Zootopia (Closed)

[TearsoftheWorld]

You could be anything you wanted to be in Zootopia.

At least, that was the idea.

A silly dream for children.

A lie for most adults.

Cassandra Red, Cassie to her friends, had been fed that line over and over, but as a predator, as a fox, she had been told to keep a low profile. It was difficult trusting predators in general, but foxes were at the bottom of the barrel. Cassie wanted to break the mold, and prove that she could achieve her goal of being a professional dancer and actress. She thought she had the chops, and, at the tender age of eighteen, she certainly had the looks for it. Her youth and innocence, however, attracted the wrong kind of attention, and the eighteen-year-old stunner found herself having to pick and choose her friends more carefully.

When the chance to perform finally came along, despite all sorts of red flags, Cassie pounced.

Fortune.

Fame.

Her own apartment!

It sounded too good to be true, and, as the young fox quickly learned, it was.

Over the next year, Cassie obtained quite a bit of fame as a dancer, but not the kind she imagined herself to be. She was given a stage with which to strut her stuff, but it was the kind of stage that came with a dance pole. And all that money that was thrown at her? She didn't even get to keep half of it. Less than half, actually. Less than a quarter.

And her own place? Cassie, or Foxy, as she was known on stage, was left to rest on a simple bed in an apartment that stunk to the High Heavens.

Most nights she had to cry herself to sleep, and hope that some day, she'd make it out of there. For the time being, however, she'd have to put on a smile and put on the best show that she could, even if meant having to go out there and show off every inch of her curvaceous young body. The crowd certainly loved her for it.

A beautiful bushy tail...

Flowing blonde hair...

Sharp orange fur with intense black markings...

Shapely legs and a tight ass with round butt cheeks...

And incredibly large, full breasts that were capped with beautiful red nipples.

Every inch of her drove the crowd wild... and they all wanted more. The club that Foxy "worked" for, however, had strict policies when it came to touching the dancers, but for the right amount of money, exceptions could be made. After performing another set, Cassie found herself being called back into one of the side offices, and one of her handlers informed her that she had another job to perform.

"What kind?"

Cassie's managed nodded off to the side, and from out of the shadows one of the bouncers appeared, and, after subduing the young performer, forced a muzzle around her snout.

"Relax, darling. We don't want anyone getting hurt."

The weasel nodded towards another room after Cassie had been properly restrained, and she was carried over towards a large bed that occupied the center of the room.

"Just be a good girl, alright? One more performance for the night and you'll be done. I promise."

Cassie did her best to fight back the tears, but as soon as the door closed, the young fox couldn't help but squirm on the bed, unable to free herself from her bindings. In that moment, Cassie would have given everything to be back home. Her heart raced inside her chest, and her watery eyes watched the door closely, hoping that it wouldn't ever open again.

 

[Obuzeti]

With the Slopes still under construction, freight moved through the Bergmall Docks had nearly tripled; building materials, creature comforts, rations, diversity-mandated species refits, heating units for the thin-skinned animals out there, an infinite slurry of half-frozen crates weighing in at half a ton each, stacked in cold, endless rows in the bellies of the great tankers floating out in Bergmall Bay. The chilled heart of Zootopia: nearly half of its shipments went through those rime-crusted docks, and in the backbreaking labor, the Husky's Union had arisen, and carved out tooth and nail each concession from the Overhead.

But it was Friday, and the grueling ten hour days were at an end thanks to the gods-blessed weekend, and that meant going out to drink with the boys. Laughing as they departed the Dock Office, punching their cards and hopping into the van they used communally for these trips (so only one poor sod would have to drive them back), the wolfpack rode towards their favorite watering hole: the Heart's Den, where the meadfoam was thick and the dancers were fine. They pile out in an awkward, yipping pile, pushing each other with laughing shoves and bounding in as they shed the snow from their thick coats left from their jobs in Tundratown.

Exhaling amusedly, Jahmai Malcah turns the engine off, pockets the keys, and then exits the vehicle, stretching. He was a bit small to be cramped up in the driver's seat - the vehicle was made for his husky compatriots, but Jahmai himself was a malamute breed, and had five or six inches of height on them. He didn't quite fit. That said, he was the only one with a driver's license (that wasn't going to get completely plastered) so it fell to him by default.

Whistling Old Maui, he ambles in after his friends, ducking under the mantleway and into the throbbing air of the Den. The pulse of some fast-paced techno beat and a low bass beat the air, and the pack had already colonized an entire side of the bar to cheers from Mack, the broad oxen bartender, who knew he was about to double his check for the night in tips from happy drunks. "Gentlemen!" he bellows over the music, "Welcome back!"

The pack visits every Friday, like clockwork. Favored customers, they are, even if the lot were carnivores; predictable in their joivality, big spenders alike, and orderly even when drunk.

Jahmai trades nods with Mack as the keep sets about mixing drinks or just handing over beers, in the case of Luwin, who just wants to get sloshed as fast as possible. Going face down in his jumbo beer float, the broad husky inhales near a pint of alcohol in twelve seconds, then promptly choked on it.

Ignoring the jeers at Luwin's expense, Jahmai cases the joint with an eye, then cranks an eyebrow skyward. Mayberry, the doe dancer, lithely works her trade, delivering drinks and flirting, touching wrists and bending low to show off her fabulous cleavage. Layla, a fiery hawk, perches on a bar far overhead and was stretching in langurous motions that left his pants tightening. There were normally three, though, a sublime fox that speaks little and struts much, with a watery smile that spoke of a recent arrival to the Big Mess. Where was the new girl? He's seen her dance before -

lithe curves that slide and sway, heavy breasts that strain the thin strap of her top, and legs that went on forever and a day

He shakes his head.

The lights on the stage are off, and the sound stage is dim, meaning no show was firing up, and there was no way any dancer would skimp on a Friday night with the work crews coming in. The big malamute shrugs and meanders over to the bar, raising a hand to signal Mack.

"You actually drinking tonight?" The keep says, wry, as he polishes a glass habitually with a cloth. Jahmai's reluctance to drink is much-mocked with the boys.

"Nah, still have to drive the pack home," he replies, glancing over at Luwin, who is roaring in laughter as Brighton, another abbey boy, tries to duplicate his drinking feat and manages to nearly pass out. "Where's the fox?"

The corner of Mack's mouth turns down. His hands stop moving. "VIP."

"Ah," Jahmai says delicately. She hadn't seemed the type. Still didn't. Something smelled fishy, and it wasn't just him. "Who's the lucky stiff?"

Mack makes eye contact with a slight turn of his head, though he had to duck a little so his horn wouldn't catch the bottle rack. "Johnny said he was going to break her in."

Johnny. Jahmai's fists tightened until the thick knuckles popped. There'd been a nice little otter, a beautiful dame, who'd gone back in the VIP room with the mafia enforcer. She'd come back out with two less teeth and scars that'd never healed. Last Jahmai'd heard, she'd still been working a soup kitchen off in the Canals, and stilll flinched whenever a male looked at her.

Gears whir in his mind as Jahmai considers what is likely to happen. The bison is a racist piece of slime, and the fox is a delicate predator, probably a third his size.

Unacceptable.

"He make a reservation?" Jahmai asks, slowly.

"'Course not," Mack replies, expression unchanging, but something loosening in his shoulders. The cloth goes back into motion, the glass sparkling.

Jahmai sighs, and then reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet, slapping it on the bar and drawing his credit chit. "Thirty minutes," he says, a little incredulous at himself at what he's about to do. "With the - what, what's even her name."

Mack snorts and smiles, slashing the chit through a reader. "Cassie. Go get yours, big man."

He claps Jahmai on the shoulder, roughly, and then moves on to take care of his customers. The big husky closes his eyes and breathes in the moment. This is what makes Zootopia a better place than the slimepit so many think it to be; good men and women, doing what little they can. Each day, chipping away at the monolith of apathy.

Jahmai exhales, and strides towards the low-lit VIP sign, ignoring the wolf whistles of Layla overhead, and the following catcalls of his crew as they finally, finally see him drop the stick out of his ass and go to have a good time.

The malamute grimaces, slides through the door, and shuts it behind him firmly. Then he glanced back into the room and started at the bound fox on the bed in the center of the room. With a fucking muzzle even, of all things.

"Kusemek!" he swears sulfurously, and starts towards her, but stops himself and takes a deep breath to avoid scaring her more. God knows she doesn't deserve even this already. Jahmai raised both hands in a placating gesture as he looked at the ceiling, away from those generous curves barely hidden by a bikini. "Cassie, or - whatever you want to be called. I'm going to get that muzzle off you, okay? Be calm. I'm not your john."

The rude slang hopefully gets his point across, as he steps towards her and unlocks the muzzle, tossing it roughly across the room. Fucking thing.

"You alright? Anyone touch you yet?" Jahmai asks as he tries to undo her bindings, discovers they're knotted tightly, and then gives up and just pulls the ropes apart in vicious pulls, muscles knotting in his broad forearms each time he tears them away.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Should I stay or should I go?

Cassie was unsure about how much time had passed from when she was first carried into the room, and when the door finally opened. The young fox looked nervous, frightened at the prospect of what was going to befall her, and all she could do in her own defense was rock back and forth on the bed, unable to escape her bindings, which were tied almost painfully around her limbs. If the ropes were any indication, she was in for a very rough night.

But the muzzle?

Her bosses were worried about the clients getting hurt?

The muzzle alone cut a deeper wound than even the ropes.

As soon as the door opened, Cassie looked up and could not help but tremble at the sight of the impressive canine that came through from the other side. The they were both from the same biological family, Cassie wasn't the most versed in breeds, though in the Heart's Den, a John was a John was a John. This one, however, raised his hands in a manner that bespoke his innocent intentions, and even through her tears she could see that he was actively trying to avoid staring at her.

"Nnnn-nnnn."

"I'm going to get that muzzle off you, okay? Be calm. I'm not your John."

So far the canine hadn't given Cassie much of a reason to fear him, and his delicate approach didn't drive her to move away from him on the bed. She remained as still as she could, save for a few shakes and quivers, and then felt the muzzle around her mouth unlock with a snap. Her head lifted up off the bed as it slid off, and she licked her lips as if she hadn't tasted them in several years.

Cassie didn't really know what to say or think. Perhaps it was all an act cooked up by her bosses, or a ridiculous game requested by the client. None of the other girls really talked about their experiences, but the young fox had certainly heard a tale or two. She didn't think this was one of those times. The way he went about removing her muzzle and restraints gave her the impression that he was actually there to help her.

"You alright? Anyone touch you yet?"

"No," Cassie responded simply, as if the realization of what was happening hadn't quite sunk in yet. At the very least, however, her shaking had stopped, and the rapid beating of her heart was starting to slow down. As Jahmai went about forcefully removing her bindings, however, a new and terrible thought entered Cassie's mind: what if she was caught? She certainly had no love for where her life had taken her so far, and she certainly wanted to get out of there, but what if they were caught?

"Stop. Stop! Please. What are you doing? Yo- you're going to get me in trouble," Cassie blurted, the panic in her heart causing her words to come out in quick succession. "Please just leave me here. Please, I swear. I don't want to get in any trouble.

Cassie looked at Jahmai, but her eyes expressed, at the same time, hope and desperation. She wanted to leave, but she wasn't strong enough to do it on her own. She was also afraid of being punished, the rumors from the other girls acting as another door to keep her locked up. The young fox's hands pushed at the stronger canine... but her fingers wrapped around his arm as if she was holding on for dear life.

 

[Obuzeti]

Jahmai takes a deep breath, and stills after he finishes tearing apart Cassie's binding. "Listen to me. The john's going to be Johnny. Johnny Cisco. You know who he is?"

Johnny Cisco, bison enforcer, legbreaker, and all around goon for the Icies, as the locals of Tundratown called the indigent mafia. It was rumored he was on the upward track, even having met with Koslov a couple times, the number two man in the entire web. At this point, he was well connected enough to make a poor girl disappear, if he wanted to.

"If you don't, then just know he's bad news," the big malamute says. "He's a misogynistic piece of shit who wears his fangbreaker badge in public. If he gets in a closed room with you, much less you tied up for his pleasure, you're probably not going to walk out."

Jahmai sets his broad hand over Cassie's own, enveloping it easily. He tries not to think about how soft her down is, nor the gentle flex and play of bare skin beneath. "I know you don't want trouble, but I'm telling you that there will be if you don't get out of this room before he gets here. Do you have someplace to go to until this cools off?"

A jilted john was bad news, but the flesh business had long learned what was bad for business in the long run - damaged working girls, most of all. She'd get shuffled for a few weeks or months to another safe place, and life would go on. Not much of one, but she'd still be in one piece, at least.

He's got strong pack instincts, and the obvious distress in the vixen before him compels him to nose against her wrist, reassuring - and memorizing her scent in habit as old as time. Thyme and saffron, sweet and sliding through him like a hummed song. A shudder runs through his spine at the sensuality of it.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

What if?

Cassandra found herself holding onto Jahmai tighter than she meant to, but when she heard him mention Johnny Cisco's name she couldn't help but strengthen her grip on his arm. The young fox's eyes opened wide with alarm, and she didn't have to wait for the malamute to finish describing the mafia enforcer to know the kind of shit-show she would be in for if she were to stick around. She hadn't thought that any of it was true, beyond a few rumors that were shared among the girls in the dressing rooms.

The young fox looked down as Jahmai placed his hand over her own, and any last vestiges of thinking to stay where she was melted away. It wasn't so much that she trusted in her rescuer, she was purely concerned about her own well-being. The only trouble was, she really didn't have anywhere to go. The "room" that was given to her was controlled by the owners, and if she were to run away, that was surely the first place that they would check.

She didn't have much by way of belongings, aside from a few small trinkets that she had collected over the past few months. They were nice, but certainly not worth risking her life over.

With a heavy sigh, Cassandra shook her head at Jahmai as he leaned down to brush his nose against her wrist. It was a rather gentle touch, and while she had only really just "met" him, she didn't find the tender expression to be anything other than sweet and sincere.

"No. I mean, if I go anywhere they'll probably run to my apartment to check, right? I don't think it would be very safe," she said.

Cassie pulled her wrist back away from the canine as she went to rest on her hind legs, and she brought her bushy tail up over her thighs as her mind raced for answers. If Johnny was on his way, they certainly didn't have a lot of time. She could have gone to the ZPD, but there was always the chance that the club owners had some connections there as well. It would be far too easy for them to just hold her overnight in a cell until she could be released and then "collected".

It was too risky.

Where to go? Where to go? Where t-

Cassie's ears stood up rather sharply, turning in response to the sound of a heavy door opening and closing just down the hall. From experience she knew that it wasn't one of the doors leading to the dressing chambers, nor to the portals that marked the main entrance to the Heart's Den. The young vixen scrambled off the bed as quickly as she could, her large breasts jiggling inside her rather skimpy bikini top, and she went to carefully pull the door to the VIP room open just a hair so she could see who was on the other side. The hall was dimly lit, but her soft blue eyes had little trouble catching glimpses of a few animals moving about. None of them were Johnny, but that did little to allay her fears. She did, however, catch sight of one of the girls, an older puma named Rose, walking back to her dress room, and Cassie, as quietly as she could, beckoned her over.

"Hey girl. VIP? I didn't think you w-"

"Shhh! Please! Listen. I need you to do me a favor," Cassie whispered, her eyes scanning the hall again. "I need a robe. The grey one. It's hanging up over my table. Can you get it for me?"

Rose may not have known what the story was, but she was a good girl and did what she could for the other dancers. She glanced briefly into the room to look at Jahmai, then nodded at the younger fox and set out to retrieve the garment. Cassie slid the door closed again, then turned and looked at Jahmai rather nervously.

Was she finally going to get out?

Cassie bit her lip.

Shit. What if she'd left... what if her coat...

What if Rose forgot?

What if Rose got stopped?

What if... what if Johnny was the one to come knocking on the door?

The young fox started to tear up as panic set in again.

"I can't... I can't breathe."

 

[Obuzeti]

Jahmai tries not to watch Cassie as she gets up, he really does, but the way she bends as she rises gives him a view straight down into lovely, deep cleavage that he has to forcibly glance away from. Watching her walk away in a string bikini isn't going to help him focus either, so instead he moves quietly beside the dancer up to the side of the door opposite her, where he would be hidden if it opens.

The hushed snatch of conversation following is better than it being Johnny himself already, but the towering malamute can feel the tension winding tighter in his shoulders. If it comes to a fight he isn't sure who would win - best to avoid that completely.

A dry, racking sob interrupt Jahmai's thoughts, and he looks up to see Cassie shudder hard under the grip of some chilling thought. He can guess what, and it's that which compels him forward, his hand touching lightly over the small of her back. "Exhale and breathe in," he says firmly, as his other hand turns Cassie's head with the touch of a finger so he can hold her gaze. "You are not trapped. You are getting out of here and you will be safe, no matter if you're scared of what might happen. My mother can put you up for the night, or hell, even I can - I've got my own place. But you're going to be safe. Okay?"

Protective instincts are firing off like mortars in his brain, and his hackles raise as his body instinctively angles to shield Cassie against the world, broad shoulders squaring off, even as his touch remains gentle on her soft skin.

"We can take the service exit out, and I can drive you to someplace safe. That's all we need to do. Okay?"

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Each heavy breath that Cassie took caused her breasts to heave against her chest, her nipples poking through the small strips of cloth that made up her bikini top, but with the canine's hand pressed gently to her back, along with his calm words, the young fox starts to calm down. She closed her eyes and focused as best as she could on her breathing, and then opened them again once Jahmai forced her head to turn to the side and look up at him directly. There was still a bit of uncertainty in her eyes, but the longer he held her gaze the more confident she became.

Cassie breathed in through her nose, then let out each deep breath as she nodded her head in agreement.

She was going to be safe.

The young fox nodded her head again, and then, when she heard a gentle rapping at the door, she pulled her body away and straightened up her back, making her seem a few inches taller than before. Cassie took another deep breath, and then reached out to slide the door open a bit. She was more than relieved to see Rose on the other side, the older feline holding the jacket that Cassie had asked for.

"Here you go, hun."

"Thank you," Cassie said gratefully, and then saw Rose give a playful wink before she shut the door again.

Cassie unfurled the coat and then quickly put it on before she buttoned it all the way to the top, and then let her golden hair fall down towards the small of her back. It was a warm coat, and fairly heavy, but the young fox's curves were still quite apparent, which was something she just had to learn to deal with. It was far better than the alternative, however.

"Okay."

Cassie swallowed the lump in her throat, and gave the room a quick look around before she nodded at Jahmai. She was ready to leave, and not just the VIP lounge that they were standing in. She was ready to leave all of it behind. Slipping out the service exit would be their best chance at avoiding suspicion, and they were almost certainly running out of time. The young fox felt a little bad about leaving the rest of the girls, but they going to be alright, and she had to focus on her own safety.

Sliding the door open again, Cassie could hear some loud roars of approval from the main floor, but that kind of ruckus would help divert attention away from the back rooms. She took another last look, and then steeled her nerves. The service exit wasn't too far away from the VIP room, just down the hall and around the corner, but the notion of getting caught made it seem like it was on the other side of the world. The young fox shook her head to shake away her insecurities, then nodded back at Jahmai.

"Okay. Let's go," she said. She didn't care where they were going, as long as it was far, far away.

 

[Obuzeti]

This close to Cassie, he can feel the radiant body heat, and as she begins to inhale deeply, calming herself down, her perky tips actually brush against Jahmai's chest, drawing lines of fire beneath the thin cloth on his skin. It's impossible to concentrate near her, which makes her withdrawal a relief as he remembers to breathe again. Thankfully, the interruption gives her something to wear so that she isn't killing his heart every time she moves.

"Done," he says, and steps past Cassie into the VIP corridor, already drawing out his phone. His friends need to know he's leaving early - god knows they'll probably cheer even more for that, the insufferable lot - and probably call ahead and get them a different ride, maybe -

There's a clop of hooves at the back end, near the stage entrance, and Jahmai turns to match the gaze Johnny Cisco, who cocks his head in confusion as he takes in the two of them.

There's a long heartbeat as the thought percolates slowly through the bison's mind, because, quite honestly, he's stupid. Jahmai's eyes flick over the brawny enforcer (two inches taller, at least thirty pounds heavier, both muscle and a bit of pasta gut pooching at his tight suit) and assess how bad the following fight's going to be. The hallway is narrow enough that there's no room to get around Johnny and Cassie is still behind him.

"Oh." Johnny says, his mouth curling in a smirk as his thick knuckles pop, something between amusement and terrible rage unfurling at the back of his little recessed eyes beneath that heavy brow. "I'm going to fuck the both of you up, now."

The bison takes two long steps forward, covering most of the distance between them, one hand raising to grab and slap and hurt, the cocky assurance in the swagger of his step and the gleaming of his eyes already certain he's going to leave two broken bodies behind him tonight. The arsenic-bright lights glint off that fangbreaker badge, brazenly slapped over one sloppy lapel with three dull scratches in it. Three times he's pulled the fangs right out of a predator's mouth and scratched in a tally on that copper badge. It makes the skin crawl to look at it.

"Back up," Jahmai says, as he tilts his head back towards Cassie. His forearms flex and the faint sound of claws flexing in their sheathes goes in a tight echo around the confined space as he pockets his phone. Johnny stops short and aborts a slap, having expected a lunging swipe from the obvious predator, maybe even a weapon from the pocket. The bison's eyebrows furrow even more. "I need room."

This is going to be a hell of a rumble, but he's not going to get the fox involved at all if he can help it. This isn't her fault.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

The coast seemed clear, at least at first. Cassie had barely taken one step before she too heard the clip-clop of hooves at one end of the hallway, and her eyes opened wide at the side of the muscular brute that had walked into view. She hadn't met Johnny personally, and despite all the terribly rumors she'd heard about the bison, meeting him in person was a much more alarming experience. The danger was very real, and the young fox's ears drooped at the mere popping of his knuckles.

Cassie couldn't help but let out a very pitiful yelp as the bison took a couple steps towards the pair, and she didn't have to wait for Jahmai to tell her to back up before she took a few steps towards the exit. There was no doubt that the bison would have caught them had they attempted to turn tail and run, but Jahmai seemed poised to put up a fight. The young fox had only just met the canine, but she immediately feared for his safety, and didn't want to see him get hurt.

It would have been easy for her to get to the door from where she stood, and even if Johnny had simply pushed past Jahmai to get to her, it was likely that she could at least get enough of a start to perhaps evade him for a while. Zootopia could be dangerous at times, but it wasn't as if crime was so rampant that she couldn't find some refuge in its streets.

From one of the side dressing rooms emerged another dancer, a doe not too much older than Cassie herself, and, after taking one look at Johnny and Jahmai squaring off, immediately grabbed at the fox's arms and urged her to come back into the room so that they could bar the door.

"No. Hold on. Let go! I can't... I can't just..."

Cassie pulled her arm loose and ran back into the hall, but instead of bolting for the exit, the curvaceous predator attempted to pull her rescuer back so that they could both escape together. Johnny brought one of his shoulders down to bash into the dancer's body, sending her flying. She let out a yelp of pain as she struck one of the side walls of the hallway with a heavy thud, and then fell down into a crumpled mess of fur. She was certainly in pain, but kept enough of her wits about her to swipe at the bison's face when he came at her for more. Her claws, while not terribly sharp, were still at least able to cut deep enough to cause the bison to stumble back as if suddenly stricken by blindness.

The fighting in back had certainly drawn a bit of attention, perhaps more than Johnny would have liked given his goals and the money he'd paid, but all the fox could think about was getting out of there.

"Fucking piece of..."

Cassie's heart went into overdrive as she scrambled up onto her feet while the hulking brute attempted to gather himself, and, having bought themselves some time, the young vixen grabbed at her canine friend and urged him to retreat with her. He had saved from her a terrible fate... the least she could do was return the favor.

"Come on. Let's go."

 

[Obuzeti]

Johnny bulls forward, all power and muscle and velocity in a brutal shoulder tackle. Evolution has primed him for this, the straightforward charge, and Jahmai would be a fool to challenge him on his own grounds. Instead, his feet pivot as he slides forward, and his elbow comes up, braced at the bicep by his other arm, to crack solidly into the other man's collarbone.

The impact knocks the wind out of Jahmai, but something cracks under the dull point of his elbow, so he probably came out ahead in that exchange.

Johnny frenzies in pain and slams the smaller husky sideways into a wall with brute force, clotheslining him into the paneling hard enough to crack him. Jahmai chokes as the air rushes out of his lungs, then coughs as the bison follows it up with a savage hook to his kidney on the other side and then whips his head to try to tear at the canine's face with a horn.

Jahmai seizes hold of the dangerously-close horn with one hand, twists it down, forcing a bellow from the enforcer as he bends, and slams a knee up into it. Under the solid force of a dockworker's muscles, the chitin length cracks like a thunderbolt, dry and loud, and starts to fall. Jahmai smears it into Johnny's face, getting horndust and little sharp shards into the bison's eyes, snoot, and ducts.

Johnny bellows loud enough to shake the hallway, lights rattling overhead, and pistons a fist right back into the husky's side, where he had last hit. Jahmai doubles over, cradling his side silently, eyes rolling back in pain. That's when the bison rears back and decks his opponent across the face, throwing him across the hallway and to the floor in a heap.

Breath agonized, Johnny turns pain-mad eyes on Cassie, and stomps towards her. Another headlong charge drives her into the wall, but when he goes to seize her, tear the fox and rend her, an errant swipe at his face drives the little shards of his own horn deeper into his face, and he shrinks back, bellowing and clutching his scarred visage. "Fucking piece of . . ."

The back of his knees hit Jahmai's shoulders as the bison tumbles, and Jahmai heaves upward in one violent motion, the same thing he does every day at the docks, lifting crates and boxes twice his own weight with dreary repetition.

Johnny soars upwards, accidentally seated on the husky's shoulders, and then comes to an abrupt stop as his head drives right through the cinderblock ceiling. A loud pop sounds as his horn tears through electrical wiring and jolts him with electricity, making his form briefly dance and shake as the lights flicker out in the dim, cramped hall.

Jahmai stands there for a moment, an improvised electric chair, and then falls backward and suplexes Johnny into the cold, wooden floor. Boards buckle and groan, foundation shifting under near three hundred pounds of bison hitting surface level at painful velocities.

Johnny does not get back up. He moans, in a twisted lump.

Jahmai staggers to his feet, eyes dim and blurry, as a goat bouncer comes through the far door, staring. "What the hell?" he says, taking in the scene, the busted hallway and the living wreckage of a mob enforcer and his erstwhile opponent.

His face already swelling with the beginnings of a truly epic black eye, Jahmai staggers towards the service exit with a faint nod. "Go," he repeats, fixated and not really all there. The beginnings of a concussion are pounding in his head.

The service exit opens as two of the wolfpack come around the back side to investigate, Luwin and Brighton slowing down from a dead run and taking in the two. They glance at each other, and Lewin gives a jerk of his head towards the parking lot, then pads inside to talk to the confused bouncer surveying the damage.

"I've no fuckin' clue what that load was about, but you'd best be bookin' it, lessgo!" Brighton grits out. He ducks under Jahmai's arm and digs the other husky's keys out of his pocket, then leads them both to an old van in the parking lot. "Holy fuck, 'twat shook the club like that?"

There's a burr of some thick earthy accent in his words, strengthened by stress, as he unlocks the doors of the ancient vehicle and helps both Cassie and Jahmai inside, herding them both into the backside.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Foxes looked after after foxes. They were social. Flexible. But they were also relatively weaker compared to their distant relatives, which made shows of bravery relatively rare. But they were also loyal to their family members, and even if she wasn't related to the canine, she had developed a bit of an attachment to her rescuer, and she, in turn, wanted to help him. She had done what she could to distract the bovine behemoth, her sharp claws finally coming in handy, before focusing her attention on Jahmai, who did what he could to make sure that the bison wouldn't be able to delay their departure any further.

It was impressive, really.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Cassie could still feel her heart racing, however, and just because the brute was down for the count didn't mean that they were home free. Jahmai certainly looked the worse for wear, but at least he was still standing.

For now.

Cassie looked at the canine with genuine concern, her arm hooking under his as they made their way to the exit. When the door opened, the young fox wasn't sure what to expect, but it seemed that the two huskies that entered weren't affiliated with the bison, so the pair continued limping with due haste towards the open door. There was a van waiting for them in the parking lot, which looked to be about as old as the city itself.

But, if it ran, it ran.

"Holy fuck, 'twat shook the club like that?"

"The bigger they are," Cassie said, finally speaking her mind. She offered Brighton a warm smile as the vehicle was unlocked and opened, and while she didn't particularly like being closed in, Cassie actually felt safer in the back of the van than anywhere else, and her young heart felt even lighter once the engine roared to life. She kept her arms wrapped around Jahmai as she relaxed against the side of the van, one hand coming up to gently inspect his eye.

"Jeeze," she mumbled, her heart absolutely melting. She made sure not to touch it too much, knowing it would heal eventually, but just looking at it made her wince as if she had suffered the same fate. She could only imagine what was going through his head, other than some very painful throbbing.

Cassie gently rested her head against his strong shoulders, drawing comfort from the fact that she was breaking away. She drew in some air and let out a deep breath. Despite all of the uncertainty, Cassie actually felt relieved. Maybe now she'd finally be able to make Zootopia her home.

"Thank you," she said after a while. She was thanking all of them, really, but Jahmai most of all for what he had done. "I'm Cassie." She assumed he may have been familiar with her stage name, but she had no idea if he knew her real name or not. She couldn't offer him much, but at least she could let him know who she really was... that she wasn't just some exotic dancer. She took in another deep breath, and kept her head pressed against his shoulder.

 

[Obuzeti]

Jahmai tries not to lean too hard on Cassie, but the lights blur and the thump of techno blare, and he's too busy trying not to throw up from dizziness to coordinate well. He stumbles alongside her and Luwin until he half-falls into the back of the van, where he mostly just struggles with lying still. Cassie was still there, though, her body soft against his side, and he wrapped one arm around her protectively.

Whatever else, he's satisfied that he's done good tonight.

"'Course that's feckin' Jherry, always pickin' sum codger's bloodbath wi' big motherfuckers that'd like t' kill him, sorry sot." Luwin grumbles from the front side, his Eastside accent thickening until it's nearly unintelligeable. "Thought, 'here's the boy off gettin' his wanker wet when e's toshing the bog. What a sorry mess."

Jahmai can't make heads or tails of that - maybe Brighton could, they'd grown up together. Instead he turns and groggily nuzzles against the top of Cassie's head, nose brushing by the soft tips of her ears. He inhales; she smells like softness and summer dens. "Anytime," he manages, "Though if I could get punched in the face less the next time, I'd appreciate it."

He squeezes her shoulder lightly in response to the introduction. "Jahmai Malcah," the husky says in reply, peering down at her with his good eye. "Pleasure to meet you, miss Cassie."

The van pulls to a stop in front of a cramped series of apartments and Luwin turns off the engine, grumbling to himself still even as he exits the vehicle and holds the door back open for the both of them. "You gonna be fine, mate?" he asks, concern glimmering in heavy-set eyes, age wrinkles crinkling in concern.

"I'll manage," Jahmai answers with a weary nod.