Feral Protector Deleted Scene

From my Ao3 exclusive Zootopia story; a deleted scene that I had no room to work with!

Feral Protector Alternate Takes

What If…

What If... Prowl Reacted to Judy’s ‘Snap’?

Judy’s moderate fuse was lit a while ago, and the spark just hit the end of the wick. Within a blink of an eye, she’d put the case file back into the shield’s hidden compartment. Then, her paw grabbed the Fox by his offending wrist and she twisted it behind his back. Using the leverage she had given herself, he found half of his face pressed against the nearest wall.

“You want a good reason?” Judy asked as she twisted his arm up a little harder. “You’re obstructing an ongoing investigation, impeding a Peacekeeper’s duty, and to top it all off you’re walking around with, what I understand to be, stolen government property. Which of those counts as a good reason for you to help me instead of going back to Chief Commander’s hospitality?”

A narrowed green eye met her gaze and his grimace turned into a smirk. “That’s excessive force from an enhanced office-yipe!”

“You’re an enhanced mammal, too, Wilde, don’t think your file hasn’t been updated yet.” Judy moved one paw to her utility belt and grabbed what looked like a carrot shaped pen. “Besides, you told me to do it.”

“When did I ever-?”

She clicked a button on the side of the pen and rewound the tape. Bunny hearing was usually second only to an elephant’s, but along with her strength, speed and stamina, her hearing had been blessed by her enhancement. She was able to pinpoint precisely when in their recorded conversation he’d said the words: “Twist my arm, why don’t you?”

“Your words.” Judy preened, eyes going half lidded as her lips pulled into a smug smile. His grimace was more disgruntled than pained, at this point. Which was good, she’d rather see that his pride had been hurt more than his arm. To be safe, she added a bit more pressure to her hold and watched him bare his teeth. “So, what’s it going to be, Slick? Your way, or the easy way?”

“...Alright. Alright! You win.” He growled and she smirked.

“I knew you’d see it my way.”

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

The massive form of Prowl appeared, broke and reversed her hold in a heartbeat. Her cheeks were gripped by a single paw and she was lifted from the ground, dangling more than a foot above it. Her nose was twitching and she knew it, because her heart was pounding against her chest like a drum. The ebony fox pressed his grinning maw into her space, leaving nary an inch between their muzzles, and her eyes stared into the white blotches that made up his narrowed gaze. His tongue slid out and washed over the pronounced fangs that made up his unnatural grin.

“You owe Us an apology, Bunny.” Prowl‘s voice was a lower gravel compared to Wilde’s, but she could hear part of the fox’s smooth tenor echo in the parasite’s words. The deep growl that was slowly becoming more apparent to her instincts sent a chill up her spine. Her nose was going to rocket off of her face at this point.

“For... twisting your arm?”

“What? No! That was funny. ...Yes, it was.” Prowl’s tongue slipped back into his mouth and his grin was once more all teeth, and Judy could imagine Wilde trying to argue otherwise. Then the smile dimmed and he narrowed his eyes. A dark claw tapped against her nose. “You called Us a parasite. Now apologize!”

I’ll be a radish in a cabbage patch, his feelings are hurt!

Sure, Wilde had mentioned that his parasite didn’t approve of the term, but that’s what it was. An organism benefiting from the presence of a host. The fox and his parasite were good at hiding the former’s weakness, she’d grant them that, but signs of it were present everywhere.

“...Would you apologize for calling me cute?”

The growling stopped as the ebony head tilted. “But ...you are cute?”

“And you are a para—”

The words died on her lips as the growl returned. Then the canid mouth opened to an unnatural degree, revealing rows of sharp teeth. With

its

opening came a roar that made the world go dark.