Chapter 1

Jax awoke in a panic. He jumped out of bed and ran throughout his house, looking for anything that shouldn't be there. Running out onto the porch, he scanned the streets. Nothing. It was still dark out, the only sound reaching his ears were crickets, chirping in the early morning. Slightly calmed, he walked back into his house. Closing the door, he turned and was greeted by the sight of his wife standing in their bedroom door frame. He lowered his eyes in embarrassment and sighed. "Oh, Elia, I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "Yes, but it's ok, I understand. What happened?"

Jax looked over at his daughter Ashley's room in thought. She was his angel, she was why he worried so much. Life was dangerous, and even though he knew he should teach her about all those dangers, he wanted to protect her innocence for as long as he could. "It was just a nightmare, a bad dream." He was trying to convince her as much as himself. It didn't feel like just a dream, he had a gut feeling that something was amiss. There wasn't a point in worrying his wife any more than she already was, especially not on something as insignificant as subliminal thoughts.

Elia raised an eyebrow, suspecting there was more to his sudden worry than he let on, but she let it go. "Well, since we're up, we might as well get ready for the day." He nodded in agreement.

Thump!

Jax drove his hoe into the ground, chopping up the dirt. As a farmer, it was his job to maintain the community's food supply. It wasn't a job he would've chosen given the opportunity, he would much rather have been a doctor or something of the like, something more interesting, but it hadn't been up to him. All deer in the compound had their job chosen by a group of elders. He hadn't paid attention in school, so as a result, he hadn't been deemed smart enough to train in higher education. If only he could go back to his youth and change his mindset. But there was nothing he could do now. His wife had been a little smarter than he had been, so she became a supervisor at a daycare center. And, to be honest, being a farmer wasn't all that bad. It could be worse, he could have a job as a soldier, that would be boring. All they did most of the time was stand up in the guard towers and search for raiding parties. It was both a boring and dangerous job, one that could take him away from his family.

He looked up as he heard bells ringing and rested for a moment. They were changing the guards. It was a tense moment for everyone. There was always a small break in security as all the guards got situated. Luckily, as it had many other times, things seemed to be going well. Jax looked around. Everything seemed normal. Fawns were playing, bucks and does going about their work. But he still couldn't shake this feeling, a feeling of dread.

Continuing on with his work, he tried to shake his thoughts. Ashley's birthday is coming up, I gotta find a gift for her. He smiled. She was going to be fifteen years old, and fifteen year old does weren't hard to find gifts for. Maybe makeup...I don't know. A fairly stereotypical gift, but it was what she seemed to want.

Crack!

"Shh, be quiet!" An older jaguar hissed, glaring at the younger one.

Roman cringed, slowly picking up his foot from where he had accidentally stepped on a twig. He looked up at his older brother. "Sorry." I finally got dad to let me come along, and now I'm gonna mess it all up.

The pack of jaguars continued on their journey through the woods. There was near total silence, the only sound coming from the jaguars as they ran through the woods. Roman was getting tired. They had been running since noon, and from the position of the sun he guessed it was around three in the afternoon, meaning they had been running nearly nonstop for three hours. Most of the others had no problem with this, many were barely breaking a sweat. But this being his first time meant he was used to such intense physical stress. He felt like he was on the verge of collapse. However, since this was his first hunt, he couldn't show any weakness. The results of this hunt would stay with him for the rest of his life. No matter how good you got at hunting, no matter the size of the mammal you brought back when you were older, the biggest thing anyone ever remembered was your first catch.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity and more, the pack stopped for a short break. They had also realized they were getting close to the deer compound, and their scouts hadn't returned yet, so without their reports, they wouldn't know what they were getting into. After a few minutes, they heard rustling in the trees ahead of them. The leader of the pack raised his paw, motioning for everyone to stay still. Some of the archers drew their bows back, pointing them at the source of the sound.

Two mammals burst through the brush, and the archers tensed in anticipation, but then they relaxed. It was just their scouts. Roman's dad, Caesar, the leader of the group, spoke up. "Well, what did you see?"

Both scouts fell over, trying to catch their breath, one holding a paw up, asking for a moment. Though they were the two most conditioned jaguars, they had been running all day, since dawn. They had had to run all the way to the compound, gather information really quick, and run back to meet the group.

After a few minutes, the older scout raised his head and spoke. "There's not a lot of security. I'm guessing since it's been so long since we've been here, they don't feel that worried about us."

Caesar snorted. "All the better for us then." The group let out a soft chuckle, and Roman, not understanding what was funny but still trying to fit in, let out a nervous one.

Once everyone quieted down, the smaller of the two scouts spoke up. "They change the guards fairly frequently, I'd say every four hours or so. You can also tell when it's happening because they ring a bell."

The big jaguar slapped his forehead with his paw and let out a content sigh, smiling. "Could they be any more stupid?"

"The last bell rang about two and a half, maybe three hours ago. If we want to catch them, it'll be the best time to strike. Everyone will be mobile, but we have to really run if we're gonna make it."

Caesar closed his eyes to think of a plan. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, he opened his eyes. "Let's go."

A few hours later, the bells rang again, and there was another change in guards. This one happened right before all the fawns were to get out of school or daycare. As the guards took their posts, the bells announcing the end of the school day rang. The doors flew open and out came dozens of fawns, running in every direction. Many of the older ones would go and help their parents, either at work or by taking care of younger siblings. Normally Ashley would want to have a playdate with her friends, but not wanting to worry her husband any more than he was, Elia had just told her to go home for today.

Jax had good reason to be worried. When he was just a young fawn himself, he had experienced first hand the terrors of predators attacking your village. He remembered it vividly, as if it had happened only yesterday.

It had happened at night. Most everyone was sleeping, save the few night guards. Everything seemed quiet, nothing had happened for weeks. Jax and his parents had been sleeping in their house when his dad had heard shouting. He ran out to see what was happening, then quickly ran back inside to wake his wife and Jax up. Together they ran to a shelter, and they had almost made it, but the guards hadn't seen the attack until it was too late. The alarms hadn't come until the band of lynxes were already climbing over the walls. As Jax's family ran to the shelter, a group of three lynxes caught up with them, trying to take Jax as he was weak and couldn't put up a worthy fight. But his dad got in between them, impaling a lynx with his antlers. The other two jumped on his back and started tearing into him with their teeth and claws. One was shot in the back by a guard with an arrow, who was unfortunately struck down almost immediately after.

The last lynx, wanting to make it out alive but still have something to show for his efforts, changed his focus to Jax and his mother, who were almost at the shelter. Seeing no other easy targets he ran after them, stabbing Jax's mother with a crude knife and snatching up the young fawn. Though he was kicking and screaming, the lynx started running to the ladder they had used to get in, and he had almost made it. In one final turn of events, a sword's blade had come down on him, nearly splitting him in two. It was Elias, the commander of the guard, a massive beast of a buck. He picked Jax up and handed him to a soldier, running off to repel the last of the lynxes.

Finally, in the early morning, after the smoke had cleared, Jax learned the fate of his parents. His father had died from excessive blood loss, and his mother, though she survived, had fallen and broken her neck, resulting in her being paralyzed from the waist down. Not the most terrible fate, but it had taken it's toll on Jax. Growing up without a father was bad enough, but throughout his teenage and early adult life, he would struggle to get his mother to the shelter in the event of a raid. Throughout those years, he had seen friends and family members die or get taken, and it was very emotionally damaging for him to have to constantly relive those terrible memories.

He felt lucky that there hadn't been a raid in the years since Ashley was born. He wanted to believe that predators had moved away or died off, but he knew it was just a matter of time until they struck again. The only reason for the nearly fifteen year gap was the treaties the deer had made with neighboring predators. In exchange for not being attacked, the deer would raid other prey villages and give the bounty to the predators. It was never intended to be permanent, just long enough for the deer community to build up a sizable wall and army. A couple years ago, they had stopped supplying the predators with food and supplies obtained from raids, hoping they had enough of a defense to deter any further attacks.

Despite that, Jax felt it wasn't going to matter, and that they'd be attacked sooner or later. Over the past few months, security had slacked off. They felt safer, no one had even dared to get close before, why waste deer power? Jax knew that was a stupid way to view the situation, so he had voiced his concerns to the council of elders, but no one had listened to him. He felt betrayed, even Elias, the deer who had saved him after his family was almost slaughtered, told him there was nothing to worry about. "We understand you have your concerns, Jax." He had told him. "But we feel as though your worries are only based off fawnhood experiences. Take a look around, no one else is worried in the slightest. If it was your job to worry, you'd be sitting here instead of me right now." He smiled. "But you're not, so just stick your job and trust us."

Jax was humiliated. They may as well have laughed him away. Maybe it wasn't his job to worry, but he would regardless. He had to be prepared for his family.

He looked up, trying to see if he could spot Elia with Ashley. Scanning the large crowd, he finally spotted them coming out of the daycare center. He kept looking at them, waiting to see if they would see him. After a few seconds, he made eye contact with his wife, and she smiled at him, nudging Ashley, who also saw him and waved excitedly. He smiled. At least they were happy.

Outside the compound, lurking just past the treeline and in the darkness of the forest's canopy, the jaguar pack arrived near their target. A few jaguars climbed the trees, trying to get a better view of where the guards were. It was to no avail however, the afternoon sun was shining straight into their eyes. "What do you see?" Caesar called up, whispering, as to not call attention to their presence, but trying to still be loud enough to be heard. From the silence he received in return, it was clear no one had heard him. He rolled his eyes and grunted in frustration, making his way up the tree. It was a quiet day, nice and sunny, with a slight breeze running through the leaves, rustling them and helping hide the jaguar's movements.

Instead of repeating himself, he just examined the village. There were twelve guard towers in total, four of which faced west, towards them. Of those four, only two pointed directly in their direction, the other two were corner towers and had more to look at. Climbing up a little higher to get a better view, he could see the occupants of the towers. They looked tired, as if they had been there a while. I guess we didn't miss the change after all.

He scrambled back down, not wanting to waste any time. Gathering everyone around, he laid out his hastily made plan. I hope this works. "You five," he pointed at a group. "Run around to the north side. You five," he pointed to another group. "Run around to the south side. And finally you two," he looked up at the two scouts. "Try to run around to the west side. Try to hurry, because it looks like we're gonna be cutting it close. The rest of you with me."

The smaller scout looked up at the large walls of the village, eyes widening. He voiced his concerns. "I don't think we can make it. It's at least a twenty minute run, and that's if we weren't already exhausted."

Caesar nodded, realizing he was right. "Well, if you don't make it, just join another group and go with them. If the bell rings, and you're still not in position, just go with it. Wait a few minutes so the soldiers get distracted by us, then make your move. But make it quick. Any questions?"

When no one voiced their concern, Caesar nodded. "Then let's do this."

The group dispersed and headed off to their assigned positions. Caesar sat and waited. He looked at the size of the compound, utterly impressed by the deers ingenuity. Never in a thousand years would he have thought the deer could outsmart them. They had used the fifteen year gap in raids to build up their defenses, and quite a bit at that. The last raid had been easy, no guard towers, wooden walls only twelve feet high. Now though, the jaguar shook his head, twelve guard towers, thirty foot stone walls. Quite remarkable.

The deer had partly outsmarted them, he'd give them that. But they had underestimated the sheer numbers the jaguar had, a potentially fatal mistake. But their biggest mistake was cutting off support. Had they not, this wouldn't be happening. They could still live in peace and quiet. They brought this upon themselves.

Jerking his head up to the sound of bells interrupting his thoughts. It's time. He looked to both sides, finding that at all the members of his group were looking back at him, waiting for the go ahead. He raised a clenched fist, signaling for them to wait. Staring at the guard towers, he waited until the current occupants had stepped down. Once he was sure no one would see them, he threw his fist down, signaling an advance.

Jax returned his focus to his work, chopping away at the dirt. All of a sudden he heard a loud thump. Looking up, he saw a deer had fallen from the guard tower, axe lodged in his chest. Jax was frozen, his eyes glued to the corpse. No no no. He slowly looked up, and to his horror, he was dozens of jaguars climbing over the top of the wall. He made eye contact with the jaguar responsible, fear surging through his body. Despite that, only one thought occupied his mind.

I have to find Elia and Ashley.

"RAID!"

He turned in a panic, trying to spot his family again. Yelling raid had incited a panic, deer running every which way. Jax started running through the crowd, looking around frantically. There was screaming and shouting, and finally the army had arrived, starting the battle. Arrows were flying, swords clanking. Deer and jaguar alike were getting trampled, the massive influx of deer from businesses or their houses crowding the streets.

Figuring his wife would take his daughter to the shelter, he started fighting to make his way there. Mammals were getting struck down left and right, some from arrows, other from swords. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He had told people this was going to happen, but of course, no one had listened. Idiots, all of you. He looked around at the frantic civilian population of the village. This could have been avoided if… No. Jax shook his head. He had to find his loved ones. That was his priority.

Caesar held onto the top of the wall, waiting for the guard to appear. As soon as he did, the jaguar smashed his axe into the deer's chest. Unfortunately he fell out of the tower, catching the attention of a nearby deer farming. The deer looked up and saw him, turning to run and yelling "Raid!"

"Damn." The large jaguar mentally slapped himself. He had just ruined the few minutes they had had for a surprise attack.

He almost jumped down, before he realized why only a few had jumped down. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the deer had placed spikes into the ground, and the jaguars that had already jumped down had their legs and feet impaled, rendering them immobile. Clever sons of does.

Seeing only one way to avoid the spikes, Caesar and the rest of the jaguar slowly climbed down the edge, some being shot in the back with arrows on the way down. After reaching the bottom, he led the charge into the hail of arrows.

Ashley turned her head up towards her mother's face, searching for some hint of reassurance that things were going to be all right. To her dismay, all she could see was panic and fear. The fawn was scared. She didn't know what to think, she didn't know what was happening, she didn't know why it was happening.

She was stumbling and falling as Elia dragged her to the shelter. Her shin hit a rock and she fell, scraping both her knees on gravel. She cried out in pain, scrambling to get back up. Elia quickly stopped and ran back. "Ashley!"

She raised her head in time to see her mom get attacked by a jaguar wielding a sword. The predator raised his sword and brought it back down with great force, hitting Elia in the arm and nearly severing her lower arm off. The doe screamed as she stared in shock at her arm, then looked back up to see the jaguar raise his sword once again. As he brought it back down, he froze mid-swing, his face a mixture of surprise and confusion. He looked down at the spearhead sticking out of his chest, dropping his sword and slumping to the ground, revealing Elias.

The old buck motioned for Ashley to run towards him. She did. "Run girl!" He pointed her towards the shelter, turning away to help Elia. Ashley started running again, stumbling through the chaos.

Roman finally reached the top of the wall, though he was one of the last to make it, and came face to face with the chaos of the battle. He was stunned. Up until this very moment, his life had been filled with a constant peace, never before had he seen such a chaotic and destructive scene. All around him there was death and screaming. He sat there in a trance, all his senses numbed, his mind trying its hardest to distance itself from the sudden overload of stimuli.

A blur of motion and a sharp whiz of an arrow flying right by his head snapped him back to reality. Feeling a sudden pain in his ear, he reached up. Bringing his paw back down, he saw blood and figured the arrow must've nicked his ear. He looked up and narrowly dodged another arrow. Seeing more archers aiming at him, he started to climb back down the outside of the wall, but, realizing he had to come back with something, he scrambled to get back over and down the wall.

Reaching the ground, he looked around frantically, searching for a target he could take on. After a few more minutes of searching and dodging bullets, he spotted a fawn running, no older deer around. Not too big, but big enough. This'll be easy. Confident in his choice, he started making his way over to capture his prey.

Ashley looked back before she got to the shelter, only to see Elias slumped over her mother, arrows riddled in his back. Two raiders came and pick him up, and more were coming for the doe, only to be driven away by a fresh wave of defenders. She changed direction to run back to her mother when suddenly the world went dark and she fell to the ground.

Jax continued running through the crowd, searching for his loved ones. His heart dropped to see his house aflame, slowly crashing down to the earth. All his possessions gone up in smoke. He turned to continue his search, stumbling back as a jaguar appeared and swung a scythe at him. He ducked, and the scythe slammed into his antlers, getting stuck. There was a moment of unease as both mammals stood in shock, but Jax took advantage of the opportunity and flung the jaguar into the flames.

The predator let out a vicious roar, his fur quickly catching fire. He stumbled out of the flames, blinded by the flames, arms swinging wildly, trying to put the flames out. Not one to want to see mammals in agony, even if they were his enemy, Jax picked up a sizable rock and smashed the jaguars head in, blood spraying onto his face and chest.

He dropped the rock and continued his search. He stumbled and fell over what he thought was a corpse at first, but upon closer inspection he realized that it was Elia. He crawled back over to her whimpering form, but he couldn't locate his daughter.

"Elia." He tried to calm her.

"A-Ashley…" She cried with a mixture of pain and distress.

Jax started to pick her up. "She… she's probably safe in the shelter." He started helping Elia towards where he presumed Ashley was.

Roman stood over the young fawn. She was still breathing, so he raised his club to finish it, but he stopped, noticing how peaceful she looked. He didn't understand why, all his life he had been eating meat, so this was no different. He tried to reason with himself, to continue what dozens of generations before him had done, but the feelings, the strange feelings he was experiencing seemed to prevent him from doing so. As much as wanted to, as much as he knew he had to, he was completely unable to bring himself to finish the action, so he picked her up, slung her over his shoulder, and started running towards the gate. They had been opened after the attack began, and the raiding party was starting to retreat, taking with them a few dead deer and much of the food that had been in the village.

Jax finally reached the shelter with Elia, though it was a little late seeing as how the raid seemed to be finishing. He handed her over to a nurse, made sure she was going to be taken care of, and started to make his way through the crowd, searching all the more earnestly at this point for his little fawn. "ASHLEY!"

"Sssshhh!" Normally he would've cringed at the response and the glares, but right now he had more important things on his mind. He was getting near the middle of the crowd, getting exponentially more desperate by the minute. Frantically, he pushed past each deer, eyes darting around wildly, dread filling his gut. Running faster and faster, he finally reached the end.

No Ashley.

Slowly he turned to face the crowd again, his eyes blankly gazing out at each deer. He dropped to his knees, too stunned to move or speak. She's gone… His precious little fawn was gone. Dead. No longer could he see her sweet smile, no longer could he hear her soft voice. He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.

I was supposed to protect her. I failed. He couldn't even be there for her final moments. A failure, that's what he was. He sunk to the floor, unresponsive to anything and everything. The world around blurred into a flurry of motion and sound as he closed his eyes and drifted into unconsciousness.

Hey, I finished the first chapter! This'll be an interesting little adventure. I tried writing sad scenes, and hopefully I did alright. I'm not one to show a lot of emotion, nor do I like dealing with other people's sad feelings, but ya know, I try. Anyway, just to clear things up right off the bat, this isn't a romance story. I'm trying to write a story about the birth of Zootopia, and seeing as it happened hundreds of years before the events of the movie, I don't think it in any way possible that an interspecies relationship could be a thing. Nothing against it, but that's just the way it is.

So anyway, if you liked it, you know what to do. :) I'm always open for suggestions, they help a lot.

If all the cuts between the different characters were confusing, I'm sorry. It was just the easiest way that came to mind to introduce all the characters, since the events in Chapter 1 were all happening at the same time. But from this point on, the story's pretty much gonna focus on the two main characters, so there won't be any more of that cutting.

Lastly, I'd like to give a shout out to Astorathgrim for pointing out mistakes and giving me advice. He's writing a story, Doors of Change, which I edit. I really like it so I suggest checking it out.

Until next time. :D