-ˏˋ 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 ˊˎ-

He's right about this fox guy, he does seem friendly.

After throwing money at the other, he gives his pawsicle an eager lick.

“Joey, a pleasure to meet you,” Nick managed as elegantly as possible, maintaining his best approximation of polite eye contact. “Nick Wilde, local vendor.”

When Joey smiled, Nick caught a clear glimpse of his teeth. Flat, like a prey animal’s. His gaze flicked briefly to the machinery on Joey’s arm, and he wondered if this made him some kind of cyborg herbivore. Was being a human something that came standard with parts like that?

Maybe he was just a mammal from some far-off country, or a remote island. Whatever he was, Nick decided that any additional cash Joey happened to be carrying could very reasonably end up in his pockets.

“Of course I did!” he chuckled, even if a slightly sour taste settled on his tongue at the mention of his… real name.

“Aw, c’mon, Nick, you know it’s Lightning now, don’t ya?” he teased, approaching and then wondering if he should hug him or just shake his paw.

He went with offering a black-padded paw. An embrace might’ve been a bit… awkward.

“Gosh, it’s awesome to see you again! I did kinda wonder whatever happened to you after we drifted apart sometimes.”

“ I’ve been around the city, doin’ what I do best. ” Being an absolute con, that is. Nick wasn’t entirely sure how truthful he should be about his daily scheming. Twisting the truth seemed safer, unsure if Lightning would reject him if he were too forthcoming about his real line of work.

“ I run a small business with my buddy, ” he continued smoothly. “ We sell pawpsicles, donate the sticks to a local rodent charity. Honest work. ”

It wasn’t as if Lightning hadn’t been a rebel himself once upon a time, but Nick embellished things just in case.

“ And I’m here because I wanted to see how my old buddy was doing. ” He nudged him lightly with an elbow. “ Kept hearing you win race after race. Figured I had to see it for myself. ”

Joey approaches the friendliest face he could find, which to be honest, is this lax looking fox. Everyone else he's encountered has either gawked at him or ignored him, treating him like a freaky circus animal.

Which, he supposes, is fair. But his Duel Disk said there's duelists in this world, unless it's completely wrong. Stupid hunk of junk.

But then the cash came out, and he suddenly cared a lot less. His paw plucked a popsicle from the cart, ready to trade the icy treat for the money. Who cared how outlandish this stranger was if they were paying up?

Well… Nick admittedly still cared a little.

"I'm... I'm not a zombie. I just put my body in the wrong place." Mika tries to ease the other who clearly just saw a corpse on the floor suddenly reawakened. What a great first impression. Mika stands up fully where their knees shook trying to adjust to their body having blood flow to their lower legs. Mika's ghostly, blue eyes watched the other. As if a mysterious fog had rolled over their gaze.

The last thing Mika needed was attention in the wrong places. Not like anyone would BELIEVE Nick, but Mika didn't need to take that chance of being outed as an otherworldly being. Even if Mika appeared as nothing more than a simple sheep.

"Guess I have to explain this, huh?" Mika didn't exactly know how to go about telling Nick that Ghosts and mythical doorways existed. Mika patted down their cardigan to make sure that their remote to get back home was still there.

Yep. Still there. "I don't expect you to believe me. But I'm a ghost who can... temporarily have a fake body in order to look normal. Just a passerby. I'm not even a REAL sheep. It's a-uh... how do I say this?" Mika fumbled their words with huff. "Illusion? Disguise? Yeah. Disguise. So, uh... yeah. I was just trying to scope out a night club that was around, but... it's for carnivores only, so I got curious." Mika shook their head in disbelief.

Maybe he was being pranked. Maybe this was a hidden-camera TV show and he was the unfortunate victim. Before he could form a proper sentence, he croaked the beginning of a word, eyes darting around as he searched for a film crew waiting behind the nearest corner.

Nope. No film crew. Just a sheep that had apparently risen from the dead and reanimated itself.

Even so, it was hard to decide whether anything the other was saying was true. His mind scrambled for alternative explanations. Maybe the sheep was a professional in special effects. A very dedicated one.

"The storeroom is in the basement of the gallery," she explained. "Do you see that building with the bow on top?" It probably stuck out like a sore thumb against the background of the town. "That is our destination! Do not worry, the entrance is big enough for you. We have hired animals larger than you are before. You will have no trouble investigating. Oh, and do mind the traffic!"

After offering several dozen thank-yous and apologies as he mindfully made his way through the crowd, they finally arrived. Nick let out a sigh of relief, pleased to see the entrance was inclusive for all animals, just as Palomine had mentioned.

His eyes darted before taking note of a map on a board of sorts nearby as he quickly focused on one of the names, he made sure not to throw suspicion as he spoke in a calm voice despite his quickening heartbeat.

“Likewise and ahh, well you see, I’m from Outback Island. It’s rather far from Zootopia so it took me some time to reach here, I do hope that my words aren’t confusing you Nick and sorry to make the air around here feel heated up just now. It wasn’t my intention…”

He explained as he moves his feet a little, he didn’t like lying like this as it hurts his mind. He was always truthful but here, he was literally at a stand still and couldn’t think straight, his head was beginning to throb, he needs to calm down!

With a slow, understanding nod, his confusion began to dissipate. Perhaps he was simply uncultured, and that was the last thing he wanted to appear in front of a noble who handed out gold coins like they were nothing.

" Outback Island! " Nick echoed, clearly impressed by how far Hisui had traveled. " No wonder you looked so lost. Well, like I said before, I’d be more than happy to show you around this crazy city. I know exactly where to go, where not to go, and everywhere in between. "

Robin's smirk only widened as he caught the spark in Nick's eye. A nostalgic pride surging in stomach -- one that could only belong to an older brother wishing to impress the younger sibling. Nick had no idea how much he meant to him and there was barely a way to vocalize it.

Once he had a moment to get situated, his gaze drifted toward the others in the hideaway. Namely, the imposing bear dressed suspiciously like his brother. Nick wondered if they were best friends, judging by the similarly matching attire.

His eyes flitted back to Robin as he began to speak, ears swiveling first as they caught his voice. A weak smile split his lips as he chuckled lightly. “ Business is good, so I’m good. You’d be surprised how much dough you can make selling popsicles and popsicle sticks to rodents. ”

But the happiness was fleeting.

"I remember almost everything about it because I painted it!" she said. "It was selected to be one of the auction items for our Winter Gala. A part of me understands why they took it. It was moving, if I do say so myself. It was about 18 by 24 inches," a massive size for a rat! "With a playful color palette! Lots of reds and pinks and oranges with a hint of blue, with all of the energy right in the center. I know it is cliche, but you see, I turned it on its head by using the cooler colors there instead!" Before she knew it, she was rambling as if she were speaking to an art buyer. "It was inspired by childhood trips to the shore, with all the beach balls and the fireworks and the popsicles~! It may remind you of a certain Kissy Bandage box! I had a deal with them about a year ago. In fact, that may have been why that painting was the only one missing from the storeroom..."

She gasped.

There was a tiny sigh of relief at that.

For a moment, he tried to picture how she’d painted it. Scaffolding, maybe? Either way, he was bent on finding it.

" I’d say we have a pretty strong lead to investigate. " Nick lowered an open paw to the little mouse in case she wanted a perch on his shoulder. " Point me to the storeroom, ma’am. I’d like to talk to whoever’s in charge of that place. They’re supposed to keep storage units like that under tight watch. "

Green eyes flicked to him, a little surprised. This was the first time he’d heard him speak. His ears lifted and head raised at the gesture to the couch, and he gave a single nod.

Nick sat at the other, but not against the armrest; he didn’t want to seem scared. He wasn’t scared. He was just… well, like Nico, struggling to process all this. His life had been altered in a huge sense, and while his only negative reaction so far was anxiety, the fox didn’t think something would happen to rub him the wrong way or ruin the mood.

More the first few moments, he just sat where he was and began looking around to get a feel of the apartment. It really wasn’t a bad place, not to him, but had he known about his twin brother and mother living here, he would’ve tried to arrange something else. He wanted something better for them both already.

But he wasn’t going to bring it up. Would’ve been rude.

His attention was then caught by Nico’s comment on his appearance.

He was flattered, not having been expecting that. But what else was there to say? Relieving the tension in a situation like this was very important if you were getting to know someone. He’d done the same thing before- just not in the manner of ACTUALLY befriending someone.

Just tricking them.

With a smirk and an exaggerated motion of puffing out his chest a bit- he even ran his paw over his ear for good measure, as if slicking back one’s hair- Nick chuckled. “Ha-heh… well, I must say, you have quite the smooth voice,” he replied, deciding not to mention that they sounded exactly alike. “Must be pretty popular with the ladies, huh?”

It was still really shocking, but it was… nice to know that he had a brother; that warm feeling rose in his belly and pulled his smile a tad wider, though he kept his cool, despite wanting to betray the very sudden excitement and enthusiasm going off like fireworks in his head.

Instead, Nick leaned back and crossed one leg over the other, his arms folded over his chest.

“So,” he started after a few moments of quiet, meeting Nico’s eyes again, “how did Mom… break the news to you? Dad didn’t sugarcoat it. He just kinda said, ‘Nick, you got a brother and your mother wants you to meet him’.”

They really were twins, from their looks to their voices. At first it tripped Nico up, hearing how he sounded from the perspective of another. Not bad by any means, though he did wonder how long it would take either of them to adjust to the change.

"Hey, I don't blame you. The way you described it is spot-on."

It was comforting that they were on the same page, their feelings already aligned. It relaxed him even more, his shoulders loosening as he listened to his brother.

Brother.

The word was still so strange that it felt unreal. Nico remembered the times he had observed other siblings throughout his years, their closeness, their unbreakable bonds, the effortless way they understood each other. Suddenly the idea that this might be available to him felt exciting, and he hoped the feeling was mutual.

Little did he know Nick shared that excitement, both of them keeping their composure. It was only a matter of time until the ice fully broke, giving way to a bond they had been robbed of.

"Way Mom did it was she told me exactly one or two seconds before you knocked on the door. You can imagine my surprise."

His ears dipped for a moment, then perked right back up.

"But it turned out to be a great surprise." Nico tried not to sound too eager, tried not to be so direct. It wasn’t his way to be forthcoming with emotions. Not only was it difficult, it just didn’t come naturally.

He cast a playful glance, tail flicking with amusement. “And speaking of admirers—please, Nicky. It's just mindless swooning.” He paused a beat, ears swiveling with exaggerated thoughtfulness. “You know. Community service. Good deeds. The occasional dramatic rooftop entrance.”

The grin he gave Nick was all teeth and warmth. He nudged him lightly as they crossed the street.

For every time Nick swindled some sucker, Robin was off helping a chump who needed rescuing. He wondered how they ended up on opposite ends of the scheme spectrum, guided by wildly different morals. Maybe Robin’s good nature was why he wound up on the taller end of the gene pool.

The thought made Nick’s nose scrunch.

Eventually they arrived at the venue, and with Robin’s grand introduction, Nick was honestly excited. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he had high hopes. Older siblings usually had something magical up their sleeve.

Adjusting his tie, he led the way in.

He looked down at their outstretched paw then sensing the uneasiness, he knows why as it must be due to the fact that he had less fur. He timidly extended his right hand to shake theirs, hoping not to cause the other any discomfort.

“It’s…It’s very nice to meet you Nick Wilde, my name is Hisui. I’m truly sorry if my hands cause you uneasiness as I can tell by looking at one’s facial expressions and energy, know that I mean well and appreciate what you’re doing for me.”

He spoke in a gentle voice, showing concern for the fox as he readjusted the robe he was wearing.

" Did I look uneasy? I'm not unea- "

Nick’s breath caught in his throat as he caught a glimpse of the other's paws… or lack thereof. He snapped his gaze elsewhere and tried to continue his sentence as smoothly as he could. He forced a cough, desperate to mask his reaction.

" So sorry, I uh, got something caught in my throat! Anyway, Hisui, it's so nice to meet you, " Nick chuckled, tugging at the collar of his shirt to air himself out. " Can I ask where you're from? "

“Nicky!” Arms opened instantly, “bring it in, brother.” Without waiting for any type of consent, he pulled the other into a warm embrace. There were a few friendly pats on the back before stepping back.

Right on cue, there it was. An invitation to some shenanigans.

As much as he wanted to slink away, his better judgement told him not to. Anything free admittedly piqued his interest anyway, and he had a hunch that his chivalrous older sibling knew this.

He failed in that regard. Apparently there was one witness.

Palomine jumped up and down, waving with all her might, her embroidered coat flapping in the wind. She, too, was nervous about having such a large police officer help her. But perhaps someone of a different height would have a different perspective on the matter! And she was happy to have help regardless. This was a very serious matter, after all!

"Thank you so much for volunteering to help! I cannot tell you how much it means to us. Speaking of which, my husband could not join us, but he sent his regards!"

She turned and whistled. A team of six rats brought out a fox-sized helping of tartiflette, a heavenly mixture of potato and cheese and caramelized onions, and held it up. It was so fresh that it steamed in the air.

His nose wiggled as it picked up the scent of food, and as a squad of rodents marched toward him with that divine platter, his eyes widened in disbelief. The wind carried the steam straight up his nose, and he sighed dreamily as he began to help himself to the tartiflette.

"My goodness, you really shouldn’t have." Nick was used to scooping peanut butter out of a jar and calling that dinner, so having this professionally made food was absolutely mind-blowing. "Can tell ya right now," Nick managed between bites, "that monster is as good as dead. We are so hunting him down."

Nick had been eating so ravenously that he had to catch his breath. When he swallowed the last bite, he wished he could regurgitate it and eat it all over again.