Chapter Text
Dawn sat in the the temporary office, guarded by the currant lynx officer, for her therapist and possibly new friend Dr. Meadow Skyeson as she awaited for what was to be her final session, and for the first time, she was wholly at ease. She turned her head as the door opened, smiling lightly as the vixen entered the small space. Meadow nodded to the officer, who grunted and left as the good doctor sat at her chair across from Dawn, returning the smile to the ewe. Before either could talk, Dawn reached to the table nearby, grabbed a stack of papers, and gently offered them to Meadow, who took them looking confused at first, before seeing what was written on them, her muzzle softening in understanding.
“I uh...hope this isn't going to be to much of an issue for you Meadow. I know there is a lot of names and letters there...but...” Dawn fiddled with the hem of her shirt.
Meadow chuckled, “Don't worry about it Dawn, this wont be too big a task.” She flipped through the letters, shocked to see they were all unique and differently worded. She honestly expected to see some mirroring, but no, they were all personally made out to each and every mammal that was affected by this whole Night Howler debacle. She caught a few names from the news that were hit by the toxin, a few predators including ZPD officers and public officials, even the name of her court appointed lawyer. However it was her name that stood out the most, the letter apologizing to the vixen for having to put up with her previous name calling and speciest comments. Meadow looked up to Dawn, who looked away shyly, “Dawn, you didn't have to....” She was cut off by the ewe waving her hoof at her.
“Yes I did, I treated you like crap...and you did everything to help me....find the true me.”
Meadow smiled at the sheep, leaving her chair to pull the ewe into a tight hug, “You do seem a lot more at ease and peaceful.”
Dawn inhaled deeply as they returned to their chairs, “I know I made a mistake. It could have been so much worse with or without me had Doug had his way....but regardless of that...I still am partially responsible, and I intend to take whatever punishment a jury finds me guilty of, whether that is simply community service or even...” She trailed off, inhaled deep as she firmed her resolve, “Or even the death penalty.”
Meadow softened her muzzle as she gazed upon her resolve. She glanced over to the office door, where she was certain an officer was guarding the room. She leaned forward and whispered to the ewe, “I'm not supposed to say this...but....I need to Dawn. Doug wasn't given a trial.”
Dawn looked surprised as she whispered in return, “How? He was arrested same as me.”
“Yep....but you see after the info you gave me on him earlier....his properties were raided. On his computers and notebooks not only proved everything you said...but showed just how evil he was. He was planning on killing you Dawn. Regardless of how the museum went down, he was going to dart another predator and have them tear you to pieces...after which he would put himself in power by 'suddenly' becoming the expert in what was happening.”
Dawn's hooves shot her muzzle as her eyes misted over as the vixen continued, “ZPD questioned him in which he admitted it all. It was when they tried to take him to prison to await trail....that he fought back and tried to run.”
“What happened?” Dawn couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Meadow glanced back to the door, lowering her voice further, “He managed to get away...but only for a moment. An officer from Precinct 2 gave chase with him running towards Tundra town, which they had reason to believe he had a safe house and possibly a small stash of Nighthowler toxin. The officer caught up and tackled him during which Doug tried to take the officers weapon, resulting in Doug being shot by a tranq dart. Which wouldn't have been that bad, except for the fact that Doug slipped and fell into a river.”
Dawn's shocked face grew as the implications hit her, “Did he...?”
Meadow nodded, “By the time the found and recovered his body...it was a whole two days. But with the evidence against him....and the evidence that shows you were a mere accomplice, I think your going to be OK tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow! Its that soon?”
“Yes, and yes I am going to be called in as a witness, since I am your therapist. And.....since this is a federal case, all your personal info you gave me will be on the table.”
Dawn nodded as everything sunk in. The officer entered the room and motioned to the vixen, “Ah yes, Well Dawn, I got to go to a pre-trial meeting. I will take these letters and start getting them sent out. See you in the morning Dawn, so get some sleep.” The vixen and ewe shared a deep hug before they broke, Meadow leaving the office before Dawn was escorted back to her cell as well, mentally preparing herself for the morning and possible weeks to come.
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Dawn sat on her cot a week later, hugging herself and shaking, not fully believing what happened at her trial. The whole thing started normally enough, with her being read her rights and the jury being brought in. It quickly however devolved into a mad house as mammals started arguing back and forth. She could tell that her lawyer, Jennifer Hooveson, was having a tough time defending the poor ewe, as most if not all of the jury and press only knew about Dawn as the potential terrorist, not hearing about her past or pain. Everyone already knew who and what she was, judging her guilty just by their muzzles and disinterest in hearing about Dawn. It was the surprising witness in the form of Dr. Meadow, who swore on the names of Vulpea and Cania, (Dawn was lost as the meaning of this), on Dawn's character. It was surprising to everyone in the courtroom when they started hearing about the ewe's family issues, her past and her suffering at the hooves of Doug. The whole thing stretched on for days, talking and examining, cross examination and questioning everything. She pretended to be shocked by learning about Doug's fate, but the rest of the court was highly stunned, especially when all of the ram's private data was revealed, showing that even though what Dawn did was terrible, the mere mention of what Doug had planned sent shivers up everyone's spines.
It was when the ZPD was brought in however, that Dawn got lost. She knew what happened and how things went, but when things started to get explain, things got muddled. From Bogo going against protocol by secretly having Judy have a small case, even though her rookie status would've had her regulated to parking duty. Then Bogo went on about an unofficial informant for the ZPD that had helped Judy in her case, but was to be unnamed for security reason, leaving Dawn to question what was going on. Even Judy quitting was a ruse apparently, as the bull chatted about how she was on another case undercover, again against procedure, when a link to the night howler case had her pulled back in. Dawn sat there in a daze trying to figure out why this was going on, nothing made sense, ignoring the several old friends and co workers about Dawn and her character. Even Judy was brought in, which scared Dawn seeing how she betrayed the bunny's trust, ever word felt like the bunny was spitting at the ewe, even though it was mostly about how the only time they really interacted was when Dawn gave her and her unnamed informant access to the 'Jam-cams'. However, it was the statement from her old friend Thomas that made people see the true Dawn, the hurt and damaged ewe that she was, the tricked and coerced sheep that had no real power in the end. With a bang of the gavel, Dawn was stunned by the punishments; Jesse was given community service for his role of stalling Doug, but it was still rough as it was a years worth of service....Woolter was given five years for assisting the ram to the fullest and fulling going along with the planned genocide...Doug would've gotten the death penalty had he survived....Dawn though, felt she got off easy. Three years jail time, with one year mandatory with parole following good behavior, which was the most shocking thing about this whole debacle.
She continued to sit on her cot, not fully believing what happened, nearly ignoring the sound of the door opening and a mammal entering her cell. Her eyes flitted up to meet Meadows, the vixen giving the ewe a soft smile. She knelt down and pulled Dawn into a tight hug, who fell into her shoulder sobbing as the week caught up with her, her happy sobs muffled into Meadow's shoulders. Meadow patted Dawn on the back as the ewe sobbed. They broke as Dawn wiped her tears, “Sorry bout that....I needed it.”
Meadow smiled softly at her, “Don't worry about it Dawn, it what makes the job worth it. So are you ready for your sentence?”
Dawn inhaled deeply, as she smiled, “Yep....I feel its too short for what could've happened, but Ill take it.”
Meadow smiled as she reached into her bag, “Well...I got most of the letters sent out, some dropped off by paw. I got ya a little something hun.” She pulled out a small bag, “A little 'prison survival kit', some approved toiletries, a book, etc.”
Dawn took the bag and hugged her tightly, “Oh thank you thank you.” She pulled out the book and gasped, “This...This is...how'd you know I love the Jack Savage novels?”
“Oh....I may have saw your collection that was put into storage.” Meadow smirked, trying to hold back her own excitement.
Dawn gazed over the cover and frowned, something was off, “Wait...this isn't supposed to be out till next month”
Meadow shrugged, “I know a guy.”
Dawn eye roamed over the cover again and noticed something she hadn't prior, “Wait...why...why does Agent Sky....look like you?”
Meadow smirked as she pulled out her phone, scrolling through the photos until she found the right one, “Well....this is my boyfriend.” She showed Dawn the picture and the ewe gasped, standing next to her therapist was the real Jack Savage, who was modeled after the author himself, right down to the black stripes on his muzzle.
“Your dating HOWARD JENSEN? The author of Jack Savage....Wait....so your....?”
Meadow smiled widely, 'The model for Agent Sky? Yep” She chuckled.
Dawn laughed with her, wiping her forming tears. They shared another hug before Meadow left, leaving Dawn with her thoughts and alone in her cell. She stood up, walked over to the grated window, inhaling deeply before letting it out with a sigh. She smiled as the birds chirped freely, looking forward to finally getting out. She just hoped that once her sentence is over, things can at least get back to normal.
AAAANNNNNDDD there it is. The final chapter for this side story. Sorry for the LONG delay for the last chapter but I....Got a little burnt out from work and just life. Took a small break from typing completely but now Im refreshed and ready to go.
So...for the next side tail...these are what I have at least one chapter roughed out.
-Nick and Finnick friendship( Mainly first meeting) about 3 chapters total
-Sharla and Gideon dating (also goes into a bit of WHY gideon changed) maybe 4 or 5 chapters
-Judy's recovery/Nick tying up loose end prior to the academy about 4 or 5 chapters