Officer Hatis officially loathed her job.
There was no other way to put it, especially when the same detainee she had last month was escorted into her office for the sixth time. At this rate, the older woman fears her hair was going to go grey faster than the hide of a newborn elephant. Dragging a hand along the side of her face, Hatis drops into the metallic chair across the table, scarcely stuffing down a groan as she regards the folders set before her.
She had a feeling she would be seeing the satyr less often, especially with the latest offenses stacking themselves before her. After all, the young woman sitting before her had made the brilliant decision to set an entire zoo upon the city once again.
And the young adult wasn't even alone this time.
Deep down, she knew she wasn't going to be seeing Pickles or her friend for a very long time unless it was behind bars and in orange.
Like her friend currently was.
Friend, at this point, was stressing it.
Exhaustion was settling in, and she wasn't sure how much stupidity she could take from the satyr before she snapped and broke off all communication. Stuffing down the weary sigh that threatened to tumble from her lips, she sat up, moving her eyes from the folders to meet the vibrant yellow sitting across from her.
"Pickles, do I even want to know how this started?" she finally groans.
"Listen, listen, listen, I can totes, like, one-hundred percent explain everything. So, there was, and I say was 'cause the elephant stormed through it, but there was this pretty chill ramen place called Romaine's that's got this killer kale smoothie that just hits the spot, ya dig? And they always give me some free munchies so long as it's designated for the trash. Bein' a satyr's hard most of da time, but hey! I make do!
"Anyways, I was there with cutesy pumpsy and overheard one of the people there say somethin' about how they were gonna be puttin' own sweet ol' 'Livia and well, I couldn' let them do that to the gorilla. So that attempt led to me freein' all the animals because they all just looked so sad in their cages! Which by the way, is totes inhumane, and shouldn't be allowed, like ever," she crows, and Hatis fought the urge to walk out right then and there.
Today was the final straw. She just knew it. She was going to walk out and never return because this was going to kill her. The stress would make her age another hundred years, and she was just going to fall over and turn the lights out just like an old hooter.
The brunette's cheeks were flushed, the plum tint setting off the ocado hue her skin intrinsically held. The satyr was radiating with energy from her anxiously tapping hooves to the flexible porcupine-like horns that made up her hair. The tank top with the marijuana leaf decal on it pulled with her shoulders, accentuating her upper curves as she crossed her furry legs.
Suppressing another groan as Pickles grinned in response once more, Hatis continued speaking as if the girl had said nothing, powering through as if it were the only thing keeping her together because it was happening. She was going to permanently lose her friend to the criminal system because she'd gone overboard this time.
"Pickles, you're here because you decided to set a zoo of wild animals onto the streets. During rush hour," the officer drawls, raising an eyebrow at the girl as she beams sheepishly. Raising cuffed hands to knead at the spikes donning her scalp, Pickles shrugs.
"What can I say? Zoos are enslavin' the poor thangs! I just can't resist myself when I see 'em, and ya can't blame me for some simple animal activism," Pickles chirps cheerfully, casually dragging a sharp nail across the wooden tabletop.
"Yeah, well said 'simple animal activism' resulted in several casualties, multiple crashes that blocked several roadways and delayed several hundred schedules, including mine, and so many injuries that you're not going to be able to just blow over this like the last five times this has happened. To the same zoo," Hatis growls, slamming her palms against the desk as she stood.
Pickles pulls back at the sudden show of intimidation but doesn't move her yellow eyes from Hatis' brown ones.
"Pickles, your only option is jail. Jail, Pickles. And it's more than likely that you'll receive a life sentence. Multiple life sentences. Like the last time you were here in my office. Only this time, that pumpkin-headed chick of yours isn't here to bust your ass out again because we got her too," the officer hisses, and Pickles grins.
"That's what you think," she replies snarkily, and Hatis falls back into her chair with an exasperated groan. She was close to walking out the door, something was holding her back, though, but deep down, she knew it wasn't worth it. Her 'friend' had crossed a line, and she wasn't coming back from the said line because she had gone too far.
She knew satyrs lived a while, but this girl had four hundred years to serve.
Four hundred
And she still didn't understand the results of her consequences.
"Those animals you set onto the street are going to be euthanized because they hurt and killed people, and the zoo can't afford to stay open now that there is city-wide panic. Nobody is going to want to look at animals who've killed their relatives, smashed their cars and shops, and traumatized so many innocent people that therapists are going to need therapists to deal with the after effect.
"Those animals are going to 𝘥𝘪𝘦 instead of being released to the wild because the zoo can no longer afford to take care of the injured and sick ones, and they've 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥. You've managed to push back animal rights activism instead of pushing for it and have lost the support of the courts in the passing of animal cruelty acts.
"Not to mention what this has done for hybrids! Pickles, people already don't trust them. This is going to trigger riots, lynchings, and wide-spread fear of them. Do you finally understand that your actions have consequences, Pickles? When are you going to learn that?" she asks, shaking her hands to emphasize her point.
"Euthanized?" Pickles finally responds, frowning as she stared at her hands. "There weren't any euthanized animals the last time, or the time before, or in Scandivara when the zoo animals broke out uncoincidentally by themselves and caused a lot of damage."
"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴!" the officer bolts upright, a snarl tearing itself from her throat.
"Pickles, you're twenty, almost twenty-one, yet you're acting like a spoiled rich brat who can get away with everything! Your actions have consequences, and you're going to pay for them, you hear me?! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦! No getting tea this Sunday during church to avoid the rush, or heading to the arcade to beat each other's high-scores on the Myth Busters hunting game! There's also the fact that you've managed to revert our culture to the fucking societal foundations it was before the initial 𝘏𝘺𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘈𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 1994! Damn it Pickles! It's 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 for you 𝘯𝘰𝘸, and I'm tired of putting up with your shit," the officer sniffs, eyes beginning to water before she dragged a sleeve across her face.
"Hatsy, I--I thought I was doing something right," the brunette whispers, yellow eyes blurring with tears of her own.
Hatis stands, smoothing out her features as she turns away from the woman.
"You'll be going to court charged with localized terrorism, breaking destruction of property, and second-degree murder. Not to mention that you were already charged with those things. This is a 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦, Pickles, for you and your friend. For good," she snaps, and the door slams behind her with a loud bang.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, she prays to 𝘠𝘶𝘳𝘬į𝘴𝘩, her hand against the wall as she follows it to the stairs. She eventually reaches the door to the roof, and scans her card to unlock it. Throwing the emergency exit open, she took a deep breath as the November air smacks her in the face. It was refreshing, almost, the amount of emotional relief the action brought her despite the hurricane waiting to strike. As her knees threaten to give under the assault of tears, she slids down the wall, moving to sit on the concrete flooring awning.
Huffing bitterly to herself as she drew her knees in, Hatis rests her chin on her knees, allowing the tears to spring forth as she sits there silently. Pickles had been her friend, but the relationship the two had was toxic. It took her too long to cut it off, and now that she had split herself off from the brunette she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest.
Sirens suddenly breaks through her stupor, and she slams the back of her head against the wall as they continue to wail.
"𝘍𝘜𝘊𝘒!"
. . . .