The Time Traveler's Guide to Zootopia

Chapter 12: An Uncommon Enemy

Who would've thought that howling was only contagious among wolves?  I certainly did.

Judy joined in on the howling.  Admittedly, she made a good enough impression that it caught me off guard.  Even as a bunny, she could pull it off well.

I sat there and continued to listen to them howl for the next three minutes. At times, it was spooky, adorable, or quite fascinating. They tried to get me to howl but I didn't want to ruin the moment. They kept insisting so I cupped my hands over my mouth, pretending to howl.

Judy noticed my laughable attempt.  "C'mon Cherry, give us a real howl!" 

I tried to howl but it kept sounding like a broken jukebox.   Little Joseph couldn't contain himself.  Meanwhile, the wolf family and Judy continued to howl in unison.  It got to a point that I didn't know when they'd ever stop.

But I didn't mind.  Even though I couldn't howl like them, we all sat on the old tree log and enjoyed each other's company nonetheless.  I closed my eyes and listened.

"Ahhh... th-that never gets old!" Jay said, stretching his neck.

 "Never does!"

"Our ancestors would be so proud!"

"Oh, I'm sure they would!" Judy cheerfully commented. "It's hard to keep up with you guys."

"You great, Officer Hopps. Where on Earth did you learn to howl?" Jamie asked. "You sound just as good as my sister when she howls."

"Aww, you're sweet!" Judy blushed. "We actually have many ZPD wolves who teach us a thing or two about howling."

"Now you can tell Officer Wolfard you've p-passed the beginner's course." Jay smiled.  

Jamie then gave me a silly concerned look.  "And when you're able, you can help Cherry improve his howling."

"Yeah!" Joseph added with a toothy grin. "And I thought Omegas were bad howlers."

His mother then shot him a scowl.

"What?" he innocently shrugged.  "It's true, mom."

He's right," Judy teased.  "Gotta learn your howls,"

"It's on the bucket list," I joked. "Right after I learn my 'roar' first."

They smiled in agreement before we resumed talking about a number of things such as the ZPD, whatever that was; the howling; the city of Zootopia, wherever that was; and a couple of other things that I zoned out on. Zootopia, I kept hearing that name. It must've been a popular city but I've never been there. Was it like Dinotopia but with animals instead of dinosaurs? Was it a giant zoo? They say New York was like a jungle so I wonder if Zootopia was similar in nature. Judy would have to show me a picture of it sometime because I was getting curious. All I knew was that she must've worked there and was well known among its citizens.

As they continued, they tried to include me in the conversation and began to ask questions about where I was from. Judy already knew the real answer but she was kind enough to help me adapt my answers in a way that would fit into this planet's narrative. Some of the things she said about my home were improvised and sounded a bit ridiculous but at least the Howl family bought it, which is the most important thing to stay discreet. Basically, we both told them that I was a polar bear who grew up in a cold dark place of Tundra Town on block #77, lived under the ice bunker my whole life, worked from home in a science laboratory studying astrophysics and horology until the room collapsed on itself, escaped, and then got into pyrotechnics for some odd reason.

" ...and that's how he ended up here, pretty crazy, huh?" Judy continued while elbowing my forearm because she thought I was falling asleep.

Jamie tilted her head.  "Wow, crazy indeed."