Chapter 2
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An: This chapter includes some big shout outs to some other fanfictions by some awesome people. Which ones? Well, you'll soon find out!
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Woodland Grove High happened to be one of the more reputable schools in Zootopia. Maybe not the creme de la creme, but not one that any reasonable mammal would disparage. It served a northern segment of Savannah Central, alongside most of the hinterland between that district and the rainforest. Bordering said area, it had access to extensive playing fields, and happened to have a variety of well performing sports teams, the Whackbatt one chief among them. It was here that Ash Fox had been learning for close to three years, and Kris Silverfox for the best part of one.
Both of them entered their form room together, joining a bunch of other mammals who'd already arrived. Looking around, Ash spotted that the usual table that he sat at was free and quickly made his way over, Kris in tow. The room itself was a science lab, large, spacious, light and airy, and the pair sat down on a round table with gas taps and plugs set in the centre console. Adjusting their stools, both so they could get on in the first place and then so that they could reach the table, they looked at each other and nodded.
They had ten minutes.
Time for some very important discussions.
Ash emptied a folder out of his bag first, before pulling out some mind maps and rough sketches. Most of them featured little cartoons or basic abbreviations that would only be recognisable to those familiar with the pair's published comic.
Two of those mammals was just arriving.
"Working on the grand finale?" one of them asked. A wolf, Remmy Packson. He jumped up straight onto his stool, letting it spin around a bit.
"The bit before the grand finale," Ash clarified, rather proudly. "Which is even more important."
"No it's not," the other new arrival, Remmy's brother Remus, interrupted. "The big finale is the bit where everything goes nuts! Where we finally get the big battle!"
Remmy agreed. "You two get to do another of your big fight scenes," he said, relaxing back a bit. "And you know how awesome they are."
"We haven't got to this fight scene yet," Kris noted, looking over his notes. "I had a few ideas though, about how it could play out. How it could go down." He paused, smiling. "I was reading this translated book of eastern legends a while back, and a few of them gave me ideas which could be unique. Some fit quite nicely with what we've set up."
"Cool", another voice added. The four predators looked over to see three other mammals moving over. One was a Scottish wildcat, Mitch Dewclaw; one was a sheep, Maisy Calrama, and the last was a wombat, Jenny Bourke. It had been Jenny who spoke, and she leaned over and looked in, only for Ash to protectively gather up his notes. "No spoilers," he warned, before Jenny backed off.
"Yeah," Mitch said, chuckling as he looked over. "I don't want to know what happens to my character."
"Speak for yourself," Maisy replied, giving the small feline a dismissive pat on the head, eliciting a growl.
Kris looked at both and shrugged. "To be honest, we're still working out the details," he replied. It was a half-truth. Ash would often shoot out bold ideas, some hitting, some not, while Kris came up with the longer and deeper context. They'd work together to fuse their ideas and bring something about from it. They had many potential plans for the finale, which was still a few months away from the hand in date for the magazine they published to. They just needed to mash it all together, the aim of today's work.
"Listen, my character is going to be fine," Mitch assuaged. "At the end of the story, he'll fight on the side of the hero association, for truth and justice, no matter what!"
Ash gave Kris a look, and Kris gave Ash one. This would be good. They'd included various characters based off or conceived by their friends. Come the ending, there'd be a 'little bit' of a disagreement, and the wildcat had just confirmed which side he'd be on.
"How do you know your character will be okay?" Maisy queried.
"He just will be," Mitch boasted, before turning to the two foxes. "Anyway, you'd better get going with that finale."
"Pre-finale," Ash clarified.
"Right. Whatever. Get that done so we can get to the good bit!"
Ash's ears went back a bit. "I'll spend my time on it. I think I prefer the bits before and after the big fight to the big fight."
"But why?"
The red fox shrugged. "You get everything winding up beforehand, all while waiting for it to get going. Then you get everyone picking up the pieces after. I like seeing those bits."
"Which was why I was thinking," Kris began, holding his paw up as he spoke to his cousin. "We try a tragic structure for the finale arc."
"Tragic structure?"
Kris nodded. "It's…" He began, about to describe it as the plot structure Sheepshear used for many of his works, such as Romeo and Juliet, and which would allow the things Ash liked to be fully integrated, only to be interrupted by a smooth yet arrogant voice.
"The perfect description of you. Isn't it, eyelashes!"
Ash's ears folded down, and he turned to glance at a thick set woodchuck who'd just arrived. "Shut up, Beavis," he scolded, turning back to the table and hoping he'd go away.
He didn't.
"Oh boo-hoo," he mocked, paws on his hip. "That crying is just your oestrogen shot talking."
Kris looked at him harshly. "That doesn't even make any sense."
"Yes it does! He's a girly wimp, and he's finally decided to turn into one, but the girly stuff he sticks in himself is making him moody like a girl! Isn't that right, eyelashes?"
The red fox in question closed his eyes, breathed in, and slowly let it out through his nose. He held his index finger claws against his thumb pad, just as Kris had taught him, and tried to let it all go over his head.
"Didn't you hear? Or is it your…"
He was cut off as a red paw touched onto his shoulder, making him pause. There were six preds in this form: the two fox cousins, a third fox, the two wolf brothers and Mitch. There was also the prefect, a certain red fox in her last year who helped out with this form, and she was not happy.
"Uh… -Hi Brittany… I totally wasn't insulting foxes."
"What about a fox, singular?" Kris asked.
"Uhhh… Arguably, Ash isn't…"
"Gah…" the older vixen cursed slightly, as she glared at him. "Just leave him alone. It's not funny." He nodded, before walking off, Brittany still glaring at him. "Grrrrrr…. He needs to be taught a lesson," she muttered, her ears going down as she saw the form tutor arrive. "Maybe it would have been better to wait just a bit, and…"
"No worries," Ash replied, looking at her and smiling a bit. While they were both red foxes, they both had odd things going on with their fur. He had his eye markings and she had flowing blonde hair. It was an odd, unspoken and undiscussed, kinship, but he felt it.
"Thanks," she sighed, before glancing back at him. "But I'd love to catch that jerk red pawed." She paused, and then looked over at the pair. "How's the comic going?"
"Very well thanks," Kris replied. "You'll be having a good go in the finale."
"Sounds awesome," she replied, a big grin on her face. "My sister loves it when the comic comes in," she chuckled. "Loves that her big sister is a superhero. Takes the comics to show and tell and everything!"
"Happy to know she's a fan," Kris replied.
"Nice," Ash added.
Brittany nodded, before pausing. "You're all here, I better get going," she said, before heading off to count off another table.
They didn't have much time left, so Kris and Ash packed up, ready to head off to their first lesson. "I'd never take a hormone shot," the latter grumbled, before shivering. "-hate needles…" As they finished up, their form tutor spoke up.
"We'll be having a full school assembly in the fourth period," he said, the students pausing, looking at him in confusion. "I'm not at liberty to say what it's about yet, but form period will be present as usual after, and it'll be open for any discussions you want about the topic in question."
The mammals at the tables looked at each other in confusion, various rumours spinning around about what it might be for. Neither Ash or Kris knew, and they didn't have a chance to discuss as they went off to their separate maths lessons.
They could only wonder.
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Kris found himself in math's set one. The highest of the five streams, and one of the two that taught advanced maths. He enjoyed the lesson, given that most things came rather easily to him. Instructions were being given on quadratic equations, in particular the route of the square method. Described in detail, he understood it well enough, and was soon given a list of formulas up on the board to work through. Pencil to paper, they fell one after the other and, by the end of the lesson all were done with some time to spare. He thought, briefly, about asking for their homework assignment early, so that he might make a start.
He decided against it though.
No-one else would ask, and it felt quite odd to do so, so he set his pencil down and relaxed.
Waited.
Calmly let the last few minutes tick away as the teacher finished taking questions and then handed out answers. He'd made a silly error on one question, but no biggy.
Soon, the class winded down, the teacher handed out some textbook questions as homework, and off Kris went.
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Ash, meanwhile, worked hard through his maths lesson. He was near the top of the class, which he enjoyed, though he was only in set three. That meant he was one of the highest students in his year who didn't do advanced maths. He'd started the year in set two, which did do the extra work, but it had been a bit too much for him.
Regardless, he preferred being a big fish in a small pond, and it wasn't as if he'd actually use differentiation and all that stuff taught higher up.
On that day in particular, he was studying some exercises with compasses. Using them to help with geometric shapes, such as letting him draw a perfectly perpendicular line through another, or finding the centre of a triangle.
It was a fun lesson, though the teacher confessed as much, saying that it was a highlight of the curriculum.
There was also some feedback on some previous homework. Algebra equations.
He'd found them a bit challenging, with some he'd ended up guessing at after skipping around this way and that. But he'd managed them eventually, and found to his pleasant surprise that he'd got fifteen out of twenty.
Not too bad.
He'd then left that lesson for the next. Rather than the full hour, it would just be thirty minutes, and he wondered again what this sudden assembly could be for. Often, with the whole school ones, given on Mondays and Fridays, he got the sense that the staff struggled to find something to fill the time, yet now they had something big.
This whole thing was very strange.
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Religious studies was still taken with the whole form group together, so Kris and Ash found themselves sitting together again. They also happened to have the third and final fox in their class on their table too.
"Morning Agnes," Kris said, smiling as the pretty spotted vixen sat down next to him. Her fur was a light, dusty, almost straw like orange, and fawn like spots dappled the bridge of her muzzle.
"Morning Kris", she replied back, greeting him with a smile as she turned to him. She paused, looking past the silver fox, to the vulpine on his other side. "Hi Ash."
"Hi," he replied back, slightly coldly. He wasn't uncivil to her, they'd worked together on school projects recently, but still… He'd always felt a bit salty, no matter how many other times mammals brought out the 'you're better off without her' line.
Her ears folded back a bit and she looked back to Kris, who smiled. She smiled back.
Ash ignored them, bringing out his book as he got ready for the next lesson, only for his chair to jolt slightly as a mammal sat next to him, completing the row of four. Looking over, he groaned as he saw the new arrival.
"Enjoying the love birds?" Beavis asked, a happy look on his face as he ribbed Ash slightly. The red fox closed his eyes, tilting his muzzle open as he took in a deep breath. "-Enjoying the sound of love in the air…"
"At least a mammal happily dated me once upon a time," he muttered, before glaring at the chipmunk. "That's a better record than you have."
Beavis paused for a second, before his face winced up into a rage and his paw darted for his ruler, only to freeze as the door opened. The teacher had arrived and everyone, even Beavis, knew not to mess with him. There was the fact that he was an African Elephant bull to start with, the deputy head second, but what really sold it was his presence. You felt it when he was in a room, and any thought of mischief was always second guessed. He was an old school teacher, with old school lessons and an old school attitude to troublemakers. Something that Ash felt very grateful for indeed.
The class stood up for him, before sitting down again as he gave them a quick nod. His trunk pulled out a table projector and a large pack of acetate sheets, each carefully detailed with artwork. He looked to the class and spoke. "Given the change in routine today, I'll be rushing through this lesson. No discussions. Questions and answers will be brief. Make notes. Pay attention."
A number of mammals in the class nodded, while all of them prepped their pens to note down details. The teacher meanwhile pulled out one of the sheets and placed it on the projector. The artwork was painted onto the whiteboard, with a variety of different components being shown. He cleared his throat before speaking.
"We've been following the spread of Islamb so far, including the taking of the holy lands in the crusades. The big prize after this though was Constantinople. Not a religious target, as the holy land was, but rather one of pure strategic, status and wealth value." He paused, checking that notes were being taken, before carrying on. "Much resistance came to their northward expansion though. From the crusaders, from the Byzantine Empire, alongside a small and notable people. A specific race of hares."
His trunk reached out and pointed at a set of sandstone rock spires, drawn onto the bottom of the projection, and with intricate buildings built in. "During my travels in Pawasian minor, I spent a while in Cappadocia. It's a region near impenetrable to attackers, criss-crossed with sharp sandstone spires and mazes of valleys. Houses are built into the rock, and the mammals live simple lives as herders, farmers and tradesmammals." There was a pause, as he then pointed to a drawn picture of a group of hares in armour. "I also encountered many Owsla brigades," he stated. "The standard encounter would see a group of these hares, about half a dozen usually, come up to me, ask me a few questions about what I was doing, and then send me on my way. It was quite worrying at first, being accosted by a group of kilted bunnies with assault rifles, and having them grill me quite severely. Never aggressively though. But very cautious, very wary, and, in discipline, very marshal."
Ash kept on taking notes, not sure where this was going. Looking down, his brow furrowed as he saw that, as his paw travelled across the words he'd just written, they were smudging the ink. One of his ears gave an irritated flick, and he moved said paw down, to try and stop it from carrying on.
"-These were the Efrafan hares," the teacher continued. "And, long before the development of modern recoilless rifles, they were proof that well equipped small mammals could match larger ones in combat. They were bred as a warrior slave race thousands of years ago, before rebelling and becoming their own people under Woundwort the first, back in the time of Alexander the Great. A warrior race, ex-slaves, it is therefore understandable that they have a lingering caution about outsiders."
He paused, checking that notes were being taken, before carrying on. "While closely allied with the Byzantine empire, they had free reign to pursue their own faith. This is the subject for today, though we'll only go into it briefly. The same way we covered Shinto during our talk on Buddhism. The Lapine faith, split between the Efrafans and the Lapino's, is likely one of the oldest ones still present. Kept alive by the warrior culture of the original people, though embraced to a greater extent by the Lapino breakaway group. Most importantly, it has no connection to the 'Shepherd' faiths. No link to Abraham, Isaac or Ishmael, or the holy city."
He moved his trunk, pointing at a sun up at the top of the projection. "Like many old religions, they believe in a sun god. Although, in reality, describing their lord as such is a gross simplification. They call him Frith, which does translate to and shares the same name as the sun. Imagery depicting him usually just depicts him as the sun as well, and there is no other visual representation. If you remember the representations of the Christian god as a burning bush, then you have an idea as to the relationship. They are monotheistic as such and, while they don't have a prophet, they have an origin story for the world."
Ash looked up, as the teacher's trunk pointed to a drawn cave drawing of a running rabbit. Just a shadow, or silhouette, but ragged and fast even so. A glance over, and he rolled his eyes, seeing that Kris was sketching down the images as well, able to do reasonable copies even in a rush. A glance the other way showed Beavis doing a crude cartoon of a dead bunny, annotated with the words 'dumb.'
"In my travels," the teacher continued, gesturing back to the drawings, "I remember that a bell and a scream would often go off. The hares would run for cover and, as is natural," he carried on, a smile on his face. "I thought it was a good idea to seek it too." He paused, going over to a whiteboard and drawing a crude elephant. "There was a problem though, in that the largest residences tended to be for camels." He drew a camel sized house and pointed to it and himself, noting the slight geometry issue. There were a couple of chuckles from the class, before he grabbed his pen again. "Another problem was that, even if I did squeeze in, the place was already taken." He then drew a whole bunch of bunny figures inside the house, drawing new chuckles. "Though even getting there was an issue." He then drew a whole bunch of bunnies crowding around himself, bringing more laughter. "I got used to it after the third time…"
Ash cackled out, trying to stifle his laugh. He recovered, as did everyone else, as the lecture continued.
"That bell was a warning signal for non-sentient birds of prey or reptiles," he explained. "In the past, there were also the conquering armies, and, before that, the savage mammalian predators of the ancient ages." Ash ignored a heavy nudge from Beavis, and carried on listening. "The world was dangerous for them, so it fitted into their origin story," he explained, walking back to his projection and pointing at the rabbit drawing again. "El-ahrairah, prince of a thousand enemies. If you remember the Garden of Eden story, mammal-kind lived in bliss before they ate the apple of truth, becoming aware of their and the worlds true nature. In the Efrafan stories, the prince ignored Frith's requests to stop siring so many offspring, and in return leant the mammals and animals of the world the means to hunt and kill them." There was a pause. "In return though, the prince gained foresight, and swift legs and keen ears to detect and run from prey. Suffice to say with the Efrafans, they turned that advice on its head."
A map was included, showing Pawasia Minor, and the teacher gestured to Byzantium, up in the top left. "The church was a master at bringing smaller religions into its fold. Unlike with Hinduism where your god, including Christ himself when St Thomas preached on the sub-continent, became a god themselves, or at least an aspect of the true god, the church incorporated older pagan gods as patron saints. There is no saint El-ahrairah. The Efrafans fought off invaders from north and south and, to this day, have one of the largest of the last remaining species specific religions. Their safety was forever granted after their forces assisted the old empire against the joint Ottoman and Cossack invasion. According to stories and history, a young Efrafan Ostrich herder proved decisive in forcing the great Horse Lord Gabrielli the Thunderer to turn back."
There was a pause.
A glance up at the time. Not long left.
"There is a notable difference between the two branches of the faith, Lapino and Efrafan" he continued. "Both believe in an angel of death in the form of a black rabbit. 'Inle-Ra'. Who takes the dead forwards to the next life. In Lapino communities, he or she is the only agent of this. The more martial Efrafan's though believe in something else." He turned back to his drawings on the board.
"As I said, wild predatory birds are still a blight. More so in past times when arrows were less common than modern guns are today. Many older religions included a demon in the form of a predatory bird. A hawk. An owl. A falcon or buzzard. Many traditional faiths, on the islands of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, the Kurils and the Aleutians especially, still include such a creature as the core part of their stories. Similarly, on our continent, many tribes, especially those further west, believe in malicious bird-like spirits in a variety of forms. For instance, the Ursine Wabanki tribe consider owls bad omens. Most faiths did at some point, though it's faded as did the danger.
In Efrafa, they have Keehar, a silent bird of prey, said to have terrible glowing eyes, who'd pick up unworthy, dishonourable and cowardly souls in his talons. On my journeys, particularly foul mammals would often have a curse whispered at them. 'May Kehaar take you'. It is said that the terrible king, Woundwort the fifth, was preyed upon by Kehaar. In the legends, an agent of El-ahrairah, remembered only as 'the barrel maker', used his wiles to take the king's fortune with naught but his crooked herding staff. Kehaar, with his terrible eyes, was seen following."
There was a pause, as the teacher brought out a new acetate. Placing it down, an open top tower was revealed, once more drawn in. "Woundwort did fall into ruin. There was a civil war after, followed by a golden age led by Hazel-rah the great. We haven't covered Zooastrianism, indeed there are innumerable species specific legends we'll also never be able to do, for instance the vulpine legend of the nameless fox and firekeeping. But followers of that old faith don't bury or burn their dead. They perform sky burial," he said, pointing at the tower. "Birds pick the bodies clean, including wild vultures. I'm sure you're aware of the tamed versions, which some small mammals fly, albeit far less than tamed geese or swan. Vultures are huge creatures, evolved as the ultimate scavengers, something that almost led to their extinction when we evolved and started funeral rites. Indeed, it's one of the few cases where there are more sentient birds of this type than non-sentient. In any case, these towers support much of the remaining wild population, and aren't that far away from Efrafa." He paused, looking at the class. "They're bigger than anything the Efrafans might have seen and maybe they learned about that civil war. It was probably rather beneficial for them."
He paused, checking the clock.
"Class dismissed. We have the assembly, so everyone into the sports hall."
The quiet room erupted into a cacophony of noise as bags were packed and chairs shifted. Ash had a slight shock when he remembered just who he'd been sat next to, given the relative lack of him being a nuisance. Or sniffing powdered candy…
Still, he thought it best to go with Kris and Agnes. His curiosity was reignited once again about just what this assembly was about.
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Kris and Agnes walked together as they crossed the playing area to get to the sports hall. It was a nice day, and he enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his skin, and the touch of her paw in his.
"I hope it won't be something bad," she said idly, as they joined the queue to enter. Kris looked at her and held her paw just a bit tighter. He'd have liked to have said that it wouldn't be, but he had the feeling that it would be. So, instead, he said something different.
"Whatever it is, we'll be okay."
"Sure?"
"Probably," he replied, mulling over his words a little. "But rest assured, I feel pretty confident."
They quietened down as they entered their spots in the hall and sat down. Agnes was by his side, holding his paw, while Ash sat on his other one, sans contact. The rest of the school filed in, a low din of chatter and feet on the floor ringing out, until everyone was seated. The chatter carried on for a moment or two until the headmistress, a bespectacled springbok, walked up to the podium, the student body quietening down to a stifling silence.
"Good morning," she said, clearing her throat slightly. "I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here, and what is the cause of this unusual change in routine." There was a pause. A sad look down. A sigh. "I want to stress first and foremost that no-one is at risk at the moment and, ideally, no-one ever will be. Still, as is the policy of not only this school but the city government, we must all be prepared for that eventuality. All schools will currently be having briefings about this, before the news breaks to the public at large… It was done this way so you could prepare yourselves for news which, I have no doubt, will cause a lot of worry for many."
Kris looked to the two mammals at his side, both of them glancing at him as if for help or clarification. Ash gave a confused shrug, evidently as perplexed by this beating about the bush as Kris was. The silver fox just looked back to the front, the two others alongside him, as the headmistress carried on. Her voice was unsteady, filled with trepidation, as if trying to feel its way safely across thin ice.
"Yesterday morning, a team of ZPD mammals discovered that a large number of items were switched with fakes, the real ones stolen. The items… taken… were the bulbs to the plant that the Nighthowler serum is created from."
A collective gasp rung around the room, heads turning to face each other with worried looks. Kris felt a stinging jab of pain, his teeth gritting slightly in response, and, looking down at Agnes, he saw her clasping his paw with a vice like grip, as if holding on for dear life. Her mouth was open and trembling, and she choked back a sob, and then another.
Others were unable to do so. Kris heard cries, and tears, and mammals just breaking down. Glancing behind him, he saw Brittany, her teeth bared and her paw pinching the bridge of her muzzle, kick her heel into the ground a few times in anger.
Ash, sitting next to him, had his head bent down and his eyes closed. His body trembled as he took in the odd steadying breath. Kris could recognise the calming technique that he'd taught his older cousin, and he saw it playing out in front of him, just about holding the red fox together.
He wasn't sure if he should comfort him or just leave him be.
To be honest, he didn't know what to think.
Naturally, he'd heard about the Night Howler Crisis. He and his father had looked on with worried eyes at what was happening in the city on the other side of the continent, discussing just what it might be or how best to respond. They'd discussed different diseases, or whether it might have been some new chemical in the environment. After some debate, they'd decided that it was most likely some new contaminant in a pred-only food source. Then, just as quickly as it had started, the whole thing was revealed as a terrible conspiracy against predators.
He'd been concerned, certainly.
Had Ash's family chosen to, they would have been able to move over and stay with them, instead of the reverse occurring not that long after.
But…
But it had always been a distant thing of interest and, even now, that's what it felt like.
He wasn't appearing calm as he was holding it in, or keeping himself under control, but because he was calm. He didn't fear these Night Howlers. If anything, to him, the whole affair with the assembly seemed terribly overblown…
-Yet mammals around him, who'd actually lived through it all, were crying, or breaking up, or shocked or scared or just trying to keep it all together. Agnes had her head in her paws, sniffing as the odd tear dripped down between her fingers and, after checking to confirm that Ash seemed okay, he moved over to nudge up against her. "Don't worry," he told her. "We'll get through this. It'll all be okay… It'll all be fine. Just close your eyes… Deep breath… Calm…"
She followed his instructions and her panic slowly subsided. Many other mammals were going through the same thing, the teachers waiting for them all to take in the news. Finally, as everything calmed down, the headmistress began speaking again.
"What we went through two years ago was tough on each and every one one of us," she said, looking around. "However, there is no doubt that it affected the predator population worst of all. I can see from here that many of those who are most afraid are members of said type and, thus, I wish to reassure you. This is not like last time. Many of us fell into the trap of making it harder for you all, manipulated by fear but ultimately culpable. The usage of these stolen plants is, as of yet, undetermined. If it is to be used for regressing mammals to savages, then we must be aware that it may be predator, prey, or both who are targeted. Any predator specific insults or bullying, or for that matter similar actions against our sheep students, will not be tolerated."
There was a pause. She adjusted her glasses. She carried on.
"We will have to be vigilant though. In this assembly, we'll be going over updated savage mammal procedures, with drills scheduled for the near future. For the rest of this assembly we'll be covering what to do, how to act, how to stay safe. Afterwards, we'll have form period in which you can ask questions and seek advice. Thank you."
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Kris watched on as the rest of the assembly progressed. Apparently, under Dawn Bellwether, all schools had been fitted with a secondary alarm system for savage predators. Linked to the police HQ, green alarms had been deployed, a picture of a red eyed wolf baring teeth on each. All part of her plan. After the truth was revealed, the offensive illustrations were naturally removed, the alarms were powered down, and the police link cut. However, the alarm systems and their sirens stayed in place. They had been deemed cheaper to leave in-situ and potentially useful in the future. Something that had turned out to be sadly true.
Kris also learned about the savage mammal drill. Paws around your neck, look around to identify if your room was safe, if so barricade yourself in and if not run. The teacher should be able to hold him or her back, before trapping them inside a room, all while you found your own ones. If they turned in the open or broke out, then split up. Better one mammal fall alone than many die together. If being chased, find the toilets and lock yourself in.
There was advice on, if caught by a savage, how to defend yourself. Aim for the eyes. Aim for the nether regions. Get a paw around the arms if you could, same for the mouth. Hold tight and scream 'HELP'. Remember that your attacker is a victim, who can be cured, but if it comes to it it's better them than you.
It was all cold, clinical, and Kris sat through it all. The assembly was then over, and they all walked out in silence.
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Back into their form room, and the same fear and silence still remained. Their tutor stated that he was ready to take some questions and give advice, a noticeable look given over to the 'predator table'. Its residents paid little care to the invitation, instead just sticking with each other. They were preds, he was prey, and there was an unspoken agreement that he just wouldn't be able to quite get it.
Instead, it was Brittany who came over, sitting down and looking over the group. "You guys hanging up alright?"
"No…" Agnes choked out, bending down and shaking her head. "I… I… I thought it was over!"
"It's not like last time," one of the Packson brothers stated loudly, the other one nodding in agreement.
"For all we know it's gonna be preds turning sheep savage this time," Mitch tried to joke, though only he laughed.
"I think elephants," Ash noted. He was looking down at his paws, his fingers fussing about, the odd one stroking across his sweat bands here and there.
…
"-What!?" he suddenly asked, a sudden anger in his voice. "Can any of you think of anything worse than a savage elephant!?"
"Woah," Brittany replied, backing off a bit, her paws up. She looked down to the side, a little chuckle popping out of her mouth. "We're all a bit wound up and all…"
They all sighed and nodded, bar one. Brittany looked at him and paused. "You doing okay there, Kris?"
"Yes. Just fine," he said with a shrug.
The prefect paused, a hint of worry creeping into her voice. "Are you absolutely sure about…"
"-He is," Ash butted in, his tail giving a little irritated flick while one of his ears twitched about. "He just said so."
The silver fox nodded, before giving a shrug. "I lived two countries away when the first scare happened. Honestly, I don't feel any of this stuff. It all seems odd to me, like everyone is overreacting or going crazy, and I'm just fine."
"Oh, I…" Brittany began, before nodding. "Well, if any of you want to talk…" She put her paw up, nodded, before leaving the table. As she did so, Mitch almost immediately turned to Kris.
"I should have known that that was why you were so calm."
"I thought it was just normal Kris," Remus joked.
"If Mr Calm is worried, then you know you're in deep cuss," Remmy added, bringing a welcome chuckle to the group. There was a pause, and then the silver fox spoke out.
"Was it really that bad?"
…
"That drill," Agnes began, pausing to sniff. "It was originally just about how to deal with savage preds… If the alarm went off, all of us preds had to go into a corner of the room, away from the prey mammals. We… We had to lie on our backs on the floor… So if one of us turned, they… -they could deal with us…"
She trailed off into a set of sniffs, Kris going over to hold her tight. She held him back, as Ash spoke up. Tears had formed in his eyes too, and though he didn't cry, instead just sitting there and staring ahead, his voice was tinged with sadness. "I kept on thinking. Could this be the day it happened here? Could it be me? You know…" he began, before turning down to rub both his sweatbands hard. "-I was scared by the end… Cussing scared, that it'd happen, and I'd…"
"I think there were two schools where a mammal was turned," Remus said. "One was a teacher, one was a student. Both were restrained quickly, but…"
…
Ash shook his head, a thin growl escaping. "They wanted to bring fox-rep into the schools. Each teacher having some! Tasers too! Beavis kept on boasting how all preds, 'and Ash', should be nuzz… -muzzled…. And be put in chains, and how he should get his own fox rep or bear spray or 'racoon B-gone' or whichever dumbcuss jerk spray they wanted. Kept on telling me, he'd see if it would burn my 'eyelashes' off…"
Ash trailed off, then turned to Brittany.
"I got called out, some friend groups dumped me," she said. She'd returned without any of them noticing and she wasn't happy, her tail swishing behind her with an angry vigour. "My Dad was so scared by the end he was starting to hoard food. Got us all some spray too, 'just in case'." There was a pause, as a growl grew inside her, her face wincing up. "-Gah! That stupid, speciesist… dumb… -short-runt sheep!" she almost shouted. "I hate her."
"I really don't like her either," Ash grumbled, gaining a chorus of agreements all around. "-And now some absolute cuss of a mammal has to go and put us through it all again."
"I know," Brittany agreed. "I hope he slips up and savages himself!"
Her tail swished around a few times in irritation, before she glanced at the clock. "Almost break. I… I think I'll be in the library. So go there if anyone, you know…"
"Thanks," Mitch said, the others following. She left, and the group were alone again. Kris, who'd been silent throughout, just thought about what he'd heard. The fear, the self-doubt, the rage afterwards. He hadn't been here for the Night Howler Crisis, and though he understood now how much it meant to these mammals, he also knew that he couldn't ever understand what it was like. How it felt to be a mammal living that kind of life, rather than one who studied the whole thing from afar. He was calm and relaxed as normal, he knew that he was still safe and would be fine and happy. However, he also now knew that he was lucky.
He sighed. "Well, I guess thanks for the heads up on all of that. I'll try to be there for you, as much as I can."
There was a little laugh from Ash, but then he and the others nodded. It was time to leave for break, so they all stood up to leave, the red fox grabbing his things and waving at his cousin to join him. Kris came, and immediately spoke. "You okay?"
"Fine," he said, rubbing one of his wrist bands as he did so.
Kris glanced down at it and was about to speak, only to stop himself. "Good to hear, though I'm fine listening to whatever you want to say. Want to work on the comic some more?"
He nodded, and they set out together, only for the silver fox to get a light tap on his shoulder.
Agnes.
"Actually," she began. "-Could you give me a paw with some of my maths?"
Kris paused. Like him, she did the advanced maths, though she was lower down in set two. He wanted to help, maybe be there for her if she needed some help. Then again, the same could be said for his cousin, who he'd agreed to be with first. He glanced back at Ash, and found his answer as he rolled his eyes and waved his paw at them, signalling for them to go.
"Thanks," he said. "We'll carry on work after lunch. Sounds good?"
"Sure, whatever," Ash replied, waving them away a bit more vigorously. The pair left for the library, while the smaller tod made his own way out. He felt a bit irritated, and a whole load of more complex things if asked about the whole night howler thing. Then again, he told himself as he looked down at his wrists, life was good.
He would get through this.
In any case, he remembered, a grin growing on his muzzle, he knew the awesome mammals who helped end crisis number one on a first name basis.
Everything really was going to be just fine.
He knew it.
.
.
AN: You may have noticed some obvious referencing in that last chapter. The whole lesson on the faith of Frith is inspired by Ubernoner's awesome Sons of Efrafa series. Go check it out. A little easter egg was also put in, referencing Ubermunchkin's Strength of a Bear, also set in the SOE AU.
And, of course, I couldn't not make a reference to Variable Mammals/ Kittah's Fic Familiar Fire, and my fan sequel to it, where Brittany is the main character. Before you ask, the boys aren't writing Fam Fire! They're doing something completely different.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I put a lot of work into them, so dropping a comment (even a little one) is always super appreciated and puts a big smile on my face. Thanks, and looking forwards to next time..