The two of you came to pause at the edge of the Rainforest District. Some hills with sharp cliffs skirted the buildings of Savanna Central. The area was a busy hub for travel between the areas and a sky tram was necessary at this entrance to carry animals over the hills and into the canopy.

Your eyes shined with excitement for being able to see this part of Zootopia with him. You'd heard stories about how romantic it can be sometimes. Imagine having a candlelit dinner at a restaurant in the canopy. There'd be live music and a soft drizzle outside...

The line for the trams got smaller and smaller until it was time to board. As the vehicle slowed down at the boarding area, Nick opened the door for you to hop inside.

The tram swayed as you entered and he followed in after you. You went to rest your arm on the edge only to find the whole cart was damp.

"Hmn," You groaned as you shook off your paw.

"Ah yes, the lush and beautiful forest," Nick said sarcastically as he swiped some water off before leaning on the rail.

"Is everything always soaked here?"

"Ehhh," Nick scrunched his eyes and raised his paw. He tilted it back and forth like a level, "Only... 80 percent of the time. 85 maybe."

"Well gee, I should've brought an umbrella," you sighed.

You felt something come to rest on your head, pushing your ears aside. Nick was holding an umbrella that he then popped open in front of you, "Don't worry fluffs, I got us covered."

You smiled and nuzzled toward him. His arm fell behind your back as he closed it back up. He then rested his arm over your shoulder to hold you. A breeze picked up, ruffling your fur. The tram had now reached the top of the hill and you could see the expanse of foliage beneath a foggy covering. It was just past midday and it was rather hot back in town, so the humidity here was actually refreshing.

The tram slowly drifted down between the trees, exposing more of the life that called this place home. You could see an ocelot, a capybara, two bears, and even some species you had never seen before.

Beneath the tree covering you could now feel a slight mist that permeated the air. It felt chilly on your face so you cuddled closer to Nick's warmth.

"So here's the plan," Nick began to explain while you two had some downtime.

Wilde described his years of playing card games with friends. Over time, he had picked up a few games and a few sleight of hand tricks. Today, you would be his accomplice in Three-card Mouse. This game was less known in these outlier districts. Also, lots of tourists used the river cruise which meant fresh meat.

Essentially, Nick uses three cards: two are jokers and one is a queen. He shows the queen and jokers to the crowd and then moves the cards around face down. An observer can place a bet on the card they think is the queen. If it is the queen, Nick pays them their bet. If it's not, Nick keeps the cash.

Your role was to bet money and win... occasionally. You can't win every time, otherwise, others would get suspicious. Plus, any money you lose isn't really lost between the two of you. You had to inspire confidence in other observers without being caught for being in on it.

Nick brought a sum of money and his objective was to double it by the end of the night through the various cruise-goers.

The catch is that Nick can control which card the queen will be. Essentially, he decides if the bet placer wins or not.

"Makes sense," you said as he finished laying out the plans.

"And we should have some extra time to enjoy the cruise too," Nick winked at you.

'That'd be so poggers...' You thought.

You felt the tram sway again as it slowed down. Nick left your side as he stood tall to stretch, "Ah, well, here's our stop."

Ahead there was a platform where animals were getting off and onto the trams going by. You opened the cart door and you both hopped off onto the wooden platform.

Walking tentatively over to the edge of the platform, you could see a huge river and waterfall many stories below. The animals down by the river looked like little specks.

"Long way down, huh?" You asked in awe.

"That's right! Are you ready?" Nick asked as he walked over to the edge beside you.

"Ready?"

He swung his arms and body back and forth as he stood poised to jump over the railing. He leaned back and--

"Wait! You can't!"

--he gave a tiny hop. He stopped and looked at you with a smirk and half lidded eyes, "Hmm, you're right that'd be too easy."

"You'd also die."

"Hmm. You make a good point there. Anyways, c'mon Y/N! Stop wasting time we have a cruise to catch," Nick said as he grabbed your hand and guided you away from the edge.

"Whatever you say, sir." You said in a cheeky tone, rolling your eyes.

The real way to get from level to level in the canopy were the elevators. They were stylized to look wooden and rustic, but they actually ran on steel wires and frames. You both boarded one and headed down to the river.

As you exited the elevator, you came out onto a large harbor area. There were various ships and boats stationed by a long pier as well as shops and restaurants lining the edge of the water. You could see fish hovering around just below the turquoise water that rippled from a distant waterfall. The river looked rather deep, however, because you couldn't really see the bottom. The largest ship took up the entire right side of the pier and you assumed that was the ship you would be boarding.

It was mostly white with an open front deck with tables, chairs, and umbrellas. Behind the front deck were three stories with windows along the middle. There were several animals currently boarding it.

Nick led the way as you came up to the attendant taking the tickets. Nick pulled out two tickets with your names on them which the attendant then marked and stamped. He also pulled out a laminated paper and the attendant wrote a date on the corner of it.

"Come along then dear," Nick said as he dipped his head and gestured toward the boarding ramp.

it's actually called Three-card Monte, but I figured Mouse would fit better bc... you know... zootopia