A Lamb in a Wolf's Den

Zootopia © Disney

Lupe Clawson © Me

Summary- So how did Dawn Bellwether come to hate predators? The story starts way back in the days of her childhood…when she meets a wolf named Lupe.

IMPORTANT: I'm gonna say this, now, I NEVER saw the movie, but I pretty much spoiled myself. That doesn't mean I don't wanna watch it, though. However, I advise you avoid telling spoilers in the reviews. Also, this fic contains slight spoilers, so if you don't want spoilers, I advise that you not read this story.

With that being said, enjoy.

Ch. 1- The Beginning

Zootopia, a metropolis established many years ago, consisting entirely of animals of the mammal variety. Here, predators and prey live out their daily lives together in total peace and harmony…well, most of the time. Despite being said to be a paradise, even a place like Zootopia isn't perfect, for sometimes, not everyone gets along…especially if they're natural enemies.

Take right now, for example.

"Hey! Where you goin', sheep?!"

"Yeah, get back here!"

"Go away!"

Zootopia Elementary School. It's recess time for the 1st graders, and right now, there seemed to be trouble afoot. A mountain lion cub and a snow leopard cub, Peter Pantherton and Bobby Spotts, respectively, chasing a little spectacled lamb with white fleece and greenish-yellow eyes. The two felines laughed as they made growling sounds at her, and even tried to lunge at her from behind like their more primal ancestors did before they evolved.

Poor little Dawn Bellwether. She wasn't bothering anyone, just playing in the sandbox, minding her own business, but no, Peter and Bobby just had to spoil her fun. Mrs. Ursa, one of the class aides, was actually supposed to be watching the kids so no roughhousing happened during playtime, but alas, the female grizzly had fallen asleep on the job…again.

Thus, it seemed no one was going to help poor Dawn, today…"seemed" being the keyword.

As the young lamb kept running, Peter suddenly tackled her, tripping her up as he did. As the lamb fell, her glasses flew off her face, landing in the tall grass that surrounded the campus.

"Hahahahaha!" laughed Bobby. "You got her this time, Pete!"

"Please, get off…!" Dawn whimpered.

"Shut up!" Peter shouted as he sat on the lamb's back. "Now…what should we do to you, today? Did swirlies last week…stole your lunch money, yesterday…what do you think, Bobby?"

"Hey, I borrowed my Dad's razor!" Bobby answered as he reached into his pocked and pulled out one of those wireless electric shavers. "Why don't we shave her?"

"Yeah!" Peter exclaimed before grabbing the shaver and pressing the power button, causing it to buzz. Dawn gasped, her vision blurred without the use of her glasses, but when she heard that buzzing, she struggled to get out from the mountain lion cub's grasp.

"Stop it!" she cried. "Lemme go! Leave me alone!"

Peter snickered, bringing the shears dangerously close to the top of the lamb's head, where most of her fleece had formed into a pompadour of sorts. Dawn whimpered, tears of fright forming in her eyes, until…

"Peter!"

Without warning, a gray blur suddenly tackled Peter, knocking the razor out of his paw, the clipping object turning off as he took his thumb off the button. Bobby gasped as the blur is revealed to be a little gray wolf pup.

"Leave her alone!" the pup barked. "What do you think you're doing, picking on a poor little lamb?!"

"Stay outta this, Clawson!" Peter yelled. "This has got nothing to do with you!"

"Why don't you start picking on someone your own size?!" the wolf snarled.

"Because we got nothing better to do," Bobby answered. "Now go away, unless you wanna get roughed up, too, Little Miss I-Wanna-Be-A-Gardener!"

The two cats laughed while the pup sneered.

"You know something?" she asked. "Being a gardener means I gotta get my paws dirty once in a while…so…"

Without warning, she suddenly lunged at Peter, her jaws clamping down on his wrist, causing him to scream in pain. Dawn, having gotten free and found her glasses, put them back on her face and gasped upon seeing the wolf and mountain lion tussling, the former having some visible claw marks on her cheek, and yet somehow easily pinning down the latter.

"Bobby!" Peter called. "Don't just stand there! Help me!"

Bobby, after some hesitation, rushed at the pup, blindly. This turned out to be a big mistake on his part, for the wolf jumped at him, next, grabbing his tail and biting it, causing him to yowl in pain before he and Peter turned and ran, whimpering and crying.

"I'm telling my Mom on you, Clawson!" shouted the little mountain lion.

"Go ahead and tell her!" the wolf pup hollered. "I'm not afraid of you, and I'm sure not afraid of your mom, either!"

As the two bullies fled, the wolf pup turned to Dawn, who gasped silently.

"Are you okay?" asked the pup as she approached.

"Y…yes," Dawn answered, adjusting her specs a bit. "Th-thanks for helping me."

"No problem," the wolf answered, smiling. "I recognize you from class…you're the lamb that sits in front of me!"

"Oh, really?" Dawn asked, a bit surprised. "I guess this is the first time we ever spoke to each other."

"Listen…every day, I see you get picked on," said the wolf, "and when I saw Peter try to save you, I decided that enough was enough…and, well, here we are."

The two females chuckled a bit, but then Dawn eyed the scratches on the pup's cheek, and almost immediately, her heart began to sink.

"…Umm…it doesn't hurt, does it?" the lamb asked, concerned.

"What?" the wolf asked before she realized what she meant. "Oh, the scratches? Nah, those don't bother me. I got three older brothers at home, and we play-fight all the time. How do you think I learned to fight in the first place?"

Dawn smiled a little.

"My name's Lupe, by the way," said the pup. "Lupe Clawson."

"I'm Dawn Bellwether," Dawn replied. "It's nice to meet you, Lupe."

Lupe grinned, flashing a mouth full of fangs that most would run at the sight of, but Dawn only responded with a smile of her own.

Just then, the bell rings, and the children begin to head back inside the building.

"Time to go back to class," Lupe said as she and Dawn turned to follow the rest of the young animals back inside. As they walked, Lupe suddenly reached and grabbed the lamb's hoof, a firm, yet gentle grip. Dawn, surprised at first, smiled warmly before clasping her hoof around the wolf's paw.

Thus, from that day onward…an unlikely friendship had blossomed.

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