Wow! All these favourites, follows and reviews are amazing, thank you guys! Here's a longer chapter for you, but I apologise for the ending (a little bit cliffy)! I won't update now until tomorrow so I hope you all enjoy!
"So… how did you get this information, Carrots?" Nick asked as he watched the rabbit pace back and forth, having been put on hold on the phone while Officer Benjamin Clawhauser looked up the location of her witness. Nick was perched on the bonnet of their cruiser, an eyebrow raised in question, but Judy didn't answer him. His snout in his paw, he waited patiently.
She looked on edge. He could smell the agitation on her, her scent flaring more than usual due to the puffy fur on her neck, now standing on end. The intense smell of carrots, blueberries and that peculiar bunny smell irritated his nose, intoxicating and distracting. His mouth watered for blueberries, but his stomach churned at the idea of carrots. As for her own individual scent, she usual smelt like the blossoming daisies on a spring day, almost a warm, pleasant smell, but that had shifted with her mood; currently, he smelled the same as daises, yet with a sour edge that hurt his nose.
"You got it?" she suddenly beamed, jumping up and down like it was her birthday. "Oh, thank you, Ben, you're amazing!" she hung up, and a second later her phone dinged with a text message, which was no doubt the location they were about to travel to.
"Now do I get answers?" Nick demanded, hopping off the bonnet. He walked around the car, jumping in at the same time as Judy.
"A cat and a stoat helped me."
There was a pause. "Excuse me, but what?" he stared at her, dumbfounded. "Are you insane?"
"Well, they approached me and said they knew I was working on the case, and they couldn't come to me sooner because they knew you wouldn't stand for it-"
"Of course I wouldn't stand for it! I've had experiences with cats, them things of nasty! And stoats? Why, they're no better than Weaselton!" he snapped. "You should have called me."
"And that, my friend, was my problem; I knew you wouldn't answer even if I tried." She snapped back, briefly breaking eye contact from the road as she drove. And then she stared ahead, her eyes hard and unrelenting, as well as exhausted. He gaped at her, open mouthed, trying to process what she was saying.
"Is this about Ffion?" he asked after a silent moment. "Is this about not walking you home? I said I was sorry."
"Don't flatter yourself." She mumbled. "You can see who you want, when you want. I'm just saying that I knew you would have been too busy to answer the phone."
He hated himself for knowing that this was true. Last night he hadn't even glimpsed at his phone once, and it was on silent the entire time he sat with Ffion. In truth, it was refreshing to be with someone like himself, the same species with the same way of thinking. She'd grown into a majestic creature, sure of herself, knowing exactly what she wanted and when. He couldn't deny that he was fascinated listening to her, and enjoyed bragging about his own past experiences. He hadn't felt like kind of belonging in a while. Of course, Judy and the force made him feel at home, safe and wanted, but this was different. The smell of another fox, the voice of one so like his own in terms of speaking, was another type of home.
He turned away, annoyed with himself as he stared out of the window. "Where are we going?"
"The other side of Zootopia, just beyond the city. There's a squirrel who lives there, and he was attacked eighteen months ago. The characteristics are the same as the other eight, but he got so frightened he got placed under police protection and relocated, or at least that's what Ben told me. No one knows where he is other than police departments. His name is Peter Bush."
"And your little friends told you all this?" he asked sarcastically, glaring at her. She glared back at him.
"No, they just told me to find the squirrel. I did the rest."
Dear god he hated cats. They were not nice creatures, even with the integration of predator and prey. Cats hated every animal on the planet that wasn't the same species as them, and rabbits, among mice and rats and any other rodent you could think of, were their prime targets. Not so much for hunting, of course, but for harassing and hustling; worse than foxes, believe it or not.
He remembered an encounter with a cat, in his early days as a criminal. He'd been smooth talking his way into getting a young leopard to give him some money to get food for his children, who of course didn't exist. At the time he'd been dressed in rags, portraying the image of a homeless animal, with scraggy fur and unbelievably sad eyes.
The leopard had just been about to hand him over the cash he craved, when all of a sudden it was lashed out of the leopard's paw. The cat, a white one with harsh green eyes, then proceeded to knock Nick to the ground forcefully enough to knock the breath out of him and hurt his head. Mind spinning and eyes seeing stars, he vaguely remembered seeing his own victim chasing angrily after the cat, never to be seen again and an opportunity lost.
"And that, foxy, is why we hate cats." He remembered a voice saying. He remembered looking up, seeing a small figure in front of him with pale fur and huge ears. The grin was an undeniably mocking one, eyes swimming with amusement. "However, I could use you. How do you feel about popsicles?"
That was the day he learned to be wary of cats, as well as meeting the infamous Finnick.
He almost looked back on the memory fondly before reality kicked in. How could she be so foolish? The idea of any kind of animal hurting her, let alone two other main enemies of rabbits corning her, made him feel physically sick. A stoat was a little smaller, easier to run from, but cats were not so avoidable.
"Please don't do that again." He muttered in annoyance.
"If they come to help me again, then I make no promises."
"You're being stupid."
"I'm doing my job."
He looked at her. "Fine, but if you get a mark on your other cheek to match the first, don't come crying to me."
He was fibbing of course. Should that happen, he would be the first on the case to deliver a harsher blow. Unlike bigger predators, cats were more approachable to him. He'd had confrontations with those before, merely because he was bigger and more frightening out of the two. He would be more than happy to deal with a stoat and cat should it come to it.
"I can take care of myself." She said, still looking angry.
"Right." He responded stiffly. After another moment he sighed, feeling defeated. "You'll be the end of me, Carrots."
She seemed to relax a little at the use of her nickname he'd christened her with. "Gotta' keep you on your toes, right?"
He shook his head, suddenly feeling tired. She kept him on his toes, all right, and worried him to death. Not that he would ever admit that.
When they arrived forty minutes later, Nick gaped. They were met by an old, almost rotting tree, so tall he had to crane his neck to see. At the top was an equally worn looking house, maybe a bit small for him to fit but not impossible to try. The ladder that led up to the house made him cringe, the wood rotting slowly, and he doubted it would hold his weight for long. He looked down at Judy, who now suddenly looked a little unnerved.
"I think you should go first." Nick said, looking up again. "I'm not sure if the ladder will stay intact if we go at the same time."
"Good idea."
He watched nervously as Judy climbed, praying that the wood would stay strong for her. However he was braced for her fall, ready to catch her should he need to.
Relief spread through him when she made it to the top, quietly giving him thumbs up. Carefully, he began to climb, holding his breath as he did. He tested each step, checking its strength, and while the ladder struggled to hold him, he managed to get to the top and join his waiting partner. He was stiff with nerves, amazing how he had made it. He looked down, his heart in his mouth, his ears flat against his head.
"You're okay." Judy assured him, proceeding to knock on the old, not so attractive door. There was no answer. "Hello? This is ZPD, we're here to ask a few questions."
"Go away!" a voice cried from within, startling the pair. Judy leaned against the door, pressing a long ear to the wood.
"Please, Mr Bush, we need your help." She pleaded. "I know what happened to you, I'm not stirring. Others are getting hurt and only you can help me at this moment in time. Please, let us in."
"That fox is not coming in."
There was a pause, and the order hit Nick in the gut. Judy looked a little hopeless for a moment. "He's on your side, he wont hurt you."
"He's a hunter."
"He's not like them." She pressed. "He's not like those that hurt you. Please, trust me."
There was movement, and the door finally creaked open. Inside, Peter was wide eyed, the white around his brown orb bloodshot from fright and lack of sleep. The other eye was wedged shut, never to see again. His left ear was gnawed down to the scalp, and his tail wasn't in much better shape. His red fur looked old, worn, and no longer in a groomed state like the squirrels in Zootopia. He was dressed in thick clothing, covering his arms and legs, no doubt hiding his other scars. Nick had never felt so much pity for such a creature.
"You promise?" he asked, his voice low and small, eyeing Nick in distrust.
"You have my word, sir." Nick promised.
Finally, the rodent let them inside. It was a tight fit, but Nick managed to squeeze through. Inside was vast, filled with nothing but a couch, a take with food from the previous night on it, and a room in the back to probably led to the bedroom and bathroom. There was no TV, no phone, devoid of electronic devises. He really did want to stay hidden from the world.
Peter flopped himself in his couch, utterly exhausted.
"Mr Bush?" Judy murmured gently, edging forward. Peter looked at her with his on good eye.
"What do you want to know?" was all he said.
"Everything." Nick replied. "What you saw, heard and smelled, and when and where. Tell us everything you know."
Peter sighed, and after a long moment, he began to speak.
Please let me know what you thought, and I apologise for any mistakes :)