Zootopia Adventures

The Stranger VII: Dinner For Five

"He's the surprise?" Judy repeated Stu's words out loudly.

The bunny cop stared at the guest, bewildered. Was this fox from the farms? No, his clothes were speaking the opposite. They were clean and freshly ironed to be of a farmer's. Even Gideon Grey, the pastry chef of Bunny Burrows had clothes, which were weathered from working under the relentless sun. If he was from the city however, just what sort of connection does he have with her parents? She wondered.

"Well, that is just one part of the surprise!" Stu noted. Judy could see the stranger fox letting out a soft, uncertain laugh from her father's witty comment. From where she was standing, she could tell that the new fox was easily in his teens.

She tilted her head in question. "What's the other part then?"

"Oh, that will be for dinner - right Bonnie?"

Bonnie could not help herself but hide her giggle behind her paw. "Yes Stu, it's quite a shocker." She then gestured towards the guest. "Judy, meet Richard. Richard, this is my daughter, Judy. Beside her is her partner, Nick."

[Richard's Perspective]
As soon as Bonnie started the introductions, seconds appeared to tick like minutes. Knowing myself as quite the introvert, I was not ideal at sparking conversations or meeting new people. This phenomenon always triggers the moment I had to socialize with others who I do not recognize. However, I did not have the excuse this round - I knew both of them quite well; Just that I had never expected to come face to face with characters from an animated film. I had to say something... dragging the silence any much longer would make me give the impression that I was socially awkward. Giving up on pondering for words to speak, I managed to pull off a rigid wave with my paw and what I felt like was a weak but forced smile.

"Nice to meet you guys, I guess," I greeted, my tongue almost caught in the process. My nervousness was getting the good of me. Damn it Richard - get a hold of yourself!

"Hi there!" Judy was instantly up in my face, holding my paw with hers in a firm handshake - or paw-shake - whatever you call that in a mammal populated universe, which caught me off guard. I get that she is energetic and all but, I totally did not expect her actions to be instantaneous.

"Carrots, I think you are scaring him," Nick said, smirking as he walked towards us in his typical casual strides. As he approached, I could tell that I was about an inch shorter. Damn, just how much have I shrunk from my former size? He studied me from top to bottom before extending a paw forwards. "Nick, Nick Wilde."

I accepted his paw with my own. "Richard, Richard Hunt," I spoke.
Judy scoffed playfully as she observed Nick. "Nobody ever gets afraid of me, dumb fox."

"Hah, maybe it's because you are just that cute of a bunny," Nick kidded.

"Don't call me cute, just go and take a seat, will you?" Judy replied nonchalantly.

Nick's smirk widened from her statement. "All right, you're the boss." He then proceeded to take a seat on one of the couches; grabbing the remote as he sat down and started browsing through the channels.

Judy turned to face me. "Let's have a seat, shall we? Do not mind Nick, he's always this snarky," she exclaimed in his direction. Nick simply waved it off with a paw. We sat down right beside the Fox; each of us to his left and right. I remembered not to plop down on my tail like previously. It is weird to have to care for something extra all of a sudden.

"Is your tail injured or what? You seem to be gazing at it for quite some time, Buddy," Nick told me. He must have noticed me being distracted by it.

"I thought I saw a dried leaf attached to it, must have been my imagination," I played it cool.
Nick raised an eyebrow as he eyed me doubtfully, but shrugged it off casually. "I have been wondering. There are not many of us foxes, yet I have never seen you before; Are you new to the city?" he asked, curious.