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Vernon awoke with a start. It was still dark out; he had fallen asleep much earlier than he had planned to. The room was lit by the T.V. screen which was still playing the DVD menu from the movie he and Dawn had watched earlier in the evening.

'Dawn.'_He thought back to the dream he was having. The warm sunlit meadows of his family's ranch, curling up with Dawn on a picnic blanket, watching the stars. It was sweet, it was saccharine, and cliché, but it hadn't stopped Vernon from enjoying it. The very idea of taking Dawn to the ranch for a _'date' brought a goofy grin to his face. But his smile dropped as he remembered the explicit turn the dream had taken, the feeling of her wool pressed against his fur, the sensation of her hooves digging into his back, the adoration in her voice as she whispered sweet declarations of love. Vernon shook his head at the thoughts, now he remembered exactly why he woke up. He scanned the room for Dawn, but she had clearly left long before. However, her distinct scent was hanging in the air so thickly he could cut it with a knife. It was clear that his dream had been shaped by that intoxicating aroma.

"Aw hell..." The wolf muttered, slowly rising off the seat. With a sluggish walk he crossed the room and turned off the T.V.

"I'm just making things worse ain't I?" He asked himself. Vernon placed a paw behind his head and let out a deep sigh. "I wonder if she's up...maybe..." He paused. "maybe It's time we hash this out."

The wolf began a quiet creep toward the hallway. As he approached the door of the ewe's room, he turned his head and cupped a paw to his ear. Gingerly he leaned it against the face of the door and listened intently. He was greeted by the soft sighs of sleep and the occasional bleat. Backing away from the door, his posture slouched to reflect his disappointment.

"Probably better I don't anyway." He muttered. "What was I thinking? There's no way Dawn would want to go for it." He shook his head dismissively. Vernon stared at the door for a few more moments before reluctantly turning away toward his own bedroom.

Slumping into the tangle of bed sheets, the wolf spent a frantic moment wrapping them haphazardly around himself. Once sufficiently balled up in his blanket he laid his head on his pillow and closed his eyes.

After a few moments the wolf turned to his left. A few more and he had turned back on his right, letting out an uncomfortable grunt. This back and forth continued for another few minutes before Vernon gave an irritated sigh. The wolf now lay on his back, staring at his ceiling with an annoyed expression. He placed a paw over his face.

" I shouldn't be trying to sleep now anyway." He groaned. "I'm gonna throw off my whole schedule."

Vernon placed both paws on his chest and let out a heavy sigh. He knew sleep would be impossible with thoughts of Dawn eating away at him. The situation was only growing more agonizing the longer he went without clearing the air. Now that he knew what he felt, and what he wanted, the desire to tell her was killing him. But with it came the equally painful, paralyzing fear of reprisals. If Dawn wouldn't return his feelings, or worse, considered them repulsive in spite of the pheromones Vernon would be crushed. And more than that, the last thing he wanted was to drive her away.

Vernon continued to stare at the ceiling, watching the dim shadows cast by rain on the window dance across it.

"I won't lose her again." Vernon said quietly. His mind began to drift back to his childhood, and the last time he had ever seen Dawn.

He remembered spending recess showing Dawn his new 'Gamekit', which was actually a hand me down from his older brother. They had spent the whole time taking turns playing 'Pettris', trying to beat each other's scores.

Vernon chuckled to himself as he remembered. In the first few minutes of getting her hooves on the game Dawn had set the score so high that the rest of his turns were spent trying to top it. Whenever it came back to her turn she'd play at a greater difficulty to prevent making the score even harder to beat, but he couldn't even touch it. By the end of recess he'd mostly given up, and as the bell rang he prepared to leave for class.

"Wait Puppy!" The little ewe said, stopping the pup in his tracks.

"What is it Floofs?" He turned back to face the little ewe. She was twisting her foot awkwardly as she stared at the ground.

"I wanted...um..." She looked back up, adjusting her oversized glasses. "To give you a present...um...if that's okay?"

Vernon smiled broadly, his tail starting to wag. "A present?" He asked excitedly. "A'course it's okay!"

"Okay...um" She reached into her pocket but stopped before pulling out whatever it was. She looked back at Vernon with a serious expression. "C-close your eyes and hold out your paw, 'kay?"

Vernon nodded briskly, clamping his eyes tightly shut and extending his arm. He felt something slide onto his wrist, and then sag lightly as Dawn released it.

"Okay! Open your eyes!" She said cheerily.

Vernon opened his eyes and quickly brought his wrist to eye level. It was now adorned with a colorful bracelet, made up of various beads and letter blocks. He carefully grabbed it with his other paw and began to slowly spin the bracelet in order to read the words.

"Floofy's Best Friend?" He read out softly, his grin growing even wider.

"It's a friendship bracelet!" The ewe clapped her hooves together excitedly. "I made it just for you!'

Vernon was in awe, remaining silent at first as he continued to regard the gift.

"I-I hope you l-like it." He turned his attention back to Dawn, who now looked incredibly nervous. She was twisting a hoof in the sand again.

"IT'S SO COOL!" The wolf practically shouted, giving the bracelet a playful spin around his wrist. His tail was wagging at a mile a minute as the smile returned to the little sheep's face.

"GREAT!" She replied happily. "Oh wait!" The ewe suddenly snapped her head back down, fishing another item out of her pocket. She adjusted her glasses again before putting the item in Vernon's paw.

It was a second bracelet, practically identical to his own aside from the writing. Vernon rotated it to read the words.

"Puppy's Best Friend." He read.

"Y-Yeah!" The little lamb was bouncing. "You put it on me! That way everyone will know we're best friends!" Vernon watched the little ewe close her eyes and extend her arm out to him expectantly.

He carefully placed the second bracelet on the ewe's arm, allowing it to drape loosely from her wrist.

"Okay! Open 'em up!" Puppy replied.

The lamb opened her eyes and quickly checked her wrist before hopping with delight. She hugged her arm tightly, letting out an appreciative sigh.

Meanwhile Vernon's attention had turned back to the other students filing back toward the building.

"We better get goi-" He suddenly felt Dawn's hooves tightly wrap around him. At first he was surprised, but quickly he gave in to the hug, returning it with an equally powerful squeeze.

The hug was brief, and as soon as he returned it Dawn broke away, beginning a brisk jog back to the school building.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" She yelled back to Vernon.

Vernon simply waived in a half daze. The hug had left a funny feeling in his chest, and filled his stomach with butterflies. At that young an age, the wolf had no idea what that meant. Looking back on it now Vernon knew that it was the start of a playful little crush, one that had never been given the chance to blossom.

Dawn was absent the next day, and the day after, and so on. For the first few days young Vernon thought nothing of it. In the relatively short time his friendship had developed with the ewe, she tended to turn up absent for at least three or four days a month. When she returned she was usually sporting new bruise. He found it odd that Floofy got hurt so often considering she didn't run around like he did, his youthful naivety chalking it up to simple clumsiness.

Vernon tightened his grip on his sheets and growled as he thought of the true nature of Dawn's injuries. If he ever had the_'pleasure'_ of meeting 'Ol Papa Bellwether he was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to restrain himself. The opportunity to teach that nasty old ram what it was like to be small and defenseless like his poor daughter was under his hoof was far too appealing to pass up.

But unless Papa Bellwether planned on showing up to the apartment at four in the morning for a surprise visit Vernon found it a waste to get all riled up. And with that realization the wolf expelled the surge of anger with a heavy sigh. Vernon placed his paws back on his chest and continued to dwell on what happened after Dawn had gone.

It was around the second week when his brother Wade broke the news to him about his friend. Wade was in the same class as Dawn, and heard the teacher discussing that Dawn had been pulled from the school and that she wasn't going to come back. Vernon's response was what you'd expect of a wounded third grader. He called his brother a liar among other childish insults, refusing to believe his words. The little pup assumed his slightly older brother was just jealous of the relationship he had with the sheep. Wade, always the calm brother, never raised his voice once during the whole thing, which only further agitated Vernon. Eventually the pup grew too frustrated to continue arguing, finally breaking into tears and running off to hide in his 'secret place'.

His 'secret place' was in fact, the bedroom closet of the pup's shared room. While it wasn't completely quiet, it offered privacy when the little wolf needed it most. It was somewhere the wolf could hide his tears without his brothers catching and ruthlessly mocking him. And so Vernon had dragged his bedspread into the closet, balled himself up in it, and proceeded to cry his little eyes out. His mind was filled with painful questions that he was too young to figure out the proper answers to.' Why had Dawn left? Was it because of him? Had he done something wrong?'

The bracelet, which hadn't left his wrist in the two weeks since it had been placed there only added to the volley of questions. His eyes squinted through the hot tears as he inspected it, his mind desperately trying to reason why she had given it to him in the first place. Had the ewe meant what she said, that they were 'best friends'? Despite the pups lack of knowledge of worldly things, something deep inside told him that she had. A gut feeling that burned through the tears. But with it came the more terrifying thought that he really might never see the lamb again, and he still was no closer to answering the 'why'.

Dinner that evening at the Hunter Ranch was the usual rowdy affair, seven pups scrambling to devour whatever was on their plates before their other brothers could steal from them. Ma and Pa Hunter trying futilely to keep some semblance of order, only to give up about half-way through. However, Vernon was completely despondent. He lamely picked at the salmon dinner, and didn't protest as his brothers snatched large portions off his plate. It didn't take long for his Father to notice the change in the pup's demeanor, and broach the subject.

"Vern son?" His Father asked.

Vernon didn't even look up from his plate, still idly playing with what little remained of his food.

"Vernon?" His Dad spoke a bit louder in an effort to demand attention.

His Father, Dorian Hunter had always been an intimidating wolf. There was something in the way he carried himself that seemed to demand the respect of every mammal he came across. Maybe it was his icy white fur, his steely grey eyes, his towering size, or perhaps all of these things together that created such an intense image. Even now, though Vernon had become the tallest member of the pack, his Father still exuded an energy that made him seem a towering figure. But despite the cold, cool exterior his Father had always been soft at heart. He was easy going, kind, and slow to anger but firm when he needed to be. Vernon wagered he inherited a great deal of his own easygoing personality from that wolf.

The pup could feel those steely grey eyes on him as he weakly raised his head to look at Dorian, making no attempt to hide his glum expression. His Father's look of concern only deepened at the sight.

"Y'all right son? You're looking a bit blue." His Father put down his utensils, now keenly focused on Vernon.

Vernon mumbled a nearly inaudible response, the only word he could remember coming out clearly was the word 'fine'.

"The runt's just upset because his little grazer girlfriend moved away!" The mocking voice belonged to his brother Yuri, who had a knack for being insufferable at times.

Vernon shot up out his seat and slammed his paws on the table, baring his teeth and snarling at the other pup.

"SHUT UP YURI YOU BUTT SNIFFER!" Vernon's voice cracked as he yelled.

"Yuri!" Dorian snapped sharply at the other pup. "Don't rile your brother up, and you know better than to use the_'g'_ word like that!" The large wolf scolded. Turning back to Vernon, he weaved the concerned tone back into his voice. "And Vernon, you shouldn't call your brother names."

"Your little sheep friend moved away?" Vernon's Mother interjected. Her voice tinged with a sad tone.

His Mother, Audrey Hunter was a sharp contrast to her husband. She was a somewhat smaller wolf, with a grey and white pelt much like Vernon's, and deep amber colored eyes. She had been known for being a real spitfire of a she-wolf, jumping into things before giving them a second thought. She was willing to fight tenaciously for those she cared about, none more so than her own pups. But she was also sweet and understanding, and that was reflected in the sympathetic look she was giving the pup.

Vernon looked at her with shining eyes, he was trying to hold back more tears. "I-I..." His ears sagged as he sat back down, his eyes back on the nearly empty plate. "I don't know. W-Wade said-"

"Teacher said her family pulled her from the school." Wade interrupted.

"Oh honey..." Vernon's Mother cooed. Vernon felt her paw come to rest on his shoulder as the she-wolf began to rub it reassuringly. "I'm so sorry."

"Well that doesn't mean she moved away, maybe it's time we set up a play date for you two." Vernon heard his Father add.

Vernon bounced back at the remark. His ears perked and his tail wagged furiously. He quickly stood in his chair, his eyes now fixated on his Father. Vernon hadn't considered this. If Dawn still lived in the Meadowlands they could go over each others houses and play. To the pup, it was an even better prospect then just playing with the ewe at recess.

"REALLY!?" Vernon yelped excitedly.

His Father smiled broadly. "Sure thing. What was her name again? Dawn somethin' or other?"

"Dawn Wether-something. The other kids called her 'Smellwether'." Wade added.

Vernon watched the smile drop from his Father's face, replaced with a deeply saddened expression. However he was stalwart in his excitement, he didn't quite follow why his Father's mood seem to drop.

"Bellwether?" Audrey asked Wade with concern. The pup simply nodded in response.

Vernon's Father let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his muzzle with his paw. The whole reaction was starting to confuse the poor pup.

"Vern..." His Father said sadly. "I-er....didn't know your friend was a Bellwether."

Vernon was far too young to understand why a mammals last name could matter at all, and the added confusion only served to make the pup more frustrated.

"Why?" Vernon asked, his voice becoming more of a whine.

His Father heaved another sigh. Turning to look at his wife, the two wolves shared a sullen look before Dorian continued.

"Son..." He started, unease in his voice. "The Bellwether's well..." The wolf cleared his throat awkwardly. "They don't really care much for predators."

Vernon's tail slowed to a stop, and a frown began work it's way across his muzzle.

"Wolves especially." Audrey added, placing a paw on her husband's.

"B-but why?" Vernon asked in bewilderment.

The two wolves exchanged a knowing glance. The dinner table had long fallen silent under the tone of the conversation. Even if they didn't understand it, it seemed the other pup's innately knew something was wrong and that it was best to stay silent. At least that was as far as Vernon could tell in retrospect. It was either that, or he had become so focused that he couldn't hear anyone other than his parents. Eventually Audrey turned to Vernon, placing a paw on one of his. Her eyes were shimmering, as if she were going to cry.

"Well honey, you remember when Mommy told you a long time ago that wolves used to eat sheep?" She asked.

"But wolves don't do that anymore!" Vernon responded pleadingly.

"And they haven't for eons." Dorian added. "But, the Bellwether's tend to think that any mammal that used to prey on another is well...is less than a mammal." He coughed with clear discomfort. "Especially the one's that used to prey on their kind."

Vernon felt his own tears brimming to the surface again. "B-But Floofy isn't like that! She likes me! She knows I would nev-"

"I'm sure she does son, I'm sure she does...." Dorian's words trailed. He turned his gaze away from the pup, his ears sagging. "But..." The wolf sighed. "Chances are her father didn't know who she was playing with. Once he found out who you were, I reckon he pulled her out of school to separate you." He said somberly.

Vernon's ears drooped. His face twisted in confusion as the tears began to flow again.

"Bu-But maybe- sniff-if her parents met me..." Vernon was pleading now, anything to give him an ounce of hope.

"Vernon." His Father sighed. "The Bellwether family has been rallying against predator's since Zootopia was founded. When I was your age they were trying to get tame collars out of the prisons and onto every pred on the street. Thankfully that drunk of a son Aster didn't get into politics or who knows what they'd be pushing for next. They don't care how nice you are, or how friendly you are. To them..." His Father paused, seemingly almost too pained to continue. "We're nothing but mindless monsters."

That was it; the last of Vernon's hope was extinguished in that instant. The wolf simply slid his food aside, and slumped on the table. He felt his Mother's paw start to rub his back.

"Oh sweetie, there are plenty of other nice sheep you can pl-"

Vernon didn't let her finish the sentence before pulling away. He looked at her with anger burning in his eyes, before running from the dinner table and back to his secret place. That was the last thing the little wolf was willing to hear. He didn't want another sheep to be his friend, he wanted his Floofy.

Over the next two weeks the pup remained despondent. At recess he kept to himself, sitting on a swing playing his Gamekit, and at home he tended to hide away as far as he could from his brothers. But beneath the seemingly emotionless surface a rage was beginning to build. The unfairness of the whole situation was eating at him. It was his first true experience with prejudice, or at least the first one the young pup could properly register, and it completely destroyed his childish understanding of the world. Zootopia was supposed to be a place where anyone could be anything, and the young pup had taken that to mean that anyone could also be friends with anyone. But he and Dawn were not allowed to play together despite the fact that they didn't care what animal the other was. The little pup was seething as he wondered how the world could be so cruel.

It was at the end of the second week when Vernon's emotions came to a head. While sitting alone at recess, he spotted that Oryx boy who was picking on Dawn months before. This time he was picking on a little otter girl. He jeered at the small mammal as he raised her lunchbox just out of her reach.

The wolf was on him in the blink of an eye, taking out all of his anger and frustration out on the Oryx. Before, Vernon used restraint when dealing with a bully. His Father had taught all of the pups how to subdue a mammal using non violent tactics as part of what he called 'pre-police training'. But now he ignored it all, lost in a whirlwind of blind fury. The wolf's claws were out, and he scratched at the boys face fiercely, causing him to shriek in pain. Vernon simply snarled in response to his squeals like one of his feral ancestors. He was tired of mammals like this Oryx, mammals like Mr. Bellwether who judged others based on their pelt, based on their teeth. If they were looking for a predator to be afraid of, Vernon was now happy to oblige.

It had taken two teachers to pull Vernon off the boy, and by the end of it the young Oryx had needed two sets of stitches. Vernon found himself suspended from school for a week after that little stint, and his parents took it further by grounding the little wolf for a month. However Vernon had already made his choice, he was going to be vicious, and he was going to put the scare into every bully he ever came across. Every judgmental mammal was going to meet the wolf from their nightmarish imagination.

Vernon had told Dawn that after she left that he had continued to get into fights, but he had really undersold just how bad they were. The mammals he protected had good reason to be scared of the wolf after he knocked whatever bully that was mocking them senseless. Vernon would work himself into a violent froth, scratching and biting. It was true he didn't win every fight, but many of his opponents left the fight with permanent scars.

His parents did everything they could to try to steer him back on track, but Vernon openly defied their attempts. The suspensions, the groundings, the punishments, even his own Mother's tearful pleading did little to sway the wolf back on the right path. He was feared, he was what the world saw him as, and he told himself he was satisfied with that.

But in truth he felt empty. He really had stopped caring about friends, or anything really sociable. And living the life of the stereotypical wolf didn't seem to be filling that void the way he thought it would. As time went on the feeling of guilt was growing stronger within him. He was hurting his parents, he was hurting his family, he was hurting innocent mammals. The anger could only keep the guilt and shame at bay for so long.

It was the first day at high school, the day he met Gustav Hornsly that he finally broke down. A now considerably taller Vernon entered the boys bathroom to find the lanky goat on the receiving end of a particularly nasty swirly at the paws of some spindly punk cheetah.

In a practically involuntary reaction the wolf grappled the cheetah by the throat in a flash, using his other free paw to restrain the cat's wrists. He slammed the spotted feline hard against the bathroom mirror, creating a massive spider-crack along the pane. As the wolf stared daggers into the cheetah's terrified eyes, snarling ferociously, his peripheral vision caught sight of his reflection.

The many splintered panels revealed a terrifying monster, a savage and primal beast the likes of which Vernon could no longer recognize. It nearly took him a moment to realize that he was staring at himself. A slavering beast, nothing more than a mindless and violent predator. He was just as bad if not worse than any prejudiced mammal could ever imagine. It was then that reason finally reached him, extinguishing the anger he had felt for so long with a simple question.

"Is this what I really want to be?"

His glance shifted again to catch the reflection of the soaked and terrified goat with the broken horn. His fearful eyes causing the wolf to falter. Vernon felt tears begin to rise to the surface. This wasn't who he was, he didn't care what society thought wolves were like. He had to live his life the way he wanted to, and that was going to start right now.

The arm holding the cheetah began to tremble, and finally abruptly released him. After falling to the floor hard, the cat darted out of the bathroom in terror. Vernon didn't even acknowledge him, the tears now streaming steadily from his face. The large wolf leaned over the sink and quietly sobbed to himself. The guilt and shame was hitting him all at once, and he was awash with self-loathing. It was after a few moments he suddenly felt a hoof gently pat him on the back.

The wolf spun around sharply to see the familiar goat, who winced reflexively at the wolf's speed. Vernon just stared at him, making no attempt to hide the tears flowing from his eyes. He was surprised the odd little billy goat hadn't long since fled.

"Hey mam, I-It's okay." The goat said shakily.

The wolf simply sniffed hard in an attempt to draw back the tears. A proper response was unfathomable at this point.

"T-thanks for saving me back there." The goat scratched his head awkwardly.

The wolf turned to face the mirror and looked down at the sink, his tears dripping into the pool at the bottom.

"I'm sorry." Vernon finally uttered. "I'm so sorry..."

Again he felt the hoof on his back, this time he didn't turn to face the goat.

"I'm Gustav Hornsly, but you can call me Gus. I'm new around here." He heard the goat say.

"Vernon Hunter." The wolf sniffled hard. Trying to choke back a sob.

A few moments of silence passed before Gus piped up again.

"H-hey, if you want, I won't tell anyone what happened in here okay? I've cried in public more times than I want to admit. It'll be our secret, Senior Ranger Scouts honor!" The goat said.

Vernon looked at himself in the mirror again. The beast was gone, and as he wiped his eyes he felt relief wash over him. It was finally time for Vernon to take back his life. Vernon turned to the goat and smiled weakly at him.

"I-I'd...." He sniffled. "I'd really appreciate that." He replied.

Gus smiled back, extending a hoof to the large wolf. Vernon reluctantly took it and shook.

"Y-y'know." The goat coughed awkwardly. "Now that everything's calmed down, I have to tell you how awesome that was. You were like some kind of superhero dude."

Vernon smiled. "Pft...there was nothing heroic about that, I assure you."

"That's a shame, cause I was hoping you could do that to some other guys for me." The goat was now holding back a chuckle.

"Not a chance bub, that was the last one for me." Now Vernon was chuckling.

"Aw pizzles." Gus broke into a full on laugh, which Vernon joined in shortly after.

The next day Vernon fessed up to the incident in the bathroom, omitting the part regarding his tears, and offered to work after school to pay for the damages. His friendship forged with Gus would be the first of many, but it was the stepping stone to recovery. He made amends with his parents and the incident in the bathroom marked the end of his career as a 'real wolf''. Thinking back on it now, Vernon was grateful that he managed to turn things around before it was too late. But the fact still stood that losing Dawn had dealt a major blow to his childhood development. And while losing her today wouldn't cause him to go 'savage', it would still leave him a crumpled mess of a wolf.

With a grunt Vernon was up again, sitting at the edge of his bed. The trip down memory lane had proven mentally exhausting, and the wolf felt the need to seek comfort in a hot drink. Vernon shuffled his way down the hall and back toward the kitchen. After spending a few minutes setting up a pot of decaf coffee, he sat down and waited for it to percolate.

The wolf leaned on his paw, taking a great comfort in the bubbling noises of the coffeemaker carrying across the silent apartment. But the comfort was suddenly shattered when an unexpected cluttering made him nearly jump out of his pelt.

Vernon quickly scanned the counter to find the source of the noise, which appeared to be coming from a familiar lavender tinted phone. The screen blinked for a few moments, displaying a prompt that read '1 message received'.

"That's odd." The wolf mused. "Who sends a text at..." The wolf lingered on his words, turning to catch the clock on the stove. "Four thirty-five A.M.?" He muttered, scratching his chin.

As the machine finished the decaffeinated brew, the wolf went about pouring himself a steaming mug. He gave the phone another glance before ultimately deciding to ignore it. Dawn's matter's were her own, and to Vernon it would be improper to snoop despite the odd nervous feeling the pending message was giving him. He dutifully continued to ignore it as he slowly enjoyed the hot drink, turning his attention to the living room windows. The rain was letting up, and soon he'd be watching the first rays of the morning sun usher in another bustling day in Zootopia.

It was when the Carrot Phone started to ring however, that Vernon could no longer ignore the urge to see exactly who was trying to get a hold of Dawn. Shakily, the wolf wrapped his paw around the ewe's phone, pressed the answer button, and brought the phone to his ear.