FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Dawn jumped awake to the sound of Vernon shouting from outside her bedroom door. As she fumbled for her glasses, the wolf's words were finally starting ring clear as the haze of sleep began to dissipate.

"Floofs wake up! I overslept! Were gonna be late for work!" The wolf shouted.

She felt the familiar form of her glasses touch the outside of her hoof before hearing a dull thud as the pair hit the floor.

"Lamb Shanks!" She cursed herself. As she blindly pawed at the floor for her eyewear she called back to the wolf.

"What time is it?!" She shouted.

"Eleven forty-two!" She heard the wolf reply.

As her hoof found the frames, she speedily brought them up to her face and hopped out of bed. Quickly she turned on her light, wincing for a moment at the sudden glare before making a mad dash for her wardrobe.

"What happened!?!" She shouted, now fumbling through the armoire for something to throw on quickly.

"I usually wake up in time, but I had a hard night last night and..." The wolf trailed off.

"You and me both" the lamb muttered. With a sigh as she threw off her night gown. She quickly pulled a short sleeve purple dress shirt over her head, and after adjusting the hem she began to dig around for a simple skirt.

"I'm so, so, sorry Floofs, I really hackled things up. I usually set an alarm."

"It's okay Puppy." Dawn replied, now wiggling her way into a simple black skirt. "I'll be ready in a minute, how late are we going to be?" With the skirt now secured, the ewe grabbed her purse which hung from the armoire doorknob and began to trot toward her bedroom door.

"If we leave in the next few minutes, I'd say maybe ten minutes. Hopefully Gus won't be left holding the bag for too-"

Dawn cut the wolf off by opening the door, causing Vernon to stumble a bit. She hadn't realized he had been leaning against it as he spoke.

She watched the wolf quickly straighten himself back up, before giving the lamb a quick once over.

"Is this fine? Does it look okay?" Dawn asked Vernon. spreading her arms out to display her fairly standard clothes. She watched as the wolf quickly turned his head, scratching the back of it with his paw.

"I-erm...ya look real good. I mean fine." Vernon coughed. "You need to do anything else or can we head out?"

"No, no." Dawn nodded, walking past Vernon and toward the entrance to the apartment. "I'm mean I'd prefer to have some extra time to primp and brush my teeth, but I'd rather not be any later than we are."

Vernon whipped around the lamb, opening the front door and giving her a soft grin.

"I hear yah." The wolf nodded as the lamb gave him a thankful smile before exiting the apartment. "I've got a box of mints in the storage bin on my moped. Till then I'll try not to talk directly at you, and spare you the dog breath."

Dawn chuckled as the wolf exited the apartment after her. Vernon closed the door tightly behind them, and began to lock the place up. Dawn watched as he tested the knob, twisting it aggressively a few times before becoming seemingly satisfied. Turning back to the lamb, the wolf sighed.

"All set, let's get moving before Gus gets all passive aggressive and grumbley on us." Vernon casually pointed his thumb toward the elevator.

As the two began the mad dash to get to work, Dawn found herself unable to shake an uncomfortable feeling. Something felt off to the ewe, and she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. She clutched her purse as they dashed through the hall, confirming she had remembered it. Yet something still nagged at her. As the two saddled on to Vernon's Vixspa, she shooed away the lingering thoughts, reasoning that the feeling was simply the lack of time to primp and prep for work.

But unbeknownst to the lamb, a familiar lavender colored phone sat idly on the breakfast nook of the now silent apartment. It's illuminated screen casting a dim glow in the dark. '1 message received' was still flickering on it's face. A message the ewe wouldn't receive that night, left by one Don Polaraski.

"Soery."

Luckily for the pair, Gus' chiding was very brief at their late arrival. He apparently was in a rush to leave, mentioning something along the lines of a game he had to pick up that he'd been waiting for. Dawn and Vernon settled into their usual routine. Cleaning up, putting things away, and finally the long and boring wait for customers.

But with the adrenalin rush of being late now gone, Dawn's mind returned to the agonizing decision she had made the night before. She needed to break the news to Vernon about leaving, despite how much she knew it would hurt the wolf. Just the thought of seeing the sadness in his eyes was tying her stomach in knots. At some point the wolf must have noticed how quiet she had grown, and finally spoke up.

"Hey Floofs, you all right?" The wolf asked, causing the ewe to jump in her seat.

"W-what!?" Vernon had caught her off guard, she hadn't even noticed he was sitting next to her.

"Hey easy." Vernon said, patting the puff on her head. "You look a little blue, is everything alright?" He had leaned down a bit, clearly trying to make eye contact with the ewe. Dawn responded by turning away.

"I-I I'm fine, really Vernon." She stuttered, mentally cursing herself for failing to play it cool.

"You don't seem fine Dawn, you've been really quiet and now you aren't looking at me." Vernon gently brought his paw to her chin and turned her head back to face him.

"I-I just..." She could feel her eyes starting to well, and suppressed the tears. The wolf already looked worried, and the lamb placed her hoof on the outside of his paw. 'It's now or never.' she thought to herself.

"I've bee-"

The wolf suddenly clawed at his headset, causing Dawn to flinch at the sudden movement. The wolf pulled the speaker off and held it away, using his other paw to cradle his wounded ear. Dawn could hear what sounded like an awful scraping noise coming from the headset.

"TEETH TO TAILS!" Vernon snarled. The wolf carefully brought the mic to his mouth, while still doing his best to keep the speaker away.

"WANNA TURN DOWN THAT RACKET BUDDY!? I CAN'T TAKE YOUR ORDER IF I'M DEAF!" Vernon shouted into the microphone.

Dawn gave him a concerned look before the sound quickly died away. With the noise gone a voice could barely be heard through the speaker, and with that Vernon cautiously brought it back to his ear.

"Alright, great, thanks." Vernon muttered before clearing his throat. He held up a finger at Dawn, placing his other paw over the mic to mask his words.

"We'll pick up with this after we get this guy out of here, okay Floofs. Don't let me forget."

Dawn meekly nodded as she watched Vernon stand up and adjust his headset.

"Welcome to Bug Burga, can I interest you in out jalapeno scorpion burger meal, only five-" Vernon stopped as Dawn could hear the voice chattering back to him.

"Just two canid size clover mint shakes huh?" Vernon rolled her eyes at Dawn causing her to cover her mouth to stifle a chuckle.

"Alrighty, that's five eighty-six, please drive around." The wolf let out a sigh as he placed his paws behind his head and stretched.

"Jeeze, the mammals that come out at night, I swear." He mumbled, earning another titter from Dawn as she hopped off the table.

"I'll start making them, you handle the window." Dawn said, grabbing two canid cups from the nearby dispenser.

"On it boss." Vernon chuckled, making a comically over-exaggerated salute before moseying his way over to the register by the window.

While Dawn was thankful for the slight reprieve from having to have such a difficult conversation, it had done little to ease her anxiety. Mixing the drinks was doing little to distract her as she eyed Vernon at the drive-thru register, her mind still swirling with confusion over what to do. Should she really just leave? She didn't want to hurt him, she couldn't bear to. Maybe it was better if she gave it another week, perhaps two she thought.

_"Or..."_She thought.

What if she embraced it, laid it all on the table for the wolf.

'Maybe even lay myself out on the table...' The ewe shook her head and suppressed a chuckle.

But she couldn't help but think about if they really could make it work. Maybe if she lied low enough, got her name changed, maybe even if they moved away after her parole period was lifted. Vernon could probably get work as an architect outside of the city, and he might be okay with the move she thought. Maybe they really could be together.

But her dreamy thoughts were interrupted as the wolf pressed the button to open the drive-thru window. She didn't even feel herself let the finished drinks fall to the floor as she realized what she was seeing on the other side of the glass pane as it slid away.

In the passenger seat sat a ram cloaked in a hazmat suit, and aiming a weapon toward the unsuspecting wolf. It was no doubt a gun, but it's features were hauntingly familiar to the ewe. The hazard striping and the silencer drew her back to that awful moment four years ago, the moment that she held the same weapon in her own hooves. Vernon hadn't even looked away from the register, remaining oblivious to the weapon pointing at him. As the window fully opened, Dawn began a full on sprint toward the large mammal.

"VERNON! LO-"

Time seemed to slow down for Dawn as the events unfolded. She could see the pellet leave the barrel and barely brush the fur on the back of the wolf's neck before flying across the room and bursting against the side of the soda fountain.

"-OK OU-"

By this point the wolf had seemingly begun to register what was happening, and as the second pellet left the chamber it passed clear through the space between the wolf's ears as he began to duck. Dawn was nearly there now, still sprinting and screaming.

-T!"

The third pellet went wide as the wolf was now in the midst of dodging, his paw outstretched in a flailing attempt to hit the button to close the drive-thru window. The lamb collided with him just as he slammed his paw on the switch, and the two collapsed into a heap. As the glass panel sealed shut a dull thump was heard as a small splatter of blue plastered across the now sealed window pane, followed by the sound of the vehicle peeling out.

It took a moment for Dawn to regain her senses. She could hear her own heart beating in her ears, and her breath was ragged. Looking down she could now see she was laying on top of a very dazed looking wolf.

"VERNON! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!? DID THEY GET YOU!?" She clutched his shirt, gently shaking the wolf.

"I-I'll b-be alright." The wolf wheezed. He gently brought his paw to his chest and clutched the ewe's hoof to his heart. "A-as soon as my heart starts beating again." He coughed.

Dawn carefully got off the wolf and up to her feet, before desperately trying to pull Vernon up by his free paw. After a moment of weak attempts the wolf finally raised his other paw and grasped the nearby front counter, pulling himself up with Dawn's assistance. The wolf flopped forward onto the counter as the lamb continued to check him for blue stains.

"DID YOU FEEL ANYTHING HIT YOU!?" She shouted, causing the wolf to wince.

"I-I don't think so, I don't think I'd be standing if-"

"It's not that kind of gun Puppy!" She barked, panic rising in her voice.

"Then what wa-"

The screeching of tires cut the exchange off, and their heads snapped towards the source of the noise just in time to see a white van come careening through the front of the restaurant. Dawn felt the wolf wrap his arms around her protectively as glass and furniture shrapnel sprayed in all directions. The van continued forward, atomizing the fake stump tables and shredding faux ferns as rammed through the fast food joint. It had made it about halfway toward the pair before skidding to a stop, the high beams of the headlight casting a spotlight at the cowering mammals.

Amid the tinkling noise of stray raining glass, and the thud of various plastic chunks hitting the ruined tile floor, a new sound rose above the noise of the idling engine of the van, the sound of windows rolling down. Dawn watched fearfully as two shiny discs were flung out of each side of the van, skidding across the floor with a small 'thunk' before emitting a loud hiss and a building puff of blue-ish smoke.

Dawn had never seen a weapon like the shining steel discs before, but the color of the smoke told her everything she needed to know.

"PUPPY! WE NEED TO GO NOW! She shouted.

The wolf, still holding her, simply lifted the ewe and made a mad dash for the back door of the restaurant. The wolf barreled toward the door at full speed, ramming into it with his free arm. However, the door failed to budge, sending a harsh tremor through the wolf's body that even Dawn could feel. Vernon placed her down before applying his full weight against the unmoving door, pushing at it desperately.

"Damnit! Move! WHY ISN'T IT OPENING!?" The wolf snarled.

Dawn's eyes traced up to the nearby security monitor, which displayed the various areas of the restaurant. The screen that displayed the front room was flickering, most likely from the impact damage from the van. But she could still see the quickly growing cloud rapidly filling the front room.

Her eyes then darted to the drive-thru screen, and with that the answer to the stuck back door became clear. Someone had moved the dumpster directly in front of the door, preventing their escape.

"VERNON! LOOK!" She pointed wildly at the security screen.

The wolf glanced briefly, only to slam his fists against the door in anger.

"SON OF A-" He snarled. "That scraping noise..."

The ewe barely had time to react before the wolf had scooped her up again, and began running back toward the din at the restaurant entrance.

"VERNON! WHA-!?"

"WE'VE ONLY GOT ONE WAY OUT OF THIS!"

As the two got increasingly closer to the building smoke plume, Dawn could see the ram exit the car, with a second ram in tow. The two both had night howler guns and were preparing to aim them at the speeding mammals.

"VERNON YOU CAN'T, THAT SMOKE IS-"

Dawn suddenly felt Vernon jerk hard to the right and barrel into a nearby room. Once inside the wolf slammed the door tightly and locked it. Letting the ewe down he pressed his whole body against the door, waiting for the rams to inevitably try to break it down. Dawn looked around the dimly lit chamber, it was hard to see anything in there.

"Vernon! We can't stay locked in here! They can pump the night howler through-"

"They can't pump anything in here without going to the roof." The wolf panted.

She looked at the wolf with an odd expression before he flipped the nearby light switch. The room suddenly was bathed in a halogen glow, which caused the ice crystals that bathed the chamber to gleam. There were a few stray stacks of boxes, filled with various food items and encrusted with ice. But aside from that the place was largely empty, and very cold.

"We're in the freezer?" Dawn asked, now clutching her upper arms.

"Thankfully they didn't renovate this thing yet." The wolf muttered.

"I don't understand." Dawn's face scrunched in confusion.

"The freezer has a separate ventilation system. On top of that it was made to be a last ditch protection place in the event of a robbery. It should be enough to keep them out." The wolf replied.

"But how do we-"

A loud pounding sound began to emanate from the door, causing the sheep to shriek. the wolf further braced his body against it.

"WE'VE CALLED THE COPS! YOU BETTER GET OUT OF HERE!" Vernon snarled. The pounding continued unabated.

Dawn was trembling as the wolf turned to look at her, gesturing with a nod for the ewe to come over to him.

"My phone's in one of my pockets, wanna grab it and hit nine-one-one?" The wolf asked.

Dawn nodded vigorously before running up to Vernon. The lamb reached into his left pocket but found nothing but his wallet.

"Try the other one." The wolf stated, still bracing the door against the aggressive pounding.

The other pocket produced nothing more than loose change, and Dawn shrugged up at the wolf. Vernon gave her a look of confusion, then suddenly his eyes went wide as he brought his paw to his forehead.

"Damn. It's in the changing room. Son of a-"

"Wait! I have mine!" Dawn interrupted.

The ewe reached into her pockets desperately pawing around for the familiar phone, but when both turned up empty Dawn suddenly remembered where it was, and felt her blood run cold.

"I-It's..." She stammered. "I- L-left it home."

Vernon gritted his teeth in response, continuing to lean against the door.

"YOU BETTER GIT! THEY ARE ON THIER WAY!" The wolf was bluffing, continuing to try to scare rams away.

Dawn meanwhile, felt herself breaking down. She began to shake as the first tear fell, and by the time she had broken into full sobs she had crumpled to the floor in a heap.

"We'll be alright Dawn, we'll get through this." She could barely hear the wolf plead with concern, the terror of the moment had deafened her.

Dawn wasn't sure how much time had passed before the pounding stopped. Her mind had become too over stimulated from everything that had transpired, and simply shut down. She was simultaneously reliving every dark and terrible memory from four years ago, as well as being confronted with the new and very real horror of being the target of a night howler attack. Did these rams set out to settle a score for Doug. Or were they merely trying to give the ewe a taste of her own medicine. Whatever the reason, it was clear that they were after her, or they wouldn't have been trying so desperately to get through that freezer door. She could hear the cackling of the horrible beast from her dreams, and feel it's searing eyes on her collapsed form. As the image became more clear in her mind, she could feel herself shivering uncontrollably. This was it, the ewe thought. She was going to die right there on the floor from shock.

But eventually the shaking gave way to a warm and comfortable feeling. It felt as though the ewe was being swaddled in a blanket of warmth and kindness. It had wrapped around her in a protective embrace, and Dawn instinctively buried herself deeper into the warmth. The images and horrors of her past began to die away, eventually even the cackle faded with them, and the ewe felt the haze cast over her mind begin to clear.

When Dawn finally started to come to her senses she quickly realized she had been moved from her spot on the cold freezer floor. She could feel something squeezing her body tightly, and gently brushing the wool on her head. Looking up she saw Vernon, who drew his hand back in surprise.

"Hey there Floofs..." He said softly.

"Vernon...what?" She muttered half dazed.

Looking down, she could see was sitting in Vernon's lap on the freezer floor. The wolf had wrapped his arms around her, and had brought his legs up and in as tightly as he could in an effort to keep the ewe covered up.

"You were shivering up a storm and mutterin' all sorts of things. So once the pounding stopped I scooped ya up did my best to calm you down and keep you warm." The wolf replied.

She gently grabbed Vernon's paws and held them tighter to her body before looking back up and softly smiling at the wolf.

"T-thank you P-puppy." She shuddered.

The wolf gave her a kind smile.

"Anytime Floofs." The wolf leaned his head back against the door. "Bet you wish we hadn't sheared you now huh?"

Dawn laughed weakly at Vernon's remark, ending it with a tired sigh.

"So....are they gone?" Dawn asked.

"Far as I can tell, it's been quiet for a good twenty minutes now." came the wolf's reply.

Dawn simply continued to stare forward, still slightly out of it.

"Then why are we still in the freezer?" She mumbled.

"The damn locking mechanism's jammed again." The wolf let out a sigh. "I unlocked it from this side when I was positive it was clear, but it wouldn't budge. Now it's gotta be opened from the outside, this is the reason Gus wanted the whole locking system gutted."

Dawn let a sarcastic laugh as the sheer ridiculousness of the whole situation hit her.

"Now don't fret, I'm sure someone will come along and call the cops and we'll be outta' here in a jiff. But if worse comes to worse the morning crew will let us out." The wolf sounded tired.

"Me? Worried? No..." Dawn chirped. "This is just the Bellwether legacy playing out the way it should right?" the thrust her arms out before letting them flop back down in a defeated slump.

"What?" Vernon asked.

"Every Bellwether is a bigoted monster. Less than a mammal. My grandpa wanted to put collars on every predator, my Dad wanted to see them all forced out of Zootopia, and me..." She sighed.

"I was the worst. I opened a Pandaro's Box when I came up with that night howler plan. Now it's out there and can be made and used by any mammal with a basic chemistry set. I-I can never undo any of this, I can never fix or atone for it. What was I even thinking trying to turn my life around Puppy?"

"Dawn, I-"

"I don't deserve it, I don't even deserve the chance. I deserve to die miserable and alone like every other Bellwether before me. That's our true legacy-"

Dawn raised and spread her arms out.

"The Bellwether's, we make everyone's life hell because we're miserable, and then we die."

Her arms flopped to her sides again, and she let out a deep sigh.

"Only I get the added honor of going down in the history books as "The Monster that nearly destroyed Zootopia."" Tears began to dribble from the ewe's face, and she started to sniffle.

"Y-You need to get away from me Puppy, I'll just d-drag you down..."

She felt the wolf tighten his grip, and press his head against her woolly hair poof.

"Now that's enough of that kinda talk Floof." He chided.

"But Pu-"

"No buts." He fired back.

"Night howler existed long before you did Dawn, it was only a matter of time before some mammal used it for something bad." Vernon asserted.

"But I di-"

"You told me yourself that Doug put that plan together, not you. He made the howler mix himself. He would have done that whether you helped him or not right?" The wolf asked.

"Well, yes-"

"And so what about your parents? Bellwether is just a name, it doesn't define who you are. You can live your own life Dawn, you don't have to be miserable and alone because of what your forbearer's did." The wolf concluded.

Dawn rubbed the wolf's paws affectionately. "But I still lead Doug's rams. I still framed the mayor and hurt so many mammals. I still tried t-to k-kill-" The lamb was choking back sobs at the thought.

Suddenly she felt the wolf's paw under her chin. He tilted her head up to look him in the eyes. They were soft and forgiving, and the ewe felt herself shudder under his gaze.

"Dawn..." He started. "Do you feel bad?"

"A-awful." She began to sob. "Te-Terrible."

"Would you ever do it again, if you had the chance?" He replied.

"I-I'd kill myself b-before I'd ever do s-s-omething like that again." She looked at the wolf determinedly, tears still streaming from her eyes.

"Then you deserve a chance to change Dawn. A chance to live." She felt Vernon squeeze her tighter. "Even if nobody else thinks your a good mammal, you do it for yourself. You may never get the chance to fix what you've done, but at the very least you can try. You can't fault a mammal for that."

Vernon's eyes began to well as they continued to stare at one another. "And don't forget, you have me in your corner Dawn."

The wolf smiled, and she felt her own grin force it's way to the surface.

"Y-you're so....s-stupid, you can't hang a-around me...W-what about your dreams? I'll mess a-all that up for you." She sniffled.

The wolf turned away from her, staring off at the end of the freezer.

"Remember the bracelets Dawn?"

Dawn's eyes went wide as the memory came rushing back to her.

"O-oh gods. The friendship bracelets...I-it's been so long." She sniffled.

The wolf's head came to rest against her own as he continued.

"I still have mine, granted it's back at the ranch but I still have it." She felt his jaw muscles tighten into a grin.

"No you don't!" She said, playfully slapping one of his paws.

"I do so." The wolf retorted. "I'd never let that thing go even if it reminded me that I didn't know you anymore." Vernon's voice was somber.

Dawn reached an arm up and wrapped it around the wolf, giving him a small hug. Vernon in turn squeezed the ewe again.

"The reason I bring it up is because those bracelets were a promise Dawn. Best friends forever, for everyone to see." The wolf chuckled. "Now were older, and we know all the consequences that come with that. But I'm still going to stand by it."

"Oh Puppy." Dawn whimpered, she could feel her lip trembling.

"What I want, my future of bein' an architect, it won't mean anything to me if I don't have you there to be a part of it Floofs."

Dawn laughed, a few scattered sobs working their way through.

"When I came home from school that day, I was so proud of our bracelets." Dawn wiped her eyes.

"I was just so happy to have a real friend. Some mammal who didn't think I was a dork or dweeb. And the bracelet made it real to me, to every mammal who would see it." She clasped the wolf's hooves.

"B-but my Father..." Her voice dipped, a bitterness now draping over her words. "My sober at the time Father, picked that day to notice my bracelet and start asking questions."

She felt the wolf's paws tense at the mention of her Father, and she gently squeezed back.

"I remember when he found out you were a w-wolf..." She began to sniffle again, the pain of the memory burning white hot in her mind. "He g-grabbed me by the arm so hard it d-dislocated my shoulder. All just to t-tear the bracelet off."

She stared forward blankly, her eyes glassy with tears. "I just remember the pain, and the beads glimmering as they tore loose from the string and scattered across the floor." She gave a hard sniffle. "T-that was before he hit me in the eye, and I blacked out."

"That Bastard." The wolf snarled. She could feel his body tense against her.

Dawn responded by petting the wolf's paws gently, and slowly she felt him start to relax.

"My Mother..." She sighed. "She told me once that he wasn't always like that."

She continued to stoke his paws gently as she reminisced.

"My grandfather was an even harder ram, with the same plans for my Father as my Father had for me. But my Father couldn't cut it in politics. I may have just lacked the charisma, but my Father lacked it and the intelligence to handle government documents and dealings. He was more of a science smart, or so my Mother said." Dawn chuckled at the thought. "I suppose that's why he liked Doug so much, they were..." She shuddered. "surprisingly alike."

"And after that he just started drinking right?" Vernon said dully.

"Not till my Grandfather called him a failure on his deathbed, then it started big time."

"Ouch." The wolf replied.

"With the drinking came the abuse of my Mother, and later me." She sighed painfully.

"Why did she stay?" Vernon asked.

"Hmm?" Dawn looked up at the wolf.

"Why did she stay, your Mother I mean." The wolf replied, looking back down at her.

"She..." Dawn chuckled. "She was holding out hope that one day the Aster she knew would come back."

Vernon rested his head back on top of the ewe's.

"Hmph." The wolf replied. "I suppose...everyone deserves a second chance." She could hear the hesitation in the wolf's voice as he croaked out the words.

Dawns eyelids were starting to grow heavy, and she dug herself deeper into Vernon's pelt.

"He's had too many by now, no that mammal is long gone. Maybe one day my Mom will see that." Dawn yawned.

"But I wish..." Dawn let out a small chuckle. "I really wish I still had that bracelet."

She felt Vernon's jaw open, and heard him let out a loud yelping yawn.

"It'd be nice." Vernon replied. "But we don't need them. We're connected even without 'em." She felt the wolf squeeze her again. "I'll always be here for you Dawn."

Dawn let out another yawn, feeling her eyelids begin to droop. "I'll always be here for you too Vernon, I'm not going anywhere."

Dawn suddenly snapped alert at the return of the terrible pounding noise. She felt Vernon's body tense up underneath her as he was roused from the sudden din as well.

"W-Wazzat!" He yelped.

"They're back!" Dawn screamed.

Over the pounding, a voice rang out loud and clear. "This is Lieutenant Judy Hopps, ZPD. Is anyone in there!?"