The grey doe ran swiftly, mostly quietly along the trail lined in tall grass and small saplings, though the sides of the trail faded into dense undergrowth beneath enormous trees that blotted out any real visibility into the forest greater than about twenty meters. Every fifty meters or so, Judy stopped and listened. She suspected that Skye was not trying to be very quiet given how she ran off. After listening for only a second or two, Judy would bolt again, her feet carrying her as swiftly as possible. She reflected on the preposterous fact that she was actually hunting a fox as she came to a stop again.
She finally heard it. The vixen ahead of her was still running, but Skye wasn't built for distance. Judy was off like a shot again, running even faster now that she knew she had not accidentally passed a hunkered down and hiding fox. She knew that Skye had a temper. She had seen the vixen blow up at Nick a couple of times early on, but this was beyond the pale. They didn't have the time to stop and deal with this, but it absolutely had to be dealt with.
Coming around a slight curve in the trail, Judy finally saw Skye. The vixen was running a lot slower, and stumbled. It was the middle of the afternoon and the sun was high. It was very hot and humid outside the trees on the trail. The fox got up and continued mostly trotting along, coughing a little. It was obvious that she was crying. Judy slowed just a little, not wanting to frighten her. She didn't want to cause a confrontation between her and Skye.
"Wait up! Skye!" Judy called, panting heavily. The fox crumpled to the trail, heavily panting, just on all fours. She tried to crawl a little.
"What have I done?!" she sobbed. She then promptly vomited. Judy opted to stay back a bit from that. Helping raise little brothers and sisters got her over any issues with sympathy sickness, but it was still not something she wanted to crowd the distraught vixen with. Judy stood quietly a moment, catching her breath not far from the retching white fox. "I won't... run. I won't fight. I'm so... sorry," she cried, gasping between words. Judy's heart ached to see her friend like this. Judy wondered if she and Nick would ever get into an argument that bad. Nick could get angry, she knew, but he certainly didn't have Skye's temper.
"Take your time. Catch your breath, Skye." Judy said softly, moving into a spot of shade just off the trail.
Skye sobbed a little longer before she shakily asked, "Is he... Is he dead? Please don't let him be dead." She curled into a ball on her knees, tucking her head under her as if ducking for cover from a bomb blast. Judy widened her eyes at that. She had only tackled and winded Jack! Did she honestly think bunnies could be killed that easily? It then instantly dawned on Judy how absolutely terrified this fox must have been at that moment. She moved in a flash to Skye's side, ignoring the mess out in front of her.
"Jack's fine! You didn't kill him, Skye!" Judy exclaimed immediately. She put a paw on her back, the khaki material of her button-up shirt warm in the sun. Skye sobbed louder, but it seemed at least a more grateful sort of crying. Then it shifted right back to despair.
"I've lost him! Oh, Judy, I ruined everything! Why! Why?!" She was shaking. Judy was profoundly uncomfortable in this situation. She was not in her element here.
"Hey, it's alright... you don't know that for sure. Jack's pretty... forgiving." Judy was honestly not sure about it as she said that. After all, his girlfriend just punctuated an argument with assault and battery. Had it been in Zootopia the fox would be in cuffs and most definitely a muzzle. That thought pained Judy. Skye might actually need some help with her temper. Judy didn't want to push her right then, just letting her have it out. A bit more dry-heaving got the bunny's paws off her a moment, but she resumed crying in that tight little ball. Skye's forehead remained on the ground as she clutched pawfuls of grass like she never wanted to let it go. Judy sighed and just stroked the inconsolable vixen's back and let her cry. She didn't want to outright lie to comfort her. It was entirely possible that everything was not going to be okay.
