Judy is looking down at the floor in silence, her ears perked listening to the road. Hazel's tail slips into view from the side. Judy glances confused at her.

HAZEL
Go ahead. I know you're thinking it.

JUDY
Excuse me?

HAZEL
'A skunk butt-rug? What gave you that idea?' (fluffs her tail) Go ahead, I won't spray. Even if I wanted to, I can't. They took my scent glands in the kennels.

JUDY
(reaches) I. . . I'm sorry to hear that.

Judy slides her fingers across the top with hesitation. She takes a deep breath and pets along its length, eventually forcing up a nervous smile.

JUDY
It's, uh. . . Quite fluffy. (stops petting) So. . . What did give you the idea?

HAZEL
Exactly this. We were trying to brainstorm ideas to make money, we somehow both ended up on the floor using the others' tail as a pillow, and we both had the same idea: 'It's so soft and fluffy it could even be wool.'

Hazel frowns and looks out the window.

HAZEL
We did eventually realize we could never pass them off as wool if we were both sporting bald tails. But we might not have fully taken into account the differences between the fur on our tails and the fur beneath our pants. And that's how I wound up in the kennels. (sighs) All that time, I thought they'd killed him. . .

JUDY
He said the same thing about you. Were you. . .?

HAZEL
In love? (shakes her head) Nah. I think we were both too poor to be in love. We never had time to really date, get close, or worry about whether or not our firstborn would be dubbed a funk. (Judy smirks) Everything we did together summed up as 'Hey, I thought of a way to make money,' or 'Hey, I thought of a way we can save money.'

Judy nods. There is a moment of silence.

HAZEL
Although we did go around the bases a number of times. (Judy's eyes widen) (Hazel smirks) Hey, when you're poor, you make your own fun.

JUDY
Ah. . . Really?

HAZEL
(grins) Ma-a-a-a-aybe. (pats Judy on the shoulder) But in all seriousness, whatever you and Nick have now, that is to what I owe my freedom, so I wouldn't dare do anything to change it.

JUDY
(smiles and nods) Thank you.

Awkward pause.

HAZEL
So. . . What is it?

JUDY
There are no boxes or funnies in our foreseeable future either.

Hazel smirks. They both look out their respective windows in a moment of silence. Judy looks back over with a wry smile.

JUDY
Though it won't be for lack of trying.

HAZEL
(eyes widen) Really?

JUDY
Ma-a-a-a-aybe.

Hazel stares, blinking her eyes in disbelief for a moment, then cracks a big smile.

HAZEL
Sly bunny you!

Hazel offers a fist bump, which Judy laughs as she accepts. They both look out the window and exhale.

JUDY
Ever been to Outback Island before? (Hazel shakes her head) Think we should be concerned?

HAZEL
(deep breath) Nick sold skunk butt-fur as wool to Mr. Big, the most powerful crime boss in Tundratown, because we didn't fear to cross him. (to Judy's face) We never would have pulled that kind of stunt on Outback Island. The Orphans? (nods) Them, we did fear.

---

Nick Wilde / Zootopia is © Walt Disney.

Hazel Dodge is ©  Terastas

Original artwork by  Dweet-Tea. Please favorite the original here.