Savage City 

Day One: Happy Tuesday

By Xan Steel

(Legal Stuff: The Zootopia world and characters belong to Disney and Disney Animation Studios. The story and it's setting belong to me, so please enjoy this work of fan fiction. Also, a word of warning, this story is not for the faint of heart. There will be sections of this story that get very dark.)

Zootopia it seems was on a high note for the last few months now, as it seemed crime was at an all-time low. So, low in fact that the ZPD was running with a skeleton crew for the last few weeks while switching out officers every few days. This gave Nick and Judy some much needed time to be with their eight little ones. Today was their one year anniversary, and Nick wanted to introduce Judy to his mother. It had been a long time since they last spoke due to a series of family complications that he never talked about, but he had received a call from her saying she wanted to patch things up between them since his father had recently passed away.

Nick and Judy decided to walk to his mother's place near central downtown in a ritzy section for the elderly. It didn't take long to get there as the sidewalk traffic was light on this beautiful Tuesday afternoon. A gentle breeze was blowing through the streets and picking up the scents of the flowers in bloom in nearby gardens and parks. They picked up some pawpsicles from Finnick for the kids to nibble along the way, until they got to the front door of his mother's place. Nick walked up the stairs of this beautiful little single-story apartment, that was painted in deep reds with white trim. Little flower pots dotted the porch area with flowering plants of various colors and scents. Judy stayed out by the curb with the kids and waited patiently. As Nick got the front door he knocked a few times, as Judy picked up the sound of an elderly woman calling out, “Who's there?" A female voice answered.

“It's me, mom," Nick replied. 

“Nickolas?" Replied the voice.

The sound of rushing steps is heard on the solid wood floors inside the house as they hear a few door locks unlatching as the door suddenly swings open. “Nickolas it is you!" She exclaimed with a wide smile and bright shining eyes while pulling him into a hug and kissing him on the cheek. “Mmmm I've missed you so much." 

Nick returned her hug and kiss on the cheek. “And I have missed you just as much, but I also bring a surprise with me." He stepped to the side and let his mother look out passed the porch. “Mom, this is Judy my wife, and our eight little ones." 

She was stunned when she saw a gray bunny standing there with a bunch of little foxes and bunnies of various ages and colors, but then she remembered her husband's dying wish 'To love and accept him because he was their only son.' Judy picked up on this, and while it bothered her that she would be against them, she decided to keep quiet about it and just smile. Nicks mother shook her head and gave the same bright smile while welcoming them all into her home. Judy turned to the little ones and told them to be on their best behavior while inside as they walked in. 

She ushered them into the living room and had them make themselves comfortable as she went to the kitchen for a minute. The room looked like it had been decorated in a somewhat late medieval style. The floor had a circular deep red carpet in which the sofa, a few chairs, several end tables, and a coffee table sat on. One of the walls had been covered in what could only be described as a Family Coat of Arms with a name at the bottom, Hood. Judy thought this was very curious and turned to Nick, and then pointed to it. He just smiled and mouthed 'Wait'. His mother came out with a platter of cookies, and milk. “All right, who wants cookies?" A chorus of hands and 'ME’s' sounded in the room causing Judy to giggle a bit and Nick to smile, as his mother passed the platter around to everyone. Once she finished she turned to Judy with a sudden realization. “Oh my, I didn't introduce myself." She turned to Nick. “Nickolas, shame on you for not reminding your poor old mum." She turned back to Judy while Nick's ears went flat in embarrassment. “I'm Marian, my dear," she said as she walked over and gave her a hug. She then had everyone who hadn't gotten comfortable sit down while having a pleasant conversation.

After a while, Marian began to tell them the stories of her growing up overseas and moved onto the story of Robin Hood. The kids were enthralled, and Judy was amazed by her level of detail. She turned to Nick as they sat on the floor behind the kids and whispered, “It amazes me how she knows this stuff, it's almost like she was really there." 

Nick stifled a laugh as best as he could, as Marian picked on their conversation. “I may be old, but my hearing is still just as excellent sweetie," she said openly with a smile on her face. 

Judy's ears flopped down in embarrassment, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend." 

Marian laughed brightly, “It's all right dear. The reason I know this in great detail is because I was there. I'm Maid Marian, Robin Hood was my husband, and Nickolas is our one and only." She finished with a cute reassuring smile. 

Judy was stunned as she looked at Marian, as Nick gently picked up her open mouth. Judy looked back at Nick, and then back at Marian, and then back at Nick. “How come you never told me?" She said excitedly as her ears picked up again. 

Marian spoke before he did, “Because, when we came to Zootopia we changed our last name to avoid any publicity. We wanted to have a quiet life here after our adventure in Nottingham." She continued to tell the story of how they came here, and how over the years she had become the last of all their friends. In some ways, she had days of loneliness and wished she could see Robin and their friends again, but after today she didn't feel so lonely anymore.

Judy's phone started ringing, as she pulled it out of her pocket, looked at it, and saw that it was her parents, "Could you excuse me for a minute?" She asked politely as Marian nodded and told her she could use the kitchen. 

After she left Marian turned to Nick, "She's quite lovely."

Nick nodded before speaking, "Went I first met her, she just burrowed her way into my heart and ran with it, and I've never regretted a moment of it." 

Marian got up and walked over to him and knelt down in front of him, "Can you forgive your poor old mum for her old-fashioned ways?" 

He leaned forward and pulled her into a gentle hug, "Of course I can." 

It was at this point both Nick and Marian heard Stu, Judy's father, yell 'Maid Marian' from the kitchen. "Now there's a voice I've not heard in a long time," Marian said looking at the kitchen entrance. 

"Who Stu Hopps?" Nick asked. 

"Hopps?" She said excitedly as her ears perked up. 

"Yeah, that's Judy's father, do you know him?" Nick questioned.

She got up and walked into the kitchen as Nick and the little ones followed. 

As they walk in Judy sees them, "I told you to keep it down Dad, now they're in here." 

"I'm sorry Jude, but is it really her, Maid Marian?" Stu asked nervously.

"See for yourself." Judy turns her phone to face Marian. 

"It is you, my lady!" Stu said excitedly. 

"Oh, Stu I didn't know you lived in Zootopia," Marian responded.

Judy gave a very confused look as she looked at Nick for an answer, to which he just shrugged his shoulders because he didn't know. Both Marian and Stu explained that they knew each other through his first cousins Skippy and Toby before the whole family moved here. 

It was at this moment that one of Judy's older brothers came in yelling about bugs in the crops, which caused Stu to hurry off the phone, but left his number for Marian. She then turned to both Judy and Nick with a smile, "It would seem fate wants to keep our families together." She then moved over to Judy and took her paws into hers, "Forgive me for my old fashion ways on relationships, I never meant any disrespect." 

Judy spoke, "It's all right, we've all had to face a part of ourselves in recent years that needed to change." As she looked at Nick with a loving smile. "Though I must admit, today has been full of surprises." Judy finished while looking back at Marian with a bright smile.

Marian laughed before she spoke, "That, my dear would seem to be a bit of an understatement." As they hugged each other. 

The rest of the day was filled with pleasantries and stories shared between them. Marian was honestly glad she listened to Robin's words because Judy and Nick really complimented each other well. In a lot of ways, it reminded her of Robin and herself, and as much as she wanted to move away from her own prejudice at that moment, it was something she knew would take time, because when you're old you are pretty set in your ways. She was happy when they stayed for dinner and managed to find enough food for everyone, as they continued their story telling. 

As the evening began to wind down, and the little ones started to fall asleep. Marian looked at them before turning to Nick and Judy, “Aww the little dears are all tuckered out." 

Nick looked at Judy as she covered her mouth as she yawned, and then spoke. “Yeah, I think it's time for us to head home for the night. It's been an exciting day for all of us." He finished with a gentle smile. As Judy carefully got the little ones up and moving again, she turned to Marian and hugged her gently. 

“Thank you for having us over it has been quite a pleasure to finally meet you," Judy said while smiling. 

“It was a pleasure to finally meet the lady who stole my son's heart," Marian said with a gentle laugh as Nick's ears folded back in embarrassment. As they left, Marian closed the door and locked it as she headed to her bedroom. There on her nightstand was a picture of her and Robin, as she sat down on the bed and picked it up. She gently ran a pawed finger over Robin's image as a single clear droplet hit the picture. “I hope I did right by you as it's not easy changing yourself after all these years. I just wish you were here to see your grandkits, they are truly adorable." She sat there for a few moments just holding the picture frame before she finally turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Judy and Nick made it home safely, and began to tuck the little ones into bed, after which they turned on their little galaxy night light that displayed on the ceiling, and closed the door. Judy followed Nick as he headed to the kitchen to grab something to nibble on, and once he reached the fridge she pulled him into a hug. 

He hugged her back and looked down at her, “You feeling okay Carrots?" 

She nodded before speaking, “Your mother was really sweet today, which I wasn't expecting." 

“She's old fashion Hun just give her some time, and she'll come around. Besides, I already know she loved the kids." Judy looked up at him as he gave his suave smile which gave her some comfort. “Oh hey, you have to try one of these with me." He said changing the conversation, and leaned into the fridge and pulled out a package of what looked like hotdogs. 

“What are they?"

“They're called Veggie dogs. It looks like a beef hotdog, but it's made from vegetables." He said as he put them in the microwave oven for a minute or two, and then pulled them out and sat them on a small plate. 

She picked one up while looking at it, and then test licked it for taste. Surprisingly it tasted really good as she slides one end into her mouth, and ran her tongue over it while getting a feel of its texture. She looked up at Nick and saw him watching her with his mouth hanging open. This is when she got a very naughty idea in her head and continued to lick and suckle on this veggie dog while making cute little moaning sounds of enjoyment until she decided to try and push it all the way into her muzzle. To her surprise, it fit quite nicely even though it wanted to go farther. She tilted her head back and then swallowed it down whole. Nick stared in udder amazement as he watched it slide down her throat, and then quickly ate his veggie dog. He then picked her up and threw her over his shoulders like a cave fox, causing her to let out a cute 'EEK!' of delight as he practically ran to the bedroom.

All in all, this turned out to be a very Happy Tuesday for everyone.