"So, Ms. Laurillard, why don't you tell me what's going on in your life?"

I stared at him, his large fennec ears swiveling in my direction as if to say his brain was open for business.

"Uhhh… Not a thing. You know I get good grades, right? Do I have to be here?"

The guidance counselor smiled tiredly. "I have to see every student once or twice a year if I can. Lyta, you know you can talk to me about anything right? There's privilege between us. Nothing you say leaves this room."

I had never seen a therapist before. Since my mom divorced and remarried so early in my life, I never needed to talk through my feelings about it – I didn't even remember it. In that dreary office with the school guidance counselor staring at me across a desk and a clip board, I had already decided that I had nothing to say. I didn't think my life was any more or less complicated than anyone else's. He should be talking to Kabirah and Jaide, not me.

"Well, I don't know what you need to know."

"Anything, Lyta. You're a junior now, right? Any plans for college? You're going to be a senior in a few months…"

"College?" I repeated, moving my legs around under me to shift my position. Why did the chair suddenly feel so uncomfortable? "I dunno. University of Zootopia… Don't think my extracurriculars are good enough to go anywhere further away…"

The fennec took a note. "You don't want to study abroad? Take in the sights of a foreign country?"

"I can go one district over and feel like I'm in a foreign country."

"Hm, good point. Get out of Hyenahurst much?"

"No… Sometimes…" The last time I had been outside of Sahara Square was a drunken joyride ending in a car crash.

"Alright. What do you want to study? Maybe I can help you research some schools. Math? Science?"

"Ha, yeah right. Our textbooks are ten years old. I'm not too good at either."

He stumbled over that, then said, "Anything else?"

I didn't need to think about it. "I sometimes feel like I just… get languages."

"Oh? Wahnese? Furench?"

"No, no… I mean, maybe. But I'm talking about the something that's not always said. Like, you ever notice how hyenas laugh? How they position themselves in groups?"

"Well…"

"And fennecs – you're doing it right now – the way your ears are moving. That's saying something."

"Sounds like you want to study biology."

"Maybe… But what about linguistics?"

I chose not to tell anyone about my meeting with the guidance counselor. The next time I saw Kabirah and Jaide, on the couch in front of the TV while my mom made dinner, Kabirah mentioned him herself.

"You guys see that counselor? He told me I wouldn't get a scholarship with my grades. You don't need a scholarship to be in MMA, dumbass. Besides, I'm still on the team and I'm still winning every match they put me in."

Kabirah's chest was all puffed up as she spoke about her favorite sport. Her jersey still stank of sweat, and I was tempted to ask her to take it off… But then she probably would have taken that the wrong way. She and Les were pretty steady, so I don't think she'd want to jeopardize that.

Jaide rubbed my shoulder. He was sitting nice and close, and I could smell a new conditioner in his mane. Had he picked it out himself last time he and Kabirah went grocery shopping?

"Hey, Lyta, I wouldn't worry. Kabirah's gonna be here no matter what. Besides, if you and I both get into UZ it's not like it's that far away. Twenty minutes on the train."

"Psh, everyone says degrees aren't helping kids get jobs anyway. Besides, I don't need anyone to teach me how to pin someone to the ground. I've got that down."

"Isn't MMA… you know… mixed?" I asked.

Kabirah snorted. "'Course it is hoofer. I'll just take a class at the gym."

"You call Les that? Hoofer?"

She grinned wide, looking me right in the eye. "When he's good."

Jaide snickered. I guess they were both dating prey now, maybe they shared details with each other. Did that mean Kabirah knew stuff like my measurements? Or that Jaide had told her what my body felt like?

"You girls want dinner? Oh, and boy. Sorry, Jaide." My mom's voice interrupted the filthy thought process I was headed down, and before I could reply Kabirah had jogged into the kitchen shouting 'first!' as she sat down next to my dad. I followed after, the smell of stewed vegetables making my stomach rumble.

"Hey Mister L. How's the casino treating you?"

"Actually, I work in the hotel… But you know, thirteen years ago… Actually, did I ever tell you this story?"

My mom's ears raised up like lightning rods ready to be struck.

"Will, no!"

Jaide had turned the TV off. He walked in and sat in one of the folding chairs we had brought in for the guests.

"Did I miss something?" He asked as a plate of ground insect was placed down in front of him, the spicy smell wafting up to his wet little nose.

Dad grinned across the table, putting his arm around Kabirah and, on his other side, me. Mom kept fussing about with the food, serving everyone, and then looking in the fridge for something to drink.

"Too bad Bea, I'm gonna tell it. Okay, thirteen years ago. I'm working on the casino floor-"

"Doing what?" Kabirah interrupted. Maybe she had a thing for the glitz and glamour? It was everything she didn't have, after all…

Dad smirked up at mom, "I was half naked, wearing a toga and a laurel. Done up like Caesar. I'm walking around posing for pictures with tourists and suddenly I see these horns – prettiest horns I ever saw, still are – sticking up from behind a bank of slot machines."

Jaide was giggling at the image. I couldn't believe it. My own father was telling one of the most embarrassing stories he could to the rapt attention of my two best friends. I glared at mom, eyes begging for her to put a stop to it all, but she just shrugged and looked up as the memories flooded back.

"I stood there stock still until she came around to my side. She was new, because I had never seen her working the floor. She was to die for. She had a tray with drinks in one hoof, and one of the shortest mini-dresses. But the best part was the rest."

Dad stopped and looked up at mom as she sat down. Everyone looking at her, actually. She took a bite of her salad, chewed, swallowed, and took off her glasses.

"Cleopatra. They were pushing the themes so much back then… I had it all, the eye makeup, this cropped black wig…"

"I couldn't look away. The eyes, the jewelry… Long story short I married her a year after that. And I found out she had the most precious little calf in the world." Dad purred and pinched my cheek teasingly.

I folded my arms as Kabirah and Jaide snorted and laughed.

"First time I heard that story…" I mumbled, drowned out by their amusement. I felt close to everyone at that moment. Kabirah kept asking questions about the outfits my parents had mentioned, and for the next hour we all ate our meals and enjoyed mom's cooking. I had a good family, and good friends. Sure, things were hard for Kabirah and Jaide with their mom skipping out on them, but… Maybe we were all forming some sort of family together, motley as it was.

Kabirah was the first to finish her meal as usual, scarfing it down while the others talked. Just before she was done, she looked up at me, and I could feel her nudge me under the table. Her head tilted away toward the door, gesturing for me to follow her as she rose from the table and waved to my parents.

I left Jaide eating with them and followed Kabirah to the guest bedroom upstairs where she and Jaide had been staying. There was a book splayed out on the bed. A Furench textbook. Kabirah pointed to it and awkwardly asked for help.

"Aidez moi?" She fumbled through her terrible accent.

"You… want me to help you with your Furench homework?"

"Yeah." Kabirah admitted, plopping down in an arm chair next to the bed. The sheets were a mess, bundled up on one corner, and her letterman jacket was draped over the back of the chair.

"No problem. This looks like grammar right here. Did you want to try and practice speaking with me? I'm in AP Furench this semester."

Kabirah nodded. For a few minutes, we conversed back and forth. Her control of the language was nothing compared to her control on those around her, and for once I seemed to have the upper hoof in an exchange with her. When it seemed she had run out of things to say, she looked down at the book and turned the page this way and that, aimlessly.

"I was just thinkin' a lot about you and Jaide… The way you talk about goin' to college. What if I don't get a scholarship? What if I'm workin' in a convenience store in Hyenahurst 'til I die?"

I had never heard her speak like this. Concerned, academic Kabirah was not a Kabirah I ever thought I'd meet.

"So you want to bring your grades up?"

"I wanna try."

Amazing. I wonder if she had reached out to anyone else. It didn't sound like she trusted the counselor as far as she could throw him. Trust was something Kabirah had very little of.

"Of course I'll help you."

"Damn right. Uh, and one other thing…" Kabirah muttered, reaching into her notebook and pulling out a page. I didn't even know she had a notebook. She folded it up methodically until it was small enough to fit in her paw, and then, hesitantly, she handed it to me. "I don't have a phone, so uh… Can you give this to Les at school tomorrow? I'm gonna be workin'. Almost got enough to give your mom for the month."

I rubbed the note back and forth between my fingers and stared at it vacantly, or rather, full of a hundred ideas of what it could say. The mention of money snapped me out of it.

"Hey, I'm sure if we talk to mom about it she'll understand… Maybe you should keep the money. Like, for emergencies. What if your mom comes back?"

"She's not gonna come back."

"How do you know that?"

Kabirah's mane prickled. She rumbled gruffly and stared at me, her shoulders hunching as she moved to make herself appear even larger. It was obviously a sore spot. As part of her cackle, I knew better than to press any further. I couldn't claim to know anything about what she was going through. I had my parents, they loved each other, and I can't imagine either of them skipping out on me. All I could think of was that Kabirah had a new family now and that even if we went our separate ways for college we would all still keep in touch.

How could I have forgotten?

It was "bring your parents" day at school. A special event that doubled as a chance for parents to check up on how their kids were doing in school and to make sure the teachers weren't just screwing around all day. How was I going to pass a note to Les with a bunch of adults milling around and watching our every move? It felt like the prison had added additional guards.

Class was nearly unbearable. During third period, my parents had agreed to give a talk about their job working at the The Palm. I realize now that it was a transparent attempt to indoctrinate the impressionable youth into becoming the next generation of underpaid rank and file in the oasis casinos. Thankfully, both of them were wearing suits instead of the uniforms they had described in the story of how they met.

As they took turns describing the opportunities and the nature of their work, I zoned out. Instead of listening to them, which I had enough of at home, I shifted my eyes this way and that around the room. To my surprise, some of my classmates, one of the Brunson twins included, were flat out gaping at my parents. I couldn't imagine why until I thought about it a little harder.

They were gawking because they were mixed species, and maybe even moreso, predator and prey.

I realized that I was never very open about it except with my immediate friends. I always just called them "dad" or "mom." Who cared what species they were? Other mammals did. There would always be other mammals who questioned me, my family, my love interests. I had grown to know this throughout high school. I don't know why I was surprised at that moment, but it quickly turned into painful memory.

I bided my time until lunch, laying low and avoiding participating in class as best I could. At lunch, I met up with my parents, then I told mom that I was having cramps and had to leave. She offered to come with, but I refused. Once out of sight, I headed to the usual spot behind the school library to find Les. He was there alone with Jaide, no parents in sight.

"Hey Lyta." Les waved, seated comfortably on the bench next to Jaide. His legs were splayed out and his flannel shirt was tucked into his jeans.

"Hi. Jaide, uhh, I need to talk to Les for a minute…"

Jaide grinned. "If you two are seeing each other on the side, me and Kabirah will have to do the same."

Balking, I shook my head. "Jaide! Just give me a minute. It's not about anything like that."

Jaide nodded, getting up off the bench and coming to kiss me before departing around the corner.

I waited a few moments to make sure he wouldn't poke his head back around before I fished the note out of my backpack and handed it to Les.

"What's…" He paused as unfolded it open and read the first few lines. "You know I never thought she'd be the type to write a love letter."

"A what? From her?"

Les chuckled, rubbing the top of his hornless head. He had shed those recently. "Uh huh. Lyta, actually, I wanted to ask you something. Has Kabirah ever dated anyone else?"

"No."

"Throughout all of high school?"

"It's pretty much just been Kabirah, me, and Jaide. We're inseparable. Oh, and Simone sometimes too."

"Huh…" Processing the facts, Les spread his arms out over the back of the bench and looked up at the sky. It was so quiet in this spot; I wanted to sit down next to him, but fought the urge. What if Jaide was spying?

Finally, he continued. "I don't know why I'm dating her."

I sat down quickly, my voice hushed. "You aren't going to break up with her, are you? She'll take it out on me!"

Les laughed, his eyes scrunching up. "Hey, I wasn't done. Give me a chance here Lyta. I'm just saying, like… She's honorable. I've never met a girl like her. Like, she's always pushing mammals around, working out, showing off… It feels like I'm dating a male sometimes. Am I crazy?" His thoughts and his voice drifted off and we both sat there. He appeared to be wrestling with what he was going to say next.

"Am I gay, Lyta?"

I fought laughter hard. I was practically crying and biting the insides of my cheeks to keep from bursting out laughing.

"I-I don't think you're gay just because you like Kabirah, Les. Species are different. Really different. You're a deer. Maybe as an addax I know a bit more about that. But predators? Hyenas? Totally different." A sudden realization struck me, and I chose my words carefully. "Uhh… Les, um, did you happen to see that one sex ed video in class the other day?"

"The crappy 90s one with the rabbit?"

"Yeah. Remember the part where… um… I mean, do you know that Kabirah has…"

"Yeah?"

"It's called a pseudophallus. It's something all female hyenas have. It's-"

"She has a dick?"

Every muscle in my body screamed at me to exit the conversation as quickly as possible. I watched him closely, hyperaware of his body language though I didn't know all that much about deer. He was slouching a bit, his eyes lost in thought for seconds bleeding into a minute. Then his lips parted to speak.

"That's… kinda hot."

"What?!"

Laughing, Les replied, "I'm just screwing with you."

I leaned back.

"Look, she can have whatever she wants down there, I like her, and it doesn't matter at the end of the day."

"It… doesn't matter?"

I looked inwardly for the first time during the conversation, and found my thoughts went immediately to Jaide. I was so fond of him even though to most other mammals he looked like a girl. Was this the same thing? Were Les and I just open-minded mammals, or was it because we had grown up in Hyenahurst, surrounded by the culture? I knew for certain that I didn't care what Jaide had in his pants. He was so sweet and cute. How could I judge him for that? If he turned out to not be a boy somehow, we'd make it work.

"That's pretty cool of you, after all she's done to you." I continued.

"Remember, she paid for the damages."

"Yeah… Maybe she's pretty cool too."

We sat there, practically ruminating on our own words for several minutes before we heard light footsteps.

My hackles rose and I whipped my head around. Had someone heard our conversation?

It was Richard. The little dik-dik was springing along without a care in the world, right up to us like he knew we were there the whole time.

"Hey guys!"

Les broke into a goofy smile. "Hi, Richard. How're things going with Simone?"

I knew the answer already. Simone hadn't stopped texting me about it. It was 'blissful, like the birth of a star' she had said. After the dance that night they had been texting each other and hit it off even more. Simone was actually giddy when I talked to her about him face to face. Since I hadn't seen Richard in a week or so, I was eager to find out what he thought of her.

"Gotta thank Ms. Matchmaker here." Richard beamed, pointing his hoof at me. I sat down on the bench next to Les. "I mean, how could she know we would be such an amazing pair? She tutors me. She watches me shred at the skatepark – I mean, she brings a book, but still!"

He was stamping his hooves with excitement.

"I was a real bushdweller growing up, but now I've come out of my shell lately. I can tell Simone is a little shy, so I'm helping her with that, too. She's such a sweet girl, even if she doesn't always show it in obvious ways."

"That's great Rich!" I responded. I meant every word. Simone had me and the others as friends, but she always seemed a little… Off. I loved her to pieces, but I was sure that she needed someone special to help her more than I could.

"Hey! There she is!"

Shock. Like a garbage bag leaking suddenly on the way to the trash can, the Brunsons appeared from around the corner of the building, pointing and heading right toward us.

Elias approached first. His mane was taller than Yosef's, and he wore a designer hoodie over a t-shirt. In Sahara Square weather. I could tell them apart despite them being 'twins' because they looked as different as a warthog and a giraffe. Yosef was plump, losing whatever natural grace came from being a brown hyena, which wasn't much to begin with. He had Pucci shorts and a t-shirt with some stupid tough guy slogan on it.

I'm not sure which of them I hated more.

"Rich, take off. Get out of here." I muttered, taking a sidelong step in front of him.

"Lyta—"

I looked down at him, hurting for the forceful demeanor I was projecting. "Leave. Casually."

He seemed to understand, and took off without a word. I'd have to explain more later, but I thought everyone already knew about these two. Maybe Richard was just from a different crowd. A shorter crowd.

As Elias drew nearer, Les stood up, towering over all of us.

"Oh, hey, how's it going? Hey, so, when I shed my antlers – just did a few weeks ago, you know, it's the funniest thing – my hearing is gets a little funny for a while. Is that weird? So, let me clear this up: did you say, 'sorry for bothering you?'" Les asked, tilting his head slowly as he studied the two strands.

Elias stopped short, sneered, and looked Les over from the hooves up.

"Fuck off. Hey, prey. Haven't seen your owner in a while. Where's big and stupid hiding?"

"Hu- Kabirah?" It clicked, and I responded. "Dunno, but I see little and stupid right here."

Yosef snorted, tucking his head down and away from his brother's gaze.

I turned, heading back toward the quad proper, to a crowd. To my parents. "See ya, strands."

They followed after me for a time, but Les blocked them with a smile, putting himself between my exit and their pursuit. I looked over my shoulder one last time before turning the corner and finding my way back to the school. As the lunch bell rang, I headed toward my next class, eager to put yet another meeting with the Brunsons behind me.

That day, I decided to walk home with Jaide. I waved goodbye to my parents and kept my head down until I saw a familiar pattern of spots emerge from a herd of students desperate to escape the social snares of "bring your parents" day.

"Jaide! Hi! My parents drove home. I thought we'd walk like normal. Talk about today?"

Jaide pressed his slender shoulders against me and rubbed his mane under my chin. He had been so affectionate lately.

"Sure Lyta." He agreed, taking my paw as we began to walk toward the street. We went the back way today, to avoid the teeming crowds and the myriad of cars blocking our escape with their constant traffic. Parents would stand outside their cars for a full half hour talking to other parents they knew. It would be too difficult to navigate our way through that mess.

"What did you and Les talk about?" Jaide asked a little sheepishly, but still completely off the cuff.

It was a little surprising, but then, he had turned over that new leaf recently, hadn't he? I made a mental note of his forwardness, deciding I found it even more endearing.

But that didn't mean I was going to tell him every little thing that passed my lips, not even the spat with the Brunsons. "Sorry, Les; hoofers only." I teased, sing-song and carefree. He smirked in response as we passed down alleyways, sticking to the shade. The rays of the sun danced on our fur as we passed in and out of shadow. Life felt good, even with all we had been through. College felt attainable for all of us. We were all going to stay together, to stay friends. Jaide and I didn't have to break up next year. Things weren't perfect, but they were on the upswing.

I felt the wind leaving my stomach as a sharp punch doubled me over, leaving me gasping and bleating in surprise. My knees hit the ground and I heard Jaide yelp. The dark brown fur of two strandwolves stood out against the pale sandstone walls of the alley around us. Three strandwolves. Four? My glasses tumbled to the ground as someone hit me again.

"Fuck-ing hoofer. First you date prey, then we find out your mom is fucking a pred? How much more are you gonna take from us? Fuckin' gentrified ass hoofer." Elias Brunson spit on the ground next to me. His brother, Yosef, was hanging back. I couldn't see what was happening. "Tabitha was right, you do go this way sometimes."

My mind raced. Tabitha was that cheerleader, the cougar who hung around the Brunsons. We didn't run in the same circles, but after she dissed me at the party those weeks back, I knew I was at least on her radar. The idea that she was keeping tabs on our coming and going at school was unsettling to say the least. I didn't have time to try and remember whether I had seen her throughout the day. I had a Brunson breathing down my neck.

I coughed, then desperately sucked in air. "What?! Look around you, this is Zootopia. Mixed and-" Another blow and my breath caught in my throat. My stomach lurched and I thought I would puke. I heard Jaide scream behind me. The heat of the dawning summer felt more oppressive than ever. I could feel it buzzing in my ears. Was it my adrenaline? I tried to turn my head, and caught the briefest glimpse of Jaide. He was against a wall, with two brown shapes pushing against him. How many were there?

Was it true after all? The Brunsons really were in a gang, and we were going to have our asses kicked, provided they hadn't planned something else.

"Woah, you didn't say we'd hurt her!" Was that Clark's snorting voice?

A vast expanse of time seemed to click by with every second, and I was afraid to lift my neck for fear of another blow striking me. I curled up. I couldn't protect Jaide, and Jaide, brave as he had shown me he was, could never take on four strandwolves by himself. I gritted my teeth and prepared for the worst.

The worst showed up right on time.

I heard a yelp, not Jaide, and opened my eyes. The sandswept pavement was all I saw until I was bold enough to turn my head and look.

"Hey, hey! What the fuck is she doing here?!" One of the Brunson's gangbanger buddies shouted.

"Four against two? You assholes. Four against one is better!" Kabirah's cackle sounded, echoing as it bounced off the alley walls.

"Fuck this, I've got merchandise to move."

I saw a shadow movie, then the tail of one of the strandwolves as he ran away, disappearing like a drop of water in the Sahara summer. Everything was blurry. The other three seemed paralyzed by indecision. Another howling yelp – Jaide had done something. I whipped my head back down to the ground, feeling desperately for my glasses. Nothing. I looked up again, squinting to try and mitigate my poor vision.

There was Jaide, pulling at the mane of the strandwolf holding him, kicking at his legs to try and get him on the ground. His calm expression had twisted into a fearsome, snickering snarl, reddish drool dripping from his lips where he had been hit. Or was that just my imagination?

Why was I so helpless?

I heard Kabirah running forward, right for Elias. Yosef backed away at the same time, and when he heard a click, he ran as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. I think I hated Yosef a little less than Elias.

Still on my knees, I turned to Elias and Kabirah. Inches from my face, the nose of a taser crackled menacingly. The flash of Kabirah's teeth as she approached stuck in my mind. She was grinning and laughing under her breath. She must have been freaked out. It was hot; she was dressed in a pair of shorts and her wrestling jersey. The Hurst High emblem crossed over my vision.

While Elias fumbled with the device he was holding, Kabirah scooped him under the arm and wrapped her leg around his. She pitched him to the ground, and fell with him. But it wasn't a fall. It was a maneuver. Kabirah wasn't a slouch on the wrestling team, not by a long shot. With overwhelming strength, she pinned Elias. She wrapped her arms around his, twisted his hand as it held the taser until it clacked harmlessly to the ground. Elias groaned in pain as she planted her legs against his torso and bent his arm out of position.

I fumbled for my glasses one more time. "Finally!" left me in a whisper as I felt them and scrambled to put them on. They were dotted with grains of sand., scratched. I turned my head to see Jaide pushing the other standwolf away from him, both of them looking like they had taken a few hits.

"Call the cops hoofer!" Kabirah shouted, her muscles locking to keep Elias in place.

"We're in an alley, some guys jumped us!" I did. "Some of them ran away but this guy has a taser! He's a brown hyena." I listened to Kabirah. "We're right next to Oleander avenue, hurry!" And I was glad she was here.

I practically dropped my cellphone once I was done explaining where we were and what was happening. My stomach lurched again as I got up off my knees, head still throbbing, and rushed over to Jaide. I didn't look up. I tucked my head down instead, securing my neck in place. I had been called a hard-headed hoofer enough times, but I had never actually headbutted anything until now.

It felt pretty good.

It must have been his ribcage that I hit, and I was surprised that it didn't actually hurt my head all that badly to do so. My horns weren't fully grown in and twisted up like mom's, but I still had the same skull my ancestors had, and it must have been harder than I thought. The strand fell backwards, and I finally got a good look at him. I was panting, huffing, and began to hear sirens in the distance. This guy wasn't anyone I knew. He was older than us, probably in his twenties. An actual gang member?

"Nice of you to take time out of selling nip to jump my crew, bitch. And half your gang fucked off. You like that?" Kabirah asked, bending his arm further. Elias screamed, his free arm desperately pawing around for the taser. It had fallen too far away. It was kind of funny to watch, backed by the sound of Elias' last friend getting to his paws and running away with his tail tucked between his legs.

Jaide slumped against the sandstone wall of the alley. I could see now that really was bleeding, mostly about his lip where he had been hit.

"I bit my cheek…" He mumbled, a nervous giggle under his breath.

I knelt beside him, unsure of where to touch, not wanting to hurt him. My handkerchief was in my pocket, and I used it to dab at his lip.

"The cops are almost here Jaide, hang on…"

"Oh, it's not that bad, Lyta. Awesome headbutt." He smiled a meek little smile.

Two camel officers arrived as I sat there nursing Jaide's wounds. They had their dart pistols at the ready.

"Don't shoot her!" I shouted at them as they approached, gesturing to Kabirah. "She was holding him until you got here. Like, a citizen's arrest?"

The first camel, a female, tucked her pistol into a black belt on her navy-blue uniform. "Alright, come here." She commanded as she bent down over Elias with her wristcuffs.

"That's Elias Brunson. His brother Yosef ran off. They jumped us with two other guys. Both Strandwolves." I tried to give them everything I remember. "Jaide, did you see who those guys were?"

Jaide shook his head.

"Is he hurt? Hey, kid, you hurt?" The male officer leaned over Jaide, squinting his eyes.

"It's okay. Thanks officer." Jaide replied, putting on a brave face for the camel.

The other officer dragged Elias back to the squad car as he yelped and growled over his shoulder. "Fuck you Dabaehar!"

Kabirah waved from where she was seated on the ground. "No thanks – but do ya have Yosef's number?" Her laugh was the last thing he heard before the cop swung the door closed.

"We're going to need you all to make statements," the officer explained as she stomped back over to us, "hey, Darius, I'm gonna call in another car."

"And let me just ask one more time. How many mammals were there?" Officer Morelli, the female camel of the two, was leaning against her squad car. Another pair of cops had already come and taken Elias away.

"Four." I said confidently. "Four strandwolves. Elias and Yosef Brunson, and two of their friends."

"Actually…" Jaide cut in. He had a small patch of gauze on his lip that quivered when he spoke. "Three strandwolves. Lyta, Clark was with them. Your glasses fell off so I guess you didn't see…"

Clark. The boar who had been asking me out day and night all junior year. Maybe he was getting tired of my rebuffing him, my dating Jaide. Was he into this "no mixing" business? Did he think my family was gentrifying the neighborhood? He was an omnivore, who cared what he thought on the issue? Still, it was pretty disgusting to think that his involvement in this was because I wouldn't date him. It was bad enough the Brunsons liked to play turf war.

"Alright. Write down the names of the ones you know." Officer Morelli handed Jaide a pen and a notepad. Jaide scribbled hastily, still agitated. He only looked up when a white van with the ZNN logo parked in the street with a screech. The race for a scoop, I guess.

A bunny and a wolf scrambled out of the van, the bunny wielding a microphone and the wolf hefting a camera up onto his shoulder. They were both mid-20s. The bunny was pretty, big eyes and light brown fur, while the wolf was a scruffier sort. They jogged up to us, but stopped a few yards away. The bunny hopped in a half-circle to face the camera with us over her shoulder, and took a moment to smooth out the fur on her face. The wolf flashed a hand signal.

"Abigail Hopps here with ZNN Streetline. We're on the scene of the most recent eruption of gang violence in Hyenahurst, begging the question – what are police doing about crime on our streets?" She turned to the camel officer, who made a face and waved her hoof.

"Contact the public relations unit, sister." She droned.

Dissatisfied, Abigail turned to us. "Do you kids want to tell us what happened? Were you involved?" She noted the gauze on Jaide's lip.

"Uhhh… Y-yeah…" My eyes glazed over as the camera focused on us. The wolf rotated his paw for me to continue, but I was stifled by nerves.

"A couple guys jumped us in this alley." Jaide said, a natural in front of the camera.

"Pred or prey?"

"What does that matter?"

"Just curious, Miss."

Jaide rolled his eyes. "I'm a boy. They were preds okay?"

"And what happened?" Abigail insisted on getting every detail.

Jaide paused for a moment, surprised. He gestured over to Kabirah, who had been keeping to herself. Her back was pressed up against a sandstone wall, paws holding her elbows and head turned away.

"Well, they beat up on us for a while before my sister got here… She scared them away. Pinned one of them until the cops got here. She's on the wrestling team."

Abigail's eyes lit up and she scampered over to Kabirah. Her head tilted back as she looked up at her.

"How does it feel to be a neighborhood hero? Say hello to Zootopia!"

Kabirah turned to look at her, then caught sight of the camerawolf behind her.

"U-uh…" Her ears turned down and she looked at the ground. "What? Uh, hi…" The smile on her face was as timid as I had ever seen. "Can we stop now?" She asked, leaning down to whisper to the bunny.

Abigail turned back to the camera. "There you have it! A truly modest hero. We'll be sure to bring you any further developments on this story as it progresses. Be safe on those streets, mammals!" She held a practiced smile for a few seconds while the wolf's hand signals counted down. Then he made a cutting motion with his paw and lowered the camera.

"Hey, thanks for chatting with us kids. Means a lot. We'll be in touch if we need anything else… Here's my card. You can always call us." She walked back to Jaide and I and handed us each a card. Abigail Hopps, Streetline Division, ZNN.

"Thanks. Take care." I called after them as they headed back to their van. The wolf waved a paw over his shoulder, but Abigail actually turned around to wave goodbye. Nice girl.

The commotion was finally dying down. The news had left, and the police were getting into their cruisers after making sure the scene was safe. Jaide and I approached Kabirah. She was biting her lip.

"Oh, man, that was crazy. How many people do you think we watching? Ugh. Fuck, I feel sick." She chuckled awkwardly.

"Hey, Kabby… Thank you." Jaide threw his arms around her and pressed his forehead into her chest. At first, she was startled. Then she put her paw on the back of his neck.

"Only brother I got. Just lucky I got home early and got tired of waitin' for your ass. Thought I'd meetcha halfway."

I hesitated, and then I hugged her too. "Thanks."

Kabirah stiffened, eyes wide. Then she relaxed. "Aw, you woulda been fine. That hard hoofer head a yours? They're just lucky they could get away fast enough." Her voice was more tender than usual. She sounded like she did when she was reassuring Jaide after the car crash.

We held each other for a few moments before I was the one to break the embrace.

"It's almost five, my parents might be home soon. Guess we gotta go tell them what happened…"

"We should talk it over on the way back. Get our stories straight." Kabirah insisted.

"We didn't do anything wrong." Jaide seemed dismissive.

"Yeah, but you know Misses L Wears her bra pretty tight if you know what I mean."

"Um, that's my mom?"

"Yeah yeah. C'mon, I'm starvin'. Don't make me carry your asses home."