---

Nick Wilde sort of tossed the file on to the counter top, and signaled the raccoon barmaid behind for his ‘usual.’ The Sly Ones’ Den café was home to all sorts of smaller predators, and the occasional prey; a couple sheep sat in the corner, another fox sat alone, and a small group of ferrets and mongooses chatted over a plate of donuts.

He straightened his striped blue tie, over his still somewhat new police tunic- Judy insisted that he was wrong to call it a tunic, but he continued just to tease the little one, most of the time- and flipped open the file.

He recoiled almost immediately, just at the same time as the ‘coon lady returned with his hot chocolate (with sprinkles, whipped cream, a cherry, and chocolate shavings, not necessarily in that order). She scowled and him, and he was about to apologize for the coincidence, buts he turned away and walked to the other end, to serve a bunny who had just come in.

Speaking of which, he checked his watch. Judy should be here any minute now- she had a habit of being a little routine. Which brings him back to why he was here…

An image stared at him. More specifically, the hawk in the image was staring at him, rather coldly. Must’ve seen the traffic camera, and inspected it. The image of the avian wasn’t too big, and was paperclipped to a depressingly small amount of paper- but much more than what the ZPD had for the Wild Predators case.

He flipped through a grand total of six pages- detailing confirmed sightings, suspected contacts of the hawk, and another image- a reptilian this time. He felt his chest contract a little as he met the eyes of what he most definitely recognized to be a rattlesnake. A diamond back, from the looks of it- coiled around a pole sticking up from the flat roof of a building, staring down at whoever took the image.

It was odd, though. Both of them appeared to be easily sighted; they were both staring right at the source of the images, and weren’t seeming to make any moves to get out of the way. He didn’t know who they were or what they were doing in Zootopia, but there will be a loooot of nervous animals around here if words get out about them.

Absently sipping (and burning his tongue in the process (and eliciting a laugh from the waitress behind the counter)) his hot chocolate, and lapping up some of the chocolate-cherry-flavored whipped cream, he read through the various notes about the animals sighted and quite a few speculations about them. The first image was apparently a ‘chickenhawk’, or a red-tailed hawk, and the second image was definitely a Western Diamondback rattlesnake.

Leaning back a little, he took a deeper drink of his hot chocolate, now cooled to a manageable level. Perhaps he was presuming too much? Perhaps they were assuming to much? It wasn’t that long ago when most of the prey were ready to throw the predators out just for being predators. Why should mammals throw avians and reptilians out?

Oh that’s right. They tried to revolt, overthrow the government, and install the avian species as government and the reptilian species as law-enforcers. Their original plan was to have poisonous enforcers.

Right.

Mammals didn’t get along well with the poisonous ones and the ones who believe that flight equals superiority.

He swiveled in his seat as the bell above the entryway jingled; Officer Judy Hopps has arrived. He gave her a warm smile, and asked, “Oh hey, right on time. You clockwork or something?”

---

Officer Judy Hopps was nothing if not punctual. On the dot, if not five minutes early, to every appointment. Today she was running a bit late; seventeen point five seconds, to be exact. Maybe if she hadn’t gotten stuck behind that family of sloths at the crosswalk she would have been on time.

As she walked into the coffee shop she asked the waitress for her usual; blueberry smoothie and carrot cake.

“Oh hey, right on time. You clockwork or something?”

Judy was about to reply with the honest truth, that she was at that time eighteen seconds behind schedule, but shook the thought out of her head. No sense giving her partner one more thing to good-naturedly needle her with.

“Yes I am, as a matter of fact, and you…” she sniffed the air around Nick. “…are absolutely addicted to chocolate-cherry-sprinkle hot chocolate. Why couldn’t we just have had donuts and coffee at headquarters?”

Despite her words (after all, she had already ordered her carrot cake and smoothie and did intend to enjoy it) she plopped down on the booth across from Nick. She pulled the file out from under his paws and rotated it, turning it towards herself. She recoiled from the picture of the hawk and slapped the folder shut, waiting until the waitress brought her snack before she dared open it again. This time, expecting the picture, she opened the folder slowly, her nose twitching as her stomach knotted in fear. It took her a moment to master her sudden urge to flee, but she managed to overcome it enough to read through the six pages. Precious little information, but then, they’d solved a case with far less.

The picture of the snake also set her stomach to rolling. There was something odd about these creatures… They looked right at the security cameras like they didn’t care about getting caught. It hadn’t been too long ago that they’d been exiled from the city, after all… All of those venomous police officers, the eagle who’d built a palace in the sky and intended to rule over the whole city from it…

The bunny shuddered, her ears trembling.

“Well, what do you think, partner? Where should we start?” She sipped at her smoothie and nibbled on a bite of her carrot cake to try and calm the trembles in her ears. “I say we start with the snake. He’s probably easier to track and could cause more problems because he’d just have to bite, not actually drag all his… prey away.”

---

He snorted, as if the idea of having donuts and coffee at HQ with the other people was beneath him.

"Please, Hopps, there are TWO mains reasons, both of them easily significant enough to warrant coming to this fine establishment. Number one! They don't save any donuts for me. By the time I get up on the table, that cheetah already sped-ate them all. Number two! They don't have chocolate shavings, and I love my chocolate shavings. Don't mess with my chocolate shavings." He smirked to himself, and took another sip, taking care to delicately nibble on one of the numerously-repeated chocolate shavings.

"But yes, I am addicted." He took a larger drink to punctuate his declaration.

Judy took the file from him, and he said nothing. He passively watched her as he sipped on his hot chocolate, already two thirds of the way through. She recoiled, of course, from the first image, and he blinked in realization after that. He should've shut the folder when the waitress came by. Well... woops. He'll have to make sure not to mention that.

His eyes were drawn to her ears as she read. Say what you will about those damned emotional bunnies, but... he hated how her ears, laid back and shaking like that, and how soft her fur looks, made him want to just set a paw on the top of her head and scratch, and pet, and sooth, and to-

He forced his eyes to the folder. Chocolate sprinkles. Hawkman and Snakewoman. Nothing more or less. Was the snake female? The file didn't say. It wasn't like one could really tell, after all. Doesn't matter. She looks so cute though- even if he can't ever call her that.

He mentally sighed. The benefits of being with Judy Hopps- having a fun and intelligent partner on these police adventures, whether they be parking tickets or evil sheep! The bad... she was a very cute bunny. Even the cheetah agreed, even though Judy had reprimanded him about it. A good thing he talked to the cheetah... the very large cheetah... what was his name? Mister receptionist?

"...start with the snake... blah blah... track... blah blah problems and bites and dragging prey away."

Wait what?

Oh, right. Hawkman and Snakewoman.

He nodded his head in agreement, staring attentively, as he had for the past five minutes. It didn't occur to him that his face might have become slightly zoned-out in his mental ramblings, and it didn't occur to him as he actually focused and didn't just stare blankly.

"Yeah, the Diamondback will be easier to deal with. His or her tracks will be easier to follow, too. Since, you know, there will be tracks. Namely in the form of just a clear path of debris."

Chocolate shavings and whipped cream was good, and then he glanced at the carrot cake.

"Squirrel moment. Is carrot cake made with actual carrots, or is it just a cake flavored to be like carrots? Or is it just an orange cake that isn't as bad for you as regular cake?"

Judy Hopps

---

Judy laughed. “You can bring your own chocolate shavings. And Clawhauser won’t get all the donuts if we actually clock in on time. They only send like, two boxes up to him and it takes him approximately two minutes, forty-five point three eight seconds to actually get down to the lounge after that. If we’re quick and on time, we can get to the donuts first.”

Then she settled down to business. As she kept reading and rereading, scrutinizing the words, she noticed Nick vaguely staring at her, seeming to zone out. She’d just gotten uncomfortable enough to say something when he snapped out of it, blabbing about trails and tracking and problems.

“Nick? Are you feeling okay? Didn’t I just say that…?’

She shook her head, ears flopping, and went back to reading the file. Her ears had just started perking up, the threads of an idea forming in her brain, when she was suddenly interrupted by a “Squirrel moment”

She looked up, eyes wide and nose twitching, thinking it might have been something relevant. Instead it was a question about carrot cake.

With a groan she faceplanted on the table, her ears flopping out comically.

“We’re on a case why are you talking about carrot cake? But if you must know, carrot cake is made with carrot shavings instead of some of the flour and water. And cinnamon. And has cream cheese frosting instead of powdered sugar-based frosting. Now are we going to get back on topic soon, or no?”

---

Nick found the faceplant adorable and dramatic. Maybe a little too dramatic, but Judy had a way of accenting her words with dramatic motion. Such as faceplanting. Her big eyes made her seem more naive than she actually is... but then again, she really believed him, that day he met her. And she should stop twitching her nose. It, too, was adorable. Why are bunnies so adorable? They're just meant to be adorable, he supposed. And he was a fox. Were foxes supposed to find bunnies adorable, or appetizing? She didn't look appetizing.

"Alright, alright, don't get your ears into a twist, Hopps. I'm jussst peachy. And a little curious about carrots. And no, little bunny, we're not on a case, we're solving a case. A big different; lots get done when you're not sitting on them." Snark snark snark; he did enjoy poking her. She was far smarter than him anyways; he had to make it up somehow.

Giving her his trademark He took a last gulp, swallowing down the rest of the whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and hot chocolate in one go.

"Better get that to go, though, because we have fifteen minutes until the nearest train leaves for Sahara." He held up his phone- which he had very sneakily Zoogle'd the train times from Downtown to Sahara district. Slapping down a twenty on the counter, he told the 'coon, "Keep the change, and have a good day."

He hopped down from the booth stool, and brushed imaginary dust off his shoulders.

Glancing back, he urged, "Come on, carrot cakes, we got a train to catch. Diamondbacks move slower in the morn and at night; he'll just be coming out, and he'll be sluggish while he does so."

He didn't mention that he didn't have the faintest clue as to where to search for a snake, of all things. But he waited by the door until Judy hopped off her stool, and, like a proper mischievous gentleman, he held the door open for her on her way out, and followed behind her.

Shoving his hands in his poh-leese pockets, he asked, "So how do we search for such a guy? Head for the caves or something?"

---

“Oh, sweet cheese and crackers.” Was the only reply that the bunny could muster. She wrapped her carrot cake in a napkin, to have as a snack on the train, and picked up her smoothie cup. As she walked out the door she said, “Such a gentleman as always.” And playfully folded her left ear over to lightly thwap Nick on the shoulder as she walked past.

Judy sucked absently on her smoothie as they walked, watching Nick out of the corner of her eye. She found it vaguely amusing how he seemed to be nonchalantly prattling on and on about the snake… Like he was just going to ramble until pieces fell into place.

He looked at her expectantly, and she dimly realized that he’d asked a question.

“Oh, err… um, I think the caves would be a good place to start. Our slippery friend would probably be near the caves so that he’d be able to take shelter in the middle of the day, once it gets too hot. ‘Cause snakes can’t regulate their body temperature so well. They get cold at night so they lay on rocks that are still warm from the sun, then they lie out in the sun during the morning and evening to warm up but hide under a rock or in a hollow in the daytime so that they don’t get entirely baked by the sun. I agree; if we’re going to apprehend him, now would be an ideal time.”

As the pair arrived at the train station and boarded (Among a crowd of several dozen hamster businessmen), Judy found herself staring at the corner of Nick’s muzzle. There was a tiny fleck of whipped cream in his otherwise impeccably-maintained fur. Her paws itched and she half reached up to wipe it off, then shook her head and looked away. But her eyes kept being drawn back to that little spot even as she fidgeted, trying to keep herself from wiping it off. Of course she couldn’t say anything about it, not with so many other animals around, but….

It was going to drive her crazy.

---

Nick was always intrigued by the ads. Every time he set foot in any public transport, he was always staring at the ads. Because, really, the people who make those colorful clever ads are really clever, and Nick loved to see all the new ads. He did that police-thing where he constantly scanned the people, but he focused more on the ads and the conversations and interactions. Anything and everything could become something clever, even if it already was or is clever.

Speaking to the wall- though, technically, to Judy- he quietly spoke.

"Yeah, now's the best time. But I don't know what'll we do if he decides to resist..." No one in Zootopia had been vaccinated for snakebite in the past year or two. Ever since reptillians and avians were barred from Zootopia, there had been a sort of martial 'border guard' stationed around the edge of the Zootopian county. It was one of the few separatist things that were truly enforced and believed to be needed.

He still watched Judy, though. Her eyes kept flicking up to him.

Speaking of which, that ear-slap of hers wasn't powerful at all- why was he expecting it to be?-, but it did get fur up his nose. The naval cavity of his admittedly sensitive nose started acting up, immediately setting his eyes to watering. A moment later, he jerked his head into the crook of his armor, and sneezed rather explosively.

And then sneezed just as explosively a second time. Neither time had any real gunk; just a bunch of air and a bunch of nerves tickled all to hell from the soft, fine rabbit fur.

He turned to Judy, face aghast from how much the two sneezes hurt his nose. He shakily whipped out a bit of cloth from his pocket- a green/blue hankerchief- and started wiping off his nose, and the neoprene sleeve of his uniform.

"Gah, what did you put on your ears? Some extra-'special' shampoo or somethin? Speaking of which, how do you bunnies take care of your ears. Nevermind, you owe me a new hanky, bunny. This one's ruined."

He emphasised his point by shaking the hankerchief he now held at a distance from himself (which caused nearby medium-sized animals to shirk away, terrified of how icky it was). Promptly afterwards, he gave it a little swing and threw it into the nearest trashcan. Thank the lords for whoever designed the train- they clearly had their priorities straight, adding in those trashcans.

His paws had to continue rubbing his nose, though. It ached like the devil!

---

Judy couldn't help but laugh at her partner, whom was... kind of adorable when he was sneezing his head off. She felt kind of bad about her fur clogging up his nose, but hey, it wasn't her fault that he'd gotten her fine, fuzzy ear-fur sprayed up his nose. His fault for being so irritating that she just HAD to slap him.

She fished in the pocket of her uniform and produced a red-and-black handkerchief, one that Nick had actually lent her not too long before. Who knew that a bunny could have hay fever?

"Don't worry, I washed it since I used it." She couldn't resist smirking. "Also you still didn't get the whipped cream of of your muzzle." She stretched up on her big feet, intending to wipe the whipped cream spot off with her ear; then decided against it and wiped it off with her paw. She paused for a moment, so close to Nick's chest; she could feel his breath on the top of her head.

Then she blushed, ducking away from him. "I just brush my ears with a dry shampoo. I get super-cold when they get wet so I usually just brush in a dry shampoo and then towel them off and brush them again." What she didn't mention was that she'd also brushed in some kind of fur conditioner this morning, which was supposed to make your fur silkier and shinier and smoother. And apparently also led to shedding. "Anyway, what do you do to maintain your fur so impeccably soft, and your whiskers so perfectly straight?"

"As far as our serpentine friend, if he puts up a struggle we might have to get one of the bigger officers on it. We might be too small to handle him, especially since we can't catch him in a rope like we did to that rogue zebra. And there always is the matter of if he bites us..." Judy shuddered, her troublesomely expressive ears going flat against her head in fear. "That would... not be pleasant."

She finished her smoothie and carrot cake, then tossed the empty smoothie cup and napkin into the trash. Absently sucking the frosting off of her paws she said, "But I wouldn't worry about it. You're far, far too clever to be outwitted by a sluggish snake, and I, while I might just be a dumb bunny, am much faster than almost any predator that might try to chase me..."

---

Nick gratefully retrieved the handkerchief, eyeing it with suspicion, surprise, maybe a bit of fondness. As if he didn't expect to see his old friend again, after it disappeared to Judy's nose.

He suppressed the urge to jerk away, instinctively, from his partner's sudden reach. It was purely instinctual, it just tickled his whiskers- he didn't mind the feeling of the soft paw wiping away the small smear of whipped cream on the top of his fur. She paused, after cleaning his muzzle, his whiskers tingling somewhat pleasantly. He watched her, sharp-eyed and noting her hesitance, her sudden ducking away. His eyes narrowed at her movements and body language, even as his grin widened from her words.

"Aw, thanks Hopps. Warms my hustlin' heart to know that someone's acutely aware of me and my...features. And I'll have you know that I straighten my whiskers every morning, and use some fancy foxy shampoo to take care of my fur. Nothing as special as dry-shampoo or anything, but a fox does what a fox must do to keep his pride. And thank you for the handkerchief- I never thought I'd see mister Sniffles again."

He nodded at her mention of the reptilian target of theirs, agreeing with her.

"I agree. But I'll also have you know that us foxes can think and react at the same time- we're quite renowned at it."

He threw an arm around Judy, unable to resist the urge to bring her back to his chest again, as he said, "Us foxes grew up to catch you, after all. Who knew that all we needed to be was your friend, right? Me and you, too awesome a team to be taken down by anything. Except for maybe Clawhauser. I think he might be able to take care of us both, no problem- trap us in donuts like you did to that weaselly little weasel. Or Flash. Flash's a real fast guy, you know. He might have us both in chains before we even know it."

Suddenly, his ears perked up, jostling slightly as the train hits a small bump, clutching Judy tighter for a brief moment before relaxing again.

"Hey... we should go see him again. Maybe when we're through with today, we could stop by and say hello. I do know how much you enjoy having those conversations with him! I did always figure he made a good impression on you, you know."

And on impulse, before he even realized he was doing so, he reached up with the arm slung around her shoulders, and scritch'd the top of her head, right between her ears. Having already done it, he just continued for a couple seconds, watching her reaction.

"Also, let's just do recon work today. No need to get our hands dirty unless we really have to. We don't have anything but suspicion on these two guys, so no need to immediately treat them as criminals. And let's keep our voices down about what words we use... we are sorta well-known. If anyone recognizes us, they'll be sure to eavesdrop and catch anything they can get- at least, I would."

---

Judy felt a… tickle in her heart when Nick mentioned them being a great team, being friends. Of course, this tickle had nothing to do with the fact that she was being held, well, blush-inducingly close to him, able to smell that “super-special fox shampoo” and… she didn’t think Nick would wear cologne but he smelled kind of spicy…?

Thankfully, the thought was shaken out of her head as Nick’s paw found the top of her head and rubbed back and forth. Her eyes rolled back a little bit and her foot, unconsciously, tapped on the floor. She didn’t know why, but that spot on her head was so sensitive, and well, rubbing it felt amazing.

… despite her head being petted, her ears did somewhat perk up as Nick mentioned being careful. And of course she internally smacked her forehead. Of course. She was being a ditz.

“Hmm… So we need a code name… hmm. What is our friend’s defining trait…? Scales. He’s Scaly. So Scalar? Buuut we don’t want to let people onto that. So not-scalar. So Vector! Ta-da! In all seriousness though, yes, today should be about recon. Innocent until proven guilty and all that jazz.” She couldn’t help a shudder racing up her spine… how could a snake not be guilty?

Nick Wilde

---

He suppressed a grin at her reactions, paw-thumping, eye-rolling, blushing bunny. She was so adorable and fuzzy, and he couldn’t say that he didn’t have an arm around her for no reason other than emphasizing his great-team point. Alas, he probably wouldn’t be able to point it out to her. He scratched the top of her head a little bit more, and gave a quick warning glare to a couple of the other animals on the bus that were watching them. Foxes and bunnies were perfectly normal.

“Yeah, Vector will do. You sure you’re just a bunny? That fox-clever right there.

He stroked the top of her head when she shivered, presumably at the thought of the- of “Vector”. He figured he knew what she was thinking of- innocent until proven guilty, but it’s a snake, so surely it’s guilty.

“Innocent until proven guilty, that’s right. Anyone can be anything- a fennec can be an elephant if he wants, and a sn- Vector could be a nice guy. We don’t know yet.”

Turning his head away from Judy, he stared out the windows at the passing outskirts of Zootopia. In front of them loomed one of the climate walls that kept the climates separate, growing larger and larger as the speedy train shot towards it like a bullet.

Abruptly, he asked, somewhat hesitant, somewhat quietly, “What was it like? Coming here for the first time, I mean. Through most of the different districts for the first time, in a train like this one.”

He never had the wonder that comes from seeing Zootopia for the first time. He grew up in it; it was normal, bland, and dull, to him.

---

Judy couldn't think of how to respond to the first part of the statement. Her ears remained flat against her head, until Nick's question about coming to the city registered. At that, she straightened up, ears perking up and eyes brightening at the memory.

"Imagine this... All you've ever grown up seeing is fields with bunnies hopping back and forth through them, ears poking up out of their straw hats. Rolling fields of brown earth, green carrot tops, and gray bunny ears. And then all of a sudden you get on a train and it's more carrots, more carrots, then an acorn farm, then... nothingness, just green, rolling plains, and then you go through a thick, enormous concrete wall, and all of a sudden you look up and the rain is making perfect circles and swirls on the glass above your head and the trees are so thick that you can't see four feet into the jungle to either side of you, and then you've barely had time to absorb that and you suddenly go through another wall and you're on a massive mountain of sand looking down at a line of pyramids and shifting sand dunes, and then through another wall and you're suddenly skimming a few inches above a river of ice... and all the different animals are standing a few feet away, waving, more animals than you've seen in your whole life..."

The bunny's voice trailed off, her eyes gone distant as she remembered it.

"It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

---

Nick nodded, acknowledging it. He was trying to picture it, though her description was a little iffy. He may had searched up where Bunnyburrow was, and may have researched the trains to and from Bunnyburrow, and their route. He was quite sure that the Bunnyburrow train ran through the agricultural areas, then over the Zootopia bay into the Sahara District. The train would then run through the Climate Wall, into Tundra Town, and then through to the Jungle district. Then it ran through another wall- less of a Climate Wall and more of a natural formation repurposed- and through downtown Zootopia.

But he nodded anyways, agreeing with her.

“Can’t say I don’t wonder. I’ve grown up next to almost every other animal- mammal- there is. If I had to pick something about the most amazing things I’ve ever seen, I’d either have to go with you with your feet in wet concrete- those beavers were really annoyed by the way- or maybe the look on your face when you jumped forward to hug me when we were under that bridge that one time.”

A bobcat sitting a couple seats away turned at that, giving him a weird look. Returning his weird look almost identically, he asked, “Hey, don’t judge. I bet you’ve got some weird stories under your belt too.”

The bobcat gave a brief glare, and turned away. Apparently he was right. He smirked and turned back to Judy, and scratched her head a little more.

---

Judy couldn't help the tips of her ears turning slightly rosy in memory of those two moments, but she kept her voice surprisingly calm as she said, "First of all, that did good; our tax dollars need to have some useful application, after all. Second of all, it's not my fault that us bunnies are so darn emotional."

Judy furrowed her brow at the bobcat. She opened her mouth to add to her partner's statement, but then, remembering all the times in the past when his wit had done far more than hers could, snapped her jaw shut again with an audible "clop".

When Nick looked back at her, with that darnedly adorable self-satisfied smirk on his face, she almost wanted to slap him across the muzzle with her (still pink) ears. Rather than do that, she just laughed and said, clearly jokingly, "Hey now, don't you go disrupting the peace by needling at the good citizens, or I might just have to arrest you for it." Her nose twitched as she spoke, a sure sign of her amusement.

Nick's paw found the soft spot on her forehead again, scratching it. Judy didn't know why but it just felt so good when Nick scratched her head, like he was giving her whole coat a good grooming just from that one little spot on her head. Her foot started tapping on the floor, "thump"ing audibly, and causing several passengers to glare in their general direction (including the bobcat).

Judy's ears flushed in embarrassment. "Um, d-don't scratch my h-head... It's not p-professional..." she muttered, trying to get out from under Nick's scratching paw. Not because she wanted out from under it but because she didn't want the other people to be constantly staring at them.

Nick Wilde

---

Nick didn't do anything more than give the glaring ones a cheerful smile. It was unusual for a fox to be holding a bunny so close, so he supposed it wasn't exactly a common sight. And people on trains were the moodiest of people- make a sound and they glare lasers.

He eyed the bobcat anyways, though, committing the moody animal's features to memory.

Having ceased scratching, his hand switched to smoothing down the short, ruffled fur. Her short, whitish hair was soo soft against his paw, but he let her have his way. Once he finished smoothing down her fur, he let go of her. Retreating to the wall, he leaned his back against it, staring at Judy.

"I'm inclined to believe that our Vector and airborne one would likely be working together somehow. No coincidence that they both showed up at once. Searching the caves with better access to canyons, open air, or the sort might get us where we need to faster. That, and the picture was labelled to have come from northern Sahara, so Vector would probably be in that area. I haven't studied any geographical maps of the sort, but I know there's only a couple rocky hills in that area that would be ideal."

Leaning slightly to counteract the train's rapidly decreasing speed as they approached the Sahara District's station, Nick whipped out his phone, quickly heading to Zoogle Maps for satellite imaging on Sahara District, looking for the higher elevations.