Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So, any real guess as to what brought you here, exactly?” Chirped the bunny that was currently riding at his back, her voice clear and happy, her eyes gazing around her in mirth at the fact that the current residents weren’t truly able to hide the fear and confusion that their presence was causing them, their eyes locked upon their frames or more exactly, that of her current friend, “Not the most friendly of places for a young fox…”

“What a surprise, isn’t it?”

“None of that tune with me, young mammal…”

“Sorry, Luna…”

“Don’t sweat it, Nick… now really, I only accepted to accompany you to this place because you had one of those hunches of yours, and Harry was busy training with the twins, so… What really brought you here?”

The young fox looked lightly at his left shoulder, glancing at the smiling lapin with something akin to nervousness on his face.

“I just had this weird dream about blueberries and probably about someone else.” Nick muttered, glancing ahead of him while ignoring the bunny narrowing her eyes and subsequent blossoming smile, “I just felt the need to be here… aside from that.” He shrugged, carefully done to not dislodge the clinging mammal from him, as she giggled mirthfully at the sudden movement.

“Oh, prophetic dreams… you’ve been hanging out with Mabel too much, dear.” The golden furred bunny said, enjoying the heat that she could clearly perceive coming under his fur. “Does Roderick know about it?”

“Rick knows. It’s impossible to separate those two,”

“Oh, kinky…”

“Like you’re one to talk.” Nick snapped testily, about to snark back at the bunny when his eyes unfocused for a few seconds, as he instinctively tried to look around, guides by forces that he barely controlled at his age, the rabbit, who obviously caught on the fact that her protégée was having a magical moment, simply kept her mouth shut, watching as his green eyes were shining brightly for a few seconds as he gazed as the eddies of energy and probability around him. “We’re close…”

Luna simply nodded, her smile still etched on her face as she waved one hand in the air, erasing their entire presence from the villagers and visitors alike as they moved over the masses, as Nick closely followed a few sparks of magic with dexterity that she and her husband had forced him to practice and employ over the years, pride swelling her tiny chest at the fact that her young cub was growing up in front of her eyes.

She looked closely as Nick swept, sidestepped and jumped over sheep, rabbits, deer and some jaguars while he ran toward the point of probability that had been nagging at him for the past few years since he turned ten. Now the young adult, barely reaching eighteen, was proficient enough in the arts to actually follow upon that feeling.

“There… behind those stands… children…” The fox gasped as he ran even faster than before, forcing the bunny to hold even harder onto his clothes to remain with him, enjoying how much enthusiasm the young male was putting over this, only for him to stop abruptly at what they had just stumbled upon, the smile on their faces disappearing completely at the rater distraught scene.  

Nick simply stared dumbfound at the shivering downed doe as she covered her injured cheek while a young fox snarled at her, telling her off for trying to do the right thing.

“OK, that’s enough!” Nick snarled, catching the young kits by surprise. The sheep and the other bunny backing even further from the snarling stranger, while the tod glanced up at him fearfully, his tail now between his legs, while his so called friend, ran like the devils, leaving the bully alone in front of the unknown teenager fox that had suddenly changed the balance of power on the whole scene.

The downed doe on the other hand, was close to a panic attack.

“You’re a nasty piece of work, aren’t you, kit?” Luna said, as she touched Nick’s snout with one of her hands, a signal to him to back off, her smile really lessened to the point that it had disappeared and only left behind a clearly angry bunny. “Go, run… but don’t think for a second that you’re out of problems, young mammal. I’m going to ensure that your mother finds about this.”

“You can’t!”

“I can, and I will. Now. Flee, shoo, scram! Before I lose my composure and let my Nicky kick your fluffy tail like he really wants to.”

Gideon didn’t need any more encouraging after that. Fleeing the place as fast as his small chubby paws would let him, whining worriedly about the adults that were suddenly about to give him what he rightfully deserved.

Those remaining looked at the fleeing bully with mixed feelings about the whole ordeal. All of them, not knowing what to do about the fact that a known predator had fled, only to leave them with another much bigger and obviously dangerous one instead. Seeing their reactions made Luna huff slightly, before she looked at the young kits in front of her and sighed.

"Things couldn’t ever be easy, could it?"

“Are you well? Did he hurt you?” The golden furred bunny inquired as tenderly as she could, trying to put their entire attention on her, and not on the still scowling Nick to no avail.

“N-No ma’am. We’re fine.” The young doe said, eyeing them suspiciously, nose twitching violently on her face as she tried to slowly put herself between them and her friends, her hand covered in blood as well as her cheek’s fur.

“Nick, could you give me my medical kit, please?” Luna immediately said, as she jumped from his back to the ground before the children, “Some gauze and disinfectant would do.”

“That’s not necessary ma’am.” The rabbit said again, ears held high, and ready to bolt as soon as the strange fox made any sudden movement, which he didn’t as he glanced at Luna curiously.

“Luna… what are you?”

“Nicky, don’t make me repeat myself again, my medical kit.” The doe said, her voice collected, almost reproachful at how he was behaving at the moment. Her silent plea making his shoulders sag in defeat as he sighed and nodded. His hand slowly going to the waist pack at his side, ears flattened in submission to the surprise of the children as he kneeled beside her, giving the smiling femme access to the pack as she hopped toward it, tut-tutting the whole time.

“What am I do with you Nicky? You nearly attacked a kit, that’s not how your mother and I have been raising you.”

“But he…”

“Yes, he’s a bully… but he’s still a kit. You never will raise a hand against a kit, young male.” Luna said as she went over the pack, trying to put a complete emphasis on the fact that Nick was completely subservient to her despite the difference in sizes and species.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Now… help me, grab the bottle and put some disinfectant on that cotton gauze for that young doe over there.” The doe said as she brought some gloves out of her own fanny pack while the fox brought out his a bottle. Quickly putting some of its contents over the medical fabric before giving it back to the bunny, who then glancing at the doe’s direction, clicking her tongue at the apprehension clearly seen on the lass, “Come here darling… I’m a certified medic, I know what I’m doing.” the golden furred doe said, her hand signaling the kit to approach her.

“Ma’am, this is…”

“None of that young lass; put that pride of yours aside as those are rather nasty gashes on your cheek, I can’t in good conscience leave you go without medical assistance. It would dishonor my vows if I left you unattended.” Gazing toward the fox, Luna then added, “Nick, could you bring an adult here, probably the parents of these children?”

“Luna… I don’t think that their parents would take my presence any better than they do.”

“Phish-posh dear. You’re adorable, now, shoo. I need adults here.”

“I’m an adult.”

“Not in my eyes honey. Not in my eyes, now go and do what I told you while I take care of this girl.”

Thankfully, Nick simply sighed before he nodded as he went to search for their parents. Already knowing what Luna was doing. He didn’t like it, even when he understood her reasons, feeling the gaze of the children completely focused on him, eyes distrusting, fearful.

Luna sighed sadly as her charge disappeared around the corner, before she turned and looked at the doe.

“Sit!” she ordered.

The bunny obeyed instantly, her nerves completely frayed at the moment, after that experience. But her eyes, obviously holding a flame within, that hadn’t been shaken by the experience. But it had probably reaffirmed and reinforced the fire inside of her. The lass was definitely a fighter.

Skipping toward the doe, Luna then proceeded to check, clean and stare at the full extent of her injuries.

“I will put some iodine to disinfect your injuries, so endure it dear… and please, don’t kick me…”

“I wouldn’t ever!”

“I’m not accusing you; I’m simply stating a fact, honey. I’ve been batted, tossed, and kicked aside by prey and preds alike when I’m tending their wounds… especially when I put Iodine on their wounds, it hurts and they react instinctively.” Luna said as she carefully took care of the scratches, frowning lightly when she quickly noticed the full extension of the injuries, “I’m afraid that these will scar, sweetheart.”

“Oh.” The young doe said despondently, trying hard to hide the winces and cringes of having someone wipe the blood and grime from her cheek, the sting of the iodine being particularly unpleasant. “My parents are going to kill me!”

“I doubt it.” Luna said, clear mirth on her voice as she discarded the first issue as it was completely drenched in blood and dirt, going then to the second of the three that she was currently able to hold, “Ground you until you reach menarche? Most probably.”

“Menarche?”

“You’ll find out what that is in a few months, sweetie.”

“H-Heat.” bleated the small ewe, glancing at them curiously, and her eyes downcast due to shyness, “Menarche’s your first heat…”

“Oh.”

“Good girl, really smart.” Luna smiled at the ewe, cooing at how cute the little thing looked, as she bashfully accepted the praise, “Not many mammals know that word any longer.”

“I like to read. Though, I thought bunnies didn't have a heat cycle?” the black ewe asked curiously, frowning a little as she pondered about what the bunny just said.

Swiping and tossing aside the soiled gauze, Luna smiled at the ewe, then at the other children, glad that they weren’t as scared of her anymore.   

“That’s good; I love to read too… used to be a librarian a long time ago before I decided to pursue a career at medicine.” Glancing at the still silent doe, Luna continued to clean the third and last injury, humming lightly, “And, in the past, yes... we didn't have a heat or fertile season, but those were our ancestors. Now? I'm afraid that we suffer through it like most evolved mammals do nowadays. Many mammals like to think that things haven’t changed since the prehistoric age. If that were true though, then we wouldn't be able to consume many of the things we do nowadays, like milk, chocolate, sugar or coffee. You wouldn't want to live in a world where eating your birthday cake would make you sick, do you?" Smiling at the aghast reaction of the younglings. Luna simply chuckled, before she focused once more in cleansing the kit. "So what do you want to be? Tell Luna your dreams for the future!”

“I want to be a…”

“JUDY!”

The sudden appearance of her father startled the doe, who jumped to her paws and unwillingly kicked poor Luna who fell over her rump in her desperate attempt to stand up, which made the fox run faster toward the downed medic. This resulted in frightened screeches and bleats from the children, catching everyone by surprise. Stopping the newcomers cold as they gasped, due to the boost in speed from the fox accompanying them.

“Luna! Are you alright?!”  

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to do that!” The now identified Judy tried to say, her face full of consternation.

“None of that. I’m fine, just surprised, the tail’s a little sore but nothing more than that, I swear!” Luna answered immediately as she glanced at the hands from the fox that promptly helped her stand on to her paws, “Thank you sweetheart. Your assistance is always appreciated.”

“I’m so sorry madam… I just saw her and reacted, I shouldn’t have startled her like that…” Stu immediately added, a little ashamed of the fact that his actions had caused such a thing, his nose twitching at a mile a minute, his eyes still glancing now and then at the teenaged fox beside his precious girl.

“Think nothing of it, now. Nicky dear, would you?”

“Want me to call the car?”

“Yes, but we're far from done, first I need to give a piece of my mind to the mother of that awful kit, to ensure this doesn't happen again. Also I want to ensure that this beauty here gets her scratches treated as she deserves.” saying that, she looked at the worried parent, and continued: “She really needs a bath and more tending in her scratches to minimize the possibility of a noticeable scar.” Pulling off her gloves, the doe gave them to the fox, who was grabbing a trash bag from within his pack to dispose of those soiled implements appropriately, “As efficient as always, dear. Good to know that you remembered my lessons on how unsanitary is to leave those without the proper disposal procedure.”

“Clear as crystal, ma’am. I’ll keep those until we reach the proper place to dispose of them.” The fox quickly said, ignoring the scurrying and scared gazes of the adults around him.

“Now… let’s take care of this situation first before we leave for Zootopia, Nick dear, I want to know the mother of that little rascal and at least make sure that this wee doe receives her treatment appropriately.”

All in all, it was a rather stressful four hours were Nick had to endure being gazed at in a myriad of emotions that ranged from downright distrust, to expected fear as he stood beside a chatting bunny who openly expressed her opinion without fear of reprisal. Most of them probably believing that this courage came from the fact that she was being protected by him, which wasn’t true to say the least, as Luna tended to be quite open with her opinions.

But most surprisingly of all, was the fact that the small doe that he had encountered before hadn’t ceased to glance at him, enough that even the kit's mother had noticed it and had attempted many time’s to make her stop to no avail.

The fox knew why the small doe hadn’t stopped glancing at him. In fact, he was even sure that Luna was completely assured of the reasons for such odd behavior, as the eddies of energies roamed around the two of them where somewhat similar to what the golden bunny shared with Harry.

A red thread...

It was so bizarre that him, a predator, was supposed to be joined with a prey; that destiny and the many deities around the world had deigned that a fox was to be joined to a bunny of all species. It felt surreal; in fact, as he glanced at her ankle and the unbreakable Eddie of energy coalescing there, that was uncomfortably synchronizing with his.

He knew that even if he didn’t wanted to, he was destined to share his life with this little girl, one way or the other.

The fact that he was a teenager while she was barely a young kit didn’t make things easier. That his instincts had led him to her, when she was obviously not physically nor mentally mature enough to initiate a romance, much less a relationship of any kind made him feel like a pedophile. Even more uncomfortable was the fact that the girl had a quite powerful connection with fate, so much in fact, that even he, a mere novice at the esoteric arts, was able to feel it, even see it.

He wasn’t ready for this.

“Excuse me?”

The fox glanced around, noticing that everybody was glancing at him curiously, as he had apparently voiced his thoughts without even noticing it.

“I’m… not ready for this, Luna…” Nick said once again, a little less confident than usual, his eyes downcast, he wasn’t ready and this doe, Judy… she was much less ready for him. He didn’t really want her to be.        

“Nicky…”

“I’m sorry, I… I just want to go home, please?”

“Don’t be, I understand… honey, look at me,” the golden doe said, her hands softly caressing his muzzle as she tried to lift it so he would look at her eyes directly, a few barely concealed squeals of fright going all over as she was right there, in front of so many pointy teeth’s, uncaring of the danger she was in, “I know what you’re feeling, but endure it, for me?”

Nick wanted to deny her, he really did, but those silvery blue eyes of hers were mesmerizing, even hypnotic, he knew right there that he wouldn’t, couldn't let her down, even if his closeness to Judy was making him incredibly uncomfortable at the moment.

The subsequent peck on his nose, and the giggle that came from the young Judy among the smiles from some of the adults present was enough to calm him down due to his sudden embarrassment.

“Thank you mom.” he whispered, ignoring the startled gasps from many of the onlookers. His ears feeling as if magma coursed through them, as blood rushed through his veins due to what he had just said out loud. Even if doing so, earned him one of those beautiful smiles from the doe that had saved him and his mother a long time ago.

“Don’t sweat it kiddo… now!” the bunny said as she left his snout go and she glanced toward the mother of the fidgeting Gideon, “Now that I’m assured that things will be taken care of, and that there’s not going to be any retaliation from any of the involved parties…”

“Oh goodness, no!” muttered Bonnie, scandalized by the mere idea but regardless of the impossibility, she firmly grabbed her child, knowing how spirited the young doe was, and how much trouble she could get herself into.

Smiling slightly, the bunny looked at Nick, who nodded as he brought out his cell phone so he could tap a quick message to Finnick, who was probably angry and worried that they hadn’t called or signaled him to break them out from the school they were all gathered in, which he knew left Luna free to do one last deed before they were forced to part ways, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to stop her, even if he wanted to. She timed it correctly, as she chatted amiably with the Hopps about their daughter and her dreams for the future that had ended up putting her against Gideon to begin with.

“Mrs. Hopps… would you like to know more about the Savage academy for the gifted?”

Chapter Text

“Mrs. Savage, we’re couldn’t be more grateful for your help or what you did for our dear Jude.” Stu said, still nervously glancing at the fox where she was now perched at.

“None of that. It’s my duty to help those that are in need, it’s part of our family code.” chirped mirthfully the golden doe, enjoying the energy that came from the Hopps, a family that obviously had not an ounce of darkness in their souls, even if sadly they were currently infected with quite huge dose of ignorance. “In fact, I’m rather impressed that wee Judith here shows such potential at such a young age. If she applies herself she might end up winning that spot in our academy to ensure her a bright future ahead of her.”

The rabbits were proud of their little girl, that was really more than evident on their faces and auras, but they weren’t exactly thrilled with the offer. Not when it was obvious, that it encouraged, what they thought was a foolish dream, instead of neutering it.        

“Would it help me to become a cop?” The doe asked enthusiastically, glancing at her hopefully, her eyes shining brightly while they ignored completely the young mammal beside her, who sighed in relief now that he didn't had her looking at him, something that seemed to amuse some of the does present, especially the mother of the kit.

“The best, at Savage Academy you can become anything you want!” Luna said, glancing at Nick fondly for a few seconds, before she looked back at the young doe, “In fact, you never know, maybe at our academy you would find a much bigger goal to hope for. The sky is the limit, and even if your reach the clouds, there’s still a wide open space of possibilities beyond that!”

“Cheesy.” Nick coughed, which seemed to ignite a few giggles around as Luna glared lightly at him, barely concealing her own smile. The loudest of them all being Judy, who was now hiding her face in her mother’s skirt, suddenly shy at the attention of the Fox’s gaze upon her. It was interrupted by the sound of a horn as the limousine finally arrived at the entrance of the primary school, earning some surprised gazes among those present. Especially when a small fox descended from the insides, his huge ears swinging from side to side as he went to open up the door for the duo, using a small button beside the frame to open it up for the leaving duo.

“I guess this is goodbye then.” Luna declared as they went toward the vehicle, smiling and waving as much as they could before they went in, the both of them deflating instantly once the door was closed. “That was exhausting.”

“The fear, distrust and disgust from those people is certainly… unnerving.” Nick said, as the bunny beside him simply nodded, before a show of light suddenly enveloping the inside of the vehicle showed the bunny morphing into a fox. A golden vixen, that Nick had grown to love, as his second mother, in these past years.

“There is not as much hate as in Zootopia, dear. That’s a given, but still. The less hateful of that bunch seemed to be the Hopps and surprisingly the Grey’s… did you feel the spike in greed when some of them saw the limousine?”

“I did, Most of it came from the Peabodys and Tumperlines, they didn’t like me all that much, despite how little I interacted with them. I was aware of their quite intense hatred of me.” the fox conceded as he grabbed a can of soda for himself from the mini-fridge, seeing and knowing that after such an experience Luna must also be parched, probably even more than him. He offered the vixen one, before he pressed a button and called to his friend: “Did you have any problems at the town, Finn?”

The front window in front of them went down; only showing an ear as the fennec had his entire attention on the road.    

“A little, but the same as always… they thought that I was a kit and didn't treat me seriously, until I opened my mouth. Then they didn’t like me because I was a fox and tried to overprice some of the fruits, the Hopps, Rogers and Lawson were the only ones willing to sell to me, even with some reluctance… and they didn’t overpriced it that much, but it was obvious that they weren’t completely happy to sell me their merchandize until they realized how big of an order I had.”

Luna nodded, expecting it actually. These were good mammals, that was a given, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t untouched by bias and social pettiness. They had certainly showed it in that reunion, as they downright ignored or feared Nick the whole time. Which made the now vixen glance at her protégée, worried by the impact that this experience had upon him.

“What are you thinking, dear?”

“It’s just… a bunny, really?”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a bunny, I love being a bunny… they’re adorable!” Luna interrupted; knowing that he wasn’t exactly thrilled that his probable future mate was not only quite a bit younger than him, but also, an entirely different species altogether. “And there’s nothing wrong with how you feel, she’s still quite young.”

“I feel like a pedophile.” The fox muttered, obviously shaken by the whole experience, “my magic was thrilled to have her close by, wanted to claim her right there in front of her parents. It was… distressing!”

Luna nodded, knowing as much as she had seen how many times his magic had attempted to clash against the magic of the young doe, which had forced the rather funny and open fox to close up on them to keep it under control, making him look cold, calculative and dangerous, something that hasn’t gained him any points with the locals.

“Don’t sweat it kid, I’ve more than fifteen years over Honey and look at us, we’re still going as strong as ever!” Finnick said, obviously understanding the ordeal that his fellow fox was suffering at, “I nearly screwed up, and then she kicked my tail and claimed me. Don’t sweat it kiddo, she’s only eight years younger than you, she’ll grown up!”

“That doesn’t reassure me at all, Finn, quite the contrary in fact.”

Luna simply giggled at that, seeing what Finnick was trying to do by riling Nick up, as the young male momentarily forgot about the whole issue, which was fine… there wasn’t any need to rush things, especially these kind of things.

“Judith Laverne Hopps… I’ll be watching you!”     

“So, Nick found the other side of his red thread, huh?” A black panther muttered while he gazed at the horizon, enjoying the setting sun while Luna stood beside him in her feline form, being his perfect golden half.

“He did and he isn’t happy about it either.” Luna immediately answered, even if she knew that he already knew about the whole thing thanks to their soul connection, “The ambiance was amicable, or at least it was for me. It wasn’t exactly fun for him though.”

“It’s funny, mammalkind has changed so much in the last millennia, and still, some things remain the same, it seems.”

“Don’t be so dramatic dear. Things have changed for the better, it doesn’t seems like it, it isn’t perfect and there’s room for improvement, but we aren’t eating each other anymore. There aren’t bodies hanging everywhere, scat on the floor or the smell of urine infesting every darn three around. Like I said, things are better, and bias isn’t easily, if ever, defeated. It transforms, evolves and changes alongside society. People will always find a new reason to hate those that don’t fit in their worldviews.”

“Oh, but without my doom speeches, who would entertain you?” Harry smiled, enjoying the chuff that came from his wife, before he glanced once again at the horizon, “Something is coming, there are people out there that are trying to create a new schism in this bright new world. Whatever it is, its festering and growing stronger due to the natural hatred and fear that overrides this society, gnawing it from the inside, slowly poisoning.”

The glare that he could feel more than see was enough to put a stop to his charade.

“You’re spending far too much time with Roderick, Harry…”

“Can you blame me? He’s adorable!”

“I know right? For such a big Sheep, he can be such a pussy when he’s in Mabel’s hands.” Luna said, smiling slightly at the fact that his new students were safe and sound, happy to move on from that horrible past of theirs: “How are the seals doing?”

“Cypher’s corruption was huge; it nearly consumed their souls entirely…” Harry answered, glancing at her to emphasize how much those children had been corrupted by the demon, “I had to dig quite deep to reach and bring them out of that mess. They had this patch on their souls, where they shared everything, they remained uncorrupted by becoming one. The demon didn’t touch them because he found it amusing. He’s the reason for why those two are entangled by the red thread. I still don’t know how he did it, but he managed to corrupt the bond to the point that their filial love was twisted and reshaped into what they currently are. I tried to fix them; I even offered them new bodies, but…”

Silence reigned among them, sadness at the fact that what was once pure fraternal love has been corrupted to such a degree.

“Are they still unstable?”

“No… not anymore.” Harry said, waving his hand to create a love couch for them to sit by, “They took to magic like a sponge, Roderick reminds me of my past self, methodical, smart, with a telephone pole rammed up his ass.”

“Be nice dear.”

“I AM being nice and you know it!” glancing at her, the green eyed panther then sighed before he continued, “Mabel reminds me of you, a much younger you. What you could’ve been if you had grown up with a mother and without bullying… she thinks outside the box with a wicked sense of humor behind that smile of hers, let’s not forget a sexual drive to put a rabbit to shame.”

“That’s oddly true; I didn’t wanted to tell poor Nick, but the thoughts of that little doe weren’t as pure he believed, and some of what he thought as pure hate, wasn't entirely true, there was some lust there, they found him fetching and that confused them and angered them. The young doe is slowly getting there, and in a few months she’s going to reach menarche, thought I admit that her drive to succeed is quite the libido destroyer, might or might not grow up to be asexual at this rate.”

Snuggling up against him, Luna sighed at how complicated things had turned out at the moment, which made their skin crawl with excitement.

“This era is going to be quite interesting. Don’t you think?”  

Harry simply smiled, enjoying his mate fragrance for a few seconds before he answered: “Indeed! I can’t wait to see how things might develop in the future. Is Nicholas going to become one of us as well? The shape-shifting would help immensely if they later want kits.”

“I don’t think so, at least, not for now. He’s happy as an enhanced fox, and Mabel tends to satisfy his needs when Roderick gets too tired to keep up with her. Are you sure that you can’t separate them completely?”

“Not without breaking their hearts in the process. They’re literally one despite the fact that they currently inhabit two bodies, with time perhaps they will be willing to break the jointed souls, but now, they’re happy, and I guess that’s all that matters.”

“Good then, though I need to have some words with them. How they’re both playing with Nick, in the sexual department, that I don't approve, my darling is delicate!”

Chapter Text

Two years later. 

“What’s the mission then?”     

Nick looked at Rick, a quite fluffy one no less, who slightly glared at him before the lamb went back to watch the computer and said:

“You and Honey are going to visit Mr. Big. One of his properties is apparently cursed, his bears refuse to inhabit the place, claiming that it just felt unnatural and downright dangerous to do so. The arctic shrew also reported that two of his bodyguards have disappeared within, only leaving lots of blood and body parts, we probably have a ghoul or a really nasty entity on our hands.”

"Boogers, Rick, call them Boogers…" Interrupted Nick.

"Boogers, Nick... seriously?"

"What can I say, the Boo is more than obvious, and frankly, ectoplasm consistency and color usually is that of mucus, so... Boogers!"

Roderick narrowed his eyes, sighing tiredly at the fox before he went back to inspecting the pictures carefully as he tried to identify the type of entity to no avail. “I would feel more reassured if Mabel wasn’t sleeping so she could accompany you guys, but our cleansing mission from this morning at the Johnson’s has us too weak to be of any use.”

“Don’t sweat it Rick. You’ve already done enough, go on and sleep too… I can see that you’re dying to join her. I’ll go to Honey to collect our weapons and depart… what body has she selected?”

“None, she’s still a badger, but considering that these entities have an apparent grudge against bears, it’s for the best that you two remain as you are…” The lamb quickly explained as he tapped on his computer, making sure that the information was accurate before he sent it to Nick’s cellphone, which with a ping it notified of its reception, “You’re probably going to need to Ascend to vanquish those boogers Nick, try to not die there.” Roderick finally said before he padded out of the office without even giving the pensive fox a second glance, as he pondered what the normally chatty male had advised. His stride less confident now, due to the fact that he might need to actually Ascend to deal with these entities.

“Why the long face Nicky? Did the lamb spurn your advances on Mabel once again?” A voice quickly interrupted his musings, her tune obviously implying Honey’s belief on the matter.

“Not at all Honey. Just wondering something about the case…” Even when he was five years behind the badger, age wise, the two of them, more often than not, were paired up on their missions nowadays, as Luna had taken a more steady approach at the academy PR department, while Harry took care of the finances. Finnick, more often than not, obviously taking the role of bodyguard of the pair, even when it was well known that those two didn’t really needed any help to defend themselves. The twins usually remained at the research and deployment department, going on certain missions, depending of their moods. “Is the car ready, maybe we can get something to eat before we plunge into this mess?”

The chuckle that emerged from the female, as she went toward the driver seat, told him that the idea was good.

“Oh Nicky, you really know how to please a lady. You’ll need to watch out, Finn is quite the jealous type you know?”

“Not with me, Honey… Never with me!” Nick fired back, smiling knowingly at the badger before he went inside the car, quickly taking care of the seatbelt with a soft click, “What do you say and we buy some burritos at Carl’s, uh?”

“Oh, ho, you really know my poisons well!” In a matter of minutes, the two of them were already on the road and away from the academy, their playful atmosphere thankfully hanging between them, “Have you seen any other candidate for our little club?”

“No Madge I have not…” Nick immediately said, ears lowered in frustration, at that little fact, “They have the potential, but despite Luna’s best attempts, they’re not actually unlocking their powers!” Sadly, the fox knew why his friend asked said question, it had been the same question that had been plaguing his existence for years since that dreadful visit to Bunny Burrow. “The Raccoon at class 3A, the female that’s trying to be the next master chef still remains close, but despite how sensitive she actually is, her powers remain stubbornly locked.”

“Sheila? Oh yeah, I’ve been keeping an eye on her, she has the spirit but sadly she’s a kind soul, her children though, they’re probably going to end up being Espers if she ends up with someone with some hidden ability.” Snarling at the thought, the badger simply sighed as they both knew how smitten the female was to one of the academy least liked alumni. “I can’t believe that Luna hasn’t expelled that asshole!”

“He has good grades and he’s still quite talented despite his… interests.” Nick immediately said, knowing well that he wasn’t among the fans of Ramon Delgado, the academy Casanova. “He’s a smart crafty asshole, which makes him a dangerous one.”

“He’s probably going to end up as a murderer at this pace; I’ve seen how he looks at some of the females that he shares classes with. I’ve got to constantly watch myself, not punch that creepy smile of his in my PE classes.” Looking through her periphery vision for a couple of seconds, Madge also added, “And I’m quite aware that your mother isn’t pleased either at how he treats her.”

“Which is why I’m keeping my eyes on him, Honey.” the fox said as he looked through the window, eyes narrowed and glinting with barely concealed power, “If he tries something, Luna assured me that not even his parents would be able to save him.”

“Careful there kiddo,” Honey warned, a smile obviously plastered on her muzzle, “I called dibs on the asshole. If he’s going to suddenly disappear, I’m going to be the one enjoying the dirty job!”

The chuckle that emerged from the fox resounded in the car, before the both of them simply laughed at the silliness of their little charade.

“Oh Honey, what would I do without your thug’s games?”

“Probably become a moping cynic male that’s trying too hard to hide to the world how messed up he actually is.” Honey immediately fired back, knowing that she had actually managed to take the moodiness from the young fox successfully, “Now really, I don’t like Ramon. He’s an asshole.”

“It’s noted, but apparently females like assholes or so it seems, especially if they’re filthy rich.” Looking at the scowling female, Nick continued, “Apparently a million or two in your personal account serves as a good reason to ignore a hideous personality and horrid flaws.”

“Teenagers and good old greed.” Madge said as she turned to the left so she could enter the drive through at Carl’s quickly stopping at the drive-thru. “Five number forty, with extra chili and garlic, two large Cokes. Oh! And a side of guacamole!” looking toward her partner, she quickly asked, “what do you want, Nicky?”

“Two number twelve, with a side of fries with chilly and cheese…”

Fourteen minutes later, the couple was driving through the snowy streets of Tundra Town, their dishes completely demolished and their bellies and bodies feeling hot despite the freezing temperature.

“There, pass that street and then turn the next corner. We’ll need to go through the fish market until we find an abandoned house…” Nick said as he directed the badger though the streets, his eyes completely focused on the map and the directions that Rick had send to him on his cell phone, “There, that house.”

Honey whistled, apparently amused by the place, “That’s not a very subtle hideout, don’t you think?”

“I think it’s more of a surveillance place Honey, the market is close by, and it’s high enough for them to keep a watch without being watched.” Nick explained while he waited for the female to park. His fingers quickly roaming the net for information, “Mr. Big bought the house two months ago, and I might know why Rick had a foreboding about this place.”

Killing the motor and making sure that they were parked right, Honey snorted a little before her cell phone pinged once, an obvious signal that Nick had send to her the information of the whole place for her perusal. Her fingers quickly surfing through the information while her eyes narrowed in distaste at the history of the place. “Well… rut me!”

“I want to curse, but that would probably enhance our bad luck.” The fox warned as he grabbed the crystal on his neck, knowing well what he would need to do to take care of these particular entities, “I’ll take care of the quite possible Echoes, you’ll need to gut the Booger while I’m carving them a new one, Honey.”

“A rutting node? Someone built a rutting slaughter house at a darn node?” And indeed, as soon as the two Espers went outside the enchanted vehicle, the both of them could feel the corruption permeating the area, “I already hate this job, Nicky!”

Walking side by side, the two quickly encountered a couple of polar bears at the entrance, the narrowed eyes and the tensed muscles obviously signaling them how tense the thugs were after the first incident.

“Kozlov… Frank,” Honey quickly added, attracting the attention of the males upon her, as she knew that they knew that she could easily take them apart if they tried anything against them, “Do you know that we’ve at least four to six different sets of eyes upon us at the moment?”

The terse nod from the huge bear of the duo was all that they needed to know.

As they went inside the property, the couple quickly knew that many of the eyes that were looking at them weren’t exactly friendly or among the living to begin with. The badger’s arms glowing faintly as her tattoo’s felt the demonic energies within the house. Each step carefully taken as they went toward the innards of what was obviously a corrupted node. Senses opened wide as they inspected each inch of the property. Their eyes quickly catching small details all over the place.

“The wood of the kitchen floor was replaced recently?” The fox inquired, as he couldn’t perceive the same level of taint on some boards than on the rest of the house. That and also the fact that said boards were now covered in claw marks, “Means that the entity is possessive, it hasn’t reacted so violently against past’s inhabitants, so, why now?” 

“You know as well as me, that the old lady that lived here wasn’t in any condition to make any changes to the infrastructure, dear…” The badger added as she inspected the marks, frowning at how deep they seemed to be, “Powerful too, these boards are yew, quite expensive and durable, it cut through them like a hot knife through butter.”

“Yew, it’s related to death and rebirth and while it looks quite stylish… bringing it to a node, especially one where a hideous crime had been committed isn’t a good idea.” Nick added, frowning the whole time, “It’s probably what increased the entities powers…”    

“So, basement?”

“Most probably, but we need to focus on the kitchen and the backyard, that’s where the butchering of those girls happened.” The fox said as he grabbed the crystal from his neck and sighed, focusing some of his energy upon his frame. Wincing slightly as his tail suddenly cracked and split in nine parts as he Ascended, quite aware of the cringing from his partner as the whole procedure began as his body absorbed huge quantities of Manna from the ambiance.   

“So that’s why Finn refuses to hunt Boogers anymore, uh?” Honey asked, looking at her partner for a few seconds, actually surprised at the Kyūbi that her companion was becoming.

“He went Kyūbi once, and then swore that he wouldn’t ever do it again. It was at the Mary-gold case.” The fox said thinly, barely concealing how painful the procedure was as his body’s nerves were assaulted by the magical substance. His mind was quickly reliving every violent event that had transpired within the confines of the house as each tail ignited a small magical flame to purify the corrupted Manna from his body, preventing the damage from actually being permanent. “The Wraith on that cave was the amalgamation of many young kits that had been abused then culled by a pedophile… Your hubby didn't take well to reliving those memories, and I don't blame him, I didn't transform and the ambiance was still horrible.”

“What do you see, Nicky?” Honey inquired fearfully, knowing well that her partner was probably reliving some hideous experiences at the moment, carefully protecting his body from Physical’s Manifestations while his mind went under.

“A robbery, an antelope, fast on his hooves and too out of his mind. The house was supposed to be empty.” Nick said, eyes shining brightly as he glanced the events transpire, “The daughter of the family was in the house with two friends… a sow, two ewes.” The fox cringed slightly as he felt the stab at his chest, just above his heart, Emily the sow, barely fourteen. “The first victim was on the kitchen; virgin. Her blood went through the floorboards and toward the basement.”

Honey snarled as she felt the temperature on the house drop enough to see her own breath. Apparently the demon that resided the house had finally noticed how dangerous the fox was at the moment. Her eyes narrowed around her. Her own magic, making sure to protect the two of them, from any sudden attack. Her senses warning her that there was something sinister going on here. Her wariness increasing with every second as the purification of the Manna continued.

“The Ewes, Rebecca and Natasha… they screamed and tried to flee through the backyard, but the antelope was faster. He slew Natasha first with a brutal series of stabs on her unprotected back… also virgin, her blood was potent, a potential Esper, her gurgles and cries of pain made her sister stop for a second, enough for the bastard to catch up with her and plunge the knife into her heart… unlike the other’s she wasn’t a virgin, but her blood is as potent as that of her sister, a true Esper… her last breath was spent on a curse.”

Honey jumped straight, her claws landing on the Physical Manifestation of the cursed robber, his body crumbling to specs of light after the impact. The house shook slightly, in barely concealed anger, at her actions.

“What are we dealing with, Nicky?”

A dribble of blood was now running from the fox’s nose, the whole experience doing a number on his body, as he went even further to the past, trying to uncover what the girl’s had summoned through their unwilling and unjust sacrifices. The answer soon appeared in the shape of a hairless mammal, the real culprit of the corruption of the node.

“It’s an Echo, a bear, driven mad by the mange!” Nick bellowed, eyes narrowed as the creature finally revealed itself to him, eyes narrowed and maw completely opened wide as it seeped the magical energies from the node, completely fueled by the blood of the virgins and the curse of the Esper.  

“Nicky, take care of the rutting Echo!” Honey warned as she punched another construction of the entity, this time in the form of a malformed ewe that had attempted to gnaw at her innards with her unnatural pointy teeth, a hideous fusion of the recently deceased bears and the poor souls that apparently had been captured by the Echo of a resentful creature of the past, her claws shining brightly as she eviscerated body after body of reformed beasts that were soon roaming the hall, hissing, snarling and moaning at her. Many of them recoiling at her sacred light, which was thankfully enough to kept them away from the chanting fox.

Nick on the other hand was doing his best to burn the entity that consumed the node, the flame turning into chains to constrict its movements, the beast bellowed, doing its best to remain on this plane despite the fact that it was unable to do so. The magical fire began consuming the corruption out of its system, burning the miasma that corrupted the magic from the place. Thankful that the aberration was still constrained with the chains of its own sins to attack him with his entire might, gave the fox the final say on the matter, as with a last chant and a shower of fire, the being roared one last time as its soul was finally consumed and purified. At least he thought so, before a sudden flash of energy took him by surprise. The fox quickly falling on to his knees as his transformation shattered around him, his body covered in cuts and lacerations due to being forced to relive the experience without the protection of the crystal, the entire world burning around him. As Honey punched, kicked and tackled the last remains of the Physical Manifestations that still roamed the house, his attention completely focused on a spot on the wall, eyes half empty as his body collapsed around him.

“Damn it Nick, don’t die on me! This thing wasn’t even unchained!” Honey screamed fearfully as she punched the Sow’s head off, cleansing her soul and finally putting an end to this whole fiasco as the badger ran toward her friend, hand still glowing as she put some healing magic on the canid’s body, quickly finding that indeed something had gone wrong at the last moment of the cleansing as the poor sod had quite a number of injuries that didn’t relate in any way or form to the case that they had been assigned. “What the rut happened Nick… what did you find?”

Thankfully, her knowledge at healing was only inferior to that of Luna as her magic did wonders on the body of her fallen friend as she soon stabilized him. Her eyes narrowing when she saw that the fox channeling crystal was burned beyond salvation; corrupted and destroyed by something that wasn’t obviously just a simple echo, but something much, much bigger.

As Luna reviewed the memory that Honey had supplied, Harry pondered deeply what he had already seen, eyes narrowed as he tried to comprehend what had been that last flash of energy, frowning at the fact that even with all his years of experience, he had been unable to even gaze at the entity that had caused such a backlash against his protégé.

He glanced at the vixen, an obvious sight of how distressed she currently was about the condition of the young adult; that she had immediately transformed into this form without even knowing about it, her head appearing from the reviewing bowl, frowning as deeply as him, which told him that she hadn’t been successful either.

“That flash, it was an attack,” Or maybe he was wrong and she was successful, “a countermeasure, a trap!”

Frowning at what he had heard, he suddenly plunged into the reviewing bowl, seeing the whole thing in a different light, suddenly seeing what she had seen and snarling, it was brief, probably a few milliseconds but now that he knew where to watch, it was now clear. A magical signature, foreign, unfamiliar, and obviously a quite deliberate action, which would explain why the beast had been so easily subdued within a node, something that should at least been harsher than usual even if there was a mere echo.

When he returned to the surface, Luna was pacing, a book on her hands while she pondered the implications, which he knew were probably the same train of thoughts that were crossing his mind.

“We aren’t the only Espers in Zootopia anymore. Apparently; someone has slipped our searches, and is wily enough to plant such a trap without any of us being the wiser.” Harry said, walking toward a nearby chair to sit upon, thinking heavily about the ramifications of this discovery.

“Whoever they are, they have access to the nodes and a way to implant attacks that destroy or severely cripple those that clean corrupted magical pools.” the blonde canid added, pacing back and forth, “The attack lacked a direct intent, which was why Nick couldn’t see it, despite being quite sensible to magical energies as a Kyūbi, but once he cleansed the spirit… the conditions to shoot the curse were met, triggering it.”

“It unleashed the trap, administering damage that’s quite similar to those of the past victims,” Harry said, catching what had Luna worried on the first place, “This was a deliberate attempt to kill one of our own. It’s probably the ones that put yew there, it’s how they placed the trap!”

“No, they didn’t. Don’t forget that Finnick and Roderick went to that place to make sure that there isn’t any other trap there, the basement had several of them, old, fragile. They cleansed it further, which is how they found the remains of the hairless bear; it had been there for a long time, probably one of the many victims of the slaughterhouse that had been there a long time ago.”

Harry frowned, claws nearly digging into the fabric of the chair in frustration, he had forgotten about that, the bones had been old, decades, probably centuries old, whoever did this was long gone. “I don’t know; all this seems far too convenient.”

“I know, which is why I don’t like it either.” Mused Luna, closing the book with a snap, “Mr. Big apparently routinely refurbish the properties to fit the needs of his bodyguards, many of them being polar bears, yew floorboards are hard enough to stand the constant scrap of their claws, it’s practical and they look good, the dark colors and the hydrophobic treatment was to ensure that they were easy to clean, leaving no evidence of wrongdoing behind.”

“Most probably blood.”

“This doesn’t give me a good vibe Harry.” Luna finally conceded, hugging her body with not only her hands but also with her fluffy tails, “While the trap was old, it doesn’t erase the fact that there’s another group of magicals out there that are powerful enough to hide from us, a group that apparently doesn’t like it when someone purifies a corrupted node.”

Harry stood up, going toward his wife to hug the life out of her, a reassurance that he also needed to feel as she hugged back, Nick’s body was dangerously damaged, probably beyond repair due to how powerful the curse was, his soul on the other hand.

“How is Irene taking it?”

“Not well… it could be easily fixed if we can move his soul from his original body on to one of the replacement clones, but the corruption has somewhat eroded it, the damage is huge, so I can’t move him to another body, not in those conditions.” Luna hiccupped, afraid of how close she had been to lose a kit that she had grown to love as her own, “It was so close, if I didn’t force him to Ascend a year ago, our baby, he would be, he would.”

“But he isn’t! He’s safe honey. He just needs time. He’ll live!” All in all, Harry knew that their soft approach on this era had vanished with that incident. It seemed that maybe, out there, a group of magicals was secretly plotting against them and those that they held dear.

They didn’t know who they were messing with.  

Irene just didn’t know what to think, especially as she watched her son, or what Luna had assured her was her son in front of her. The body suspended in the tank seemed lifeless, he wasn’t breathing, there wasn’t a sign of life from him, and regardless of those distressing signs, Luna had assured her that he was indeed alive, just suspended in time while his soul fixed the damage that had been inflicted upon him.

She looked at the tank, then at the runes, then back at her son. He had been forced to transform into a Kyūbi to increase his chances, unnatural flames seemed to dance around him despite the fact that they were under water, or a liquid at least.

“Oh Nick…”

“I’m sorry Mrs. Wilde, this is entirely my fault!” Honey said despondently, the badger hadn’t left the containment ward for hours, her eyes firmly on the frame of her partner, “It was my job to cover for him, and…”

“None of that, Madge!” Irene quickly interrupted, knowing what the female was experiencing at the moment, as she had lost several loved ones to foolish decisions and bad luck, her late husband being one of them: “Harry reassured me that what happened wasn’t meant to happen,” He had also said many other things that she truly didn’t wanted to contemplate, she was really grateful to him and what he had done for her and many others, but the anger that she had seen in those green eyes of his, well, she would be a liar if she didn’t admit that the male had scared her with how intense he could be.

“Still… it should’ve been me…”

“None of that, Madge.” a chuckle emerged from her mouth when she listened to herself, “I’m sounding like a broken record, aren’t I?”

“I guess… I can’t call the kettle black.” Honey finally admitted, as the two of them broke the circle of misery that was between them, “I just, it was so fast and everything seemed fine for a second, then.”

Irene didn’t say anything else, in fact she really didn’t wanted to hear any details of what had transpired at that place, what she really needed was her son, she really needed her cub to open his eyes and scoff at her for worrying too much, valiantly trying to cover his smile behind his fake bravado. But she knew, she knew thanks to Luna’s report that such a thing will not happen in quite a while, which was the real reason for why the two of them hadn’t left this aisle of the medical chamber.  

“I’m sorry partner. I promise that I will make up to you… just, recover would ya?” The badger finally admitted, patting the glass of the chamber before she sighed and looked at the vixen apologetically, leaving the premises despondently, not wanting to see what was about to happen once Irene left the place.

Irene looked at him one last time; she knew that if she didn’t leave the chamber now, she would only hinder his recovery even more. She sobbed as she kissed the panel of glass, before she finally twirled on her paws and ran away from it all, immediately hearing the sound of the containment ward doors close of behind her, sealing her precious son away from her and the world, from who knew how long.

To the world, Nick Wilde had simply disappeared, and the sad truth was that, for a fox, even a well-connected one, such a thing was normal, even expected. So his disappearance while initially noted was soon tossed aside and forgotten, deemed as unimportant.

Chapter Text

Judy glanced at the card in her fingers, pondering deeply what to do now that University has been conquered and left behind, opening up a series of roads and choices for her that would soon enough shape her life from now on.

After the debacle with Gideon, she had been grounded until she reached her first heat, just as that bunny predicted, which had also given her enough free time to research about the Savage Academy for the gifted and especially, about the bunny doe that could easily tame a fox like that.

What she found was eye opener, and filled her with even more determination to fulfill her dreams, which had only managed to ensure that she ended high school at thirteen instead of sixteen.

And despite what Savage had offered once she ended High school, she had stubbornly adhered to her initial plans and went to Tri-Burrows University, wanting to prove to many others that she was as capable, as the golden bunny, to face the odds and be victorious against the adversity on her own merit and without any preferential treatment, aside from that of her parents. She had tackled the university as she had done high school, head on, and with the complete and utter sacrifice of her social life, her only goal, to be the undisputed valedictorian, Something that she had done so well that she graduated in three years instead of the four that she was supposed to do, to the surprise of many who apparently were now heralding her as a prodigy when in truth she was merely dedicated.

More like obsessed with success.

She wasn’t the first mammal to do such a thing at the university, and in fact she wasn’t even close to being the fastest on the academy history much less, in the world, a record that still remained on the hooves of a twelve years old moose, but apparently for the Tri-Burrows she was good enough to be considered one. Her professors had desperately attempted to counsel her to remain at the academy and do some internships and further studies which, she had to admit, she really didn’t want to do now that her goal was so close at hand, close enough to go directly to Zootopia Police Academy, the dream that had defined her life for a long, long time, her obsession, her goal in life, the thing for which she had sacrificed so many things.

Only to be denied, as she was, to put it bluntly, too small, but more important than anything else, underage. There was a minimal size, body mass and age requirement to be part of the academy; it was a set of rules that obviously discriminated against those species that weren’t necessarily built to tackle  criminals with brute strength. But no matter how much she fought and plead her case, rules were rules and she was simply unqualified, and even if somehow the law about species changed, she was still a minor and that was something that wouldn't change at all.

It seemed that her dedication and over eagerness had come to bite her in her fluffy tail.  

Oh, she hadn’t given up. Not at all. She knew thanks to the Zootopia New Herald that elections were close by, and one of the candidates was making some waves with a mammal inclusion program that would surely open the ZPA doors to her easily. But for that to happen, said candidate had to win, and elections in Zootopia were three years away and even if he won, it would take even more time for him to implement said plans due to bureaucracy, if and that was still a big if, he actually did remember his promises, which considering that he was a politician meant little to none.

This was why she was back at her parent’s burrow, thinking deeply of her future and the roads in front of her.

She could go back to TBU and increase her options and experience while she waited for the opportunity to prove herself to the world that she could make a difference despite her small frame. But if she was honest with herself, she really didn’t want to go back to the academy and endure the told you so, that teachers and alumni would gladly give to her; especially from those that didn’t like her that much.

Which sadly, where a lot of mammals.

This left her, once again, with one other option, the card on her hand that could probably solve many of her current problems that her over enthusiasm had caused.  

There was the invitation to Savage Academy for the gifted, which would open not only the same doors as TBU, but it offered a lot more as the institution was even closer to Zootopia than her rural option. It would also greatly help her, as she could acclimatize to the city environment in a more friendly fashion, giving her some years to prepare, which she had to admit was more of her forte even if she had the annoying tendency to dive into her problems headfirst so she could tackle them into submission,  —which ironically, wasn’t good enough for the current directive at the ZPA, it did not meant that she couldn’t prepare beforehand and act accordingly to ensure the complete success of her goals.

And then, there was one last option. She could stay here, waiting for the impossible to happen while she worked at the farm, which she knew would quickly erode her chances to actually dissuade her parents to support her once again on this crazy scheme of hers. They weren’t exactly thrilled about her choices, even if they were actually proud of how far she had managed to go and how soon, but she knew them, she could see it in their eyes that they wanted her to stay at home, find a buck and settle, where they knew it was safe and sound.

“I’m sorry guys, but I have to do this.” The doe finally sighed as she grabbed her cell phone and slowly dialed the number on the card, hoping for the best.

“Judy, are you sure about this?” Bonnie asked, twisting a piece of fabric in her hands after hearing the bomb that her daughter had dropped upon them, ears low and nose twitching in worry and stress. “I mean, you just got back from TBU. Don’t you want to rest a little before you head off?”

Stu simply glanced at his daughter, eyes dilated and nose twitching, it was obvious that he was pleading to her to hear her mother’s pleas, but Judy’s resolve still remained, knowing well why the two of them wanted to stop this before it was too late. They had grown to like the idea of her remaining here on the farm after two weeks of doing nothing but chores while she rested and pondered on what to do. They probably thought that she had outgrown her childhood dreams once she encountered the harsh truth out there, that she was finally coming to her senses.

But it was to not be.

“I’m sorry guys, but I talked with the Academy, and they’re more than pleased to give me a chance, even a scholarship, with them I can reach a Master degree, TBU doesn’t give me that option money wise, much less the chance to reach such a degree, I can’t simply let this opportunity go to waste.” It certainly hurt to break their hearts like this, but she had to remain firm in her decision or they would pounce upon her moment of weakness and indecision and break her will, they knew it, she knew it. They had always known it, it had always come to be a battle of wills and hers was always the stronger of them all. “They offered me opportunities that others don’t, with them I can really go far.”

Stu sighed, and Bonnie simply closed her eyes, the both of them finally admitting that their dreams of her simply forgetting her childhood dream, to settle down at the farm wasn’t to be.

“When do you leave?” Stu asked softly, smiling slightly at her, big fat tears forming on his eyes that he deftly swept aside.

“Two days… classes begin in a month and I need to take care of a lot of issues like moving to the academy and settling in one of their dormitories, also I have to tackle other things right now, papers to send, certificates to give and…”

“Two days?” Bonnie cried, surprised by how little they had, “then we need to get started. Stu, give her some help, I’ll take care of the kits for a few hours. We have to move swiftly if we want to make it.”

And with that, Judy simply smiled as she tackled her parents, hugging the life out of them as they had once again, decided to roll with her whims. Before she knew it, she was at the train smiling widely at everything, everything was all new and amazing, different, far too different from what she was accustomed. So many mammals and species, their sizes obviously baffling those that she had encountered at TBU, where the biggest mammal had been a Jaguar.

As the train crossed the artificial environments, she couldn’t erase the smile on her face. Zootopia was the most advanced city in the entire world, the most diverse and including city that had ever existed in mammal history, the only one close to matching it, technologically wise, was Reptilia, in the far south and even then, it wasn’t a friendly place to be if you were prey. If the rumors were true, that reptiles were incredulous isolationist after the segregation wars hundreds of years ago, nowadays it was really rare to find a reptile outside their own continental bio-dome.

Attention please, we’re set to arrive at Zootopia station in five minutes…

The voice of the driver brought her out of her musings, as she was glad enough that she had kept the volume of her music low enough for her to hear his announcement, her smile if possibly, increasing at the fact that, here she was, were no Hopps had ever been before. Her hands on her hips as she stared at the approaching station, giddy to get off the train on to her new life from now on as she moved toward the stairs, her luggage firmly held in her paw.

“It’s a big step for…”

“Keep moving and stop daydreaming lagomorph!” Hissed a pangolin behind her, irritated with her slow pace on the stairs for small mammals, which made Judy scowl slightly at how unfriendly some mammals could be.

But regardless of that particular unpleasant individual, her mood was not going to lie low, for she was finally stepping toward the road that she had envisioned and desired for a long, long time… her eyes scanning the station, soaking at every detail from the architecture; to the signs, the publicity stands, and most important of all, the mammals, all so different in sizes, colors and shapes coexisting peacefully.

“Miss Hopps I presume…”

The sound of her surname soon caught her attention, ears immediately zooming on to the speaker, a huge brown bear immaculately dressed on a grey suit and red tie. Judy approached her warily, even when she could observe on her claws the sign that had written her name on it.  

“Yes?”    

“Hi, name’s Mabel, I’m the psychotherapist of S.A. and I guess a chauffeur and guide from time to time, I’m here to pick you up, Miss Hopps.” The bear said, smiling widely and joyfully at the bunny, her personality clashing enormously with her appearance, putting the rabbit at ease with her friendly and approachable persona.

“Please, call me Judy.”

“Nice to meet you, Judy, now onward, destiny awaits!” Mabel added chirpily moving slowly as to not leave behind the smaller mammal, chatting a mile per second while they crossed the station, “I hope you don’t mind if we deviate a little? I’m a little famished you see, and I know a little place here on the station that serves a mean tuna dish and some strawberry cakes to die for.”  

“Oh, I don’t mind… strawberry cakes? You don’t think they have some chocolate cake and coffee, do you?” Judy immediately added, actually feeling quite hungry now that she had finally arrived at Zootopia, “Do you think that they have a prey friendly main dish?”

“They do hon, you’ll find that there are only few businesses that overly specialize in Zootopia, and when they do, they’re normally for prey only.” Mabel explained, ignoring the looks that she was getting, for merrily chatting with the small bunny at her side. “Oh, but don’t fret hon, there are Preds only businesses, but they’re rare as the majority of the population is prey, but even then, they have to, by law, include some prey oriented menu.”

Judy on the other hand, frowned when she heard that, making a mental note to research that in the future. Her mind currently focused on the miasma of clashing aromas that suddenly assaulted her nose as soon as they went to the commercial district on the station, more specifically known as the food court.

“Wow… just… wow.”

“Oh hon, this is nothing! You should smell the public market.” Mabel supplied, smiling mirthfully at the suddenly overwhelmed bunny, “First lesson of being a mammal of the city, the odors, smells and aromas could and will be overwhelming and staggering if you aren’t prepared for them, breath through your mouth, yes, like that, don’t pant, don’t rush it or you will hyperventilate.”

Judy quickly followed her guide, breathing through her mouth to diminish somewhat the amount of information that her senses were currently processing. “I’ve smelled quite a lot of awful things by living at a farm in the county, but this…”

“This is different; there is the subtle smell of pheromones on the air to add to the mix, due to a bigger density on different mammals, the amount of predators here is probably huge compared to Bunny Burrow or Tri-Burrow University, as a prey you need to be aware that a city is full of them and most precisely, their food…” kneeling in front of the rabbit, Mabel soon smiled knowingly at Judy, “your instincts are hard wired to make you alert in the presence of predators, especially feeding predators… which is why you’re so tense, it’s subtle but you can smell their excitement as they feed, and the low-key aroma of blood from that stand over there.”           

Following the claw, Judy could see exactly said stand, clean in appearance, immaculate but even when the owners and workers were doing their best to keep it as clean as regulation demands, you couldn’t mask the aroma of blood and guts emanating from there, Samuel’s Fish and Fowl could be read on their sign, a line of mostly predators could be seen on that particular stand, the few odd venison or equines also there quickly caught her attention, at a nearby table a zebra openly chatted with a lioness her natural predator, it seemed weird and impossible, even more as the equine was obviously munching on what appeared to be fried fish sticks.

“Never eaten meat, then?” Mabel inquired, seeing where the attention of Judy had gone.

“I’ve had… fish… fish sticks to be precise.” It wasn’t weird for prey to eat meat now and then nowadays, especially from none evolved animals, but it wasn’t exactly common either, “They’re cheap, and we eat them at winter to help us endure it, more protein in one single fish stick than an entire dish of radishes and carrots.” Judy answered as she glanced at the bear, “not all of my brothers and sisters can eat them without consuming drugs to minimize the belly ache though. They’re more of an emergency dish in hard times.”

Mabel nodded, as she gently directed the rabbit toward a stand that was far away from Samuel’s and the heavily predator oriented stands. Judy’s nose twitched in desperation, as she still processed a huge load of information despite the fact that she was breathing through her mouth.

“It happens when a mammal only consumes a selected kind of food, it’s why the overly specialized mammals, Koalas to be precise, have so many problems outside their environment, as you know there are drugs to help mammals consume food outside of their evolutionary chain, but they’re not as effective or nourishing as they should be, but alas… the higher ups doesn’t seem overly interested in developing better chemicals for the mammals that are quite open to the idea of being omnivores.”                

Judy nodded; she had a classmate that had been quite vocal about her rights to consume meat even if she was prey. Juliet Ericson has been the closest to a best friend that Judy had at University, a deer that was to put it frankly, quite spirited about her dream to create a safer and cheaper pill to replace the somewhat expensive and often disgusting Omni-pills.

The rabbit smiled as she saw a stand with a cartoon cake exclaiming: Robbie’s Cak-E-mporium, the aroma soon assaulting her mind and putting her instincts at ease as the smells reminded her of her mother’s kitchen.

“Welcome to heaven, Judy… Hey, Rey, how have you been, luv?” Mabel soon exclaimed boisterously, earning a few glares and amused glances from the patrons, and a cackle and smile from the raccoon behind the stand.

“Mabel, sweet girl. I was beginning to think that you had forgotten about good old me,” The male said, soon rising from his spot to greet the huge mammal, quickly being engulfed by the laughing bear.          

“Never Reynold, not in a million years.” Mabel said as she put the amused raccoon down, and sidestepped to show the smiling and amused Judy, “Here, let me introduce you to a new friend, Judy Hopps.”

Chapter Text

With a huff, the ewe glanced around, breathing loudly and laboriously, trying to regain any semblance of composure, ears lowered and skin burning due to the effort, her exposed cheeks turning rosy once she noticed the amused face on her companion.

“Jeez, Sugah… ya look really to keel over.”

The only possible response from the ewe, was to glare, and even doing that seemed to drain what little energy remained. The lightheadedness soon making her woozy enough to tremble, her paws suddenly failing to sustain her weight any longer. Her abrupt fall only halted by the quick and careful hands of a now mirthless and preoccupied wolverine.

“Oh, breath, honey, breathe. Uh, please don’t die over a light sprint session, Sharla!”

It was funny, thought the black ewe, how life changed as you grew up. Years ago, the thought of being so close to a predator and not feeling intimidated was laughable, merely fantasy.

She had grown up on a conservative family, it was gospel to rant about the uncleanliness and dangers of predators every two days on her parent’s little farm. Nanna Woo being the main instigator for such debates, her muzzle marred by hideous scars that were caused by a pred when she was merely a youngling.

The whole family, darn, the entire town knew about it, mostly because Nanna never shut up, loudly vociferating against any predator that would dare to cross her path.

“H-how can you… be so composed!?” Mind going back to the present, Sharla Woolstone glared slightly at her schoolmate, somewhat envious of her physical condition… “We —huff— have been running for half a —wheeze—, hour!” 

Shrugging, a small smile creeping into her muzzle, showing a little of her teeth’s, the wolverine simply said:

“Haven’t ya heard, honey? We wolverines have enough stamina to bring down a bear!” Chuckling at the huff that came from the ewe, “though, haven’t meet the first fella brave enough to have a few rounds with me, in our out da ring… if ya know what I mean?”       

Sharla couldn’t evade the giggle that emerged from her throat, swatting lightly at her friend’s chest, slowly sitting as her breath became less labored.

“B-but Pam. —Huff—, don’t your species share those traits with the Honey Badgers?” She fired back, amused at the pout that soon marred that cheeky grin.

“Bah, cultural appropriation, I tell ya.” Pam dismissed immediately, waving a hand in front of her contemptuously. “I can take any badger at any time, easily!”

“But not professor Madge?” Sharla inquired, giggling lightly at the lowered ears and slightly opened eyes at the prospect of a fight with the burly and heavily tattooed PE femme.

“Are ya out of yar mind?! Ah’m kooky, not suicidal!?”

Laughing out loud at such response, Sharla couldn’t prevent moving her hoof to cover her muzzle, eyes watering and spirits recovered alongside her body, enjoying the comradery that she had forged with her fellow classmate. Something that she never thought she would’ve been able to do before, two years studying at S.A changing her for the better.

A hand suddenly appeared in front of her, attached to a smiling wolverine, an obvious offer that the ewe gladly took without a hint of doubt, made her grunt a little before she was finally standing once more; her hoof’s immediately patting and cleansing her rump from dust that she could’ve accumulated when she sat down on the ground. 

“You really are a couch potato, aren’t cha?”

“Eh, it’s nice once you get used to it.” Sharla fired back, glancing around in curiosity, seeing that they were still alone in the field, “Hey, Pam?”

“Hm?”

“Isn’t it a little strange that we’re the only mammals using the running track?” Looking around, it was quite obvious that the entire place seemed to be desolated, an actual rarity considering the amount of mammals that had enrolled at S.A to train and enhance their careers, hoping to become a professional athlete.

Frowning, the wolverine looked around eyes actually opening with surprise.

“Hey… what in the world?” Now aware of the anomaly, the predator glanced up and down, trying to find another mammal to no avail, the femme momentarily rendered speechless due to the surprise, before a wicked smile plastered itself on her muzzle, “Hey… Sugah-”

“My clothes will remain on, Pamela.” Sharla warned slightly, a small smile on her snout, eyes wandering around searching for someone, anyone of the mammals that they had grown to associate with the training fields, looking through her periphery the sagging frame of her friend, which immediately forced her to look at the wolverine, head slightly inclined to the left in wonder: “What’s with you and running stark-naked, Pam?”

Recovering her composure, Pam simply shrugged, looking at her friend with a soft smile.

“Don’t knock it until ya try it!” The femme said, before she put her hands upon her waist, puffing out her chest a little, “It’s a pretty liberating experience, Ah tell ya!”

Shrugging, Sharla simply began to walk toward the academy, somehow feeling the need to leave the premises as soon as possible, a foreboding feeling settling on her stomach that made her slightly queasy, her steps almost immediately followed by that of Pamela, who surprisingly didn’t protest that much about cutting their routine short.

“So, are ya going to shower in yar clothes as well?” Teased the wolverine, which earned a slight pout from the black ewe, “At this pace, ya never goin’ to catch a certain ram attention, ya know?”

“Pam!”

“Live a little, country bumpkin!” 

“Oh, quiet you! And drop that darn accent, it’s annoying!”

“Ho, Ho! And the femme finally shows her spine! I’m proud of you, sweetheart.” Pam answered swiftly, her pronounced southern drawl disappearing seamlessly into the more clean and crisp tunes of a Zootopia native. Her hand shoving slightly and playfully at the scowling ewe, who failed miserably at hiding her mirth at the whole thing.

“Sometimes I wonder how I landed a friend like you, Pam.” Sharla confessed, smiling slightly at the rosy lowered ears from the tomboyish femme. “Still, even if I don’t know how, I’m rather grateful to lady Luck for such a gift.”

“Stop it, you’re making me blush, and look girly, I hate it when I look girly!” laughed Pam. The duo promptly left the fields through one of the many doors that would lead them to the communal showers, never aware of the pair of eyes glancing at them from the shadows. The presence slowly moving toward the unaware objectives, claws shining with unreleased power, glee about the prey that would fall into his trap. It’s body moving swiftly toward the enchanted and heavily warded showers where he would bath in their blood and innards, their souls employed to empower him further to new heights. Suddenly, a slight movement on its periphery caught it’s attention, it’s entire frame moving along to inspect the small intruder, a frown now etched on its deformed muzzle, an expression that soon turned into surprise then pain, as a blur impacted against it, it’s body dissolving into shard of lights, it’s entire essence purified and sent to the beyond.

The figure glared lightly at the specs of light until they disappeared. His small stature contrasting immensely, with the amount of power that he had unleashed. The bat on his shoulder marred with ectoplasm, the only remaining proof of the specter that had been foolish enough to hunt in his domain.

On his free hand was a half smoked cigar, softly held between his fingers as he took a swift puff, holding it in a little before he let it go, the smoke coalescing into the ground, revealing the marks and runes that the intruder had created a few hours ago.

With a snarl, Finn promptly smashed the array, cleansing the place from the enchantment and leaving it open to the students that now confusedly glanced around, somewhat perceiving the change in the atmosphere, but unable to explain or reason it. Most of them, simply shrugging about it, then going back to their routines. The others simply scratching their heads about the whole thing and some of them even actually glancing in his direction, small frowns of confusion in their eyes at the fact that he was suddenly there instead of  his usual place on the other side of the Academy.

Putting the bat down, slightly supported against his waist, the fennec then discarded his cigar, making sure to turn it completely off with a twist of his paw, before he grabbed a bag and put the darn thing in. He knew that Luna would chew his ears off if he didn’t dispose of the remains appropriately. His actions actually earning some confused faces as well as some laughs from those that understood the reason behind his actions, many of them falling prey to the doe’s rather intense personality. 

His hand now free, he grabbed his phone and swiftly began to write a text, sending it off immediately before huffing and putting the annoying artifact back on his pocket. He grabbed his trusty weapon and he began to walk once more back into the main building, knowing that he had a report to give to his bosses about what had just happened and what he just contemplated from the two subjects that were apparently, the thing’s objectives.  

Luna glanced at the perpetually scowling fox, an expression that many took as a sign of aggression common to his species.

To her, it was nothing but a mask from a mammal tired of being underestimated and dismissed by his species and size, Finn was a darling, of that she was more than sure of. But even yet, she knew that this time the reason for such a grumpy face was justified. 

“So it was slick enough to evade detection, even bypass our wards…”

“It was a crafty Booger, I concede. If it wasn’t for the well timed flare from that ewe, I wouldn’t have even noticed that something was amiss until it was too late.” The scowl increased, this time it was an expression mirrored by the doe, who glanced back at the map on her hands, showing her that there wasn’t any failure or breach on their defenses.

“The matrix doesn’t show signs of a breach or a broken array, which means…”

“Someone had to put that thing here. Probably in one of those darned inspectors that the city keeps throwing at us.” Looking back at the map, shivering slightly at the fact that it was made of parchment, the fox sighed, his scowl replaced by a tired expression, which made Luna dismiss the map entirely, putting it beside the table, knowing that the vulpine was unequivocally right.

“There’s been some pressure from some concerned parties as to what we teach. The fact that the Academy doesn’t fall into their grubby hands to modify to their heart contents hasn’t made us many friends in the political scene.” Luna conceded, she had been having a long series of reunions and debates in the past years with mammals that apparently wouldn’t take a “no” for an answer.

Sadly for them, they weren’t some new comers that lacked experience and power to get what they wanted.

“They can whine and moan all they want; our Academy is built on private lands that we bought legally a long, long time ago, the only way to get a hold of our property if it they take it from our cold, dead hands!” 

Scowling pensively, the fennec added:

“Or… if they cause a tragedy on the premises that would force us to cede to their demands.”

Seeing the tired nod from the doe, the fox simply shrugged at her confirmation that his thoughts were probably right once more.

“I’ll review the camera records, but something tells me that I will be wasting my time.”

“Most probably. They probably put the enchantments and the containment ward in their free time from ‘inspecting’ the premises. Whoever did it was methodical, precise and efficient, quick enough to plant the booger and leave without being noticed…” glancing at the fox, the doe narrowed her eyes, “It’s annoying, isn’t it? Once more this mammal managed to slip through our hands by laying low… what kind of…”

“A class two, a Specter… weak enough to die after a swift impact on its noggin from my Belle.” Frowning, the canid also thought further into what he encountered, “a Class two should’ve been detected by the wards, but this one was so ridiculously weak that it hadn’t caused a bleep…”

Nodding at that, Luna massaged her chin, thinking lightly before a smile blossomed on her muzzle.

“That’s it…whoever is slipping boogers into our academy is actually draining them, to such an extent that they barely sustain themselves on the ambiance manna!” raising on to her paws, the doe walked toward her personal library, her eyes roaming for a couple of seconds before she found what she wanted. “Aha!” her hand quickly landing on a heavy tome that should have been impossible for her to even get off of the shelf. The immense volume dwarfing the bunny by several feet’s as well as weight.

But still, the doe swiftly raised it over her head, skipping toward a table; eyes alight with inspiration, the fox simply sighing at the whole thing, years of enduring the doe, immunizing him to such displays.

With a loud “thump!” the book landed on the desk, the doe snapping her fingers as she floated over the surface, the tome opening up to her, pages moving quickly while her shining eyes roamed, searching for the page that she sought for until finally, with an abrupt cease of movement, the pages remained still and the doe simply stared at the contents.

“I’ve been a dumb bunny this whole time. I’ve been so focused on the new and improved techniques, that I’ve forgotten the preceding rituals and methods.”

The fox walked toward the bunny, but unlike her, he didn’t need to display or employ his magic so exotically, content to simply gaze at the floating lapin with a small smile on his muzzle.        

“So, what do you have?”

“Five hundred years ago, existed a tribe of coyotes that cleansed their sins through a simple ritual that imbued their negative feelings and sins into a totem that they would later bath in holy water and finally, bury into a sanctified area.” Luna explained, her finger caressing her chin as she continued reading, “It was effective in the short term, but in the long term it corrupted the earth and ended up creating specters that were heavily tied to the totem, it became a nucleus where they would finally be able to materialize into the real world, digging themselves from their prison and leaving them free to roam and consume at their heart content, growing stronger with each soul they consumed, trying to fill the void that created their unending hunger.”

Looking at the fox, the doe explained:

“The ritual was a failure in design. It took half the soul of those foolish enough to be a part of it. It quartered them, leaving only a positive spirit on the mortal body, and its injured and remaining part trapped on the totem, festering on the negativity and sins until it corrupted them.” Sighing, the doe caressed the bridge of her nose, “What they didn’t take into consideration was that they would still be able to commit mistakes, they would still sin and possess negativity. It’s a part of living that you can’t simply dismiss, much less ignore, without serious consequences. So, being the ignorant fools that they were, they went once more to their shaman, quartered their soul, shoved the injured part into a totem for an easy fix… until they ended up corrupted once more, then the whole cycle would continue until they were nothing more than living husks…”

Looking at the vulpine, eyes sad, the doe confessed.

“I had to cull their entire tribe; the corruption of their souls was permanent, it drove them mad. They were razing and pillaging their neighboring tribes, the horrors that they committed were indescribable. Especially against those that were complete in the soul department.”

“The kits?”

“None survived, and they didn’t die swiftly. I can’t describe to you what I witnessed, Finn. But I’m particularly aware that you might have an idea of how bad it was. The land ended up cursed for nearly two centuries before we managed to cleanse it fully, but even today, not even the non-sentient animals roam the Northwest dessert of Califurnia.”

“And yet, we mammals were stupid and hardheaded enough to create a city there?”

“Califurnia is thankfully, far, far away from those lands, but not enough to not suffer slightly from the remaining miasma. It’s why they haven’t had any success expanding the city any further, there is no fertile soil to grasp in those lands, if it wasn’t for the aqueduct, that city and Las Vegas wouldn’t exist at all.”

Nodding at that, the duo then remained silent for a couple of seconds, before the doe asked.

“Finn, be a darling and bring the map to me, will you?”

Sighing, the fox went and grabbed the disgusting thing, walking quickly to the desk and giving it to Luna, who giggled at his disgruntled appearance.

“Oh, you’re adorable, you know that?”

“That thing is made of mammal skin!”

“Cloned skin, it didn’t belong to any living being honey, nor was part of a body. It was simply created and processed so we could create the map, you know that paper or papyrus don’t interact that well with magic, they decompose too fast and become too brittle to be of any use.”

“It’s still creepy.”

“Meh, once you’ve lived as long as we have, you’ll find that your definition of creepy changes immensely and routinely.” With a wave of her hand, the map unfurled and displayed a series of runes and other marks that Finnick couldn’t recognize, “Vellum, on the other hand, despite its horrid origins, remains the most common method to create and conserve magical tomes… aaaaand, there, done. The ritual has been integrated into the matrix, and… oh!”

Opening his eyes wide, the fox looked at the horrified doe, which was looking at the map, wide eyed.

“What? What is it?”

“Finn… there are thirty four totems within the land.”

Blanching at what he heard, the vulpine recoiled, unable to believe it.

“What?”

“There are thirty four pieces of fragmented soul in my domain, Finn…” The doe said, eyes blazing in cold fury, her body soon surrounded in flames, her anatomy changing as she Ascended, her silvery blue eyes changing to ruby, a horn appearing at the middle of her forehead, her claws on hands and paws now sharp and pronounced.

“On darn… you’ve gone Al-Mi’raj on me…”  The fox cursed, his hand gripping the crystal on his neck, knowing that he would probably need to Ascend to contain the infuriated femme, “Please, Luna… get a hold of yourself!”

“SOMEONE PUT CURSED TOTEMS IN MY DOMAIN!” The doe bellowed out, eyes glaring at the fox, rage nearly consuming her entirely, “MY CHILDREN ARE IN DANGER, I CANNOT LET THIS GO!”         

“I’LL DO IT, DAMN IT, I’LL CLEANSE AND DISPOSE OF THE DARN THINGS, JUST… CALM THE RUT DOWN!” The vulpine screamed, pain clearly perceived on his voice as he Ascended, his tail and body changing into that of a much more outstanding creature, a nine tailed fox, knowing  that even going all out, it wasn’t enough to contain the small package of fluffy deadliness in front of him. “REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME YOU USED THIS FORM! THINK OF CAERBANNOG!”

 And as soon as she heard that, the doe deflated with a small, “Okay…”

The doe simply sitting down on her chair, eyes firmly focused on the transformed fox, a small and quite creepy smile firmly etched on her muzzle.

“You’ve one hour, Finn. Move, and pray that you’re fast enough to deal with those things before I lose my patience. Move! Take the map and call the guys about what’s going on. There IS no more time to waste. My home has been violated and needs to be sanctified, immediately!” the tone of her voice dropping to an ominous tone.

“I’ll do it, just… calm down, would ya?” The Kyūbi nervously said before he grabbed the map and quickly moved out of the office, using his magic to change his appearance of that of a smaller fennec fox instead of the huge nine tailed being that he currently was. He left behind a fuming femme, whose silence felt far more oppressive than her screams of hate and rage, just a few minutes ago. Her eyes now firmly planted on the tome of forgotten rituals and magical procedures that she had so dumbly forgotten or dismissed as inconsequential. Her mind now conjuring and creating new arrays of runes for a new ward scheme, that would incorporate everything in her repertoire. She silently vowed to disembowel the fools that had dared to desecrate her home.

Chapter Text

Mabel was a bundle of joy, of that everyone was sure of, be it by experience or because she would tell you so, once you got to know her.

Her chirpy and positive persona wasn’t faked. She truly was a happy-go-lucky mammal, but her bubbly character didn’t occlude her at all from being able to be serious and discrete.

She was a shadow of whom she once was, merely the residual parts of a once effervescent child that ended up suffering in the hands of a monster in mammal’s skin. She had lost everything, and everyone save her brother, and that little respite was mostly because it amused the beast to glance at them clutch at each other, trying to mitigate the horrors that he poured upon them.

No, Mabel wasn’t the ignorant ursine many believed her to be. She knew true darkness, pain and suffering. She understood better than anyone else about being hopeless, scared and abandoned, the feeling of the walls closing up around you, menacing you, trying to crush you while you attempted, in vain, to recover, to no avail.

Bill had broken them, corrupted, and twisted their souls and love beyond salvation, and it didn’t matter. She had her Bro-bro, he was her anchor and she was his, and no matter what the beast employed. They held as much of their sanity they had by remaining together, by loving each other. A whisper, a caress, a kiss, a body to hug or to rut, as long as they had each other, they would endure, remain and survive the torment.

Then, everything changed. Bill was no more. They were afraid of the newcomers. Would they kill them? Become their new masters? In the end, they were simply saviors, whose only sin, in their eyes, was to attempt to fix them up, tore them apart of the unnatural and twisted union that Cypher had forced on them. At the time, it felt condescending, and in a bout of anger, they both lashed out, fearing reprisal, condemnation and destruction in response, only to find understanding, acceptance and love in exchange. The Savages had saved them, of that Mabel had no doubts. They didn’t know how long the charade would keep going. How long Bill’s mirth at their situation would last or worse, how much they could stand.

Recovering wasn’t easy, wasn’t clean and it’s still to this day, a progressing factor. But she had made progress, she had changed, matured and to the surprise of many, became a psychologist so she could help people through therapy. She could discern with a mere glance what troubled a mammal, simply because she recognized the symptomatology. If you suffer something so intimately, it then shouldn’t surprise anyone else that you ended up discovering that you could see, in others, what has been done to you.

She wanted to prevent that, with all her heart. She wanted to save others, as she had been saved. Her whole magic evolved around that desire, her empathy making her able to discern a mammal with only a glance. In fact, the more time she spent with someone, the more she understood what motivated and pained them, which was why she was usually sent to receive the future prospects to the academy.

And Judy Hopps was no different in such regard, which was why they shared a table in Robbie’s place, so she could analyze and discover what made the bunny’s clock tick.     

Curiously, right now, the rabbit simply felt confused and slightly prickly when the first thing that appeared in front of her wasn’t a menu nor consumables, but a chart, a medical chart to be precise.

“Uh… what’s this?”

Mabel put down her menu for a second, a soft smile on her muzzle, her nose wiggling a couple of times, mirth apparently barely contained.

“Trust me, I know it’s pretty confusing, even intimidating to receive such a thing when you only want to eat,” Mabel explained, her incredibly long claws tastefully manicured into intrinsic patters that Judy found somewhat fetching, even cute if they weren’t coated over natural made weapons, but regardless of her initial fears of the unknown, the bunny persevered, eyes firmly put on the femme, never varying or focusing too much on neither claws or fangs, “but if Rey doesn’t know what could make you horridly ill, he wouldn’t know what to serve you, limiting the supply available to you. This also gives him some legal sway to prevent a litigation case against him.”

Frowning at hearing that, Judy opened her mouth to ask what she was talking about, perhaps feeling it a tad invasive as well as overly cautious, even paranoid.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to offer an Omni-pill?”  

Nodding at that, the bear caressed her chin lightly, contemplating what the bunny said, before she sighed and explained.

“How expensive are those pills, Judy?”

“Twenty Zee’s per pill,” The rabbit promptly explained, somewhat knowledgeable about the issue due to how many of her siblings needed to consume the darn things due to their incapacity to digest or deal with a myriad of consumable products. “My parents bought them in bulk; some of my siblings were allergic or intolerant to milk, others couldn’t digest rice or sugary foods without consuming one of them, I’ve a cousin that’s actually unable to consume carrots without ending up sick if he doesn’t get one of them.”

Nodding, Mabel thought what the femme said and pondered a little more.

“It’s true that they’ve become an unmistakable staple in our society, since they were invented by Pfizer fifty six years ago.  But, what perhaps you’re omitting, and excuse me if I’m wrong, is that you’re talking about lapin sized pills.” Seeing the opening of eyes, and lowering of ears, the bear quickly capitulated on the dawning realization on the femme that perhaps costs were marginally superior the biggest the mammal involved.

“I’m such a dumb Bunny.” The doe gasped, softly palming her forehead, creating small circles over her eyes with the palms of her hands, “Juliet explained it to me. I should’ve known that, but somehow I forgot completely about how expensive the pill is for those above a certain size criteria.”

Smiling benignly, Mabel simply shrugged, before she said:

“It tends to happens, but, hear me out.” Noticing the curious compliance of the rabbit, as she grabbed a pen and dutifully filled the chart, the ursine continued: “Omni-pills for all their marvels aren’t exactly perfect either, and there exist mammals unable to process them as well, which makes them unable to broaden their horizons if they’re incapable of eating certain consumables.” Seeing the nod from the small femme, obviously following her up, Mabel keep on: “Sadly, this means that a mammal could end up really sick by eating a simple cake, because they can’t process sugars, grains, eggs or the butter, to mention a few. As far as I know, Omni-pills do some chemical mumbo jumbo in your tummy; enhances your body digestive system so it could process such food more efficiently. But, sadly for all, I know, it’s also detrimental if abused, which ends up causing serious cases of gastritis or other similar disorders.”

Judy stopped writing for a second, pondering what was said and nodding, Eustace, the one that couldn’t eat carrots or sugary filled products, ended up with some damage due to the acid reflux.             

“As I understand it, the pills facilitate the digestion and creation of the proper enzymes within the stomach, but… you need to naturally possess the capacity to produce them to begin with, if you can’t… the pills would only end up doing more damage than good. They’re after all, strongly tied to evolution and adaptation, and there are some mammals without the glands that produce the enzymes to digest, without harm, certain foods.” Seeing a red panda coming over to collect Judy’s allergic chart, the ursine smiled at her and waited until she left once more to continue: “Remember when I told you about certain laws that force establishments to have a menu for prey mammals?”

“Yeah, it seemed pretty unfair, if you ask me.” Judy conceded, already aware that she was going to receive more information about it, her ears raised and eyes sharp on the bear, showed she was keenly interested.

“Well, initially it wasn’t a law created to discriminate, but to include.” Smiling at the surprise, Mabel giggled a little and keep at it; “Like I said before, there are mammals that have the bad luck of not inheriting the genes or the ability to process mammal based products or certain natural or processed foods. There are a lot of them out there, in both camps, not all species have successfully integrated into the omnivore camp, but considering the huge difference in numbers between preds and prey, well, there are nearly fourteen percent of mammals without the genes or capacity to produce those enzymes, and other processes attached to such a thing…”

“So they couldn’t be part of the mainstream, forcing them to remain within their species recommended consumables, leaving them out of the system.” Concluded Judy, eyes open and now understanding why the law was created to begin with, seeing that those mammals would then been illegally excluded from exercising their rights as the charter of rights and duties demanded.        

It made sense to create a law that would ensure that said mammals wouldn’t be persecuted or excluded just because their biology wasn’t up to scratch. Judy looked at the ursine, seeing that the smile and the shine on her eyes had diminished a little, not disappearing completely, but lessened enough to be noticeable. She seemed to be expecting her to notice something, a disparity on what was said, so she thought, pondered, paw moving slightly on the air, trying to stamp the floor to no avail while she thought, a habit that she couldn’t actually accomplish considering her legs were hanging quite high as she was sitting on an adapted table so she could interact closely with the humungous bear.

Then, her ears lowered and her eyes closed, nearly in pain as she got the realization.

“Initially, it was created to ensure inclusion… but they changed it. Isn’t that it?”

Mabel nodded, her smile disappearing completely, her eyes closed a profound sigh appearing suddenly.

“Sixty eight years ago, an unfortunate incident occurred in a restaurant that catered exclusively to meat consumables. A sushi restaurant to be exact, it was a pretty popular place, quickly gaining the population’s favor. It was even getting the attention of the prey community that were able to consume fish, as tuna and other sea faring species were a rarity, due to the fact that Zootopia isn’t close to any of our oceans and at that time, we had a pretty ugly enmity between land mammals and sea-adapted mammals. So, as you could suspect, the novelty of the place was so notorious that it attracted vultures and opportunists.”

Smiling slightly at the incoming raccoon, which had a menu that the rabbit could peruse to her heart’s content. Her eyes slowly regaining that fabulous shine, that had diminished through their clearly dreary talk, but that had come back once she saw what was available to her. So giving her a few minutes to peruse the menu and waiting until she ordered, she did the same, Rey taking the orders with a smile and a promise to bring them in a matter of minutes, swiftly leaving them alone, so the pair resumed their chat.

“Then, enter August Prowler, a nyala with the grandiose idea that he could eat within the premise, despite not being able to process meat appropriately. He thought that he would perhaps suffer some minor health issues and then, get rich quick due to a law suit, thanks to his brother, who was a well-respected lawyer at the time.”

The red-panda and Rey appeared once more, the plates on their hands soon carefully placed in front of them, a glass of strawberry frappe and one huge tuna sandwich for Mabel while Judy finally got her hands on a chocolate cake and black coffee.       

“Thanks Rey, Rachel sweetie, how are the children?”

“As rambunctious as ever Mab-mab, I’m going to be the first gray panda if things keep going as they are!” The waitress answered, before she winked at Judy and left with her chuckling boss toward the kitchen so they could get their next order done, leaving the pair in peace to consume at their leisure, which they did with gusto, a couple of minutes of silence passing between them before Judy cleared her throat.

“Oh, right… sorry, I always lose myself in the deliciousness of Rey’s confections! Where was I? Oh yeah, the idiot, well, to cut the story short, he went, asked for sushi and got sick, he demanded and got a sweet amount of Zee’s for his problems, the restaurant never recovered from the event and in a matter of a year, it went bankrupt.”

Open mouthed and ears lowered, Judy glanced at the bear, incapable of believing that such an injustice had come to pass with impunity.

“You’re kidding, right? Please, tell me that you’re kidding me!”

Shaking her head, Mabel gave the lapin a look that conveyed that she understood how she felt, before she explained.

“The owner was a sea Otter from Anihon, technically an omnivorous mammal, but in the eyes of many, another pred. It was socially acceptable for them at the time, to assume that the victim was the prey mammal. As no one would be insane enough put their life at risk in such a manner, so it was obvious that the restaurant was at fault, and that their food wasn’t as healthy and clean as they claimed.” Looking back at her half eaten sandwich, Mabel decided to give it another bite, not looking at the horrified lapin in front of her for a couple of seconds, before she continued: “The truth was later discovered once Prowler passed away fifteen years later due to cancer. His daughter found her father’s journals and some of the letters that he sent and received from his brother amongst the belongings kept in his bank vault, both idiots actually keep a register of documents that they exchanged, laughing and celebrating their luck and that no one had been the wiser. Aghast, the daughter tried to dispose of them, and in her desperation to salvage the reputation of their family and firm, she ended up losing her life when she wrapped her car around a telephone pole. The documents then fell into the hands of the police, who then investigated the Prowler and Carlson law firm and ended up finding a lot of other things that they had done under the table. The family got their just desserts, but by the time it was done, the damage was already done and the law was never amended since to prevent a repeat of such a thing.”

 Judy looked at the bear, unable to believe what she heard. Her appetite completely gone, her eyes falling remorsefully on the delicious half eaten cake in front of her.

“That’s… awful.”

“It is and there have been other similar events in these past years. So, many pred business mammals began to ponder if it was worth it to even try to have their business in Zootopia. Until, that is, Robert Molina, the founder of this fine establishment had a rather peculiar idea thanks to his neighbor, a rather stressed nurse who had forgotten some of his medical charts on his table. He saw the questions about specifying allergies and what kind of medicines and chemicals couldn’t be employed on them... and thought…”

“Why couldn’t we actually ask this, and have a legal way to prove that we served what the client asked?” Reynold added, getting closer to their table, a small smile on his muzzle, “Telling the tale of my Pa’ to your new friend, Mabel?”

Looking in the direction of the raccoon, Mabel simply answered by putting her tongue out, her smile back on her muzzle, and her sandwich and frappe now nearly consumed entirely, Judy looked at the newcomer with something akin to surprise and admiration clearly evident on her wide-eyed face.

“Is true, then?”

“All of it. There were some grumblings and protests initially, but Papá ensured that it was legal, and it’s considered actually quite a good idea nowadays. The government actually liked the idea so much that they adopted it. That pesky law remains unchanged to this day, but what you need to understand is that, for every Prowler out there, there is also a restaurant owner irresponsible enough to cut corners without caring for the health of their clients. The world isn’t as black or white as we’d like to believe, young lady.” The raccoon said, smiling slightly at the bunny, before he glanced at the bear, “Are you sure that you don’t want to be a lawyer?”

“Perish the thought! I’m happy with my job, thank you very much.” Mabel fired back, before she giggled lightly and added, “I can’t stop it, Rey. If I bring them here, they need to know about the goods and bads of the city.” Looking firmly at the doe, the ursine quickly amended, “I’m sorry if you feel like I abused my position of trust.”

“No, no! Not at all, I…” raising a hand over one of her ears, lowering it as she passed her hand over it, Judy pondered what she heard, then said: “I, actually am glad to hear it, in fact.”

Seeing the curiosity on the mammal’s faces, Judy smiled slightly, trying to control the apprehension that churned in her stomach.

“I’m… rather invested into the law. My dream is to be a police officer, but currently, I’m unable to even attempt to enter the Police Academy due to my size and species, and… my age.” It still stung, but she hasn’t gone as far by giving up, so she wouldn’t begin to do so now that she was so far ahead, “So, while it’s impossible for me to be a police officer, until that law is discarded or amended. I’m stuck studying the law, so I thought that I could with a couple of years of effort perhaps graduate as a lawyer if things go south.”

Looking at the rabbit, both mammals nodded, taking her seriously despite how young she was, something that made her stomach feel lighter than a few seconds ago. She actually enjoyed the feeling of people that didn’t immediately laugh or dismiss her goals entirely. 

“My word, young lady, you’re certainly a commendable mammal if you’re going to attempt to pursue your dream career at S.A at such a young age!”

Ears getting somewhat rosy, Judy stammered a little before she added.

“Actually, I’ve already graduated. I’m going to S.A to further enhance my  career and get my Master’s degree.” the bunny mumbled, a little nervous of the wide open maw of teeth in front of her due to the surprise on the raccoon’s face, which earned a laugh from Mabel, who actually enjoyed the look on her friend.

“That’s right, Rey, she’s one of the youngest mammals to ever attend the Academy since Felix Tucson, eighty years ago, who only was fourteen at the time.” and then, suddenly the sound of a phone was heard, immediately interrupting the joviality on the ursine expression, which froze instantly, her eyes opening wide as she recognized the ringtone, “E-excuse me, Rey, I’ll need to take this call. That’s my darling calling on the serious business line. Can I?”

“You can use my office, dear. I know how things are when that rascal calls you on that particular phone. Hope is nothing serious.”

“Me too, Rey. Me too. Judy, dear, would you mind waiting for me for a few minutes?”  

“No problem, ma’am, I think I need to finish my cake before it gets cold, it would be a shame to let such a delicious morsel go unfinished.” Judy assured the ursine, who nodded at her gratefully for a couple of seconds, before she departed quickly to a more secluded location so she could have a private conversation with her brother.

Judy simply focused on her cake, munching a couple of times before she swallowed and looked at the now pondering raccoon.

“Something’s wrong, sir?”

“Uh, oh, no, no miss. I’m just worried as to what could’ve happened at the Academy, considering that her job is that of the psychotherapist. It probably means that some poor mammal is having quite a bad day.” Shaking his head, the raccoon glanced at the rabbit and smiled sheepishly, this time ensuring to not show his teeth as he did before, clearly less open in Judy’s presence than how he had been when the ursine was present.

Judy for, her part, simply nodded as she pondered what the male said and how his demeanor changed, assuming that perhaps he wasn’t entirely confident or comfortable in front of a young doe like her.    

Thankfully, the door from the office opened then, and a rather worried bear came out, her smile missing and a deep troubled expression now clearly visible, her joviality now really gone.

“Sorry, Rey, but duty calls… one of my cubs had a nervous breakdown and I need to go back to-“

“There is no need to explain, Mabel. Go! I’ll send the bill to that boss of yours, as we always do. Believe me, I understand.” Looking back at Judy, the raccoon nearly gaped once more in surprise when he saw the teen’s cheeks completely puffed, mouth somewhat dirty with the remains of a chocolate cake that had been almost swiftly gulped in a matter of seconds while he talked with the bear, “What in the…”

The laugh that emerged from Mabel was loud, and made the windows rattle a little. Some of the patrons smiled widely at the contagious laugh, other scowling tiredly at what apparently was an old routine, the tense ambiance disappearing instantly with Judy’s actions. The rabbit looked down, ears rosy, as she ate the cake as fast as she could, crumbs and icing on her overstuffed mouth, her cheek’s going thinner as she swallowed.

Half an hour later, the couple was already in Mabel’s Mercedes, the doe in the passenger seat, eyes glancing curiously at the surroundings, enjoying the view that the new environment offered. She soon noticed that the blues, greys and few greens of the metropolis were slowly changing into more natural colors as trees began to appear at each side of the road.

“How far from the city is the academy, miss-“

“None of that, sweetheart. I told you to call me Mabel. None of that stiff formality with me, young lady.” The bear chided, while she kept her soft smile firmly etched on her muzzle, and her eyes clearly put on the road, “The answer to that question is, half an hour by car, five minutes on the bullet train and nearly forty darn minutes on the bus.”

The rabbit nodded once she heard that. It wasn’t that bad, and it was obvious that despite how far the academy was from the city, it was still not so long as to make it bothersome for those without a vehicle, as there was clearly a lot of possibilities to employ if you wanted to commute to and from.

“What can you tell me about the place, ma’am?”

Sighing lightly at the hardheadedness of the lapine, Mabel pondered what she could say, before she simply decided to ask: “What do you want to know, exactly?”

“Everything, I mean… I know that it used to be a parish a long time ago, Arundell if my memory doesn’t fail me. I know that it was a castle that belonged to the Savage family a long time ago, who at the time, were renowned for their sorcery and other myths alluded to their name, but it was their corn and cotton plantations which actually ensured the prosperity of the family. A small town slowly growing around the castle as their servants and employees settled down.” Seeing the nod from the bear, Judy continued to clear what she knew already, “I know that, thanks to what the webpage and other historical sites offer. I know that Arundell was nearly destroyed in a fire caused by enemy incursion five hundred and thirty two years ago, killing the heir of the family, Jackson Savage and his fiancée Skyfall Bushtail. Enraged, the rulers managed to turn the flow of the battle and ended up conquering the lands from the invaders, ensuring the first victory against the Auroch Empire from the North.”

“Hm, seems you know enough, sweetie.” Mabel said, smile somewhat dimmed at what the doe had just mentioned, something that Judy didn’t notice, too focused on what she remembered of her search through the web about S.A.

“I know what the sites and many other places tell about the place, I know its history, who it belongs to and of course, the fact that the Savage family save for Luna, hasn’t been seen in public for nearly two decades. I, of course, omitted all the supernatural rumors and theories on the web, and believe me, there is a LOT of wackos on the web that seems to believe that the place is haunted, or a cult camouflaged as a school. It’s rather frustrating, I’ll tell you.”

“But it adds charm, don’t you think? It gives the place a hint of mystery; romance. The fact that the family has modernized the installation doesn’t mean that a huge part of the academy isn’t built on the remains of an old castle and its surrounding town.” Mabel interrupted, knowing that if she didn’t cut the doe short, things would probably go over and over about the whole thing without reaching what the femme wanted to know, initially. “Hm, it’s a nice place, the atmosphere is magical, and you need to experience it, to understand it fully.”

Breathing profoundly, Mabel pondered about her home, about the whole fortress turned modern academy and everything that such a thing entailed. 

“Hm, probably. But, what about its rules? What about the mammals that lead the whole place, the students. For what little I saw in the pictures, the place is beautiful. But I know that for some reason, there seems to be some tension between S.A and the city council. So… what’s going on? The forums and other media aren’t exactly sure what’s happening, but the consensus seems to agree that the tension is mostly centered on the fact that the academy is built on private lands, and that they apparently, have rules and regulations that don’t necessarily follow the government specifications regarding species.”

Smiling slightly at what she heard, Mabel couldn’t prevent the mirth that permeated her body.

“Well, the place is owned by the Savage family, and the lands are private property. It’s a rather exclusive place that attracts myriads of mammals worldwide. Mostly, because many of those that managed to earn a degree from the premise, ended up creating a lot of waves around the world. So we have some prestige to flaunt that some public and other private organizations don’t, which has earned us some petty rivalries and enemies.” Momentarily seeing at the rabbit’s direction, Mabel pondered about how the little femme would take what she was about to drop.

“There are some rules and regulations that apparently, rub many mammals fur in the wrong direction. For example, there is a decree about no discrimination based on gender, belief or species with a strict three strikes rule. You get three of those and you’re out and vetoed for life from the institution.” Though, it wasn’t exactly a perfect system, it was way ahead of what other institutions did and employed against bullying and abusers, and some prey supremacist organizations thought the equal rights rules on S.A were incredibly offensive and should be banned to something far more appropriate to their whims.

“The Academy also, doesn’t attempt to denounce of forbid when mammals of different species find themselves joined in more ways than that of mere friendship.” Hearing the gasp, and feeling the actual surprise from the bunny’s emotions, Mabel smiled at her as she continued: “That’s right, inter-species fraternizing isn’t forbidden on its premise and as you might imagine, many don’t approve of it. So they raise a fuss about the whole thing.  It’s not a perfect system, I tell you. There are some crafty students that have managed to get what they wanted by circumventing the rules, sometimes even offering good sums of money to those involved to keep things quiet.” Frowning, her mind quickly went to the frame of a certain elk Casanova. “But I’m probably biased as an employee. I think that the best way to find out about a place is to experience it yourself and make that judgment on your own, rather than base your opinion on the words of others that might, or might not, have been there to know what they’re talking about. You know?”

The bunny pondered what was said, and nodded, her face showing a hint of impatience barely contained, her emotions slightly thrown in disarray at what she heard, it almost seemed as if she was close to a panic attack, which caught Mabel’s attention.

“Don’t worry, Judy. You’ll be fine.” Eyes lightly put on the nervous rabbit, the bear concentrated some of her powers between them, creating a temporary empathic link. The ursine tried to transmit her feelings of calm and peace toward the doe.

“I suppose…” The bunny conceded, eyes momentarily flashing with barely constrained but unconscious power, making the bear cringe slightly when the link was forcibly cut and the car move somewhat to the left, startling the doe. “Whoa, Mabel what’s going on?!”

Getting the control back, the ursine simply stared at the road, then at the mirrors and found that thankfully, no one had been close to be affected, the femme softly parking the vehicle in the emergency lane a few minutes later.

“Mabel?”

“Sorry, Judy… I just had this… abrupt migraine that caught me by surprise, that’s all.” Massaging her head, the ursine attempted to get a hold of herself, focusing her manna on the affected area to minimize the damage that the backlash had caused.

“This doe… without training and even knowing about… I don’t know if I should  feel worried or impressed!”

“That’s not a good sign; maybe we should call for help? Sudden spikes of pain in your head aren’t exactly a good thing to ignore, Mabel.”

“You’re right of course,” affirmed Mabel, but she also knew what had caused her sudden spike of pain and she couldn’t exactly explain it to the doe. “But look ahead of you, we can already see our goal, we’re really close and I think I can manage to get us there before anything happens if I employ the automatic pilot.”

Nose now twitching, Judy seemed rather concerned after hearing that.

“Daddy doesn’t trust in those that much … so, this would be my first time in a vehicle that can drive itself…”

Mabel simply smiled at hearing that, trying to sooth the frayed nerves of the doe through a more vocal and less magical mean this time. 

“They’re safe under certain circumstances. This road is a straight line and there are no other vehicles present, see?” Pointing up front and then at the back, the bear indicated that clearly there wasn’t any other vehicle but theirs, “really perfect conditions to engage it, only idiots use it on freeways or everywhere else. You’ve to recognize that it’s a useful tool, but one that’s rather limited to a certain pattern, respect that patter and you’ll be fine, ignore it and well, suffer the consequences.” Now, moving the car and initiating the autopilot, Mabel simply sighed in relief as she held the wheel, knowing that she wasn’t steering it anymore, but conscious enough of how nervous her charge was to not take her fingers from it.

“It’s… driving itself, really?”

“It is, see my paws?” The bear pointed out with her snout, forcing the doe to glance down and see that the ursine wasn’t pressing the pedals at all, “It’s driving itself, I assure you it’s safe, we’re both safe and look ahead of you, the first time gazing at S.A is a marvelous experience.”

And certainly, that seemed to catch the doe attention, eyes widening slightly at the immense stone entrance ahead of them, marvelously carved with innumerable details in its granite of an era long forgotten, the entrance was surrounded by two watchtowers, the arch on the middle almost looking like a portal that would take you to the middle-ages. The snarling gargoyles growing with each meter that they consumed, it was immaculate, it was breathtaking.

Students called it the ‘Haitch’ entrance, due to its particular but simple appearance that took utility to the next level despite its extravagancy. 

But Judy seemed particularly calm about it, impressed certainly but still, her superficial emotions and her body language revealed another story altogether to the experienced eyes of the bear.

Judy somehow recognized the entrance, the way her body felt, the way her aura moved, it wasn’t the usual recognition of a mammal that had seen a photo become real, like it usually was with new arrivals. Mabel was quite aware of how much of a difference seeing the real deal was, living and crossing over the gargoyle threshold from the remains of the north entrance of village of Arundell should’ve created a certain pattern of emotions and chemicals, years of experience had taught her that. But contrary to what should’ve been, the lapin beside her was apparently feeling confused and… surprised.

Somehow, Judy Hopp’s felt as if she was finally coming back at home after a long time of being away.      

“So… what do you think of our new addition, Mabel?”

Looking at the panther in front of her, Mabel couldn’t prevent a gulp; Harry was tense that was evident not only from her powers but by how stiff the mammal was. 

The changeling usually was dramatic, with a tendency to recite dark omens and speeches to annoy Luna. He wasn’t overly serious, but he had always been the more laidback of the duo. While Luna was bubbly he was calm. Both mammals were dangerous, of that, Mabel was more than aware, Cypher wouldn’t have fallen to novices and upstarts. That goat had been a beast, a monster that destroyed everything that stood in his way and he ended up falling to them. Well, Harry to be more precise.

“She’s… unique. Of that I’m sure.” It felt strange truly, to feel apprehensive in front of her savior, but she couldn’t prevent it. His aura was dark, marred with so many horrid things that reminded her of Bill that she couldn’t prevent feeling intimidated.

And then, the oppression of his aura vanished, eyes closed tightly, as if in pain.

“Sorry, Mabel… the recent events took the best of me. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“Sir, I understand why you’re so angry, there is nothing to forgive. I’m simply… at edge I guess.” And wasn’t that the truth? The event with Judy was merely the surface of how bad this day had turned out to be, her new home, attacked. The black ewe with a mile-wide crush on Dipper, was nearly killed, if not for an unconscious deployment of her own aura that had caught Finnick’s attention. It was the only thing that had saved her from being slaughtered and consumed, the whole event calling back too many bad memories of what had happened to their family, their friends and loved ones.

That this was the second incursion on the castle, thankfully this one being a failure unlike what happened long ago when the Auroch Empire attacked, meant that everyone aware of the truth was on edge and ready to blow a gasket.

“It’s still, unbecoming of me, Mabel… so please, forgive me.”

That on the other hand, brought a smile on her muzzle; Harry was equally if not more terrifying as Bill had been on his prime, and regardless of how dangerous and calculative and cold he could be, the changeling was actually the opposite of what the Butcher of Niagara Falls had been.                          

“You’re forgiven, my lord.”

“Hey! None of that young lady.” The feline chuckled, knowing that she was merely jesting at his expense, the tension on the area dispersing and disappearing thanks to her alone, “But thanks, sweetie… I, feel better now, though, Luna is still avoiding me. She isn’t taking this attack well.”

“Sir, I understand, really. This probably brought a lot of bad memories. I’ll fill you in on what I perceived on Judy, and leave you alone so you could grieve in piece with your mate.”

A nod was the only response that she got, as the mammal glanced at her curious as to what might be in her report regarding the bunny.

“She’s a bigot, sir, though not by choice or desire. It’s merely subconscious, and she’s doing her best to get over it. But her aura and some of her mannerism are still bathed with mistrust, fear and apprehension. It’s probably a byproduct of her environment, but most importantly it’s centered on what she suffered a long time ago at the hands of Gideon Gray. Despite Nicky and Luna’s help, it still caused psychological damage that’s deeply seeded within her. Apparently, she internalized her fear, and simply ignores it through hardheadedness. It will take her a while to get over it, but I’m more than sure that I can treat her, if she lets me in.”

Looking at the eyes at the nodding feline, the ursine smiled knowing that it was approved.

“She’s intelligent, smart and has her heart in the right place. She was truly horrified and astonished about the fact that there are laws that obviously favors prey over preds. This is mostly, because she had recently suffered through legal bias, so she now understands how horrid and unfair the system could be. She believes strongly in equality and the law, if she manages to break that little emotional scab and realize and fix her faults, she would be an incredible femme. If she becomes a police officer, I’m more than sure that she would be a force of change for the better. Though, she’s also aware that if she couldn’t be one, there are still ways for her to uphold the law and is planning to become a lawyer if needed.”

Harry nodded, actually impressed, pondering if he should attempt to support Lionheart on his political campaign as he was the one vying to change said laws, but then, the support of the Savages could actually backfire on him as it would unite the other parties compromised of bigots and separatist supporters against the lion due to how much his family was hated thanks to the open politics on S.A regarding species rights.

“Why do I feel a ‘but’ coming there, honey?”  

“She’s also… somewhat obsessive, sir.” The ursine added, frowning lightly, “She’s obsessed with success, with her goals and her world views, enough to occlude her to her own faults. It would probably take a shock to shake her from it. She’s a workaholic consummated, likes to be in control and have as much information on her surroundings as she can. She nearly had a panic attack because I refused to give her as much information as she wanted. Probably thought that I was discriminating her for her species, or underestimating her. The mix of emotions that she felt in just a tiny amount of time was outstanding, so I foolishly thought that she needed to calm down a little and created an emphatic link with her, trying to funnel calmness into her.” Looking at the now enraptured panther, the bear nodded, “It was successful and I connected and channeled calmness and peace. Before I knew it, the bridge between us was severed, violently and unconsciously. She didn’t even realize what she did and was merely alarmed when the vehicle veered a little from the road due to my physical reaction.”

“So… she’s awakening?”

“That’s the… thing, sir. Her aura isn’t as developed or near that point, she shouldn’t even have been able to do that. But, that’s not the only strange thing; she… lacked the common response to the Haitch entrance, sir.”

“How so…?”

“Unlike the normal response, her emotions felt conflicted. There was surprise, even elation and admiration, but they felt muted, outclassed and out massed by her confusion, and stranger still, recognition. She actually seemed to recognize the place. The whole feeling only increased as soon as we entered, she was certainly discomfited by how familiar the place felt.”

Harry pondered what was said, and smiled, surprising the bear.

“She’s experiencing Déjà vu.” The feline explained, earning the attention of the ursine, “What we didn’t tell you about, is that Nicky was in that town entirely because he found who was attached to the other side of his red-thread.”

Opening her eyes wide, a smile now blossoming on her muzzle, the bear looked at her leader, hoping beyond belief, waiting, expecting to find any information about her downed friend.

“He’s probably protecting her through the thread. Perhaps even supplying her with memories and knowledge, without even being aware of it.”

“B-But… why? She hasn’t even awakened her powers, why would Nicky…?”

“To help him survive, we turned him into a Kyūbi, dear. You do remember part of the legend attached to nine tailed foxes is that if you gain the loyalty of one, it could be what you want or need, a friend, a parent or a lover. It seems that, apparently, he isn’t as idle as we thought him to be.”

Rising on to her paws, the bear excitedly asked, “Do you think he’s finally close to waking up?”

“We’ll check his resting place and the monitoring runes. It’s a possibility, or simply it’s perhaps just soul magics and Fate doing their thing. We don’t know. But rest assured honey,” rising on to his paws as well, both of them feeling marginally better, thanks to what they had found, the pair moved toward Luna’s room, both hoping to uplift the downed doe spirits with the good news, “that Judith’s presence here, is actually helping us more than we believed possible.”

Looking at the approaching door, the feline mused about how fortuitous gaining the doe was, before he thought to himself, “Perhaps, too fortuitous. Fate rarely gives you a hand without reason. This could mean that things could become rather complicated in the future when, not if, the doe awakens.”

Chapter Text

Judy awoke with a startled gasp, breath labored, eyes wide and her left hand firmly grasping her chest right over her heart, lost in the memories of her slipping dream, eyes darting left and right, not recognizing her sleeping arrangements, confusion quickly rising into slight panic until, finally, the memories of her new room on the portentous academy filled in, her eyes closing in as she began to calm down.

The memories of the dream had vanished like smoke on a windy day, and whatever it had been, it had shaken her absolutely to the core.

Sighing, the femme simply looked at the clock over her nightstand, a groan emerging from her throat when she found that it was barely five in the morning. Way too early for her routine, as she knew that her next class would only begin to let in at eight A.M sharp.

It was a small mercy that she had been assigned her own private room this time. She wouldn’t want a repeat of TBU, when she was nearly mauled by an angered deer for being perhaps a little too enthusiast with her morning exercise routines.

Poor Pauline only lasted two months before she officially snapped at her, the whole event nearly ending with a black mark on their permanent record, due to their row. It wasn’t her proudest moment, but the scare had at least made her conscious that she couldn’t simply do as she wanted anymore. She didn’t become close with the femme, but they had at least reached an amicable accord to not overly annoy each other, which had done wonders for them as roommates.   

Life in S.A differed immensely from what she had experienced before. Four months had passed and she still couldn’t get over so many weird things since she began living here. The most glaring of them all, was that she somehow and without any reasonable explanation, knew this place like the palm of her hand.

It was an eerie experience for the first few days, curiosity and wonder replaced by a strong sense of recognition and familiarity. Her only truly logical explanation to such a feeling being that she had, perhaps, studied the place a little too thoroughly on the academy website, which offered a lot of pictures, video-tours and of course, a few maps as well, none of them truly official per-se, many simply being the work of the students on the forum, a friendly guide for the newcomers that she had assumed, she had compulsively studied until she memorized every creek and turn on the institution.

Sadly, even to her it sounded like a merely excuse and a flimsy one at that. So her grasp upon said reason was fickle, even non-existent at worst. Regardless, she endured; the unexplainable familiarity had served her quite well to be always on time to her classes, the feeling even going as far as to provide her quite precise short-cuts that apparently not one of the new comers knew about, yet.

As she had expected, her age was obviously, a slight problem with some of her classmates, mammals underestimated just how keen lapin ears could be at times, so she had quickly found who exactly wasn’t precisely fond of her and for what reasons specifically.

There were thirty seven mammals in her class, and fifteen of them found her presence offensive due to her age, as well as jealousy, twenty two found her eagerness to complete her assignments as swift as possible as a sign of her being the dreaded teacher’s pet, a pejorative that had her seething with impotent rage as she had gained that title, perhaps a little too fast for her liking.

The fact that there was also an insidious side to that horrid name that inferred about being sexually subservient to the whims and wicked desires of said teachers, didn’t help her mood either. As some of them had apparently decided that she, being a bunny, certainly spend more time on her back than in the library to earn her qualifications. 

It wasn’t surprising for her to find that her age and class schedule intimidated a lot of her classmates, but she had hoped, perhaps even dreamed, that being here among fellow professionals trying to expand their education and careers, would at least earn her some respect, perhaps recognition.

It was unfair, mostly because she had worked her fluffy tail off to earn her bachelor degree. That at the least deserved a modicum of respect, perhaps admiration, maybe even, hopefully friendship.

But all she found was jealousy, indifference and outright pettiness as it had been back at TBU, the only difference being that unlike her last Alma-mater, this time it wasn’t jealousy that came from fellow lapines, but a myriad of different species that somehow despite surpassing her in size, (she was among the smallest beings in the room, only missing being the smallest thanks to the presence of a rather shy musk rat), they still felt intimidated by her work ethics.

Looking back at the clock only showed that her introspection had barely wasted fifteen minutes at best, a moan emerging from her mouth. She was clearly feeling frustrated at the fact that she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep once more. A tingly feeling indicating that she had perhaps a few minutes before her bladder decided to make the need to pee far more intense than it had to be, which only sealed her fate as she got out of her bed. She mumbled madly and scratching her left buttock in the process, trying to appease the itch that her panties rather tight elastic band had earned her during the night.

“I just had to put the new ones, didn’t I? Darn things are a size too small.” It had to be, she didn’t wanted to believe that she was getting plump on the hips department, though, considering her mother… “I think I’ll have to increase my jog distance, perhaps finally reach the 3Km mark.”

Morning ablutions done, the doe walked outside her room, stretching her arms lightly as she went toward the exercise area. The halls suddenly illuminating as she passed by, the movement sensors ensuring that her path was clear for her to walk by, a loveable addition that guaranteed that those mammals with poor nocturnal sight were able to roam the premises safely at night. It had taken some getting used to, especially the fact that the lights moved with you, keeping the area you were in illuminated while the back and front parts were obviously obscured by the lack of movement, which made you feel as if you were walking deep into a cave.

The whole experience made her feel at first, exposed, as if she was being observed and judged. The fact that the whole thing almost gave a feeling of being on the set of a horror movie didn’t help matters. Thankfully the paranoia eased as you got accustomed to them.

“Oh, why doesn’t it surprise me that he’s already here?” smiling at the fact that she wasn’t the only early riser. The doe simply kept going, now aware of the set of eyes that watched her every step, a smile firmly etched on his muzzle. “Hey ya, stranger. Nice morning for a jog, isn’t it?”

“It is, now that you’re here.”

“Careful there, Slick, as that line right there can be perceived as a come on.” the doe fired back. She smiled at the over exaggerated stricken face that the buck adopted, hands over his chest as he dramatically stuttered as if he had been shot, earning a giggle, “You’re such a dork, Pib.”

“Anything for you, Carrots. Anything for you.” The buck said, composing himself as he smiled at her, his green eyes inspecting her clothes attentively without being sleazy, “A tad revealing, don’t you think?”

Rolling her eyes, Judy simply scoffed at how protective he could be. “They’re just running pants and a tank top, Pib. It’s basically what everyone else is wearing!” pointing around her. She gestured at the way a lot of mammals shared her tastes in clothes. Though she noticed that not many of them wore them as thigh fitting as she did. 

“True, though none of them are as young as you are, Fluff butt.”

“Hey, watch it! Your tail is way fluffier than mine!”

“Been checking out my tail, have you? What would the others say?”

“Pott calling the kettle black? Are we going to pretend the time I caught you ogling me, didn’t happen? I’m still a minor, you know.” The femme answered, not afraid to sass back at him, her smile growing with each passing second as the buck lowered his ears and raised his hands in mock defeat. “You’re my best friend, buddy… you shouldn’t be having such thoughts about poor, innocent me.”

“I’ll be anything you want me to be, Carrots.”

“Sure, sure. Right now, I need you to be at my side. I had an awful dream that ruined my sleep and I want to feel better by beating you senseless on the running field.”

“Again?”

“Sure, why not? A, not so small, dose of dust in your diet, would serve you well, Pib.”

Chuckling, the russet buck walked toward the starting line. He shook his head, his green eyes mirthfully telling her that he was up to her challenge. It made her heart race with a lot of emotions that she wasn’t exactly sure how to define. She simply settled on her competitiveness, while ignoring everything else.

Pib was a rabbit that she got to know a few weeks ago on the running field, initially she had thought him to be another creep that lusted after her. But surprisingly, the buck had simply been watching her all alone with one simple actual non-sexual purpose, and that was capturing her figure in his sketch book. The precise lines and contours managing to grab her emotions, making the image look alive, despite being a mere sketch.   

From that point on, they had formed a tentative, then full, friendship once they got to know each other.

Putting her paw over the line, the doe looked at the buck, a confident smile plastered on her muzzle.

“Ready to eat my dust, Pib?”

“Am I ready to consume your dust? Yes, yes I am. Truly, a worthy sacrifice as long as I can watch that cute tails of yours…”

Ears blushing slightly, Judy simply scoffed lightly at him. She really didn’t know if he was serious or not with his advances. Sometimes it felt as if he only wanted to simply make her blush or react. Other times, it felt as if he desired her with an intensity that if she was honest with herself, intimidated her, even if a part of her, deep down, was quite thrilled that he didn’t back out as easily as so many bucks and does had done with her.

“Well, make sure to keep those eyes on my tail, because that’s the only thing you’ll see once we begin. Ready, set… GO!” Shooting forward as fast as she could, Judy couldn’t avoid the amount of exhilaration that she felt while she ran against her friend. Their breaths synchronizing as well as their hearts and paws, their grunts and huffs of effort making her skin tingle. All around them, the world simply ceased to exists, leaving them alone and happy.

Soon she noticed that she was quickly gaining distance, her laughter resonating around, she was winning once more. “C’mon Pib, don’t make it easy! We need to reach the goal!” 

“It’s a promise, Judy. Someday we’ll reach the goal, but not today.”

She frowned once she heard that, ahead of them was a golden goal. Her competitiveness told her that she needed to reach it, desperately, that she couldn’t remain here any longer. “Run, Pib… we’re almost there! Come with me!”

“Someday, Carrots, but not today… now run! Promise me that you’ll keep going ahead. Do not look back Judy, no matter what you hear, just keep running!”

Surprised, she nearly looked in his direction, but found that she couldn’t, her instincts suddenly aware of something horrid behind them. The sound of screams and other unpleasant noises filling her ears, making her heart suddenly beat faster while the world around her was slowly consumed in darkness. Her hackles rising in alarm, something dangerous was behind them, the sound of bones breaking and sinew being torn apart putting her alarms in overdrive.

“Pib…”

“Just keep running, Judy! I’ll keep them away from you.”

She kept running, cowardly getting away of the beast that was stalking them. Her eyes watering, at the fact, that she was leaving him with that thing, once again. That they wouldn’t cross the goal together, no matter how much they tried to.

Then, a roar followed by his cry of pain. Somehow he always managed to contain it, to give her enough time to flee, at his expense. Her heart shattering as she fully realized that no matter what she did, it always ended like this.

“As long as I live, I’ll protect you!”

“PIB!” Screamed Judy, rising abruptly from her bed, eyes wide and heart thundering. She looked around, recognizing her room at the academy. Her eyes dropping heavy tears of pain and regret that she couldn’t understand before she fully sobbed. Then, she cried at that horrid dream that had been plaguing her for months.

It took her nearly half an hour to recompose her frayed emotions. This time, the dream was dreadfully close to reality, it had almost felt as if she was living the darn thing. The amount of detail surpassing anything that she might have visualized before.

Her breath coming out raggedy didn’t make things easier, the guilt that she felt at leaving her dream friend to die at the claws of an unknown monster always shook her to the core. But this time had been particularly harsh, they had been close so darn close to the golden goal…

“I just want to reach that thing and have a happy ending, for once! Just once, that’s all I’m asking for.” Getting out of bed, she looked at the clock, almost dreading a repeat of what she initially saw on her dream, only finding relief when she saw the six instead. So she went to the bathroom, almost immediately looking at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes were bloodshot and her facial fur had clear tear lines that she needed to wash out.

An hour and a half later, she was sitting on her table eating her breakfast while an attentive ewe heard what happened in her dreams, again.

“You know Judy, perhaps you’re working too hard.” Sharla admitted before she munched on her salad, pondering her words carefully before she continued: “Not that I’m saying that you should spend less time reading late, but…”

With a tired nod, Judy conceded that perhaps her routine of cramming as much information as she could every night before falling asleep, might not be doing her any favors.

“Perhaps you’re right, Sharla.”

Looking at her pickle and radish salad, the rabbit pondered about the differences between reality and her dream world. In the real world, while she wasn’t as unpopular as her dream self, she wasn’t exactly popular either; in fact she could say that she was firmly planted on the middle, there were some mammals quite angry with her as she wasn’t precisely making them any easier to reach valedictorian. But she wouldn’t simply give up and let others walk all over her just to appease their injured egos. If they wanted the title, they had to beat her fair and square. If not, it wasn’t really her problem anymore.  

There was also the fact that her dream version hasn’t encountered Sharla, either. Which had probably made a huge difference on how her life turned out, as through her old friend, she had also earned the tentative friendship of Pam and Sam, a wolverine and an otter who she had to admit weren’t so bad once you got to know them.

And through them, she had also got to know a good amount of mammals from their class, among them a couple of males as well, Peter Cotton, a handsome russet bunny buck with chocolate eyes, and Samuel Hornstone, a dik-dik which had been unfortunate enough to lose an entire semester due to a horrid traffic accident that had taken his left horn, forcing the guy to constantly wear a baseball cap to hide the scars.

In the real world, she wasn’t as alone as her dream self. Though, it was clear that perhaps she might harbor a crush or not on Peter, as Pib had a remarkable similitude to the slightly older buck.

Or at least, that’s what Sharla routinely said once they were alone.

“So… what are you doing this weekend?” The ewe asked suddenly, her eyes looking at her attentively, her ears trembling with barely contained emotion, which Judy recognized as a clear sign that the femme had something planned involving her.

“So far… nothing... the finals end tomorrow and I’m more than sure that I’ve studied enough…”

“You’ve… compulsive.”

“I know, I know, I can’t avoid it. But going back to the weekend, what did you have in mind?”

Chewing her lower lip, the ewe pondered a little about what she was about to say, before she sighed and decided that the truth might be perhaps the best choice in this case.

“Peter’s band is going to play at Savage Park, and I thought that you might want to come with us.”

Pondering what she heard, Judy resisted the temptation to sigh at her friend’s not so hidden attempt at matchmaking. Peter was a nice buck, really respectful and considerate but…

“Oh, C’mon Jude, I can already see it in your eyes, you’re trying to formulate a denial, give the male a chance!” Sharla interrupted, looking around carefully after her outburst, sagging in relief when she noticed that no one had overheard her. “You’re actually dreaming about him… almost obsessively. What other proof do you need that you’re attracted to the idea of dating him?”

Rolling her eyes, Judy simply answered.

“Pib has green eyes, Sharla…”

“Details, details. Really minor details, Jude. There aren’t any other bucks out here with that particular color fur. He’s the only russet rabbit in the entire academy. Darn, they’re not even common at the burrows, and please, Pib, Pete, and the most important detail, I’ve noticed you checking out his tail.”

Nodding at that, Judy couldn’t deny it anymore, it certainly felt that her ruminant friend might be grasping at straws due to her fervor as a matchmaker, but she had to acknowledge that despite how horrid her dreams tended to be, her relationship with Pib was something that she thoroughly envied of her dream self, she truly wanted a friendship like that, it felt nice to have someone that could verbally spar with her and wasn’t afraid nor intimidated by her need to excel, her domineering persona hasn’t exactly endeared her to the bucks, and while she might have dabbled once or twice on a doe when the opportunity presented itself, it wasn’t what she wanted as a mate either.

Even so, her excuses to not to date the buck felt shallow, even now. Pib was merely a figment of her imagination, an idealization of a relationship that might be a tad unfair. Perhaps it was time for her to simply admit that she had been crushing on the russet buck for a while, even if, deep down, part of her was strangely quite sure that Pib wasn’t based at all on the guitarist as strange as that appeared to be, considering that Peter has been the only russet lapin that she had encountered in her whole life. 

“I’ll go… let’s see what happens, Sharla… but I make no promises.” lowering her ears to evade the full impact of her friend’s squeal. The bunny smiled at the ewe’s enthusiasm. Her dream woes now completely gone from her mind, the two femmes talking animatedly about their upcoming plans for the future.

They walked through the forest carefully, both of them attempting to cover each other as much as they could.

“Seen anything yet, Rick?”

The ram glanced at the direction of his partner, noticing her attention on him, especially the book that he had firmly grasped on his left hand.

“Some light trails, Madge… the aura is fading fast, but not fast enough, thankfully.”

Nodding once she heard that, the badger smiled at him before she began to walk ahead, senses alert and claws at the ready.

“Thank goodness for small mercies. It’s been a long day.”

Sighing, the ram couldn’t help but agree on that account. The attack or at least, the attempt to cause such an incident on the academy hadn’t been particularly easy to settle. Almost all clues had led to dead ends, sometimes literally, as someone had quickly disposed of the mammals involved, without even leaving a measly follicle at the crime scene.

Others like this one, led deep into uncivilized areas where nature remained almost untouched by mammal kind, only few daring to live on these inhospitable places. Individuals that despised modern civilization and the joining of species weren’t that uncommon. There existed several settlements that only allowed preys or in the most extreme of cases, forced sole species settlements.

In this case, it wasn’t any of those choices, but one even far more extreme in fact. The mammal of interest had apparently left civilization long ago to become a hermit.

Severus Capricorn used to be one of those mammals that seemed destined to do great things. His rise on the stock market was almost legendary as everything his hoof touched seemed to become valuable almost instantly. There had been deep talks about him soon being rich enough to found his own enterprise. But then, suddenly, he disappeared, without explanation, without hearing any plea. The moose simply grew tired of his routine and before anyone could convince him otherwise, he was gone.

His fiancée, who had grown bitter at the memory of the male that abandoned her, had little to say about him that they didn’t already know with but one measly, but not so insignificant detail.

The male was obsessed with Coyote culture. He had been an avid enthusiast, some of his more prized possessions apparently consisting of pieces and fragments of the now extinct tribes. She never understood just what attracted him to them, but it had been a point of contention between them that had perhaps, marked the beginning of the end in their relationship. Apparently, she had told him to choose between his obsession and her… it didn’t end as she expected.

That lead had been what they had been searching months for, good enough that with some detective work, they had tracked down the pieces that Severus had owned before he disappeared.  Finding to their surprise that, indeed, that particular tribe had been involved, which ended up with them where they were today, following the final trail that would put an end to the mammal that had been attempting to bring down the Savage institution.

“Do you think that all this is as simple as a mad-mammal desire for revenge?” Rick inquired, a frown firmly etched on his face, eyes glancing at his glowing grimoire, seeing the updated information and slightly changing course toward a lake that they could definitely smell in the distance. “I mean, this almost sounds…”

“Farfetched? Oh, I don’t doubt that for a second, my friend.” The badger added, seriously contemplating their surroundings, “It’s… too easy… too convenient. Don’t you think?”

The ram only nodded, they hadn’t lived this long in this world by taking things in stride and without questions.

“It refutes our ideas that someone at Zootopia is pulling the strings. By leading us on a wild goose chase for a mammal that coincidentally, had an obsession with Coyote culture, and most important of all, his most prominent interest was centered on the tribe that Luna eradicated. It’s as if someone is trying to lead us away from them by giving us a threat to fight against.”

Narrowing his eyes, the ram immediately noticed in the distance the indistinguishable shape of a bounded field, his senses momentarily screaming at him of danger, trying to prompt a flee response only to be squished abruptly, thanks to years of discipline.

“Felt that, Madge?”

“The fear enchantment? Sure did, Dipper.” Tattoos collecting energy, the femme glared at the barrier that slowly materialized in front of them, signaling that they had finally reached another’s magical abode. “Feels… amateurish, almost unstable, Hm…”

Rick nodded at what he heard. A good bound field wasn’t visible under normal circumstances. You needed to employ manna and imbue it upon your eyes to actually glance at the surface, no magician with a modicum of self-respect would erect such a flimsy barrier which apparently, it’s only use had been a rather bland fear enchantment, to keep curious creatures and mammals at bay.

Against non-awakened mammals, such defenses would stand proud, but against a well prepared mind, this was insulting.

“So, he’s probably a total amateur that think he’s all powerful because he mastered a few, basic charms and protection spells.” Madge said, as she took her jacket off, leaving her with only a red flannel shirt that made the ram look away from her. His memories a little jarred by the similarities between the badger and his first crush a long time ago.

“Or, knowing our luck, he’s goading us into acting rashly, by pretending to be a complete novice in the arts.” Rick concluded, hearing the huff of approval from his partner, “So, you call them while I prepare the summoning circle?”

“Sure.” From her pants, she took out her cellphone, enhanced magically so it could work here despite the lack of signal. It was one of his most valuable creations in the past years.

“Hello boss?,,, No, no, we’re fine. No; actually we found him, or at least his abode. Yeah… Dipper-ino is throwing the beads right now. The summoning pentagram should be ready to work in five minutes.” Seeing in the direction of the ram for confirmation, and seeing the nod from the male, Madge continued: “Yep, five minutes max, and you guys would be able to get here. Yeah, feels like a trap. Nah, I think we got it, I mean… I had my shiny new crystal and so does Rick-o, if anything that should be more than enough to deal with this bastard. Yeah, we’ll leave him alive for you, Luna. I would never dream to take your prey away from you.”

Rick raised an eyebrow once he noticed the Badger cutting the call off, and sighing.

“She wants us to wait?”

“She did, but the fact that we’ve our crystals on us gives us a really unfair advantage that this bastard shouldn’t be able to equalize.” Madge assured, looking at the worried ram for a few seconds before she added: “And even if he manages, he can’t get rid of us in five minutes, you’ve also got your artifacts and stored spells on that crafty book of yours. We’re more than ready.”

Sighing, and shedding his fears, Rick nodded before the two mammals stepped forward and crossed over the threshold of the field, soon finding that indeed, it had been a trap as they expected, though not the kind they thought it to be.

“I count… seven, no… nine bloated bodies…” Offered the badger, face scrunched in disgust due to the quite potent odors that permeated the place, her hand soon accumulating some magic on her fingers, a filter enchantment quickly applied to her nose to prevent a plethora of problems from inhaling stale air. Looking in the direction of the ram, she saw him concluding his own enchantment. The male actually sighing in relief once he was able to breath without the pungent aroma penetrating his sinus.

“Do they look like they’ve been underwater to you?”

Rick narrowed his eyes at that; indeed the bodies seemed to be showing all the signs that being submerged usually caused upon the flesh. The ram looked at the direction of the lake at fifteen meters from the bodies. There wasn’t any way or sign that these ended up here just on their own. Unless…

Quickly raising his book, the ram concentrated his manna into its pages, chains of light emerging front it and impaling the corpses, black ichor and miasma emerging from them as the book drained the curses and enchantments deeply imbued within them, eyes narrowing as the bodies began to wither to such a point that they began to turn into dust, corroborating his fears.

“Those were enchanted corpses, if we got any closer to them; they would’ve jumped at us to cause as much damage as possible.” 

The badger frowned once she heard that, her tattoos now brighter than ever as she prepared to fight the real enemy that hid in the lake, also recognizing the scenario.

“So… you noticed it as well. Beat me even on disposing of the grunts…” Huffing, the predator crouched, preparing to spring forward in case it was needed, her muscles ready to impart as much pain as possible due to the accumulated energy. “Did you notice that one of those was a moose?”

“Yeah, our convenient target has been dead all this time. This was a trap to take us away from the academy as we suspected.” Looking momentarily at his back, the ram was worried that perhaps they had played their part too well. “How many would come?”

“Just Luna… but that’s a problem. She’s the one in charge of the wards; as Harry’s busy at another reunion with City Council and the mayor. Swinton has been a particularly nasty sow since their last one; she’s losing points and voters to the newcomer, Lionheart and his ‘progressive’ campaigns…”

“That’s not good. It would only leave two of us on the premises, as Irene while she had grown powerful these past years, isn’t the combatant type.”

“She’s our white mage… she’s far too valuable to risk her out in the field.” Narrowing her eyes, especially when the femme saw the center of the lake bubble, as if something was awakening from a deep slumber, Madge added: “It’s quite possible that she’s the goal… losing our healer would bring moral down… it would destroy the Savages.”

Looking at his book, the ram searched for an item that he knew, wouldn’t be precisely too effective against this particular type of demon, regardless, he muttered the counter-curse that soon liberated a small shiny red marble from within the seals.

“Incoming!”

Looking up, Rick saw the bubbles approaching the shoreline, which only served him well as he threw the marble in the beast’s direction while he ran toward the also approaching femme as she knew what exactly he had just thrown.

Raising his book and funneling as much manna as he could, a barrier arose between them and the now exploding marble, which for measly two seconds created a ball of plasma the size of a softball before it fully collapsed, the intense heat searing the land and evaporating huge amounts of water nearly instantly. A pained, gurgled screech barely heard under the sound of debris and sizzling water.

The ram breathed harsh and loud, that little trinket took nearly six months to produce and as he suspected, despite its insignificant size it had ensured a huge amount of damage, first thanks to its searing heat then the explosion due to the collapse of its containment matrix being unable to hold the energy anymore.

Falling onto one of his knees, the ram breathed hard, his shield needed to be impervious enough to negate the heat and strong to remain working despite the force of the explosion, so it had nearly exhausted his energies, which he would need a couple of minutes to recover.

“Damn Dipper, I’ll tell Mabel to give you head for that… did you kill the Kelpie?”

Shaking his head, the ram tried to stand, only to feel a hand on his shoulder preventing him from trying rise.

“Don’t move; that shield took a lot from you. Recover for a minute then join in the fun, would you?” Madge warned while her tattoo’s moved within her fur, all of them coalescing into her writs, creating a golden wristband. “You’re not the only one with new tricks…”

A screech followed closely by an explosion of water interrupted their banter, the body of a scaled green horse standing on the lake’s surfaces, his remaining eye incandescent with unrestrained ire at what they just did as the plasma marble apparently took half of his face, blood seeping from its rather ghastly injury.

“Mortals… you’re going to pay for that!” it bellowed, soon moving against them, the water level rising abruptly into their direction, the demonic entity riding the waves deftly, death on its gaze.

Madge simply smiled at its stupidity, one of her hands rising against her muzzle so she could blow a kiss in its direction, a minuscule speck of light suddenly fired from her wristbands, imbedding itself on the equine’s chest that was about to cover them entirely with the remains of the lake, trying to drown them, not caring for the nearly deranged smile that soon adorned the burly femme’s muzzle as she cocked back her left arm, eyes shining brightly for a couple of seconds before she punched the air, the wristband creating a pentagram that soon shattered and left her arm bereft of energy, as all her accumulated power was soon transmitted against the marked demon in a single second with a potent shout of:

“ORA!”

The abrupt but potent impact caved the chest of the Kelpie, pushing it back and away from the moving waters, blood pouring from its mouth and other holes in a gory display as it’s body skipped over the floor of the now dried lake a couple of times before it stopped completely. 

Madge, undeterred by this, put her right palm in front of her and with another, “ORA!” shot another concussive impact against the incoming water, creating a path that would ensure them not only some safety from the passing water as it created a breach on its surface, but also it was strong enough to land a second time on the slowly recovering demon, launching his body violently against the nearby rocks.

Rick simply gaped at the display of power, looking at the badger with not only surprise but also some admiration as well, only for his eyes to open wide as he noticed that from the deeps of the passing wave, a shadow was moving swiftly at her back, the cocky martial artist unaware of the danger as she smiled at him, her image soon replaced to that of an old friend, an elk that had earned his love so long ago.

“WENDY WATCHOUT!”

Surprised, the femme tried to twist back, taking his alarm as a sign that something was wrong, her magic creating a barrier to protect her from whatever was about to attack her, only to find a water blade piercing the barrier with ease, bisecting her arm in the process and lodging itself in her chest, her accumulated magic fully preventing her from being cut in half. But with the side effect of launching her away from the horrified ram, her body rebounding a couple of times on the wet floor before she remained still, a pool of blood quickly growing under her.

From the wall of water, which had stood unnaturally still in front of him, emerged the rather injured Kelpie, body trembling and injuries quickly healing due to the diminishing water, it snarled in the downed femme’s direction, annoyed that he hasn’t been able to bisect her. That small moment of distraction was the last thing it could do before he saw something from his periphery. Eyes widening slightly, only to scream in agony as his body was suddenly bathed in electricity.

“ZAKERUGA!”  Screamed Rick in Anihonese, eyes incandescent with ire, his hand firmly put on the pages of his grimoire, which was shining with barely restrained power.

The injured beast, trembled impotently on the spot, trapped on a web of pain as the potent electrical attack coursed through his veins, eye looking wildly at the approaching golden ram.

“That… fleece, it can’t be!”

 “ZAKERUGA!” The ram intoned, launching another attack on the downed beast, not leaving it any space to recover, “ZAKERUGA, ZAKERUGA!”

On its knees, the demon could do nothing more than bellow to the air in agony as his body was attacked and overwhelmed from one attack after another, mercilessly fried faster than he could recover. For nearly two minutes this continued until finally, the ram simply stopped, eyes glaring at the dying demon, before he continued toward his downed friend, book still shining brightly.

“Jiou Renzu Zakeruga!” Muttered the ram, closing his book as he then gave his back to the demon and ran toward the now slowly raising badger, ignoring the fuming and recovering demon as he glared at him. Furious at being ignored like that, his body recovering quickly as it absorbed the surrounding water, ire occluding its senses once more until a shadow over him captured its attention, forcing it to raise its mangled head to the sky. It’s eye opening wide in fear at the immense dragon descended toward him, golden scales shining brightly as they reflected the light, it’s chest inflating and maws opening wide open as if to engulf him whole. A bright quickly growing speck of energy swiftly revealing its intentions, a scream barely leaving the demon’s throat before the attack, launched without any kind of reprise or chance, finally collided against him. Dragonfire engulfed his body, being fried and carbonized fully beyond repair, slaughtering it on the spot. The point of impact now completely destroyed, water and rock vaporized until only a huge and nearly endless hole remained.

Madge looked at the Ascended ram, a small smile on her muzzle.

“Look at you, Dipper…”

“Shh, we need to go. You need help, Wendy.”

“Uh?”

Taking her in his arms, the ram walked toward the summoning spot, eyes nearly catatonic, his body moving on automatic after consuming so much of his magic like that. Madge simply decided not to comment on it, too tired to correct him.

Thankfully, before the ram entered the summoning circle, it activated on its own, materializing a rather irate Luna, whose eyes soon opened wide at what she encountered.

“Well… scat!”

The doe exclaimed as she went immediately to attend the downed badger, soon noticing that Rick eyes were golden, and nearly catatonic. “Oh… now I can properly say shit!” As she felt the summoning beads explode behind her, leaving them stranded here for at least five valuable minutes, alone and with what appeared to be a possessed friend.

“Hello Savage, a long time without seeing ya, isn’t it?”

“Cypher…”

Chapter Text

Looking around, Sharla couldn’t do anything but marvel at the simplicity of the place, Savage Park seemed rather, boring compared to the interesting sights available at the academy.

It sure was a place that lived up to its name, as more than a park, it felt like a small forest that had been minimally maintained with just a few roads and a few wooden benches to sit here and there. The place felt raw, natural, out of mammalian control, it made her feel as if she was traveling to a bygone era where things were far simpler and yet, even deadlier than they’re nowadays.

“Jeez, is it me, or is this place more of a small forest than an actual Park?” Sam softly said, looking around nervously, her small arms embracing her torso in a vain attempt to reassure herself.  

The wolverine walking beside her simply shrugged at that, munching a few potato fries without much care for decorum. “I don’t know… I kind of like it, it’s relaxing…”

Judy on the other hand, like Sharla, didn’t precisely love it, though unlike the others, she seemed at least willing to give the strange place a chance. Her gaze was roaming the trees and floral bushes joyfully, a small smile on her muzzle.

“Yeah… it’s rather beautiful.” The lapine added, before she looked at the road ahead with a small frown: “But it doesn’t look like a place for a concert, isn’t it?”

Sharla nodded at that, it certainly didn’t seemed the most appropriate of places for a concert, but yet, the more they walked toward the middle of the Park, the more that nature began to feel less dominant in the ambiance, music, laughter and a plethora of other sounds assaulting their ears, slowly encouraging them to walk further into its depths, each one growing more surprised than the other at the huge pagoda in the middle of the forest.

“Well… color me surprised, then…” Pam spoke, breaking the silence that the sudden apparition of the building had caused. “That thing is huge…”

Sam, now more relieved to see something akin to civilization, moved her hand up toward her glasses, adjusting them closer to her eyes as she inspected the structure.

“It’s designed for elephants, Fifteen to twenty by my estimations, so it should be quite durable.” Tilting her head to the side, the otter considered the odd building for a few seconds before she sighed, “It’s certainly a design from the eastern cultures, but I can’t pinpoint which one exactly, as it has some traces of Anihonese, Veniatmese and Purrean.”

Noticing the attention of the rabbit, the otter simply shrugged with a small smile, explaining:

“I’m in love with architecture and, if things go well, I’ll get a Bachelor’s degree in two years.” Moving her hands toward the building, Samantha Shellington poured as much emotion as she could in her mannerism and voice: “And that kind of structure is actually quite good, and despite being entirely made of wood, they can even be sturdier than modern buildings in certain kind of catastrophes, like quakes…”

Smiling, Pam simply shook her head before she began to walk to the huge two store building, noticing that indeed the place was entirely constructed with wood.              

“I’m actually curious as well.” The wolverine added, looking back to see that her friends were now catching up to her, “So far, the structure and style from the academy is heavily influenced by western culture,  a strange mix of middle ages and modern times…”

The otter nodded at that, but then simply shrugged, and added.

“Well, the Savages are well known for breaking stereotypes willy-nilly, they’re really hard to put into an specific group, so this is perhaps another way for them to show defiance to the public expectations?” 

Seeing the wolverine shrug at that, ended the conversation as none of them had an iota of an idea of what could’ve motivated the rather eccentric family to break the architectural mold in their lands with the eastern edifice.

Sharla on the other hand, simply kept her muzzle shut, eyes glancing at the building, nervously looking at the slightly glowering squiggles that were all over the surface of the construction, shaking her head for a few seconds, then sighing in outright relief when the strange sight disappeared.

I’m too stressed, I’m seeing things now.

The four teens walked toward the entrance, noticing that the place was guarded by a pair of deer, two does to be precise, the pair smiling slightly at those that seek to enter the premises, one of them writing the names in a book, while the other offered a shiny pendant with a cute, luminescent rock.

Thankfully, the line to enter the place didn’t take that long, and before they knew it, they were in front of the duo.

“Why are you writing down our names?” Judy inquired, watching curiously at the fallow deer, as she was writing her name on the book, her fingers playing with the small shiny rock.

“Oh, it’s a mere formality. It makes things far easier on the administrative department.”  The doe answered crisply, her eyes barely glancing from the pages she was scribbling at. The bunny simply shrugged at that, taking it more as a security issue, which made tracking those present far easier for those involved.

Sharla on the other hand, looked at the small rock on her palm, a small frown on her face, the thing giving her the creep’s for a reason that she couldn’t fully explain.

Still, she put it on, and kept moving, dismissing her intuition entirely, thinking that perhaps, she was merely far too nervous and seeing things where they shouldn’t be. Once on the inside, the girls marveled at the place, and how it had been carefully organized for a concert for mammals of each size.

“Well, this is certainly well organized, that I have to acknowledge.” Sam said, clearly impressed by the effort put into this whole thing, “I have to admit that I was nervous about how they would segregate us to prevent being trampled by accident.”

The girls nodded at that, concerts were certainly dangerous places to congregate a myriad of creatures of different scopes and shapes, as small mammals always were at risk if put beside jumping or dancing critters, so segregating per size was a necessity that couldn’t be simply ignored if you didn’t wanted your event to abruptly end as scene from a really bloody horror movie.

“I guess we have to go over there, in that stage. That seems like a place for those on the small scale.” Judy added, pointing at a platform were a few small critters were already congregating, some of them dancing to the rhythm of the background music, a strange but quite catchy electro swing that, the lapine had to admit, wasn’t that bad.

“Let’s get a table and order some drinks… I’m parched.” Pam complained, moving toward one of the many empty places that could fit the entire group.

“It doesn’t surprise me; I mean… you had those salty things just a few minutes ago.” Sam snapped, smiling slightly at the affronted expression on her best friend face, “you’re aware that refreshments are most probably of the non-alcoholic kind?”

Sharla laughed out loud at the horror stricken expression on Pamela’s face, actually feeling better now that the group was at least well situated for the incoming event, the place that they had taken actually putting them on a quite good point to observe the musicians without being overwhelmed by the sound.

“Oh, C’mon! I need a beer in me… that’s lame; they wouldn’t make a concert without alcohol, would they?” Signaling one of the cleanly dressed attendants, the group watched the goat get close to them, a small menu on his hands and a smile on his muzzle.

“What can I get for you, ladies?”

“Do you have booze?”

Shaking his head, the lad put the menu on the hands of a grinning otter, before he clarified.

“Savage Academy doesn’t permit the imbibing of alcoholic beverages within the premises, especially during these kinds of events…” pointing around, the guy explained: “It isn’t safe to have so many different sized mammals consuming alcohol within such a closed space… the possibility of an incident is far, far too high.”

Nodding at that, Sharla pondered a little about it, looking in Judy’s direction, seeing her also nodding, deeply in thought at what they had heard.

“I guess, it’s logical, I mean, things can get rowdy when we dance clear-headed, if we didn’t segregate someone would get flattened. But if you add alcohol to the mix…”

Looking in the direction of the elephants and huge sized mammals, all of them shuddered at the thought of one of them drinking too much and going on a rampage, then looking at themselves, and then in the direction of the platform for the diminutive mammals, well, it was more than obvious that things could turn for the worst too easily at any minute, if alcohol was involved. 

“All right! All right! Rain on my parade, won’t you. Can you give me an order of orange and strawberry juice, please?”     

Getting all their orders, the guy left, leaving the girls gazing at each other for a couple of seconds, before they smiled a little.

“Life at university isn’t like popular culture paints it to be, uh?” Judy said, smirking at the despondent wolverine.

“Was it the same at TBU, Hopps?”

Shaking her head, the lapine looked at Sharla, the both of them actually smiling nostalgically while thinking about the segregation issues on the county.

“Not at all, the Burrows are predominantly small and middle sized mammal’s territory. Diminutives prefer more urbane lodgings as they’re far more willing to accommodate their needs, and there is less of a chance for a tragic accident to happen. The risks on the rural or farming areas are simply far too high for the small fellows… though, there are rumors out there about a few settlements for moles and marmots near Podunk.”

Frowning, Sam glanced at Sharla, who nodded to endorse what Judy had said, which she quickly explained.

“It’s not as if the country shuns them, Sammie. It’s really a dangerous place to be so small; there are a lot of ways to be squished and diced by farming tools and farming machinery. It’s really hard to hear them over the sound of your own vehicle…”

“Stop, stop, please! Don’t say anymore!” Pam implored, looking queasy at the thought of what they had implied, Sam nodded at that, not looking any better at the prospect.

Judy and Sharla looked at each other, the both of them actually surprised by the reactions.

“Sorry girls, we have grown accustomed to such realities. So we tend to forget that you city folks are perhaps, a little too squeamish about such matters.” The sheep glancing from her periphery noticed the nod from Judy about what she just said; which made her at least feel at ease.

“Dang, girls… you’re really hardcore over there, aren’t you?” Pam added, before she put her hand onto her muzzle and caressed it, a sign of her discomfort, “I always had this image of farms being this cozy, cute place when things are always PG, you know?”

The country gals actually laughed once they heard that, surprising their friends. Judy was the first one to recover.

“Oh, believe me, a real farm is far, far away from what popular culture paints it to be. It’s a rather dirty place where hard work is constant. You’re always covered in dirt and at times really disgusting things and aromas. Farming is a complex vocation. Popular media always puts it as a rather easy, simple job that doesn’t need much brain power or thought to accomplish, just heart and will.”  The lapine explained, smiling at the goat that brought their beverages, hers being a mix of watermelon with a touch of lime.

Sharla nodded at that, looking at their surprised friends.

“Agriculture is far more complex than that, girls. If anything, Judy is overstating it. You’ve got to study and work hard to be a successful farmer, and even then, it’s also a long and rather harsh work environment that leaves little space for mistakes. Mother Nature is a cruel mistress that doesn’t give you second chances. Fools and uneducated risks takers usually don’t prosper or last that long in the industry.”

Sam opened her mouth to ask something, but the music suddenly turning off, and the appearance of a group of boys on the center stage told them that the spectacle was about to begin. The wool covered mammal instantly nudging her friend once a certain russet rabbit appeared on stage, bass guitar on his hands and a carefree smile on his muzzle.

The group presented themselves as The Misfits, a rather apt name considering that each member was of a different species entirely, the percussionist being a rather chubby ram who was chatting amicably with a wallaby, who held what appeared to be the guitar, and last but not least, a platypus was reaching for the microphone, presenting himself as the vocalist.

Five minutes later, they were playing their main song, Haunted, the quality of the group being surprisingly high, her hooves moving slightly through the rhythm of the pop-rock that described the story of a poor capybara that couldn’t let go of the memory of his lost lover, mostly because said lover was haunting him day and night.

Sharla wasn’t necessarily a fan of their tunes, but she could at least admit that they had potential to grow into something formidable in the future. She glanced at Judy through her periphery and it only seemed to cement the idea that the femme was perhaps, attracted to the buck, as she was actually inspecting quite intently the boy for a while, ears raised and paw swinging lightly, giving small taps over the table as she lazily followed the rhythm.

Looking around, she found that Pam wasn’t particularly enthused. In fact she seemed rather bored. Sam wasn’t interested either, the both of them chatting lowly and amicably. Not wanting to ruin the event, as they had certainly noticed Judy’s rather intense scrutiny of the buck.

She nearly joined them, but once more, her gut got that horrid feeling that something was wrong, her eyes immediately zooming on the fake rocks, now seeing a miasma of some kind emerging from their insides, slowly seeping into those wearing them.

Scared, she looked at her own, seeing that indeed the same substance was slowly penetrating her clothes, which forced her to remove the item instantly, her sudden movement capturing the attention of Pam, and Judy who glanced at her then at the discarded item, both girls quickly noticing the barely concealed horror on her eyes as she glared at the artificial stone, both subtlety looking at their own, quickly discarding it as well.

“What happened?” Sam asked, confused, looking at the girls with slight concern, “why did you take off the pendants?”

“I… I don’t know, I think it’s creepy, that’s all.” Sharla said, attempting to find a way to explain her reaction without seeming like a raving lunatic, “It makes me feel itchy…”

Judy frowned at that, her eyes now firmly glaring at the stones, her hand massaging the spot where it used to reside against a few minutes ago, nodding slightly.

“Now that you mention it, I do feel a slight itch.”

Pam frowned at that, simply glancing subtlety at the ewe, before saying.

“I didn’t felt anything, but two out of four having what’s possible an allergic reaction to this thing doesn’t give me any more reasons to put it back on.” Looking around, she could see that some mammals were constantly scratching the spot where the rock touched their skins, which made Sam widen her eyes in surprise, immediately taking her own stone off, as well, discarding it onto the table.

“I don’t feel an itch either but… Yeah. It’s probably causing an allergic reaction due to the chemicals that make the stone luminescent.”

Sharla simply nodded, looking around, her eyes now actually glancing at things that she hasn’t been able to watch before, the miasma in some mammals apparently slowly enveloping them entirely, at least seven mammals from the middle size platform actually ending up leaving the place and the concert, their entire bodies covered by a kind of intangible fume that she couldn’t explain nor voice.

The only thing that she knew was that, she somehow and all of a sudden, could see things that she couldn’t before, the merriment of the event simply evaporating under her barely concealed stress at the fact that deep down, she knew that something wrong was going on around them.

Closing the door to safeguard Irene, Mabel sighed before she walked in the direction of the anomalies, her senses unnerved beyond her limits, as her own unique skills foretold her that something bad was going on.

Picking up her phone, she dialed Dipper, frowning when the call was immediately cut, something that shouldn’t have been possible, so instead she tried to call Finnick, the line ringing two times before it was pick up.

“Hey…”

“Finn…”

“Yeah, we’re under attack, there are a lot of boogers trying to penetrate the academy barrier.”

Frowning, the bear closed her eyes and concentrated, a few seconds later feeling the echoing energies of unrest and despair getting closer to the barriers, tiny prickly pings reverberating in her mind with each attempt to break or penetrate the magical defense, it was annoying and certainly worrisome if left unattended, as the entities could end up finding an innocent bystander.

“It’s a trap, a distraction…” explained Mabel, looking at the east, in the direction of the Savage Park, feeling how something was… changing, mixing untapped energies into something else, a lot of presences suddenly becoming brighter, even mute, as if their own soul resonance had been overwritten by another, nullifying their uniqueness and creating a void were lots of music and songs used to be. “Someone is attacking the students.”

The curses from the fox were expected, she wasn’t exactly happy either, but this wouldn’t be the first time that the unnatural world decided to intrude upon their non-magical lives.

“I’ll exorcise this sorry bunch as fast as I can, Mabel. Please be careful…”

“You too, Finn, whoever is behind this attack, it’s clever enough to force our main warder out of town, I can’t connect with my brother’s line.”

“Can you contact Harry?” Finn asked, which made Mabel ponder about the possibility before sighing, “I will, but the City Council has been pestering us for a while, Finn. Swinton is trying to earn some points by forcing the Savages to cede to their demands. There have also been some accusations from the Police department about illegal activities regarding some of us. I don’t know the details, but it’s bothersome how much time the normies have invested in us.”

Glancing outside through a window, the bear narrowed her eyes. Looking in the distance how a plethora of voids were getting closer to her position, almost as if they were attracted to this area, her eyes, momentarily delving into her own reserves soon turned gold, her connection with her brother somehow strengthened, which only increased her tension.

If he was delving that deep into their shared secret, then it was possible that things weren’t at all safe over there.

Still, her new found enhancement as well as the knowledge that was now roaming her mind was enough to comprehend just what was happening and what exactly, was approaching her.

“Finn! We’ve got possessed students approaching.” Mabel explained, mirth completely gone from her voice, her hackles rose completely around her neck, a slight snarl on her muzzle. “The seal in my soul is broken, Finn.”

“Shit! I’ll be right with you, as soon as I’m free I’ll back you up.” The fennec added, his voice growing fainter and pained, the sound of bones and sinew changing and evolving, revealing that he had Ascended, “Mabel, girl. Don’t let that thing win…”

“I don’t intent to, Finn.” disconnecting the call, the bear put the phone on the table, slowly walking toward the exit of the building. Her posture and mannerism slowly changing into something far more fierce and dangerous than the happy go lucky mammal she normally was.

Her smile was gone, replaced by a deep frown that did little to hide her golden irises, her claws twitching slightly, her fur turning gold in some spots.

“Tsk, at this point I’ll end up being confused as a sailugem bear,” Ignoring the whispers, the ursine moved ahead, getting out of the building that safeguarded Irina as well as Nick’s comatose body, soon recognizing some of the mammals approaching her, many of them being of interest due to their potential to awake.

But more importantly, now that she could glance directly at those involved, her frown changed into something far nastier, condescending.

“You’re really overestimating us, isn’t it?”

A chorus of snarls as well as some chuckles was her only answer from the seven mammals in front of her, the ring leader actually smiling at her, mock and condescension firmly etched on its borrowed muzzle.

“It’s going to be your last mistake,” she wasn’t a warrior, not entirely like her brother, her abilities weren’t as aggressive as his, she wasn’t, by nature, a violent person, even if she was quite capable of ensuring pain and havoc.

But that didn’t mean that she was defenseless, as the intruder thought with his mocking smile, a not so subtle movement of his hand being enough to launch its comrades into action, claws and teeth’s prepped up to cause as much damage as possible, only to find themselves suddenly frozen on the spot as seven pieces of paper immediately landed on their foreheads, sealing their movements entirely.

Mabel walked forward, lowering her arm that had deftly deployed her sacred tags, capturing the possessed mammals, with barely a hint of her magical powers drained in the process. Raising her hands, as if she was about to pray, the ursine simply smiled knowingly at the slightly sensation of panic and terror that came from the ring-leader essence, that despite its best attempts, it couldn’t break from the simple paper charm attached to its host forehead.

“It’s funny how mammals always underestimate those that prefer technique, over power,” looking directly at the possessed sheep, Mabel couldn’t prevent showing her pleasure at the panic induced aura that the being was exuding in waves as it attempted to break free from its host to no avail, “for all your power, a mere hallowed piece of paper was enough to put an end to this charade…”

With a huff, she expelled her energy around her in circular waves, igniting the tags as they absorbed the possessing souls without damaging the original one, her golden eyes shining brightly and mirthfully at the fact that she now had a new toy to mess with, images of how she could corrupt, twist and…

“Keep it together Mab-mab, those are Bill’s thoughts, not yours… go back, girl, go back… that’s too close to the crazy.”

Sighing, the bear simply breathed for a few seconds as she tried to recover her own mind from the corrupting effects of Bill’s unsealed knowledge, her mind soon noticing that things weren’t exactly over, as she felt more than saw the impact from her back as something penetrated her defenses with ridiculous ease, her body suddenly staggering a little, as she felt someone trying to take a hold of her magic by nullifying her soul.

Falling on to her knees, the bear growled viciously as she felt the thing warring inside of her, trying to control her body like a meat puppet, the thing inside of her felt incomplete, shredded and angry, a fragment of what used to be a few seconds ago. Growling, Mabel looked in the direction of the leader, soon noticing that indeed, the beast was shredding its own soul to escape from the seal, slipping from the cracks of a design created to contain an entire soul within.

Each piece flew at her, increasing the power of the creature upon her body, her magic soon rebelling against her as she fought against two fronts within her own damn body, quickly losing terrain to the invader while she attempted in vain to keep the worst of Bill’s influence at bay.

Little by little, the parts coalesced back into a single entity, distorted and driven mad by what it had been forced to do, its mind rendered momentarily insane, soon turning into a poltergeist class booger.  Its bright shining eyes glaring at her for a couple of seconds before it moved, using its supernatural power to launch her body violently against a nearby wall.

With a sickening crack, the bear felt her body go numb, she was a huge creature, but that didn’t mean that she was indestructible, and that wall was made of well-crafted and magically reinforced stonework.

It was merely a moment, a slight miserable second where her mind, body and soul lost all connection between, and it was more than enough for the intruder to plunge into her unprotected memories with gusto, roaming, searching for something specific that she wasn’t particularly sure of, ripping and tearing her magical defenses with a viciousness that left her with little options but to cede entirely.

Though, not like the intruder desired.

There was a secret that the Pine siblings had been hiding from their saviors and it wasn’t that Bill was entirely gone, per se.

Gleefully, the pre-programed memories of the psychopathic demon took control of her magic, guiding her to suddenly grab the intruding entity within, her soul expanding and changing to accommodate her original form, that of the ewe that she used to be a long time ago, her golden coat shining brightly as she glared at the idiot that had forced her to fully unleash her darkest and most intimate secret.

“I’m going to enjoy tearing your soul apart…”

The intruder, finding the presence of a demon a tad too much for its liking attempted to expunge itself from her broken body, only to find its soul firmly held on the hoof of a glaring ewe.

“You’re not leaving here until I get answers…”

Seconds, perhaps minutes later, the bear opened her eyes to find a concerned nine tailed fox tending her injuries.

“Shh, shh… take it easy… your spine is severed.”

“I know… I’m mending it while we speak…” Mabel admitted, her voice distorted and confusing, she had delved far too deep, her own soul now sharing parts of Dipper as well as the few remnants of Bill that she hasn’t been able to push back on to the seal to accommodate a new resident. “I’ve the culprit trapped within my seal; he’s entertaining the demon…”

Frowning at that, the fox looked at the bear, then at the shining rock that he held into one of his hands, the runes and miasma from it indicating that he had also captured something as well.

“I thought I had her…”

“Oh no… Harry’s fear is well founded. It’s an entire organization working against us, or at least, it used to be.” Coughing, the bear couldn’t prevent the laugh that emerged from her throat, “It used to be a triumvirate. But now? We’ve culled almost their entire organization.”

Finn nodded at that. But still, he couldn’t prevent the shiver of fear that roamed his body at the distorted and mixed voice of his friend as well as that of the demon.

Somehow, this victory felt more like a defeat, especially as his injuries weren’t exactly from the flesh, but the soul.  

Whoever these bastards were, they were dangerous, and even now he felt that the one left was perhaps the most worrisome of them all.

“Long time without seeing you, Savage…” The ram said, looking up and down the femme in front of him, “I have to say that I miss your old body… what happened to it?”

“Cypher… so it was you all along… how did you survive Harry’s purge?”

The laughter that emerged from the ram’s mouth was boisterous and full of mockery, the rabbit barely containing her ire due to the fact that the beast not only had a comrade in its clutches; it also was employing the body of one as well.

“I didn’t, this is merely a shadow of who I used to be, an echo…”

“Impossible…”

“For you, perhaps… but there was a reason why I kept those two to begin with, it wasn’t just for the mere enjoyment, they had a purpose. But in the end, you and your hubby ended up messing me pretty good before I was finished. So the transfer was incomplete, my past self is gone, purged as you so eloquently stated. This form is nothing more than echoes of who I used to be, of the power I used to contain! Now trapped and condemned to protect my experiments if I want to live… ironic. Don’t you think so?”

“We’ll complete the purge, demon! Now that we know of your existence, you will be deal with!”

What she didn’t expect was the laughter that emerged from the ram’s mouth.     

“Your husband couldn’t find this fragment because it’s not me, not completely… I’m actually an amalgamation of the twins, a self-defense mechanism in this case, want to purge me? Go ahead! Kill your precious twins!”

“You’re lying!”

“Am I?”

And that was the chilling fact, the demon wasn’t lying. There wasn’t any need to, there was only a way for her husband to miss such an important remnant within the twins, and that was if he couldn’t discern the monster from its victims.

“What you propose is…”

“Impossible? Have you really grown so arrogant and conceited to believe that you’ve all the methods and avenues in soul magic explored?” Spat the ram, clearly annoyed, which in response seemed to peeve the lapine as well.

“What you propose is an erasure and replacement of a soul self, it shouldn’t be possible without terminating the self… the core of what makes the soul unique…” The rabbit said out loud, trying to grasp any clue, any information that could give them a hint or advantage. 

“Unless you break the self, bit by bit. Just enough to perceive certain stimuli and shape the event horizon into what you desire, rewrite the soul into what you need the most by actually corrupting those involved into thinking that it was its only way to survive. My past self was quite willing to use their love against them. He twisted and made them think that going a certain route was for their benefit, even if their instincts told them otherwise, and he did that by slowly and meticulously ensuring that the other roads were perceived as a sure way into breaking them up from each other. If they wanted to end it all, he separated them, forced to endure complete loneliness, miss each other enough to feel good when he united them again, their plans to transmigrate into the nether all but forgotten as long as they weren’t alone once more. Rinse and repeat and guiding them into doing what you desire is easy, not that I could see the culmination of that project, you guys killed the original me before it was completed…”

“Not that I don’t love to see you guys discuss about souls and how creepy that is, but… I’m fucking bleeding here!” Madge spat drowsily, while she lightly glared at the golden ram that held her.

Ram who looked at the badger with surprise as well as recognition, “Oh… yeah, I forgot about you, here let me…”

Slowly lowering on to the ground, the ram carefully attempted to attend her injury even against the growl and warnings from the lapine, his own retort about to emerge from his muzzle when he suddenly went stiff, eyes opened wide in a rictus of horror that was later replaced by hatred and pain.

Letting go of the femme on the ground abruptly with a pained grunt, the ram grasped his chest as if he was trying to claw something out of it, eyes wide and mouth right open:

“WHAT THE FUCK!? OUT, OUT, OUT OF OUR SOUL!!! DAMNIT I SAID…” uncaring of the approaching lapine, the ram simply unleashed his entire might from within his body, his appearance suddenly losing its golden coat as it consumed the magic to fight against something that neither of the femmes could perceive, the ram’s body releasing a thick black miasma from its pores, expunging something, or at least the residue of what the lapine soon recognized as tainted and quite damaged fragments of soul “OUT!!!” with a final scream, the possessed male ejected from his body a couple of souls as well as some ichor that left him panting, falling on to his knees, tired and spent.

Luna on the other hand, moved immediately, seizing the damaged souls within a couple of crystal shards, soon noticing that indeed these things weren’t even related to Cypher in any sense, as she could sense the foreign signatures contained within.

Worse yet, one of them was decaying at a rapid pace that shouldn’t be even possible within the containment crystal, which only meant that it was merely a fragment of a whole soul that hasn’t been present unlike the other.

Still, she hadn’t reached this age by being a good mammal, and in fact she was rather known for her vindictiveness. So, before the soul completely disappeared into the ether, she grabbed the crystal and focused her power, cursing the soul with a rather nasty Jinx which would made the usage of magic excruciatingly painful for as long as the original owner lived.

“Be gone, pest. We will hunt down your owner and I will end its miserable life once and for all!”

That said, the lapin crushed the crystal within her fingers, the remains cutting deep into her skin and painting her fur a deep crimson as magic and intent coalesced into what she was colluding, a small void emerging above her damaged limb, slowly sending her curse to its future recipient with something akin to glee on her eyes.

“Good luck trying to lift a jinx when you’re in agony, you bastard!”    

That done, the bunny looked at the still possessed Roderick Pine, unable to know if what had come to pass was something good or bad despite what she had heard, as deal with demons rarely if ever ended up well for those involved, the debilitated male simply smiled at her in response, and said:

“Well… whatever that was, it messed us up, really bad. Mabel is barely hanging by a tread… and Finn is missing some parts of his own darn soul, as if someone had munched on it, that’s… that’s new… oh, a new toy to chew on, how nice!” Eyes going back to normal, the male finally lost consciousness, the remaining crystal on the other hand suddenly going black, the beast managing to extract a darn soul from within a containment crystal without even touching or breaking the darn thing,  leaving a gaping Luna for a couple of seconds, unable to voice her concern about what she had just witnessed, new roads from a branch of magic that she had thought completely inspected by her centuries ago, possibilities soon roaming her mind for a couple of seconds, until the pained groan of the injured badger brought her out of her fuss, her eyes going back to the still glaring Madge.

“Seal him, damn it,” Scoffed the femme, eyes fighting to remain open.  “Seal me… it’s faster this way, you don’t have time to waste treating our wounds, hell, these bodies are a bust for all we know, seal us in one of your containment crystals and go back to the Academy, we’re under attack and it’s pretty obvious now that it isn’t something orchestrated by this particular demon.”

Nodding at that, the doe immediately sealed Madge then Dipper within a frame of minutes, their souls safely secured within the containment crystals, saving them from crossing over if their bodies catastrophically failed, which was a strong possibility in this case due to the involvement of another unknown demon as well as the rather heavy usage of soul magic.

With a sigh, and looking at the battle area, the dope frowned heavily as she noticed that there wasn’t anything left of the lake, which had been damaged beyond repair. Hopefully this wouldn’t bite them in the ass, but knowing their luck? This will surely ensure a fuss against the non-magical government, especially whoever owned these lands.

“Uh, where is her arm?” Looking around, even with her enhanced senses, the doe couldn’t even get a wisp or signal from the missing limb, which only meant that someone or something had taken it, which didn’t bode well for Honey’s current body, as a lot of rituals and nasty curses could be created with that piece of flesh, bone and blood. “Gosh darn it; I’ll have to create an entire new body for her, that’ll take weeks. And her darn doubles are now a huge risk of becoming doppelgangers…”

All in all, it entirely depended of who exactly had taken the severed arm, if the one that she had cursed had done so, then trying to curse or injure through a ritual wasn’t possible anymore.

Cleansing the site from their presence took far too long for her liking; five minutes that she could have employed trying to create another rune array to go back to her quarters, but that wasn’t an option anymore, leaving her with little options but to take a shadow walk, at the expense of a huge portion of her own magical pools. 

With another sigh, the doe simply concentrated, pooling her manna around her body, her entire anatomy soon submerging itself into one of the many shadows that surrounded the place. Time and space distorted, shifting and changing around her while she dived, twisted and propelled her entire anatomy through the shadows, looking for a specific spot of light that signaled a safe haven. Soon, she encountered the familiar and quite needed spot of light that signaled an end to this method, which was quickly and effectively attempting to drag her further into the shadows, always trying to get her lost until her reserves tapped out, leaving her perennially stranded there. So with one last push, the doe shifted herself from the dark realm, her body emerging into her office, her breath labored and her reserves immensely diminished, more than she thought possible.

Regardless of that, the doe arose onto her paws, looking around for any kind of trouble or signal that could offer her an inkling of information about her surroundings, only silence and dread filling her in, her paws leading her to her map, which she quickly employed to locate her friends, finding that the foxes were safely contained within the burrow, the others quite close by the same position, obviously protecting the place from the plethora of intruders that somehow had managed to penetrate the premises, the interactive map soon filling her in on the size, type and power criteria, finding to her horror a lot of null’s on each category.

Opening one of her office windows, the doe simply focused and then teleported once more toward her friends by employing the wards in her favor by abusing the system, which she would then later have to fix as such a move usually fried the rune arrays as well as the ward stones that managed to keep the whole thing together.  

Her suddenly appearance which was only revealed by the loud popping sound, obviously startled the tired fennec, who cringed then growled at her with obviously doses of alarm, his tails igniting by mere instinct ready to use his fire against her, only to stop on the spot once he recognized her.

“You’re here… good, you need to…”

“There’s no time, Finn…” Raising one of her jewels, the doe immediately sealed Mabel, then looked directly at the fennec and actually cringed, “I… I can’t seal you in that condition, Finn. You need Irene’s help, immediately… your soul is…”

Throwing a stone at the rabbit, which she captured it immediately, a mere look soon showing that the femme was aware of what said object contained, the fox nodded, now that the bear wasn’t needing a wall to keep her steady, he could crumble as much as he wanted to, his body collapsing due to the huge amount of pain coursing his veins.

“That thing, I refuse to call her a sow, was able to EAT souls like candies, in fact it was her medium, she crystalized souls into hard candies which she could munch and employ at her heart content, she was using a lot of the boogers that she had consumed to weaken the wards… It’s a long story but to cut it short, she tried to do the same to me, and when she couldn’t she… chomped on to my darn soul, she actually ATE my fox fire. For a moment I thought I was a goner, but apparently I ended up purifying her as she considered the darn thing a treat like no other… gulped down until she couldn’t move anymore so I sealed her.”

“Shh, shh, Finn… you’re exhausted and in a great deal of pain. There are a lot of fragmented souls on the campus, directionless; apparently you guys defeated the main one, so that left a lot of pieces all over the place… Let’s go, I’ll take you to Irene so she could mend you, meanwhile, I need to cleanse this place from that filth. I’ll deal with this; we will get our report later.”

Nodding, the nine tailed fox didn’t say anything when the lapine simply helped him walk into their destination, the silence being quite a telling of how tense things were.

“Is my wife?”

“She’s safe… her soul at least is intact,” Luna reassured as much a she could in this circumstances, which wasn’t much. “Her body on the other hand? I’ll need to create her a new one, probably make her a long distance cousin so her traits remain the same, tattooing her back is going to be a pain, as well as cloning her doubles… which remind me that we need to carefully watch the meat drones. There is a possibility of one of them going doppelganger on us.”

“As if things weren’t complicated enough…” The fox drawled, coughing a couple of times before saying: “You also need to change her data from the register at the city, the hospital, and a lot of legal places…”

“Fuck… I forgot her medical charts…” entering the burrow, which was how they had lovingly called Nick’s containment place, the doe couldn’t prevent a frown from emerging on her face as she glanced at the slashed runes. “Someone was here…”

The gaping fox simply nodded at that, unable to believe that someone had slipped through them. 

Putting the vulpine on the floor, the lapin inspected the place, hands glowing, face completely serious about the grim possibility that their friends could be gone, only for a small smile to appear on her muzzle, a vicious expression soon dominating her entirely.

“Got you, bastard… didn’t expect me to get you, uh? But I did… and now you’re licking your wounds!”  

Whoever she had nailed with the jinx, had been here and definitely caught with its pants down by her curse, the way the residual magic suddenly shifted from confident to confused and panicked was exhilarating, the amount suddenly exploding and leaving an actual echo of agony behind that told her that whoever had been here, had left in a hurry and through a method that completely bypassed her wards with an ease that worried her immensely.

“And then you go and deflate my ego… damn it!”

Touching the ward stone protecting the burrow, she sighed with quite a lot of relief when she noticed that said array had actually endured the abuse, the door soon opening, revealing a rather scared vixen trying to protect her downed son with as much intensity as she could, her visage only changing into something far more amicable once she recognized the doe.

“Oh, thank goodness it’s you… whoever was behind that door was horrible, the way she slashed the wards terrified me, the whole place trembled horridly, and even Nicky couldn’t remain still… it was as if the magic she employed hurt him… but, that’s not-”

Sighing, the doe interrupted the vixen, her hand signaling the downed fox behind her.

“Sorry Irene, but Finn is really injured and he need’s medical attention urgently, there is also a lot of possessed students all over the institution and… oh, no.” Looking at the broken and still quite unmoving vixen, she couldn’t prevent the pit that was growing on her stomach, her eyes soon going toward Finn, believing that perhaps the enemy had returned or worse, he had passed away, only to see him also looking fixedly at something behind her. Her relief, soon turning into horror once more, once she realized entirely, what the vixen had said before she interrupted. Her eyes soon going toward the contained vulpine, dread and despair soon coursing her veins, at what was in front of her.

“No… No… my kit, not again! NO!”

Nick’s body was alive and well, injured, that was quite obvious with the open wounds over his chest, as if he had just received a quite nasty slash, but that was minimal and his body was immediately fixing that on its own thanks to the nutrients within the fluid.

No, what horrified her was that his soul wasn’t present. There wasn’t even fox fire within the container, just a floating healing body, without its driver present.

Nick’s soul was missing.

Chapter Text

“What happened to you?!” Judy screeched in horror, stopping cold on the spot while she glanced at the buck, unable to believe her eyes.

The male in front of her was sitting despondently in a lazy boy chair, his hands dribbling a little in what appeared to be a huge cotton gauze thoroughly coated with iodine, his naked torso which would’ve normally scandalized her, especially as he was sinfully covered by what appeared to be really tight black slacks that left little to the imagination, was, at the moment, unimportant. The fact that Pib’s torso now had a horrible injury, three lines of open flesh and oozing blood, which marred the perfection of his creamy fur of his belly and chest, was the actual reason for her distress.

Running toward the buck, her hands taking the gauzes from him, she simply tended to the injures to the best of her limited abilities and knowledge, cursing herself one more about her lack of medical awareness, fat tears falling from her eyes, lips and nose trembling uncontrollably while her heart pounded against her ribs violently.

“No, please don’t…” It was horrible, the smell, the sights and the way the gauze drenched her fingers with his blood… there was simply too much of it, enough for her to know that he wouldn’t survive for much longer, “please… Pib… don’t.”

A hand over hers stopped her abruptly, another forcing her muzzle to look up, directly to his eyes. Amethyst crossed over to Jade, focusing entirely on the two of them, and nothing else. The world around them dissolving into nothing. It left them bare, completely bereft of clothing or garments of any kinds.

“Shh, Shh, it’s okay…” consoled the injured buck, mirth and comprehension on his expression, “I know it look’s bad, but believe me, it isn’t… it will go away, I just need time to rest… that’s all, I swear.”

That on the other hand, only made her hiccup harder, as part of her somehow understood that this was a goodbye, her body jumping against her will and snuggling the buck with all her strength.

“I don’t like this… it feels like a goodbye… I don’t want you to leave.” 

He hugged her back, his claws deftly caressing her spine, instigating a plethora of sensations with each caress. It calmed her emotionally and comforted her exactly like her mother used to do when she was upset as a kit a long time ago. The added sensation through her fur only making the event feel more intimate, something different than what her mom used to do.

“It’s only for a while. It isn’t permanent. Carrots…” his hot breath on her neck felt nice, it made her snuggle more with him despite his injuries, her nose inhaling everything that he was, even the coppery essence of blood didn’t occlude his particular aroma. His scent was unlike any buck she had ever known before, musky, with a hint of violets. It felt familiar, her memory blacking out for a few seconds about that discovery.

“You smell like fox, did you know that?” Judy admitted, separating a little to glance at his eyes, “Did a fox attack you?”

“Yes…” The buck admitted his face calm and collected, but his eyes intense and full of a lot of emotions that she couldn’t exactly identify. “A vixen, to be exact…”

That made her frown, the though actually making a knot on her stomach, her fists clenching on his fur, so many emotions coursing through her mind at what she had heard.

“What does she wants?”

“My soul, my seed… apparently we’re compatible, she didn’t take my denial very well.” The buck admitted, closing his eyes and pondering deeply about what had happened not so long ago, “she attempted to get to you through your dreams, break us apart by killing you, and I got in her way... she didn’t like that.”

As he smiled at her, it finally clicked, an old memory deeply hidden within her reemerging from her mind vault, overlapping the image of a teenaged fox over that of her friend, the realization suddenly breaking the body into specs of light that soon converged into that of a bigger mammal, a fox.

Letting him go, the doe gave a couple of steps back, unable to believe what she had just seen.

“Pib?”

“This is the real me, Fluff-butt.” The fox said, his hand now caressing his chest, right over his injuries, which were to her horror, quickly closing up in front of her eyes.

“Why?”

Waving a hand, the fox went back to the shape of a buck, his eyes now lacking that light mirth that had characterized him so far, he felt now distant, even reserved.

“Not by choice… this is how you want me to be… and I’ll be anything you want me to.” The smile on his muzzle, felt empty, fake… and it broke her heart, but before she gave a step toward him, before she could voice her thoughts… his image began to dissolve, as she feared, he was leaving, and the mere idea of him gone from her life even if momentarily, hurt like nothing else in the world.

“Please… don’t go. Pib… Nick!”

“You’ll be fine, Judy.”

Jumping up in her bed, chest moving desperately for air, Judy couldn’t evade the sense of loss that she felt in her heart thanks to that dream, a sob quickly echoing through her room, following by bawling, her hands covering her face in a vain attempt to find comfort in the fact that she felt hollow, empty.

For nearly half an hour she stood there, crying her eyes out at a dream that had been hideously intense, her hiccups and sniffles being the only sound that were heard in her room while she thought about what she had dreamed about.

Looking at her clock, she quickly found that it was merely five AM, far too soon for any of her normal activities, especially now that she was free from her classes for a month and a half. As she collected herself, the doe contemplated on the significance of the dream, she breathed profoundly, trying to calm her frayed nerves to no avail.

Her eyes went to the note beside her purse, containing the cellphone number that Pete had given to her after his concert; she had to admit that the buck was nice, and contrary to many others he had managed to keep his eyes over her neck the whole time, his gaze never gazing inappropriately at her to her knowledge, not even once, which was what had prompted her to impulsively ask him out, the surprised buck actually sputtering a couple of times before he smiled at her, his lips trembling as he accepted, his mannerism somewhat reminding her of her father due to his droopy ears and wobbly lips.

“What was that?” She pondered, as she drifted back to attempt to recover her sleep, her gaze focused on her ceiling and the luminous stars she had fastidiously put there a long time ago, quickly noticing that some of them weren’t shining as bright as they used to initially, only being dull green spots overshadowed by the properly working ones, her mind drifting into a plethora of reasons as to why Pib, her dream friend, had left her.

And why such a thing had and still, hurt.

“Why Pib? Or is it Nick now?” It was really annoying certainly, especially as she had harbored a small crush on that darn fox a long time ago, one that she had thought finally over once she stopped daydreaming and doodling hearts over the “I” of his name on her diaries entries. “This is so confusing, why a figment of my imagination would cause such a strong emotional response?”

It was staggering, the intensity of her feelings over the issue, the confusion, the jealousy and most important of all, the sense of longing and loss that had permeated the whole experience.

Even now, the thought that a vixen had injured him when he was protecting her was infuriating, especially at the fact that said fictional canid had attempted to kill her because she was in the road, and she wanted her fox.

Closing her eyes, Judy simply sighed and thought deeply about the dream, before she let it go.

“It’s not worth it, it’s a dream… it’s not real. Besides…” looking over to Pete’s number, Judy simply reached a decision, impulsively reaching for her cell-phone and adding it to it, his name and info quickly appearing on her chat as connected, which surprised her greatly. “Perhaps it’s time to test the waters… I mean, it’s obvious that if I don’t move now, I could lose Peter like I lost Pib… isn’t it?”

Sadly it didn’t matter how much she told herself that this was what she wanted, deep down a part of her wasn’t entirely sure of it.         

Sharla raised her head abruptly, glancing at the huffing bunny in front of her, uncaring of the slight glare that the lapine was offering at her choice of reading.

“What?”

“How can you read that?” The bunny said with obvious disgust, not entirely pleased and yet, not exactly judging either. “I mean, doesn’t it bother you?”

Glancing at her book and seeing the pictures of muscles, sinews and organs displayed on it on its gory glory at the back, the ewe simply shrugged, a couple of years ago such a sight would’ve disgusted her immensely, nowadays as her studies on anthropology had ensured in her some immunity as she found herself entranced, slowly but unstoppably specializing on the biology and evolutionary aspects of their society.

And her book was to put it bluntly, a correct and quite visual study of the biology of mammals.

“Meh… you get accustomed to it.” The ewe said with a shrug, actually not really bothered by the fact that she was studying things that society deemed a prey mammal should be skittish to, which she found ridiculous. “Should I be bothered?”

Lowering her ears and thinking about it, it was obvious that the bunny was merely being melodramatic about the whole thing, which was why Sharla hasn’t taken offense to the question.

“I don’t think so, which is what actually bothers me,” looking at her friend, the rabbit pondered deeply what exactly unsettled her, not truly finding a factual reason to complain. “Maybe it’s because of the bisected fox on the front?”

Looking at the cover, the ewe had to admit that the anatomically correct draw of what seemed to be a vixen could be a somewhat disturbing imagery to some, especially as the subject lacked skin, being mostly muscles and exposed sinew.

“I can cover it if you want to?”

“No, no… It’s a childish thing to be upset about. I’ll get over it.” Judy conceded, before she sighed and groaned as she put her head against the chair she was sitting at, “It’s just… maybe it’s because I’ve been paranoid the whole month.”

‘And didn’t I know about that,’ the ewe thought. Since the concert, Judy had been skittish, even nervous at times, ears up and alert, as if she was constantly trying to hear something that no one else could hear.

“Still feeling like someone is watching you?” And to be honest, their entire group had as well felt stalked at some points, some more than the others, especially her and Judy.

“Not as much as I used to… but, I can’t explain it. It’s like… I don’t know, I’m missing something, and I don’t know exactly what, which is driving me bonkers…”

Chuckling, the ewe closed the book, knowing that any study was now postponed.

“Maybe you need some… relaxation with Pete, if you know what I mean…” The ewe said, wiggling her eyebrows at her scowling friend, laughing lightly at the clearly reddening ears.

“Quiet you! We’re merely friends… for now.” The doe admitted, scratching her left ear while she pondered. “He isn’t a bad mammal, but… I don’t know.”

“He isn’t the idealized idea that you’ve conceptualized him to be?” Gently chided Sharla, knowing that this wasn’t going to be the last time they had this particular conversation, “You should stop comparing him to his dream self, Judy. It isn’t fair.”

“I’m not comparing them… that much. And the whole issue is that Pete is attractive, and a nice guy. But… well he’s so… submissive.” 

Raising one eyebrow, the ewe pondered about what her friend had revealed, actually surprised about what she had heard.

“Don’t take me wrong, dear… but, with how dominating you’re, I just thought that…” 

“That I would be pleased with a submissive partner?” the doe completed, smiling slightly at her friend. “A part of me thought so as well; I mean… it’s why we’re getting to know each other. But the more I get to know him... the less attractive the idea of us as a couple gets on my mind.”

Sharla nodded at that, and she could respect that, things weren’t going as she expected and forcing a relationship despite the clear odds against it wasn’t exactly a good idea either.

“So don’t lead him on them,”

“I’m trying… I’m really trying not to. But… here is where it gets complicated, Sharla… I think I like him, as a friend. And I’m fine with that, but then when I try to cut things short, I get nervous, I remember those dreams I had of him, and the idea of losing him hurts…”

And that was the crux of the matter, and the ewe didn’t exactly know what to think about it.     

“I don’t know what to say, Judy. I mean… I thought the two of you made a nice safe match the first two weeks, but, as time passes by, I don’t know what to think anymore, when he’s on stage, your eyes shine, and you’ve this smile that’s almost predatory… but as soon as he’s off…”

“I lose interest… I know, dang it, I know. It’s just that, he’s so commanding on stage, he’s confident and looks like he can take the world by himself… I just want him to be like that off stage too. It’s that too much to ask?”

Giggling, Sharla simply couldn’t believe it, especially knowing just how her friend had always been, but actually, here it was.

“I can’t believe it, Judy. You’re actually turned on by a dominant male!”

“I…” pondering what was heard, the doe couldn’t exactly deny it any longer, “Cheese and Crackers, I’m turned on by dominant males.” Frowning and thinking deeply, she found that yes, she especially liked the idea of rapport a lot more when Pete showed his commanding persona on stage, but also, the more she thought about it, the less she found the idea of being in a relationship with Pete attractive, dominant or not. “But that’s the deal; he turns me on when he pretends to be commanding, but… aside from that? It’s like a black hole and my senses scream: friend, friend, friend…”

“Then, maybe it’s not because he’s dominant, but because he’s confident?” Added Sharla after a couple of seconds, “I mean, you like to debate, a lot. And you have a sharp tongue on that mouth of yours… and Pete, well… he isn’t exactly all that witty, and he cowers and surrenders too much when you verbally spar with him, he simply submits to you.” Frowning, the ewe contemplated what she had said, and huffed, suddenly understanding why the doe was frustrated. “Holy Moly… that’s frustrating.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Judy said, relieved that the ewe had caught on to what exactly was frustrating her, “He can pretend to be confident, and witty on stage. There, he’s the smart aleck, the one with a pouty mouth and a double entendre at the ready. But, off-stage he’s simply so… submissive.”

“Or maybe he’s simply intimidated by you, dear…” Sharla confessed, suddenly noticing the attention of the doe upon her, “don’t take this wrong but, well… you’re pretty hot, Judy. Ap, ap, ap, let me finish, don’t pretend that you don’t notice how many eyes roam that tail of yours, heck, I’ve seen some wolves checking you out… you’re one of the most attractive femmes at the academy, Judy. And then, there is your personality, your positivity and predisposition to help had earned you some admirers…”

“They just want a taste of me, Sharla. A quick row and nothing more, I’m not interested in casual sex…”

“Which is why some of them find you attractive, Judy, don’t take this wrong but, you’re an anomaly in that department.” Seeing the indignation on her friends face, she quickly explained: “Judy, dear, I’ve had proposals from some of your brothers… and a couple of your sisters. Don’t forget where I grew up at.”

Deflating, the bunny couldn’t do anything else but accept the fact that Sharla was quite aware of the sexual policy among her kind, a policy that she wasn’t particularly a participant of.

“Casual sex… I mean, I don’t have anything against it but. It’s not my thing.” The doe complained. “It’s funny, isn’t it? We moan and cry foul when mammals stereotype us as sex machines without control, but the sad truth is that we’re biological sex machines with a lot of our culture and mannerism centering on reproduction and exploration… And here I am, one of the few rabbits that doesn’t find the idea of casual sex, well… attractive.”

Sharla couldn’t say anything about that, lapines, hell, rodents and many other small species usually ended up being quite focused on reproduction, their cultures were usually the most open among mammals in such regards. It was one of the last remains of a more violent past that she had been interested on, it was certainly a testimony of how dire things were back then, that many prey species fell into the mantle of “security in numbers,” to ensure the survival of their species. Judy’s lack of interest in casual encounters wasn’t as severe as some other bunnies in her own burrow, where she knew at least a dozen were open with their asexuality, for a while many thought that Judy could be one of them, especially as she was more minded toward her career and goals at the risk and detriment of everything else but her family and a few friends.

But now, that she had managed to get a career and was going even further into adulthood, the doe clearly was willing to explore what she had ignored before.

“Besides, Pete is within the most tolerable among those that want to explore my burrows, I mean wolves, seriously? What do they think I’m made of, rubber? They’ll probably kill me if they attempt to rut me.”

Snorting at the crude imagery and clear attempt to alleviate the slight tension in the air, Sharla simply rolled up her eyes at what her friend had said:

“They probably saw some of those horrid animated porn movies. There a darn tiger can rut a darn mouse without killing it, bunnies, ewes and small mammals are apparently ‘rut-able’ by other species so Anihon exploits that market. Sadly, many desperate males and some females take what they see in those as factual.” Seeing the look of incredulity on her friend face, the ewe couldn’t actually believe what she found: “Really Judy? With that many relatives, nay, that ocean of pubescent and teenaged individuals living with you, and you have never heard of anime porn?”

Seeing that the bunny had lowered her ears behind her back to hide the rosy tint on her exposed flesh, Sharla couldn’t prevent the giggle that escaped her traitorous throat. “Oh my… you’re such a virgin!”

Evading the launched pillow, Sharla simply laughed away, actually enjoying the change of topic, and finding something where her friend didn’t immediately outclassed her. 

“S-Shut up!” The doe snarled, or attempted to, it was difficult to look menacing when you were hiding behind your oversized ears. “How do you know about those?”

“Judy… I’ve got a brother. I shared a room with said brother, for far too long. I’ve seen more of Jareth than any normal sister should…”

“Not that! Yes, I’m a virgin but I’ve a lot of relatives on my house, Sharla. I’ve seen things that you wouldn’t believe of my brothers and many, many cousins, hell once…”

“No, no, no, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know the details… for now.” Noticing that she got the attention, the ewe asked: “What were you confused about?”

“The anime porn, Sharla, especially the interspecies bit, I didn’t know that…”

“Really, because Jessica is a big fan of it, especially the male on male kind…”

“WHAT?! NO!? Wait, MY Jessica or…”

“Your sister, but, wait… let’s just find my laptop. The trauma is way much tolerable if it’s shared…”

“Y-you don’t need to…”   

Sharla simply giggled at how meek the usually quite exorbitant doe was once they settled down on simple things like porn and how horridly done it was. It was to put it bluntly, cute even endearing, they usually didn’t explore this part of their friendship, mostly because Judy had always been quite centered on her goals, this kind of moment where you shared about your kinks and intimate information with someone that you explicitly trusted on without an inkling of a doubt. 

It made things easier for the ewe, talking about nonsensical and quite normal femme things with her friend, as it took her mind from what had been actually consuming her lately, especially as she had been seeing a lot more of quite strange things as time passed by since that day at the concert.

For example, she had been noticing subtle signs on some of the teachers and members of the faculty that made them feel… different from a normal mammal. They lacked something; they felt more like a machine made of flesh than an actual living being, which was what was completely confusing as they kept acting like they always did without a change.

The ram on the library for example, he always looked the same, smiled the same and acted as he always did. But, she knew, she simply knew thanks to that strange light surrounding him that he wasn’t exactly the mammal she had been interested in since she found him a while ago.     

So she had simply attempted to ignore it and kept on, focusing entirely on her studies as well as the blossoming relationship between her friends and the guys they had met that night on the pagoda.

Looking at her small friend and seeing that she wasn’t exactly pleased either with how other species saw them on the sex department made the ewe feel normal, and forget about strange sights and the foreboding feeling of being observed.        

Harry observed as the bodies submerged into the formula, slowly watching as the figures quickly dissolved, first the fur,  the skin, followed by the fat and muscles, then by veins and bones, leaving no proof, no trace, just the primordial components which they had been made of.

“Is that the last of them?” The black fox inquired, nine tales moving dexterously as they held the souls of his friends firmly contained while his wife created their new bodies from the Lazarus pool.

“Yes, and I’m happy to see them go, some of them were beginning to show signs of some subtle attempts at possession. Having empty husks turn into doppelgangers then roam the academy wasn’t the smartest of ideas, especially with the enemy waiting to strike at us.” Answered the golden vixen, her body half submerged into the substance, her energy filtering the impurities and ensuring that the new bodies where created to their future owners desires, each movement of her hand sending a small wave of primordial goo into a container where a body would finally take form.

Irene, who hasn’t been injured on the attack, simply stared transfixed at the whole spectacle, unable to believe the fact that her benefactors could indeed create life with such ease, a part of her deeply concerned by how much this change would affect her currently incorporeal friends.

Perhaps, noticing the worry on the white mage, Harry smiled at her, trying to reassure her as much as possible before he explained.

“There is nothing to fear, sweetheart, this isn’t our first time creating bodies on the Lazarus chamber, hell, this is Finn and Madge third experience…” chuckling at the incredulity as well as the worry clearly expressed on the new comer, the todd explained: “our line of job isn’t one were you normally thrive, it’s always submerged in perils and dangers beyond belief, the more experience you gain, the more power you obtain. But with power, there is always a price attached.”

Seeing that he had the attention of the vixen, and noticing that Luna was now slowly transforming some of her power into electricity that was quickly enveloping one of the containers, he moved, one of his tails suddenly flexing and unloading the floating orb of energy above it, the soul slowly descending and penetrating the structure, igniting a series of seals and runes that ensured a safe integration into the new body, a grunt of exertion promptly leaving Luna as she put much more power into the process, her tails which had been submerged under the primordial goo up until that point, suddenly were above the surface, electricity, fox fire and mana coalescing into a single but stable ray of energy.

They all stared, until it was simply too uncomfortable to look anymore, the container suddenly popping open with a loud hiss of expelled air, the sound of a groan followed by splashing as the body fell into the pool was heard in cacophony with the pants from a clearly winded vixen.

Irene watched, completely transfixed as the figure slowly emerged from the goo, it’s stature and frame indicating that indeed it was Honey which arose from it, completely renewed, the damage on her soul completely gone, her fur wholly bereft of the tattoos that had normally characterized her since she knew her.

“Ah, Scat… I really hate it when the body is so new… moving hurts, damn it.” The badger moaned as she waddled toward the vixen, smiling apologetically in the process: “Not that I’m saying your baking sucks, dear… because it doesn’t, you couldn’t have created such a gift to the world like me if you sucked at home economics.”

Luna simply laughed with open mirth in her eyes, which had recovered some of their usual shine at the sight of her friend.   

“Get out of here, it will take hours before you get used to the new body… let Irene check you out. Creating a derivate of your DNA isn’t easy, especially when I have to maintain your appearance.” Luna said, huffing slightly before she looked at the other containers, frowning a little before sighing and admitting that things were over, for now.

Waddling out of the pool, the golden vixen simply ignored the smothering of Irene over the giggling badge, her eyes now affixed on her husband, and the souls that he still kept under his control.

“You know that we can’t keep them like this for much longer…”

“I know…” the todd conceded looking at the two intermixed souls held on his tails. “But they can wait a couple of days, you’re exhausted.”

A frown promptly marred her face, frustration and worry clearly perceptible since that fateful day.

“You’ve been working non-stop since that night; I think it’s time to take a rest before we bring the twins back,” Saying that, the fox looked at the contained souls, before he snapped his fingers and the two luminaries were absorbed into a couple of crystals, a wisp of energy slowly emerging from each container, quickly interconnecting the two separated souls, an event that despite his best attempts to curtail hasn’t precisely been fruitful. “And yet… they remain apart and still resonate.”

Luna simply sighed, looking sadly at the crystal and the souls contained within, “They can’t stand the thought of being apart, not after what they endured together. The damage that the demon subjected them to was far more pervasive and insidious than we thought him able to.”

The male nodded at that, he personally had fought and vanquished the foul beast a long time ago, and yet, despite all his power, his knowledge, he was unable to break or change what had been done to the twins without destroying them entirely in the process.

It was a bittersweet pill to swallow, a humbling experience that none of them had experienced in a long time, a reminder that they weren’t infallible or all knowing. 

Rising his hand, the todd caressed the cheek of his exhausted mate, earning him a pleased croon as well as a private smile at his attempt to console her, their eyes interconnecting and telling a whole story in mere fragments of seconds, longing, acceptance and love quickly and quietly exchanged without the need of words, a lovely setting that was of course promptly interrupted by the abrupt arrival of another nine tailed fox.

“Finny, my dear… you came to me!” The badger bellowed, lewdly spreading her legs in his direction, which earned her a slight smack on her arm from Irene, who had her ears lowered and her tail puffed out in obvious embarrassment.

“Honey… I’m glad to see you out of that darned crystal. I’ve missed you a lot, more than words can describe,” the fox said before he huffed and slowly shrank into his original form, panting slightly due to the effort as he had barely recovered from the damage that had been inflicted on him on the last battle, “Believe me, I will be breaking up that body of yours as much as you want me to, but right now, I’ve have good news, annoying and certainly frustrating news, but at least, good news no less.” 

This seemed to freeze everyone altogether, Luna’s eyes opening wide, the spark growing stronger due to the fact that the small fennec was apparently relaxed in his posture, obviously relieved despite the stress he had been submerged and subjected in this month

“Nicky?”

“He’s back in his body, fox fire and all.”

With a wave of her hand, a group of comfy chairs materialized from nowhere, her butt landing abruptly on the chair as her strength finally left her, her hand going toward her face and around her muzzle covering her leaking eyes, small yips of emotion emerging from her mouth, barely heard with the scream of downright ecstatic happiness that came from Irene, who was jumping and bawling her eyes out on the shoulders of an equally relieved Madge.

Harry went over to his wife, truly relieved to finally see her crack and release all that pent up emotion that she had been accumulating in the past weeks, his arm covering her, embracing her and uncaring of the fact that the liquid that clung to her fur was now avidly devouring his clothes, slowly liberating patches of black fur for the world to see.

Looking toward the now sitting fennec, which was now resting over his own conjured chair, a simple look was enough to entice him to explain what he had found.  

“It wasn’t easy… the attack muddled the manna all around the campus. It’s too well done to be a mere accident, these boogers where specifically designed or at least, enchanted, perhaps even cursed to disperse their energy like that if they expire, probably to hide the intruder point of ingress which by the way, I found, it was on the sewers from the west wing.” Seeing that he got the attention of everyone, even of the still weeping Irene, the small canid continued: “the rune arrays had decayed due to a lack of maintenance, it isn’t a nice place as none of us finds pleasurable smelling and waddling through contaminated waters. A mistake that I assume, we will rectify as soon as possible?”   

Seeing toward the Savages, the couple simply nodded at that, not entirely pleased to see yet another proof of how lax they had been these past centuries due to the lack of actual opposition on the esoteric arts.

“As soon as I leave the Lazarus chambers, I’ll invest my time into renewing each tunnel, passageway, shaft, and tunnel on the property. It’s not something I want to do, but it’s certainly a necessity.” Harry emphasized, getting a nod from everyone once they heard that. Luna on the other hand, simply put her hand over his and added.

“We will do it together, we built this place, and it’s my responsibility as well, dear.  I will not let you suffer the ignominy alone.”  

Relieved, the todd simply smiled at Luna, actually at ease that with her help, the disgusting job wouldn’t take as long as it would do with him alone.

“I would hold on to that thought,” Madge included, thinking seriously about the whole deal, and earning the attention of everyone in the process, “don’t take me wrong, we need to reinforce those weak points, but… it’s feel’s predictable.”

Frowning at what the badger had said, Harry pondered the implications and scowled, indeed. It almost felt familiar.

“Whoever they are, it’s obvious that they know a great deal about our weak points…” Finnick speculated, capturing everyone’s attention again: “They knew what to break as well as which rune to modify to pass the defenses and remain unnoticed. This alone would cause a rebuilt of the sewer and tunnel systems, but is that truly the only weak spot that we have missed nowadays?”

Nodding at that, Luna finally caught on to what the married couple implied.

“Whoever it is, they know about our current arrays, as well as the hidden and unused parts that have fallen into disrepair due to negligence. The planted totems are proof of this, the fact that I couldn’t detect them because I had downgraded the defenses into something less time and power consuming were taken into account. The current array is compromised; the castle and the lands that our magic protects are well known to them.” grasping the hand of her husband, the vixen pondered deeply about what to do and how to go about it all. “It’s quite probable that they’ve created new routes and hidey holes that are unknown to us, traps as well, the possibility that they’ve built a ritual room where they could enter and break the barriers if they want to invade us, is quite high at this point as well…”

“But we’re thinking like ourselves, and that’s the problem.” Harry admitted, looking stricken at the fact that their methods were apparently falling quickly out of use, “All these attacks had something in common, innovation. They were old methods that we had discarded and forgotten, modified to such an extent that they can be regarded as new magics. How flexible are they? What are their limitations? What can detect it and nullify it?” 

Looking at the fennec, Harry couldn’t prevent the fact that he felt old, ancient even.

“These wiper-snappers sure know how to make an old male feel antediluvian…”

Luna giggled, lacking the mirth she was accustomed to, but then, her eyes narrowed as well.

“Perhaps we’re out of form, but then, we’ve got an ace that caught them off guard. Don’t we?” Seeing that everyone attention sharpened upon her, the vixen clarified: “No, I’m not suggesting we ally ourselves with demons and creatures from the beyond. Nay, that road only brings madness and disgrace. But we do have a rather paranoid male with quite innovative ideas that we’ve been too blind to consider, isn’t it?”

It was then that Finn smiled.

“Nicky was quite good at thinking outside the box, which I guess, it’s why they went after him in a manner that nobody thought about, hoping to catch him unprepared. But when that failed, and it was obvious that he remained alive, they went after him to finish the job. It was simply a good thing that the barrier protecting his body was able to keep the intruder out.”

“Is he okay? What happened, where was his soul been?” Demanded Irene, desperation and anxiety making her tune sound far more aggressive than her usual mellifluous self, something that made her gasp and put a hand over her muzzle, ears lowered and tail coiling around her legs. 

Finnick simply smiled at the white mage, before he explained.

“As I said before, we went over a quite important tangent. That kit was hard to find because the manna over the campus is oversaturated, but that didn’t meant that I couldn’t perceive the fact that one and a half of our students are now active Espers.” Smiling at the gasps from everyone around him, the fox milked the tension for a couple of seconds before he continued: “The ewe that’s been stalking the egghead has awakened; her reserves are growing at a steady pace, she’s been gazing at the runes around the campus, but she hasn’t been able to gaze at the small spirits that live here, on the more forested areas, but she’s getting there. I suggest we approach her immediately, because in two weeks they’re planning to go back to Bunnyburrow to be with their families during the holydays.”

Luna cooed, finally knowing where this was going, Harry merely groaned at the whole thing.

“Let me guess, the half you’re mentioning is a certain bunny, isn’t it?” asked the vixen, smile wide and eyes shining brightly, giggling once the fennec nodded at her. “That darn rascal, he’s been hopping on to that rabbit through their connection.”

Harry frowned at that.

“Is he… influencing her?”

That Harry knew, brought a gasp to his wife lips, as well as a frown of disapproval from Irene, but it was a question that needed to be aired.

“That’s where things get complicated.” Conceded Finnick, frowning deeply about what he had been witnessing since he focused on stalking and studying the doe. “He has been visiting her dreams; his magic is all over her when she sleeps. He takes away the stress, relaxes and repairs her muscles, as well as subtly guides her thoughts. So far, what I had witnessed is pretty harmless, he’s acting like a creep, yes, but he’s actually helping her a great deal.”

Luna who had disliked what was being implied at first, nodded at that, not entirely sure if she was happy to hear what she had.

“How much and for how long…?”

“I can’t say, and here is the deal, there are times where he obviously visits on his own volition. Her dreams are usually the method he employs, and by the smell and pheromone production on the rabbit, she likes whatever happens there, thankfully I took a prism and inserted it under her bed. Waited a couple of days then took it out, it went blue, so he isn’t sexualizing the girl nor influencing her in that regard, which is a relief. But it’s obvious that the femme likes those interactions.”

Irene and Luna sighed in relief; manna had a frequency of sorts, so it was easy to identify which kind and for what it was employed in these kinds of circumstances. Sexual magic wasn’t something new, Espers and those that delved into the esoteric arts and focused on sex usually caused a change in a carefully prepared prism.

A method that Luna had created a long time ago, when one of her pupils ended up using her powers to coerce and force others into a rutting mentality, ruining lives and reputations, only caught because she grew bold enough to attempt to enchant another apprentice, the compulsions and jinxes clear enough for the immortal to gaze at once she was close enough, which had put an end to the whole debacle as well as the apprentice life as an part of their group.    

“That’s a relief; I feared that he was turning into an Incubus…”  Irene confessed, as the abuse of soul and sexual magics tended to corrupt those that overuse it into becoming addicts, unable to live without subtracting sexual energies from the soul of others.

“But here is where it turns interesting… he doesn’t remain more than a night with her, and the nights he visit on his own volition are sparse. And in fact, it’s the doe who had been summoning him into her dreams; she literally drags him to find comfort when she’s overly stressed.” Finnick added, taking out of his pocket a burned out trinket, “I’ve gone back to review the time stream regarding their souls, and I can certainly affirm that the femme is partially awakened. She’s sensitive to the manna in the ambiance, but she can’t see it nor interact with it. But when he’s involved, she drags him to her with brutal efficiency.”

Throwing the damaged apparatus toward the foxes, Finn simply massaged his hand, which now that they could see more clearly, showed some burns marks from holding the ritual too long.

“How far were you able to see?”

“Five months… after that, I couldn’t hold that thing anymore, but what I saw was enough to understand that those two are intermixing their souls… a lot. The girl had him wrapped up her fingers and they aren’t a couple yet… the poor kit.”

Luna simply scowled at her damaged trinket, “You shouldn’t have done that, Finn. That was horridly wrong...”

“I had to know if our little Nicky had turned into a sexual predator, boss. He had been gallivanting in a young femme’s body; I had to know if Nicky was turning into an Incubus…”

“Not that, you dimwit.” Luna chastised, “Your soul is injured, and there are pieces of your darn soul that are barely recovering from the damages that had been inflicted upon you. Contemplating the past through the destiny threads is a dangerous technique even when you’re healthy, and you surfed back through their history for five darned months, you’re lucky that the only physical damage are those slight burns on your palm pads.”

Rising his hands, the fennec attempted to placate the vixen.

“Hey, hey, I couldn’t have done it alone. Nicky felt me messing around and helped. Yes, he was angry at the intrusion, but he at least understood my reasoning and helped me…”

“Nicky…”

“Yes… he’s finally self-aware. Apparently the damage had been repaired a while ago, but his incorporeal experiences had a purpose, he’s been protecting her and well, his soul became used to the whole experience… He knew that the femme would be attacked, and prevented her from being mauled mentally, earned a few injuries in the process, that nasty thing on his chest was a direct physical manifestation of his own battle…”

Luna sighed; massaging her muzzle in a vain attempt to mitigate her migraine, Nicky always had a quite annoying tendency to contemplate the future regarding that rabbit. So it wouldn’t be a surprise that the dumb todd had been projecting his soul upon the girl, waiting for an attack that would take nearly a whole decade to happen.

“Can we take him out?”

“Yes, he’s not happy. But we can take him out of the tank.”

With an abrupt movement of her tails, Luna attempted to stand, but was defeated by her husband, who moved faster, each tail tagging one of the mammals present, his magic revolving around him as he transported the whole lot into Nicky’s place, all of them reappearing around a floating body, momentarily speechless due to the fast translocation.

Irene, who had recovered faster due to her will and desire to see her kit, was the first to approach the tank, eyes full of overjoyed tears as she saw that the body which had stood almost lifelessly for so long, wasn’t anymore and that in fact, those precious jewels that he had for eyes were now glancing back at her, mirth, shame and self-consciousness quite present.

“Not that I mind the attention but… why is Honey naked?” The floating todd projected mentally, his voice roaming the minds of his family, all of them smiling at the familiarity which the male had reacquainted with them.   

“Oh Nicky, let’s just get you out of that thing.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

Nick looked around, slightly gaping at the amount of valuable minerals, exotic items and of course, the gallons of blood preserved in neatly rune carved out tanks in front of him.

“Not that I’m criticizing the décor, but… this seems like a ritual I had no knowledge of…” The fox said, his eyes scanning every detail profoundly, trying to make sense of what he was seeing to no avail, so many conflicting runes and methodologies coming to his mind, occluding the true significance and utility of their placement.

“There are things that we haven’t taught you yet, Nicky dear…” Luna explained, as she moved the wheel chair the vulpine was sitting on with little effort despite the difference in size and weight between them, “this particular ritual isn’t entirely one that we employ due to how costly it tends to be…”

Harry simply nodded at that, oddly serious despite the situation, his eyes scanning the runes, as well as the flow of manna around the array, apparently satisfied with what he saw.

“So, what’s this thing for?” Nick asked, curious to the fact that unlike the others, he hasn’t been all that able to recover as fast as they did, his extracorporeal experiences apparently causing some subtle damage that he hasn’t been aware of, up until now at least. “Are you guys going to create a new body for me?”

Luna snorted at that, slightly enjoying the fact that the male seemed to be anxious, so he fished for knowledge, unable to deal with the drought of information that the couple of immortals had submitted him to.

“If only it was that easy…” Luna conceded, before she put the wheel chair on a secure spot, walking beside the fox and going toward a table far away from the ritual scene, “you see… we could transfer your soul to a new body, that’s quite easy, we’ve quite the experience manipulating and containing souls. But, you my dear, and that body of yours aren’t making things easier.”

Grabbing a dagger, the lapine examined it closely, tapping certain points with her claws, causing the dagger to vibrate and hum loudly, something that seemed to please immensely the femme, as she began to walk toward the vulpine, a naughty smile on her pretty face, “you see… your soul bond messed you up, honey… the fact that you’ve grown accustomed to projecting your soul out of your body at Judith’s beck and call, has stunted your growth, magically and physically… you should’ve naturally grown old in that vat, Nick… and yet, you remain a nineteen years old when you should be at twenty three, that’s not natural, in fact, it goes against the rune array we wrote on your container…”

Nodding at that, the fox couldn’t give any excuse to refute what the femme had said, especially when his new body refused to heal with the aid of magic once extracted from the container, the damage on his muscles being the more persistent issue so far.

“So… you’re going to what? Off me and catch my soul before I move on?”

Looking at the fox, eyes wide and expression completely aghast, the doe couldn’t simply comprehend for a couple of seconds what had been said, before she scoffed.

“Don’t be obtuse, of course we’re not going to off you, what made you think that?!” 

“I’ve to cede onto Nick, dear… you look particularly malevolent with that thing in your hands.” Added Harry, as he moved toward them, smiling slightly at the duo antics: “Relax, Nick… what we are doing is risky and costly, but not outside of our control.” Moving his hand over the rune array at the center of the whole room, the buck explained: “as you know, this place is built over a rather powerful ley line, our most powerful rituals are usually done in this place, and to be honest with you, it’s here were we ended up shedding our mortal forms and becoming the un-dying beasts that you know today.”

Gaping at what he heard, the vulpine looked at the center of the rune array, and then around him, his eyes trying to comprehend the magnitude of the magics engraved and employed in this particular place, shuddering lightly as he comprehended what exactly has been that oppressive feeling that had nearly swallowed him whole when they brought him here.

“A blood tied dimension? You guys protected this place with a blood tied rune?”

Seeing the nod from the buck, Nick simply gulped, even if his brow furrowed after hearing that, trying to reach a conclusion that would satisfy him.  

“No, even that’s a quite fallible mechanism in the long run due to natural degradation, as the ley line would end up eroding its effectivity as time passes by… There’s also soul ward then?”

“I missed that sharp mind of yours, son.” Harry answered proudly, before he explained: “Indeed, this place is heavily tied to our souls, only those that we bring with us voluntarily, can roam this place freely, you for example, are one of the few that we’ve brought here in centuries… Honey, Finn, the twins, hell, not even your mother had been brought here as there had never been a need for it, until now…”

Walking toward her husband, Luna smiled before she offered the dagger up to him, so he could infuse his own essence onto the metal with well-practiced taps from his claws, the dagger suddenly gaining a golden glow.

“Here, you’re about to witness a quite dangerous ritual, Nicky.” The doe explained, as she waved a hand, and a file full of papers and photos neatly landed on the vulpine grasp, which quickly began to peruse its content, eyes widening slightly at what he saw.

“This is…”

“Those are fabrications of course, well forged fakes, magic can do wonders and we can falsify a lot of things with no one being the wiser, but… there is always a limit as to how profound and perfect such a thing is, especially now with digital storing.” Harry explained, as he moved around, waving his hand in precise patterns that made the runes around the minerals and materials glow eerily, “in some cases, we just had to pay an absurd amount of money to create a quite fool proof paper and digital trail around the world to explain your disappearance and re-appearance.”

Nick looked at the information, pictures of him and a doe in several places, every time he was wearing different clothes, his eyes quickly catching up to the details that told him that he was actually older there, which wasn’t entirely possible due to his condition, then he looked at the doe accompanying him in said pictures, she looked like a miniature version of Luna, one that apparently enjoyed painting her fur a lot, going from black, to even eye watering turquoise…

“What’s going on?”

“That’s obviously forgery my dear… It’s quite impressive what a mammal can do with the right motivation and a good computer these days…” Luna explained, “Those are the places that you’ve been at in the past years while you took care of Gwendolyn Luna, my daughter and future inheritor…”

Frowning at that, Nick glanced at the doe, suddenly noticing that she had discarded her clothes, her smile creeping him out a little.

“You don’t have a daughter…”

“Not yet…” The doe answered, before she closed her eyes and nodded, a signal that Harry promptly took care of, as he waved a hand, magic colliding against her body, making her glow for a couple of seconds, her brow scrunched in concentration as she held on to such a shine, before ultimately, her body was suddenly cut in twain by the dagger.

Nick gasped, but didn’t dared to move as the shine and manna around Luna intensified to the point of being nearly blinding, the two halves soon expelling the glow, creating two balls of energy that hovered in the air, discarding their now deceased shell, a disgusting mass of blood, organs and tissue falling on the floor, feeding the rune array which angrily devoured the sacrifice with gusto.

Harry seemed unconcerned with the gory scene, his power and essences radiating around, moving the mineral to some points in the array, igniting a reaction that soon seemed to open a tear on the world and reality itself.

The fox simply glanced at the spectacle, unable to comprehend just what was going on, his eyes soon falling on the glowing orbs, one of them smaller than the other, soon taking the form of the Luna that he knew since he was a kit, her body as naked as before, seemingly recovering from the experience without permanent damage whatsoever.

And yet, he could see that something was missing.

The Luna he knew, was always smiles, she was peppy and calm when she was happy, and meticulous as well as insidious, even terrifying when she was angry.

The femme in front of them, just seemed to lack something, her eyes didn’t had the same shine nor the vibrancy he was accustomed to, they weren’t cold nor lacking in love, he could still perceive lots of it on her gaze, but something was missing, something had been extracted, and he didn’t exactly knew why, until he saw the bigger orb transform into a younger version of herself, his eyes quickly growing wide as he recognized her, his head soon falling onto the pictures that he now was painfully grasping in his claws.

“What the…?”

“Don’t fret; dear… this is a ritual that I created a long time ago,” The old Luna explained, as she walked toward the fox, caressing his cheek comfortingly, “we discontinued it due to our advancement in the arts, especially when we managed to re-create the Lazarus pit… can you guess the objective?”

Breathing profoundly, Nick pondered what was said, before he reached a quick conclusion after a couple of minutes.

“This used to be how you rejuvenated yourselves; you divided your soul, and through the use of manna, you created a new body to inhabit, a perfect copy of your own, just younger… parthenogenesis?”   

Smiling wide at the fox, the older doe nodded.

“It’s based on that concept, we deeply studied parthenogenesis as well as apomixis in plants and of course, autogamy.” The doe explained, as she walked toward her younger self that unlike herself, wasn’t completely in control of her magic, “It haves half of my soul at the moment, as well as my knowledge and powers. Sadly, she doesn’t have the experience or the muscle memory. So she’s incredibly vulnerable as it is, so we infrequently employed this method once we found just how helpless we ended up as.”

“As you know, we lost our capacity to reproduce once we attained true immortality; it’s one of many prices to pay for such a gift. Even yet, such an ability didn’t prevent us from adopting, but as society advanced, we soon saw ourselves subjected to a lot of scrutiny as we didn’t age as others seemed to be, much less had we progeny to occupy our places, so… we studied these natural methods of reproduction, and envisioned a ritual that let us create a perfect copy of ourselves, just younger obviously. We would coexist for a while, and when we deemed it necessary, our old bodies would ‘perish’, leaving it all to our younger selves, as they fully absorbed the remaining soul into their bodies, completing the deal, and leaving a decaying body behind to bury.” Harry explained, as he grunted in effort to stabilize the portal, as he sacrificed and employed more and more of the materials available around him.   

Luna, seeing that her husband would be severely occupied from now on, continued: “We employed this method for nearly a century and half, until of course; we found a better method after a rather nasty battle against a Doppelgänger at Horn town, which would later blossom into Deerbrook as you know it today. There, we stumbled upon the legend of Lazarus, and of course, ended up recreating it with great success, so this method was later simply discontinued…”

With a jolt, the younger body opened her eyes, breathing hard, as she employed her lungs for the first time, smiling slightly at the fox that glanced at her.

“I had forgotten just how… stiff these bodies were. It lacks the finesse and complexities of those created through the Lazarus pit, unlike them, I can’t access my full powers, and there are some memories and feelings strictly unavailable to me…” Frowning at that, the eighteen years old femme looked at her older counterpart, “Are you sure of this?”

The older doe nodded at that, “It’s necessary, especially if you want to purge him out of all the pent up sexual magics that he had accumulated through all these years…”

That on the other hand, caught Nick’s attention.

“What are you guys talking about?”

Gwen smiled, before she cocked her waist to the side, putting one of her hands coquettishly over it to emphasize her own curves, letting it all out for him to peruse without shame.

“Big momma here, took some of my feelings and views of you, sweetie.” The younger doe explained, enjoying the fact that despite how uncomfortable he seemed to be about her nudity, he wasn’t exactly able to take his eyes away either. “She’s full of maternal love, Nick. She loves you as if you were her own child… what she thinks of you is a kit that needs to be nurtured, you’re precious.”

“My younger self on the other hand, possess my love for you, but not the maternity limitations and views…”

Gulping, the todd suddenly understood why exactly this was done for.

“Luna…”

“Have you noticed it Nick, the fact that you’re clearly uncomfortable at our nudity once you noticed what we have in mind, and yet, you can’t resist looking at us? That is a quite worrying telling.” The older one calmly said, swaying her hips as she walked toward him, teasing despite how she truly felt about him, “magic and sex are a powerful combination, and you’ve accumulated a LOT of it, if we manage to heal you and let you out as you are… the possibilities that you would end up assaulting or accosting Judith are high…”

“I would never…”

“It wouldn’t be rape, she would be quite willing as well as your souls are resonating, forcing your bodies together, you both desire each other, but there are some problems with the current situation, first one, she’s currently underage, barely touching seventeen in a few months. That’s a problem from the normal side of the spectrum; from the magical side… you’re slowly overriding and overwriting her soul with yours, Nicky.”

That twist on the other hand, made the fox close his eyes, pain radiating from his very vessel as he understood just what was going on.

“My magic… when I shared my thoughts and knowledge when she needed to… I also ended up accelerating, probably influencing her body as well…”

The older doe nodded at that, now serious and contemplative, as she pondered her words carefully.

“A soul bond is a marvelous thing, Nicky… but marvels do have severe risks and consequences attached to them as well.” Luna explained, “the damage as it is nowadays isn’t much, but it’s there, it had made her slightly sensible to the esoteric arts, but she isn’t ready… her soul hasn’t fully stabilized, much less created its own defenses against such intrusions… if you keep seeking her, if you mate with her as she currently is, you would accelerate the process a great deal, forcing her into a premature awakening, and this would come with the price of her own abilities and part of her soul being overwritten with your own to fill the gaps she’s missing erasing her unique traits and inclinations, she would permanently lose a part of herself, never to recover it… your perfect match in a sense, she would only live to love you above everything else, even her own goals and desires.”

And that was what hurt the most; he liked Judy, a lot. And he really wanted to explore things with her, probably see if their soul bond could formalize between them into something more profound, or simply remain as friends as they currently were. He didn’t love her at the moment, but he appreciated her immensely after getting to know her through the years, the idea of robbing her of her independency and part of her soul, to make her subservient and dependent of him, made his insides burn deeply.

“So… you’re going to break the bond?”

Denying with her head, the older Luna directed his gaze with her hand toward the now nearly stabilized portal, then back at her younger self.

“Gwen will train you, Nick. Tantra is a powerful art with multiple uses, the most important of them all would be that it will serve you well to stabilize yourself and obviously, through practice, you will also learn about lapines anatomy… It’s why I prevented any maternal feelings from crossing onto that part of my soul and on to her body. It’s why some of her features are so strikingly similar to Judy, so you could let yourself go with her, she’s far more durable, and will take the abuse with gusto…”

“Sure I do, but… don’t think for a second that what will happen between us is permanent, Nick. I’ll enjoy it, sure… but my soulmate is Harry in the end, so… no falling in love with me, Okay?”   

Nick laughed at that, unable to believe what was happening so far, “This is madness… it’s immoral as well.”

“Nick, if you decide to turn into an immortal like us, you’ll find with the passing of time that your definition of morality changes greatly, especially in the bed. We don’t actually mind what’s going to happen… so stop thinking like that.” Harry added, grunting with finality as he stabilized the portal in the middle of the room, “now… let’s talk about time travelling…”

His eyes wide open Nick gaped at the buck, then the pair of does, unable to believe the bombshell that had been dropped on to him. “You’re kidding me…”

“No, we aren’t… little is impossible with magic, and you know it. Actual time travel isn’t like popular culture paints it to be, it’s easy with the appropriate tools, and whatever you change wouldn’t break the time line, time and space isn’t something that breaks so easily, in fact, time as mammals know it it’s merely a fabrication, if you change something, you’ll end up trapped in alternate realities and timelines at worst, but moving on…”

Nick simply gaped… “Just… like that? You can time travel just like that?”

“Nick, nearly a megaton in precious jewels and minerals was consumed in nearly twenty minutes, as well as approximately twenty gallons of manna enriched blood, and a near five centuries magical body richly charged with soul magics, and let’s not forget a virtually immeasurable amount of wild manna, which is why we did this at a ley line… and even then, with all of this, there is a clear limit as to how far we can sent you back, three years at most…” Harry continued, looking at the array, then at the vulpine: “Those pictures? That’s an actual itinerary of what you’re going to do from now on, the places you will visit, and be seen at. It will create a legal paper trail for the authorities to gaze at, and believe me, once you return, which will be in probably a couple of hours for us at most. Authorities WILL be tracing your every move, trying to find a weak point to harm us… now? They’re probably having a field day, thinking that they probably got us due to the obviously paper and digital trail, but once you cross this, the falsehood will turn into truth, without them being the wiser.”

The younger doe went behind the fox, pushing the wheelchair toward the portal, explaining: “You’ve seen a lot of time magics, Nick. We can gaze at the past through several methods, all of them depend on the quality of the sacrifice, the use of a certain apparatus to gaze at the past that consumes manna, and if you’re not careful, your soul as well as your own flesh. Finn is quite fond of this method, if you don’t remember…” Seeing the nod from the todd, the doe continued: “we can go further back, but that would then consume the ley line completely, and would also require living sacrifices as well, as well as megatons of tons of materials, the more you go back to the past, the pricey the sacrifice needs to be… we’re rich, but not that rich, honey. The amount of material we just employed was nearly sixty percent of our hidden coffers, it took us centuries to accumulate such booty, you know?”

Nick gulped at hearing that, as it was a LOT of sacrifices, the amount of resources put into this ritual was simply, flabbergasting.

“Don’t sweat it, Honey. We’ve never intended to use this ritual nowadays, and we’ll recover our coffers in a few centuries of careful handling of our finances…” Old Luna explained, smiling at him, “right now what’s important, it’s that you need to recover physically and spiritually. These years will help you re-attain your old capacities, probably even enhance them exponentially to confront these new enemies of ours…”

“Guys… stop dillydallying, I can’t keep this thing open all day long, you know?” Harry complained, sweating profoundly as he stared at the portal that greedily consumed the ley line energy as well as his own.

Gwendolyn nodded, before she ran toward the portal, ignoring the cries from the vulpine for her to wait a second, as he needed more time to clear his mind, the two of them disappearing immediately through the portal that soon closed itself off after their departure.

Luna simply smiled at her husband, before she went toward him so she could help him recover a little from the expenditure.

“They’re fine, dear…” reassured the doe once she saw the look on her mate eyes, “I can feel the connection to my other self, they’re far away, probably on our private island in the Bermuda’s, it will take them a while to get to Zootopia on our private plane, as planned, the changes to the timeline were minimal and within our stablished limits, as long as they kept themselves away from this place and this ley line for a century or two, there wouldn’t be any major consequences…”

Nodding at that, the buck simply sighed before the two of them walked toward the exit, knowing that they would need to seal quite thoroughly this place to prevent anyone from entering and disturbing the ritual emplaced on the ley line.

“I need to expunge Nick and your soul pattern from the array, dear. So I’ll be staying here, making sure that everything will be all right for a couple of days…”

Luna smiled sadly at that, looking around for a couple of seconds before she acquiesced, disappearing from the place that used to be their old home a long time ago, when the world was far more primordial and savage.

Harry simply gazed around, sitting down on the floor, and closing his eyes so he could concentrate on the rune array that protected the whole dwelling, knowing that he would need to go quite deep into his powers to secure the site from meddling.

Knowing that as soon as he emerged from his seclusion, his family would be whole once more…

“Hm… I need to create a younger version of myself to pair with Gwen in a few years… what name to use? Perhaps I’ll be… Benjamin this time… for now, I’m just happy that I’m not going to be there when Irene finds about what we just did.” 

Chapter Text

“YOU DID WHAT?!”

Cringing lightly at the screech of the clearly angry vixen, the doe lowered her ears, trying badly to ignore the pain now firmly located within her eardrums.

“Calm down babe…”

“Don’t you babe me, Luna!” Spat Irene, as she began to pace back and forward, trying to calm down with little success. “I can’t believe that you… and… that’s awful, Luna… just, awful!”

The snort from Finnick, which was sitting a few chairs away from the duo, immediately caught the gaze of the irate mother, as to which he promptly added.

“The alternative then was to break his soul bond… and inflict a permanent damage into them, or perhaps, the event of Nick’s turning into a sexual predator due to the high amounts of sexual magics that he had accumulated due to his foolish actions is a far more appetizing outcome to you, Irene?”

Recoiling as if she had been punched, the vixen glared at the small mammal, then at the frowning but quite serious Badger beside him, their eyes crossing momentarily, so many things being told with a single glance that further deflated the femme.

“But… you said…”

“He wasn’t actively using it when Judith was inspected, and he wasn’t purposely predating on the femme, but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t accumulating and creating a base that could end up with him being driven mad by need at the pace they were going at…” Luna explained calmly, walking a little and tentatively reaching the hand of her mortal lover, “Nick didn’t feel the need to release such energies, because he spent a lot of his time out of his body. The souls lack the ability to fully experience anything related to a physical body, just memories, fragments of what it used to be, it’s why so many of them end up mad. The mere memory of what you had, and now can’t have is a huge damage that not many entities can tolerate…”

“Irene… I know that you were quite preoccupied hugging the life out of him, but… you had to admit that he was perhaps a little too grabby… and his pheromones didn’t lie, he was excited and not in a fraternal way… having a body was slowly elevating some reactions due to years of accumulated desire. Hell, he was even glancing hungrily at my little Finn…”

“Which would end up badly, and with a quite epic smack down if he dared to make a move on me,” The fennec said, maneuvering a cigar on his fingers, entirely unconcerned at the scoff that he was receiving from the femmes, “don’t look at me, I don’t like males, period. I like the boy, but there are limits on to what I would let him do with me AND to me. Got it?”

Clearing her throat, Luna simply gazed at the vixen, and clarified:

“Don’t think that I did this just to sleep with him, dear… There are a lot of things that needs to be done and taught… yes, sex is going to be quite a focus on the first months as he recovers, but he also needs to re-train his magical progress as well as update quite a lot of data. It’s quite unreasonable to ask him to help us while he’s still convalescent and ignorant of what had changed, and I can’t on good conscience, damage his soul bond with that girl just because it’s currently inconvenient to our security. Also, that body I just created is quite resilient, but it’s still vulnerable in the right circumstances, believe me when I tell you that he will learn what happens if he gets overeager with a bunny when he’s a fox on the bed chambers, normally the size difference is a challenge that needs to be treated with patience and careful practice, something that he currently lacks due to how sexually charged his magic is. I can recover in a matter of minutes once he’s done thanks to a few well-placed spells, Judith on the other hand…? He would probably kill her if he’s not careful.”  

Sighing, Irene conceded, before she went and sat on a comfy love chair soon being accompanied by Luna who sat at her side, “It’s just… it feels so wrong.”

“Still better than to use innocent does to satiate his needs, this will come to pass, and if those two end up as more than friends, he will know how to treat her and drive her wild without hurting her in the process… it’s a win-win if you ask me.”

Nick looked around, tails flailing and finger caressing his muzzle while he perused a plethora of floating tomes around him, pondering and analyzing the information about their current security problems.

He contemplated and ruminated on the fact that their defenses had been obviously breached with outstanding ease, so they were forced to build a new array from scratch, which wasn’t an easy task, at all.

Sighing, and with a wave of his left hand, the vulpine moved the floating books away from him, carefully depositing them on their shelves, a nearby wheel chair moving on its own toward him so he could sit comfortably, as with another lazy movement of his hand he made a remote float toward him, which he neatly caught so he could gaze at a nearby TV.

Turning it on, the todd soon groaned, then chuckled self-deprecatingly, once more he had been so engrossed in his studies, that he had forgotten the shit-storm that his re-appearance as well as the appearance of Gwen turned out to be for the media.

Though, now he was actually quite surprised to see a few shots of the two of them being a little too close to each other, the picture in question showed him with a Gwen that was obviously gasping in surprise as he used one of his brushes to tickle one of her ears while they supposedly where working excavating the remains of old civilizations in Egypt in one of the many archeological tourist traps that roamed the place, behind them he could clearly sight the frowning face of Augusta Simmons, a rather snooty aardvark that served as their supposed guide through a rather boring expedition that was more catered toward tourist than actual discoveries, which was why the two of them often simply where playing and messing up, not being good little rich tourists, the norm.

Of course, at the time, there was nothing raunchy or romantic on the picture, it merely was two youngsters enjoying themselves, and nothing more, but he knew right well that there were many, many factual reasons why the media was selling the idea that they had been on a romantic cruise around the world.

Seeing that through his reminiscence, the TV had changed from news (or what the media attempted to sell as news these days), to a talk show that, surprise, surprise, it was speaking about them, and more precisely what they thought about the whole relationship, and what it could meant for the future of the Savage family, a rather disgruntled marmot openly deriding them for their behavior and unnaturalness, which promptly received an mix of ovation and indignation from the public, apparently the center piece of the show was centered on inter-species relationships, which prompted him to turn down the annoying thing with a from now marrying his face.

“So, Paul Toothingham show us your limit nowadays?” a chuckling voice said, prompting the todd to raise his ears, then move his head to the left, immediately glancing at a smiling badger, casually resting her body against the door frame, “not that I blame ya, I mean… they have been going wild with that piece for days now, and the fact that the two of you managed to slip through their attempt to corral you and extract information from you at the airport, hasn’t done you lot any favors…”

Nick simply chuckled, closing his eyes and putting his body against the back of his rather comfy seat, “The price of beauty, I guess… common mammals can’t prevent but to gaze at perfection incarnated and try to get a chunk of it to claim it as their own… it’s a curse, I tell you.”

Honey chuckled after hearing that, denying with her head before she walked toward her not so young friend anymore. “It’s also your fault, you know? Your re-appearance was melodramatic, and what the two of you did all over the world didn’t help your case either... there are rumors that they caught the two of you rutting like animals at Stonehenge…”

Nick simply shrugged at that, not entirely concerned that someone had caught them with their pants downs, literally.

“A few jinxes made sure that any electronical device containing our images suffered a catastrophic event, nowadays, if you can’t back it up with imagery, it’s considered speculation, and it’s easily twisted into what the most convincing or juicy side desires…” noticing the curiosity on the badger gaze, Nick explained: “We only desecrated sites where the local population annoyed us, in this case, a rather annoying congregation of cultists that had been following us through Ewerope, Edge wizards that thought themselves our superiors… they had this whole sacrificial ritual planned at Stonehenge, so we just high jacked the whole thing, modified a little of this and that, and turned the whole thing into a fertility ritual… Don’t be surprised when you hear about a quite prominent rise in pregnancies at the UK these incoming years…”

Madge laughed out loud after hearing that, actually quite amused that the improvised duo had ended up crossing paths with far more magical groups than they had in the past decades, which corroborated a lot of suppositions that they had been debating for a while.

“Think they had anything to do with our mystery annoyances?”

“Absolutely not, they lacked finesse and most certainly, power.” The reynard explained, as he caressed his muzzle ponderingly, “at first, Luna was surprised… yes; they haven’t left the continent of Animalia in… centuries. But hedge wizards and druids were supposed to be extinct all around the world…”

A wave of his fingers quickly sent a book toward the femme, which dexterously caught the tome in her fingers, her eyebrow raised inquiringly.

“That’s a rather profound and detailed journal of our travels and what we encountered… There are signs of several powerful entities in Ewerope, as well as Asia. Few made any attempt to contact us, those that did merely inquired about our intentions and once they got the information they wanted, they left; never completely though, we were definitely under heavy surveillance the whole time. But Luna never managed to catch something that would’ve worried her, much less anything that could be tied to what she encountered on the academy attacks…”

Considering what the fox said, Madge pondered the possibilities, before she speculated.

“So, we’re dealing with locals?”

“Most probably, Harry and Luna had to admit that they had grown arrogant in these past centuries, complacent even. Most of it due to the fact that they had delved further and further into mortal domain, the academy that they had founded after the demise of Jack and Skye slowly got a lot of their attention until it became their all.” Closing his eyes, and crossing his legs imperiously, the todd concluded: “It’s quite probable that due to this, some of their enemies simply… slipped their radar and bided their time.”

Clicking his tongue, the fox then floated on to his paws, his claws creating a soft click against the cool marble floor as he stood then walked toward the center of the room so he could contemplate the floating images of the defense arrays for the academy, openly displayed for him to peruse to his heart content.

“The deal is that… we doubt that there aren’t some external forces involved either, some of the eastern cultures seemed to be quite… aggressive. Though, there are some cults that obviously despise immortals with a passion, not that I blame them with what some of their Emperors did on the past, and soul users aren’t exactly well loved in Ewerope either. We had an unfortunate encounter at Equus with a rather vindictive mare that seemed rather offended by our magic usage…”

Madge nodded and finally stopped beside him, studying his friend as well as partner closely before she glanced at the floating images.

“You’re evading the rabbit…”

“Which one?” succinctly responded the todd, which actually surprised the badger for a moment, before he sighed and explained.

“For a while I nearly fell for her, you know?” The fox explained, leaving quite clear that he was talking about Gwen, Luna’s new counterpart… “The lie was quite convincing, and without the maternal bonds… our relationship was just… different. But of course, I was quite aware that it wouldn’t go farther than what it was, something physical, she loved me but not like I wanted her to… and I had to accept that.”

Honey frowned then nodded after a while, you can’t simply have sex with someone that you appreciate over and over without creating attachments of the emotional kind. Getting rid of those wasn’t easy, as they could easily turn into something nasty as well if you weren’t careful.

“Was it because…?”

“She looked like Hopps?” Nick said, noticing the slight widening of her friend eyes at the name he had decided to employ to describe his prospective soul mate, “That’s a sound yes, but distance can break, mold or augment a relationship… I had to admit that I needed some distance from Judy, I still like her, and I really want to get to know her, but… what were years to me, are still days for her. If I approach her now, will her soul react to mine? Will it force us to be together? Shape us, change us? Until she remains idle on the magical side. I think the best I can do is to be a little distant…”      

“That explains it, but I know you, partner. Something is annoying you, and it isn’t Hopps,” Madge added, one of her hands immediately ascend and lands on his left shoulder, squeezing reassuringly, enticing him to open up to her like old times, something that brought a small pleased smile to the reynard.

“Gwen wants to get close to Judy, get to know her better, and what better way than being close to her age?” Nick explained, actually quite annoyed at the new version of Luna, which apparently had decided to at least get to actually know the other femme. As she was apparently, hoping to see if the gal was actually worth the effort, which they all knew was merely an excuse.

Nick couldn’t say that he wasn’t happy with how things turned out, but that was mostly a remnant of the bond, that as Gwen as warned him, would attempt to reignite the old arrangement out of nature due to how accustomed their soul got to share each other. The days since his return to the academy had been frankly, a constant test to his mettle and training as he had been forced to close quite firmly his end of the bond between them, as Judy had been unconsciously calling his soul to her while asleep these past days, trying to find him to no avail, like an addict desperately trying to get its new fix.

It hasn’t been easy for neither of them, but it had to be done. He wouldn’t ever forgive himself if he ended up damaging Judy simply because he couldn’t keep it in his pants, or in his body. 

A soft nudge from Madge forced the fox out of his introspection, a smile on her face.

“You’re smitten, aren’t you?”

“Not you too…” Nick retorts, tiredly, before he amended: “I want to be, yes…but for now, I think I want to make sure that she’s safe.” 

The badger laughed at that, Luna had been actually quite happy for him since they came back and she heard a detailed report from her counterpart, the only downside of the whole debacle being that due to his new training, he wasn’t entirely sure if he could maintain the… arrangement that he had with the twins which were still acclimatizing themselves to their new bodies, as well as the reality that within them resided a piece of the monster that took everything from them.

You didn’t have to be a genius to understand that love, sex or relationships weren’t in the mind of the twins nowadays. 

“There is also that annoying thing with her being underage…”

“Oh Nicky, don’t be daft. It doesn’t suit you…” The badger admonished lightly, tapping his shoulder in light reproach at his joke, “You’re aware that you don’t have to romance her right now, and you want to get to know her first as she grows up,” the femme said as she stared at her friend, narrowing her eyes as she contemplated further the issue, “as far as I know, you’re probably the only male interested in her that wants to get to know her before dabbing into sex, though, that’s unfair to her as well, she isn’t a stupid little girl that doesn’t know what she’s getting at.”

Nick sighed, and then pondered about it, indeed Judy wasn’t precisely experienced romantically speaking, but she wasn’t either an ignorant or an airhead, so he shouldn’t have to worry completely about her situation: “I guess I’m still somewhat reticent, probably even afraid to fully let her go, even momentarily. What happened and the experiences we dreamed and lived together? I can’t simply get over those, even with my new shields they remain with me…  No, don’t misunderstand me, I’m happy that I got to meet her, and that I helped her advance faster than she normally would’ve, but by doing so, I’ve perhaps curtailed, probably even spoiled some of her chances to attain her true goal. Even worse, I know how much her fast advancement had damaged her friendships and relationships as well, there are some of her relatives that are downright jealous of her, and they aren’t afraid to demonstrate it. Her parent’s do their best, but it isn’t enough, and receiving that kind of treatment from her own family, her blood, had hurt her deeply…”

Madge nodded at that, but then she simply said:

“Nicky, dear… holding on to that guilt isn’t good for you, it isn’t healthy,” raising one hand; she stopped his protest, “do you know that I nearly died two years after you went down a while ago?” The femme explained, capturing the attention of the male immediately, “I was pushing myself beyond my limits, internalizing and taking the blame for what happened to you, I advanced my arts quite a bit, I tell you, it wasn’t a total waste, but I also nearly consumed my soul completely in the process… I stupidly thought that I could fight non-stop against a horde of boogers in a darn cave for days, and didn’t tell anyone about it…”

“Which ones?”

“The Mammoth caves…”     

Cringing, Nick could simply stare at her friend; those caves had been haunted to such amounts, that they had been deemed a lost cause by the Savages, so they had been sealed quite tightly; at least, a huge portion of the natural labyrinth had been closed to the non-awakened, as it was a quite popular tourist site despite their attempts to enclose the place initially.

And yet, seals notwithstanding, there were still a lot of supernatural events on that place to this day, once in a while a small trio, which normally consisted of himself, Finn and Honey went in to give the seals some maintenance, and cleanse the boogers that managed to escape its clutch.

“How did you?”

“I lied, obviously. Finn wasn’t pleased I tell you. You know pretty well that a Mammoth sized booger isn’t easy with three of us. I fought and brought down six of them before I nearly consumed my darn soul due to exhaustion, which is of course when a seventh appeared; I was out of manna, out of options and crying my eyes out due to frustration and my own stupidity, when a really annoyed Harry appeared saving my sorry self. I don’t have to tell you just how angry everyone was at me… Finn didn’t rut me for nearly six months after that. In fact, he wasn’t even talking to me, which was what hurt the most if I’m honest.”

Nick nodded at that, those two had been together for a long, long time, for her to lie like that and nearly thrown away her life in such a fashion, yeah, the small fox wouldn’t take it lightly. And earning his forgiveness was always a slow and quite fastidious process.

“How did you?”

“Luna kicked his tail, and my own. In fact, she simply kidnapped us and decided to brutally demonstrate why she had survived long enough to become the immortal she currently is. It forced us to work together just to survive, and even then, she still won. When we were recovering on the infirmary, I apologized, I would’ve groveled as well, but the bitch broke my hips and my legs, so I could simply lightly twist toward him. We talked; he admitted to how scared and hurt he was when I didn’t appear after my mission, how he went everywhere, trying to find me.  How he thought the worst, and that he hasn’t been there to support me, he cried Nick…” Chuckling, the femme glanced at her friend, noticing the incredulity on his face: “Oh yeah, Mr. Alpha male, the lord of the snark and all that is masculine broke down on me, and it devastated me.”

“Stop, stop, please, this sound like something he wouldn’t want to be ousted…”          

“He doesn’t, but that doesn’t stop me from telling you. Mostly because you’re doing the same idiotic mistake that I did, and take the noble, self-sacrificing effacing route mistake. Even if you don’t want to admit it, get to know the girl, there might be true chemistry between the two of you, or not. You’ll never find it hiding away from it. Don’t be obtuse like I was. What you’re currently doing? Is running away from the reality… and by the way… I don’t like that thing.”

Pointing toward the drawn of the security array, the badger scowled, and Nick curiously asked why she doesn’t like it.

“It looks like a lot of superimposed images; it’s like a stack of several things put over other, and another, and another. I mean, Look at my tats…”

Looking at her chest playfully, Nick added: “A nice pair certainly, but I don’t see why you’re…”

“Not those you doofus, though, thanks for the compliment. My tattoos, see how at first sight, they look like they’re superimposing on each other, but aren’t once you look closer? They’re complimenting each other, they add what the other lacks, and complete the whole deal… Those on the other hand…”

“It’s a whole set of designs and techniques that don’t necessarily mesh really well with each other, so they leave holes and breaches… Oh Honey, I could kiss you…”

“I wouldn’t mind if you do, but Finn is quite possessive and he wouldn’t doubt even for a second to hit you with his bat…”

“I’ll kiss him too, I’m all for equality, you know?”

“I think he would simply bite your face off if you tried, though, if you manage to convince him to do a trio, I wouldn’t mind a good roa-…”

“Noted, now… help me here; I think I’ve got a solution for our defense problems, several in fact… but first, we need to.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

Nick looked around him, presenting his array to the entire group, smiling widely at their gaping maws, incredulity clearly set with them, with the only exception being Madge of course.

“It’s…”

“Dangerous, I know, but think about it. We’re trying to keep them out with the current array, but if we do so, we risk damaging those students that have potential, but aren’t exactly awakened. It’s why the wards never repulsed the intruders; they couldn’t identify nor differentiate the non-awakened from those already active, but suppressing their powers.”

“By doing so, the wards thought them to be new-fangled awakened, or another dormant student depending on their control...” Luna nodded, now comprehending why her old array hasn’t been exactly as effective as it used to be, now that the castle was far more populated with civilians that weren’t exactly tied to them as vassals, which left an opening quite easy to exploit now that it was clearly pointed out to them. “You think that there might be some of them already within, posing as students?”

“Most definitely, but I doubt that it’s someone of importance or one of their heavy hitters, low tier mooks most likely.”  Harry complemented, following Nick’s idea so far, “they could also have some mundane students on their side, we can’t absolutely know, and they have demonstrated an ability to adapt and transform certain abilities into something new as well, they could’ve modified a ritual or a rune to keep their spies at a low level that we wouldn’t even think at first sight as a potential problem, ingenious.”

With a harrumph, Nick stopped the lord of the house praise of their enemy’s insidiousness:

“Problematic, it’s also probable that they’re employing some of the contractors and the personal that we hire from outside sources as well.” Seeing their nods and attention on him, the fox continued:  “We’re also overlooking another possibility, they could even own said enterprises on the non-magical side, and we wouldn’t know, especially if the employees remain on the normal spectrum, they don’t need to know about our world to plant a totem. Just pay them to do so, and many would gladly do it without even blinking, to them, it’s something innocuous and quite safe to comply to.” Nick concluded, which put a frown on the magicals present, as none of them had thought about that possibility, apparently they had all fallen into the old trap of underestimating non-gifted mammals as well.

“We should’ve thought of that, Severus was proof enough of the concept. A non-magical individual with a strong love for things that only an awakened should know about, that’s a quite glaring red herring, and we simply omitted it, though, considering the discovery we ended up afterward, so I guess that’s easily forgivable, but then, was he part of them, inducted then thrown aside? How exactly did he lose himself to his obsession, compulsions perhaps?” Added Roderick, munching on a stick of celery as he thought about it, his free hand caressing Mabel’s  fluffy head, the ursine momentarily transformed into an ewe simply remained at his side, holding a teddy bear tightly to her bosom, more interested on the petting than the discussion.

Everyone else simply ignored the odd sight, knowing pretty well the femme hasn’t been exactly the same since the discovery.

“And that’s the problem; there are too many variables at play that we haven’t even considered. And an intent ward isn’t viable as well, mostly because it clashes horridly with the anti-rape wards, as the two of them simply can’t see the difference between low level aggression and hostile intent.” Saying that, Nick pushed the button, and showed a video of Finn and Honey slightly sparring within a warded circle, both of them having a smile on their muzzles, until the wards simply went down on them, paralyzing them on the spot, “The problem is the current matrix of the runes or more precisely, the lack of ability to appropriately understand the difference between a couple that likes to be frisky in bed…” a click of his finger produced another video with the same couple, this time in a more intimate fashion, the small fennec being a little rougher than necessary with the badger in their foreplay, before once again, they were promptly paralyzed on the spot, their groans of frustration clearly echoing on the audio before the todd switched off the screen, redirecting the attention back to the floating magical arrays in the middle of the room, “from someone forcing itself on another by force. It doesn’t differentiate between twelve mammals trying to bring down each other on the field while playing a sport, from warrying factions about to injure themselves to death. It just interprets their intentions as written, subtext and nuances completely omitted and forgotten.”

Luna grimaced at that, massaging her head.

“That’s… a really annoying downside Nicky.”

“Most definitely, it doesn’t understand the middle. It’s in its current form it’s only able to comprehend black or white, there isn’t gray. If we put the old system at play, it will let a lot of abuse come to pass, as it would only stop or detect something within the old customs of what was appropriate nearly a millennia ago, customs that are nowadays, socially unacceptable.”

“And if we put the revised version, it would interpret any sign of doubt or fear as aggression on the sexual department, and our sport teams would simply fall unconscious due to the aggression that they display on the field… perfect, just… perfect.” Luna moaned, and Harry patted her hand, understanding her frustration, before he asked: “So, we have to create a new rune array from scratch?”

At that, Nick smiled but shifted from one paw on to another.

“Not precisely…” and saying that, the fox clapped, a small circle appearing in front of him, handling him a book on his opened hand, a book that Luna immediately recognized.

“Nick…”

“I propose that we tweak the old system, the modifications I did with the help of Honey streamlined their efficiency to such an extent, that they consume less energy and are actually far more potent than they used to be. Let the enemy think that our solution to their breach is a mere reinforcement of the same flawed system that they could still exploit at ease.” With a flick of his wrist, the book floated toward the hands of Luna, who grasped it with some restraint.

“I’m aware that you’ve some reticence to employ minor-deities, but we’ve been letting them live in our property for a long while, sprites, kodama, dryads and koro-pok-guru, Koroks if you want to short it out, those are the entities that I intend to recruit to fill as our eyes, ears and guardians in exchange of a safe land where they wouldn’t be predated by more violent species.”

Luna and Harry looked at each other, before the buck spoke.

“You know that bringing them here would make this place far more attractive to major-deities, don’t you?”

“That’s probable, but that’s why the old reinforced system remains, as it still contains a ward that would keep any major annoyance away from us. Also, I propose that we expand, probably create an outer ward, a ring to be precise. We’ve forests and flower fields that are already the home of many small and medium deities, a safe haven of sorts. As long as we remain cordial and peaceful toward them, there shouldn’t be any surprise…”

“But that’s the deal Nick, how would we assure them that if someone attacks them, it wasn’t one of us? Deities are proud creatures, and if they perceive that we’ve broken our side of the bargain, they would get enraged and trample everything in front of them until they eradicate us, or we kill them… how do you… oh, Oh!”

The doe looked at the small tattoo on the fox ankle, everything falling into place for her.

“I see… you want us to tie ourselves to them through a pact. Mark us, that’s clever… but there is always a problem.”

Nick nodded at that, “what about our students? How can we prevent one of them from exploring the place and causing damages due to negligence or ignorance? And the answer is brutal, but simple. We ward the area, as well as give the deities explicit instructions that if non-affiliated magical approaches, it’s to be contained at all cost, only those bearing the mark would be able to freely pass the defense and negotiate, and only if one of the five mammals currently present are there to corroborate. It’s brutal, and simple.”

“It opens the path to weed some of the spies, as they would definitely attempt to investigate the area. And those few with the potential to end up there would end up shaken and traumatized, but that’s easily solvable with a memory jinx…” Smiling, Harry looked at the fox and added: “It’s a devious plan, son. Everyone has been ignoring the small deities around the place, they’re mostly harmless, and useless to us as potion components, much less in a fight…”

Luna smiled, “But they can still see, hear and even taste things that we don’t. Dryads on the campus trees, sprites on the dormitories and edifications would prevent any violence and sexual abuse from happening, while the Koroks and kodama could simply watch the fields and green areas all around the place, never wavering, never sleeping… practically perfect watch-mammals,”

“And, as the premises are already full of them, the spies wouldn’t even think twice of the creatures. So they would act carefully minding the wards, while omitting the watchful gaze of the small deities… I’ve even stablished a pattern already, nightly I go out and feed some of my manna to some of the sprites and Koroks… someone had already swallowed the bait, not exactly who I expected, but I can’t say that I’m not pleased that she’s been seeking me out, trying to approach me.”

Everyone looked at the new defense array, gaping incredulously, before one of them broke the silence.

“Nick… when did you? How? I only talked about the lack of synergy between them!” Honey said, completely surprised and aghast at the vulpine creativity.

“It wasn’t my original plan, you know. I truly wanted to create a more efficient array and curtail our enemies, but a thought crossed on to me… someone had already attempted to kill Carrots, or at least, attacked her with ill intent. If we close the gaps in our defenses, they would then approach our students outside when they’re away from said barricades, and we wouldn’t be able to do anything about it…”

“Yeah, the attacker clearly demonstrated a lot of pettiness when she wasn’t able to get to you, and apparently didn’t take kindly either to your rejection. And while you might get all overprotective over Judith, that doesn’t give the rest of our mammals of interest any security at all…”

“Exactly,” The fox added, before he moved one of his hands, conjuring a chair so he could sit comfortably… “So I was suddenly, trapped on what to do exactly about our situation, we could change our defense array, but we don’t have the personal to protect our mammals of interest, leaving them vulnerable… which would then open up a new breach into our security that we wouldn’t be able to foresee in the future, while also making things harder for us on the mundane spectrum.”

Looking at the Savages and the nod of acknowledgement from Harry on that front, as he constantly had to deal with the non-awakened on a daily basis, so Nick simply smiled before he continued:    

“My… dillydallying inside a bunny’s head for so long also affected me in more subtle ways that I haven’t noticed before, until a few months ago.” Nick explained, wiggling a little to accommodate his tail on the seat, “I never cared about flowers before, now? I find them relaxing… and I also possess a nearly encyclopedic knowledge on flora, so before I knew it, on my travels I would routinely draw, annotate and even begin a collection of pressed flowers before Gwen called me up on it,” looking toward the smiling doe, Nick simply nodded, ignoring the fawning of Luna and his mother, and the chuckling from a clearly amused fennec at his new pastime: “So, to calm my nerves I began to wander the campus premises, gazing, cataloging and annotating what flora we had available, soon noticing that the campus was filled with little entities of no consequence… as well as other things.”

“And being a lazy bum, you wondered why you couldn’t make use of the otherwise, useless entities, didn’t you?” Gwen sassed, smiling widely at her friend, a small tut of disapproval appearing on Luna’s mouth at her cheek, though it was easily ignored as mere posturing due to the wide smile on the old doe’s muzzle.

“Exactly, so… I wondered if we could make use of them. So I studied that compilation of yours, Luna.” The reynard said as he pointed out at the book still beside the old doe, who nodded back, understanding why he had taken such liberties with her private library, “your bestiary was quite clear of the dangers of dealing with entities, gods and demons. There is always an exchange needed, a price to be paid for harmony between parties…”

Laughing hard at what the fox was implying. Harry simply couldn’t prevent it anymore, earning a glare from his wife as well as some confused glances from the others except the fox.

“They’ve been living under our property for centuries, under our protection and properties… without pay. We’ve simply left them be, as they’re nowadays more annoyances than a risk,” seeing the slowly dawning comprehension on those present, the buck simply enjoyed what Nick brought upon them, “The fact that we’ve advanced our craft to curtail the need for their corporal parts, due to the fact that we can create and supply our own bodies and manna to feed our rituals without consequences, had made our lands a safe haven for them, were predators and other magical users aren’t exactly permitted to wander without reprisal…”

Surprised, Luna looked at Nick, clearly amused by how… Machiavelli the male was being, “Oh Nicky… you didn’t!”

“I did, I collected centuries of debts on their tribes, they weren’t particularly amused, but a quick reminder of whose faction I belonged to, and whose lands they had been free loading for centuries curtailed any protests from their part, as they’re quite aware that they’ve erred in their ways, and equal exchange wasn’t settled between parties.” Nick clarified, as he then pointed out at the improved but otherwise nearly identical rune array at his back. “With their help, it was easy to discover the glaring holes in our defenses,” with a snap of his fingers, the image suddenly was full of red circles, clearly marking the deficiencies for all to frown at. “And as you might see, there are at least, three of them that have been used in the past months without pause.”

The whole room kept silence, all of them examining the spots, until Mabel, who had been so far silent, groaned out loud.

“The sewers… of course it would be the damned sewers…”

Nick simply nodded at that, understanding her distaste before he explained: “Our mistake was to think that they wouldn’t sink so low as to exploit the sewers, clearly, they don’t mind…” another snap of his fingers, switched off the image, as the tv screen turned on again, the picture of the groaning couple soon changed into that of tunnels and filth. “As you can see, there are clear signs of tampering here, here… and there.” The fox explained as he showed them one picture after another, soon noticing that the mirth that had been filling the group suddenly disappeared after the clear proof of enemy incursion on their home.

Harry was the first one to voice his displeasure.

“It seems that I’ve been lax in my duties…”

“We, dear… don’t try to minimize my fault here.” Luna gently chided, clearly as displeased as her mate at their discovery, “Those tunnels haven’t been visited in… centuries. It’s like the more we grew in power, the more outlandish our enemies became, until we defeated them all, and assumed that there was nothing for us to fear… pride before the fall indeed.”

Roderick nodded at that, before he added: “Thankfully, the only fall here was that of pride, which can be corrected. So, how soon will we remediate this issue?”

“We shouldn’t…” Nick said, surprising everyone present, so he clearly continued before everyone dared to interrupt him: “Think about what I said before, why take the bother to set up a surveillance system, when I could simply update the defenses?”

Gwen opened up her eyes, eyes shining brightly as finally they were going to discuss a little detail that he had brought up.

“You wanted to attract the attention of someone, but the one you attracted wasn’t your intended target…” the young doe said, bringing the issue to the table, “I was thinking that you were talking about Judy, but clearly I’m wrong… it’s someone else?”

The fox nodded at that, before he explained.

“Like we already established, if we close the array fully, there are some inherent risk that we aren’t prepared to deal with, especially as our numbers are quite limited at the moment. So, I created a system that would let our enemy think we’re still being overconfident and unyielding. Let them think that our solution to everything is power, power, and power! When in actuality, subtlety and misdirection is our goal.”

Luna smiled viciously at that, understanding that now that they were aware of their point of entry, and with quite an army willing to be their eyes, ears and senses, there was no way that the enemy would penetrate their premises once again without their knowledge, giving them the advantage of setting the battlefield to their benefit from the very beginning, entrapping them before they ever knew it.

“So, you want to reverse the situation, uh?” Luna amusedly said which earned a few chuckles around: “They exploited our overconfidence and lack of flexibility…”

Nick simply smiled back at her, before he nodded: “And I want to pay them back for their kindness… it’s not often that an enemy is stupid enough to let you live to learn about your mistakes before they attack you once more.”

With an overjoyed clap, Harry simply brought the attention to him, eyes shining bright with amusement, as well as joviality.

“You’ve done a splendid job, son.” Looking at Irene, whose tail was wagging back and forth, as well as the crooning Luna and the smoldering look that Gwen was offering the todd, he wasn’t the only one quite proud with what the vulpine had brought to the table in regard to their current circumstances. “You’ve managed to change a rather dire situation into one that would benefit us greatly…”

The claps were nearly deafening, especially as some of them went as far as to enhance their palms so they could cause a more intense sound, Nick simply stood there, preening at the attention that he rightly deserved, his eyes roaming his friends for a little while, eyes crossing over to Gwen for a few seconds, before a sad smile appeared between them.  

“Before…” Gwen softly said, her voice magically enhanced to surpass the sound of clapping, capturing the attention of everyone… “You said that someone had been caught by your scheme, but it was something unexpected, but not undesired… if it wasn’t Judy, who is it?”

The silence remained for a couple of seconds, before Nick denied it completely.

“No, as I said sadly it wasn’t her, but someone else…” looking at his watch, the fox smiled slightly, before he said: “Someone that if I’m right, is probably already walking the gardens looking for me, looking for an answer to things that she couldn’t ignore anymore…”

“If you say so, Nicky… remember that we could help you there, dear…” Irene added, actually looking worriedly at the small exchange between her son and Gwen, displeasure clearly settling on her eyes, a small and not so subtle glare directed at the wincing Luna that told the femme about another row in the incoming future, Gwen merely sighed as she knew that she wouldn’t be exactly excluded of said talk, as she hasn’t been exactly subtle about how attractive she found Nick a while ago.

Said fox merely shrugged at that, actually quite pleased to see that he wasn’t going to be here to suffer the consequences of their brief relapse, which hasn’t been as subtle as they thought it to be, a small part of him feeling quite sorry about what he had subjected Gwen and the others to.  

“Where are you going, Nicky?” Honey asked, curious, not understanding fully the whole exchange or more precisely, who exactly had the fox caught on his little net.

“To meet someone, of course.” Nick said smartly, smiling softly at the curious badger before he walked toward the exit, “with luck, we’ll have a new member on our little group, so… don’t wait for me Honey!” 

Nick hasn’t been lying when he said that he had developed a new hobby regarding flowers, it had been infuriating at first, especially as the knowledge was actually quite useless for his craft, but regardless, said awareness endured despite his best attempts to forget about it.

It wasn’t until they visited Hawaii, where his first serious row with Gwen happened that such knowledge came to actual use, the islands were rather well known for their flora, so, while he ran away trying to appease his frayed nerves, he found himself falling back on to a comfortable pattern that offered some solace as it occupied his mind, taking it away from the problem, with soft calming thoughts of plants, more specifically, flowers, especially as the local flora was kind enough to offer a quite diverse and beautiful amount for him to peruse, the routine effectively calming him enough to understand what went wrong before, and how to remedy it.

Of course, that didn’t meant that he wasn’t aware of the fact that he had imitated, probably copied to a T, the whole scenario from one of Judy’s routines. The memory of the doe that he had been forced to take some distance to, suddenly reassuring him that despite the distance, there was still a bond between them that would unite them for all eternity. So, as months passed by, the ritual slowly transformed into a routine to help him calm his mind, a sort of busy meditation that ironically through the use of familiar knowledge, served to calm his mind into a more manageable state.

Here on the academy, he hasn’t ever been as aware of the flowers and the environment before that event, he knew that they existed; he had glanced once or twice at them, as a child he had even contemplated on the idea of prancing and jumping at them, but had never been valiant or willing to risk it, so he merely ignored them and went on his day to day.

Nowadays, things had changed; he had improved from whom he used to be, as it was supposed to. Distance had brought a new perspective on the whole issue with Judy, reaffirming that yes; it had been the right choice. If there was something that would link them together, he wanted it to be their choice, and theirs alone. No curses, no annoying soul bonds and forced attraction.

It had to be on their terms, and so be it, no one was going to change that.

The fox looked at the flowers, smiling slightly when he noticed that he was getting closer to a small village of Koroks, a few of them glancing at him with open curiosity, hoping for a tiny treat, which he promptly offered as small globes of manna emerged from his fingers, dispersing in the air and raining over the small entities, that giggled, whooped and enjoyed the sensation of freely offered energy as if they were small children receiving a tasty treat.

It was curious, really. Before, they were merely pests to him, annoyance that were simply ignored and left alone. He never acted maliciously toward them, he simply left them be. But after his event with Judy, he knew that she would disapprove of such thoughts, yes, he was also aware, perhaps better than anyone else in the world, that the lapine was far from perfection, as there were still some rather dark thoughts and bias within her that she wasn’t acknowledging, but there was a lot of time for growing as well as learning for Judy.

As him, she would change.

“Y-you can see them too?”

Smiling slightly at the voice that intruded in his small routine, Nick simply nodded, not letting his eyes wander toward his newly acquired stalker.

“Of course I can, miss. I wouldn’t be feeding them otherwise, wouldn’t I?”

“That’s what you’re doing?” Feeding them? But… with what?” the sound of hooves clacking against the stone floor, soon caught Nick’s attention, the rhythm of each step was a mess, it spoke of apprehension and doubts, but regardless of that, the femme approached him, moving beside him timidly and remaining there, curiosity beating the fear within her, one of her hands firmly grasping her wool, which he knew was a way to remind herself that she was in fact, awake, “I… I’m not crazy? Those things are real?”

Nick finally looked at the black ewe; this encounter had been a long series of events in the making, a coincidence that soon he decided to transform into an enticing trap that she couldn’t prevent but fall for, curiosity as well as a desperate need to understand what had probably been driving her mad in the past days consuming her to take the last step into the unknown.

It was underhanded, and he would definitely explain it to her at a later date, but he needed to know if this girl was merely pretending to be Judy’s friend, and not a doppelgänger or worse, an agent of the still unknown enemy.

And now that Nick had her close enough to gaze at her, he understood that indeed, she wasn’t suppressing her power. It was undiluted, untrained and as wild as his used to be a long while ago; Sharla Woolstone had opened up her eyes and awakened to the real world.

“As real as you and me, sweetheart,” Nick added, looking comfortingly at the nervous ewe, his hand extending toward her softly, aware of how on edge she seemed to be due to his species as well as the fact that he was doing something that a while ago she thought impossible, her eyes glancing at his hand not only for the claws that it contained, but for what it represented for her: “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Sharla looked at the extended hand, scared and doubtful, but then, a slight tug on her clothes caught her eyes, which looked down to see a small creature at her feet’s inspecting the fabric of her clothes with open bewilderment, the innocence and lack of fear such a small and apparently defenseless creature openly displayed in front of this mammal, relieving a great deal of the tension and apprehension that plagued her mind, her hand soon rising and them softly clasping the offer, her body soon shining brightly, feeling somewhat at ease, as if the tension that had been plaguing her all these weeks was put on control, the few blurred images that she hasn’t been able to gaze at, soon available to her, the world around her now seeming… whole and full of life when before there was merely plants.

She looked at the mammal in front of her, his eyes shining brightly, so many emotions coursing through them: Mirth, happiness, and reassurance, even a hint of desire that she wasn’t exactly sure what to do with, so she promptly ignored it, feeling at peace with herself after what seemed like a long time of restlessness.

“Welcome aboard, my apprentice.”

Chapter Text

With some difficulty, Sharla opened up her eyes, groggily glancing at her ceiling, momentarily lost due to her drowsiness before she closed them up again, yawning loudly while stretching, moaning lightly when her back and joints popped due to her effort, earning her a giggle, which consequently made her cringe both in surprise as well as fear.

Grabbing her sheet as a would be shield, the ewe looked around, trying desperately to find the source of the giggle, looking for the intruder that had clearly trespassed her domain, only to find that she couldn’t see anyone, which could only mean that her intruder was someone of small stature, a thought that immediately brought upon a memory that made her open up her eyes wide, she gasped a little in comprehension before she looked in the direction of the small bush in the east corner of her bedroom, just above her window.

Looking back at her, amusement quite perceivable in its eyes was a small creature, its body seemed a weird mixture of insect and mammal, its chitin carapace glowed slightly with green energy that constantly danced around it before it felt and seeped within the plant it was living at, the creature, a Nymph if her memory didn’t fail her, wasn’t actually an insectoid, but more like a representation of the spirit of the damned bush that resided within her abode.

“Perfect… just… perfect,” sighing, Sharla grabbed her sheet and covered her body as she went to her bathroom to complete her morning ablutions, knowing quite well that the curious creature was following every step she took with something akin to amusement, which only served to creep her out even more, so she hurriedly went inside the bathroom, ignoring the giggle that her actions procured as she closed up her door. “Damned thing…”

“They’re harmless, he said…” Sharla muttered as she dropped her cover, going directly to the toilet to relieve her bladder, “they’ve always been here, think of them like a surveillance camera, without a pervert recording at the other side, he said… Master can be such a wait… Master?!”

The word came out of her mouth with ease; in fact it even felt comfortable to refer to him in such a fashion, which if she was honest with herself, should’ve been far more alarming and yet, she felt naturally pleased with such a thing, as she remembered the apprentice pact that the two of them had concocted in the middle of the flower field, cementing her place in this new world. Fifteen minutes later, the ewe was standing in front of her door, pondering what to do about her little peeping problem, when a thought suddenly made its appearance quite clear.

“It’s always been here… so that means…” Moaning in shame, the ewe sat once more in the throne, her hands covering her muzzle in a vain attempt to calm her raging heart. “So… this is how Jareth felt when I caught him, uh? I own him an apology…”

Effectively, that thing had been beside her all the time she’s been living here, so it had seen quite a lot of her, probably more than anyone else in the entire universe had seen so far, which didn’t made things easier what so ever.   

 “And suddenly, having my eyes opened isn’t as nice as I thought it to be…”

Judy sat with a heavy huff, enjoying the little reprieve from her morning jog, her lungs desperately inhaling as much oxygen as it was possible, showing that she had perhaps, overexerted her limits once more.

“N-no pain, no gain… I guess.”

Looking around while whipping her humid fur with one of her hands, the femme smiled lightly seeing that she had ended up at one of the nicest spots in the academy, the flower field. A nice little place where a plethora of flora could be found, many of them being from an species that she hasn’t been able to press into her collection until she came over, which had earned this spot as a special place for her in the academy, a kind of secret place where she could rest from time to time when things get rough, the aroma as well as the memories of her home relaxing her worries into nothing.

Out of nowhere a breeze appeared, refreshing her even more, breathing in though, caused her instincts to flare up, as she immediately noticed the aroma of another mammal close by, her ears rising up and alert, trying to find the direction of the mammal that had dared to intrude upon her sanctuary, eyes wide open and vigilant, her body slowly rising up on to her paws, ready to bolt or fight if necessary, only to freeze on the spot as soon as she got a glimpse of the so called intruder.

A few meters from her right under a pretty tall cypress, was resting a fox. Initially, her instincts flared a warning about the unknown, only to stop cold as soon as her eyes roamed his body, curiosity soon overwhelming her caution, she knew this mammal, but… where?

She stood there, oddly annoyed at the whole thing, when it damned on her, this was an older version of the teenager that had visited her burrow a long time ago, Nick… this was the fox she used to dream as a rabbit a while ago as well, her heart suddenly hammering on her chest, a giddy feeling soon coursing her body, making her feel happy just to be close by. She pondered a little, trying to comprehend why exactly, she felt like that about meeting what was basically a complete stranger to her, a predator… only to freeze on the spot when she heard someone else approaching the field, a rabbit to be precise, a young and quite pretty doe.

Judy froze on the spot, swearing that she felt her damned heart stop abruptly for a couple of seconds, dread filling her insides as she noticed the confidence and lack of reticence on her approach, she clearly knew this male, in fact, she was quite familiar with him, her body language clearly screaming interest, familiarity and even desire with every step she took, making the feeling of dread inside of Judy consolidate into outright hatred…

Something which had immediately surprised her, breaking the spell entirely, forcing her to take a couple of steps back, her heart once more hammering at her chest, this time with far more strength than before, skipping a couple of beats as soon as the doe arrived beside the sleeping tod, kissing his lips lightly before she proceeded to shake him up.

A growl emerged from her throat, profound and quite possessive, which once more had taken her by surprise, Judy simply couldn’t remain here any longer, her good mood all but evaporated, leaving the premises as soon as possible, unknowing of the look that said rabbit was giving at her retreating back, amusement as well as slight disappointment permeating her features at the lack of action, before she went back to wake up the male once more, thinking of the fun that she will have teasing these two from now on.

Gwen looked at the doe part ways, her body language screaming impotence, fury and confusion, all clearly perceptible to those that cared to watch, shaking her head slightly, she went to shake once more the lazy vulpine in front of her, only to find to her surprise, a pair of jades eyes looking at her, a mix of emotions coursing through them that she wasn’t entirely sure how to classify.

“I’ve angered you?”

A shake of his head took that worry away from her, a sign of relief passing through her lips; they didn’t need to add that complication to their already quite confusing relationship.

“Then, what’s going on through that head of yours, Nick?”

Huffing, the tod closed his eyes, clearly thinking about the whole experience before he sighed and said:

“The pull, it’s still there…” opening his eyes, he looked at the slightly surprised lapine, who expected him to elaborate further, which he quickly obliged: “It isn’t as strong as it used to be, but it’s still there and, she’s really demanding… I mean, my magic just seemed trilled, almost hoping to unite with what little she had, I fear that if she catches me with my defenses low…”

“Then what we feared might come to pass…” Sitting beside the fox, the lapine pondered about the whole situation, about their strong bond and how much the assimilation could be actually, an inevitable outcome at this pace, “You know… perhaps-”

“She’s still a minor, Gwen; I can’t just simply get close to her without igniting something that will probably end up with me inside of her in all possible ways and meanings…” Gently chided the fox, as he looked at the top of the trees, enjoying how they swayed with the morning breeze, “I don’t think she’s ready… nor am I.”

With a huff, Gwen simply dropped the whole thing, in the end it was up to Nick if he wanted to initiate something with the cute girl, and yet, a part of her felt kind of redundant at this point, especially as it wasn’t that long that the attention of said male was firmly held upon her and no one else.

“So… how is your… mom?”

“Luna is… well, I guess. I was talking with her, about what’s to come, and carefully preparing my mind for the re-integration of her memories and the rest… Especially how to deal with the conflicting emotions between us regarding you…”

Nick cringed at that, especially as he was well aware that while Gwen might perceive him as sexually attractive, Luna on the other hand… didn’t. So, dealing with the clash of perception due to their annoyingly complex ritual wasn’t something that he could imagine being easy.

Seeing that the fox had an inkling of an idea of what’s happening, the doe continued:

“There is also, the annoying amount of paperwork, politics and other things that I’m not entirely amused to get back to, especially dealing with overzealous mammals that are constantly trying to take our lands, business and what’s rightfully ours, just because they don’t agree with our views and morals.” Looking back at the road where Judith left, Gwen pondered: “There was a lot of backlash from the lapine community at the fact that I’m bedding you, there are some companies that are menacing monetary withdrawal, and Luna is certainly not amused with that in the likeliest.”

Closing her eyes, the doe simply sighed, knowing well why they were paving the road in such a way.

“I really hope she thanks me later for how I’m making things easier for her, because I’m finding the whole thing a pain in my ass so far…” Looking at the male sideways, she couldn’t prevent adding: “And not in the fun way, mind you.”

Hearing him cough due to how much pollen he had inhaled due to the surprise, Gwen simply cackled with mirth, rising on to her paws and running away from the indignant male that soon chased after her, the slight tension between them disappearing immediately due to the childish display. The fling between them might have come to an end, but it didn’t mean that they weren’t still, quite good friends.

Chapter Text

Walking beside the canid, Sharla couldn’t prevent the slight mix of emotions that coursed through her, giddiness battling with nervousness, creating a mixture that had her second guessing her every move.

“Breath loudly, Nimbus…”

“Easy to say…”

“And to do, c’mon, just close your eyes… yes, like that, focus on my beautiful voice, breath in… then exhale slowly, yes, good girl.”

Sharla kept at it for as long as she needed to, before she opened her eyes and glanced at the tod, blinking owlishly when she found that he wasn’t beside her as she thought and expected, but far away from her in a table already perusing some books.

“What the…”

“It’s called voice projection, Nimbus, think of it as a magical and more efficient form of ventriloquism.” Nick said immediately, his voice seemingly beside her, which made her jump slightly in surprise.

“This is so~ confusing,” the ewe admitted, before she frowned slightly, “why do you keep calling me that?”

“Nimbus clouds, your wool’s coloration and consistency reminds me of a fluffy black cloud… do you like it?”

Walking toward him, frowning slightly at the pet-name, Sharla wondered if she should actually be protesting and putting some firm guidelines between them, before she sighed and shook her head in denial, “I’m… not particularly fond of it.”

“Good, then it’s going to be your magical name from the next few months,” The vulpine said proudly, bringing out what appeared to be a piece of metal from within the pages of the book he was holding on his hands, her eyes crossing slightly at the display of magical extraction as well at the lack of respect.

“Master…”

“First lesson on magical protections,” interrupted the fox, smiling at her, as he motioned with his hand for her to sit in front of him, which she reluctantly did so, cringing slightly as the chair scrapped the floor loudly before she sat on it.

Satisfied, the tod continued unimpeded.

“One of the many, many mistakes that amateurs and novices constantly commit once they dip into the esoteric arts, is that they don’t build on their defenses from the get go.” Seeing that he had her undivided attention, Nick smiled, before he waved a hand in front of them, an image appearing in the middle of the table between the two of them, managing a surprised gasp from the female.

“They usually delve into arts and methodologies without care or knowledge of the consequences, naïvely creating a pattern within themselves that could be exploited by those with far more experience.” Smiling at her, Nick winked once, acknowledging that he has as well, employed said method to approach her. “Sadly, for them, not all of those are such respectable and good-hearted mammals like us…”

The image soon took the shape of a fox with a lamb beside it, they obviously lacked clothes but thankfully for the nerves of the ewe, they also were completely sexless, lacking enough details to give a modicum of privacy.  

There she could see that despite the lack of genitals, there was also a lack of skin, showing details from within the body that fascinated her beyond belief, as she could contemplate in quite a lot of gruesome detail the inner workings of the body.

“Knew you would like it, Nimbus… considering what you’re studying at the moment.”

“Incredibly so, it’s fascinating…”

“Glad you like it, now, look at your chest, or more precisely at your heart, what do you see?”

Nodding, Sharla looked at her own chest, the heart in the projection was clearly beating loudly and fast, a sign of her slight altered state, she wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking at, until, with a snap of Nick’s fingers, her eyes suddenly could glance at what could only be described as a luminescence, gold light covering her entire heart, the residue slowly being spread through her veins, muscles and finally her skin and wool.

“I-is that my magic?”

“Indeed, it’s… as you see, it’s completely focused on your heart at the moment, and it will remain there for the foreseeable future until your body completely absorbs enough manna from the environment…” Explained Nick, smiling at the wonder in the eyes of the ewe, his mind pondering if Judy would react similarly before he dismissed the thought entirely once he felt the slight tug of temptation from their sealed bond. 

“So… about those mistakes?” Asked Sharla, looking from the image to the tod, still lacking knowledge about the whole issue, which made the vulpine smile in satisfaction at her curiosity.

“Once you awaken, your body is extremely sensitive as it’s transitioning from a dormant state to an active one, hence the jargon.” The fox said, moving his hand a little, showing another image of another lamb beside the original one, this one lacked the golden shine entirely, “those that aren’t attuned to the manna of the world, have grown numb to its energies and properties, which as you might expect offer enhancements as well as detriments.”

Frowning at what she heard, Sharla pondered the information then glanced at the images, comparing and soon realizing what the fox meant.

“It’s changing me… isn’t it?”

“Absolutely, one hundred percent…” the fox confirmed, before he continued, quick to appease her rising dread: “for the better, I assure you, it’s making you more durable, and healthy… it’s why you rarely see a sickly magical user… if properly trained.”

Sighing with some relief, the ewe considered what was said, once more her eyes comparing the two images soon noticing that indeed, her new self was looking not only healthier, but also even a little larger than her past self.

“I’m taller…” the lamb muttered, before she shook her head, and looked at the tod, “what about the pet-name?”

Nodding, he then waved his hand once more, showing the magic inside his own body, displaying how different it looked as it wasn’t centered on his heart, but distributed almost equally around his entire body, only fingertips as well as his tails showing a different color to them.

“Here is a vulpine mature body, rejoice in its magnificence!” The fox drawled, a smirk on his muzzle at the derisive snort that came from the female, before he explained further: “As you can see, my magic isn’t centered in a single place like yours, it’s already distributed and anointed deeply into my being, it’s stable.”

Seeing that he had her attention he kept going.

“In the first seven months of a recently awakened mammal, its body, no matter its age, could be considered that of a newborn, it lacks defenses and methods to protect itself from external treats…”

Opening her mouth, Sharla glanced at the image once more, understanding just how fragile she was at the moment, dread setting up on her stomach as she suddenly comprehended just how dangerous the situation was, as newborns were usually quite susceptible to many exterior treats that could put an end to their wellbeing at best and at worst, their lives.

“Is the name…”

“A vaccine of sorts, unlike newborns babies, we don’t have to wait a certain number of months before administering it, in fact that could be quite costly here… so we need to establish a set of magical defenses for you, among them, is one to protect your identity, magically speaking that is.”

Looking sharply at the fox, her entire attention was undividedly put on him, which made him smile assuredly.

“Are you aware of the power of the name?”

“Kind of, what I know it’s based on what’s represented and employed in popular culture…”

“Well, I can assure you that the knowledge in popular culture is right but also, incredibly wrong as well…” Seeing her confusion, the fox quickly elaborated: “Yes, your name has power and you should protect it, but this is merely only applicable in your first seven months while your body ends up adjusting to the changes, solidifying your defenses and protecting your sense of self within your soul.”

Nodding at that, Sharla pondered what was said, smiling slightly at the confirmation that indeed, souls were something real, even tangible.

“So… a fake name would serve as a sort of barrier to protect me?”

“It will, as long as you keep this on you,” putting the piece of metal that she saw him take out of the pages before, Sharla looked at it, finding to her surprise a quite detailed pendant on the wooden surface, almost looking like a snowflake. “What’s that?”

“It’s a Nordic rune, this one is designed to protect.” The fox explained as he pushed the pendant toward her hooves, her fingers quickly grabbing it, gasping slightly as she could feel her magic react positively to the construct, as it filled a hole within her that she wasn’t even aware existed until that moment.

Nodding in satisfaction, the fox then simply waited until her body stopped tingling all over, and she adjusted to the new feelings coursing through her. Sighing, Sharla looked at the vulpine, a slight smile in her muzzle that soon turned into an inquisitive pout, as she pondered what he had said so far.

“Its purpose is to receive and repel any incursions against your soul through your name, also known as possession.”

“So… I’m protected?”

“From that method? Absolutely, there are still many other ways for you to be screwed over, BUT… that’s why we’re here to begin with, so you could learn…”

Standing on his paws, the vulpine signaled her to follow him, which she did as soon as she put on the pendant, feeling how her body tingled all over as soon as it was in contact with her wool.

“Uh, I thought I was going to need to shear some of my wool so it would touch my skin, or something…”

“If you want to, but skin or wool, it’s still a part of you so as long as it remains in touch, it will protect you… now,” the tod said, before he stopped abruptly, glancing thoughtfully at the ewe, “tell me, what do you see?” 

 “Beside a smug canid?”

“Yeah, beside perfection made flesh, what do you notice around you?”

Looking around, Sharla could say that there wasn’t anything particularly worthy around them, yes, there were a lot of books around them, and the library was particularly… creepy without mammals walking around…

“I give, what am I supposed to notice?”

Chuckling, the tod simply tapped the floor with his paw, making the femme glance at it, and the motif imprinted on the tiles, her eyes widening when she noticed that she was within a pentagram.

“What the…”

“First lesson: Always keep an eye in your surroundings!” The fox smugly said, as he moved away from the petrified ewe: “There are many ways to detect a trap, and I’ll teach you every method available so you wouldn’t fall upon the hands of a demon or an unscrupulous user…”

Gulping, Sharla nodded once she heard that, her mood falling a little now that she got a crude if albeit, pretty tame reminder that there are some new dangers for her to be aware of.

“C-can you tell me more about the dangers of the magical world?”

“Can I, yes… I can, should I?”

“Master…”

“It’s not that I want to keep you ignorant, Nimbus, far from it… but, do you really want to know what lays behind that feeble blanket of security that you’re comfortable covered with, even before you’ve at minimum, secured a way to defend yourself?”

Gaping at the fox, Sharla couldn’t prevent the slight heat that she felt on her ears. When he put it like that, it really sounded like she had nearly thrown a tantrum.

“I will not beat around the bush, sweetie. There are dangers outside, horrid beyond belief and capable of breaking the unprepared with mere knowledge alone…” Nick gently chided, crossing his arms over his chest as he pondered how to approach the issue without revealing too much, “we as a group, try our best to not keep secrets from each other, at least those that aren’t of a personal nature. This week I’ll be constantly teaching you about what roams the world, and how it could affect you.”

Stepping close to the trembling sheep, Nick simply smiled comfortably, before he put one hand over her shoulder, managing to capture her attention.

“I know that imagination can be sometimes, worse than the truth. But I’m honest here, eagerness to learn is good, but excess brings misunderstandings and paranoia, as there is too little that you know or understand at the moment, there is also the cultural contamination that you’ve ingrained in your mind.”

“How so?”

“Well… Larry Otter for one… while there are some forms of magic in those books that could be replicated, it’s mostly hogwash. The works of an ignorant that doesn’t know a thing about magic…” Seeing that he had her attention, he continued: “For example… No, no, no, we’re deviating once more.”

Snapping his fingers, the pentagram below them began to shine, showing a plethora of colored lights around them, many of them congregating around the ewe.

“W-why are they clinging to me?”

“This is a ritual to discover what kind of magic you’re stronger at.” The vulpine said, his left hand moving in the direction of each point in the pentagram, “See those colors… those are Elemental alignments, among other things… As you can see, you’re slowly accumulating manna around you, which remains unstable and unable to reach a form because I’m here… so…”

Getting out of the circle with a simple and quite impressive jump, the tod looked firmly how the lights coalesced into something far more coherent, the red coloration quickly replaced and evaporating entirely from the amalgam, showing that indeed she wasn’t entirely aligned to fire, like him.

And yet, he could see that the huge amount of magic that he had released within the circle, hadn’t been wasted, as it feeds the whole thing, making things easier for the ewe.  

“W-what do I do?”

“Nothing… an object will appear in front of you… unique to yourself, consider it a gift…”

“What?!”  

And suddenly with a snap, all colors abruptly coalesced into an object in front of the startled sheep. She looked aghast as she clearly recognized it for what it was, a floating book.

“What?!”

“Why it doesn’t surprise me? You really are compatible with him, aren’t you?”

“What?!”

Snapping his fingers, Nick closed the circle which stopped channeling and absorbing manna immediately, the book soon falling on to the wavering hooves of Sharla, that couldn’t believe just what had happened.

“Just… please, Master… you can’t keep throwing things at me without explanation… I, I feel so dissatisfied.”

Smiling, the tod simply raised an eyebrow, his amusement as the ewe comprehended just what she had said and how he could exploit it with innuendo, quickly causing her to cover her face with her newly acquired magical object.

“You’re making things too easy for me, Nimbus…”

“It’s not like I’m trying to…” Mumbled the ewe, before she looked at the fox, and frowned, noticing now that he was closer to her that he was breathing slightly laboriously, “what did you do?”

“Normally, this ritual would simply define what element you’re better aligned with, yours is wood by the way. Which is why you were able to see the Nymphs in the first place.” clarified the fox, while he examined the trembling ewe. Nodding when he couldn’t see any damage, beside her frayed nerves: “But in this case, I might’ve jump-started another ritual that would grant you a unique object strictly tied to your soul.”

Looking at the book with open curiosity, the ewe simply couldn’t believe that she was holding something tied to her soul on her own hands.

“W-what does it do?”

“I’ve no idea…” the tod smiled, enjoying her annoyance as much as he could, “But it’s why we’re here, isn’t it? To find more about you as a magical mammal…” Smiling at the ewe, Nick slowly took out of his pocket an old pencil, which with a short burst of magic, suddenly transformed into a small dagger. “So, why don’t we find out?”

Chapter Text

Gwen looked around, soon noticing that the place looked oddly familiar despite being her first time in it, an echo of a memory whispering sweet nothings of recollections that she couldn’t entirely gaze at.

“It’s annoying, isn’t it?” Luna said mirthfully behind her desk, as she filled the paperwork with a content smile, “how your mind constantly tells you, ‘I know this. Why do I know this?’.” Raising her head, her blue grey eyes were soft and collected, radiating understanding as well as amusement, it was an odd mix.

“Very…”

Sitting on a nearby chair, the young doe pondered about her original, and the life that awaited her in a few years, a slight feeling of panic nearly enveloping her whole body before she managed to squish it and destroy it.

Annoyingly, the gaze of the older femme already told her that she was aware of what had crossed her mind.

“It’s normal to feel doubts, you know?”

Sighing, Gwen just closed her eyes, what could you say to an older version of yourself that already knew everything about you?

“Part of me isn’t… satisfied with how things are going…” Gwen conceded, as it was the truth, “part of me had created an attachment to Nick that borders on obsession, but it’s sadly eclipsed by this annoying feeling of being attracted to someone that’s at the moment an old geezer that hasn’t bothered to create another Aspect like you did to make me some company that isn’t Nick…”

Chuckling, Luna admitted that perhaps it was time for Harry to create an Aspect as well, as things at the moment were for the second, quite stable.

“It all depends on our enemy’s movement, if they decide to lay low for a few months, we’ll bring Benjamin to you… but you know well why Harry’s busy right now, don’t you?” Looking firmly at her younger self, Luna couldn’t prevent the frown that marred her features when she saw the sign of annoyance on Gwen’s face, “tell me what bothers you…”

Sighing once more, Gwen gathered her wits before she aired all that needed to be said.

“I think that it’s really, really stupid of us to wait until something happens to Hopps before we act.” The young doe clarified, frowning slightly as she thought about what she said: “the doe is close to an awakening, I know it, you know it, everybody but Nick acknowledges this fact… but we’re doing nothing mostly because he’s too much of a coward to face the possibility that he might not be in control anymore.”

Luna snorted at that, before she chastised her younger self with a disapproving look, “You know that it’s far more complicated than that, sweetie.”

“It isn’t…” Gwen persisted, glaring back, not willing to back down on this topic, “Even when he was in the past, he ended up inheriting mannerisms and idiosyncrasies that were entirely hers, and we’ve been spying on that rabbit enough to see that she’s slowly developing a smarmy persona… block or not, their souls are seeping into each other… this morning that girl almost went berserk on my ass just because I was close to him… and let’s not ignore the fact that she just happens to wander by when he was vulnerable for the taking?”

Luna looked at Gwen, and frowned at what she heard. Indeed, there was far too many points that couldn’t be ignored anymore. “I guess we’ve been once more, too passive, too reactive…”

“Which is why this enemy is slowly gaining ground in our territory, we’ve been on top for so long, that we’ve grown comfortably arrogant.” Gwen established, putting her back on the chair, trying to find a modicum of comfort, “You know as well as me that the last attack was merely a distraction to get close to Nick…”

Luna nodded, her hand now caressing her chin, deep in thought about that event.

“There are many hypotheses of why they went after him, at least in my mind… there are at least, two of them that are too logical to ignore anymore…” Gwen continued, not giving Luna any time to get accustomed to her assault, as she knew quite well that if she gave the old coot time to adjust, things wouldn’t go her way, “They thought that what laid beyond those protections was something powerful, something that they needed to have…”

Luna sighed once she heard that, before denying with her head about the possibilities.

“We both know that Nick’s experience was that of someone trying to establish a bond with him… they knew he was there.”

“Which brings me to the other reason… they came for Nick. Why? He’s a powerful mage, but he isn’t the strongest of us all, and he wouldn’t betray us easily…” Seeing that she had the undivided attention from the older doe, Gwen immediately voiced her worries: “unless the one that came had a method to ensure his entire loyalty in a single move…”

Luna’s eyes widened, her mind soon reaching the conclusion that she hasn’t been seeing this whole time.

“A soul bond…”

“One that is apparently, weaker than the one he has with Hopps, but at the time, if they managed to kill her while he was weak to defend her and his whole soul was unstable…”

“He would’ve been completely at their mercy…” Luna concluded as well, and indeed, Nick had ensured Judy’s survival when he opposed and repressed most of the backlash from the interloper, who hasn’t taken his resistance all that well. “Now he’s awake and his power has doubled in quality as well as quantity…”

“But he still has an exploitable weak point, hasn’t he?”

“His soul bond…”

“That darned red thread, yes… damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t…  His refusal to activate the bond is sound in paper, and there are strong quite sensible reasons why they shouldn’t complete it as they are right now. But Awakening Hopps isn’t necessarily a horrid thing to do…”

“It might incite the bond…”

“It might, if we’re careless about it, Nick managed to seal his end, but Hopps end is wide open and still demanding, sooner or later she’s going to make a demand that he will be unable to disobey, opening the bond and completing something that could damage them both if something goes wrong… and with her ignorant and inexperienced in the esoteric arts, that’s a given…”

Massaging her ears, Luna nodded at that, how could they have been so stupid and blind to that quite important detail in the whole issue.

“Because you love Nick… and want what is best for him,” Gwen clarified, knowing what the old doe was thinking, “because you trust him… and think he can do no wrong…”

Frowning at that, Luna had to admit that, yes… she did. She really loved that tod to the point of being nearly unreasonable, a painful memory from the past nearly emerging from the deeps of her soul at whom exactly, Nick reminded her of.

“We must approach her…”

“That’s for the best… I want to do it.”

Rising her head, Luna was surprised to see the firm determination on her young Aspect face.

“You know that she hates your guts, right?”

“Most probably, but she needs to get over herself first… they aren’t together, he doesn’t belong to her and most importantly, she’s right now in a relationship… so she doesn’t have much ground to stand over me and judge, does she?”

Luna chuckled; this whole conversation had gone in an entire new road that she hasn’t envisioned at… a clear sight that her old body was slowly beginning to decay due to the ritual.

“I approve, approach the girl, it’s time to open her eyes to the world around her…” Luna declared, smiling knowingly at the deflating youngling in front of her, “You thought I was going to fight you, didn’t you?”

“I did… when it comes to Nick… I’m… quite hardheaded, aren’t I?”

“When it comes to those we love deeply, we are…”

“Do you think he’ll forgive me?”

“He will… but he will surely mask it under the pretense that you’re trying to steal his thunder as the only one with an apprentice… He, he’s really an insecure male when Judith’s involved…”

Rolling her eyes, Gwen nodded before she said:

“Tell me about it! I was getting tired of being called Judy while orgasming, you know?”

“And that… I… I’m not sure how to feel about that…”

“You were the one that thought that creating an Aspect of yourself to train him for his possible love life with a bunny was an excellent idea, deal with the consequences of your actions!”

“Touché…”

Chapter Text

Judy smiled when she saw the waving buck, nerves at ease now that she was away from the campus, her mind still buzzing with the encounter and the plethora of emotions that had menaced to overwhelm her that morning.

Hopping faster toward what legally would be her boyfriend, the doe had to admit that he looked particularly smashing today, a green hoodie over brown slacks that made his fur stand out, a bright smile on his face, ears up and at attention, his body clearly revealed that he was as happy to see her as she was to see him.

“Peter…” She said, trying to prevent the nearly overwhelming desire to call him Pib once more, a name that for some reason still made her stomach flip-flop with such dexterity, that she was darned sure she would need medical intervention to untangle the mess.

“Judy…” The buck said, a broad smile on his muzzle, his hands rising in an open invitation for a hug that she gladly accepted, offering as much appreciation as she was given, her face smushing against his chest, which earned her a laughter due to how enthusiastic she could be. “Easy there, girl… I need my lungs, you know?”

Laughing back at him, she gave two steps back to glance at his face, “you’ll survive…” she snapped happily, before she looked around, curious as to what he had in mind, “so, what’s the big surprise?”

Nodding at her, the male signaled her to follow him, which she did, standing beside him as they slowly strolled down Zootopia streets, the buck clearly knowing how to move around the place, his pace being slow and methodical, clearly knowing that she was slower mostly due to her own curiosity at the sights around them, and yet, she could feel that he was attentive, even cautious.

“I’m not going to let myself be stepped on, you know?”

Chuckling, the buck nodded at that, before he clarified:

“Perhaps that’s your intention, but there were times the mega-fauna didn’t mind stepping on us, the little ones…” He chided gently, “especially when we didn’t follow the unwritten code of conduct of the city…”

“Oh?” She glanced at him, ears raised and expression eager, this was something that she needed to know, “please, elucidate… oh mindful one.” 

Smiling at her, the buck nodded before he pointed over the road they were walking at. “At first glance, the rules are the same than in other places, keep to the designated area and you’ll be fine, correct?”

Judy nodded at that, her eyes falling on to the painted lines in the ground, each subtle but noticeable enough to mark the appropriate transit road for them and others.

“On paper, this is a simple concept, easy to understand and supposedly, easy to follow…” Looking at her, and seeing her nod, the buck smiled before he continued: “Sadly, it simply doesn’t work in the big city…”

She frowned at that, about to voice her opinion when they finally reached the main street, and her eyes widened when she saw that… nobody was looking or walking the designated lines, mega, middle and little fauna were prancing, walking jogging and side-stepping each other with practiced ease, it was a miracle that there weren’t cases of people being trampled on due to how chaotic it all seemed.  

“How?”

“Well… order is good and all, but if you look closely, most lines and designated areas are a bother,” the buck explained as he pointed with his finger toward a line clearly designed to small mammal like them, “for example, look at our line, it goes straight ahead in a quite reasonable path for someone that’s clearly sightseeing, like a beautiful tourist…”

Wiggling his eyebrows at her, Judy merely smiled at him, her eyes watching what he was trying to say before he concluded, trying to see what she was missing, when she finally was aware of a tiny, but fatal design on the lines.

“Now… if you want to cross the street and go to the mall… you’ve got to circumvent the main pass…” Judy offered, her eyes following the long, ridiculously long path that they had to cover if they wanted to use the appropriate path, which would take at best, five to six minutes to cross. Or, you could use the mega-fauna road and cut the walk to merely a minute if you’re mindful of the huge mammals pace and movements, which was what  everyone was doing at the moment, few taking the designated path as it was intended to use, most of them being the diminutive fauna which obviously, by law had to use the tunnels and special roads designed to them, as they couldn’t traverse or side-step the long gait of the mega-fauna fast enough to not be trampled or stepped upon.

“How do they?”

“Prevent an accident? Well, practice I guess, it tends to happens from time to time, especially when they miscalculate the pace or are inebriated, there are many cases per month, luckily the fatalities are actually quite rare, but they do happen from time to time.” Clarified Peter, as he looked around, comfortable with the wait as the doe adjusted to the new reality.

“It isn’t like that at the Burrows…”

“That’s mostly, because the biggest mammal over there is at best, a buffalo, isn’t it?”

Nodding, she looked at him, the both of them side stepping on to a place where they could gaze around without being in the middle of the road, a slight space between buildings that Judy saw, was a pattern that could be seen among them, probably something created to give some mammals some safe-spaces where to rest without being turned into a smear on the pavement by accident.

“There, laws are made mostly for small and middle mammals’ comfort, here? Mega fauna are usually too large to diverge into safe-paths like middle and small mammals, so roads are made taking their comfort in mind and the rest of us simply adapted to move within their paws with ease.”

Judy pondered that, and nodded, it made sense, as mega-fauna weren’t easily accommodated, as there were some limitations as well as to where they could go as well, as their weight presented some rather interesting designs, building wise.

And she was surely learning a lot from Peter as well. Something that she knew was kind of similar as to what she had experienced with Mabel months ago.

“Hey, Peter…” The doe said, as the two of them walked comfortably toward what she was sure would give her parents a heart attack by just knowing that she was willingly delving into that mess in front of them, her hand easily finding that of the buck for silent support.

An action that caught him by surprise, but that he wasn’t entirely averse to, as he smiled at her in response, his ears up with delighted surprise at her bold actions.

Crossing the street through the pass was exhilarating and probably among the most mundane things where she might’ve put her life at risk with a smile, but it surely cut their time by at least five minutes as they went toward the mall, hands still firmly clutched between them.

“You haven’t told me what we are doing today…”

“There is a place in there, where they make a rose cake that’s to die for…” The buck admitted, eagerness in his body language at the mere thought of the store, “and if you are tolerant, there are a lot of chocolate and other confections that are also quite good as well…”

That caught her by surprise, she loved chocolate and rose cake, but chocolate was often an expensive treat in the burrows, especially because she had too many relatives to share it with at her warren, so it was often gone quite fast in a matter of hours, and unlike her mother and many of her siblings, she wasn’t a big fan of slaving herself at the kitchen so she could have as many delicious treats as she wanted to.

“Oh my…” Smiled Judy, looking at the handsome buck with some appreciation, “you’re a thoughtful male, Pib.”

And there, a slight wince at her first slip from the day, which earned her an amused reaction due to her quite obvious and dramatic groan at her faux pas.

“That’s one champ…”

“Sorry, sorry, I know you hate pet-names… but for some reason, that one doesn’t stop jumping to my mind when I see you,” The doe admitted, quickly massaging her muzzle and face with her hands, trying to not take it personally that he had let her go, not when she had done the same, “I know it annoys you, and I’m trying to cut it out, so, sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it, Judy.” The buck said, apparently not bothered entirely by the slip, probably due to how much she was already punishing herself, He looked around trying to find something to change the atmosphere, his eyes quickly falling on to a stall, his smile blossoming into something even happier by the second, “wait here…”

Judy simply nodded at that, watching him zoom toward a stall that was selling some flowers, her heart beating faster at what she presumed he was about to do, her mind going a mile per second, wondering if he was about to buy her a flower that hid a more profound and intimate message, her mind going immediately to the gutter before she shook her head, trying to be more rational about it.

“He probably wants a quick snack, nothing more…”

Five minutes later, the two of them were glancing at a particularly rare flower, while they nibbled on their respective treats, a lily for her while he was busy chomping on a petunia.

“So… what did she say about this flower in particular?”

“It’s called Paradise Fall, apparently it’s a rare flower from Africa, for some reason, she saw me and said that I had to give you a special treat as it was clearly a date…” Peter admitted, “I might’ve mumbled a little too loud about what to choose to gift you so you could press…”

Frowning at that, Judy had to admit that it was perhaps a far too kind gesture from that ewe. “Doesn’t it… seems too expensive to be a giveaway just like that?”

“That’s exactly what I said!?” The buck said, a quick smile on his muzzle, “but she explained to me that it was withering away in her cart,” he then pointed at a part of the petals and even the stem that were clearly dying at a faster pace than the rest of the flower and yet, it was still a gorgeous specimen.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen one of these, it even shedding some pollen…” with a careful use of her claw, she pointed at some points on the flower that clearly were still full of the substance despite the treatment that it had suffered to get into that stall.

Getting closer to smell it, the doe was surprised to see that its fragrance was delightful but quite potent, her nose suddenly feeling some sting as she inhaled some of the pollen, sneezing a couple of times for her efforts, earning her a mirthful chuckle from the buck.

“Well, I’m quite sure that you’re no bee,” the buck joked, earning a slight glare from the doe, “as no bee would waste pollen like that.”

Getting a handkerchief, the buck then gave it to her, which she quickly made use to clean her nose, mindful enough to not give it back full of snot.

“It just caught me by surprise…” The doe said before she looked back at the flower, frowning a little as she saw that somehow, there was more withering under the petals that she could swear wasn’t there a few seconds ago. “Uh, weird… but I think I know why she gave it to you.”

Showing the damage to her boyfriend, she quickly noticed that he had been caught by surprise as well. “I… I could swear that it wasn’t like that when she gave it to me.”

Nodding, she looked at the plant, quickly noticing that indeed, it was withering slightly faster than normal. “Perhaps now that its outside controlled conditions, the weather is killing it?”

It was curious, truly. She had never seen a plant react so violently to the weather like this, but then, while she knew a lot about flowers, it didn’t meant that she knew everything and all of them and their reactions, as she knew as well that there were some substances and chemicals that caused a quick reaction as soon as they were exposed to oxygen or certain conditions.

“Perhaps… it doesn’t thrive in cold lands?” It was sad, truly. It was a really beautiful flower, but at the pace it was dying it was clearly that she wasn’t going to be able to press it successfully. “Thanks Peter…”

Seeing that he was looking at her strangely, the doe simply smiled and confessed:

“It’s dying, yes, but it’s a specimen that I haven’t seen before, and its weird reaction is a first in my life as well.” Looking back at him, she explained: “I love flowers, and researching about them, you gave me something to look for so I could learn… it’s quite a gift.”

He laughed at that, shaking his head before he grabbed her by the shoulders and slightly squeezed: “You’re welcome Judy, now… let’s buy a cheap book so you could kill it by compressing the life out of it… then let’s eat cake!”

All in all, for a first actual date, Judy had to admit that it wasn’t a bad one. Peter was respectful, mindful and had a quick wit that she clearly enjoyed and unlike past attempts, he wasn’t grabby nor apparently attempted to go beyond the limit.

It was a shame that as time passed by, she clearly understood that, despite her desire to feel otherwise, it was clear that she only saw him as a friend, and nothing more… as there was no flutter, no gut feeling and certainly, not wet panties to show in the entire thing.

“It’s merely the first date, Judy… stop using rom-coms as a way to judge the situation, life isn’t like that, and love isn’t instantaneous, lust is, and it’s a flimsy base for a stable relationship.”

Yawning behind her hand, the doe looked around the place that Peter had brought her to. It was comfy and certainly a quite incredible place as she heard the calming tunes of ambient music alongside the chattering and click-clack of utensils being employed.

It was a relaxing site, good for a nice date.

“Are you tired?”

Jumping slightly, Judy looked surprised at the direction of the buck, looking at him confusedly for that question.

“No, not really…”

“That was a big yawn, perhaps I’m boring you?” quipped back the buck, no real heat behind his words, which made her consider how she felt at the moment.

“Hm, I think this place might be a little too… relaxing.” And now that she noticed it, she was feeling kind of sleepy and by the quite huge yawn from his part, he wasn’t feeling all that energetic as well.

“Yeah, it’s weird… for some reason I feel kind of droopy,” he admitted, looking at his wristwatch and frowning in confusion: “Only two hours and I’m knackered? Dang, I’m losing my youth…”

She laughed at that, if there was something that she had to give the buck, was that he knew how to diffuse a tense or uncomfortable situation.  

“It happens, perhaps we could get into a more boisterous place next time?” She added, extending an olive branch, as she was at least attempting to mitigate the situation with an open invitation for a next date.

He smiled at her, and in a single second the way he moved his muzzle and inclined his head made her heart impact her chest painfully, making her body feel all kinds of tingly.

“I would like that, yeah…”

Chapter Text

“And you didn’t kiss him?”

“Sharla… it was my first official date with the guy.” Judy admitted while she dried her ears carefully with a towel, looking at the phone with some exasperation, “It’s too soon to be hoping for more than holding hands in my opinion…”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down Judy… I said KISS him, not plow him.”

“SHARLA!” the doe said as she put her panties and then a shirt on, looking in the direction of the phone for a second. Laugher was the only thing she heard in response after, which brought a smile to her muzzle.

“I’m kidding sweetheart, take your time… we might joke about sex and all that, but don’t feel pressured to go beyond what makes you comfortable… jeez, that was cheesy.”

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, the doe had to admit that yes, it was.

“Definitely, but it’s greatly appreciated, to be honest.” Judy conceded, cleaning her hands with the still somewhat wet towel, frowning a little when she felt a tingle in her fingertips. 

“Don’t sweat it, and… I’ve to go, I’m demolished after my private lessons and frankly I have a date with a beautiful bed that’s too comfy and lovely to say no to.” giggled her friend, obviously enjoying the talk despite how tired she felt, “I don’t think I’m going to wake up, Judy… please if I don’t wake up, tell my parents and brother I love them, will you? And don’t let them put me in a tower, make a lot of guys kiss me if needed, I’m too young to end up like Sleeping Beauty… and notice I said, kiss me, not rut me like that sick wacko did in the book.”

Snorting at what she heard, Judy couldn’t prevent the mirth that invaded her mood, the tingling forgotten momentarily as she grabbed the phone in her hand, putting it close to her ear.

“I’ll tell that instructor of yours; you seem a little too… giddy to be beside him this morning, you know?”

“Nick? Oh, no, no… I don’t, I mean, he’s handsome, for a fox… but, the one I like is, well… unavailable, and Nick already has a big ego as it is…”

Pupils shrinking at what she heard, Judy simply stared at her phone, the tingling suddenly consuming her entire hand, numbing it enough to let her phone fall into her bed, her heart painfully crashing against her chest. That darned fox again, why, why did the mere mention of his name, the simple memory of his image caused such a reaction on her?

“Judy… Judy? Did you fall asleep girl?”

Looking at her hand, the doe knew that something wasn’t right, her hand felt as if it was on fire, the tingling quickly spreading through her arm with each palpitation of her alarmed heart, her breath hastening all of a sudden, her ears suddenly erect and alert, something was wrong, terribly wrong.

“Judy?”

“Help!”

Her body felt paralyzed, soon falling on the surface of the bed, her heart felt on fire, as if something has invaded her veins and was slowly spreading around, in fact, she felt something crawling toward her center, her eyes moving, unable to fully see what was happening, but she could glance that it was something small but quite persistent.

She breathed loudly, trying to understand just what was going on, the world around her now suddenly full of colors and strange silhouettes that were apparently flying over her, crashing against something that seemingly was over her, no, following the figure, it was clear that whatever that thing was, it was coming from within her, slowly consuming her energy and forces as it grew stronger by the minute, sleep suddenly assaulting her senses, unable to move or even utter a word anymore.

She closed her eyes, trying to pretend that it was merely a nightmare, that this was nothing but a strange and quite vivid night terror and nothing more, another strange circumstance that had plagued her mind since she came to this place.

She heard the door of her room suddenly open, and a gasp then a scream of ire, she felt a tug and something snap in front of her, and it hurt. It hurt like anything she had felt before, as if a part of her whole body had been cut and destroyed in a spasm of a second, she wanted to scream, to cry, to beg for it to stop.

But relief never came, not when the fire kept spreading all over her body, consuming, eroding her senses and submerging her in a cocoon that managed to erase everything that made her who she was.

Something within her was gnawing at her innards, on her soul, somehow, she could feel it, a hideous and powerful entity that was hell-bent on dissecting a part of her, and failing. She could feel the anger, the frustration and the pain of it all.

And suddenly, as soon as it had begun, it ended… and she could only feel relief, respite and a powerful need to sleep, blackness consuming her, relieving the pain that had nearly managed to overwhelm and destroy her entirely… she was at peace here, there was no need for more pain. This, this was a nice place to be at.

She was at peace, as the world around her went entirely black alongside her consciousness.

Chapter Text

Gwen frowned, her hands steady as her flow of magic kept the doe stable on her bed, her brow furrowed in worry as this was perhaps, too little too late to be effective if the rate of decay was to judge by.

Beside her stood her mother, who was slowly perusing the arm that an irate Nicholas had bisected from the infected doe, his own arm falling numb beside him while his manna and soul repaired the damage that his actions had caused.

Harry on the other hand, was firmly looking at the runes and ritual circle that contained the monster infecting the doe.

“We need to act,” the buck said suddenly, all mirth gone as he perused the progress of their procedure, his furrowed brow telling them that it wasn’t good news… “She’s been infected by a demon…”

The snarl that emerged from Nicholas said it all, the gasp and hiccup from the terrified Sharla on the other hand, grasped Gwen’s attention, only to see the doe holding painfully hard a rune attached to a collar, her mind suddenly comprehending that yes, perhaps the newbie understood the severity of the situation.

Luna looked at the arm once more, deep in frown, before she sighed and said:

“We need to destroy her body…”

Gasps all around as well as the stiffening of Nick was all she received, his hackles being the only sign of anger that you could perceive from the tod, which told a lot of how much he respected his surrogate mother to explain what she meant.

“This is a rare, rare mix of summoning, imbuing and possession…” The doe explained as she pointed out at the partially transformed arm, especially how it had thorns and leaves instead of veins and muscles. “I recognize the plant, it’s Paradise Fall… usually, it’s a dangerous plant, yes, but not to this extent…”

Clicking her fingers, the arm suddenly was enveloped in fire within a magical circuit, the doe and everyone but Nick watching the arm wither and disappear under the fiery onslaught.

“It causes its victim to fall on to a profound sleep, it gives the affected target pleasant dreams so they wouldn’t want to wake up, it makes their dreams come true at the cost of their lives, their decaying bodies would then be slowly consumed by the plants to sustain themselves…” Seeing the gasp from Sharla, all of them looked at her momentarily, before Luna clarified: “We’re already checking on her boyfriend, he’s asleep as well but unlike her, he isn’t suffering from daemonic possession.”

Harry frowned once he heard that, then looked at the sleeping doe and said:

“Then, this was specifically crafted to affect her, and only her… isn’t it?”

“It probably was, of the two of them, she’s closer to an awakening, so she has far more manna on her body than the buck, so the demon would latch on to her as soon as she inhaled the pollen and touched the flower…” Luna clarified, walking toward the doe, hands moving slowly as she attempted to help Gwen and Harry onto stabilizing the slowly fading doe, “but that’s the problem… these plants, this flower doesn’t attract nor contain demons within them, not naturally at least, as they can also fall prey to their pollen, this flower, this trap was entirely crafted and tailored to affect her…”

Putting her hand around a wall, the whole room suddenly expanded and moved, putting the doe in the middle of the room and giving them a chance to create a tri-pronged approach to the issue, as Gwen and Harry increased their flow of magic on to the magical circle.

“They went for her soul…” Nick growled, aghast, his arm still hanging uselessly at his side, “its how it affected me when I cut the infected arm… it caused a backlash between our red thread of fate.” The tod sighed, trying to reign in his ire with barely any success… “It’s working.”

“Master… please…” Sharla pleaded, attempting to get close but unable to move from her spot, not knowing what to do due to being so overwhelmed and consumed by fear and grief.

“Nick…” Gwen immediately warned, as soon as she saw him step toward the doe, her mind already knowing what was about to happen, a big part of her not liking the risk he was taking for the bunny.

The other feeling rater impotent, as she had been discussing the mere posibility of an attack on Judy merely a couple of hours ago.

“I’m opening the bond… all over…” The tod said, then sighing as he cut completely the apprentice bond with a now weeping Sharla, that had felt entirely just how deeply sorry he was to leave her like that just to do what he was about to, “please… someone take care of my Nimbus…”

“Master…”

Harry looked at him, nodding.

“You know that you probably will be re-defined in her ideal world, don’t you? By entering the dream realm, she’s the one that defines what’s real or not, even you wouldn’t remain untouched, and the more you remain there, the more you risk of losing your sense of self.”

Nodding at that, the fox knew the risks, so he sighed before he took a locket from his pocket, a memento from his mother and his late father, infusing it deeply with his essence, pouring his entire soul on to it, before he went and kneeled in front of the sleeping doe, using his dagger to bring some of her blood on to the locket, sealing the deal.

“I’m prepared… I’ve probably a couple of minutes to deal with the demon before her dream overwrites me…” the tod said as he put the dagger aside so he could grasp the locket, “this is my lifeline… hopefully it will be enough.”

“It will be more than enough, Nick…” Harry assured him, looking firmly at the now squirming doe, a bad sign that perhaps they needed to hurry, “We’ll be seeing you soon, son… just come back with her.”

Nick simply nodded at that, knowing that this was a rushed option at best, and a suicidal mission at worst. Hopefully, they could recover their souls and heal the damage if things got truly nasty, even if that meant destroying the bond in the process.

Sitting beside Judy, the tod simply sighed before he opened wide his side of the bond, heat suddenly rushing at him as the beast recognized a new road to consume, the smile on the tod’s muzzle signaling that the demon had perhaps overestimated itself too much, his body flowing with manna as he ascended, going all over to hopefully issue as much damage as possible to the demon before it was too late.

“I’m coming Judy…”

As soon as he delved into the nexus between their souls, he was assaulted by a foul beast that obviously wasn’t expecting to encounter a nine tailed fox of all things.

Nick on the other hand, didn’t lose time to gape at the creature before him, tails swinging immediately to seize and contain the now struggling beast.

“You’ll pay for this affront, mortal!”

“I doubt it…”

Igniting his manna, Nick promptly set the struggling monster aflame, it’s howls piercing the nexus on its entirety… the beast soon shedding its initial image, showing a quadruped that was a twisted mixture of several species.

A chimera. 

“Someone really has it out for Judy, uh?” Snarled Nick, as he felt his body be battered and cut by the backlash of what he was doing, as the essence of the mammals that had been sacrificed and anointed within the demon battled and struggled to prevent their destruction.

But he didn’t relent, even when his stomach was cut open by unseen claws, the tod endured as he burned and excised the demon from a bond that used to be pure a few hours ago.

“You’ll kill her!” It claimed, attempting to negotiate, to extend its time knowing that the nexus was soon about to rewrite the fox, but Nick knew that it was a lie. “You’re injuring her! Without me, her dream world wouldn’t perfect anymore, she will suffer!”

“Perhaps, but she’ll live, you on the other hand… A lowly beast like you is no match for a trained mammal.”

With one last infusion of his power, Nick ensured to burn and destroy the beast that was attempting to consume Judy from the inside out, liberating the bond where it was based at.

Disappearing, its manna syphoned by the ritual circle around the bed was merely the beginning, as Nicholas glanced at his damaged body, knowing that he had perhaps been too hasty, too prideful to approach the beast more carefully, especially when the real risk was about to appear.

With a gasp, he felt the pull from his thread, his whole being shivering as Judy’s soul judged and claimed him with open desperation, using parts of his own soul to heal what had been taken and damaged, it was an excruciating experience like the tod had ever lived, but he endured.

Even when he lost his ascension and turned normal, he endured, even when his manna was depleted and consumed, he suffered it because it was needed. 

Even when his memories were suddenly rewritten, changed and his being was absorbed into her core, he endured.

For her. 

Gwen growled in annoyance as she glanced at the wisp of magic that the circle was seeping from the doe, the putrid essence and coloration signaling that the exorcism had been swift, perhaps too much.

“He went all out against such a low-level demon…” Luna worriedly said, as she watched the duo, trying to judge how things were going, “that’s a problem…”

 “It’s obviously a problem!” Screamed Gwen, gnashing her teeth in frustration at the hardheadedness of her friend. “He could’ve gone to her first, use his magic to help her excise the demon… but no, he had to go guns blazing and waste all his magic against a beast that could’ve been easily defeated if he had his mind in the game!”

Harry harrumphed, interrupting the rant from going over.

“We’re aware of what he had done, but he isn’t the only one not thinking clearly…” The buck chided, as he looked back at the ashes of what used to be Judy’s amputated arm. “The mutation was to be taken care of, and for that to happen the demon had to go, and fast…”

Luna nodded, she understood what actually happened and that Nick had perhaps, done what was appropriate thing to do, but it didn’t mean that there weren’t consequences.

“She isn’t mutating anymore… but he’s being literally overwritten by her dream world. If that lifeline of his fails… we might lose him.”  

Sharla on the other hand, simply sat against the wall, unable to believe how things had turned out in a matter of mere hours since her own awakening, her mind not for the first time asking if it was worth it.

Chapter Text

Judy looked at the tractor and frowned, her ears up and paying attention to the sounds that were emerging from the machine, a subtle scowl slowly etching upon her pretty face.

“Jack, turn it off,” the doe screamed, catching her brother attention with a well-practiced movement from her hand making the buck quickly turn off the engine, securing the whole thing from any kind of movement before dragging his body off with the ease of practice.

“Well, what is it?”

“It’s a John Deer tractor, Jack, what do you think?”

“It’s the transmission then?”

“The darn transmission… again,” moaned the doe, followed closely by the buck as they stared at the green beast with some disgust, “I swear that it’s part of their design, it’s meant to break as often so they could dry us off by forcing us to buy parts to repair it.”

“Most probably,” the brown male said as he went for the tools so he could begin to dismantle the transmission, Judy close behind, “Dad buy’s the things like rice. I swear I saw an altar with his picture at the concessionary.”      

“Despite how often they break, it’s still the easiest to use and affordable tractor on the market. We simply use them quite too much on the wrong fields…”

“Too right, darn too right.” Jack added, as he grabbed a wrench and inspected it closely, looking for any wear, before nodding with satisfaction that it was still working properly despite how old and battered it was, “so… is there any reason why the darling of our parents is here on the field, instead of the kitchen or, gosh forbid it, the town stand?”

“Don’t be like that, Jack… you know our parents love us equally…” Judy answered immediately, grabbing the tool box and bringing it with her with a soft grunt, followed closely by her chuckling brother, “but if you must know, I might’ve crossed mom’s limit with our last… debate.”

“Row,” Jack reprimanded, earning him a glare for his efforts, “hey, I call it how I see it, I could hear the both of you from the east field. Heck, I think the Cottons and Thumpers might be quite updated as this point.”

The despondent sigh that emerged from the doe didn’t went unnoticed, but the buck didn’t press further, knowing that Judy while quite sentimental; could be quite hardheaded as well when she wanted to be. So he simply went on to his knees and began to organize everything so he could work on the truck, knowing that sooner or later Judy would open up.

Fifteen minutes of silent working, grunting, as well as some soft score swearing, the silence was finally broken.

“I told her that I still want to be a police mammal…” The doe said, opening up to her brother, knowing well that she had to take it out of her chest, “She didn’t take it lightly this time, especially as I’m soon to depart toward university in a few months.”

Jack frowned at that, not entirely pleased with his sister obsession, but neither as horrified of the idea like their parents seemed to be, which obviously the doe immediately caught, her body subtlety tensing up for another reprise of ‘bellowing at the doe.’

“I’m not going to lie for you sis, I think you’re nuts…” a raised hand put an immediate stop to the irate female, as he looked at her firmly for a couple of seconds, “not because you want to be a cop, that’s actually a neat goal, but look at you right now, friendless and mocked by endeavoring to fill a spot that legally speaking, you aren’t cleared to even attempt to fulfill, and look at that, you attempted and you were outright denied. Now, we’ve heard you about the rumors that in Zootopia a lion is voicing the origins of what might, and I emphasize, might be a program in his political career if elected in a few years, those are deep promises to make, but that’s still far away and there’s nothing that suggest that said lion would win, if ever, said campaign didn’t help him all too much this time, isn’t it? Now, instead of adapting, to search an alternative to your goal, you’re foolishly denying every other road that you could attain with your law degrees, simply because you’ve stuck in your head that the only way to impart some justice in the world, is to be a police mammal.” The buck clarified, receiving a reluctant nod from the doe, so he continued: “Judy, there hasn’t been a small sized mammal in the forces since the massacre of the sixty-eight at Podunk, when that bull stomped on a whole squad of rodents attempting to stop him from fleeing. Also, there aren’t weapons, equipment and objects for you to employ securely, which means that they would need to fit you size-crafted implements… the odds at the moment aren’t in your favor… but unlike the rest of your siblings, you aren’t attempting to study another career to reach your goal, your only method of income is based on our parent’s love and generosity, which is why they’ve been pushing you to make deals in their name… they’re trying subtlety to make you at least a competent manager, not out of maliciousness against your failed goals, but more as a need so you could at least sustain yourself if your dreams fail, which they did due to the legal blocks against small mammals.”

Seeing the despondent expression on his sister, Jack couldn’t prevent the sigh that escaped his lips, feeling like a heel for saying what needed to be said.

“Then what do you want me to do, Jack? Give up? Accept my social-minded role and work at the farm, marry and have a bunch of kits until my innards couldn’t produce anymore?”

“Hey, hey… watch it! Just because you don’t like this life, doesn’t give you the right to demean it, sis. Especially when you’re implicitly demeaning your own family in the process.”

“Then what do you want me to do? Because it seems that every time, every single time I try to find my own road, all my loved ones seem hell-bent on beating me senseless into the predetermined path for a lapine. You said it; I’m friendless and quite unpopular for daring to attempt to do what others deem as madness,” snarled the doe, walking right and left while moving her arms widely in frustration. “I know that you, mom and dad and the rest of the fluffle support me, at least partially. But it’s tiresome that even among my family there’s doubt and subtle derision of my dreams… you’re all expecting me to fail, Jack.”

“Darn it Judy… you could be so stupid sometimes; did you hear a single word of what I said a few minutes ago? We support your goals, but be realistic, stop being so stubborn about the fact that you aren’t legally ABLE to be a cop at the moment,” the brown rabbit said, making his sister jump slightly at his scream, her nose twitching faintly due to the slight scare, her frown slowly frowning in displeasure. “That’s the cold hard truth, Judith. You can’t be a cop as things are… you don’t have that right… that’s the cold hard truth that you refuse to see, and you’re building your future based on the promises of a candidate that has already lost one time, you don’t know if he will even be able to participate the next time, for all we know he could probably never, I don’t know, do what he promised because it isn’t feasible or doesn’t have enough support to change the law as he said he would, if he wins.”

Glaring at his sister, Jack sighed before massaging the bridge between his eyes… trying to mitigate the migraine that was currently menacing him:

“It isn’t a case of disbelief in your capabilities, we’re quite aware how far you’re willing to go. You’re faster, stronger and despite your current blind stubbornness, smarter than many of us. You’re an incredible lapine sis… but that doesn’t give you the right to be a cop, not alone… we’re not asking you to renounce to your dreams, we’re asking you to think, be smart and not build your castle with sand, hoping that it will endure against the waves.”

Judy didn’t say anything, she simply couldn’t. Not when she was emotionally exhausted at the moment, her ears droopy and her eyes about to drop as many tears as possible, which only made Jack quiver on his spot, not able to resist the emotional ambiance as well.

“Just think about it, sis… all of us had dreams… not all of us managed to make them a reality. Dad, Emma, Arnold, Pauline, darn… even mom didn’t used to want to do what they’re currently doing, they didn’t make it for many different reasons, and had to settle down hard to get a living.” Seeing the nod from the doe, which didn’t said anymore at him, the buck sighed and sniffed, “we just want you to be prepared, to have a fallout plan just in case, not be forced to settle down like some of us did, think about it, Judy... that’s all I’m asking.”

Jack had to admit that working in silence with Judy after that, felt unnatural. But sadly, he couldn’t find any more words to revitalize the doe, so he spent the rest of the time pondering if he had committed a mistake, the tense ambiance making it hard for them to work on the tractor.

Judy was twenty-three, almost twenty-four, and she had to admit as she glanced at the letter, that she might be a dumb bunny. It was as Jack had said, a cold hard truth that she hadn’t been able to consider. In fact, she had denied that wall the whole time until she smacked her muzzle against it, getting to know the bricks quite intimately as the months passed by and the letters kept coming.

She just couldn’t understand how things could be like this, her family used to be supportive, everything seemed to be going on fine until she reached sixteen, then suddenly, not everything kept going as planned, some of her plans and possibilities, which used to be rock solid, now were dust on the wind pummeled by the hard cold hammer of reality until there was nothing left, not even pebbles to grasp.

It wasn’t all bad, truly. There were still some good things going on in her life, but it was as if her goals, her dreams had been cursed to fail, to remain unreachable while she despaired for being unable to reach them, not mattering how much effort she put on it.   

She stared at the last letter, frowning deeply at the fact that, yes, her dream was currently truncated by the system as her brother had predicted it would happen under the current set of laws. With a snarl, her hand immediately threw the letter at the trash bin, angry about how unfair things currently were at the moment, as she wouldn’t be given a chance to prove herself due to the fact that she didn’t fit the size or species criteria.

The doe simply stared at the bin, chest moving violently as she breathed hard, her eyes watery and her ears held down despite her best attempts to the contrary. Doubts finally filling her being, her confidence and determination wavering for a single minute before she shook her head, ears slapping her cheeks and muzzle a little as she reaffirmed her conviction. She would make it, there was still an avenue that she could pursue no matter how small of a possibility it currently was.

Dropping on her bed, her hand wiping her tears, she glanced at the ceiling; contemplating about her future and what she needed to do to increase her earnings. When her finely sensitive ears heard the soft pitter patter of claws on wooden floor, the pattern clearly identifying the mammal as her mother, which prompted the doe to clean her face with the fabric of her shirt in a vain attempt to mitigate the signs of her short but still quite recent moment of doubt, the knock-knock of a hand over her door indicating that indeed, she was being visited by her mother once more.

“It’s open mom…”

Thankfully, if Bonnie had seen the signs of angst from her, she decided to not bring them up at the moment, her hands holding her apron, twisting the fabric a little; a sign of anxiety.

“What is it, mom?”

“Judy, dear… I… we need you for a job.”

Judy softly sighed, mentally preparing herself for another row of bellowing at the doe with her mother, before she stopped in the act. Why was she being so defensive about this? She needed the money for college, a job offer was actually what she currently needed right now. “What kind of job?”     

“We know that you don’t like to work on the fields, you and thirty eighth of your siblings had made that pretty clear for us, but… I’m sorry to say this; but we’re pretty short-handed in qualified administrative personal, at least since Mark left toward Podunk to create his own warren.”

“What about Steve?”

“Broke his leg…”

“Roger?”

“Went to Hogsville to study Art…”

“Laura?”

“Too busy with her own photo studio…”

“Jean, Marie?”

“Pregnant… and Marie’s already occupied due to her upcoming wedding…”

“Derek?”

“Already said no… I’ve also asked Penelope, Donald, Joseph, Edward and Rosie… you’re my only hope, you at least know what to do at the stand, and how we usually deal with our clients, it’s not perfect, but… it’s something that needs to be done, sweetheart.”

Judy sighed, stand managing, of course it had to be stand managing… not her favorite labor, but it was one that she could easily fulfill without much hassle, and it was obvious that her parents were really lacking some qualified personal due to the last batch of kits that mom has brought to the fluffle, which she had to admit was an arduous and quite exhausting labor as well, perhaps this was a sign that Jack was right about her short-sightedness… this was a sign, she needed to have a back-up plan for her future, so she could at least fill the spot until a more qualified sibling could replace her, at least until she was completely ready to leave once more.

Sadly, by the way that her mother smiled at her, easily reading her mind at the moment, and what thoughts crossed her at that point, such a piteously small smile on her face told her that her mother thought that such a thing wasn’t likely under the current circumstances.

And the sad truth was that, for the first time in a long time, Judy didn't had a jab or thought that would say the contrary.

Chapter Text

There were many obligations at the farm that Judy wasn’t particularly fond to be assigned to: bathroom maintenance, nappies disposal and official nappy changer as well as bath watcher were, among a few others, her most despised obligations. A feeling that was shared among many of her relatives and school partners.

She could do them as required, and she certainly had done them quite a lot as she wasn’t afraid to get messy. But that didn’t mean that she had to like them.

Stand managing, which was what she had been assigned to since a few weeks ago, was slowly, to her consternation, finding its way up to the top five, as hours and days passed by and boredom settled in. It was a mostly mechanical and repetitive chore, a rabbit –most often than not– approached, asked for some of the assorted vegetables available, weight, haggle and exchange, rinse and repeat.

The fact that she could read her magazines and books in between clients has been her only salvation since she had been assigned to this particular job. A labor that she knew was a ridiculously obvious attempt from her parents to make her interact with as many young bucks and does as possible; hoping that one of them would catch her eye and take her mind away from what they had decided was a clearly unhealthy obsession, as she hopefully waited for a certain Lion to win in Zootopia so he could fulfill his promises and give her a chance to be a cop, or to have enough money on her account to go even further in her studies, a lawyer was certainly close enough to her goal if needed be.

“Hello, how much for the lettuce?”

“Two Zee’s per kilo…” the bored doe automatically said, not even bothering to fully glance at who she knew was a young black furred buck from the Thumper family, one that has been coming to the stand at least once per day since she replaced her brother.

“C-can you give me two kilos, please?”

Putting her book down, Judy quickly went to work, diligently picking, weighting and delivering the merchandize to the staring buck, their eyes crossing for a few seconds before she cleared her throat, finally startling the love struck male into action as he finally gave the money and went his way, wishfully watching back at her every five steps, hoping to catch her glancing back at him with as much longing as he did hers. Sadly for him, her eyes went back to her book as she was clearly too fascinated with the laws and methodology that she had to memorize by heart before she went to college once more, which was the usual routine between them if she was to be honest, not that it seemed to discourage the buck, as she knew that he would be trying again tomorrow as he usually did, quite a persistent fellow she had to concede at least, another part for why she wasn’t particularly happy with this job despite how much she needed it.

The routine was not only slowly consuming her from the insides out, gnawing at her patience bit by bit. Would it be so bad to break the mold a little, just to spice her life up?

The terrified yelp from her love struck buck was to her consternation, the answer to her silent plea, as she glanced toward the direction of the timid fellow, her eyes widening when she saw that the buck was running as fast as he could from a fox; a vulpine that to her fear wasn’t the unwelcome but at least familiar form of Gideon Grey, but that of an lean, older and quite unknown predator that she hasn’t ever seen before.

That he was mostly covering his body with an overcoat in the middle of summer wasn’t doing him any favors either. 

“Oh God…”

The fox was watching the running buck directly, his tail moving back and forth in slight distress, a most feline behavior, she quickly noticed, her heart thundering as she watched him then glance at the discarded bag with the lettuce, snorting in disgust as he collected the items with one trembling and heavenly bandaged hand, his eyes scanning around before they finally zoomed on to her, making her cringe and recoil slightly as her knees trembled, her instincts screaming at her to run as she watched the green eyes of the vulpine zoom upon her, the intensity of his stare catching her by surprise, her throat suddenly dry, her heart hitting her ribcage in conjunction with her left feet that softly impacted against the ground in mind alarm, the wind moved his overcoat dramatically as he strode in her direction, slowly walking toward her flimsy wooden stand, closing the gap between them with each languid step  before she could formulate the idea of simply running away from the imposing stranger as the Thumper fellow has smartly done.

“Here…” the fox finally said, his voice dry and somewhat pained, putting the bag with the forgotten lettuce in front of her with a ‘thud’, which shamefully, had made her cringe as if the fox had just bared his fangs at her, which he didn’t. Judy just stood there; completely aghast at the fact that she now knew why the buck had run so fast from this particular predator beside the obvious reasons.

He stank, it wasn’t pungent, which was a relief as her nose twitched and procured her swift but strong doses of air. Mammals often thought that rabbits only had a strong sense of hearing, which was a fact, but most if not many actually assumed that their sense of smell was sub-par. That wasn’t the truth, sadly, as she unconsciously inhaled the odors that permeated this stranger, her brain quickly analyzing then registering one hideous fact.

Blood…

This unknown vulpine reeked of blood, which made her heart thunder painfully against her chest, her hands trembling as horrid images assaulted her mind, a mix between memories of her own traumatic past and morbid fantasies about what this tod has done and what he could do to her. Then the spell was broken by a cough, his cough, as he barely attempted to cover his muzzle with a bandaged hand, jumpstarting her brain with the startling but still no less horrendous fact that, this fox in front of her was covered in blood, most probably his if the precarious condition of his bandages were to judge by now that she looked closely.     

‘Do something!!!’ Her inner voice screamed at her, as she saw him part with not even a word for her, ears low and body language completely calm, almost defeated. Each step painfully measured, as he kept walking the road, getting away from her, her instincts battling against her morals while her heart played a drum duet with her feet as background soundtrack for the moment. Her ears, completely erect with alarm, quickly caught the sound of a car coming in her direction, startling her once again from her frozen spell as she looked at the approaching truck, full of well-armed lapines, her mind quickly assaulting her with the horrid images of assault, blood and death, most probably that –and it really irked her to admit it to her secret dismay– of the fox.

But then, before she could even raise her voice to stop those knuckleheaded fools, the sound of a body collapsing a few meters from her stopped her cold, eyes widening when she looked at the fox’s direction, only to find him on the ground, unmoving.

“Oh no, don’t you dare to die on me!” Judy screamed, running  toward the motionless vulpine, ears raised and nose twitching, not truly knowing what to do in this situation, her knowledge on medicine being actually basic at best and superficial at worst, most of it focused on lapine anatomy, –which considering where she lived at, it was a must that she had, now she noticed, regretfully and willfully neglected–, she looked at the still tod, ears trying and failing to hear anything; breathing, heartrate, something to indicate that he was still alive.

“MISS HOPPS!” An unwelcomed voice interrupted, followed closely by the sound of a truck being abruptly stopped beside her, as a bunch of badly armed bucks unloaded the truck, their voices, steps and thundering hearts occluding even more her senses, before someone had the gall to actually seize her by the waist and pull her away from the downed mammal. Her eyes widening in fright, then incredulity for a few seconds before her instincts made her react as she kicked whoever thought that it was a good idea to hold her like that, her paws impacting against the chest of her wannabe savior, his scream of surprise and pain suddenly cut out as his air was promptly expelled out of him due to the abrupt impact against the parked truck, the gasps, screams and stomps of paws now echoing as she landed on the ground a few paces from where she had been caught.

“DAMMIT JOSHUA!” another voice said; one that she immediately recognized belonged to the likely mate of Jack, “What have I told you about grabbing lapines without their consent?”

“Harold?” Judy asked, momentarily stunned from her anger as she looked at the bespectacled buck, whose brown eyes immediately found hers: “What are you doing here?” the doe probed, momentarily surprised by the fact that the mild mannered buck had actually come with his brother to lynch –or at least, attempt to– an unknown fox. “Oh, Cheese and Crackers, the fox…” Judy said, eyes nearly popping out of her face as she twirled on her feet’s and went toward the vulpine, now noticing that some of the bucks had moved him, and were to her surprise and shame, giving him some medical care. 

“What’s going on, Miss Hopps?” Harold immediately questioned, eyes falling upon the still form of the injured mammal, glaring slightly at his younger brother after a while: “Joshua told us that he was nearly assaulted by a fox, a murderer…”

“Your brother simply was too enraptured with me to notice him until they crashed into each other, Harold…” Judy supplied, ears now lowered as she heard one of the bucks frantically speak with the 911 operator, the sound of a siren slowly growing in the distance, as well as the rings of many phones, her own included. “I can’t blame him for his reaction, though… I-I too was too scared of the smell of blood to notice the signs.”

“He’s a predator, an unknown mammal that’s covered in blood; it’s an understandable reaction, Miss Hopps,” Harold concluded with a reassured tone that did nothing to alleviate Judy’s frayed nerves and growing sense of guilt. “Though, by this pathetic sight, I really doubt that he would’ve been in any shape to assault Joshua.”

“H-he could’ve…”

“Shut yar trap, brodah…” Harold said, his voice falling back into his Podunk drawl, “Yar in enough problems as it is.”

“But…”

Judy ignored the quarreling brothers, her eyes now scanning the fox, bile nearly escaping her throat at the sight. Claw marks covered his torso which was poorly treated with some improvised bandages made with what appeared to be the remains of a pretty garish shirt.

“Who could’ve done this?” Emerged from her mouth, which apparently was loud enough to catch the attention of one of the bucks that had come on the truck.

“A barbarian, that’s who, Judy…”

“Peter?” the doe inquired, recognizing her old schoolmate instantly once she saw his face, “is he?”

“He’s alive, I had to CPR him… which is a first for me, scary as hell too,” the cream-colored buck said as he pointed at the now thankfully breathing fox, “never thought that I would’ve to kiss a fox.”

“Who would attack a fox?” another buck whispered this time, an unknown one –thankfully–, whose nose was apparently twitching almost as much as hers, probably more.  “I… they’re supposed to be nearly impossible to see, not even catch…”

“That’s a lot of baloney, and you know it,” Peter spat, glaring at his brother fiercely, his conviction also surprising her, “they’re not invincible, and if you had put some attention at biology class, they’re also classified as prey in some parts of the world…” the cream buck said, which got him a few incredulous expressions for his trouble, “just read a damn book!”

“So… someone is out there… hunting and mauling foxes?” Harold said, his voice making Judy jump in slight fright, as she had nearly forgotten him due to the shock that was coursing her body at what she had heard. “That’s not as reassuring as I thought it would be.”

Judy simply stared at the brown buck, mouth open wide at the crude commentary, her stomach churning at the fact that a part of her, a well-hidden but powerful part of her had agreed with such a thought. 

This didn’t make her guilt decrease at all, quite the contrary in fact, if the bile nearly erupting was any sign of how distressed she currently was. 

Peter on the other hand simply frowned and shook his head, obviously tired of trying to put some sense into his brothers.

“I don’t think so,” the buck said, as he stared at the injuries closely, his brothers and Judy included cringing at how his fingers traced one of them, “these aren’t natural made…”

 “What?” Harold said, echoed closely by many if not all those present.

“I mean that these weren’t done with a claw, those don’t leave such a clean cut even when they’re illegally sharpened. These aren’t scratches; none of the normal symptoms and signs are present, the cut’s too even and profound… these are cuts made with a blade… this reynard was assaulted with a weapon.”

Peter’s declaration forced Harold to get closer; his eyes analyzing every inch of the vulpine with barely hidden disdain, Judy immediately noticed, her own conscious divided by what she was seeing and hearing, uncomfortable with her fellow lapines behavior as well as her own. 

“Probably got caught stealing…” the bespectacled bunny concluded, as he pointed at the bandaged hand, which Judy now noticed was fiercely grasping what appeared to be a broken chain, “still managed to escape with something it seems…”

“You don’t know, Harold…” Judy finally said, unable to resist any longer despite how uncomfortable she currently was, “could be his.”

The look that the buck gave her, the incredulity followed closely by the quick dismissal of her word, stung deeply. The snarling and barely disgusted image of Gideon perfectly mirrored by his face, he obviously wasn’t among those that believed or approved in her goals and dreams. No one said anything after that, and Judy wasn’t in any hurry to vociferate her opinions once again, her eyes simply enraptured on the fox’s hand, the broken chain nearly calling to her, to grasp it and prove to this disbelieving buck that her reasoning wasn’t as erred as he had assumed.               

She actually didn’t knew what had taken over her body, her feet’s moving on their own, then her hands as she gently took the fox’s hand and to her surprise easily extracted the chain which was apparently part of a well-crafted locket, a locket that with one swift and invasive movement was opened for everyone to see, the image of a vixen gazing lovingly at her, beside a beautifully cut ruby, the words: ‘You’ll always be my precious kit… Nicky’ handsomely carved around the frame.

Oh, the back of the frame could be read: ‘From John and Mary Ann Wilde, to Nicholas Wilde.’ 

A pretty memento, but one whose size and craftsmanship barely could be catalogued as valuable, a quick inspection of his wallet also presented his name, which corroborated her hypothesis of the fox being the assaulted and not the assailant, her smugness at being right quickly disappearing with one look at Harold and his clear lack of interest on the truth, and Peter’s disappointment at her own actions.

Peter’s glare made her quickly realize that they were being prats, insensible idiots that were apparently too enraptured by their own egos to understand the simple but undeniable fact that they were discussing a living, barely breathing mammal as if he was merely an subject to be appraised and discussed, which made Judy gulp in barely concealed despair at her own shallowness, her hand about to put back the locket on the fox’s hands after she put the wallet back on the inner pocket of his coat, when the sound of sirens suddenly assaulted her ears, making her and a lot of those presents jump in fright at the sound.

Finally, after five long and quite grating minutes, the fox was taken to the hospital, the fact that the ambulance was being accompanied by a local patrol leaving her feeling queasy and uncomfortable about the attitude of her peers, and the disappointed and clearly resigned gaze on Peter’s face.

Especially because in the rush of the call from her frantic father, she had forgotten to give back the locket.

It took her two days to gain some courage to admit her mistakes.

Chapter Text

“No…”

“Move daddy…”

“Daddy nothing, you’re not going to the hospital, and that’s final.” Stu declared, nose twitching erratically at the fact that his daughter seemed hell-bent on causing him an aneurism, or a stroke, whichever came first at this pace. 

“What’s final is that I’m going to the hospital dad, I’m not a kit anymore for God’s sake, I can take care of myself…” Judy spat, clearly frustrated with her parents at the moment, especially as her own father was currently blocking the main entrance with his own body.

“Judy… you have to admit that this sudden interest in this fox… isn’t natural.”      

“I have to give him back his locket, mom…” Judy said, glancing at her mother as fiercely as she did her own father, recognizing the old charade of frantic cop/calm cop that her parents constantly attempted to use against her, “no, I can’t give it to the police or someone else… I stole this thing, mom… unwillingly, I know… but it’s still in my hands and not those of his owner.”

Bonnie frowned when she heard that, conflicted at what she had heard, it was clear that she wasn’t particularly pleased with her behavior.

“What were you thinking, Judy… grabbing the belongings of an unknown mammal just like that? What possessed you?”

Lowering her ears at the chiding tone, Judy sighed; she had been asking that same question for days. “I don’t know, mom… Harold made me doubt myself, and I just reacted…” it was a pitiful excuse, of that she was most aware of, but it was all she had, “I’m not making any more excuses, I need to rectify my mistake.”

“But… he is a fox… why do you want to visit a fox!?” The brown buck said, aghast at the idea, “an older one in fact… I agree with Harry’s idea that it’s far too suspicious.”

Judy’s glare surprised not only her parents, but her as well, especially as she had unknowingly baring her teeth at them for a fraction of a second, before she recomposed herself, breathing loudly and profoundly, attempting to calm herself down.

In a couple of days, she had found many hideous things about herself that she hasn’t been aware of, her character, her ideals weren’t as immaculate as she had thought them to be. Deep, deep inside of her was an ugly and quite hateful part that wasn’t very fond of predators, especially foxes, the reasons very clear to her.

“Don’t say that…” the doe said obviously deflating, her ears lowering and cascading at her back, “just…” How could she say it without sounding like a hypocrite? How could she recriminate her parents for being speciesist when she has been the same her whole life, how could you change something that has been so thoroughly linked to you, that you didn’t even noticed it until it was too late to do something about it?

A hand on her shoulder, then at her cheek quickly caught her attention, her eyes rising to catch Bonnie’s amethyst eyes glancing back at hers, caring, uncertainties and so much more reflected on them, “What’s really bothering you, dear?”

“They were laughing…” Judy whispered, the entire house suddenly still, the silence nearly too oppressive, the sound of so many breaths and hearts assaulting her sensitive ears, “when the ambulance took the fox away, the Thumpers were joking, even laughing at that mammal’s disgrace.” The soft gasp of her mother was echoed by that of her father and spying brothers and sisters, “and before that, Harold constantly treated that poor thing with so much contempt, immediately assumed that it was caught robbing someone else, he and others didn’t say it outright, but they were glad that he had been attacked and hurt in such a way.”

Looking at her mother, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, Judy couldn’t hide it anymore: “and a part of me agreed with them.”

The gasps weren’t completely unexpected, but they were telling of how much it surprised her family to hear her say that, Bonnie’s nose was twitching furiously, surprised by what she had heard.     

“Judy…”

“I didn’t notice it at first, mom…” The doe interrupted, knowing that if she didn’t manage to voice it at this moment, she wouldn’t be able to do it later, in fact she would simply ignore it all together like she had been doing all these years. “I found myself suddenly and silently agreeing with them, I didn’t voice it, and I openly scowled, but deep down? I didn’t care all that much, and part of me even began to support Harold… it wasn’t until I gazed at his brother, Peter, and his disappointed face that I noticed what I was doing.”

It didn’t surprise her when she was suddenly surrounded by her parent’s arms, her sniffles joining that of her father as she slowly cried about her actions, about her frustrations and how everything around her seemed to be changing into something that seemed hell-bent on breaking her.

Her mother cooed softly, as she stroked her back, careful to elude her ears while doing so, her voice calming her with each stroke, her reassurance feeling revitalizing under the circumstances.

“It’s going to be okay, Judy.” Bonnie whispered, slowly separating the two of them, which forced her father to give them some space, “we’re going to the hospital so you can apologize to this mammal and rest at ease, you’re not a bad mammal my dear, quite the contrary, you might perhaps be the best among us, morally speaking.”

All in all, Judy simply nodded, at least comforted in the embrace of her parents as well as their support. In the end, it merely took them half an hour to be ready to depart from the home, the fluffle being always a pain to part from without a quite thought out set of rules and minders to replace her parents for a couple of hours.

“Emily, Sarah, Susan and Joe… you’ve my number in case of an emergency, the kits from the area sixty five need a minder as they’re teething, those in the area thirty nine are the next to be fed in six minutes… and don’t forget to check nappies, knees, noses and ears from the rest of them, there are first aid kits available for minor injuries in each bathroom…”

“Mom, mom, we know, please… just go. You’ll never leave at this pace,” Sarah interrupted, earning a scowl from the matriarch, something that immediately made her explain her actions: “the more we’re here speaking and reviewing, the less we’re over there supervising them… they have been unsupervised for at least five minutes now.” A statement that was soon corroborated by the sound of breaking glass as well as shouts of surprise and accusations and some desperate denials, which made them all cringe then sigh despondently as the does went toward the area to estimate the damages, while Joe simply walked toward the cupboard to grasp some cleaning tools.

Judy simply smiled slightly before she walked out of the kitchen, followed closely by her mother, who muttered: “have kits they said, it will be fulfilling they said…” which the cop-wannabe willfully ignored as she opened the door of the truck, helping her mother on the middle seat.

“What did they do now?” Her father inquired immediately once he saw that his girls put their belts on, putting the vehicle on march slowly as they moved out of the property.

“Broke something, don’t know what exactly, but I’m betting on that glass vase that Uncle Bernard gave you at your birthday…” Bonnie supplied without a hitch, glancing ahead of them, eyes firmly put on the road, inspecting for incoming danger.

“Ugly thing with the drawn fishes, I take it?” 

“Gosh I hope so… I hate that thing. I swear those eyes follow you across the room every time you pass that hall.” The plump doe said mirthfully, which only earned a couple of chuckles from her family at her cheek, knowing well that she and her brother in law didn’t exactly share the same tastes in decorations.   

Judy simply smiled at them, before her eyes went back toward her hand, the one that now was firmly holding the locket, her fingertip caressing the surface carefully, examining the strange wiggles that had been carved on its surface, wondering their meaning. Where they merely decorative? Or did they hold a message that only its original owner could decipher?    

“Those are some well carved runes…” Her mother supplied softly, catching her by surprise, her eyes now focused on her, her hand grasping the locket possessively for a moment.

“What did you say?”

“Those marks, the ones you were gazing at? They’re runes… Celtic if my memory doesn’t fail me, I recognize this one; Sowilō… the sun; it used to symbolize life, energy and fertility…” looking at her startled and quite surprised daughter, Bonnie simply sighed and said: “I wasn’t always a stay at home mother, Judy. I was young once; I wanted to be an archeologist, travel around the world, digging in the ground and discovering lost treasures and forgotten civilizations across the globe.”

“What happened?”

“Reality, I didn’t have the money to stay at Hogsville University… my parents weren’t necessarily thrilled with my choice in career either, too expensive and fancy for a mere florist daughter, I tried to work and study to keep going on my own, but I went bankrupt after two semesters, had to go back and settle down studying farm administration here at Bunny burrow, then I met your father…”

“It was love at first bump, I managed to crash against her in the hallway, made a fool of myself, and oddly she found my bumbling around charming. We hit it off despite her family and friends quite vocal displeasure; two years later we graduated and began to court seriously, the Bellflowers weren’t amused by that, I assure you, but your father earned their respect, and the hand of the belle of their fluffle.” Stu supplied, smiling wishfully while looking at the road, a coo emerging from the femmes at his admission, which Bonnie rewarded with a soft kiss on his cheek.

Judy simply giggled, her mind momentarily forgetting the weird thrall of the locket, which she immediately put on her front pocket, more interested in her parents banter, thankfully, the travel to the hospital went quickly as things began to turn slightly uncomfortable with the still quite absorbed couple, the wannabe-cop suspecting that there would be another bunch of siblings incoming in the next months if the way her mother kept looking at her sheepish father was to judge by.

Finally, at the town and more specifically, the hospital, Judy couldn’t prevent the need to run away from her lovey-dovey parents, the pheromones in the ambiance being perhaps too much for her.

The young adult simply skipped toward the building, stopping her trot into a more controlled gait once she crossed the doors, going directly toward the receptionists, a somewhat plump ewe and a moody goat that seemed to be quite too occupied at the phone, making Judy’s decision to approach her partner instead.

“Hello.”

“Good afternoon, how can I help you?” the ewe said monotonously, her voice somewhat tired and lackluster, her eyes barely glancing at her direction, superficially inspecting her for any perceptible damage.

“Good afternoon, I’m here to return a locket to a fox that was brought a few days ago?”

“You’re here for the fox?” The ewe asked suddenly, her apathetic stare not changing in the least, “I’m sorry to say this… but, he’s gone dear, a friend of yours?”   

 “G-gone you say? He left? How, when?”

“We don’t know especially, heart failure I think… didn’t care to investigate more than that, if you want to, I could direct you to the morgue.”

Judy simply stared at the receptionist, unable to believe what she had just heard. The fox died? She thought that he had merely left despite how injured he was, and now she couldn’t give him back his locket?

“Miss… hey, miss… I don’t have all day; there are injured mammals behind you that need my attention. So, if you don’t want the information about that chomper then I ask you to move aside.”    

The doe simply nodded, doing exactly that her mind completely dazed at the moment. Her ears ringing for some reason that she couldn’t comprehend, her hand immediately going toward the locket, feeling guilty that it somehow managed to calm her frayed nerves. The fox passed away, and she ended up as a common thief by her actions, she moved, her paws on automatic as she crossed the distance back toward her parent’s truck, unable to hear anything around her, mind whirling with so many emotions, the fox died… and she ended up unable to redeem herself.

She looked up, eyes opening wide as she glanced around her, the world suddenly frozen, everything unmoving around her, there was no sound, there was no movement, everything was unnaturally still, even a cone of ice-cream that abnormally was kept in the air due to the misfortune of a tripping bunny that apparently had misjudged how tall was the step of the street.

Everything was frozen, except a fox that was standing across the street beside the tripping bunny. Her eyes opened wide as she recognized him, he held a relaxed posture, somewhat healthy despite his injuries, and more important of all, alive.

“H-how, w-what’s going on?” the lapine asked, glancing around once more and finally noticing just how close a car’s bumper was to her current position, her eyes widening even more, where did that car come from? She looked closely around her, suddenly noticing that many of the mammals seemed startled, even horrified as they looked at her direction, the bunny has actually tripped because she was trying to look away from what appeared to be a hideous accident.

“You’re a lucky rabbit, did you know that?” The tod said, surprising her with his voice, his eyes glowing slightly as he glanced at her curiously, especially the locket that she was still holding within her hand. “What are the chances, really?”

“I-I’m about to die, isn’t it?”

“Yes… you are.”

Chapter Text

As Nick stared at the bunny, the tod couldn’t prevent the minor signs of annoyance that assaulted his mind, a mix of thoughts and feelings warring inside of him about this lapine in particular.

He has been stalking this mammal for a day and a half since he woke up; his body completely and utterly out of commission due to his last mission, his astral projection wandering around his locket, the beacon that kept him anchored to this plane, his most valuable possession as well as his most vulnerable weak point.

The vulpine had to admit that; yes, this encounter was probably predetermined by the fates, as it was perhaps quite too coincidental that the first mammal able to take his locket from him was also compatible with the well camouflaged –at least he used to think so–, phylactery.  

Nick was a pragmatic guy, a quite adaptable fellow. His job required him to be so, or perish like so many others on the field. So, it was understandable that his annoyance quickly morphed into something else the longer he stalked the rather strange lapine, grudgingly admitting the more he saw, the more he understood that this mammal had potential, lots of it, probably even more than him at her age. Her aura, which was the natural barrier that kept her soul contained within her mortal body, was barely marred by the world around her, there were certainly a few smudges, she wasn’t pristine, no one but a newborn could hold that privilege, a gift that the world or more specifically, mortals society quickly forced them to shed-on to survive among liars and controlling schemers.

He hadn’t certainly been pure when he received the chance, and he couldn’t judge her that much as he saw her slowly squirm in her own guilt about what she had done, and her own perceived fails.

It was why he decided to take her as his apprentice, rather than fully take her to the Order. It was certainly not something born of chivalry nor desire; quite the contrary, by taking her he would be depriving this town of a hell of a guardian, but he just knew that this growing town would stifle this femme spirit long before she was prepared enough to take the plunge into the unknown.

Going back at his body was a messy and quite painful experience; he hasn’t exactly recovered from the mauling that he had received on his last attempt to do the right thing, his reserves of manna were piteously low, dangerously so. His thaumaturgy wouldn’t be precisely clean or professional, but thankfully, if he had something to be proud of, it was his control; a quick movement of his hands and he had transformed the pillow into an exact replica of his beautiful but quite mistreated body, a couple of charms and jinxes within the fake structure would make sure that it would pass the scrutiny of even the most meticulous mortician.        

As soon as he ended the enchantment, the monitor flat lined, and he went invisible against the wall, far away from it as the nurses and some doctors went to attend his double, his eyes quickly catching the lack of urgency or actual desire to truly help his fakery, letting quite clear that he had to thread carefully around this place as it was quite obvious that his kind –which wasn’t a surprise, really–, wasn’t well perceived or treated on this place.

To his surprise, when he went back to his phylactery, he found the doe discussing with her parents about actually giving back the locket. It was… startling to be honest, especially the actual regret that the doe displayed, her aura actually cleansing her soul from those few marred spots that she has, not much, but enough to lift her load and ensure her a good portion of positive Karma.     

Following the lapines was… nice, he had to admit, Nick hasn’t been among a family for a long, long time, his relative immortality made such a need a quite painful experience, as it brought quite a lot of memories that were best left buried were, they belonged. It made him doubt his current goal; it was obvious that the doe would severely suffer in the long run if she became a guardian, her charisma and peppy nature would ensure her a painful and miserable existence among immortals, which left him at a conundrum as his alacrity may have put him at a hard spot… again.

But all of his decisions, all of his thoughts, all of his objectives, didn’t meant anything when the fates wanted something from you. His innards twisted painfully, a signal that the doe had unknowingly accessed the magic within the phylactery, a twist of his ankles suddenly had him teleporting toward the source, finding in front of him what appeared to be a time bubble, were time was forced to stop for a precious couple of minutes, preventing the soon to be dead lapine to be rammed violently by the speeding truck.

Nick looked at the bunny, seeing her finally notice her surroundings, the doe’s eyes widening widely at the supernatural, her stuttering mouth unable to bring a sentence for a little while, before her eyes finally fell upon him:

“H-how, w-what’s going on?”

“You’re a lucky rabbit, did you know that?” Nick said, making her cringe due to the sound of his voice and the supernatural echo that this magic used to produce, or perhaps, it was the shine that his eyes usually exuded due to the use of manna, one of many signs among magic users especially Enforcers, he looked at her, then at his locket, she shouldn’t have been able to do what she did, and yet: “What are the chances, really?”

“I-I’m about to die, isn’t it?”

“Yes… you are.” That was obvious, perhaps too much considering that she wasn’t actually able to move despite her incredible feat, her untrained body unable to fully grasp the idiosyncrasies of magic that coursed through her body.

He walked toward her, crossing the distance while ignoring the way her nose shook at a mile per second, her ears lowered and her eyes firmly planted on him, unable to do anything else but stare.  

“You should’ve looked at both sides of the street, you know?” Nick said mirthfully, catching the doe by surprise, as his indifference was quite perceptible, “Its common sense…”

“Are you here to take my soul?”

“Am I here to take your soul?” Nick inquired, pretending to ponder her question a little before he smiled and poked her at her nose: “No, I’m not.” He couldn’t explain exactly why he did it, if he was honest with himself, her death would be far more useful for him at the moment, as it was a perfect opportunity to take his locket without compromise despite his initial goal of abducting and inducting her into his enclave. His body simply moved by itself before he actually knew it, grasping the small lapine with barely a grunt of effort, taking her away from the car, saving her from what appeared to be a quick and probably quite painful death.

“Y-you’re saving me?”

“Incredible, isn’t it?” He barked back immediately, unable to prevent his mouth from doing so, especially as he put her on the ground, his eyes immediately falling upon his locket, “considering what you did… and the consequences of said actions.”

“I’m sorry… I just… I simply acted without thinking… I.” A finger upon her lips was enough to cut her off, it was curious really, such a young mammal, her innocence still showing, this was certainly a female with a brilliant future ahead of her.

“Consider this… a second chance.” He said, carefully re-thinking his words and his whole scheme, she was special, he could feel it, their encounter wasn’t an accident, even if she was actually the reason he was here to begin with. But what purpose was behind it? He looked at his phylactery once more, thinking deeply, it was safe in her hands, perhaps it could remain safe for a little longer.

“What’s this? How are you doing this?”

“The how’s and whys are beyond your current understanding, I’m afraid…” and truly, what was he to say? “Magic is the simplest of explanations, but it lacks the details that you’re searching for… ah, ah, ah!” Once more he pressed his fingers against her lips; something that he could see was annoying her greatly, her shyness and befuddlement quickly disappearing, replaced by anger and indignation. “The more you know about it, the less of your chances to go back to your life as you currently know, Cotton butt.”

There, the arise of doubt was clearly perceptible in her eyes. Not many mammals felt comfortable with the unknown, and he and this situation was marred by it, as it obviously defied what she defined as possible within her limited education.

“All of this has to do with that locket of mine, and the fact that you’re actually able to use it, despite it not being directly attuned to you. I can teach you how to make one of your own. I can guide you in many ways, if you so desire, but, be forewarned, this road if full of pain and disappointments. Your soul, your beliefs and limits will be constantly put to test, it’s an ungrateful road to walk, your life as you know it would end…” Seeing that he had her actually enthralled with mere words alone, surprised him, this certainly wasn’t your usual lapine. “I could say more, but this place is about to pop, and I need to leave for a while. You’ve two days to make a decision as I will return for my locket.”

The time bubble slowly broke around them, her amethyst eyes glancing at him with a lot of interest, perhaps too much as he disappeared with a well-placed charm, turning invisible as the world went back to its natural state.

“Is it worth it?” She inquired before he disappeared completely, surprising him once more, making him smile sincerely at her question, pondering a little.

“It’s a mixed deal like everything in life. It has its highs and lows… but the question that you should be asking yourself is: Is it worth it to you?”

With that, he disappeared just as the sound of screeching tires, and a plethora of screams and curses inundated the whole place, a lot of mammals running around, all of them thinking and shouting about the doe that has just been killed by a speeding truck, the now invisible vulpine watching the lapine glancing around her, unable to believe what she has just lived, her parents suddenly running toward her, trying to coax an answer out of her.

Nick just watched, glancing at her, unable to understand what had forced him to act as he did, the fox needing as much time as the doe to think about the whole thing, his frown clearly marked on his face, what were the fates planning for him?

Chapter Text

Nick skulked around the town; an ability born from experience that had served him well all around. In this instance, it would serve him well to find some answers about this place and why he had landed back here when he shouldn’t. The first thing as he examined the town once more, this time far more seriously was that, contrary to Zootopia, the supernatural here was minimal. An oddity that shouldn’t be completely possible due to how rich this place was with manna due to the ley line it was built upon.

Sure, he could perceive some wandering spirits all over the place. Some of them he had convinced to move on, others he had forcedly vanished due to the high risk of them turning into something nasty as years passed and madness fully settled in. Something that he should’ve done the first time around. Which he didn’t, thanks to his obsession with Woolstone rearing up again, a naïveté which had nearly cost him his life.

This time around, he was able to find a spirit of an old doe that had been haunting a forgotten shack deep in the eastern woods. It was obvious that the entity has completely forgotten why, exactly, she has been shackled to that place, as time has ensured the complete erasure of the negativity that had permeated the forgotten place. It was obvious that the poor thing was close to snap and turn into a wraith.

“I wonder… were you the past protector of these lands?” Nick mused from a safe distance, as he inspected the phantasmagorical clothes from the sitting and wailing apparition, quickly noting the purple hue that denoted a failed attempt to escape death through an unnatural method. “A failed ritual perhaps? What exactly did you do that ensured you this destiny, madam?”  

With a grunt of effort, he quickly went on to his paws, and teleported once more on to the Hopps residence, not feeling all that willing to go back to the old mansion in Herriman Street he was furtively squatting at. Quickly hiding his presence with a magical veil thanks to a quick use of his thaumaturgy, sighing contently as his body stopped tingling all over now that he was physically closer to his phylactery.

“If that doe was the protector of this town back in the day, it would then explain why Judy has some magical potential,” spying on the farm had ensured him a name, and a plethora of information from the doe that had managed to use his darned soul to awaken her own, many of the things that he had found leaving a quite clear image of who this mammal was.

“A mold breaker…” It was funny, really, what you could find if you put your time listening to what people said when they thought nobody was listening to them. His objective was, to put it mildly, living in what seemed to be a time bomb waiting to go off. Jealousy, condescension and downright dislike was slowly boiling on the Hopps farm due to this particular doe.

It seemed that some of her siblings disliked just how much attention Judy managed to unwillingly coerce out of their parents. In a family as big as theirs, there was always going to be a lot of competition for parental attention. The fact that said parents could barely offer a few minutes of individual time for each bunny, which many felt Judy downright stole with her fruitless attempts to be the center of attention, or so they believed. Thankfully, it didn’t delve further than that, and hadn’t evolved into downright hatred, especially because the doe as many other able adults, usually put a lot of her time ensuring to help her siblings and parents, which alleviated the negativity toward her a great deal.

But then, there was the irrefutable fact that among those siblings closer to her age was a plethora of mixed emotions that warred for complete control. Jealousy being the most notable, followed by a few condescending fellows. This doe simply didn’t know when to quit or what impossible meant. She simply tackled it down until she managed to get what she wanted. She wasn’t fast enough? She trained with weights to get nimbler, she wasn’t strong enough? She lifted even more weight to get physically stronger, she wasn’t smart enough? She studied her tail off. Any barrier, any inconvenience, that seemed to appear in front of her, she managed to bring it down and overcome it with mere raw effort and godlike stubbornness.

Some of her siblings perceived her efforts as an insult to their own faults, even when it was obvious that she wasn’t doing it to mock them, some of them felt insulted by how easily she seemed to overcome the odds, this came mostly from those that didn’t have the same drive, or that simply had surrendered to the popular pressure. These were the fellows that were mainly jealous of her. In the end, among a few mammals among the Hopps, were those that downright disliked her for trying to be something that she shouldn’t be, apparently a minority among this particular fluffle. This minority apparently, felt quite elated that the doe had seemingly despite her best attempts to, utterly failed to attain what she desired the most. The few of them earning quite an ugly spot on their auras for their problems. Bad Karma accumulating with each whispered word and spiteful comment.

All in all, it left a clear view of what kind of mammal Judy Hopps was, and how his proposal could be perceived and received. The doe lacked fear of the unknown, or at least, pretended not to, which was a boon. But she was also, a quite social mammal, something that shouldn’t surprise him, really, considering her species.

Manipulating her to fit his needs would be easy, he just needed to move his cards accordingly, and she would fall gladly on his trap.

“Think clearly, Wilde. Remember that appearances can deceive greatly, don’t fall into old stereotypes.” Moving out of the way of the residents within the warren, he made sure to superficially learn the array of the place, if the doe accepted, and he was quite sure that she would, he might end up living here for a while, and getting lost in her warren would only be counterproductive in the long run.     

It was also, incredibly astounding just how big this place was. They even had their own elevators, big and powerful enough to lift a hippo if needed, “I wonder why?” Getting inside one, was a simple way to find just how big this warren could be, the answer by glancing at the buttons was, “this is a darn subterranean fortress…” seven floors, this place was apparently, huge enough to count as a small town by itself.

Getting out of the elevator turned out to be quite a hassle, as there was a continuous flux of passengers, always making it hard for him to move without bumping into anyone, which made him simply sigh in annoyance as he teleported out of the place, his mission to scout the dwelling put on complete hold due to just how big and populated this residence was.

“Ursula taught me that the stereotypes about lapines always had a semblance of truth, but this is really ridiculous,” the fox drawled, as he glanced at the property on the surface and how much of a façade the place was. “I wonder how much they waste on taxes. Never mind, ridiculous reproductive habits aside, I need a place to sleep, the place is huge but far too populated, something tells me that there is more than one family there, so an empty and unsupervised room is unlikely, I guess I’ll go and sleep in the barn for the time being, how bad could it be?”

Sadly, for all of his tactics and scheming, what he didn’t expect  was to find so fast how obstinate Judy Hopps was when he felt, merely hours after their last encounter, a tug on his soul and manna, signaling that the darned femme was employing his locket for something that she shouldn’t be able to, fury nearly encompassing his being at being used in such a fashion by a newbie, his body disappearing as he moved in her direction, about to give her a taste of what an angry tod could offer to a nosy doe.

Chapter Text

Judy glanced at the locket, her whole world tossed upside down at the implications and what she had seen and experienced. It was incredibly unnerving just how much her blood was boiling with curiosity, as well as desire, most of it for knowledge, as information was vital for every action and decision.

If being a farmer had taught her something, it was that you didn’t plant your food on the ground and waited until you could collect your efforts, there was a lot of planning, investigation and knowledge of the ground capability to sustain life and more specifically what kind of plant could thrive on it, and what kind of service you needed to give to it to ensure the harvest was as abundant as possible.

And this, she felt, was a similar scenario.

She didn’t know just what could come from this without information, she was planting without knowledge of the ground, so her efforts could grant her huge gains or a costly flop.

Grabbing the locket firmly between her fingers, a part of her wanted to throw it far, far away and forget what had ever happened, a voice that urged her to not fall into the fox lies, that this could be a trap, an elaborate one that could derail her life as she knew it, a life that she had worked hard to earn and build.

But she did her best to ignore it, mostly, because it was the same voice that had subtlety fed her bias, a side of her that she hasn’t been aware of until it was too late.

The fox had said that she just had to wait, implied that she needed to be patient by giving her a date. But if she was honest? She had never a patient femme.

Putting the locket against her chest, felt natural. In fact, it felt as if it was the right thing to do, as it eased her pains, it reassured her in ways that she couldn’t explain, and in fact, it filled a hole within her that she hasn’t know existed before.

Closing her eyes, she put her attention on that feeling that had enveloped her before, her ears rising when she felt something trickle from the locket and into her body, shivers occluding her nerves at the thoroughly pleasant sensation, a smile appearing on her muzzle, as feelings, memories and suddenly, a name made itself apparent on her mind.

“Pib…”

Opening her eyes wide, Judy felt as if her world was shaken as a series of clashing memories battled within her, the locket getting hotter and hotter until, with a snap, she fell on to her knees, as something had definitely ruptured within her.

Wheezing desperately, the doe looked at the floor, eyes open wide while she tried to understand just what had happened, her eyes looking around, until they finally fell into her arm, one that she knew, she has seen completely covered in something before pain like no other consumed her.

“What’s going on?”

“That’s what I would like to know as well…”

Rising her head, found her once more looking at the eyes of a fox that for the first time in her life, she wasn’t entirely happy to see, due to how serious and… nearly angry he seemed to be at her.

“Nick…”

Eyes opening wide at her words, the tod looked at her with something different than outright hatred or disgust, confusion as well as fear quite noticeable in his mannerisms.

“How do you know my name?”

Rising an eyebrow, the doe looked at him, incredulously. A retort about to come from her mouth when suddenly, she simply stopped as more conflicting memories clashed in her head, a groan emerging from her throat unwillingly, earning her a sigh from the male.   

“You’ve absorbed some of my memories…” the fox explained, apparently divided on how to feel about what she had unknowingly done, “you’ve a gift to destroy well-crafted plans, don’t you?”

Looking at him, Judy didn’t say anything, more confused than ever… simply enduring the assimilating memories until finally, with one last wisp of energy from the locket, the whole process ended, and she knew…

“This… this isn’t real…”

“What are you talking about, of course this is real!”

Rising the locket, the doe quickly put a stop to the tod, eyes firmly glaring at the… mockery, the imitation of a mammal that for some reason, was incredibly and utterly valuable to her.

“I… who are you?” Judy spat, gripping the locket firmly as if it was her lifeline, conflicting emotions coursing through her, something within her was boiling, and slowly moving toward the locket, it felt hot, scalding even, but she endured.

The fox on the other hand, looked at her, surprise, fear as well as confusion marring his face, as he tried to say something, but couldn’t, his body trembling as if the world around him was falling apart just as it did to her a few moments ago the moment the scalding substance collided with the locket.

The tod felt on to his knees, gasping loudly and looking around desperately, blood emerging from his nose and mouth. Unlike her, the whole process seemed to be instantaneous, as well as painful. But despite the clear suffering, his eyes, which had held a hint of hostility and some malevolence before, had cleared into something far more recognizable.

“Nick?”

“Judy… listen to me, because I don’t have much time before I lose it again…” The fox said, interrupting the doe immediately, as he glanced around, as if waiting for an attack, or the world to crumble around him, which was how she felt a few minutes ago, “This world? Isn’t real. You fell victim to a plant, a flower. You’re dreaming and close to passing away while we speak, the more you remain here, the harder it will be to wake you up.”

The memories rushing through her made her believe him immediately, the mall, Peter and that strange flower. Yes, she could clearly see it, then the pain and the creatures fluttering above her, trying to keep something at bay that was slowly consuming one of her arms, getting closer to her torso.

“What’s going on?”

“Listen… that locket, is our ticket out of here,” the fox explained urgently, as if he was struggling against something. “It’s a link to my body, it’s my soul put into a physical object. You can…” a grunt, as well as a sudden wound on his body caused Judy to gasp in horror, as she saw his left shoulder be split open out of nowhere. “Argh… you little…”

“Nick… what’s going on? Please, let me help you!”

“This world, is resisting, Judy. The curse of that plant, is strong and it had some daemonic influence as well, tampered to ensure total control of your mind, and through it, your soul.” With a grunt, the fox sat… hands trembling profusely while he stared at her, “the native version of me is a nasty piece of mammal, Judy. He’s manipulative, vicious and was planning to use you to achieve his goal against a rival.”

Attempting to get close to the fox, Judy couldn’t simply understand what was happening, or what to do. How hasn’t her family come to her room? Her screams and Nick’s grunt of pain were loud enough to garner some attention.

But the world around her felt stilted, empty.

“Why? What does he want with me?”

“I wanted to give you time, Fluff, I really did,” The fox explained, as he gazed at her, his body suddenly changing, momentarily showing her a visage of a buck that had been only present in her dreams before he went back to normal, his eyes deep and full of something that made her skin shiver and her hackles rise, her ears instantly up and rosy, “but you’re a dominant femme, aren’t you?”

“Pib… you’re Pib, aren’t you?”    

“I am…”

Trust, inexplicable, sudden and arousing emerged from within her, she trusted Pib, beyond comprehension or understanding, in fact, despite the severity of the whole debacle, her body hungered for the male in front of her in ways that shouldn’t be possible.

Only the resigned look in his eyes, kept her at bay.

“What’s going on Nick? Tell me the truth, please…”

“I’m your soul mate, Judy… I’ve always been. We’re connected,” a grunt and another gash on his left arm emerged, making the doe jump in his direction, only to stop on the spot when he lifted his other arm to ensure her that he was fine, even when it was quite obvious that he wasn’t, “That is a truth, it’s why you’ve been feeling so possessive of me when you see me, it’s why I usually evade you, because I want to claim you as much as you do.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“You were a kit when I found you, Judy… what do you think would’ve happened? You’re still a minor in some states… Especially in Zootopia.”

“Not entirely, especially as I’m a lapine and… it’s a complicated history full of legalese terminology and contradictory statements, but… why do you stop me from… doing it? What is so wrong with me that you’ve been evading me… even when I called you?”

Wheezing painfully, Nick pondered what she had said, before he shuddered in dread. “Because I could overwrite you entirely, Judy. A soul bond sounds cute and romantic on paper, but it has deep effects that will affect us for the rest of our lives. Your relationship with Peter? It will be destroyed if you accept me, your own path and personality, overwritten to please me, or my own to please you, forced to make a perfect fit to ensure a seamless assimilation… We were supposed to grown slowly and meticulously, but…”

Judy didn’t need him to conclude it all, knowledge appearing on her mind, memories that weren’t her own, dread suddenly falling upon her, it was a risk, one with as many detriments as well as benefits…

“Please… stop doing that!” The doe exclaimed, unbearably angry, and disappointed, making the tod recoil in surprise, even his breath was kept on hold, eyes wide, surprise and fear at her outburst. “Stop underestimating me!”

With a burst of power, her eyes shined, displaying a huge amount of manna being accumulated within her, wisps of smoke emerging from her eyes, giving her an otherworldly image.

“If you’re my soul mate, why do you keep treating me like others do?” Judy spat, glaring at the trembling tod, “why do you doubt me, do you really think of me so poorly?”

Closing her eyes, Judy attempted to calm down to no avail, as memories warred within her mind, trying to enforce dominance for who Judith Laverne Hopps truly was, only her will sustaining her sanity as it was. Here she was, in front of what many searched for their entire lives, only to fail constantly. And instead of understanding, support, she found doubt and fear.

Shuddering with barely controlled rage, the doe opened her eyes, glaring back at the tod, only for her eyes to widen up in surprise when she saw him in front of her, kneeling and with arms wide open, body shivering and neck exposed, his eyes, which had a hint of pain.

“It’s not that I doubt you,” he explained, momentarily closing his eyes when a particularly nasty gash appeared on his chest, four holes over his heart, as if someone had attempted to claw it out. “It’s that the mere idea of overwriting and erasing a part of you, taking your personality, who you are… it’s far more painful to me than being literally cut apart.”

Rising a hand to touch his cheek, Judy simply gazed at the male in front of her, exposed and at her complete mercy despite his clear suffering.    

“Just… trust in me.” She pleaded, looking at him with big, watery eyes. “If this is going to work, we need to trust each other, willingly… and without doubt.”

Nick’s answer was merely a smile before he captured her hand with his, power rushing to her immediately.

With a sudden rush of power, memories, lots and lots of them fell upon her soul, changing her, affecting her mere existence and sense of self, which was bordering on complete unraveling, but she was nothing if not hardheaded.

She wasn’t a delicate flower. She wasn’t to be protected and sheltered, and even when a part of her appreciated the desire, it wasn’t what she wanted. It wasn’t her goal to be re-defined and subjected to the wills of others.

In both worlds, despite the odds against her, she kept going, even when there wasn’t any other option, she kept going, striding to get what she desired. Yes, there were obstacles and she had failed and suffered, but she had grown from the experiences, adapted from each failure and most important of all, she had overcome the odds. 

Her will, it has always been fierce, unbending. Yes, the memories were affecting her greatly, imparting knowledge that wasn’t supposed to be hers, but she endured, she learned, she understood… She seeped from the fountain and learned, comprehended and assimilated.

But this time, she had learned. If this whole debacle had taught her something, it was that she was an idiot for trying to reach her goals alone and without help, yes, her success has been in part due to her efforts, but her family and friends, doubts aside, had supported her, had endured and kept at it. Perhaps not like she would’ve liked to, but they still supported her in many ways that were now clear.

So, she stopped trying to do it alone, here was a mammal that was supposed to be tailored to be her perfect pair, that missing half that would complete her entirely. 

There she stood looking firmly at the surprised tod, whose whole being was being torn apart due to the machinations of a third party, as well as her own weakness and failure.

“It’s enough…”

With a display of power, the world around her fell apart, shards and remnants flying all over the place as if it was made of crystal, so many memories of a fake life that had served to forge her more than ever before, cementing her will, complementing what she lacked due to natural age into a more mature and realist and complete Judy Hopps.

“Their goal was to break me… but it backfired. They helped to mold me.” the doe assuredly said, her body shedding her clothes and skin as her body turned, changed, evolved. Jumpstarting and bypassing so many steps in the process, with the careful guidance of the tod as she learned, adapted and overcame. “Their goal was to injure me, kill me and leave you hurting… easy to grab and control.”

With a wave of her hand, the body of the fox in front of her exploded, only leaving his soul, erasing the injuries that the fake version that battled for control within the tod had caused, only leaving a tired but reassured male in front of her, his soul trembling with anticipation as their manna was being exchanged, molding, reshaping and rebuilding them in equal measure.

With a painful cry, Judy ignored the itching on her forehead, were something was growing and tearing her flesh apart, she endured the pain as she closed her eyes and gave herself entirely to the male in front of her with a single step, who received her with open arms, their bodies molding into a single entity.

It felt exhilarating, it felt great, there wasn’t a word to describe how it felt when your soul was completed in every sense, shape and form, every missing piece suddenly filled, finalized. But despite the joy, their mind kept one goal clear, and it was to keep them as close to who they used to be as possible, as they learned, molded, and kept as much of their personalities and quirks as close as possible without compromising the whole process.

It wasn’t a simple task, but thankfully, Nick wasn’t letting her work alone as he guided and prompted once he understood her goal, their magic working to ensure that there wasn’t a complete amalgamation of their sense of self, a goal to keep Judy as much of Judy as possible, as well as Nick, as much as Nick as conceivable. It wasn’t perfect, and they had to do some compromises that they closely monitored and kept firmly entrenched within the deepest confines of their souls, a self-applied seal that would maintain a balance between them, a last attempt to ameliorate the worst effects of the amalgamation while keeping most of the boons that such an event granted. It wasn’t perfect, but it was all they had at the moment.

Judy on the other hand, was hell-bent on integrating her fake memories into her real self, gaining at least some advantage that her past self didn’t had, as her body accepted the whole thing as something as real as her true memories.

In a single swoop, she had suddenly gained and incorporated into her being nearly a decade of experience that she wouldn’t otherwise have any right to possess, aside from what little they had deemed safe for her to absorb from Nick. 

It was a cheat surely, employing her attackers curse to further her own goals, but it wasn’t the first time, both in the fake and real world where someone had attempted to use her for their own goals and she had instead, used them to further her own. A bit of maliciousness that she knew she had deep inside down under her sweet persona, something that was one hundred percent Judith Hopps.

Then finally, with a rush of power and their world exploding with pleasure as well as a deep sense of victory, they felt a pull that broke the connection between them, breaking them apart as she was hurled abruptly from the nexus of their souls on to her damaged but still breathing body, a gasp emerging from her lips as she stared at the familiar ceiling of her room in the campus, a gasp soon initiated by the tod beside her, who groaned painfully due to how worn-out he was by the whole experience.

They remained there, breathing hard and loudly while the world around them rotated in a glorious display of colors and shouts as the people that surrounded them attempted to stabilize them. 

Judy closed her eyes, content when she felt the connection with the tod, as feeble as it currently was due to their choice, it remained there, always present and always enticing, even now asking to be released, but she endured, knowing that it wasn’t the time to cede, not if they wanted to protect as much of their individuality as possible, and yet, despite the self-imposed limitation, it was clear that she belonged to him and him to her. They were one but, at the same time, they still had a semblance of independence.

A sense of self that was precious and valuable, which must be protected as long as it was possible.

Closing her eyes, Judy simply concentrated in her newly acquired bond, and grasped Nick’s thread, his soul immediately accepting her, his arms surrounding her as she rubbed her incorporeal chin on to his neck, attempting to mark him to no avail, only to stop when the fox raised her head and connected her lips to his, sealing the deal.

Content, Judy simply remained there, knowing that things were set to change, but as long as she had him, maybe they would endure and survive.

Chapter Text

Looking at the broken totem, the sow snarled furiously, unable to believe that once more she had been thwarted in what should’ve been a definite and quite infallible plan.

“Another failure, I take it?” a voice said from the shadows, its eyes looking at the ritual circle and the femme standing in the middle of it.

“I was this close to severe their bond!” The sow spat as she stood on to her hooves, snorting lightly at the totem, trying in vain to comprehend what exactly just happened, “I just don’t understand, that darned annoyance was cursed and her body infected…”

“You’ve grown arrogant, my dear…” another voice chided, causing a cringe to emerge from the snarling sow, who immediately calmed down once she found that there was more than one spectator to her current failure, her eyes immediately falling on to an orb, and the image of a bespectacled ewe glancing mirthfully at her.  “Plans fail, you adapt accordingly to ensure victory. That’s the basis of our enclave…”

“Mistress, I…”

“You know what you need to do, don’t you?” 

“Please, they have more uses… just, give me one more chance, I swear on my soul that next time we’ll get it right!”

The snort that came from the mammal that hid from the shadows was infuriating, but there wasn’t anything the sow could do about it if she wanted to live another day, so she just waited, trembling and desperately glancing at the ground, wondering if perhaps this dirty basement would be the last thing she would gaze at.

“You’ve one more chance, one last move,” the ewe finally said, causing the sow to rise her head and look at her mistress with relief and hope blossoming in her face, only to freeze on the spot when she gazed at those cold, unnatural eyes look at her fiercely from the other side of the orb. “But you’re out of the enclave, if you want keep this feeble road of yours, you need to consume and employ your own resources, your own personnel. You don’t work for us anymore until you prove that you deserve to be a member of the Order. Use this chance wisely… you and your little group of miscreants won’t have another.”

Gulping, the trembling femme nodded at that, not having the courage to say anything that might compromise her chances, knowing that the leader rarely gave third chances.

Seeing the orb turn black and then disappear, only served to further increase her paranoia, her nerves frayed and on the point of igniting all over.

“You…” the sow spat, looking at the figure hidden in the shadows, “go get that darned Cheetah. She’s our ticket to that accursed place. Prepare the crystals and our agents, we have to go low while we prepare the next trap, this is our last chance, we cannot waste it.”

Walking out toward the exit, the sow didn’t say anymore, simply muttering incoherently about the incoming plan and how much hinged on its success, ignoring the glaring mammal from the shadows that glanced directly at the broken totem and the still functioning ritual circle, her eyes mirthfully looking at the spying doe.

“You’ve really grown arrogant mistress… even sloppy, you didn’t even close the gap.”

With a movement of her hand, an icicle soon emerged from her palm, spearing the pieces of the totem and fully cutting the connection between both sides.                                        

Jumping up, Judy glanced around, nose twitching in fright at what she had dreamed, desperately looking around, now seeing that she was now in what appeared to be a modified version of her bedroom, her head moving everywhere, trying to understand what was going on before her memories finally settled down.

“So, one of the two sleeping beauties deems us worthy of their presence in the real world,” a voice said mirthfully, making Judy cringe in slight fright, as she hasn’t been able to see anyone in her room a few seconds ago, her heart thundering loudly against her chest due to fright.

“Shh, shh, calm down sweetie, take deep breaths, yes, like that… you’ve to get accustomed to your new body.”

Closing her eyes, the doe nodded at that, memories from her bond with Nick had ensured her at least, superficial knowledge of events and mammals, the soul transfer ritual being among the many magical events that she was now superficially aware of.

“It’s always like this?”

“For an experienced mammal? No, but you dear decided to skip a lot of steps. Your soul isn’t accustomed to the manna yet, so it hyper-enhances a lot of your reactions and movements as it is. Meaning that for a couple of days you’ll be quite skittish and clumsy as your soul attunes itself to your new body and its circuits, as for the memories, well, you get accustomed to the constant sense of déjà vu…” The golden doe said, mirth and tiredness in her expression as she sat beside her bed, ensuring to keep a respectful distance between them. “Was it a nightmare?”

Judy frowned, pondering what to think of what she had seen, the dream now barely whips that she couldn’t fully recollect entirely, as they felt disjointed and hard to grasp at, as if something was quickly seeping the recollection away from her, so she told the doe what she barely could gather about it, hoping it was enough to satisfy her curiosity.

“By the sound of it, it wasn’t a dream, but an echo of a memory, one that’s been damaged due to the abrupt ending. A sow, you said?”

“Yes, Mrs. Savage. A sow… though, I can’t recall her face, just her voice…”

“It’s okay sweetie, you’ve been in a quite harsh experience, one that few survive to tell the tale, I cannot in good conscience, judge you to a high standard in your current situation.” The doe said, before she glanced at the side and at the still sleeping tod, sighing tiredly. “Him on the other hand… I want to reprimand him so badly…”

Judy frowned, barely containing the need to growl at the femme for getting too close to what she defined as her mate. Even if they weren’t exactly… companions.

“Oh, there’s no need to contain yourself, sweetie. You need to get it out of your system before you’re deemed apt to get out of here.”

“Am I a prisoner then?”

“That’s a difficult question… in a sense, yes, you are, but not truly…” Seeing the disbelieving glare from the doe, Luna couldn’t simply do anything but laugh mirthfully at the girl: “Tell me, what do you think would happen if you see a girl get too close to Nick? A vixen for example?”

Hackles rising, and teeth’s bared, the doe blinked a couple of times before she shook her head, unable to comprehend her behavior for a couple of seconds.  “That’s… a canine trait.”

“Indeed, each species have sole expressions and reactions that are inherently unique. Teeth’s baring is usually, a unique trait to predatory creatures, there are of course some exceptions but it’s predominantly a carnivore trait. You inherited that reaction from Nick, dear…”

Nodding, Judy simply breathed while she pondered about what she heard, not knowing just how messed up she was at the moment, if the implication was to judge by.

They did the best they could under the circumstances, but there were still, misfires that were going to be annoying to deal with.  

“Am I… going to become aggressive?”

“That’s up to you, honey…” Luna said, looking firmly at the doe, “I think you’ve already an idea that aggression isn’t necessarily a trait unique to predators, isn’t it?”

Lowering her ears, Judy nodded once more, properly chastised, as a lawyer studying to get her Master degree in law, she was quite educated and aware that the cold harsh truth was that violence wasn’t something unique to predators, she had known this, intimately, and yet, a huge part of her still remained stubbornly attached to some old conceptions.

“Sorry… I, I have this annoying mix of memories in my head…”

Luna patted her knee, apparently understanding the issue.

“How old were you?”

“Nearly twenty-four, I was older there but, it was all a dream, so, why does those memories feel so real?”

“Because, that’s the insidiousness of Paradise Fall’s pollen, it entraps you in a memory so real, so detailed and perfect, that your body reacts to it as if it was the real world, so you don’t want to wake up, and thus, you end up dying and becoming nutrients for the plant and insects that help pollinate it.” Closing her eyes, Luna pondered about the whole situation, about the trap and how well orchestrated it was, and how lucky the doe was to have suffered the worst part of the attack while talking with a friend that coincidentally had a bond with the male that had obtusely been blocking his own end with Judy.

“Usually, we delve into that world and shake its bases off. It’s normally a perfect world, where the mammal has everything it wants, so breaking that trend it’s usually enough to force them to face reality and break free. But your case… was completely different…”

Judy nodded, eyes looking at her hands, trying to put her mind and feelings in order.    

“At first, it was almost perfect…” Judy conceded, remembering her childhood in that world, her encounter with Gideon that ended with her fighting the bully, only to be clawed. But instead of breaking her, it served to mold and solidify her conviction. The support of her parents and family, her community.

But it all suddenly changed once she turned sixteen, as if someone had changed the script. Where there used to be support, now derision and doubt reigned. Friendships that she found valuable, even irreplaceable in the real world, fell apart in the dream. Sharla being the most glaring example of how different things were.

“But then, it simply turned… not horrifying, but harder. Things began to get difficult, the obstacles became nearly impossible to overcome, and I simply… stagnated.” Frowning, the doe looked at Luna, and pondered: “I refused to change, to adapt… and was growing resentful, it was apparently costing me my whole family in the process.”

A bitter pill to swallow, Judy had to admit that, perhaps the dream was a wake-up call as to how things could be in real life if she wasn’t careful about her goals and how she treated people when she was frustrated.

“Those memories would’ve faded into nothing if you left them, but mammals often require some mental help after experiencing the withdrawal from what many perceive was paradise. Their bodies need to be purged from the excess of pheromones, chemicals and endorphins that their bodies produce to ensure enjoyment. If left unattended, they often fall into depression, unable to experience happiness, because it was never equal or superior to that perfect world.” Luna explained, examining the doe before her with critical eyes, wondering: “But you… you decided not to discard or embrace, but to absorb, you integrated your real memories with your fabricated ones, creating a new version of yourself, an amalgam. Only possible due to the circumstances…”

Judy nodded at that. She couldn’t deny it, not when it was obvious that she wasn’t exactly the same doe that had fallen asleep. In a sense, the sixteen years old Judy Hopps had passed away, replaced by a different version of herself, more mature and prepared than the original had any right to be.

“There is also, the fact that once I joined with Nick, I could see the development of the dream from his side. As the only actual soul in that dream, it was confusing to see that I recreated his powers so close to the real deal… even when I didn’t have any actual knowledge about magic and what’s possible or not.”

Understanding the implied question about the verisimilitude of the dream and what had happened there, Luna promptly explained:

“These are dreams are, most often than not, based on knowledge that you have at a conscious and subconscious level. Media has also, created a strong image of how magic operates in many mammals. Some of the interpretations are closely, if not acutely accurate, so your mind deftly mixed what you knew, and created an approximation. But In your case, you also had an addendum, isn’t it?”

“My bond…”

“Your bond… which, brings us to the real issue among us.”

Judy closed her eyes, pondering deeply what was said, and the implications of Luna’s statement.

“You’re angry…”

“Indeed, I’m furious, my dear…” The doe said, eyes closed while she attempted to control her rising ire. “But not against you, no… you’re as much of a victim here, like Nick and Peter…”

Quickly taking the offering, Judy never doubted to change the discussion on to fewer explosive themes, as it was obvious that the golden doe in front of her wasn’t someone Judy wanted to anger in any way or fashion.

“Peter… how is he?”

“He’s awake… two of ours went to his room and ensured that he was fine, had to modify his memories to fit a scenario where the two of you had a horrid reaction to the pollen of a begonia, a minor inconvenience at best… though, I’m afraid that he might end up magically awakening in a few months, as there is some manna circulating his body…”

Frowning, Judy actually didn’t know how to take that, as whatever feelings or attraction that she might’ve for the buck, had disappeared completely.

“Will he recover his memories, then?”

“Most probably… it depends on how he awakes and the kind of power that he would wield. So, it’s up to you how to deal with this situation from now on,” Luna gently explained, understanding the pickle the young doe was in: “the decision to include or exclude him resides in yourself, honey…”

Judy nodded, understanding once more that this was perhaps, a test to judge just how much she had changed by the experience, as well as to what kind of person she currently was after such a severe change.

“I would be lying if I said I want him beside me… but, something tells me that excluding and alienating him would come to bite me in the tail if I simply decide to discard him like trash, for something he hasn’t any blame at.”

“A wise choice, dear… a wise choice. Now…” clapping her hands, Luna immediately caught Judy’s attention as a book materialized in her hands, who opened it deftly, her eyes scanning the pages with practiced swiftness until she caught what she was looking for: “the seal you’ve created… I’m quite surprised you both had the strength of will to actually prevent a full amalgamation of souls, my dear.” Rising her eyes, the golden doe smiled reassuringly, “not that it’s a bad thing, but… I’m afraid that we’re perhaps, walking into the esoteric, probably even a new form of magic.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Judy couldn’t say anything about what the two of them had engineered, as it was a spurt of a moment idea that had perhaps, depended far too much on her own stubbornness.

“When we were one, there was… this knowledge, Nick is a well-studied mammal. He had the idea; the method and I had the will. Together, we simply decided to risk it all and have moderate wins, or let it be and lose it all.” Frowning now, Judy had to admit that perhaps the change was more profound than she had believed it to be, as her calmness about the whole debacle was possibly far too suspicious to ignore anymore.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Two days…”

“Oh…”

Chuckling at the first display of dread on the young femme’s face, Luna had at least a modicum of mercy and quickly explained.

“Gwen, my daughter… is currently dealing with your parents, as well as Nick’s downtrodden apprentice.” The old matriarch explained, quickly noticing the rising ears and opened eyes, clear signs of surprise, creaks appearing on the calm persona that the doe had been unknowingly emulating, the real personality soon appearing from the myriad of borrowed mannerisms.     

 “Oh, sweet cheese and crackers… My parents… Sharla!”

Luna simply smiled at that, happy to see that perhaps, there wasn’t any need to do anything after all. As it was obvious that whatever those two had done, it had worked enough to conserve a huge part of their personalities as intact as possible.

In the end, it was merely a matter of time, to see what was going to happen from now on.