5:30.

The alarm sounded like a swarm of mosquitos buzzing in his ear. He swatted at it, and the alarm clock just fell to the ground and continued ringing.

Suddenly, he snapped wide awake. He looked around his cramped little apartment, so different with its thin cot and painted walls, and remembered where he was.

Savannah Central, the heart of Zootopia.

The fox jumped up, jumped over his annoying clock, and got dressed in a matter of minutes. The uniform fit snugly over his fur, and he straightened out his badge proudly. He looked at himself in the mirror, puffed out his chest, straightened his hat, and laughed. His voice was so much deeper than before. It took him 23 years, but he finally got here.

He wished his mother was here. He wanted to thank her, for all her support over the years, but…

He refocused his gaze. Today was about new beginnings, not grim realities.

Without thinking, he reached for his tail to hide it, and stopped himself. He's a fox. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

Still it's a hard mentality to overcome, but he ended up leaving his tail free. It felt unnaturally bare, the fur swaying gently in the cold draft.

5:35. Beep beep beep.

He growled and stomped over to the alarm clock to turn it off. Then, he grabbed his phone and keys and raced out the door.

He had to remind himself to come back and get his sunglasses.

Sahara Central was blisteringly hot. He still had to shield his eyes, even through the thick sunglasses. He tried to ignore the dirty glares he got, and the wide berth animals gave him as they walked. Nervously, he reached for his tail again, and had to stab himself with his badge pin to remind himself not to.

It didn't end when he got to work. Sure, the cheetah at the front desk was very friendly…

"O-M-Goodness. They really did hire a fox. What! You're even more handsome than I imagined!"

He blinked. "Um. Thanks?" He felt the urge to hide his tail again, but settled for holding out his paw for a handshake. The table was taller than he was, and he had to reach up. "I'm Nick Wilde, new to the force. And you must be?"

The cheetah sighed. "Me, Benjamin Clawhauser. The guy that everyone thinks is just a flabby, donut loving cop, stereotyping you."

He chuckled. "Yeah, it's alright." He didn't even bother mentioning the donut caught in the cheetah's neck folds. "So… May I ask where the conference room is?"

Benjamin found the donut and happily chomped down on it. "Oh, bullpen's over there to the left," He mumbled. Nick thanked him politely and walked into the room. Still, his sensitive fox ears picked on Benjamin's quiet murmurs.

"Oh, that poor fox is gonna get eaten alive."

Nick's ear twitched, but otherwise, he hoped he didn't show any signs of hearing.

He took a spot in the front row, and nearly fell off the chair. It was twice his height, and he had to scramble up it rather indignantly.

When he finally got on it, he had to stand to see over.

The other animals in the room were all cheering and jostling each other. He longed to join in, but he knew that they wouldn't accept him, he would get hurt, or he might hurt someone.

Thinking logically has gotten him past the last lonely couple years, and it hasn't failed him yet.

A huge cape buffalo walked into the room. No, walked is too light of a word. Stomped into the room. The entire place fell silent. The buffalo had a presence, like you could sense he was someone of importance.

"Alright. I've got three items on the document," He said, his voice booming. "First, we need to acknowledge the elephant in the room."

Nick's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. Is he talking about me?

"Francine, happy birthday."

The room erupted in chaos, but in the midst of it was happiness and acceptance. Francine reached over and tousled a tiger's head violently, but affectionately. The rhino beside him clapped awkwardly, and Nick could honestly say that he felt his pain.

"Number two: there is a new recruit among us I should introduce, but I'm not going to, because I don't care."

Nick stayed perfectly still while all the animals around him laughed. Don't draw attention, don't draw attention, don't draw attention. He chuckled, but it came out awkward and forced.

"Finally, we have fourteen missing mammal cases," He pointed a finger at a map on the wall. Tacked on it were pictures of animals. "All predators, from a giant polar bear, to a teensy otter. And city hall is right up my tail to find them. This is priority number one."

The Chief grabbed a stack of case files and began handing them out. "Officers Fangmeyer, McHorn, Francine…"

Nick waited patiently for his name to be called. He shifted uncomfortably; the chair was far too big for him, and he felt so small and insignificant in this world full of huge predators and prey. He didn't feel like a fox. He felt like an easy-to-squash bug.

Finally, the room was empty. He resisted the urge to look around in confusion.

"Officer Wilde… Parking duty. Dismissed."

There are no words to describe the expression of shock on Nick's face. He immediately jumped down from his chair and raised his paw in question.

"Um, sir? Did you say… Parking duty? Well, I, uh, as you know, I was at the top of my class," He said.

The buffalo turned around and put on glasses, making Nick feel even smaller than before. "I knew that. I just don't care."

He tried again. "There are 5 districts. I could take a case. The other officers are already spread thin, and – "

"Officer Wilde, you would do well to do what you are told."

"Sir, with all due respect, I'm not just some lazy fox."

The Chief took his glasses off and walked away. "Then giving 100 tickets today shouldn't be a problem for you, should it?" He called in passing.

"But, sir, aren't ticketing quotas illegal?" Nick asked, but the door swung back in his face and nearly crushed his foot. He sighed and smoothed back his hat. Wonderful.

Sorry for the slow start. You guys get to see Judy next chapter!