It was wintertime in Zootopia. The sun was setting earlier, plunging the city into darkness before it was even dinnertime. The lights from the skyscrapers bounced off the low-hanging clouds, granting the few wandering souls on the ground with more visibility than they would have had otherwise. It was snowing, too—gently at the moment, but it was sure to pick up as the night continued.

The arctic fox did not mind, of course. It provided her with the perfect cover. Her creamy-white fur, covered in a pale winter jacket and light gray sweatpants, helped her blend in with the snow as it slowly fell. Even mammals with the most keen of eyes would have had a hard time spotting her as she darted from alley to alley. And even if she was spotted, it would be easy enough to excuse her appearance. For all anyone knew, she was just a resident of the nearby apartments, making her way home after a long day of work.

They would have no way of knowing that not only was she not a resident of the apartments, she was not even a citizen of Zootopia. She had just arrived a few hours ago, having sneaked into town on one of the freight trains from the north. She would have gladly paid for a ticket, but she did not have a penny to her name, and her only possessions were the clothes on her back. She had left her most recent town of residence in a rush—cutting it almost too close—but she was in Zootopia now, the biggest city known to mammalkind, and she was positive she would be safe here.

Still, she had to make sure she had not been followed. That was why she was so cautiously slinking around. She would dash from one alleyway to the next, press herself against the wall of the closest building, and wait. Her ears stood on alert. Her icy-blue eyes darted back and forth. Her nostrils were spread open, ready to catch even the faintest scent of anyone who might have pursued her this far.

But eventually, she trusted she was alone. Her train had arrived in Zootopia hours ago, and if she had been followed, she was sure she would have been caught by now. Finally, she allowed herself to relax. She rested her back against the brick wall behind her, lifted her head to the sky, closed her eyes, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Congratulations, Skye. You've made it to Zootopia.

It felt like a burden had been lifted off of her shoulders. Skye had been trying to make it to Zootopia as long as she could remember. She almost could not believe she was actually, really, finally here; she wondered if this was all just a dream, and she was on the verge of waking up and finding herself back in Marble Jade.

But the cold winter air, the light snow pattering against the fur on her cheeks, and the distant sounds of traffic in a city that never slept continued on. She allowed a smile to cross her face. Yes. This was real.

And now that she was here, she needed to decide what to do next.

She did not have any way of knowing the time, but she knew it was late at night. She had no money for a hotel, she did not know a single person she could visit, and she didn't have a clue where to find a homeless shelter. She ached for a bed—or at least somewhere safe to sleep until the next morning—but there was no such place for her. As tired as she was, there would be no rest for her tonight.

Her smile faded away. She opened her eyes and stared up absently at the clouds above. She had spent her entire life trying to get to Zootopia, and now that she was here, she didn't know what to do. Her original plan had been to save up money before coming here—or at least have a job lined up—but her plans had suddenly changed that morning, and there was nothing she could do about it now anyway. The adrenaline from the past few hours was wearing off, leaving her feeling much more weary than she was used to, but the fact was that there was nowhere for her to rest for the night. She had slept out in the cold before, countless times, but never in a big city like Zootopia. She was not prepared to deal with the dangers that would come with sleeping on a public bench, or in a cardboard box in one of these alleys. Someone might see her while she slept, and might recognize her. It was too risky.

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. As much as she wanted to take even just a twenty-minute nap, she began to resign herself to the fact that she was likely going to have to stay up all night, just as she had the night before—at least until the stores began to open the next morning so she could start applying for a job. Her gaze wandered from the clouds to the alleyway beside her, which led to a side street in-between some residential buildings nearby. Undoubtedly, they housed countless mammals who were warm and comfortable right now, resting their heads after a day at work or school, blissfully unaware of the vixen outside, doomed to spend that night cold and unsleeping. She would have given just about anything for even a few minutes of sleep in a safe, secure environment…

Her eyes settled on something. Parked at the very end of the alley, safely away from the street, was a sedan. It was an unassuming car: a light shade of gray, proportioned to fit medium-sized mammals such as herself, and from the pile of snow on the roof it looked like it had been sitting there since early that morning, if not longer.

A thought entered Skye's mind, and she immediately dismissed it. She was not desperate enough to break into a car just to have a place to nap… Was she? She shook her head, trying to physically rattle the thought free from her mind. Skye Frost was many things, but she was not a criminal, and she refused to stoop to that level, no matter how desperate she was.

All the same, the car did seem to be abandoned. And she wouldn't be stealing it; she would just crawl into the back seat and sleep for a few hours until the morning. She was exhausted from her day, it was starting to get too cold even for her, and most important of all, she had nowhere else to go. It wasn't too much to ask for, was it?

She didn't have the energy to talk herself out of it. It's better than nothing.

Before she could change her mind, she walked to the car. Skye had a knowledge of motor vehicles that would rival an encyclopedia, and after spending only a few seconds examining the driver's door, she knew exactly what it would take to get it open. She raised a single finger, pressed her claw into the key hole, and jerked it in a half-circle. As if by magic, the door popped open, welcoming Skye into its cozy interior.

Skye allowed herself a smile. "Skye, you sly fox," she murmured under her breath. She opened the door wider and started to climb inside. "You've still got the magic touch."

"Trouble?"

Skye jumped at the voice, so suddenly she nearly hit her snout on the roof of the car. She stood up straight and jerked her head to the side, looking in the direction the voice had come from.

She was shocked to see that there was another fox—this one red—standing mere feet away from her. How he had sneaked up on her, she had no idea; she always tried to keep her awareness high, always subconsciously on the lookout for anyone sneaking up on her, and yet this fox had managed to do so.

And, apparently, he had not even meant to. Upon seeing her reaction to his question, he raised his paws in an attempt to quickly calm her down. "Whoa! Sorry if I scared you!"

Skye quickly calmed herself. Whoever this fox was, he clearly hadn't been looking for her like she had at first feared—and, even better, he did not quite seem to realize that she had just broken into the sedan. She grinned as casually as possible and leaned against the frame of the car. "Oh, it's okay, don't worry." She patted the car with her paw and rolled her eyes. "This girl has been giving me so much trouble lately. Sometimes I don't know why I even keep her, you know?"

To Skye's relief, he seemed to buy her story. The fox folded his paws behind his back and stood at ease. He adopted a friendly smile and nodded. Now that her adrenaline was fading away, she was able to take a good look at him for the first time. He seemed to be older than her, though only by a few years or so. He had a lean body build, and clearly kept himself in top shape. He was dressed much more warmly than she was, which indicated that he had anticipated staying out in the cold for several hours when he had first put his outfit on.

But it was his eyes that caught her attention the most: they were a beautiful shade of green, something she had never seen from any of the foxes in Marble Jade. And the look on his face was not one of confrontation, but instead calm and welcoming. Skye was used to being looked down on by most animals—even other foxes—and even when they tried to be amicable to her, they never looked at her with goodwill. This one, however, was not only maintaining eye contact with her, but seemed to be eager to do so. And it made her feel just a little bit warmer, even with the snow falling all around her.

"So, you forgot your keys?"

Skye's stomach leapt into her throat. He had seen her break in, after all. But the good news was that he seemed to still think it was her car, and she intended to keep it that way. She flashed an embarrassed smile and thumped a paw against the steering wheel inside. "As a matter of fact, yes," she admitted. "I lost my keys in the snow somewhere between work and here."

"Ouch." The other fox gave an exaggerated wince. "I've been there. It's never fun." He leaned forward, as if letting her in on a big secret. "In fact, last winter, I lost my wallet in the snow outside my apartment, and it took almost a week before I found it again."

Skye forced a chuckle in response, and hoped it didn't sound as nervous as she thought it might. "That sounds like a real pain."

"Oh, it was. It absolutely was. I had to carpool with a buddy from work the whole week long and his choice in radio stations was questionable, let me tell you. So, how exactly do you plan on getting this home, anyway?"

The question was asked so casually, it took Skye a few seconds to even realize it was asked at all. She could easily excuse using a claw to open the car door instead of a key, but it was going to be a lot harder to answer this latest question. She dared not spend too much time formulating an answer, and quickly responded with something that was mostly true anyway. "To be honest, I hadn't thought that far ahead."

He was quiet for a moment, thinking over her words. Skye did not like his long silence. This conversation was already lasting far longer than she wanted. The longer the fox talked with her, the more likely it was that something bad would happen. Maybe he would realize she was not the owner of the car; maybe the actual owner would show up and expose her; or worst of all, maybe someone from Marble Jade would walk past and recognize her.

Finally, though, he nodded, seeming content with her answers. "Well, I hope you figure something out." He waved a paw at the snow that fell around them. "Soon. It's only going to get colder tonight."

Glad that this conversation was finally coming to an end, Skye allowed herself to let go of the breath she did not realize she had been holding. "I always do." She patted the steering wheel reassuringly. "If worse comes to worst, I know how to hotwire this thing."

The red fox raised an eyebrow, but his smile did not disappear. "Okay, if you're sure." He turned around and began walking away. "Good luck, miss!"

As he took his first steps to leave, Skye could feel her heart beating quickly in her chest. That had been close—too close. She was lucky that he had bought her story, but the farther away he walked, the more convinced she was that she was in the clear. A mixture of exhaustion and relief flooded her, and she finally had the chance to sink into the interior of the car. The second she sat in the driver's seat, she felt a wave of relaxation and ease flood her, and she took the moment to close her eyes and enjoy the feeling of rest for the first time in more than two days.

"Actually!"

Her eyes snapped open. She yelped and recoiled away from the door, startled. The fox had once again sneaked up on her, and was standing at ease in the open doorway. His paws were behind his back again, and he was ducking his head down to her eye level. His smile was still on his face, but she had a hard time deciding whether it was a polite smile or a mischievous smile.

Either way, she was not happy to see him again.

He didn't seem to care that he had scared her this time. Without missing a beat, he continued, "It's probably none of my business, but…" He patted the roof above her head. "This is your car, right?"

By now, Skye was finding this fox to be more annoying than anything else. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn he was teasing her, or at least intentionally making this conversation as awkward as possible. She fought off the urge to let out an exasperated sigh, instead gritting her teeth together and forcing one of the worst smiles she had ever produced in her life. "Yes, it's my car," she responded, not bothering to hide the irritation from her voice.

The other fox saw her annoyance, but it did not appear to phase him. If anything, it only seemed to act as fuel to continue this discussion. "Oh, I believe you, of course, it's just that I would feel a lot better about leaving you alone with this car if you could provide me with some proof that it is yours." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully. "I'm just a concerned citizen."

Skye let her leer linger for a few seconds longer than necessary, but ultimately, she knew he would not leave her alone until she provided him with what he asked. "Yeah. Okay." She turned around and reached for the glove compartment on the passenger's side. She hoped that if she flashed the appropriate documents fast enough, it would satiate his curiosity and she could finally be left alone to take her nap. "I'm sure I've got the registration in here or something."

"It's okay. I have it right here."

The fox's words paralyzed Skye instantly. For a second, she wondered if he was joking, but when she turned back around, she found a cell phone pressed up to her face. On the screen was a digital copy of the registration for a vehicle matching the description of the sedan she was sitting inside of, complete with a matching license plate number. And, of course, her name was not listed as the owner of the car.

She slowly looked away from the phone screen and met the fox's eyes. To her mild surprise—and great annoyance—he was still smiling at her, and it seemed to have become even more sly than before. She had broken into his car, and he had caught her in the act. There was no way out of this.

She decided to try anyway. She started to stand back up. "I can explain—"

The fox pocketed his phone and fished out his wallet from the same pocket. "Nick Wilde." He dangled it in front of Skye's face and allowed gravity to unfold it. "ZPD."

Skye could feel the blood drain from her face. Sure enough, he was presenting his police badge to her. Nicholas Wilde. Zootopia Police Department. Cop. Witness. He saw her break into a car. His car.

Panic overcame her. She threw her paws up, and her words started to leave her mouth before she could stop them. "Look, Officer Wilde, I just arrived in Zootopia and I—"

A red blur filled her vision. Before she could comprehend what was going on, Wilde had shoved his wallet back into its proper pocket, pulled out a set of handcuffs from somewhere else, and slapped them on both of Skye's paws. By the time she realized what had happened, he was back to standing still in front of her, and the sly smile had never left his face the entire time.

She stared at her cuffed paws for a few seconds. Her sleep-deprived brain took a bit to fully process what just happened. Finally, though, she groaned, knowing she was defeated. She slouched and glared at him. "Just a concerned citizen, huh?" she mumbled.

Wilde shrugged. "Well, I am a citizen. And I do find it very concerning when I walk up to my car and find a pretty face I've never seen before breaking into it."

Somehow, Skye felt that the "pretty face" comment was not meant to help her feel better. Wilde was clearly enjoying himself right now, but she was not. She had not slept in two days, she had been forced to flee this morning—barely escaping with her life—and came to Zootopia much earlier than she had planned. She had no work, she had no friends, and now she was under arrest for trying to steal a cop's personal vehicle.

It was all too much for her. Skye shut her eyes tight, pointed her head straight up, and inhaled a deep breath. Then, as loud as she could, Skye let out a full-throated, ear-splitting scream. The noise that emerged from her throat was unlike anything she had ever sounded before—in fact, it was possible that no mammal had made sounds like this since before they had gained sapience thousands of years ago. It was an ungodly mixture of a shell of her real voice, and the pained cries of an arctic fox who was having the worst day of her life. It only lasted for less than a second, but the echoes bounced off the buildings all around and back to the two foxes standing beside the car.

Wilde didn't so much as wince. "Feel better?"

Surprisingly, Skye did feel better, if a little light-headed. The combination of a primal shriek from the depths of her soul and the lack of sleep from the past two nights left her feeling completely drained. But all of the frustration and rage she had felt a moment ago left her body with the scream, leaving her as little more than a tired fox, resigned to her fate with this cop. "Yeah, a little," she admitted.

"Great." Wilde placed a paw on her shoulder and pulled her away from the sedan. He kicked the door shut, slapped his free paw on one of his pants pockets, and the car beeped twice to confirm that it was locked once again. Then he pressed against the small of her back, coaxing her to step forward. "Come on, the ZPD is just around the corner."

Skye wanted to put up at least some resistance, but she was too weary to try. She obediently started walking in the direction she was guided, and Wilde barely had to push her along at all. The events of the day filled Skye's head, especially the last few minutes that led to this walk of shame to the police precinct. All she had wanted was a place to rest for a few hours, but thanks to her lapse in judgment, she was on her way to jail.

There was something even worse than that, however: she had left a very poor first impression on Wilde. Skye had lived her whole life enduring the prejudices and stereotypes typical of foxes. People didn't trust her. They didn't associate with her. They didn't believe her when she spoke. Most didn't even want to look at her. She had spent her whole life trying to prove them all wrong. She had strived to prove herself trustworthy, and she prided herself on never breaking the law, no matter how badly she was treated.

Today, however, she had slipped. Her paranoia, her lack of self-control, and her inhibited judgment had caused her to commit a crime for the first time in her life. Even worse, it was a crime against another fox—a fox police officer. He probably had to spend all day every day dealing with the same stereotypes as her, and also had to work twice as hard to make sure those stereotypes were proven wrong. And yet here she was, proving those stereotypes right after all.

She hung her head and stared at the sidewalk as they walked. "I'm sorry about this," she whispered. Her stride slowed a little, and she expected Wilde would push her back up to pace, but he patiently matched her new rhythm instead. "I just…"

She couldn't see Wilde's face, but for the very first time tonight, she could hear no trace of a smile when he spoke. "You have the right to remain silent." His voice was quiet, almost as if it pained him to stop her from pouring her heart out to him. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Perhaps it was because she was so worn out, but right now, Skye didn't care about staying silent. She had nothing to hide anyway. "I'm just tired, Officer." She stopped in her tracks. Wilde gave her shoulder a tiny nudge, silently warning her not to talk any further, but she felt she had to. She turned around so she could look him in the eye as she spoke. "I haven't slept in two days. I don't have a place to sleep. I don't have any money, I don't have anywhere safe I can rest, and I…" Tears started to form in her eyes, and she did her best to blink them away long enough to finish. "I don't want you to think I'm like this. I'm not a criminal! I'm not like all the other foxes! I just…" Her vision blurred and she shut her eyes tight. "I was desperate! I'm so s-sorry!" The final words barely left her lips before Skye collapsed to her knees and tears started to freely trickle down her cheeks.

She felt like a fool. Kneeling in the middle of the street at an unreasonably late hour, handcuffed and breaking down in tears like this—anyone who might see her right now would judge her very harshly, and she wouldn't blame them. She was nothing but a failure in life, and this night was proof of it. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and die…

Two strong paws came to rest on her shoulders. She did not have the strength to open up her eyes again, but she did manage to cease her quiet whimpers long enough to let Wilde speak. "What's your name?" he asked gently.

Skye sniffled, and then replied, her lower lip trembling so much she had a hard time forming the word. "S-Skye… F-Frost."

Wilde's grip on her shoulders tightened. "Okay. Skye Frost." His paw left her right shoulder, and a second later, she felt it pressed up against the bottom of her chin. He lightly pulled her chin back up, and she finally managed to open her eyes. He was smiling at her, but this time it was not the same smug smile as before. Rather, this one seemed friendly—tender, even. "I have a proposal for you, Skye. I believe in second chances, so I'll make you a deal."

To Skye's bewilderment, Wilde reached into his pocket and retrieved a small key. He brought the key to the cuffs on her paws, and in no time at all, he had them off. Even though she had only been under his custody for a few minutes, Skye once again felt like a giant burden had been lifted off as her freedom was once again restored to her. She unconsciously rubbed the area of her wrists where the cuffs had been moments before, but she never took her eyes off of Wilde's face. A small part of her wondered if this was some kind of a twisted game he was playing, but more than that, she hoped that this gesture of kindness from the officer meant what she thought it meant.

"I won't press charges…" He nodded his head in the direction beyond her shoulder. "If you come with me to the ZPD willingly."

Maybe it was just because she was so exhausted, but Skye was confused by his proposition. She raised an eyebrow. "I don't…" She had a hard time forming any further words.

Wilde's smile expanded, ever so slightly. "We have a few beds in the back room. I happen to know there's at least one tonight that's wide open."

Skye's heart leapt in her chest. She let out an involuntary gasp, and cupped her two paws over her mouth in disbelief. "You mean…?" She dared not finish the thought out loud.

Instead of verbal confirmation, Wilde leaned forward and wrapped his arms underneath Skye's shoulders. To her surprise, he was able to effortlessly lift her off of her knees and place her back on her feet. The sudden gesture caught her off-guard, and she found herself staring at Wilde in stunned silence while her heart skipped several beats in her chest.

Wilde gently nudged her shoulder, coaxing her to start walking again. "Come on, it's not that far. You'll be sound asleep in just a few minutes."

Skye complied, turning back around and once again treading down the snow-covered sidewalk. Tears threatened to fill her eyes again, but this time they were not tears of helplessness. Nick Wilde's gesture of kindness touched her deeply—more than he could ever possibly realize. Not only was it the first time in her life that someone had done something nice for her out of the kindness of their heart, but it had come right when she had needed it the most.

She closed her eyes tight, washing away the tears, and allowed herself one last sniffle. Then, for the first time since she could remember, she felt a smile of happiness spread across her face from ear to ear. She opened her eyes again, and she found that the street had opened up in front of them to reveal a series of skyscrapers and other tall buildings just ahead. The closest one was emblazoned with the word Police along its rooftop.

The last two days had been a whirlwind of events for her, and she was exhausted both physically and mentally from the ordeal. But thanks to this stranger's kindness, she was just one night's sleep away from starting a brand-new life. A warm, comfortable, safe, long night's sleep.

Well, Skye… Welcome to Zootopia.