Hello everyone!
First and foremost, thank you so much for all your support and reviews! It is slightly embarrassing to see so much attention around this story, as I thought it's just a simple tale. Still, I'm happy that you like it. :)
On the technical note: I've changed the description of the story. Since characters that appeared in it, that were planned only as minor ones (Vivian for example), outgrew my expectations so it's going to be also officially OC from now.
Aand that's all concerning boring stuff, let's get on with the story.
Chapter 15
"Have you done your homework?" The vixen inquired of Nick.
"Well… In a way, yes."
Miss Shavala raised a curious brow. "Care to elaborate on that?"
"We… talked. About that story, in a way..." No matter how many times he returned to this topic his tongue got numb.
"How do you feel after such a conversation?"
Nick pondered about this for a moment before answering. He couldn't openly state that there was some king of magical moment and all is well right now, as it would be a blatant lie. Still, he couldn't say that there was no effect either. Before his mother gave him that little push, Nick wouldn't even think that he'd be able to talk in that way with the bunny. It was the tiniest rift he dared to open the door to his soul. It may seem small and insignificant, but to the fox it was a huge step. He didn't know if he would be able to repeat this achievement any time soon, yet now he had the knowledge that it was actually possible.
"Strangely…" He tested the words in his mind before letting them out. "Not rejecting the idea completely…"
His therapist rewarded him with a smile.
"That's something you can build on. Why don't you try talking with your mother on other topics?"
"Well, maybe. I don't cross out that option." He said, scratching himself behind one of the ears. *And now that nine year thing is mostly behind us, I'd really like to eat one of her dinners.*
"Good." The vixen made some notes and flipped the page. „Feel free to share whatever topics you discuss, I'm sure it'll be interesting. But let's leave that for now and move on – how's your savage condition?"
Nick shrugged. "Pretty much stable. Nothing new there."
"And those claw marks on your head?" She asked, looking directly into his eyes.
*Damn it, I thought they wouldn't show under the fur!*
"That's… " Nick began, but abruptly stopped. "…nothing." He finished in a quiet mutter.
"And said 'nothing' clawed at the back of your head?"
"That topic is a dead end." The fox stated firmly without a bat of his eye. It was not a story he was ready to touch; it was something that ran even deeper than the last thing he told her.
She stared at him for a few moments, before writing down another note. "I see. Let's get back to your savage state. You mentioned acquiring some information about potential brain changes."
"What's to elaborate here." Nick let out a very bitter sigh. "If I don't fix this" He pointed a finger at his skull. "I'm going to be the next patient of the loony pit."
"There is progress on making the antidote." She pointed out calmly.
"Yes, but how effective it's going to be? We have no way of knowing that!"
Miss Shavala only shrugged. "It'll be known after it's administered."
"So I can see how damaged those mammals will become? No thanks."
"You're trying very hard to convince yourself that you don't want the antidote. Or maybe that you don't need it."
Nick narrowed his eyes as he shot her a look. "You're suggesting that I make excuses?"
"Are you?"
The fox stared at her without mouthing out any new words for a while. He slumped back in his armchair and his gaze lost its focus, staring not anywhere in particular in this room, but into the past. "Yesterday, I scared a jaguar half to death to make him surrender to the ZPD. I played the part of a heartless criminal and even threatened his family. I never did that before. I had my share of near death experiences in my life and never resorted to such tactics to get myself out of trouble. What's more, this time I held all the cards. I had his fate in my paws. And from many scenarios I could've chosen, I used the most threatening one. That deeply disturbed me as afterwards I felt guilt, even though he injured my friend before. But somewhere deep in my mind a part of me said that it was fine. I ignored it at first, but when I now think about it, that part of me enjoyed being in power, to have control over him, to…"
"…be an alpha male?" She suggested.
Nick blinked. „What?"
„A pack leader, the strongest male, ruler of those beneath him… My guess is that those weren't any murderous instincts, rather the urge to prove your superiority. In combination with your sly attitude it produced the effect you described." She slightly leaned forwards. "You didn't threaten him out of some sociopathic inclination, but ultimately, to show your dominance."
The fox processed her words, applying every single part to the emotions he felt during his hustle with Zungo. It actually fit. If this would be their first meeting, he'd be surprised at the accuracy of her 'guesses' and theories, however she proved to be very adept in analyzing his behavior.
"That's… you may have a point." Relief fell over him like a refreshing shower. He wasn't entirely sure if she was actually right and that was the case, but his was willing to bet on that. *This is not the case if I believe this version of the story, I want to believe that…*
She smiled at him. "And what about your senses? You mentioned their enhanced state, is that statement still valid?"
Nick raised his brows. "You missed a quarter of an inch of your eyeliner on your left eyelid, there is a miniature, bleak, round stain on your armchair, most likely from a pen, there's a rattle coming from upstairs, probably a wheelchair and you used Armadillani 'Diamond' perfume few days before our meeting, which can be recognized by the faint smell of-"
Miss Shavala raised a paw and rubbed her temples. "Alright, I think that answers my question. But I must say, you paid attention to my makeup and perfumes, do you usually focus that much on female's looks?"
The fox folded his arms. "I just had a lot of practice…" He muttered.
His therapist raised her brows with curiosity, in an almost playful manner.
"Care to elabo-"
"No!"
.
.
The few following days were very busy for both Nick and Judy.
The bunny wanted to make up for the time she spent at the hospital and threw herself into a whirlwind of work. She'd volunteer for any patrols, cases and duties available, except for parking duty of course. Judy was relentless in chasing any criminals trying to run away from an arrest, eventually pinning down every single one of them. And her effort didn't go unnoticed, as her fellow officers, mostly huge and strong in comparison with a bunny, all started recognizing her skills and determination. Where she was usually ignored earlier, now a friendly paw or hoof waved at her and some mammals offered their greetings in form of a short 'Hey' or 'What's up?'. Judy couldn't be happier right now, fulfilling her dream and finally being accepted by senior officers. Except for one detail. She was greatly anticipating the moment her best friend could stand next to her in uniform. To be her partner on the job. To be her ally on the streets. To be someone she could always trust her back to.
She just couldn't wait for that to happen.
"Hopps!" A roar rolled above the policemammals gathered in the entrance hall. Judy immediately recognized the trademark, friendly invitation to the chief's office. She trudged toward her fate with drooped ears, not sure what did she do wrong. When the bunny arrived at what the rest of the force named 'The Gates of Doom', she knocked respectfully and awaited a reply.
"Come in." Came a familiar grunt.
Judy walked inside and instantly her ears sprung up in surprise. Next to Bogo's desk was a chair and on it sat another bunny. He had chocolate brown fur with pointed black ears, similar to her own. He turned around to look at her with a pair of deep blue eyes. The buck smiled at her.
"Hopps, this is officer Twicks. He freshly graduated from academy and as of today is your fellow officer. I'm tasking you with showing him the ropes. He'll be your partner for now." Bogo stated in a voice that indicated that he couldn't care less, but nevertheless had to assign duties. His eyes were fixed on the sea of documents upon his desk.
Judy's nose twitched from the sudden order. "Sir? Are you sure? I'm quite new here as well."
Only then Bogo raised his gaze. "You're questioning my orders?" There was warning note in that sentence.
The doe saluted sharply, if nervously. "No, sir!"
"Then stop wasting my time and get out."
Both bunnies quickly left the room. Once outside, officer Twicks let out a quiet chuckle. "Very friendly, isn't he?"
"Don't worry, you'll get used to him." Judy waved off the buffalo's attitude.
The buck extended his paw. "William Twicks, pleasure to meet you, officer Hopps."
She accepted it. "Judy Hopps, likewise. Um, just for you to know, I'm not the most experienced officer around, but I'll do my best to help you get accustomed to ZPD."
"No need to be so modest Miss Hopps, everyone in Tri-Burrows know about your great deeds!" He showed her a broad smile.
"You're overestimating me and drop that 'miss' part, I'm Judy."
"Okay, Judy. Please call me William or Will, if you prefer."
"Sure thing." She also smiled. It was very pleasant to have someone of her own species in the precinct. Now the bunny knew that there is a person who can relate to her point of view. "So, shall we start with the building itself?"
"Sounds good."
.
.
Meanwhile Nick still had some loose ends to tie. Old colleagues, informants, business partners and mammals he'd rather never know in the first place. Since he was about to change his 'profession', it was better to tell them up front, not later, when he's present at their arrest.
It was unavoidable that they'd be pissed, at least for the most part. Some of them thought of it as an opportunity to have an 'inside mammal' in the fuzz. There were also those who couldn't decide whether to deal with the fox now or blackmail him later. Few he didn't even dare visit, they would tear him apart, so he settled for a text with a hint of hope for future cooperation.
With all contacts covered, Nick decided to visit Finnick to check up on him one last time before departing for training. And he wasn't exactly surprised that when he rang the bell to his apartment, a familiar vixen opened the door.
"Fancy meeting you here, Miss Shavala. Visiting a patient?" He asked innocently.
"A friend." She let him in without batting an eye. *Yeeah, right.*
Nick knew his friends' place like the back of his paw. He couldn't even count the number of hustles and tricks they've came up with in this place. *All those drinking parties or even the time Fin invited several vixe-* He shook his head and headed for the living room. The whole apartment was one of those of a higher standard, Finnick liked to enjoy his life and this place complimented it. Expensive furniture, a huge, cutting edge TV along with a full stereo set. This apartment had it all.
Finnick was sitting on a couch, wolfing down dinner that obviously looked homemade.
"Hey Fin! Enjoying your recuperation?" He noticed that the fennec didn't have the bandages anymore and his leg was looking rather fine if not for the scars.
"Nick? What'cha doin here?" The little was almost choked on his food and it didn't escape Nick's sharp observational skill that for an instant his friend cast a nervous glance at Miss Shavala.
"Checking up on an old friend!" The red fox chirped in an amused voice and dropped down on the couch next to Finnick. "But I can see that another friend is doing that right now." He nudged the fennecs' ribs with his elbow.
Hearing the emphasis on that word, the smaller fox sprang up to his feet, grabbed Nick's arm and dragged him towards the kitchen, mumbling 'just a sec' to the vixen. She smiled over her cup of tea. "Of course."
When in the different room Finnick spun around to face his friend.
"Ya wanna' have yer face bitten off?!" He huffed in an angry whisper, but Nick was unimpressed.
"I don't know what's your problem here? That embarrassed in front of a female? Not cool, buddy. Not cool."
Normally Fin would smack him or yell, but now he seemed to be at loss what to do or say.
"She's not… just some female…" He muttered.
Nick smiled inwardly seeing the fennecs' reaction. *You poor fool, just admit it already…* He placed a friendly paw on the small shoulder. "Hey, whatever's holding you back, just let it go."
"Oh, ya think, smart ass?" Finnick snarled at him.
"Listen, you don't even have to pretend anything. Be yourself, she actually likes you this way." Nick's words caused Fin's jaw to drop down. *Oh dear, this might need an additional push…* He patted the pocket on his shirt to make sure if they were still there. *I was going to give it to Carrots, but… Oh well, he earned it.* And just like that he pushed his stunned friend out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Say, Miss Shavala, are you busy this weekend?" The red fox said, pushing the fennec in front of him.
"Hmm…" She pondered about the answer for a moment. "No, I have yet to make any plans, why?"
"Because I happen to have two tickets for the Growling Stones concert and it's on this Sunday." He fished two pieces of paper from his pocket. " And since I will be away at the ZPD academy I don't have any use for them." As he said that, his friend finally flinched, apparently knowing where Nick was going with that, but the red fox wouldn't let him cut in. "I mentioned this to Fin and he said that he's free this Sunday, so… why don't you two go together?" He finished with only a slight suggestion of a smirk.
Alexandra's cup of tea stopped halfway to her muzzle and Finnick let out an almost inaudible gurgle. Nick knew that he was playing it safe – Finnick was listening to that band very often and he saw several of their CD's in Shavala's apartment. The pause lasted only for a second and time started flowing again. The vixen sipped her tea.
"Why not?" She replied as if the awkward moment never happened. The fennec snapped his head towards Nick, but failed to snarl at him as two tickets were shoved into his paw.
"Great, have fun then." The red fox retreated to the entrance, sending them a smart salute. "Take care, Fin." And he was gone.
.
.
"And that about sums it up." Judy said to the other bunny, finishing their trip in the main hall of the precinct."
"Wow, you've been here for less than a month and you already know everything, I'm impressed!"
She waved her paw dismissively. "It's not that big of a deal, besides you'll learn it soon enough."
"I hope so, wouldn't look good to constantly wander around the place with a map." He smiled
Judy laughed at his idea. "You won't need it! It's very simple."
"Easy for you to say, you probably know half of Zootopia's streets by now." His voice was warm and cheerful.
"Not really, far from it. Though I have a friend who knows the entire city like the back of his paw."
"Seriously? He must have some amazing memory. Is he also a bunny?"
The doe flinched. "Ehm, actually… no. He's a fox…" The sentence hanged in the air for a while. On one paw, Judy was afraid of William's reaction to this information, but on the other she was prepared to rise in defense of Nick's good name. He was her friend after all.
The buck nervously rubbed his neck. "Hahah, well… I suppose anything can happen in Zootopia." He said with a cautious voice. Judy relaxed a bit, it wasn't a perfect reaction she'd hoped for, but it wasn't the worst.
"I'll introduce you someday. And he's also applied to join the ZPD, so he's going to the academy very soon."
His ears now perked up. "Really? A fox officer? I guess that he would be a first one… Like you were the first bunny."
Judy tilted her head slightly to the side. "And you're the second one." She smiled at him. "If you won't mind asking, what made you want to join?"
The brown bunny fidgeted a bit with his fingers. "Um, that's a bit embarrassing, so please don't laugh…"
She raised her paw earnestly. "I promise."
"Well, you were the reason." He muttered.
Judy's eyes widened in surprise. It was an answer she didn't see coming.
"Me?!" She asked in disbelief. The buck nodded.
"I thought about joining before but there was always this voice in the back of my head that kept telling me that's impossible and a rabbit could never become a police officer. And then, my friend's cousin went to the academy and said that a rabbit actually trained there to become ZPD's member. This gave me the courage to try. It wasn't easy and I didn't end up as a valedictorian," He glanced at her with respect. "But I pulled through and here I am."
A wide smile appeared on her face. The grey bunny was happy beyond words. She joined the ZPD to make the world a better place and now someone has followed in her footsteps. Judy almost shed a happy tear but forced herself not to, it wouldn't look good in front of a junior officer. Instead she patted him on the shoulder. "Good for you."
.
.
The evening before his departure, Nick decided to make one more visit. He knocked and waited patiently. The door swung open after few moments.
"Nicky?" Vivian couldn't hide her surprise.
Nick rubbed his neck a bit nervously. "Hey, mom." He said sheepishly. "Got room for one more for supper?"
Instead of replying, the vixen threw her arms around him and hugged the fox tightly.
"Always."
Fifteen minutes later they were seated beside her kitchen table and enjoying their first family meal in years. Nick had no idea how much he missed his mother's cooking. It tasted so good and so nostalgic that he wished for this moment to last forever. For the blessed minutes spent together at this table and enjoying his best meal in nine years, Nick was almost moved to tears. Almost, as this was a feat normally impossible to happen.
Later that evening, they were both sitting in the living room, drinking tea. They sat in a comfortable silence, mother and son, enjoying each other's presence. Vivian – grateful for every passing second together after such a long period of separation, Nick – relaxed like never before in the time in which they were out of touch. But he had to shake off this pleasant blanked of comfort as he had something to say. He thought how it would be best to approach the topic, but after several dissatisfying scenarios he decided that the direct way will suffice. *Well, here goes…*
"I'm joining the ZPD." He announced.
A small porcelain rattle came from his mother's direction. She steadied her hand to not spill her drink and stared at her conmammal son with slightly opened mouth.
"You're… doing what?" She asked in disbelief. It seemed that the concept alone seemed inconceivable.
"Joining the ZPD. I'm leaving for academy tomorrow morning." The fox stated to emphasize that his decision is final and he's not changing his mind.
Vivian Wilde left her tea on the table and stood up without saying a word. She slowly walked towards him.
"Uh, mom?" He wasn't exactly sure what to expect from her. But that was quickly answered as she dropped to her knees and hugged him tightly. "Oh Nicholas! I'm so proud of you!" She whispered to his ear.
But she didn't notice that the impact of their sudden contact knocked the cup from the plate Nick was holding in his paw. *Oh crap!* Now it was on its way to the ground to break into pieces and spill the hot drink everywhere. He wanted it to stop, to hang in mid-air so he'd have the time to catch it, but he knew it was too late.
But it wasn't.
Almost without any direct order from Nick's mind, his plate-holding paw shot downward in a blur and instantly positioned itself below the falling piece of porcelain, with agility and precision that allowed to balance the cup back on the plate. Nick inwardly breathed with relief. However, the situation caught him by surprise. He was dead certain that normally he'd never be able to do something like this. *So now I can add reflexes to the list…* He thought gloomily. *If a month ago someone would have told me that I'll be using savage like abilities to catch flying tea cups I'd have the laugh of my life…*
.
.
Next morning, with a bag of his stuff necessary for the 9-month training at the academy, Nick was already at the train station, waiting for the right train. And he wasn't surprised that he wasn't alone. He half expected the bunny to appear, being the caring friend she was, but never his mother too.
Nick put a paw over his eyes. "Why are you here?" He sighed.
"What's wrong with a mother seeing off her son? You'll be gone for almost a year!" She frowned at him.
"I'm not 10 years old." The fox groaned.
"I can't understand why you are complaining, slick." The bunny joined the conversation. Obviously, she was in her ZPD uniform. "I had a swarm of my family to see me off when I was leaving for the academy."
Vivian winked at her. "Why thank you, sweetie. See Nicky? Nothing to be ashamed of." With these words she hugged him tightly.
Over his mother's shoulder, Nick mouthed 'Thanks a lot' towards his friend. Judy smiled innocently and pretended that the ceiling suddenly became a very intriguing piece of architecture. The vixen gave him a final squeeze and pulled away, keeping him at arm's length. "Don't be like that. I'm so proud of you and your decision! I never dreamed that one day you would finally straighten up your life, let alone a police officer. Someone's attitude rubbing off on you, hm?" She nudged his ribs playfully.
"Stop it, mom!" Muttered the adult fox.
Judy was fighting her laughter, but still let out a chuckle.
"Enjoying the show, Fluff?" Nick groaned.
"No… it's just, now when I see you together, you look so much alike. If I didn't know, I'd guess that you're brother and sister." She said in a joyful voice.
Vivian grinned and ruffled Nick's fur between the ears. "Well, I had this big goofball when I was fourteen, so it's not like there's a huge difference between us."
The bunny's eyes widened. "Fourteen?!" Her mouth dropped agape.
The vixen waved her paw dismissively. "Oh, I know how it sounds, but never regretted it after seeing this little handsome fox." She ran her paw over Nick's ears with motherly affection.
Nick was about to cut in with a snarky comment, but the voice calling for passengers from the nearby loudspeaker was faster. Grateful for the intervention, he picked up his bag and started heading towards the train.
"Okay, we had some fun, but I have to go now."
Judy's ears perked up as she ran to his side. "Nick, hold on a second!" She reached for her pocket and her paw returned with a small item.
"You already got me two presents, so this is for you, though I'm still one behind." She handed it to him with a smile. It was a phone strap with a tiny carrot on the end of it. "I figured that since you never part with your smartphone…"
Nick snorted. "Thanks, Carrots. I'll grab on to this in my sleep." He quipped and headed to board the train. Both females waved to him, standing next to each other. When he disappeared inside the vehicle, the bunny heard the vixen's moved voice. "Thank you, Judy." She said with her eyes fixed on the train.
The doe dropped her ears and tried to reply with something, but eventually decided not to. They both stood at the platform, watching the train leave.
.
.
Arrival at the academy went smoothly, as if a pack of tourists arrived at a hotel. With several minor differences. The most visible one was the epidemic of lack of any sense of humor among instructors. Nick tried to put in several light jokes, but he hit a wall. None of the serious looking mammals from the academy's staff reacted to it.
All of the cadets were hoarded in the main hall of the administrative building and mammals at the reception desk were going by the list, calling cadets by name and assigning them to proper rooms.
"Wilde!" Roared the tigress in charge of the room accommodation. Nick sauntered over to her, wearing his usual smirk.
"I'd like a suite with a pool, if it's not too much to ask." He said in a laid back voice. A couple of cadets stifled their sniggers, but the female feline didn't even bat an eye.
"Room 31." She stated unamused.
After a short trip through the building, the fox found the right room and walked in through half open door. It instantly became obvious that he was last to come here. Three other mammals were unpacking their bags, only to pause when he entered. One of them was a tiger, with looks that ruled out any possibility that he hasn't had a street background. Not with a huge scar running down from his left eye all the way beneath the collar of his shirt. Subject B was an elephant, nothing out of ordinary about him except his posture. He looked like every part of him tried to be smaller than in reality. The last one on the menu was a cheetah that waved at him in a friendly manner. And this one… *Wait a minute…* He discreetly sniffed the air to confirm his suspicion. *Ohhoho, now this will be fun.* Nick stopped himself from grinning and threw his stuff on the only empty bed.
.
.
In one of the skyscrapers of Tundra Town a certain mammal was standing next to a wall of glass, which served as a huge window and allowed an unobstructed view over almost the whole district. There was a lit cigar in its paw. It stared down at the streets below.
There was a sound of a respectful knock.
"Come in."
A hyena in a suit entered through the double door and approached the figure at the window.
"The deal has been made." He reported.
The other mammal put the cigar back in its mouth and after a moment let out a stream of smoke.
"Excellent. And that matter with the lamb?"
"I've already made arrangements."
The cigar smoking mammal turned away from the window and walked towards an expensive looking, huge mahogany desk. It sat down on a leather armchair, worth more than a cop's year salary, and reached out for a picture lying on the wooden surface.
"Good." It said with a satisfied smile, while staring at the photograph. It presented a red fox in a green, Hawaiian shirt. "Very good."