just enjoy the natural splendor. They were in something of a valley. The much larger of the two mountains was the one they had just walked down for over an hour. The river did not appear overly deep, and the water was brown with lifted sediment. It was pretty wide, but definitely winding with the busy topography of the region. Even as the raft moved at a decent pace with the current, Judy wondered if they saved much time winding down this tangled stream of a river.
"How's your paw doing?" Jack asked, leaning forward a bit. Judy inspected it as well when Nick held it up. It looked pretty normal.
The red fox answered casually, "It's kind of tight still, opening and closing it, but it doesn't really hurt now. Thank you again, Motti."
The hyena smirked somewhat playfully at Nick. "Loud, crying foxes I can't suffer. Too noisy. I help make Janga be more quiet. Is better for Motti ears." Motti finally stopped paddling, the white vixen following her lead and stopping as well. Nick pouted at Motti and leaned against Judy. The bunny furtively glanced up to him, but he didn't seem upset, just comfortable. It was likely that it wasn't really necessary to hide their relationship a lot from Motti since it would have been suspected given Skye's previous comment about them.
The reason that the pair stopped paddling became pretty apparent a few moments later. The river moved them rather slowly as they got out of the sheltered part of the bend they had stored the raft. It wasn't really necessary to paddle anymore, as they could just float. This seemed to suit Nick and Skye fine in that specific moment. They just scooted up close to their respective smaller lover on opposite ends of the raft and more or less scooped them up and held them, as if protecting them from the risk of being snatched out of the raft.
Judy fidgeted a little, worried that that it counted as a public display of affection and they were both technically at work. Then it occurred to her that there was not likely to be anyone else to witness it, and it wasn't likely they were going to hide it from Motti. She was more surprised at how freely Jack and Skye enjoyed the cuddling on the lazy raft ride, however. It was the first time Judy had seen them really hold one another in front of anyone but her and Nick. Motti watched up and down the river for a while, not really minding her passengers for the first few minutes, but when her gaze finally fell on them, her ears went down as she wore an expression of immediate confusion.
"You okay?" Jack asked casually. He had to know what was on her mind, of course. Even Jack would understand that expression.
The hyena answered in a slow and even tone, "I was feeling maybe that my thinking earlier was surely wrong, and Judy's secret was not what I thought it was. But, it seems everyone in the raft has secret."
"Oh, it's not a secret in this boat right now," Skye answered. "I'd go crazy if I had to spend the entire trip unable to do this…" With that she parted her muzzle and squeezed a point at the base of Jack's neck with her teeth. His eyes rolled back and he spread his light grey lapine toes wide. He was likely already hot with the form-fitting black shirt and canvas pants he was wearing.
The buck gasped out, "Skye, I said she could know, not that we'd demonstrate!" He squirmed a bit, as if trying to get away from her embrace, only to have the arms tighten around him possessively. Motti cupped her muzzle with her paw.
Nick asked sleepily, "So, that's a dynamic that you were maybe not expecting?"
"This is normal in the city then, yes?" the hyena asked.
"Not so much," Judy said firmly. She felt a little more relaxed that Motti was not irritated by it, just surprised. The doe was still trying to slowly gauge how others might react if it became public knowledge. It would eventually become public knowledge. Judy knew they could not just hide it forever.
"But here are two bunnies and two foxes." Motti said.
Nick answered softly, stroking Judy's ears reassuringly. "We've all been through a lot together. You can't stop the kind of friendship and bonds that form through all of that. Judy's really an amazing bunny." There was so much pride in Nick's voice that it left his grey bunny completely speechless.
Skye spoke up as if cued, "I just think small mammals are adorable, but I also love stripes, so my options were extremely limited." Her tone was playfully smug.
"Hey!" Jack cried, flattening his ears.
"You know she loves you Squeaker," Nick laughed.
Skye blurted out, "One time, Nick dressed his best friend, Finnick, like a little girl so they could sell-…"
"Sorry! Sorry! I surrender!" Nick cried. Judy stared wide-eyed at Nick. She really wanted to know the rest of that.
Motti waved a paw in distraction. "You say you have been through much, I remember… Janga say he went to Hell. Did this really happen?" she asked.
"Yes." Jack and Skye answered in unison before Judy could answer in the negative.
"I should explain," Judy sighed.
"Yes," Motti proclaimed, looking more than a little unnerved.
"She's made a hobby of bringing foxes back from the dead." Nick said frankly.
"Nick!" Judy exclaimed. He shouldn't say stuff like that. This hyena might be highly superstitious, and if she was that would stress out Motti.
"Foxes? More than one?" Jack asked. Judy held up her paws, seeing a deepening look of concern forming on the hyena's face.
"Nick's mother, remember?" Skye explained to Jack, "Judy brought Nick's mom back. She told me about that." Judy shook her head. They needed to stop talking. Motti had gone from concerned-looking to alarmed.
"Oh yeah! I can't believe I forgot that," the stripped lapine said, nodding. Judy looked back and forth between the two and then back to Motti.
"I didn't really…" Judy tried to think of the best way to quickly diffuse what that all sounded like.
Motti cried, "How do you forget that Shetani brings foxes back from the dead?!"
Nick intervened. "My mom wasn't really dead, she was just lost. I thought she was dead." He obviously did not mind spooking this poor grieving hyena. Judy made a mental note to extra-strength scold this fox later.
"She really did dig down to 'Hell' to get Nick back, though." Skye said. "I know. I helped her get there." Judy snapped a panicked look to the white fox. She was helping Nick? Unacceptable!
Motti's voice was hollow, as if she were in a bit of shock. "You are really her then. Sungura ya Shetani. Like the story. What has Motti gotten into?" she asked, her voice changing pitch to show obvious distress.
"It's okay, Motti, I'll explain," Nick said in a kind tone. Judy was going to get this fox back for this so bad later.
"I beg you!" Motti exclaimed.
"In Zootopia, where Judy and I work as police officers…" Nick began, slowly pulling Judy back up against him. She melted a little in his arms. She would get him back later. She wanted to be held. Especially given what her fox had started talking about. He continued, "Carrots and I were chasing a very dangerous suspect. He used a kind of poison to make elephants go crazy so they would attack and hurt other mammals in a park," he explained.
"What was he?" asked Motti.
"Quite certainly insane," Judy answered quickly. This was not a 'this kind of creature did it' moment. She worked hard now to avoid that kind of implication.
"A deer." Skye answered unhelpfully.
"Larger than Shetani, yes, and you chased?" asked the hyena. Judy put her ears back. That should not have surprised her; she knew Judy didn't back away from a fight with larger mammals by firsthand experience. Judy glanced out at the thick, surrounding forests, trying to consider better ways to discuss that element without ever really making an implication. She was aware how hard it was to be a sheep in Zootopia for a while after the Bellwether thing. She had to break up a lot of fights in those early weeks of the trials.
"Yes," Nick resumed, "We chased him for a pretty good distance, and he became desperate. He grabbed a little wolf girl. I would guess she was about five or so. He dragged her into the underside of the city where the pipes and conduits and everything are. It's a pretty dark and scary place." Nick explained.
"He took a cub? Why?" asked Motti. Her tone made it obvious that she considered that unthinkable.
Nick answered, "Hostage. He told us if we didn't jump off of a walkway above this kind of underground river... from way high up… he'd throw her over." Motti gasped loudly at that. Nick kept talking. "Spoiler… If we had jumped we'd have died, so we obviously didn't jump. We tried to talk to him, to reason with him. He was just so filled with hate and anger. But he lost patience with us and threw the girl over the side anyway."
"No!" Motti exclaimed. Judy suddenly felt rather worse telling her the true story about getting Nick from Hell. It was very revealing about what kind of monsters existed out there to find out this was what really happened.
Judy interjected to try to calm her. "Nick jumped over the rail and caught her just in time. Her caught the little wolf cub. He saved her. I went and got the girl first while Nick was hanging on to a part of the walkway. I moved her to safety and went to help Nick… but…"
"The walkway broke. I fell. It was so far." Nick said sadly. Motti recoiled a little, seeming fearful of the result despite the fact that the fox was sitting right there before her on a nice, lazy raft ride. The red vulpine continued, "I hit the water and got immediately sucked under, down into a pipe. I went through like… a mile of pipes, down into one of the deepest parts of the city. It was dark, smelled like death, and is full of loud, hot furnaces. Oh, and there's no way out."
"Hell," Motti said darkly.
"As close as the living can get to it," Nick responded, "I broke my leg in the fall into that place. I had no food and just horrible, dirty water. I was down there for days and days and days. The whole city gave up looking for me." This story had the hyena absolutely transfixed. "The day before my funeral, Carrots found someone who said they knew where I might have ended up because of exactly where I fell. And she followed that lead, hoping just to reclaim my body, but she found me alive just in time." Motti sat in the raft, speechless.
"Wait," Skye interrupted, "So, I never found out who gave Judy the location. You'd think that person would be soaking up the attention after giving information that critical."
"Duke Weasleton." Nick said with disdain. Judy gritted her teeth. Duke was a confidential source in this. Nick was far too open with the other bunny and fox!
Skye exclaimed, "Wait, the guy that sold me those fake "Roach" sunglasses?!"
"The one and only." Judy said, not even having to ask Nick if that's who she meant. It sure sounded like Duke.
"Huh…" Skye murmured, "I wonder if that's why he went legit?"
"Wait, what?" Judy asked.
"Your conversations need fences." Motti stated flatly.
"We really do have a lot going on sometimes." Jack explained.
"How did Duke go legit?" asked Judy.
Skye shrugged a bit and said, "I hadn't seen one of his stands out on the road in a while, so I asked if someone finally ate him for selling them fake stuff, and the girl who sells the paw-fashioned silk flowers, she said he works for an insurance company now, helping them research fraudulent claims."
"Huh…" Judy said.
"Everyone needs to try very hard to stay in the boat." Motti interupted.
"I remember that you said that." Jack stated, looking up at her. "I think we've got it under control."
"Is about to be more relevant," the spotted female added. As the raft cleared the next rather sharp bend in the river, a stretch of river quite some way ahead caught everyone's eye. Rapids. They actually looked pretty treacherous. Judy moved a little more toward the center of the boat. Skye grabbed a paddle.
"You are too easily distracted!" Jack said to the hyena. "You could have warned us about this!"
"You are very distracting!" Motti laughed, putting her paddle in the water to keep the raft heading straight as it began to speed up.
"I find him very distracting!" Skye laughed. Motti laughed at that as well.
"Are you serious? Now?" Jack asked in exasperation.
"Come help, Jack!" Skye barked excitedly. "You did rapids in the movies! The Great North, remember?" Skye asked.
"A big tub, an agitator and a green-screen, Skye!" Jack said loudly.
"Aw, you ruined the magic!" Nick grumbled.
"I wanted to do the real thing but our insurance carrier wouldn't hear of it!" Jack replied back.
"Jack is not an officer? He is an actor?" asked Motti.
"Yep!" Skye chimed. The raft pitched suddenly, getting a frightened squeak out of Judy.
"Hold on tight!" Nick called to her unnecessarily.
"What is Skye?" Motti asked.
"I fix things that break in the apartment where I live," Skye said calmly as she put her paddle in the water. "I've seen plenty of videos of rafting, and I'm a visual learner, I think I can do this." Water splashed over the front of the group, soaking Nick and Judy in the back, and somehow leaving Skye and Motti both dry in the middle. Jack jumped to the center.
"All this stuff's gonna get soaked, careful!" the buck shouted.
"I thought all of you worked for the ZPD!" Motti stated loudly as the raft began to list much more heavily in the uneven flow. The roaring of the rapids made it so she had to yell. "So, before this gets crazy, you never mentioned what happened to the terrible deer who threw the little girl!" Judy seized up a little, but was too involved getting herself into a better braced position to intervene in time.
Skye, who was obviously excited about the 'adventure' that she was so eager to experience, just blurted out the simple, established, everyone-in-Zootopia-knew-it fact.
"Judy killed him!" she yelled. She then immediately appeared to regret saying it, as if she had simply forgotten that her bunny friend was actually present in the raft. The bunny glared at Skye to make it clear she did not like that particular subject, even if she didn't really lament what she did. Motti, however, was surprised enough that she fumbled her paddle, nearly losing it into the water. She recovered it and focused on keeping the raft straight. She veered as needed from larger rocks and the like. It looked like Motti likely did this trip pretty frequently, but the reason the village did not check on her family every day was pretty apparent. This was still pretty dangerous!
"She had to!" Nick clarified. He was quick to his bunny's aid. "He didn't just run off after I grabbed the girl, he was trying to kick me and her off the walkway. He'd have killed us both if Judy didn't do something!" He lurched a bit, holding on. Judy hadn't realized how violent being in a raft could be, but she literally had to be snatched out of the air by Nick as the rubber craft fell suddenly down at a low point in the rapids. The water was really going fast at this point. That splash got everyone too. The doe genuinely feared the boat might fill with water. Could an inflatable raft sink in rapids like this? She had no idea.
The next few moments really wiped every bit of conversation out of Judy's mind. She had considered trying rafting with Angela once before she joined the academy, but she had a test to study for and opted out. Angela said that the experience had been boring. Judy bet the river her sister had been on was nothing like this! There was hardly a moment for nearly twenty minutes that Judy did not absolutely believe she was going to die. She was held by Nick who held ropes that ran along the inside edge of the raft.
Skye mostly helped with the paddle to keep the boat straight, holding the rope with another hand. Motti didn't seem to hold onto a thing, completely focused on keeping their frantic party from smashing huge rocks that littered the swift-moving river-bed. Judy didn't know how much of that task was shared between Skye and the more knowledgeable hyena, but they did stay straight. If they had been spinning and lurching, Judy was sure everyone would have gone out of the boat. Their pack was tied down already so it was safe, and Jack was tenaciously clinging to the bags. While it looked pretty comical, it was an effective way for him to stay safe.
It seemed like every time they went into a bend the river started to calm, only to go crazy again on the other side. Judy would get her hopes up and have them dashed like so many times they nearly were on the rocks. Twice more the bunny was nearly cast up out of the boat, losing hold of the rope on the side both times. She was caught immediately by her protecting fox. He was instantly pardoned for messing with Motti. The bunny cherished her fox and his predatory reflexes. Overlooking the fact that he was naturally inclined perhaps to snatch escaping bunnies, he was the best partner she could ask for right then!
They finally got past the section of river that was so deadly. It was still moving pretty swiftly, but it wasn't violent. A little past that, as the water slowed, Motti slowly guided the raft to a sandy beach-like bend in the river. The trees were pretty dense behind it, but Judy was able to see some kind of sign or marker there which likely marked where they were supposed to stop. Everyone got out, squeezing water out of clothing, shaking off, and making sure all of them were okay.
They pulled the raft pretty far up the bank, as Motti mentioned flash floods could come without notice and sweep it away. It was a pain to move it, but they got it up and stowed. Nick took a turn shouldering the pack, as Skye had carried it down to the raft from the village. Soon, the five were on a new trail, a bit wider than the one that led to the village. It was apparent by the shape and size of the trail that carts used to be brought down with rock or gold to waiting rafts on the river. With the mine closed, and with the gold having long since run out, the trail had grown up a bit, but was still very easy to follow. The walk was quiet for a bit, as if everyone forgot anything they had been talking about. Judy felt odd, like someone had said something wrong, or that maybe Motti was upset that she'd killed a deer. She looked at the hyena, but Motti was just being alert, watching up and down and along the sides of the trail.
Judy felt like someone would eventually notice Motti's attentiveness and ask what she was looking for. Then Skye would have to learn about some kind of terrible specifically-white-fox-munching beast that could be lurking behind any of those trees. Judy decided to head that disaster off and bring up some small talk.
"So, Motti… You said Shetani was from a story. Can you tell us about that?" The hyena looked back and shrugged, nodding.
"Yes, I can say," she said calmly, "It is very old story. Older than my village, even."
"Oh my God yes, please let's hear this." Jack sped up a little ahead of his suddenly irritated-looking vixen. "I have wanted this since I got here. The old stories are worth more than all the gold in that mine to me."
"Let me know if you need me to hold your tongue, Jack," Skye huffed. Judy looked back, but the fox was smirking, so perhaps she wasn't really mad.
"The story of Sungura ya Shetani... it is a little different in some villages. In ours, the way it's told is that before the stars were born, the sky above was an inky black." Jack made a happy squeak, making it obvious that this really was exactly what he wanted to hear. Skye rolled her eyes. "Under the cover of darkness, there were those who would do evil. They would steal. They would sneak and hurt, and no one was safe. The moon stood watch, but she could not watch all the time, she must sleep. When she would return, she would find the smaller mammals of the world afraid and unhappy. Most of the young, to this day, are afraid of the darkness."
Skye interrupted, "You do know how the phases of the moon actually work, don't you, Jack?" She sounded frustrated.
"Yes, I know. Please, go on." Jack stated, giving the hyena his undivided attention. Judy saw an unmistakable look of irritation from the white vixen. Did she have some reason for genuinely hating folklore?
"Uh… Okay, so, anyway, the moon conjured a protector for the night. A bunny, swift and strong, she could move quietly through the dark and watch over the world."
"Why a bunny?" Jack asked with a healthy portion of obvious self-interest.
Motti answered slowly, "…so as not to be frightening to the innocent. Kits and cubs should never fear Shetani, she does not come for them. She protects children most of all, and the most terrible punishments are for those who would hurt them. All those who would commit harm are captured by her, and they are taken to Hell." Suddenly, Judy had a sneaking suspicion why some of the story Nick told her set off Motti the way it did. She 'sent someone to hell' for attempting to harm a child.
"Okay," Judy said, falling into step on the other side of Motti, "…so I get some circumstantial reasoning for why you'd call me that now, after you heard more about me, but why did you name me that basically right after we met?" Judy asked. The name made plenty of sense with other things considered, but right away it seemed a bit unfair. She started calling her that before she knew any of the other stuff.
"It was the ears," Motti said bluntly.
"My ears?" she asked.
"Did Shetani have uneven ears?" Nick asked. Suddenly, the red fox was back on her 'to be scolded' list.
"What? No," Motti stated, "The black tips. Shetani was grown from the dark, starless sky, from the ears down, so her ears were black. So… yeah. You looked the part. And she was fearless. Most bunnies are unwilling to come out to the jungle like this, but Shetani here, she fights buibui beside Motti. Shetani does not fear the wild, they say. She becomes the wild."
"I could see that in the future." Jack said, smirking. Judy gave an embarrassed groan. Someone else on the list. She and Nick hadn't even been dating that long. Still, it was probably aimed more at Nick, given his insistence on referring to Jack with the last name 'Frost'.
It was Nick who actually spoke next. "Had I known there was a story like this, I would not have joked around about the other stuff," he stated, panting a bit from carrying the pack.
"So let me get this right…" Jack sped up again, turning to face Motti as he spoke. "Sungura ya Shetani was a rabbit… with black-tipped ears… She was a protector and an enforcer of law, who was unafraid and strong. She locks up bad guys and protects the innocent, and would send folks to hell for harming a kit? I'd gonna call it. Spooky. My vote is spooky. Everybody vote." He grinned.
"Oh come on, really?" called Skye from behind Nick.
"You can't ask for a better uncanny story than that! That's solid!" Jack exclaimed.
Skye growled a bit and sped up, moving alongside the striped bunny. "You can't believe that kind of camp-fire nonsense story like it's a physics text-book, Jack!" Judy cringed a little at that and regarded the curious-looking hyena whose culture was being lashed out at. She didn't really seem to care.
Jack stopped walking, standing, facing the fox. "Obviously I won't be disregarding what I know about astronomy because the story said rabbits come from the starless sky, but that doesn't keep me from enjoying the beauty and symbolism of these old tales, and they always have some grain of truth and unique origin in them. And maybe, just maybe, a little bit of honest magic can be found in them. There's not a bit of harm in enjoying that. I like it," he said in an honest and earnest tone.
Skye flailed a little. "There's all kinds of harm in believing that, Jack, because it's not true. You can't let someone tell you something that's not true and just… ignore that you are being lied to! Mammals were being told all kinds of stuff about foxes and other predators and they could have checked and known it was all fear-based misinformation! But they were willing to believe it so long as it came from someone they respected. It's harmful to tell anyone, especially kids, a story without prefacing that it's just a story. I don't mind that it's their culture, but why would you need there to be magic when you know that there's just… not?"
"Maybe I want there to be magic," the striped bunny said in a little darker tone. Judy could tell he was starting to get upset. Judy also knew that they were both getting very tired and were hot and frustrated and not really trained to deal with it.
Judy spoke up, trying to diffuse it. "There's nothing wrong with that. And there's nothing wrong with preferring to be grounded entirely in reality."
"No, no." Jack said, "There is a problem. Why can't I believe in magic? Why is it wrong for me to want that?" The striped buck crossed his arms, glaring at the vixen. She crossed her arms and glared back.
"Magic is for little children who don't know how the world works. Grownups who believe in it just don't want to know how the world really works, and self-imposed ignorance can be genuinely dangerous! I know you're better than that, Jack. You're brilliant. Don't waste that on wanting a thing that's just… not," she insisted.
Jack put his ears down, a sour expression on his face. Motti watched back and forth between them quietly. The buck murmured softly, "So your issue… is that magic… that these stories… cause people to mistreat others, maybe foxes… because it teaches them to just accept things they are told and doesn't teach critical thinking. Any kind of belief in non-real things is an invitation into believing anything anyone says?" he asked.
Skye smiled a bit at that, seeming relieved. "Yes! Yes, you do understand that! That's my problem with it!" The vixen nodded emphatically. Judy sighed. Maybe that understanding would be enough to end this argument. She did not like seeing the only other fox and bunny couple at odds. Jack and Skye were a source of encouragement for her.
"So tell me something, Skye…" Jack stepped up closer to her and she leaned down, happily nose to nose with him, ears up and alert. "I happen to know a story you like… I know you like it because you have it, it's the only fiction story on your shelf." She looked puzzled. "So you tell me… how you can say my belief in something fictitious is harmful to foxes when you, and about any other fox I know, insist on assigning unrepentant hero worship to some imaginary dark-aged thug?" For a second, Judy wasn't sure what he was talking about, but she saw that smile instantly vanish from Skye's face. A second later, Judy realized what he was talking about and it stunned her to silence.
"Jaaaaack." Nick said in a dark, warning tone.
"No. You tell me, Skye, how my hoping that there's magic is as harmful to foxes as their own insistence on loving a fake historical figure. One who is, by so many reputable accounts, the very basis for all the crap foxes are accused of being. Low, skulking, cunning, untrustworthy, anarchist thieves." Judy was just not close to the pair enough to do anything to stop the inevitable.
There was a solid thump as Skye tackled her striped buck so hard they both sailed back about ten feet. Jack hit the ground hard enough that he was winded, particularly since Skye landed on top of him. She looked furious, both paws on his shoulders, gripping tightly with her claws. The pinned rabbit, struggling to take a breath, looked absolutely horrified as he stared up at the vixen looming over him. Nick bolted over toward them. Judy was only a couple steps behind, afraid that she was actually going to have to physically prevent Skye from beating the buck senseless.
Before Nick even reached her, however, Skye's expression suddenly changed. She looked suddenly frightened and ashamed. She jumped back, landing on her tail, scooting back some more. Jack remained where he was. His jaw was moving a bit as he tried to breathe. He was managing it finally, and started coughing. Skye scrambled to her feet and just bolted back in the direction they had come from. Judy cupped her muzzle. Skye didn't want to do that, and she was upset. She wasn't safe just running around here alone! This was a huge problem. Nick helped Jack sit up, slapping his back a little, trying to get the buck un-winded.
Judy's partner looked up with a bit of irritation. "Carrots, go after her! You're faster than me right now. I'll fix this mess here." Judy groaned a bit. They did not need this! If Skye got lost they would miss their flight back to Zootopia. This mission was going poorly to start with, but now it was a disaster! The bunny ran as fast as she could, hoping to catch up to Skye before she could get far or hurt herself somehow in her panic. And there was still hope, more brittle now, but just as urgent in her heart, was that she hadn't just watched their friends' love snuffed out in anger.