Finally! This took way too long to write. The outline was finished. It was just a matter of writing the words down.

Much thanks to Cimar WildeHopps for agreeing and taking the time to edit this!

March 25, 1915,

The sun shined through the window and onto a lump form in the bed. Nick groaned when the light reached his face, pulling the blanket over his head to shut out the cursed thing and try to get more sleep. But being an officer and needing to meet with his superiors made the attempt futile. With a long huff, Nick finally removed the blanket and slowly sat up, his legs hanging off the edge.

He stood up and stretched, cracking his muscles in the arms and legs, then walked to the nearby chest to retrieve a brush, which he discovered on his second day. Brushing his fur out was something he had to do as a fox in the army, as his species was already thought as scruffy and unkempt. Finishing making himself more presentable, he lazily donned his uniform in front of the mirror. After a few adjustments to appear professional, he gathered his personal belongings and left his private quarters.

It has been two months since Nick and his unit arrived at the camp and in that time, they all adjusted themselves well to the change. They were grateful for having to no longer live in the horrid conditions of the trenches and being so close to the prey whom they've befriended. Yet their minds kept wondering how those prey are faring after their transfer. No doubt they would be punished if their superiors discovered the truce.

The entire unit agreed on the train ride to keep the truce a secret until the war was over. Whether the higher command would do the same, to their knowledge, was beyond their control. They hoped they would, but their doubts frequently drifted to being publicly shamed or branded traitors for fraternizing with the enemy. Also on the train ride, the predators wrote down the memories to preserve a true account of the event.

Since arriving at the camp, Nick had been gathering all information on the Tri-burrows offensive and developing plans so that Bunnyburrow could escape the worst of the forthcoming carnage, hopefully entirely. Unfortunately, the plans hinged on whether Bullgaria would remain neutral or join a side in the war. Until then, Nick could only speculate and cover every possible angle.

While walking, Nick noticed a number of soldiers preparing for an arrival, an observation he'd bring up later after the morning meeting. A couple of them noticed the fox and stopped to salute or stand at attention, the rest following along. Nick nodded, acknowledging their respect and continued walking while the soldiers resumed their tasks. He and his unit had integrated well with the predators at the camp. The usual initiation was unleashed on Nick's unit and would have fallen on the fox himself had his own not warned the pranksters about his antics. Unfortunately, some learned that lesson the hard way.

The Lieutenant arrived at the headquarters and went to meet with the Major jackal and the Captain pine marten in the war room. There, he entered and saw Tobias and Aranka already waiting for him.

Aranka was the first to respond, "Morning, Lieutenant. Good of you to join us." She smiled and pointed to the coffee pot and cup. "Need one? You look like you could use it."

"No need to ask me twice," Nick smiled and poured himself one.

Tobias chuckled at his behavior. "Still having trouble getting up in the morning I see?"

Nick took a moment to sniff the cup filled with black liquid. "Being nocturnal is the one thing I believe that I will never evolve out of, Major." He then took a big gulp of the coffee.

"Well I'm sure that's been helpful on more than one occasion out on the Western Front, Lieutenant," the jackal said.

"Between wolves howling at the full moon, the trench conditions, and enemy fire, being nocturnal was the least of my problems."

"Lucky for you," Aranka said. "You only have to deal with the first one here."

"I am curious to hear how you stop that," Nick said, setting down the empty cup. "But that's a conversation for another time. How are things around the world?"

Tobias' cheerfulness was instantly replaced with seriousness and a small hint of dejection. "Great Bruin responded to our naval declaration with a total blockade on us."

Nick sighed heavily. "Why am I not surprised? Did we ever expect them to respond differently? How badly will this affect our supply shipments?"

"We can survive as long as we maintain trade with Zootopia," Aranka said. "But at the current rate our u-boats sink enemy and neutral ships, we doubt that will last long."

Nick nodded. "I see. Any news with our allies and the rest of the Empire?"

Aranka continued on. "A week ago on the 18th, the enemy navy attacked the Ottomammals at Gallipolecat. Despite heavy fire and loss of communication, they managed to repel the attack."

"And on the Eastern Front last month," Tobias said. "We managed to gain a foothold in Ursussia. There hasn't been much action on the Western Front since we halted an advance by Bruin and Furance almost two weeks ago on the 13th."

"What about Pawstria-Hungaury?" Nick asked.

"As far as we know, they're still fighting off Ursussia's assault on one of their fortress. We hope they can hold it down. They haven't done much to help us in the war so far."

"And Italynx?"

"Still neutral. If only they weren't so bitter with Pawstria-Hungaury over their borders."

"It seems like a stalemate then," Nick said. "Anything on us?"

"We have more troops coming in later today to support our offensive, and Bullgaria still hasn't made a decision on the offers yet." Aranka said.

"That explains the work I saw this morning."

"Their leader will be meeting us for a formal introduction just like when you first arrived. Command thought you could use some assistance in the offensive since Aranka and I are already paired up."

"I'll be sure to thank the mammal when he or she arrives." This might be a good thing. Less area to be responsible for. I only hope the predator isn't biased against foxes.

"Her," the pine marten clarified. "You should go meet those under her command when we finish here. It might distract you for a little bit. We'll be doing the same. They should be in the mess hall when we're finished."

"I may do that when I eat. Thanks for the update."

The three predators then heard the door open behind them. They turned around to see a female wildcat entering. She had the species' normal black stripes around her face and the brown fur was much darker than the usual shade. While her uniform was the standard Germammal, her posture and poise made it, and her, stand out all the more in the room as she walked purposefully towards the three awaiting mammals.

"Are you three in charge of the base?" the wildcat asked.

Nick nodded his head to Tobias and Aranka. "Those two are. I'm a transfer here just like you."

The wildcat then stood attention and saluted. "First Lieutenant Ingrid Leitz."

The others three returned the gesture.

"First Lieutenant Nicholas Wilde."

"Major Tobias Koller."

"Captain Aranka Varga."

"Pleasure to meet you," Ingrid said. "I look forward to working with you all. Pardon me for saying this, but I didn't expect smaller mammals to be in charge here."

"No offense taken," Tobias said. "Since we're attacking the Tri-burrows, a place populated by mostly small prey, Command thinks it's better to have similar-sized mammals leading the fight."

"I don't blame their logic," Nick said. "Their sheer numbers can easily overpower the bears and make it a living nightmare to capture them all. So where are you transferring from?"

"The Eastern Front," Ingrid answered. "Command feels that with the recent success there, they could afford to divert more troops to other areas. Not sure why here, since the Western Front needs more attention."

"Consider this location a rest," Aranka said. "We can't move forward with any plan until Bullgaria's decision. But things will change if they, or Italynx, joins our side."

"I heard, and I consider the wait a good thing. It will give my troops and I time to get accustomed to the terrain and your tactics."

"Just don't get too complacent," Nick said. "We could get the call any day now, and we'll have to mobilize fast. The concern then would be if your troops are ready."

"I'll order a small training session for introductions. Then my troops will have the remainder of the day to rest after the train ride here."

"We did the same for Wilde here, so rest assured," Tobias said. "We're just warning you that anything can happen."

"Alright," Aranka said. "Now that the introductions are finished, we'll fill you in on the current plans. Just remember that they are not set in stone."

The four predators moved onto updating each other on the Tri-burrows offensive to include the new troops coming in. The current plan called for each of them to invade with their units. Nick lobbied hard to be assigned the Bunnyburrow boundary. His reasons included his experience with fighting rabbits on the Western Front, albeit avoiding mentioning the details of such knowledge, so he understood their behavior during combat. The other officers had no objections and trusted his judgment, having heard of his successes.

After the revisions were finished, the officers adjourned the meeting and went their separate ways with Nick going to the mess hall. Just as the Major and Captain said, Ingrid's unit was already there. Nick picked up his food and held a brief conversation with the badger cook, the two having become well acquainted and sharing tidbits of their lives throughout their time at the camp. The badger even offering Nick extras, but the fox declined unless he was the last one to be served.

Nick turned around to see the transfers mingling with the resident soldiers. He considered getting to know them right away, but his current mood left him desiring to be alone for the time being. He would not object if invited, or if others wanted to sit with him, but the upcoming offensive still had him worried. Nick exchanged goodbyes with the badger and began searching for empty seats or tables with fewer mammals.

During his search, Nick's eyes fell on a small predator sitting alone. He wanted to pass over, but something about the mammal felt familiar. The distance and loud chatter prevented him from getting an accurate read, so he moved closer. At the table, Nick saw that the small predator was a fennec fox. The feeling gnawed at him and he had to confirm his suspicions. He moved around to where the fennec could see him approaching.

Nick set his drink and mess tin on the table and sat down in front of the fennec. This got the small mammal's attention and the smaller fox looked up with the intention to kindly tell Nick to leave when the recognition came to both predators.

"Finnick!" Nick said before his friend could get a word out.

Finnick closed his mouth and frowned. "Wilde…"

The two foxes continued to stare at each other. Nick keeping his smirk on and Finnick with his frown. Eventually, the frown gave away to a grin and Finnick bellowed out in laughter. Nick followed suit and it continued for a couple moments before the laughter finally died down.

"I missed you, Wilde!" Finnick said. "I was not expecting to see you here."

"Neither did I. How are you my friend?"

"I've been doing well. Things have been dull ever since you went off to fight. What about you? Feel like your pops yet?"

"Oh I feel great! The sounds of gunfire and artillery booming in my ears. The smell of gunpowder in the air. And the sight of dead bodies everywhere!"

"Alright alright, I get it. No need to mock me. Did the military steal your sense of humor?"

"Nah, they're still fighting but are learning to live with each other. Though I have to know, why did you join the army? You even tried to get me to come home while I was on leave from training."

Finnick finished another spoonful and took a sip of his drink. "Honestly, I was feeling bored with everyday life and after reading your letters, I decided that a little fighting would bring some excitement. It wasn't that difficult enlisting in the predator's army with the Empire's call to arms."

Nick's smirk faltered slightly. He knew of the empire's methods of recruiting soldiers and had heard Finnick's second reason from many predators entering the army. The end result was them either being shaken or worse. So far in this conflict, he had seen the toughest of predators become meek when the bullets fired. His father's warning slightly prepared him for his first time but for those who didn't have that...

Nick needed to warn his friend about the realities of fighting in a war before it destroyed him, physically and emotionally. "I won't lie about the adrenaline that comes from combat, but I must warn you that it's all more about survival than excitement. And these survival instincts are nothing compared to what we had to do before the war or in training camp."

Finnick's expression became serious. "I'm no fool, Wilde. And I apologize if this is too personal, but I learned after what happened to your father. But with how all the countries are making out about this war, you can't blame me for getting caught up in the enthusiasm."

Nick sighed heavily and nodded. "I understand." A thought then came to him and it was the perfect thing to change the topic and lighten the mood. "Say. You're a private right? So that means I outrank you."

Finnick narrowed his eyes and had to restrain himself from pointing his fork at his friend, "Don't get any ideas, Wilde. I may be a private but I can still bite your face off."

"And risk punishment for attacking a high ranking officer?" Nick shook his head. "For shame."

"Good thing I'm not under your command."

He saw the mischievous grin on his face, "Don't get your hopes up. That could change in the coming months."

"You'll have to go through my leader first." While Finnick was grateful for the change in topics, an important thought came to him and he needed to tell Nick about it.

"Your mother tried to stop me from going off when I told her the news. I didn't realize I was that important to her, like you and your father."

The subject of his mother peaked Nick's interest. "How is she? Things have been busy here since my last letter to her."

"She's doing well. We spent Christmas together after you couldn't come home."

Nick's ears flattened, the tod's mood quickly dissolving from the reminder. He had sent a letter to her apologizing for having to miss Christmas along with updating on the war situation. "I'm sorry about that. I honestly tried to come home, but Command refused to grant my request."

"Don't apologize. She understands. It was good for me since I had nobody else to spend Christmas with. We both had a wonderful time together."

Hearing his friend's action made Nick smile. "Thank you for being there for her, Finnick."

Finnick smiled in return, "Anything for a friend. But she and I both want to know something...why haven't you told us how your Christmas went? Your last letter only mentioned that no fighting occurred in your area. You must have done something with your troops since they couldn't go home either."

Finnick saw Nick go silent, the reluctance on his face palpable. Being around him for years, he knew the cues of when things got too personal for the red fox. The fennec also knew that Nick would speak when he was ready. Finnick just hoped it wouldn't be too late with an ongoing war.

The fennec sighed heavily. "Alright, I'll stop asking about it. I do have something from your mother though. In case we ever saw each other." Nick saw him reach into his uniform, pulling out a folded envelope. The fennec pawed over the item. "She gave it to me before my departure."

Nick took the folded envelope and spent a moment looking at it before putting it away in his uniform. "Thank you. I'll read it before I go to sleep."

"Just don't take too long writing back.

"I won't."

"And Nick?"

Nick saw the serious expression on Finnick's face.

"I don't know what happened over Christmas, and I could care less. But no matter how you personally feel, your mother deserves to know." This time he did point his fork at him. "She already had one heartbreak. Don't force her to go through another."

It was enough to make Nick become nervous. He gulped before responding. "I promise."

"Good." Finnick had to hide his smile and the feeling of being able to intimidate a high-ranking mammal.

With that, the two friends spent the rest of their meal talking about their experiences; Finnick with his training and transfer to the camp, and Nick with his actions since the beginning of the year. The meal concluded and the two foxes parted for their respective duties and responsibilities, promising to meet later at the end of the day.

In the middle of the day, Nick visited a room in the officer's headquarters for a short rest. There, he opened the door and saw a piano sitting by itself with nobody else inside. Grateful for the solitude, Nick locked the door to prevent anyone from walking in and made his way over to the bench and sat down. Nick took out an alarm clock from his coat and wound it up before setting it on the piano. He took a moment to prepare his fingers before playing a tune.

When he first discovered the room and asked his leaders about it, they told him the location was to entertain guests. Before today's transfer, the base did not have many visitors except for the higher ranking predators who only came to inspect the soldiers and give out awards. It was one of the few times the atmosphere was different at the base.

During an off day some weeks before, Nick visited the room when his desire to play the piano continued to beckon him until his breaking point. He waged a small debate in his mind before acting on his desires. Just before striking a key, the fox realized that he hadn't known what to play. An idea had suddenly came to him which brought a smile on his face. Having only heard the piece a few times, Nick had to play by ear and after taking a moment to remember the tune, he began playing one note a time until the tune matched the sound in his head.

He then began humming the music while stroking the keys. This had continued on after making progress on the main chord, though deciding to quit for the day and work on the melody later. Since then, Nick visited the room when he could to not only continue learning the music, but also distract himself from the war and his responsibilities. In his subsequent visits, the fox brought an alarm clock with him to avoid losing track of time and having his leaders send someone for him.

The sound of a bell ringing brought him back to reality, halting his playing. Nick sighed as he reached for the clock to stop the alarm. Feeling satisfied with his progress once more, Nick fixed his appearance before leaving the room in better spirits.

Later that afternoon, Nick found Finnick participating in a firing and formation practice with other small predators. He saw Ingrid supervising the training and strolled up alongside the wildcat, eyes scanning the assembled troops.

"In my opinion, they appear to be performing well," Nick began as the predators completed another formation. "How long were they in training?"

"Three months," Ingrid responded. "I got a mixture of firearms experts and mostly beginners here."

"I feel for you. My troops were in the same situation back in August. If they survive, they'll get better."

"I hope so." The wildcat focused back on her troops. "Alright that's enough for now! Clean up and you have the rest of the day!"

"Yes ma'am!" they acknowledged.

"I'm going to go help them out," Ingrid said. "Care to join me?"

"I'd be happy to," Nick replied.

The two lieutenants assisted the soldiers in putting away the dummy enemies and rifles. With the task completed, Ingrid and her unit parted ways with Finnick joining up with Nick.

"Nice shooting there," Nick complimented.

"I have to if I want to survive against larger enemies."

"Yeah, it's fun to watch a rhino or elephant charge at you while soaking up bullets like a rag."

"Ouch, I bet they hate being the ones out in front."

"They're usually the ones there, unfortunately."

"I bet the bears and large cats feel the same."

"Believe me. The feelings are mutual. Anyways, I'm heading over to see my troops. Care to join me?"

"Sure, I got nothing else to do."

Nick and Finnick headed to the barracks where Nick's unit was staying. Upon entering, they saw soldiers lounging around or lying on their beds, a few having a smoke, pervading the air heavily with its smell.

Clawhauser was the first to see Nick and immediately stood. "Attention!"

The other predators noticed and did the same.

"As you were," Nick said.

They relaxed and resumed their business.

Clawhauser then noticed Finnick with Nick as the two foxes approached him and a couple other predators. "Who's your little friend, Lieutenant?"

"His name's Finnick and I would be careful calling him little."

Delgato huffed amusingly while approaching the fennec, "And what's he going to do?"

Finnick stomped his foot and shouted for emphasis, "You try anything and I'll bite your face off! And you'd better hope your Lieutenant stops me before I get myself court-martialed!"

The deep voice startled the predators and especially caused Delgato to halt and flinch.

Nick chuckled at the response. "You all should know better than to underestimate small mammals," subtly referencing himself though the image of a grey furred beauty came to mind.

Delgato slowly retreated back. "Point taken."

"So, Finnick," Snarlov said. "Are you a friend of the Lieutenant?"

"Since he was a kit," he answered.

"Tell us then," Clawhauser asked curiously. "What was he like?"

"As someone who is higher rank and could report your actions," Nick interjected. "I order you not to divulge any information about me without my permission."

All Finnick could do was shrug apologetically, "Sorry everyone."

"Blast it Wilde!" Wolfard cried. "Ruin the fun why don't you?"

"Get promoted to my rank, or higher first, and then we'll talk."

Finnick directed his attention to Fangmeyer, "Can I get a light?"

Fangmeyer raised an eyebrow as she glanced between her cigarette and the fennec. "Uh, these are a little big for you."

Finnick rolled his eyes and revealed his own container of smokes.

"Oh, sure!" She brought out her lighter and flicked it on. Fangmeyer then lowered the fire to Finnick's height.

Finnick took out a cigarette and walked up to Fangmeyer, carefully lighting the cigarette to not burn himself or his cigarette in the process.

"Thanks." He inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled in relief. "I needed that. My first day here and I'm already burning through one. Going to have to restock before we go into actual combat if I run out."

"I like you already," Grizzoli said. "Wilde here doesn't smoke. Don't know how he can cope with the stress of being an officer."

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "Not my style and I have other ways of relieving stress."

"Which he won't tell you," Finnick said.

"You know me so well." Nick smiled.

As the evening wound down, soldiers headed to the showers after a dusty day of drills and practice. A new delivery of water had restocked their supplies as a result of the transfer. While Nick cleaned himself, his mind drifted to the Dazoobe River. The Captain and Major had mentioned the location being an option to wash when the facilities ran dry. Since his arrival, Nick has yet to use the river; memories of muddy rainwater in the trenches souring the option for him. Yet he didn't dismiss the idea of visiting the location entirely.

The fox had heard stories from his friends and other predators that the river wasn't particularly a bad place to wash up. With nothing else happening for the remainder of the day, Nick made the decision to visit before going to sleep. After bathing, he returned to his private quarters to prepare for the trip. Nick made sure to inform Tobias and Aranka and leave a note on his door before leaving. With the preparations finished, Nick set off for the river.

He found the trail that led the way and followed it. Just in case, Nick brought the map of their entire location and surroundings. He hoped to arrive before sunset to get a good view and that no one else would be there washing. Nick reminded himself to approach cautiously to avoid interrupting anyone there. He didn't know how long he had been walking until the river finally came into view, with evidence of previous mammals along the shore confirming the location.

Nick looked at the map, and then with a look of longing on his face to the land across from him. According to the map, across the river was the Tri-burrows, specifically DeereBrooke County. And further away over the rolling green hills was Bunnyburrow. Nick lowered the arm holding the map and continued to stare ahead. A battle waged inside between his mind and emotions. Nick was thankful that no one else was around to witness his display.

The moment was a perfect example of the saying, 'so close yet so far'. The only things preventing Nick from crossing the river was him being unfamiliar with the territory and the certainty of increasing the damages from the invasion. Nick calmly sat down to recover from the physical and mental exhaustion. He removed his cap and stretched his legs out as the stress melted away. Nothing but the sounds of the river and insects were heard as dusk approached.

Letting his imagination run wild, Nick imagined Judy on the other side of the river, sitting down and staring back at him. Despite knowing it wasn't real, the image brought a smile to his face and he found himself waving at the imaginary bunny, seeing her doing the same. His heart ached slightly when Judy disappeared, wishing for the illusion to last a few moments more.

This led Nick to wonder how Judy was doing. He had tried to imitate her enthusiasm in an effort to be more positive. But the years spent hardening and burying the pain and suffering of his youth were making it difficult for him. Yet he had to admit that when successful, it helped remind him that it was okay to release his emotions and he still has a remnant of innocence. Nick realized that Judy had become like his mother, whose memories and hopeful future kept him going.

Back in his private quarters, Nick was dressed for bed and sitting down at the table. He lit the oil lamp and retrieved his coat. The fox pulled out the folded envelope, deciding now was a good time to read his mother's letter and wondered what she had written to him. Were they words of encouragement, or of concern? Nick broke the seal and pulled the paper out. With near trembling paws, he opened the letter and began reading.

Dear Nicholas,

By now, you should know that you friend Finnick has joined the army and met up with you. He had already completed his training when he told me of his decision. No matter how much I try to convince him otherwise, he is stubborn like you and your father. Yet I feel that it will be good for him to see you again after so long. We visited your father to tell him the news, and I was reminded of our own trip when war had been declared. It was there that I realized how close Finnick was to our family. I should have known better after how much he comforted us after your father died.

The war has not affected my life so far, and Zootopia has been doing very well staying neutral. But that hasn't stopped mammals from leaving for their homelands to join the army. The war has also been slowly dividing the predators and prey, but thankfully, the citizens have remained at peace. I understand that you will have less time to write back the longer the fighting goes on. But I still wish to hear from you more. I continue to worry for you every single day as a mother should. But no matter what happens to me at home or to you on the frontlines. Know that I will always love you, and I hope to hear from you again soon.

Love,

Mother

The letter slowly slipped from Nick's grasp until it fell onto the table. Teardrops fell, staining the parchment. Nick tried to resist but his mother's words were too much and the tears began to flow. He was happy for his mother's well being, yet sad and shameful for neglecting her. Finnick's reminder surfaced and stung him hard. Nick wanted to tell his mother of his Christmas, but how could he? Letters were inspected by the military post office before being sent.

Nick finally calmed down and took out the picture of his family standing in front of the old tailor shop. He placed it on the letter and stared. He became worried for his mother when she mentioned Zootopia being divided. Knowing his species' reputation, Nick knew that foxes would be targeted first if violence broke out. He quickly pushed those thoughts away and focused on the positives, however little there were. His mother was safe and that's what was important.

Nick finally set the picture and the letter aside and retrieved a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and eraser. Glancing at the photo one more time, he began writing.

Dear Mother,

Battle references

March 18, 1915: Allied naval attack on Dardanelles

February 7-22, 1915: Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes

September 9, 1914 - March 22, 1915: Siege of Przemyśl

That's all for now! Next chapter is already planned out and with Spring Break coming up for me, I should be able to knock it out. Or it could be like Christmas where I barely wrote a page...