A Taste Of Hazel Chapter 1
Note: For new followers, (Please read Two Savages before beginning this story)
Tumblr: Lonewolfwriter : Reblogs welcome.
For all my followers, welcome back =p, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! (Due to everyone’s awesome support and responses, here is another story to sink your teeth into)
The bakery was packed front to back with mammals of all description from an enormous elephant to a teeny tiny mouse, each one waited patiently to get to the front of the line where they were to be served.
The bakery was called “The Puffy Leo” and was an outstanding top notch bakery in Zootopia. In fact, it was where one Gideon grey received a scholarship and learnt to bake.
Hazel stood behind a very tall and dashing looking tiger, who sported a dark blue police uniform.
He was tall; as his species should be and had many scars that Hazel could see, but his most stand out and dashing feature was a smile that seemed to brighten up the room, and as police should, it made you feel safe.
Hazel was a fox, and to her, as she had been reminded constantly, and especially in high school; a very simple fox at that. Typical red and white coat colouring, small fangs and normal height. She had been reminded of this relentlessly through her life, but never more so then by actions of Red.
Anyone with half a brain would describe Hazel as loyal, kind, considerate and innocent, but usually the word used to describe her was untrustworthy, cunning and sly, the words used by her so called “peers” however she had never done anything to be labelled with any of those titles and she simply knew it was blanket terms for any canine with red fur and pointed ears who fell under the species Vulpes Vulpes.
However, Hazel’s most outstanding feature for her so called “normality”; as her name would suggest, was her brilliant Hazel eyes, that seemed to change periodically between deep emerald green, to a lightly tinged autumn brown. Her eyes seemed to absorb the light from the sun itself, brighten it, and then re emit it.
Most animals who spoke to her would sometimes stumble or stutter on words when they first saw her eyes. But the realisation that she was a fox soon foreshadowed that beauty.
She was shy and elegant and tried her hardest to prove that not all foxes are untrustworthy and cunning.
Hazel was in the dying years of her 20’s, 29 to be exact and her birthday was just around the corner, not that the time clock was an issue to her in any spectrum.
She had gone to college for many years following her dreams, but dreams are made to be shattered and it seemed every step Hazel took did just that, shattered her dreams, however she was hopeful and brave and soldiered on tirelessly.
The officer in front of her had ordered two coffees and a punnet of blueberries.
The baker who Hazel knew very well smiled handing the officer a punnet of blueberries that would usually be used in the blueberry muffins, Hazel assumed they must have known the each as the store owner simply sold them to him as a punnet, the tiger paid him, collecting his stuff.
“Thanks Fangs, I’ll see ya tomorrow right?” asked the lion on the other side of the counter, giving him an obviously playful wink while placing the money into the till.
“You bet” replied the officer, returning the wink before turning to leave.
The large cat turned to leave, his attention focused on juggling both coffees and the blueberries and almost walked straight into Hazel, his reflexes however allowed him to shift to the side and miss bumping her.
“Oh my apologise ma’am” excused the police officer with a tip of his hat, apologetic that he almost bowled her over. “Love your dress by the way!” he complimented with a smile, his fangs highlighting his preened professional stature, feeling sheepish for almost knocking her over in front of all the customers.
“Not at all” she exclaimed with a nonchalant attitude, accepting his apology with a bright but shy, half smile, smirk and tilt of her head.
The lion behind the counter straightened up when Hazel had walked up.
“Good Morning Hazel my dear” he greeted flashing a toothy grin while rolling his paws in his apron to clean them.
“Good morning Alex” she responded scanning the glass for something scrumptious to help her through the day, her eyes stopped on a piece of pastry that seemed jam packed with blueberries, she raised a paw and pointed a claw at it through the glass
Alex bellowed a laugh picking up tongs and placing the “Blueberry bonanza” into a paper bag and handing it over the counter to her.
“You look as bright as the Saraha on the hottest day of the year” he complimented her as he did every day, touching his monumental paw gently to the side of her face to look into her eyes, his favourite view in all of Zootopia.
Hazel beamed at his compliment, squeezing his paw gently before she reached into her purse to get the money; Alex shut his eyes and held his paw out for her to stop.
“It’s on the house little miss”
“Why?” quizzed Hazel her paw frozen in her purse.
“You know why…” scrutinised Alex “…have you … heard from him?” asked Alex reluctantly.
Hazel removed her paw, zipping up her purse shaking her head, fighting back the urge to cry.
“Thank you” she mouthed looking up at him with thankful eyes.
“Chin up sis” he pleaded, seeing the hurt clear as day, and knowing full well she was sad; as her eyes instantly lost there glisten. “Eyes like that should never be dull” he concluded.
“I’ll try” responded Hazel shining him a false smile before walking out the door, Alex’s attention going to the next customer.
Hazel would usually head now to take the 404 bus from downtown to tundra town getting off at the Bliz street stop and walking half a block to begin work, but after “Items of significant cost” went missing, she was suddenly made redundant, and was no longer required at the Zootopia channel 12 news station.
Hazel had been the chief of editorial, it was never really what she wanted to do anyway or even what she had studies at college; but it did pay the bills.
Hazel knew her job-loss was ridiculous, but even if they had caught the real thief, it would not have saved her, prejudice was just too rampant against foxes.
“What do I have to gain from stealing this junk?” she had argued, only to have her pleas fall on deaf ears.
You see, Hazel had gotten a great inheritance from her father when he passed away, which is how she was able to live in a brilliant loft in the most expensive part of Zootopia and why she was not so worried about getting a job and now chose to chase her dreams, like her father did. Even though she lived among the top of the Zootopian hierarchy, most thought she had hustled or slept her way there.
Truth was Hazel’s father had worked tirelessly and made his way high up the ranks at city hall starting off as a civil servant, he had been good friends with the mayor of Zootopia of the time; Mayor Lionheart, who was the uncle of Alex from the bakery, that is how Hazel and Alex knew one another.
Hazel’s father, Dante, was an advocate for predator rights and the removal of mandatory shock collars during a great split in Zootopia’s predator and prey class of citizens; long before Hazel’s lifetime.
Dante had been a spokesperson against prejudice and the need for the equal treatment of all animals in Zootopia; it lasted a while, but in the end the foxes still got the short end of the stick, she could understand why he had such passion for it, she hated being a fox sometimes because of the way she was treated.
Alex had known Hazel since she was only a cub, seeing each other on many occasions both at her father’s work functions and when Alex would come to visit his uncle at work. Hazel use to stay glued to Alex’s side like a shadow, and had an obsession with his mane as a cub. They had become mischievous sidekicks that reigned terror at city hall, messing up paperwork and playing throughout the hallway.
Alex was ten years older than she and saw Hazel as his younger sister; even though they were different species. He had always been protective of her and looked out for her every step of the way.
When Hazel was old enough, around her teen years, her and Alex would meet up for coffee and the occasional movie, but over time adulthood took place and their responsibilities as such made seeing one another quiet difficult nevertheless their relationship was set in stone and nothing was going to shake that.
When the crying had stopped and his tears had run out and all the whimpering in the world was not going to change what had happened, Nick simply sat there, a subtle hum leaving his lips, he didn’t know what the hum was; but it left his lips regardless.
There were no words left, no happy phrase, nothing for him to hold onto.
It was as if all that had happened up till this point had made him a fragile piece of glass, but now that glass had exploded, shattered all over the place; in the dark of Nicks mind, and he was a child once again, sitting in his green scout outfit muzzled and sobbing, being forced to try and repair this shattered glass with a hammer; it was to be impossible.
Fangmyer walked over as he did most days and sat by Nick placing a coffee down along with a punnet of the best blueberries money could buy; as he always did, making sure Nick wouldn’t starve himself to death.
Nicks eyes became moist at the sight of the blue uniform, as they did most days.
After this momentary introduction Fangmyer would talk, Nick would listen, Fangmyer would leave for the ZPD and Nick would pour the coffee out and return sitting cold and statue-like on the park bench, eating maybe one blueberry out of the punnet before it also joined his coffee in the confines of the park bin.
This had gone on for a year, a whole year of Nick sitting in the park. Night would come and he would simply pull his long overcoat over his head and fall asleep on the exact same park bench.
He had lost his house when no one would give a fox that could barely stand a job.
His park bench was very specifically chosen, it sat only a few metres from the lake that was situated in the middle of the park, just in case he became thirsty and just down from a small footbridge; his sanctuary from rain and a simple reminder of who he really was, an under the bridge fox. There was a small batch of trees around him and the path his park bench was on was one less travelled. There was grass patches all around and a bin just to the right of his bench another reminder of the garbage he thought himself as.
His face was rough and scraggily and his eyes seemed to have blood red lines in them all the time, like he had not stopped crying, which was true for the most part, although it was internal. His fur was matted and oily, very different to how the fox’s usual vibrant coat used to be.
Officers would usually tell animals who tried to sleep in the park to move on, but the police who patrolled the park knew who Nick was; the dumb fox, played by clever bunnies and their insidious agenda. Most Officers left him alone after they knew he was protected by a specific officer.
A new recruit had tried to make him move on; cruelly and full of aggression, a smart-arse punk of an officer. He grabbed Nick hard around the arm when Nick had ignored his initial direction to “Get lost”.
“Didn’t you hear me fox? I said move on!” snarled the hyena.
Tightly grasping Nicholas’s forearm, making sure to dig his claws deep into Nick’s flesh only to have Fangmyer intervene, giving him a taste of his own medicine. Fangmyer tearing the Hyenas arm from Nicks and squeezing the Hyenas arm hard, digging his large, curved, tiger claws in so hard it broke skin, his eyes unwavering, telling the new Officer to “Let it go” to which the new recruit conceded.
No one dare touch Nick thereafter; however Fangmyer was reprimanded for “Aggressive behaviour to a fellow officer” and was placed on parking duty by Jack, the new chief of the ZPD.
Nick had lost his home “What was the point” he thought and when he couldn’t even string words together in his mouth or form thoughts that didn’t instantly take him back to the last time he saw “them” and re break him all over again, “What was the point”.
Hazel a very shy and kind Vixen was on her way from the bakery to start her new job, where she was the boss of her own destiny.
She took Furbast Road this morning and cut through the park as she loved the warm sun and smell of the fresh grass and roses that littered the park. She was on her way to the library; where she worked on her novels, the course she had studied so hard for at college.
She wanted to be a writer and although she was as she had released a few short stories, she was not a very well-known one, but a writer non-the less and as always, she saw the same fox that she use to see when she was heading to her old job as the chief of editorial.
“A bum” others had described him as when she had asked.
“Some washed up con-artist who got what he deserved”.
“A typical response to a fox”, she would always think when they shone her that all too patronising stare, that she also belonged to that “trope” of critters.
She was just at the small lake in the centre of the park, when she happened upon the same fox on the same bench with that same look, devastation, and as always, she sat across from him far out of his visual site; just to stare.
She could see past the devastation and bum-like exterior he was indeed a handsome fox. She sat with her legs to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs, and just stared.
She had day dreamed about him several times, she felt silly about it, she put it down to too many love stories as a cub and the fact he looked eerily similar to Red, which both broke her heart and made her mad simultaneously.
She sat back and took out her pencil and paper, that she usually used for her writing, a place to jot down notes or ideas, however Hazel was also creative in many other ways and began to sketch Nick, like she had done for the last six months, something about this fox drew her in completely and utterly, but no way on heaven or earth would she ever talk to him, what would she say?
She sketched and sketched and sketched she was almost done when she saw a group of young mammals lead by a beaver approach the fox.
“Watch this” stated the beaver picking up a pine cone and throwing it at Nick, who took the hit and didn’t so much as bat an eye. The beaver scoffed “so much for predator”.
“He must have rabies” added one of the animals following the beaver, who threw a half eat cake at Nick, still no movement was made. The jelly and cream simply dripping down the fur on his face falling off his chin and smearing the fur on his neck a little.
“Ah” scoffed Hazel amazed at their cruelty. “ Little critter” she spat to herself, tucking her sketch book under her arm and putting her purse over her shoulder before storming over to intervene.
“Hey bum!” shouted the beaver “My father says you should get a real job cause your making’ you’re kind’ look even dumber!”
Nick stayed silent starring forward. He couldn’t even hear the beaver, he could hear nothing but the voice of Maria and Jack talking in his head, his brain playing scenes in his head of what was possibly happening at the Savage household.
“I love you” gasped Maria into Jacks ear, wrapped together in love… making a new kit, a kit that would replace their love for his daughter, would they hurt her the same?
That thought was always the worse, and the one he couldn’t shake, he knew ju- Maria’s body to well and worried about his daughter on the constant; knowing these two rabbits didn’t have morality.
“Love you daddy” giggled Nicks kit her smile aimed at Jack as he tickled her belly. Her new father, her successful uncompromised father.
“You’re the best thing to happen to us Jack” Maria would confirm, Nick’s kit nodding in agreement.
“What a loser” cackled the Beaver as he leaned down to pick up another pine cone and throw it but as his paw came back preparing to launch the projectile it was caught in a paw of red, he turned to see Hazel snarling at him.
“Listen here you little creep” she growled “You leave that fox alone this instant” she demanded.
The beaver pulled his paw from hers “Or what?” he challenged disrespectfully.
As he pulled his arm from Hazels grasp, Hazels book fell from under her arm falling open to a page full of sketches of Nicholas.
She went to threaten him but was lost for words, what was she “going to do?” she thought nervously.
She looked to Nick for a moment to gather courage, strange that a fox she didn’t know could give her that.
The Beaver scrutinised the look on her face as she looked at Nick and saw a specific look in her eyes.
One of the beaver’s followers pointed to the open book on the floor “She’s a stalker” he blurted through fits of laughter pointing out the pictures of Nick.
The Beaver looked down to the book and burst out in laughter “Eww, you’re in love with a homeless fox” he shouted, his insult breaking her thought.
The Beaver’s friends soon joining in with the laughter, before they soon started to chant it, yelling it out loud for all to hear
“♫You’re in love with a homeless fox, you’re in love with a homeless fox♫”
Jumping around her poking fun before taking off all laughing; leaving her shaking in anger.
Once they were gone she shut her eyes to calm herself, once calm she rolled her eyes and shook her head, her attention turning to Nick.
“Are you okay?” asked Hazel, trying to make eye contact with him.
Nick didn’t reply he just swallowed deeply.
Hazel breathed out heavily realising that this would be the extent of their conversation.
“Well…umm… it was nice to meet you” she whispered with a smile, her ears folding back over her head as she turned and walked away.
Nick leaned down realising she was walking off without collecting her book, that sat open on the ground.
She turned almost forgetting her book, she leaned down at the same time as Nick, her paw landing on his forearm as his paw covered the book. His eyes firstly saw the sketches but something else grabbed his attention more then the pictures.
They stood up, his paw holding the book her paw holding his arm, they made eye contact, she smiled but Nick’s whole body shook with fear and he froze stiff, he swallowed hard and his chest pounded, all colour had run from his face, fear engulfed.
However, this vixen was not horrifying or scary at all, on the contrary she was sweet and gorgeous to behold, and smelt Devine; however her paw gently rest on the forearm of Nicholas and all he could feel was the small paw of one Judith Hopps.
His eyes moved to it slowly and were glued to it in horror as if this vixen was burning his arm with a hot branding iron, his shake was so violent the vixen could see it and feel it shaking her paw. She felt horrified, what had she done to scare him so…
Nick gently raised his other paw and swiped her paw from his arm; the shaking slowly subsiding the longer her paw was gone.
Hazel pulled her paw into her chest, feeling confused and bad, fearing she had done something wrong.
“I…I’m sorry” she whispered, although she had no idea why she was apologising. She held her paw close to her chest like she was concealing a weapon or her paw was some dangerous kind of poison.
Nick quickly shoved the book at her and turned to look at nothing in particular, to look at anything; but the mesmerising eyes of this vixen.
Hazel gently took the book making sure not to make contact with his skin again; she went to speak but felt like a leper, felt self-conscious and instead turned rushing away at a brisk pace.
Nick shifted his eyes several times slyly and when he was sure she was far enough away his shake returned and his legs shook violently, he was weak in the knees and gently felt around behind him with his paw until he found the seat.
He sat starring at where the vixen had touched his arm and with all the power left in his soul he tried to shut out the memories that were trying to flood his mind.
“Never … let them see they get to you” he murmured rubbing his arm as if he had been injured.
