Although the beginning of winter was only about two weeks away, the morning was the warmest and sunniest that it had been since the summertime as Stephanie strode down the street. Since dropping off Porsha at Meena's an hour earlier, a single goal had been at the forefront of Stephanie's mind - though it had already been gradually consuming her thoughts for the last few weeks - and she couldn't help feeling excitement and a slight bit of dread that this goal was finally on the path to fruition.

It was admittedly rather warm with the formal outfit she was wearing - a white suit shirt, a plain black blazer over it and a matching skirt that stopped at her knees - though the weather was the last thing on her mind as she neared her destination. The various folders and rolled up blueprints she was carrying in her arms were also quite the heavy burden, but Stephanie did manage to force most of them into one hand while using the other to push open the glass doors that led to the main lobby.

"Yeah, it's uh... Stephanie Frangipane. I'm here to see Judith..." She pulled a small, nervous smile at the figure towering high over her, before letting out an relieved exhale when the giraffe behind the desk gestured towards the elevator. "Oh, yeah. Uh... m-my friend said she's on Floor Fifteen, right? Yep, terrific. Thanks!"

While she ascended, it occurred to Stephanie that this was the first time she'd even set foot in an elevator since returning to Calatonia. This fairly simple, compact box was a far cry from the sleek, enforced glass cylinders that she'd gotten used to using at Crystal Entertainment, but given the gradual disdain she'd grown to have for Redshore City over the years she'd lived there, no longer having to look out at its skyline as she went up was a welcome change of pace.

And with the elevator taking its sweet time to actually reach the fifteenth floor - just a couple minutes away from her two 'o clock appointment - Stephanie used her brief privacy to make a quick call to the former SFJ employee that had made this meeting possible for her.

"Okay, so what is she, again? Species-wise, I mean. Alpaca?"

"Llama, actually..." Norman's voice on the other end was slightly juddered, likely due to the bus he was currently on. "Yeah, I've seen a couple clients calling her an alpaca, and uh... well, they weren't exactly clients anymore after that."

"Ah... y-yeah, okay, I'll remember that. Guess ya can't be too careful, huh...?"

Stephanie let out a slightly dry chuckle at another of Norman's remarks, though she wasn't completely listening as she kept her eyes fixated on the screen above the elevator door.

"Well, I'm comin' up on her floor now, so uh..." She cleared her throat and straightened up the files in her hands. "I guess I better go."

"Great. Well, uh... good luck, Stephanie."

"Uh-huh, yep. Yeah, thanks again, Norman..." Stephanie quickly stopped herself from hanging up for just another moment, as she'd just remembered the pig's current whereabouts. "Oh crap, yeah... good luck with your diploma, by the way! Rosita's gonna call ya as soon as ya get there, okay?"

"Not if I call her first!" Norman laughed. "Alright, well... I'll leave to you to it. Take care, Stephanie."

Stephanie kept a smile forced into her face, even though Norman couldn't see her anyway, until he finally hung up. The wolf let out a long exhale as she propped herself up against the back of the elevator, still staring up at the screen above the door until she was finally snapped out of it by a piercing DING!

The room was fairly plain in design, with its beige walls and greyish-blue, velvet-like floor almost causing it to resemble a principle's office. At least the ones she'd seen in the movies, since Stephanie had thankfully never actually stepped foot in one, either for herself or for Porsha's sake.

The desk in front of the window seemed to be made of a basic pine - nice enough, but clearly not too costly - and there had been some efforts taken to customise it with small family photos being propped up on top. Though any potential warmth or homeliness was dampened by the sight of the llama that was sat on the other side of it.

Norman had warned Stephanie that Judith was a very hard llama to please, though taking one glance at her here - her perfectly straight posture, her professional but muted and uninviting dress code, and a sour expression and steely glare that only just fell short of Nana Noodleman herself - was more than enough to confirm this. And now here Stephanie was, stood in front of her first major hurdle in restoring Calatonia's entertainment industry.

"Okay, well I'm just gonna need ya to take a moment and picture this..."

Stephanie cleared her throat as she stood up, using some fairly dramatic body language to emphasise her words.

"Picture a cute little girl, maybe nine, ten, I dunno. She's dressed in the best clothes she has, and she's five rows away from the front..." She said, her voice echoing slightly off the battery-operated microphone she was holding. "There's queues a mile long outside just to get a ticket, the curtain's risin' over a big, beautiful stage... and there she is, Nana Noodleman, beltin' out tunes like there's no tomorrow... music and light, bringing -"

"Yes, very sentimental." Judith snarked while she looked through the various blueprints and scribbled something in her checklist, not even looking the wolf in the eye. "Miss Frangipane, I have a very tight schedule today. Are you going somewhere with this?"

"What...?" Stephanie's eyes widened a little, and she switched off the microphone to avoid any inappropriate echoes. "Uh... y-yeah, I am. See, I was trying to go for dramatic and stuff there, so uh..."

"Ma'am, you're applying for an investment, not auditioning for a show..." Judith put her checklist down and leaned slightly forward on her desk. "Just because this is about the Prairie doesn't mean you need the theatrics."

"Ah, well uh... well no, I guess not..." Stephanie chuckled nervously as she sat down on the seat in front of the desk, itching the back of her neck. "So uh... hmm... to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what to say here without theatrics, y'know...?"

"Well, we can start simple and talk about your interest in the property..." Judith raised an eyebrow as she referred back to the files Stephanie had laid out on the table. "The Prairie Theatre closed its doors six years ago, and there hasn't been a single bid or offer of any kind on this land since then. Not even from the Fletcher Foundation. So what exactly would a young woman like yourself want with it?"

"Um... I was kinda goin' on a whole speech about that before ya cut me off then, so..." Stephanie let out a casual scoff, though the unamused look on Judith's face prevented her from actually laughing, so she straightened up in her seat and tried to talk in a more professional manner. "W-well, y'know, it's like I was sayin' before, I got a lotta history with that old place."

Judith's expression remained neutral, but a small gesture she did with her hand prompted Stephanie to continue.

"I um... first time I went was with my foster family when I was a kid. Then when I got a little older, I ended up workin' with the Noodleman troupe for a while, but then I left town, and uh..." Stephanie bit her bottom lip, internally wrestling with herself whether or not to disclose her experiences in Redshore. "Well... around nine years and one kid later, I came back home and found the old place all boarded up. And I dunno, that just... that's just kinda depressing, ain't it...?"

"Hmm... so it is sentimental value, then..." Judith nodded silently, her face now displaying what seemed to be a glimmer of intrigue. "And, hypothetically, if you were to purchase this property, what exactly do you have in mind for it?"

"Oh... uh... kinda thought that whole story would have answered that, but uh... y-yeah, y'know, I'm just wanting to get it back on the map. Restore its former glory, all that stuff..." Stephanie said, before another thought suddenly occurred to her. "I mean, I don't have all the money for it right now, but... y'know, I'm savin' up for it."

"Yes, that's fine... as I mentioned before, there's been no other buyers since it closed..." Judith referred to her checklist again, though this time she kept eye contact. "When do you predict you'll have the funds needed?"

"Ah, well... I actually had a couple talks with one of your employees about this... well, former employee, but still..." Stephanie reopened her portfolio, pulling out a stapled, five page document and passing it to the llama. "He crunched a couple numbers, looked at my income, all my expenses... cause y'know, like I said before, I got a daughter to look after too, and uh... well, things being as they are, he reckons it'll take around three or four years before I get the first deposit. Plus, I gotta toss in some more for the renovations and stuff, so..."

Judith nodded slowly, quietly murmuring to herself as she studied the detailed plan in her hands, before she finally spoke up again in a more enthusiastic tone. "I can see you've put a lot of thought into this, Miss Frangipane."

"Yeah, no kidding..." Stephanie chuckled. "B-but yeah, I uh... I'm real passionate about doin' this whole thing and uh... well, I really think I can pull it off."

"But you have to remember this is only for the initial deposit." Judith sounded more serious again, though her tone did seem more sincere than before. "If you were to purchase and renovate the property, you'll still have to keep on top of your payments to maintain it as a business."

"Oh yeah, I get that..." Stephanie lounged back slightly in her chair. "Just out of curiosity or whatever, what uh... what would ya say was, like, the yearly money to keep up after I buy it?"

"At least thirty thousand, per annum." Judith said bluntly. "But I'm sure you understand that we will take action if you fall behind on those payments. You may think this is harsh for me to say, Miss Frangipane, but we're running a bank here, not a charity."

"Uh-huh... yep..." Stephanie nodded quietly, wringing her hands as she sat up again. "But hey, y'know... that's still a good few years away, so... guess I'll cross that bridge if I get to it, huh...?"

"Oh yes, of course. I just wanted to make sure you knew ahead of time..." Judith regarded Stephanie for a moment, her gaze steady and thoughtful. "Overall, there's certainly potential. And if your commitment matches your passions, this could be a very profitable venture for you, Miss Frangipane."

"Oh, thank God..." Stephanie exhaled. "Y'know; all things considered, I actually think this turned out a lot better that I'd expected. And there's definitely no other buyers, right...?"

"None so far, Ma'am."

"Great! Yeah, that's uh... that's terrific!" Stephanie reached over and shook the llama's hand, a new burst of confidence accompanying her determination. "I'm lookin' forward to doin' business with ya, Judith!"

Although it was only around four in the afternoon, the sky had already begun to dim and darken, and the soft wind carried a slight chill through the air.

But Stephanie was in far too good a mood to be bothered by the cold, and if it weren't for the heavy folders she was still carrying, the wolf was sure she'd be dancing down the empty street. At least a thousand thoughts were racing through her head, as vibrant, exaggerated visions of her future began flashing before her eyes.

She could see herself carrying massive bags with dollar signs on them, dumping them on Judith's desk as the llama's eyes bulged wide. This then transitioned to images of herself leading a construction crew to restore the theatre to its rightful glory, until it finally ended with her standing in front of a big red ribbon, with Porsha and the rest of the community anxiously waiting for her to cut it.

And as she passed by a seemingly empty alleyway, Stephanie couldn't resist striking a heroic pose as she practiced her literal opening line out-loud.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Calatonia... welcome back, to the Prairie Thea-UGH!"

Stephanie was snapped out of her blissful premonitions when a hand suddenly snaked around her waist from behind, the other hand grabbing her mouth to muffle her scream as the figure yanked her back into the alleyway.

She struggled and kicked with all her strength, eventually sending a sharp elbow into her attacker's midsection as he loosened his grip, before he threw her against the nearby dumpster with a hard, echoing THUD!

"Agh! What the hell do ya think you're -?!"

Stephanie grunted with pain as the assailant grabbed her again, forcing her against the wall as he tore the folders out of her hand and let them scatter all over the filthy ground. The figure kept a tight grip on her shoulders as he continued pinning her down, while Stephanie eventually got ahold of his hood and dug her claws right into it, before she finally sent her kneecap right between his legs and forced him to let her go.

RRRRRRRRIPPPPP!

As she tumbled down to the ground, wincing at the brief but still sharp pain in her left leg, Stephanie looked at her hand to see that she was now holding the hood her attacker had been wearing. It took a moment for her to recognise her attacker - since she was used to seeing him in a fine suit with black sunglasses covering his eyes - but after taking a moment to study him, it soon became abundantly clear where she had seen this furious-looking grey wolf before.

"Kendall...?!"

"Ah, ya remember me, huh...?" He scoffed back, holding a hand to the cut that her claws had left on his forehead. "Well, do ya remember gettin' me fired too...?!"

"Fired? What... w-what are ya talkin' about...?!" Stephanie pulled herself to her feet, though she struggled to stay upright as she staggered back. "Jimmy fired ya...?"

"Right after ya escaped with your little brat!" Kendall roared, his eyes turning a bloodshot red as a long, sadistic grin stretched across his face. "But it's all good. Cause after I take care of you, I'm gonna bring little Porsha right back to her Daddy..."

"The hell you are!"

Stephanie snarled like a vicious beast as she launched herself at Kendall, wrapping her legs around his midsection while she gripped the back of his head with both hands, before propelling her head forwards so that it connected hard with a loud, painful SMACK!

"Gah!"

Kendall stumbled back, both from Stephanie's added weight and the shock of the headbutt, and fell onto his back with Stephanie now being the one pinning him down. Stephanie was still slightly dazed herself from their head-to-head contact, not helped by the cloud of dust that had been caused by their landing, but her protective rage overcame it as she latched her claws onto Kendall's shoulders and continued forcing him to the ground.

"He is never gonna have my daughter!" She roared in his face, tears still forming in her eyes despite her ravenous fury. "You're gonna have to pry her outta my cold, dead hands before - UGH!"

Stephanie loosened her grip as Kendall tossed some of the scattered dust into her face, barely managing to open them again before the other wolf's fist connected with a powerful THWACK!

The force of the punch sent her spiralling to the ground as she planted face first on the gravel. Kendall then gripped the back of her neck, yanking so hard that he tore the collar of her blazer as he threw her against the dumpster again with another THUD!

Stephanie winced and whimpered, barely even able to move as she tried to drag herself across the ground. Along with the agony she already felt on her leg, she could also feel the cuts that had opened on both her right temple and left cheek, and the small but boiling hot trails of blood that were running down her face. She was finding it hard to open her left eye, and she wasn't sure whether it was simply from the dust, or the swelling from the punch, but it became an unfortunate blind spot as her attacked forced her onto her back and pinned her down again.

"Oh ho ho, yeah..." Kendall snarled sadistically as he placed both hands on Stephanie's neck, putting his strongest shoulder into it to apply as much force as possible. "Ya got no idea how long I've been waitin' for this!"

The grey wolf's heart pounded with a dangerous mix of anger and determination, and his knuckles almost turned white as he clenched them tight, as he finally got to experience the sight of a bloodied and battered Stephanie wheezing for breath at his mercy.

Stephanie fought back with every ounce of strength she could muster, kicking her legs at Kendall's lower body while she desperately pulled and clawed at his hands, but it was no use. His grip only tightened the more she struggled, and the world around her began to blur as the lack of oxygen took its toll. Her already deteriorating vision started to fade in both eyes, and with the sun having already vanished in the dark sky, all she could make out was the terrifying sight of her would-be-murderer's satisfied grin.

She was snapped back to reality by a sudden CLATTER! as a gust of air rushed back into her lungs. As she sat up, wheezing painfully while she held a hand to her chest, Stephanie realised that Kendall was no longer holding her neck, but it wasn't until her vision cleared when she saw the grey wolf was now the one being throttled and thrown about.

"Not so much fun when someone's doing it to you, is it! You big, stupid bully!" The gorilla grunted when she finally let Kendall go, giving the retreating wolf a kick up the backside that sent him flying. "Yeah, that's right, clear off! Next time, I won't ask nicely!"

"Wait...?" Stephanie still ached from the hearing she'd suffered, squinting a little as she finally recognised her rescuer. "Mary...?!"

"Stephanie...?! Oh my God!" Mary dropped her tougher facade as she quickly knelt down, gently sitting the wolf up and propping her back against the wall. "I didn't even know that was you, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine... I just... ugh..." Stephanie pinched the bridge of her nose, then reached over to regather the papers that had fallen out of her portfolio during the struggle. "I'm just glad this didn't happen before I went to the bank..."

"Oh, darling..." Mary exhaled as she pulled Stephanie into a hug, making sure not to keep too tight a grip with the pain her friend was already in. "Who even was that bloke, anyway? Did you know him?"

"What? Oh, uh... n-no. He's just a nobody..." Stephanie tried her best to feign ignorance as she pulled out of the embrace, wincing a little when she felt where Kendall's hands had been on her neck. "Usually, I'd have had that covered, but then he sucker punched me, so..."

"Oh..." Mary bit her bottom lip as she glanced down at Stephanie's torn blazer and her unkempt, frayed skirt. "He didn't, um... he wasn't trying to... y'know?"

"Oh no. No no no, I... I think he probably just wanted my purse or something..." Stephanie finished putting her papers back together, then pulled herself back up to her feet. "Ya see hoodlums like that all the time in - AGH!"

"Stephanie!" Mary quickly grabbed ahold of the wolf so she didn't fall, taking a quick glance down at her already bruised left ankle. "Oh God, I think you twisted it. We've got to get you to the hospital!"

"No no, don't bother with the hospital. Agh... I gotta get back home for Porsha, y'know...?" Stephanie draped her arm over Mary's shoulder, letting the gorilla support her while she lifted her left foot off the ground. "Yeah, I got the number of one of the nurses. We'll give her a call back at the apartment."

"You sure...?" Mary looked uncertain, but Stephanie's silent nod put her more at ease. "Hmm... alright then. Your place isn't too far from here, is it...?"

"Nah, it's like ten minutes..." Stephanie put her best foot forward as the gorilla continued supporting her, and they remained silent for a good few seconds as they walked down the street together. "Oh, and uh... and thanks, Mary..."

"Nah, think nothing of it, dear..." Mary smiled. "Besides, I suppose I did owe you one."

"Y'know, I gotta admit. I had a feelin' today was gonna be a tough one, but this wasn't what I had in mind...!" Stephanie winced with a hiss as she felt the water Rosita was applying on her leg, giving a thumbs up for the pig to continue before relaxing back on the couch again. "Guess something just had to happen to keep me from havin' too good a time, huh?"

"I really can't imagine how scary that must have been for you, Stephanie... oh honey, you need to keep holding that..." Rosita pointed to Stephanie's face, prompting the wolf to press the frozen bag of peas back onto her left eye. "Honestly, the nerve of some folks. So this guy just attacked you for no reason?"

"What? Oh, uh... y-yeah, no reason." Stephanie cleared her throat. "But hey, it's just a twisted ankle and a couple cuts and bruises, right? No big deal..."

"No big deal...?!" Mary scoffed as she sat down on the couch beside her, passing her a cup of the coffee she'd just made. "Stephanie, he was trying to bloody strangle you!"

"Okay, yeah, so that was a little extreme, but it's fine, really..." Stephanie's ears pricked up as she heard the front door opening, and the familiar voices of a little pup and elephant chatting as they entered. "Look, I can guarantee Porsha's gonna be freakin' out, so the last thing I need is you guys doin' the -"

"Mommy...?!" Porsha shrieked right on cue as she and Meena both went wide-eyed at the sight of Stephanie's condition, which equally surprised Meena's mother as she waited in the doorway. "What happened... did ya get dislocated...?!"

"Oh, why did I teach her that word...?" Rosita rolled her eyes playfully, then beckoned the five-year-old to come closer. "Your Mommy's fine, Porsha. She's just got a twisted ankle."

"B-but ya can untwist it, can't ya...?"

"Well, that's not exactly how it works, honey, but... basically, yeah..." Rosita chuckled, then lifted the little one up onto the couch so she was sat right next to Stephanie. "I'm just making her better now."

Porsha seemed a little more at ease, but she was still curious as she looked up at her mother. "How did it happen, Mommy...?"

"Eh, y'know me, sunshine. Mommy got into a disagreement with somebody, and things got a little messy..." Stephanie chuckled, then gestured towards the gorilla sat beside them. "You think I look bad, ya oughta see what your Aunt Mary did to the other guy!"

Porsha gasped with awe. "Wow, really?!"

"Aunt?!" Mary laughed. "Come on, Steph, I think that's a bit - ooh!"

Mary jolted up a bit when Porsha suddenly jumped onto her chest and threw her arms around her neck. The gorilla wasn't entirely sure what to do here, but an encouraging nod from both Stephanie and Rosita prompted her to gently return the embrace.

"I'm really glad you're here, Aunt Mary."

"Hmm... so am I, Porsha..." Mary said quietly, feeling her eyes misting up a bit. "So am I..."