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askdawnandvern · 7 years ago

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A Lamb Among Wolves Ch:26

First off, I want to apologize for being two days late posting this. I imagine you guys were sort of on the edge of your seats after last time, so making you wait longer probably sucked. The whole point of having a chapter buffer was if i got sick, I would still have something to post. But thanks to the poor weather being what it was, I was, and still am suffering a pretty bad cold. On top of that I had to have some stuff done today medically that'd I'd rather not go into. Sufficed to say, sitting at my desk and working was a very non-option.

So I missed the Monday post date, and for that I'm sorry. Here's the chapter you had to wait on. I hope you all like it. And don't worry, schedule is still the same. I'm not changing the post date to Wednesday now or anything. The Monday after next will see the next chapter go up. Until then, here's hoping you like this new chapter, and until next time, I'm going back to bed...

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Chapter Twenty Six: A Brief History of The Northern Roaropean Lamb

"When compared to other mammals rise to a civilized state, sheep and caprids in general were found to have crawled out of their caves significantly earlier than most. Long before the founding of Scottram, Irelamb, and The new Pridelands, Sheep had been subsisting in the form of small communities and cities states spread across the regions. Records of advanced farming tools and written texts have been found to go back nearly as far as the advent of the original Pridelands Empire, and it gave them a great deal of time to grow and refine their culture and practices as they approached nation status."

"Early sheep herds were actually surprisingly similar in structure to that of their wolf counterparts, although forgoing the alpha-beta hierarchy system. At the advent of sheep cultural norms, the herd was largely composed of family members, with the sire ram or ewe leading the herd. But sheep were largely less tribal earlier in their development, which lead to largely peaceful intermingling and trading with other herds. This would lead to the herd dynamic quickly shifting away from simply being made up of families, and expanding to outside herds and even other species of caprids in the interest or protection and convenience."

"This is where early sheep and wolf differed the most greatly. Caprids were generally more docile, and as such spent more time cultivating and perfecting the land they already held rather than forcibly expanding into new territory. But what they lacked in offensive war mongering, they made up for in defense. And this is why they open and inclusive nature of the herd system became a great benefit when it came to sheepkind, especially those centered in the burgeoning nation of Shcottram."

"Years of proxy wars against invading wolves had only proved to hone and embolden the herd mentality of sheep kind, more and more small herds combining their resources and arms in an effort to keep the wolves at bay. Naturally these increasingly larger and larger herd based clans would place their faith in the strongest warrior among them, looking to them as the herd leader. It was this style of herd structure that would lead to the Blackwool clan's rise to power, and the birth of Schottram as a unified country. Specifically Sean Blackwool, who would become the first king of Scottram upon it's creation in 954 A.P. Irelamb, the neighboring nation would see formation just six years later."

"Sean was a seasoned warrior who, in his years before rising to the status of ruler, would lead the sheep under his command to many glorious and seemingly impossible victories against the invading Norwulff forces. But the one that would earn him the favor and praise of every herd in the nation would be 'The Battle of Woolcrag' in 944 A.P. Sean's strategic planning, cunning, and exemplary skill in combat would see him lead his armies to the successful liberation of the town after ten years of wolf occupation. Word of Blackwool's greatest victory spread like wildfire, sung from village to village and herd to herd. And with it came the pleas and requests to join under Blackwool's herd and finally put an end to the wolf occupation of sheep lands. It would take a total of ten years, and numerous battles, but eventually every herd in the land would join Blackwool in his fight against the wolves, and elevate him and his family to the status of being the recognized leader of all the herds in the country."

"This of course saw the birth of Shcottram, In which Sean would declare every sheep who resided upon its shores as being one herd, as well as every wolf as unwelcome among them. And soon after the installation of the Blackwool family as the ruling class among the Shcotts, Blackwools armies successfully drove the last of the occupying wolves out of the nation, This of course wasn't the end of the Norwulff attacks, but never again would the invaders manage to hold any land on Schottish soil."

"The royal line would keep Schottram stable for many centuries. With each onslaught of attacks, (mostly coming from the Norwulves) being successfully repelled. Between the strategic planning of the Blackwool lords in regards to their armies, and many members of the family line leading the charges, kings included, attacks by the invading Norwulves were foiled at every conceivable turn. The Blackwool family, keeping in line with the legacy Sean Blackwool had left in his wake, considered themselves rams of the sheep of Shcottram. And so every male in the family was taught how to fight without exception. However the frequent Norwulff attacks kept the ruling Blackwools rather busy when it came to dealing with the economic needs and rule of law among the everyday Shcotts. And so it was left to the ewes of the Blackwool family to deal in the matters of diplomacy and the needs of the citizenry, especially the acting Queen. More often than not, the acting Queen would often find herself in a greater role as the face of the citizens of Shcottram, but the King's vigilant defense of Schottrams shores did not go unappreciated by the populace despite this."

"The Norwulff reformation caused great consternation and argument among the Blackwool Royal Court, as well as the residents of the nation as a whole. While the ruling herd in Irelamb seemed to be more open to hearing the pleas for peace with the new wolf nation out, the festering old wounds of the constant battles between groups kept Schottram on the offensive. Both the acting King and Queens remained unwilling to hear the Düclaw clan out on peace talks, that was until Delcan and Moira Blackwool took thier respective thrones in 1342 A.P."

"The newly crowned King had an even more distrusting and suspicious attitude when it came to the wolf's entreaty. In fact, the old wounds of the previous attacks, as well as Lesser Norwulff's continued attacks on the nation despite the Greater Norwulff's calls for peace left Declan eager to pay their old enemy back. He was one of the first of the line of Blackwools to call for an offensive stance rather than defensive one. That the time had come to bring the fight to the nation of wolves, to wipe them out, and ensure that sheepkind would never have to worry about their treachery ever again."

“Moira on the other hoof, believed that negotiation and mending old wounds were the key to moving forward as a species, for the sake of sheep and wolves alike. She believed that a full scale war would be nothing more than a fools errand, and would only end disastrously for both parties. This became the catalyst for the many arguments the couple, although it wasn't their first. According to the documentation left by castle guards and castle hoofmaidens close to the couple, they rarely spoke to each other in any manner other than professionally and coldly. There were rarely any affectionate moments between the pair, even after the birth of their sons they remained stoic and cold to one another. It is for these many reasons their short marriage was rumored to be an unhappy one."

"King Declan's attitude toward the wolves would prove to be his undoing however. Eager to get a jump on the unsuspecting wolves, the king put out an order to shore up every able bodied ram in the nation to prepare themselves for enlistment in the King's army. He planned to lead a fleet of 45 of Schottrams finest warships to the shores of Lesser Norwulff to exact what he felt was long overdue revenge for the wolves heinous crimes. Ignoring his wife's pleas to rethink the invasion, the King set off with his ships and nearly half of Scottram's males in 1345 A.P. But of course we all know how that ended, I more or less went over it in the chapter about Norwulff history. The ships never made it to the shore, swallowed by an angry sea while caught in a snarling winter storm. Not even a piece of the wrecked ships washed up on the shores of Lesser Norwulff, and thus the wolves never even knew anything about the supposed oncoming invasion. The Kings death left Moira to sit upon the Schottish throne alone, until her sons came of the proper age to take over the position of King in her stead. Moira's prediction had proven to be half true, in that the attempt at war had proven to be disastrous for the Schottish citizens."

"Now seated on the throne with a nation in chaos, Moira had to act quickly to repair the void left by the loss of so many able bodied rams to her husbands foolish endeavor. She would go on to announce to her subjects that the disaster that befell Declan and his army was an act of the gods, a powerful and painful warning that the time had come to end the bitter feud between sheep and wolf-kind. Some of the Schottish citizenry were vehemently against Moira's call for peace, but the overwhelming majority of sheep under Blackwool's rule respected and were willing to follow the Queens call."

"Schottram had suffered greatly for Declan's folly, and the prospect of making peace was more favorable than the possibility of losing even more lives while the nation was in such a critical state. Even more so, the possibility of finally putting an end to the dreary life of perpetual preparedness for war was an enticing prospect to the Schottish populace. Instead of living in constant fear and alert of Norwulff attack, always on guard for the next invasion, the Norwulves would now be the ones to guard the sheep."

"Queen Moira is quite an interesting and enigmatic figure. As well as being one of my ancestors of very high distinction, she was probably the most beloved ruler in all of Schottish history, even more so after the peace treaty was formed with the wolves in 1346. Many historic accounts of Moira describe her as a mammal of poise and grace that no Queen who had sat on the throne before had ever held, and those who wrote such statements could scarcely conceive a Queen in the future who could live up to her legacy. The air around her was said to fill those who looked upon her with renewed faith and confidence, and even her detractors couldn't argue against the wisdom and skill with which she managed the nation as a whole, with no King to aide her on top of it all. The strength and foresight she carried carving her a prominent and powerful role in the shaping of Shcottish History. Even today her portrait can be found on the ten buck note used as Schottish currency, as well as various churches and art pieces depicting scenes from her benevolent rule."

"However, details of the Queens personal life are few and far between, especially after her first meetings with the wolf ambassador Erik Düclaw. The Queen had kept sparse personal journals to begin with, and they completely stopped about a month after negotiations with Erik began. When concerns were brought up about meeting the ambassador alone, the Queen had been cited as brushing off said concerns off with a laugh. Apparently one of her guards accounts had described the Queen as mentioning that she was certain the meetings would go fine as she had dreamed that they would, as well as having dreamt of Erik specifically."

"Incidentally, aside from being the live-in ambassador, Erik was also made to be Moira's personal body guard despite the protest from the royal court and castle guard. Public accounts cite the Queens reasoning for the move as being a bid to instill confidence in wolves living among sheep, as well as a show of the Queens strength and resolve when it came to her beliefs. In the same way the Blackwool males fought along side their citzens, she was willing to risk her life in order to stand behind her decrees, at least in the eyes of the public it seemed."

"Even after the Queen turned control of the crown over to her son Declan the second, and retired to the royal estate to the north, Erik was bid to follow suit. While he was no longer the acting ambassador, Queen Moira insisted he remain her body guard until the end of her days despite more objections from her sons and the royal court. But the Queen once again justified these decisions as remaining firm on her stance about how well sheep and wolves worked together. Even though she would now remain out of the public eye, she refused to be seen as a mammal who says one thing, and does another."

"Reasons like these are the straws with which conspiracy theorists grasp at to point to the possibility of a secret tryst going on between the pair. Between the sudden absence in the Queens journals after Erik became a permanent fixture in Moira's life. That he was with her at all times, even so far as appearing in every portrait of the Queen post becoming her personal guard. There were even accounts from the night watch of alleged howling coming from the Queen's personal bedchamber in the midnight hours. Of course with no other wolves within close proximity to the castle, and the inability of mammals outside of the wolf species being able to read the type of howl being heard the watch chalked it up to dumb, functionless savage instincts.

"There was also Declan the second's short lived time on the throne, and the controversy surrounding his expulsion and the seating of his younger brother Roderick in his stead just four years later. Despite having been given the throne by his Mother without a struggle, Declan seemed to have a chip on his shoulder when it came to his Mother and her relations with Erik. Much like his Mother, his personal accounts are few and far between. But from the portions that he did write, it was clear the young king shared his Father's view when it came to wolves in general, and seemed to have a general disgust for his Mother's close relationship with Erik. Key phrases in his writings such as referring to his Mother's relationship to the wolf as an "unholy union." as well as an "affront to his Father's memory and legacy." tend to be the ones theorists tend to gravitate toward. But the most baffling turn was Declan's attempt to burn his Mother's Estate to the ground with the Erik and her inside without provocation. I mean, at the time Declan had already secured the throne, with no one to answer to other than perhaps his Mother's clout over the Schottish citizens. Was it simply to honor his Father's memory? To remove any dissent at the possibility of rolling back the Ram-Wolf pact? Perhaps a hatred of Erik specifically? Again the personal accounts are to few and far between to form an accurate account of the young King's reasoning."

"The plot was of course, a failure. Queen Moira and Erik Düclaw survived the blaze, despite half of the estate burning to the ground. It had apparently started in the newest addition to the estate, Blackwool Tower, a large windowless tower built once Moira had turned the throne over to Declan II, which was odd considering it was far from the Queen's living area. Despite the fact that no lives were apparently lost, the Queen was noted as being livid to the point of illness. Personal accounts of the guard staff and hoofmaidens had referred to her breaking down in tears on several occasions despite never expressing why. Needless to say, her anger and disgust fell at Declan immediately, and despite her turning over royal authority to the ram, she was able to easily rescind it in the face of the overwhelming evidence of his involvement in the arson attempt. Many of his personal staff held no loyalty for the new King, and had willingly confessed against him when faced with Moira and the Schottish public. Declan found himself imprisoned in a tower similar to the one he had burned to the ground shortly after being found guilty, and he would spend the rest of his days there while his younger brother Roderick took the newly evacuated throne."

“Instances like these do make it somewhat hard to completely dismiss such theories and notions about Schottam's Queen. Believers are also quick to postulate that the absence of the Queen's personal records and Declan the Second's after the Ram-Wolf pact are actually the fault of the Schottish Government. That officials and the current royal Blackwool descendants have buried the texts, in fears that confirmation of any relationship other than professional existing with Erik Düclaw would tarnish the Queens legacy. But whether it proves to be true or not, it seems we'll never know for sure.""I personally would like to believe in such a secret, clandestine relationship, having always been a hopeless romantic. But the idea that Vernon and myself were not the first star crossed lovers in my family line, and that our hardships were not only shared, but considerably more difficult to endure for the couple during the time. But I have yet to find any concrete clues to solidify it for me, despite my personal hopes. Perhaps if I find the time, I can do more research on the topic and revisit Moira's mysterious relationship in a later chapter, but for now I must press forward in regards to my family's history lest I get distracted from the overall goal of this book."

"Wolf integration in Shcottish society was slow going despite the overwhelming desire for peace amongst the sheep folk. Sheep remained wary of their new neighbors, and despite the desperate need for workers in a great deal of trades among Shcottish soceity wolves were turned away from most positions. The only exceptions were the role of peace keepers among the towns and cities, as well as positions in the Shcottish Army. This is where it is believed the association between wolves and positions of law and order really began. And even as the years went on, and the sheep became more lax when it came to the jobs available to wolves they continued to naturally migrate toward law enforcement and defense work."

"By the time the visionary leader King Richard the Lionhearted took the throne of the New Pridelands, the combined forces of wolf and sheep in the Shcottish army had repelled two incursions by the empire on the Southern Shcottish border. Proving just how effective the aide the Norwulves gave to the Schotts had ultimately been. At the time the nation had grown rather quickly, as had it's populace, and so these victories were nothing to simply shrug off. The New Pridelands had become a growing threat to Shcottish sovereignty, and without the aide of the wolves among them it is arguable that the nation would have remained independent."

"Luckily, Lionheart signified a changing of the guard in terms of the New Pridelands expansionist polices. The charismatic leader spearheaded a radical change of ideals, including phasing out the monarchy in favor of democratic rule, and the concept of co-operative exploration and shared ownership. Lionheart was very eager to find a new land where he could field test these ideas, and his plan would lead to the birth of modern day Zootopia as I mentioned in the section related to Norwulff History."

"While the Blackwool royals remained skeptical on the idea of phasing out monarchies, the concept of mutually beneficial co-operative exploration was somewhat appealing to them. Despite fears that Animalia was largely flat, the building pressure applied by the rebound of Shcottram's population created a great need to expand and find new resource supplies."

"While the population of Shcottram was adapting and growing comfortable with the wolves among them, the royals relationship with them seemed to grow increasingly bitter after Moira and Erik's respective passings. Despite all the benefits to the nation the wolf populace had brought, Moira's descendants almost refused to acknowledge that such changes had been the work of the new wolf migrants. When Declan the second took the throne, he was quick to make sure that no wolves were employed within the castle walls despite his Mother's stern condemnation of it. His son Donnan treated the wolf populace in Shcottram even worse, calling for the mammals to be taxed for simply choosing to live in Shcottram."

"However, to the public, the beneficial changes including wolves had made on their society was readily apparent to even the most uneducated among them, and as such disagreed with the proposed taxation. But the outcry became louder and more angry when Donnan began calling for undoing Moira's truce and expelling the wolves living among them. The wolf and sheep populace grew unruly and violent, and in response the king deployed his own army upon the most troublesome towns under his control to better keep the peace. However, his efforts would prove futile thanks to the work of his cousin Arthur Bellwether. A prominent public speaker, the sheep was found at the center of many of the unruly demonstrations, and the King's continued tyrannical action only garnered him enough public support for the staging of a violent coop against Donnan."

"With Donnan removed from power, and the throne assumed by Bellwether, the Ram-Wolf pact remained untouched. But with Bellwether's descendants, that coldness fostered for wolves and predators in general seemed to return and persist, and while nothing in direct conflict with the rights of Shcottish wolves ever came back into the laws of the land. The royals seemed averse to hearing the mammals concerns and looking after them as well as they did the sheep citizenry. Even under King Ewan, despite his willingness to join Lionheart's exploration of the mysterious western lands, his trust for the leader and predators in general remained bitter and strained."

"This would of course spread to Zootopia with the King's second son, Archibald Bellwether. And it would remain a consistent rhetoric in nearly every Bellwether that would hold political office after him, myself unfortunately included."

"No one is really sure why even after the change of hooves in the royal family, that the strange distrust and coldness in regards to wolves and predators seemed to return to the blackwool-bellwether line. But again, if one were to ask a conspiracy theorist, they would explain that the each ruling member of the bloodline was burdened with the truth in regards to Moira and Erik's affair. That living with the shame and the fear of exposure of that royal secret caused them to distance themselves from associating with wolves in any way. The more they appeared to disdain them, the less suspicion the public might have when it came to the Moira connection. But again, this is nothing that can be proven with any sort of hard evidence. And as far as Bellwethers go, when it comes to my Grandfather, my Father and me, we knew nothing about the alleged affair. At least I know I certainly didn't, and such information was never told to me."

"The events leading up to 'The Wolf War of the Meadowlands', and the subsequent aftermath is what saw the return of the public divide between the common sheep and wolf. The bloodshed and barbarism of the Native Canideans reminding the sheep populace of what their ancestors had always warned them that wolves were truly capable of. And while it was ultimately Leif's efforts to drive the Redclaws out that saved the county, Archibald had latched on to the fear and waryness of the local sheep and exploited it to fill the citizens heads with his own beliefs. The ram would feed into the rising anti-wolf sentiment, and even go so far as to expand it into including all predators in general. This left the caprid citizens more distrustful of their wolf neighbors than ever, and the wolves found themselves silently shunned and marginalized by the Meadowlands populace. Archibald's fear mongering was an attempt to set stage for how predators were to be looked at in this new world, and his take on sheep and wolf relations is largely what has persisted to this day in the caprid consciousness. But despite his efforts to denigrate wolves to the lowest echelons of society, they continue to find themselves in positions of protection and law enforcement. In fact it seems that when it comes to the overall perception of predators, the only thing Archibald's sentiments manage to construct was a hierarchy among the new world's predator classes. One that supported wolves and lions in higher roles in society while at the same time causing those predators to look down their muzzles at preds like foxes, racoons and rats."

"As for Shcottram as a nation, it remained under the archaic rule of a monarchy longer than any civilized society in historical record. The reign of the Blackwool-Bellwethers continued up until the early 1900s despite the other branch of their family in Zootopia allowing the district to be subject to a democratic vote since its inception. Today, the royal family still exists in Shcottram despite the nations now fully democratic government as a powerless entity with no real authority over the Shcottish citizenry. They exist as something of a tradition, a relic of cultural importance to the fabric of Shcottish identity. At most the members of the Blackwool-Bellwethers are akin to that of the famous actors and movie stars of North Mammalia. Making posturing speeches at public events, and hosting glitzy and glamorous ceremonies from their palatial castle estate. The most involvement the public has in regards to the family is paying for them to throw weddings and celebrations despite the fact the family has a near endless supply of wealth. But to the citizens of Shcottram, such celebrations are not just praising the Blackwools, but praising the rich history of Shcottram itself."

"Meanwhile the Bellwether family in Zootopia have been in and out of office since the city-state was founded. And though the faces may have changed, the anti-predator sentiment only seemed to worsen with each new Bellwether. Some believe this is why the Bellwethers would find themselves spending less and less time in office as mammalian society grew around and away from their primitive beliefs."

"Before my Grandfather, Ash Bellwether, there hadn't been a Mayor Bellwether in over sixty years. And almost as much time passed before I was elected to the lesser role as Assistant Mayor to Leodore Lionheart. Even from my perch in such a lowly position my poisoned mind was set on continuing my families legacy, thanks in no small part to the indoctrination and abuse I suffered during my youth. I schemed, and I planned, and I justified it to myself by buying into my families rhetoric full sale. And in the end I did more damage than any Bellwether who came before me. Despite coming to my senses, and even going so far as to prevent a catastrophe that followed the seed of my once heinous intentions, it will never be enough to properly make amends for my terrible actions."

"I don't think the future of politics hold any place for a Bellwether. The name is tainted, marred by the actions of myself and those who have come before me. And now, my choice in mate assures that I will be the last in the line of Zootopian Bellwethers. The name will die with me, and perhaps that is for the best."

Dawn let out a tired sigh as she scanned the final sentence once more.

"The name will die with me, and perhaps that is for the best." Dawn murmured to herself quietly. She was sure if Vernon ever read that particular passage he would pitch a fit. After all, the wolf had been one to argue just how important it was to keep her name even in a hyphenated form on the ride up to the Meadowlands in the first place. The wolf remained stubbornly set on not going through a caprid wedding ceremony unless he got to wear the name Hunter-Bellwether in exchange. The wolf believed she should be proud of her name, that it had come to represent that a mammal was not only capable of change, but even heroic after how she had helped save the city from her Father. Even she had begun to consider the idea after talking to her sisters on the ride out to the fair. The praise and warm wishes causing the ewe to begin to believe what Vernon saw in the name, and why keeping it was so important.

But it only took a few minutes in Dorian's study to remind her why she had grown to detest it so. And writing about her families 'illustrious' history had only managed to sour her further on the idea. Dorian was right, the ewe would never be able to truly make up for her wrong doing. The damage had sent ripples across the world around her, had wounded families and friendships in ways that were beyond her ability to mend. It wasn't as if she could simply go back in time and stop herself, to pull herself back from the brink of madness long enough to prevent the hysteria and chaos caused by her scheming.

No matter what good she could do now, the name Bellwether would remain synonymous with bigoted, speciesict ideologues, and at the very least the one good thing she could do at this point was allow it to die the death it deserved. Vernon may never agree with it, this she was sure of. But she knew the wolf loved her enough to ultimately give up on sharing last names should she remain firm on the idea. It wasn't a position she wanted to put him in, but it was necessary, at least to her.

'Knock, knock' A light rapping a the bedroom door drew Dawn's attention up from her laptop. Up until now she had been alone, taking the time Vernon spent being forced into dish duty to write the more boring but necessary portions of her book. She figured she would have more than enough time to finish the sections before the Hunter girls decided the time had come to turn in for the night, and checking the clock for a moment had proven that she had. In fact the ewe had managed to finish earlier than planned, leaving her puzzled as to who else had turned up for bed early.

"Dawn?" Came Vanna's voice from beyond the door. "Are you in there?"

Dawn let out a sigh of relief at the sound of the familiar tigress' voice. After everything that happened earlier in the evening, having to face Ada or Qali without a buffer would have made the already uncomfortable ewe even more uneasy. At the very least should Vanna bring up Dawn's transgression in the corn field, it would be done with tact and careful wording rather than bluntly bringing it up.

"Y-yeah, I'm here." Dawn replied, closing her laptop softly. "You can come in."

The door opened slowly, Vanna moving it with care as she slipped in to the large bedroom. The tigress was already in her pajamas, wearing a pink tee-shirt that said 'bad kitty' across the chest, and a pair of pants adorned with colorful yarn balls. It was almost enough to cause Dawn to laugh out loud, the colorful and cutesy outfit contrasting sharply with the tigress' looming and intimidating figure. Then again, Dawn knew better by now, at least if their midnight musical duet was anything to go by. Still the ewe couldn't help but crack a smile at the large feline.

"I was hoping to catch you alone." Vanna said, keeping her voice on the quiet side. "I wanted to talk to you before the other girls came up to bed."

Dawn's smile dropped slightly, the concerned tone in Vanna's voice conveying a gravity behind her words that told Dawn whatever she had to say was important.

"O-oh of course Vanna, is everything alright?" Dawn said as she placed her laptop aside, sliding it to the edge of the bed where the tiger now stood.

"Yes, I mean..." Vanna trailed off as she placed a paw behind her head and awkwardly scratched. She looked away from Dawn, seemingly unable to keep steady eye contact as she continued. "I mean if you are that is?" Vanna asked.

Dawn scrunched her muzzle in confusion. "Am I okay?" The ewe replied.

Vanna sighed, grimacing as she tried to focus her gaze back on the ewe.

"I mean, I wanted to see if..." Vanna shook her head. "If you spoke to Papa Hunter at all, like we had discussed?"

Dawn froze, her brow furrowing at Vanna's unexpected question. She hadn't expected the tigress to follow up on their conversation so soon. The ewe had already spent enough time dwelling on what had happened in Dorian's office while she mulled over the disappointing and disgusting history of the Bellwether families crimes despite having elected to bury it when faced with Audrey's overwhelming kindness and the prospect of destroying any enjoyment the ewe might be able to get out of the remaining weekend. Dawn had sort of assumed that Vanna simply wouldn't have followed up on it, instead waiting for Dawn to tell her about what happened whenever she had chosen to finally do it.

But now the ewe was faced with a dilemma. How could she lie to her new found sister about her meeting with the older wolf. Unlike Audrey, Vanna was trained in the same way Dori was, at least Dawn reasoned as much. If the ewe showed even the slightest hesitation or wavering in tone while crafting the lie she intended to tell, she was certain the keen eyed feline would pick up on it. On the one hoof, lying to Vanna could easily hurt their budding relationship, especially if she picked up on it. But telling her what had truly happened, what Papa Hunter had said about her, Zach and Dawn herself might cause all sorts of problems.

Even now Dawn wondered if Vanna knew the truth about why her transfer request to the North Meadowlands had been approved. Had Zach even told her that he had been shot just weeks before she joined the force? And if Vanna knew what Dorian had said about Dawn, would the tiger feel obligated to argue with the wolf? To fight on Dawn's behalf and damage yet another relationship in the Hunter family.

All these questions continued to swirl around the ewe's mind, making her more and more uneasy as she desperately tried to think of how to respond. She could feel beads of sweat starting to form on her brow as she began to wring her hooves nervously.

"Dawn?" Vanna's voice brought Dawn's attention back to the tigress. Already she had screwed up, taking long enough to think of a reply for Vanna to feel the need to follow up. The ewe had to act quickly now.

"After how Audrey had caught us..." Dawn said with a sharp exhale as she looked in the tigress' eyes. "After how our...picnic..." Dawn said trailing off, her voice wavering slightly as she tried to find the right words. "Ended, well...I didn't think it was a good idea anymore."

Vanna squinted slightly, placing a paw to her chin as she seemingly began to analyze Dawn. The ewe recognized the stare, having been on the receiving end of a similar one just hours earlier. The tigress was scanning the ewe for nervous twitches and subconscious tells, anything to prove to her whether Dawn was lying or not.

"Oh?" Vanna asked, suspicion rising in her voice.

"W-well I thought maybe I should just leave it be after talking to Audrey." Dawn lied through her teeth, cursing herself for once again stuttering at the start. Dawn offered a meek smile. " She told me to wait him out, t-that he would come around eventually."

Vanna raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she squinted down at the ewe. From what Dawn could tell, the tigress' only seemed to slightly doubt her. Her body language exuding uncertainty when it came to gauging Dawn's responses.

"Hmm..." Vanna said before easing into a seat next to the ewe. The weight of the feline pressing against the mattress caused such a deep impression that Dawn found herself pulled closer to the big cat despite her best efforts. The tigress placed her paws on her lap as she let out a tired sigh.

"You know, if anything happened, I'd want you to be able to tell me right?" Vanna said, her tone laced with concern.

Dawn felt the guilt start to bubble up within her stomach as Vanna spoke. The genuine concern in her voice tugging at Dawn's heartstrings almost immediately.

"I mean, I know we haven't known each other long." Vanna continued. " I mean we're already calling each other sisters but..." Vanna paused, scratching the back of her head again. "I know we're still sort of getting used to each other."

Dawn gave a soft nod, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat as quietly as she could.

"I don't know what exactly has gotten into Pa. But I don't want you to think I'm just going to stand by if he does anything out of line." Vanna sighed, placing a paw on the ewe's shoulder as she looked her way. Vanna's eyes shone with concern as she attempted to meet Dawn's gaze. "If he hurts you in any way, I would want you to feel comfortable enough to tell me."

The guilt was now weighing heavily on Dawn's heart as she listened to the feline's plea. Vanna truly did see her as a sister, and was set to do what she felt was the sisterly thing to do should Dorian act out of turn. She wanted nothing more than to help. But Dawn knew she had to keep up the lie. She had already done enough damage to the Hunter family, and she couldn't bear to do anymore.

"I would." Dawn murmured. "I-I swear."

The two were silent for a while, the awkward atmosphere filling the ewe with deeper dread and discomfort as she prayed for the tigress to simply accept her lie.

"You would?" Vanna asked, breaking the silence.

Dawn's response was immediate, as if she had seen the question coming a mile away.

"Of course!" Dawn said with a weak chuckle, flashing the tigress as genuine of a grin as she could muster despite herself. Even with her best efforts, the ewe couldn't manage to meet the large feline's gaze for longer than a few seconds at a time.

The tigress lowered her eyebrows, clearly unimpressed by the ewe's attempts at earnestly. Dawn could tell in Vanna's dull glare that there was no more doubt in her eyes that she was hiding something.

"Dawn." Vanna said firmly, her eyes tightening into slits as she grimaced.

A loud barking laugh suddenly broke through the tension, pulling Dawn's focus away from Vanna's interrogation to the entrance to the bedroom. The door had flung open revealing Ada standing proudly in the wooden frame. She was wearing a baggy pair of shorts, and a sleeveless tee that were a matching shade of blood red. Emblazoned across the front of the shirt was the white image of some sort of canid skull that Dawn could only assume was that of a hyena, with two bones crossing over one another behind it. She also seemed to be wearing some sort of fluffy white and purple cape draped around her neck.

"The party has arrived ladies!" Ada let out another cackle.

"Woo!" A voice chirped from seemingly nowhere. As Dawn searched for the source, her eyes fell back on Ada's odd, plushy cape. It took the ewe a moment, but as it suddenly dropped to the floor Dawn realized it hadn't been a cape at all, but rather it had been Qali. The arctic fox had been hanging from Ada's neck, and was now bouncing in her step as she made her way into the room in little more than a oversize purple tee-shirt and a pair of matching panties.

"Ada! Qali!" Dawn chirped, relieved that their sudden arrival was enough to quash any further probing from Vanna.

"'Evenin' squirt! How was your night?" Ada cooed teasingly, raising and lowering her eyebrows in a playful manner. "Cause from what I heard youse had a lotta fun."

Dawn immediately blushed, slapping her hooves over her muzzle in her best effort to cover it up.

"I...I..." Dawn stammered.

"Ah, dat's a yes!" Ada said with a grin as she made her way over to the nearest empty bed. With no hesitation the large mammal threw herself onto the bed, bouncing on the mattress as she came to rest in a lounging position. Leaning a paw on her chin, the hyeness regarded the ewe with a mischievous smile.

"Well c'mon lamb cakes, spill it. I want to hear all da juicy details!" Ada let out another barking laugh.

"W-well..." Dawn muttered, tapping her hooves together nervously.

"Howdy ladies." Once again Dawn's attention was drawn back to the bedroom entrance to find Malcolm standing in the doorframe. The pudgy wolf was dressed in baby blue pair of insulated underwear, monogrammed with his initials. The one piece garment seemed slightly undersized, as a good portion of the wolf's wrists and ankles were exposed, and the fabric seemed to strain around his pudgy belly. It was clear the wolf's PJ's had once been fitted to a slimmer wolf, but Malcolm had elected not to update his garment with the change in weight. The wolf had a tan, worn looking pillow clutched tightly against his side.

"Good evening Malcolm." Vanna replied as the wolf made his way into the room.

Dawn raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"W-wait, I thought Audrey separated the boys from the girls?" Dawn asked, looking to Vanna.

"That's only sorta true." Malcolm cut in as he sat down on another empty bed. "It's more about keepin' the couples separated." The wolf placed his pillow on the mattress, and proceeded to fluff it. "And me and Xavi bein' couples, well she had to figure out somethin'."

Ada chuckled. "Yeah, he couldn't stay wit da boys, dat would be like a buffet o' hunky wolves for 'em."

"So we made him an honorary Hunter girl!" Qali chirped, now bouncing on her mattress.

Dawn smirked, doing her best to suppress a chuckle.

"H-he's a Hunter girl?" Dawn bit her lip as the urge to giggle pressed against her teeth.

"Darn tootin'" Malcolm replied, leaning forward on the bed. The wolf idly kicked his feet in the air as he face the other girls. "Even got me a nickname and everythin'."

Dawn looked up at Vanna in a mixture of surprise and amusement.

"Really?" Dawn asked.

The tigress gave a short and simple nod. "Yes, we call him-"

"Butterbuns!" Qali snorted, idly playing with her tail as she stared up at the ceiling.

That was all Dawn could take before a giggling snort slipped free of her muzzle, Dawn did her best to close her muzzle with her hooves, but the giggling continued regardless.

"Butterbuns?" Dawn snickered. "H-How'd he get th-that name?" Dawn choked through her giggling.

The russet wolf's ear sagged slightly as a blush played across his muzzle.

"W-well it's sorta...I mean..." Malcolm stuttered awkwardly, poking his index fingers together as he looked away from the group.

"Let's just say I overheard him and Xave talkin' about a wild night involvin' sum budda." Ada said with a mischievously grin as she eyed the increasingly embarrassed red wolf. "And da name sorta....stuck." Ada let out another barking cackle.

Dawn felt a blush creeping on her own muzzle as she processed exactly what the Hyena was hinting at.

"But dat's old Buddabuns story to tell, for now lets get back to da topic at paw!" Ada shifted closer to the foot of her bed as her attention zeroed back on Dawn. "So enough stallin', I wanna hear about how you made ol' Puppy howl!"

Dawn's blush intensified as she shrunk into her shoulders. The ewe found herself skirting away from the attention, shimmying up to the head of her bed inadvertently.

"W-well I don't thi-"

"Leave her alone Ada." Vanna interjected, rising to Dawn's defense. "If she's not comfortable talking about it then you shouldn't pressure her."

Ada scoffed. "Ah c'mon, I ain't gonna rip on ya too hard for it." The hyena chuckled "Besides you ain't the only one here whose broken' dat rule." Ada grinned widely.

Dawn raised an eyebrow curiously. She had heard Vernon mention something like that earlier, and Audrey had more or less implied to the truthfulness of the wolf's statement, but in her emotional state she had barely even registered the statement. Now however...

"Wait..." Dawn said, moving away from the head of the bed as the hyeness peaked her interest. "Do you mean to say that you...?" Dawn trailed off, tapping her hooves together nervously as she found herself unable to finish the sentence.

Ada snickered. "Pft, of course not, I'm like da only on here who hasn't!" Ada leaned her head against her paw again. "Not for Yuri's lack a tryin'." Ada placed her paws under her chin before playfully batting her eyelashes. "I'm a classy goil."

Dawn turned her attention to Qali and Malcolm, both of whom seemed to be sharing an uncomfortable blush. With Dawn's eyes now fixed on them, the two produced weak smiles.

"Yeah, I'm afraid it's true." Malcolm said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Same, me and Trenny totally did it here." Qali added, with considerably less hesitation.

Dawn placed a hoof over her mouth in an attempt to stifle another rising giggle. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. That not only had she not been the first to break the House rule, but was now placing third overall. The previously shameful and embarrassing situation was starting to seem significantly more of a trifle now that she found herself among equally guilty members of the Hunter family.

"So you and Vanna are the only ones who-"

"Pft..." Ada shook her head. "Just me Fluff, I'm da only one who actually respects Ma Hunter's house."

Dawn blinked in surprise as Ada's words registered.

"Then...that would mean..." Dawn trailed off as she turned her attention back to the large, stoic cat sitting on the end of her bed. The looming tigress now seemed remarkable small as she cowed under the sudden attention. There was no way that Dawn could even begin to conceive of what Ada was implying, but the tigress' body language was all too telling.

"Vanna?" Dawn uttered as she raised her hooves to her mouth in shock.

The tigress only glanced at the ewe for a moment before turning away, but the blush that was radiating off her muzzle was blinding.

#Zootopia #Assistant Mayor Bellwether #dawn bellwether #fanfiction #furry #ask blog #wasted time #fan character

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askdawnandvern · 8 years ago

Text

A Lamb Among Wolves Ch:10

Chapter Ten: Trial Separation

"The Roaropean wolves are noted as being some of the last species in Roarup to reach civilization and establish a nation of their own, only beating out the mammals of Sibearia by about a half century. Once unified under the Düclaw clan came the merging of their language, writing, fables and other elements into more or less the Roaropean wolf culture as we have come to know it. But the North Mammalian Wolves took even longer than their Roaropean counterparts to reach a civilized state. In fact many modern mammals, especially descendants of the Norwulves, joke that the Canidean wolves still have yet to reach a state of civilization."

"Predating the colonization of the peninsula that would become Zootopia, the wolves of Canidea had no declared nation of their own. As was the way before Scottram and Norwulff organized, the North Mammalian wolves existed in pack based communes called 'tribes'. They also shared similar expansionist ideals to what the Norwulves once held. But unlike their brothers in Roarope who chose to rule over and accept the different species of the native regions they came to conquer, Native Mammalian Wolves were fiercely territorial and very aggressive toward outsiders, non-wolves especially. When expanding their territory, the tribes of Native Wolves would either drive the previous settlers or simply kill and in some cases eat them."

"At the time the first settlers came over from Roarope in 1630 there were a variety of different Native Wolf tribes largely spread across the northern part of the continent, but for the sake of exactly what pertains to both Vernon and my familial roots, the focus of this timeline will be the infamous 'Redclaw Pack'. Most of old Zootopia was inhabited by various tribes of rabbits, foxes, and other native mammals when the first settlers arrived, and as discussed before these natives were quickly adopted into the more modern society that the settlers had brought with them. However, the North Eastern part of Zootopia, just below the North Mountains that separate the peninsula from Canidea proper was inhabited by the 'Redclaw Pack'. This tribe of wolves were the sole inhabitants of the area that would become the Meadowlands."

"The Meadowlands back then were much as we know them today. The lush and fertile open grasslands made the area a perfect place for the farming early Zootopia would come to depend on to sustain itself, and there-for it became an essential area for the settlers to occupy. The Shcottish sheep were particularly fond of claiming it, as not only could they work the land, but it's climate was closest to that of their homeland. The natives who had been absorbed into the migrant society however, refused to step foot in the Meadowlands. They warned the sheep, and their representative Archibald Bellwether that the native wolves were dangerous. The other native mammals who had tried to go there before rarely if ever came back, and those who returned shared horrific tales of the heartless and cruel beasts they had encountered."

"Archibald however, had faith that these new wolves would be just as interested in being a part of this new society as the other local inhabitants had been, and that any diplomatic issues could be easily resolved. So the migrants of Scottram began to build and farm in the Southern part of the Meadowlands, with plans for the easy acquisition the Northern portion through negotiations."

"Thus the first interactions between the early sheep and wolf settlers of the area and the Redclaws was nothing short of a disaster. Archibald wasn't prepared for an enemy that couldn't be reasoned or bargained with. Every attempt at diplomacy usually ended in violence on the part of the Redclaws. Sheep sent to meet with them either never came back, or barely escaped with their lives. These tribal wolves didn't seem to care what the new migrants had to offer them, and had no desire to share the land for the benefit of both parties. What made matters worse was that the tribe had begun attacking settlements that encroached too closely to the border of the North Meadowlands, and this is when it became apparent that many of the sheep who had disappeared in attempts to negotiate had been eaten by the tribe."

"Leif Hunter, whose Norwulff migrants had settled in the Alpine Ridge, had done his best to assist Archibald in trying every diplomatic effort they could to end the dispute peaceably. But the mounting failures were causing Archibald to grow more incised and enraged. With each diplomatic misfire, the Redclaws were painting a clear picture that they didn't care for outsiders, nor would they stand to have them anywhere near them. There were many times Archibald was ready to actively go to war with the natives, but Leif talked him down. This ultimately began to draw Archibald's ire toward the wolf as he began to question his loyalty toward the Shcottish sheep. Leif however, maintained that he was certain there was a way to get through to the natives, to end the senseless bloodshed."

"The Caprid Massacre of 1663" was the straw that broke the camels back and plunged the Meadowlands into a war against the Redclaws. The incident took place in a town on the border of the North and South Meadowlands known as Shetland. During the night, the Redclaw tribe invaded the small hamlet, killing the rams and capturing the ewes and lambs of the village. The rams were decapitated, their heads left on pikes scattered around the hamlet as a warning to the Shcotts. Presumable the ewes and lambs were eaten by the natives. Today the road that crosses where the town once was is known as 'Sheeps Head' in reference to the atrocity."

"It was that gruesome act that pushed Archibald over the edge. And thus he began to shore up an army to take the North Meadowlands by force. He was stalwart on not only driving the clan out, but wiping them off the face of Animalia. The level of masochism and horror involved in 'The Caprid Massacre' had also reopened the old wounds of the Shcottish caprid migrants, who were even starting to look at the Norwulves among them warily. The attack was tugging neatly at the old fears which sheep held for wolves of all kinds."

"The Redclaw war dragged on for three years, with each victory over the Redclaw's by Archibald's rams being undone in as little as weeks. No matter how many times the Shcotts seemed to drive the wolves off, they returned and took the land back with a vengeance. By the tail end of the three years, Archibald had begun to beseech the other representatives of Zootopia's districts to pledge their own voluntary armies to assist his own dwindling one. During this time Leif Hunter had kept largely out of the war. When diplomacy had completely and utterly failed the wolf seemingly retreated solely into the affairs of Alpine Glade, thus drawing more ire from Bellwether."

"When it finally came down to the point where Archibald was begging the wolf to pledge some of the Norwulff citizens to join his fight, Hunter refused. As I mentioned earlier, Leif found it rather pointless to send more mammals to their deaths just to see the Redclaws take back the land they had died for. He actually called on Bellwether to simply end the war, to pull the settlements back from the border, and even offered to cede a portion of his own peoples district to allow the Shcotts to expand. This would allow them to get to know the tribe better, maybe initiate a trade system and slowly work them into proper society. Essentially Hunter had proposed a plan of attrition."

"Archibald completely and utterly refused, as the ram had become certain that the Redclaws would not rest until they had killed every last Shcott. More over, the ram refused to accept any mammal into civilized society that still saw prey as a food source. The impasse marked the start of a growing sour and distrust between the districts, which would only be made worse by the next actions Leif Hunter would take."

"In the third year of the conflict, Leif had begun to actively meet and trade with the Redclaw tribe. Bellwether, upon finding this out was naturally appalled. He saw this action as a stab in the back by the Norwulves, A slap in the face of Moira's treaty, as well as the innocent lambs that were continually losing their lives in the ongoing war effort. Hunter publically remained adamant that working to bring the Redclaws over to civilized society was the only path forward, and he intended to pursue that path. This opinion was abhorrent not only to the residents of The Meadowlands, but most of the wolves in Alpine Glade as well, and it continued to worsen relations between the two districts."

"In truth, Lief's public stance was a ruse. The wolf had seen 'The Caprid Massacre' as the point at which where there had been no going back. He had tried to be sympathetic to the natives, but they had proved themselves too monstrous to be trusted. But he had resolved to find the reason as to why the wolves refused to give up the land, and how they always managed to return despite taking heavy losses. Thus he had begun trading with the clan under the pretense of learning about them. Very quickly, he had managed to work his way up to meeting safely with the leader of the Redclaw tribe. In Leif's personal writings he described most of his findings as "disgustingly primitive" and "un-mammalian". "

"During his meetings he discovered a great deal about the Redclaw culture, and why the attempts at diplomacy had failed at every turn. The Redclaw saw prey as nothing more than food, and those hapless sheep that had mistakenly come to them seeking to make peace had essentially delivered themselves as easy food to the tribe. The few wolves they had killed among the sheep in the towns they attacked were justified as freeing servants to prey, which was a station worse than death. There-for the Redclaws had seen killing them as a mercy. They had called them worse than an 'Omega', a term Leif had never heard of before. Pressing that line of interest the wolf learned that the tribes still held staunchly to pack roles, and all they did was based around those stations. Omega's were the outcasts, the failures and dregs of their kind who were unwilling to adhere to the pack law."

"However, the most important thing Hunter would come to learn, as I mentioned in the chapter about Norwulves, was the Redclaws belief in divine right. Essentially, these wolves believed that all the land on Animalia belonged to wolves and wolves alone. Whenever the sheep would attempt to drive them out, the pack would lick it's wounds, garner help from neighboring tribes and inevitably take the land back. Because they refused to recognize any mammal but another wolf as having rights over land, a mammal as lesser to them as a sheep stood no chance in permanently holding a territory the tribe had deemed to be their own. It would take an equally strong tribe of wolves to drive the Redclaws away for good, lest the cycle would continue."

"With this new knowledge, Hunter returned to Alpine Glade and quickly drafted his attack plan. By now the continued trading with the Redclaws had given Hunter the location of all of their encampments, as well as when and where they were most vulnerable. Amassing his troops in secret, Hunter prepared his attack for the night of the harvest moon. A night he knew the tribe would be celebrating, and thus unaware of the oncoming attack."

"Thus on the cold October night in 1666, Hunter launched a siege on every Redclaw stronghold with an army made up entirely of Norwulves as well as Omega natives that had taken refuge among the Norwulff society. The surprise attack was bloody and brief, but in less than twenty-four hours and having suffered many casualties, the last remnants of the Redclaw pack were driven over the North Mountains never to attack again."

"The victory was a relief, but also weighed heavy on Leif Hunter's soul. Many migrant wolves had died, and even more innocents had been killed in order to make sure the Redclaws would never return. That guilt was something that would plague his personal writings till the end of his days."

"But what made it worse was the fallout that would come after. Archibald's half hearted thanks doused with anti-wolf rhetoric. In some instances Bellwether would argue that it was the brute-like nature of wolves that had caused the problems for the Shcotts in the first place, which is why it had taken that same brute force to end it. He began to parrot that the whole affair was a stark reminder of exactly where wolves had come from, and that caprid-kind should never forget it. I'm not sure exactly why he became such a staunch anti-predator leader despite Hunter ultimately saving The Meadowlands. Maybe petty anger over Leif's unwillingness to act earlier, or perceiving he was too sympathetic toward his own kind, or simple agitation over not getting what he wanted. Sufficed to say relations between wolves and sheep in Zootopia continued to worsen."

"As for relations with the remaining Redclaws, well they were over and done with. And those survivors warned the other tribes of the trickery and deception of the Norwulves. Alpine Glade, and it's governing bodies became synonymous with betrayers, and were seen as nothing more than slaves to lesser prey species. Thus most other tribes, whether warlike or peaceful refused to communicate with any Norwulff. The only native wolves that would communicate with those in Alpine Glade were Omegas, looking for refuge from the terror of living amongst the clans."

"Today many tribes still operate all across Canidea and North Mammalia., but they grow smaller with each passing generation due to the rules of their pack structure. While some have become some-what civilized, organizing into city-states in a few sparse regions, most still operate in a tribal fashion. These wolves adhere to their steep traditions and pack structure rigidly, and those traditions mostly remain unchanged. Most have gotten rid of condoning the eating of prey, but there are still rumors and stories floating around that suggest savage tribes are still out there."

"The difference in cultural beliefs, as well as the historical war between the native and non-native wolves still causes friction between the two classes of wolves. It is a bitter rivalry and hatred that still exists to this day despite more and more tribal wolves integrating into modern Zootopian society. In fact the only native wolves that do manage to get along with Norwulves are the Omegas, many of whom bred into the Norwulff population over the years. Even the Hunters themselves would see-"

Dawn nearly jumped out of her wool as she felt a tap on her shoulder. As she whipped around the ewe threw the headphones she had been wearing to the side of her laptop before she found herself under the looming gaze of Vanna. The tigress, now dressed in a set of plain pink themed pajamas featuring cartoon tigers across the shirt, raised her paws defensively with her ears splayed back against her head.

"Sorry..." Vanna said softly. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just had to get your attention."

Dawn clutched a hoof over her chest as she did her best to slow the rapid beating of her heart.

"Lamb sakes! You gave me a real s-start!" Dawn stammered, trying to ease her staggered breathing. "I d-didn't even know you were in the room!"

When Vernon had walked Dawn up to the girls bedroom, and reluctantly left her behind the ewe had been left all alone. Despite her exhaustion, the ewe had decided the best thing to do would spend a bit more time typing up some of the more drab, historical portions of her novel in an effort to help push her over the edge into an easy sleep. She assumed she would have been out by the time Vanna came up to the bedroom, but clearly the ewe had lost track of time.

The tigress winced slightly. "I was trying to ask you a question, but I guess your headphones were blocking me out." Vanna said.

Dawn chuckled uneasily. "S-sorry, I-I uh..." Dawn stuttered. "I like to listen to music while I work...I-It makes it easier to write."

Vanna gave a simple nod. "I see."

An awkward silence hung over the two mammals, and only when Dawn's heartbeat had managed to ease back down to it's natural tempo did the ewe fully contemplate what the tigress had said.

"Y-you had a question?" Dawn asked, slightly nervous about exactly what the coming question would entail.

The tigress lifted her right arm, revealing a matte grey machine hanging lazily in her claws. Dawn could see water sloshing around in a translucent compartment as the feline raised it.

"I wanted to plug in my humidifier." Vanna said flatly. "But I thought I should ask first if it was okay to set up. It is a bit noisy."

Dawn put a hoof to her lips for a moment as the mundane nature of the question had caught her off guard. Smiling, the ewe gave a brisk nod.

"O-oh sure." Dawn stuttered. "I-I don't mind."

Vanna nodded before making her way back to the bed across from Dawn. As the tigress began to set up the device on the nearby nightstand Dawn found herself reflecting on the earlier lunch where she had first met the tigress. Vanna's reception to the ewe was a cold one, but when the conversation lead to Dawn's past the feline seemed to give her a break despite it being obvious that Dawn's criminal behavior had affected the path her life had taken.

Still Dawn couldn't help but feel a deep sense guilt eating at the back of her mind in regards to the tigress. With Audrey, Dawn knew where the she-wolf truly stood in regards to her past. If Audrey were lying, it was nearly impossible to tell as everything she had said seemed to ooze with warm sincerity. But with Vanna, despite her assertions that she had been more tired with city life than anything else, Dawn could still sense a discomfort from her. Vanna's agreement to let the past remain in the past was clinical and awkward, and at the time Dawn was willing to accept it. But after what had happened with Dorian at dinner, and resolving to face her past despite it, it only seemed fair to give Vanna the chance to express if she really felt differently. At the very least Dawn could explain herself, and truly apologize for the trouble she may have caused Vanna.

Despite the ewe's reluctance to even touch on it, she had to know the truth. Exactly how much did the 'night howler scandal' affect Vanna? Was she really burying some sort of deeper resentment for the families sake? The ewe was going to be open about her past, and it seemed best to test the waters with the tigress.

With a dull whirr the humidifier hummed to life, emitting a barely visible column of steam as it chugged along. The tigress, seemingly satisfied, now took a seat on her mattress.

"V-Vanna?" Dawn murmured, her voice shaking with uncertainty. "C-can I ask you a q-question?"

The tigress arched an eyebrow at the ewe.

"Yes?" She asked in a slightly confused tone.

Dawn scooted to the edge her own bed, doing her best to hold a brave face as she eyed the tigress.

"F-forgive me I-If this is sort of personal." Dawn gulped. "But I n-need to know."

Vanna nodded for the ewe to continue.

"W-when you left Zootopia..."The ewe coughed. "I m-mean transferred to "The Meadowlands." Dawn gulped. "I-I mean, t-that was my f-fault right? It was the night howler scandal tha-"

Vanna held up a paw stopping the ewe mid speech. Letting out a sigh, the tigress placed a paw to her forehead.

"Dawn, you don't have to-"

"No." Dawn stood on the bed. "I w-want to know. I need to know if it's my fault you had to leave Zootopia Vanna. I-if you resent me because of it." The ewe sat back down. "Y-you shouldn't have to pretend to like me because of Audrey, Vernon, or anyone else."

"Dawn." The tigress shook her head.

"I want you to be h-honest...please." The ewe pleaded. " I-If I'm truly going to be part of this family we should be a-able to discuss this."

The tigress placed her head in her paws as she let out another sigh. Vanna stayed like that for a moment before straightening back up and seemingly composing herself. With another deep breath, the tigress cleared her throat.

"I supposed you have noticed by now the way I carry myself." Vanna said. "I tend to scare a lot of smaller mammals. I've been told I'm very intimidating." The tigress lamented. "Which I am sure is why you feel I'm harboring some sort of anger toward you."

Dawn stayed silent, stuck somewhere between feeling it would insult Vanna to agree with her, but come off as condescending to disagree.

The tigress rubbed her face seemingly in an effort to wake herself up a bit more.

"I was a member of the Sahara Square Police Precinct for about eight years before I transferred out to the North Meadowlands Dawn, and it was at that time I got to see the worst Zootopia had to offer." Vanna smirked. "I suppose it's only natural when you are a cop after all."

"When I came to Zootopia, I didn't think it was all bright smiles and warm hugs like television made it out to be. I was smart enough to know the difference between a cheesy slogan and reality. But I had wanted to be a big city cop since I was a kitten, and I grew up watching real cold case documentaries and studying actual criminal statistics rather than cop movies. I had an idea of what I was getting into when I took the job. I knew there were plenty of truly evil mammals out there."

"But I wanted to help. I wanted to stand among my fellow mammals as someone they could look upon with pride and trust. Someone they knew was looking out for them, as childish as that may sound. I wanted to help make Zootopia what it was trying to be." Vanna gave a sarcastic chuckle.

"When I took my place on the force, I dove right into that dark side of Zootopia eager to clean house." She sighed. "And it was as bad, if not worse than I had ever expected."

"Despite all my preparations, I was still a country girl from a small town in the San Furnando Valley. The worst crime you'd find out there is teens pulling harvest pranks." The cat sighed. "I endured it all of course. The organized crime, the murders, the gang violence. But it hardened me in the process, made me colder because of it." She shrugged. "It was my way of dealing with it."

Dawn was now leaning forward, listening keenly to the felines story.

"Long before, well..." Vanna muttered. "Before your involvement in the 'Night Howler Scandal', I had long since been dealing with both prey and predators looking at me as if I were going to pounce on them at any moment."

Vanna scratched the back of her head uneasily. " I've been called my fair share of predator slurs, and cat slurs, by criminals and citizens alike." Vanna laughed weakly. " Especially the few times I had to work parking duty."

The tigress shook her head in disbelief. "I swear to this day I've never been called worse names than when I was handing out parking tickets!" She gave a terse laugh.

"But, I'm getting off track." The tigress said, clearing her throat. "The point is that as I hardened to the cruelties of all the crimes I saw, I began to harden toward the citizens I wanted to protect. The occasional stare, the mammals pulling their children slightly closer to them as I walked past, it was getting worse every year not because of my species, but the coldness I exuded on a daily basis." She placed a paw over her muzzle.

"My partner for most of those years was a male tiger, and his demeanor with the public was nothing short of outstanding." Vanna smiled. "When citizens approached us for help, Thomas was always the one they talked to. Kids loved him, and if any prey were afraid of him they never showed it."

"It was because of him I learned why most of the citizens looked at me the way they did." Vanna shrugged. "Sure some did because I was a predator, that was something I accepted, there would always be some mammal to judge you based on your diet or species." Vanna raised a finger. "But my problem was I came into the precinct every day looking for a fight. I came to Zootopia already hardened, and devoting myself to my work almost constantly only made it worse." Vanna shook her head. "Thomas said the reason mammals looked at me like I was ready to pounce, because the flicker behind my eyes always said I was."

Vanna placed her paws on her knees as she let out another sigh. "He also told me if I kept up that way I was liable to snap. I was making my own misery by focusing on the darkest elements of Zootopia instead of trying to enjoy the beautiful parts."

Dawn was now practically leaning off the mattress, fully engrossed in Vanna's tale.

"S-so what happened?" Dawn asked timidly.

"I started giving serious consideration to giving up on the job, and trying to find something else to do with my life that would break down the walls I had built around myself. I mean, I had went into the job to be someone the public could look to for protection, not to be feared, and I had utterly failed at that. I tried meditation, yoga, going to the naturalist club, but none of that seemed to ease my intimidating aura I brought to the job with me every day. I knew If things kept going the way they were going I was going to have to quit the force." Vanna raised her paws before drooping them back to her sides. "

"Then the mammals started disappearing." Vanna muttered.

Dawn felt a lump form in her throat, and swallowed hard in an attempt to break it up. "O-oh..."

"Granted things didn't blow up until Lionheart got caught, and that rabbit cop made that uninformed comment." Vanna shook her head. "Then suddenly predators at prey were more at each others throats than ever before, it was like there was a war broiling just below the cities surface waiting to break out."

"V-Vanna I-I'm so so-"

"But strangely, it didn't really change anything for me." Vanna cut the ewe off.

Dawn shook her head briskly in disbelief. "I-I'm sorry..." Dawn stammered dumbly. "W-what?"

"I mean, yes I was afraid of going savage." The tigress shrugged. "I thought it was a very real illness. But the public didn't really treat me any different than they had. I was used to the stares, to the fear."

"What was hard to watch was Thomas coming apart." The tigress sighed. " He had never known what it was like to be feared. The glares cut into the poor tiger like daggers." She crossed her arms. "I mean he was a mammal who actually lived up to the goals I had wanted to live up to. A beacon of peace, a mammal of distinction among the community, and suddenly they were all turning away from him."

"Now Thomas was pulled down to my level, with only close prey friends and our fellow officers placing any degree of trust in him." Vanna grimaced. "The rest of the station was in more or less the same shape. Some of my predator colleagues openly wept sometimes because they were terrified of possibly turning. We tried to console each other, but as far as we knew it was an illness. It had an equal chance of striking any of us at any time. We were all terrified."

Dawn could feel her stomach sinking, gnarling in anguish. Being not only reminded, but given detailed accounts of the suffering she caused was making her regret ever bringing up the question. She wanted to weep right there for the lives she had so thoughtlessly ruined, but tried her best to remain stoic in spite of it.

"Then the order came down to start sticking all the preds behind a desk." Vanna grunted. "At Precinct Two, you get behind a desk and your active days are numbered. You are never getting back out on the beat. Some of us took the position with grim resignation, but Thomas decided he had enough and transferred back out to a precinct in his home town on east coast."

Vanna narrowed her eyes at Dawn slightly. "I take it you probably know that by that point many predators were starting to flee Zootopia because the outbreak was seemingly limited to the city."

Dawn gulped, nodding her head warily.

"Thomas was leaving partly because of that, but mostly because he felt like the mammals he swore to protect had rejected him." Vanna sighed.

"I feel guilty saying this, but because of his decision I was inspired to do the same thing for different reasons." She mumbled. "I wanted to leave because I didn't want to end up behind a desk. Because I didn't want to deal with horrible, grim, gory cases anymore. Because I wanted so desperately to go somewhere and start over, and become a less hardnosed, softer tiger than I was." Vanna grinned slightly.

"So I applied for a transfer to the North Meadowlands, rural enough to be a relatively quiet place, yet close enough to Zootopia that if it didn't work out I could transfer back. I had to wait about three weeks for them to place me, but until then I was off the beat, and glad to be. It was a load off my back." Vanna placed a paw behind her head, rubbing it slightly. "And then, two days after I applied for my transfer you were exposed and sent to jail." Vanna grimaced.

Dawn couldn't help as the tears began to run down her face. What the tigress had told her was nothing short of a horror story, one of the many she was sure the citizens of Zootopia had from that terrible time. The well of guilt in Dawn's stomach made her want to wretch. The ewe expected Vanna to confess a deep seated hatred for her right then and there, but instead the tigress held up a single finger.

"Don't cry Miss Bellwether, as I said before it is all over and done with." Vanna said coolly. " If you are worried about my fellow officers, they did recover. Unlikely as it seemed all the preds put behind desk were placed back into their usual beats. And Thomas is happier in the small town he set himself up in. We still keep in touch."

"B-But you..." Dawn whimpered. "th-they...I..."

Vanna slowly rose to her feet and crossed the room toward the ewe before sitting herself down next to her. Gingerly the tigress placed a large paw on Dawn's shoulder, causing the sheep to recoil slightly.

"My life turned out a lot better too." Vanna said, coming in slower with her paw as Dawn finally allowed it to rest on her shoulder.

"Out in the Meadowlands I got exactly what I didn't even know I needed Dawn." Dawn looked up to find the cat smiling warmly. It was a strange sight to see, the cold cat she had become so used to responding so warmly to what seemed like such a horrible event. "I met Zach, and well...he evened out my personality. He got me to learn to laugh, to see the brighter side of life when no other mammal could." Vanna gently shook the sobbing ewe with her paw. "I even got inducted into this wonderful family. And in that way what happened to you helped me find my way in life."

Dawn wiped the tears from her eyes as she stared up at the tiger in disbelief. Dawn sniffled loudly, letting out a choking gasp as she tried to compose herself but it was no good. She only hoped it wasn't loud enough for Vernon to hear, lest he come running to her 'rescue'.

"H-how can you look at what I-I did so positively?" Dawn sobbed. "I mean, y-you, your fellow officers, those victims-"

"You know one thing I learned from Zach, from the Hunters, was that mammals can get in over their head and make some pretty terrible decisions." Vanna rolled her eyes. "Especially when they are scared of something."

Vanna gave Dawn another gingerly shake, enough to draw the ewe's focus back to the tigress' face. "Now I don't know much about how you grew up, but based on what I heard about how you and Vernon were separated I can't imagine it was very good. And I know from seeing the trial that you weren't exactly working under the best conditions."

Dawn choked back another sob. "You saw that?"

Vanna nodded.

"W-why would you even give me the b-benefit of the doubt?" The ewe sniffled. "W-what if I w-was lying."

"Miss Bellwether." Vanna coughed. "Dawn, on that witness stand I saw a broken mammal, I knew it because I saw Thomas break the same way." Vanna murmured. "You don't fake that, you can't."

Dawn leaned into Vanna's side, sobbing quietly as she rubbed her face into the tigress' pajama shirt. She felt Vanna gently patting her back as she continued to quietly weep.

"Since I've been out here I've learned so much from the Hunters. I followed their example and got involved in rehabilitation programs, scared straight programs, talked at schools. " Vanna chuckled. "Those wolves really got me to care, to see the mammal before the criminal, and I'm eternally grateful to them. Those wolves are never wrong about any mammal, when they see someone who truly wants to change they know it's sincere."

Dawn felt the tigress pull away slightly. Looking up she could see the tigress smiling back down at her.

"I mean, look at Vernon." Vanna grinned widely. "He believed in you, and what happened?"

Dawn simply whimpered, unsure of how to answer.

"You saved Zootopia, nearly at the cost of your own life." Vanna nodded. "At the cost of your own flesh and blood!" The tigress raised her voice slightly.

Dawn simply rubbed her eyes, desperate to stop the tears.

"But I-I still-"

Vanna gave the ewe a more vigorous shake.

"If you want to know how I feel about you, then here it is. I don't hate you Dawn. I don't hold what you did against you. At the time I was mostly indifferent to it, and now after everything that's happened it seems irrelevant to me." Vanna said plainly. "If Vernon, Zach, Wade and Mom are willing to believe in you, why shouldn't I?"

"Be-because-."

"I'm giving you a clean start, even if Dorian doesn't seem to be." Vanna cringed slightly. "Whatever his reasoning." The tigress gave the ewe another shake as the lamb finally managed to start composing herself.

"Just accept it already." Vanna chuckled. She shook Dawn again as she smiled down at the ewe, drawing a few laughs between the dying sobs.

"I'm going to keep shaking you till you accept it!" Vanna was practically giggling now, something before this conversation Dawn had been unsure the tigress was even capable of. The laughter was infectious and soon Dawn found herself giggling as she pushed away from the large mammals grasp.

"O-Okay!" Dawn sniffled slightly, choking back her laughter. "Okay!"

"Good." Vanna gave the ewe a satisfied smile.

Giving Dawn a pat on the back, the tigress rose to her feet, making her way back to her own bed as Dawn chased the last of her lingering sniffles away. Despite how terrible revisiting her crimes had been, especially knowing about the mammals she had displaced in the process, Dawn had come away from her talk with the tigress feeling mostly relieved. What was even more surprising to Dawn was not just the fact that the tigress was earnestly willing to give the ewe a redo, but how the seemingly stoic and unmoving feline had treated her with such warmth and emotion. It was as different as night and day.

With a final hard sniff, Dawn slid back up to the top of her bed. Easing the laptop back onto her lap, the ewe briefly scanned what she had written before quickly saving and closing down the document. Peering over her computer, she spied the tigress lying flat against her own bed, staring at the ceiling.

"V-Vanna?"

The tigress leaned her head up and cocked and eyebrow.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Thank you." Dawn smiled.

The tigress gave a small smile in return before allowing her head to lay back down against the bed. A moment of silence passed between them before Dawn spoke again.

"Vanna?" Dawn asked again.

"Mhh?" The tigress murmured, this time she didn't raise her head.

"D-do you think I'll be a-able to get Dorian to like me?" Dawn whimpered.

Vanna let out a hard sigh. She was silent for a few moments, possibly mulling over the question before she finally responded.

"He'll come around." Vanna said. "He's a good mammal. Stubborn, but good." The tigress placed her paws behind her head. "Just give him some time."

"T-that was my plan." Dawn stammered.

Vanna nodded affirmatively. "Good."

Again the room fell silent, but it didn't last long as the ewe thought of a follow-up question. Putting her laptop aside, Dawn started to move back down the mattress.

"D-do you think if Vernon and I-"

Dawn heard a pop, and suddenly the room was filled with the husky and familiar voice of the famous 'Suri Nicks' a she sang a live rendition of 'Crystal', one of Dawn's favorite songs. Dawn stared back at her computer quickly to find that she had pulled the headphones loose with her knee as she moved down the bed. She had completely forgotten she had left her music playing.

"OH-EM-GOODNESS!"

Dawn turned back to see Vanna was now sitting straight up in her bed. The tigress' face had an almost alien look of overwhelming excitement plastered on it.

"IS THAT SURI NICKS!?" Vanna clasped her paws together.

Dawn gave a meek nod.

"I. LOVE. HER!"

-----------------------------

Authors Nose!

This is a bit of a long one, because it is both a combination of another historical entry and character dialogue. My original plan was to start and end-cap the 'acts'/days in the story with these historical entrees to better flesh out and prepare you for understanding the motives of future characters and bits in the story. But this chapter ended up being so long that there is one more chapter of just character back and forth before we officially step into act/day two. That said I really liked how this chapter ended up turning out with Vanna opening up to Dawn and I hope you like it too. I might take a week off of posting after next Monday to play catch up on my chapter archives. I've been having a rough time these past few days so I haven't had a chance to write as much as I'd like too. I may even put another halt on the ask blog for a bit until I get some writing done. I have some pretty awful stomach issues that can ruin days at a time...and it's been pretty aggressive as of late. As of right now I'm on a diet of very tiny bits of food or nothing at all to try to ease it. I'd also like to start writing some other little stories and one-offs. Not that I intend to stop this one, but I'd like to actually get some time to plan out the dialogue for this animal crossing comic project I've been wanting to do for months now. And when it comes to writing I really try to keep a non-forced pace to craft some form of quality over quantity. Not that I'm a master writer or anything, but I'd be worse If I just forced it out. Anyway...I've said enough... -WT

#Zootopia #dawn bellwether #ask blog #Assistant Mayor Bellwether #furry #fanfiction #wasted time

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