Loves Bond
Chapter 11 - Meet The Wildes
A row of tall brownstone apartment buildings huddled together in the autumn breeze. No two buildings looked exactly alike, some had square windows while others had arches. Yet another building had large bay windows stacked up one side giving the impression that it had a tall column running up the entire length.
The apartments were part of an old neighborhood on the edge of Savanna Central. It had been considered the height of fashion nearly a century ago, with flowering trees and quaint little flower gardens out front. Now the trees were long since dead and the gardens paved over to make room for the widening streets.
Well-worn stone steps led up to the front entrance of each building where a simple, wooden door greeted guests and tenants alike. Some steps had cracked and chipped through the long years and the railing of one had completely crumbled away. Next to the crumbled steps, a wrought iron table had been shoved in a corner with a weathered tarp drawn over the top. A shopping cart loaded with random junk was parked alongside.
Through one third story window, a fox could be seen preparing an evening meal. With both paws, she placed a large roasting pan in the oven and set the dial for thirty minutes. After wiping her paws on her apron, she cleaned off the counter and put away all of her preparation tools and spices.
On top of the stove, a small pot of tea was set to boil while she laid out three placemats on an antique table that her grandmother had given her before the ancient fox had passed. The table was well made from a dark wood that her grandmother said only grew in the old country. In the center, the vixen carefully placed a small vase with a seasonal bouquet of orange, brown and yellow flowers. She adjusted the flowers so that the blooms were evenly dispersed around the table.
Vivian busied herself around the small apartment as she waited for her guests to arrive. It had been over a decade since her son had brought a lady home and she wanted to make a good impression. He had hardly ever spoken about this female but she suspected that it was someone that he worked with in his new job.
The vixen stopped in front of a large oval mirror with tiny flower petals carved into its wooden frame. Today she wore a light-blue blouse that matched the color of her eyes and a tasteful, dark-purple skirt. Around her wrist was a small silver chain and at the base of each ear were two faux pearl studs.
While she was arranging the cushions on the short couch, a firm knock came at the door. She gave her tail a quick floof before rushing to the door. Turning the deadbolt, she unlocked the door, pulled the chain, and kicked the doorstop to the side before swinging the solid wood barrier open and greeted her son.
For the first time in many years, her son accepted his mother's greeting with a warm hug. The younger tod wrapped his arms completely around the vixen and held her close for several seconds. She closed her eyes and relished in her son's strong embrace.
Releasing him from the hug, she held him in her outstretched paws and looked him over, "You look different. Have you lost weight?" She squeezed his broad shoulders, "And put on a lot of muscle. This new job has really done you a lot of good, Nicky."
He was dressed in a dark green, button-up shirt that had actually been tucked into his shiny, black slacks. His charcoal gray tie, with tiny clover patterns printed on it, looked like it had been tied by a professional instead of his normal sloppy carelessness. To the vixen's eyes, he looked very sharp, almost like he was going out on a first date.
"Thanks, mom," Nick said with a blush as he pawed her a small bunch of yellow daisies.
Vivian's breath caught in her throat and tears began to fill her eyes when she accepted the beautiful gift. Nick had not come by her house in years. They occasionally talked on the phone but he rarely paid her a visit. This was the first time he had ever brought her flowers since he was a small child, and she fought the urge to cry with joy.
The happy emotions immediately fled when her son stepped aside and introduced his new girlfriend. Her tears dried and the lump in her throat was replaced with a new emotion that stole her voice.
Stepping past his mother and into the apartment, Nick turned and waved to the pretty bunny that waited in the hall. She wore a lovely salmon-colored dress that seemed to shimmer in the light. Around her shapely hips, was a shiny, black belt that matched the tiny pawbag hanging from a long strap around her shoulder. At the base of one of her ears, was a stretch band of interwoven purple flowers that set off the color of her eyes.
"Oh," the vixen uttered under her breath.
"Mother, I would like to introduce my date, Judy Hopps." He turned to the small rabbit in the pretty dress and waved his paw back towards the vixen. "Judy, this is my mother."
When her boyfriend mentioned her name, Judy saw the vixen's eyes turn dark and cold for a second before a mask slammed over her muzzle. Where once the rabbit had seen tears of joy on the vixen's muzzle, she now saw a faux smile and a barely contained snarl. This was the same mask she had seen Nick wear whenever he wanted to hide his true emotions.
Holding out her paw to Judy, the vixen leaned over with that obviously false smile. "Vivian Wilde," she replied.
"Judy Hopps," the doe said, smiling warmly as they shook paws.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Judy," Vivian returned. If Judy had not spent so much time with a fox over the last six months, she would never have noticed the lie in the vixen's words.
"Please, come in," the red vixen ushered her guests inside the small apartment. Once they had stepped through the open door, she quickly looked into the hall before closing the door and securing the numerous locks.
Vivian waved them around the corner towards the living area where the couch and a matching recliner waited, "Have a seat. Can I get either of you something, tea perhaps?"
"Yes, please. Some tea sounds great, Vivian," Judy chirped as she hopped towards the couch.
Pulling on her son's sleeve, Vivian yanked him towards the kitchen with a mother's hiss and whispered in his ear, "Nick. You never told me that your girlfriend was a .. a." She waved her paw in a circle in Judy's direction.
"A rabbit?" Judy asked from the other room, still clearly in sight of the two foxes.
The vixen looked shocked at the rabbit, but Judy pointed at her long ears. "A vegetarian," was the fox's reply. She turned back to her son, "You never told me she was a vegetarian. I made my famous baked tilapia for dinner."
Nick's tail fell and he looked at the floor, "I am sorry mom." He walked over to her refrigerator and opened the door, "Maybe we can figure something else out for Judy."
Inside, Vivian's fridge was very clean and the food that did remain was unsuitable for a hungry rabbit. There was a leftover slice of cake from a co-worker's birthday, a bottle of wine that was meant to go with the fish, a pawful of uncooked red potatoes, and a box of day-old fried crickets and chips from McBuggers. Not a single carrot or side of cabbage to be seen, while the icebox had a frozen filet of some white fish.
She shooed the tod out of her kitchen and shut the fridge door with a huff, "Go join your date and I will get the tea ready."
When Nick sat down on the two mammal couch next to his rabbit, she was glancing around the room at the small pictures that lined the walls. Most of the images were of family and many were of Nick as a kit, but there was occasionally an older fox couple. Standing next to one wall, was a bookcase that contained mostly nick-nacks and memorabilia, along with very few books. A short coffee table sat in front of the couch with a small candy dish in the center, that was surrounded by popular fashion and gardening magazines.
One photograph that stood near the center of the bookshelf was an autographed picture of three different mammals wearing tight fighting space uniforms. In the center was a proud looking tiger wearing a golden yellow captain's uniform while to his left and right were a tall deer and an antelope that was made up to look like he was born on another world.
As the fox set his haunches next to her, he placed his tail in her lap, which she gratefully ran her fingers through with a soft purr. Despite the pleasure, she took in the closeness of her fox, she looked up at him with a question on her lips.
The rabbit's question was left unasked as Vivian came around the corner carrying a delicate tea set on an old-fashioned tray. Setting the tray down on the coffee table, she poured three cups. She passed one to her son and took another for herself before sitting in the recliner next to the couch.
Seeing that his date was left without, Nick passed his cup to Judy and grabbed the last one remaining on the tray. "Thanks for the tea, mom," Nick replied.
Judy took a small sip of the hot, brown liquid and nodded towards the vixen with a raised cup, "Yes, Vivian, this tea is excellent."
"Oh, it is nothing," the vixen replied without any hint of warmth in her voice. "It is a very common, pre-packaged blend they sell in all the stores around here."
Taking another sip, Judy smiled back at the vixen, "It is really very good."
Nick pulled his date closer and gave her a gentle squeeze with his free paw, "Judy likes to make her own tea with the fresh herbs she finds at the farmer's market near our place."
Vivian's faux smile dropped for a second as she waved her cup at the mixed couple sitting on her couch, "So the two of you are sharing a place then?"
"Yes," Judy replied. "It's a lot more convenient since we both work together. That way we only have to make one trip to the precinct instead of two."
"I see," the vixen said before sipping from her cup.
A thick silence hung in the air for several minutes while Vivian watched her son and his date. They must have developed a special bond if he was letting her actually pet his tail. She would have been fine if Nicky had been dating any other mammal, even another rabbit, but not this rabbit.
After what felt like an hour, Judy set down her teacup and tried to warm the mood in the chilly room, "So, this is a very nice place you have here, Vivian. It looks like you have spent a lot of time decorating. I like the retro look of these photos. Everything is very nice."
"I guess," Vivian replied with slightly less warmth than the autumn air outside. "Nicky could have been around more to help me move in the furniture." She set her own cup down and began to collect the tea set before returning to the kitchen.
Several more minutes passed and Judy thought she heard the sound of something clattering in the kitchen sink before the vixen returned silently. When the pretty fox sat down, the rabbit caught the glimpse of a glare directed at the tod.
Standing up from the couch, Judy brushed Nick's tail from her lap before brushing off her pink skirt. "This was a mistake," she declared. "I should probably go. You two obviously have a lot to talk about and I am only getting in the way."
Judy started to walk towards the door but Nick grabbed her paw, "Judy wait. What is wrong?"
She turned around to look at the hint of sorrow in her fox's eyes, "I don't know what I did, Nick, but your mother is clearly upset with us or me, or I don't know. So I am going to leave and let the two of you work it out."
Completely puzzled, the tod looked between his mother and his date, "Wait a minute. Whatever gave you the impression that my mother is upset? She has been perfectly polite to you this entire time."
"Nick," Judy cried. "Are you blind, she has had her fox mask up the whole time, and her feigned pleasantries have been as cold as a pawpsicle in Tundratown."
"My what? A fox mask?" Vivian asked in shock, with a paw covering her open muzzle. A hint of anger showed in her eyes as she turned to her son, "What stories have you been telling this poor child?"
"It is nothing your son has told me," the rabbit turned her irritation on the shocked vixen. "It's the same look he gets whenever he is trying to hide what he is really feeling. I call it his fox mask, and you have had the same look ever since you saw me in the hall."
"Is this true mother?" Nick asked the vixen with two pawfuls of concern in his voice.
"Not at all dear," Vivian tried to wave off the idea with a lukewarm chuckle. "The rabbit is obviously imagining things."
"Mother!" Nick exclaimed as he stood from the couch and faced the other fox. He clearly recognized all the signs that a hustle had gone bad and his mother was covered in them. The pawed deflection, the fake chuckle, and the darting eyes, all signs that his mother had lied.
Standing in front of his mother, Nick scowled down at her, "Would you please tell me what is wrong with my dating Judy?"
Pointing a sharp claw, she glared back up at her son, "Don't you yell at me, son! I have no problem with you dating whichever mammal you choose. Even a bunny, if that makes you happy, but I have every problem with you dating THAT bunny." She pointed her sharp claw directly at Judy. "I never thought I would see the day when The Officer Hopps walked into my home."
"Oh," Judy cried with both paws over her muzzle. Her ears fell and she lowered her head in shame.
"I never told you this Nick," the vixen's fury seemed to rise, melting away the icy-cold shell that had been sitting in the recliner only moments before. "She was the reason I lost my job." She turned the fury onto the small, cowering rabbit, "After that little speech you gave, my boss fired me on the spot. No questions asked, no severance and no apology. I have never been fired from a job before in my life, and then, because of her ..." Vivian snapped her fingers in a wide-sweeping motion through the air.
Tears began to flow freely from the bunny's big, lavender eyes, "I am truly sorry, Mrs. Wilde."
The vixen simply stuck her nose in the air like the crying rabbit was nothing more than gum stuck to the bottom of her paw straps.
"I-I s-should never h-have," Judy began to violently choke on her own words. "Trusting Bellwether was a mistake, and-and I should n-never have said any of t-those things at the press conference."
Nick rushed over to the water fountain that had somehow replaced his beautiful girlfriend and gave her a tight squeeze, but she shoved him away. When he tried to speak, she fell to her knees and cut him off.
Walking on her knees, Judy approached the scornful vixen while a river of tears rushed down her cheeks like white water rapids from a mountain stream, "I know that I hurt a lot of mammals that day with my thoughtless words. Many will never forgive me and I don't blame them." She looked back at Nick for a second before continuing, "My ignorance almost tore this city apart, but with your son's help we were able to make some small reparations and put those responsible behind bars." She grabbed Nick's paw and squeezed it close to her shoulder.
Vivian looked down at the crying rabbit kneeling before her, "So many days I have wondered what I would have said to that rookie cop. Even after begging on paws and knees for my job back, I have so wanted to give her a piece of my mind. And now my son brings you straight to my door as his girlfriend." The vixen's sharp fangs were clear for everyone in the room to see.
Judy's ears raised and her nose began to twitch, but the flood of tears was not abated, "Go ahead. I am listening." She pulled Nick's paw closer and rubbed it against her cheek affectionately, "But, I want you to know, that no matter what you say tonight, I am madly in love with your son and nothing will change that." The tears dried and once again the fierce bunny cop returned. Judy would fight for the fox she loved with all her heart, even against his own mother.
Looking back and forth between her son and his rabbit. Vivian saw the love and conviction in both of their muzzles as they held each other close. For a full minute, the vixen thought over the next words that she would say. She wanted to scold this ignorant, thoughtless rabbit. She wanted to yell at her son for bringing this speciest prey into her home. She wanted to denounce them both and tell them how foolish their relationship was. None of these hurtful words left her mouth today.
"My son, in more than a decade, has not once brought a girl home to meet me," Vivian explained. Looking up at her son who had a slight blush to his muzzle, "It has been several years since he has visited me at all, and today, he walks in with his paw full of my favorite flowers. When I do get to see him he is always wearing those god awful Pawaiian shirts and now I hear that he actually has an honest, respectable job."
The vixen leaned over and looked down at the small, determined rabbit before her, "You must be a very special doe, Judy." She stretched out her paw with a genuinely warm smile on her muzzle, "And I would be honored to call you my friend."
From a kneeling position, the bunny sprang forward, tears splashed across her eyes leaving behind tiny droplets as she flew into the vixen's lap. She wrapped her small, gray paws around the unsuspecting fox's waist and squeezed tightly. After several moments the motherly fox put her own paws around the small rabbit and gently patted the shaking bundle of gray fluff.
Three mammals sat together on the old-fashioned, fuzzy velour couch. Vivian sat snuggled between her pawsome son and his pretty girlfriend. She had pulled them close together on the two mammal couch to share in some old family memories.
Judy sat squished against the older, but still very pretty, vixen as she looked down at the frilly book sitting in the larger mammal's lap. The book was a three-ring binder with soft, pink pillowy material stitched onto the front cover. Around the edges of the cover, was a white, frilly lace, and stitched across the front were the words, "My Family Photos." A pair of lacy butterflies were sewn into the pillow as if they had recently landed onto the capital letters 'F' and 'P'.
The book was very pretty, but the rabbit's paws shook when she reached out to touch those delicate, lacy wings. With the way that Vivian handled the pages, Judy knew that this photo album was a very treasured item and much older than the rabbit herself. It reminded her of a similar book that her grandmother owned.
Inside, the first few pages contained photos of a much younger Vivian and her parents. Next, there were several images of the fox's school friends. From the photos, it looked like Vivian grew up in one of the nicer neighborhoods and had a mix of different friends. Something changed drastically once she moved out on her own.
The vixen's first apartment was only slightly more spacious than Judy's had been, with barely a bed and a closet. Her first job was in a restaurant named Sparkey's where she worked as a waitress serving coffee and soda to hungry mammals. And then once again, everything changed.
Pictures of little Nicky soon appeared. First, a tiny red bundle of wet fur was clutched in the vixen's arms while she rested in an overly-large hospital bed. After that, more and more pictures of Nick filled the album and Vivian quickly seemed to vanish.
There were baby Nicky's first steps and his first birthday. Toy blocks littered the floor with a plastic train winding between them while dinosaurs climbed towers made from colorful letters. Judy even noticed that a fluffy, brown rabbit peeked out from a pile of stuffed animals that adorned the infant's crib.
Nick groaned and nearly escaped the couch when his mother showed the pictures from the day the young fox had attempted to experience the Naturalist lifestyle. The naked fox had run free around the apartment giggling widely while his mother snapped the photos. Unrestrained from his diapers, he had also tried to play hide and seek but his bright orange tail gave him away every time. The adult version had also tried to flee the embarrassment, but his mother held his arm firm while his girlfriend ooohed, aaahed and giggled at the toddler's antics.
As the little fox kit grew, she noticed that he had a pretty evenly spread group of friends. Judy could not tell if his mother was deliberately making sure his friends were as diverse as possible or that he picked one friend from each species all on his own. Unfortunately around the sixth grade, photos of Nick's friends completely stopped. Judy also noticed that Nick had started practicing his fake, unfeeling smile.
"Vivian?" Judy asked, running her small finger over a picture of young Nick riding a bicycle.
"What is it, Judy?" The vixen asked calmly.
"I see a lot of pictures of you and Nick in here, but I do not see a single image of his father." The rabbit looked up towards the blue-eyed vixen. "I am curious to know what happened to Nick's father."
With a warm smile, the vixen returned Judy's curious gaze, "Why nothing happened to him, Judy. Would you like to hear the story?"
"Of course," Judy encouraged, rubbing her paws together with her ears standing up straight and her nose twitching curiously.
Nick immediately stood up before his mother could grab his arm again, "Well I should go to the store now."
"What? Why?" The rabbit asked, confused.
He looked back at his date while he quickly walked towards the apartment door, "So you can actually have something to eat, Carrots. I know what veggies you like so Mom can make you a salad when I get back."
The tod closed the door behind him with a slam that caused Judy to jump and almost land in the vixen's lap "Why did he run out like that?" the rabbit asked with one ear turning back and forth quickly.
Looking down at the rabbit who adjusted the cushions under her tail, Vivian shook her head and nodded where her son had gone, "Nicky never liked the story about his absent father. Trust me, Judy, I am much happier this way." The vixen raised her paw before the gray doe could land a barrage of questions, "So please let me explain before you get any wild ideas in your head."
"Ok," Judy said with a nod, but the vixen was flipping the photo album back to the very beginning. On the first page was an old photo of a young Vivian standing between two tods and behind them were a pair of older red foxes. The father was dressed in a formal suit and had a stern expression on his muzzle while the vixen beside him wore a homespun dress and carried a faux smile. The older vixen's eyes seemed to be sad and were downcast, looking away from the camera.
Vivian placed a finger over the family portrait near where her mother stood and began speaking softly, "I am not sure if this is a trait for all red vixens or it only runs in my family, but most of my lady friends agree that vixens are all free spirits. By that I mean we are solitary and have strong urges towards independence."
The vixen flipped to the next page where a picture of her and what Judy guessed was a brother were playing on the beach. "Tods on the other paw, are prone to seek a more permanent relationship and will fight tooth and claw to keep their family together. Nature seems to be against us somehow, and this creates a difficult dichotomy that my mother struggled against every day of her life. She was never happy with her arranged marriage, but no matter how hard she tried, she could never break free."
Turning to another page with a picture of Vivian and her mother, she clenched her paw into a tight fist, "That was something that I swore I would never put my family through. As soon as I was of age I left my father's house and decided that I would make my own life."
A few more pages later, the pretty vixen showed off her first job and apartment, "Once I felt that I could support a family I went looking for a mate. Red foxes begin to seek mates sooner than some other mammals, but as a teen living under my father's roof, I was strictly forbidden to do so, unless it was a tod of his choosing. He was pretty mad when I walked out that day." She chuckled warmly at the last part.
"So that first winter on my own, I went tod hunting." Vivian closed the photo album in her lap and her gaze drifted into the distance. When she returned, she gave Judy an odd look, "I am sure you have heard dozens of stories about wild and uncontrollable vixens attacking every tod they can find. Well, let me tell you, those stories are completely untrue and they only spring from the old pioneering days. No, I spent a great deal of time looking for a mate with the right combination of traits."
She scratched at her chin for a second with a sharp claw, "I guess the modern equivalent would be like shopping for a sperm donor. It wasn't anything so exact as a shopping list but I knew what qualities I was looking for. And before you ask, no, green eyes and a black-tipped tail were not on the list. They were just a bonus."
"It was nearing the end of the season and I had been to every bar, grocery store, and library in town. I had talked with every tod I could find, even ones who were not exactly available. At the time I was not entirely concerned with the legal side of things anyway. I wasn't looking for a relationship, only someone with the right qualities to kick start my family. Things were looking pretty grim and I was worried that I would have to wait another year." The vixen was rubbing one of the lace butterfly wings between her fingers as she spoke.
"When I did finally find him, I am pretty sure that it was not out of desperation. I was still willing to take the time to find those perfect traits. One evening after work I was sitting at a bar downtown, where I knew foxes were known to frequent, when in walked the perfect tod. Since I was facing the bar at the time I never saw him walk in. The first I knew that he was there was when the bartender placed a fresh drink in front of me and pointed at a table near the back corner."
Vivians eyes were once again distant while she described how she met Nick's father, "When I accepted the drink and turned around there were not one but three tods sitting there and smiling at me. Since they were dressed in business attire and the bar was almost directly across from the World Exchange building, I could only guess that they were stockbrokers, or at least worked there."
The vixen sighed with an almost love-sick expression on her muzzle, "I picked up my drink and strolled over to their table. It wasn't love, or should I say lust, at first sight, but after an hour or two of chatting with those three, I discovered that each one had the traits I was looking for. They never once admitted which one bought me the drink, but they all agreed that they saw a lonely vixen and wanted to cheer her up."
Shaking her head, Vivian continued her tale, "No they were not brothers, but friends and co-workers. They were smart, shrewd, and extremely charming. Yes, I know that describes almost every fox in the city, but what really made me like them was their indelible honesty. They did not try to pick me up with cheap lines or even flirt until I started it, and oh, did I flirt with them."
A blush filled the red fox's muzzle and her triangular ears nearly turned pink, "That was the most fun I ever had flirting with a group of males in my life. Sometimes I think back and wonder if I only imagined the whole thing. They never once showed any sign of jealousy or got competitive when I flirted with one more than the others. Not once did they make any lewd suggestions, unlike nearly every single tod I had spoken with over the previous two months. When I finally explained that I wanted to continue the conversation between the sheets they all gave me puzzled looks."
Judy's eyes bulged and she tried to cover her muzzle with her paws at the vixen's admission. Her ears tried to fall over her eyes but she brushed them back and encouraged the fox to continue her story.
"They might have been from out of town. I never asked them where they were from, but they did have slightly east coast accents. In a city of this size, accent usually does not mean much. When I finally convinced them to take me someplace more private, we ended up in a very plush hotel room a few blocks away. They must have been very successful brokers or gotten a hold of a high-limit company card because I have never seen such expensive furnishings before or since."
Vivian began to wave her paws about the room as she described all the rich décor in the hotel, "It was not hard to seduce those three tods. I never asked their names or tried to get any photos, I didn't want to know. I only wanted a sperm donor and nothing more. To my surprise, I wound up with three at the same time. I am not going to deny that I had a great deal of fun that night and I will always remember it with fondness. But, whenever I look at Nicky I try very hard not to guess which one of those three provided the seed that spawned my precious, little boy."
As she neared the end of her tale, Vivian opened the book directly to the page with her holding the newborn kit. She clasped her paws close to her chest with a dreamy expression on her muzzle, "I would certainly have done it all over again, but while he was growing up, one kit was more than enough."
Judy's nose twitched as her shock grew. She opened her mouth several times during the vixen's story, but chose to hold her questions til the end, "So you have never once tried to contact them to find out who the father is?"
"Nope. Not once," Vivian said staunchly. "I didn't want to be tied down or deal with any of the implications and responsibility that finding the father would entail. What if he had a mate and another family? I would hate to ruin his life by showing up later with his kit in my arms. Plus I wanted to prove that I could take care of myself and my family, I was not about to go begging for child support or anything stupid like that. I got the kit I wanted and none of the baggage."
"That is a fascinating story, misses, um," Judy stopped and tapped her chin with her claw. "I guess I should call you Miss Wilde not Missus huh?"
"Yes, that is correct dear. Ms would be more appropriate though," Vivian explained. "I was never married and still carry my father's name. And despite all that entails, I would not change it to have another overly controlling male in my life."
Nodding, Judy looked down at the photo of the tiny, infant fox, "I guess I can see why Nick would not like this story."
Vivian's muzzle saddened, "Nicky is far too honest and trusting. He is still mad at me for not allowing him to know who his father was. The truth is that I do not know either, nor do I wish to know. I am only glad that he never got to know his overbearing and often cruel grandfather. Several years ago I heard a rumor that he went seeking out the old curmudgeon and was unceremoniously thrown out on his tail, but Nick will never confirm this story."
The vixen promptly closed the album and returned it to the decorative bookcase, "So, enough about me, what about yourself? Tell me, how is your relationship with my son?"
"It is fine, I guess," the rabbit replied softly.
"Oh, can you elaborate? What do you mean fine?" Vivian inquired.
A pink, heart-shaped nose began to twitch and Judy's ears fell, "It is not at all what I expected."
With a nod, Vivian looked down curiously at the bunny sitting next to her.
"I have so many feelings for him that it is hard to explain."
"Please, try, dear," the vixen said, patting the rabbit's paw gently.
Judy took a deep breath and let it out slowly, but at the last second she stuttered, "I-I love him so much, but sometimes he can be so infuriating! Other times, I am so proud that it makes my heart want to burst."
"Welcome to being in love with someone," Vivian replied with a sigh of her own.
"His choice in apparel is eye-watering, and he never tucks in his shirts. Even when we are on duty, I feel like he still dresses like a slob," Judy clutched her fingers in front of her chest, like she was choking a stuffed doll. "Every morning, I have to tuck in his uniform and straighten his tie. But then, he goes out of his way to make me breakfast or rub my paws after an extremely long day at work."
"So, he is treating you well, then?" The vixen asked.
The gray doe nodded in response, "There are even times, like right now, when he is not here, that all I want to do is run my fingers through his tail." Her fingers wiggled in her lap, like she was scratching something in the air.
"The two of you spend a lot of time together?"
Nodding again, the rabbit replied, "We work together and live together. We eat together and even share the same bed."
Now was the vixen's turn to look shocked, "Doesn't that get frustrating after a while? Don't you ever need to take a little break now and then, or spend some time in a quiet place alone?"
Judy turned to the vixen like she had said that foxes can walk on water, "I grew up with hundreds of other rabbits around at all times. Privacy did not exist, even in the toilet. Having Nick around brings me comfort, even if he is being obnoxious. Sure, there are times when I know that he likes to sit in a quiet place and think, but I prefer to be surrounded by family and loved ones."
"Wow, I have never heard of anyone like that," Vivian's eyes glinted as they looked down at the small bunny. "You really are a very special mammal, Judy."
"Naw," the rabbit waved her paw across her muzzle dismissively. "I am just a normal rabbit from the burrows."
"Well, my son seems to think you are special, especially if he is willing to spend so much time around you."
"I do not know how it is for him, but he is like my little battery or maybe a phone charger."
The red fox cocked her head and tilted her ears from side to side, "I am not sure what you mean."
"Whenever I am feeling run down and exhausted, I simply reach out and grab his fur, I prefer that big, bushy tail of his, but even a small pinch of fur will do. Holding his paw or resting my head against him is like having my own personal charger. Even the closeness of his scent makes me feel refreshed. Every morning, I make sure to inhale as much of his scent as I can before I start my day. It is more invigorating than my daily cup of coffee."
Vivian's warm laughter filled the room with brightness and cheer. "I think you, my dear, are madly in love with my son."
Nodding, Judy wiped a tear from her eyes, "I think you might be right." She, too burst into laughter before giving the vixen a tight hug.
Once the joyous laughter subsided, Judy pulled away from the vixen and brushed at her pretty salmon skirt. She turned to the red fox with a serious expression on her muzzle, "Can I ask you something personal Vivian?"
"Of course, dear," the vixen replied.
"Ok," Judy sat up straight and folded her paws in her lap. Her ears fell but her nose continued to twitch, "There is something about Nick that has been frustrating me a great deal recently. I am wondering if it is something that is common with all foxes, or if it is just Nick."
"Oh?" Vivian tilted her head curiously. She also folded her paws in her lap at the rabbit's slightly troubled expression. "What is this about?"
"I don't know why, but I feel like Nick is afraid of intimacy," Judy nearly blurted out and tried to hide behind her ears that were quickly turning bright red.
"Oh, my!" Vivian exclaimed, covering her own muzzle with her paws before she reached out and pulled the rabbit close. "Oh deary, is that all that is bothering you?"
A slight sniffle escaped from behind the two, large ears, "I have been trying ever since we started dating, but he won't even talk about it with me. Whenever I bring it up, he ignores me or walks away. But, if I try to make a move, he rolls over and goes to sleep. I even threw myself at him the other day, but he pushed me away and ran outside with his pants still half undone. I feel like he doesn't even want to touch me." The sobs grew louder and louder with each word, until the rabbit was choking on her tears.
"There, there, dear," the vixen squeezed the rabbit in consolement. She gently pet the top of her head while the sobs slowly began to subside.
The rabbit eventually came out from behind her ears and wiped away a few stray tears, "A-am I being silly or is there really something wrong with him?"
Thoughtfully, the vixen replied, "Yes, and I am pretty sure no." She wiped her finger across Judy's cheek, "You do know that it is still two more months before the beginning of the red foxes' mating season?"
"Mating s-season?" Judy hiccupped. Then, very slowly, she planted a soft, gray paw in the center of her forehead and ran it down the length of her short muzzle.
"Yes," the motherly vixen explained. "I assumed that if you plan to date a fox, you should at least know about their mating habits including what season they are the most amorous. That goes for tod's as well as vixens." She let go of the doe, whose tears had once again run dry, "By the way, when is the rabbit's mating season?"
"S-season?" Judy stammered. "We don't have a season that I know of. I kind of skipped over a lot of that part of school, but for several months now, since about the time Nick graduated, I have been having strong urges at seemingly random intervals. Sometimes, I can go for weeks without any urges and at other times, it seems like every other day, I want to rip his clothes off."
Again, the bunny's ears turned a bright shade of pink and she tried to hide behind them, "Why, am I telling you all of this? We have only just met and I am talking about stuff I would not even tell my mother."
"Well," Vivian said in a nurturing tone. "If you are this serious about my son, I don't see why you can't call me 'Mom.' You two are not married, but I would be more than happy to have you as a daughter-in-law, someday. But, I think we should get back to the issue at paw."
Judy leapt into the vixen's lap and gave her a warm hug before politely sitting her tail back on her own side of the couch, "Oh, ok, Mom, but can we keep this just between us for now?"
"Of course, dear. Whatever you like."
"But, what can I do about Nick? He won't even talk to me about it, and I don't know if I can wait two, whole months. That is an awful lot of cold showers and purse shopping."
"Oh, you poor dear," Vivian cried, giving the bunny another short hug. "I know next to nothing about bunny mating practices, do you have any rituals or dances or what not to let your mate know that you are ready?"
The rabbit's ears began to brighten again, but she pushed them back and tapped a finger thoughtfully on her twitching nose, "We do have this one thing, but it's really kind of silly."
"Go on dear," the vixen urged.
"Um, we, um," Judy took a deep breath before blurting out her next words. "We punch our mates, and pretty viciously too."
With a small chuckle that she tried to cover with a red-furred paw, Vivian smiled warmly at the rabbit's confession, "Is that all? I hear some mammals can get pretty violent with their mates, specifically felines."
"Nope," the rabbit shook her head and held up a pair of fluffy fists. "We just bloody their noses real good."
A cute snort left the vixen's long nose, "And when you said you threw yourself at my son, did you bloody his nose that day?"
Judy tapped her lower lip thoughtfully, "Maybe, I don't really remember. I was kind of out of my mind at the time. All I could think about for the entire day was how much I wanted Nick."
Vivian leaned over with a single finger held upright, "Well the first thing you did wrong was to bloody his nose. It could have knocked all of his senses off balance, have you ever seen my son try to walk when he has a cold?"
Nodding, Judy giggled, "Oh, yes, He stumbles and trips all over the place like a buffoon."
"Foxes rely heavily on their sense of smell. So, depending on how hard you hit him it could have left him confused or made him very dizzy."
"I am sorry," the rabbit apologized and her ears fell. "I was really not thinking that day."
The vixen nodded, "Knowing how much my son cares about you, I am sure he forgives you. but if you have to start punching, try to aim for his chest. Boxing his ears is fine too, just avoid hitting the nose unless you want a dizzy fox."
"Wow," Judy's ears flew forward again. "That could come in handy someday."
"Of course, dear," the vixen explained. she pointed at the black tip of her own muzzle, "Blocking the nose works just as well if not better than punching. If you squeeze right here at the base of where the orange turns black it will feel to a fox as if he has a bad cold. And if you tried it on any other fox but your mate, then be prepared to lose your fingers."
Giggling, the rabbit shook her head causing her ears to flop to the side, "I will remember that."
"But," Vivian slapped her paws on her legs. "You were actually asking how to wake a tod out of season."
"Yes," Judy hopped in her seat excitedly. She reached towards the shiny, black belt at her waist but realized that her notepad and carrot pen were still sitting on the dresser at home.
Vivian gave the small rabbit a curious look before she began to explain, "This is something you won't hear about in public or on television, but vixens naturally want to nibble and bite their prospective mates. I am sure, as a cop you know that public biting is treated the same as public nudity."
When the rabbit nodded, the vixen continued, "Nibbling and full pressure biting is the surest way to tell a fox that you are interested, and I am sure that also applies to other canids. But, if you really want to get the point across then …" She leaned over and quietly whispered into the rabbit's long ears.
Judy placed both paws around her neck and her mouth opened while her ears reddened. She turned to look at the vixen with a glimmer of understanding, "Rabbit ears are pretty sensitive, and a good ear rub can make us go limp, but I have never heard of anyone biting them. Licking is much more common from what I have overheard from my sisters." The rabbit tried to force down the rising blush she felt when talking about her sister's stories.
"Since you are living with a fox, I can assume that you are not afraid of getting bitten or scratched. Most prey seem to have an overriding fear of predators' teeth and claws." And then, when Vivian mentioned Nick's teeth and claws, she saw something in the bunny that she had never seen from any other prey mammal.
The rabbit sitting next to the fox, closed her eyes and a dreamy expression filled her muzzle and the vixen was certain that the bunny shivered in pleasure, "Are you sure you're not a vixen in disguise?"
"What?" The rabbit asked, opening her eyes as the desire slowly faded.
"Oh, it is nothing," Vivian shook her head to clear her vision.
A pink nose twitched and Judy's paws itched for her carrot pen, "Was that everything? Nick has been pretty unresponsive to everything else I have tried. Is there anything else you can tell me?"
Sitting up straight, the vixen thought for a moment before looking the rabbit up and down, "I am not sure you are ready to hear the rest, deary."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Judy demanded fiercely.
"Despite your boldness, you are still quite the prude," Vivian said with a calm yet friendly tone.
Now, the rabbit was on the defensive. "I am not," she cried, clenching her paws.
"You most certainly are, because if I were to simply mention the word..." Vivian leaned in close and whispered in the rabbit's ear again causing an instantaneous reaction.
Judy covered her muzzle with both paws and her ears fell down over her eyes while she tried to sink into the thick couch cushions.
"Now there is this little trick I could share with you that would wake a geriatric corpse in the middle of summer," the vixen explained. "But it involves that word and several others like it. So unless you can sit still for a minute or two, then I am sure you are not ready to hear about it yet."
Pulling her ears apart, Judy slowly poked her tiny nose out from between the fluffy, gray curtains. Determination crept across her muzzle, like she was facing down a ruthless criminal. She balled up two, tiny fists and let her ears rise to their full height, "I am not afraid."
Surprised at the small rabbit's transformation right in front of her eyes, Vivian asked, "Are you sure?"
Taking a deep breath, Judy jabbed at the air, "Let's do this."
With a warm giggle, the vixen said, "It's not a boxing match, dear, but ok. If this is what it takes a bunny to keep from getting all squeamish over a tod's anatomy then ok. Just don't go punching me with those things."
The rabbit also giggled, "Sorry. I am just trying to focus."
"Well, it is kind of cute."
Judy only gave the vixen a cold glare but let the 'C' word slide, this time.
Vivian leaned back on the couch and began her lecture in a hushed voice, "This should only be used as a last resort. So once you have tried everything else this is what you should do." She leaned her long snout towards the rabbit and began whispering into the tall ears.
Only a rabbit's heartbeat passed before Judy began to blush. Her mouth opened in shock and she clutched at her skirt, trying desperately not to cover her muzzle. The ears quickly went from a soft pink to a deep crimson before they finally settled on a warm lavender several shades brighter than normal. Judy's nose even turned a dark red while it twitched back and forth at three different speeds. Her violet eyes even looked redder.
"So after that," Vivian said before reaching out her left paw with the palm facing up while she continued to whisper in the overly embarrassed bunny's bright-red ear. She extended her claws and then sharply closed her fist, causing her claws to dig into her palm.
With a loud eep, the rabbit jumped suddenly, "But won't that hurt?"
"Yes," the vixen nodded. "It should be excruciating. But if you hit that spot I mentioned it should be like flipping a switch and the tod will be unable to resist. You had better be ready for the consequences though, because he will only have one thing on his mind after that."
"Really?" Judy asked with a great deal of doubt. "Are you sure this will work?"
"Well, if he doesn't immediately turn into a savage fox, then there should be no doubt in his mind what you want," Vivian chuckled.
The gray rabbit held out her paw as the vixen had earlier, "So after everything else you said, I am supposed to squeeze as hard as I can like this?" She closed her fist and nearly dug her sharp, black claws into her furry, white palm.
"Wait," Vivian grabbed the rabbit's paw and poked her thumb into the tip of one of Judy's claws. "Where did you get those nails done? I don't know much about rabbit's but I do know that they have soft, blunt claws."
Judy pulled her paw away from the vixen with a gentle tug, "No one did them. They just started growing like that this year, why?"
"I don't know. The style looks familiar is all. May I?" She held out her palm towards the rabbit.
"Sure," Judy placed her gray paw in the larger mammal's red one and showed off her shiny claws.
Realization dawned on the vixen's muzzle, "Now I remember where I have seen claws like these before. They look exactly like those you would find on a young fox, about primary school-aged. And you're sure this isn't some custom job?"
"Nope," the rabbit nodded confidently. "I have cut them and filed them down several times, but they seem to just grow back even sharper."
"What is going on here?" A gruff voice called from the kitchen.
Judy quickly pulled her paw away from the vixen and sat up straight when she saw Nick staring at them curiously, "Oh, nothing, Slick. Your mother and I were just, we were just, um..." The rabbit's blush returned with a vengeance.
The vixen grunted softly, "Nicky, you are back. Judy and I were discussing comparative fashion when you walked in."
With the tilt of his head, the tod replied to his mother, "I see that the two of you are getting on quite well since I left."
"Of course, dear," Vivian said matter of factly. "Your pretty girlfriend has somehow wormed her way into my heart." The vixen clasped both paws together and held them close to her chest, "Now, when are you going to make her into an honest doe and put a ring on her finger?"
The tod's red muzzle turned three shades darker and his jaw nearly hit the floor, "Mo'oooom!"
The table was set for dinner. Three of the four, sturdy chairs that sat around the solid, oak table were occupied by small mammals. In the center, was a narrow, glass vase that was covered in round bubbles, giving its bronze color the look of freshly poured honey or amber. Outside, the sun had set hours ago, but the table was lit from above by a fluorescent lamp covered by a plastic dome that looked like an upside-down mushroom.
Autumn flowers rested neatly in the vase and matching placemats sat in front of the three, seated mammals. A bottle of wine sat next to the vase with a label from a local vineyard in the Meadowlands. Three, plastic cups that were shaped to look like crystal goblets, were placed next to each mat, and a small, wooden stand next to the vase also held a pawful of floral embossed, paper napkins.
On two of the plates, was a freshly roasted fish dinner, complete with a delicate cream sauce and a variety of colorful vegetables. Both fish plates were laid out like the ones found in a professional diner, with the fish taking up half the plate while the roasted potato chunks and mixed veggies taking up the other two quarters. The third plate was quite different from the others and was covered in a pile of broad, dark green leaves. Across the top of the kale and spinach, was a mixture of raw vegetables and grains that only a rabbit could love.
Vivian sat across from her son and nearest to the kitchen, while Nick and Judy sat together facing the vixen. She was slicing her tilapia into small pieces and swirled one around in the sauce before placing it into her long mouth.
Nick smiled across the table at his mother once he tasted the delicate fish, "Thank you, mother. It is delicious as always."
"It's not exactly the same recipe that you grew up with," the vixen explained, taking another bite of her fish. "I have changed it quite a bit since you used to live here."
Judy watched the mother and son foxes while she munched on her own meal. She sat very close to her boyfriend while not sitting in his lap. His long, bushy tail wrapped around her and filled the rabbit's lap while her free paw gently caressed and fondled the orange and black fur. Under the table, one of her hind paws had snaked its way around the fox's leg and she slowly rubbed her toe against his paw. Even while sitting at the dinner table, the rabbit seemed to reach out and cuddle with her fox.
A sweet sigh left the vixen's mouth as she watched her son and his date sitting together, "The two of you really are quite adorable together."
"What do you mean mother?" The tod asked while struggling with his fish. He stabbed and chopped at the delicate, white flesh with his fork while he tried to get the fish, potato, and a slice of onion all in one bite.
"It is obvious that you can't keep your paws off of each other," the vixen said with a broad smile.
Swallowing, Nick raised both of his paws, "I'm not even touching her."
"Tell that to your tail mister," she pointed at the rabbit who was nearly engulfed in the fluffy appendage.
Nick suddenly tried to retrieve his tail from the rabbit who adamantly held on to it tightly.
"Oh sheesh," Vivian waved her paw at the couple. "It's quite alright. I don't mind."
Sitting back down again, Judy wrapped the tod's tail completely around her waist and returned to petting it gently.
The vixen swallowed another bite of potatoes and veggies before she continued, "It is so nice to see Nicky with someone he cares about so much and who clearly adores him." She reached a paw across the table and placed it near Judy's plate, "He really does love you, you know."
"I know," the rabbit replied between forkfuls of her salad.
"Like every other male I know, he rarely expresses his true feelings," Vivian gave the tod a forceful, knowing glare causing him to gulp quietly. "Foxes rarely let anyone touch their tails, even their mothers. Nick hasn't let me near his tail since he was, oh, I think he was twelve."
The tod swirled his food around on his plate slowly, "Mom, are you trying to embarrass me?"
"Of course, dear. That is a mother's job."
Judy patted at her boyfriend's tail and it swished in pleasure tickling her nose, "Really? Nick has never had issues with me touching, and brushing his tail."
"Was that after you two started dating?" Vivian asked.
With a finger to her muzzle, the rabbit thought for a second before she shook her head, "No. I can't remember a time when he wouldn't let me near it."
"Then he must have already had feelings for you."
"Really?" Judy looked up at her date and could almost make out the blush forming under his red fur while he shoved another forkful of fish into his mouth trying to not look at either female.
Putting her fork down, Vivian took a sip of wine, "I am sorry for earlier. I was angry at everything that had been happening a year ago."
"It's ok, Vivian," Judy said and reached out her paw towards the vixen.
"No," the vixen cried, putting her paw down hard on the table causing her glass to shake. "I really should be thanking you."
The rabbit opened her mouth to say it was ok and all was forgiven, but Vivian held up her paw to silence the smaller mammal, "You see, I rarely get to see my son very much anymore"
"Sorry mom," Nick apologized softly.
"I know you have your own life to live, but how hard is it to come by every once in a while? A holiday maybe, or a birthday, or even to say hello to your old mother." She swirled the wine around in her glass and watched its motion for a few seconds, "I worry about you when you disappear for years at a time. I still never found out where you went after Trish …"
Nick's muzzle turned cold as he cut off his mother's words, "Mom! I thought we agreed not to speak that name again?"
"Maybe you did. I know you would like to forget everything about her, but I still remember," Vivian said before she gulped down the rest of her wine.
Chomping away at the last scraps of her salad, Judy looked back and forth between mother and son, "Why? What happened?"
Vivian poured herself another glass before she looked over at her son, "Well? Are you going to tell her, or do I have to?"
A great pain seemed to fill the tod's muzzle. He tried to cover it with his emotionless mask but failed and a tear began to form in the corner of his eyes. Dropping his fork he stood up from the chair and turned to leave, but a soft gray paw held his arm.
"Nicholas Piberius Wilde," Vivian shouted with a mother's authority and the grieving fox turned around to glare at his mother. "I am not going to let you run away from this, not in front of her," she waved towards the rabbit clinging to his arm. "I feel that she really needs to hear this whether it comes from your muzzle or not."
"Fine," he sighed and sat back in his chair. He put his arm around the small rabbit at his side but would not look at her.
Judy snuggled into the fox's embrace and returned to finishing her meal while Vivian spoke.
The vixen stabbed the last of the vegetables on her plate and ate them with a smile before she started her tale, "So, Trish ..."
"Please," was all the tod said with raised paws.
"Alright, no names," Vivian said and started the story a second time. "Nick had been living on his own for quite some time, but when he reached a certain age I felt like he needed someone special in his life." She chewed another bite of fish as she waved her fork in the air, "Yes, I know I already told you how much I dreaded the thought of my parents meddling in my life, and here I was doing the very same thing to my own son."
"I was certainly not trying to arrange any marriages," the vixen declared. "Nick was welcome to choose for himself, all I did was introduce him to some prospective vixens his own age."
"And look how well that turned out, mom?"
"Yes," she smiled warmly at her son. "You found someone that you got along with and you eventually cared a great deal for."
With the salad plate empty in front of her, the hungry rabbit began stabbing at the veggies on her boyfriend's plate instead. He had barely touched them so she felt it was only fair that she help him clean his plate.
"So, what happened?" Judy asked the two foxes.
"Well if I remember correctly he gave her his number and they started dating shortly after that first introduction."
"She asked me to take her to dinner where we later exchanged numbers."
"I thought you didn't want to tell this story, hmm?" Vivian said with a smirk while her son shoved a large chunk of potato in his mouth.
"They dated for several months and she even started helping him with his work. I don't remember what it was exactly, but I think it had something to do with rugs, or was it those old-fashioned records?" She looked across the table at the tod, questioningly.
Nick took another bite and chewed loudly trying to ignore his mother's question.
At the same time, Judy stabbed something white off of Nick's plate and quickly stuffed it into her mouth. No one seemed to notice that it was not a potato or any kind of vegetable.
"Well, whatever business they were into, it seemed to have done really well, because I had not seen my little Nicky so happy in many years." The vixen smiled warmly at her son as she swished her wine around in the glass. She almost seemed to hum at the pleasant memories.
"Things were looking very bright for my son at the time. I had honestly hoped that was what he needed to pull him out of whatever dark place he had been living in during most of his teen years." With her elbows on the table, she gripped the plastic cup in both paws and beamed warmly at her son.
"It was a warm summer day when he rushed in here and twirled me around in his arms to give me the good news."
Groaning loudly, Nick planted his paw against his head and pulled it slowly down across his muzzle.
"What?" Judy asked with another piece of fish on the end of her fork. "What was the news?"
"Nick and Tr … er, um, his vixen were engaged!"
"That is great news," Judy declared, popping the chunk of tilapia into her mouth.
The rabbit chewed and swallowed before the vixen stood up with a shout, "Judy! I thought you were a vegetarian?"
"Wait? What?" Nick's eyes popped open even wider as he stared down at his bunny.
"She just ate a piece of fish off your plate," the vixen declared.
"I did?" the rabbit asked, puzzled. She reached out her fork and plucked another chunk of roasted tilapia from Nick's plate. Looking at the crumbly, white square covered in the creamy sauce, she slowly placed it into her mouth. Her eyes rolled back and forth and her nose twitched as she carefully tasted the fish, but a smile crossed her muzzle when she finally swallowed.
Looking up at the vixen across the table, she nodded in satisfaction, "This is really quite good, Vivian."
"Since when do rabbit's eat fish?" Vivian asked as her jaw hit the floor.
Wiping her muzzle with a napkin, Judy replied, "We don't eat any kind of meat. At least none that I have ever heard of, except maybe zombie horror flicks. But if I knew that fish was really this good I would have tried it earlier." She stabbed another bite off her fox's plate, this time it was joined by some potato and bits of other veggies.
Vivian sat back in her chair with a loud thump while holding both paws over her chest, "You really gave me a scare there, Judy. But I am still convinced that you might have been a vixen in another life."
"I am nothing more than a regular bunny from the burrows, who happens to be in love with a fox," she planted a warm kiss on the end of Nick's muzzle. "But I am still curious to know how this story ends."
"Oh, right," Vivian said with another gulp of her wine. "Well I am sure that you have already guessed, but this tale does not have a happy ending."
Nick seemed to wince in pain and he too gulped at his glass of wine while his bunny snuggled under his arm and gently stroked his tail.
"It was barely a week after the engagement when Tr, um, the vixen disappeared. Nick was so furious that he blamed me for everything and it was many years before he spoke to me again," the older vixen said with a deep sigh.
Judy looked up at her fox and patted his paw, "But why was he so mad when she ran out on him."
Tears ran down the tod's cheeks and a loud sob escaped his muzzle before he could choke it back, but the bunny was instantly in his lap hugging the shaking fox.
"I know you don't want to hear this, son, but she needs to know."
"Know what?" Judy asked, looking over her shoulder at the vixen.
"She had cleaned him out before she left. Every penny he owned was gone, even the floor safe was empty, and Nick said he smelled another tod there," Vivian said, shaking her head as her own tears fell on the table. "The whole thing, the dating and the engagement were a scam, a con."
"I had been played, Carrots," Nick shuddered. "Yeah, I know it's hard to believe that I had been conned by my own species."
The vixen finished her second glass of wine before she continued, "It was nearly half a decade before I saw my son again, but I would occasionally hear rumors on the street. The oddest rumor that reached my ears was that my little boy was dating other species." She looked up at her son who was still struggling with his own emotions, "No, I don't blame you. I blame myself. I should have let you find your own mate and not tried forcing one on you."
Large purple eyes pleaded with the vixen and a small, gray paw waved her over. Vivian stood from her chair and walked around the table where Judy grabbed the vixen's paw and pulled her into a group hug. For several minutes the three mammals clutched at each other and the tears flowed freely.
"Thank you, Judy," Vivian said to the rabbit who had somehow walked in and healed the wound in her son's heart.
[A/N] I have been waiting many years to write this chapter! It is very confusing when I encounter Wildehopps stories that state that foxes mate for life. I have never once encountered anything saying this in my research about foxes. Not one single Earth species of fox does this. Of course Zootopia is not Earth, but it is filled with Earth-like animals so I think it is fair that the Earth animals are represented as accurately as possible. It is your story and your interpretation of the world of Zootopia, but I still find it a frustratingly inaccurate representation of foxes.
With that said, I completely understand the authors want to give Nick a strong reason to be loyal to Judy. There can be lots of ways to do that, especially in the evolved state that they live in now. Saving each other's life is one example of a way to create a very strong bond. Nick is already a loyal and trustworthy mammal so I don't feel that he needs any extra help making a commitment to Judy.
On the subject of foxes and marriage. From what I understand, Nick's species is based on the European red fox so I have focused most of my research in that area. Vivian is what I picture a Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) evolving into, a free and independent spirit. I feel that for foxes, marriage was something that was forced on them by society in the early stages of civilization, not something they chose for themselves. Vivian's father, in this story, tried very hard to live by the rules of society while struggling to fight against the prejudices against foxes. His wife on the other paw fought with her own nature to run wild. As a young vixen, Vivian ran from the conflict that developed between her parents.
This is a very different backstory from the partially canonized idea that Nick's father was a tailor who never gets mentioned beyond some deleted scenes and concept art. I hope everyone can enjoy this alternate take on Nick's backstory and troubled family. I also wanted to show that a lot of other mammals were affected by Judy's flaw filled press conference.
*** I HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO CHANGE THE STORY TO A MATURE RATING GOING FORWARD ***
The next several chapters may contain mature content so I will be changing the rating. I hope this doesn't inconvenience too many of my loyal readers, but based on the comments from the last few chapters I am guessing that everyone will be looking forward to the change. It was my intent to keep the story clean, but with where things are going I could not describe what I felt was important without crossing the line between teen and mature. From now on this story will be rated mature.