Excitment's in the Air [Open]

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony yawned and sat up in her bed. Quietly, looked around the oh so familiar scenery of the small room she and her dad shared. They'd been here for a while now. Almost three months, to be exact. A small smile on her face, she looked at her alarm clock beside her side of the bed. Exactly 5 A.M. She stepped out of bed, eyeing her father's sleeping shape still lying on his side of the bed. 


Peony walked to the bathroom and quickly dressed into her clothes. Looking down at her shirt, Peony felt her heart ache, as she looked down at the familiar flowers stitched so carefully onto her shirt. Smiling, she stepped out of the room and looked out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise.


Excitement beginning to shine in her eyes, the Tibetan Wolf pup scampered to the tiny balcony they ha beside their room. It was hardly big enough to even fit a tiny table with a chair, deeming it ultimately useless. But, nevertheless, little Peony had found a way to make some use for it. 


Using a bunch of old boxes abandoned inside a dark alley, Peony had stacked them on top of each other, allowing her to find a way to the shabby looking roof. She sat down, staring up at the rising sun. Her tail wrapped around her feet as she pulled her legs close to her and laying her chin down. 


Her mind fell to her home. It was shabby looking. Having little to no money to pay for it, of course they'd landed a bad looking home; it was the only one with a cheap rent.  The small house was very much cramped between other houses. It looked almost as if it were to be pushed any more that it would explode. 


Peony thought it looked cool, despite her father's different opinion. The tiny pup shifted around, seeing the busy streets all around her. Many people were already seeming to get to their jobs. She looked up at the sun again, guessing the time. 


I'm guessing.. Around 5:30? She thought to herself, starting to make her way down the roof. It was a Saturday, meaning there was no school today. While she typically would help her father out with his job, Saturdays were very much her day. Walking back inside, the pup shook her father awake. 

"I'm gonna get some breakfast, and then I'll be out. I'm gonna go adventure!" She whispered to him. Peony watched as he said,


"Okay.. Check in with me at around 11.." He mumbled.

Peony nodded and kissed his head. She scampered down the stairs, a smile on her face. Now it was time for adventure! Her face brightened as she grabbed an apple out of the fridge, put it into her bag, and ran out the door.

Her smile was huge as she ran down the sidewalk, a paw held up in the air. Her ears fell back as she made the paw turn into a fist, running down the sidewalk. She watched as the world around her turned into a land of adventure. The ordinary street was turned into lava, as the sidewalk slowly began to break away. One by one, she would hop onto the next possible floating chunk. 

Peony giggled as she watched the cars from the road take off into the sky, their wheels turning over and becoming jet packs for the car. You could almost see the sparks flying around in her eyes as she jumped chunk from chunk, climbing all the way up to the clouds in the sky.

The Tibetan Wolf pup was running and jumping quickly trying to get higher and higher into the sky. Suddenly, she ran into something.. More like someone!

Peony gasped as she looked up, reality slapping her in the face. 

"Oh! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to run into you.." She stammered, taking a step backwards. 

---

661 words

sorry if i kind of placed your character in for you, i just had no idea how to end it xD

[Chief Bogo]

Mornings weren't particularly hard for the police chief. He'd been getting up before sunrise for years. While his shift began after daylight, he had his morning routine. This morning unfortunately it was not to be. He should have known from last night that it would be one of those mornings. Kaliah had been sick, keeping her father up for half of the night. He wouldn't have done anything different with it of course, but the lack of sleep had set up his morning a whole lot different than his normal. It was a Saturday, but he'd been working weekends anyways. Police work was required all day every day after all, and as he had needed to return his daughter to her mother this morning it was definitely one of those working weekends. Of course meeting with his daughter's mother was never a pleasant event. Especially when he had to explain how ill Kaliah had been and his concern. Her reactions alone had put him in a sour mood.

Waking up late due to a broken alarm clock, having to take a crying Kaliah home, and then even his coffee order was made wrong... it just wasn't his day. He walked out of the Snarlbucks with an annoyed huff with his now remade coffee. He'd already put the fear in the barista for getting his order wrong, there wasn't much they could do but make the buffalo police chief a new drink and hope it satisfied him. Satisfied was not how he would describe his mood, but it was enough that he stopped talking and left the building. He drank from his cup and started down the sidewalk with a determined and slightly faster than normal pace. Not many of the smaller mammals got in the way of the grumpy officer particularly today, and that was likely good for their own emotional health.

He never felt like driving to work with how close he lived to the station. For an animal who liked to keep in shape it was normally a good start to his day for a good walk. Unfortunately for himself, and likely for his officers, everything seemed to be annoying him today. The noise of the morning commute, any of the citizens around him, the fact that his drink still didn't taste right. Worst of all... stopping to wait for a cross signal. Now Bogo had a heavy appreciation for the law. He would never cross against a light, but that didn't mean he had to be happy with waiting. The buffalo in uniform stood at the corner, his ears dropped and his brows furrowed as he looked with his phone in one hand and drink in the other, reading his notifications for anything of interest. 

It was this mood and distraction which allowed the Bogo to miss the quickly approaching wolf pup. He was too busy to notice the running little paws behind him or the giggling. Not until he had already found himself as the mass of wall that would stop her in her tracks. His distracted state caused him to stumble forward for a second at the contact, shocked, but he found his footing quickly. He grumbled something incoherent under his breath as he stored the phone in a uniform pocket.

"What, are you doing!?" Bogo started with an angry, scolding grunt as he turned quickly to face the mammal who had 'assaulted' him. Complete frustration was written across his dark furred face and he let out a snort as he turned. Red eyes narrowed and searched the space for the culprit until they landed on the pup. He looked about to go off on her. A rant or lecture on etiquette for getting around in public. A warning to pay attention. But as he opened his mouth and pointed angrily with a hoofed hand, she beat his timing for a lecture with an apology.

It didn't hurt her that she was around the same age as his own daughter. The buffalo gave an exhausted sigh as he retracted his hand from his scolding gesture and rather rubbed the side of his head. "You need to watch where you are going child." He muttered.

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony's hind legs began to quiver as she stared up at the mammal she'd run into. He looked somewhat grumpy. Not yet paying any attention to his uniform, Peony looked down and apologized even further. Her tail curled around her back legs as her ears fell back. Staring at the ground, she could only look at his pants. 

W..Wait a second.. Are those..? She slowly looked up at the Cape Buffalo, her heart beginning to pound. 

"Are... Are you a Police Officer?" She chirped out, looking up at him. Suddenly, her eyes widened as the Tibetan Wolf Pup realized what that could mean for her. 

"Are you gonna arrest me?" She asked, her voice beginning to quiver. "I.." Peony was at a loss for words, not only shocked, but saddened at the thought of the disappointed look on her father's face when he would find out she'd been arrested. 

"Are you gonna lock me away? In a big stinky place? With lots of stale water?" She continued asking. Peony's face began to hold a slight frown. Boy, she was struggling to not show any emotion. 

I don't wanna go to jail.. She thought to herself, her left paw flying to her right arm. It began to rub it as she looked down in shame, not trying to meet the police officer's eyes.

---

Sorry that it's not much. ^^;

Words: 223

[Chief Bogo]

Bogo looked over the young wolf very carefully. Was he a police officer? If she had been an adult, and not as apologetic or scared as she was, he might have considered that the stupidest question he'd ever been asked while in uniform on the streets. What else did he look like if not a police officer? But she was young and obviously had her mind elsewhere before running into him. It took distraction to not see the mass of buffalo that he was until you ran into him.

"Yes... I am." The chief answered, tense still and holding it together to avoid blowing up at her. He was representing the department and himself... Bogo looked back to the street let out a frustrated groan at the fact that he had in fact missed his chance to cross the street because of this little wolfy trouble. He was about to just wave her off and go back to waiting for the street again. "I am a cop, chief even, and you should be watching where you are going. This street is far too busy..." He stopped as her second question hit him.

"Uh... no..." The buffalo's voice lowered at the answer, giving a concerned and questioning look as he somewhat leaned forward toward her. Arrest her for bumping into him? He was grumpy, but even the angry buffalo wasn't going to take a child to jail for forgetting to look where she was going. He was more concerned that she might accidentally run into the street the next time. "Lock you away? I uh... no... No." He seemed at a loss for how to explain to a child why he would not arrest her.

The officer took a step toward the wolf pup. "You think I should?" He asked with a bit of a scoff at his own question. Imagining bringing a pup into the station in cuffs for bumping into him on the street... he'd most certainly be angry if any of his officers had considered it. If that was a crime, most animals in Zootopia would have been guilty of it at some point. If he needed to do anything with this kid it was returning her to her home.

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony could feel her body tense up. He's not gonna arrest me? She thought, shocked. Her face held a shifty look as she stared up at him. This was an outrage, a cop who wouldn't arrest her for something so horrible she'd done. It left the little wolf child completely dumb-founded, her previous state of an apologizing and startled mess melting away within seconds.

Staring up at the tall buffalo, the tiny wolf pup nodded her head vigorously as she said, "Yeah! Because if you're a cop, then you need to arrest bad guys!" Her hands flew out in front of her, as if they would help her make her statement clearer.

He should know this, right? Cops get the bad guys, which means if they do something bad, then they go to jail! She thought, staring up at him with suspicious eyes. Unless..

 The thought smacked her upside the head. Everything I've been told is a lie! Good people go to jail, and the bad ones are... Peony's eyes flew straight up to the buffalo once more. He was buff, with an annoyed expression on his face. No no no, Peony, it's too soon to call him out. She told herself. I'll let him think he's outsmarted me for now.. 

"If you're a cop, a chief too, then you should be arresting people all over the place! Because you need to get all the people who do bad things, like cops do! I did a bad thing, therefore I need to go to jail!" The Tibetan pup blurted out, straightening herself up as she delivered him a look straight in the eyes. I'll know if he's lying, by the way he responds. Then, I can call him out, I'll be a hero, and he'll go to jail for pretending to be a cop when he's secretly a bad guy.. 

Peony's tail twitched anxiously as she awaited his reply. Sure, she looked dumb, for right now. 

[Chief Bogo]

The last thing Chief Bogo expected was for someone to tell him that he should arrest them. That he needed to arrest them. The buffalo certainly did not need to be told what his job was or what to consider a crime. It amused the father inside him though. The child believed so firmly in justice that she believed she must be punished just as well for her "crime" that she believed she had committed. Even the little motions and such a serious expression... it did just a little to start pulling out his less grumpy side. Of course there was still the fact that this wasn't getting him to work and now his coffee was getting cold.

"Yes. And you must be one of those bad guys then." The buffalo pointed a finger at the little pup, staring intently into her serious eyes. He could tell that she was trying to work through this all in her head. Adorably so really but he did not have the time. Bogo shook his head and glanced to his cup, taking a drink of it and making a face as it already was an unfavorable temperature for his tastes. He lowered the cup from his mouth as she spoke. How did you explain to a young one that not everything negative was worth arresting for...

Lawrence sighed with a small shake of his head, leaning closer again to look her in her eyes. "I am a cop. Have been for longer than you have been alive. And you know, not all bad things are bad enough for jail. Sometimes they just need tickets. Or maybe just a warning." He informed her with the most level voice that he could manage in response but he also just wanted to keep her calm and not attract too much attention. He didn't want to break her beliefs either or turn himself into a bad cop in her eyes. He definitely believed himself to be a good officer. The particulars of a police career were far too complicated to explain to such a young individual.

"Something like this, it doesn't deserve jail I promise you that. So look, watch where you are going next time. If it happens again I'll have to give you a ticket for it. And tell your family. You got it?" Bogo put on his warning serious voice to try and sell the warning. He hoped it could be enough to satisfy the wolf and get her out of his fur. He took a step back, hoping she might agree and skip off but a part of him knew she just wouldn't.

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony looked up at him. She found her head nodding to his words, although her mind still didn't comprehend it. What was she doing? What happened to proving the fake officer wrong? Her tail straightened at the small sign of her loosing her perseverance. Struggling to get it back, the Tibetan wolf pup did her best to defy her emotions. 

"Why a ticket, though?"  She asked, her gaze not failing to fall off of the buffalo in front of her. If he was the real officer he claimed to be, surely he could explain what a ticket did that was so good a cop had to give it to an animal.

"Why do you need to give it to people? You can get tickets anywhere." She said in an almost matter-of-fact tone. Her smile was smug as she continued to stare into his eyes. There was no way that he could possibly avoid an answer like that. She'd outdone him, and now this pretender was nothing. He was exposed, like a fish out of water. 

Her tail tip waved slightly as she thought about what she'd done. A phony was off of the streets now, thanks to the fabulous work of Peony Ài Rìluò
. Her smile seemed to brighten as more and more animals began to look at the odd pair, standing at the curve of the street. She waited eagerly for his response, her eyes bright as she stood there, looking up at him, ears pricked forwards and everything.

[Chief Bogo]

Bogo was hoping she would just be satisfied but it seemed not to be his day. Again she questioned, and this time there were animals starting to watch and listen. So much for getting to the station before the morning rush... the Buffalo rubbed his temple with one hoof, closing his eyes for a moment as he considered it.

"No child. Not a ticket for an event. These tickets are... discipline tickets. If someone does something they shouldn't, but it's not bad enough for jail, they get a ticket. And that ticket says they have to pay the city as punishment for the crime. And I don't think your parents want to be paying any fines today." He tried to explain, his expression and voice growing more agitated though as he noticed more of an audience. He didn't know what this pup was getting at, but he did not like it one bit.

"Look. My jail is too crowded to put a pup like you in for such a minimal offense. Nobody is hurt, nothing is damaged. Just pay attention, don't run into the street, and you should get home." The chief tried to encourage her to get moving as he stepped back toward the crosswalk.

"No matter how much I'd love to stay and debate police procedure with a child, I have a job to go do, okay?" He snorted as he reached and smacked the cross signal button to try to make his point that he was going to actually go across now.

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony stared up at him continuously. She watched as he gestured towards the road. One ear falling back, she looked around the corner where he was obviously about to walk. There it was! The ZPD! She looked back up at the police officer. 

Okay, maybe he wasn't a fraud. Maybe, just maybe, she could pull off something. He seemed to be actually serious about going over to the Zootopia Police Department place anyways. She looked back up at him, only to find that he'd step back towards the Crosswalk.

Quickly, the agile wolf pup hopped over beside him and tilted her muzzle up at him, so he could see her. "What if I came with you, so I could learn how to be good?" She said, her oval shaped eyes staring up at him.

"Then you wouldn't have to explain it to me, and I could learn all by myself.. All they way until 11 A.M. That's when I have to go.. do some stuff."

Peony watched as the light for the crosswalk turned green, and animals began to walk. She waited for the muscular police buffalo to begin to walk before she would follow him. 

[Chief Bogo]

Bogo gave an exhausted grunt and looked away to avoid seeing the dropped ear and hoping that she would just scamper off the way she came and find someone else to bother. He stepped toward the edge, but he couldn't escape so easily.

The Buffalo drank from his cup as he prepared to wait through this light, nearly snorting the liquid right back from his mouth at her next comment. He turned quickly to her, angrily tightening his grip on the coffee cup enough the paper cup nearly flattened, then tossed it with a scowl in to the garbage can placed on the corner. His red eyes narrowed intently. "I don't have time, pup, I have a real busy job and important stuff and..." he frowned, his eyes settling on the big puppy dog eyes. Dang children and their adorably round faces.

He rubbed his temples for a moment before he shook his head. "You leave at 11, pup." He snarled. No later... He didn't even want her that long. The buffalo chief finally actually stepped off the curb and walked across the street at his normal pace, not wanting to slow down for the child. "Don't get in my way either." He ordered, having a feeling the little canine would chase him no matter what he said. He might as well set some rules... and get her parents' phone number to call them to come retrieve their child before she drove him to bashing his horns through a wall.

Maybe he could leave her with Clawhauser... he loved little ones.

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony allowed a huge smile to spread on her mouth. She quickly ran after him and followed him across the street. The Tibetan pup's ears fell forwards as her tail tip perked up with interest. Peony nodded to the buffalo and made sure to keep beside him. She watched as the inside of the ZPD formed around her. Animals in somewhat similar suits walked around, going left and right and all over the place. 

Peony suddenly found her tail curling up in between her hind legs. Her ears fell back as she watched the mammals walk around. She looked up at the mighty buffalo she had met on the street. She hadn't thought that there would be so many animals in the Police Department. The small pup ran behind him and watched all the animals. She was determined to stay, but maybe she should just stay behind him. Plus, who knows if one of those animals were bad prisoners making an escape? It was clever of them to bring a suit to their jail cell.

Wait.. Is the jail place even here? She thought, looking around. It was then that she caught site of a tall glass door with the small letters, "CHEIF BOGO" written on it. That must be his room. It says Chief on it, anyways. Trying to peer inside the room, her ears once again fell forwards, her round puppy eyes squinting. It looked like there was a bunch of beige in it.

"That's your room, right?" She asked, pointing to the room that was somewhat of a distance away. 

[Chief Bogo]

Bogo rolled his eyes as he caught the furry little body following belong beside him in the corner of his vision. At least for a moment there was quiet between the two. He could enjoy that, and possibly could actually handle it a bit longer that way. The chief pushed the doors of the the station open as he moved inside without a word, looking over the lobby area quietly. At least most seemed to be in their places. It was always an active place for the most part. Crime occurred in all hours of the day, and therefore police work was an all hours activity too. It was far too eerie and concerning if the station were to be quiet after all.

The large buffalo looked down when he noticed a lack of comment from his little follower. He wasn't sure whether he expected to see her in awe, fearful as it settled in that she had requested to be punished, or gone entirely. But she had retreated behind his large figure. Not that he could truly blame her. Had he been small and young he might have been nervous by the numbers of large mammals within these walls. Although he never would have admitted it out loud to anyone. He looked up and gave a sort of acknowledging nod to Harrison before he started up the stairs toward his office. He was sure someone had left papers for him. He looked over when he finally heard something more from the little one beside him.

"This is my office, yes." The buffalo replied simply. If she were the type to touch everything... He wasn't sure he could take it. "I could still call your parent to come get you. You don't have to stay here." He offered her hopefully as he opened the office door.

"Chief!" A tiger officer quickly approached with some sort of folder in his hand, his tail swinging behind him. "Can you sign this, sir?" He moved to hold out the papers, but froze as Bogo looked up to him very slowly from looking to speak to Peony. "Oh... I... sorry sir. I didn't know you..." He looked around the buffalo with curiosity. "Had a.. guest." The feline said apologetically and innocently held up a paw.

Chief Bogo gave a sharp exhale to release some of the agitation before he exploded on the poor tiger. "I'll get it to you later, Ivan." He muttered and snatched the paper from the cat before looking back toward Peony again and away from the somewhat nervous tiger.

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony shook her head defiantly shook her head and looked at the tiger. She waved shyly to the tiger and smiled slightly, her timidness of being around so many.. giant animals getting to her. But when she looked up at the buffalo, a weird sense of calmness bubbled over her, as she turned back towards the Tiger.

A small, awkward smile appeared on her face as she smiled to him, her tail somewhat un-tucking from between her legs. Peony turned her head to the counter, a chubby cheetah sat at a desk. Peony tugged on Bogo's clothes and she whispered, "Who's that?"

Peony signaled towards the cheetah, trying not to point and be rude. Her head angled to the side as he seemed to notice her too, and she instinctively shuffled behind Bogo, eyeing him from afar. She watched as the cheetah seemed to make a face that just read, 'So cute!' at her, and her tail was immediately tucked between her legs again. 

[Chief Bogo]

Bogo glanced to the child, then the tiger again. Ivan the tiger looked to her curiously, but gave a tiny little wave. Bogo stood still, not worried and trying to remain calm in the presence of one of his more pleasant officers. There wasn't a purposeful intent to try and keep the child calm but if it helped then at least she wasn't crying scared and needing comfort.

"Just don't start telling everyone, alright?" The chief ordered sternly to the large feline in front of him. Ivar looked between the two carefully before he nodded in some understanding. Bogo wanted to keep his image and stay tough. He didn't want rumors to start. But the tiger was in such awe of the little wolf, and jealous too. He gave a gentle smile and nod. "Of course not sir." He said to be sure the chief knew he understood.

Bogo looked down quickly at the tug on his uniform. "What?" He asked quickly with an annoyed huff before his gaze lifted to follow hers over to the desk and the overly friendly cheetah who worked it. Just about anyone could like and talk to that cheetah. It was almost annoyingly so that he was so excitable. "That... is Clawhauser. He's an officer, maybe he'll give you a snack later." He told her, leaning closer and looking toward the cheetah as he noticed him looking at them. He narrowed his eyes staring at the cheetah, then looking to Peony. "Are you scared of him? I promise you can outrun him." He added with the slightest hint of a smirk on his face. Just a bit, although if noticed it would vanish in an instant.

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony tilted her head towards the chubby officer. She looked back up at Bogo and noticed his small smile. Her small muzzle opened in a tiny smile as she looked back at the cheetah. She quietly walked beside him, still somewhat holding onto his shirt. She let go once he opened the door to his office.

Peony looked around. Well, her suspicion was correct; there was a dark shade of beige all over the room, with various medals around the room, some placed by a huge map on the wall. Her ears forwards, she walked up to it, her tail perked in curiosity.

Is this all of Zootopia? She asked herself, turning around to take in the rest of the room. There was a bookshelf behind the buffalo's desk, with a huge ZPD Badge on the wall. Peony began to walk over to it, her eyes bright as she touched it.

"Wooah! Your office is so.. cool!" She exclaimed, turning back to look at Chief Bogo. Then Peony ran back up to the front of the office and looked up at the Chief with excitement shining in her eyes. "Do you question animals here? Oh OH! Do you have a partner?" She asked.

Before he could answer, the little pup straightened her spine and got close to the wall, her mind putting her imagination to work. She made a fake gun with her paws and held it up close to her face. "Commander come in. I've got the culprit cornered." She said, looking towards the other wall and up at Bogo again, letting one paw go up to the side of her mouth to look like a Walkie Talkie. 

"He seems to just be.. standing there.." Peony giggled and looked up at the buffalo, her other paw dropping and going back into her fake-gun stance.