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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.