Dawn Bellwether stepped into the prisoner conference room, her cuffed and chained appendages slowly her movements. From behind a new pair of prison issued glasses, Dawn stared at the young skunk who scribbled in her notebook, pausing for a moment to adjust her own oversized spectacles. Grumbling, she sat in a chair across from her, and through her arm over the back of the seat. The skunk smiled as she turned her attention from her writing to the sheep. She waved at the polar bear door guard, who returned her gesture in kind, closing the door softly.

"Miss Bellwether, it's so good to see you again. I hope everything is going well." The skunk spoke eagerly as she placed her notebook down and readjusting her glasses on her nose again. "I was hoping maybe you'll tell me some more of your story."

Dawn squinted at the skunk, reading her visitor pass, then rolled her eyes. " Delilah, was it? You've been coming here every week for the past two months. Just tell that insane rabbit I'm behaving and quit bothering me." She crossed her arms turning her head away. "I'm just going to sit here and wait for them to put me out of my misery. I don't need her or her stupid scoundrel coming here and doing anything else to me."

Standing up, Delilah dug in her skirt pocket, withdrawing a small ring of keys. Kneeling, she loosened the ankle cuff on the bewildered sheep's leg. "I keep telling you, I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm really just a student, I can show you my college id again if you want. I swear it's real." Delilah pulled the cuff off one leg before undoing the latch of the second.

As the cuff was pulled free, Dawn studied the black and white hair of the skunk below her. Although her touch was soft on her legs, as well as her voice soft and kind, she couldn't shake distrust from her mind. "You think taking those off will make me give you full report? I'm not as gullible as you animals think I am. Stay away from me."

Delilah studied the sheep's accusatory face, then slid the cuffs and chains away. She checked the ring of keys for the set meant for the handcuffs. "I'm not trying to trick you. Just show you that I am being genuine. I'm sure we can work something out if you just open up a little to me. I promise I won't pry too much." She touched a small bruise on the sheep's lower left leg. "Wow, that's pretty bad. Do you want me to get you a few aspirin for..."

Delilah's words were cut short by Dawn wrapping her legs behind the skunk's neck, tightly tugging her against the ewe's crotch, cutting off her breath. "Oh yeah right. Like I'll believe that. Your mistake is thinking I'm just going to spill my guts so you can run and tell those freaks anything! You just tell Ju~dy that I didn't say anything and won't say anything."

The skunk struggled against the small sheep's thighs, slapping at her hips to get her to loosen the panicked grip depriving her of a deep breath. "Miss Bellwether, please! I don't know what you are talking about! I swear! I swear!"

Bellwether's eyes twitched angrily. "I already have a death sentence. I could snap your neck right now." She rose her arms and manipulated the chain around the skunk's neck to join her legs in their tight squeeze. "You want to know what she did to me so she can gloat with that dumb fox of hers? Tell her I'm not playing her game!"

Beginning to pass out, Delilah tried to fit her paw between the combined bind of the angered ewe's legs and the strong iron chain as it tightened painfully. Her voice screeched as she she pleaded wordlessly for mercy. "They didn't send me, no one sent me! Just here for my story. Let me go, please! Can't breath."

"Take this for your 'story', and tell her I remember what she did." Bellwether grunted, tightening her clutch on the chain and tensing her stomach. As a loud gust of foul air escaped her behind, she watched the skunk begin to go limp, her eyes watering and rolling back. Delilah's arms fell from the chain, drooping to her side. "Shit, I don't need this." Dawn released the skunk, letting her fall to the floor, gasping for air.

Delilah drew ragged breath, her head filled with Dawn's smell as her nostril hairs burned. She crawled towards the ring of keys at the sheep's hooves. As her paws clasped the ring, she rose her head, looking at the disgusted sheep who turned her lips up. "I'll-I'll take off the hoof cuffs now..." She weakly rose the keys, offering them to Dawn, a weak smile easing it's way on her fearful face.

Dawn rose her leg to kick the skunk, halting when she saw her tense in expectation of the hit. "Why do I keep meeting these freaks? One of those mammals who can't decide to be prey or pred now. You can sure pick your agents, bunny." She offered her arms to the skunk. "I'll play along, but not a word to the guards, and definitely not to either of those freaks. I don't need my execution date moved up, and I don't need them coming here and torturing me again."

Delilah's face glowed, and she snatched the sheep's hoof. "Really, you mean it?" She regained her composure, pulling the sheep to standing as she fidgeted with the key, fumbling to open the lock. "I'll just get my notebook, and we can get right into it! Woo, I can't wait. This paper's going to be great!"

Dawn turned her head, trying to make sense of the bubbly skunk who only moments ago was in a heap on the floor. "Just what is wrong with you? Do you like getting abused? Is that your 'thing'? Wait, did you like it when I farted in your face? Are you one of those mammals who like being choked?" She cringed at Delilah as the cuffs came off. Watching the skunk skip to her notebook, spin to sit, and quickly click her pen in and out, Dawn pinched the bridge of her nose under her glasses. "You're serious aren't you?"

"Oh, yes. Bee Tee Dubs, to answer your questions. Nothing, not really, I don't know what you mean by thing, I'm a skunk with a lot of brothers and sisters and my uncle is a honey badger so your little poot wasn't that bad, and I don't like being choked so if we can not do that again, that'd be great." Delilah put pen to paper, biting her tongue between her lips awaiting Dawn's words. "Also, those aspirin are still up for grabs! I've got baby aspirin too if your tummy is sour."

"Tummy is...? Okay, seriously?!" Dawn fell in her chair, rubbing her temples. "You do know I'm a death row prisoner right? I tried to take over all of Zootopia. I've injured animals, put together great plans that should've fixed this messed up society, almost took out two of the city's worst."

"Pssh, death row. Like you didn't know. Come on, give me the real story."

Dawn sighed her frustration. "Didn't know what?"

"Everyone knows that you got moved here because an officer of the ZPD requested it. And got your death sentence converted to life in the process. Got to admit, that's something to be impressed by. Was that planned? How'd you manage that?" Delilah began writing, turning her attention back to the notebook.

Dawn stared at the floor. "I.. I didn't." She tried to process the new information. "Wait, are you telling me that the bunny had me put here and didn't know?"
"Of course she had to know. It's common knowledge Tundratown doesn't have a death penalty. It was all in the dossier. You got put in the protective cell block and everything at her request. Like, wow. But enough of me talking, you said you'd talk to me. I really want to get a good grade on this, so make it juicy." Delilah turned the page of her notebook, fixing her glasses again.

Dawn covered her mouth, then clear her throat. Something in her chest quivered. "I can't believe after all of that..." She tried to hold back a hiccup, raising her hoof to her cheek to stop a single tear from falling. "Damn it, she hustled me again."

"Excuse me?"

"That freak... I mean she... Judy... put me here so I'd have to live with knowing she beat me. Stupid bunny showed me mercy. I'll never understand any of those lunatics." Dawn shook her head. "Fine, if that's how we are playing it. Delilah. I'll give you a story. Let me tell you how I ended up here. Now some of this doesn't go on paper, it's going to be pretty bad. But what will happen to the both of us if it ever gets out will be much much worse. You don't want to mess with foxes and bunnies. Let me preface this with that. You'll lose a lot more than you'd think."

"Ma'am?"

Dawn crossed her legs, then closed her eyes. "It all started back in Zootopia..."