"Lost and Found"

He was hopelessly lost.

Lost in the large city of Zootopia, he was trapped in the herds of animals rushing to get to work. Everywhere he looked was animal after animal, from elephants to mice. He shrank from the sheer size of the elephants and rhinos, all animals that were bigger than him. One false step from a rhino and he'd be crushed like a piece of gum.

"Papa!" He cried, circling where he stood. "Papa! Where are you?!" He had come with his father, who was taking him to his job to show young Nick Wilde the ropes of being a banker, but Nick had foolishly let go of his father's paw when a street performer- a magician- caught his eye.

He couldn't help but be drawn into the wonder of the show performed by the sloth. It took the slow magician a while to shuffle the cards for the classic "Pick a card, any card" trick, but in the end it was worth it...except now he was regretting that decision.

He felt his eyes begin to water as he was bumped aside by the crowd that ignored the cries of the lone fox pup.

"Papa!" He yelled loudly, over the roar of the crowd. "Papa! Where are you?! Papa! Papa! Pa-!"

He stopped when he felt a gentle squeeze on his paw. He whirled around to find a pair of curious amethyst eyes staring at him. He blinked, a small tear ran down his cheek as he stared back at the little bunny girl. She wore a blue sun dress and had a bandage on her left cheek.

"Are you lost?" she asked, giving him a toothy smile. He noticed that she was missing one of her front teeth. He sniffed and quickly rubbed his eyes, wiping away his tears.

"N-no!" he muttered, turning his head away and yanking his hand away from hers. She bounced in front of him, holding her smile. He kept his head down, avoiding her eyes.

"Aw come on! I can help you! When I'm big I'm going to be a police bunny and this is good practice!"

Nick sniffed and rubbed his wrist against his cheek. "L-leave me alone!" he crossed his arms and turned away from her again, facing the ground. She followed him swiftly, tilting her head down, reaching eye level.

"Why you crying?"

He gave her a pout. "I'm not crying!" he said, covering his eyes with his arm.

"Okay I believe you!" she said. "But you are lost, right?"

He slowly peered up at her from behind his arm. She gave him a kind smile, waiting for his answer. He could ignore her, but he was desperate.

"I can't find my dad..." he said softly. The bunny girl tilted her head down to his level.

"Well, don't worry, I'll find your dad...promise." she replied. He didn't know why he felt better after she said that. She put her arms out from her sides.

"Just look! I can jump really high and I can see where your dad is!" She exclaimed excitedly, jumping in place to show him. "What does he look like?!"

"Um.." Nick bit his lower lip, watching her jump. "He's wearing a green suit...and...some glasses?"

"Okay! got it!" she bent her knees and sprang up, jumping over six feet. Nick eyes widened. The bunny girl hopped in place, turning her head and peering her eyes over the crowd. Her eyes lit up, seeing something in the distance. Once she landed safely on the ground, she grabbed Nick's paw and started dragging him through the crowd.

"Found him!" she cheered. "I found him! I found him!" she zig-zagged through the crowd making Nick run faster in fear of tripping over himself and having her drag his limp body across the ground. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, making him stumble forward, just in time to catch himself. The bunny girl tugged at an animal's coat tails.

"Excuse me, Sir, is this your son?"

Nick looked up to see his father turn to face the small voice, and saw his ears spring up from finding his son. "Nicolas! I was so worried!"

"Papa!" Nick ran into his father's open arms, crashing into his chest. "I was so scared, Papa! but this bunny-!" he pulled away, pointing toward where the girl was, but she was gone. He never got the chance to thank her. He always thought about that day from time to time. Even as an adult, when he found himself at a wrong turn, he always thought of that bunny girl coming back and holding his hand again. He always remembered her toothy grin and her bright and curious eyes. He regretted not asking her name, and he wondered if she would ever recognize him as that little fox pup who cried for help. He often took the bunny train, not because it got him where he wanted to go, but to try to catch a glance of that bunny. He wondered if he would recognize her when the time came for them to accidentally meet again.