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Day 3
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Dawn Bellwether looked down at the city below. Her new office, the office of the mayor, the mayor of Zootopia, looked over everything. She could see out to the marshlands, Outback Island, and could even make out the blues of Animalia Arena.
That stadium had been designed to look like the splash of a water droplet. She giggled at how silly that was; one couldn't possibly appreciate that design from anywhere but here in this office. Only from here did the angles and scale line up to give the true impression that it really was a frozen splash of water, coming up from the harbor beyond. It was as though it had been designed specifically for her enjoyment alone.
There was a knock at the door and without turning around to look at it she called out, "Come in!"
Council-mammal Kyle Hayworth stepped inside. As the door swung shut behind him, the Clydesdale made his way to the glass wall at the rear of the room. Without looking at his host he took an even stance with his arms crossed behind his back and joined in her surveillance of the city.
"It's all ours now, Kyle," Bellwether said matter-of-factly.
Slowly a wide and perfectly toothed grin slid over Hayworth's face. The pair finally broke their gaze over the cityscape and looked at each other. "So what are we going to do with it?" his deep voice drawled.
Bellwether smiled back, giving him a few seconds to revel in the moment. She then pointed over to the desk and said, "Have a seat, Kyle." He bowed slightly in acknowledgement and they each walked to their respective seats.
Bellwether couldn't help but smile at the horse she had groomed herself. His sharp angular features and the patterning of his face were in perfect symmetry. A paper white nose contrasted the luster of his rich, dark coat and flowing mane. Kyle wasn't even close to her species, but having all those traits attached to such a powerful and imposing body painted an image that endeavored to reach a universal standard of beauty. Not just a pretty face, though; he had a charisma and charm to match. In short, he was a stud.
He was a young buck, currently only twenty-seven, but his hunger for power matched his vitality. That had been obvious to her four years ago when she was sitting in the council seat he now occupied. At the time, she knew she needed to move up the ranks, but she wasn't about to let the prey-predator mix of the council slip any further to those chompers. She had scoured through the candidates list, looking for anyone she could use. Her best hopes had been to find a placeholder; an anonymous prey that would hold back the tide and give her time to maneuver other pieces into position. She never imagined she would find a mammal like Kyle.
The purity of his pedigree was unmatched and he had some of the best education that money could buy. Once out of university, he had been immediately hired by Zootopia's most prestigious legal firm. But he had only ever meant that to be a stepping stone; his true aspirations were for politics, and the power that came with it. The potential of finding someone who was more than just a reliable voting pattern was irresistible to her.
On a hopeful hunch, she had used her ZPD connections to do a more detailed background check on him. The sealed record that came back to her was nothing short of spectacular.
Early in his university days, Kyle had been drunk at a bar with his pulling team. That night had ended with Kyle in cuffs and a grey wolf in critical condition. With a single savage southpaw jab, Kyle had shattered the wolf's mandible, collapsed his nose and knocked out three fangs completely. While the wolf would be using straws for the rest of his life, the considerable power of the Hayworth legal defense ensured that Kyle never needed to think of it again. That was until she confronted him with the file.
His initial reaction had been as she had hoped: anger. Even then, she had already begun to weary of the cowering herd mentality she so often had to deal with, and having someone this decisive and independent was extremely refreshing. She liked the ruthless style Kyle exhibited and made him an offer on the spot: If he liked knocking down predators, she would line them up in droves for him.
And so their relationship began. With her endorsement and just a few hundred stuffed ballots, he was in. Over the intervening years she used her new position as assistant mayor to get him everything he ever needed. His rival council members frequently found their paperwork lost or delayed while he often found himself with privileged information and his name on nearly every community outreach program and public works project in the city. Most mammals had no idea who their city officials were, but almost all of them had heard of Kyle Hayworth.
Today was the day that she could finally start capitalizing on this investment. He was a good deal smarter than the sheep she normally dealt with, and he was well aware that his continued rise was inexorably linked to her own. He was much less a pawn and more a knight errant; someone she could count on to make the right moves without direct supervision. While this would be his biggest test yet, she had no doubt that her steed could pull though.
Bellwether pulled herself out the drunkenness her accomplishments had her in. Now wasn't the time for ruminating on past deeds, there was just too much left to be done.
She reached for a keypad on one of the desk drawers and tapped in an eight-digit code. The drawer whirred and groaned as five one-inch steel locking bolts retracted to release the compartment. When it finished, the drawer opened under its own power and she removed a manila folder. She ignored the bright red one that had been beneath it, and slid the drawer back closed.
"I have some talking points I need you to start pushing," she said cheerfully as she slid him the file.
Nearly all equines required prosthetic attachments to give them even the barest shadow of the dexterity so many of their peer species took for granted. As Hayworth pulled the folder towards him, Bellwether was once again impressed with how effortlessly he commanded his. The model he used was so low profile one would hardly even notice it was there, except for the fact that it rimmed his entire hoof with a stylish gold trim. With the grace of a symphony conductor he tapped the edge of it to the desk and a small golden comb lifted up to be perpendicular with the hoof. By articulating his wrist just right, he could grasp at and manipulate the paper by sliding it between the comb's teeth.
He flipped through several pages and when he was finished he looked up at her. "Interesting play for the opening round, Dawn," he said quizzically.
"It's only the opening round if you weren't paying attention, Kyle," she smiled at him with a slyness that betrayed her fluffy wool.
"What if it doesn't work? This one will be hard for me to pull back on." His drawl remained even and calm; he wasn't worried she didn't have an answer, he was just curious what it was.
"Did you know that most mammals are sheep, Kyle?" Bellwether asked in a devilishly cheerful tone. He shook his head no and she relaxed in her seat before continuing on. "They think that they are all different species, but they are not. They are all sheep. I should know that better than anyone." She let out a short giggle. "There are two ways to direct sheep. Sometimes you lead them, and sometimes you herd them. I've already taken care of the herding part." She let out a longer, more maniacal chuckle. "The only thing they're missing now is a strong leader to drag them over the edge."
"And you want me to be that leader?"
"How does Mayor Hayworth sound to you?" She held a wide smile at him.
"I don't know how I feel about being the first one over the cliff." He smiled back with a sarcastic note in his voice.
"Well," she said scandalously, "you don't need to take the metaphor quite so seriously, Kyle," she grinned back at him. "The election is in four months; you need to start building support as soon as possible."
"And where exactly are you going to go?"
She let out another uncontrolled cackle of self-delight and smiled up at him. "Don't you know? There is another election in eight months."
Kyle neighed and snorted in delight back at her. When he reacquired his composure, he shook his mane out of his eyes and looked back at her with a wide grin. "Senator Bellwether and Mayor Hayworth. You know, I do like the sound of that."
"Good. Then you have a press circuit to prep for."
Kyle stood up, ready to follow his new orders, and bowed deeply to her. The act warmed the ears under her wool and reinforced her smile.
As he turned to walk out she called out after him, "And Kyle!" As he stopped and turned back to look at her with a questioning gaze, his hoof resting on the door's handle, she smiled and finished, "Don't go easy on me."
He shook his head in laughter once more and said, "Have you ever known me to hold back?" before opening the door and walking out, closing it shut behind him.
…
[znn com/politics/kyle-hayworth-mayoral-candidacy-announcement/]
:Kyle Hayworth Mayoral Candidacy Announcement (transcript)
"Hello, my fellow mammals. I come to you now, during what is undoubtedly our most troubled time in Zootopia's long and storied history. I know a lot of you out there are scared and confused. I also know you have no need for rhetoric or false promises. So I am going to be upfront with you because there just isn't time for playing politics as usual.
"In short, I am officially announcing my candidacy for Mayor of Zootopia. I know this may not seem like an appropriate time for an announcement like this, but rest assured, I will not be running a traditional race. I am still your city council-mammal and I will not allow this to interfere with the important work I am doing there. I will not be hiring campaign staff, or accepting donations, or even running ads. The stakes are too high to waste time like that.
"So now that you know what I will not be doing, let me tell you what I will be doing. Just as it has been my honor to serve you these last four years, I am going to continue working every day for you in city council. This city doesn't need more politicians, it need more doers. It needs mammals who will work tirelessly for you every day with no distractions.
"Just look where those political distractions and corruptions have left us. Zootopia deserves better. Better than a cowering acting mayor, who after ten attacks has yet to address the mammals of this city publicly. Better than her scandalous predecessor who led us here. Better than the fear you all now feel. You deserve better.
"You deserve to be spoken to honestly. You deserve to feel safe to walk our streets. You deserve a strong leader you can trust and who won't back down from the tough challenges ahead. You deserve someone who believes in this city.
"I have loved this city all my life and it brings me great sadness to see what it has become in such a short amount of time. Our economy is slipping, our resources are strained, and I know each of you wakes up every morning and asks yourself the same question I do: will these attacks ever stop?
"We can't wait four months for strong leadership, we need it now. That is why instead of running a campaign, I will be spending every second of the next few months working to push initiatives and ordinances that will bring solutions to our city. Solutions that we can't wait four months for. Solutions to our wavering economy, solutions to our growing division, and solutions to the fear we all feel.
"You don't deserve that fear. Fear was never a part of the Zootopia I grew up in. With your support we can end that fear and bring back the peace of mind we all remember. We can bring back Zootopia stronger and better and more united than ever before. A Zootopia where no one has to be afraid.
"This is not about us versus them. Together we have always been stronger and together we will find the solutions to the problems we all face. Zootopia is not a city of fear. It is a city of hope and opportunity and I will not let my current position limit me from ensuring that it stays that way.
"Since it seems our current and unelected leader has no interest in talking to you, I want to assure you that I will be doing everything I can to change that. Each of you deserves to know what is being done to protect you and each of you deserves to know that someone out there cares about you.
"To keep that promise, I will be making several appearances over the next few weeks to give updates on the situation and to give you information about the initiatives city council will soon be implementing.
"Thank you for your time Zootopia. Stay safe, stay vigilant, and stay strong. Good night.
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As always, thank you for your readership!
Let's all just sit back and think for a second about how devastating it would be for a wolf to get punched in the muzzle by a freaking Clydesdale.
That is the type of mammal Kyle is, don't ever forget that.
Also, Clydesdales are, from my understanding, not easy to breed. So feel free to let your imagination mull over what type of values the Hayworth family has.
Fox Tip: Give all politicians their due scrutiny, but be extra vigilant with the ones reminding you of how much fear you have.