/ztg/ - A Detour Under the Old Town Viaducts story

from /ZTG/ - Zootopia General: Spooky Picnic Edition
https://desuarchive.org/trash/thread/60746623/#60767642
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BOO, /ztg/! Falke here with something cozy and maybe just a little bit spooky for the season.

Hope you're all doing good, and enjoying the cold and the frights.

>The sun was on its way down, just after the first nocturnal commute. Each descending tier of Amphitheater Park's stepped lawns and both sides of the broad pedestrian plaza at the bottom were lined with colorful awnings and booths, strung with lights or flickering with candles. Mammals from all over the city were milling through, meeting with friends, munching on seasonal snacks while they browsed the market's produce and crafted goods, or just enjoying the party atmosphere.

>Beside Nick, though, Judy was still resisting the urge to join in. He looked sideways at her alert ears. She seemed to be counting.

>"What are you watching for?"

>"Competition," she said.

>He smiled. "I wouldn't worry about that. Your family's produce sells itself. Remember the spring co-op fest thing they were at? You ran out of blueberries."

>"We've never had a presence here before," she said. "Not for Harvest." She looked up at him, and her nerves became a fleeting grin. "There's a lot more mammals here."

>Like the Christmas market in Old Town proper, this seasonal gathering ran on a degree of seniority. There was only so much room even in a park as broad as this one, which meant the oldest and most established names in the farmer's market scene got the prime spots down in the center. Relative newcomers, like a farming family from out of town who was here for the first time, would be out on the periphery, up on the last ring of lawns that overlooked the scene where spot were first-come, first-served.

>It would be a nice view, at least, provided Judy's family got here in time to enjoy it. The park was studded with trees, and those that could change for the season were in the middle of it, showering the walkways and the awning eaves with red and yellow leaves.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/51270634
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Chapter two!

>"It's Old Town above us now," Nick said.

>"Above us?"

>"More or less. That used to be the edge of the city, way back when the river was the boundary. And then they built a road to cross it for all of the trade and mammals who came through." He followed Judy's gaze up, as if they might see through to where traffic bustled along it now. "And then they redid it again when the trains were built."

>She looked impressed at his knowledge. "You say you didn't come down here at all as a kit? You'd make a nice tour guide."

>"Are you kidding? It scared the hackles off me." He nodded forward, at where the light picked out a sharp curve approaching. "Flashlights weren't this nice back then. Besides, it's just a tunnel."

>Judy played the beam around, through dark recesses that probably hadn't seen the light for decades.

>Maybe 'just a tunnel' was selling it short. Nick could see locked diverter gates and cramped passages going every which way, and a lot of old stonework vaulting. The viaduct had once been a commercial interface of its own - the lone waterway and its attendant path had spread like a delta into Old Town back when it was open to the sky, full of workshops, storeyards and housing.

>It just wouldn't have lasted long after things got built out. These days there were only a few species that still lived in fully underground burrows, and even fewer who tolerated the idea of being underfoot. Any homes that had once been down here would have long been abandoned.

>Nick hoped, anyway. The harder he peered into the ancient labyrinth the more he thought of the stories his mother had told him as a young kit, of the monsters who lurked under bridges and preyed on mammals who strayed from the path...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/51270634/chapters/129617446
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And here is the final chapter for this year's little adventure.

>Nick met her again just outside the front door, after she collected her cookies and went to wait on the patio where the decorative globe of the hearth sculpture would keep her warm. He smiled and dropped what looked like a bundle of straws into her little bag from the shop.

>"There are beekeepers here, from Rainforest," he said, and held out one of the straws. It was a waxy tube, she saw, filled with golden liquid. "I knew they'd be here somewhere. Did you ever have one of these?"

>"Honey straws? Of course."

>"They were my favorite treat as a kit," he said. "And they're still two bucks for a dozen, so I got some for us and some for the kits."

>The market around them showed no signs of slowing down - if anything, there were probably even more mammals out here now that the sun was down. Even the amphitheater's topmost tier of vendor stalls and tents was bustling, and Judy was gratified to see Christopher had his own short line of customers. She waved hello to him and ducked past the waiting mammals to reunite with her family. Nick lingered, long enough to endorse the blueberries to the prospective buyers.

>"There you are." Rita put another crateful of root vegetables on the staging table and brushed her paws. "We were wondering if you'd gotten lost."

>Nick caught Judy's eye and winked. "We sure did."

https://archiveofourown.org/works/51270634/chapters/129740548