I'm back, BABY!

After a long hiatus to focus on other stories, I'm back with another chapter of this story. This was a chapter I was not too focused into, except for the information that was given in it. Anyways, the next chapters will be more interesting for the story, a lot of twists and revelations, as well as some drama to face.

Hope you guys look forward to it.

But, I'll still be busy thinking and working on other stories. Some of them will not be posted on FanFiction due to the themes and rating, but others will be posted in here, as they are new stories I inspired myself to start writing. Hope you guys can be patient and comprehensive with my irregular posts.

Anyway, enough rambling, enjoy the new chapter.

Can a person feel tired after hearing someone talking?

Some of the people who heard Angus rambling about his life certainly felt a bit tired. Disoriented even.

However, now that they had the chance to calm down, they could breathe and to put their thoughts in order.

And some of them thought that it was better to just leave the room Angus was currently in and find something else to do with their time.

This included Euphemia and Chandler, who both looked like they wanted to get as far from their brother as they could. Especially when Angus turned his specific attention to the two of them and made some commentaries about how their lives currently were.

"So, you actually managed to make a living with your sweets, huh?" Angus said to his brother. "Well, I guess it was not a complete waste of time, after all. I guess you do deserve to hear me say that you actually can do well on this whole confection thing. It is totally lame and useless, but you are good at it. Guess I have to swallow my words, ha ha!"

"And of course..." Angus then turned his attention to Euphemia. "Our dear Effie is now married. Well, your husband is certainly no good thing, and I wouldn't be interested on telling them that he was my brother-in-law, but you actually got yourself a husband. Everyone was starting to comment. That was why you decided to get married to the first thing that came along, wasn't it?"

Angus siblings were only happy to part ways with him. Hannah also went along with her boyfriend, as she wanted to be near him after what they just went through. Judy went along with them as well, once she was also finding Angus' attitude to be the most unpleasant.

"Ugh! He is still as bad as ever!" Chandler said in frustration as he remembered how Angus just talked to him a few minutes ago. Hannah remained by his side, with a hoof on his shoulder as she comforted him.

"So, he was always condescending like that?" Judy asked to the horse, who was quick to answer.

"You have no idea!" He said, "Seriously, you don't imagine what was like to live up with that jerk for most of my life! Do you know what is like to live with a sibling that bullies you every single day and who is not afraid to step on your dreams at every single chance? Who makes sure to step on your dreams?"

"I do." Judy said, "Believe it or not, I do." Judy was currently thinking on a few of her older siblings. One of them in particular...

"Well, I assure you they are nowhere as bad as Angus!" Chandler said to the bunny. "That guy made fun of my dream of being a confectioner every time I brought it up. He said it was childish and stupid, and that I would only go bankrupt and embarrass the entire family if I tried! Because of him I nearly gave up on it!"

Hannah had to admit that Angus was the most unpleasant mammal. She never met him before, but she heard from Chandler how much Angus had incessantly and mercilessly mocked and ridiculed for his wanting to work with sweets. And he mocked and humiliated him for other reasons as well. Angus never went as far as to hit him, but he was a big bully, and he certainly sounded like he took pleasure from humiliating his little brother.

Meeting him in person only served to cement this image on her mind for good, and to know that she would never get along with Angus.

She hated bullies.

"Just never mind him." Hannah said to Chandler. "You are successful now. Nothing he can say will change the fact that you proved to everyone that you can be successful and happy by following your dreams. He will not be able to take that from you."

Chandler looked at his girlfriend as she said that to him, and he reminded himself she was absolutely right. He smiled and thanked her.

As they talked, Judy was thinking back on everything that she had heard up until that point.

"Is it true?" Judy asked, causing all of the three horses to look at her.

"What Angus said back then..." She clarified to them, "About the reason why he was kicked out of the house. Is it true?"

There was a silence, as Chandler and Euphemia looked at each other for a few moments. Euphemia, with a sour look on her face since Angus made those commentaries, simply gave a shrug. She couldn't care less.

Chandler sighed.

"I heard the servants whispering among themselves." Chandler said to the bunny. "About the magazines Dad and Grandpa found on Angus' bedroom. It was kind of a hot topic among them, so of course they talked. That is, until dad told that anyone who mentioned that again would be fired. The stopped talking after that."

"The worse part? It sounds exactly like what dad would do." Chandler confessed to the bunny. "So, I'm pretty sure it is all true. I mean, all that happened has pretty much confirmed that this is actually the real reason why dad kicked Angus out. He certainly wasn't as mad about losing the elections..."

Judy reflected on what she just heard, and he could not help but feel a wave of disgust towards Adrian for that.

How could someone disown their own child because of something like that?

"That is... so wrong."

"Which part?" Chandler asked, "Kicking my bully of a brother out? Or forbidding anyone of even mentioning his name again?"

"All of it." Judy said to him. "That's just so petty! I mean, Angus is his son! His own child! Parents are suppose to love their kits no matter what, right? What kind of parent would even consider kicking their child out only because they fell in love with someone from-"

Judy would have continued with her reasoning, had she not been interrupt by a sudden angry voice.

"Fell in love!?" Euphemia's outburst was so sudden that everyone who was nearby jumped back. Judy nearly went in combat position from the sudden outburst the mare showed.

"Are you kidding me!?" She demanded, looking at the bunny with an angrier expression than Judy had ever seen her make since she first met her days ago. "Angus Manechester has absolutely no idea of what the word 'love' even means!"

Everyone looked at her in surprised. Judy, Hannah, and even Chandler, all of them taken aback by how she suddenly blurted out like that.

Euphemia herself took notice of how they were looking at her, and she took a deep breath, calming herself. Then she spoke again, once more on her usual controlled manner:

"What Angus feels for Officer Clawhauser is not love. At least, not in my opinion."

She looked at Judy as she spoke:

"My brother has done this kind of thing before. Obsessing over someone. Often over the ones that tried to reject him."

"Angus grew up having everything he wanted in life." Euphemia explained. "Since we were all foals, he always got everything."

"That is true." Chandler confirmed. "Mom and Dad practically gave him all of the attention. Even Grandpa did, since Angus was the one he originally intended to be the heir of Beastar Corps. They gave him all of the toys he ever wanted, all of the food he wanted to eat. They didn't neglected us or anything, but it was very obvious who was their favorite."

Judy heard it all.

"Angus became spoiled." She concluded.

"He became entitled." Euphemia said, "He believed he could have anything he ever wanted in life. This included cars, fine clothes... and other mammals."

"He had a different girlfriend every week." Chandler mentioned. "And only the prettiest ones. You know, the kind who looked like they belonged on television and cinema."

"And Angus was very determined when he wanted to have a girl." Euphemia said. "And if she refused him, he would the start obsessing over her. He would then invest a great deal of his time and money into 'getting her to like him'. He would shower her with gifts, take her to the most expensive places in and out of Zootopia, there was even a case where he offered financial help to a certain girl's business."

"Oh, yeah!" Chandler said, remembering what Euphemia was talking about. "That girl who was on a scholarship and whose father owned a dry cleaner. They were about to lose their business and their home. Angus somehow convinced dad to put a lot of money into that dry cleaner to make it start booming. The girl was so thankful that she started dating him on that same week."

"Yes... she did." Euphemia said, "And then Angus dumped her on the following week when he grew bored of her. Like he did with all the others."

Judy looked at Euphemia, who had a nonchalant expression on her face as her arms were cross over her chest.

"That was how it went for Angus." Euphemia concluded. "It was all just a game. If the girl proved to be a challenge, then he wanted to win her over just to prove he could. Once he did, he would enjoy her for a while, but he would quickly grow bored of her, and would dump her and then look for some new girl to win. The greater the challenge she posed, the greater his interest in winning her."

She made a pause.

"That's pretty much what I think is happening with Clawhauser." Euphemia said, "It sounds strange, but it seems that Angus started seeing that cheetah as another trophy to conquer. The cheetah probably rejected him some times. That riles him up, you know? The more he gets rejected, the more he wants to prove that he can conquer the target of his attentions."

Judy noticed how Euphemia purposely used the word "attentions" instead of "affections".

"In the chance he does conquers Benjamin, he will probably grow bored of him eventually. Then he will just drop him and look for a new trophy to conquer and add to his bedpost." Euphemia concluded.

"And this time he might go for a guy as well as for a girl." Chandler said. "Prey or predator. Literally, no one is safe from that guy now."

Euphemia scoffed. Judy, on her end, reflected on what she had just heard...

What she just heard was still leaving a bad taste on her mouth.

Gazelle still found everything she heard hard to believe.

That someone would ever disown their child based on that.

She cast a glance at Adrian, who was currently leaving along with his father and the two mages who worked for him. He definitely didn't looked happy in the slightest. However, neither was Gazelle.

She remembered on the talks he had been having with her in the last days, bringing about the subject of the upcoming elections, and then mentioning his plans to run for mayor again, like he did back on the day. That before tackling on the subject he actually wanted: her support for his coming election.

He spoke of how he had great plans to "help Zootopia grow" and to "make it big again". Gazelle politely heard all that he had to say.

Gazelle had heard the proposals he had when he candidate five years ago. She was already a defender of mammals rights and greatly against any form of discrimination back on the day. So, you can imagine that she was not really a fan of some of the things she heard from the mammals that formed the majority of Adrian's basis. Some of what the horse himself said didn't sit well with her. Not at all.

And now, there was that.

She knew he was old fashioned, but she never imagined that he would be the kind to kick his son out of home simply for having feelings for a predator.

As a defender of mammals rights, Gazelle was of the opinion that mammals had the freedom of loving someone of a different species. It was their own personal choice, and no one had the right to judge them based on it.

Other than that, the fact that Adrian acted like that with his own son, a mammal he was, as a father, supposed to love unconditionally...

Now, Gazelle understood that there were occasions in which parents truly had no choice but to disown their children, like when they have become violent criminals who had committed acts that could not be defended or justified by any means. She knew there were cases like that. However, feeling attracted to a predator was definitely not something that she could consider such. It certainly didn't warranted the reaction Adrian had.

It only served to show how much of a bigot he was.

If he was able to treat his own son like that, then how would he act with other mammals?

Gazelle knew that she could not give her support to a mammal like that. Not in a million years.

Tyson knew that well. Not only because he knew Maria like he knew few other mammals on his life, but because he could read her very well. He could tell when she was really upset over what she heard.

She often get when hearing or seeing any act of speciesism. That was the kind of mammal she was. She truly meant what she said whenever she spoke of acceptance and embracing differences. Tyson knew that well.

He saw that familiar expression of disgust on her face as she heard the real motive why Adrian had disowned Angus and went so out of his way to erase all traits that he ever existed. Tyson had been surprised for hearing that as he, like Gazelle and many others, thought that the reason had been the attack on Chief Bogo five years prior.

Adrian certainly did a good job pulling the wool over everyone's eyes. Perhaps he even thought that it was convenient that the attack happened. He may have lost the election, but at least he could hide the real motive of him kicking his son out of the house.

And now, five years later, Angus was once more of at the house:

"...and take everything to the guest room right by the side of where used to be my room." Angus said to the security he was talking with. "Dad hasn't turned it into a third game room, did him? No? Good, put my things in there. Remember, they are on the hollow by the roots of the tree closest to the green fence. Now go get them, chop-chop!"

The security in question was not very happy for being told what to do, but he decided to just do what Angus was demanding of him, and went on his way to go fetch Angus belongings, which he was hid on a certain place, and take them to the room where Angus insisted in staying.

"That's a good mundane." Angus said as he watched the security go, and then he turned his attention to the rest of the mammals who were still at the house.

Charles was sitting in a corner, and he shrunk when Angus looked his way. That spineless idiot has never been of too much attention to him. He was just a poor loser who married his sister for her money and mooched of the family ever since. When Angus first heard that Euphemia had gotten engaged to that guy he was like: "him? seriously?" He found it hard to believe. However, he eventually moved on when he learned the truth about Ben and mages. Who cares about your sister's good-for-nothing parasite of a fiancé when you just learned that magic was real and there were dozens of mages living around your city?

Angus certainly didn't.

After that, Charles didn't meant much to him. Now he meant even less. After all, there was no reason for a mage like Angus to give his attention for such a sad and pitiful mundane. He wouldn't even had given him attention in the past had not for him getting engaged to his sister.

No, there were much more interesting mammals that he could pay attention on the room.

Well, there was one interesting mammals left on the room, after everyone left. Even Ben left, with his sister and brother. Angus didn't saw where he went, otherwise he would have gone after him.

Well, guess he would have to focus his attention on the Tigereye guy and his very popular, very pretty, mundane boss. Luckily, her manager was gone now, retreated back to his bedroom to deal with whatever it was he was dealing. It was good, one less annoying mundane to get on his way.

"What a night, huh?" Angus said to the two, and they both turned their attention to him. The horse had a smirk on his face as he approached the two. "You two feeling tired? I'm not really tired. I would feel in the mood for continuing the game, if I was playing it."

The two looked at him for a few moments, and then Angus said:

"What? Don't feel like talking to me?" He asked the two, "Was it something I said back then?"

He turned his attention to Gazelle.

"You know, I was kind of expecting you to be the one to comfort me." Angus said to her. "After all, you are the one who is always on the support of anyone who suffers discrimination."

Gazelle looked at him, and she crossed her arms.

"What your father did to you was terrible." She said to him, and she had a cold expression as she talked to the horse. "But you better not be expecting me to hug you and sing you a lullaby."

"Ouch...' Angus said, "That's cold, Maria. You weren't like that when we were teenagers. What happened to you?"

"I dated you." Gazelle said to him, her tone so cold it could very well rival the peak of the last ice age, "And I saw first hoof what a lying, manipulative, egocentric and selfish piece of mammal garbage you are. That's what happened."

Yes, Gazelle dated Angus Manechester. Back when they were still in high school.

He was about to be a sophomore and she was two years younger. He had a certain type of charm that many found hard to resist. Gazelle had been one of them. She was not attracted by his money, like most other girls, but he was very good looking. Not only that but, when he first approached her, he was the most complete gentlemammal. He treated her like a princess. Showered her with all kinds of gifts and took her to the best places.

Once more, Gazelle was not sway by his money, but by how polite, charming and kind he was to her. So, she eventually started dating him, and the dating was truly magical.

For the first three or four days.

Then, it all went downhill.

They dated for three weeks. Three weeks in Hell, for Gazelle. As it turns out, Angus was only that charming gentlemammal when he was trying to convince a girl to go to bed with him. Once he got what he wanted, he showed his true colors. And Gazelle really disliked what he showed her once he thought he had "conquered" her.

To that very day, Angus figured between the top five worse boyfriends Gazelle ever had on her life, right behind the guy who tried to get her hooked on that prey-supremacy cult and the pathologically jealous guy who started trying to cancel her shows behind her back and put GPS trackers on her cellphone and bags.

She still couldn't believe she took three whole weeks before she finally could break up with him. In part, it could be attribute to the fact that Angus, despite being a total jerk, knew how to make her feel bad about disagreeing with him...

"Man, who knew that the famous Gazelle would be so good at keeping a grudge?" Angus said, a smirk on his lips as he looked at Gazelle, who still gave him the coldest look. "That was years ago, Maria. You really should let it go."

Gazelle was currently thinking of a few choice words to say to that horse. Words that she had been wanting to say to him ever since high school, but never had the chance. However, before she could:

"But, I'm not here to talk to you, specifically." Angus said to her, "So, why don't you take a hike? Go refresh, put a bit more makeup, whatever."

"Excuse me?" Gazelle said, and Angus looked at her deadly on the eye.

"I told you to leave." He said in a serious tone. Gazelle blinked, as the horse now looked straight into her eyes.

"No matter how famous or rich you are, a mundane like you has no place on the business of mages." He said to her, his voice sounding strangely strong to Gazelle's ears. "You should leave us now."

For some reason, Gazelle couldn't look away from Angus as he looked at her. Actually, she was starting to think that maybe she should leave.

"Hey!" Tyson's voice snapped her out of it, as he got in between her and Angus. "Cut that out, asshole!" Gazelle could hear Tyson's angry words, as she shook her head and tried to clear her mind and understand what her just happened.

Angus looked at Tyson, who was baring his fangs at him. He immediately got defensive.

"Hey, no need to be angry." Angus said.

"You try to use mental interference on Gazelle in front of me and you ask me not to be mad?" Tyson snarled at him. "Are you joking me!?"

"I'm just trying to get her to give us some privacy." Angus said, speaking as if this was enough of a justification. "I mean, you don't want to discuss business with me if your mundane boss is here to hear, right?"

Tyson snarl grew.

"She is not a 'mundane'." Tyson said to the horse. "Neither is she just my boss. She is my friend. Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of her."

He looked at him, and then at Gazelle, who was now glaring at him as she come to the realization he had tried to hypnotize her. Then Angus shrugged.

"As you want." The horse said, before focusing his entire attention at the tiger, and speaking:

"I'd like to form a partnership."

Tyson raised an eyebrow as he looked at him.

"I'm the first mage of my lineage." Angus said to the big feline. "I'm still pretty much on the lowest branch of the moonlit world. I want to work my way up the ladder, to be more important. And, like in many occasions, the best way of doing it is by getting as many allies as I can."

"And... you want me to be your ally?" Tyson asked him, to what Angus answered:

"You and your brothers. I might be new to the world of magecraft, but I know a few things. I know about your clan. How you have the purpose of inserting new blood on older, more powerful clans. How everyone only sees you as breeders and basically don't respect you at all. I've been there, believe me, I know what it's like to have other mages looking down on you."

Tyson said nothing, and Angus then continued:

"Those guys underestimate you. I heard the stories, and I know the Tigereye clan has a lot more potential than most other mages want to admit. Seriously, you guys could be great if you played your cards right. You could really show the Association what you are capable of. Like your uncle was supposed to be doing."

Tyson let out a small snarl as Angus mentioned his uncle.

"So, I'd like to know if I could have your family's support on my future endeavors." Angus told him. "You can relax, I'm not gonna ask for a piece of your magic crest, and neither will I make you sign any geis... for now. I just want to know if you would be willing to join my cause, and help me become a little more meaningful among mages."

"And, in return..." Angus continued, "I'll be sure to give your family all the help I can when I have fully asserted myself as an influent mage. So, what do you think? Sounds like a good deal, doesn't it? That's how it is supposed to be for mage families, right? Mutual help? Sounds good to me."

Tyson looked at him for a few moments, his eyebrow raised.

"Why my clan?" Tyson asked, now speaking to him as a mage. "Why come to my family specifically for help? I'm sure we are not the only ones you could ask."

"Oh, you are." Angus said to him in answer. "Well, you are one of the few, anyways. Most of those mage families would not give a guy like me time of day. Especially the older families. Those traditional ones would not be interested in dealing with a first-generation loser with no pedigree like me. That is why I decided to try and get along with other losers."

Tyson looked at him, and so did Gazelle.

"I mean, those who the Association sees as losers. Like your family. You are used to be disrespect by those influent mages, aren't you? So, I assumed that you would be interested on forming a beneficial bond with another mage. Someone who could help your family get the respect you deserve. So, what do you say? Let's get along as fellow underdogs?"

Tyson didn't answered immediately. He only looked at Angus up and down, evaluating him.

He might not be from an influent mage family, but he was still a mage. As a mage, he was taught to never go into deals with other families without making the terms for both of them very clear. After all, dealing with other mages could be dangerous, as they could very easily turn on you and take advantage of you if you were not careful. And, when bond by a geis, then they would usually demand you to be bond to one as well, and this could put you into a problem if you didn't knew exactly what you were agreeing with beforepaw.

That was why, as a mage, he was very careful when making deals. He needed to be careful even when doing them with people he knew personally, let alone a mage he barely even knew, like that horse. And, after everything he's seen and heard, and the rumors he heard around about his family and about the horse himself, he was not exactly very keen on putting his trust in Angus Manechester.

"And how exactly would you help my family?" Tyson said, and Angus only smirked at him.

"You let me worry about that when the time comes." Angus said to him, "But, I can tell you that, I'll make sure that no one really looks down on you, your brothers, or your father, ever again. I'll certainly be of much more help for you than her."

He gestured with his head at Gazelle, who was standing behind Tyson. The tiger glared at the horse.

"She has done a lot for me and my brothers, I assure you of that." Tyson said, "In fact, she has done much more for us so far than you."

"Oh, really?" Angus asked him. "Is she doing anything for you now? Is she doing anything while you and your brothers are being persecuted and bashed all over the internet? Or is she just standing back and touching herself while reading the letters of her fans while you guys take the brunch?"

"What?" Gazelle asked. She would have feel offended for the implication that the end of Angus' statement did about her, but she was more worried about what he said about Tyson and the other boys.

Persecuted and bashed?

"I mean, I don't see you doing anything to help them while people send them all of those insults and threats online." The horse said to her, and Gazelle looked at him.

"What?" She said again, "Tyson, is it true? There are people threatening you?"

Tyson looked away, and Angus looked at the popstar.

"Wait..." He said, "You don't know?"

He looked at her with some amusement.

"Wow. I guess popstars really do live in their own little world. I mean, not noticing how much people are attacking your tigers because of the rumor..."

"What rumor?" Gazelle asked. "Tyson, what is he talking about? What are people saying about you?"

Tyson didn't answered to her. Angus, on the other hoof, seemed to be willing to talk to the popstar.

"Just a certain type of rumor that started around two weeks ago." He said to her, causing Gazelle to look at him. "No one knows who actually started it, but it seems to have spread around like wildfire. People are talking about it all over the internet, and it even got featured on some minor news sites. I'm surprised you actually don't know about it. I mean, were you too busy going to spas to pay too much attention for your tigers' problems?"

Gazelle only looked at him.

"What. Rumor?" She asked, and Angus cast a glance at Tyson. It seemed that he didn't wanted him to talk, but he had no way of preventing it or changing the subject now. Angus then answered to Gazelle's question:

"That your tigers were the ones who caused the Darkest Hour to happen."

Gazelle blinked. Her mind took a few seconds to process what she just heard. She then looked at Tyson, who looked away from her. Then she looked at Angus.

"What!?" She sounded shocked for hearing that. Outraged, even.

"That's what they are saying online." Angus said to her.

"B-but... that's... That's absurd!" She said, and Angus shrugged.

"A lot of people online don't think it is absurd." The horse spoke, "I mean, they all know that the Darkest Hour was caused by a group of mages. And, since the mall, they know that your four dancing kittens are mages. Someone pointed out that they were with you in Fangtropolis when the Darkest Hour happened, and someone associated the ideas. It was not that much of a stretch, actually."

"They didn't do it!" Gazelle said immediately, feeling absolutely outraged and disgusted that people would actually believe that Tyson and the boys would actually do something so horrible. "This is preposterous!"

"Is it?" Angus said, not to Gazelle, but to Tyson.

"Tell him, Tyson!" Gazelle said, "Tell him that you had nothing to do with that!"

Tyson looked very intently at the horse. Then he said:

"I wasn't taking part of that ritual." Tyson said. "Neither any of my brothers."

"But you were in the city." Angus pointed out.

"But we were not part of that ritual." Tyson confirmed to him. "We were not in there for take part on that ritual. We had no reason to."

"No reason?" Angus said, "Really?" He asked to the tiger as he eyed him, and he actually seemed a bit disappointed for hearing that, for some reason.

"No." Tyson said to him, and Gazelle glared at the horse, as if she wanted to say: "see?"

"But you were on the city while the ritual was being performed." Angus said, and Tyson flinched as he heard that. "And there was no way you didn't noticed it. I'm pretty sure you and your brothers knew exactly what was happening in that city."

Tyson looked at him, and then he looked away. However, he regretted it, because he then met Gazelle's eyes, which looked at him with worry. He then looked away, as he said:

"We didn't knew what was going to happen..." Tyson said, "We didn't knew it was going to destroy the whole city. If we knew, we would have done something to stop it! We would have..." Tyson's voice trailed, and he closed his eyes.

"Feeling guilty, huh?" Angus said, looking at the tiger. "Well, I guess that doesn't help the victims now, does it? And I bet having everyone on the internet pointing their fingers at you only reminds you that, even if you did not made the ritual, you still did nothing to stop it. So, it is technically all your fault."

"Shut up, Angus!" Gazelle said to him, causing Angus to look at her. However, she was more worried with Tyson, as she looked at him.

"Tyson, where is my phone?" She asked him. "You were the one who hid it, weren't you? Tell me where it is. Actually, show me! You are coming with me." She said, grabbing his arm and guiding him away.

"Wha- Maria?" Tyson said in surprise, as the Gazelle pulled on his arm with surprising strength, considering how thin her arms were and how smaller she was then Tyson. "W-what are you going to do?"

"We will be posting a video!" Gazelle said, as she steered Tyson away from that horse, of whom she had completely forgotten about. She just found out something much more important to worry about.

"So, we talk later?" Angus asked, calling out to Tyson. "Think about my offer! Believe me, once I'm stablished, my gratitude will be very useful to you!"

As the tiger and gazelle departed, the horse added under his breath:

"That is, if you have been useful to me."

"You're both completely useless!"

Adrian's voice made the two mages flinch. Legoshi whimpered, while Melon had his usual unimpressed expression and crossed arms as the horse continued to yell at the two of them.

Once more, Adrian was criticizing the two for having been completely useless in preventing an invasion to his home. Once more, an attack had happened, and someone passed by their "measures" without any problem. Not only that, Sheppard had managed to escape his imprisonment even though they both assured him it could not happen with the collar they made on his neck.

"You two can't do anything right!" Adrian yelled at the two, wanting to yell at them until he lost his voice, even if it was just to vent out his frustration.

Legoshi looked down.

"We did removed the bugs out of the greenhouse." He said, clutching to the box he still had on his paws.

"What!?" Adran said, whipping his head at the wolf with a murderous glare on his eyes. This immediately made the wolf yip.

"N-nothing, Manechester-sama!" Legoshi said. "W-we tried our best, but it was not our specialty! Protecting a house is not something we usually to do! Gomen'nasai!" The wolf bowed his head low before the horse, while Melon continued with his arms crossed and an expression on his face that was nearly one of boredom, as if Adrian's words meant close to nothing to him. He just asked:

"This is not coming out of our paycheck, is it?"

Adrian glared at him with fury, which the hybrid returned with complete indifference, which was actually more intimidating than the horse's rage.

All the while, someone continued to look at the sidelines.

Yahya was not particularly interested on watching his son have a tirade. He saw his son throw enough tantrums when things didn't went his way to know how it went. However, he was interested in observing the two.

He paid close watch to how the two of them reacted to Adrian's words, and to their overall behavior. The wolf was clearly the more apologetic of the two, as he remained bowed and apologized in Nipponese (in which Yahya had a decent fluency, since some of the most important contracts the Beastar Corps had for their equipment were with Nipponese manufacturers), and he clearly showed that he was not one to question another mammal. He seemed that he was genuinely sorry for their latest failure, and he seemed to feel genuinely bad about being yell at by Adrian. Like a pup receiving a scolding by his parents.

"Melon", on the other hoof, seemed like he couldn't care less if he tried. He simply stood in there as if he was waiting for his train to arrive at the station, as if Adrian's fury really meant nothing to him. Was it because he truly had no reason to fear him? He didn't respected Adrian? Or was he used to being yelled at by others? Either way, it seemed that he truly didn't minded Adrian's yelling, and he wasn't about to show any form of emotion regarding this. In fact, he even felt confident enough to be sassy with his employer.

Neither of them was very professional.

Of course, when you took into account that freelancers were basically mercenaries, there was no surprise that they would not be professional about a job.

However, they also didn't seemed much of mercenaries.

Yahya already had contact with mercenaries, once his company was so good that it was not unusual for them to have a few contacts with the military. Yahya already had the (dis)pleasure of working side-by-side with a couple mercenaries. Enough to know the average mercenary profile like the back of his hooved hand, and those two didn't exactly fit into it.

The hybrid certainly acted like one, with his devil-may-care attitude and obvious overconfidence, and the fact that he seemed to care about the money he would be getting much more than about other things.

That wolf, however, didn't acted like that at all. He was respectful and seemed awfully kind. Way too much for someone who claimed to be a professional mercenary. Actually, the boy behaved more like a young cub who was trying his best to do the chores than a mercenary earning his paycheck at any cost.

Not to mention the fact that he seemed to care very much about the lives of others, if the way he behaved with the bugs was any indication. Hardened mercenaries don't have this kind of consideration over life, if it got on the way of them getting their payment.

Yahya actually had the distinct impression that the wolf would not be there in the first place if he actually had a choice...

"I should sent you two away right now!" Adrian yelled at the two. Ogami flinched and whimpering, is tail safely tucked between his legs. Horne, on his end, looked at the horse with a smirk.

"Then finding out another freelancer who is willing to work for you?" He asked the horse, "Well, good luck with that."

"What? You think you are the only ones who will do things for money!?" Adrian demanded of him. "I can easily hire someone who is ten times more competent than the two of you!"

"That if you can find them." Horne said to him. "After all, I do remember how you seemed to be having a lot of trouble to find any mage. Not a very good nose for magecraft, huh?"

Adrian glared at him.

"Not to mention, I don't know many freelancers who would be desperate enough for money that they would work for a guy as annoying as you." Horne said to him, "Seriously, you scream and complain at everything. You are a real pain in the tail, you know? I kinda want to leave right now."

"You do?" Legoshi asked him, sounding genuinely surprised. "But you were the one who came up with the ide-MM!" The wolf was cut mid-sentence by the hybrid placing a hoof around his muzzle and forcing it shut. A fact that was not lost to Yahya, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Was it an attempt of preventing the wolf from giving away the hybrid's bluff? Or was it...?

"But, I'm willing to keep working for you." Melor said to him, "But I'll be charging an extra for mental discomfort. For working for a sack of crap."

"What did you just said!?" Adrian demanded, and the hybrid said:

"That you are a sack of crap. What? Are you going to say you aren't? Well, I find it hard to believe. Someone who tosses his own son out just for being gay and into predators? That kind of makes you a sack of crap, at least in my books. But, not that surprising, considering your attitude towards me. But hey, at least you won't need to have a hybrid grandchild, right? You know, with the guy being gay and all. But, I guess this doesn't makes things much better for you, huh? People still know you sired a gay son. They might think it is genetic or something." He looked not only at Adrian, but at Yahya as well. Yahya said nothing, but he did noticed that there was some kind of knowing look on his eyes as he looked his way.

Adrian looked at him, and he was clearly fuming. It looked like he wanted to say something at the hybrid, who only continued to smirk smugly at him. However, in the end, the horse only said:

"Get out of my sight, both of you."

"As you wish, boss." Horne said with a mocking salute, as he let the room by a side door, with Legoshi coming hot on his heels, while Adrian continued to glare at both of them with anger as they left.

As soon as the doors closed behind them:

"Boss chewing your ears again?" The familiar voice asked, making the two of them look to the side, to see Josh casually leaning against the wall, looking at them with a sly smirk.

"Oh, just the usual." Melor said to the "The guy seems to love chewing at our ears. Quite strange for a prey..."

And this way another conversation started. One that quickly turned lewd...

"I can chew your ear too." Josh said to the hybrid, "Don't worry, I won't bite to hard... unless you ask for it."

Melor smirked.

"Think you can handle me? I'm a pretty though one."

"I like it though."

"So do I. But, are you though enough for me?"

"Do you see how I'm dressed now?" Josh said gesturing to his costume, which was basically a set of skimp leather gear. "I put this mostly to piss off those horses, but I assure you they are not just for show."

"Really? Well, now that sounds interesting." Melor said to him, licking his lips, making sure to flash his pearly-white fangs, and Josh did the very same. Twenty seconds later, Josh was walking away, carrying Melor over his shoulder like fresh kill.

"See you tomorrow, Legoshi!" The hybrid said to the wolf, who looked at the two departing mammals, looking baffled.

"Eh...?"

"Unbelievable..." Adrian said, as he and his father exited the room through a different door Ogami and Horne used.

"Unbelievable... Simply and utterly unbelievable." Adrian said to him, as he and Yahya continued to make their way across the mansion.

"What, exactly?" Said a voice that made them both stop and Adrian look over.

"That your 'shame of a son' is alive?" Nick asked him, as he looked at the horse. "Or that he just revealed what you so desperately tried to keep a secret?"

"Wilde." Adrian said, looking at the fox.

"Or, maybe it is the fact that Gazelle will no longer be supporting your running for mayor next year?" Nick continued looking at the horse. "Or, maybe, it is the fact that your good obedient wife decided not to be so obedient anymore? Or, would that be option 'e': all of the above?"

"What are you getting at, Wilde?" Adrian demanded of the fox, "Are you following us or something?"

"Moi?" Nick said, "Oh, no. That would be your son. I'm just the fox who is walking around your house and just happened to hear the horse I found out is an even bigger piece of garbage than I thought complaining about something."

"What?" Adrian demanded. "What did you just said?"

"That you are a piece of garbage." Nick said to him. "I mean, kicking your firstborn out because he wanted to bang a pred? That's a pretty butthole move, if you ask me."

Nick then shrugged.

"But, you can relax. I don't actually think any worse of you than I already did. In fact, I'm not even surprised."

"Measure your words carefully, Wilde." Adrian said to the horse, looking at him with anger. Nick, however, was not shake in the slightest.

"Or what? You will kick me out and cut my allowance?"

"Why you little-" Adrian said, clenching is fists as he gave a single step in direction to Nic, who reacted.

"Lay a finger on me and I arrest you for assaulting an officer!" Nick said to him, and the way he spoke it, combined with the suddenness, caught Adrian completely off guard. Even Yahya seemed surprised, as he raised an eyebrow at the fox.

Nick would have been a lot more careful around those two. However, he was not on the mood to be careful with them after hearing Angus' words.

Now, he knew that Angus was actually an even worse dong than his father, and he was among the mammals who felt glad that arrogant trust fund snob left the city. However, he did felt something when he heard Angus describing how Adrian had completely looked down on him and badmouthed him for "being a shame for the family".

Just as Lawrence did when he talked about Nick's mother.

"You rich people and your little notions of right and wrong. Proper and shameful." Nick said to the horse, the contempt clear on his voice. "Most of it just biased crap. But you actually believe on that crap, huh? You swallow is up as if it is ice cream and you barf it down your children's throats, and the ones of everyone who you talk with."

Nick looked at Adrian.

"You are just like that, aren't you? I heard your speeches last time you ran from mayor. It really sounded that your 'ideas for improvement' were just you trying to impose your views of how things should be over everyone else."

Nick smirked.

"I voted against you. Like most of the city, by the way."

The horse snorted as he glared at the fox, and he really looked like he wanted to jump at the fox. All of the events of the night had taken a toll on him, from finding out Angus was alive to having Angus expose to the guest the truth of what happened five years ago, and even having his wife oppose him like she'd done few times during their entire relationship. All of that was making Adrian a lot edgier than normal.

Yahya noticed it.

"Adrian." He said, causing his son to look at him. "Go take a walk."

"What?"

"Your nostrils are flaring." Yahya said to his son. "Whenever I saw your nostrils flare like that, it was because you were about to do something stupid. Go take a walk to calm yourself. Now."

The way Yahya spoke made it clear that there was no room for discussion. It was not a request, but a command. Adrain, like a foal, had no choice but to do as his father demanded. He shot one dirty glare at the fox, before walking away.

Nick didn't relented.

"Yeah, do was daddy said, Adrian. Go play and let the grownups talk. Go play with your dolls. Maybe make a little marriage. Oh, but remember to make the bride and groom be the same species! It would be terrible if they were the wrong species, right? It would be a wedding you would never attend in real life!"

Adrian stopped, and he clenched his hooved fingers, and then stomped away through the door.

Seriously, he stomped his feet just lie a child would and slammed the door on his way out.

"What a big kit, huh?" Nick said to Yahya, looking at him. "You know, they say that most parents blame themselves when their kit grows up to be like that. Do you blame yourself? Well, I'm not sure you should, I mean, you are not that much of a dong as your son is."

Yahya said nothing, and he continued to look at Nick, who only looked back at him.

"But, I do have the feeling that you would also not like to attend a wedding with the bride and the groom being of different species... or that had two grooms or brides."

Yahya still said nothing.

"That is, considering the rumors that go around about you are true."

"Rumors are not to be trusted." Yahya said to the fox, finally. "They are just narrations based on hearsay and without any strong evidence."

"But they sometimes are true." Nick said to the horse. "I mean, there was a rumor going around that Angus was kicked from his house for other reasons than what Adrian was saying to everyone."

Nick had crossed arms as he looked at the horse. "Makes me wonder if other rumors regarding the Manechester family are true..."

Yahya looked at the fox for a few moments.

"Are you done, Wilde?" Yahya asked. There was no anger on his voice, but the way he spoke make it clear that he didn't wanted to waste time. "Or you have something to say to me as well? Something worth the time?"

"Just wanting to know if you really just stood there and said nothing while Adrian kicked Angus out." Nick sad to him, "You know, the guy you originally wanted to make the heir of your company after you took the old dirt nap. Or, did you gave up on him when you found out how much he fancied preds?"

Yahya looked at the fox.

"Are you asking me if I wanted him to kick Angus out?" Yahya asked, and the fox only shrugged. Yahya then said:

"It was inconvenient. However, he was Adrian's son. Not mine. It was his decision."

"Decision that you could have easily reverted or prevented from happening." Nick said, "Unless you fully agreed with it."

Yahya remained silent for a few moments, before continuing:

"Angus attacked Bogo. He attacked a police Chief with full intent of severely harming him. I talked to him after the fact, and it was obvious he felt no remorse for it at all."

"Someone like that is not qualified to run the Beastar Corps." Yahya concluded, and Nick eyed him very intently. Nick was good at reading others. Yahya had a pretty good poker face, and he hardly let out more emotions than he intended.

"So, that was actually because he attacked Bogo?" Nick asked, "You're not just using it as an excuse like your son did? You know, to hide the fact that you felt grossed out by your predator-loving son."

"Who Angus associates, or pursues, was never my business." Yahya said to him, "I'm his grandfather, but I do not decide his life for him. If he wanted to try pursuing a relationship, sexual or otherwise, with a carnivore, it was his own choice."

Yahya then said:

"It was his choice if he wanted to ruin his own life."

That caused Nick to raise an eyebrow at the horse.

"'Ruin his own life', huh?" Nick said, and Yahya said:

"That's how things like that normally end."

"Says who?" Nick asked.

"That's common sense." Yahya said to the fox. "Or at least should be."

Nick continued to look at the horse, who then continued:

"There are many examples of this." Yahya then started counting on his fingers, "Lancecolt's romance with Lionevere was what led to the fall of Camelot. When Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, a wolf, fell in love with Gráinne, a doe, this resulted in both being chased and in Diarmuid killing many of his fellow knights, only to years later die as his own king and former best friend allowed him to die from his wounds. And I think you are familiar with the story of Romeow and Howlliette."

Nick said nothing in return, and only continued to look at the horse with crossed arms and an arm of vague interest.

"To some, those are tragic stories of forbidden love. To me, they are cautionary tales." Yahya said to the fox. "Tales that warn us about the dangers of getting involved into something that will only end badly."

Nick continued to look at him.

"Really?" He said, and it was obvious to Yahya that the fox was not convinced.

"Only mammals do things like that." Yahya said to him. "Chickens don't fall in love with eagles, and fish don't marry snakes. I assure you, if a spider sees a moth on its web, the spider will eat the moth, not offer it a romantic dinner."

"It does not happens in nature. This means it is not intended to happen. Not supposed to happen." Yahya concluded.

"In all honesty, I don't understand why people get surprised and shocked when such relationships end in disaster."

Nick looked at him for a few more moments, before saying a single word:

"Wow."

"Don't give me that look, Wilde." Yahya said, "I'm just saying my opinion here. Different species can become friends, but interspecies romances rarely work out, if ever. Still, people continue trying it like fools. I don't want to tell people how to live their lives, so I keep my opinions to myself. It is people's choices if they want to get themselves involved into something that will only become a problem later."

Nick looked at him for a few moments, before saying once more:

"Wow."

Yahya looked at him, and then he said:

"You are a decent mammal, Wilde. I looked into you, and I've been following your performance on the ZPD. You have a lot of potential. So, I'm willing to give you an advice."

"Oh?" Nick said.

"Cut that out with Hopps."

Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"I have eyes, Wilde." Yahya said to the fox. "And I'm not stupid. I've seen both of you. I saw the way you two look at each other. I see what is going on, and that is why I'm telling you: cut it out. Stop it. End it before it begins. Do it now because, if you two go down this path, it will only end badly for both of you. Especially if you take in consideration the ZPD's policies on confraternization. Now, if you excuse me, there is another place I need to be."

With this said, Yahya left. Nick remained just standing there, with his arms crossed, watching the horse depart. Yahya crossed a door and, in this moment, Judy walked around him, as she was coming from the same room Yahya was going.

"Nick!" Judy called for her partner, rushing to him and speaking on how she needed to talk to him. She noticed the expression on his face.

"Something wrong?" She asked him, "Did Manechester said something to you?"

She was worried, but Nick assured her it was okay. "Nothing you need to worry about, Fluff."

Judy was not sure, but she accepted Nick's answer. There were other matters they needed to think about now, like the sudden return of Angus Manechester. It was certainly important, especially if he was, indeed, the one responsible for the vandalisms on the house, and would now been staying inside of the house from now on. And there was also the matter of Sheppard's escape, and the possibility he could come back. All of that was something they had to pay attention to.

Nick, however, was only partially hearing what Judy was saying. His mind was distracted thinking back on what Yahya had said...

"I'll only ask one more time!" The bear demanded. "Where. Are. Our. Friends!?"

"How many times do I have to tell you!?" Chuckles said back as the ursine held him by the collar of his shirt. "I. Don't. Know!

The bear growled at him, and it seemed that he was about to become more than just a little pushier with the wolverine, when the door of the dungeon cell opened, and another mammal walked inside.

"Boss!" The bison who was on the room as well said, as he and the bear both paid attention to the dark horse who just walked inside.

Yahya looked at the two of them, and then at Chuckles.

"You can relax, Ursal." Yahya said to the bear. "Let go of him."

The bear hesitated, but did as the horse asked him, and Yahya approached.

"What, are you going to question me on where are those guards?"

Yahya looked at him.

"Do you know where they are?"

Chuckles adjusted his shirt and did straighten his clothes up.

"No, I don't." He said, and Yahya looked at the wolverine very intently, before nodding.

"Okay then." Yahya said, "We'll talk more on it later, but now, I have other things I'd like to ask you."

Chuckles looked curiously at the horse, who proceeded to ask him a few different questions...