In Our Dreams (Your Heart's Desires)

Your Heart's Desires

"Such Small Things: For a long time there were only your footprints & laughter in our dreams

& even from such small things, we knew we could not wait to love you forever."

— Brian Andreas

Bright amethyst eyes soaked in every little detail around as the bunny kit's fascination was elevated from the gleaming city. Ears flopping over her pink plaid shirt, and tail giddily wagging in blue floral suspenders, the doe skipped and bounded along, completely enamored with everything that crossed her path. This was Zootopia after all, and she had always hoped to see it with her own eyes.

Not that she hadn't before - as her parents told her she had been shortly after she was born - but to truly see it in all its splendour was incredible. Though had she not been holding both of her parent's paws, her sightseeing may have just caused her to trot off into the busy intersection just ahead.

She only stopped when she felt a firm, gentle tug on her paw. Judy halted and looked up into the eyes of her chuckling father.

"Alright. Settle down there, Jude the dude," said Stu, worried a little and watching a car zoom by with Bonnie huffing at the nickname.

They had come to the city that Saturday to settle a deal with a store owner that was interested in selling their products as the Hopps' reputation had grown over the years. With an abundance of products and the need to expand to other territories, it was the smartest move they could make.

However... despite being the most viable option to sustain the farm, Stu and Bonnie Hopps had been a bit worried about the recent news of Zootopia's predator population.

Recent attacks and other mishaps revolving around various predator species had the city riled up as of late, and now the bunnies were here only to meet and hopefully strike a deal before leaving the city.

It was as terrible as a place as Stu envisioned it several years ago. In fact, the only truly good things he saw come out of the city itself were the rabbit that agreed to assist them in their venture and his son.

Seeing the traffic die down as they crossed, Stu glanced back at his friend. He had looked a little more tense as of late since they entered the city. Whereas he would usually wear some relaxing garb, he was now clad in almost business like attire, and Stu couldn't help but see the tight grip his paw had around his son's while his eyes shifted as if they were looking for any immediate danger.

James had been an amazing help to the family. He had become a consultant to them, guardian to their kits, and overall help to the community of Bunny Burrow.

Though he never understood some of James' quirks - the way he covered his stripes, the constant silence, the weird phone calls he made out in the middle of nowhere - he didn't question his friendship at all.

As the bunnies made it to the other side of the street and to the front of a grocery store where a spotted hare stood by waving at potential costumers, Stu smiled. "Alright, Judy," He knew better than to say her nickname when Bonnie gave him that look. "You stay with James and Jack at the park while your mom and I finish this deal."

Judy's eyes went wide when she heard that, she had wanted to see what the parks were like here, and there was one not too far away that James had told her about many times: The Watering Hole.

With her parent's letting go of her paws, she hugged them both. "Thanks, Dad! Thanks, Mom!" she shrieked, running to James as he nodded and grabbed hold of her paw.

She bounced in place as the her father and mother waved them off before heading into the store. Watching them disappear, Judy smiled at her bunny buddy who would be accompanying her. He was like a small version of his father - unusually stoic, amber eyes capturing everything in sight, stripes covered since they had started school, constantly silent - in fact, the only real difference (aside from height and age) was that Jack looked a little more relaxed in his child size suit and tie.

With Jack smiling back at her, Judy tugged a little on James' paw. "Can we go to the park now?" she asked, practically jumping in place.

Now, Judy had fully expected him to say 'yes' to some degree, but what she couldn't have guessed was the the older bunnies impassive silence. He had his ears pointed just behind him and she felt his paw tense.

Instantly, she was worried. "Mr. James?"

His paw loosened a little. "Let's go," he said, barely a mumble as he carefully lead them.

While they walked, paw in paw to the edge of a large section of the city, Judy kept soaking in everything she could. The large buildings, the numerous species that she had never seen, the different smells that were never in the country. All of it was so much better than anyone had told her.

When they reached the edge of a somewhat grassy field that met the edges of a large body of water, Judy almost broke into a run. Thankfully, though, James held her paw.

Looking up at the buck, she could tell he didn't approve. "Stay where I can see you at all times." he said sternly, crossing the last intersection before they met the sidewalk that the park resided on. "There's a playground just ahead, so you two can have fun all you want. I need to make a phone call. Just be careful."

Sure enough, just as James said, there was a full on playground with numerous kids of all species running around and having the time of their young lives.

By the time she let go of his paw, she had taken off like a force of nature. She was already ahead of Jack and looking around to explore the park.

It was like being in the fields at home except there were so many more mammals that she had never seen that it was overwhelming. She didn't even know where this field ended or where it began, it was just that amazing.

No sooner had Judy began to explore, she had gotten lost somewhere beyond what looked like a series of small buildings at the edge of the park. She could have sworn that she was still near the playground, but when she looked around, there wasn't a single bush anywhere. Just a single, small tree.

And James and Jack were nowhere to be found.

It was the weekend, and Nick was glad to have it.

Being near the end of spring and on the verge of his first ever summer vacation, the todd was more than thrilled at the prospect of having more time to spend outside of school.

He was even given the okay from his mom to go with Glen and Serenity to the park while she went to that courthouse for some big case that his dad was a part of. He couldn't be more happy as he didn't really like to be bored with grown up stuff.

Not that he really minded, but being on the green grass of the Watering Hole was always fun. It was even more so with his friend that looked at a bunch of shrubbery with him.

Well... more than a friend to him. A classmate as well as neighbor that shared the same birthday as him. One that they celebrated not but a few weeks back that made him question her a lot as when they started singing 'Happy Birthday' in class, she was already covered in cake.

But also-

"Look! It's a caterpillar!" said the arctic fox vixen, holding her paws out almost directly into his eyes.

Sure enough, scrunched up within was some poor squirming bug that Skye had managed to wrangle from its leafy home to try and investigate.

And the moment the smiling todd went to try to relieve the pitied critter away from her, the vixen shoved the bug into her mouth and loudly chewed it.

-his weird best friend with a voracious appetite.

"Eww! Skye!" Nick reeled, moving back a few steps and hopefully away. But he knew that she always had some trick up her sleeves. Oddly enough, she was wearing a smiley face shirt (blue to contrast his green) and suspenders today as it was impossible for her to wear any kind of dress, she hated them.

"Want one?" she offered happily, having snatched another away from the bush and poking it with the tip of her claw. "They're good."

Nick was about to protest and put it back where it belonged when a familiar voice called, "Kids! Pawpsicles!"

It took less than a second for Nick to hear hurried footfalls in the direction; Skye had taken off. In knowing what was to come, Nick sighed and followed.

When he rounded the shrubs, he saw the small family of arctic foxes relaxing on a blanket with a small picnic set around them. The two adults embraced Skye lovingly, nuzzling her while she tried repeatedly to reach the cooler to grab her prize and go.

The moment they let go and gave her what she sought, Skye ran off somewhere again. Shaking their heads, the two foxes waved Nick over to hand him a pawpsicle of his own.

"Here you go, Nick." said Serenity, handing him a blueberry flavoured one that he eagerly took and thanked them for. "Just stay where we can both see you."

With a nod and looking around, the kit thought of what he could do. Instantly, he fumbled around in the pockets of his pants for the writing tool he was given not too long ago.

Producing an orange and green pen in the shape of a carrot, he looked up to his two watchers. "Can I draw some?"

Serenity looked at him curiously and giggled, "Sure thing, sweetie."

He was glad to have the two with him as they always had some paper or something that he could write or draw on. He was even starting to learn cursive in class so he could practice that.

The moment stationery reached his paw, he went over to where he had last seen Skye. She was busy balancing on a seesaw with her pawpsicle loosely hanging from her muzzle.

What should I draw, he pondered, looking for a place to sit with his paper that she would hopefully not run over to and drip the raspberry flavoured ice treat all over it.

When he approached the seesaw silently pleading for her not to notice, a gentle spring gust tore the paper away from his paws and out into the open air.

Emerald green eyes went wide as the only paper he had gone flying skyward. And without hearing the call of his friend, he gave chase.

Skye had watched Nick awkwardly chase after the glistening piece of paper and shrugged. He was his own kit, and she just wanted to play and eat a bunch of bugs when she found them.

Only... it was more fun with her friend around. She didn't want to play on the main playground because there were a few kids that she didn't get along with. She never did like being alone, and her parents were talking about grownup stuff. When she finally realized this, Nick was out of sight.

So souring her face and about to go look for him, the vixen hopped down from the end of the seesaw and scanned the area. All she saw were the other kids, no Nick at all.

Resolving to find him, she thought to start where they last were: the bushes.

He's gotta be there, right? she mused, wondering who didn't like bugs at all and why it bothered Nick so much. They were delicious.

By the time she made the decision and got there, she couldn't see a single strand of fur from him. Thought there was some other kid standing around.

She had truly wanted to play with Nick, but whoever this kid was, she had never seen in her life. Not that she hadn't seen plenty of kids around her, but this one was interesting. He looked to be of a species she had only seen on television but never got a chance to ask her parents what they were.

He even wore something that she had only seen adults wear and was idly playing with a toy in his paw that flashed blue and white. Those two being her fur and eye colours, she couldn't help but be drawn to it.

When she reached the curious kit, he had looked quite a bit bored. She couldn't tell what he was, but he had his back to her.

"HI!" she shouted, boasting a big, toothy grin to the newcomer.

Startled, the kit twirled around, nearly falling, but bracing himself and only stumbling into the bush.

Skye was often told that she was weird, different, and odd. One of the reasons was her sense of humor. So when the other kit fell, she didn't bother to stop herself from going down in a laughing fit.

The other, hearing her laughter, felt his cheeks grow bright red in embarrassment. He had never experienced something like this in his life and only wanted to get out of the bush and back to his dad. He didn't even know why he came out here in the first place.

Slowly but surely, Skye's laughter died down to a simple fit of giggles. She was surprisingly the first to stand to see the long-eared thing struggle to get out of the shrubbery.

Rolling her eyes at the stuck kit, she offered him a paw. "What are you?" she asked, waiting for him to stretch out his paw.

The other kid looked at her for a moment, struck in awe and wonder before he finally took her help. "I'm a bunny," he replied, not fully understanding what was standing in front of him. "What are yo-"

He was roughly tugged out of the bush, feeling some of the leaves brush against him and hearing twigs snap. The buck was then brought face to face with a smiling row of teeth and white fur.

"I'm Skye!" said the vixen, shaking his paw and thrashing her tail about. She lazily waved her pawpsicle about and stared into the bunnies eyes.

Yellow, being her favourite colour, she found them fascinating. She didn't even realize she was leaning closer for a better look.

The bunny leaned back a little when the other kit moved in. Not that he had much room as he was stuck between a fox and a bush. "I'm Jack," he said a little nervously, but never looked away from the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

As the two kits stared at each other, something else caught Skye's attention and she immediately let go of Jack's paw to reach for it.

Jack was both stunned and curious as to what she was reaching for, but when Skye pulled her paw away from his shoulder, he saw a squirming little caterpillar, much like those he saw around home.

A bit startled that the thing was on him, Jack reached up to inspect it when the vixen held it out for him. "Want it?" she offered, tail swishing and pawpsicle dripping in the afternoon sun.

Raising a brow at the thing in her paws, Jack quickly took hold of it before more damage could be done and placed it back in the bush. It was what his father often did, so he thought to follow his example.

Skye huffed. "That's what Nick would do." She had seen the todd do that kind of thing before: play with bugs and then let them go. Why he didn't just eat them as food was something she never understood.

But still, the thing this bunny had still wrapped in his paws was gaining her attention. "What's that?" she asked, abandoning the thought of Nick altogether.

Jack had just met this thing and still didn't know how to make tail or ears out of her, but she seemed... familiar in a way that he couldn't describe. So clutching the small device in his paws, he held it up to her.

"It's a laser pointer," he exclaimed, showing Skye the shimmering white pen. "It can write secret messages too. My dad let me have one." He demonstrated the device's potential by uncapping one end to show that it had a marker on it and pressed a button to show a blue light flash from the other end.

Skye's attention was somewhat split when it came to actually capturing what was needed. "Laser?!" Was the word she not only stopped at and focused on, but also wanted to play with since the day learned what it meant.

Jack nodded and was about to explain more when the pen was torn away from his paws. "We gotta try this out!" He heard Skye say when she trotted off in the direction of other kids.

Terrified that his best gift would be broken and he'd have to explain it to his father, Jack ran after her. He didn't have to go very far as Skye stood at the edge of the nearby playground, eyeing a small group of kids and lining up the laser with one of them: a sheep.

Watching her repeatedly press the button to flash the blue light, Jack didn't get it. "What are you doing?"

She pressed the button a few more times before replying, "I'm trying to make Doug's head turn to mush!" Furiously pressing the button, she quickly realized the ram's head was still intact. "Now how do you make this work?"

Jack laughed. "The laser only shows you secret messages from the marker. It doesn't make peoples heads explode... And why would you want that?"

Skye grumbled at the pen, knowing now that she wouldn't have her revenge on the sheep. "'Cause he's mean, and has a big dumb face!" Enraged, she turned to talk the bunny into making it work like they did on her favourite cartoons, but the moment she turned to give it back to him, her pawpsicle brushed against his face.

Jack took a step back, feeling the cold treat freeze his cheek before he placed a paw there. And when he took it away, he nearly froze in shock.

Skye looked at him and back down to her now powder covered treat. She let it fall to the ground. "Eww... what's that stuff on your face?" she grimaced.

Shyly, Jack turned away to cup a paw to the now exposed thin lines of deep grey fur. "Dad says I gotta wear it to cover these," he explained, wondering how his father would react when he was told specifically not to remove it under any circumstances while outside.

The vixen kit was both curious and outraged. She thought the markings were cool and she still had the pen in her paw. But then again, she was now down a frozen paw-shaped and raspberry tasting snack. That alone was enough to get the gears in her head to turn to give her the best idea she had ever.

"Well," She had to think of something and the words just came to her naturally. "Now you owe me a pawpsicle!" Whether or not it was her fault (which it was) was of no concern to her, the bunny would pay. So in pointing at him faux threateningly with a smirk, she added, "And they're two-hundred dollars."

Skye didn't really know how much anything was as she had no concept of money, but she figured if she put a price on it she'd get at least that much out of the deal. She practically drooled from the sheer amount of pawpsicle that she'd get in the end.

Jack, on the other paw, was horrified. "What?!" he shrieked in protest. "But... but I-i can't pay that!"

And truly he couldn't. His dad told him about the horrors of debt, and how getting a good education could be costly and worth it. However, he never said anything about owing an astronomical amount from an accident.

Now impatient, the vixen huffed and tried to figure out a solution. She eyed the pen and smiled; this new plan had to work.

"Then you'll just have to be my boyfriend." she said with a smirk and folded her arms.

Jack's jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"

Again, his father's sage advice was coming back to him in droves. Stay in school, Jack. Get good grades, Jack. Don't get a girlfriend until you're older, Jack.

Even in his classes, he had been popular and well-off. And being on the verge of completing kindergarten, he was already showing promise. Now all seemed to come to a crashing halt.

"Uhuh," Skye furiously nodded and began a singsong style of storytelling. "'Cause mama says when I get a boyfriend, we can get married and share everything." Her mother would be proud had she paid attention to her actual quotes instead of loose cannon things that she made up.

But what did she care, she was owed a pawpsicle; her eyes narrowed threateningly. "Or you can pay me two hundred dollars."

Seeing no way out and now terrified that his father would find out that he was either getting married without permission or had to pay money, Jack admitted defeat.

"Okay," said the bunny, ears hanging low and on the verge of a mental breakdown. "I'll be your boyfri-"

Immediately his arm was grabbed and he felt himself being pulled in one direction.

"YES!" Skye shouted, not paying any mind to the other kids on the playground and how much attention she was garnering. "Come on! I gotta tell mom and dad we're married!"

Marriage?! Jack's inner thought shouted at him. He couldn't fathom it!

He was often told as a bunny what it meant. He was told by his father that he would be responsible for his wife. From Mr. Stu, he was scolded that he'd have to have a job to support his family. And by Mrs. Bonnie, he'd have to take care of his kids.

A chill ran down his spine at the horror of what he had agreed to.

He tugged at her arm. "Wait!" he protested, stopping the marching vixen in her tracks and forcing her to listen. "I-i can't be m-married! I-i don't have a job! How am I gonna h-help my kids?! I-i don't have a-a brief-c-case! I don't even h-have my o-own h-house-" He started tearing up, choking as he was at a loss of what to do.

Though his mind reeled, a gentle touch on his arm brought him to look at her. Her blue eyes were both calm and saddened.

Her lip quivered. "But you promised..."

If there was one thing that Jackson was good at, it was keeping his word. Above all other things in life and every lesson he had learned so far, his father telling him to keep his word was what made him come to his senses.

Weakly, he wiped at his eyes. A promise was a promise. "Alright..."

Seeing the strange kit smile, Jack started a weak smile of his own. He was going to keep his word no matter what.

As Skye stepped forward, his eyes widened. "Wait! I just remembered something!"

Instead of halting completely, Skye felt her paw being dragged towards him. Before she knew it, Jack had brought her back to the same shrub that she got the bugs from when he let go of her paw.

She watched him rummage through the foliage at a pace that rivaled her own when she was digging in her mom's garden again. Though, in this case, instead of the sound of dirt, all she heard was twigs being snapped and leaves being pushed away.

In a matter of seconds, Jack held up a near circular array of foliage that he brought over to her.

Immediately, Skye recognized what it was from all the books she read. "Is this a T-" She tried, fumbling over the word again and again. " A Tie.. Tea..." She gave up and let him place the thing on her head. It fit awkwardly, wrapping around one ear and hanging loosely. "A princes's crown?"

Jack shrugged, he couldn't remember what it was called, but understood what it was for, kind of.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hopps said that you do this when you become a family."

Not understanding a word that he said, Skye took his paw and tore off back to her parents. When they were just in sight, she shouted, "MOM! DAD!"

She didn't know where Nick was and she didn't really care at the moment, she was having the time of her life.

The two arctic foxes smiled and waved her over, but their paws were clasped over their faces when they saw that she had (again) brought someone over that was barely able to keep up with her spitfire pace.

Serenity chuckled, "Skye. Who are you dragging off this time?"

It was actually common for her now as Serenity had gotten to know her daughter over the years. She'd constantly almost abduct some other kid if she could; she brought home an otter from her class once and the poor kid cried until his parents were called. They remembered it well, they had shrimp that afternoon.

Only stopping when she was on the blanket and dragging Jack in front of her to see them, Skye presented the newest member of their family. "This is my boyfriend, Jim!" she exclaimed proudly. "We're married now."

Jack would have corrected her, but standing in front of his extended family, he refused to not be polite.

Her parents had been busy chatting over sandwiches and quickly stopped at the mention of what their daughter had gotten herself into over the course of five minutes. They awkwardly took a second to stare at one another when Glen shrugged and whispered a 'just like you' to his wife.

The mother vixen sighed and shook her head. Marian was right. she mused.

She had to fix this, the bunny kit looked horrified to meet his in-laws for the afternoon. "Skye, sweetie," she soothed, looking at the bouncy boisterous kit with an unimaginable smile. "You can't be married... yet."

The kit's thrashing tail slowly became a gentle wag. She tilted her head curiously and asked, "But how come?"

It was Glen to answer after clearing his voice and hoping to ease the mental trauma that his daughter caused the bunny. "Not until you're older," he said with a stern, calm voice that made Jack breathe a sigh.

Still, he couldn't help but see the twinge of regret on the bunny's face. Wait. Are those stripes? he wondered.

Moving around her no-longer-betrothed, Skye went to settle her debts. "But he owes me a pawpsicle!" She wasn't going to let this go.

Her mother laughed, "Honey... last time it was Nick that owed you because he ate the last cookie."

Hearing her problems not being taken seriously, she raised her arms to make her argument stick. "He still owes me a million bucks!"

Not wanting to keep them any longer as he was actually enjoying the afternoon, Glen decided to keep the peace for as long as he could, the only way he knew how.

"Well, consider your debt paid." He reached into the cooler to get two more of the pawpsicles that he loved and handed one over to Skye.

She greedily grabbed the thing and was off before he could get in a word edgewise.

This left Jack alone with her parents; mammals he still didn't know the exact species of. Nervously, he fidgeted with his paws, he didn't know what to say or do.

That is until a little red pawpsicle was held in front of him. "Would you like one as well?" Glen offered, watching his shy personality melt away.

Jack carefully took it and gave a gracious "Thank you Mr." before he walked away.

He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he had to find his dad quickly. He wanted to tell him everything that happened and-

A sudden realization hit him. "Samantha still has my pen!"

Nick had been chasing his paper through the wind for a full minute now; dodging and ducking around mammals that would only cause it to flutter further away. He narrowly managed to avoid colliding with a few taller mammals and watched as the stationery hovered around elephants, rhino's and even what he could describe as a round cheetah.

It wasn't until he was near the edge of the park that the elusive thing managed to get snagged on the stray branch of a tree only slightly taller than he was.

Breathing a breath of relief, Nick sought to claim his prize. But when he walked over to reach up and grab it, he noticed a small figure curled up next to it.

It was no decoration as far as he could see, but its odd colours (grey, pink, and blue) really stood out to him. Curious as to what it was, he neared it and sat next to it.

Carefully, he reached a paw over to it, gently tapping the top of whatever it was. In a moment of awe, he felt the softest fur he had ever come in contact with and it was bizarrely familiar.

While he thought, the things ears waved backward from their drooping selves, and a mass of grey was lifted to reveal a brilliant white. Nick had never seen the face of such a creature up close, only on television.

But the fox's own eyes stared unblinking at the shimmer of the deepest purple colour he had ever seen. He could practically say that he saw his own reflection in the eyes of this... What did they call them again?

Before he could even ask, the little thing started sniffling; not a good sign from what he experienced. And the closer he looked, the more he could see little streaks of damp tears on this things face. So out of concern, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Through tear stained eyes, Judy saw a little red thing sitting near her. She didn't know who or what it was, but it sounded comforting enough unlike all those other scary tall mammals she had seen before.

Though when she saw the flash of green in this mammals eyes that reminded her of the rolling hills of home, she turned away and buried her head in her folded arms again. How can I get back home? How do I get out of this city? Where's mom and dad and Mr. James?

All of these questions caused her to sob once more. "I-i-" cried the bunny in muffled, squeaky tones. "I don't know where Mr. James is."

She curled her arms closer and sat there completely lost. Her father told her that the big city wasn't easy to get around and everyone was scary compared to back home. The only thing around that was even close to her was... well whoever this was.

While she felt another wave of tears threaten to sting her eyes, she felt something scoot next to her.

Startled, she cast her head up to see that the red-orange mammal had moved closer and looked a little more curious than before. And if she had to be honest - which she always was because her mother told her that it's the best quality for a bunny - the other mammal didn't look scary at all.

Nick didn't know what to really say, but he loved helping out where he could. So he hooked his arm around her, thinking of how to best solve the problem and unlike Skye (who only solved stuff by chewing on it) he started at the root of the problem.

"Where did you see him last?" A simple question that he hoped would get the other kit talking. And it wasn't that he was trying to hurry and get to his writing or drawing, but there was something familiar and calming about her that he couldn't describe.

Feeling a little better, Judy thought back to when she left James and Jack. "W-we were at the playground a-and-" She stopped; feeling another shudder as she remembered clearly that James said to stay in his sights.

But instead of the tears rolling down her cheeks once again, she felt something warm and familiar press down on her shoulder.

She looked into his eyes and saw herself. "I know where that is. I can take you there."

Nick stood up and stretched out his paw. He had completely abandoned the idea of retrieving the paper.

For the first time since she had gotten lost, Judy's ears perked up. If she could just get back to James then all would be okay. She could get home again!

But then the simple thought that plagued her was one that she was always told never to do. So shyly, she turned away from his paw. "Mom told me never to go with strangers."

Nick's ears fell, he remembered the same thing as well. Only... his father also told him to try his best at everything. And this was one of those times.

"Well," he said with renewed confidence, taking Judy's paw into his own without a second thought and shaking it. "I'm Nick."

What he didn't expect was how soft the bunny's paws were compared to his own. Having paw pads was different to the plush fur that she had.

And Judy didn't expect for his fur to be so fluffy. She wanted to go with him to get back home, but the thing was that she couldn't think to go against her mother's word.

While Nick tried to convince her that he wasn't a bad guy, he smiled and knew what to say, "We can't be strangers if we're friends, right?"

To him it was true. A friend was never a stranger, but he did have a strange friend. She still hadn't let go of the fact that he owed her either a million dollars or a cookie.

Feeling his paw encompass hers, she rubbed her eyes again. "I-i'm Judy," she said shyly, hoping that this would all pass soon.

Though while she dwelled on this hope, a small glimmer of green and orange caught her eye. This kit had something in his other paw that drew her attention like nothing else. It had the feeling of home and many of the vegetables that she was introduced to. This one being her favourite.

"What's that?" she asked as curious as any child would at a strange new phenomenon. "Is it a carrot?"

Taking account of her pointing, Nick held up the orange carrot pen, immediately seeing a glint of happiness fill Judy's eyes. He was only happy himself to help.

"My dad gave it to me," he stated proudly, fumbling over the device and letting Judy get a closer look. "It's the coolest thing ever! Watch."

Aside from being the average pen with an artistic flair and comical design, Nick pressed one of the few buttons on its side and held the front facing grooves to his muzzle.

"This is Zootopia. Where anyone can be anything!" he said with all the theatrics his father had spoken with many, many times.

And when he clicked the button again, Judy was confused as to why he would make such a blatant statement; Zootopia was the best... if you could find your way.

As she went to ask him what he was doing, Nick surprised her by pressing a button below it.

'This is Zootopia. Where anyone can be anything!'

His voice shouted from the little carrot pen, stunning Judy completely. She had never seen such a thing and only reached out to grab it to try it herself, and Nick gave it to her.

She went to work, pressing all the buttons to figure it out and actually got it right on the second try. After watching Nick, she figured it wasn't difficult at all. This was the best thing she ever held in her paws for so long and just the idea that it was a voice recorder in the shape of a carrot sent her to the moon!

Nick watched her, chuckling the entire way. Even he hadn't had that much fun with it. But a simple idea struck him. He smiled. "You can have it if you want."

Judy gasped, she was delighted beyond reason. Only the word 'YES' filled her head, but in her heart, she looked at the other and shook her head. "It's yours." She held out the pen to give it back to him, but he waved his paws dismissively.

"Dad and I are gonna go to the store when he gets back. We always go on Saturdays."

Seeing that there was no harm in taking it now, Judy used the little clip to attach it to her suspenders. The doe was so excited to have it, she couldn't wait to tell mom and dad about her new friend.

Nodding in satisfaction, Nick waved her on. "I can show you where the playground is now."

Judy complied and took a step forward. She felt both happy and a bit saddened by the encounter. Why was that? She didn't give him something back.

"Wait!" shrieked the bunny, catching the fox's attention before he could break into a sprint.

Nick halted to see Judy reach up to the small tree, his paper had blown away. Not that he'd need it as he didn't have anything to write with, but watching Judy meticulously and precisely snap off twigs and leaves left him wondering.

In a matter of moments, she had a perfect circle of interlaced branches and twine. Inspecting her work, she was satisfied that it looked okay. And as she padded over to Nick, she reached up and put the ring of repurposed fauna on his head. It fit perfectly between his ears and he tried to pick at it.

"What's this?" he asked, curious as to why she made a wooden crown to give to him. Not that he minded in the slightest as it made him feel important.

Judy smiled and rocked on her heels. "Um... Mom and Dad said that they do this when-" She mulled over the situation. It hadn't been many times that she had seen it and only twice within her home that spring. Truly, she didn't know but liked the idea. "When someone becomes part of our family. They called it a g... a gr-" But that was the thing, she never could remember the name. "A gira-"

Still, Nick seemed to like it. She didn't need to know what it was called, only what it meant.

Again, he reached out his paw and she took it instantly. They were friends now, and she considered him family.

It didn't take long for the duo to reach the end of a tree line that separated the main park from the rest of the Watering Hole. Kids were seen shouting and playing along in various areas.

Judy still held Nick's paw and walked by his side. And though she was still fascinated with the whole of Zootopia, her friend was now the most interesting thing she had seen in her life.

She still didn't know what he was, but his pointed ears and fluffy tail made her happy in a way that she couldn't describe. By the time she opened her mouth to ask him, she saw two bunnies in the distance that she recognized. Both in business like attire; one adult, and one child.

"Mr. James!" shouted the doe, elated that she made it back. She took off in the direction not realizing that she let go of Nick until she was already halfway there. When she finally did see that her friend wasn't there, but far back and waving to her, she returned the gesture. "Bye Nate!" she said, thankful for everything that he did. "Thanks for the pen!"

Nick only smiled and waved, knowing that she wouldn't really hear his name at that distance.

He heaved a sigh at both a good deed and the fact that his friend was leaving. It was time for him to head back too.

The todd knew his way around to the picnic area easily, and while he marched on, he played and toyed with his new crown. He still didn't get it, though.

But when he looked ahead, the family of arctic foxes (sans Skye, thankfully) was sitting on either side of Marian Wilde.

His eyes widened, the court thing was finally over. "Mom! Mom!" he shouted, running to them at full speed and almost tripping.

When he was only a few feet away, he could see his mother carefully wiping away at her eyes to look at him. He had seen her cry before, but couldn't understand what could upset her on such a perfect day.

As always, the first thing that Nick did was hug her the moment he saw her. It was more than just a fox thing and their thing, but he loved both of his parents dearly.

Her arm wrapped around him and he felt his mother's warm embrace. He had something to tell her while being smothered in the crook of her neck. "Mom! I made a new friend today!"

There was something wrong, and he could feel it. If not for her light shudders and seeing a deep concern from the two arctic foxes, he may have missed it. "That's-" Her voice was weak, tired and strained. "That's nice, dear. What was their name?"

She was always looking out for him and he pulled away for a moment to try and remember the name. Even scratching his head and jostling the crown didn't help much. "Um... Trudy?"

In the moments that followed, silence crept up on the young todd. He was missing something and it only hit him then that one mammal was absent from the picture.

Gently, he looked skyward, feeling a single drop of what he thought was rain until it rolled again from his mother's cheek. "Mom," he began, looking in all directions but he couldn't find him. "Where's dad?"

He got no immediate answer. But instead, he felt the embrace of three foxes surrounding him.

The heart of your dream will always know what it wants

Heya there, DLW here and welcome to the end notes.

Yep... Skye's one of those kits XD

A lot of head cannons (mostly bunny) are coming up quickly, and a special prize goes to the first reviewer that can figure out what Judy and Jack are doing with the leaves and exactly what it's called

Tree term!

Just post it in a review and tell me what you'd like in the story. Something within reason that I can work with.

[FF Review Responses]

GusTheBear: It absolutely was XD

[Updates]

If you're looking to find updates on everything I'm doing, and I mean EVERYTHING, please check out my Deviant Art page.

I've been doing a series called 'Snippets' where I'll be posting story excerpts on what I'm working on and will give constant feedback almost daily.

[Other Sites]

And I hope you get a chance to read this and the other stories at your leisure. All can be found here as well:

fanfiction:
~dancinglunarwolves

deviantart:
dancinglunarwolves

archiveofourown:
users/DancingLunarWolves/works

If you liked this story and have time please post a review, and if you would like to keep up with the story please fav or follow. Questions, comments, concerns, feel free to message me about anything. If you'd like updates, please check the profile page and or message me.

Till Next Time
-DLW