#If someone gave him wolf ears and tail he would think it a high honor
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speedy-scout-is-cool · 2 months ago
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YOU MISSPELLD SECKSY
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saltymarco · 4 years ago
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Tainted
(chap. 1: scarlet red)
 ⭐SOO, I’ve been working on this fanfiction for quite some time now so i thought, i might aswell post the first chapter on here! If you were to stumble across this and read it, I hope you enjoy it!!⭐
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As the end of winter approached, nature brought new life into this world. Flowers were sprouting from the ground, greener than ever. The sun grazed everyones skin gently and reawakened joy within most animals, as they could see spring approaching. Everyone was joyfully walking through the school’s hallways, talking about how they couldn’t await the arrival of spring. I didn’t mind winter or spring, I just found summer a little annoying sometimes, because I’d have to trim my fur and would still feel the heat crushing me. Oh well I suppose this was the life of a grey wolf. I walked on through the crowd, with a hunched back as the thought of the seemingly everlasting heat crossed my mind.
Oh well at least school was over for today and I could just relax, maybe I could check by Haru’s gardening Club as well, to ask her if she wants to grab a snack with me! Just the thought made my tail waggle uncontrollably! It wasn’t that I had a crush on her, I just really valued our friendship and liked to show her my appreciation, for always being there for me! There just hadn’t really been a lot of people for me, that I could call my friends, especially herbivores! Most of them feared me, which I can totally understand! But I didn’t really choose to be like this...oh well, gotta stay positive!
There were multiple things we had in common, even if it might not have seemed like that at first sight! We both weren’t very popular here at school and a lot of people seemed to fear us at the academy. Well I do kinda get it with me being feared, especially now that the assaults onto herbivores have increased once again. Just yesterday someone barely got away, with a shattered leg and broken wrist. But Haru, why would anyone fear her? She’s so nice! And soft and fluffy and..no! stop thinking about how tender her flesh probably is!
I hit my head with force, rubbing my hand on the spot afterwards and just slightly regretting it. But I had to stop thinking that way. She is probably my best female friend! I can’t think of her or anyone like that...like a prey... it’s just not right! I just walked on, trying to remove the image of that night we first met from my memory. I wish I could just erase what happened then forever, at least she doesn’t seem to know it was me, but that does make me feel quite guilty at the same time..oh well, I know I will tell her someday when the time is right, I promised to myself that I would!
Its really hard for me to talk to her, without looking at those bandages she keeps wrapped around her arm, to cover the deep wound my claws had caused to restrain her. I felt dizzy for a second and dropped onto one knee, holding my books with one hand and keeping the other near my chest to feel my heart. It was racing and I felt like my vision was blurry. The thought of me having possibly killed her on that evening made me sick. It brought me back to when I couldn’t really control or restrain my blood lust and how others had kept me from committing any mistakes, but now I was all alone..there was no one to check on me, to make sure I didn’t hurt anyone, during those sleepless nights, where I rolled around in my bed, with blood red eyes and holding onto my mattress to dig those thirsty claws into something that wasn’t flesh.
“Legoshi…Legoshi…Legoshi!!”
I opened my eyes, to face a familiar grey wolf who had been shaking my shoulder as I was still on the ground motionless. Only as I opened my eyes, her alarmed look softened just the slightest bit and a smile formed on her lips. I felt her pleasant scent sink into my nostrils, her easily recognizable perfume. It was definitely one of my favourite scents! Something like lavenders, that just always reminded me of endless flower fields. I loved to sit down and watch as the wind blew over them.
“ Hey, Legoshi, are you ok!? I saw you here all alone and you weren’t responding! I was so worried!!”
I nodded and smiled at her before feeling her tight embrace warm me up once again. We were the only grey wolves at the academy, and I was really happy we could get along so well! She was nice and cute and seemed to get along with everyone here! But I fear she might have a bit of a crush on me…I’m not saying that I’m so good looking that she must have one! But just by observing how in a room full of people she seems to notice me and only me, how her tail starts to wag whenever she talks to me. There were just way too many things hinting to her possibly being in love and it was really adorable!
I just felt sorry, because I knew that I couldn’t share these feelings…there was nothing wrong with her, I just didn’t feel like I wanted more than friendship from her. But I couldn’t just tell her something like that, she would be heartbroken! What if I was making her think that I was interested in her?!
“Hey, are you okay? You seem like you need to rest a bit...?”
I shook my head before responding, realizing she’d probably been trying to talk to me for a while now, I had to focus.
“No no, I’m fine don’t worry about me, just thinking a lot about stuff...”
She didn’t seem to believe me, but she still smiled at me and offered me her hand to get back up. She was just so nice and innocent, she deserved someone better than me...there was going to be someone out there who will know how to treat her properly. How to give her the love she deserves. I just wasn’t the right one.
I smiled at her as I looked into her eyes and gently grabbed her soft hand, feeling how tiny they were in mine. I had felt them before when I tried to help her dancing. Emphasis on “tried” since I couldn’t dance unlike her.
“Thank you for helping me Juno, It’s really nice of you!”
I gave her a pat on the head and felt her soft fur as she lowered her ears, her cheeks flushing of deep red as she seemed to enjoy what I was doing her, not even trying to hide it as her tail was frantically moving around. It was honestly way too adorable; I couldn’t restrain a soft giggle. She seemed to be so happy and I suppose in some way I saw myself in her, when I was younger at least. Oh well things have changed and I’m not mad at the way they are right now.
“Oh well it was nice talking to you, but I have to go now.”
“Aww ok! See you soon Legoshi!”
She gave me a little kiss on the cheek and ran away. She wasn’t scared or anything and I had to admit I felt honored that she had chosen someone like me to fall in love with. I rubbed my cheek a little, finding some of the lip gloss she wore to still be there.
However, I went on up the stairs to reach the roof top, where I’d find the bunny coveted in white probably watering the plants that would soon rise from their vases. Sometimes she had to use a ladder to reach some of them. It was kinda cute and I really respected the fact that she’d always wanted to do everything by herself, even if help was offered. She was so strong inside and proud and that was something I really respected and was kinda jealous off, I wish I could be as confident as she seemed to be or maybe even as much as the most popular animal in the academy, Louis.
He represented pure perfection in everyones eyes, including me! A model student who could do anything, while also looking good and never being disrespectful towards anyone, always keeping his standards high and never showing something even remotely close to weakness, even if he could probably not win a fight between him and most bigger carnivores here.
I’d finally arrived at the top, panting just a little and feeling somewhat surprised by the cold gust of wind that hit me right as I arrived. It was just the fact that from inside the school you could only feel the sun rays as they caressed your skin.
I approached her garden, observing how she was already watering her plants as usual. I waved at her from the gate and she turned to face me with her cute and innocent smile, waving right back at me. As i got closer to her, I bent down to talk to her while looking into her dark eyes. I hadn’t even noticed how dark their eyes could be until I had really looked into her eyes when we talked, which took me quite some time. I just found it really hard to keep direct eye contact with someone, but I tried to force myself to do it more often now.
I felt like she had noticed it and she seemed to really appreciate my effort, so I always tried my best. She was a year older than me and I could kinda feel it shining through when we talked. But it didn’t bother me in the least.
I shook my head, realizing id fazed out again, falling deep into those back eyes, to come back to her waving her hand in front of me to make sure I was still on planet earth. Ashamed I lowered my ears and felt my cheeks flush in dark red. She just laughed at me, but in the cutest and most innocent way possible.
“ Hmm, you seem like you’ve got a lot of thoughts running through your mind as always, wanna talk about it?”
“me...oh no don’t worry about! I wouldn’t even know where to start and they are really nothing important anyways..hehe.”
She looked me up and down for a second, exhaled some air and then asked me to help her with watering the plants since I was already here. I obviously accepted right away, it only seemed right to me and I don’t think it was an offer I could really decline to begin with. So, I went back towards the old shack and grabbed a watering can that I wanted to fill with some water. But instead I dropped it as I saw a red deer covered in a scarlet red liquid in the park.
SOOO; this was the first chapter! 😁if you want me to post the next ones aswell please make sure to let me know with a comment or something!! Wish you a great day!😊
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secret-engima · 5 years ago
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Snippet of Storm-Touched
(oh look, here I am with yet another WIP. This was inspired/descended of the HCs that ran away with me from a prompt called Star Wars dumb thought by @bunny-loverxiv​. Anywho, I made a comment about Obi-Sith fitting the prompt at which point @north-peach​ dropped in with muse fuel and the rest spiraled into out of control history. Thus- this in progress fic, which is no longer Obi-Sith but still severely AU in which I take thirteen year old Obi-Wan, have him run away from the Order because he hates the thought of Agricorps that much, and yeet him headfirst into rewriting destiny via the Force, Mandalorians, and Obi-Wan Luck. Also he has what is basically a Force Fae/Kitsune/Entity for a teacher. Because Why Not™. Tagging @wolfsrainrules​ and @ravensilversea​ because this was partly the fault of Wolf’s wife and ravensilversea was interested in the HC version of this when I was doing that.)
     The claw-tipped fingers stopped just short of his clothes and she considered him with a heavy gaze. She dropped her hands with a huff, “Well. I suppose. You are strong in the Force, you just have no idea what to do with that connection do you?” She refolded her lower arms into her drooping sleeves, “Minor precognition?”
     Obi-Wan swallowed hard, nodded, “Yes. The … the instructors reminded me often to keep my mind of the present rather than letting it wander to the changing future.” Her face twisted briefly and now he was certain her eyes could change color, going from soft blue to blazing molten gold as the Force around them shivered with her anger before her expression settled and it was gone, “Yes,” she growled softly, “that sounds like them.” She shook her head, circled him with small, rapid steps, came to a stop in front of him again and nodded shortly, “Alright. I will teach you.”
     Obi-Wan’s heart jumped at the long-desired words, then dropped with dread —he didn’t even know this woman’s name—. She wasn’t finished speaking either. With a click of her tongue, she held up two fingers, “Two years. I will train you for two years, everything I know and everything you are capable of learning. But,” she added before Obi-Wan could say yes or no, “there will be a test. By the end of those two years, you must be able to tell me my true name. Will that be acceptable?”
     Obi-Wan looked over at Stars, the Wookiee dithered for a moment before rumbling, “The choice is yours, Little Soot. If you are afraid, we can leave and I will find you another teacher. But … she is the best. You will learn more from her in two years than you will learn from anyone else in a lifetime.”
     Obi-Wan wavered, glanced from the ship to the strange, alien planet around them and the nameless stranger he didn’t even know —who planned to test him by speaking her name when that didn’t relate to Force training at all as far as Obi-Wan could see—. Fear said to leave. Fear said to turn away and look for another teacher. Curiosity said to stay, learn and test himself against this woman Stars had chosen first and foremost from whatever list of potential teachers she had.
     Hope already clutched the woman’s words close —that he had potential, that she would teach him even when she didn’t yet know his name either— and thought of potential. Of new beginnings and strength and the ability to be free, finally free of the shadow of failure and disappointment and heartbreak that had followed him since fleeing Bandomeer.
     The Force whispered in the shell of his ear, for once so clear he could almost hear it in words. A flash of precognition stronger than anything he’d ever had outside of nightmares and meditation sessions in the temple as a small child. He blinked and saw himself, strong and calm, an adult that didn’t cower from anyone, didn’t hunch his shoulders in shame but instead danced through battle like the wind was his wings. He inhaled and tasted contentment so deep it felt like sunshine inside his bones. He listened, and in the space between times and spaces and lives he heard-.
     “My name is Obi-Wan, and I am not afraid of you.”
     He exhaled and the world settled back into place. Blue eyes watched him in triumph, like she already knew his answer before he bowed low and said, “I would be honored to learn from you, for however long you see fit, Master.”
     In the corner of his eye, Stars slumped just a bit —from disappointment or relief he couldn’t tell—. The woman who was now his teacher smiled, all fangs and satisfaction and danger, “Good. You may call me Noht-Ty, small one, not ‘master’ or any other nonsense title. I will be interested to see how far you can progress in two years.”
     Obi-Wan was never sure, afterward, what happened next. He thought that Noht-Ty must have insisted Stars leave, just as Stars had feared, because he remembered being hauled off his feet by a tight Wookiee hug and hearing her promise to come back, two years to the day, but everything other than that hug was … vague. Distant and blurred in his memory until the ship was gone and Obi-Wan had been left on a planet with no name and a woman who was to be his teacher.
     It was night when his senses —memory— came back to him. Huddled in his sleeping bag, staring up at the sky and the twin moons shining down from it. Noht-Ty sensed his returned attention from where she sat meditating, heedless of the cold air and the strange animal calls —Obi-Wan had never slept in a wilderness before, had only ever been to Coruscant and port towns and populated places—, “Small one.”
     “Yes, m- Noht-Ty?”
     She opened her eyes again and under the light of the twin moons he could see their gold sheen, intense and unreadable, “Since I am to be your teacher, will you give me your name, small one?”
     Obi-Wan did not think on the odd phrasing of that request at the time, riding too high on adrenaline as he was.
     Years later, Obi-Wan never did give his name away when asked by others, no matter who they were.
     He only had to learn that lesson once.
     But that was a lesson not yet learned, and so he guilelessly opened his mouth and answered, “My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
     Fangs gleamed white under the light of the moons as something in the Force jolted all around him, paralyzed him in place and ripped something clear of his very self in a way that he hadn’t known could be touched or taken. “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” she hummed, and somehow his name from her lips felt like someone taking possession of a new and rare prize rather than a greeting, “Interesting.”
     Obi-Wan sat up sharply, breathing ragged from the feeling, “W-what- what did you just do?”
     “I took what you gave to me,” she hummed easily, “if you did not want to give it away, you should have said so. But that is a moot point, I take the names of all my students. Should you pass my test at the end of two years and return to me my name, then I shall give you yours.”
     Obi-Wan gaped, closed his mouth, choked out, “Noht-Ty isn’t your name?”
     An officious tail-twitch, “No. I said that you may call me Noht-Ty, I never said it was my actual name. My name was lost to me long ago, and you will find it for me and give it back.”
     Suddenly very cold and hyper aware that he was alone with this stranger, Obi-Wan whispered, “What happens if I can’t find it for you?”
     Gold eyes watched him with something akin to amusement, “Then I keep your name, and the life that is tied to it.”
     Obi-Wan scrambled out of his sleeping bag altogether, stood braced to run even though there was nowhere to run to, “You’re going to kill me?”
     A calm ear flick, “Only if you fail. Was that not obvious when I first told you my terms?”
     “No! No, it wasn’t!”
     Her gaze cooled, “If you did not know my price, why did you agree to pay it?” Obi-Wan stood speechless and Noht-Ty shook her head, “Lesson one, Obi-Wan Kenobi, there is always a price. Every choice, every action, no matter how outwardly small or large, comes with a price. That price might be time, or energy, it might be as small as a good night’s sleep. Or it might be as heavy as your life, the life of a family, a city, a planet, a star-system.”
     She raised her gaze again and soft blue looked at him with something like pity in her eyes, “Always make sure that the price for your actions is something you are willing to pay before you make your choice.”
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soloragoldsun · 7 years ago
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Leo et Cygnus- Chapter 1: The Lion’s Brawl (Freezerburn Week- Day 1: Soulmate AU)
 The worst part of any performance was that hush, that moment of silence between the rising of the curtain and the first notes of music, when everything seemed to be pressing against Weiss’s inner ears and she entertained the crazy thought of just running from the stage and never looking back. Her face remained a serene mask. Only the slight fluttering of her dæmon’s wings behind her hinted at her unease.
Then, the music started. Weiss started singing. Her dæmon’s brief moment of panic was quickly forgotten by the few people who had even noticed it at all.
The song was a hymn, of course. So was the next one, and the next. When several high-ranking members of the Church were in attendance, one could expect little else. Finally, at the finale, Weiss braced herself as her dæmon leaped onto her back, clinging to the special attachment on her white dress, extending his wings slowly as she reached the final crescendo, making her look like an angel under the spotlight.
The best part of the performance was when it was happening, because it was easy to drown in doing exactly what had been practiced many times before. The second-best part was the applause, which was uproarious tonight.
The second-worst part was the aftermath, when it was time to return to Father.
Weiss took her time leaving the backstage area. A gentle nudge at her side caused her to turn and smile at her dæmon. “Well done as usual, Anmut.”
“You do most of the work,” the swan said, inclining his head. “I’m sorry I lost control at the beginning.”
“It’s fine,” Weiss assured him. “No one saw.”
Anmut’s feathers ruffled nervously. “She did.”
Weiss stiffened, knowing that Anmut was referring to her father’s dæmon. “I see.” She stroked the swan’s brow. “Well, let’s try and behave ourselves at the party, and maybe Father won’t say anything.” She didn’t have much hope for that, though.
By the time they reached the reception room, Weiss had re-applied her calm face, and Anmut was walking with a confident strut that he had grown into ever since settling into his permanent form. They approached Jacques Schnee and his dæmon, a wolf the color of cigarette ash, and bowed respectfully before taking their place at his side.
Jacques cleared his throat. “Weiss, you remember Bishop Alabastar.”
Behind the two, the gray wolf bared her fangs at Anmut, who ducked his head submissively.
“Yes, Father,” Weiss said, curtsying to the old bishop. “I hope you enjoyed the show, Bishop.” Anmut came to her side to bow to the grizzled tabby cat dæmon, who just flicked her ears and gave him a haughty glare.
The bishop smiled. “I did. Truly, you were the picture of an angel at the end. Your dæmon certainly settled into a fitting form.”
“Thank you, Bishop.” She let out a quiet breath of relief when the bishop immediately turned his attention to Whitley, who stood stock-still at Jacques other side. His dæmon had taken the form of a white wolf and was currently sitting next to the gray wolf, trying to mimic her exact pose.
“And here is the young heir!” the bishop exclaimed. “You grow taller each time I see you.” He glanced at the white wolf. “Your dæmon has finally settled?”
Whitley shook his head while Jacques let out a quiet cough. “No, sir. Demetria is still changing shape.”
“Ah.” The bishop watched as his tabby dæmon padded closer to inspect Demetria, who immediately shifted into the form of a white Persian cat and eagerly touched the other dæmon’s nose with hers. “I see. A bit unusual to have a changing dæmon at your age, isn’t it?”
“Your Honor, I’m sure this isn’t the only case of a late change,” Jacques cut in, his eyes steely. “My son certainly shouldn’t be considered ‘unusual’ so quickly.”
The gray wolf rumbled, her hackles rising. The tabby met her eyes for a full ten seconds before withdrawing, licking her forepaw.
“O-Of course, Mister Schnee,” the bishop stammered, bowing his head. “I meant no offense.”
“I’m sure you didn’t,” Jacques replied, his expression neutral again. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He nodded at Whitley, allowing his son to mingle on his own. Weiss, of course, was to stay at her father’s side.
“Anmut seemed a bit distressed,” he muttered as they walked. Behind them, Anmut walked sullenly, his head arched downward, not meeting the gray wolf’s piercing yellow eyes.
“It was just a moment of stage fright,” Weiss replied, refusing to place all the blame on her dæmon. “I sometimes get nervous before a performance.”
“A Schnee must always be confident when in the public eye. Do you understand?” Jacques cocked an eyebrow while the wolf snarled.
“Yes, Father. It won’t happen again.” Weiss bowed her head while Anmut flinched away from the wolf’s teeth.
“Good. Come, now. I would like you to meet the Arcs.”
This was enough to pique Weiss’s interest. The Arc family was rather infamous in the higher circles of society, especially those closest to the Church. She was surprised that they were here today.
Of course, Johann and Joan Arc were immediately recognizable. She had seen Johann’s strong square jaw and piercing blue eyes in many news articles, and the woman who gazed adoringly at him could only be his soulmate.
Soulmate. That was where the controversy came from.
As they drew closer, Weiss felt her cheeks flushing at what she saw. Johann’s dæmon, a sleek coyote, was pressing her head against Joan’s leg. Meanwhile, Joan’s sparrow dæmon was perched on Johann’s shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
It was the greatest taboo imaginable to touch another person’s dæmon. Only a husband and wife could be allowed such a privilege, but even then, it was rarely done in public. Then again, the idea of soulmates, along with other outdated pagan concepts, didn’t allow for things like decency.
It honestly was borderline sickening to Weiss. Imagining someone laying hands on Anmut… She took a deep breath, repressing a deeply-buried memory that desperately needed to remain hidden.
She was so focused on the scandalous picture the Arcs painted, and her own discomfort, she almost didn’t notice their son until he was right in front of her. He was smiling, though the rapid shaking of his squirrel dæmon’s tail betrayed his nervousness.
“Hi,” he said. “Er, I mean hello. I’m Jaune Arc, and this is Eliana. We really enjoyed your performance.”
Weiss could feel her father glaring at the boy. It was customary for young people in such a setting to wait to be introduced by their parents. Still, wanting to be polite, she inclined her head. “Thank you. I’m Weiss Schnee, and this is Anmut.”
Anmut was stiff and cold, which was how he usually acted around the dæmons of any men close to Weiss’s age. Still, he did lower his head enough to inspect Eliana as the gray squirrel scampered down Jaune’s side to stand on the floor in front of the graceful swan.
Jacques promptly engaged Johann in a conversation concerning the state of the Schnee Coal Mines, though the gray wolf kept her gaze fixed on Jaune and Weiss.
The young man rubbed nervously at the back of his neck, obviously out of place in this formal setting. People like the Arcs were a clear example of the fact that money didn’t always equate to class and poise. Those who had the former, but lacked the latter two, were little more than pretenders.
Though, Jaune Arc didn’t seem to be a pretender. In fact, the next moment, he quite honestly said: “I’m really not good with these parties. Think you could show me around? I mean, if you’re not busy.”
Weiss hesitated, weighing her options. The only way she could leave her father’s side was if she was in the company of a young man from one of the other invited families. Would it be wise to take this first opportunity, and likely spend the majority of the evening with this overly-eager boy, or should she wait for someone a bit shallower, but also a great deal quieter, to escort her away.
In the end, she decided that being away from the cruel, yellow gaze of her Father’s dæmon was worth whatever annoyance Jaune might bring. “You may escort me to the garden. It’s just that way.”
Jaune grinned, belatedly remembering to hold out his arm, which Weiss delicately took. Eliana climbed up his leg, up his back, and to her favorite position on his right shoulder.
Anmut suppressed an eyeroll. At events like this, smaller dæmons should wait to be picked up by their humans. Climbing in such a way was simply unsightly. He was glad that he was of a size that allowed him to easily walk alongside Weiss at all times.
Weiss, meanwhile, put on a practiced expression of mild interest as Jaune immediately started rambling. At first, she listened as he described the other parties he’d been to recently, and how the actual point of the fundraisers in question seemed to be lost in the festivities. As he started talking about the goings on in town, where he apparently had several less wealthy friends, Weiss’s attention started to wander.
The ball seemed to be a moderate success. The charity, which was for the one of the Church’s sponsored orphanages, was a very safe one to support, but didn’t have the pizazz that brought in larger crowds. There were several people her age, and even a few who were younger and still had changing dæmons. A nearby girl’s dæmon had just taken the form of a dozy golden retriever and was yawning loudly and obviously as she stood near her father, who appeared to be a scholar.
Anmut had only ever turned into a dog a handful of times, and those times had always ended with the gray wolf’s fangs digging into the scruff of his neck, shaking him mercilessly. Servant dæmons settled as dogs, and Jacques would not tolerate his own daughter imitating them!
Klein was likely somewhere nearby, serving guests, his brown and white spaniel dæmon trotting at his side. They would probably seek Weiss out when this was all over, a tray of coffee and crumbly vanilla biscotti in hand.
“And everyone’s hoping to get a glimpse of that witch,” Jaune continued.
Immediately, Weiss stiffened and turned to stare openly at her companion, her heart pounding. “Did you say witch?”
At her feet, Anmut was standing with his neck fully extended, his feathers fluffing out in agitation.
“Yeah!” Jaune said, his smile widening at the interest his statement piqued. “I heard she arrived just today. No one knows what she wants, but she’s gotten permission from the mayor to stay here for a month. Not sure where she’s staying, but people have seen her flying around on her cloud pine. I hope I can see her before she goes, even if it’s from a distance. I mean, how often do you get to see something like that, right?”
Weiss nodded, trying not to let her excitement show.
Witches were beings who lived in the far north, away from the growing influence of the Church, neighboring with the mighty panserbjørne, the armored ice bears. They rode the branches of trees known as cloud pine, and were said to have great powers of healing, prophecy, and even the ability to kill just by looking at a person. They lived for hundreds of years. Some said that they were like Faunus, and had no dæmons. Others said that their dæmons could go to the other side of the world without causing any pain or damage to either of the joined entity.
Of course, the Church had no love for the witches, largely due to the many people who fled north in order to be protected as they practiced their pagan beliefs, but there was little to be done against a group of beings so powerful. As long as they kept their business in the snowy lands of the north, it was likely that an uneasy peace between the two schools of thought would remain.
But Weiss wasn’t thinking about spells, the Church, or even the prospect of a person flying on a branch of pine. Only one word rose in her mind, a name she was forbidden from speaking out loud under any circumstances.
Winter.
……………………………………………………………………………………..
A sheen of sweat coated tanned skin; tanned skin that was stretched over lean, tight muscles that had been hardened over the course of a short but strenuous lifetime. The only sound in the small room was an occasional gasp following the meaty thump of fists against a well-worn bag hanging from a creaky ceiling, and the steady scratch-scratch-screech of claws being sharpened.
Yang Xiao Long left yet another dent in her makeshift punching bag just as the scratching stopped and a low growl urged her to go get some water. “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, wiping her brow with a dirty cloth before walking toward the door, her lion dæmon striding calmly at her side, letting out a mighty yawn as he flexed his freshly-sharpened claws in and out.
The two walked past several houses in varying states of repair until they reached the nearest public pump. As usual, there was a line.
The lion, who was named Yong Shi, rumbled a wordless greeting to the rat dæmon who was cleaning her whiskers in front of them. Her nose twitched, and she flicked her tail politely before moving forward with her human.
Yang stretched her arms above her head, twining her fingers together and pulling until she felt a satisfying crack in her back. She was already feeling good about tonight. Her energy was high, and she had eaten well (relatively) the previous day. And we’ll eat even better once I win tonight! Just one more fight in this tournament, and we’ll be rolling in money.
Yong Shi shook out his dusty mane, feeling every bit as confident as Yang. Of course, they were two parts of the same whole, one being in two bodies. Everything Yang felt, he felt, and visa versa, even during the times when one of them didn’t want to admit it. That was the way things were, and always would be.
Their turn came, and Yang took the tin cup from the loose hook on the nearby post. Using one hand, she lifted and lowered the pump handle, rinsing the cup once before filling it and taking a drink. She forced herself to sip, knowing that gulping was a bad idea when she still had training to do. The water felt like a cooling balm spreading through her blood, making her realize just how dehydrated she had become. She dumped some on her face, wiping at the grime and sweat with an even grimier, sweatier hand. At Yong Shi’s insistence, she worked the pump so that he could dip his head down, lapping at the stream and wetting his tangled mane. He stepped back, shaking droplets of water everywhere, then led the way back toward their home.
The Xiao Long house was in pretty good repair, largely because Taiyang hadn’t had to pay as much for it initially. The reason, of course, was its location: It was the last human house before the border that separated the “civilized” part of town from the infamous Faunus District.
As they drew close, Yong Shi let out a chuff of greeting as the familiar form of Blake stepped from the shadow of the house. She withdrew a small packet from her pocket, handing it to Yang. “Here. Something extra for tonight.”
Yang opened the packet, gasping as she saw the dried meat within. “Blake, don’t you need to eat?”
“I’m fine.” One of Blake’s cat ears flicked in an unconcerned manner. “There’s a lot of money at stake tonight. You need your strength.”
Yang smiled. “Thanks, Blake.” She knew it was no good forcing the issue, and that there was no real way to tell if Blake actually had eaten.
Faunus didn’t have dæmons, after all. Instead, they each had a singular animal trait, which settled on them with the coming of adulthood in the same way a human’s dæmon settled into one form. Yang was friends with many Faunus and was used to talking to people whose souls resided inside their bodies rather than outside, but sometimes she wished that her friends could have been born with dæmons. It would make them so much easier to read.
“Where’s Ruby?” she asked.
“With Sun and Ilia,” Blake said, rolling her eyes. “You know how much she loves jumping rooftops with them.”
“Yep,” Yang sighed. It would be a bit hypocritical to criticize her sister’s dangerous pastimes, all things considered. “Just don’t let Sun steal anything while Ruby’s with him.”
“Oh, he knows,” Blake chuckled. “Trust me. If nothing else, he knows what you’ll do to him if he gets Ruby in trouble.”
“Good.” Yang re-wrapped the meat, already trying to figure out a way to get some of it back to her Faunus friends, who needed it far more than she did. “Thanks for the food, Blake. I’ll see you at the ring tonight?”
Blake nodded, her eyes glinting. “Wouldn’t miss it. Later.” She walked back into her home district, quickly vanishing in the shadows between buildings that would be considered condemned and unlivable in basically any other part of town.
Yong Shi nudged Yang’s leg. “You’d better eat some of that,” he growled. “Don’t feel guilty. We can pay her back once we win tonight.”
Yang relented, taking a strip of meat and tearing it off with her teeth. She ground the meat with her back teeth, tasting cheap spices and black pepper, which overshadowed what little of its original flavor still remained. After I win tonight’s fight, she thought. I’ll buy everyone a whole goddamn chicken. Dad will roast it in the oven. It’ll be all juicy and greasy, with crispy skin and-
“Stop!” Yong Shi groaned. “You’re making me hungry!”
Yang’s stomach growled. “No kidding,” she muttered. “I guess that was a pretty fowl thing to imagine, huh?”
Yong Shi huffed. “You aren’t lion about that!”
“Do you have a beef with my fantasies?” Yang asked, waving one of the pieces of meat in the air.
“It just seems like a very jerky thing to do when we’re so hungry.”
The two laughed, Yang doubling over and putting a hand on her dæmon’s back to hold herself up. With that, most of the tension remaining in them fled, and they returned to the sweat-scented house to train some more.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Weiss stood by her door, counting the footsteps of the servants, timing the moments of silence that signaled a departure down another hallway, and waited for the sound to return again, and for an indication of where it was returning from. Anmut’s eyes were closed as he memorized every pattern with her.
Finally, taking a deep breath, Weiss slowly opened her door and slipped out. She wrapped her darkest, least conspicuous cloak around herself and pulled the hood over her head.
She waited until she knew one servant’s footsteps would be seconds from the corner, and the other would just be leaving the hallway leading to the back entrance. Then, she ran. She had changed from her heels and wore a pair of soft shoes that would be useless for repelling water, but were perfect for hiding any noise.
Anmut ran quickly, but carefully, very aware of his webbed feet and having to flutter from rug to rug in order to remain silent.
They managed to get outside without incident, and paused in the shadow of a shrubbery cut to look like a horse. Weiss placed a hand over her heart, trying to steady her breathing. Anmut pressed against her side, shaking.
Neither one of them wanted to be outside. They knew what happened when a Schnee ventured anywhere without guards. Only one thing could outweigh the years-old fear: Winter.
When Weiss was only ten, her elder sister had fled from Schnee Manor, never to be seen again. Before leaving, Winter had explained that she was going north, and that she would contact Weiss when she was able. Her snowy owl dæmon had covered Anmut, in the form of a trembling mouse at that time, with his wing. Then, they were both gone. Weiss had heard nothing since then, and her father had made it very clear that any mention of Winter would lead to the worst kind of punishment imaginable.
It was around that time when Willow Schnee’s drinking problem hit a new height. It was then that her ermine dæmon, who had apparently once been a fierce and proud creature, became sullen and withdrawn, passively allowing the gray wolf’s touch in the same way a man imprisoned was forced to accept the unwelcome advances of a lustful, unscrupulous lawman.
Now, nearly eight years later, Weiss was suddenly presented with her best chance of receiving news of her sister: a witch from the north. Even if the witch had never met Winter, she could likely find out whether or not she was alive or dead. Surely, the Church would forgive a bargain with a witch under such circumstances. Witches weren’t explicitly considered pagan, after all. At least not officially.
Still, moving was difficult. Weiss and Anmut were only able to leave their hiding place and make for the gates by being brave for each other. Weiss ignored her own fear, and focused on tending to Anmut. Likewise, Anmut refused to acknowledge his terror, and instead gentled Weiss with soft rubs of his head against her side. In that way, they reached the back gate, whose guard (along with his Rottweiler dæmon) was expectedly drunk, and made their way into town.
Once they were out, however, they realized something very important: They had no idea where to look for this witch! Did they just ask around? What reputable people would be out this late? Where did they even start?
“Let’s just walk,” Anmut urged. “We’re not doing any good standing here.”
So, the two walked down the night streets, away from the Manor and the surrounding estates, and into the town of Vale. It was like being in an entirely alien world, the strange, small houses crouching like hunting cats in the shadows, which hid piles of garbage, fences in shambles, and the occasional rat.
As they drew further from the Manor, stone roads turned to dirt, and the smell of unwashed flesh and sweat permeated the air. Weiss’s nose wrinkled, and Anmut kept checking the ground to make sure they wouldn’t step on something incredibly filthy or sharp. Weiss kept her gaze on the sky, which thankfully bore an almost-full moon.
They reached the other side of town without incident, before the sound of shouts in the distance caused them to turn down another shaded path. Already, Weiss’s nerves were at their limit.
They were drawing close to the Faunus District, where that incident had happened.
Anmut shuddered as his webbed feet walked the familiar path, but he let out a short honk of determination. They’d see if the witch was there, then turn around and go back before anyone could see them.
Weiss agreed, taking a deep breath and steeling herself for whatever they would find. Still, she was wholly unprepared when she turned that last corner and suddenly walked into air that was saturated with dirt and sweat. The smell hit her like a wall, and she brought her hand to her face.
A makeshift ring had been set up in what was clearly a garbage dump for the slummy part of town. Inside it, filthy people and filthy dæmons were beating each other senseless.
A young man swung a bandaged fist at his opponent while his wolverine dæmon shook a poor, hapless weasel like a ragdoll. The other human and his dæmon struggled and flailed, fists flying, white teeth flashing, but in the end, he collapsed and the weasel went limp in the wolverine’s jaws.
A tall, buff man who was clearly the appointed announcer, raised his hand to the sound of many cheers and boos. Weiss could see money being exchanged between spectators, and there was a stack of wooden boxes, from which a mousy woman was handing out bet money.
“No witch here,” Anmut muttered, his wings fluttering nervously. “Let’s go.”
“Gladly.” Weiss turned to leave, only to freeze in fear. A pair of Faunus was walking down the path toward her. They were talking casually and didn’t seem to have seen her.
Bile rose in her throat as she looked at their dæmon-less forms, and she ducked into the crowd with Anmut. Immediately, she realized what a bad idea that had been. The crowd pressed together in a smelly mass, not caring how close they got to the people around them. The only spaces in the crowd were where a dæmon stood near a human that wasn’t theirs, and the two instinctively stood apart. Weiss didn’t even think about breaching those spots. The taboo ran so deep, doing so would have been considered as threatening and invasive as reaching one’s hand through another person’s chest, if such a thing was possible.
She tried to move back into the open, but the crowd was surging forward, muttering eagerly. She caught snippets of “Big fight” and “Bet all my money on this one” and “Waiting for days!”
Peering over the shoulder of a shorter teen, Weiss saw what the commotion was about.
The man with the wolverine dæmon still stood in the ring, drinking water from a large metal cup. The wolverine’s beady eyes were fixed on the two figures approaching. One was a young, muscular woman with sharp eyes and leather cuffs on her wrists. The other was a lean, growling lion dæmon who seemed to have substituted any of the natural majesty or pride one would expect from his species with an extra layer of viciousness. They walked together, their strides equally predatory, their expressions equally fierce.
Suddenly, Weiss felt a spirit-deep shock go through her, as if twin lances of near-molten metal were piercing her chest and something even deeper than her heart, something deep within her dæmon, who she placed a hand on now. In that moment, she was more aware of herself than ever before, of Anmut, of her own soul undergoing tremor after tremor of a strange, instinctive yearning.
At the same time, she became intimately aware of the girl with the lion dæmon. The dirt and sweat on them became little more than a superficial layer that, when cleaved away, would surely reveal something indescribably beautiful hidden beneath. The lion was suddenly more gorgeous than the most well-groomed, exotic of dæmons. His tawny fur seemed to glow with an inner light that belied his dusty, malnourished shape. Words like “vicious” and “ragged” turned to “determined” and “strong” in Weiss’s mind.
Through it all, Weiss realized something that terrified her: She wanted, more than anything in the world, to touch the lion dæmon. She wanted to run her fingers through his dark mane, combing away the dirt and grime. She wanted to kiss his sand-colored brow and wrap her arms around his broad shoulders. Beside her, Anmut felt a similar longing, an aching need for the girl with the leather cuffs. He wanted her rough, calloused fingers to gently brush his head feathers, run down his slender neck, across his broad back…
Weiss shook herself, horrified. “Anmut,” she hissed. “We need to leave, now!”
Anmut was still shaking. He could feel Weiss’s horror battling with his desire, which was, of course, also her desire. “Weiss…”
“No, Anmut!” These are the most impure of thoughts.
The girl, though! She’s your-
Don’t even think it! Weiss’s eyes were like cold fire. Not now. Not after what happened before!
Anmut shivered as the memories returned, reinforced by Weiss’s fear. This, in the end, was what dragged him away from the front of the crowd.
But not before the lion saw him, saw them. Now in the middle of scuffling with the wolverine, he froze, suddenly forgetting where he was and what he was doing. All that was real in that moment was the small, slight girl in the cloak, a girl he suddenly wanted to protect with every ounce of his strength. At a glance, he could see a thousand warring qualities: pride, fear, determination, and a need to hide herself and her dæmon from everything around them.
Yang stumbled, feeling Yong Shi’s sudden shift in attention, letting out a gasp as she felt the wolverine’s jaws on his neck as well as the fist that hit the side of her head, causing tiny bells to ring in her brain. As she fell, she caught only a glimpse of white feathers, of dark eyes that already seemed to know her every bit as well as her own dæmon did. A deep, crushing fear filled her just as she lost consciousness.
Weiss didn’t see the fall, and neither did Anmut. They were already pushing through the crowd, desperate to get away before anything else could happen. The cloak was stepped on by someone, and Weiss’s white hair shone like a beacon in the night.
She struggled to put the hood back up, her heart hammering a panicked tempo against her ribs, when a hand grabbed her arm. She yanked herself away, Anmut hissing a warning, then stopped.
It was Jaune. His eyes were wide with surprise. He glanced once toward the ring, then back at Weiss. “Come on,” he said, seeing the fear on her face. “I’ll walk you back.”
He hurriedly led her away. Behind them, a young fighter had just lost an important match. She would wake up hours later hating herself, hating the sound of her sister’s rumbling stomach. She wouldn’t think about what had caused her to lose right away, but the lion would.
The lion would know, even if his human didn’t realize, that something far more valuable than a bag of gold from a fighting ring had just come into their lives.
~
Hey, everyone! So, back when @freezerburn-week was first announced, I was re-reading Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, and had just finished my first read of the first book in his new trilogy, The Book of Dust. In the world of these books, humans’ souls walk alongside them as an animal-formed, usually opposite-sex, dæmon. A dæmon is both a lifetime companion, and an extension of oneself. There’s also a great taboo against touching someone else’s dæmon, though it is shown to be a pleasurable experience when two people in love do it.
That got me thinking: “What if there was a soulmate au where a dæmon knew their human’s soulmate on sight, and longed for that person’s touch?” What resulted is a world that’s a sort of hybrid between Remnant and Pullman’s England. I consider this to be more of an AU than a crossover, as none of Pullman’s characters appear here, and I made several changes to the world such as the soulmate concept, the nature of the north, and the current level of power the Catholic Church has.
This fic is a love letter to one of my favorite book series of all time, one that not only inspires me, but also shaped my own spiritual understanding of the world. I sincerely hope you give His Dark Materials, and The Book of Dust a read when you get the chance.
I quickly realized that this idea couldn’t be limited to one chapter, so this fic will be updated every Friday on my Fanfiction page, and every Thursday on my Patreon.
See you guys tomorrow! My other Freezerburn Week fics won’t be as long as this, but I’m sure you’ll still enjoy them!
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misshowel-blog · 8 years ago
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The Blue Wolf - Chapter 1
Two months have passed since the Bellwether conspiracy was uncovered. The resilient mammals of Zootopia eventually settle back into their old lives, their old ways. A new mayor is appointed through a fairly mellow election; Aurelina Canidae, an honorable former councilwoman. The city felt secure with such a friendly, chubby wolf as their mayor, especially with how she instantly began working towards a long-lasting unification between predator and prey. As for Nick and Judy, it was business as usual. Judy had been showing Nick the ropes and the pair of them had been continually working minor cases and solving them fairly effectively. Things were going smoothly. The rings on the surface had faded. The pebble had sunk to the bottom, never to disturb the river again. As they say, a river always corrects itself.. ..Unless it freezes over.
With a twitch of her nose, Judy was flipping the page of a file folder she was currently holding. Leaning her cheek heavily in her paw, her eyes skittered across the page, taking in the information as quickly as possible. It was the initial statement from an ox who'd stolen someone elses' car and then crashed it into a public fountain and she wanted to make sure she'd read it properly before questioning the ox. Every day happenings in the bustling city of Zootopia; she'd for the most part gone numb to the stupid antics of Zootopians. Last week, a group of teenagers had in the middle of the night gone out, bought a dozen pumpkins, carved them and practically screwed them onto street lights. Her eyes rolled with a small amused smile at the fleeting thought. Nick had swept in from the cafeteria into her cubicle office, holding two cups of coffee, smirking as he slid one of the cups towards her. "Thinking about the pumpkin massacre?" A snort of a laugh left the bunny and she leaned back in her seat, a cheeky smile aimed at the fox. "How'd you even know that?" "I know everything Carrots, you oughta know that by now." He teased, parking his butt on her desk, leaning back on one arm as he took a sip of his coffee, as relaxed as usual. Judy let out a puff of air through her nose with a smile, putting down the folder. "Oh yeah?" There was mischief in her voice as she moved to sit on the back rest of her chair, her paws on the actual seat. "Then, what's my favorite color?" She could hear a swig of coffee almost going down wrong for the fox in a brief splurt. Nick's eyes narrowed as he gave her a side glance of pure contemplation. A silence fell between them, and she could swear that if she were to look in his ears, she would've been able to see cogs turning. "Blueberry?" "Nick that's your favorite. Not even color, just favorite fruit!" "Okay, orange then!" Nick proclaimed, throwing out his free hand in a bit of a fake 'I don't actually care' gesture. "What's with you and fruit colors?" "Now that you mention it, heh, orange. Isn't that weird? It's not like we call 'yellow' 'banana' or something stupid like that." Nick took a sip of his coffee, taking his eyes off the bunny for a moment. However, the silence made an ear of his swivel towards her, his eyes soon to follow. Judy had the worst pokerface. She was sipping her coffee, looking away, acting as though it was raining. Only thing missing was her whistling a tune and the bad-pokerface-trifecta would be complete. "Really, yellow? That's your favorite color?" He huffed out a chuckle, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, trying to hold back a smirk. "Actually" Judy dragged, an absent-minded paw stroking back and down one of her ears. "It's more like, amber?" "Huh. The more you know." Nick took another sip of his coffee before taking the folder and opening it up, his eyes scanning the pages. "You questioning the car thief today?" "Yeah, you wanna sit in? I had to sit in with the other officers before I got to question suspects on my own." Judy smiled at her friend. He'd come a long way in a short while, she was actually kind of jealous at times. Nick always had such a roll-with-it attitude. "Puh-lease, Carrots. If anyone needs to sit in, it's you, with me. Watch the master in action" He'd placed a paw against his chest like some posh, old-fashioned noble. "and maybe you'll be a real cop one day, like the great, invincible, detective Wilde." Judy swiftly snatched the folder back from him, flipping it in under her arm, jumping off her seat and getting to the doorway in one fluid motion. Leaning against it, she smiled up at the smug fox. "Oh yeah? Well, I'd be honored if the great, invincible detective Wilde could show this poor, inadequate bunny the ropes." "Will do. Now," He slid off the table, patting her head as he passed her, heading towards the cafeteria. "I shall show you, my feeble pupil, how to trick Clawhauser into giving away all his afternoon doughtnuts." The rest of the day flowed on like every other day. Clawhauser lost his afternoon doughnuts, only for Judy to convince Nick to give them back. There was a press briefing with the new press manager Rosalind where all officers currently in the building were present. Nick sat in when Judy questioned the ox about the incident, who was then formally charged. Bogo asked for a report on his desk before five. Things kept rolling. Once he'd clocked out, Nick got out of his uniform in the locker room, getting into his casual getup of a shirt, tie and trousers. One glance left, one right, then a swift lick on his thumb before he brushed it across his badge, making sure it was glistening before he placed it on top of the perfectly folded uniform in his locker. This was a different kind of pride. He'd always thought himself good at what he did, and he'd always thought himself proud, but oh how wrong he'd been. This was what real pride felt like. To be able to walk straight, head held high, to be able to look other mammals in the eye and feel truly equal. Heaving a content sigh, he clicked the locker door closed before heading outside. Judy was working late, otherwise they usually grabbed a bite to eat before heading home to their separate places. Or to the same place where they'd hang out, watch movies and talk bullshit about life in general. It was a good life. A completely new life. Or.. Not completely new. After walking a couple of blocks and taking a turn into an alley, he slammed his paw against the side of the familiar, graffiti-covered van. "Ey Finnick! You awake?" He could hear a groan, a shuffle, a clank and some choice swearwords. Nick shifted his weight onto one foot, contently waiting until Finnick finally opened the door. "Get in." Nick's brow furrowed and he climbed into the van, which Finnick promptly shut behind him. "Hey hey hey, what's the grim look for?" Finnick was moving swiftly, checking the windows before making sure the curtains were pulled properly. Then he shot a glance at the confused red fox. "I know you ain't rolling with our kind no more, but-" Nick huffed and rolled his eyes. "Finnick come on, that's not-" "Shut up Nick. I was gonna say, but, I'mma do you a solid. 'Cause we're friends. You're a wanted fox, Nick Wilde." "Eh, Finnick, I'm a cop now. I'm pretty sure I'm not wanted, or Bogo would've told me." There was a smug smile pulling at those lips of his, something that made Finnick's whole face scrunch up in an irritated, frustrated look as he grabbed his friends' tie, pulling him down to eye-level. "You're wanted dead, Nick, this ain't no fucking joke!" Finnick snarled out the words, a concern hidden beneath the apparent anger. Nick stared at his friend, blinking as though that would clear his own confusion. Then his puzzled expression shifted into a concerned frown. Noticing the changed attitude, Finnick let the tie slip through his fingers, the anger seeping away to leave room for more concern. "The hell did you do, you dumb fox? You got Alexei looking for ya!" "Volkov?" Was all Nick managed to get out. "Yeah, Volkov. The Alexei Volkov!" Finnick's entire body language was demanding answers, he was not going to let Nick leave before he knew everything. "There I am, down in the tundra corner club aight? And I hear these yak idiots talking 'bout getting massive cred with the big bad wolf if they took you down!" Nick's paws went up, moving as if pushing the air as he shook his head. "Okay, wait, slow down. Wait." Straightening out, his paws subconsciously went up to stroke back both of his ears, dragging heavily down his neck and lacing together behind it. "Okay, this might be a problem." The twitching tail behind Nick was evidence of his mind working a million miles an hour. "What the hell did you do, Nick?" Sucking in a deep breath, the red fox slumped down onto the floor of the van, his tail sweeping restlessly. Why now. What could possibly have pipqued the wolfs' interest again. It'd been so long, he thought Volkov had simply cut his losses. "You want the long story or the short version?" Finnick let out an unimpressed snort, sitting down opposite of Nick. "Give me the jist of it." Nick sighed, scratching idly at the back of his neck, clearly reluctant to revisit the memory. His mouth opened a couple of times, sucking in air but failing to produce any words. A snort snort later, Nick finally cleared his throat and began talking. "A few years back, before I ran with you, I ran with this badger guy. Heck, can't even remember his name. Anyway, he always had jobs for me, they came from someone else." "So you were running blind errands?" "Yeah, well, sort of. It wasn't like we were running catnip to and from the rainforest district. Nah, this was heavier stuff. Sabotage, mostly. Money was good." Finnick had moved to open up a bottle of whiskey, pouring Nick a glass and offering it to him. Grasping the glass, Nick took a generous swig. It burned down his throat and a shiver ran through him. Swiping the back of his hans across his nose, he sucked in a short, sharp breath though it. Letting out a light cough, he swirled the amber liquid around in his glass. "One day" He continued, clearly not looking forward to telling the rest of the story. "This guy I've been doing all this, stuff with, comes to me. With a plan. We were going to do this one job - super simple job, he told me -to get the attention of Volkov. It'd be our ticket to wealth, to infamy. Our ticket out of the gutter." Nick forced down another swig of whiskey, barely tasting it before it heated his insides. "He told me to get two tanks of gasoline. Fine, I thought. I mean, we'd burned cars before, I didn't think much of it, other that it had to be a, really big car, or something." He swallowed a burp and then cleared his throat. Finnick rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot." "I was, at least." "Sure, was..." Finnick grinned before shifting back to a more serious expression. "So, you what were you actually gonna burn?" "An apartment." Nick's gaze lowered to his glass, back to the amber liquid, for a moment recalling that this must be Judy's favorite color. It managed to make him smile, if only for a brief moment, before the story caught up with him. "So we're there... Escape plan ready, gasoline in hand, and I'm dousing the floor, the furniture, the stove... All while thinking of the money, the street cred, the bragging rights... That's when I hear it." "Hear what?" Finnicks' large ears were perked straight up, eyes fixated on his friend. "A yawn. It was faint, but I heard it. I told the guy I was with, this would be murder. There's a mammal in the apartment." The grip on his glass tightened, the ridge of his nose scrunching up ever to slightly. "He just hissed at me to not screw this up for him." Ears flat against his head, his tail was almost curling over itself in relived anger. "So I did the first thing I could think of when I saw him pull out the lighter. I screamed fire, I screamed it as loud as I could before I took off. Like a coward. I just, ran. To save my own hide." His posture relaxed as a sigh slipped out. "Sure, thanks to the warning, the guy got out in time. Fire department got there quickly, the fire didn't even have time to spread to another apartment. The guy I was with got arrested, took the fall for it." "Why didn't he sell you out?" Nick jerked his shoulders in a lackluster shrug. "He did. But I went by the nickname Pib back in those days, he didn't know my real name. The evidence of me being there had burned, and I'd gone deep, deep underground." "And then you turned up later as a small-time hustler." "Yeah... No big, risky business for me. Pib was dead." "Shit Nick.." Finnick's sharp anger was all but gone, a mix of worry and disappointment swirling about in his voice. "Yeah.. I know." "You know what Volkov does, right? To mammals who wrong him?" Nicks' gaze lifted from the glass to fall on Finnick. "I'm a dead fox." "Not first. He's gonna go after those you love." The severity of the situation finally sank in. It wasn't just his life on the line. Alexei Volkov was notoriously sadistic. That was part of why he'd gone so deep underground for so long after the incident, he knew if he got caught he would've faced unimaginable suffering. Now that all seemed trivial, facing the very real risk of it not being him on the receiving end, but instead someone he cared for. Someone like Judy. "I can't let him take Judy!" Nick had leapt up onto his feet, the glass clinking against the floor of the van, spilling what little was left in. The thought of the sinister wolf having someone as kind and whole-heartedly good as Judy in his filthy, blood-stained paws, it was enough to get his blood boiling. "Over my dead body is he harming a single strand of fur on her body!" "Easy!" Finnick grabbed Nick by his wrists, yanking on his arms to get his attention. A low rumbling growl could be heard from the agitated fox, but once Finnick dug his claws into Nicks' skin, he snapped out of it. "What?!" "Calm, your, fluff." Nicks' tail and neck fur was standing on end in anger and he had to take a few deep breaths in order to simmer down. He needed to think clearly about this, he couldn't do anything useful in a fit of rage. "There we go. Now, 'bout this knee-deep shithole you've jumped into like the idiot fox you are," Nick rolled his eyes with a snort. "Geez, thanks." ".. You gotta think 'bout this. Aight?" "Yeah." Nick relaxed and Finnick finally released his wrists, which Nick instinctively rubbed. For such a small fox, Finnick sure had an iron grip. "They probably know 'bout you knowing Judy. But they probably don't know how well you know each other." "What're you getting at?" "Dude, you gotta ditch the fuzz." "What?!" Nick snarled out the words, he'd just gotten a good life. He had a good thing going, with a really good friend, he wasn't about to give that up. "She's as dead as you if you keep hanging 'round! They got their eyes on you now. For whatever reason, your fox ass in on their radar!" Finnick almost drilled his finger into Nicks' belly, enforcing his point. Nick groaned and tugged at his ears, his mind racing to find another solution. Then, a pause. His ears slowly began to perk up as he drew a slow breath, eyes staring into nothingness. "I need to take him down." The words were but a whisper in a breath. "Excuse me?" "I need to take down Volkov." Nick appeared as though he'd just had a vision or something, slowly straightening out, his brain working more effectively on what to do now that he'd calmed down a smidgen. There was even a hint of a smile twitching a his lips. "And how the hell are you gonna do that? He's got an entire empire at his back!" Finnick had folded his arms, tapping a paw against the floor of the van, a bit irritated with how simple Nick was making this sound. Taking down a crime boss like Volkov was nothing one did in an afternoon. "Don't know yet," Nick held up a finger, a strangely excited look in his eyes. "But I will. Volkov won't even know what hit him." Nick smacked his hands together in a celebratory rub, grinning. "Oh, he is not going to know what hit him." "Nick! It ain't gonna be no afternoon stroll y'know! This is a dangerous mammal, he will kill you!" "And he'll kill Judy if I don't stop him." Nick locked eyes with his friend, the glee suddenly exchanged for a determined look. "I will not, let her be harmed." His fists were clenched, as if expecting his friend to try and stop him. Finnick raised an eyebrow as he looked Nick over before heaving a sigh. Once Nick got an idea in his head, it was no use arguing with him. "Alright, fine. But don't involve me. I warned ya, that's all I'm gonna do. I don't feel like being flayed alive." Moving to open the back of the van, the fennec fox held the door open for Nick to get out.  "Ya'll are welcome back once the coast is clear. I ain't gonna risk my hide." Slipping out of the van, Nick offered his partner in crime a quick salute with a slanted grin. "No worries partner, I got this." With a roll of his eyes, Finnick slammed the van doors shut. Meeting over. Nick turned to leave the alley, heading back home with a lot on his mind. Behind him he could hear the engine revving, and throwing a quick glance over his shoulder, he could see it driving off. Most likely out of the city. Finnick had always been keen on the phrase 'better safe than sorry'. He was most likely not going to be coming back for a while. The thought gave him pause, and he turned around to watch the colorful van drive off into the distance. A friend was leaving their home because of him. If he wasn't careful, a friend could lose their life because of him. Looking at his hands, he frowned slightly. How was he ever going to solve this? He was but one fox. He was clever, but these were way deeper waters than he'd ever gone into before. There wasn't much choice though - if he involved Judy or the ZPD in the investigation, so many things could go wrong. For one, he'd have to admit to being an accomplice in an attempted murder through arson. Two, it'd be the same as painting a nice, big bulls-eye on the ZPD and Judy in particular, if he opened an official case about Alexei Volkov. Even the mere thought of the name sent an unpleasantly cold, almost heavy shudder through his body. He'd heard plenty of stories of Volkov to know that he was not one to be trifled with. Even the Big family couldn't touch him - and they practically ran all of Zootopia's underground at one point in time. Now, he had no idea. Volkov could have slowly slithered into the city's power structure, leeching from it without notice. Who knew how far he could've gotten in these past years. Eventually, Nick noticed that other mammals were looking at him funny, as he was just standing on the sidewalk, staring into space. The van was long gone by now; most likely for the best. Scratching the back of an ear, he turned to head on home. There were no two ways about it; in order to ensure that Volkov wouldn't target the ZPD or Judy, he most likely had to get himself fired. The next day, his phone rang early as usual. As soon as he heard the familiar Judy-assigned tune, a knot as heavy as lead weighed in his stomach. Grabbing his phone, his thumb hovered over the swipe which would answer the call. He found himself simply staring at the joyful image of Judy on his phone, almost forgetting to breathe as his ears flattened against his head. This wouldn't feel good. It wouldn't even feel justified. However, it was the only way. Here goes. Sucking in a deep breath, he swiped his thumb, accepting the call and raising the phone to his ear. "What." There was a moments pause from the other end. "Oh, geez, did the fox wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?" It already felt terrible, but he had to stick to it. "You know I don't really like it. You, calling this early." "What? Oh, well.." He could hear her worried hesitation, and it stung. "I, was just calling to check if you'd want to grab a coffee before work!" It was apparent that she had to force her usual peppy voice. "No, I don't want coffee. I need to get ready for work." With those words, he hung up, smacking the phone down on his nightstand and burying his face in his palms with a pained groan. That didn't feel like trying to save his friend, that felt like being an asshole to the one that least deserves it. Stroking his palms over his ears, he fell backwards onto the bed with a grunt. "I can't do this." It felt hopeless. How could he continue? She wouldn't understand that it's for her own good. Dragging his palms over his face, another but louder and more frustrated groan left him. "Nnnngh but I have to! What's me being a jerk, compared to her being dead? Nothing!" Nick threw up his arms as though he was having an argument with the ceiling before they slumped back down onto his chest. Sighing deeply, he glanced over at his phone. This was going to be harder than he thought, but he had to stick to it. Getting dressed took far longer than usual. So did eating breakfast, and brushing his teeth. Perhaps he was postponing the inevitable. He had to be an ass, at work. How did one even get fired from the ZPD, without actually committing a crime? He didn't want to go down that road, he'd avoid it as far as he could. Looking about his apartment, he couldn't help but smile. Judy had been there just the other night. They'd eaten tacos and played video games until they both passed out on the couch. Judy had woken up underneath the couch cushions; apparently sleep-burrowing is a thing bunnies do. It was kind of cute. Sighing shortly, he turned and got out, locking the door behind him. Nick always took the bus to work. Two separate bus lines, but it got him to work in just under half an hour. In between the two lines, where he got off to switch, there was a coffee shop. That's where he and Judy got coffee in the morning, at least every other day. Now, he barely dared to throw a glance that way, and instead directly got onto the next bus. He needed more time to prepare for the day. Time always seems to slip away, when you need it most. "There you are, you little foxy!" Clawhauser greeted Nick with enthusiasm, leaning over his desk with his chin in his palms. "Did you and Judy have a fight?" Nick rolled his eyes, Clawhauser was a bit too into gossip to realize when it was appropriate to be excited by it. "No. Now get off my case, fatso." Heading directly to the locker room, Nick didn't look back at the somewhat distraught cheetah. Burying his hands in his pockets, he marched on to the locker room, avoiding eye contact with all and any he happened to pass by. Usually he couldn't wait to get into his uniform. The badge was as shiny as he'd left it the day before, but now, it almost made him feel ashamed. After all, he was nothing but a crook. That was the entire reason why he was having to behave this way. He'd just hurt Ben's feelings, only because of his own past, which was coming back to haunt him. "Okay, here goes." He'd never felt less worthy of wearing the proud uniform and badge of the ZPD, but still, he had to face the rest of the day this way. Heading towards his cubicle office, he thought about if maybe being an incompetent ass could be enough to get fired. He could file his paperwork all wrong, he could forget to read the rights, he could compromise evidence on accident.. "Hey, Nick, hi..!" He snapped out of his train of thought as Judy's voice reached his ears. For a moment, he just wanted to tell her everything, ask for her help, and tell her how sorry he was for being a jerk. Once that initial instinct had passed, he let out a short snort, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hi. What do you want." Judy withdrew her previously waving hand, holding it to her chest for a moment. "Nick, what's wrong? I'm sorry if I woke you-" "Look, I ain't got all day, fluff. What do you want?" Judy wore a concerned frown as she looked up at her friend, her ears drooping behind her. She didn't know what'd gotten into him, maybe he was just having a... Really bad day. "Well, uh, oh!" She raised a finger with a smile, trying to stay her cheery old self. "Bogo says there's a string of vandalism all around the city and he needs some cop to look into it. I got Tundra Town, you in? Like old days, investigating in the freezing cold!" "No." Judy blinked a few times, tilting her head slightly to the side, taken aback by the response. "No?" Her voice was hesitant, as though she was bracing herself. "No. N-O. Are all bunnies dumb or is it just you?" Nick snorted with disdain and headed on past her. 
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"Go find someone else to freeze their fur off." Judy watched her friend and partner walk off with a look of disbelief. This wasn't at all like him. Was he sick? Why was he acting like this? Her nose was twitching involuntarily and she eventually had to rub her palms over her face and give herself a light smack on the cheek. "Am I dreaming?" Pinching her skin, she could indeed feel pain. "Nope, not a dream." Her ears perked back up, watching the hallway through which Nick had walked away from her. She didn't really know how to feel about this. Hurt by his obvious insults? Shocked by his sudden change in attitude? Or worried, that there could be something more serious behind this. Narrowing her eyes, there was a look of mixed emotions in them, but with a definite amount of determination. "I am going to find out whatever's gotten into you, you dumb fox." 
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