-Nick and Judy's Aardvark Rise Apartment-
"I keep falling down, I keep on hitting the ground; I always get up now to see what's next!" Judy Wilde-Hopps sang as she happily bounced around her bedroom of their apartment, which she had turned into a sort of office after the two started just using Nick Wilde-Hopps' room to sleep in. She had earbuds sunk into her ears and was dancing joyfully around Nick as he worked on their computer, sitting in a chair at the desk.
Nick pulled an earbud from out of ear, making her halt. "All right, honey bunny, how long are you going to keep singing that song? It's making it a little hard to concentrate."
"Sorry, Nick," Judy smiled, "but isn't it kinda our song now?"
"I don't remember agreeing to that," Nick smirked. Judy took her other earbud out and put her hands on Nicks shoulders, kissing both of his black ears, then leaning down to nuzzle his foxy face from the side. "Aw, hey, sweetheart."
"Thank you for doing up our honeymoon itinerary," Judy smiled appreciatively, kissing his cheek. "How's that coming, anyway?"
"Well, it's nearly done, one button click and we're off to Pawaii," Nick began, "but do you want to talk about it a bit before we commit to this?"
"Why, what's there to talk about?" Judy shrugged.
"Uh, plenty," Nick smirked. "First off, pretty much everyone there is a predator, minus one or two species, so it might be hard for you and I to get to food there. I'm sure we'll manage, but... anyway, also, the name 'Pawaii' is a bit of a misnomer. We'd say it 'Claweye'."
"So it's a different language there, then," Judy nodded. "Is there any significance to the name?"
"Well, the residents there have slit eyes, as if opened by claws," Nick went on, "they're reptiles."
"Reptiles," Judy said in hushed awe. "I remember reading about those in school. I don't know if I've ever actually seen one in the fur."
"Scales," Nick corrected. "They don't have fur, or paws for that matter. I'm just saying this because... you know. It might be a bit of a culture schock."
"Oh Nick, please," Judy said, lolling her ears as her head sagged to the side. "I've been trying to be better. On trying not to be judgemental."
"Just saying, they're a lot different," Nick held up his hands near his face.
"Do you have any reservations about going?"
"Yeah, but for a different reason," Nick said, reading from the computer screen. "Apparently, Pawaii was in the middle of some sociopolitical turmoil up until a couple of years ago. The details are a bit vague, but only since it passed that travel restrictions have been lifted."
"Oh, goodness," Judy looked worried. "Well, is it safe to go?"
"Oh yeah, lots of positive reviews on hotels and entertainment and no news articles on anything bad happening," Nick said. "It's just, we won't really know what we'll be getting into."
Judy looked at the pictures offered of Pawaii and the beach-side hotel they were going to book. "Oh but Nick, it's gorgeous, and we really don't have any other backup plans. Let's go, please?"
Nick nodded, pressing the button to finalize. "Okay, we're doing it."
"All right!" Judy smiled brightly, but her voice had a bit of nervousness as she continued. "It's just a different language, different customs, and different species and class of animal altogether! How weird could it be?"
-Pawaii International Airport Arrivals-
"I mean, it's pretty weird," Judy said with a finger raised meekly, "I want you to know I said that thing before we left somewhat facetiously."
The airport, even as they just got off the plane, was full of animals both had never seen before. Tiny lizards skittered around haltingly; they were barely as big as the mice back home, and twice as thin. Judy had become very mindful of her step. Turtles and tortoises of various colors and shell types and face shapes walked around. These kind of reminded Judy of the armadillos and pangolins of Zootopia. Larger reptiles like komodo dragons and iguanas passed them by, some barely bigger than Judy, and some approaching Nick's size. There seemed to be no end to the variety in difference of size and scale of the animals there as they all walked around. The colors of the various reptiles contained a lot of greens and browns, Judy observed. Barely any mammals were at the airport besides Nick and Judy, and they were mostly pairs of same species animals, probably tourists as well.
"Not having second thoughts, are you?" Nick said, adjusting his tie and bending over as he and Judy received a traditional flower lei from a couple of small turtle females, who said "welcome to Pawaii" in Nick and Judy's language.
"No, not at all," Judy said. "This isn't so bad." Her ears twitched and moved around as she took in the unfamiliar language being spoken in the open-air airport. There were a lot of "s" sounds, she noticed, but it sounded like garbled noise to her. "All these animals are just like us, aren't they? Except they're all predators, and all... scaly, and oh my goodness gracious they don't have any arms or legs!"
Judy was staring at a male and female couple of black rat snakes. They indeed had no arms or legs, and wore shirts that thus had no arm or leg holes. They "stood" up in a J shape, with their tails held in the air and their heads tipped to be parallel with the floor at the top. The two noticed Judy staring and rolled their eyes and slightly turned away.
"Good grief, fluffbum, don't stare," Nick said, grabbing onto her head and turning it gently away from them. Nick though allowed his eyes to linger on the snakes for a moment, taking in how they held their drinks with the ends of their tails. "Huh." He was interested, and a little impressed. He wondered briefly what it was like to have a prehensile tail.
"Oh gosh you're right, what's wrong with me?" Judy wrung her hands. "We need to just get our luggage and get to our hotel before I embarrass myself any further." Judy noticed another couple of snakes, a male king snake and a female grass snake, looking at them. They looked more amused and interested in the two mammals, and waved the tips of their tails at Nick and Judy. Judy gasped. "Oh, Nick, these two are friendly, let's go say hi!"
Before Nick could object, Judy was yanking Nick by his wrist to go over and talk to them.
"Hello!" Judy greeted enthusiastically. "My name is Judy Wilde-Hopps. I'm from Zootopia! I've never been to Pawaii before, and I just have to say that I am being immersed in the most unimaginable cultural experience right now! I hope that as my husband and I's vacation goes on, we'll come to understand so much about you and your- URK!" Nick tugged Judy by the collar, which halted her babbling. "Nick!"
"You're embarrassing yourself further," Nick sang. Judy turned her head back to the snakes, who were staring at her with bewilderment and bemusement. They made a few gestures to each other with their tails that looked like shrugs, speaking words that Judy didn't understand. Then, they just turned back to the two mammals and waved again with the tail tips, pointed especially at Judy, who they were beaming at.
"O-oh, right, they don't speak mammalian," Judy's ears started to feel hot.
Nick stepped forward and took a deep breath, preparing to try to say, very carefully, a phrase he had been practicing that he knew might come in handy in reptilian. "Hello, please excuse my crazy wife and I. We do not speak reptilian." The snakes looked instantly charmed by the fact that Nick was trying so hard to say this, their jaws opening in amusement. Judy tried not to flinch at just how wide their jaws could open. Then, at the content of his message, they held their tail tips up close to their mouths and began to laugh, their tongues flitting out of their mouths as they did. It sounded like: "Ss-ss-ss-ss-ss-ss!"
Judy began to walk away with Nick. "Well that was uh, sweet? Do you know much reptilian?"
"Nope, that's it," Nick smirked, his hands in his pockets.
"So what did you say...?" Judy asked suspiciously.
"I told them to please forgive my lovely wife and I for not being able to speak their language," Nick replied. Judy was unconvinced, as the snakes still looked like they were laughing and hugging around each other's necks with their tails.
"You did not say that," Judy said wryly.
"No, no I did not," Nick grinned. Then, he flicked his hand at a big bug that flew by him. "One disadvantage of an open-air airport, I guess?"
"I bet there's a lot of bugs here," Judy nodded, cowering slightly from the big bug as it flew closer to her, "have to be to support such a large population of predaTORS!?" Judy flinched as she saw a flash of pink across her vision and the bug vanished.
They both turned to look and saw a strange animal about a foot shorter than Judy. It was a chameleon, and he smacked his lips at his fortuitous snack. He was dressed in a straw hat and floral shirt.
"Ah, mammals," the chameleon smirked. His unusual, telescoping eyes turned independently, one to look at Nick, and the other at Judy. Both Nick and Judy's eyebrows raised at this. "Welcome to my fair Pawaii."
"Ah, you speak mammalian?" Judy asked.
"Little bit," the chameleon wobbled a hand. "I hope you will enjoy it here. Many sights to see, bugs to eat. But, be careful you do not get into trouble."
"What sort of trouble?" Nick crossed his arms.
The chameleon nodded over behind them. "The big trouble." Judy and Nick turned to look, and saw two rather enormous male crocodiles talking to each other. They both seemed like were more than ten feet tall, not including their massive tails that trailed behind them. Both of them were speaking reptilian to each other, but seemed to be doing it in sneers, barely opening their snouts. When they noticed they were being looked at they turned away in distaste after glaring briefly at the three.
"Wow, those guys looked straight out of some of those old sci-fi movies," Judy marveled.
"The crocodiles, alligators, and largest tortoises, they are called the 'snappers'," the chameleon went on. "Very dangerous. Do not give them your time. They may try to do the, what do you mammals say... sweet talk? This, we call 'crocodile tears'. Anyway..." the chameleon started to smile, and it seemed as if his whole face was changing shape to do it. Judy tried not to shiver as his eyes switched which targets they were looking at. "Please have fun in my country."
"Okay, thank you, bye," Nick said in irritation, and put a hand behind Judy and shooed her away from the chameleon.
"Wow, what a creepy guy," Judy ran her hands through her ears.
"Tell me about it," Nick sneered. "I don't see whats so bad about those crocodiles. They probably just turned away because he was making us stare at them."
"Oh, I kinda meant his eyes and tongue," Judy giggled. "But yeah, uh, looks like not only Zootopia has problems with stereotyping. I just hope there's nothing legitimate to back that up."
Nick sighed. "We'll keep our eyes out, but I don't want my first impression of some reptile to be colored by a guy who might be a huge speciesist. He was rude enough to snap up a snack from right in front of your face, after all."
"You're right, Nick," Judy said. "Let's just get our luggage and see what we can discover in this place."
-Southern Pawaii Beachside Resort, Nick and Judy's Suite-
Nick and Judy had gotten themselves a rather nice, somewhat spacious room with a good view of the beach. In fact, on their first day, they actually just wanted to explore the beach and see what they could discover. Nick was getting on some palm-tree themed, bright green, yellow and white swim trunks that were somehow more visually noisy than the shirts he usually wore. Judy regarded herself in a mirror skeptically, wearing a navy blue, one-piece swimsuit.
"Mm..." Judy said, her brow furrowed. "Nick? ...Wait, what's that around your neck?" She saw a blue strip of cloth around his neck, and when he turned around, he was tying a tie. "NO. No! Nicholas Piberius Wilde-Hopps, you are NOT wearing a tie to the beach!" She stamped her foot in protest and pointed at the ground.
Nick chuckled, beginning to untie it. "Of course not, I just wanted you to say my new full name." Judy looked a bit baffled by this, but her expression quickly softened at seeing the simple tricks he would go to to manipulate her into doing what he wanted. For his trouble, she walked over and lightly sprang up, somehow gently touching her nose to Nick's without bashing the rest of her face into him. Nick grinned at the gesture as gravity pulled her back away from him.
"What do you think, Nick, do I look okay in this?" Judy held her arms out a bit.
"You look fine," Nick grinned, nearly finished taking off his tie.
"I dunno," Judy looked unsure. "Doesn't it kind of remind you of my police uniform?"
Nick unleashed a charming grin, and then looped the untied tie around Judy's back, drawing her closer to him with it as she squeaked in surprise.
"Lest you forget, Mrs. Wilde-Hopps," Nick smirked amorously at her. "I fell head-over-tail in love with a beautiful bunny in uniform..." He gave a gentle, low growl, his tail starting to swish smoothy and playfully.
Judy felt her breath hasten, her mouth slightly agape. Then, slowly, her mouth closed and her eyes half-lid. "Well now, Mr. Wilde-Hopps. You speak such sweet, honeyed words to me. Quite tasty." She licked both of her cheeks once with her tiny tongue in a very lapine fashion. A tiny glint of realization broke Nick out of his trance.
"Oh, we haven't even- we haven't even made it out of the door yet today, the first morning of our very expensive vacation..." Nick said sheepishly, noticing Judy's eyes were starting to narrow dangerously, a wide smile playing on her face. "I need to learn to control this tongue of mine."
"Ooh, no no no," Judy protested, enticingly rubbing her back and shoulders against the tie still encircling her. "I could never have that. I want that tongue to be able to run wild..."
"W-well now!" Nicks hands trembled. His tail was wagging furiously, but he did kind of also want to actually begin his vacation.
"Mmm..." Judy looked like she would pounce at any moment.
"What I am going to do... is... gently set this tie down," Nick said slowly, doing what he described, then his voice began to quickly increase in tempo. "Then I am going to run out this door and into the elevator because I know if I don't leave now we'll never get out of here!"
"Hmhmhm, stop in the name of the law, Mr. Foxy," Judy called out flirtatiously, hot on his tail. "Don't resist my arrest...!"
-Southern Pawaii Coastline-
Somehow, Nick had managed to evade Judy long enough for her to calm down, and they began to walk on the beach. Time passed slowly as they walked and talked with each other, sometimes holding each others hand, sometimes not. Nick finally did feel like he was in paradise, being so close to his new wife. Sometimes when their hands weren't together, he would just gently bump his arm with hers, or swish his tail over her legs. Not a single gesture of his went unnoticed by Judy, who would treat him with either warm, affectionate gazes, or wry smirks, depending on where in the conversation they were. Nick greedily soaked in each one. Only rarely did he focus on the salty smelling air or the sound of the sea crashing against the beach.
Judy, too, was having fun just being around her fox with no obligations to worry about. Her duty many, many miles away, she finally felt at peace. In fact, even though she knew she was stronger physically than Nick in a lot of ways, she did enjoy that her mate was so much taller than her; there was a kind of comfort she felt in looking upwards and seeing a warm smile come down upon her, like a protection. She did notice though, deep inside, that her complete peace was sometimes jarred by seeing reptiles. She wasn't used to them, and they sometimes took her out of the moment. Things like a sunglasses-wearing, sunbathing iguana reminded her that they were in a foreign land, merely guests to this lovely island.
After awhile, they encountered a sea turtle who was just coming in from surfing on a wave on the beach. Nick peeked over first, seeing designs that looked like a rough graphic of the Earth, its seas and continents, painted right on his shell. The turtle was about four feet tall, matching Nick's height, and he walked over to Nick and Judy.
"Hey, mammals!" The turtles called to them in an accented voice. His eyes were kind of half-lid and he had many creases in his face, but Judy didn't know if they were scars or signs of age. His voice wasn't accented reptilian like the chameleon, it sounded laid back and carefree, quite like Yax's voice, Judy noted.
"Another reptile that can speak mammalian?" Judy was surprised.
"The name's Smash," the turtle said. "Huh, a fox and a bunny. That's new. Usually the tourists we get here are mammal pairs, like newlyweds or something. Huh! Oh you two aren't like secret agents or something are you?!" The turtle seemed interested.
"Oh no," Nick shook his head, indicating himself and Judy with his thumb. "We are, in fact, newlyweds."
"Oh I gotcha, 'newlyweds'," Smash winked, making air quotes with the small fingers on his flipper-like hands. "Haha wow, you guys barely have any room to hide your cool secret agent gear, and you even got rings for your cover. Oh, they dont like, shoot lasers, do they?"
Nick was rather incredulous. Judy began staring up at the sky, trying not to be amused.
"So uh, 'Smash'," Nick said, "That's not a Pawaiian name, is it? And your accent, you lived somewhere in Zootopia for some amount of time, maybe?"
"No yeah, you're right, Smash is just a mammalian word I thought sounded cool," Smash said, laughing. "And yeah, I was born in Pawaii, of course, but I toured the world for quite some time. I know mammalian, reptilian, and even some birdish! Oh, you wanna hear some?" The turtle began to make some bizarre screeching and squawking sounds. Nick and Judy cringed, trying to resist putting their hands over their ears. "Oh, maybe not, huh? Sorry, I forgot you guys kinda have sensitive hearing. Birdish is a tough language! So many dialects. Only a few species like mockingbirds can do the full range. And, a lot of them have this quirk where they'll say everything you say back to you."
"They'll say everything you say back to you, huh?" Nick joked. Judy ribbed him, her eyes narrow and expression displeased, without looking at him.
"Yeah, haha," Smash thought it was funny, anyway. "I wanted to come back to Pawaii sooner, but about twenty years into my trip, the 'stuff' happened. Delayed my return by another two decades! Thankfully the 'stuff' is all over now."
"Wait, you're how old, if you dont mind my asking?" Judy seemed flabbergasted.
"Oh, somewhere around eighty," Smash seemed to have to think about it. "Turtles age pretty gracefully, heh. And touring the world and surfing has kept my mind young."
"What's this about the 'stuff'?" Nick seemed wary, tilting his head to the side.
"Oh you know, don't you? You're secret agents!" Smash looked a bit concerned for the first time. "...The 'stuff' isn't brewing again, is it?"
"Okay, pretend for one second that this bunny and I are, in fact, newlyweds, and that we have no idea what you're talking about," Nick begged in slight exasperation.
"Oh, if that were so," Smash seemed to think again, "then I shouldn't talk about it. It's really kinda a bummer. Oh but, it doesn't really concern mammals at all so don't worry, enjoy your honeymoon! You guys vegetarian?" Nick and Judy both nodded slowly. "You'll wanna take note of where the iguanas and tortoises are eating. They're some of the only veggie-eaters here. One of my best friends likes Li-gg-uie's. Not too far from here."
"Ah, thank you," Judy nodded at the recommendation. Then, suddenly, reptilian yelling broke out. Both Nick and Judy flinched in fear. Was the "stuff" approaching? A nude frilled lizard, with his frill popped and mouth gaping open ran between Nick and Judy and the turtle. He was pursued by two grumpy looking komodo dragons clad in black police uniforms and they tore across the beach. Nick and Judy's heads followed in abject bewilderment, and their puzzlement only turned to outright disbelief when the frilled lizard, with a very wide, slapping gait, took off on top of the water and away from the Pawaii police officers, running into the distance. One officer's shoulders dropped as both of them stopped at the water's edge and he began to talk in reptillian into a radio. The other officer shook both of his fists and said something very loudly.
"Haha, that's not a nice word," Smash laughed. "Never a dull moment in Pawaii. Glad to be home."
-Outside of Li-gg-uie's-
Judy and Nick walked out of the restaurant, both smacking their lips.
"That was, uh, different," Judy said, "I mean, not just that streaking, water-walking lizard. I had no idea vegetables and nuts could be prepared like that. I mean it was tasty, and edible, but... is it just me or was it really spicy?" She kept smacking her lips, sucking in air in discomfort.
"No, I am definitely feeling it," Nick started panting, and he hated doing that in public because he thought it looked undignified. Looking around, he discovered a frozen treat stand. "Oh look, a Pawpsicle stand!"
"No way," Judy grinned. "Do you think that's how they get you? Spicy food with cool treats nearby?"
"Well, if it is a hustle, it's working on me," Nick said, heading over. "Hey it even actually does have 'Paw' in the name, I recognize those letters from the Pawaii signs. Maybe its like a 'clawsicle'!" A look of almost childish glee came over Nick as he made that connection. Judy spotted the vendor, who was a male corn snake, with a little tiny bowler hat on. Judy's mouth burst open into a toothy grin; she thought that looked adorable.
The corn snake, for his part, was rather taken aback by the mammals approaching him with such happy looks, but he smiled to show his appreciation. Deciding to try his best for them, the corn snake indicated the flavors of his frozen treats with his head, but couldn't think of many mammalian words. "R-red? Or... ...blue?"
"Whoa, there's a callback," Judy laughed. "Let's do blue this time. Blue!" She pointed. The snake dropped down and slithered on the ground, and then rose up near the treats. Judy seemed delighted at how easy the serpentine motion was and how quickly he was then plucking both of the oblong 'clawsicles' with his tail tip. Nick smiled at Judy's pleasure.
Nick reached into his swim trunks. "Oh no, Judy, I don't think I have my wallet..." He shot her a concerned look.
"Oh, don't start," Judy rolled her eyes, "you paid for dinner like fifteen minutes ago."
"Darn," Nick smirked wryly. He pulled out a small bit of reptilian money and handed it to the corn snake. The corn snake went to make change and Nick waved his hand and thought hard. "Keep the... uh darn, forgot the word, keep the sports car." The snake looked baffled at his error, but started to laugh, getting the idea. "I think I got it wrong."
"You seem to be good at making snakes laugh!" Judy was amused.
"Hs-hs-hs-hs! Thhh-thank you!" The corn snake took his tail tip to tip his hat at them. Judy gave a little bounce in place, overjoyed at the cute gesture. The snake waved his tail tip and they waved their paws in return.
"I think snakes are kinda really cool, Nick," Judy smiled, licking her treat.
"Glad you're finally getting into it," Nick smirked, licking the 'clawsicle'. "Hm, pretty tasty. Mine are better, though."
"Oh yeah, sure," Judy berated him, "your second hand frozen pawpsicle juice is 'better'." Nick smiled at her. Judy's smile started to wane. "Nick, what do you think the 'stuff' is? The bummer 'stuff'?"
"Well, if it's a bummer, then I'm pretty sure we wouldn't want to know," Nick frowned. "If it's none of our business, it should stay that way. Let's not let it weigh down on the honeymoon."
A few minutes passed in quiet. Nick had wished the mood laid out by the cheerful corn snake hadn't been shattered. He looked at Judy, licking at the 'clawsicle' with her tiny tongue, wearing that navy blue swimsuit. Nick found himself smiling warmly at her, finding her adorable and attractive. Judy caught him looking at her and her ears rose again. Nick sighed in relief as he knew that meant she was feeling better. However, Judy started to lick at the 'clawsicle' more slowly, carefully, and earnestly. Nick's thoughts quickly tumbled away from him.
Judy grinned as she saw her teasing was working immediately. "Don't think I've forgotten what you said to me earlier today, Nick." She took another slow lick, then closed her mouth around the top of the treat, showing her front teeth, and grinning in a goofy fashion at him. Nick's feelings were confused. She looked ridiculous, but somehow provocative.
"I... what did I say again?" Nick was actually having a hard time remembering.
"Oh, have you forgotten?" Judy teased in a light tone. "Well, when we get back to the hotel room I'll just have to show you."
Nick let out a slow breath from his muzzle, his lips pursed. It was probably going to be a long night.
-Southern Pawaii Beachside Resort, Hallway-
"Ow... owww..." Nick stumbled into the hallway, wearing khaki shorts and an open, white and red Pawaiian shirt. He melodramatically slumped over onto the floor chest first, his knees bent and legs sticking into the air. "So, so sore..."
"Don't be such a wimp, Nick," Judy came out onto the hallway, wearing a white and sky blue Pawaiian shirt and khaki slacks, putting her hands on her hips after she buttoned her last button and stood over him. "It wasn't that bad."
"No no, it was incredible, that was the thing," Nick laughed weakly, "I've never seen you move that fast. You were a bunny blur... turbofluff... heh..."
"You knew what you were getting into when you married me," Judy smirked.
"Oh, did I?" Nick's shoulders chucked weakly. "I think I'll have to make sure to watch what I say to you if I want to survive this marriage."
Judy folded her arms, giving a smug smirk. "You know you love me." Nick didn't respond, but his tail started wagging, betraying his feelings. "Oh, 'yes, yes he does?' thank you, Mr. Fox-tail!"
"Wow dude, keep it together," Nick turned his head to chastise his own tail. He then struggled to his feet. "Ugh, maybe I should have waited till you were forty or something to marry you."
"Oh, how cute," Judy helped him up, "you think me being forty would save you."
"C'mon, still with the 'cute', Fluff?" Nick groaned. "It hurts a fox's pride."
"Too bad," Judy said, "because you are cute. You're half-bunny now, legally, so I can say it all I want. Cute cute cute cute." To punctuate this, Judy poked at his exposed chest and tummy fur as if she was dialing a large telephone. Nick giggled slightly, but also was flinching at each poke. "Oh, you really are sore, huh?" Nick nodded. "Well, that's great! Remember where we're going today?"
"Uh, no?" Nick said hazily. "I can barely remember my name at the moment."
"We're going to get a massage from leopard geckos!" Judy seemed excited.
"Oh huh, I must have missed that," Nick looked at his fingers, "did you put that into the itinerary?"
"Yeah, I thought it looked fun," Judy smiled.
"I didn't consider it because it might involve the removal of clothes," Nick shrugged.
"I've been doing lots of things on this honeymoon that involve that," Judy laughed, starting to head for the elevator with the slowly shuffling fox.
"Fair point," Nick conceded. "It is Nick, right? My name?"
"Nicholas Wilde-Hopps," Judy said proudly as they got into the elevator.
-Leopard Gecko Massage Parlor-
"Do you think leopard geckos have fur?" Judy asked curiously as they made their way into the building. Nick shrugged. The receptionist at the desk was a gold dust day gecko female, and she gave a tiny bit of an anxious smile as she saw the mammals approaching. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't say anything in mammalian. Apologizing in reptilian, she then gave them a reptilian greeting.
"Oh, she doesn't speak any mammalian," Nick noted. He marveled slightly at her green and red colors, with yellow speckles and a white underbelly. She was quite colorful.
"Ah... ah... steam or no steam?" The gecko asked.
Nick tried to remember the syntax and words. "N-no steam, please."
The gecko sighed in relief as that communicated what she needed to know and she indicated where they needed to go with a friendly smile.
"What did that mean?" Judy asked.
"Well, I think they have more sauna-like massages here," Nick explained, "extra hot ones, because reptiles absorb heat to deal with their body temperature a lot differently than mammals. I just don't want to be a damp-furred, roasted mess at the end of this."
"Leaving that to me, huh?" Judy quipped. Nick gave a nervous laugh. They were led to a room with two massage tables built fairly low to the ground. There was a team of five female leopard geckos. All of them looked slightly different. They were mostly yellow with black spotting, and Judy could thus see where their name had come from. Their colors also tended to lean toward pinks near their tails, and they had white underbellies. Their slit eyes were very dark green and the speckled details in them gave Judy the wistful impression that she was looking into the night sky. Each was only about a foot tall. All five wore warm, charming smiles with their hands held in front of them.
Nick was slightly charmed at them as well. He gave a slight wave.
Judy marveled at them. "Wow, Nick, they look so exotic..." One of the leopard geckos closed her eyes in delight at understanding the remark. "Oh, oops."
"When are you going to keep that tiny, furry maw shut?" Nick chuckled.
"Please dress down and lay on the tables, yes?" The leopard gecko that had been complimented spoke to them in accented mammalian, the end of the sentence punctuated with a sort of chirpy tone. "We will begin." The newlyweds complied, removing their clothes and getting up onto the low tables. Four of the geckos looked on blankly, but the one that spoke to them actually looked a bit delighted at all the colorful fur on display. Three geckos headed for Nick, and the other two, including the speaker, went for Judy. Judy tried to relax as she awaited the first touches on her back. However, the geckos hands felt rather gentle.
"Ooh, this is nice... what an interesting texture..." Judy cooed as the massage began. Nick groaned in agreement as his soreness started to leave him.
"Gecko pads are very sought for massage, yes?" The gecko smiled. "Leopard geckos less sought, our hands are small, but our pads do not stick."
"I kinda wish I had learned some more reptilian before we flew out," Nick grumbled apologetically. "What's your name, miss?"
"Oh please, do not worry, just relax, yes?" The gecko smiled. "I am Jiji. The tourism is coming back, we are very happy to please."
Judy tried to avoid thinking about whatever happened two years ago while her fur was rubbed and scrunched. She looked over to Nick and one of the geckos was actually on him on all fours, rubbing with both hands and feet skillfully. Nick gave a little whimper of relief.
"You all look so pleasant," Judy noticed. "I don't think I've ever seen your smiles fade."
"Leopard geckos are very known for their smiles," Jiji said, smiling more broadly. "It is our normal face, harder for us to frown, yes?"
"Oh, so none of you are actually happy?" Nick joked.
"Oh no no, I am very happy to see the mammals, fox and bunny, yes?" Jiji chirped. "The fur is very nice to me, exotic, as you say, as we are to you." Judy considered that, feeling as if they were having a strange sort of slightly intimate cultural exchange. The other geckos gossiped to each other in reptilian, pleasantly laughing.
"I think I heard 'mammal' in there," Nick said.
"Oh, they are making fun of me, yes?" Jiji smiled, closing her eyes and tilting her head flippantly left and right. "I do not mind."
"Why are they making fun of you?" Judy asked, her ears laying flat as she relaxed more.
"They call me the, umh, mammal-lover, yes?" Jiji grinned. "One day I wish to travel to the Zootopia. If I could, I would make my own massage parlor there. The textures and colors of fur, so lovely! Perhaps I could only help small mammals if just me? But, I do like the raccoons, the red pandas, and tanukis. Such enchanting patterns, yes?" Judy could feel Jiji's massages become slightly more enthused when speaking passionately about her dream. Judy gave a small hum of delight. The other geckos gossipped a bit more.
"Now I really wish I could understand," Nick grumbled, "so I could tell them to leave you be."
"Oh they do not mean any harm, yes?" Jiji said pleasantly. "Please just relax and let them do their work to you. Do you know any reptilian?"
Nick chuckled, trying to relax again. "All I know how to say is, hello, please excuse my crazy wife and I. We do not speak reptilian." All five of the geckos laughed in delight.
"Okay, seriously, did you learn some sort of joke that EVERY reptile thinks is funny or...?" Judy smirked wryly.
"It is nothing, it is nothing!" Jiji laughed. "It is delightful. He is teasing you, yes?"
"Oh, of course, should have guessed," Judy giggled.
"He says: 'you are crazy'", one of the other geckos blurted. Jiji smiled apologetically while the other four geckos laughed.
"Well, he is right, I am crazy, especially about him," Judy beamed at the pleased, slightly sleepy looking Nick, who returned the gaze.
"Oh, how sweet!" Jiji chirped.
Nick and Judy put their clothes back on after the massage. Nick looked very limp and limber, he gave a delighted stretch.
"I hope you enjoyed, yes?" Jiji smiled broadly as they began to exit.
"That was very lovely, thank you Jiji," Judy smiled. "If you're ever in Zootopia, look Nick and Judy Wilde-Hopps up, okay? We'd love to see you again. We're police officers there!"
"I will be sure to do nothing illegal, yes?" Jiji waved. The three laughed.
-Southern Pawaii Beachside Resort, Nick and Judy's Suite-
Cuddled together under the sheets of their rather large bed, Nick and Judy enjoyed their closeness, feeling their fur up against each other.
"Wow, that massage," Nick groaned. "I feel like I'm floating in this bed, I feel so light." He adjusted himself, holding Judy a little closer. She hummed happily.
"Jiji was so nice," Judy said, "I'm so impressed that even with tourism only being open for two years, so many Pawaiians have tried to learn some mammalian and make silly tourists like us feel welcome. The outreach is just amazing. ...I just wonder what was so wrong with this place? So many of the citizens are so nice..."
"Again, let's not dwell on that," Nick said, gently stroking her back. "I'm sorry I even brought it up before we left."
"But it does seem to be on everyone's mind," Judy mused. "They just wont tell us what it is."
"Shh," Nick kept petting, giving her ears a stroke, too.
"Well, I hope that that massage relaxed you enough," Judy shook her head from disquieting thoughts, trying to put on a flirty face, "because I'm going to... to..." Judy let out a squeaky, adorable yawn, which caused Nick to involuntarily hum in delight. "Probably... just go to sleep." She snuggled in.
"Oh thank goodness," Nick joked. "Sleep well, honey bunny. I love you."
"Love you too, honey fox," Judy cuddled in, kissing his neck where her head was closest, shutting her eyes. Nick relaxed against her, feeling her ears rubbing against his face as he layed his head on top of hers, closing his eyes. At their heightened relaxation, sleep quickly took both of them.
-Southern Pawaii Dockside-
On their last day before their departure, Judy and Nick had wanted to take a boat tour of the outskirts of the island. After making their arrangements, they started heading out to the dock to where they were to meet their tour guide. Judy's pace slightly slowed as they got closer to the boat and saw who was maintaining it.
"O-oh, our tour guide is a crocodile," Judy noted with the slightest twinge of apprehension. The crocodile seemed about seven feet tall, not including a broad tail.
"Don't start," Nick warned. Judy took a breath, looking up at Nick who was looking at her sternly.
"Oh goodness, yes, you're right," Judy wrung her hands, "why am I always like this? There's nothing to worry about, let's just-"
THUMP!
Judy gasped in fear as the crocodile's heavy tail crashed down millimeters from Judy. She scrambled away from the tail and closer to Nick. Neither he, Judy, nor Nick was paying attention. At the gasp, the crocodile turned his head, and looked at the tail, and at the frightened bunny.
"You okay, Judy?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's-" Judy started.
"Oh no, no no..." the crocodile looked terrified. "I almost crushed you, little bunny! ...I almost... almost ruined everything! EVERYTHING! They would have closed our borders... locked me up... or worse...!" Tears started to well in his eyes as he held his hands to his neck. Nick and Judy's pupils shrank at the crocodile's extreme reaction.
"Whoa, whoa, let's just calm down, now," Nick said. "She's fine, I'm fine, everything's fine."
"Yep," Judy said cheerfully, "one unsquished bunny!" The crocodile started to calm down. Judy's mind flashed back to the expression 'crocodile tears'.
"I um," he began, looking at his phone, "Nick and Judy Wilde-Hopps. You are married?" They nodded. "Well, I am to be your guide but... I can understand if you would not have me. Would you like me to find you someone ...smaller? Less clumsy? A turtle, perhaps. I know a nice turtle."
"Oh no, that will be fine," Nick said with his hands up. "Please."
"Yes, everything's okay!" Judy nodded. The crocodile sighed, nodding and leading them into his boat, where they shoved off.
"My name is Zinso," the crocodile started as he began the tour, the water lapping against the boat. "Welcome to my beautiful island nation of Pawaii."
"Zin-so," Judy tried hard to pronounce it correctly. "You speak such amazing mammalian!"
"Judy!" Nick reminded her. "Condescending...!" Judy flinched at this. She just couldn't help herself sometimes.
"No no, I am happy to hear you say that," Zinso said. "Tourism is my passion. I love the beauty of this world and getting to share it with others."
"Are there many crocodiles like you?" Judy wondered.
"Well, many crocodiles and alligators have a passion for the sea," Zinso explained, "but mostly there is fishing and shrimping. We large reptiles need so much food compared to everyone else. We must do our part to sustain ourselves. ...But I did not like just being another fisher. I would have rather toured the world and explored all of its splendors. As it is, I am grateful to be a tour guide." Judy noticed that ever since the tour began, he was speaking in sort of a guarded voice, with his snout barely moving.
"Does this have anything to do with what happened two years ago?" Judy asked. Nick looked shocked that she had done so. The crocodile flinched.
"Please," Zinso held up a hand, "y-you do not want to hear of our troubled history. Especially not from a biased crocodile. This is your honeymoon, please allow me to show you the sights of-"
"Biased?" Nick suddenly looked curious from his reclined position. He sat up. "I think I'm suddenly more curious as to what actually went on here." He and Judy nodded together, looking at him. Zinso gave a shaky sigh.
"All right, I will tell you," he began. "A little more than twenty years ago, what we called the Lizard party came into political power. They were so small, but so many. So many loud voices, manipulating things to their whims. When they finally had control, they started to spread a campaign of fear and hate among us very large reptiles. Snappers, they called us." Judy's jaw dropped, and Nick's brow furrowed. "They mandated that when 'snappers' became a certain age, we would have to wear a collar that regulated our bite strength. If we bit down too hard, it would shock us, painfully." Zinso gave another shaky sigh.
"But why?" Judy asked in shock. "Why would they do that!?"
Very, very carefully and slowly, Zinso opened his jaw, showing them how wide it could open. "Look at me. If I wanted to, I could eat two dozen lizards in one gulp."
"But, reptiles are civilized!" Nick protested angrily. "All reptiles are civilized creatures!"
"Didn't anyone care about you large reptiles?" Judy suddenly wanted to avoid the 'snappers' slur.
"Yes, many did, many medium and even small-sized reptiles protested," Zinso said sadly, sniffling a bit, pointing at his eyes. "But, the Lizard party threw hateful propaganda at us. 'Crocodile tears'. The stories and feelings of large reptiles are nothing but ploys to lure people into caring about us, so we could take advantage of their kindness and return to our violent ways."
"Oh no..." Judy put her paws to her cheeks.
"All unfounded hate-mongering," Nick grit his teeth, seeing a few parallels to predator-hatred. "Disgusting."
"Things got worse about seven years ago," Zinso continued, catching his breath. "The Lizard party was actually suffering attacks from large reptiles. Physical, violent attacks. Even though it would shock us, we would snap at them. There was some bloodshed. Some of my fellow crocodiles had succumbed to mental problems from being unable to adjust their behavior to their jaws. They gave in to anger."
"That anger was a foregone conclusion!" Nick protested, balling up a fist. "They had been oppressed and treated like savages!" He gestured widely with his other hand, furious.
"Yes, that is likely true," Zinso nodded, looking away, "but it was what the Lizard party needed to make further demands. "Our collars were adjusted, and now we would be shocked even if our mouths opened past a certain point. It became so hard for us. We had to laugh, talk, and even eat through mostly gritted teeth. That is why you may see many large reptiles today speaking through our teeth. It is a hard habit to break. It was so easy to forget, though. To yawn, or sneeze, and suddenly you were shocked. I... I will not say that it did not affect me. I... I am somewhat of a wreck." Zinso was sniveling again, tears rolling down.
"Hhh..." Judy had shaky breaths. She was crying, too.
"Well, what happened next?" Nick was curious.
"Finally, the Lizard party made a huge mistake," Zinso wiped his tears away. "They started to restrict travel against predator mammals such as yourself. They wanted their rhetoric to be absolute. People would start to ask more questions if large, sharp-toothed predator mammals were able to roam free here in Pawaii, and they of course could not legally collar them. They figured it would be an acceptable loss because predators are a minority among mammals." Zinso suddenly brightened. "But! They were wrong. Your government, Zootopia, took it as an offense, and barred travel to Pawaii, and many other cities and countries followed suit."
"Zootopia did that?" Judy wiped her cheeks.
"The tourism industry nearly collapsed," Zinso nodded. "There were riots, and the Lizard party was ousted from power. It happened so fast, like a dream. We were free again. My young children will grow up without the horror of the reality that hung over us for nearly two decades. They... will be able to laugh with their snouts wide open..." Zinso looked like he would cry again, but he just sighed. There was a prolonged silence as Nick and Judy took this all in. "I must thank you. I... did not expect you to listen to this story. It sounds so unbelievable, yes? Like 'crocodile tears'. ...But... I did not expect you two to look so invested either, or like you cared. Thank you..." He wiped one more tear away.
"Of course I care," Judy nodded. "That's so horrible, what they did to you."
"Well, not all mammals are as nice as we are," Nick gave a frown.
"Well, to know that there are caring animals that are so different," Zinso smiled finally, "it makes me very happy. You two are quite different, too, and yet you are married?" He sighed. "I have hope for this world. Now that I am free, I would soon like to explore it and take in the many cultures there are."
"You should do that," Judy smiled, nodding.
"Oh no," Zinso realized in shock. "I... I have made it through my whole tour loop without even noticing. ...Please. Please allow me to take you on another tour and I will discuss the beauties of this island, instead of its troubles."
"I mean, is that okay?" Nick looked concerned. "Do you have other tourists to get to?"
"Oh no, not today," Zinso shook his head. "There is much daylight left. Please, I will give you an extended tour. I am very grateful for your kindness. No extra charge."
"I'd ...like that," Judy smiled softly. Zinso adjusted the speed of his boat, and began the tour anew.
-Paw Air, en route to Zootopia-
Nick sighed in his seat, his muzzle in his palm as the airplane took off. Judy noticed his look and heard his sigh even over the roar of the engines. After they were in midair, she spoke up.
"What's wrong, honey fox?" Judy smiled gently. "Sad it's all over?"
"Well, Pawaii was great, yeah," Nick said. "But I'm upset that it seems like wherever you go in this world, there's people that want to take advantage of others just because they are different. Just because they let fear or hatred get to them. If you had told me that Pawaii was in the middle of systemic oppression against large reptiles, then I would never have wanted to go."
Judy's smile stayed soft. "Then I'm glad you didn't know."
"It doesn't bum you out at all?" Nick looked curiously at his wife.
"It was a horrible situation, yes," Judy's smile was patient and unwavering. "But look what we did discover on this vacation. Not only was Pawaii beautiful, but the people we met! Those friendly snakes, that turtle, the leopard gecko, and that lovely, sensitive crocodile. All of those reptiles that were so fun to be around and made so many moments for us. That's what I will take away from this honeymoon."
Nick's jaw dropped. He was amazed. He actually started to tear up. "Judy..."
"You remember what I said at your graduation," Judy went on. "All we can do is try to be better. And a lot of those reptiles, they seemed to be trying."
"Judy," Nick was nearly speechless. He wiped a tear or two from his eyes. "You are incredible. You can see the light in any darkness. Is it- is it any wonder I love you so much? You're so joyful, trusting, and caring..."
"Aw, come here, honey fox," Judy leaned over to kiss him softly. He sighed shakily. "You know that I need you too, don't you Nick?" Nick shrugged, then nodded slowly. "My big ol' bunny ears are always in the clouds. Sometimes I need you to pull me down before I float away."
"I guess you picked a decent husband then, huh honey bunny?" Nick gave a small smile.
"No. You know me," Judy said, her expression heartfelt. "I'd only go for the most impossibly amazing husband."
The two shared a serene smile as the plane tore through the sky and towards their home.