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Officer Hopps straightened the lapels of her dark-blue, casual business suit before climbing the two tiers of steps leading into the first floor martial arts dojo. The foyer opened into a narrow hall which in turn led to four larger rooms, each containing a class of martial arts students. She watched as one class of about seven bunnies bounded around the inside of a boxing ring. Each was practicing with the elastic "ropes" to slingshot themselves about the ring's interior. Their instructor, a gray, female wolf wearing a white karate gi with a black belt, observed each student's technique and offered corrective comments. Looking up, the instructor saw Judy and called the class to order.

"If you're here to pick up your kit, we still have about fifteen minutes left in the session." She paused after saying that, then took a closer look at Judy. "You're not one of my parents."

"No, ma'am. I'm Officer Judy Hopps with the ZPD..."

Hearing this the line of bunnies immediately began chattering with each other and looking excitedly at the doe, one or two pointing her out to their classmates. The instructor responded instantly. "Yame! Seiza!" The entire line of bunnies responded by kneeling in two rows at a position of attention and going completely silent. "My apologies, officer. We don't get many celebrities visiting our dojo."

"I'm not a celebrity," Judy insisted. The wolf looked at the bunny quizzically and smiled.

"Perhaps not to some. But to everyone who sees you as a role model, which includes every pre-teen kit in Zootopia, you most assuredly are. How can I be of assistance?" she asked, bowing slightly.

"Well, if you can spare a moment or two after class, I have some questions I need answered about martial arts in general. It's for a case I'm working on."

"No need to wait," the instructor said. She turned and faced one of the students. "Muriel... take over. Work them through their leg stretching exercises."

"Hai Sensei!" The tall bunny girl hopped to her feet and began drilling the others as the wolf guided the officer to a small office. She gestured towards a chair then poured her guest a small cup of green tea before serving herself.

"You said you had questions?"

Judy took a small sip of her drink then smiled up at the teacher. "I was wondering how many students you have here, Miss...?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Juno Wolfe." The lupine sat down and tapped her chin lightly. "Offhand, I believe we have about 54 students registered."

"Any equines?

"Oh, no. I work mostly with smaller mammals; rabbits, otters, sheep, a few foxes. Nothing really too big. My specialty is teaching Tai Chi, something most equines have trouble working with."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Differences in body strength. Almost all equines have a lot greater lower body strength than upper body. That's why they excel in competitive racing or soccer and rugby. No... If an equine wanted to learn martial arts, they'd focus on something like Savate, which we don't teach here."

"Savate?" Judy asked.

"Yes," the wolf replied. "It's a type of martial art that concentrates on use of the foot, or in an equine's case, the hoof in combination with a cane or short staff. It does use a few hand strikes, but for the most part it focuses on various kinds of kicks."

Judy raised one eyebrow. "I imagine that a kick from an equine trained in savate could be devastating."

"Depends on whether or not his hoof is shod or unshod. In the latter case, he'd have to pull his kicks so as not to damage his hooves. Shod, he could kick down a reinforced door, if he were well trained."

"You seem to know a lot about Savate," the doe observed.

"Not as much as you might think. Being an instructor I'm familiar with a great number of other disciplines, especially where fighting styles and individual moves cross over with my main expertise of Tai Chi."

"You mentioned the use of staves and canes was part of the Savate style."

"Yes."

"Would it be possible to substitute another weapon in place of the cane or stave and achieve the same or better effect?"

The wolf looked at Judy. "What kind of weapon are you thinking of?"

"It may sound silly," the rabbit replied, "but what about a guitar?"

Juno sat quietly for a moment then smiled as realization dawned. "I take it you're on the trail of Zootopia's mysterious benefactor, El Kabong," she chuckled. Judy started to open her mouth to refute the instructor's claim, but decided to play along and see what she could learn.

"You should have visited here Tuesday night," Juno continued. "I hosted the weekly meeting of our martial arts instructor forum, and Senor Kabong was definitely a topic of interest. We spent some time debating his capabilities and theorizing how he came to have such a wide range of skills."

"You did?" the doe asked, using her voice and inflection to draw out the instructor further. "What did you finally decide?"

The wolf laughed. "Well, he's definitely experienced in Savate, though we couldn't decide if he was more adept with fencing or use of the Katana. Local news accounts led us in both directions. As to his guitar, one instructor thought he had to have some knowledge of using a weapon with a heavy knob, like a mace, but his moves are too smooth for such a crude item. Personally, I think he's trained with something like a battle axe. Its balance would be similar to a guitar, though not as heavy."

Judy chuckled. "My partner mentioned that musicians often refer to their guitars as axes. He'll love your observation." The two furs continued to talk and sip on tea for several more minutes until parents began to arrive to pick up their kits. The bunny used the opportunity to break-off their interview and the two exchanged business cards. Juno promised to contact her if she came up with any additional information or heard anything from her colleagues. Judy left, feeling that the comment about a battle axe might be a valuable clue.

**********

Officer Briarpaw pulled into the parking space marked Police Vehicles only. His patrol car dwarfed the two campus hybrid cruisers parked on either side of him. After checking in with the University police, he clipped his pass onto the right pocket of his uniform shirt and strolled across the grass covered knoll toward the language arts building. Entering, he checked the building's office board then took an elevator to the second floor. As with most college elevators, it wheezed it way slowly upward until, almost as if on its last gasp, the doors parted. It deposited him in an old style, ornate, wood-framed hallway, complete with an antique, baroque-patterned tile floor that had been polished to within an inch of its life.

Turning left, the leopard walked down the hall until he was opposite a door marked "Dean." Knocking twice, he entered and found himself in a modest sized reception office. The furniture here was a stark contrast to the exterior hallway. Everything was extremely modern. The floor was carpeted and the computer terminals on the counter and at the several desks were less than two years old. A matronly white-tailed deer looked up from her desk and stood, stepping quickly over to the counter.

"Is there something I can help you with, officer...?"

"Briarpaw, ma'am. Officer Briarpaw, ZPD. I was wondering if I could speak with the head of your School of Languages, Dean Cattail."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the doe responded. "Dean Cattail took an extended lunch. He probably won't be back until tomorrow morning."

"Extended lunch?"

"Yes... Today's his LARP meeting."

The leopard looked quizzically at the secretary. "LARP meeting?"

"Yes, LARP. It stands for Live Action Role Playing. The dean is a centurion in the 201st Frontier Legion. They meet twice a month to plan and participate in local reenactments."

Briarpaw chuckled. "I didn't know that was a thing."

"It is indeed. In fact, it's become quite popular around many college campuses with different groups competing in contests for authenticity and skill."

"Where exactly do they meet?"

"Well, there are three LARP groups here on campus, but the one Dean Cattail participates in meets over behind the south rugby field, next to the gym. I'm afraid you won't have much luck talking to him though. He takes his LARPing quite seriously. When he dons his centurion's costume he refuses to speak anything but Latin."

The ZPD officer just grinned. "Not a problem, ma'am. Thank-you." With that he strolled out of the office.

Finding the rugby field wasn't difficult, just time consuming; as it was all the way over on the other side of the campus. Briarpaw didn't mind though. It was a pleasant enough walk and the academic atmosphere surrounding him took him back to his own college days. Circling behind the gym, he quickly spotted a small group of colorfully dressed individuals standing in front of a large tent that would have made a fitting headquarters for any Roman general.

Scanning the collection of ancient soldiers present, he noticed a middle-aged serval wearing a Roman uniform. Approaching, he raised one hand in salute.

<"Ave, Centurion... I am seeking one named Cattail, of the 201st Legion.">

The serval turned, smiling in appreciation on hearing Briarpaw's words. <"I am he who you search for."> The professor paused looking the officer up and down. <"I do not recognize your uniform. Are you perchance a member of our august legion?">

<"I am attached to a small cohort of centurions from the western provinces. I was hoping I might borrow a few moments of your time to discuss a matter of import to my commander.">

Dean Cattail turned to his fellow LARPers and whispered something, then led the leopard into the tent as the others picked up their spears and began to practice marching in formation. The tent's interior was sparsely decorated, but the few items there were carefully crafted replicas of what one would find in a Centurion's quarters. Once inside, the serval went to a small table and poured a red liquid into two pewter goblets from a similar, larger pitcher and offered one to Briarpaw.

The officer politely raised a paw. < "I'm sorry, sir, but I must decline. I am forbidden strong drink when in the execution of my duties.">

The dean chuckled, switching to Zootopian. "Don't worry... It's just red grape juice. We only use the real stuff when we're off campus at one of our reenactment events." The two felines toasted each other and drained their cups. "My compliments, by the way. You fell into character quite nicely and your Latin was flawless. Are you by chance a fellow LARPer?"

The leopard shook his head. "My current job creates more than enough excitement for me, though I do find your activities interesting." He held out his hand. "Officer Briarpaw, ZPD." They shook.

"You said you had some questions for me?"

He nodded. "I'm trying to track down someone who might be or have been a Latin student. Someone at least at a level high enough to have recognized this." The officer took off his tie tack with the Latin society pin embossed on it and showed it to Dean Cattail. "He claimed to have known a teacher who wore an identical pin."

"What species?"

"Equine. White fur, black mane, young, perhaps between 17 to 21 years of age. He was also quite athletic."

The professor chuckled lightly. "Can't say if I know of such a student, but if you're looking for an equine LARPer group here on campus, all you have to do is go around the northwest corner of the library building." The two furs exchanged business cards and the professor promised to go through a list of Latin clubs and societies he knew of in Zootopia and give the leopard a call in the morning.

Briarpaw thanked Cattail and headed for the main library. Rounding the corner as instructed, the ZPD officer came to a screeching halt. There, assembled on the library green was a group of almost a hundred equines, all dressed like El Kabong.

**********

The leopard sipped slowly on a cup of coffee as he sat across from both Hopps and Wilde in the precinct cafeteria. "I tell you, it was the weirdest thing I've seen... at least since last Tuesday."

"What was going down on Tuesday?" Judy asked.

"Clawhauser doing laps at the academy track," Briarpaw replied.

"Spots was actually running the track?" asked Nick.

"Well... not so much running as doing a very fast pace, almost like that athletic event... Olympic walking."

"Way to go Clawhauser," Judy said, hoisting her coffee cup. "Has he lost weight?"

"Hard to tell," the leopard offered, "But he's definitely more agile than before. I think he's going to pass his fitness test after all"

"I've got five bucks in the pool that says he will," Nick chuckled.

"I wouldn't let the chief hear about it," the doe warned. "You know how he is about betting around the department."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Nick said. "I heard he's already bet twenty himself that the Claw comes through." The fox took a sip of his coffee and looked casually back at Briarpaw. "Not to change the subject, but were you able to get any names from the LARP group?"

The leopard nodded. "They have regular meetings on Friday, kind of a fan club and social mixer. I plan to swing by and see what I can find out."

Judy's ears perked up. "A social mixer? So, it's a mixed group of stallions and mares? How many?"

Briarpaw nodded. "About fifty-fifty. El Kabong is very popular with the fillies."

Nick looked at his partner. "You sound surprised, carrots. What's so unusual about a social mixer?"

"Nothing really," Judy said. "The few equines I know aren't much into the party scene."

"Seems perfectly normal to me," the fox said. "They're just looking for the same thing everyone else wants."

"Which is?"

"A stable relationship," Nick grinned.

He jumped down off his chair when Judy tried to punch him in the arm. "You've got to be faster than that to catch a fox," he teased, rapidly backing away from her. Unfortunately, he didn't see the cafeteria door swing open behind him and when he turned to escape, he caught it full in the face.

THUNK! "OW!"

Deputy Butler peeked around from behind the door and saw Nick sitting on the floor with one paw over his left eye. "Oops! Sorry! I didn't see you there."

"No problem, sergeant," Judy replied sweetly. "My partner was just demonstrating his technique for making a Wilde exit."