Fabiano Sorici Bigbby was a mammal with a vision …
Bigbby’s family came from a long line of tailors, dare he say one of the best around … they made the quality cold weather wear for cheap, due to an agreement they had with a family of polar bears that soon became an essential part of the family … and that made his nana business bloom … until old money tried to ‘take care’ of their rising good name …
So they moved out … they moved towards the new center of the world, the land of all mammals where anyone could be anything …
Fabiano never bought into the slogan but he could see the appeal, especially since the megalopolis was becoming even bigger …
But Zootopia was a very strict place with very strict immigration standards …
Fabiano came to Zootopia from the old country, not quite legally, for he knew he and his family would never get a pass, but money talks and there were ways for the paperwork to be … sourced …
In the cold heart of the tundra district, Fabiano started building his empire … small stores, cheap clothes from the finest fur sourced from his own family … the tiny hands of his species making the finest threads and stitches one could ask for in a handmade garment …
And he sold, he made money … but there was always a fracture between his family and the people around … something they could never quite get right …
***
The society that Fabiano found himself in was markedly different from his old country …
People felt … polite, but in a way that felt soulless …
When it came time to send some of the young ones into school, Fabiano's eyes finally saw what made Zootopia ‘unified’ …
***
Education was mandatory and any private school of worth needed connections Fabiano didn't have …
When the young ones came back from school crying about not fitting in, about failing grades that looked at behavior instead of performance, when they were shunned for asking for the respect they were owed …
Fabiano Sorici Bigbby felt a coldness settle in his heart … the rules were different … he moved from one country to another to keep his family safe … and yet this safety felt worse … Fabiano Sorici Bigbby wouldn't let his family be pushed out because they didn't fit … he would make a mold to fit them, not the other way around …
He would observe with new eyes and ‘acquire’ the opportunities that came … the way towards the upper crust was clear … influence was what paved the way …
In a city like Zootopia, that way was slow and grueling … but Fabiano knew of another way, a more respectful way … an old way …
… Like a slow moving glacier that buried competition below the ice …
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It wouldn't take long for his bears to make a visit to other shops and make an offer that most didn't even think to refuse …
It all made sense really, the police acted slowly, if at all … insurance was expensive and complicated … Why have so much work with so much paperwork ? …
Big offered something simple, something reliable … a pillar of safety in the form of a well-dressed big burly bear watching your stores and streets …
Not quite TAME … But necessary … and Fabiano knew the rules by now, the actual rules … TAME was to be seen, business was to be done …
… It reminded Fabiano of a strange fox teen he met many winters ago selling some rather exotic plants and natural dyes … a sharp little fella that knew how to hold his ground …
*** *** ***
Nick's encounter with the Bigbby family business happened quite early.
The clothing stores were all around the tundra district and Nick's den was a bit outside of the climate-controlled city … so Nick needed winter clothes and he needed them for cheap.
Nick had quite a few natural dyes he found around his stretch of forest, so he made a deal: dyes for clothes …
Or he tried to …
***
Ivan was one of Big’s enforcers and like all of the sharp dressed bears that served the family, Ivan wasn't a simple goon whose only use was to be muscle …
… When Ivan saw a teen fox trying to sell some plants and dyes, Ivan could recognize how exotic they were … and there was simply no way for the teen to get them by himself …
That meant the Little Fox had a patron, that meant the teen in front of him was working for someone else … and that someone probably wanted to talk with the boss mammal, too bad that the Little Fox was proving to be a tough one to crack …
***
Fabiano saw the teen fox in front of him … Ivan was holding him by the scruff of his neck but the tiny fox didn't have a shred of fear …
… Fabiano's office was quite large for a mammal of his size, it was made with his bears in mind and it served to project his authority despite his size …
That meant that Fabiano stood on top of the massive table in his personal chair … Alone …
There was a smell in the air, a sudden awareness of how ‘unsafe’ Fabiano was … it was an unexpected sensation …
… Fabiano felt his own fur standing on ends when the teen’s eyes caught him … and in that moment, everything exploded into motion … all too fast for any mammal to react in time …
The Fox’s arm shot up, claws extended towards the arm holding him up with the utter contempt of a bigger predator holding an inofensive nuisance … the pain of his flesh being punctured by claws and the suddenness of the action made Ivan release the fox …
… And before the fox even hit the ground, he was already pouncing …
The wood floor warped under the force, claw dug into the wood as the hind paws launched the fox …
But not towards the unblocked exit … he wasn't fleeing …
Fabiano understood what he felt in his gut as soon as he locked eyes with the fox …
… Target …
Before anyone could react, the teen fox flew through the air, stopping in front of Fabiano, smiling with a smile that was too full of teeth … those same sharp claws scraping against mahogany wood of his table, leaving a clear trace that cut through the varnish, leaving a mossy smell in its wake, making Fabiano remember frogs for some reason, as the teen sat in front of him …
Fabiano schooled his expression and talked in the same cold voice that he used to command respect …
[Fabiano] - … You think this is a game little boy ? -
[Nick] - The name is Nick, and if it is a game, you just lost … -
Fabiano blinked his eyes at the audacity, but instead of anger, Fabiano Sorici Bigbby felt only the cold dread of death smiling at him …
The words spoken finally got to him … his bears could take the fox, obviously … but not before the fox got to him …
… And Fabiano knew in his gut that the Fox in front of him would kill in a heartbeat …
And for that, Fabiano smiled …
[Fabiano] - … Not a game then, a business proposition I assume ? -
[Nick] - Quite, but I was really just looking to barter my wares for a few winter clothes and fabric, I might not live in the tundra where is always cold, but my den sadly lacks heating … -
[Fabiano] - … It is quite unexpected for a common teen to be in possession of wares like yours … -
[Nick] - Well, I'm not a common teen, so there is that … so … can I buy some clothes ? … -
Fabiano was ready to answer when a loud crash rang throughout the office … Ivan just dropped to the ground out cold …
Fabiano raised an eyebrow to the teen, masking his emotions.
[Nick] - Sorry … -
Fabiano tried not to snort at the apologetical tone of the fox that was moments ago ready to kill him …
[Nick] - … I didn't expect to take that long for him to drop though, the frog poison in my claws should take only a few moments … he is a tough one isn't he ? … Don't worry, he will wake up in an hour or so … so, about those winter clothes … -
Fabiano would forever remember that meeting and the lesson he learned there …
From that moment on, he always made sure to be carried by one of his bears … Pride wasn't worth the safety risk … and what better way to promote his business than to use it himself ?
That Little Fox though … he could use someone like him … he could use a sharp blade …
***
When the Fox left carrying a few coats and some crude fabric, Fabiano turned to his bears, ice in his voice.
[Fabiano] - No one says anything, nothing happened, we just met a potential lone asset … Respect is given … -
Fabiano looked at the faces of his bears, he knew their pride hurt, but a deal is a deal … because after the encounter Fabiano understood …
The Fox let himself be carried inside … hen wanted to be seen … the teen was also performing, but his was a different show …
*** *** ***
And after that first encounter, that same teen came back later with an actual business proposal …
Something that could make Bigbby family truly big …
A new drug to hit the markets …
