The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One: Fuel - 18

Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.

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The Fire Triangle-A Zootopia Fanfiction

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Part One:

Fuel

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Chapter 3 - Day of Carrots and Blueberries

(Continued...Pt. 10)

"Wha..? Ohhhhhhhhhh, I am naked!"

Judy yanked her paw away as if the door to her hutch was booby-trapped. Sweet cheez n' crackers, she'd come THAT close to walking out into the hallway in a state of nature. (And with her luck, Nick Wilde would have been right outside the door.)

The truly disconcerting part was that this was the first time one of Judy Hopps' 'city habits' had followed her home to the Burrows. In her apartment back in Zootopia she could get from the bed to the bathroom without need for even a robe. No such luck here in the Hopps family warren; the bathroom was three doors down the hall from her hutch, and the chances of making it that far without bumping into someone rested somewhere between being hit by lighting on a sunny day and flagging down a bullet-train.

She went to the closet and started to get dressed, a little nicer outfit than the one she worn earlier, embroidered shirt and khaki vest, together with a flowered skirt. She wanted to look good for Erin's talent show debut.

By now-Judy was certain of it-her mother had to be aware of the encounter between her sister Erin and the silver fox Conor Lewis. Just as she'd promised, Judy had checked to make sure her sis had kept her part of the bargain-and had learned that the end result had been an armed truce, if not a full reconciliation

Hopefully, that would be enough for their mom.

In point of fact, Judy had bumped into her mother, together with her dad, just as she, Nick Wilde, and the kids were exiting the ride concession...and the timing couldn't have been better. The youngsters had all been clamoring to go on the coaster again, and they might never have lain off had their mother not flatly declared, "You have two more days left; that's plenty of time to go again," and that had been that. (Bonnie Hopps might have been incapable of putting her foot down where her brother Terry was concerned, but her children were another matter.)

Just the same, Judy could understand her younger siblings' not wanting to leave the ride concession. They'd all had grand time, her and Nick included. On the carousel ride, the fox and her sister Cotton had formed a tag team to grab the brass ring, a feat that had earned the little bunny a huge stuffed dragon, whom she'd promptly name Elliot and promised to love 'forever and ever and ever and ever'.

Even now, checking herself in the mirror, Judy had to wonder how the fox had pulled off that coup; he'd seemed to know exactly when to make the move, and instead of stretching out sideways as most animals would have, he had leaned over backwards with Cotton sitting on his chest and she had grabbed the ring on the upswing of the wooden unicorn they'd been riding.

It was yet another piece of unexplained inside knowledge on Nick Wilde's part. How had he known to use that trick?

Meeting up with Judy's folks had been a fortuitous occurrence for her and the fox. They'd been able to leave the kids with her mom and dad-except for Cotton, who had refused to be parted from Nick-and finally go get some shopping done.

In addition to the Farmer's Market, there were three other shopping areas at the Carrot Days Festival. Of these, the best was the Craft Market followed by Dealers' Row and with the Flea Market trailing at a distant third. ("Not even close to the one at the Meerkat Market," Nick had said and Judy had agreed wholeheartedly.)

They had come away from the excursion with plenty of swag; Nick found himself a snappy new summer fedora and a tie-die Hawaiian shirt, while Judy bought herself a bookcase for her apartment, (making arrangements to have it picked up later, though she had no idea how she was going to get it back to the city.) From a craft-booth selling paw-made kites, they had bought one kite for Cotton and another to take back to Zootopia.

Finally, arms full and unable to carry any more, they had headed for the Hopps Family Farm booth, hoping to catch a ride home with somebody. On the way back, they had passed by Finnick's van-and found it gone. In its place was a sign reading simply, 'Sorry, Sold Out'.

"Wow those shirts really were a hot ticket." Judy had said...and received only something like a grunt for an answer from Nick. What the heck was up with him?

Glancing over, Judy had seen a look of envy on the red fox's face, and also a look of longing. She'd had to smile; even now, two years after joining the ZPD and nearly ready to make detective, there was still some little part of Nick Wilde that missed getting into the action.

"Too bad you missed them," she'd added, unable to think of anything else to say, "You never got a chance to say good-bye."

"Oh they're still around, Carrots," Nick had said, his cheery mood rapidly returning, "Conor told me he's playing in the talent show tomorrow night."

Judy's ears had shot straight upwards. A Saturday slot; how had the kid managed that one?

"One of the others canceled." Her companion had shrugged. (Anticipating some questions was a cakewalk for the fox.)

When they got to the Hopps Family Farm booth, Nick and Judy had lucked out yet again. One of her older brothers was just about to head for the homestead and yes he had plenty of room in the back.

It had made their day a runaway success-at least up to that point.

The instant Judy stepped through the front door of the Hopps' Warren, she had felt like she was walking into a wall of fatigue; the day's nonstop activity was finally catching up with her. Saying good-bye for now to Nick, (who himself had been yawning on practically every other breath,) she had all but stumbled into her hutch to take a nap, remembering nothing after closing the door behind her.

Now, after giving herself a final inspection in the bedroom mirror, Judy smoothed down her face with her fingertips and turned for the door.

She did not step out into the hallway immediately, instead waiting for an opening in the traffic. (In a warren with more than 250 family members there was always traffic in the halls.)

Her first stop was the hutch next to hers where she rapped tentatively on the door.

"Nick, you awake in there?"

"He got up about half an hour ago, Jude," said a voice from behind, whom she recognized as belonging to her elder brother, Stuart Hopps Jr. "He's down in the living room, I think."

"Oh, thanks Stu."

Well, since the fox was already up, that gave Judy some time to freshen up; she returned to her room to grab a towel and then headed for the doe's bathroom. A few minutes later, freshly cleaned and smelling faintly of strawberries and lavender, she exited back into the hallway, ready to face the rest of the day.

Or...was it still day-time? With a start, Judy realized that she didn't know; she hadn't checked yet. A look at her watch however quickly reassured her; quarter to five, she hadn't slept for as long as she'd thought. (Nick had barely slept at all if he'd been up for half an hour.)

She could only hope the fox had been wise enough have someone guide him to the living room. For a first-time visitor, the Hopps Family Warren was about as easy to navigate as an M.C. Fisher lithograph. None of the hallways went in a straight line, cul-de-sacs often appeared out of nowhere, and a stairway that went downwards might take you to a ramp that led up to an even higher level than where you'd started. The entire layout seemed to have been thrown together in a fit of madness, but Judy knew it was madness with a method, specifically insulation and air circulation. The Hopps' warren might have made the Labyrinth of Minos look simple, but it was cool in the summer and snug in the winter, and a more than fair trade-off as far as Judy was concerned.

And of course, she knew her way around the place.

At the end of the hallway, Judy turned right, passing by the door to the laundry room, an affair as big as any of the commercial services back in Zootopia, complete with chutes. From there, she went by the spiraling ramp that wound past the younger bunnies' hutches, feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over her. (It was here she had spent the first few years of her life.) From there, she descended a short flight of steps, coming to a five-point junction, and taking the second passage on the right. This led her through the family library and into another meandering tunnel and then to another crossroads. Here was also the top of a spiral slide, leading down one level.

She got in line and waited her turn

At the bottom of the slide, Judy found herself facing an archway topped by a pair of rabbit ears, (again for sake of ventilation rather than simple aesthetics.)

She stepped through and out onto the middle balcony, overlooking the family dining room.

The big dining area was a cheerful place, dressed up in the Hopps family colors of pink and yellow, with tables in the shape of five-petal flowers, most of which were occupied. In the center of the room, Judy could see a ring of young bunnies, holding paws and turning in a circle.

It was also vast enclosure, as big a blimp hangar, with three rows of balconies, all front by 'eared' archways like the one behind her. One level below, she could see a caravan of toddler bunnies in a 'rolling saucer train', being pulled by a boy on a tricycle.

And there, at the far end of the room, behind another trio of archways was the Hopps family kitchen. And there was her mother, standing at the stove under an air-hopper the size of an army tent, supervising the preparation of the evening meal along with several of her siblings and two of her aunts.

They were actually not that busy, only doing prep work for later. The family would eat just a light meal before leaving to watch Erin in the talent show, and then a larger meal would be served upon their return.

Erin...yes, their mom must have heard by now

Judy turned and went back through the archway and took the stairs to the ground floor. Entering the kitchen, she greeted her mother with a peck on the cheek. "Hi mom, can I help with anything?"

"Sure can, Judy." Her mom answered, "Can you cover up those pans with some paper toweling and put them in the refrigerator for later?" She pointed to a row of baking sheets on a side table, stacked with folded half-moons of dough resembling oversized turnover pies. These Judy knew were the famous Hopps vegetable pasties. A good choice she thought; when the family returned from the talent show, all they'd need to do was pop them in the oven for thirty minutes and dinner would be would be on the table.

She had gotten about three of the pans transferred, when her mother asked, very casually, "So I suppose you heard about Erin's trouble with that fox?"

"Yep, I heard," Judy answered, trying to keep her tone light. So her mother did know about Erin and Conor; well, anyone could have predicted that much. The question was, how much did she know? More importantly, how much of what she'd been told was accurate?

There was only one way to be certain, the bunny swiftly decided, and that was to tell her mother everything she knew.

"I got it straight from the rabbit's mouth, as a matter of fact." she said and then went on to relate for her mother the conversation she'd overheard, and the 'interview' that had followed, being sure to include Nick Wilde's side of the story.

"And did Erin follow thought on her promise?" Bonnie queried over her shoulder.

"She did, mom." Judy nodded quickly, "I called to make sure; she did."

"Good," her mother answered, nodding as she went back to her work, "Then I don't think I need to say anything else to Erin about it."

Judy started to nod back, but then her mother surprised her by turning around and pointing with the carrot she'd been peeling.

"Just the same that boy-Conner did you say his name was?-that fox had better keep away from her from now on."

"Mom?" Judy's ears were standing up and seemed to have lengthened by six inches. This sharp tone of voice was almost completely unlike her mother.

"Talking that way to my daughter-a kiss!" Bonnie grumbled, and then her voice tightened even further, "And a FOX saying things like that!"

"Sis, shhhhh!" another voice hissed, "Judy's partner is a fox, remember?"

It was one of her aunts, speaking in a low murmur. Nice try but with her ears still standing at full salute, Judy had caught it anyway.

Meanwhile her mother remained unmoved.

"Yes, he is-and Stu and I are business partners with a fox." Bonnie answered her sister smoothly, and then her features darkened two shades, "But that's different Tess; you'd never hear Nick saying something like that to Judy."

She glanced in her daughter's direction as if to validate the point. She had more to say on the subject, but Judy didn't hear it. In the back of her mind the scene inside Rafaj Brothers' Jewelers was unspooling once again.

"Thank goodness that video is sealed evidence." Judy reminded herself for the twentieth time. Just the same, she remained uneasy. So there WAS a limit to her mother's tolerance of foxes. And that was just her mom; heaven only knew what her father would say-or especially her grandfather.

(Erin would probably try to blackmail her!)

She covered the last tray with a paper towel and slipped into the fridge, trying not to think.

"All right, that's everything." her mother said, wiping flour from her paws and looking pleased. "Judy, can you go out to the south lawn and tell everyone to come in for first supper?"

"On my way," Judy answered, turning to go, (and secretly eager to go.)

The south lawn was only a stone's throw away from the dining room...horizontally. Vertically it was a good four stories higher. The warren had an elevator, but since joining the ZPD, Judy never missed a chance to keep active and opted for the stairs instead, racing up them two at a time.

But when she exited onto the back porch, she was surprised to find it almost deserted.

That is, until she looked out onto the lawn, "Aw, Nick."

The fox was seated cross legged on the ground, with a heap of young bunnies all around him, and an open book in his lap. Several of the youngsters were leaning in close and little Cotton was perched on his shoulders looking down over the top of his head while he read aloud to the congregation. He was upwind from where Judy was standing, and she could easily make out the words.

"Sink me! Your tailors have betrayed you! T'would serve you better to send THEM to Madam Guillotine."

Nick was speaking in a foppish English accent...and Judy was wryly shaking her head.

'The Scarlet Pimpernel'-of course.

"Ohhhh Nick, I was so right to bring you here," she thought, and then sighed inwardly, reminding herself that the only way to deal with an unpleasant task is to just get it over with.

She strolled out onto the grass and clapped her paws.

"Okay everyone, supper's almost ready; time to close up."

The reaction to this was wholly predictable.

"Awwww, just one more chapter, pleeeeease?"

Judy folded her arms and thumped her foot.

"No Nick, it's time to get inside. And no arguments from you guys either, kids."

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Author's note: the description of the Hopp's Family Warren is based on some of Matthias Lechner's concept drawings for the original version of Zootopia. If you haven't seen them, you need to; they're amazing. You can find them by entering googling his name together with Zootopia.

Nick reading to the Hopps kids was taken from one of my favorite pieces of Zootopia fan art. You can find it on Deviantart by entering Bunnysitting and Zootopia in the search window

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The Easter eggs in the previous chapter were, "...if they picked anything else, the Ferris wheel, the Orange Stringer, The Astro-Jets, The Flying Saucers, the Tea Party, The Carousel, etc."

All the rides listed in italics are, or were, attractions at one of the Disney theme parks.

Also, the name of the roller coaster. If you've ever been to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, etc, you've noted that many if not all the coasters have names including the word 'Mountain' - Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, etc. And of course Bald Mountain comes from the piece playing during the Apocalypse sequence int he Fantasia.