Chapter 7 - What Are You Wearing
Shadows scampered across the pavement to hide under the eaves and behind the few bushes that the lined the streets. The morning sunlight chased them around the city, through the parks and plazas and into quiet alleys where they could scurry behind dumpsters and under forgotten piles of rubble. They would spend the rest of the day hiding under parked cars, and the leafy branches of paw planted trees, waiting for evening to arrive once again.
But one mammal couldn't see the lurking shadows that morning. Too bright was the light and sparkle in the bunny's eyes as her hind paws struck the pavement in a steady rhythm. She didn't try to look under eaves or behind thick bushes or any of the other dark places around the city for the slowly vanishing shadows. Jogging down the sidewalk she did however wave a cheerful greeting to all the mammals she passed that morning.
All thoughts of dark clouds and rain storms vanished from her mind as if they had never existed. Today was her day off, the carnival was in town, and she was going to spend the entire day there with her bestest friend in the whole city. Her mind was filled with thoughts of all the fun and exciting things they would do together.
It had been such a long time since she had been to an actual carnival. The big-time traveling carnivals tended to skip a small town like Bunnyburrow. Sure, they had their local festivals and the tri-burrow fair, but it was nothing like the big cities, with their exciting rides and games. She couldn't remember the last time she had the chance to ride on a Ferris Wheel, and she had been too young and too small at the time to be allowed on any of the other rides. Today was her big chance, and she was going to ride on every single one.
Thoughts of all the excitement to come quickened her pace and she nearly leapt down the street with every step. After several blocks she slowed to merely skipping along to the music on her iCarrot. The rest of the mammals going about their daily morning business paid little attention to the happily skipping bunny, chalking it up to typical rabbit behavior.
Turning a corner, the rabbit entered a section of town where the streets were lined with small shops and businesses, but the upper floors are all rented out as apartments. She stopped in front of a particular claw salon owned by a pair of friendly red pandas. Then bounced through a side door and up the old, rickety stairs till she reached the third floor.
When she reached the fourth door along the narrow hallway, she turned and knocked gently on its worn surface. Continuing to jog in place made the bunny almost look like she was hopping gleefully while waiting for a reply. Several seconds pass before she knocked again, only a little harder this time.
On the third knock, the hopping stopped and she shouted through the door in agitation. "Nick. I know you're in there. Open this door. Nick..."
Several more minutes passed with no reply from beyond the silent portal, when she began rummaging through her pockets for the spare set of keys.
With the door finally open she poked her tiny head through the crack yelling once again for the room's occupant. "Nick? It's me, Judy. Are you in here?"
Her sharp rabbit ears picked up a soft muffled sound coming from the bedroom but she couldn't tell if it was a mumbled answer or just more snoring. It was obvious that whatever mammal made that sound was still very much asleep. She gave a dissatisfied grumble, closed the door and headed in search of the source of the noise.
In the bedroom she found a most disheveled sight. It was dark in the room, with the curtains blocking out the morning light, and there laying on the large bed, was a half dressed red fox still wearing the lower half of his uniform. The bed sheets were thrown in a rumpled pile on one corner of the mattress, and the pillows were nowhere to be seen. At some point in the middle of the night he had decided to use the upper half of his uniform as a pillow and it was balled up under his muzzle.
As the rabbit entered the darkened bedroom the sleeping fox let out a loud sputtering snore that almost sounded like he was trying to talk in his sleep. "Oh, Nick," she huffed and pulled back the curtains letting in the glorious daylight.
The fox's reaction was anything but immediate. With his next breath he let out a low groan, rolled over and attempted to cover his head with the dark blue shirt, but only managed to get one long sleeve over his pointed ears. His face scrunched up and his paws clenched as if the bright light filling the room caused him great pain even as he slept.
Carefully reaching out a fluffy paw, Judy tried to gently wake the soundly sleeping todd. Frustrated by his lack of a response she leapt onto the bed and began shaking him to no avail. However the light shining through the window revealed to her a new option.
Climbing over his still form she reached for the corner of a pillow that she could now see was sticking out from under the pile of sheets. Lifting the pillow high over her head, held firmly in both paws, she brought it down across his muzzle with a loud 'thwump'.
"Wake. Up. Nick." She emphasized each word by raining down an excruciating assault upon the poor fox's head with the large overstuffed bag of cotton fluff.
Her murderous barrage was rewarded by the larger red furred mammal rolling over onto his bare chest and snoring even louder.
Letting out an exasperated sigh she slumped down on the mattress and just listened to him breathing. His head was turned towards her and his nose wiggled like he was trying to catch a scent. She just sat there for a few minutes listening to his breathing and watched the wriggling black nose.
Suddenly she reached out and booped his nose with the well trimmed claw on the end of her plush grey finger. At her soft touch he bolted straight up to a sitting position with his arms raised and ready to fight, "What? Where?"
His eyes eventually focused on the rabbit sitting next to him with an angry expression on her muzzle. "Carrots, what are you doing here? Oww." He winced, holding up an arm to block out the early morning light. "Did you have to open the curtains? It's so bright it's giving me a headache."
"Get up, Slick." She threw the pillow at his face with enough force to knock him over and leapt off the bed. "We have a lot of things to do today."
"Like what? It's our day off." He said, pulling the pillow down from his face to cover his bare white chest.
"You forgot what we planned to do today, didn't you?" She smirked at him with her cute pink nose almost touching his big black one.
"No, no. I totally remember your big plans."
"Good. Then you can remember to buy the coffee when you're up." The rabbit stated leaving the room with a quick swish of her tiny tail. "Oh and you should probably take a shower too. You're smelling a bit foxy this morning."
"I do not," he sniffed at his arms. "Eww. Maybe you're right." Grabbing a towel off of the shelf he headed to the shower.
While scrubbing an apple scented shampoo into his thick orange fur his thoughts raced trying to remember what plans Judy had made for their days off. Franticly his mind ran through all of the conversations they had in the last few days looking for any hints or clues she might have said.
It wasn't until he stepped out of the shower and began to dry his fur that it came back to him. His thoughts had wandered in anticipation of that first cup of coffee when he remembered their conversation sitting outside the coffee shop the other day.
"The carnival." He exclaimed snapping his fingers. "She hasn't stopped talking about it all week. It's like she'd never been to one before." Tossing aside the towel he stepped in front of the blow dryer and shook out his tail.
"Do they even get carnival's out there in the country?" he wondered.
About thirty minutes later they were standing on a large metal platform alongside several other mammals, all waiting for the local train to arrive. The fair grounds, where the carnival was set up this year, were on the far side of town, out past the Meadowlands. It was too far to reasonably consider taking a bus, and the chief had strictly forbidden them from using their cruiser on weekends and personal trips. So they found themselves waiting on the old creaky elevated platform for the next commuter train.
Soon enough Judy's ears picked up the distant rattle and clank of the approaching trolley. She tugged on Nick's tie, looking down the tracks and pointed as the cars came into sight around the corner. "Here it comes."
"Good. Got our tickets, Fluff?"
"Right here, sleepy head." she held up the large paper tickets and smacked his nose with them playfully.
"Owww."
They climbed aboard the train once it came to a stop and took the nearest seats they could find. The car was quickly filled with mammals large and small, all trying to find their own spot to sit or stand. After a few brief moments the train took off again. It was a local train that stopped at every station along the way. The trip across town could take another forty minutes, so they decided to try and get comfortable in the crowded passenger car.
At every stop the all the mammals shuffled around them, and in Judy's mind it felt like the car would empty out just to be filled again.
"It's a weekend. Where are all of these mammals going?" The rabbit said after the third stop. She slumped back in the hard plastic seat nearly landing on the fox.
"Just relax, Fluff. We will be there soon enough."
Judy let out an angry huff and folded her arms across her chest leaning back against Nick's arm. He placed his paw on her shoulder in an effort to calm the stressed bunny.
"You're really tense today, Carrots." He commented to which she mumbled a grumpy reply.
Reaching out his other paw he started rubbing her shoulders carefully. The rabbit bumped into his chest as the train lurched forward again and her tall ears smacked him softly in the nose.
"Ouch. Hey, what the..." He lifted his paws to pull her floppy ears out of his face, but when his dark paws came into contact with the soft grey, plushy fur she let out a pleasant hum and leaned back against his chest with her eyes closed. "Oh you like that," he thought.
Quickly changing his tactics to help relax the tense little bunny he started to rub the tips of her ears instead of her neck and shoulders. She squirmed a little at the touch and scooted back into a more comfortable position letting him continue.
Slowly working his way down the twin towers of fluff, he made sure to gently massage every plushy grey inch. It only took a few moments of this attention before he could see all the tension begin melt away. The rabbit's face visibly relaxed and her warm lips curled into a cute little smile.
This was something new. He had never realized that Judy's ears were so sensitive, or that a simple touch could relax her so thoroughly. Stroking them firmly with both paws, he gave each ear his undivided attention until the bunny let out a soft squeak. With the back of her head laying on his chest he could actually feel her purr. The rabbit was a purely cute, puddle of mush in his arms and melting further with each caress of his big paws.
Inside the bare skin of her ears were such a dark red as the fox had never seen before. His sly mind came up with a sharp idea on the spot. While petting one ear with his paw, he extended a claw with the other and gently ran it up the insides almost scraping the dark red flesh. The deep moan that escaped from her tiny lips sent a shiver up his spine, leaving him momentarily stunned and he let her slowly slide off of his lap.
She hit the floor with a soft thump and a loud 'eep', waking her from the blissful dream.
"Hey you, Fox. Leave that poor rabbit alone!" A tall zebra who had been standing nearby stepped up to Nick and held a clenched hoof in front of his muzzle threateningly.
Judy woke from her daze and stood up to see a larger mammal threatening Nick. "What do you think you're doing?" She yelled at the zebra.
Turning to her the zebra exclaimed, "I am not going to stand here and let this 'predator' take advantage of you." The word predator was filled with such hate and disgust that Judy felt like she needed to take a long bath.
"How dare you threaten my friend like this!" The glare she gave the zebra made him take a few steps back. The rabbit pointed her tiny paw at the larger mammal's chest. "You and your prejudice make me sick. I don't want to see you harassing my Fox again." She made this last point by shoving her clenched paw into his muzzle. The zebra had never seen such a fierce reaction from a bunny before and he simply turned with an angry huff and strutted from the car, but not before looking back at them in revulsion.
The rest of the trip passed uneventfully with Judy's anger at the rude mammal slowly subsiding the closer they got to their destination. She kept looking out the window as the city slipped by and let out a childlike squeak when the carnival rides came into view. When the train finally pulled into the station she raced through the doors pulling Nick by the paw.
She literally ran the block and a half from the station all the way to the ticket booths hauling the fox behind her. "We're finally here, Nick. Isn't this so exciting?" She was jumping up and down clapping her paws in sheer joy.
"Two adults plus ride passes, that will be 45 Zoobucks." Said the bored looking cheetah inside the booth.
Turning to the fox, Judy gave him a questioning look.
"What?" he shrugged his shoulders.
"Aren't you going to pay the nice mammal?"
"Why me?" he implored with a paw across his chest.
"You should be a gentlemammal and pay for the lady's tickets, Slick" she smirked up at him flashing her pretty eyes.
The fox placed his paws on his knees and leaned over to the rabbit's eye level. "If I remember correctly you lost the bet the other day, Sweetheart."
"And who had to drag whose tail out of his bed this morning hmmm?" She balled her paws into fists and placed them on her hips glaring back at the fox. Her pink nose twitched in anger, bumping into his black one. Rubbing her itchy nose she added "Plus who bought breakfast and paid your train pass renewal this month?"
With patience the cheetah inside the ticket booth chuckled and rolled her eyes at the cute couple's antics. This was probably the most interesting thing she would see all day so she sat back and enjoyed the brief drama. It was still early and there wasn't much of a line yet, so she let them continue their flirty banter.
"I'm going to teach you some proper manners someday, even if I have to box it into that thick skull of yours."
"Ok, fine. I will let you skip out on our bet this once." The fox retorted with a wink to his small companion.
Stretching a paw down his backside a troubled expression crossed his muzzle and he started patting down all of his pockets. "Oh no. Not again."
Judy's expression turned dark as she scowled back at the fox. "What's wrong, darlin'?" She asked mockingly.
"I can't believe I did this again." He let out a pained sigh. "I am so sorry but I seem to have forgotten my wallet."
"You didn't!" The rabbit cried in shock.
"It's true this time. I am really very sorry, Judy." His muzzle pointed at the ground, eyes moistened, and his tail slipped between his legs. She had never seen him so disheartened before, it was almost priceless.
"Aww. It's alright, Slick." She said as her phone let out an audible 'click'. "That's why I took the precaution of grabbing it off your dresser before we left."
Grabbing the proffered wallet from her furred grasp, the somber look in his eyes turned to a bright cheery smile. "Clever bunny."
"Dumb fox."
She put her phone back into her pocket after saving Nick's photo to her micro storage card.
"Now go buy our tickets so we can find out what fun rides they have."
The carnival was set up in the old fair ground outside of town. It was a large empty dirt field past the Meadowlands that was often used by the local farmers to showcase their new tractors or prized produce. This weekend it was sectioned off with large hay bales separating the entertainment from the parking areas, and to keep the casual passerby from getting inside without purchasing tickets first. Several mammals, while waiting in line for tickets, decided to partake of all the free food stacked up outside and many of the bales had large chunks bitten out of them.
Inside was even less tidy with bits of straw mixed together with the loose gravel covering the ground. The straw was intended to give bare paws something softer to walk on. However, the sheer number of hooved animals at the carnival this year left the straw padding trampled to a pulp against the coarse gravel.
Judy was too caught up in all the bright sights and chaotic sounds to notice any discomfort under her paws. She joyously bounded from one brightly colored booth to the next gaudy tent or delicious smelling food wagon like a child in a candy store. Her paws wrapped around Nick's arm as she dragged him through each new sight and sound and smell.
"This is so amazing. I have never seen so many exciting things all in one place."
"What, you've never been to a carnival before, Carrots?" The fox said looking at the happy rabbit a little shocked.
"No. Nothing this big ever comes to the burrows." She said looking into a ring toss game as they slowly strolled past. "I mean we have the Carrot Days in midsummer and the county fair in the fall. Neither of those are this fancy, with the big rides, and so many little games to play."
"Yeah, and all this exotic food is making me hungry." He quickly wiped a bit of drool from his cheek before the bright eyed bunny could notice.
"Yes. Let's try this one over here." With the fox in tow she hopped over to the nearest food truck and promptly ordered the fried pickle on a stick.
"This is great Nick." She exclaimed chomping through the thickly battered vegetable. "I never knew fried pickles could be so good."
"Oh that does look interesting." He said tentatively holding up something deep fried and smothered in chocolate.
"You really should try this." The bunny said taking another nibble of her snack before holding it up to the fox's muzzle.
"Ah, no thanks." Putting his paw up he tried to push the fried green plant away from his nose.
"Come on, just one bite." She pled giving him her biggest puppy eyed look.
He tried to turn away from those shining, amethyst weapons of mass cuteness but failed to escape in time. "Alright, the cute bunny wins, this time."
"Damn straight."
"But you have to try what I ordered first." He held up his own greasy carnival treat.
"Um, oh, ok." Judy said falteringly, but the warm smell of chocolate helped bolster her courage. "It can't be all that bad."
The rabbit took a chaste bite of the chocolate covered treat, chewed for a few moments sampling the flavors before she swallowed. Her eyes slowly brightened as she chewed. "Mmm, this is really good, Slick. It's warm, sweet and just a little spicy, and the crunchy crust is just wonderful." She leaned over to take another bite as Nick snatched it from away her lips but she swiped it out of his paws instead.
With her mouth full she mumbled, "What is it?"
"That my dear is a rare delicacy they serve at the Big's house on special occasions. It's called a Sausage Roll."
Her only reply was a grinding, mumbled hum as she savored the delightful taste of her second bite.
"It's made from grasshopper meat." He added casually.
"Pfffffffffttttttttt!" She immediately spat out the contents of her mouth and furiously pawed at her tongue.
Nick just fell down on the straw-covered gravel and began to laugh emphatically holding his stomach. Seeing the fox's folly, the rabbit politely covered her mouth and began to giggle. They chortled together for several minutes rolling around on the ground until they were both very dirty.
When they finally came to their senses he asked her earnestly, "It's not really that bad is it?"
"No, it is actually quite good." She confessed, and to prove it to him she grabbed his paw to take a third bite of the chocolate covered sausage roll. He carefully watched her eyes as she demurely nibbled on his treat.
After taking a few more bites she held out what was left of her own fried vegetable on a stick. "Now it's your turn," she said cheerfully.
He took a small bite of the pickle with his overly large jaws and tried to chew it slowly but made a horrible face. "Oh dam! This is so bitter and sour. Ugh."
The expressions he was making while trying not to gag made Judy break into another fit of laughter.
"This isn't funny, Carrots." He said after finally swallowing the offensively sour pickle.
Standing up and dusting off her jeans, she reached out a paw to the todd and helped him climb back onto his feet.
"That was fun, so what should we do next, Carrots?"
"Let's find out what else this place has to offer." Yanking his paw hard enough to make a soft popping sound she hopped around the next tent towing him behind her.
Barely going around the next corner the bunny came to a complete stop with her jaw wide open in amazement. Nick would've barreled into her if he hadn't quickly dodged to the side and stumbled past her.
There, before the rabbit was a short line of mammals leading up to a tall contraption with dozens of long spindly arms holding up a massive ring. The arms were lined with blinking lights and at the end of each was a cute metal chair shaped like a wide tea cup with a colorful umbrella above the rim.
Mammals would climb into the cups and close a padded iron bar across their laps then the operator would pull a small lever to its halfway position causing the ring to spin. One cup full of mammals would rise into the air while another slowly descended to the ramp. The cup would stop to lett out a group of mammals and another group would take their place. This continued until six cups had been filled when the operator pulled the lever all the way down and let the ring spin slowly for a couple of minutes. Many whistles and cheers could be heard from above while the ride moved. Eventually the operator pushed the lever back up and started the process all over again.
The dazed bunny spent a moment staring at the huge contraption in awe before she let out an excited squeak. "The Ferris Wheel!"
"Yes, that's what they're called, Darlin."
"You wouldn't believe how long I have wanted to ride on one of these." Pulling on his arm she skipped over to the end of the short line.
Within minutes they were ushered onto the ramp and boarded a faded green tea cup with torn and tattered cushions. They took their seats and pulled the iron bar closed across their chests. The operator, a young and scruffy moose, pulled twice on their safety bar then set a yellow striped pin in place before walking back to the ride's controls.
Judy anxiously watched him reach for the big lever on top of the control box. When the moose pulled it down to the halfway position the car lurched forward several meters and stopped suddenly, leaving the fox and rabbit swinging back and forth in their seat slowly. He finally pulled the lever all the way down after loading up a couple more cars with the waiting passengers. Their car lurched forward again sending them swinging as they ascended through the arc of the giant ring.
The rabbit gleefully swung her legs back and forth with the rhythm of their car in an attempt to kept them swinging, but suddenly stopped when they neared the top. She gazed over the rim as the cityscape rose and fell in the distance. "It's beautiful." She cried, trying to drag the fox over to her side of the car as the began it's second rotation.
"Hmmm," he shrugged at her trying not to look down.
"Oh, what's wrong, Slick?"
"It's nothing, Carrots. I've just seen it all before, a hundred times over. So it's nothing new to me."
"Well, it's new to me. And you did kind of promise to show me around, or did you forget that too, Dumb Fox?"
"Ok, let's see then." He scooted over to her side of the car and pointed over her shoulder. "Do you see that building up on the hill with the three twisting towers?"
"Yeah. They look like they are spiraling around each other." Her eyes widened trying to get a better look at the building he was pointing at. Their car was starting to make it's slow descent and soon the view of the city was hidden behind the tents and other rides.
When the tall spires came back into view Nick continued with his story. "So, on the very tip of that one on the left is a pretty cool restaurant with an amazing view of the city."
"Oh, wow. We should go there sometime."
"I don't know, Fluff." He let out a rough sigh. "It's pretty hard to get into, and really expensive. I hear the waiting list can take a couple of months."
"Don't worry. I really do want to see the view from up there and I'm sure I can wait for it. Besides we're not going anywhere silly fox."
"Actually we are, the ride will be over soon." The fox stated as the wheel began another loop.
"Aww, and I was having such a good time."
"Oh? This one is a bit slow for my taste. Can we go on something a bit more fast paced next?"
"Sure. How about that one." She pointed to a black monstrosity with seven huge arms each holding five single seats. The arms were spinning around in such a crazy pattern it was hard for her eyes to follow, and she kept thinking one of the seats was going to fly off at any second.
"Yes. The Squid Spinner is perfect." The fox exclaimed trying to leap out of the seat before their car came to a stop, but the iron bar wouldn't budge no matter how much he wrestled with it.
Rolling his eyes the operating moose walked up to them and lifted the latch, releasing the anxious fox whose turn it was to haul the bunny down the ramp to the exit.
They managed to try out several other rides before their passes ran out. Most of the ones they tried were either fast paced or scary, but they both agreed they would finish up by trying out the big, glittery carousel.
The carousel had an odd mix of fantasy sea creatures and strange flying lizards. Judy chose a noble looking seahorse while Nick picked a large white fish with a sharp pointy nose. Like a gentlemammal from the past, the fox helped his lady friend onto the back of her seahorse but fumbled terribly when it came to his own mount. He pretended to slip a couple of times and when he eventually climbed up on it's back, he ended up facing the wrong way. When the ride started Judy thought his mount looked like it was trying to throw him off its back and she broke out in a series of warm chuckles. They spent the rest of the ride in outrageous laughter with Nick trying very hard not to fall off again.
After their last ride was over and they were out of tickets they stood around near the carousel trying to decide what to do next. It was early afternoon with many hours of daylight left and Judy wanted to spend every one of them here at the carnival.
"We've spent all our ride passes." Nick was explaining. "So what should we do next?"
"How about we grab another snack and then check out some of the games." Judy replied. "I really want to take home a prize or two to remember the fun we had today."
"Then just buy a t-shirt or something, Fluff."
"Naw, I was hoping my best friend, this sly fox I know, could win something." She smirked up at him and gave a sly wink.
"Sounds like a real gentlemammal you got there."
"I wonder about that sometimes, Slick."
The fox opened his muzzle to reply but was thrown to the ground as a darkly furred stoat ran into him and kept on going.
"What the hell." The rabbit exclaimed when her ears perked up and turned in the direction the stoat had come from.
A young pig came running up to chase after the tiny fleeing mammal. "Stop, stop thief." She was so winded that she almost collapsed in front of Judy.
Helping the other mammal back up to her feet the rabbit asked her what happened. "He took my purse, and now he's getting away."
A fierce determination filled her face as she looked around for the escaping thief. When she spotted the stoat, he disappeared around the corner of a red and yellow striped tent. She called out to her partner and took a step back. "Wilde, toss me!" She pushed off with her strong legs straight at the fox who was still on his knees.
When he saw the fierce rabbit charging straight at him he cupped his paws together moments before she stepped into them. He lifted her leg in his paws as he stood up at the same time, launching her into the air as a deadly missile of pure bunny fury.
Ears flapping in the breeze, she twisted her lithe body into a tight bullet shape and sailed over the crowds and got a great view of park. After a quick glance, she spotted the thieving ermine trying to make a straight line for the wall of hay bales. Rolling into a ball she landed on the roof of a large colorful tent, bounced off the soft material and pushed off with her powerful hind legs propelling herself back into the air.
The much lower arc quickly brought her to the top of the wall with the stoat still scampering up the side trying to haul the heavy purse in his teeth. With his escape assured, he failed to see the large rabbit paw brutally smash into his face knocking him from the wall to crash onto the hard ground below.
Quickly recovering from the fall, he flipped and spun back onto his feet. Making several blindingly fast leaping and spinning moves with his body, he picked up the huge purse and launched in the other direction.
Judy was not impressed with the mustelid's ameture acrobatic tricks and simply tackled him to the ground. With the much larger mammal trying to pin him down, he rolled and squirmed to get out of her grasp. He eventually managed to get the upper paw, and scampered onto her back and leapt for the hay bales once again, but was pulled up short by a sturdy metal chain causing him to land face first in the dirt.
Looking up from the hard ground he saw that both his paws were cuffed and linked to the rabbit's arm. He wasn't going anywhere now, so he turned to his captor, bared his tiny sharp teeth and let out a vicious snarl.
"Keep that up buddy and we will be forced to muzzle you." Came a familiar voice from behind her. She turned to glance over her shoulder and spotted Nick walking up carrying a well used roll of duct tape with about two inches of tape pulled out. He also had his badge clipped to his belt in plain view of the public, the young purse snatching victim followed him cautiously.
The fox looked down at the tape he had already drawn, shrugged his shoulders and tore the piece off before attaching it across the stoats mouth. He bent over to pick up the purse, returning it to the pig while she profusely thanked him.
Judy flashed the stoat her badge and read him his rights. "If you understand these rights as I have explained them to you, you can just mumble and nod." He nodded his head and screeched something unintelligible under the tape. "I'll take that as a yes." Turning back to her partner she asked him, "I don't suppose you brought your radio?"
He just shook his head and replied, "I guess we could always try and find the security office." Then he looked up at the young pig. "I'm sorry ma'am but you will have to come with us to make a statement to press charges."
"Of course." She said with disgust, turning her back on the cuffed and taped stoat pointing her snout in the air to be lead away by the smooth talking fox. Judy followed them with her prisoner in tow, half dragging, half carrying him as he futilely struggled to get free.
Turning the thief into the park's security office and making their reports they decided to return to the fun and games instead of waiting for the local ZPD to arrive. Besides, they didn't feel like chatting with any of the officers from the Meadowlands Precinct #6, but wanted to get back to enjoying their day off instead.
They took turns playing all of the different games that the carnival had to offer. Judy did well at most of the games of skill, while Nick seemed to excel more often where luck was involved. They didn't win every time, but came away with their fair share of prizes. At the ring toss Judy won a t-shirt that read "Don't call me Cute" while Nick managed to acquire one with the words "Trust Me" printed on the back. She still didn't know how he got away with it from that shifty guy at the water gun booth.
"Well if it isn't Foxy and Flopsie." They heard a familiar voice call out as they approached one of the game booths with colorful balloons pinned to the back wall.
"Duke Weaselton. What are you doing here?" Nick remarked snidely, leaning on the counter.
"Wouldn't you like to know pawpsicle guy."
"Yes we would." Judy said placing her paws down hard giving the weasel a mean glare.
"E-easy there c-cottontail." He jumped back from her glare stuttering. "It's an easy gig. I just stand here all day and get paid."
"Is that it?" The rabbit asked leaning closer to the weasley carney.
"Yeah, yeah. That's it."
"Then why don't I trust you?" Nick remarked casually.
"Alright." Duke's shifty eyes looked around the crowd and he even turned to peak behind the booth's curtain before he leaned over to whisper to two off duty cops. "Since we're all good friends here I'll let you in on the trick." He leaned over trying to whisper. "This guy who runs the place is a big card player. There's this big game planned this evening, after closing."
"Oh that's very interesting, but what's this go to do with you, Duke?"
"All the employees are invited, of course. I plan to make away big! No more hawking cheap DVDs for this weasel." He said proudly puffing up the chest of his bright and colorful carnival jersey.
"You know that unregistered gambling is illegal here. Maybe we should have a talk with this carnival manager, eh Nicky?" The rabbit said sideways smirking at her partner.
"No no no. Please, uh don't do that." Cried the weasel waving his paws in front of him as if they could somehow stop the overly anxious bunny.
She just continued to glare at him.
Duke quickly grabbed a pawfull of darts and held them up to them. "How about a free game for the lady, hmmm?"
"Make it two games and you got a deal." The fox added.
"Sure, sure. Here take these." He handed over another pawfull of darts.
"So what exactly do we have to do?"
"It's easy, Fluff. You just have to break the balloons like this." Nick threw a dart which gracefully flew through the air hitting a bright yellow balloon. The dart quickly bounced off the balloon and fell to the ground with its feathered tail standing straight up. Judy snickered and the weasel let out a loud guffaw.
"Yeah, you break three balloons in a row and win one of these rare plush toys." He gestured to the string of stuffed animals that lined his booth.
"Three in a row huh? Doesn't sound so hard." Nick;s next two shots missed entirely and his last one actually managed to break one of the white balloons.
"Good job." The weasel encouraged, clapping his paws, "care to try for another round?"
The todd scowled, "They pay you to say that don't they?"
"Yeah kinda." He shrugged. "But it always gets the suckers to buy more darts."
"It's my turn boys." The rabbit said pushing past the fox and stepping up to the counter with a strong overhand throw. Her first shot completely missed but went entirely through the back board.
"Damit, Flopsie. Easy on the super powers alright. I have to pay for any damages ya know."
Her next shot bounced off the balloon like Nick's had earlier causing the weasel to chuckle. Nick just nodded in her direction. She gritted her teeth and leaned into her next shot. The dart hit the balloon dead center and had enough force to pin it to the back wall where it hissed for a second and slowly deflated.
"What the hell is this?" She cried to the surprised weasel.
"Sorry, it must be a defective one." He said walking over and quickly pulled the dart and the balloon from the board and looked around hoping no one else saw it.
"It still counts tho." Nick interjected.
"Of course, of course. The lady still needs two more to win it."
The rabbit pulled her arm back preparing for a strong overhand throw, but as she was about the release Duke sneezed causing her shot to go wild sticking in the board next to a pretty pink balloon.
"Argh. You did that on purpose you dirty little cheat." She cried grabbing his collar pulling him across the counter.
"Whoa, easy Carrots. We don't want to cause a scene now. I'm sure it was just an accident, right Duke?"
"Yeah, yeah. An accident." He said straightening his shirt as she let him go. "She still has one dart left. Maybe she can get lucky."
Nick's eyes got very wide. "Lucky," he cried then mumbled something under his breath about even odds. He then leaned over and whispered into the rabbit's tall ears causing her to shiver and giggle, remembering the feeling of his claws on them earlier.
"Are you sure?" She asked looking up at him when he finished whispering.
"Mhmm." He nodded holding up his t-shirt.
She stepped back aiming for the center of the board and then started to swing her arm in a wide circle like she was winding up for a really big pitch. Suddenly her arm switched directions causing the dart to fly from her paw in an underhanded throw. The dart slowly flew high across the booth with three pairs of eyes following it through it's steep arc. It finally came straight down against the board in an almost vertical descent popping the top most balloon as it passed and every sequential one as it fell.
With that one single throw Judy had managed to pop five balloons in a row leaving the weasel standing completely shocked inside his booth.
"Yes!" She cheered jumping in the air and pumping her fists in excitement.
"I'd call that a win, wouldn't you say? Ah, Duke. Wake up, buddy."
"So we get to pick any of these prizes?" The rabbit asked.
""Um, I think I've got just the right one for ya, Darlin." Said the weasel shaking off his stunned expression. He reached up to the string of stuffed animals and pulled down a fluffy red fox wearing a green shirt.
"Oh, that's so adorable!" She squealed grabbing the doll from the carney's paws and gave it a big squeeze. "It looks just like you, Nick."
They spend the rest of the day wandering around nibbling on cotton candy and various other treats while looking into the other attractions. A grizzly bear wearing too many plastic beads looked into her crystal ball and read their paws. An old goat hummed a mysterious toon while drawing their caricatures. They even found an instant photo booth hidden in an out of the way corner behind some of the rides. The photos it took were all black and white and very blurry, but they still had a lot of fun sitting in the booth making wild and crazy faces for the camera.
It was very late when the sun started to set so they decided to leave with their treasures and take the long ride home. The sky was dark and filled with the twinkle of many distant stars when they finally arrived at the station nearest Judy's apartment. Nick walked with her up to the steps before saying good night and heading off to his own place.
She was so tired from the long exciting day that she barely changed into her night clothes and tossed the plushy fox next to her pile of rabbit dolls on her bed, before she fell into the pillows and was sound asleep in seconds.
Shortly before midnight the nightmare returned. This time she was running through the carnival grounds in the dark, being chased by the same burning orange eyes and drooling fangs. Somewhere in the direction of the distant city she could sense the musky smell of safety. She turned a corner and ran as fast as she could towards the safe scent when she suddenly hit the ground with a loud thump.
When she lifted her head she was back in her room laying on the floor beside her bed with a sore nose. She could still feel the eyes watching her from the shadows ready to pounce at any second. The scent of safety was right beside her. Hanging from the back of her desk chair was Nick's green shirt, where she had planned to return it to him the next time he stopped by, but had forgotten again. Without a second thought she pulled it off the chair and threw it around her shoulders climbing back into bed.
The nightmares fled and did not return again that night.
Moments after her head hit the pillow a series of soft chimes filled her room.
"Oh what is it now?" She grumbled raising from the bed with the sun shining brightly through her window. "It's morning already?" The chimes continued, coming from something resting on her desk.
"My phone." Scrambling to get out from under the covers she quickly raced over to the desk and answered the Muzzletime call.
"Oh hey, it's my mother."
"Hey bun bun," came the voice of Bonnie, whose grey fluffy image filled the screen. "How is the big city treating you these days?"
"It's alright. They keep me pretty busy at the ZPD, so I really don't get out all that much."
"That's too bad hun. You need to get out and have some fun sometimes. Like I've always said, all work and no play makes for a sad bun indeed."
"I know mom," she sighed. "I do go out for a jog in the park as often as I can."
"That's not what I mean. You should go make some friends, or try to meet a nice buck, or maybe a doe if that more your taste. Your father and I won't judge."
"Mom…" Judy cried putting her muzzle into her paws.
"What do other rabbit's do around the there anyways? We hardly know anything about the big city and we want to hear all about it. Your cousins moved out there a few years before you did but we never hear anything from them. It's up to you to give us all the details hun."
"Nick says the same thing, he promised to show me around the city when we have more time off."
"Nick! Who's this Nick?"
Exasperated Judy tried to explain. "I've already told you before, mom. I work with him."
"Oh, um. Was he the guy you were talking about before. The one you convinced to become a cop. You never told us what his name was hun so it's hard for to remember everything." Bonnie stated crossing her arms under her breasts.
"Sorry mom. But Nick also says I should get out more. Take the time to learn the city more, and to not be such an uptight super cop all the time."
"He calls you a 'super cop'?"
"Yeah, sometimes. Usually he just calls me 'Fluff' or 'Carrots'"
"Well that's sweet. Why in the world does he call you 'Carrots' though?" Bonnie's expression turned to one of motherly concern.
"Oh, it's a long story mom. But basically it's because I grew up as a carrot farmer."
"Well he must really like carrots then." Her mom said with a cheerful glint in her eye.
"Yeah, I guess..." Judy shrugged. "He really prefers blueberries though. I have just grown used to all the nicknames now."
"That's ok then. It's good to have cute nicknames between close friends. You are close right?" The older rabbit's expression turned serious as she glared at her daughter.
"Of course mom, he is my best friend after all. He took me to this big carnival yesterday where we had lots of fun. And on the train ride out there I was so stressed from work he helped me relax by rubbing my ears and…"
Bonnie sharply cut off her daughter and nearly shouted over the phone in shock. "You let him touch your ears?"
"Um, yeah, but it was nothing mom. He was just…" Judy stammered trying to calm her mother.
The older rabbit cut her off again. "Is this something I need to know about hun? Is he your," her voice lowered almost a whisper, "your boyfriend?"
"No! No mom we're just really good friends is all." Waving her arms across the phone like she could wipe the idea from her mother's mind.
Across the phone she could hear a voice yelling in the background. "Boyfriend!"
Her mother turned to look away from the camera. "Oh, Stu." she said as her husband came into view.
"My little 'Jude the Dude' has a boyfriend?"
"No dad. Nick is not my boyfriend."
"Then explain to me why you're dressed like that."
"Huh?" The young doe looked down at her clothes and realized she still had on Nick's green flowery shirt, and it wasn't even buttoned. "Eep." She squeaked quickly trying to cover her bare chest and fasten the buttons while not doing a good job of hiding the embarrassment from her parents.
"Why are you half dressed and wearing a 'Mans' shirt?" His shaking paw pointed at her across the miles.
"Now Stu, let me handle this ok…"
"Sure Bon, I've got help the boys warm up the tractors anyways." He waved his paw in the air and walked off camera.
Once Judy was done covering up her mother continued speaking. "He means well of course, and I think he is just a little excited."
"Please mom. There is nothing going on with us. I don't understand why you would even think that."
"Well if he is your friend that is a good thing then. Your father and I are just concerned for you, and we want you to be happy. You have always been different than the rest of your siblings, and never looked at any of the boys in school. Well, not since, um, you know…" She let her voice trail off for a second. "And we are happy to hear you're making friends in the big city."
"Yes, mom. I actually have several friends here. There is everyone at the ZPD, and a few mammals outside of work I can call friend. Plus Nick has always been here for me."
"This Nick is someone special though right?"
"Of course." Judy said rolling her eyes at the obvious question. "He is my best friend mom. That's it, nothing more."
"Ok bun bun, that's good then." Bonnie said, not convinced that her daughter was being entirely honest. "Speaking of best friends, you really should speak to Jenny. It's been a year since you two last talked, and she was very upset when you left. I think it's time to mended that broken fence don't you?"
"Yes, mom." Judy sighed again. "It's really not my fault thought."
"I know dear, but at least take the time to talk to your sister please. It would really mean a lot to her to hear from you once in awhile."
"Mom, she can always call me anytime. Why can't she just call whenever she wants to talk or something?" The younger rabbit pleaded.
"You know exactly why hun. You're always busy and she doesn't want to bother you. You work such odd hours all the time, none of us ever know when you're going to be free. Please just call when you're off next."
"Ok. I'm off today. Can you tell her that I will give her a ring after I've had a chance to wake up and get some breakfast."
"You got it sweetie." Bonnie's cheerful expression returned as she reached to press a furred paw to the phone.
"Before you go mom, I wanted to remind you about the reservations for your anniversary next month."
"Oh, yes. What about them?"
"I have the train tickets and the hotel reservations already set up so I will send you the details and mail out the tickets tomorrow."
"That's great news. Stu and I are really looking forward to coming to visit you and getting a look at the big city. We heard that it has changed so much since we were there for our honeymoon."
"Me too mom. I really want to show you guys around all the great places I see at work."
"Thanks hun. Now you have a great day off and tell your boy… ah, your, um friend we said hello, ok."
"I will mom." Judy said putting her paw to her shaking forehead as her mom hung up the call. "He's NOT my boyfriend."
[A/N] I really hope you like this extra long chapter. It is another talkie one with lots of fluff. This is the first big project I have written in a very long time so I really appreciate all the feedback I can get. It has been alot of work so please let me know what you think.
This chapter has a couple of key elements to the story that really define why I gave it that title. With everything that is going on around them, both Nick and Judy fail to see the depth of their relationship. Her parents, and even Weaselton can see whats going on between them.
I really had alot of fun writing the purse snatching scene. Stoats are also a natural predator of rabbits so it was pretty satisfying having Judy take him down so quickly.
And now for the comments:
gonekrazy3000: Thank you, I am glad your enjoying it. Don't worry, Bogo will get his moment soon enough ;)