Duke Weaselton needs little introduction. He's a predator in a city that treats them like dirt if they don't have the scratch and cachet to earn begrudging respect from suck-ups and sycophants. A streetcorner hustler of lesser mettle than luminaries like Finnick and Nick P. Wilde, he still carves out his niche with bootleg movies and... anything else. Even his noodly body needs nourishment, so he'll do anything to survive. He must. He must live on, robbing next week to pay for today, being audacious. For someone with a more natural respect he would be said to have panache. At best, in his lowly state, he's just a picaresque novel in real time. In hock to mammals it's best not to be in hock to, the second figure enters our tale.
Muffin Lanige, of the Canyonland Laniges, resident of the posh wadiside area of Hyenahurst. Old money. Money so old it has linen wrappings. Slightly older, but not too much, soft, sweet, kind, generous, and hopelessly in love with a hob who boggles every time he contemplates her affection. She was taken by the charming audacity of his streetcorner come-ons. That day, that moment, she was another mark for his "legitimate goods", or that's what he told himself. He couldn't keep his eyes from her and he just got lost in her gaze while she appreciated the daring it took to eke out life as he did. He figured he'd never see her again. She came back the next day with a meal to share, standing with him at his table, watching him work. So much followed, until the day very serious polar bears told her she could walk away and leave him with them. She did nothing of the sort. She rattled off an account number directly to the face of Mr. Big, unhesitating. The diminutive Don all but handed her a pink slip for her brand new purchase, the life of one D. Weaselton. She moved him out of his place to hers, bought him nice clothes and offered him freedom to grow. They're quite a pair. This is farther than I've written but is inevitable. Note the rings. This is post-wedding. Technically speaking, he is Mr. Duke Lanige, legitimate mammal. Househusband, uncomfortable socialite, and lover.
Muffin just loves to travel around to places. Zootopia has everything, including beautiful, warm beaches, the perfect place for her and her perpetually-boggling husband to get away and be with one another. She is a stylish matron, and enjoys showing her rounded, zaftig, rubenesque form, even if some portion of puff is fluff. Her chinchilla fur doesn't actually allow her to go in the water, but she can show off her figure and admire her husband. And Duke is in his standard "outside" posture, the figure of a confused weasel. Hands wringing, slightly hunched, eyes a bit bugged. But it's not fear anymore, not really. It's disbelief that his wife is rich and pretty, and he's alive and fed. Strange things happen in a life. Sometimes you get what you don't quite deserve, because someone thinks you're worth it.
Art by
\n\t\t\t\t\tCapt_Hairball A wonderful fellow. Quick, attentive, open. He's worth seeing for all your artistic needs.Zootopia and Duke Weaselton (c) Disney
Muffin Lanige the chinchilla is mine