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Tales from the BellHunterverse

Presents

Queen of the Dead Pt1

By Wastedtimeee

Schump...

Screeee...

Cold.

Schump...

Screeee...

Wet.

Schump...

Screeee...

Miserable.

The weather was practically standard fare for those who lived in the bustling coastal city of Seaotter. An expanse of dark, murky clouds loomed over the night skyline, drowning the moon and stars in its abyssal embrace as it released surge after surge of wet ice pellets upon the city below. Despite the fact that it was late April, what Seaotter folk would refer to as _'winter'_remained firmly entrenched in the region. Its withering talons dug in deep into the metropolis' soft underbelly as it let out a defiant and territorial roar in the face of the warmer spring weather that had been struggling to get a foothold into the area for weeks. It was certainly a less than ideal night to be on patrol, but to Yuri Hunter, it was simply the bone-chilling whipped cream atop the shit sundae that had been his day so far. And he had barely even started his shift.

Schump...

Screeee...

Yuri let out a tired sigh as he sat in the passenger side of his squad-car, the dark-furred wolf's eyes glazed and unfocused as he stared listlessly out the window to his side. His piercing yellow irises dully tracing the lazy dribbles of water as they crept down the pane of glass, merging and diverging at random until inevitably sinking below the window frame. The faint, dull 'pittering' of stray ice pellets against the window amidst the drops of rain only adding to the wolf's discomfort and irritation. Even though the heat within the car hummed steadily along, it did little to stop the unconscious urge to shudder every so often as the familiar sound tickled the wolf's muscle memory.

Yuri didn't mind the rain, in fact, the wolf had often preferred the overcast and gloomy weather that persisted most of the year. It was one of the things Seaotter was most famous for, and as such the wolf had known what to expect to some degree before settling down in the region. But when winter rolled around, and precipitation danced around the freezing mark without ever quite going over it, it was a different story. Whereas the gloom and cloudiness in summer kept the wolf from melting in his dark, highly heat absorbent fur, the frigid rains of the extended Yule season would punch through his pelt as though it were little more than tissue paper, allowing the biting, frigid, cold to seep deep into his bones. And once he was soaked, there was no amount of willpower he could muster to keep from devolving into little more than a shivering mess. It was indecisive weather like this that often made Yuri miss the more traditional winters he had experienced growing up in the North Meadowlands. Where the snow started falling in late October and didn't let up till early May. Sure, the white, powdery stuff was cold too, and a bitch to shovel, but at least it was easy to brush off of one's coat or fur before it had time to soak in.

But this momentary wistfulness was rather short-lived, quickly extinguished as the brief memory of his pup-hood home brought his thoughts right back to the call that had set his foul mood for the night.

Schump...

Screeee...

Yuri let out a derisive snort, momentarily fogging the area of the window where his nose was nestled nearest to the glass. The fog hanging there for just a moment before quickly withering away under the heavy assault from the car's heater to once again reveal the faintest glimmer of the wolf's reflection in the glass. The wolf watched his eyebrows furrow tightly as his mind continued to ruminate on the conversation he had with his mother just hours before his shift.

How quickly had the call shifted to talking about his lousy brother this time? Five minutes? No, that was far too generous for his mother, it had to be something closer to two. A minute or so of the usual pretend hemming and hawing from the she-wolf about how concerned she was about him and his 'dangerous'_work on the streets of Seaotter, quickly transitioning to his mother's retelling of the recent happenings at the family ranch before Yuri once again found himself squarely in _'Vernon territory'. It made the lead-up conversation feel like nothing more than pointless filler. The feigned interest in Yuri's life along with the droll recounting the latest happenings at the hunter ranch acting as little more than a mere formality in order to get to the topic she was actually enthusiastic about. There were sometimes the wolf just wished his mother would cut to the quick and simply start the conversation by blathering about his wimpy little brother. At least it wouldn't carry as sharp a sting as when the conversation inevitably shifted to Vernon once again. A sting, the wolf hated to admit, that came from a lingering sense of hope that for once the runt wouldn't come up in a conversation. That for once, the call would center squarely around catching up with his mother and father, and nothing beyond that. A pang that no matter how hard the wolf tried to snuff out, seemed to force him to pick up the phone whenever his mother called.

"Vernon this..."_Yuri thought to himself, gritting his teeth tightly."Vernon that..."His muzzle muscles furrowed as the bile continued to rise in his throat. His dear mother had so much to say about her fifth pup Vernon, although Yuri had always preferred to call him _'Vermin' out of spite. Vernon was the runt of their mother's second litter, and the overall smallest out of all seven pups. And to their mother and father, Vernon was considered the families _'golden pup', a_lthough they would deny it up and down if you asked them to play favorites. But Yuri knew the truth. After all, Hunter's could _'smell bullshit'_according to his father, Dorian. A shared family trait that old law-wolf insisted allowed them to read a mammal's intentions and body language with one-hundred percent accuracy. And while Yuri wasn't sure if _'intuition'_actually existed, let alone be carried along through a family gene-pool, he couldn't deny that consistent, uneasy sensation that welled up in his stomach whenever either his father or mother had told him something to the effect of _'We love y'all equally.'_It was a hollow sentiment that stank to high heaven of lip service. A way to keep the bickering and jealousy amidst the pups at the hunter household to a minimum. And no matter how many times Yuri heard it, it never sat any better with him.

Since the day he was born, the balance of attention in the hunter household had shifted to little 'Vermin'. Everything he did was worthy of praise, no matter how minuscule. Hell, Yuri was certain he could recall one time their mother Audrey had given old Vermin a little plastic trophy for going an entire week without accidentally pissing on the toilet seat. If it hadn't happened, it may as well have in Yuri's eyes. At the very least it would make for a fine story to tell if he ever needed to paint a proper picture of his brother to another unsuspecting mammal before they were indoctrinated by the rest of the hunter pack into thinking Vermin's shit didn't stink.

Of course, Yuri had done his damnedest to make things _'square'_during his time sharing a house with the runt. Native fur burns, wet willies, pinning the wolf to the floor for hours on end, and of course full-on fights when Yuri felt that _'Vermin'_was getting a bit too 'uppity' about his place in the pack, at least until his little brother had gotten old enough to put up a good struggle. The longer the fights dragged on, the more likely something in the house was bound to break in the scuffle, which in turn would get both wolves caught and punished on the spot. At that point, Yuri began to rely more heavily on mental tactics. Name-calling, teasing, and liberal use of Native Wolf pack role terminology oftentimes proving more effective than anything Yuri could cook up physically. Just referring to Vernon as an 'Omega', an outcast worthy of disdain and aversion by native wolf standards was often enough to make the runt break into tears, and subsequently take away any of the wind the whelp had stored up in his sails in an instant. Of course, it came with the added bonus that without the busted furniture and bruise marks, Yuri's misdeeds were that much harder to prove, despite hurting Vernon almost as much if not more.

But of course, 'keeping things fair', even when he had grown into more 'quiet tactics', more often than not made him a villain in the eyes of his parents. And while it didn't do much for improving his standings with his mother and father, it at least got their attention on him and away from the runt for the merest of moments. And even if it resulted in getting his fur tanned, a hell of a lot of farm work, or getting sent to his bedroom without dessert, it was worth it to steal just a few moments of attention away from his glory hog of a brother. But it also cemented his role in the family as the designated trouble maker, a title that stuck to him like glue until he finally packed his bags, climbed on his motorcycle, and left the ranch in his dust.

Time changes mammals, it was a sentiment Yuri had always heard but had never really thought about too deeply before leaving his old home behind. But while on his little road trip, and subsequent time in Seaotter studying to be an officer of the law before finally entering the force proper, the wolf had naively started to take stock in the sentiment. The new mammals in his life didn't have the rap sheet that his parents and brothers kept with meticulous detail, they didn't know the wolf by the title as _'trouble maker'_bestowed upon him by the other Hunters before he had even met them. And while Yuri would readily admit, his abrasive behavior didn't exactly win over everybody, the wolf got by far better in his new life than he ever had back home. There were mammals here that respected him, even accepted him along with his curmudgeonly ways and rather obscene and blunt sense of humor.

It was enough to give the wolf a sense of hope. A rising belief that maybe, just maybe, if he were capable of changing so much, then maybe his family could have too.

There was a time when phone calls from his mother Audrey were one of the highlights of his day. A time when his brother Vernon only came up in passing, after his mother had done a great deal of prying into his own life away from home before she listed through the ongoing events in the rest of his brother's lives. Finally, it seemed like Vernon's place in the family was no more or less important than his own. And for a while, the wolf began to seriously consider coming home for a visit. It seemed like things had really changed, and that maybe Yuri stood a chance of being absolved of his childhood sins in the eyes of his pack.

He had been a fool. He knew that now. But that didn't make the truth any easier a pill to swallow. Reality eventually came ringing, and when Yuri answered the call he was met with a mean right hook that shattered his foolish delusions.

Vernon had left home and fled to the city, fixated on putting himself through school and becoming some sorta 'artist'_type, and from then on that was all his mother could talk about. Every call from home from that point forward Yuri would receive an unwanted info-dump on his much-beloved runt of a brother. About how hard he was working his tail off in Zootopia. about how he had shacked up with that debilitated little billy goat he had befriended from high school and was workin' some crummy fast-food job. All to pay his own way through school to pursue his _'dream'. And with each update from Audrey on Vernon's supposed struggles brought about by striking out on his own, the she-wolf had slipped right back in into laying a disgusting amount of praise on Vernon's_'achievements'_.

At least their father was furious over it, and rightfully so. After all, in Dorian's eyes, the Hunter blood ran blue, and for that reason, Yuri and the rest of his brothers had strictly pursued jobs in law or justice-related fields. Even Xavier and Ulric, the former far too weak and limp-wristed and the latter far too squirrely to work a beat in Yuri's eyes, had chosen to work jobs in legal and forensics respectively. But Vernon, of course, had to go against the grain and get their father's hackles up. To turn his snout up at the prospect of protecting others as if it were too good for him and simply turn away from the 'family business'._In a way, it seemed as the Vernon was simply telling his father and brothers that he was _'too good'_for the job that wolves were made for. At least, that's how Yuri saw it. And even if his family didn't adhere to the laws and traditions kept by the North Mammalian wolves, the _'Ancient law of the Forest' the wolf had learned in school had had never been a more apt summation of how Vernon's act of familial treason deserved to be treated.

'Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky, And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. For the strength of the pack is the wolf,

and the strength of the wolf is the pack.'

It was something Yuri was more than happy to enforce when it came to his brother, but what really surprised him, was his father's own willingness to take up the mantra, even if the older wolf probably didn't see it that way. Still, unlike their mother, he refused to support the runt emotionally or financially, telling Vernon in no uncertain terms that if he wanted to pursue a pipe-dream, he'd be doing it on his own. It was a fair judgment and sentence, that much Yuri would certainly agree on, that was if his mother would ever let him get a word in edgewise over the phone. In fact, it was probably too fair for the whelp. After all, this was classic Vernon being Vernon. If he wasn't getting enough attention, he'd do something over the top and dramatic to get it, and this was just another one of his stunts. Just like his brief bad pup phase in junior high, just another show to maintain relevance among the pack. And Yuri knew how to call it, as he knew he was guilty of his fair share of the same when he lived at home. He may have been a pot calling the kettle black, but at the very least he made peace with the fact that he was aware of it.

But despite it all, to Audrey their father was simply being stubborn and unfair. That he was acting like their grandfather had treated him when he chose to go into law and so on and so forth. It all blended together in a slurry of pro-Vermin propaganda. And whenever Yuri tried to make a point, or interact with his mother during one of her rants, she would always chastise him.

"Oh, you sound just like your father!"_The she-wolf would scold. Or, _"Don't talk that way about yer brother!"_It was like being home again, despite being a good two-thousand miles away. Sitting there with the phone against his ear as he sat through what felt like hours of his mother's sermon, every objection finding the wolf brow-beaten down by his mother's overwhelming apologist and defensive rebuttals until eventually the wolf completely gave up on speaking altogether. He would simply let her ramble on and on until she tired herself, and then finish off with the obligatory, _"I love you, stay safe my little pup." All the while the wolf would stew, his anger and stress reaching a near boil as he endured each endless venting session with his mouth practically sewn shut. His stomach twisting into tight painful knots he bit his lip to keep from uttering so much as a sound, and all the while his hatred for Vernon to the point where he was certain it was starting to burn and ulcer into his stomach lining.

Schump...

Screeee...

The wolf's ear twitched in irritation as he silently seethed. The chilly, miserable sleet, his parents, his family...'Vermin'. All of it seemed to be piling on more and more in his mind the longer he silently seethed. Under normal circumstances, he should have been able to contain it. To control himself, and keep from letting any pertinent information that might lead to a discussion with his partner about his _'problems'_back home.

Schump...

Screeee...

But on top of all of that, the relative silence was frequently, infuriatingly cut through at even intervals by the maddening sound of...

Schump...

Screeee...

"Can't we do anythin' about that damn busted wiper!" The wolf suddenly snapped, his piercing yellow eyes fixing on the offending washer blade in question, staring daggers as it dragged awkwardly across the passenger side of the windshield.

"Ah, he finally speaks..." Came a reply from the driver's seat, followed by a dull chuckle.

Yuri lowered his gaze at the slim, rather nebbish looking buck deer across from him. The scrawny stag pressed his glasses up onto his muzzle slightly as he flashed the wolf a small smirk.

"At first I was sort of enjoying the lack of self-fellating bravado and ego-stroking you'd normally be spouting." The stag rolled his eyes, shaking his head softly in dismissal. "But once it hit the fifteen-minute mark of uncomfortable silence, would you believe I actually started to miss it?"

Lance Eckhart had been Yuri's partner since he had started working on the SOPD, and upon first appearance, the rather small, spindly mule deer looked like the kind of mammal that Yuri would have usually turned his nose up at. His fashion sense, even on the job, gave a false air of sophistication, which was only made worse by the deer's usual manner of speaking. Lance had a nasty habit of lacing almost everything he said with a tinge of condescension. As if every statement, however innocuous, was the buck looking down his muzzle at whoever he was speaking to. Taking it all in at once, it screamed stereotypical _'Seaotter intelligentsia'_type. The kind of mammal who buried his muzzle in books and online forums but had about as much street smarts and practical skills as a corn cob.

But when it came to judging a book by its cover, Yuri knew it was far from wise to write a mammal off based solely on outward appearances. And despite how often Lance's attitude and slight sense of smugness managed to get the wolf's hackles up, the stag had proven more than enough times that he was worth his salt when it came to police work. He was dedicated, driven, and when it came right down to it, really cared about the work at paw. And when it came to consoling victims, well, Yuri could admit the stag's bedside manner was far better than his own. It was admirable in Yuri's eyes, which was as close to an admission of respect as Yuri could muster for most mammals.

Unlike Yuri, who only ever wore the 'Seaotter' standard blues, Lance seemed to always dress with an apparent aim to look as much like he was playing the role of private detective as possible. Under his standard-issue bulletproof vest, the stag wore a pin-stripe dress shirt and deep gray clip-on tie. And somewhere under his seemingly over-sized police belt for a mammal of his frame, the buck wore a pair of tight black jeans supported by a clearly unnecessary pair of pale gray suspenders making it appear as though he were trying and failing to ape the long out of style noir film look. Even the glasses that framed his deep brown and speckled muzzle seemed to have chosen more for fashion rather than function, although Lance had never denied that his appearance was at least somewhat important to him. Still, it was a waste of effort in Yuri's eyes, if not for the pointlessness of trying to be stylish, all the work he had put into his choice in clothing was never enough to distract first-timers from his most notable feature, his apparent lack of antlers. Instead, the stag simply had nubs that had been shaven down to about an inch out from his skull.

It was already the standard policy of the SOPD that if you were a mammal species capable of growing horns in any capacity, that there was a limit as to how long you were allowed to keep them. There were certain exclusions of course, and the limit had been adapted pending several 'civil cases' that had made the organization softer on enforcement, but Lance had seemingly taken the decree one-hundred percent to heart in his choice to have them shaved as close to his skull as he could safely manage. According to the stag, this was to make it easier to get in and out places. It was less of a hassle for the buck, and seeing how his antlers fell out every year regardless of what he did, it seemed pointless to Lance to grow and maintain them at the cost of job performance despite the social importance. Yuri already knew a deer's antlers were a lot like a ram's horns or a fox's tail. The bigger or more ornate the equipment, the more virile and masculine the mammal attached to them appeared. It earned you more respect among your own kind without the need to even utter a single word, and when it came to attracting a mate, a fine pair of antlers acted like a big, bright neon sign above a stags head that spelled out in big, bold letters 'I'm fertile'.

In some way, the wolf could respect the level of devotion his partner had shown for his work at paw, but had Yuri been in his partner's pelt, he would have wanted to grow his antlers out to be as large as he could get away with, even if they were set to fall out every winter. To the wolf it was more than worth putting up with getting stuck in a few door frames from time to time if it meant eligible, attractive females would form a line just for the chance to get with him.

The stag gingerly scooped his coffee out of the car's cup holder, taking a small sip before stabbing a finger lazily in the direction of the offending wiper and drawing Yuri's eyes to it as it dragged across the windshield. The blade shaking sharply as the bent arm struggled to make the return trip to the center of the screen.

"Besides, you only have yourself to blame for that malfunctioning wiper you know." Lance chided. "You were the one who floored it into that suspect, the fact th-."

"He was pullin' out a gun!" Yuri snapped, gritting his teeth bitterly at the stag."It was either floor it, or take the chance of gettin' us shot while we was gettin' out of the car to try and catch 'em on foot!"

Lance scoffed, which only stood to annoy the dusky black wolf further.

"You were lucky he actually had a weapon. If he hadn't the Seaotter News Network would have had a field day." Lance replied, rolling his eyes. "Those hounds are always starving for a good 'police brutality' story."

Yuri flashed the stag a sneer. "What'd I tell ya about usin' the _'h'_word about wolves?"

Lance merely scoffed. "If they act like 'hounds', I will refer to them as such." The buck scoffed. "It's not like you haven't said worse things, and in-front of actual witnesses no-less."

Lance simply rolled his eyes as the buck shifted his full attention back to the road.

"And do I need to mention how much extra paperwork we had to do thanks to that little stunt of yours?" The stag added, taking another sip of his coffee.

Yuri scoffed. "Alright, next time I'll let 'em shoot y'all first." The wolf gestured a paw outward at nothing in particular. "Besides, y'all like paper work, ya told the chief you prefer it."

The stag rolled his eyes. "I tell the chief what he wants to hear unless it's absolutely necessary." The stag replied, throwing the wolf a side glance. "I'm afraid we can't all be as blunt and tactless as you are my friend."

That earned another snort from the wolf as the buck turned his gaze back to the slick, dark highway road.

"Although, I will admit paperwork is safer." The buck chuckled.

"Sides', that was a week ago!" Yuri snorted, crossing his arms indignantly. "You should have called it in fer repair by now!"

The stag rolled his eyes. " I did genius." Lance shook his head. " But they won't be able to fix it for at least two weeks."

"TWO WEEKS?!" Yuri spat, slamming a paw against his armrest. " Rut me! Are you serious?!" The wolf spat.

"No Yuri, I'm lying with you simply to get under your pelt. I enjoy having not one, but two things constantly screeching in my ears." The stag with a sarcastic scoff. "Of course I'm serious."

"The damn greasy lil' rats." Yuri hissed, crossing his arms once more. "What do they do in that garage 'side from sippin' latte's and checkin' their phones all day?" The wolf spat. "Probably only said that cause they're tryin' to piss me off."

Lance rolled his eyes. "I refer back to my previous point on how 'you've said worse things'." The buck retorted, earning another irritated scoff from the wolf.

"Seriously, have you ever considered referring to them as 'greasy rats' might be part of the reason they might want to antagonize you?" The stag chuckled, raising his coffee to his muzzle once again as he took a long, slow sip. Drawing the cup back, the deer let out a soft sigh of appreciation before quirking a brow as he regarded his partner.

"And what's wrong with liking lattes?" Lance added.

Yuri let out a dull, exasperated groan in response, slapping a paw over his eyes and dragging it down his face slowly.

"It's on the passenger side." Lance muttered. "That makes it a_'nonessential'_repair." The stag took another sip of his coffee. "So we're on the back of the line, and that's barring any emergency repairs that may bump us further down the queue."

"Non-essential"_The wolf grumbled mockingly. "Maybe I should head down there and me and them greasy rats can figure out exactly which o' their appendages 'er _'nonessential'." The wolf hissed, his tone laced with bile and sarcasm.

With a sigh, Yuri slumped deeper into his seat. For a moment, the same cavalcade of soft noises filled the cab. The hum of the heater, the pitter of rain, and the occasional screech of the wiper as the wolf returned to stewing in his own thoughts.

"You haven't touched your coffee you know." The buck piped up, cutting the silence once more as he placed his coffee back in the cup holder. Giving the lid of the taller looking cup a tap with a finger, Lance glanced back at the wolf.

"I imagine it's practically as frigid as that sleet out there by now."

"Ain't like I need it anyway..." Yuri grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Wolves are nocturnal mammals..." The wolf turned a glaring iris in the direction of the stag, flashing him a tiresome glance. "Or did y'all ferget that?"

The wolf shook his head dismissively. "Hell, why dy'all think I chose to work night shifts, just fer kicks?"

Seeming to get the hint that the wolf was far from being in a talkative mood, the stag slowly turned his attention back to the road, shifting over to another lane of the highway before draping both hooves on the steering wheel. Yuri watched from the corner of his eye as his partner pressed his palms off of the edge wheel, his frame tensing up for a moment as he appeared to be pressing himself more deeply into the driver's seat. He held like that for a few seconds before his body slackened, the buck letting out a long, drawn out breath of air as he settled back into his seat.

For a few moments Yuri had relative silence again, the stag seemingly distracting himself by tapping his hooves idly atop the steering wheel a few times before returning to his default driving posture. The black-furred wolf let out a quiet sigh of relief. It seemed his conversation-ender had more or less worked, and that the wolf was going to get through his shift without the buck trying to pry. At least, that's what he had hoped.

"You want to talk about it?" Lance suddenly blurted out, glancing back at Yuri from the corner of his eye.

Yuri let out a dull groan, quietly cursing himself as he shifted up more tightly against the passenger side door and away from his partner. He could tell by the glint in the stag's baby blues that Lance had shifted into 'analytical mode' as they seemingly began to scan the wolf for any hint of some form of deeper insight. Not that it mattered, it didn't take a genius to figure out something was on the wolf's mind after his little_'outburst.'_Of course Yuri would be so unlucky. After all, having any sort of hope hadn't worked for him yet, so why would it have worked now?

"Talk about what?" Yuri spat bluntly.

Lance lolled his head back slightly, shaking it in what appeared to be mild disbelief.

"Oh come on..." The buck replied with a roll of his eyes. "You only ever get quiet like this; if you'll pardon my paraphrase one of your wolf expressions, 'once in a blue moon.'" Lance said with a smirk.

"Ugh..." Yuri snorted, trying to press himself further into the passenger door to get as much distance between himself and the stags glare as possible. It was a futile effort of course, deep down the wolf knew it. But there was a part of the wolf that couldn't help but cling to the prospect that if he tried hard enough, he might just disappear from the car altogether.

"That was lousy, even fer you." Yuri hissed quietly.

"Oh please..." Lance scoffed, flicking a dismissive hoof at the wolf. "Like your constant stream of dirty jokes is any better?"

Yuri let out a sharp, derisive snort as he nestled that much more tightly against the door.

"But my point still stands." The stag continued, turning his full attention back to the road, and away from the shrinking wolf.

"I only ever see you get this quiet and miserable when you either struck out hard with a she-wolf, or your family did something to piss you off." The deer glanced back at the wolf from the corner of his eye, his blue iris seeming to twinkle inquisitively. "So which is it?"

Yuri rolled his eyes, shrinking deeper into his shoulders as he continued his lame attempt to avert the stag's gaze. Despite Yuri's firm promise to himself to simply never, ever discuss his family with any of his coworkers in Seaotter, working closely with one mammal for nearly five years meant that he would slip up from time to time, especially when he was in high spirits. A mention of Xavier's work as a lawyer here, or his mother's delectable pies there. The wolf had left more than enough breadcrumbs that even a mammal that lacked the stag's innate ability to absorb even the slightest snippet of information in order to paint a broader picture would have been able to piece together that the wolf's family life was less than stellar. But Yuri had also made the terrible mistake of letting his guard down around the stag enough to actually confide some degree of information with him. He had allowed the line between co-worker and acquaintance to blur a little too much, and now he was paying the price for his negligence.

The wolf let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"This ain't a conversation I'm willin' to have right now Lance." The wolf huffed. "So just step off, alright?"

The buck turned his gaze back to the road, a knowing smirk crossing his muzzle.

"Family, got it." The buck replied, adjusting his spectacles.

Yuri let out a loud groan, slinking deeper into his seat as he clasped a paw over his eyes.

"Your brother again right?" Lance continued. "The 'idjit' as you call him?"

Yuri parted his fingers slightly, allowing a single eye to peer at the stag just into to catch him gesturing a hoof outward, rolling it lazily.

"Granted when you have talked about them you've called them all idiots at some point so it's hard to tell which one you-."

"Vernon." The wolf hissed. "The runt..." The wolf grumbled as he closed his fingers again, casting his eye in darkness.

"Ah..." The buck's tone wavered slightly, telling the wolf that stag's inquisitive nature was starting to give way to unease. If there was one thing Yuri had made clear to the buck when the topic had arisen before, was that while his family in itself was a tense topic, there was one brother in particular that he was never to press the wolf on if he valued his health and well-being, and it was clear that Lance was considering whether or not he was willing to take a chance on exploring the issue.

The cab was silent for a few moments, save for the icy ambiance of the storm outside and the irritating screech of the broken wiper as it dragged back and forth across the windshield.

"I-I understand your brother is a tense subject my friend..." The stag began, his tone somewhat entreating as he spoke, as if pleading for the wolf to hear him out. " Believe me, I know how terrible brothers can be, what with having two older brothers that constantly-."

"No you don't." Yuri hissed quietly. The wolf could feel a warmth starting to swell inside of him as his ire began to flare. "You ain't got no idea."

"Then talk to me Yuri." Lance replied pleadingly. "Tell me about it and maybe I can help some-."

"No." Yuri replied bluntly. "I don't want to." The wolf hissed. He could feel the knot in his gut began to gnarl, the bile in his throat rising again as his mind was screaming for the stag to simply drop the subject rather than force Yuri to shout him down. Dragging his paw away from his eyes, the wolf could see that Lance's attention was almost entirely on him, the buck now leaning slightly over his armrest to regard the crumpled wolf.

Lance tilted his head slightly, offering the wolf a small, but genuine smile.

"Come now..." Lance added, quirking a brow. " It's not like I'm a gossip, you know I won't tell a soul. All I want to do is help."

"Y'all are treadin' on some thin ass ice Lance." Yuri snorted, crossing his arms more tightly this time as he tried to wriggle further up against the door as the blood coursing through his veins neared the boiling point. "Just let it lie, fer both of our sakes."

With a disheartened sigh, the buck turned his attention back on the highway, the wolf letting out a quiet sigh of his own as the miserable rainy ambiance returned to the vehicle. Even the shrill screech of the warped wiper was a welcome alternative to entertaining such a personal conversation with the stag. Yuri was in no mood for any sort of _'deep discussion'_tonight, or any discussion for that matter, not after the day he'd had. At a minimum, he might be able to find it in himself to respond to calls and simple yes or no answers, but anything more than that was certain to wind him up that much further.

More than anything the wolf wanted to be alone, far away from his partner and job for the rest of the evening. But he was willing to accept returning to the relative silence the cab had previously afforded, even if the squeal of the warped, shuddering wiper continued to cut through it. With enough effort, perhaps the wolf could tune it out.

"Look, if this is about saving face, or some semblance of maintaining bravado I-."

Yuri let out a loud snarl, turning sharply to face his partner as he bared his teeth.

"By Oldwyn's great grey muzzle!" Yuri snapped, running a paw through his mohawk exasperatedly. "Would y'all just drop it already!? Please!?"

"Okay, okay!" Lance shrunk in his seat, snapping his attention back to the highway as he cowered under the wolf's angry gaze. Yuri stared steadily at the stag, his muscles tense and nostrils flared as he awaited an eventual rebuttal. He knew the deer had a habit of acting like a squirrel with a nut when it came to things like this. He was hard to dissuade, and sometimes even Yuri's brand of fear instilling anger failed to subdue the inquisitive buck. But Lance remained quiet, the stag's eyes focused squarely and unflinchingly on the road, and slowly the satisfaction that the wolf had finally gotten through to him began to settle in.

Yuri's muscles eased slightly, and soon the wolf shifted back into his seat, leaning his head on a paw as he turned his attention back to the rain, the wolf letting out a tired sigh as he tried to lose himself once more in the soft sounds beyond the squad car.

"Well...I'm always open to talk about it if you...uh...change your mind."

Yuri groaned, drawing his free paw down his face once more. Why the hell didn't this deer know when to shut up?

"I mean, I'm not exactly a therapist but-."

"I swear to the gods Lance..." Yuri growled lowly. "If you keep followin' this line of questionin', I'm either gonna 'A'..." The wolf held up a paw, sticking out a single finger as he counted it with his other hand. "Push you out of the car, er' 'B'" The wolf stuck up a second digit, grasping it with his other finger as he continued. "Jump out of my side of the car." The wolf growled.

"Either way, one of us is endin' up in the hospital if you keep this up." The wolf hissed, craning his head around to face his partner once more as his facial muscles tensed with anger. Yuri's muzzle curled, revealing his teeth and gums as he glared at the stag seated across from him, his ears splaying tightly against his head.

"So. Just. DROP! IT!" Yuri snarled, biting the air with an audible snap that caused the stag to cower in response. If nothing else worked, playing to the stag's subconscious prey instincts was worth a shot.

For a moment, there was a glimmer of real fear in Lance's eyes. It was something the wolf rarely saw. But almost as quickly as it had come, it was gone, the buck's expression quickly shifting into something that seemed to scream to the wolf 'I give up'. Lance let out an exasperated sigh.

"Alright, alright..." The deer murmured, turning his attention to the road. The stag seemed to roll his shoulders as if he were trying to shake away a lingering chill as he leaned closer to the steering wheel. "Another time..."

Yuri rolled his eyes as he slumped against the passenger side door once again, pressing his palm firmly against his cheek.

"Yeah..." The wolf scoffed. "Maybe..."

Soon enough, the familiar ambiance of the cold, miserable night returned to the car. The steady squeal of the wiper now a reprieve compared to fielding the stag's aggressive snooping. Yuri closed his eyes, trying to focus his mind on the sounds alone as he began to take slow, concentrated breaths. Anything to drive his thoughts away from that call. Away from his mother, from Vernon. Even for just a few moments.

"So..." Lance muttered quietly..."You watch Hockey, right?"

Yuri turned, ready to let out another ear-splitting snarl before the nature of Lance's question actually hit him. His furrowed muzzle muscles and brow easing slightly as the wolf slowly closed his mouth. Yuri blinked dumbly for a moment, the wolf silently staring at the buck as Lance's attention remained fixed on the road.

A small smirk crept across Yuri's muzzle, eventually splitting into a smile that showed off just a hint of his fangs. The wolf let out a dull chuckle.

"I Do?" Yuri had been caught so off guard that the wolf's reply came out sounding more like a question. The wolf shook his head softly, letting out another chuckle. "Do you?"

Lance turned his head slightly, flashing the wolf a smirk of his own. "How about last night's game?"

The wolf crossed his arms, quirking a brow as he regarded the stag's seemingly earnest question. He had never taken the buck for a hockey watcher_.After all, the stag's build and tastes always seemed to be the epitome of what Yuri would refer to as a'heavy reader'_. He could imagine that the only time Lance would ever be caught dead with some sort of sports gear in his hooves would be if it was a piece of evidence he was looking over. That perception is why the wolf largely kept quiet in regards to his taste sports aside from an errant comment here and there. To Yuri, what was the point of wasting time talking about a subject that the listener didn't grasp or really care about?

But at the very least the buck presenting him with the opportunity to talk shop was a more palatable alternative to watching rain drizzle down the side window all night long. And Yuri was happy to take him up on it, albeit tentatively. After all, the was still a chance that this would somehow lead back to discussing Yuri's _'problem'_somehow. And the wolf wanted to remain vigilant in case some sort of bait and switch was at paw.

"Woolshington Warriors got creamed last night." Yuri said with a chuckle. "Not that I'm at all surprised. Y'all go up against the Sahara Slashers and yer bound to get mopped across the ice six ways till Sunday."

Lance flashed the wolf a look of total disbelief.

"Don't tell me you're a Slashers fan?" The stag shook his head dismissively.

Yuri crossed his arms, a proud smirk crossing his muzzle as he glanced back at his partner.

"Die-hard fan since I was a pup thank y'all very much." The wolf's grin widened to reveal his fangs. "They're the best in the entire North Mammalian League and that's a fact!"

Lance scoffed. "Don't you have any sense of loyalty?" The stag shook his head. "What about your home team? Don't you take any pride in Seaotter?"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "First off, I wasn't exactly born here as y'all probably recall." The wolf replied. "I'm a Zoot pup, so if I should have any sort of preference fer a home team it would be the Meadowland Mashers."

The wolf shook his head, letting out a dismissive snort. "O'course they're a minor league team, not that it matters." The wolf chuckled. "Them damn grazers couldn't slap-shot their way out of a paper bag."

Lance opened his muzzle to speak, but Yuri cut him off. The wolf was on a roll now, and the conversation was doing wonders to dissolve the knot in his gut.

"And secondly, seems awful dumb to support a team just cause y'all share the same region." The wolf gestured a paw out at nothing in particular, rolling a wrist as he continued. "You want to win me over? Then show me that y'all can hang with the big dogs." The wolf chuckled. "Talent and skill are what I look fer in my teams, and them Sahara Slashers got both in spades."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Zootopia has what?" The stag shrugged. "Twelve teams at least? And four of them considered 'Major League' teams? And all that technically representing one city?" The buck continued, gesturing a hoof of his own. "That's excessive at least and unfair at most." The buck gestured a lazy hoof of his own. "They must have so much talent to snipe from one another at a local level one could call it cheating!" Lance shook his head. "Hell, there should be a rule against having so many teams from one place in the league!"

"How is it cheatin' when most of the other teams suck?" Yuri snapped back. " I mean the Tundratown Terrors are the closest talent-wise when compared to the Slashers, and they're still leagues below 'em." The wolf argued. "They just know how to draft 'em in Sahara Square."

Yuri smirked, giving the buck a playful swat on the shoulder. "And there's a grand defense of yer precious 'Woolshington Warriors." The wolf chuckled. "Zootopia has too many good players!" Yuri's tone shifted into a mocking tone. "That's the only reason we lost!"

Lance snorted. "I'll have you know, the Woolshington Warriors are a solid team." The stag lolled his head uneasily, biting the corner of his lip. "They just...weren't in top form last night."

Yuri chuckled. "Mam' those grassbags haven't been in top form since the eighties!" The wolf laughed heartily. "They should just get out of the way and let the Seaotter Shellshockers trade major league status with 'em." The wolf flashed his partner a bemused grin. "It'd be doin' a mercy fer them and the region."

Lance chuckled. "If I recall, didn't the Slashers pick up some fox in his forties recently?" The buck rolled his eyes slightly. "I mean, if you want to talk about a team not being in top form since the eighties, you may not want to prop up a team that actually picked up a literal relic from that era."

"Hey!" Yuri snapped at the buck, furrowing his brow in annoyance. "He's in his thirties, not forties!" The wolf huffed, crossing his arms indignantly. "And If I may point out, at least five of them goals last night were from ol''Red Robin' Rowan himself!" The wolf chuckled dully. "He may be the oldest rookie in the game, but the fella's got the skills to back it up, as well as the lineage."

Lance tilted his head slightly, offering the wolf a dull, half-lidded stare.

"'_Red Robin'_eh?" The stag asked. "I take it that's the _'lineage'_you're referring to?"

Yuri shook his head, letting out a chuckle.

"Well, every damn fox thinks they're related to ol' Sir Robin Hood don't they?" The wolf smirked. "It's the only positive role model they got to cling to, and they ain't never gonna let it go."

That drew a chuckled from Lance, the buck covering his muzzle in clear effort to stifle a laugh at the off-color statement. The stag's reaction only served to widen Yuri's creeping grin.

"But I meant his actual Pa, ol' 'Red Streak' Rowan who actually played at the tail end of the eighties." The wolf's chuckling trailing off into a pleasant sigh as he settled more comfortably into his seat. "He was prolly my Pa's favorite player."

Lance flashed the wolf a smirk before shifting his full attention back to the road, the stag changing lanes to overtake a slower vehicle before shifting back into the fast lane once again.

The stag shook his head, letting out an amused sigh of his own.

"Well, I will admit." The buck said, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel idly. " What you said about The Seaotter Shellshockers is true." The buck lamented. "They do have talent."

The buck offered an uneasy shrug."But I mean, deer and sheep are like_'this'_." The buck held up a hand toward the wolf, twisting his fingers around one another as best as he could. "We have sort of a species kinship, so I can't help but feel compelled to favor them over those otters."

Yuri smirked, letting out a dull chuckle as he pat the buck on his shoulder.

"Hell." Yuri smirked. "I don't like 'em either." The wolf shrugged. "But I ain't never cared fer otter folk."

Lance chuckled, shaking his head dismissively.

"Sure picked the perfect city to live in then." The buck smirked. "Let alone vow to protect and serve."

Yuri laughed, the wolf finally scooping his coffee into his paw and bringing it up this his muzzle.

"Sure did." The wolf grinned. "Nothin' makes my day quite like putting the scare into them little spiny toothed bastards." The wolf momentarily pressed the lid of his coffee to his lips, only to draw it back and flash his partner a mock-serious expression. "Only if they are criminals though."

"Uh-huh..." Lance replied, rolling his eyes slightly. "Whatever you tell yourself to help sleep at night."

With that the wolf took a sharp swing of his coffee, cringing slightly as the now fairly cool liquid slithered down his throat. It was far from pleasant, but at the very least his little conversation with Lance had managed to improve his mood.

Drawing the cup back, the wolf slipped it back into the cup holder, sticking his tongue out in disgust.

"Ugh." Yuri muttered. "Look's like you was right." The wolf said with a dull chuckle. "There's no way I'm drinkin' that sludge now."

Lance flashed the wolf his usual 'know-it-all' expression. A look that under normal circumstances would have gotten under Yuri's pelt in an instant. But the wolf was feeling relaxed enough to let it slide.

"I tend to be." Lance chuckled.

With a sigh, Yuri placed his paws on his knees, leaning forward slightly to stretch his back.

"Y'know Lance..." The wolf muttered, quirking a brow as he turned his head back toward the buck. "I never really took ya' fer a hockey fan."

Lance winced slightly, a nervous smirk lacing his features as the stag adjusted his glasses.

"Well..." The buck murmured. "If we're being honest, I'm actually not into hockey at all."

Yuri scrunched his muzzle in confusion, the wolf's ears drooping slightly.

"What?" The wolf muttered confusedly.

Lance lolled his head from side to side, shifting in his seat uneasily.

"My mate has really gotten into it recently." The deer chuckled. "She's a real fanatic, practically obsessed with it. And while I've never been able to get into it myself, I've gleaned quite a bit of information from her on the subject." The stag offered the wolf a smirk. "A good buck at least listens to his doe's interests even if he doesn't share them."

Yuri blinked dully a few times before shaking his head in disbelief.

"Then what was the point of even talkin' about it iffin' y'all don't really care about the subject!?" The wolf spat.

Lance shrugged.

"I just was trying to make conversation is all." The buck flashed the wolf a hopeful smile. "I was hoping at least it would perk you up enough to set things back to normal." The stag chuckled. "Given the choice between your rather _'colorful'_commentary and deafening silence, I much prefer the former."

Yuri furrowed his brow, a slow smile creeping across his muzzle as the wolf let out a dull chuckle. It had been a bait and switch after all, although it was completely innocuous. Apparently, it was all an effort to clear the dense, uncomfortable atmosphere that had built up in the car after his previous faux-pas. It was clever to the point that it should have pissed the wolf off. But the talk had done the wolf good, and for that reason, Yuri could do little more than at most manage a light, playful jab to the stag's shoulder before leaning back into his seat. His smirk widening as Lance tried to play off the need to rub the impact site with his other hoof.

"I tell ya, if all of that was yer lady talkin'. I'd say she's a keeper" The wolf chuckled, swatting his knee lightly with a paw. " I'd kill to have a mate like that, even if she was a grazer."

"Well, when it comes to hockey she can get a little..." The buck tried to stifle a laugh. "Intense."

Yuri chuckled. "So, a real super fan then huh?"

"Understatement." The buck chuckled, scooping up his coffee and taking a slow sip.

"If she heard you talking that way about her _'Wooly Warriors'_she'd probably skin you alive." The buck added, setting his coffee back in its holder.

Yuri's smile grew mischievous, the wolf flashing his fangs.

"Mhh..." Yuri growled slightly. "I do like 'em feisty."

Lance blurted out something that seemed like a mixture of chuckle and a scoff, resulting into more of a choking laugh as the stag clasped a hoof to his muzzle. "Oh please..."

"Naw, seriously." The wolf grinned. "What she look like? Y'all got a picture?" Yuri continued, leaning in closer to the small stag. "Ain't right y'all been with this girl fer over a year and y'all ain't never shown yer partner a picture of her before!"

Lance recoiled, swatting the wolf away with a free hoof. "Because you never cared before your 'little officer' decided he might be interested!" The buck scoffed. "And all that fact does is give me even less incentive to show you!" Lance spat, trying to hold back his laughter. "Besides, would you really be willing to take on the stigma of being labeled a _'prey-chaser'_on top of your already dubious reputation at the station?"

The wolf shrugged, offering the buck a sly smirk before placing his paws behind his head and leaning back into them.

"Eh, some o' my brothers are already cross-pred dating, why not take it a step further and outdo 'em all?" The wolf chuckled. "It's like that bimbo pop singer's song said....what was the line?" The wolf extended a paw, rolling his wrist as he gestured outward at nothing in particular. "Y'know, that one earworm of a song that was on the radio constantly a few summer's back?"

"You mean Gazelle's 'Try Everything'?" The stag replied, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Yuri snapped his fingers before pointing a claw in his partner's direction vigorously.

"That's the one!" The wolf replied with a scoff. "I'm kinda surprised I couldn't remember it seein' as how it practically drove me to drinkin' from hearin' it so much." Yuri chuckled.

"She's actually a very nice animal." The buck chided. "Not a _'bimbo'_as you would put it."

The wolf let out a scoff. "Yeah, public interviews are a real great way to gauge a mammal's character." The wolf shook his head dismissively. "And here I thought y'all were smarter than that."

Lance rolled his eyes.

"Still...she's purty damn hot." The wolf muttered. "Grazer or not I wouldn't turn down a night with her." Yuri chuckled as he leaned upon the buck's shoulder. "I'd love to grab onto those horns and ride her like she was my motorcycle!"

"Sweet Cervidwen!" The buck laughed, swatting the wolf back into his seat. "I'm trying to drive here! I don't need that mental image thank you!"

Yuri let out a barking laugh, slapping his knee with a paw "Like you wouldn't do the same iffin' you had the chance!"

"I have a mate!" The stag retorted.

"So you say." Yuri retorted, crossing his arms as a smug grin crawled across his muzzle. "Yet y'all still won't show me a picture of her."

"That's because I don't want you drooling all over my phone you absolute horndog!" The stag laughed.

"Hey, I can't help it." The wolf said with a shrug. "First, y'all are tellin' me she loves hockey, then yer willin' to turn down gettin' some Gazelle action over the mate y'all already have? It's got me thinkin' she's a real catch!" The wolf smirked. "With y'all talkin' up yer mate that much y'all got me fixin' to see what venison tastes like!"

"Ugh, stop!" The buck protested.

"Hey!" The wolf was cackling now. "This is what y'all wanted right? You wanted me talkin', so I'm talkin'!"

"Ugh..." The stag's head sunk slightly as he shook it weakly from side to side. "I think I'm starting to miss the silence."

Yuri let out another loud, barking laugh, the wolf taking a moment to wipe a tear from his eye as his laughter slowly trailed away into a pleasant sigh.

"Still Lance..." The wolf murmured quietly. "I'm real happy for ya." Yuri admitted. "Sounds like y'all got yerself a solid gal."

Yuri watched as a warm smile crept across Lance's muzzle, a look of adoration overtaking his features as he stared beyond the road ahead.

"I'm lucky to have her." Lance cooed. "I really am."

A jarring, yet familiar crackling chirp suddenly cut through the warm atmosphere in the cab, forcing Yuri's ears to attention as his eyes flicked over to the dashboard radio. From the other end of the line a somewhat unsteady, nervous voice began to speak.

"Uh-uh...?" The voice of the dispatcher trickled through, his tone carrying with it sense of nervous uncertainty. "I-I need the closest available car to attend R-Redmound General Hospital on Scallop Avenue." The dispatcher croaked weakly.

Yuri glanced at his partner, quirking a brow.

"How close are we?" Yuri asked.

Yuri watched as the buck took a quick glance at the GPS mounted to their dashboard before leaning over the steering wheel in a clear effort to peer through the inky blackness of the cold Seattle night as if to second guess the device. Leaning back into his seat, the buck looked back to Yuri.

"About two minutes probably." Lance replied, gesturing a hoof at the upcoming overhead sign. "It's the exit after this one." The stag continued. "I doubt they'll find a car closer than that."

With a nod, Yuri picked up the receiver, pressing his thumb against the open mic button as he brought it near his muzzle.

"Copy that dispatch." Yuri replied. "This is squad car one-fifteen."

The radio crackled for a moment before the same, shaky voice replied.

"Uh...?" Behind the usual feedback noise, the wolf was sure he could hear the frantic flipping of pages from the other end of the signal. The rustling of pages continued, lingering on for several seconds until the same uncertain voice finally piped back up.

"O-one-fifteen?" The dispatch questioned.

Yuri sighed. So much for his good mood. Only a good twenty or so seconds and that hare was already trying his patience. "Officer's Hunter and Eckart." The wolf shook his head. "For the eight-hundredth time Eustace."

"Try to be patient with him." lance whispered quietly. "He's only been on dispatch for a week."

Yuri flashed his partner a rather bored-looking expression before shifting his attention back to the radio.

"Y'all want to tell us what we're dealin' with here?" Yuri added before releasing the call button.

"Hold on..." The bunny replied, quickly followed by the sound of more papers being ruffled trough. Every so often the radio would emit a_'clank'_, followed by what sounded to like a few whispered _'bunny-centric_swear words.

"T-ten-sixteen?" The voice finally replied, his tone of uncertainty still heavily evident.

Yuri glanced at his partner once more, the two mammals exchanging a rather dubious glance.

"A domestic disturbance...?" Lance muttered. "At the hospital?"

Yuri scoffed, shaking his head. "That can't be right." the wolf grumbled.

"I mean, it's not out of the question, I guess...?" The buck replied.

Lance was technically right, but with how uncertain the hare sounded over the radio, coupled with just how rare such an occurrence would be, the wolf was sure the rabbit had simply screwed up. It was the most logical conclusion, but the wolf tried to hold his ire until he could confirm it. With a sigh, Yuri pressed down the call button again.

"Eustace." The wolf spoke, squeezing the bridge of his muzzle between his thumb and forefinger and drawing it down his muzzle in annoyance. "Is it possible fer y'all to give us a little more detail?"

There was another burst of static mixed with the shrill squeal of some sort of feedback, which caused the wolf to draw back from the radio wincing in pain. It was clear the rabbit had pressed something erroneously, which had messed with the dispatch frequency. Clasping a paw to his ear, Yuri pressed the call button again sharply as the wolf reached his breaking point with the inexperienced hare.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE Y'ALL DOIN' OVER THERE, PRESSIN' BUTTONS JUST TO TRY AND MAKE ME DEAF!?" The wolf barked.

"SORRY, SORRY!" The rabbit pleaded as the radio static returned to normal levels. Once again, pieces of paper could be heard ruffling as Yuri reluctantly drew his paw from his ear.

"Uh...let's see..." The rabbit murmured. "Apparently there's a nurse on staff there who needs to speak to a police officer urgently." The bunny spoke. "Wouldn't say why..."

Yuri rolled his eyes, his tolerance with Eustace's ineptitude about worn through.

"That's a ten-seventeen you idjit!" Yuri snapped back.

"What?" The rabbit replied.

"Ten-seventeen! Meet complainant!" The wolf spat. "Not a domestic disturbance ya half-wit! Get it together Eustace!"

"I'm sorry!" The dispatcher whimpered. "T-they're right next to each other on the sheet an-!"

"If you don't shape up yer gonna get an officer kilt givin' out the wrong code like that!"

Yuri could hear what sounded like sniffling starting to crop up on the other end of the line. The dispatcher sounding as though he were about to start bawling. Of course, hearing the rabbits burgeoning tears did little to invoke sympathy in the wolf. In fact, it drew just the opposite instinct out of the wolf. The rabbit had painted a target on himself with his incompetence, and Yuri was more than ready to tear into him. But before the wolf could open his mouth, a hoof snatched the microphone out of his paws.

"Calm down Eustace, calm down!" Lance replied, before flashing the wolf a scowl. The buck placed a hoof over the receiver before speaking to the wolf.

"You aren't going to help him adapt to the job by berating him like that you know?" Lance quietly scolded.

"So I should coddle him instead, like everyone else musta done?" The wolf hissed back. "It's unprofessional! Yer supposed to have all that shit memorized by the time y'all leave the academy, and he can't even keep his codes in order!"

"Unprofessional..." The stag scoffed, shaking his head. "You realize that's rich coming from you."

The wolf scoffed. "At least when I break the rules, I know which ones I'm breakin' backwards and forwards."

Lance rolled his eyes before pressing the mic button down with his thumb.

"Eustace, please try to get a hold of yourself." The buck replied. "Officer Hunter and I are two minutes out, so we'll take the call." The stag shook his head. "But do you have anything else? Any more detail would be appreciated."

The radio was silent for a moment, a few muffled stray sniffles barely rising over the general noise and feedback before the hare seemed to be able to compose himself to some degree.

"W-What kind of detail?" The rabbit finally replied with a shuddering voice. "I-I mean she was pretty vague...and...uh...hard to understand."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yuri uttered, quirking a brow at his partner curiously. "I thought the little halfwit said she just wanted to speak to an officer? What was she in a panic er' somethin'?"

Lance gave the wolf a slight shrug before turning on the mic once more.

"I'm sorry Eustace..." The stag replied. "You say she was hard to understand? Was she hysterical?"

"Uh...no." The hare replied uneasily. "I wouldn't say she sounded like she was freaking out or anything...it's..er..."

Yuri snatched the receiver out of Lance's hoof, the wolf flashing his fangs as he brought the microphone to his muzzle.

"Just spit it out already!" Yuri barked into the receiver, his muzzle furrowing as he snarled. "Clear, concise answers! That's yer damn job so-!"

Lance wrestled the receiver from Yuri's paw, flashing the wolf another dirty look before pressing down the call button.

"Ignore him Eustace." Lance said. "Just tell us what you can."

Yuri crossed his arms defiantly, turning his muzzle up and away from the stag seated beside him.

"SHE HAD A THICK ACCENT OKAY!" The hare blurted loudly enough to cause the stag to wince. "I've never heard an accent like that before, so it was really hard to pick out just what she was saying! I'm doing my BEST!" Eustace whimpered.

Once again, Lance shot his partner an irritated glare, earning little more than a derisive snort from the wolf.

"We know Eustace, we all know." Lance replied reassuringly. "It's fine, just tell me what you think she said."

There was silence on the other end of the radio for a moment, the dull hum of noise on the frequency occasionally being interrupted with the sound of pages being ruffled through.

"Okay...she said, and I'm going to read it as best as I could transcribe here..." The hare cleared his throat in an almost dramatic fashion.

_"I needs ta speak to some kinda expoirt or detective or sumtin'."_The rabbit began, the accent he was putting on seeming as though it were some kind of exaggerated joke.

"And then." The hare slipped back into his normal tone with ease. "I asked her what it was in regards to." Eustace continued. "But she refused to go into detail, telling me something to the effect of..."

"I ain't tellin' use any more den dat! I've had youse guyz write me off more den enough times witout even comin' down to check out da scene!"_The hare's voice was practically cracking as he struggled to maintain the bizarre, nearly indiscernible accent. _"I figure da only way use guyz will take me seriously is if I show my woik in person!"

Lance and Yuri exchanged a confused glance, with Lance's features expressing a bit of bemusement amidst his rather baffled look.

"Sounds like a prank call to me." Yuri grumbled.

"Either that, or a cartoon character called into the station..." Lance replied with a chuckle.

"That's all I was able to get out of her unfortunately." Eustace continued. "Although I did do my due diligence and followed up with the hospital to confirm the validity of the call." The hare's tone seemed to grow steadier as he continued to rattle off information, the apparent lack of confidence fading as he apparently found his stride. "And at the very least I was able to confirm with someone else on staff that one of their nurses did call, and assured me that she _'knew what she was talking about.'_Whatever that was." The hare seemed to manage a chuckle.

Lance flashed Yuri a smug smile as if to make a point that the hare's improved demeanor had come solely from the stag handling him like a foal. At least that's what Yuri gleaned from it. But regardless of the bucks intention, the wolf responded with a sneer of disgust.

"Copy that Eustace." The stag responded. "We'll call in when we arrive at the location, over."

"Copy that Officer Eckhart." The hare responded.

With that, the buck holstered the receiver back onto the radio hook, all the while maintaining his smug smile as he placed both hooves back on the steering wheel. Out of the corner of his eye, Yuri could see the buck's own gaze occasionally fix on his, his smile growing each time as he was clearly attempting to goad the wolf into commenting. But Yuri wasn't about to play that game, and the wolf turned in his seat enough to avert the bucks gaze as he turned his attention back to his rain covered window.

"I told you." Lance finally uttered. Clearly unable to contain the need to prove himself to be right once again in the face of one of Yuri's assessments.

"Ah shut yer muzzle ya runt of a stag." Yuri hissed quietly.

"I'm just saying Yuri, you catch more flies with honey." The stag continued.

The wolf straightened his posture, flashing the buck a dull glare as he crossed his arms indignantly.

"I'll make sure to remind you y'all said that when y'all get shot on the job and call in fer back up, only fer Eustace to get ya kilt by givin' out the wrong call code." The wolf retorted.

Lance scoffed. "Oh please, it-."

"Although I will admit that all ears no brained idjit makes a better actor than a dispatch officer." The wolf chuckled. "Maybe he shoulda gone to school fer that instead of police work."

Lance shook his head dismissively at the wolf. "Yuri, Eustace is a perfectly capable dispatcher."

"He's a dang diversity hire is what he is." Yuri replied.

Lance rolled his eyes, letting out a heavy, tired sigh. "Not this again..."

"What?" The wolf asked, flashing the stag a look of mild surprise. "You tell me with a straight face that rabbit wasn't hired just to make the top brass look good?" Yuri said with a snort. "One uppity bunny in Zootopia makes headlines, and suddenly every city is bendin' over backwards to hire whatever mammal can get them government types the most positive press!" Yuri crossed his arms, turning his muzzle up at the stag. "It's our lives on the line! Not his! So just keep that in mind the next time we got our backs to the wall and he flubs his job!"

Lance shook his head dismissively, flicking on the car's blinker with a hoof as he pulled onto the upcoming off-ramp.

"Can we switch to focusing on the task at hoof?" The stag muttered. "The call?"

"Fine." The wolf huffed, leaning his arm on the passenger side door. Yuri let out a long sigh, the wolf rolling his shoulders for a moment in an effort to shake out the tension the rabbit's incompetence had created in his muscles. It was a shame all the work Lance had done to help dispell the wolf's growing ire and irritation had apparently been for naught thanks to the rabbit. But it was rare the wolf was ever able to truly shake of his anger and annoyance unless he could direct it squarely at someone else. Nothing helped the wolf vent better than simply unloading on the mammal whose idiocy had pissed him off in the first place, but trying to shake it off was better than nothing.

"So what is yer hot take on the call there genius?" Yuri asked. "Any insight on what it might be about?"

"I have no idea." Lance replied. "I could barely understand the accent he was trying to imitate."

"Barx." Yuri replied, tapping a claw to his temple. "That's the closest accent I can figure, albeit it real thick all things considered."

"The Barx?" Lance asked, quirking a brow at the wolf curiously. "As in Zoo York?"

Yuri gave the stag an affirmative nod.

Lance quirked a brow. "First off, how do you know that?" The buck asked."And second, what the hell is someone from the Barx doing working a hospital in Redmound?" The stag continued.

Yuri ran a paw through his mohawk like mane of fur, letting out a soft sigh.

"Okay, first question. I've heard a few mammals talk like that on tee-vee that were shootin' in the Barks. It's a real distinct accent." The wolf replied. "As fer yer second question..." Yuri trailed off for a moment before offering his partner a shrug. "I don't know, what the hell am I doin' workin' here?" The wolf replied with a chuckle. "Sometimes y'all just need to get as far from yer old home as possible." Yuri shrugged. "Maybe that's what this nurse did."

A look crossed Lance's muzzle the wolf didn't like, a flicker of that same inquisitive spark Yuri had seen when the buck had been trying to pry into his family problems just moments before. But it faded quickly, the stag shifting his attention to the upcoming stoplight as he let out a sigh.

"I wonder what she wants?" Lance uttered.

"Whatever it is, she sounds purty adamant about how important it is." The wolf replied. "And apparently we've ignored calls from her before..."

"If that's to be believed," Lance replied, the buck furrowing his brow slightly as he rolled up to the stop. "You never know with these type of calls."

"Long ears confirmed it with someone else on staff." Yuri muttered. "I know Redmound general ain't exactly most mammals first choice when it comes to hospitals, but I doubt they've got such a crap staff that they're willin' to lie to a police officer." The wolf continued. "And fer what reason?"

"If that's how she sounds..." Lance murmured. " I mean, you said it yourself. It does sound a bit like a prank call."

"Then I'll tear into 'em." The wolf said with a chuckle. To be honest, Yuri was probably just as uncertain as Lance seemed to be about the validity of the call, even if some other nebulous staff member confirmed it had indeed come from the hospital and considered legitimate. But the wolf was more than happy at the prospect of the call turning out to be little more than a waste of his and his partners time if it meant he got to unload on some dumb nurse who mistakenly called them in for the wrong reason. With Lance denying the wolf his opportunity to shout down Eustace, it would make a great avenue for Yuri to get his anger out.

"Sides', judgin' a mammal by their accent?" The wolf shook his head, dismissively clicking his tongue as he did. "And here I thought you was better than that."

Lance scowled at the wolf, the buck letting out a huff.

"Oh don't give me that." The stag replied, pointing a finger at the wolf accusingly. "You're the one of us who's always using terms like 'grazer' and 'wet rats' to describe mammals, not me!"

Yuri held up a single finger as he narrowed his gaze on the stag by his side.

"One, you used the word 'hounds' not more than five minutes ago, which is a canid slur." The wolf rebuffed. "Or did y'all ferget?"

Lance let out a scoff in response, turning onto the next street as the stoplight shifted from red to green.

"And two..." The wolf continued, holding up a second finger. "I may judge a mammal by their pelt, but yer always judgin' 'em by the way they talk!"

"I do not!" Lance denied, drawing a laugh from the wolf.

"Please, the first day we got paired up y'all kept _'dumbin'_down words fer me cause you thought I was just some country bumpkin who rolled off the turnip truck!" Yuri replied with a chuckle. "Fer the gods sake, y'all asked me if I knew what _'urban'_meant!"

"Well, I wasn't rude, unlike you!" The buck retorted.

"Nah, you were condescendin'." Yuri rebutted. "Which is worse." Yuri rolled his eyes, shaking his head dismissively. "Talkin' down to me like I was a damn pup, and you wonder why I was givin' y'all so much shit?"

"Well...I-."

"And y'all still are just as much of a condescendin' prick as the day we met!" The wolf added with a smug smirk.

"And you are just as much of an asshole as the day we met." Lance replied. "So I'd say we're even, wouldn't you agree?"

Yuri chuckled, flashing the buck a fanged toothed smile as he eased back into his seat, the wolf placing his paws behind his head as he nestled into them comfortably.

"See...that's what I like about y'all Lance." The wolf said with a satisfied smirk. "Y'all know how to keep up with me."

The buck let out an exasperated sigh, but Yuri could see the smirk that had crept its way across the bucks muzzle as he turned his attention to the road ahead once again. To Yuri, it was a sign that the wolf's words had hit a mark of truth. That despite all the vitriol and arguments that were admittedly mostly the wolf's own fault, the stag and he had an understanding. The wolf's words were never enough to chase him off, to make Lance up and request a transfer or a new partner no matter how off-color and rude the wolf was. Yuri could be himself around Lance without being demonized for it. And much like the Slasher's, the wolf was respected for his talents just as he begrudgingly respected lance for his own. It was a welcome reminder that his life in Seaotter was his own to make of it what he wanted. And as long as he never returned to his family home, his status as the family _'trouble-maker'_would forever be locked away exclusively at the hunter ranch. That as bad as enduring his mothers calls from home had become, it was all he had to endure. The second he hung up, he was back to his own life. His _'real'_life. And if the wolf could manage, he would do everything in his power to make sure he never had to go back.

Yuri clasped his paws together, intertwining his fingers as he watched the dull halogen lighting of the _'Redmond General Hospital'_come into view, the wolf doing his best to shake off any lingering thoughts of home as he prepared to do his job. Once again, the time had come for the wolf to show just what he was really made of, and he wasn't going to let anything drag him down. Not the weather, not his mother, not Vermin. This city, this life, it was all his. And he was going to make the most of it, every damn day he could.