The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One: Fuel - 33

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

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The Fire Triangle-A Zootopia Fanfiction

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Part One:

Fuel

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Chapter 4 - The Wizard of Chaos

(Continued...Pt. 2)

Judy was on her way down to the dining room when she spotted her sister Erin, coming up the stairs from below.

She immediately went over.

"Morning sis, you're up early," she told the younger bunny, moving aside to let a troop of younger family members pass by. (This time on a Sunday was always rush hour in the Hopps Family warren)

Erin put a paw on her hip; the look on Judy's face had not slipped past her, "You're surprised, Jude-the-dude?"

Actually Judy was more than surprised, she was astounded. Not only was Erin up and about much earlier than usual, she was already dressed. Instead of her standard Sunday morning ensemble of PJ's and a robe, she had on bush pants, a linen shirt, and a dark green hiking vest. All she needed was a digger's hat and she'd be a regular Crocodile Bun-nee.

"Well yeah," the older bunny admitted, "I mean, after the way you gave it up onstage a last night, I'd have thought you'd want to sleep in for a while this morning." A performance such as her sister had given must have been at least a little tiring,

Erin's face crinkled mischievously.

"Says the bunny who competed in the Rabbithon yesterday...and I notice you're already up and running too."

Judy threw up her paws and laughed. She had reckoned without the possibility of Erin's talent show triumph putting her on an emotional high, (and she was at 'that' age, after all.)

"Okay little sis, you got me," She said, and then dropped her arms again, becoming serious. "Listen, did you see Nick downstairs anywhere? When I knocked on his door just now, he wasn't home."

Erin nodded at once. "Yep, he's down in the dining room, having breakfast. " Her mouth pulled sideways for a second, "Or-r-r that's where he was a few minutes ago." she shook her head in mixture of awe and disbelief. "Cheez n' crackers, can he pound down those blueberry pancakes, or WHAT?"

"Ho, look who's talking!" another voice crowed; Violet Hopps had just joined them.

"You should have seen HER scarfing those flapjacks, Jude," she said, poking a thumb in Erin's direction, "I swear, I'm thought she was going to pop like a balloon."

"I'm a growing girl, I need it," the younger bunny rejoined, with a flippant toss of her ears, and then all three of them laughed. Yep, Erin was riding high this morning.

Then Violet said, "Nick should still be down there Judy, I left only less than a minute ago." Her nose began to twitch. "What do need him for, if you don't mind my asking?" Vi had always been the inquisitive one.

By way of response, Judy reached into her windbreaker and pulled out a receipt, passing it around to her two sisters. Their response was decidedly mixed. Violet only chewed her lip, but Erin's reaction was, "Whoa, tres cool!"

"I know," Judy answered looking satisfied as she put the paper away. "And no, you can't come with us, Erin." She was smirking mischievously...and to no avail. Instead of thumping her foot, the young, white-furred bunny only tossed her ears again.

"Hmmph, nice try Jude-the-dude, but as a matter of fact, I have plans of my own for this morning; Terri Blackburns's stepdad is taking her family on a rafting trip and mom already said I could go."

She delivered the news quickly, as if anticipating an objection. It was a sound course of action; Violet's nose pinched up and her ears fell backwards.

"Awww Erin, you'll miss the rest of Carrot Days."

"Oh I'll be back in plenty of time for the big dance, Vi." The younger Bunny assured her, "We're only going on down the Alsetz; that's just a half-day trip." Her nose began to twitch, "But uhhh...have either of you guys seen Conor Lewis around? They've got room for one more and I want to see if he'd like to come along."

"As a matter of fact, yes I did," Judy told her kid sister, happy to be of assistance. "I bumped him down the hall just a few minutes ago; he was looking for the way upstairs. My guess is he's probably out on the east-side terrace."

Erin's ears perked up at once

"Oh thanks Jude," she said, and then her eyes narrowed playfully and the comers of her mouth became a pair of cooked lines, "Okay sis, I'm going; have fun with your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend, Erin." Judy corrected her coolly. "We're just friends and partners; that's all."

The younger bunny's face became even more impish. "Yeah right, suuuuuure he is,"

Judy folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. Ohhhhh brother, as if she hadn't been expecting this shoe to drop, ever since the bonfire last night.

"Okay Erin you got me." She said, throwing her arms wide like a suspect giving it up under questioning, "It's true, I admit it; I have just as much of a crush on Nick as you have on Conor. (Mess with ME, will you, little Miss high-as-a-kite?)"

This warning shot across the S.S. Erin Hopps' bowsprit had exactly the desired effect; Violet began to snigger into a fist, and Erin swiftly struck her colors.

"Okay, okayyyy," she conceded, making stopping motions with her paws, "I was only kidding Judy."

"I know, and so was I," the older bunny answered, offering a discreet wink in Violet's direction. It wasn't meant as an escape hatch but Erin took it as such.

"Oops, got to move." She said, pretending to look at her watch and then sprinted off down the hallway, but not without turning and offering a final wave, "I'll be back for the dance, I promise," she said

And then she was gone

No sooner had Erin disappeared around the corner, than Judy became aware of a fast, staccato drumbeat, down by the floorboards. Violet Hopps was thumping her foot.

Judy turned to her.

"All right, what?"

Violet shook her head and then looked away, "I just...I don't like the idea of Erin...uhhmmm, just taking off and leaving everyone during Carrot Days."

"Oh come on, Violet," Judy said, giving her a nudge in the arm. "She was there with us for the dinner and the bonfire-and the Rabbithon, don't forget that. And that's not even mentioning the talent show."

Her sister's expression remained unchanged; she tried a different tack

"Look, Erin promised to be back in time for the big dance, and that's good enough for me." Judy allowed herself a small wry smile, adding, "Besides, you know as well as I do that nothing ever happens on Sunday morning during Carrot Days."

Violet's mouth twisted sideways for a second, and then she sighed and nodded ever so slightly. Truer words had never been spoken but that didn't mean she had to like it.

And on that note, the two sisters parted company.

When Judy got to the dining room, she spotted Nick almost immediately.

It wasn't a particularly difficult task; from the overhead balcony, his red fur stood out like a beacon in the midst of so many duns and greys. Once again, he was surrounded by a gaggle of younger bunnies and there was little Cotton Hopps, seated right beside him as always. Finnick was there too, an elbow draped casually over the back of his chair as he regaled the group with another one of his stories.

"Nick!" she waved, "Nick, up here!"

The red fox looked, waved in return, and then pushed back his chair from the table. There were muted protests from some of the children, but none of them got up to follow along. That had to be Finnick's doing Judy decided, and went to meet her partner at the top of the stairs.

"Morning Carrots," he told her looking a little guilty, "If I'd known you were coming, I would have waited."

Judy waved away the apology like a wisp of smoke.

"Oh, that's okay Nick, never mind." She said, glancing briefly at her watch...and then performing a swift double-take; (and unlike Erin, she wasn't acting.) "What the...? Oh Lor...where did the time...?"

She hurriedly took his paw, "Come on fox, we've got to get a move on if we don't want to be late."

Nick's ears pivoted upwards and pointed at each other.

"Late...l-late for what?"

Judy turned and began leading him down the hallway.

"I signed us up to go skydiving; come on!"

All at once, she felt a backwards tug, as Nick Wilde's feet began to skitter on the floor.

"S-S-S-Skydiving?"

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At the same time this was happening, her sister Erin was exiting out onto the Eastside terrace.

"Conor? You out here?" she called through a pair of cupped paws. There was no answer and she looked around the terrace, frowning deeply.

There were several other members of the Hopps family gathered on the deck this morning, but no sign of any silver fox. That shouldn't have been surprising; Conor could have easily gotten lost on the way up here. (Finding your way around the Hopps family warren wasn't exactly a cakewalk, especially for a first timer.)

And yet... Erin couldn't shake the feeling that he was somewhere close by.

"Any of you guys seen that fox-kid, Conor Lewis?" she asked, speaking to the other bunnies hanging around on the patio.

"He's down there," her brother Jonas answered, not looking up from the game of checkers he was having with Jessie Hopps. "Down there," he repeated, pointing this time in the direction of the stairs leading down to the yard.

Erin started to look where he was indicating, but then she felt her ears standing up. "Just what the heck are you grinning at, brace-face?"

Jessie looked as if she'd just put a 'kick me' sign on somebody.

When Erin finally looked at where Jonas had been pointing, she felt her ears turn twice as rigid, and her nose beginning to twitch. What in the name of all get out was that goofball silver fox doing?

Conor was down on his paws and knees beside a long row of flowers, with a mound of ugly greenery piled up besides his knees. Erin craned her neck forward, was he really..?

She got her answer when he added another weed to the pile. Oh, for crying out loud!

Erin hopped off the deck and down the stair, taking every single one of the steps in a grand total of three bounds.

Her approach was from upwind from the fox, and by rights he should have at least smelled the white-furred bunny coming.

Not this time; he never so much as even glanced in her direction

"Conor what the heck do you think you're DOING?" Erin demanded, pulling up short beside him.

He got up on his knees and waved, indicating the flower-bed with an open paw

"These things are a mess." He said, looking up curiously as if the reason for his action was completely self-evident.

Erin shook her head from side to side and screwed her eyes shut. When she opened them again...nope, it wasn't all an illusion; he really WAS...

"I don't believe this," she said, staring wide-eyed at the silver fox. "It's the last day of Carrot Days weekend, and you're out here pulling weeds?"

She had never been so flabbergasted; around the Hopps Family Warren this was the job you were given as a punishment for misbehaving...and here was this crazy fox-kid, yanking them up without even being ASKED? (He had done a good job, too...almost as if it was all a familiar task.)

"The flowers needed it," he repeated, in that same, stubborn tone of voice.

Erin's paws went straight to her hips.

"For the love of carrot-cake, what is WITH you, fox? You've done nothing but work since you got here, selling t-shirts, fixing my bass, okay that was stuff you needed to get done, but then you went and worked the talent show as a volunteer and now you're out here pulling WEEDS! Sweet cheez n' crackers, don't you ever have any fun?"

Conor's ears went back and then his neck fur was standing up; a phalanx of indignant bristles

"I have fun," he protested getting to his feet, "what about the talent show last night?"

"That was fun but it was also work," Erin pointed out correctly, (and with a condescending nod.) "I mean FUN fun, like where you do something just coz you enjoy it."

"The bonfire last night," the young fox countered quickly-a little TOO quickly and that was when Erin knew she had him.

"All right, and what else?" she queried, folding her arms and thumping her foot.

For the second time since they'd met, Conor was unable to meet her gaze. "Well, there's...I..."

And then his face took on a sudden, false ferocity; (ears back but no teeth showing.).

"It's none of your business bunny, okay?"

Erin lifted her nose just ever so slightly, completely satisfied with herself.

"I thought so," she said, and then reached out and grabbed him by the wrist, "Come on fox we're going on a river-rafting trip."

Conor's eyes went wide and his ears wilted, and then he tried to pull back

"River...rafting? Like going down a ri..."

The young bunny instantly tightened her grip.

Don't even think about trying to argue with me, Conor Lewis. You're going to have fun today if I have to break your arm! Now, come on."

And hauling him towards the terrace steps, she nearly did just that.

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"Carrots, I really don't want to do this," Nick Wilde was saying, "Look, I have to be honest with you, I've never even liked flying-and now you want me to jump out of a plane from thousands of feet in the air? I'm sorry, but I just can't." As he told her this, his ears were drooping and his long, bushy tail was curling up between his legs, the perfect picture of foxy contrition.

"I know you meant well Judy," he went on, "and I'm flattered that you would want me to come along with you, but don't forget one other thing; I had a really full breakfast this morning. I know that's not a big deal to your species; bunnies are incapable of puking, but believe me; us foxes know how to blow it all over the floor. To be honest, I'm surprised it hasn't happened already-and I know that you, of all rabbits, wouldn't want me to embarrass myself that way."

He stopped talking for a second, taking a short, deep breath before delivering his declamation.

"So please understand me Carrots, when I say I can't do this, it's not because of you, but..."

"Geronimohhhhhh!"

"Agggghhh, grrrrrr!"

It had been a well-reasoned argument, carefully constructed and eloquently expressed.

The only problem was in the timing...and the delivery. Nick probably should have made the pitch before Judy was halfway out the door of the jump plane.

(And he might also have spoken loudly enough to be heard over the engines.).

"Okay, we're up, let's go." said the animal at his back, and two of them began a lockstep shuffle towards the exit.

The reality of the plan had been nothing even close to Nick's expectations. Upon his arrival at the airfield, he had learned he and Judy would not be going it alone; instead they would be making what was known as a tandem jump; each of them would be accompanied by an instructor, who would ride along fastened to their back like a Siamese twin and deploy the chute when the time came. Appropriately enough, both of them were soaring mammals; a Greater Glider in Judy's case, and for Nick, a Colugo or flying lemur. Their companions were also experienced skydivers, with numerous jumps to their credit.

That news had been both a reassurance and-oddly enough-a disappointment to the red fox; while he was certainly glad to be riding along with someone who knew what they were doing, well...two's company, four's a crowd to put it in the simplest possible terms.

Still, it had been enough to give him a measure of confidence, enough so that he had initially acceded to Judy's wishes. But then, as with so many other things in life, the closer Nick got to the actual event, the more his confidence began to ebb. When they boarded the plane, he could already feel his tail stiffening, and when the aircraft lifted off, his knees had begun to shake. By the time they reached cruising altitude, all the saliva had disappeared from his mouth. Now, poised at the doorway, 5000 feet above terra firma, the red fox could not help recalling the promise he'd made to Judy during their train trip to the Burrow; when they returned to Zootopia after Carrot Days, he was going to go visit his mother.

The HECK with that! Nick wanted his Mommy right NOW...owwww...wow...WHOA-OA-OHHHH!

Out the door and into space, the plane shrinking away above him; he could feel the rush of air plastering his fur to his muzzle, his long, bushy tail whipping like a pennant in the slipstream.

What he didn't feel was any sensation of falling; it was more like...floating?

No, not floating-flying!

"Woo-hoooo!"

Nick heard the cry from below and to the left.. Turning his head, he saw Judy Hopps pumping a fist in the air, "WOOO-HOOOO!"

And then, as the red fox watched in fascination, she tucked in her legs and performed a perfect somersault in mid-air.

"Cheeky little bunny!" Nick thought to himself, "but if she can do it..."

He drew in his legs, the same as her... and nothing happened.

"You need to pull your tail up too." The Colugo advised him, shouting to be heard. (He had guessed what the fox was up to.) Nick did as he was told and slowly revolved into an inverted position. It was amazing; there was absolutely no awareness of being upside down.

He let out a triumphant fox-scream and rolled upright once again.

And found that he was eye to eye with Judy...and less than three feet away from her.

He reached out with his paws and saw her do the same.

As their paws clasped, they began to turn in a slow rotation, whirling through the air together in a lazy pinwheel. Judy's eyes, why had he never noticed them before? He seemed to be gazing into the depths of ...

"Uhhh sorry folks, but you need to let go, it's almost time to hit the chutes." It was Judy's instructor talking. And was it Nick's imagination or was there a chill in the Greater Glider's voice that hadn't been there before?

"Yes, come on, almost time," the Colugo added, speaking hastily. (Yep, he was talking fast all right, no doubt at all about this one.)

Slowly, reluctantly, Nick pushed away from Judy and felt her do the same. Almost immediately, he felt a hard, snapping pull at his back and the sensation of being yanked upwards. Nick knew at once what had happened; 100 feet away, a bright, orange rectangle was billowing open above Judy, jerking her to what seemed like an abrupt halt. How had they moved so far apart so quickly?

And, "Why so soon?" the red fox wondered. It seemed like they'd been free-falling for let than a minute before their instructors had deployed the chutes. (Three minutes and 12 seconds actually.)

Whatever disenchantment Nick may have felt, it was all quickly swept away; the roaring in his ears had subsided to a whisper and soon there was no noise at all. (And now he WAS floating!)

A city fox by birth, Nick Wilde had never before experienced a natural silence, and yet here he was, suspended in a perfect stillness high above the earth, a deep blue sky in all directions, and a horizon that seemed to stretch on into infinity. Everything below seemed to be standing out in UHD relief; he could make out the individual patches on the quilted earth, the solid green of the turf farms, the chocolate browns of the fields not yet sown, the long green stripes of the fruit and vegetable plantings, the champagne mist of grain fields on the cusp of ripening. He took it all in and felt his spine shivering and his eyes becoming moist. Never in his life had the red fox experienced such a moment of absolute tranquility.

When Judy Hopps drifted once into his field of vision, Nick could tell at a glance that she was feeling it as well; there were no words necessary between them.

A thought occurred to him then.

"There may be nothing to say now, but when we hit the ground, I'm never going to hear the end of this. She's going bring up this adventure in every conversation we have from now until Jerry Jumbeaux decides moves to Little Rodentia."

And another voice inside him answered, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

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2500 feet below, Lucas Jackson's grizzled white ears were standing up and his nose was twitching unevenly.

The old rabbit had seen a lot in in 72+ years but he had never seen a car quite like this one; long, low, and silvery grey, it made no noise as it glided towards the booth where he was sitting. It gave Lucas the uneasy sensation of being stalked by a shark...an especially unsettling image for a bunny already missing a leg, souvenir of a tractor accident many years ago.

Well whatever this thing was, Lucas knew what it wasn't...it didn't belong to any vendor; you could take that to the bank, bluebell.

He hopped down off his stool, straightening his reflective orange vest and at the same time motioned for the driver to stop. He watched it ease smoothly to a halt, and then hobbled over, making a rolling motion with his paw.

The window slid down silently and Lucas took a small step backwards.

"What in th' tarn-fool-nation is THIS?"

The rabbit behind the wheel was as big as a house and built like a block-house. His fur was almost a perfect match for the car's exterior, except perhaps a shade more blue.

Turning towards Lucas, the driver lowered his Gueffi sunglasses and smiled.

"Well well, Hello Lucky...long time, no see. How's the leg?"

The old rabbit leaned in close, peering at the driver through his thick spectacles, nose twitching once again. Lucky? No one called him that anymore.

"It's...fine, I guess. Uhhh, do I...know you, mister?"

The big bunny just smiled ruefully.

"Ahhhh well it has been a long time," He said, extending a meaty paw through the window. "It's me, Jack...Jack La Peigne."

Lucas took the paw, but only very hesitantly, as if he might be seized in a crushing grip and yanked inside the car, like that clown-thing who stalked kits from down a storm-drain. He allowed the other rabbit to shake with him, but made no effort to return the gesture.

"Uhhhh, little Jacky?" the rabbit behind the wheel prompted, his smile become just a little bit forced. Lucas only frowned for a second.

"Can't park in here, young feller," he said, waving a paw at the vehicles behind him "this lot's reserved for vendors and Festival fursonell."

The forced smile vanished from Jack La Peigne's face, leaving behind a frigid expression that made Lucas abruptly wish for a warm blanket.

"I'm head of the firm sponsoring this event," he said, producing a gold-embossed business card and passing it to the old bunny. Lucas nearly gave it back and told him sorry, that wasn't any good; he'd need an official vendors pass to get in here.

Except...something about this king sized rabbit was giving him a very unpleasant sensation; the feeling you get when you realize you're about to turn the wrong way down a one-way street. And what if this Jack...Devine, or whoever, really WAS who he claimed to be? He sure as heck looked like he had enough money to be the Carrot Days sponsor, you could bet the farm on that, bluebell...and did Lucas want to be the one to make that money disappear? He could just imagine what would happen; they'd gang up on him at the next town meeting, and ...

A chorus impatient car horns shook the old bunny out of his musings.

"Sorry sir," he said, tipping his plastic pith helmet in an awkward gesture, and then pointing to the fence-line next to the vendor's entrance, "VIP parking's right over thataway...and welcome to Carrot days, Mr. Levine."

Lucas hoped that by directing the big bunny to the choicest space in the lot, he would make up for any perceived rudeness on his part.

He never found out, Jack said nothing, only pushed his sunglasses back up over his eyes and rolled up his window again.

The big bunny was anything but mollified, especially when he happened to glance in his rear-view mirror a few seconds later and saw Gully and Racius being waved through the gate without so much as a second look.

Gahhhh, he had expected not to be recognized by most of the folks at the festival. After all, the last time he had seen Bunnyburrow was more than two decades ago...before half the animals in attendance today had even been born.

But Lucas, 'Lucky' Jackson not knowing who he was? Sorry, that didn't work. All right, so the old guy hadn't recognized his face. Jack had changed a lot in the ensuing years, he could live with that. But then what about his size? That hadn't changed a whole lot since he'd left the Burrow-and how many other rabbits as big as him had ever lived here? Jack could count them all on zero fingers. But all right, all right; maybe Lucky hadn't been able to properly gauge his size while he'd been seated inside his car, (and the old geezer had been wearing pop-bottle glasses.)

But that was where Jack La Peigne (not Levine, thank you,) drew his line in the sand; Lucas hadn't even recognized his name...the name of the bunny that had helped pull that tractor off of him those many years ago. Heck without Jack's assistance, they'd never have gotten Lucas out of there...and the old duffer STILL hadn't remembered him! Ohhh, but he'd recognized the ASM logo on rig that Gully and Racius had been driving...let them right into the vendors' lot with barely a nod.

What did that say for Jack La Peigne's status here in Bunnyburrow? Ahhhh, it just was like Thomas Wolf had said, you really CAN'T go home again.

Had the big bunny not been in such an agitated state of mind he might have stopped to consider that there's a difference between long and short-term memory...that, and also that there had been other ASM vehicles moving in an out of this parking lot for more than two days now.

He pulled up to the fence and shut the motors down, brooding quietly to himself while waiting for the dust to settle. All right; he'd put in his token appearance as the Carrot Days sponsor's rep, and then head straight back to Zootopia. There was no reason for him to hang around here, not unless he wanted to be bored into the middle of next week.

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At that moment, six stories above the other side of the Festival, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps were trying very hard not to panic.

Half a minute earlier, a plug of wind had come out of nowhere, carrying both of them on a sideways detour. Just how far the breeze had taken them, neither one could say, but when they'd looked down again, directly beneath their feet they saw the green rectangle of an irrigation pond.

And not a pretty, emerald green either; the pond surface was a nauseating hybrid of pea-soup, slime-mold, and spoiled cabbage. Farm-girl Judy knew exactly what that meant; the water was infused with fertilizer...organic fertilizer, to put it politely.

She also knew that the average storage pond in Bunnyburrow stood anywhere from between ten to fifteen feet deep.

Meanwhile, up above, she could hear the two instructors offering words of reassurance.

"Don't worry folks, this happens, we're on it."

"'S okay mammals, we've got this."

Judy would have felt considerably more consoled if the Glider and Colugo had been offering some action to go with their words; right now they didn't appear to be doing anything. For a horrible, fleeting second a dark image rose in her mind; the two instructors releasing her and Nick from their harnesses, sacrificing them to the storage-pond God in order to save their own skins.

Oh, she would just die if they went into that filthy water, not literally of course, and she didn't care what happened to her; she'd made her bed, she'd lie in it.

But then, what about Nick? It would be all her fault if he went down in that muck. He hadn't wanted to go skydiving; she had known that from the moment he'd started to drag his heels back in the warren. Twice Judy had almost told the fox that if he didn't feel he could go through with this, then that was okay by her.

She had never said a word, just kept telling herself that Nick would like it once he tried it, and for a while there she'd been proven spectacularly right.

And then this...

"Ohhhh Nick, I'm so sor..."

She heard the Glider calling out to his partner.

"Okay, on three. One...two...THREE!"

They were going to do it, they were going to drop her and Nick into that...

Instead Judy heard a flapping a noise and felt a rippling sensation at her back. Peering over her shoulder, she saw that the glider had deployed his wing flaps. A quick glance forward showed that the Colugo had done the same, and now they began to swing away from the storage pond, aiming for the shoreline.

But the water was coming up fast; much too fast. Judy instinctively tucked in her feet, but that only seemed to speed their descent. The water was close now; she could feel her nose wrinkling as the stench hit her nostrils. She wanted to shut her eyes, but she couldn't; the lids felt paralyzed. The water was only ten feet below now, seven feet...only five feet.

And then it was gone...replaced by grass and solid earth

"Lower your feet," her instructor commanded and then folded his wings and yanked on the guy ropes, putting the brakes their lateral movement. She saw the Colugo repeat the move...a little too hard; he spun with Nick in a 180 and began to drift in her direction. For one frightening instant Judy thought they were going to collide but then she felt her feet touching the ground and the harness letting go, releasing her. In front of her, Nick Wilde had also slipped the bonds of his parachute rig.

The two of them literally hit the ground running, propelled inexorably towards one another by the motion of their landing.

So, what could they do?

Judy opened her arms in a wide embrace and so did Nick...and then they crashed headlong into each other and bounced off, falling down on their backsides.

For a second or two they just stared blankly at each other.

And then Judy began to giggle, and then Nick began to snigger...and then both of them were clutching at their sides and laughing their tails off.

"I could have stuck to hustling pawpsicles, but noooooo," the fox said.

"I could have stuck to farming carrots," the bunny countered.

And then the two of them were laughing even harder.

The Colugo and the Greater Glider were not laughing; they were regarding Nick and Judy with dubious expressions...and quietly promising themselves, no more pred-prey couples.

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I threw in a reference to 'It' on account of the fact that Lucas 'Lucky' Jackson was very much inspired by the works of Stephen King. (Lucas also takes his name from another bunny, a character in one of the worst Disney animated films of all time.

Oh, and there's also an Easter Egg ref to Wreck-It Ralph 2