AN at the end of the chapter.

Zootopia

Chapter 1

Silence loomed in the empty train station, rows of deserted wooden benches hugged the once whitewashed walls now turned an ashen lifeless gray by years of grime and neglect. Darkness peered in from the foggy windows, the sun a few good hours away from rising. The only source of lighting in the dusky expanse was a handful of stripped bulbs hanging from the lofty ceiling as they dangled on exposed wiring, the acerbic yellow glow illuminating the cracked ceramic tiling covering the floor. Scattered newspapers, empty junk food bags, soda cans and beer bottles littered the ground in small abandoned piles long since crusted to the floor, resulting in a decidedly perceptible stench of putrid filth.

It did not take an astute pair of eyes to tell this place had seen better days. And the only pair of eyes in the station belonged to quite a perceptive individual.

The solitary decorations inside the all but forsaken station were a few faded posters, all depicting the same image. The bright splashes of red and green now blanched to a mellow, pinkish lime slurry of worn ink on tattered paper. A pair of smiling figures stood hand-in-hand in front the backdrop of a vibrant city, time having distorted their grins into grim hopeless rictuses, rendering the municipality behind them malformed by ancient toner into a broken wasteland of steel spires and shattered windows. The only thing not tarnished by time was the nauseatingly upbeat slogan plastered underneath in bold dynamic script.

Come on down to Zootopia… where anyone can be anything!

The lone man in the station rolled his eyes in unguarded distaste.

It was garish enough without the tacky, almost naïve, aphorism.

Returning his gaze to his washed-out jeans, the man studied the crumpled water damaged ticket clutched tightly in his hands, a memento to his new life, and a signifier to the end of his old one.

3:45 AM

From: Kalber To: Zootopia

One Way

He supposed it was for the best. After the events a few months prior, he didn't really feel welcomed here anymore. He had no home or family to go back to or rely on, and his friends had since shown him they had never really been.

A large worn down duffle bag sat comfortably between his legs, its black threadbare fabric close to popping the seams after having been stuffed to the brim with all his worldly possessions. All he had left to his name being some clothes, a handful of dog eared bills, his phone charger, and his old uniform. Not much to show after having been an established man for years. It seemed all one needed was for one instance of terrible luck to wipe away his entire life.

He supposed he would have laughed at the irony if it wasn't so, soul shatteringly accurate.

Sighing, he slicked back his rain soaked hair and glanced at his wrist watch as he dried his hand off on his thigh.

3:40

'It's almost time.'

He probably should have thanked his director for giving him the job. The man must have had to pull a hell of a lot of strings to land it for him. But admittedly he had not handled the situation with any amount of grace or tact. His ears were still ringing from that shouting match and he was sure his boss would need to replace the door to his office. While technically he still had his old career, he was no longer a true part of their department, rather a token transfer to different office. The only bright side out of all this was that he had managed to land a reasonable position and his director had given him a decent initial salary, almost as good as his old one. But it had not eased the bitter sting of being "fired".

The last thing he wanted was to be forcefully uprooted from his home and shipped off like some piece of unwanted trash, especially after all he had sacrificed for his job. He had given up everything he had ever cared about for it, only to lose that in the end as well.

Yet out of this whole unpleasant affair, there was a positive note. The charges against him had been dropped and the whole ordeal wiped from his official record, not that he wanted it gone in particular. Though proven innocent, he still felt he should have been held accountable. Five months later and he still had nightmares about the shocking incident in Faraza. Perhaps if he had waited for the call then this entire ordeal might never have been averted.

As he mused on his ill begotten fate, a faint rumbling filled the air, signaling the approach of his ride and the final nail driving itself into the proverbial coffin.

All this speculation didn't matter in the end. What's done is done. There was no going back from this. The details had long ago been set in stone.

With a tired sigh, he sluggishly rose from the bench and strained stiffened muscles to grab the hefty bag at his feet. As he straightened out, his thigh vibrated, stopping him mid-stretch. Reaching down in mild curiosity, he slid his hand into his jean pocket and pulled out a phone to read the contact number displayed on the screen.

Father

Grimacing, he thumbed the red dismissal icon and cut the call, the device abruptly stilling in his hands as he roughly shoved it back down.

Meanwhile the rumbling amplified, manifesting itself in the ground as the tiles trembled and a bright light filled the trashed train station.

He watched as a bright and shining train leisurely exited the mouth of the leftmost tunnel and slowed to a stop, the hissing of hydraulic pistons filling the dead air. The machine glowed resplendently in a golden haze, lit up by its own jovial warm yellow lights, not a single spot or speck of rust marring the shimmering steel.

Somewhat hesitant, he shouldered his bag and marched to the front car, carefully navigating around the scattered heaps of ancient refuse and broken ceramic while trying to ignore the ever-present stench of rot and decay.

There was a reason this station was never used. The only way to reach his destination from Kalber was by train, and no one had wanted to go there in a long, long time. The mayor herself had to personally arrange for the train to make a stop here just so he could board it. He imagined the woman was probably glad to do the mountain of paperwork involved if it would mean he would finally be out of her hair. Even the ticket he held in his hands had to have been printed explicitly for this moment, though he didn't know why it was even necessary at this point. They didn't take tickets anymore as far as he knew, and while he had half a mind to toss it on the ground with the rest of the garbage… he refrained, despite its inherent lack of worth.

It wasn't like he had to pay for this, nor was he coming back.

He was being exiled, pure and simple. The only thing that had saved him from a stifling five-by-five cell in a maximum security penitentiary had been his hard-earned reputation, and even that had not been enough to salvage his career or social life, both having been effectually murdered alongside his dreams and long held aspirations. Yet all the same he held onto the small scrap of abused paper, unable or unwilling to let it go.

Tense of his uncertain situation, he stopped in front of the door and uneasily waited for it to open. He had never encountered a zootopian before, having only ever seen them on TV on occasion, and that was not very often. The people of Kalber did not often interact with their eccentric neighbors unless in media format, preferring to stick close to home, which is what he would have preferred to do himself.

With a gentle hiss, the magnetic seal released and the door trawled to the side, allowing him to enter with an air of caution. As he looked around, he eventually sighed in relief upon seeing that the car was deserted. Thankful that his impending confrontation could wait longer, he looked for a good spot to take a seat. Noticing a short flight of stairs leading upwards, he followed them and found a small observation area with a glass dome. And with nowhere else really in mind, he set his bag down and made himself comfortable for the long haul.

Zootopia was a good 600 miles from Kalber, a small portion of that over water. It would be almost half a day before he arrived, a whole seven hours he was not relishing in the slightest.

As he leaned back into his plastic seat, he rummaged back into his pockets, extracting his phone and a pair of earpieces, plugging them in and unlocking his device to scroll through his catalog of songs in search for something to make the next hours at least a little less dull.

Among the many human musicians he listened to, there was a couple that weren't quite the norm. He had a handful of songs from Zootopian artists, ones he had followed in his idle youth as a passing phase.

Seeing as he would be permanently stuck there, he decided that their music might be more appropriate for the situation. Scanning his small playlist of music, he chose one of his favorites, The Fur Fighters.

Picking one of their more popular songs, he allowed the mash of bold drums and electric guitar to lull him to sleep.

It had already been a long day, and he knew it would only get longer.

He didn't know how long he slept, but when he woke up he was surprised to feel refreshed, not fully, but a great deal better than he had been beforehand. Checking his watch he learned that about five hours had passed and a little curious as to what transpired in that lost time, he glanced around to see if he was still alone, glad to notice that he was still the only one up there.

Though, after removing one of his headphones, he could hear the low din of conversation coming up the stairs, meaning the train had picked up a few passengers while he slept, which subsequently ruled out any thoughts of going back down there. And when he did not detect the steady vibration of the train moving underneath him, he looked out the dome to see that it had stopped.

Wondering if he had already arrived at his destination, he stood up and walked towards the glass to peer outside.

'Well, that's something you don't see every day.'

A huge swath of verdant green fields and rolling knolls filled the horizon, a small yet bustling town situated a few miles down, right smack dab in the middle of acres upon acres of lush, rural farmland. It was too far away to make out any clear details, but a sign ahead of the tracks alerted him to the fact they had stopped in a place called Bunnyburrow.

'How quaint...'

Shifting his gaze downwards, he spotted a small crowd of figures milling about the station in a disorderly mass. For a brief panicked moment he thought an angry mob had come for him. But he shook that bit of foolishness from his mind. First, it didn't make any sense, and second… it didn't make any sense. He was far from any people that might still hold his actions against him and he doubted bunnies of any kind would be a part of an angry mob. That is after all what they were, an enormous throng of bunnies of various heights, all loitering underneath a sign hanging from the station's wall. Good luck, Judy! In bold red and blue letters that looked to have been scrawled by a pack of children. And judging by the amount of little pairs of ears running around, he wouldn't be all that surprised.

It appeared they were all a part of some going away celebration, and no doubt meaning they were all a part of a family.

He smirked.

It looked like some stereotypes did in fact hold true.

With his interest sated, he returned to his seat and played with his phone for a little while as he waited for the train to resume motion, using the device to keep his rattled nerves settled.

Thinking about the move and reasons for it was a lot for his twenty-five year old mind to take in and the mobile helped dull his anxiety. Eventually, sometime after he plugged his music back in, the locomotive kicked into gear with a jolt, the familiar juddering of wheels on a track muttering underneath him.

As the minutes dragged on he grew bored and focused his attention outside the window to the landscape blazing by. His music was not proving effective enough in quelling his thoughts. After all, it was hard to get lost in the beat when all you could think about is being lost in quiet literally a concrete jungle.

The department had been kind enough to give him enough funds to cover the initial move out here and he still had some money left over to keep himself fed for a few weeks, but he hoped to have all his affairs in order before then, otherwise it would be lukewarm ramen and stale crackers for a while, a situation he hoped desperately to avoid. All the money he had accumulated over the years had barely been able to cover the extensive legal fees of the prolonged court battle and left him in almost abject poverty. On the flip side of the coin, this meant the job was a mixed blessing and he supposed he could treat this situation like a fresh start. No one in Zootopia would know who he was, only what he was. It might just be a place where all his troubles could be left behind, a new face and a fresh start.

Where anyone can be anything…

For a brief moment that motto didn't sound so cynical and patronizing.

The thought somewhat brightening his somber mood, he felt a slight auspiciousness about his future. Perhaps this just might be what he had needed the past few months. After the enormous scandal, it would be nice to be an unrecognized face in a crowd again, even though he just might be the only human there.

As he gazed outside, something slowly appeared on the horizon, taking the well-known shape of a city, what he could only expect to be Zootopia given its massive size, even at this distance. By now it had reached midday and the view was almost blinding as the sun glinted off the countless metallic spires of industry. They may have been animals to his eyes, but their architecture boldly told otherwise. He had to admit to himself, he had not been expecting something quite so… grand. It was even larger than Kalber itself, and twice as beautiful... though that was not saying much.

Popping his headphones out, he stashed them into his pants and reached for his duffle bag to dig for the papers he had printed out beforehand. The department's severance pay had covered the first month's rent on a studio flat somewhere in the city center and a short drive from his new job, that being the least they could have done for him. And while he didn't possess a map, he did have a rough sketch on where it would be after memorizing some details earlier. If he was correct, it should be approximately an hour away by foot.

There was a sudden commotion from the stairs as he studied his papers and he watched both in alarm and fascination from behind his documents as a bunny hopped up the flight and rushed to the front of the room, completely oblivious to his presence.

He was momentarily stunned by the sudden arrival, his papers hanging from limp hands as he stared openly at the large rabbit. Thankfully his gaze was ignored as it seemed they were completely focused on watching the approaching metropolis with rapt purple irises.

This gave him enough time to indulge in his examination of his very first close up look at a zootopian. The first thing he noticed was the pair of headphones in their long ears, probably the reason why they had not noticed his presence yet.

He was not one hundred percent on their gender, but he had guessed by the… curves? That she was a female… possibly, and was surprisingly big for a rabbit, at least several sizes more so than the feral counterparts he had seen back home. Without those 12-inch radars attached to her head she stood only about chest height with him, meaning she was approximately… three-ish feet tall, gripping the guard rail in grey furred padless… paws, and the trademark cotton swab tail poked through the hole in her light grey slacks.

Over all she was not quite what he expected, though he was not sure what it was exactly he had been expecting to be honest with himself. It was not the same as seeing them through a TV screen that's for sure. But, as fascinating as she was, he had far too many problems to waste his time ogling her. So after a few moments he finished his visual inspection and turned back to his papers, making sure he still had all of them. Without his identification he would be out of a job and a place to live before he even stepped off the train.

Distracted by his documents, he was unaware that the crinkling of paper had not gone unnoticed. The hearing of his fellow passenger was powerful, and she was able to hear it even over the upbeat tune blaring in her ears, one grey furred lobe swiveling promptly in his direction.

'Hmm…. I wonder what they eat…' He mused idly to himself as he flicked through his travel documents and made sure he still had his I.D. Once he arrived he would have to go one of their DMVs before he stopped by his apartment to certify his Zootopian license. He hoped it wouldn't take long. After that he wanted to grab a bite to eat. His priorities for the last few days had not exactly been catered to his liking and the most he had indulged himself in were a few cold cups of coffee and a couple tasteless energy bars. Overall a bad combination that sought to send his stomach into revolt if he did not rectify such an erroneous oversight as soon as he could.

He hoped they had burgers in Zootopia, though he was not quite sure how they would have managed to work all that stuff out. In fact, he was curious what exactly it was all the predators ate. If they did still eat meat, where did they get it from? He remembered hearing something about it back in elementary school, but so many years had passed since then he had all but forgotten.

"Oh hi I didn't see you there… Sir?"

Hearing the soft, distinctly feminine voice as it slowly petered to a stop, he glanced up from his papers and was momentarily struck frozen as his amber eyes suddenly found themselves locked with a pair of vibrant purple, mirroring his astonishment back at him.

The bunny he had previously been studying had approached him, an earbud hanging from her soft blue, almost green, shirt as she eyed him with the same interest he had held himself not minutes ago.

"Wow, are you a human? I've heard about you guys but I haven't met any before. I remember reading in books that you don't have fur but I have to say I didn't quit believe that till now. Do you get cold often? I would think so with all that exposed skin."

He found himself overwhelmed by the rabbit's energetic, fast paced speech and was still several sentences behind her.

"Uh… hello?" He greeted her as pleasantly as he was able, though at this point it was more of a bemused reply than anything else.

Realizing that she had forgotten a core aspect of social interactions, she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oops, I was in such a rush I completely forgot to introduce myself. Names Judy…. Judy Hopps." The rabbit's muzzle curved into an open and friendly grin as she extended her paw out for him to shake, her little button-like nose twitching with an apparent mind of its own.

Hesitant, he stuffed his papers into one hand and used the other to accept her greeting, wrapping his larger furless appendage around her small and slender paw. For a brief moment he was taken back by how soft it was, almost like running his hand across pure velvet.

"Roland Winters…" He gave his name as he firmly shook her paw once and released it to pick up his temporarily overlooked papers, folding them up to place neatly in his lap.

"Well Roland, what brings you to Zootopia? If I remember right, a human hasn't come to the city in…. a little over fifty years I'd say." The bunny happily plopped down on the seat beside him, her iconicly large feet dangling a few inches off the ground as she looked up to him in blatant curiosity. It appeared she lacked the social anxiety he and the people of his home town held onto. Most individuals he knew, including himself, would never have been so comfortable to start idle conversation with a stranger on the train, or anywhere for that matter. He wondered if it was a byproduct of her upbringing or if all zootopians carried that same innocent sincerity.

Roland was not quite sure how to answer her and took a few moments to properly phrase his response. "It's… work related I suppose. I'm moving here for my job. What about you? What brings you here?" He was surprised to find himself feeling at ease as he spoke with the rabbit. This conversation was doing more to relax him than his music. It had been a long while since he last had a friendly one and he was somewhat socially starved, a prospect he had never thought would bother him till he experienced it for himself.

"Me? Well I'm moving out here too. I'm going to be a police officer!" She declared boldly, a confident grin sitting comfortably on her muzzle.

Hearing such enthusiasm and certainty brought a wane smile to his face as well. He had been like that once, so sure of his place in the world and what he wanted to be. But that had been a long time ago, back when he still believed in the good and common decency of his fellow man. His career had quickly dissuaded him of that notion. But that didn't give him the right to crush other's dreams. If she was going to be a cop, far be it for him to tell her otherwise.

"That's a noble line of work and with that attitude I think you'll do just fine."

"You think so?" She asked eagerly, a hopeful look in her soulful eyes, those purple irises holding more depth and authenticity than most people he had met.

He nodded. "I wouldn't doubt it."

Roland was caught by surprise when the rabbit slumped into her chair, folding her arms crossly. "You'd be the first to say so." She muttered quietly, her lips pursing tight in displeasure as she furrowed her brow.

Her tone was a familiar one, and her posture mirrored a situation he knew well. "Let me guess. No one believed you could do it, not even your family did. And sometimes you thought they just might be right?" He smirked as the bunny looked to him in amazement, he having accurately deduced her predicament. Still smiling, he leaned back in his seat with a wistful sigh. "Yeah I know what you're feeling. I went through the same thing. Though probably slightly different, the meaning is the same and I'll tell you the same thing I told myself. You are the only one that can live your life. That means the only opinion that should matter is yours. Follow that and you can never truly go wrong."

Her frown softened as his words sunk in, slowly replaced by the smile she had been carrying when they met. The rabbit looked up to him, her smile widening. "Thank you Roland, I've…. I've never thought about it like that before."

He shrugged noncommittally, simply dismissing her words of thanks. "Just some advice I wish I didn't have to find out for myself."

They lapsed into silence for several minutes, the train's low roar being the only sound in the car. Roland tried to reoccupy himself with his device, but he couldn't get back into it. His temporary travel companion was just too unique to ignore. Peering through the corner of his eyes; he watched the bunny sitting next to him as she stared out the dome in wonder. It seemed they were close to their destination, the train taking them through some sort of desert region.

"So…" He began, turning to face her once more. "Was that your family back at the last stop?" He didn't want their conversation to end just yet. And he felt an odd desire to get to know her. But Roland attributed this to the fact she was the first zootopian he had encountered, as well as the first friendly face he interacted with in some time.

Her muzzle lit up in realization and she tittered bashfully, rubbing the back of her head as her huge pair of ears partially stooped down in mortification. "Yeah, they wanted to see me off. It's my first time away from home since I was at the academy. And even then I wasn't all that far. This'll be the farthest I've ever been from them."

She sounded a little anxious, and he imagined how hard it must have been to leave. He wouldn't know from his experiences, since he had been on his own the day he turned thirteen, but he would think it had been difficult for her.

"They look like good people… er… bunnies." He verbally stumbled over himself, not sure what exactly the proper etiquette was for addressing other species. He hoped it wasn't anything that might get him in trouble later.

She giggled, her anxiety fading away to be replaced by an air of exasperation. "They are… if a little too much so at times. I swear they worry too much." The bunny idly thumbed over a small pink canister, the writing on it too small for him to read from his seat.

"At least you can keep in touch."

"What about you? What's your family like?" She smiled up at him.

"I don't have any family." He responded casually. "I've been on my own ever since I was a kid."

"Oh…" Her smile faded as she turned her eyes to silently study the linoleum lined floor of the train car.

Now arriving at Zootopia… A feminine voice announced pleasantly from speakers in the roof, putting an end to their conversation.

"Well, it looks like this is our stop." Roland declared as he stuffed his papers into the inside pocket of his leather jacket and zipped his bag closed. He had a long checklist to wrap up that day if he was going to be ready for his job by tomorrow.

"Yeah… looks like it." She agreed slowly, picking up the luggage that had been left by where she had been standing before their talk.

As Roland fiddled with his jacket, he could not help but notice the rabbit's foot-dragging. She seemed to be far less eager then she had minutes ago. He wondered what the reason for that could be.

The rest of the train ride was finished in silence, until it pulled into the station as they got ready to leave. Once the train stopped, he reached down for his bag, swinging it onto a shoulder and turned to face her.

"It was nice talking with you. Maybe we can meet again someday. Good luck to you with your job." He said his goodbyes and moved for the stairs. It was as his boot connected with the first step that he heard her call out to him.

"Hey Roland, wait a second!"

He stopped and turned around; watching as the bunny hastily rushed over to him, holding out a scrap of paper. Curious, he took it and glanced down at the ten digit number hurriedly scribbled down. When he looked back to her, the bunny had a nervous curl to her lips and her cheeks were flushed a light rosy hue.

"You know I was thinking. Since we're both new here… maybe we should look out for one another… you know?" She prattled on anxiously, wringing her paws together tentatively.

He looked back down to the number before pocketing it and smiling back at her reassuringly. "I think that's a fine idea. Give me a moment." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper, patting himself down for a pen. "I don't think I have one on me." He admitted.

"Here you can use mine." She offered, holding out a little orange plastic carrot.

"Thanks." He accepted the proffered writing utensil and neatly jotted down his number and handed it over to her. "You ever need anything you call me. We newbies gotta stick together."

"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing." She replied with a grin.

Roland chuckled at that. "Alright then, I'll see you later… Judy." He waved goodbye and traveled down the steps to exit the train car. Staring at the number in his hands in idle thought, he crossed the car's threshold and stepped out into the station. It would seem as if he had already made his first friend. Things just might be finally looking up for him.

He gave the scrap of paper only a few more seconds of his full attention before he stashed it away in his jacket and looked up to see where he was going, and almost staggered as he was bombarded with a wave of sounds and colors.

The zootopian train station was completely opposite of the station he had been waiting in hours ago. The huge building was alive with activity as hundreds of mammals were in the processes of boarding and exiting the many machines that had reached their stops. Tiles shone bright in the well-lit area and he could not see even the smallest pieces of trash lying on the ground. A low roar filled his ears, the multitude of intermingled species chattering away as they went about their business.

It took him several moments to adapt to the rapid change in scenery but soon he was making his way to the exit, pulling out his phone to access the maps function and praying that it worked here. Without it, he just might get lost in a city that was far larger and chaotic then he had first anticipated.

He sighed in relief as his phone went through a brief update before displaying the local area on the screen. Thankful that he at least had some bearings on where he was, Roland input the address of the apartments and walked out of the station.

He did his best to ignore the blatant stares and mutters. He had known that he would be an oddity here, just as they might have been if they came to Kalber. However he did allow himself to take a few quick peeks back as he made his way through the streets. So far none of the looks or mutterings was negative, just idle innocent curiosity. Roland imagined that in a metropolis as diverse as this, he was hardly that much of a fascinating sight. In time they would dismiss him as anyone else. He just hoped it would be sooner rather than later, if not, it would make his job that much more interesting.

In the end it did not take him as long to find the apartment building as he thought it might've, less than forty minutes from the train station to his destination and a fair distance from the more heavily populated city center. Only a few mammals walked the streets with him, hardly giving the human a second look as they passed by.

Roland stopped outside the building his phone indicated to get a good look at the place he would be living in for the foreseeable future. Outwardly, it did not appear to be all that bad of a place, distinctly modern and clean, it was a sight better than his last residence. That building had been a rundown tenement with a dubious foreign landlord and probable part time drug dealer. He was just surprised at how small it was. A two story structure that more resembled a family's home then the apartment building he had imagined.

Puzzled, he glanced back to his notes to make sure the address matched and found that it was indeed the right place, 865 Foxwood Avenue, scribbled down on his notepad. Still more than a little confused, Roland tightened his grip on the sole piece of luggage he possessed and traveled up the short flight of steps to gently knock on the door.

He waited a while after there was no reply before rapping on the wooden door again, wondering if perhaps he had wrote down the wrong address. If so, that left him in quite a precarious position. With a second attempt proving fruitless, he shrugged and turned to leave.

He would have to call the office back in Kalber to confirm the address again, and he was not looking forward to that at all.

At the bottom of the small flight, he heard a commotion at the door and looked back, watching as the entrance hesitantly pulled open and a short, slender russet muzzle peered out of the tiny gap, all he could see being a pair of dark green eyes eyeing him warily from within the door's shadow.

"H-Hello…?"

The voice was so low as to be hard to identify, but it sounded like a young women, if an unquestionably nervous one at that.

Not wanting to startle or intimidate her, he tried to project a calm and friendly tone. "Hi there, I believe someone called ahead a couple days ago about an open room? This is 865 Foxwood Avenue correct?" he inquired from the bottom step.

The muzzle bobbed up and down uncertainly. "Y-Yes it is."

"Is the room still available then?" He hoped it was, otherwise he would be in trouble. He could probably find a hotel for the night but that would eat into his meager savings and then it would be ramen and crackers for him, a prospect he looked to with great reluctance.

He watched anxiously as the owner of the muzzle seemed to mull over his question, nodding slowly after a few moments and closing the door, leaving him staring at it in confusion. Just as he thought that was it, he heard the telltale rattle of a chain being pulled as the door slowly swung open.

"C-Come in." The uneasy voice offered quietly.

Roland uncertainly glanced around the deserted streets before deciding to climb back up the steps and cross the portal. Once inside, he found it to be unexpectedly dark in the building, the only light afforded by the draped windows decorating the small entryway, the bulbs in the ceiling darkened in disuse. The man had to stoop from the moment he entered, the roof was just a few inches too low, constantly brushing against his short black hair, a small nuisance he could have done without. He could not see much of the building itself from the hall, but at the moment he was more interested in finding the owner. They had seemed to disappear the second he stepped inside, or so he had thought.

Turning his head to his left, Roland finally noticed the woman standing timidly in the corner. Being the second species of this place to be in close proximity with him, he allowed himself a cursory once over.

The woman was in actuality, a slender auburn furred vixen that stood barely at the height of his chest, even smaller than Judy. She was startlingly frail, even in the cream colored sundress wrapped over her slim figure. The girl's lean appearance gave credence to the thought that the smallest breeze might threaten to blow her away. The only part of her that looked truly alive was her eyes, both emerald orbs glowing with the youth and vitality her fragile frame did not possess.

But at the moment those eyes were full of wariness and suspicion as they studied the tall and imposing figure that had entered her home. Roland could not help but feel some sort of misplaced guilt as he gazed back at her, starting to feel as if might have been the better solution to find a hotel.

"It's nice to meet you ma'am, my name's Roland… Roland Winters." He introduced himself as pleasantly as he could, extending his hand out for her to shake, internally cringing when she shied from him.

The vixen took a fearful step away, placing her back firmly against the wall as she folded her arms close to her chest, the wariness in her eyes growing exponentially as she stared at him mutely.

Roland let slip a quiet sigh and slowly withdrew his offered hand, placing it close to his side. He knew what was going on, having dealt with quite a few people like her in his line of work. And the best way to handle them was to be patient. So that's what he did, waiting for her to make the first move with a compassionate, kindly smile.

This looked to work as her apprehensive stare seemed to lessen and she slowly pulled away from the wall to tentatively approach him. "Marian Calvet…" She whispered, holding her paw out. Her voice flawlessly reflected her outwards appearance, low and delicate. He could barely make it out, even in the dead silence of the entryway.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Calvet." He greeted her just as quietly and gently took her paw in his hands, giving it a soft comforting squeeze. The vixen's lips pulled into a small smile and she visibly relaxed, her shoulders slumping as her tail kicked into subdued motion. "If I may be so forward, is it possible to discuss the matters regarding lodging? It has been quite a long day for me and I was hoping to get that settled."

She nodded demurely and stepped away from him, pointing towards the staircase. "The room's just up here."

Roland followed her up and down through hall to a dark blue door situated at the very end. Inside, it was actually pretty nice, more than big enough. There was a dresser by the bed and a window of the outside that provided illumination alongside the small ceiling light. And with a connected bathroom and a closet it was just about all he needed.

"Is… is everything satisfactory?" She asked hesitantly from the doorway.

He turned to her with a grin. "This is perfect."

With the matter of the room settled, he spent a little while with Miss Calvert finalizing the details and giving her the first issuance of rent he had previously stashed in an envelope. She was a rather nice girl, though rather timid. And though he had wanted to ask her a few questions, at the time he decided it was not his place to do so.

He also confirmed that this was not an apartment building but rather her home turned boarding house. As it stood he was her first guest and it was clear to him that she was new at this with her awkward uncertainty. She offered to do his laundry and clean his room, and if he was around at the right times, there was breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All in all, he could not think of a better deal. And it was definitely turning out to be a better situation than any apartment than he could have hoped for. His work frequently absorbed much of his attention and he often overlooked those types of things.

It took the better part of the rest of the morning to finish up, most of that time being their talk since he didn't have much to unpack. She gave him a spare key for the house and it was approaching lunch by the time they finished. And as much as he would have like to stay and eat, he still had something to do.

Making his goodbyes, Roland left the building and headed for the DMV.

With a tired groan, Roland unlocked the door and shuffled inside and out of the dark street. He barely even remembered to take his boots off at the door as he lurched around. Dragging his feet all the way to the stairs, he plopped down on the nearest step and tiredly unlaced his boots.

"Mister Winters?"

He shifted a fatigued eye to the vixen standing questioningly behind him and smiled weakly. "Ah, Miss Calvet."

"What… what happened to you?" She asked in bewilderment, taking in his ragged clothes and defeated aura. It looked like he picked a fight with a rhino and lost.

"I went to the DMV to acquire my local license."

The vixen winced in sympathetic understanding. "Ah… I see."

Sighing heavily, he massaged the bridge of his nose, eyes tightly shut in irritation. "I just have to ask… why sloths?"

She shrugged, tail flickering uncertainly. "No one really knows since it's been like that for a while. But it's probably one of Mayor Lionheart's inclusion initiatives. He's been doing a lot of those recently for the upcoming election year."

Roland nodded and sat up without a word.

"Did you… want something to eat? I just finished making some mixed berry salad." She gestured over her shoulder to the small kitchen in the back of the house.

"Oh no thank you, I think right now I just want to get some sleep." If he thought the department of motor vehicles was bad, the department of mammal vehicles was the greater of the evils. He had spent the last eight hours going through an hour long process. Despite his grumbling stomach, he doubted he could stay awake long enough to eat anything.

"Oh… okay." She murmured quietly, eyes downcast as if his response had disappointed her.

He smiled wryly at that, shaking his head in amusement. "On second thought, I think something to eat might be just what I need."

With that, her ears perked up almost immediately and she motioned for him to follow with he would almost call excitement.

Following her, he entered the kitchen and had a look around. He could see that she had spoken the truth, it looked as if she had just finished up when he walked into the door, a wooden cutting board stained with juice sat on the counter by the sink with a knife placed neatly to the side. The small dining table was already set for two, and it looked like she had been anticipating his return, the vixen standing to the side with hopeful anticipation.

Roland turned to her with a bemused smile. She was certainly an odd one. Just that morning she had been frightened of him. Now it seemed she vied for his approval. Still perplexed and now more than a little curious, he sat down at the other end of the table and glanced down at the bowl of berries in front of him. He was not all that fond of fruit, but it looked like she had put a great deal of care and time into prepping this so he withheld his usual distaste.

Once he was seated the vixen took the chair opposite him and waited for him to make his next move, patiently grasping her fork in her paw.

Picking up his own fork, he speared a chunk of an indeterminate berry and brought it into his mouth, rolling it around his taste buds. After a few moments he decided it actually wasn't all that bad. Sure, he wasn't all that enthused by the sharp tang of balsamic vinegar, but it did add a certain kick and went surprisingly well with the brown sugar. As a whole the meal was a little sweet for his pallet, but after going so long without eating real food it was still welcomed.

Roland looked back to her and almost chuckled at the vixen's expectant expression, she seemingly hanging on a thread to hear his response. "It's very good." He confessed as he took another bite, watching in satisfaction as her muzzle lit up in a pleased grin. "You're a pretty good cook."

"My dad was an avid at home chef and he taught me everything I know." She replied with a modest smile, though her lips twitched fractionally and he caught a brief flash of pain in her eyes.

He could tell there was a deeper story to that, but he merely nodded in acceptance of her answer. It was not his place to delve any deeper. He was just a guest in her home, and he was thankful for the place to stay.

He chatted with her for a while over the meal, before his drooping eyes told him he had to get some amount of sleep before he left for work on the morrow. It was going to be a very long and very busy day, and though he had grown used to only a few hours rest at a time, he would need a little extra to see himself through the events to transpire tomorrow. Roland bid her goodnight and offered to help with the clean-up, but she protested. Seeing as he was her tenant, she wanted to take care of it.

Considering himself a gentleman, he couldn't let her do the work by herself since he contributed to it. And in the end they agreed to split the work, he cleaning up after himself, and she taking care of the rest. Once he placed his bowl and utensils in the dishwasher he made his final goodnight and traveled up the stairs and down the hall to his room. Opening the door, he went inside to find that it had been prepared for him, the pleasant alpine scent of cleaning agents filled the air and the linen for the bed looked to have been recently washed.

He smiled at the extra care she took for him, finding his duffle bag untouched at the side of the bed exactly as he left it. Zipping it open, he pulled out his nightwear, a generic black sleeveless undershirt and a pair of work out shorts. He changed and set his phone for 4:30 in the morning, intending to get an early start to the day. There were still a couple things to do before he reported in.

AN: Hey guys, haven't been around here in a while. I had a lot of RL issues to handle and I apologize for the lack of activity. However, I have taken care of most of them so now I can put some more time towards my passion for writing. An idea for a story like this has been floating around in my head for a while and once I saw Zootopia I felt it was a perfect medium to put it down. I hope you all like it and judging by its reception i'll decide whether to put more effort into it. As for LOTP and my other stories, I have been pretty busy. I hope to have the next chapter in Six's legacy out sometime soon and the first chapter for Shattered's final rendition is complete as is most of the one for First Contact. That being said if for whatever reason you want to save the old versions to your devices I'll give a week's grace period to do so by which the end those stories will be removed to make room for their rewrites.

With all that out of the way I want to say how happy I am to be back in action for the moment and I hope you all enjoy!

Drake The Traveller