The timing truly couldn't be any worse. After having clear skies for the first moments of the trip, the storm seemed to come out of nowhere once they reached the Tri-Burrows, the place they set as the destination. Not only was it pitch black out while they were driving down the busier roads, but there was also heavy rainfall that pounded against the front window of the car.

Thought the hunt for these flowers or whatever was gonna go a lot smoother than this, Finnick thought. Shoulda known there'd be some kinda catch.

He had a positive attitude when the trip began, which they were taking in search of the flower petals to reverse the curse Nick was placed under and get him back to normal. He realized, however, that the trip being a perfect one was nothing but a pipe dream. The trek to the Triangle-Burrows, where that rabbit named Judy told them they grew, was going to be bumpier than anticipated.

As the tremendous rain continued to pour down without welcome, it started to make it harder to see what was in front of them. The weather report during the radio station's commercial break played faintly in the car, suggesting that there was great odds that this unexpected storm would progress longer than they were hoping it would. If that meteorologist on the broadcast was correct with his predictions, it was really going to put a wrinkle in their plans.

Finnick huffed as he slowed down at the red light. He managed so far to get off the highway and enter the town he was driving through from the northwest, and now she was in the middle of a downtown area that he had never driven through before. Even though he wasn't the kind of mammal to go straight to the GPS for directions, he found it a bit hard to navigate through the area since he had never been there before.

"Mother Nature must've decided now was a good time to let out her frustrations," Nick said. "Mom always used to tell me that the rain was just her tears."

"If that's true," Finnick replied, "then she best find a way to cheer herself up."

"I guess we'll just have to try and think of the positives," Nick remarked. He pulled down the sun visor and opened the little mirror inside of it, looking at the tan rabbit staring back at him as he let out a sigh. He couldn't wait to get back to being a fox once again. "Even if the positives are a little numbered. By the way, this crazy rain suddenly reminded me of a classic sea shanty." He pretended to clear his throat before taking a deep breath and letting it out. "One hundred bottles of pop on the-"

"No," the fennec fox quickly interrupted, not exactly interested in that time-consuming chantey. "You ain't gonna sing that the whole way there. And, by the way, it's called soda."

"Well, my family always called it pop, so I guess that's just what I always referred to it as." The fox anxiously shifted in the passenger seat. He knew that the longer it took for the two of them to find these things, the longer he would have to stay a bunny. He decided to take his mind off that for the moment, continuing the conversations he was having with his friend. "Anyway, did I tell you about what O'Malley said after what happened about a week ago? I don't know if-"

Finnick interrupted him with a shush as he continued to look out at what was ahead of him on the road.

The ears of Nick's leporine form drooped, and he lowered his head apologetically. "Sorry, Fin."

"Nothin' against ya, Nick," Finnick replied, "but ya haven't stopped talkin' since the start of the damn trip. Thought it was harder speakin' with them rabbit teeth, but I guess it ain't that hard at all."

"Not after you've adjusted to them." An audible growl came from Nick's stomach just then. "Could really go for something good to eat right about now."

"There's probably gonna be a Bug-Burga we could go to at some point," his friend responded. "The largest burger chain's got one 'round the corner no matter where in the country ya are."

Nick shook his head at the recommendation. "Gonna have to pass on that. I'm not sure I'd feel so good if I tried to eat a greasy burger with fries. I mean, I love the food there, especially the onion rings, but my taste buds seemed to have changed since I ended up turning into this. The only thing I've seemed to have an appetite for is-"

"Don't even be cliche and tell me carrots," Finnick interrupted.

"Actually," Nick replied, "it's been any kind of veggies for me. Lucky for me, I had a good amount of them in the fridge at home that I could have before I called you earlier today."

"Well, I'mma keep my eyes peeled. If there's anythin' that can accommodate that, we can take a few minutes to get a quick bite. After that, it's back on the this strange flower hunt."

The van passed both a fast food place and a dive bar that was open further up the road, and Finnick continued to look around for some sort of restaurant for them to stop at. As he continued to drive forward through the rain, he faintly saw a sign that said a place with great food was up ahead. Just as the advertisement suggested him to do, he took the next left and followed where it said to go.

A few minutes later, standing there like a miracle sent during a time of desperation, a restaurant that seemed interesting appeared up ahead. While it didn't seem to look like much from the outside, rusted antique signs adorning its walls near the entrance, it looked like somewhere that they could possibly stop at for something to eat.

Almost all of the parking spaces there were taken when Finnick approached the building. The only spots not taken being a tight fit in between two other vehicles, but that would just have to suffice. It was better to have to park in that kind of place than for there to be no way to park at all.

"Think there might be somethin' we could get here," Finnick told his friend. "I know it ain't fancy, but maybe their grub'll hold us over 'til we can get those flowers."

Nick looked out the raindrop-covered window to his right at the establishment. Having been to a good number of smaller places many would have called dives in the past, somewhere being unglamorous or old-style was never a problem for him. "Let's check it out," he replied. "The worst we can do is not order anything."

The first thoughts Nick had when they first walked into the building was that the place was pretty eclectic. More than just pretty eclectic, if they wanted to completely truthful about it.

The restaurant's decor surrounding them was a confused mixture of modern and antique, with the dining tables being new and what adorned the walls being quite older. Shelving in which nostalgic knickknacks rested upon was placed a bit too close together, making the walls seem untidily crowded rather than accessorized.

But that wasn't even the thing that struck Nick's mind as the most unusual thing about the restaurant. What did, however, was the abnormal amount of clocks that seemed to filled every tight spot in between where something hadn't been placed on a wall. Some of them were old-fashioned cuckoo clocks, some were the kind he would have seen in an old diner, and some of them looked newer and more traditional. And if it wasn't enough to have all of those hung up, there was even a grandfather clock that was right next to the booth a waiter would normally be standing if they were there.

A bit strange to have them in that amount, but who exactly was he to judge somebody's style? Perhaps whoever owned this restaurant just had multifarious taste when it came to decorating, or maybe they were just a clock enthusiast or collector of some sort.

Just then, the two friends started to see a young hyena awkwardly making his way around the tighter space, mumbling to himself while balancing a round tray in his left paw. The tray started to wobble a little bit, and he tried his best not to spill what laid across it as he approached where they were standing.

"Are you guys doing okay?" he asked them shyly.

"Yeah," Nick said to him. "Can we place an order?"

The feline stared back in silence for a few seconds before nodding his head. "Yes, yes," he muttered, "I'm sorry if you've been waiting. This place isn't you're average eatery." He let out a chuckle before lowering his voice to a quieter mumble. "Still learning how tight of a ship's being ran here. That and about what kind of characters tend to pop in here from time to time."

"It's no trouble at all," the fox responded.

The hyena handed them two menus that he had on him at the moment. "Anyway, I'll be happy to know what you'd like," he asked rapidly, showing evident awkwardness.

Nick surveyed the options before nodding his head, making his decision. "I guess I'll just go with that salad of the day."

"Gimme one of those paninis," Finnick replied after him.

"And is that here or to go?"

The fennec fox responded, "Probably just gonna take it to go. Got somewhere we gotta be."

"Got it," the hyena confirmed. "I don't think we're out of the stuff for that, so I'll go tell the cooks to get the order ready lickety-split. Some of the special dishes, y'know, need some things ya don't see in your average kitchen. Can't spill the beans all willy-nilly to regular folks such as yourselves, though."

"Jonathan!" someone bellowed from the other side of the restaurant, sounding like they meant business. The exclamation was sudden and was like that of a drill sergeant ordering somebody. "I need a word with you!"

"Coming, sir!" the hyena said in a somewhat sheepish tone of voice, walking over to where he had been called as quick and carefully as he could.

He made his way over to where an older wolf with brown fur was standing. The canid's face showed no emotions and his clothing was very... odd in comparison to everyone else's. Almost like a robe a mage might have worn. Looking around at the other side of the eatery, it seemed that there were multiple mammals seated that were in similar clothes, as if they had all just walked out of the medieval era.

Nick found it a bit strange to see someone dressed in that sort of attire, and he found himself becoming curious. Not only that, but he was also unsure of what the mammal that took their order suddenly just blathered about. What did he mean by special dishes, and about how it needed things that not everybody had? He seemed to place a good bit of emphasis on them being special, as well as how he couldn't tell about them. Could it have been that this place secretly catered to those that were in magic?

He denied that possibility for the briefest of moments, but then he remembered what had happened to him because of magic he once thought was non-existent. He also remembered what that rabbit that ran the shop back in Zootopia said about there other practitioners around here, and suddenly his theory wasn't so bizarre to him anymore.

Nick didn't tell Finnick at first about what he suspected, since he never brought light to the eclectic nature of the restaurant or those occupying it earlier. He simply kept that to himself as they both exited the establishment and made their way back to the van, styrofoam containers of freshly-made food and utensils in their paws.

They both got into the van and opened up the containers of what they had ordered not too long ago. Nick stared down at the salad he got from the restaurant, consisting of mixed greens with shredded carrots, pieces of apple, and a sprinkle of chopped walnuts. On top of the dish was a dressing of apple cider vinaigrette, hitting his nostrils strongly. He looked at it for another moment with a sigh, unsure of whether or not it might have some sort of magical ingredient to it that he was unaware of.

"Fin," he said suddenly, turning his head towards his friend. "I don't know about this food. It could be-"

He stopped when he realized that Finnick's mouth was already stuffed full with the panini he had ordered. "Damn, this is a good sandwich," he remarked with his mouth stuffed full.

"Hexed..." Nick finished, even though it was already too late if that were actually the case.

"Pretty sure that if this food was under some kinda spell, somethin' woulda already happened t' me," Finnick assured.

Nick shurgged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

A split second later, the fennec fox started to wrap his arms around his stomach as it were hurting him. "Oh no..." he said. "I dunno 'bout you, but I'm feelin' a little funny right now. It's like somethin' just came over me."

"I had a gut feeling that would happen," Nick mumbled to himself.

Finnick looked over at him slowly, the look on his face one of concern. He remained absolutely silent before jokingly lunging forward with both arms. "Bwah!"

"Gah!" Nick shouted, his ears drooping once again.

The fennec fox started to chuckle as he pointed a paw in his direction. "Dude, you shoulda saw your face," he remarked. "Ya totally fell right into that one. The only hex this grub's got on it is how good it tastes."

Nick nodded in agreement with how he had fallen for his friend's little joke. "Guess I was worrying over nothing."

With that, he started to dig in to the salad he had ordered, the combination of flavors from the mixed vegetables quenching the hunger he previously felt. A smile took over his face when he was finished, and now he felt that he was ready to get back on the road and hunt down these flowers they needed to find.

His leporine ears perked upon him hearing footsteps not too far away, and his attention was redirected to something out his window. He could hear two voices speaking to one another, belonging to two sheep standing outside the building. Both of them appeared to be wearing red attire with a symbol on it that he had never seen before. His mind came back to what the doe told them before the trip, about how there was a cult around these parts that was interested in the same flowers they needed. And surely enough, one of the figures was muttering something to the other about rare flowers.

Nick could only presume that they talking about what they were after as well.

As Finnick went to put the key in ignition, the tan rabbit in the passenger seat held a paw up, trying to listen to what those two mammals that were not standing outside the restaurant were saying to each other. "Hang on a second, Fin," he said to him.

"We've been foraging forever," one of the ovines said to the other, "and not a damn sign of those flowers in sight."

"I'm starting to get nervous about that," the other sheep responded. "If we don't get our hooves on some more of them, the boss isn't going to be very happy about that. You know what happened the last time he was angry about something, right?"

"That's not something you can just forget. Anyway, there's somewhere we haven't checked yet. I'm making an educated guess that there might be some growing near that land past the nature preserve on the city limits."

"You might be right. That'd be the most ideal spot for them to healthily grow, with nothing there to disturb them and all."

"Come on. We better not waste anymore time and get over there for ourselves, see if my assumptions are correct."

The pair of ovines in matching attire started to walk out of view, and with that Nick turned around and looked at his friend. "I think we might have figured out where to possibly get those flowers."

"Where we headin'?" Finnick inquired in reply.

Nick informed, "Near the city limits. Up towards some nature preserve over there."

Some Time Later...

"Ya sure this was where ya thought they'd be?" Finnick asked as he stepped forward, pushing his way through the long grass that made up the land ahead of him.

Nick nodded as he walked alongside him, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of what he was searching for. "Those two outside the restaurant said it clear as day. A spot of land past the nature preserve on the city limits."

"I ain't sayin' ya heard 'em wrong, Wilde," the fennec fox responded. "Maybe those two didn't have any idea what they were talkin' 'bout."

"I don't know about that. The one seemed fairly certain about it. Besides, we can't give up now. I seriously don't wanna be stuck as a bunny."

Just when they were both thinking they weren't going to be able to find them, Nick and Finnick both spotted the carmellia-like flowers not too far away from them. The petals on the lively blooms almost seemed to glisten in the darkness, the way the moon did when it was full against the sky.

Nick quickly opened his phone and looked at the photo he had snapped of the flower illustration the doe had given him for reference. It turned out to be a match, and that meant he was getting that much closer to returning to his normal self again. He started to run up excitedly to where they were growing, and Finnick followed from behind. His eyes widened and he smiled brightly when he saw them blossoming a short distance away, feeling as if he had discovered some sort of holy treasure.

"We found 'em, Fin!" he proclaimed delightedly into the silence of the night. "We found my ticket back to normalcy!"

"That's them, alright," Finnick remarked. "How many of 'em did that bunny say she needed for that spell she's gotta do?"

"I can't remember the exact number she told us before," Nick admitted, "but it won't if we return with a little more than needed. The more, the merrier, isn't it?"

"I don't think so, trespassers!" a deep voice muttered behind where he was standing. "Those flowers are rightfully ours."

Nick turned around in a state of surprise, only to see it was none other than one of the sheep he heard talking about the flowers earlier. "We spotted them first," he replied, "and we need them for a very important reason."

The ovine snickered as he slowly stepped up towards him. "Actually, I'm fairly certain that the task our leader wishes to complete with those has much more significance than whatever purpose you have with them."

"You ain't ever heard of finders keepers, losers weepers, have ya?" taunted Finnick a bit too soon. "My friend saw 'em first, so I think he oughta have 'em."

"Well," the sheep replied, "fairness isn't exactly in my blood. How about this? You both just step away from those flowers and it'll save you a lot of trouble. What do you say?"

Nick shook his head at this suggestion. He wasn't ready to just give up and turn around after all of this. "I don't think so."

"Wrong answer." With that, the ovine clapped his hooves together loudly.

After this, from behind trees on either side of him, emerged a small group of mammals, all of them wearing the same attire as the sheep standing there. The group started to show themselves and run up towards where Nick and Finnick were standing.

The two friends looked at each other before making beeline further out into the field, distancing themselves from the flowers that the sheep and those he had summoned as backup sought after. The footsteps in the thick grass suddenly died down, as if everyone that was behind them just disappeared. Nick was the first to look back as he came to a stop, noticing that the group of robed mammals was now frozen stiff. Although they were halfway through their running, one paw in front of the other, they all seemed like they were unable to run anymore.

"What the-" Nick muttered to himself.

Finnick, who was not too far away from where he now stood idly, pointed up to something in the sky. "Look!" he said.

Nick did exactly that, seeing what the fennec fox was looking at in that moment. Up in the sky, only a few inches away from touching the treetops, was that doe from the shop that sent them on the search for the flowers. The gray rabbit was seated on top of a broom that looked slightly worn, and she was gripping onto the front of it tightly as if her life was depending on it.

"Woah!" the bunny said out loud as she maintained control of the broom, which wasn't staying the steadiest. "This is much harder than it looks here!"

"Judy?" Nick called back in surprise.

The doe steered the aged broom away from where she was floating, zipping downward like a bird starting to land as she got closer towards the ground. Once she on the ground with her broom in her grasp, she ran up to where Nick and Finnick were standing, both of them still a bit in shock.

"Did ya ride that broom the whole way 'ere?" Finnick wondered curiously.

"I took a bus here into the Tri-Burrows," Judy replied. "I only got on the broom once I got near this secluded area. It's actually my sister's broom, so she's not going to be happy about me borrowing it so suddenly."

"What are you doing here?" Nick inquired.

"I foresaw something going wrong in my crystal ball back at the shop," the rabbit informed. "Only the cosmos know what might have happened had I not consulted it about how you two were finding the flowers."

"Thank goodness for that," replied Nick with a nod of his head.

"I placed a spell on those guys that will freeze them for a few moments," Judy responded. "That should give us enough time to grab as many of those as we can."

"Got it." Finnick nodded before heading towards a bush where the flowers were, picking them off and placing them into his pockets as quick as he could.

The spell that kept the group frozen stiff started to where off, and the mammals under its effect started to wake out of it. They started to run forward before coming to a halt, looking around in confusion before catching sight of the leporine witch.

"It seems you two called for assistance," croaked the sheep dressed in red. "Hate to inform you that this bunny won't be of much help when it comes to stopping all of us."

Judy waved a paw around before flicking it out in front of her, a magenta glow emitting directly above it. "We'll see about that..." she retorted with a smirk.

The Next Day...

Grogginess was a terrible understatement to describe what Nick felt when he saw the sunlight peeking through the curtains of his apartment. With all of the craziness that came with the previous day, there was no doubt that he was definitely worn out from it all.

His eyes started to open as he pulled himself out of bed to start the day, feeling a bit different than in the hours before this. He turned his way towards the mirror and saw that something miraculous happened over the course of the night.

He was back to his normal fox self!

Looking happily back at his reflection, he was barely able to contain his won enthusiasm. The exctiement that came with being back to nomrla was the kind a kit might have felt on Christmas morning when they got the greatest gift. That spell that he collected the one ingredient for worked.

Nick looked behind him for a brief moment, seeing that his long and russet-fur tail was back. His tail started to wag as he made his way towards the kitchen with a spring in his step. He was never the kind that was overly joyous upon waking up, but today marked the first time he was feeling exactly that.

The iPaw resting on top of the granite countertop started to vibrate, and he made his way over to where it was to pick it up. A number that he didn't have in his contacts was calling him. He normally never answered these numbers, but this time he accepted the call coming in.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hi, it's Judy from Mammalian Mystics," answered the gray doe he knew from the other end of the phone. "I'm talking to Nick, correct?"

"Yes, you are," Nick replied in a much bubblier tone of voice. "And thank you so much for helping me out, getting me back to bein' a fox and all."

"It was a pleasure to help someone that was in need," replied Judy. "I also wanted to thank you for collecting those flowers, since I know that it was a bit tricky to get them."

"Well, it made for an experience I certainly won't forget," the fox remarked with a chuckle.

"Anyway, I just wanted to make sure the spell worked just fine, but I'm guessing it all went well."

"It certainly did."

"That's good to hear. Speaking of spells, I could sense that your friend had something he wanted, so I decided to grant him his wish through a spell that'll last for the next day."

"What kind of wish was that? My friend Fin's not the kind to make those kind of things." There was a knock on his door right then and there, and he started to make his way over there to see who was there. "Anyway, thanks again for your help. I have to go."

Nick said goodbye to the friendly doe and placed his phone in his pocket. Stepping up to the front door, he opened it up and widened his eyes when he saw the mammal by his doorstep. Finnick was grinning back at him, now on longer legs that made him standing just as tall as him. He guessed this was that wish that Judy sensed he wanted, considering his friend had made a remark about that particular kind of thing.

"You seein' this?" the fennec fox said with a laugh. "That rabbit's magic works wonders!"