Fandom Zootopia: Inter Schminter

[SerenityAngel]

Zootopia. A peaceful place where predators and pray live side by side and in harmony. Some believe, too harmoniously. It is rare but there have been tell of half-breeds showing up. Only between like parties. Pray with pray, predator with predator. To see an intermingling is considered taboo. Something abhorrent but love knows no boundaries. Within the walls, secrets are held and groups formed to create a stir. Couples have gone missing. It is unsure why or by who. There is no trace of the couples and there is no ransom. They just completely disappear. What will you do in this story? Who will you love? How will this case end? Please....we beg of you....help them...

Character Sheet

OOC

Main Thread

 

[SerenityAngel]

There wasn't much going on in this picturesque city. If you didn't look very closely anyway. Under that utopia appearance was a darkness. Something was going on and it was scarring a lot of mamaleans. Some were being taken and disappearing into thin air. No one knows why and no one has any answers. There was one creature in the city that was more worried than the others and that was the up and coming starlet Serenity. A secret hybrid but she pretends to be a full fledged arctic fox. She hid what she was as much as she possibly could but she had more to worry about now since she had a little one to look after as well. She feared that whoever was taking mammals would take either her or her new daughter never to be seen again. If she was taken, who would take care of little Azure? Or worse, if they took Azure away from her. She wouldn't be able to bear that. Her heart would shatter. She had become so attached to her adopted child that she would never want anything to ever happen to her. It was when she received a threatening letter under her front door of her home on her way back from rehearsal with little Azure in her arms that she made a desperate call to the ZPD and requested that they send their best over to her home. She had no idea that by doing this they would send over the legendary fox and rabbit team of Nickolas Wild and Judith Hopps.

Serenity sat in her living room with Azure in her arms fast asleep and dreaming. The grey fur against her white was quite a nice combination but the little wolf cub's face while she slept was so calming and cute that she felt all her fears and worries fade away. She hummed a soft lullaby that her mother used to sing to her. A song that she will forever hold precious as she does this little infant. Her bright blue eyes were calm and gentile like her mother's but the rest of her appearance was all her father. She sat in that room waiting patiently with the note she received on the coffee table right in front of her. Starring right at her and tearing her heart and her world apart. She wondered if the famous duo could really help her and protect her. "Don't worry, my little gem, I won't let anything happen to you. I swear on my soul. I will always protect you." she whispered softly so the little baby would not wake up.

Star Wilde

 

[SpaghettiAgain]

Though Harold wasn't as conserned as Serenity was, he was still nervous about the disappearances. Every now and then he would look over his shoulder in fear of suddenly being snatched. Still, he had to do his job, and he had just finished up with a client. The giant infrastructures of Zootopia continues to amaze him as he occasionally would start to capture it with his camera. By occasional, I mean every couple of minutes. With every photo he took he was nerve recked by the possibility of being kidnapped, yet oblivious when he was trying to find the perfect shot. His thoughts during this time often went like this, "I need to get home, I will be safe there...ok just one more photo!" A lot of time later, he eased into his hobby and forgot about the missing animals. Until cop cars came driving down the street. Every now and then, the cattle would send images to low-paying journalism companies. So the photographer found his new photo.

Harold followed the cops. His feet couldn't really carry his large anatomy, causing him to stop to take a breather before continuing. Either by fate or pure luck he tracks them to their location. He was gasping for air once he reached them as he tiredly got his camera ready to take a photo of the situation. While taking it, he sees a fox and rabbit in police uniforms. Harold gasped silently to himself "Is that THE Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde?"

 

[SerenityAngel]

Serenity sat in her home, worried and scared that she would be targeted by whoever was behind the kidnappings. However, there was never any warning before they were taken. Perhaps it was because she was a bit of a higher profile than most but still, it made no sense for her to be warned before being taken. When the duo arrived, ringing her doorbell, she stood up with the infant in her arms and hurried to the door. She opened it with a worried expression but also relieved. They sent the best steam in the whole city. Judith Hopps and Nicholas Wild. She breathed a sigh of relief and her entire body dropped so much tension it wasn't even funny. Her sapphire eyes almost sparkled in the sunlight as she opened that door. Her long white hair was tussled and a bit messy, but no tangles to speak of. Long satin strands nearly spanned her entire body. She wore a black a line skirt with a black sports top that showed off her mid section, arms, shoulders and a bit of cleavage. It was a bit warm today so she dressed lightly.

"Thank you for coming so quickly." she said with a soft smile. Nick was shocked to see her actually. She was extremely beautiful and for a fox she was amazing. She had a long, soft and fluffy white tail, long slender and well formed legs, a lean and fit body and a cute face to boot. She was a catch for any predator, but even to Judy she was pretty. Nick, however, was a bit smitten at first glance. Judy had to reply for him before he embarrassed them both.

"Not a problem, miss." Judy replied with her warm smile on her furry face, "Do you mind if we come inside and take a look around?"

Serenity nodded her head and moved so she could hold the door open for them while still holding the infant. "Not at all. Please come in." she said. She looked out the door worriedly before closing it and going to sit down and answer any and all questions the two might have. It was quite a frightening situation.

 

[SpaghettiAgain]

Judy enters the house with Nick following. Hopps looks at the baby as she enters, "what a adorable baby," she says as she tries to lighten the mood, "how old is she?" Together, they sit down across from her as Judy takes out her signature notepad and carrot recording pen. While waiting for a answer or any responce from Nick she observes the room around her along with the threat before smiling at her. It's been a little while since the last trail of disapearances, so while Judy was trying to handle the interview lightly, she also know how serious this could be. Why would a singer be threatened out of everyone?

Harold meanwhile, stood right where he was, awe strucken by what this could mean for his career. A photo of THE Hopps and Wilde. The only reason for them being out on duty must be the new kidnappings with all of the worry it has caused. Much like the rest of Zootopia, he heard about the evil doings of Bellwether and how they stopped her plot. There would be so many news sites that would pay him for photos of them on such a big case! Maybe this could even clarify more things on the kidnapping for everyone. He knew couldn't just waltz right in and take some pictures, they wouldn't let him. So, he crouched as far as his large body let him as he tiptoed towards one of the windows where they wouldn't see him. He turned the flash off his camera while preparing to take his photo.

 

[SerenityAngel]

Serenity smiled quite happily as she held her little wolf cub in her arms. Gently rocking her to keep her soothed and asleep. "She's a little over a month old. She's the light of my life. Even if my career tanks, I'll have her with me to make me happy." she said looking at her pride an joy. The soft grey of the baby wolf's fur stood out against her white fur. After a few minutes she sighed before looking up to the two officers she let in to her home, "Which is why I'm so worried about this note." she gestured to the note on the table in front of them. "For me to receive such a threat, scares me to death. I don't want any harm to come to my little treasure."

Nick listened the whole time and looked around the massive house. It was well furnished in white and black for the most part. Clean lines and simple décor. You really wouldn't expect anyone wild or exciting to live in this place. More like a recluse neat freak but the starlet's personality didn't seem to reflect that kind of air. She seemed more like she prefers things a little chaotic and colorful. He didn't get the whole black and white theme though they would mix in unexpected ways. A black table with white vases, White walls with black frames. Black dressers and stands with white knick knacks on top. Even black and white patterned rugs. A child would mess all this up rather easily but he glanced over at the stairs and saw a glimmer of color over there. Deep sapphire blue pain going straight up the railing of the handrail. He wondered if there was more color upstairs. Maybe that would lead to more information about this person.

When Judy was done he asked a few questions of his own, "Can you tell us why anyone would want to send you this kind of threat? Do you have any enemies that we should be made aware of?" he asked as he continued to look around. His nose picking up soft and subtle cents. Not the typical lavender or cinnamon apple flavors that normal people would use. He specifically smelled honeysuckle, jasmine, lilac and some kind of berries. It wasn't the normal wild berries either. It was a specific berry that he couldn't place.

"No," Serenity replied, "I can't think of any enemies or rivals that would threaten me like this. Least of all to say something like that."

The note was typed out and on clean white paper with a strange mark on it. It wasn't something anyone would really come across. It looked like it was shaped into a fox head with wings or rays of light behind it with bright red eyes. 'To mingle with one's own kind is a blessing. You've crossed more lines than anyone can forgive. Your own existence is to be ashamed of. You will be dealt with when the time comes. You're s stain that will be washed away soon. If you should blame anyone for your fate, look to your ancestors, praydetor.' is what the letter said. The last word was spelled strangely and underlined, bold and italicized to put emphasis on it. It looked like someone was targeting her because she was a predator like their last big case but something was off. If it was simply that, why would they take prey as well? It didn't make sense.

"Officers, I'm worried. If they did give this to me as a warning, what am I going to do? I have my first concert in a week's time and if something happens, who will look after Azure? I can't bear the thought of her going to the orphanage. She's my little gemstone. Please find who's behind this. I don't want them to hurt Azure!" she almost had tears in her bright blue eyes. She was a desperate woman that loved her child with all her heart.

 

[SpaghettiAgain]

"We will make sure nothing happens to you, or your child," Judy continues after her ear twitches a bit from a small sound outside, "your under the protection of the ZPD now." She takes a small glance over towards the windows for any suspicious activity with no turn up of any activity. Hopps finishes taking some notes, "there has been a lot of these reports again latley, of missing mammals, I understand how worrying it is for something like that to be happening again." She gives a concerned look, she too was not excited for something like this to be happening again. The threat was so ambiguous, at first she thought it was the same thing happening again but they didn't refer specifically to predator or prey. "Was there anything left upstairs?" While saying this her ear twitches again as she starts getting suspicious.

A small clicking sound was made with every photo of the cops doing their job in the house's interior. Harold quickly reviewed over his photos, most of them have been broad shots of them talking, though nothing documenting any of the investigation. He wanted payment for the photos, he also wanted to bring more clarity to the kidnappings. He needed some kind of evidence to photograph, that's when he sees the note. The photographer tries to quickly zoom in on the note, just then Judy's suspicion raises as she looks out the window. Harold hides under the window again in time, realizing he can't stay around much longer. "I just need a shot of that evidence once they go upstairs," he thinks nervously to himself.

 

[SerenityAngel]

Serenity trembles a little. "I....I don't know. I haven't gone upstairs or into any of the rooms when I came home with Azure." she said and held her little wolf cub a little tighter as if to protect her, but still gentile enough to not wake her up. "I called the police as soon as I found the note on my kitchen counter. To think someone could get into my home without setting off the alarm is terrifying. I've been on high alert ever since I got home." she then thought that maybe there would be finger prints on the paper and offered for them to keep the note or anything they find amiss. "If they could get in so easily, what else could they do without being found out? Officer Hopps, is there anything you can do to make sure that Azure is safe? I don't care about myself, I just want Azure's safety to be guaranteed. If anything happens to me, can you make sure that she is taken care of and loved?"

Nick kept looking towards the stairs. The blue strip didn't fit in with the rest of the house. It stood out but not as much as one would think. He glanced at the paper and though on how things were worded. "Whoever left it is careful but blatant. They're confident. You said you found it on the kitchen counter? They're taunting you. They want you scared and on edge. If you are, you'll make an easy target. You'll make more mistakes and you'll stand out more. Make bad decisions out of fear. Try not to worry too much." he suggested and found himself right in front of the stairs. He glanced at his partner with his hands in his pockets, "You ready to head up, Carrots?" he asked.

 

[SpaghettiAgain]

"Yeah," she gets up and turns her head towards Serenity with a look of consern, "we will make sure you get through this safetly." She heads up the stairs of a ordinary and somewhat colorful house with Nick. As they stepped up the stairs they got farther away from the singer, as Judy whispered towards Nick, "did you hear anything outside? I thought I heard a clicking noise." She didn't know what to do when she became suspicious, Hopps didn't want to frighten the victim if it was nothing, but what if it was they were being spyed on? She felt her paw against the railing as it refracted back at her before continuing upward. Maybe she was threatened because of her fame? No, that can't be, besides the railings the house looks relatively normal. They reach the top of the stairs to look around.

Harold steadys his camera again at the note. His paws sweat and shake a little bit under the pressure of possibly being caught. The camera slowly zooms forward from the house's decor and towards the white paper, it's slanted but it will do. The photographer often had a good hand for photo taking, just not in the face of losing his chance for this photo. Before taking the photo he examines it's text. "Praydators?" he questions himself silently. Sounds like some kind of combination between a prey and a predator. He shifted his focus towards Serenity, "but that's a predator." Doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that photo. Take pictures, questions later. With fast hands he takes the zoomed-in photo and makes a fast attempts to escape with his news-makers. Underline the word 'attempt'. What actually happens is that one of his hooves catches the front of a rock as he is sent downward with a large THUD. His face lands straight into the dirt on Serenity's front lawn, sent into a minor daze from the unoticable rock.

 

[SerenityAngel]

As the two walked up the stairs Nick glanced out the corner of his green eyes, "Yeah. Someone is outside. I managed to see something shine for a second from the sunlight. I don't know if they're spying or just a nosy reporter. I know they're after something though. You don't hide if you ain't got nothing to hide yourself." he said calmly. When they got upstairs the décor almost completely changed. Where there was basically only white and black downstairs there was color and life upstairs. Light pastels with hints of black and white here and there. The corners were soft and moldings were intricate. The rooms were a bit brighter than downstairs and had mostly wavy patterns of pastel colors of blue and pink with snowflakes on them. Mostly on the bedspreads and chairs and curtains. "Wow. Bipolar much?" he asked with a smirk, "At least it's not too big of a difference."

Serenity gently rocked back and forth with Azure in her arms. She wanted to protect her little cub. There was nothing more important than her child, even if she wasn't biologically hers. "My little gemstone. I promise I'll protect you, even if I can't protect myself." she said and almost started crying, "If anyone knew or found out about my grandparents....I don't know what they'll do." she was about to start crying quietly but then she heard a loud thud from outside and her sapphire eyes snapped in the direction of her yard where she saw a large cattle laying out in the grass face down. She turned her body and covered Azure to protect her as if the intruder was going to try and take her rom her. She even got up from her couch and kept her eyes on the invader.

 

[SpaghettiAgain]

"Whatever it was, Serenity would tell us if she saw it," she states while scouting out the area. Carrots imeaditly starts to search the more colorful upstairs, she makes sure to be careful in putting back anything she searches where it was. She didn't want Serenity to become paranoid with things being out of place. After checking it's hallway, she decides to enter the bedroom of the mother to investigate further.

The cattle rubs his head, quickly coming back to reality after lifting his body back up. He looks behind himself in a panic hading hoped no one would notice his exit. Widened eyes meet with Serenity for a moment before attempting another escape. His hooves carry him as fast as they can carry as his thoughts sound a lot like, "oh no oh no oh no got to run oh no nope nope nope." The biggest concern he had was possibly becoming a suspect for spying, how could he possibly survive in somewhere like jail!? Answer, he couldn't.

He caught up with his breath once he hid behind a building in a alleyway. The photographer scrambles his arm hooves for his camera. The camera! "Please tell me I didn't break it in the fall!" He cries out to himself. The most damage that the black, profesional camera took was a crack in the glass where photos are viewed. Harold sighs with a great relief washing over him. But the cracked glass wasn't all, he accessed it's memory to find nothing. The camera is turned on it's side to find that the memory card had slipped out back when he fell down. Like that, his heart sank, causing him to sink to the floor with the lack of return on his risk. That was his one shot of really becoming known and he missed it.

 

[SerenityAngel]

Serenity took a deep breath before screaming. She was not going to take the chance that this guy could be the one who left the note and threatening her. She had to alert the two police officers quickly, even if the shock and surprise caught her off guard and made her freeze for a bit. The hybrid's heart was pounding in her chest and she hurried to get a knife from the kitchen to defend both her and her little Azure.

"She may not have seen it. It was only a moment that I saw it. She may still be unaware." Nick responded as he continued to look around the simple but large house. He noticed some a locket on the bedroom dresser. His curiosity got the best of him and he picked it up. Opening the little piece to see two pictures. They were of couples. One pair was a female arctic fox and a male arctic wolf. The other pair was he couldn't make out but they were definitely of arctic decent. Their sizes though. It was strange. One was huge and the other small. Nick didn't get it. He was about to call Judy over to take a look but that was when he heard the scream. He put the necklace down and sprinted down the stairs and saw that someone was trying to escape outside. He threw the glass door open and took off to try and catch the spy. He didn't notice the chip in the soft grass that had the photos he took.

When the photographer stopped he hid to see what this guy knew and what he was planning. It sounded like he was upset about his camera. Really? When the big guy fell to his knees Nick sighed and stepped out from hiding and his hands in his pockets. "Yo, why you on the floor like that? And what was on the camera that you wanted to get? What were you after?" he asked with a bit of a growl in his voice. He was ready to arrest this guy if he needed to but he didn't seem all that dangerous. But then again the last big criminal didn't seem like the type to be evil either. Best to keep the guard up.

 

[SpaghettiAgain]

Judy's ears raise in alert at the scream. She could only take a small look at what Nick left open before temporarilly dropping the investigation. The cop races down the stairs with a new hope that they could find who was making those noises. Upon going down the stairs, her look is directed towards Serenity with her knife. "We'll handle this ma'am! Just go to a safe area of your house!" She shouts before letting her fast little legs carry her behind Nick. By the time she was done telling Serenity what to do Nick was already way ahead of her, so much so that he was talking to the suspect while Judy was still catching up.

"Ahhh!" The paniced cattle screamed, picking himself up as he stumbles in surprise! "I-I didn't mean anything, I-I'm just a photographer!" His voice stumbles in worry with his hands in the air, too frightened to answer any of the questions individually. If Nick was expecting anything threatening, he sure wasn't getting it. His stature and strength from his days on the farm suggested some sour of confidence, but if it was there it sure wasn't showing up. Harold was opening up his mouth to say that he was also paniced because he couldn't find his memory card, then realized that might not be the best idea. Instead of saying anything he just akwardly opens his mouth and then closes it again with speed. Other than that, he shivers nervously, saying, "please don't arrest me."

The cop catches up, "put your hands in the air!" She had her hands on her stun gun but with the cowardly look of the suspect, she might not be needing it after all. Judy gives a smile towards Nick, "nice job slick Nick." This had not been the day Howard planned it to be.

 

[SerenityAngel]

Serenity nodded her head, relieved that the two police officers were going to catch the person that trespassed on her property when she was on high alert. Everything terrified her right now and this rattled her to her core. If things were to come to their worst she would show off her worst sides. Sides to her she didn't want anyone knowing. She took Azure to the basement and locked the steal door with the three dead bolts. She had stored a few things for necessity down there to act as a shelter in case something happened. She was one to prepare for every eventuality, but this epidemic of disappearing mammalians was not something one could plan for. She had a few dishes, mostly bowls and spoons, cans of food, a sink, soap, a microwave that works and a couple of fold out cots. Not only that but she also had things stored away for the seasons down here and other things that would be used later and taken out only to be put back. she sat on one of the cots and waited.

Meanwhile Nick kept his calm composure as he talked to the large photographer. "Easy, buddy. You ain't gotta act like a terrified mouse." he said with a sigh. Seeing Carrots finally show up with her guard way to high up he gently put his arm out to stop and calm her. "Easy there, Carrots. I don't think he's the one taking mammalians. He's too scared to even put up any kind of resistance." he used the same hand that stopped Judy in her tracks to point at him leisurely, "He isn't really any kind of danger. All that strength, but no will to use it. See?"

He walked forwards a bit and spoke calmly, "You can put your hands down for now. You're not under arrest, yet. However we need to know why you were trespassing and what you may know about the disappearing mammals."

 

[SpaghettiAgain]

Harold raises an eyebrow in offense to the comment, not that anyone could see due to his eye-covering hair. Not that he actually acts on any of the anger, he just lets out a aggresive "hey!" out of annoyance. On the one hand he was relieved that he wasn't getting arrested, on the other he just felt insulted. At least he recognized his strength from his farming days, they were boring but they gave him his strength. Though, he never has used it before, he is not planning on using it later. "I-I'm a photojournalist, I just wanted photos of the case," he somewhat lied to the police officer. While he is tecniqually a photojournalist, he doesn't work for anyone specific and it doesn't take any large percentage of his job. Most of his time is spent working with clients for familly photos or birthday parties, rather than finding photos for journalist websites. "I know nothing about the missing mammals, all I know is that they are missing and that that's scary," he again sotra lied. The photographer knew about as much as the two cops did, excluding what was upstairs. There was also another thing he lied about that he didn't really want to talk about.

The bunny cop didn't understand. That was it, that was his big idea? "Sir, you stepped on the grounds of a crime scene, is that really all you have to say for yourself?" Judy was confident of finding who left that threat and this was her best answer so far out of the lack of suspects. "Yes it is, I didn't mean any harm to anyone, I'm just a simple free-lance photographer," Harold said with complete sincerity. Just then, the cattle realizes how he changed his profession, and Judy was recording. "I'm sorry sir, but didn't you say you were a photojournalist?" Judy plays back what he said about being a photojournalist. Harold sighs and cringes akwardly at his mistake. "For lying to a police officer, we will have to take you into questioning, turn around and put your hands behind your back, sir," she says much to his dismay. "N-no! This might hurt my career, I'm bearly scraping by," the cattle exclaims with his hands gesturing that he didn't want to go.

 

[SerenityAngel]

Nick listened quite patiently, which was actually out of character for him. He was not normally one to be patient like this or defend someone like this but the cattle seemed harmless enough. Probably just too curious for his own good. To the threat of Hopps arresting the guy he gently put his hand on Judy's shoulder. "Easy there, partner. Aren't you supposed to be the soft touch?" he grinned a little, "We all know you're clever and sly, but look at the guy. He's probably just trying to save his budding career. Here's what I suggest," he then turned to the cattle and gave a bit of a sigh, "You come with us back to the house, explain your situation thoroughly and no secrets, because officer Hopps here will be watching and listening very carefully. This will allow us to keep an eye on you, answer some of your questions as you will answer our, and also put our victim at ease a little. Does that sound better for everyone?" It was an honest suggestion for everyone to stay in sight of one another and see if they can get some traction on the case.

 

[SpaghettiAgain]

Judy listens to Nick as she begins to regret her actions for treating this issue so highly. "Yeah, yeah, that sounds right," she replies to his solution, "sorry sir," she then apologizes to the photographer. All of her days as a police officer has made her more tense, it also doesn't help that history is repeating itself again with it's own twist. She was going to put him into official questioning, but such a small suspect isn't important enough to take such great action. Besides, the cattle didn't look threatening at all, he's just worried about his career. Harold snorts softly at the cop for giving him anxiety for his career and livleyhood, before saying that, "it's ok, I just get stressed easilly." He turns his fur covered head towards Nick, "That sounds fine."

Harold follows them to the house where the threatened fox lives. His mind couldn't comprehend saying anything that wouldn't sound akward to her, like, "hey, I just wanted to take photos of you guys talking," or, "I didn't know if you would let me take the photos if I asked." His akwardness already shined through his exterior by the time they reached the front door. The natural-looking house was empty when they entered as Judy yells, "We caught the suspect! You can come out now!" They wait patiently for a responce and/or for her to come up.

 

[Kimona]

And now for something completely different.

James J. Hacks. He was just a hyena, nothing more, nothing less. He just worked to much. He had heard of the missing mammalian on the news, but never paid them much mind. That is until on of his best friends went missing. His best friend had been a wolf, and to be honest, he had been dating a cheetah. Though it was an off paring, they did make a cute couple, he couldn't deny it. Even if she was his previous girlfriend.... Currently he was sitting in the coffee shop, his shift had just ended and he was drinking coffee as he surfed the internet. He was trying to find something, anything on the incidents, trying to figure out what happened on his own. So far he was coming up flat, aside from the publicly know information. That an the only thing keeping him from collapsing what this cup of coffee. Yea, he really needed to get some sleep so he could get some proper hacking done.

 

[Justin93Daniels]

A couple blocks away from the Coffee Shop...

Coming from the direction of Bunny Burrow, a red truck was seen driving through the road with numerous boxes and crates loaded into it... likely movers just now arriving.

The truck parked at an old farmhouse, perhaps uninhabited for years, at this point. Seated in the Driver Seat was a female rabbit, whose fur pattern was that of an Arctic Hare, pure white. Her eyes were sky blue, and her nose was a bright shade of pink. She was wearing a pink shirt underneath dark blue overalls.

Sitting in the passenger seat, however, was a rather tall figure in comparison. What was odd was that this other figure was wearing a dark brown hoodie, and leaning downward, in a way that almost completely hid its face.

As they stepped out of the truck, they walked up to the front gate, and examined the property. The wall of the farm was still intact, and elevated up to eight feet, giving them plenty of privacy inside, and the yard, while overgrown tremendously, could likely have plenty of sunlight near the central-right side of it.

If one were to observe them at this time, the hooded figure stood up to six feet tall... perhaps a couple inches taller than that, even, and the rabbit stood a little over one and a half feet... perhaps a couple inches over that. But she was, without a doubt, shorter than Judy Hopps by a few inches.

The hare took a deep breath, before sighing in content. "Well, AL... home sweet home!"

The hooded figure nodded its head and hummed, "Mm-hmm...", then looked at her. From up close, she saw him smiling at her, before turning to lift one of the boxes from the truck.

She hopped on top of the truck's tailgate, and started lifting a much smaller box.

"Don't know about you," she began, placing her box on the front porch, "but I think with a little TLC, this place could become the home of our dreams!" With a dramatic flair, she spread her arms out wide while the hooded figure observed her cheerful demeanor. Immediately after her sentence was done, however, the screen door tilted to the side with an audible creak, and the wood holding the top hinges cracked.

Finally, the hooded figure spoke in a masculine, but very heavily accented voice.

"Or a lot of..." he paused before using his gloved "paws" to sign the letters. ~"TLC"~

She chuckled and rolled her eyes, before playfully punching him in the right leg, which made his knee buckle only slightly.

"Oh hush up, you... but yeah, I suppose it might take more than just a little duct tape and super glue..."

They paused for a bit longer, before she clapped her paws together. "Alright, then! You go on inside, and I'll get the boxes unloaded... don't want too many folks staring at you now, of all times, right?"

He nodded his head and stepped inside the house. However, as he went to open the screen door, its lower hinge broke completely, and started to fall. The door was set in a collision course for the rabbit!

Springing into action, the hooded figure dropped the box and pulled her from the door's path, letting it crash with a loud "THUD!". However, within the heat of the moment, his hood lowered, revealing his face.

He was... an unidentifiable creature, to say the least. His face was lacking in fur, save for the dark brown hair on the top of his head, and his skin was showing. His face was also very, very unusually flat for any animals, and his nose was pointed in a triangular shape.

The rabbit stared at the doorway, and a slightly embarrassed blush began to form on her face. "Oh... well, guess we'll have to add "Door Hinges" into the Checklist, too. Huh, AL?"

AL nodded his head before lowering her to the ground. "Yes. You okay?" he asked, to which she nodded once more.

"Yeah... just a little wound up, is all. Not every day Mother Nature tries to kill you with a screen door, after all."

He deadpanned at her before raising his hood back over his head. "Screen Door. Not heavy. Wouldn't hurt too bad."

Sticking her tongue out at him, she retorted, "Yeah, well 'Little Bunny'. Low Weight. Much Hurt!"

He stuck his tongue back out at her in response, before they paused for another moment... then the two started to laugh, before he nodded his head to her once again, signaling his departure. Picking the box back up, which thankfully didn't bust open, he used his foot and gently pushed the wooden door open.

As she walked towards the truck again, she raised a demanding finger up. "And so help me, if you broke something in that box, I'll make you wear one of my bras as a bracelet for a day!"

He closed the door without showing any reactions from her statement... though most of it was because of the shadow cast over his face by his hood.

While inside, he was silently hoping nobody saw him while his hood was down, or he might have to expect company soon... and perhaps Photographers and Reporters at their doorstep.

Ruby, meanwhile, went back to picking up the boxes, and placing them near the front door, for a pair of gloved arms to reach from the inside, and drag within. While hopping up for her third box, she looked across the street, observing the Coffee Shop not too far away.

"Huh... looks like we've got the perfect place for breakfast, when we're done here!" she thinks out loud. Finally, she lifts the next box, and turns to carry it back over to the front door.

 

[Kimona]

oof. it didn't notify me.)))

James was staring at a computer screen, still trying to find anything on the internet. After a moment he rubbed his eyes, and his face before taking another large glup of coffee. Maybe he should just go home. He needed the sleep, and he had a few hours until his next shift. If he woke back up a bit early he could do more research then. Sounded like a plan... He packed his laptop away before swinging his satchel bag over his shoulder, leaving the shop, coffee in hand. As he left he gave a wave to his buddy behind the counter. As soon as he stepped outside he hissed a little to himself, goddamn that sun was bright. when his eyes adjusted he lowered his hand and took a sip off coffee, turning as he watched a red truck glide by. He looked at it for a moment as he continued on, by coincidence in the same direction. He thought nothing of it as he continued to walk, after all, it was a car, and cars usually follow the road rules like that. Eventually he reached the end o the block. He stopped, waiting for the crossing signal before continuing on his tired little way. honestly it was amazing he could even walk with his lack of sleep. After a few minutes, he stopped, at first not realizing why until he consciously noticed the red truck from before. Apparently it belonged to a rabbit and some other tall animal. He stood there fir a moment staring, not knowing why. He was about to tun and lean when the tall one's hood fell. Now that was new. He pulled of his phone quickly in attempts to take a quick picture. Though he would later find out what a terrible photographer he is with not even and hour's worth of sleep during the past 3 day's combined. and how bad his vision is. He lingered a bit longer before turning to make his way home his his horribly tired state. Swaying as he walked. He needed a bed. pronto.

 

[SerenityAngel]

It was a fairly long trek back to the house that was left silent and still. Fear had seeped into the very walls and one could swear the house was holding its breath. Waiting for someone to say it was alright to breathe. This feeling. It was unease. Almost suffocating. Judy didn't seem to notice this feeling and called out almost immediately as she entered the abode. While they got settled back into the house Nick gave a slightly disapproving glare to the cattle, "You know you could have been arrested for illegal entry, trespassing and those photos you took could have been taken in as proof and things could have gone very wrong, right? You could have been imprisoned for stalking, attempted murder, violation of privacy, candid photos without permission and lets not forget, you could have been set up for the kidnappings. You do realize the dangerous situation you put yourself in, right? Even the poperotsy know better than to put themselves in those kinds of situations." Nick scolded without being too harsh or angry.

After a little while Serenity came out from the basement, still clutching little Azure in her arms protectively. She was certainly shaken and this event had not done anything to calm her fears. When she saw the cattle again she glared at him for a moment before putting the now sleeping wolf pup onto the couch to rest. She put a blanket over the little cub's body so that she would stay warm. Once she was done with that she stood up straight and turned to the cattle with a hateful glare and a deep growl.

 

[Justin93Daniels]

((All good. ))

About fifteen minutes have passed, and the truck was now empty, save for the necessary equipment, such as the spare tire in the back, the Jumper Cables in the back seat, and the spare jerrycan of Unleaded Gas on the back seat's floorboard.

Ruby closed the door, carefully so as to avoid breaking the only door they have left for the house. She then folded her arms over her chest and looked up at the Living Room, admiring its simple beauty.

The wallpaper, though torn in some areas, still remained intact. A rustic green floral pattern was the main theme of the paper. The dark oak wooden floor, while creaky in some spots, was still quite sturdy, though she had a feeling it would still be best to have it replaced at some point.

The kitchen, however, was stripped bare of its tiles, so she had to add that one on her list of things to do. Its concrete underlay was still there, however, so at least they didn't have to worry about construction immediately.

The windows to the house were covered with curtains, though said curtains were already in tatters, perhaps from the moths, but she already had spare curtains in one of the boxes, which her human roommate was already setting up when she walked in.

"Wow... place looks really nice inside, doesn't it?" she asked him, leaning against the wall with her arms still folded. She was giving him a knowing grin, referring to his worries about the place when they parked beforehand.

He rolled his eyes and smirked at her. "Eh. Still worry. Floor creak. Much work need doing."

"Yeah, yeah," she began, while walking towards the kitchen, "but hey, good thing I was raised in a barn, right? I know my way around a hammer or two."

He nodded his head while fixing the curtain on the next window. "Same," he replied, making her turn her head his way.

"For real? You were raised in the country?"

He shook his head. "No...... place half-Country, half-City. Lots houses, but private property. Parents of parents teach me. They farm workers from far."

Nodding her head in understanding, she continued to make her way to the kitchen, her paw stretching towards the fridge. "Oh... so you're from the Suburbs, then? Well, if ya need some help, remember that I can work a hammer like it's nothin'!"

"Noted," he replied, before covering up the third and final window from the living room. Seeing his work complete, he walked over to the door, where the coat hanger was already set, and removed his hoodie... no point in hiding his appearance now, since it's only the two of them inside.

​

When Ruby opened the refrigerator, she immediately screamed. "JACK!"

Immediately, the human sprung into action. Rushing to her aid, he replied in his native tongue, "What happened?!" He paused, however, when a horrible odor filled the room.

Then he saw it... Ruby was lying near the wall, a horrified look on her face, while Jack stared inside the fridge in disbelief.

A dead possum was at the bottom, dressed in a floral patterned shirt and dark blue jeans. Most of his fur was already gone, and his bones could be seen... among other things, like maggots.

Attached to his chest, however, was a note.

"What the hell happened here?" Jack thought to himself, before approaching the dead possum, or more specifically, the note.

It took him a moment to translate it in his head, but when he did, he handed it over to Ruby for verification.

"Should've listened..." she read aloud, before looking up at the possum. While mostly deteriorated, she couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was worried about something... something big.

"What we do?" Jack asked, eyes still locked onto the corpse.

Ruby's paws were shaking, before she couldn't hold the bile any longer. Passing the note to Jack, she quickly rushed out of the Kitchen, and into the bathroom, leaving him to only hear the disturbing sounds coming from the hallway.

While it was disturbing to look at for her, he has already seen his fair share of "Roadkill" back on Earth. Regardless, however, he sympathized for her, as well as the dead body before him. These were more than just mere animals, after all... they were basically the equivalent of humans.

Even still, he closed the fridge door, so as to keep the smell from filling the whole house. He then turned towards Ruby, who was now coming back in from the hallway, her phone already in her paw.

"Get your coat on, Jack... we're gonna have company here, soon."

He nodded his head and returned to the living room, where he slipped his jacket back on. Then he walked over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulders, while she began dialing "911" on the phone. However, she gave him a brief, appreciative smile, before her expression dropped back to her worried one.

She then switched her phone to speaker, allowing Jack to her the conversation as well.

"ZPD! What is your emergency?" came the high-pitched male's voice on the other line.

"Hey... is this Clawhauser?" Ruby asked, bringing the phone up closer to their faces.

"Yes, this is him... mm... who is this?" he asked. Though they couldn't see it, they could tell he must've been eating something on the other line.

"Typical Clawhauser..." she thought to herself, before clearing her throat. "Clawhauser, it's me, Ruby Carreton... we went to school together? I let you borrow my pencils every time you lost yours?"

"Oh! Ruby! I thought you sounded familiar, how are you doing?!" his voice could likely be heard from most of the inside of the house for the first two words. However, she caught her phone (having jumped from his sudden outburst), and muffled the speaker, hoping that nobody heard it.

"Listen, Clawhauser! I need to speak with Judy Hopps... can you tell her it's from her cousin?" she pleaded, hoping to get straight to the point.

"Oh... a family reunion? Wait... you're Judy's cousin?! Honey, you and Judy are so full of surprises! It's like fate had mixed us all up into a nice, beautiful batch of donuts! All different flavors, but in the same box, you know?!" he called out, causing Jack to slightly smirk at his comment.

"Huh... are these two a couple, or something?" he couldn't help but wonder to himself.

She, however, sighed and shook her head. "Clawhauser, this is serious!"

"Hmm? Oh, right! You're calling us, after all... what's going on, what happened? Are you alright?! You aren't hurt, are you?! I can send a dispatch over there, and-"

"No, I'm fine... well... physically, at least... but I need to speak with Judy! Is she still on that case about the missing animals?" she asked.

"Yes... in fact, from what I've heard, she and Nick are speaking with a Fox Girl about a strange note!"

She gulped, before repeating, "S-strange... note?"

"Mm-hmm... heard it had a pretty ominous message on it... why do you ask?"

Ruby took a deep breath, before replying, "I... think we found one of the victims..."

 

[SynKast]

The day had been quiet, just as Ulick liked it. And the best thing to finish off a decent day? A nice cup of coffee. And with Ulick, not entirely familiar with every street and district that Zootopia had to offer, he did manage to find a nice little coffee shop that was close to his home.

Walking inside the shop, he was greeted by the soft smell of freshly brewed coffee, and just as fresh crumpets, and other pastres. It was nice. Though, typically he didn't expect it to last long since it never did. So, as natural, he had learned to enjoy every small moment of serenity that he was given. And so, he approached the counter, "A cup of coffee please, a splash of cream and please, hold back the sugar. Also, two buttered crumpets would also be nice, thank you lad." As he spoke, his voice carried a very distinct gaelic (irish) accent to it.

 

[Justin93Daniels]

Seeing how Judy and Nick were both on the case involving, what Clawhauser tipped was, an "Arctic Fox", Ruby was given permission to exit the farmhouse, due to the place now being discovered as a "Crime Scene", and that he would send them over when they were done with their current case... odds are, they were probably getting close to wrapping it up, anyways.

And besides that, the Town Hall would confirm that she wasn't even near Zootopia by the time the victims died, and forensics wouldn't find any incriminating evidence to her possibly murdering him... or any other victims in the house, if there were more than one body to be discovered during a thorough investigation.

That being said, Ruby told him to let Judy know where she would be... at the nearby Coffee Shop with a friend. "The Quick-Stop Coffee Shop". After all, she didn't really plan on leaving any time soon, now. Besides the fact that she just witnessed a dead body that would tie in with the day's biggest case, she also has a few things she needs to let her cousin know... all of which involving her peculiar friend.

When she arrived inside the shop, she nodded her head in thanks to the hooded figure that held the door open for her. The hooded figure was clearly wearing a mask designed for wolves, and had a dark gray tail sticking out of the back of his camouflaged jeans that, upon close inspection, seemed to not move at all... almost like it could be a clip-on...

Ruby and her hooded friend walked over to the counter opposite of the Red Fox, where the cashier, a Snow Leopard likely in her late teens, stood, and cleared her throat.

"Umm... m-may I have a Large Espresso, please?" she asked. Though mostly clear, and with a calm face, one would believe she was feeling a little shaken up about something.

The cashier rubbed her chin in thought before nodding her head.

"And will that be Rabbit Large, or Wolf Large?"

Ruby thought for a moment, before replying, "... Elephant?"

The cashier's eyes widened before she looked up to the hooded figure, who shook his head and replied in Sign Language.

"~Mouse.~"

"Umm... why are you wearing a mask? And... what's that mean?" she asked, her confusion only growing more evident as she mimicked the figure's motion - clearly unfamiliar with Sign Language. However, the sign was noticed from a pair of eyes that stood behind the Drink Dispensers. She placed her paws on the counter, almost as if she were leaning on it... but below it, there was a conveniently placed "Honeybadger" Alarm placed just a few inches away from her middle claw, which would alert the ZPD if this were a robbery.

Before the hooded figure could reply, however, Ruby sighed, and gently patted the figure on the arm.

"Oh, sorry... my friend Al here is mute, and he's been suffering from an awful cold! He didn't want to risk infecting anyone, and... well, we couldn't really afford a Medical-Grade Mask, y'know?"

The cashier visibly relaxed, but her worry soon turned to concern. "Oh! Oh! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I thought that you were... well... y'know..."

Jack "Al" Walker shook his head and waved a dismissive hand, signing, "~It's fine. Happens a lot.~"

"I know whatcha mean..." came the reply of another employee; a male otter, much older than the rest of the figures present, that now stood from behind the current cashier. He, of course, was the pair of eyes from behind the machines. "Not every day a figure walks up in a mask like that, unless they were lookin' for trouble... but hey, at least ya ain't tryin' ta get us sick, so I appreciate the sentiment."

The female cashier looked surprised at the otter and asked, "Wait... you know Sign Language, Ollie?"

Ollie nodded his head and replied, "Sure do, Leah... got a sister who's Deaf. My whole family had to learn it... don't worry, I'll take care of these two. You can cover the other fella, in the meantime."

Leah nodded her head and backed away from the current register. "Alright then, Ollie... all yours." She then turned to face the hooded figure and bowed her head respectfully. "I'm really sorry about that... it was unprofessional of me to make assumptions like that, and-"

Al shook his head again and replied, "~Again, it's no problem. You are only being cautious, which is good. You're a good person for taking everyone's safety into account.~"

When Ollie translated it for her, she smiled and nodded her head in appreciation. "Thanks... Al, was it? Well tell you what... Ollie, ring their order up on me. I'll cover them this time... 'least I could do to make it up for 'em."

Ruby and Al both thanked her before Ruby was, to Al's Silent-Yet-Firm insistence, given a Rabbit-Sized Small Coffee. They then made their way over to a table in the back, where the windows were mostly covered up with ads and such.

Leah then turned to face Ulick and smiled. "Creamy Coffee, hold the sugar, and two crumpets... will that be all for you?" She then winked at him, and added, "Oh... and it's 'Lass', by the way."

 

[SynKast]

Ulick stood infront of the counter and was only adverted away from his tablet when he heared the female repeat his order to him, and then correcting him.

It did take a moment for him to realize that the animal behind the counter was in fact female, though, a quick glance at her body gave it away without-a-doubt. "My apologizes lass. But yes, that'll be all. Unless there is some special that isn't on the menu." he looked up over the menu again to confirm his suspescion. though, when he looked down he saw her wink, with which he raised an eye brow as though trying to catch a read on what she may or may not have been hinting at.