Era of the Tame Collar

Life in Zootopia

The smell of humid rain forest air traveled through the room.  The trees lined the top of the ceiling, the smell of water nearby.  Birds chirping and insects clicking their wings together filled the atmosphere.  The ground was moist.  And all of a sudden, a tiny rabbit foot could be heard running across the ground.  The sound of the intercom in the room, filling the young mammal's ears.  Then, a harder, heavier foot stomping could be heard, and deep growling. A predator chasing his meek prey. Then, a loud RAWR shouted throughout the room, scaring the school children.

"Back then, the world was a very different place." said the antelope teacher Mrs.Edison, who walked around her 30 students. Eighteen of them were prey, while the other twelve were predators. A young fox stood there next to his fellow predators. Beside him, his best friend Finnick, a sand vixen, sat patiently. The class had taken a trip to the local Zootopia Natural History Museum, where young mammals could learn about their ancestors, and understand what the world was like.

"The world was divided in two. The two sides were predators, with sharp teeth. And prey, with flat teeth".
Mrs.Edison turned towards Finnick sharply.
"And why weren't we friends...? Ermm....Finnick"
"Uh... Because we wouldn't share?" he answered.
"No..it's because predators..WOULD EAT US." She turned on a TV that showed multiple hyenas attacking a giraffe.

"EWWWW" all the predators in the room gave disgusting looks. The young fox turned his head, shaking it. Surely predators couldn't have been THAT evil."  Mrs Edison laughed. "Well, no one has eaten anyone in thousands of years. But just to be safe, we have the tame collar." 

She gestured towards an exhibit, where a tame collar was displayed. A hologram of a lion showed up inside, wearing the tame collar. The lion looked proud, very well dressed. An animal of success.

"Woooowww" the children awed. She clicked the screen to show an animated lion and zebra. The zebra walked into the lion and made him spill his coffee all over his suit. The lion got frustrated, and roared at the zebra. But then, the lion's collar turned red and gave an electric shock to him, calming him down.
"When a predator gets agitated, the tame collar reminds him how to behave. So now, all mammals can be together." 

She gestured a closing motion with her hooves, and the two sides of the class, prey and predator, came together.

The little fox looked up, cheerful. His collar glowed green. He was fine. As long as he didn't get frustrated or too emotional, everything would work out fine. The world was a great place.
That little fox's name was Nick. And for the rest of the day, the little fox had big dreams.

But soon, over time, he realized the world is not exactly what his teacher told him. The world is a much, much crueler and harsh place, especially for predators. Just because predators ate prey animals a thousand years back, the prey animals didn't trust them. All predators were blamed for their ancestors eating prey.  And due to the fact that prey didn't trust predators, they forced them to wear the shock collars. The era of the tame collar was tough.  Predators had to keep their emotions in, or else they risked being electrocuted.

Nick grew up learning how the world really was. When he walked through the wrong neighborhood, he got beat up by a group of prey animals. When he wanted a job, he got denied it because he was a predator. And more so because he was a fox. The most untrustworthy animal of them all. The world was against him. But most of all, the world was against predators. It wasn't just him that suffered. He saw his fellow Preds being treated with disrespect. But there was nothing he could really do, or else he risked getting into trouble himself. Since he wasn't able to get a job, he, and his best friend Finnick, had to find other solutions to make cash. And ten years later, they're still doing the same thing.

The humid air ruffled Nick's red fur as he strolled through the city.  Palm trees gathered around the sides of the sidewalk, and mammals of all sorts, predator and prey, passed by him on the way to work.

Nick pushed the baby stroller through the crowded streets. He passed by a hippo who was running past, and then a giraffe. He passed by a pig family reunion. One was looking upset, glaring at the ground.
"Hey, chin up pal!" said the fox as he strolled by. Nick came to a stop in front of a elephant ice cream store.
"Alright bud, let's go".

Finnick hopped out of the stroller wearing an elephant costume. He ruffled up the costume's ears above his, and gave a little toot toot. Nick giggled a little, then they both walked inside.
After waiting in line for awhile, they finally came to the front line. The elephant server looked down at them with a dirty look.
"Hey! I'd like one Jumbo Pop for my boy here. You want the red, or the blue pal?" asked Nick.
Finnick strolled over and picked out the red one.
The elephant server sighed.
"Look, are there really no ice cream shops in your part of town, fox?" he asked.
"No no, there are. It's just, my boy here, really wants one of these for his birthday."
The elephant didn't seem to want to serve him.
"Come on, I mean, it's the little guy's birthday. You know, he wants to be an elephant when he grows up. So, come on. Just this once? Please? Help an old fox out." pleaded Nick.
The elephant rolled his eyes.
"Fine." Nick handed the money, and the elephant handed  the food to Nick, and the fox grabbed it, holding it with both paws.

"Thank you so much, sir. You have no idea how much of a help you are to me." Nick smiled as he was walking towards the door.

"Hmm..If I were you, I'd stay away from my business for now on, fox." grumbled the animal angrily, before he began serving the kangaroo who was next.

Nick and Finnick walked outside, then Nick sighed. He was sick of listening to that kind of talk, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Also, he didn't dare get frustrated, a good shock would stop those feelings and emotions right away.

"Where are we going to get our business now? If the old fatty ain't going to let us into his store anymore, we won't have our main product." he finished. Finnick shrugged, not speaking.  He just sucked on the pacifier.

They traveled to Sahara Square and melted the pop. Then they traveled to Tundra Town to freeze mini Popsicles in the shape of paws. Once finished, they set up a stand on the road and sold them to a bunch of mammals for three dollars each. After all the product had been taken, and the two predators split apart their two hundred dollars, they stopped their act.

Finnick growled, causing Nick to look at him, confused.

Finnick ripped off his elephant costume and diaper underneath and began getting frustrated.
"I'm sick of being treated like a baby!" he shouted, "This isn't fair! Why can't I just be myself!? Why do I always have to be the baby!!??" he started jumping up and down.
Nick sighed.
"Relax, you're gonna buzz yourself". he said.
"I am in a diaper!!!" Finnick's collar turned red, and an electric shock zapped him, calming him down.
"What did I say?" asked Nick.
"Shut up.."
Just then, a dusty, old white van pulled up behind the two, and the window rolled down to reveal a honey badger with glowing green eyes.
"Honey!" Nick laughed, "Great to see you here. Ready to go?"
"Just get in the van, Nick, before we make a scene." she said.
The two hopped inside, and they drove off.
Honey was a honey badger. She wore green pants with a black tank top. She wore the collar just like the two of them. The burden of being a predator.

"Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving." said Nick.

"Insects and fish sound good?" asked Honey.
"Well, considering that that's all there is for us to eat, then yes. Yes it does."
The van turned down a dark alley and drove on.