Warning: This story contains a scene involving graphic violence and bigotry that some readers may find to be offensive.
Second Warning: This story contains spoilers for stories by \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNeosate\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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and \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCormenthor\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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The Winter Formal, or The Fall of the Roman Empire, Part III: Ludi Scǽnici
(An audible odyssey from the minds of VerbMyNoun, Neosate, Cormenthor, and LillyOpossum)
~~~~~
Crossing over events from Ethan’s Tale + the Bat & the Cat (© VerbMyNoun), Seven Peaks + Love’s Greatest Gift (© Cormenthor), the Dark Riders of Marblecliff + It’s Not Rape If… (© Neosate), and Marble Cake (© LillyOpossum)
January 17, 2014
The Chimera Prep Gymnasium
Ayame Lorington stood quietly at the side of the stage, her slender arms held down over her lap, her fingers interwoven, as she watched Hayley approach the mic. “Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow students, faculty, parents, and esteemed guests,” the Sand Cat announced confidently, “welcome to the 2014 Winter Formal.” Her brown eyes scanned the large room, taking in the large number of people in attendance. “For those of you that do not know me, my name is Hayley Richards, and I am the senior class president. I’d like to take this moment to thank you all for coming tonight, and to give special recognition to the alumni foundation for their continued donations, as well as the event planning committee for making this all possible.” She turned her head and looked at the small gathering of teens, Ayame included. “You guys did an amazing job. Give them a big round of applause, everyone.”
The Civet girl and her companions smiled timidly and waved, taking in the appreciation of their classmates while Hayley patiently waited, letting the committee receive their accolades. They deserved every bit of it, too; according to Hayley, in her four years at Chimera she’d never seen any dance decorated as beautifully as this one. Once the applause began to die down, she continued her speech. “Before we begin, Mrs. Gaithers would like to make a few announcements. Headmistress?”
She stepped aside as the elderly Shrew walked across the stage towards the mic stand. “Good evening, everyone!” Cecilia said cheerfully. “Before we begin, I just want to review a few simple rules. First, we are on school grounds, at a school-sponsored event. I expect you all to conduct yourselves in a manner befitting the Chimera Prep family. This means no vulgar language, no fighting, and no alcohol. If you are found to be in violation of these rules, I will have you removed immediately.” The crowd was silent as she let the message sink in. “Secondly, this is a school dance, and not some tawdry burlesque show. I will not tolerate any inappropriate dancing or groping; this includes grinding and twerking. If either the chaperones or I believe that you are dancing in an unbecoming manner, we will give you one warning. If you do not heed that warning, you will be escorted from the building. Do I make myself clear?” She paused for a moment, listening to the quiet murmurs of the assembled students. “Good. I hope you all have a wonderful time tonight. Miss Richards, you may continue.”
As Headmistress Gaithers walked off-stage, Hayley stepped back up to the microphone. “Thank you, Mrs. Gaithers! Now, are we ready to get this party started?” An excited cheer went up around the large room. “Then put your paws together for the evening’s entertainment: The Roman Incident, featuring our very own Megan Conroy!” As the Sand Cat walked off-stage with the rest of the planning committee, the heavy navy blue curtains behind her drew open and the spotlights all clicked on.
As the curtains peeled back to reveal the crowd gathered before her, Megan felt a rush of adrenaline surge through her veins. This was, far and away, the largest audience she’d ever performed for. After months of practicing with her band after school in Vivy’s garage and taking bass lessons from Roderick in the courtyard during her lunch period, they were finally getting their big break. Strumming the strings to her Fender Mustang, her pale violet eyes passed over her fellow students and classmates, cheering and clapping for her and her friends. She returned their cheers with a smile before closing her eyes and beginning to sing.
“I’ve been waiting
I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life
But it’s not quite right.”
Perhaps it wasn’t the most romantic song, but it suited the occasion. The only thing that could have made this moment sweeter would be if Ross was on stage with them, playing keyboard and providing backup vocals like when the band first formed.
“And this ‘real’
It’s impossible if possible
At who’s blind word
So clear but so unheard.”
Unfortunately, the Tundra Lioness quit the group when she broke up with Megan, all because Kristin claimed that the Bat herm had fathered a cub. Having been abandoned by her own father, Ross refused to take Megan back until she found out who the mother was and made some effort to be a part of the baby’s life.
“I’ve been waiting
I’ve been waiting for this silence all night long
It’s just a matter of time
To appear sad
With the same old decent lazy eye
Fixed to rest on you
Aim free and so untrue.”
To add another wrinkle to the drama, the cruel Ferret would only give up the information if Megan agreed to resume their previous ‘relationship.’ In reality, things between them had been a sick and twisted shadow of a Master/Pet dynamic, with Kristin viewing her as little more than a plaything.
“Everyone’s so intimately rearranged
Everyone’s so focused clearly with such shine.”
Refusing to fall back into the same cycle of abuse that had nearly destroyed her before, the teen herm gave up on trying to reconcile with Ross. She was currently in a no-strings attached situation with an older woman, a Horse named Maykere.
“Everyone’s so intimately rearranged
Everyone’s so focused clearly with such shine
Lost and loaded
Still the same old decent lazy eye
Straight through your gaze
That’s why I said I relate
I said we relate
It’s so fun to relate
It’s the room, the sun, and the sky
The room, the sun, and the sky.”
Despite the understanding that she was still not over Ross and not ready for another serious commitment, Megan couldn’t help but feel like Maykere was reaching the point where she wanted more. She would need to make a decision, and soon, about where things between them were heading.
“I’ve been waiting
I’ve been waiting for this moment…”
As the song came to a close, several cheers went up from the dance floor. “Thank you very much, Chimera Prep,” Megan said sweetly. “We are the Roman Incident, from right here in Marblecliff. Many of you know me already, but I’d like to introduce you to my bandmates. To my left, on lead guitar, is the skilled Mr. Jack Millen.” The reptilian teen acknowledged by playing a short riff on his axe. “Behind me, on the drums, is the beautiful and talented Miss Vivian ‘Vivy’ Genevieve!” The tall giraffe girl broke out in a quick drum solo, getting several whoops from some of the guys below. “And last, but certainly not least, we have a special guest joining us this evening. She’ll be off-and-on the stage as we need her, providing us with an additional dimension of sound for your enjoyment.” With a sweep of her right arm, Megan gestured toward her right where a Hyena girl walked out on stage to an arrangement of mixers, turntables, and controllers and picked up a pair of headphones before placing them around her neck. “She’s known for deejaying at several of the local clubs and raves: X-Machina!”
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Cassidy asked, looking over at her younger girlfriend. “I mean, shit, you just got released from the hospital a few days ago, Lilly.”
“I’m fine,” the small Opossum said, smiling up to her lover. “I just can’t get too worked up or anything like that… and at this point, I really don’t think that that’s going to happen.” She pressed herself close to the older girl before continuing. “Let’s just enjoy the moment and not worry about the world.”
“If you say so,” the Porcupine said, nuzzling back into the frail girl. “I’m surprised you even wanted to come to this. A bunch of stuck-up, snotty bitches and assholes dancing and singing… At least the band isn’t half bad.”
“Well, I didn’t come here for any of that. I’m here for you,” Lilly said as she faltered a little before being caught by the Goth girl. “Cass… I need to sit down for a few seconds… and something to drink,” the young Opossum said softly, glancing over to one of the tables off to the side of the gym.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Cassidy asked as she helped her girlfriend over to a chair. “She might not like it, but I can get Brittney to take us home so you can rest.”
“Cass, baby... I’m fine, just a little winded,” Lilly argued, slouching back in the seat. Her paw came up to her chest, lightly resting on the center of the heart that was carved there in her fur. “I’d be a lot better if it didn’t feel like I was coming apart when I take a deep breath, but I’m good enough. Besides, Lilliana is here, too.”
“Fine, but I’m going to be watching you carefully,” Cassidy said as she leaned over and gave the younger girl an affectionate peck on the top of her head. “You sit tight right here. I’ll grab you something to drink, and give Britt a heads up, just in case. What are you in the mood for?”
“Alright, mom,” she said with a little snicker. “Dr. Pepper or Coke would be fine.” Lilly smiled up at her older lover before adding, “I’m starting to think you’re getting a little soft.”
“Only for you, my precious little slut,” Cass hissed in the Opossum’s ear before giving it a playful bite. “I’ll be back in a few. You just sit here and watch the band play; that singer is fucking hot.”
“Soft is nice and all, but when I get back to one-hundred percent I want to see hard Cass again,” Lilly said with a chuckle. Turning her attention towards the stage, she added, “And no kidding,” as a hint of blush crossed her cheeks.
It had been about two weeks since she arrived in Marblecliff and a lot had already happened - finally getting to see her girlfriend, and another near-death experience - but in her mind it was more than worth it. The little moments like this more than made up for the pain she went through. She and Katie both had a place to stay, even if it was full of crazy people, and it was better than being back in Jonestown. That was something else that weighed on her mind: what if Amanda was out looking for her? She knew that she’d have called the police and that they’d be looking for her, but she wasn’t sure if they knew that she was here. It was just another one of the things that she did her best to push out of her mind; it was something in her past, and at this point that was all behind her. Her life was changed and it was for the better; she was finally happy.
As Cassidy walked off towards the refreshments table, the young Opossum found herself smiling as she absentmindedly tapped her footpaw in time with the music.
“Domo arigato, Llyulf-senpai,” Midori Powell beamed with excitement as the taller Wolf held out his paw to assist her out of the limousine. As she stood, she gave his right bicep an appreciative squeeze and purred, “I hope the rest of your body matches your arms. You might need those muscles later tonight.” He then repeated the gesture twice more for his date’s friends, Elena and Ross, though both ignored him.
The ride over had been sort of awkward, starting when the younger green-hued feline began pawing all over him as soon as the limo door had shut behind them. He’d been warned by Megan and Roderick that she was known for being promiscuous, but decided not to judge her by others’ opinions. She hadn’t struck him as being that type of girl, and just twenty minutes earlier he was meeting her father, a flight instructor for the U.S. Navy. Leo wasn’t really the type to intimidate easily, but he had to admit that Major Powell’s steel-hard gaze made him a little uncomfortable, probably because he worried that he would corrupt his darling angel.
If he only knew.
Then there was the matter of their companions, neither of which he knew well enough to strike up a conversation with, though he had tried, and failed. Twice. Elena seemed a bit out of sorts; apparently her love interest was in North Carolina and unable to accompany her, leaving her to feel like a fifth wheel. When he tried to get her to open up more, he was met with “It’s complicated,” and stone silence, which effectively shut him down. And Ross… Ross is Megan’s ex, and Megan had recently become a good friend of his. Another case of her date living out of state - attending college in Tennessee, she said - so he had flown in and didn’t have a car. He was going to get a ride from his sister and her boyfriend and meet them there. In the meantime, she settled for staring icy daggers in his direction the entire time.
He was starting to think this was going to be a long night.
“Meet you two back here at the car at ten o’clock,” the older Tundra Lioness said, completely disregarding him as she spoke to the other girls. “Elena, call my cell if you need me for anything. Midori… Gyōgi yoku shi nasai.” Then, finally looking in Leo’s direction again, she spoke her first and only words to him that night. “You too.”
“Hai, Ross-san,” the foreign girl bowed, though she couldn’t hide the mischievous smirk painted across her lips.
As Ross walked off ahead of them, he asked his date, “Sorry, my Japanese is a bit… non-existent. What did she just say?”
The younger feline just shrugged off the question. “She’s just being bossy.”
Leo could tell that she was dodging the question, but he didn’t want to pressure her. Instead, he held both elbows out to his sides to the other two girls and said, “My ladies. Shall we?”
“What a gentleman,” Midori giggled, linking arms with him.
“Nah,” Elena managed to mutter with a weak wave of her paw. I’m not ready to go inside just yet. You two go on ahead. I’ll just sit out here for a little bit and listen to the music.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked as his date tugged him towards the entrance.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” the Cheetah hybrid said with a soft smile. “I just want to talk to my girlfriend for a little bit before she goes to bed. Now you guys go have some fun”
Midori let go of his paw for a second to give her best friend a hug “Elena-chan no sewa,” she said before grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the building. He could hear the sounds of Megan’s band pouring from the entrance to the school gym as the doors opened and closed. From what he could make out, they were performing a Kings of Leon song, and performing it admirably well considering the brief period of time the Bat had been playing bass. As they stepped inside, the Wolf boy saw an ocean of white, silver, and light blue accents punctuating the dim light of the room.
“Midori!” Turning his head, Llyulf saw a group of other younger girls shouting and waving excitedly at them.
“Come on!” she urged him, tugging him off towards the screeching. “I want to show you off to my friends.”
It was going to be a long night, indeed. At least the music was good.
“Hey, guys,” Blake said as he pulled out a chair for his ‘date,’ “This is my sister, Abby.” The younger Snowshoe girl sat down in the offered seat and gave the group a nervous wave. “Abby, these are my friends.” He called them off by name, working clockwise from her left. “Rae, Vic, Tabby, Torben, and Odette.”
“Hey,” Rae replied with a smile and a slight wave of her paw. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh my God,” the Vixen girl, Tabby gushed. “You are so pretty! Blake had better keep you close or else some lucky guy is likely to snatch you up! Is this your first high school dance?”
“Yes, it is,” Abby answered. “This is way more over the top than what a dance at Manticore is like.”
“That’s because the alumni dump more money into the High School,” Torben explained. “We’re closer to graduating and, for the most part, have a better sense of what we want to do next. They’re trying to give us as great of an opportunity as possible.”
“But why?” the younger girl asked.
“Prestige. The more successful this school’s graduates are, the better the school looks, right?” Vic explained. “So it looks better on them that they also graduated from here and that they invested in our futures. Don’t be fooled, they don’t really give a damn about us, personally.”
“I guess that’s one way of putting it,” Blake shrugged as he sat down next to his sister. “But I see that it didn’t stop you from showing up tonight.”
The Fennec-hybrid rolled hir eyes. “It’s more of an obligation than what I would choose to do. Who really wants to hang out at school when you don’t have to?”
“Obligation?” Abby asked, sounding confused.
“Between being on the pep squad and the drummer for Omen Breaker, I’m kinda expected to be here to show my school spirit and gratitude for accepting us as students. At least that’s how our new publicist put it.” Shi sighed as she added, “At least we weren’t allowed to play, though that might have made it more enjoyable.”
“So you’re also doing something you didn’t really want to do for the sake of some later benefit,” the Snowshoe girl chuckled.
“Anyway,” Blake said, “let’s change the subject before we get Vic started. Have you guys eaten yet? I’m starved!”
“Don’t your parents run a restaurant?” Odette asked.
“Yeah,” he replied, “but I didn’t get enough to eat before we left.”
“I guess it really is true,” Tabby giggled.
“What?” Abby asked.
“That an hour after eating Chinese food, you’re hungry again,” the Vixen quipped.
“You know,” Blake explained, “that’s because traditional Chinese dishes are low fat and high in carbs.”
“So he’s this way at school, too, and not just at home?” Abby asked with a grin.
“Apparently so,” Odette chimed in. “Who needs Google when you’ve got Blake?”
“Hey!” he protested, though he couldn’t suppress a smile.
“Don’t worry, big brother,” the younger Snowshoe said. “It’s one of your more endearing qualities. Don’t ever lose that.”
“Wow,” Derek said as he and Samantha entered the gym. “They really went all out decorating the place.”
“You can say that again! It’s so beautiful, but I have to admit, the best part is being here with you tonight,” the Saluki said as she slipped off her coat. “Uhm, before we start our night, do you know if Daisy is here, by chance? I need to tell her something about her youngest brother that her friend Brad is afraid to tell her himself.” Turning to her boyfriend and folding the coat over her arm, her expression changed to a far more serious one. “Things are… odd for him, and Brad seems to think she needs to know about it.”
“I imagine she’s around here somewhere,” the Samoyed hybrid replied as he looked around the room. “I saw Sisy’s Nomad parked out front, and I think Miss Fargo was chaperoning the dance.”
“Oh, good. Let me take care of this and then I’m yours for the rest of the evening, Frosty. This could be a very special night for both of us,” Samantha said as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Once I find her it won’t take long and I’ll come find you.”
“Okay, beautiful,” he answered as he brushed a stray strand of his girlfriend’s otherwise perfectly-done hair from out of her face. “I’ll wait for you over there next to that ice sculpture.” He pointed off to a table along a nearby wall, away from the crowd.
“I’ll be back before you can miss me, unless Moose-face has learned how to hide in a crowd,” Samantha said as she turned and walked away, scanning the gym to find her friend.
Derek made his way over to the spot he’d indicated, grabbing a can of Pepsi from the refreshment table along the way. The ice sculpture was breathtaking; three dragons in flight, circling a female canine figure at the base. Judging from her attire, she was some type of royalty.
“Remarkable, isn’t it?” a familiar voice said from behind him. Turning around, he saw Hayley approaching him with a smile on her lips. “A few of Mr. Muldowney’s shop students made it. From what I understand, it took them three weeks.”
“It’s incredible,” the canine boy nodded. “The level of intricate detail is stunning. The dragon’s scales, the fur on her face, the expressions in their eyes… I hope they get an ‘A’ in his class.”
“So,” the Sand Cat said, changing the subject, “what’s a handsome guy like you doing all alone staring at a piece of ice instead of dancing?” She reached out with her left paw and playfully brushed her fingertips along his powerful bicep through his sportcoat.
He tensed up at the contact and cleared his throat. “Uhm… Actually, I… uhm, I’m here with my girlfriend, Samantha. The one from Colorado? I told you about her.”
“Oh yeah,” Hayley said with a coy look in her eyes. “And where is she now?”
“I’m… not exactly sure,” Derek replied, growing increasingly uncomfortable with the girl’s advances. “She went off to find one of her friends.”
“Derek, it’s okay,” she said as she pressed herself in closer. “I know your secret.”
The sudden proximity of the pretty girl’s body caught him by surprise, and it took the Samoyed mix a moment to realize what she’d said. “Wait… what secret?”
“That you’re gay,” Hayley giggled. “It’s okay, you don’t need to keep up the fake girlfriend act with me. I won’t tell anyone.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked as he gently-yet-firmly placed a paw on her shoulder and pushed her away. “I’m not gay.”
“Please,” the Sand Cat scoffed, “you’re one of the hottest guys in the school, girls have been throwing themselves at you for four years, and you’ve turned them all away. Finally, Midori Powell gets you into bed, and suddenly you have a girlfriend that lives thousands of miles away that no one has seen or heard from. Meanwhile, you have the most popular girl in the school throwing herself at you, and you’re pushing her away. You’re gay, Derek Blackfoot; you’re just afraid that no one will take you seriously as a gearhead if word gets out.”
“Hayley,” Derek said, gripping the girl by her upper arms. “I’m. Not. Gay.”
“Okay, you’re not gay,” Hayley said with a shrug. Once he let go of her arms, she blushed. “I’m sorry. I just…” She paused for a moment, as though she was trying to make up her mind. “Can I tell you a secret of my own, then?”
“Sure. I guess.”
“You promise you won’t tell anyone? Not even your girlfriend?” the girl asked.
“I swear,” he said.
The beautiful Sand Cat stepped in close once again and stood up on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. “If you were gay, we could be together.” As she spoke, Hayley leaned in and pressed her groin against Derek’s thigh. His golden yellow eyes got wide as he felt what could only be a sheath and pair of testes through the fabric of their clothes.
“Hayley!” he gasped in shock as he pushed her away, before lowering his voice. “I’m sorry, but you being a herm doesn’t change things.”
“Guess again, Romeo,” she purred. “I was born a boy. My parents moved us to Marblecliff once I decided to transition, so that I wouldn’t get bullied over it. Think about it; we can be a couple, and no one would need to know our secrets.”
“Thanks for agreeing to be my date tonight, Rashi,” Svetlana said as she and the Snow Leopard girl took their seats at a table far enough away from the stage that she could be heard. Her mute companion just gave a broad grin and nodded. One of the things Sveta liked best about her friend was that she was an excellent listener - perhaps not by choice, but excellent nonetheless. “So this is what a high school dance is like, huh? Impressive.”
Rashi pulled out her spiral-bound notebook and turned to a page about one-third of the way back, already partially filled with her writing from previous conversations with others, and wrote:
[Wouldn’t know, since I don’t have any other dances to compare this to, but it is quite nice. Thank you for inviting me.]
“They don’t have school dances back in Alaska?” the teen Raccoon-Hare hybrid asked.
[They do. I was just never asked to go to one, and I thought going alone would make me look weird.] She paused for a split second before adding [er.], making sure to use the ‘e’ cover up the erroneous period.
“Nonsense,” she replied. “Just because you’re different doesn’t make you weird. If anyone here makes you feel otherwise, you just point me at them and I’ll set them straight, okay?”
Rashi could only give a slight smile and a nod, but it was clear that she appreciated having someone willing to stand up for her.
“Yeah, not sure what to think of that coming from the sheila that looks at me strange every time I say ‘football.’” The sound of the Irish accent immediately gave away the speaker. “It’s like she doesn’t know whether I mean real football or that American thing where ya don’t even use your footpaws.”
“No, it’s more like I don’t know why you’re wasting my time talking to me about something I don’t have any interest in,” Svetlana sighed. “What is it, Aiden?”
The Stoat stood there in what looked like a pre-owned suit, which seemed unusual for the guy who always looked like the cover of a teen fashion magazine, even in uniform. “Well, I saw two beautiful ladies by themselves, so I thought I’d come and see if either of them wanted to dance, since I don’t have a date, either.” The lack of his usual Dublin slang caught them both a bit off-guard.
Svetlana smiled. “You know, that might just be the first thing you’ve ever said to me that actually sounds genuine. So, what do you plan on doing now that you’re here?” She could barely make out the strange-but-cute sound of the Snow Leopard giggling next to her.
Aiden shrugged as he pulled out a chair to sit down, “I dun know. Not even sure why I came. I figured ya’d be here with some jock or somethin’. But my Dah said I should come. I think he wanted me out of the house so that he and my Mah could snog. And I didn’t want to be home for that.”
“Again, not interested in sports,” the hybrid girl shrugged. “At the end of the day, what do they accomplish other than stroking the winners’ egos and making the losers feel bad? But I’m glad your father encouraged you to get out. It’s refreshing to see you like this, instead of all puffed up with all that fake bravado. I like the real you a lot better.”
The Stoat snorted and looked over at Rashi. “You think she would actually be caught in public with a gobshite dressed like this?” he asked as he motioned to himself. “It’d clash with her claw polish, hair, eyes... I bet she spent more time on her hair tonight than I did ironing my Dah’s suit.”
The Snow Leopard responded by tearing out a blank sheet from her notebook and writing something down in large, bold letters. Once she finished, she folded the paper in half and slid it across the table to the foreign boy. He took it into his paws and opened it up to read her message:
[OF COURSE SHE WOULD! SHE THINKS YOU’RE CUTE! JUST STOP TRYING SO HARD TO IMPRESS HER AND JUST BE YOURSELF. WATCH. YOU’LL SEE.]
He glanced back at her wide-eyed, then to Svetlana. “Ya wanna dance?” he asked, his words almost lost in his accent.
She smiled back at him playfully and answered, “That’s usually why people come to these sorts of things, yes. But with whom would I dance? Rashi?”
“I was askin’ if ya wanted ta dance with me,” he said with a bit of a sheepish grin on his muzzle. “I know it ain’t football, but I think I can keep from kickin’ your pretty shins.” He shrank back a little as if he realized how asinine he may have just sounded.
“I’ll tell you what,” Sveta said as she stood up. “I’ll give you one dance as a reward for giving me an honest effort. If you want any more than that, you’re going to have to keep trying. Sound fair?”
He smiled and said, “I’ve been tryin’ for the last four months, what makes ya think I’ll stop now?” Then he put his paw out to her, “Shall we?”
“Four months is a long time, and old habits can be hard to break,” she answered as she accepted his offered paw. “Let’s see if I can break yours.” Looking back over at Rashi, she said, “I’ll be back in just a little bit, okay? Aiden may or may not. We’ll see how he does.”
Rashi let out a soft, lonesome sigh as she watched her companion for the dance walk off to talk with Aiden. Sure, she knew that she and Svetlana were only there together as friends, but finding a partner to hold an actual conversation with was difficult enough being mute. Throw in the distraction of a high school dance and it was near impossible. Still, the Snow Leopard girl wasn’t about to allow her evening to be ruined by something as trivial as her friend having fun with someone else; she was actually proud of herself for helping the Stoat boy to get out of his own way. Plus, there were plenty of interesting things going on around her, which meant that there were plenty of interesting things to draw.
Picking up her backpack - actually, she wasn’t entirely sure it could be called a backpack, since it was too small to be of any practical use. She had only bought it because it complemented her dress and was just barely large enough to hold her sketch pad - she loosened the faux leather drawstrings and pulled out her pencil case. Reaching in again, she produced her sketchbook. The corners were slightly dented from all the times she set her regular backpack down on the floor and it was filthy with charcoal dust and graphite, but she considered it to be one of her most precious possessions. She folded back the cover and thumbed to a blank page and took stock of her surroundings, looking for inspiration.
It was easier said than done, though; with so many bodies crammed in such a small space and moving around as much as they were, it was a challenge finding someone holding still long enough to capture the moment. There was the ice sculpture, but the level of intricate detail put into it would be impossible to replicate in this light and in such a short period of time. There were plenty of wallflowers along the perimeter, but she didn’t feel like trying to express the awkward nervousness of the teenaged male. She wanted something special… Something that would be worthy of being included in the yearbook.
Then she saw what she was looking for: a group of friends gathered around one table, carrying on what appeared to be a lively conversation. If nothing else, years from now her fellow students would want to open their yearbooks and recall the friendships they made. It was the whole purpose of having a yearbook, and the scene she was witnessing was perfect. She quickly glanced around for Svetlana to let her know where she was going, in case she returned, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.
As she worked her way through the crowd of furs, Samantha caught sight of the small Kangaroo Mouse with a digital camera in her paws as she snapped seemingly random shots of everything. Within moments, she saw Daisy not far behind the younger girl, a happy smirk on her face as she watched her girlfriend. As she drew near she called out the Moose herm’s name. Daisy’s face lit up at the sight of her friend from back home.
“Damn, girl, twice in a month and a half. I wasn’t sure if you’d be out here for this or not,” Daisy said as the two girls hugged each other warmly.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” the Saluki replied as they parted enough to look into each other’s eyes. “Besides, Mom and Brandon are nearly finished with the packing and made it a point that they didn’t need me in the way.” Her smile faded slightly as she asked, “You got a minute? I need to talk to you about Paul.”
“Paul? Brad told me he was doing okay the last time I talked to him. Well, as okay as he could be where he is. Did something happen?” Daisy asked, her face becoming more serious.
“You could say that. I guess after the visit during Christmas he decided to tell Jada everything and… well, she didn’t take it too well when he told her about a few things. But that’s not all. That place isn’t doing right by him, Daisy; they’re not really doing anything to help him figure things out.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured that out when Brad told me about them keeping him drugged up before he was out here for the holidays, Samantha,” the Moose girl said a little defensively.
“He wants out, Daisy,” Samantha replied flatly. “Brad found out that the second he got back into that place they tried forcing more drugs on him and he balked. They put him in what they called isolation for refusing to comply. From what Brad could find out, it’s more like the hole in a prison. The last time they let Brad visit him, Paul told him he wants out, no matter what it takes.”
“Okay, and you’re telling me this because?” Daisy asked raising an eyebrow. “Mom’s right there, she can probably get him out easier than anyone else could.”
“They’re stonewalling her, keeping her from even talking to Paul and blocking any mail sent to him. Brad says they’re up to no good. He’s even mentioned breaking Paul out himself if he has to. You know that crazy Bison better than I do. If he’s willing to go that far…” the Saluki girl said, trailing off in her thought.
A knowing grin spread across the Moose herm’s face as she put her paws on her friend’s shoulders. “Let me guess; Brad was afraid to tell me any of this because he thought I’d do something stupid, right?”
“Probably. I think he’s still a little afraid of you,” Samantha said, eyeing the Moose suspiciously.
“I’m not the one he needs to worry about this time,” Daisy said as her grin grew wider. “Cecily overheard one of our Skype calls about Paul and apparently set the Dark Riders in motion. I know they still haven’t told me everything - probably never will, either. Things are already in the works to get him out of that hellhole, Samantha. I’ll let Brad know he’s off the hook on this one, and that he was more help than he can ever imagine for my brother. Don’t worry, girlfriend. The bunch I’m with are all crazy as fuck, but they’re on this and it’ll end up better for my brother in the end.” Pulling the Saluki into another hug, she added, “I’d keep you here gabbing half the night, but you’re moving here soon and you’ve got a hot Samoyed to get back to, don’t you?”
“Yes, yes I do,” Samantha replied with a slight chuckle. “Once we get settled in I want you and Cecily to come visit, give us a chance to really catch up and you can warn me about furs and places to avoid here, okay?”
“Consider it a date, Sweet Cheeks,” the Moose herm answered playfully. “Now get. Hot Stuff shouldn’t be left alone too long.”
Rashi looked up from her sketchpad, the errant line she had drawn erased sufficiently enough that it wouldn’t be noticeable once she completed the picture. Something was different about the scene she’d been trying to draw… Someone she hadn’t yet finished drawing had gone missing.
She let out a quiet huff and twisted her expression into one of a mixture of frustration and concentration. She knew before she began that she should have taken a photo, just in case, but she was so excited to get started. Besides, working off a photo seemed much less organic. She sat up slightly in her seat and looked around, trying to spot the girl with the fur-less, deep-blue skin and glasses. Having no luck, she pulled out her cell and snapped a picture before anyone else decided to get up and wander.
A paw on her shoulder made her jump. Whipping her head around, she saw the girl she’d been looking for staring back at her, equally surprised. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the pretty - well, Rashi didn’t know what she was - said.
The young Snow Leopard stared for a moment, caught entirely by surprise, before she realized how rude she was being. With a slight shrug and a soft blush, she grinned and pointed to her lips, mouthing the words, “Sorry, I’m mute.” Or at least, she hoped that was what she had said; as someone that had never actually spoken, it was hard for her to tell sometimes.
Apparently, she did a reasonable enough job, because the newcomer smiled and said, “No need to apologize. May I sit here?” She gestured to the seat previously occupied by Svetlana.
Still caught up in the surprise of the moment, Rashi was only vaguely aware of the fact she was nodding.
The blue-skinned girl sat down beside her and explained, “I couldn’t help but notice you sitting over here alone, drawing. I’m something of an aspiring artist myself. May I see?”
Rashi blushed a deep crimson and shyly slid her sketch pad over for her new companion to see. The girl looked at the current page - the work-in-progress of her group of friends - and smiled. Then, without warning or preamble, the girl began thumbing through all of the previous pages, too.
The young Snow Leopard fought off her panicked reaction, her first instinct being to snatch away her most sacred possession and run for the door, and sat nervously as her privacy was invaded. She thought the girl was only requesting to see the picture of her friends, not the entire book, and a lot of her other works were very personal.
“Very nice,” the girl said appreciatively as she continued browsing through the spiral-bound book. “Wow, I’m nowhere near as talented as you, but I still enjoy sharing my work. Would you like to see?”
Though her paws were still trembling under the table from anxiety, Rashi let out a sigh of relief. The girl was a fellow artist and was interested in sharing their common interest. She seemed harmless enough, and genuinely interested in becoming friends. She nodded slightly and forced her paws to relax.
The new girl reached into her tiny purse and pulled out her cell phone, and with a couple of swipes and taps on the screen, pulled up her DeviantArt profile. Her name was Odette Voss, age 16, Rashi noted, and she listed herself as a digital artist.
Her works were quite impressive, a bit of a comic book style with certain influences borrowed from Japanese Manga and some Southeastern Asian cultures. She seemed to mostly focus on drawing anthros in slice-of-life situations. Overall, Rashi was impressed, but rather than just write a simple sentence like she normally would, she decided to take a different approach in expressing her approval. Flipping to the first blank page in her beloved sketchpad, the Snow Leopard girl drew a quick doodle of herself, almost emoji-like, giving her new friend two thumbs-up and a big smile.
The blue-skinned girl giggled at the caricature. “Thank you,” she said, “but your work is way better than mine; it has a certain degree of realism that I could never emulate.” Her praise made Rashi blush.
‘Thank you,’ Rashi signed, a rather simple gesture that many people understood, even if they didn’t actually know sign language.
“You’re welcome,” her companion replied. “I hope I don’t come across as being rude for asking this, but are you…?”
Rashi responded by pointing to her ears and nodding ‘yes,’ then pointing to her mouth and shaking her head ‘no.’
“Well, my name is Odette, in case you didn’t catch it on my gallery,” the girl said as she held out her paw. Upon further inspection, the Snow Leopard noticed that while the skin on her face was smooth and deep blue, underneath her dress she was wearing a full-body wetsuit that almost, but not quite, matched her skin tone. Odette must have sensed that Rashi noticed, because she explained, “Being out of the water for too long dries out my skin, so I wear this suit to stay hydrated. Otherwise, I’d look very dull grey.”
Rashi made an ‘O’ with her mouth, though no sound escaped, and then, beneath the doodle she had made of herself, wrote ‘RASHI!’ and gave her new friend a wide, toothy smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Rashi,” Odette said. “So, I couldn’t help but notice that you were drawing me and my friends. I hope me sitting here with you isn’t messing you up, since you were doing such an excellent job?”
The mute girl shook her head ‘no.’
“So then it’s okay if I stay here and keep you company?”
She nodded her head ‘yes.’
“Then later on, you can finish adding me into the scene with a private modeling session. How does that sound?”
Even if she could speak, Rashi wouldn’t have been able to find the words. Fortunately, the deep pink blush that shone through her white fur said everything.
“I got another recruitment offer,” Anna Ericksson said as she and her boyfriend found a space on the dance floor.
“Oh yeah?” he asked, placing his giant paws on her hips. She draped her arms over his broad shoulders and interwove her fingers behind his neck.
“Yeah, UConn,” the Cow girl continued. “They want to build a team that can take on PennState, and they want me to be the centerpiece. All expenses covered.”
“Wow, babe,” Frank LaCroix said with a whistle. “You’ve got some serious options. Any idea what you’re going to do?”
“Not yet, no,” she sighed as she rested her cheek against his chest. “I mean, Boston College is the best choice for studying Economics, and it’s the closest one to home, but it’s also the weakest volleyball program out of all the schools I’m considering and their offer isn’t as strong.”
“But your parents could easily pay your tuition,” the Polar Bear pointed out.
“I know,” Anna replied, “and I know they would gladly do it, too. But I want to make my own way in the world.”
“What about student loans?”
“I’ve thought about it, and I’d prefer to borrow as little as possible,” she explained. “I don’t want to spend ten years of my life trying to pay off that debt.”
“Okay, so how about UConn?” Frank asked.
“Well, it’s the least appealing one, academically,” Anna remarked. “But they would be covering all of my expenses. What really sucks, though, is that it’s a three hour drive from here.”
“Three hours isn’t too bad,” he reassured her. “We could take turns visiting each other over the weekends.”
“Do you think your car would make it?” Anna chuckled.
“Actually, now that George and Amelia had their pups, George’s Elantra isn’t going to cut it. He’s offered to sell it to me cheap.”
“Nice!” the bovine girl said.
“So what about PennState?” Frank asked. “I know they were interested in you, too.”
“Well,” Anna said with a click of her tongue, “They made me a decent offer - eighty percent of my tuition and books - but I’d just be a cog in the machine, there. A very efficient and powerful machine that has dominated women’s volleyball these past few years, but I really wouldn’t stand out like I would at UConn. Plus, they’re not as good academically as BC, either, and they’re the furthest away of the three.”
“You know what?” the Polar Bear said. “Having to raise our voices to hear each other over the music is killing the mood. What do you say we go someplace quieter and talk?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”
Kristin McDaniel worked her way through the crowd with ease as most of her fellow students tended to give her a wide berth. She was bored and in desperate need of entertainment, or she thought she’d kill herself. She hated the fact that Megan, her precious former Pet, was up on stage performing, and was drowning out the sound of her ex-lover singing with Otep turned all the way up in her headphones.
A sly grin formed on her muzzle as she saw a young Opossum girl scoot along the back wall of the gymnasium towards the girls’ restroom. She looked impossibly young to be a student at Chimera Prep and was likely the date of some poor freshman. Perfect. She glanced around for a moment to make sure that no one else was following the girl before making her way to intercept her prey.
The teen Ferret slipped her headphones off as she neared the bathroom door and pressed her ear up to the smooth surface. She couldn’t hear any sounds coming from inside and pushed it open, taking a quick peek to make sure that they were alone before sparing a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure no one else was coming. As her motorcycle boots echoed on the cool tile floor, her ears pivoted in search of the cute little marsupial she was tracking.
The Opossum stood at the far end of the room looking down into the sink that she was clinging to at the moment with her eyes shut tight. It was clear that she was feeling sick or dizzy. “Hey,” Kristin said, applying as much fake sweetness as she could muster, “are you doing okay? You’re not looking so well.” She slowly, cautiously made her way towards the girl, being careful not to alarm her.
The girl’s eyes snapped open as she looked toward the sound of the voice, still holding onto the sink. “Huh?” she asked as her eyes focused. “It’s nothing... just a little dizzy,” she explained as she smiled at the Ferret, “new meds and stuff.”
“First time at a dance like this? It can be kind of overwhelming if you’re not used to it,” Kristin explained, “especially if you’re drugged. You sure you’re okay?”
Cocking an eyebrow, the girl replied, “No… this is actual medication… I don’t do anything like that… I’ve had enough near-death moments in the last two months, thank you.” The Opossum straightened up as she spoke, like she was forcing herself to appear stronger than she was.
Kristin chuckled at the young girl’s naiveté. “You’re too cute. I didn’t mean illegal drugs or anything like that. Drugs can also refer to prescription medications.” She put on her best look of concern as she asked, “But near-death experiences? You’re so young. You must have gone through some fucked up shit.”
“That’s putting it lightly…” the girl shot back, before pausing a moment to think. “Two attempted suicides and like... three or four? I’m not sure... times that I should have ended up dead for the shit that I did.” She turned towards the older girl and leaned back against the wall behind her.
“Damn,” Kristin replied with a shake of her head as she sat down on the countertop. “Sounds like you’ve been through Hell and back. I’m Kristin, by the way.”
“Yes… what feels like a lifetime of it. Fighting… family… and more, but that’s all in the past now. I’m here and I’m happy… I’m with the one that I love.”
The Ferret almost tingled inside hearing about how devoted the little girl was to her partner, and it made her want even more to redirect the girl’s affections towards herself. “Fascinating,” she cooed. “Want to tell me about it?”
“Yeah… there isn’t enough time in the day to talk about all the shit I’ve been through,” the Opossum replied before taking another brief pause. “Long story short, I’ve seen death, I’ve caused death, and I’ve beaten it, too.”
“Suit yourself,” Kristin said, not wanting to pressure the girl too much too soon. Instead, she decided to try a different approach. “Why don’t you tell me about this person you love?”
“Well,” the younger girl stopped trying to think, “how do you describe someone as amazingly perfect as Cass? I mean… she’s shown me love that no one else has since Mom was killed and Dad was dealt with. She is helping take care of me and getting me settled and all that.”
Kristin’s ears perked up at the mention of a ‘Cass.’ Could that be short for Cassandra? Cassidy? Cassiopeia? Casper? There were a few potential students that came to mind. Just as she was about to ask for more information, she heard the bathroom door swing open. The younger girl’s eyes got a slight twinkle to them, so the Ferret decided to turn around. Before she knew what was happening, though, she felt a strong paw grab her by the side of her face. A searing flash of pain burned through her mind as her head smacked against the cold tile of the wall and her vision erupted in stars.
“Goddamn, Cass…” the girl remarked, “I think that was a little much… I mean, she wasn’t doing anything to me… we were just talking.”
“She wasn’t doing anything yet,” an angry female voice said from somewhere over the prone Ferret girl. “But I’ve been warned by everyone at this school to stay away from this bitch. She’s a two-faced manipulator.”
Kristin could taste the metallic tang of blood in her mouth as she spit out one of her teeth. She wiped the crimson from her lips with her sleeve as her vision began to clear. A tall Porcupine girl was crouched down over her, the long quills covering her body raised up to create an imposing sight. For the first time since her parents were taken away, Kristin McDaniel was scared.
“Listen here, bitch,” the girl named Cass hissed at her. “You fuck with my girl, you fuck with me. And I don’t like getting fucked with. I don’t give a shit about you or your reputation; there’s a new apex predator in town, and you’re my only prey. Come on, Lilly. Let’s get out of here.”
“Well… that was one Hell of a greeting there, Sweetie,” Lilly said as she walked over to the discarded tooth and picked it up. “Look at it like this: Cass got to you first… I’m not that… nice.” She slipped the tooth into her pocket and took the Porcupine’s paw into her own. “Let’s go… I have a necklace to make.”
As the pair walked out of the girls’ room, Kristin saw a small gathering of onlookers standing in the doorway, a mixture of shock and delight on their faces. As she staggered up onto her footpaws, she said, “That bitch attacked me! You guys saw it, right? One of you, go grab Headmistress Gaithers.” Her anger turned into frustration as the crowd dispersed in a fit of laughter.
“Man, that new girl’s got some balls!” one of them said.
“Serves that bitch right. Maybe now she’ll be a little nicer,” another one replied.
Lilliana walked up to Colin as he watched the students mingle. “You have a match? I want to see if this punch is worth drinking yet,” she said as she passed him a plastic cup filled with red liquid.
“I doubt it, since this is a school event,” the Mouflon answered with a grin as he took the offered cup. “Thanks for offering to chaperone with me; since I’m part of the safety committee, I kind of have to attend these events.”
“I’d think with Fluffy heading up the school security, this would be boring,” the Liger said. “But there is no way I was going to miss Squeaker’s first school dance, even if she is the one getting all the pictures.”
“She’s definitely coming into her own,” Colin remarked. “A few months ago, when I first met her, I couldn’t imagine her being so active in such a crowded setting.”
“If you look more closely, you’ll see what she sees,” Lilliana leaned in a little closer as she continued, “you have Fluffy and her crack team of moron security contractors covering the doors. You, I, and a few others have area visual coverage. Then, to top that off, Mouse Bait is within ramming distance of anything that might be a threat. She is possibly safer in her mind right now than she is even in your classroom. Add to that the music that is blasting so loud that you can hardly talk to the person next to you, played live by the band that she listens to practice across the street, and the camera and living, moving scene in front of her, and you have the workings of just what the girl needs to distract herself enough from the impending panic attack to have a good time.”
“Either way, it’s good to see her enjoying herself,” the Mouflon said as he turned to face Lilliana. “How about you? Having a nice time?”
She downed the remainder of the punch in her cup before she replied, “We’re supposed to be keeping an eye on these kids, right? So what say we check out the makeout spots, and see if any got away yet?”
Colin arched an eyebrow at the suggestion, clearly dubious about her intentions, but threw back his head and finished his drink before giving her a shrug. “Sure. Everything in here seems in order, and if anything comes up I’m sure Scott and Janine can deal with it.”
“So if you were a teen, and wanted to get away to maybe get a little, where would you go?” she asked as they started to walk toward the hall. “As you’ve been here longer, I’m sure you know all the good secluded spots,” she added with a wink.
“Let’s see…” he grinned. “There’s the trap door under the stage in the auditorium, a few nooks up in the library, the audio/video room, the locker rooms, and the shop. Where should we start?”
“Well, if we treat it like a standard patrol, we start with the closest, and work our way out,” she said as they turned into the hall. “That is unless you have other plans. I know how some guys think at events like this. ‘Hey, I’m here with a hot chick, maybe I can get lucky.’” She looked over at him with a mischievous grin of her own. “It’s not like we don’t have keys for some of the rooms that the students can’t get to or anything.”
“True, but some of them can be surprisingly resourceful,” the Mouflon replied with a grin. “I’ve seen coins placed in door jambs to keep the doors from closing completely, so that they can return later, or duct tape placed over the latch to keep it from clicking.”
“You found that stuff? Or did it yourself back in the day?” she asked while she jabbed him with her elbow. “I’ve heard a few things from your sister. Are you sure you’re not giving the jocks some pointers about things other than football, coach?”
“Miss Fargo,” he said with a mock gasp, “I’m insulted that you would ever question my integrity. Of course I’m not giving pointers to my team; one of them might be stupid enough to make a move on you.”
Lilliana snorted at the comment, “If you’re worried about that, maybe they should be giving you pointers.”
“Hey, what I’ve been doing seems to be working just fine,” Colin said as he stepped in closer and draped an arm over her shoulder. “I mean, I’m the one at this dance with the most beautiful woman here.”
“Is that so,” she said with a snort, “well then, since I came as a chaperone, who is she and when do I get to meet her? Otherwise, you’re just lucky I find you half amusing.” She slipped her paw into the back pocket of his pants as she added, “The other half can be fun to have around at times also.”
“I’m not sure you’d get along with her,” he joked. “She’s a bit of a smart-ass, rather sarcastic. I think some people have described her as abrasive or hot-headed.”
“Oh really?” she questioned. “Hot-headed and abrasive. Next thing you know you’re going to tell me you could never picture her as a teacher, either.” She changed the subject before he could reply as she said, “Let’s start with the auto shop. I think they had a sexy looking ‘66 Chevy in earlier this week. I’d like to get a closer look if it’s still there. I mean that is one of the spots you’ve caught some before, right?”“
“A ‘66 Corvair, sexy?” he chuckled. “Oh man, could you imagine trying to make out in the back seat of one of those?”
“Well, I never thought,” the Liger exclaimed. “We’d better get down there and make sure some poor girl isn’t trapped with some perverted jock that thinks the same way you do.”
“Jeremy Summers!” Ed Samuels shouted, holding his arms up in surprise as he made his way over towards Ross and her date. The old Wolf had a joyous grin on his muzzle as he slapped a paw onto the Gray Squirrel’s shoulder. “How’ve you been, lad? Word has it you’re some big-shot college baseball star now.”
“Coach!” Jeremy replied. “They haven’t made you retire yet?”
“Nah, but they’ve tried,” the old man chuckled. “I just can’t stand being at home with Barb all the time. If I don’t keep myself busy, that dang woman drags me off to antique stores, flea markets, and God knows what else. They only let me stay on because I only ask them to reimburse my expenses, and we’re winning. I’m probably the lowest-paid person on staff here, but it’s worth it just to save my sanity. But enough about me, tell me about school. Where are you? Texas? Tennessee?”
“Yeah, University of Tennessee,” the Squirrel answered. “The Volunteers.”
“Hey, guys,” Ross interjected, “I’m gonna let you two catch up. Jeremy, send me a text when you’re done and I’ll find you. In the meantime, I’m gonna find my friends and see what they’re up to.”
“You sure?” her date asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” the Tundra Lioness said, “unless you want to listen to teen girl gossip?”
Jeremy chuckled at the suggestion as he shook his head, “Point taken. Have fun. I’ll catch up to you soon.”
“Okay. It’s good to see you, Mr. Samuels,” she said as she turned towards the dance floor.
“You too, Miss Goldmane,” the old Wolf replied.
Ross slowly made her way around the gymnasium, looking for Elena, who she knew was feeling bummed out about being at this dance without her lovers. She shook her head in disbelief; she’d been sent to Marblecliff by her mother to live with her aunt and uncle because she was ‘a negative influence’ on her younger sisters. No sooner did Ross move in, and her younger cousin got into a long-distance relationship with not one, but two kids - one of which was a herm! - back in Ross’s own hometown. After a couple minutes of unsuccessful searching, she pulled out her phone and sent Elena a text.
[1/17/14 8:52 PM Me: Where are you? Everything okay?]
She stopped at the buffet and grabbed a plate, piling it up with a New York strip steak, a baked potato, a vegetable medley, and a roll, and grabbed a can of Dr. Pepper, then made her way over to a nearby table to sit and eat. A moment later, her phone vibrated with a response.
[1/17/14 8:58 PM Elena: Yeah. Outside talking to Harper & Mori.]
Satisfied that her cousin was safe and that Alice and Xavier wouldn’t flay her alive, Ross turned her attention back to her meal, only to find herself face-to-face with Miss D’Amato.
“You know, I never understood why you two broke up,” the Greyhound woman said, speaking loudly enough to be heard over the music. With a slight tilt of her slender neck, she indicated towards where Megan was performing on stage. “I mean, so what if she has a kid?”
“That’s not the point,” the Tundra Lioness said as she shook her head. “She has a kid, and she’s not involved in the child’s life. At all.”
“Why do you suppose that is?” the Latin teacher asked.
“Well, she just found out a few months ago,” Ross answered. “But I don’t see where this is any of your business.”
“Signorina Goldmane,” the woman said with a soft smile, “humor me. Per favore.”
“Okay. Fine,” the teen said with a roll of her eyes. “Because she doesn’t know who the mother is.”
“And this bothers you?” Isabel asked.
“It bothers me that there is a boy or girl out there that doesn’t know his or her father,” Ross huffed. “My own Dad was in and out of our lives, mostly out. It’s tough.”
“Was that his choice, or your mother’s?”
“His,” she answered.
“Capisco,” the Greyhound said, “You have feelings of abandonment because of your padre.”
“It’s not just that,” the Tundra Lioness muttered. “Megan was abandoned at birth by her father, too. She knows how it feels. I can’t… I can’t be with someone that would do that to their child.”
“Have you ever considered that perhaps the mother does not wish to be found?” Isabel asked.
“Why would a woman want to raise a kid on her own?” Ross asked incredulously.
“Non lo so,” the teacher shrugged. “Perhaps it would do more harm than good.”
“But what if the woman is looking for the father?”
“Trust me, she is not,” Isabel replied with a weak smile.
“How do -” Ross started to ask, before the realization struck her. “You?!?”
“Sì,” the Greyhound woman nodded. “We were blindfolded at the time. It was an anonymous encounter engineered by… Well, I suspect you know who. I never knew who the father was until it was revealed that Megan was a herm. If I had known… Ross, if word gets out, my career is over. Please, I am happy. Matteo is happy. One day, when he is older, and my career is safe, I will tell him - if he is interested.”
The Tundra Lioness sat in silence for a minute, contemplating this new development. She had pushed Megan away and forced her into trying to do the impossible. It wasn’t that the Bat herm was at risk of becoming like either of their fathers, it was that she honestly didn’t know who the mother could be. The only ones who could have told her were Miss D’Amato, who clearly didn’t want Megan to know, or…
“When I see that fucking Ferret, I’m going to skin her alive,” Ross growled.
“Please, no,” the Greyhound pleaded. “If she ever finds out that you know, she’ll know that I told you. Then my life will be over anyway. I only came to talk with you because I saw her leave the dance. Per favore?”
With a resigned sigh, Ross asked, “Can I see a picture of him?”
Miss D’Amato smiled as she opened up her clutch and removed her wallet. Inside were several photos of a young cub, two or three years old, with the unmistakable slim body, gray fur, black hair, and canine face of his mother. But, beneath his arms were the wing membranes of a Bat, and he had the most remarkable amethyst colored eyes. “He’s beautiful,” Ross remarked with a genuine smile as she briefly allowed herself to imagine what her and Megan’s cubs would look like.
“He is my whole world,” Isabel said. “He is a happy boy. Please don’t ruin it for him. For me.”
“I won’t,” Ross replied. “I promise.”
“Grazie,” Isabel said as she stood up from the table. “I should let you go, and get back to chaperoning this dance. Buona notte, Signorina Goldmane.”
Samantha walked towards the ice sculpture to rejoin her date as she thought about how unconcerned Daisy had seemed about the news regarding her brother. As she drew closer, she saw Derek talking with a pretty Sand Cat girl. She wasn’t truly concerned over them talking; after all, Derek was handsome and seemed to be popular at his school. As she drew closer, the girl leaned in closer to Derek, raising up on her tiptoes to whisper something into his ear. Samantha stopped for a moment as a sudden, nearly overwhelming rush of jealousy washed over her. The shocked look on his face as he pushed the beautiful feline away convinced her that the girl had just whispered a come-on line into his ear.
Who did this girl think she was? Samantha was certain Derek hadn’t been secretive about their relationship; this Sand Cat had to know he was spoken for, yet still made a move on him. “I don’t need this, not now… not tonight,” the Saluki girl muttered softly as she started walking towards the pair again. Forcing her tightly clenched paws to relax and straighten as she drew near, she spoke before either of them noticed her approach.
“I’ll ask you only once to kindly keep your paws off my boyfriend,” she said as calmly and evenly as she could muster, unable to completely keep the low growl from her voice.
The Sand Cat girl jumped at the interruption and backed away from Derek, her brown eyes growing wide in surprise. “You… I… Oh, God,” she said, before covering her face with her paws and muttering, “Stupid… stupid, stupid, stupid!”
“Samantha, this is Hayley,” the Samoyed explained as calmly as he could, even though his white fur shone pink from embarrassment. “She and I are friends, kind of. At least, I hope we still are. Hayley, this is my girlfriend, Samantha, whom I told you about.”
“Hello,” Hayley said meekly, “it’s so nice to finally meet you. You have a wonderful boyfriend. He talks about you all the time.”
Fixing the girl with a slightly less icy stare, the Saluki replied, “Nice meeting you also.” Glancing to her boyfriend for a moment she added, “He has said he wasn’t sure anyone believed him about being spoken for.”
Hayley shrugged. “There was a lack of physical evidence that you existed,” she explained, “and the popular rumor was that he… well, he wouldn’t be into girls like you. It’s nice to see him back up the talk and put the gossip to rest.”
“I still don’t see how everyone got that impression,” Derek said with a shake of his head. “Just because I wasn’t interested in any girls here doesn’t mean I don’t like girls at all, or that I like guys.”
“Yeah, well some people need to come up with excuses to help them process rejection,” the Sand Cat said. “I should have believed you, and saved all of us the embarrassment. Well, I should leave you two in peace so that you can enjoy your night. It was nice to meet you, Samantha. Derek? Please don’t tell anyone about this?”
“Of course not,” he answered. “It was just a simple misunderstanding.”
“Thanks,” Hayley said. “I’ll see you around school.” Then, looking at the Saluki, she added, “I mean it. He’s a great guy, and you’re lucky to have him.”
“Yes he is, and yes I am,” Samantha said, wrapping one arm around Derek’s waist. Cutting her eyes to catch a glimpse of his face she thought to herself, ‘I only hope that doesn’t change after tonight,’ before looking quickly away and down to her footpaws. “Derek, I’m sorry if that came off as a little possessive,” she added without looking at him.
“Actually, I kinda liked it,” he said, hugging her closely. “Not that I doubted it for a second, but it’s nice to see that you’re willing to fight to keep what you love. I’d have done the same thing, Silky.” He brushed his fingers along her jawline before lifting her muzzle up to his, giving her a soft kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” the Saluki said softly, staring into his eyes. Her expression changed slightly, a mildly worried look coming to her features as she continued, “Derek, we need to talk. There’s something I need to tell you and I’m not really sure how to. I was going to wait until later, but after seeing Hayley making a move on you I…”
“Samantha, hey,” the Samoyed-Wolf mix whispered gently, “it’s okay. You can tell me anything. Unless you’re dying or something like that, then I’ll probably be a wreck, but I will be here to love and support you no matter what. Just calm down, relax, collect your thoughts, and continue when you’re ready. Would you like to go someplace quieter? Or sit down?”
“No, nothing bad like that…” the Saluki responded, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. “It’s not anything bad at all, or at least I don’t think it is.” Opening her eyes again, she wore a slightly worried expression on her face as she locked gazes with her boyfriend and steeled herself for whatever his reaction might be. “Derek, I’m… Oh God, I’m pregnant.”
A stunned expression crossed his face as the news hit him. “Wow,” he said as he allowed the information to sink in. “I know the pill isn’t one-hundred percent effective, but… are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Confirmed by my gynecologist three days ago. As close as she can guess, it happened when you were in Colorado for my birthday,” Samantha replied, looking a little shaky on her footpaws.
A slight smile formed on his lips as he said, “Well, it’s a bit sooner than I think either of us planned, but like I said, I’ll fight to keep and protect what I love. Whatever it takes, we’ll make this work.” He moved his paw down and placed it over Samantha’s belly. “It might be difficult, but our baby will be happy and loved, and so will you. I promise.”
Laying her head on his chest and hugging him tightly she asked, “You… you’re sure about this? Are you really sure you want to take on a baby this soon?”
Derek answered her with a kiss. “The timing doesn’t matter. I’ve always known that I’d like cubs someday, and from the moment we met, I knew that I wanted them with you. Yes, it’s early, but I don’t think it’s too early, no matter what anyone else might say or think. I’d like for you to keep the baby, if you also want this. Let’s be a family.” He wrapped his strong arms around her slim waist and hugged her tightly before loosening his grip. “Sorry, that wasn’t too tight for the baby, was it?”
A nervous giggle escaped the Saluki girl’s lips as she leaned into him more. “Not at all. I want this too, but I was a little worried that you might feel… I don’t know, trapped into it or something.” She put her arms around him, holding onto him almost as if he might evaporate if she let go as she asked, “How did I get so lucky and find such a wonderful guy by chance?”
“I’m the lucky one,” he replied as he rested his chin on the top of her head. “Without you, I’d still be punishing myself for the mistakes of my past. You didn’t trap me. You set me free.” He slowly started swaying their bodies back and forth in time to the music playing in the background. “So, who else knows?”
Samantha sighed contentedly, relaxing a bit in his arms as the worry faded from her mind. “No one else knows yet. I didn’t want to deal with anyone else’s reaction until I knew how you were going to take the news.” With a soft chuckle she looked up into her lover’s eyes and smiled softly as she said, “I guess our moms got their wishes sooner than they thought they would.”
“Oh, man,” he groaned, “my mom was bad enough when it was just playful teasing. Can you imagine how she’ll be once she finds out she’s going to be a grandmother? Especially when she’s also pregnant! I’m sure she’s going to be dragging you and your mother all over town, baby shopping. And my dad! Good thing his fur is already grey.”
Samantha nuzzled into his chest, smiling happily as she said, “I can deal with that, I think. The one I feel a little bad for is your brother. He had it bad enough before; how much worse will it get for him now?”
“I don’t think it’ll be that bad for him, honestly,” Derek answered as he stroked her hair. “I mean, with us moving in together, he’ll have a bit more peace and quiet. Not to mention the amount of time he spends at Arelia’s. The ones I worry about are Debbie and Brett. Knowing those two, they’ll turn this into a competition and start cranking kids out left and right.”
Llyulf slowly picked his way through the crowd holding a cup of punch in each paw. The slow song that had just played seemed like the perfect opportunity to grab refreshments for himself and his date, especially since she seemed more keen on socializing than dancing. In fact, the extent of their conversation since arriving had been Midori telling him to say hello to one or another of her friends. As he attempted to sidestep a few of his schoolmates, one of them suddenly stepped backwards into him, causing him to spill the red liquid all over the front of his suit and staining his white dress shirt.
“Oh my God!” the girl exclaimed. “I’m so, so sorry!” She removed her shawl and knelt down to try and clean up the mess. “Aiden, could you please run and grab some paper towels?”
“Right,” the Stoat boy said as he rushed to get something to help.
“It’s okay,” Leo said. “You don’t need to ruin your wrap; it looks expensive.”
“Nonsense,” she answered as she awkwardly dabbed at the front of his outfit. “It was our fault. Besides, it didn’t cost me much to make, and I can make another one just as easily.”
Her date returned just then with a fistful of napkins, then seeing the girl on her knees in front of the older Wolf attempting to soak up the punch before it stained his suit, coughed to get their attention.
“Oh?” the girl said, looking up at the Stoat boy and the shocked look on his face. “Oh!” she exclaimed, leaping up to her footpaws. “Sorry, I bet that looked all kinds of inappropriate.”
“Here ya go, bud,” the Stoat said as he gave the napkins to Leo.
Suitably cleaned up and with two fresh cups of punch in paw, Llyulf returned to where he left Midori and her friends. As he approached, Elena quirked an eyebrow and asked, “What happened to you?”
“A girl bumped into me and made me spill our drinks,” the Wolf boy explained. “So I had to try and clean myself up and go back for more.” He glanced around, looking for his date. “Where’s Midori?”
The Cheetah hybrid gave him a sympathetic frown. “Leo, I’m sorry…”
He spotted the green-furred feline several yards away with another male, talking excitedly. Judging from the way she was clinging to the Badger, they were more than just friendly acquaintances.
“I wanted to warn you,” Elena said softly. “This is typical Midori behavior, but I really hoped that it would be different this time. The way she spoke about you, I really thought she liked you, but for some reason she keeps going back to that jerk.”
“I see,” he said with something of a growl. “Well, when she comes back, this is for her.” He set the two cups down on the table. “You can have the other one, if you like.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I’m going to call a cab. Thanks for the lift.” He walked to the coat closet and grabbed his leather jacket, shrugging it over his shoulders as he headed for the exit. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone to look up a taxi company.
Outside, Leo zipped his jacket and sighed, waiting for his ride. It had started snowing while he was inside and his breath hung thick in the crisp winter air. He wasn’t the only one out in the cold, though; a cute Chipmunk girl was sitting on the stairwell, huddled up and shivering. She wasn’t wearing a coat. With a resigned sigh, he removed his own and approached the girl.
“You shouldn’t be out here like that,” he said, “You’ll catch your death from the cold.”
“I’d rather freeze out here waiting to get picked up than ask my date to get my jacket out of his car,” she groused. The way she said ‘date’ practically seethed with contempt.
“Here,” Llyulf said, draping the warm leather garment over her shoulders like a cape. “Take mine. At least I have a winter layer of fur.”
“And they say chivalry is dead,” the girl said with a forced smile. “Thank you. So what brings a nice guy like you out into this mess?”
“My date ditched me for her ex. You?”
“Let me guess: feline, green fur, kind of slutty?” the Chipmunk girl asked.
“I try not to judge, but you have the green fur and feline parts right. How’d you know?”
“My date was the ex. I’m Holly.”
“Llyulf, but my friends call me Leo,” he replied as he took a seat next to her. He reached out his paw and added. “It’s nice to meet you, Holly.”
She took his paw and he gave hers a friendly shake. “You too, Leo.”
“I haven’t seen you around here before,” he observed. “Where do you go to school?”
“I’m in one of those online schools,” Holly answered as they stared out into the clear night sky together. “At least until I graduate this spring.”
“Oh yeah? Then what?” he asked.
“I’m not sure yet,” Holly replied. “As cliché as it sounds, I want to travel across Europe before starting college.”
“I sense a ‘but’ coming,” Leo frowned.
“Buuuut my dad is freaking out over the idea,” she continued. “He thinks that if I go, I won’t want to come back, or something bad will happen to me.”
“I’m sure he’s just being a typical father,” the Wolf replied. “It’s his job to worry about you - even when everything’s fine.”
“I guess,” she huffed. “It’s just frustrating, because I want to be able to experience the arts and cultures while I can. After college, I’ll have my career, maybe a family. The older I get, the smaller the window will be.”
“Your reasons sound pretty solid to me,” he answered. “So, you’re into the arts, huh? Anything in particular?”
“All of them, really,” Holly said, apparently thankful for the subtle shift in their conversation. “The ballet, the opera, the museums… I mean, don’t get me wrong, we have all of those things here in the States, but I think experiencing them in their native cultures would just take it to the next level.” Her blue eyes sparkled as she spoke, complimenting her dress wonderfully.
“It sounds like it would be incredible,” Leo commented. “And expensive. Are you sure you’ll be able to do all those things without your dad backing your decision to go?”
“I won’t need him to,” the Chipmunk girl shrugged. “I’ve been working part-time ever since I turned sixteen, saving up for this trip. Thirty hours per week, every week. I want him to see how responsible I can be by not needing him to pay for any of it.”
“That’s admirable,” he nodded, then asked, “So, do you mind me asking where you work?”
“I’m a hostess at a family Italian restaurant,” Holly explained. “One of my mom’s closest friends owns it, so they do a pretty good job of giving me as many hours as I can manage. Plus, if it starts to hurt my grades, they promised Mom they’d cut back my hours.” She smiled proudly and added, “I’ve only gotten one ‘B’ in the past two years, the rest ‘A’s.’”
“Beauty and brains,” he grinned. “So, I take it that’s how you met…”
“Prince Asshat? Yeah,” she scoffed. “The guy practically stalked me, coming in at least once a week, constantly asking me out. It’s not that I wasn’t interested, I was just preoccupied with school, work, and - once in a while - helping out my parents with their butcher shop. I think I caught him by surprise when I agreed to be his date to this dance, but I figured he must genuinely like me if he wouldn’t give up. Besides, I’d like to enjoy at least one high school dance before I graduate.” She sighed. “So much for that idea.”
A pair of headlights crested the hill. “That’s my dad,” she remarked as she stood up and gave his jacket back to him. “It was very nice to meet you, Leo.”
“You too, Holly,” the Wolf replied as he slid his arms into the sleeves. “Can I see you again?”
“Maybe,” she answered with a coy smile as she opened the door to enter the vehicle.
“Maybe?”
“I like you, Leo; you seem like a great guy,” Holly explained.
“Here comes another ‘but,’” he half-joked, despite the contemptuous glare being cast his way by her father.
“But the last guy I let in turned out to be a scumbag,” she continued. “So you’re going to have to earn it. I’ve told you enough that you shouldn’t have any problem finding me, if you were paying attention. I hope you were; I don’t usually open up so much to people I just met.”
“Fair enough,” Llyulf replied. “I’ll see you sometime soon, then. Good night.”
“Good night, Leo,” she said, and then teased him by adding, “Just remember: nothing - and no one - worth doing is easy.” With that, she pulled her door shut and her father drove off, leaving the young male standing in the snow with a boyish grin on his muzzle.
Cecilia Gaithers patrolled the empty hallways of the expansive school, deep in reminiscence despite the fact that she was supposed to be on the lookout for any randy teenagers that might have snuck out of the gym for some privacy. She couldn’t help it; she’d met her late husband at the Winter Formal of 1974, while she was still just a fresh-faced English teacher. She’d volunteered to chaperone the dance while he was the guitar player in the band they’d hired that year. Perhaps it was just sentiment, but to her that was the best Winter Formal the school had ever held. Still, she had to admit that Miss Richards and the planning committee managed to pull off a very close second.
Granted, times were different now than they had been back then. Clothing nowadays covered a whole lot less fur. Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, John Denver, and Elton John were replaced by Kanye West, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Drake; music was no longer about love, but lust instead. In today’s society, almost nothing was taboo anymore. Even the F-word, which had once caused mothers to gasp and cover their children’s ears, was now spoken just as casually as a simple ‘hello.’ Indeed, the world was changing and the old Shrew was starting to wonder if it still held a place for her.
Harold had been dead for more than a decade, leaving her alone without any children. Her parents were long gone and the last of her siblings had passed away last year. Sure, she had nieces and nephews, but they had lives of their own and children to raise. Her only companionship came from the occasional foster child, but this generation didn’t hold the same reverence for their elders the same way previous ones did. Lord knew her current ward was more than a handful.
Cecilia heard a thump, followed by a giggle and some muffled talking. Two voices, male and female, could barely be heard coming from the library. She followed the sounds past row after row of books, relying on her keen hearing to guide her in the low light. A solid oak chair had been knocked over, no doubt the source of the thumping noise she’d heard. She found the young lovebirds cuddled up in the study lounge, facing out the large windows as they watched the snow falling outside. Thankfully, both teens were still fully dressed.
“Mr. LaCroix. Miss Ericksson,” she said sternly, causing the young couple to jump with a start. “What do you two think you’re doing?”
“We’re sorry, Miss Gaithers,” Anna managed to squeak out as her boyfriend stared at the floor, blushing furiously. “We just couldn’t hear ourselves talk down in the gym.”
A slight smile crept across the old Shrew’s face. Had she been any different at their age? Both were model students, academically sound and active in sports, with clean disciplinary records. Maybe it was her old age, but she found herself giving in. “It’s okay, dear,” she said. “Neither of you have ever been a problem before, but I can’t make exceptions. Come on, you two, out you go.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the Cow girl answered, expressions of mixed shock and relief evident on her face and Frank’s that they weren’t in trouble.
As the young couple hurried back down to the gym, Cecilia made certain that all of the library doors were locked before continuing her rounds. She was going to miss those two, though she was sure she’d still see Frank around from time to time since he accepted the offer to attend UNHM on a football scholarship. She had to admit that he and Sean Blackwell had been a formidable center/quarterback duo and it pleased her that they would be reunited in college. Anna, however, was being recruited by colleges all across the country with some rather serious offers; she hoped that their relationship could withstand the distance.
The old Shrew roamed for almost twenty minutes before the next interruption pulled her from her reverie. Rock music, playing faintly in the distance, though the voice wasn’t Megan’s nor was the sound coming from the direction of the dance. She traced the noise to the automotive shop and pressed her ear to the door.
While she couldn’t make out what was being said over the loud music, she could definitely hear voices, one male and the other female, and both familiar though all of the other sounds prevented her from identifying the owners. Steeling her nerves for what she might find on the other side of the door, she turned the knob and pushed.
“Shush, I think I heard the door.”
“Miss Fargo?” Headmistress Gaithers called out. “Where are you?”
“Damn, she’s got some good ears.”
“Mister Burke? Is everything okay in here?” The old Shrew fully entered the shop and started walking around, looking for the couple. There was a soft rustling sound and the metallic jingle of what could be a belt, or possibly keys, but she wasn’t certain.
“Give it up, Goatboy; you’re not that fast,” Lilliana said as she continued a bit louder, “Just testing the suspension work the shop class did this week.”
She stopped below them and looked up. “If you’re testing the suspension, why is the car up on the lift with you both inside? And why are you sweating, Miss Fargo?” Her eyes narrowed. “And your fur is all disheveled, and you’re breathing is heavy.”
“Get me some crayons, apparently our Headmistress needs a diagram,” the Liger said with a snicker, which caused the Mouflon - still out of her sight - to groan.
“I’m fully aware of what you both were doing,” she huffed in frustration. “I just expected better from Colin.”
With another snicker the Liger replied, “He was doing pretty damn good until you walked in, if you ask me.”
“Lilly!” Mr. Burke said in shock before sticking his head over the door to look down at her. “I’m sorry, Cecilia.”
“No, it’s fine,” the Headmistress said with a wave of her paw. “You two spent months dancing around your mutual attraction and the whole school could feel the sexual tension. If you ask me, it’s about damn time. I just never thought you had it in you to do it on school grounds.”
“He had it in me on school grounds alright,” the Liger said with a grin and a wink at the Shrew.
Ignoring the Liger woman’s crude jokes, she looked up at Mr. Burke. “Tell me, Colin, does she make these remarks while you two make love?”
“No, ma’am,” he blushed. “She’s actually relatively quiet in comparison.”
With a playful grin, she turned around and started walking back towards the main building. “Do me a favor, then, would you? Make sure you give it to her hard enough to shut her up through Tuesday. Lord knows I could use a day of peace.”
“How’s the leg holding up?” Claire Summers asked her boyfriend as he escorted her back out onto the dance floor. It had been nearly a year since the car accident that had killed his uncle and severed his right leg below the knee.
“It’s not terrible,” Ethan replied as he spun her around and gathered her up in his arms. “A little uncomfortable, but nothing I can’t take. How are your footpaws doing in those heels?”
Chuckling, she answered, “That’s hardly a fair comparison, I’m sure.”
“I’m just saying, if you’re willing to power through the discomfort of wearing pumps just so we can share a few dances, I’m willing to bear with the ache in my leg,” he explained. “You know, we only have one more dance before we graduate.”
“Prom,” the Squirrel girl said. “I can’t believe we’ll be graduating in less than five months.”
“Exactly,” he said. “So we need to get these moments in while we can.”
“I don’t know,” she mused. “I wouldn’t be opposed to coming home from class to find our place dimly lit with candles, soft music playing in the background, and a hot Raccoon waiting to take me into his arms and waltz me around the living room.”
“Waltz, huh?” Ethan chuckled. “Sounds like someone’s been watching too much ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ This here is about as intense as I can manage, at least for now.”
“You know what I mean, silly,” Claire responded as she gave him a gentle punch on his bicep. “It will be nice for us to have a bit of privacy for once, instead of having to drive out to the Bluffs or wait until my parents are asleep.”
“Have you told them yet about us moving in together?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “Mom’s a little sad that she won’t have any kids left in the house to cook for. She made me promise that we’ll stop by every Sunday morning.”
“And your Dad?”
“Believe it or not, he actually gave us his blessing,” the Squirrel said with a smile. “He says that he’s proud of me for helping you to become the man you are today, instead of ‘that degenerate that used to graffiti the city and knocked up my best friend.’” She made a stern face and spoke in a deeper tone of voice as she tried to mimic her father, a police captain.
“Maybe it was a stupid idea, but our intentions were noble,” he shrugged. “But I love Sienna with all my heart, and Shy gets to stay in America; heck, she’s almost a citizen now. So no regrets there, except for those few months when you two were fighting.”
“I’m still surprised you picked me over her,” Claire stated.
“You’re the one I love, Claire Summers,” Ethan said as he ran his fingers through her long red hair. “It’s always been you.”
“But the doctors said that I’ll probably never have kids,” she replied.
“Probably and definitely are two very different concepts,” the Raccoon remarked soothingly. “Probably means there’s still a chance, and I’m willing to take that chance so long as you are, too.”
“Hmmm,” she murred softly as she pressed her body in closer against his. “You know what I’m thinking?”
“Ditch the dance and head up to the Bluffs?”
“You know it,” Claire said as she groped him through the front of his slacks. “You go find Sveta and see if she can find another way home while I pull the car around.”
“Thank you guys so much,” Megan said as the couples on the dance floor stopped their slow dancing. Vivy and Jack vanished briefly backstage before reappearing a moment later rolling out a massive Japanese taiko drum and setting it next to her drum kit. “We hope you’re all having a great time. We have another surprise lined up for you this evening. I want to see everybody out on the dance floor for this next one. Come on!” Vivy took her place next to the oversized instrument while the Bat, Lizard, and Hyena started up the intro to the next song.
“This one is for the boys with the boomin’ system
Top down, AC with the cooling system
When he come up in the club, he be blazin’ up
Got stacks on deck like he savin’ up”
There was a moment of confusion as the crowd realized that it wasn’t Megan that was singing, then a bit of mild applause as Riley emerged from stage left, rapping into her mic.
“And he ill, he real, he might got a deal
He pop bottles and he got the right kind of bill
He cold, he dope, he might drink Coke
He always in the air, but he never fly coach
He a mother-effin’ trip, trip, sailor of the ship, ship
When he make it drip, drip kiss him on the lip, lip
That’s the kind of dude I was lookin’ for
And yes you’ll get slapped if you’re lookin’ hoe”
The Aardwolf worked the crowd like she was born into show business, kneeling at the edge of the stage and beckoning one bashful-looking, slightly overweight male Bear to the front. After some gentle coaxing from the Vixen he was with, Torben blushed profusely but complied. His fur only glowed a deeper red as Riley ran her paw over his face and chest, which caused Tabby and her friends to giggle and clap with amusement.
“I said, excuse me, you’re a hell of a guy
I mean my, my, my, my you’re like Pelican fly
I mean, you’re so shy and I’m loving your tie
You’re like slicker than the guy with the thing on his eye, oh
Yes I did, yes I did, somebody please tell him who the F I is
I am Riley Burris, I mack them dudes up,
Back coupes up, and chuck the deuce up”
Riley stood up and turned her back to the crowd and Megan stepped forward to sing the chorus. In the meantime, the Aardwolf strode over to where Jack was playing along on his guitar and pressed her back to him, strumming an imaginary guitar of her own.
“Boy, you got my heartbeat runnin’ away
Beating like a drum and it’s coming your way
Can’t you hear that boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass?
You got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Yeah, that’s the super bass
Boom Boom Boom Boom
Boom Boom Boom Boom
Boom Boom Boom Boom
Boom Boom Boom Boom
You got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
He got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
He got that super bass”
As Megan performed the chorus, Vivy would pound along on the huge drum, creating shockwaves of deep bass that perfectly emphasized every ‘boom’ she sang. As the Bat wrapped up, Riley walked back to the front of the stage for the next verse.
“This one is for the boys in the polos
Entrepreneur fellas & the moguls
He could ball with the crew, he could solo
But I think I like him better when he down low
And I think I like him better with the fitted cap on
He ain’t even gotta try to put the mac on
He just gotta give me that look, when he give me that look
Then the panties comin’ off, off, uh
Excuse me, you’re a hell of a guy you know I really got a thing for American guys
I mean, sigh, sickenin’ eyes, I can tell that you’re in touch with your feminine side, oh
Yes I did, yes I did, somebody please tell him who the F I is
I am Riley Burris, I mack them dudes up,
Back coupes up, and chuck the deuce up”
As Megan came back towards the front of the stage, Riley stayed and tried to get the audience more into the song by jumping up and down and lifting her arms up, indicating that she wanted to see more energy out of them.
“Boy, you got my heartbeat runnin’ away
Beating like a drum and it’s coming your way
Can’t you hear that boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass?
You got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Yeah, that’s the super bass
Boom Boom Boom Boom
Boom Boom Boom Boom
Boom Boom Boom Boom
Boom Boom Boom Boom
You got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
He got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
He got that super bass”
Satisfied now that the dancers were sufficiently enthused, Riley walked around the stage as Megan performed, swaying her hips seductively and timing her steps in time with the beat of the music. With each ‘boom’ of the drum, she would make a motion like she was the one banging on an imaginary drum.
“See I need you in my life for me to stay
No, no, no, no, no, I know you’ll stay
No, no, no, no, no, don’t go away-ay-ay
Boy, you got my heartbeat runnin’ away
Don’t you hear that heartbeat comin’ your way?
Oh, it be like, boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Can’t you hear that boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass?”
Next, Riley ran back to the front of the stage and knelt down, encouraging the crowd to sing along by holding the mic out over the audience and placing one of her paws up next to her ear.
“Boy, you got my heartbeat runnin’ away
Beating like a drum and it’s coming your way
Can’t you hear that boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass?
You got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Yeah, that’s the super bass
Boom Boom Boom Boom
Boom Boom Boom Boom
Boom Boom Boom Boom
Boom Boom Boom Boom
You got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
He got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
He got that super bass”
“Why so down? You did an amazing job coordinating everything,” Afon asked as she slid up beside the lonely looking Sand Cat. “You should be proud.”
“Thanks,” Hayley replied with a soft sigh. “Yeah, I think this is our best dance yet. Everyone looks like they’re having fun.”
“Except for you,” the River Shark countered. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes,” the feline teen answered with uncertainty. “No. I’m not sure.”
“Hayley,” Afon said as she turned her friend to face her and stared into her eyes. “Tell me what happened.”
“I came on to Derek, and he shot me down,” Hayley muttered. “It turns out he really does have a girlfriend. God, I feel so stupid!”
“I thought he was gay?” the Shark girl replied.
“I…” Hayley fumbled, unsure of how to respond.
“Hey,” Afon said softly as she pulled her friend into a hug. “It’s okay. I know your secret.”
“What secret?”
“I know you’re trans,” the River Shark whispered. “Don’t worry; I’ve known since we were in tenth grade, and I haven’t told anyone.”
“H-how?” Hayley asked.
“Gym class, in the locker room,” Afon explained. “I noticed the bulge in your shorts one day, and thought you were a herm, at least at first. But then I realized that you never menstruated.” Tapping the tip of her nose with her finger, she continued, “Don’t forget, I’ve got a nose for blood; I can tell who’s on their period and who’s not. They don’t call it ‘Shark week’ for nothing.”
“I…” the Sand Cat started to argue, but she couldn’t find the words.
“Like I said, I’ve known for years,” she reassured, “and I promise you, I haven’t said a word to anyone. Hayley, you’re my friend. Listen, I know a guy, definitely gay. I’m not sure if he’s into trans girls, but he’s cute and single. At the very least, I think you two would hit it off as friends. He’s here now, if you’d like me to introduce you.”
“Yes, please,” Hayley said with a weak smile. “And Afon? Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” the River Shark replied with a casual wave. “Come on, I’ll take you to him.”
The two girls walked to the other side of the gym to where a silver Fox stood, recording the band’s performance on his phone. “Hey!” he shouted over the music. “These guys are pretty good!”
“Jayden!” Afon yelled back. “I have someone I want you to meet!”
Jayden gave a nod and gestured for them to follow him to a quieter area to talk. The trio claimed an empty table in the back center of the gym and took their seats.
“Hey,” he said with a happy grin. “I’m Jayden.”
“Hayley,” the transgendered Sand Cat countered. He was gorgeous, impeccably dressed in a slim-fitting light grey suit over a silk vest with a light purple paisley pattern. His attire did wonders to accentuate his silver fur with its dark grey highlights and his violet eyes, and it brought out the purple streaks in his dark hair.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hayley. That was quite a speech you gave earlier.” His smile was warm and genuine and made her melt. “You sure know how to throw a party, too. This is much nicer than my Winter Formal.”
“Oh? Where did you attend school?”
“Right here at Chimera Prep,” Jayden answered. “I graduated three years ago.”
She thought for a moment until her eyes lit up with recognition. “I remember you now! Jayden… Something with an ‘E’... Ellerbe?”
“Ellison,” he corrected her.
“That’s right. You graduated at the end of our freshman year,” the Sand Cat said. “So what have you been up to for the past three years?”
“Well, I moved to New York to try and make it on Broadway,” Jayden explained.
“And?”
“And I have a full-time job selling suits,” he shrugged.
“Just be patient,” Afon interjected. “He’s landed several small parts, but I know if he keeps putting himself out there he’ll land his big break.”
“You’re right,” the silver Fox replied. “I’d just rather make my living by doing something I love. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun getting to dress up hot guys in nice clothes, but more often than not they’re either straight or unattractive.” Looking at Hayley, he asked, “So, what are your plans after graduation?”
“I’m entertaining some offers from a couple of schools,” she answered. “I want to go into political science, but I haven’t decided between BC and NYU yet.”
“You should totally pick NYU,” Jayden said. “I could show you around the city and you’d already have a local friend to keep you from getting too lonely.”
“Hey guys,” the River Shark interrupted, “I’m going to go chat with Ayame for a bit.”
“Want us to come -” he started to ask, but Afon cut him off.
“Nonsense,” she said with a dismissive wave. “You two seem like you’re hitting it off. I’ll be back in just a little bit.”
“You guys probably don’t know this next one, but I’m sure you’ll all appreciate the opportunity it gives my bandmates to show off what they can do,” the singer announced from the stage as she shifted her bass guitar to her back and picked up a pair of castanets. “This one’s named ‘Tell ‘Em,’ by a band called Sleigh Bells.”
The Opossum slouched back in the chair that she had found, her heart still racing a little from her run-in with the Ferret girl and the things that happened there. Cass had slipped off again to find Lilliana or get her that drink that she hadn’t gotten yet. Slowly she came down from the rush, the room stopped spinning, and her heart stopped pounding as her deep purple eyes looked around the gym, and at the people there. It had hit her already, but it was times like this that cemented the fact that this was her new life, something that was a lot better than the orphanage in Jonestown.
“Lilly?” a vaguely familiar voice called out from her right. “Is that you?”
Looking up and around for the person addressing her, the Opossum’s eyes came to rest on a somewhat nerdy-looking male Snowshoe Cat. “Do… Do I know you?” she asked, unable to place how he might recognize her.
“It is you!” he exclaimed as he took a seat next to her. “It’s me, Blake. Blake Xiao? We met over the summer on a cruise. What are you doing here?”
“Oh… Oh, I remember you now,” she said with a slight shiver as the memories started coming back to her in waves. “We did it on the cruise… And… me? I’m here because… well, because of a lot of things… I lost my family… Met a girl, she got dragged out here and I kinda followed… Add in a few near-death moments, and here I am.” She omitted some of the details as the tears started forming in the corners of her eyes.
“Ouch,” he said sympathetically. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault or anything… I think,” she said as she shook her head a little. “I mean… It’s not. Anyway… I take it you go to school here or something?” She was desperate to find something else to talk about.
“I do now,” the Snowshoe Cat answered. “That is, this is my freshman year; when we met I had just finished middle school.”
“That seems like such a long time ago now,” Lilly replied with a little snicker, as she thought back to the cruise and the things that had happened there. Blake was the first and only male that she had ever done anything with willingly, and he held an odd place in her heart. “I’m going to be going to one of the schools here… Manticore, I think.” Offering a smile, she added, “It’s nice to see another familiar face.”
“So, this girlfriend of yours attends school here? You should bring her by our table and introduce her,” Blake explained. “If she’s also new to town, she may be interested in making new friends.”
“She’s not as new as me, but I’m sure she can find a few friends,” Lilly said with a little snicker before looking around, motioning to someone. “Well look at that, we spoke her up.” She pointed to the Porcupine that was walking up to the table.
Blake’s eyes grew wide as Cassidy approached, a certain menace in her stare compounded by her aggressive stance telling him that she believed he was bothering the younger Opossum. “Do I need to knock out some more teeth, Lilly?” she asked with a low growl.
The Opossum chuckled a little. “Cass, Sweetie, you do know that not everyone is out to hurt me or something….” she said before looking at the kitten. “Besides, I don’t think that he could hurt anyone; he’s a sweetie.” She reached over and gave the feline a pat on the shoulder. “Anyway, Blake, this is Cassidy, my future wife and bodyguard; Cass, this is Blake.”
His eyes grew wide as he stared up at the intimidating Porcupine. “You… you’re the one that knocked Kristin out on the bathroom floor!”
“See, I told you that she’s not all bad,” Lilly giggled. “I kinda thought that she might have been going overboard when she decked that Ferret, but then I heard the shit that she pulls… Cass was a little too nice to her.”
“Hey, we’re on school grounds,” her girlfriend shrugged. “So, how do you know this nerd?”
“I don’t think he’s that much of a nerd,” the younger girl remarked with a grin. “But Blake is the only guy I can remember that was actually nice to me.”
Cassidy leaned in close, her warm breath tickling his eyelashes. “Are you trying to get into my girlfriend’s panties, Blake?”
The boy shrank down into his seat and meekly muttered, “N-no, Miss.”
Laughing, she stood up straight again and joked, “Good! She’s not allowed to wear any, anyway.”
“Don’t mind her, she’s a little possessive… Or protective…” Lilly said with a giggle, before adding, “And he only got into them once, but that was a long time ago.” The Opossum blushed slightly as divulged that detail.
“Hmm, interesting,” the older girl said thoughtfully as she cocked her head to the side and gave the boy an appraising look.
“Lilly!” he gasped. “She didn’t need to know all that!” Looking up at Cassidy, he added, “I’m not trying to get back into her panties, I promise.” Then he realized how that must have sounded to the little Opossum and tried to correct himself. “I mean, it’s not like you aren’t cute, because you are, and it’s not like I didn’t enjoy myself last time, because I did, but IthinkIshouldjustshutupnowbeforeIsaymoredumbstuff…”
“Relax, kid,” Cass sort-of chuckled - sort of, because she rarely allowed herself to be seen laughing and he had already managed to get one out of her. “I’m just fucking with you.”
“Look at it like this… If she was worried that you were going to steal me or she didn’t like you, I’m sure that she would have decked you by now,” Lilly couldn’t help but laugh a little at the sight of the poor boy, and just how cute the way he was acting was. So she jokingly added, “Maybe if you’re nice enough you can get her to share or something.”
“I don’t think my girlfriend would like that much,” he said, not catching on that she was teasing him. “I mean, it isn’t that she doesn’t like girls, but I don’t think either of you are her type.”
“Awww, and we had some new toys that we wanted to try out… Namely that really big one,” the Opossum girl said as she fought to keep a straight face. “And hey, you never know till you ask, you only live like once…. Or twice… Or am I up to three now?”
“You’re… you’re just messing with me, right?” he asked, though the tone of voice made it sound like he wasn’t so certain.
“The having sex part, or the living once part?” Lilly asked with a little snicker. “Cause I mean, if you want to get technical, I have died a time or two, and I am an Opossum so it’s kinda normal.” She smiled as the watched the feline’s reactions, doing her best to not burst out into a fit of giggles or lose her poker face.
“The sex part, of course,” he said as he adjusted the way his glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. “I mean, it would be kind of morbid if you were making all that other stuff up.”
“You are really cute and all, but I think that I have all that I need or could even ask for with Cass.” She motioned to the Porcupine that was with her. “And as for the other stuff…. I wasn’t making it up.” She tugged down the top of the loose shirt that she was wearing, showing off the bandages that covered her chest.
“Wow. Anyway, I should get back to my table; everyone’s probably wondering what happened to me. Come on,” Blake said as he stood up. “I’ll introduce you to my friends.” Looking at Cassidy, he added, “I think you’ll like Vic, she doesn’t put up with stuff either.”
“I love this song!” Hayley exclaimed. “Do you feel like dancing?”
“Sure,” Jayden said with a grin as he stood up and took her paw, leading her out onto the dance floor.
It was a refreshing change, she thought, to know a guy who not only didn’t complain when asked to dance but was also good at it. She realized now how incompatible she and Derek were; while she found him physically attractive, they had no common interests and her infatuation with him had been born of desperation. Even if he was gay, their relationship would likely have ended very quickly and damaged her confidence even further. It had taken every ounce of bravery and willpower to reveal her secret to him, and she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to do it a second time.
She didn’t need to muster up courage with Jayden, though. With him, she was completely relaxed and at ease, something that she was unaccustomed to outside of her own house. He was funny. He was flirty. He was fashionable. And he was friendly… Even though it was possible that he wasn’t into trans girls, Hayley was sure that she had found - at the very least - a friend for life.
As they danced, she was acutely aware of his close proximity and the subtle fragrance of his cologne. Her body betrayed her as the arousal he was causing her to feel sent the blood flowing to her groin. Afraid that someone would notice the tent forming in the front of her dress, she quickly spun around to face Jayden’s back, dancing in seductively close to mask her bulge. It was only a matter of seconds, though, before the silver Fox’s backside made incidental contact.
He froze for just a nanosecond, and Hayley almost ran out of the gym, embarrassed and ashamed for allowing herself to hope, to dream. Before she could, though, he turned to face her and pressed his body in closer, her breasts pressing in firmly against his chest. “Herm, or trans?” he whispered softly.
A shiver ran down her spine as his breath tickled the fur along the edge of her ear. “Trans,” she panted.
“Good,” he replied huskily, pulling the lower part of her body against his. “God, you’re so beautiful, so perfect.”
“Afon didn’t know if you were into trans women,” she half-explained, half-moaned.
“It’s not that I don’t find females and herms attractive,” he told her as he ran his paws up along the soft curve of her ass. “Hell, usually they’re more beautiful than males - not always, but most of the time - and I think that deep down, on some instinctual level, no man can ignore a nice pair of boobs. But the vagina is just gross-looking.”
“I was thinking of getting the surgery one day,” she whimpered as the desire continued to build inside her.
“Is that what you want? For yourself? Or are you just trying to become someone you’re not for the sake of finding someone to love you?” he asked, his words kind and compassionate.
“I just want to be happy,” Hayley answered honestly. “I just want someone to love me for me.”
Jayden stopped dancing and placed his paws on her shoulder, holding her at arm’s length to look her in the eyes. “Hayley, you’re beautiful, inside and out. You’re smart, driven, kind, compassionate, funny, and drop-dead gorgeous. You’re perfect the way you are, and anyone that can’t see it doesn’t deserve you.”
His words created feelings of love and acceptance within her, and the Sand Cat couldn’t help but push herself back in close to plant a kiss on his muzzle. It was brief. It was chaste. It was unreciprocated. Feeling rejected, she pulled back slightly with fear in her eyes to see that Jayden’s expression was a mask of surprise.
The next surprise was on her when he regained his senses and pulled her back in close to return the kiss.
And this time, it was neither brief, nor chaste, nor unreciprocated.
“Thank you very much,” Megan said, responding to the appreciative clapping of all the young couples as they pulled themselves away from each other. Out the corner of her eye, however, she spotted a white figure wrapped in a soft blue gown making its way along the back of the gymnasium. Curious, she watched as Ross walked up to a tall, handsome male Squirrel and started talking to him. A rush of helplessness and hopelessness surged through her body, causing tears to form in the corners of her eyes. Turning to face her bandmates, she said, “Guys…”
“It’s okay. We’ve got this,” Jack nodded.
“Hell yeah!” Vivy exclaimed as she twirled her drum sticks. “Tell her how you feel.”
Turning back to face the crowd, the teen Bat wiped her eyes and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to break the set list for just a moment to make a special dedication. You know who you are.”
She closed her eyes and slowly strummed out the intro to the next song on her bass, trying to keep her composure as the lyrics began to flow from her lips.
“And it starts
Sometime around nine ten
Or at least that’s when
You lose yourself
For a minute or two.
As you stand
Under the spotlights
And the band plays some song
About forgetting yourself for a while
And the guitar is this melancholy sound check
To her smile
And that blue dress she’s wearing
You haven’t seen her
For a while.”
That caught Ross’s attention, and she turned her head to cast Megan a sorrowful glance before grabbing her date by the paw and dragging him towards the exit to the parking lot.
“But you know
That she’s watching
She’s laughing, she’s turning
She’s holding her tonic like a cross
The room suddenly spinning
She walks up and asks how you are
So you can smell her perfume
You can see her lying naked in your arms.”
Megan’s purple eyes tracked their movement across the room as they dodged dancing couples and wallflowers. She still wasn’t over Ross, she knew, and she didn’t know if she ever would be. Seeing her at the dance with someone else created an empty pit deep in her gut.
“And so there’s a change
In your emotions
And all of these memories come rushing
Like feral waves to your mind
Of the curl of your bodies
Like two perfect circles entwined
And you feel hopeless, and homeless
And lost in the haze
Of the wine.”
As she continued to sing, Megan’s sadness was replaced by jealousy and anger. This was supposed to be her moment, and her ex decided to upstage her by flaunting off her newest piece of arm candy.
“And she leaves
With someone you don’t know
But she makes sure you saw her
She looks right at you and bolts
As she walks out the door
Your blood boiling
Your stomach in ropes
And when your friends say what is it
You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
By this point, she was furious, the perfect mood for the last and loudest part of the song. She sang with her wounded heart on her metaphorical sleeve, hoping that the couple could hear her on their way to Ross’s car.
“And you walk
Under the streetlights
And you’re too drunk to notice
That everyone is staring at you
And you just don’t care what you look like
The world is falling
Around you
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
And you know that she’ll break you in two.”
Tessa Fairchild sat alone in the darkest corner of the gym, absent-mindedly swirling her cup of Sprite as she halfway listened to the band on stage. The other half of her focus was on her thoughts, wondering what she was going to do with her life. Academically, she was average: good enough to pass, but not good enough to earn academic scholarships or grants. Sure, she was a member of the New Hampshire state champion girls’ volleyball team, but she had just been along for the ride. The only avenue she hadn’t explored yet was scholarships for minorities in specific fields of study, but that was because she had no idea what she wanted to major in.
She was jealous of her friends: Claire pretty much had everything figured out; Anna had multiple appealing paths to choose from; Shyara could afford to pay for her education without having to borrow money; Ross’s grandfather had funds set aside for her; and Afon, true to her surfer roots, was content to just ride the current to wherever life decides to take her. Tessa and her parents had sufficient credit to borrow the money - she was, after all, attending a private school - she just didn’t want to plunge herself deeper into debt learning skills for a career that she may lose interest in before completing her degree.
“The music not to your liking?”
Looking up, the Bearded Dragon saw the DJ that had been off-and-on-stage with the band, X-Machina, staring down at her with a playful grin on her face. “What?”
“The music, don’t you like it?” the Hyena girl asked. “You’re sitting here all alone looking bored.”
“Sorry,” she said, managing an embarrassed smile. “I like most of it, I’m just not all here tonight.”
“Ah,” X-Machina said as she took a seat next to her. “Guy troubles?”
“Guys aren’t really my thing,” Tessa answered. She couldn’t help but notice the slight grin on the DJ’s face when she said that. “You ever just wonder what the fuck you were doing with your life?”
“Yeah, I’ve been there. Know what I discovered?”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“I was wasting away the present worrying about the future,” the DJ explained. “Making myself miserable over it wasn’t going to magically give me clarity. So I decided to put college off and do something I love for a bit.”
“Deejaying,” the Bearded Dragon girl observed. “And?”
“And it turns out you don’t need four extra years of school to be successful,” X-Machina shrugged. “I’m making five hundred just for this dance, and another two at a rave later on tonight.”
“Damn,” Tessa said, her eyes going wide with surprise.
“Yep. I just spent the summer after graduation working my ass off to buy enough used equipment to get started,” the Hyena girl explained. “But I love what I do and I’m my own boss. Don’t get me wrong, I need to do a lot of networking to keep earning business, but I don’t mind that too much since I’m a bit of a social butterfly.”
”I don’t know how my parents would feel about that. They paid a lot of money for me to go to school here.”
“I’m not saying to skip college altogether,” X-Machina said. “But I’m sure they would rather see you happy while you try and figure things out rather than miserable, wasting time and money changing between majors.”
“Good point,” Tessa smiled.
“What can I say? I’m wise beyond my years,” the girl said. “So, do you have a name?”
“Tessa.”
“Tessa, it’s nice to meet you,” the Hyena said as she held out her paw, which the Bearded Dragon gracefully accepted. “I’m Makena.”
“Nice to meet you too, Makena.”
“So, now that we’ve solved your dilemma,” X-Machina said, “can I count on you to get out there and dance when I go back up on stage?”
“You know,” Layla groused as she slumped down in her chair, “with all the guys at this school and around the city, a girl like me shouldn’t have had any issues finding a date to this dance.” Restlessly chipping away at the claw polish on her left paw, she continued, “You know, I was actually not going to come tonight - I know, right? I haven’t missed a school dance ever - but my parents insisted that I come along and look out for Abby.”
“I know the feeling; after breaking up with him, I didn’t really feel like showing up either, but you came so I figured I might as well,” the Red Panda responded with a little smile. “Either way, I’m sure something interesting is bound to happen… And you never know; we might find someone.” Dakota looked around the dance floor at the different couples and how lovey and touchy some of them were. “You know, you could do like me and just swear off guys.”
“You know I’m not strictly into boys,” the Snowshoe girl replied casually, “but there’s something about the warmth and feel of the real thing that you can’t get from a dildo. And don’t say I could go for a herm, because it isn’t the same. Sometimes a girl simply needs the masculinity of a man.”
“Well, that shoots that idea out of the water,” Dakota said with a mock sigh, “but if you change your mind, I have some nice toys, and me and Fluffy can do some things that others can’t.”
She flopped her long tail up onto the table. “Trust me, baby, we can make you wiggle and moan,” her tail ‘said’ with a snicker as the Red Panda showed off her ventriloquism talents.
“I am not going to talk to your tail, ‘Kota,” the Snowshoe Cat girl said as she made a point of not looking.
“Oh, someone is playing hard to get,” the tail teased as it wiggled its way into the Snowshoe’s view.
“Oh come on, you know you like him. You know that you would love for him to make you writhe and stuff,” Dakota said as her tail leaned in and bopped the girl on the nose.
“Yeah, I know that you have a crush on me.”
“How’s this for a crush?” Layla asked as she snatched the tail into her paws and, lifting her ass up out of her chair, sat on it.
Dakota let out a little squeak as she felt the other girl now sitting on her tail. “You know, you might want to be careful doing that; you might turn him on.”
The end of her tail turned to face Layla the best that it could. “Having an ass this fine sitting on me, you won’t hear me complain… Well, I might about the clothes being in the way,” Fluffy remarked as the Red Panda’s smile grew a little.
“Well, at least someone’s getting the chance to appreciate this butt tonight,” Layla muttered. “I’m about as likely to get laid tonight as my little sister, and she’s here with our brother.”
“You know that both me and Fluffy would love to help,” Dakota cooed into her friend’s ear. “And while it might not be the real deal, I do have some pretty nice toys at home. Plus, we’ve been working on our performance; you might notice how much more natural Fluffy’s movements have gotten.” To prove her point, she curled the tip of her tail and stroked it across the front of the Snowshoe girl’s almost-nonexistent panties.
Layla gasped, then shot her friend a glare. “You’d better be careful. You have no idea what you’re trying to start.”
“Oh really?” The panda said, her smile growing as she kept moving her tail, teasing it between the feline’s legs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m just sitting here trying to make my friend feel better. My tail, however...”
“You and your tail are trying to accomplish what two guys working together were only barely able to achieve,” the feline growled. “I won’t take it easy on either of you, but you’re going to have to prove that you’re worth my time.” She shifted slightly, hiking up the hem of her dress and parting her athletic thighs slightly. “Make me cum three times before the end of the dance, and maybe I’ll take you up on your offer.”
Dakota just kept smiling as she focused on controlling her tail’s movements, doing a reasonable job of mimicking cunnilingus. “Well, you know that we can’t say no to a challenge. Just don’t get too loud.”
“Get off the stage, freak! You guys suck! Play some real rock!”
The band stopped abruptly, causing all eyes in the room to look towards the stage. The Bat girl was drenched, an empty water bottle on the floor beside her, as she stared down a very intoxicated male Badger being grabbed by the arm and escorted from the gym by Mr. Ferris.
Megan stood there on stage in a mixture of shock and rage, too overwhelmed by both to form words as tears began to well up. Ayame herself was stunned, too, but she shook off the surprise; she wasn’t about to let one drunk and extremely rude student ruin what was shaping up otherwise to be the best dance in the school’s history. The Civet girl made a motion to head towards the stage, but was beaten to it by an all-white feline girl - Jabyses, the lead singer of Omen Breaker, if she wasn’t mistaken, followed closely by X-Machina, the DJ that had been intermittently accompanying the band all night.
The more experienced performer leaned in and whispered something in the ear of the Giraffe girl on the drums, who got a huge grin on her lips. X-Machina headed back over to her equipment and flipped a few switches and turned a couple of knobs, and a moment later a familiar guitar whine echoed throughout the gym, causing Megan to look back over her shoulder at her bandmates and friend.
The Bat smiled, rolled her eyes, shook her head slightly, and muttered into the mic, “I am so getting suspended for this.” Her mohawk ruined, she slicked her wet hair back and kicked off her high heels.
The sudden sense of dread that filled Ayame only intensified when the band started up the next song and Megan called out, “All right, he wanted us to rock, so we’re gonna rock. Now I want to see all you sexy chicks out on here on the dance floor showing off your sluttiest moves. Guys, you can join them if you want, but don’t blame us if you end up sporting wood in public. This next song is one we’ve practiced, just for fun, but we think you’re going to like it.”
“Excuse me,” Ayame said to Afon, leaving the River Shark girl to try and defuse the situation. The Civet saw Riley run to the stage and climb up, joining her friends. Things were quickly escalating out of control, and neither Headmistress Gaithers nor Hayley were anywhere to be seen. To make things worse, the only chaperone she could spot was Miss D’Amato, who seemed even more overwhelmed than she was.
Ayame Lorington needed to find a member of the AV Club. Immediately.
The song was about strippers. Strippers! She spotted the chubby bear that had helped with the sound checks earlier in the afternoon… Corbin? She couldn’t quite remember, but she knew it was something close to that. Either way, at this point, his name didn’t really matter; he was her best chance at helping to restore order. He was sitting at a table about sixty feet away, getting teased by his friends and enjoying the affections of a vixen… Was she giving him a lapdance?
Ayame rushed over to his table, fighting her way through the mob of public indecency along the way. Placing a paw on his shoulder, she shouted, “Corbin! I need your help!” It didn’t seem to register in his mind that she was trying to get his attention; he just continued staring up at his girlfriend with a goofy grin on his muzzle. Shaking his shoulder firmly, she yelled as loud as she could. “Corbin! Help, please!”
His eyes darted up to meet hers, an embarrassed blush creeping through his fur, as the Fox girl didn’t notice the shift in his focus and continued grinding into his lap with her back turned. The young bear tapped his lover on the hip, getting her attention, and when she saw Ayame standing there beside them, she stumbled to the floor in surprise.
Pointing out to the dance floor, Ayame shouted, “I need you to shut it down before things escalate even further!”
Fortunately, Jabyses was currently singing something about ‘Girls Gone Wild,’ which helped to snap him out of his hormone-induced stupor. He jumped to his footpaws and adjusted the bulge in the front of his slacks, then gestured for her to follow. Together, they slowly worked their way through the writhing masses, but she sensed that time was beginning to run short as the third verse began and Riley started rapping.
Once they reached the front of the stage, Corbin - hey, he responded to it - lifted the apron for her to duck below before following her. The sound was nearly deafening as they were practically right below the amps and speakers. The male Bear pulled out a penlight to help them navigate in the cramped, dark space and headed towards the back of the platform.
There was a loud ka-thud noise as the stage lost power, followed by a disappointed groan from the students as their fun came to an abrupt end.
Makena plugged her iPod into a set of portable speakers as she and the band started packing away their gear. “Thanks for having me tonight, guys. That was a lot of fun.”
“Hey, no problem,” Vivy replied. “You helped us to put on one Hell of a show.” She could see that Megan was still upset, either by the asshole that had heckled them or Ross’s blatant attempts to make her jealous. “Megan, you were fuckin’ amazing. Forget about that fucker in the crowd; he was too drunk to know good music if it crawled into his ear and laid eggs.”
“I guess,” the Bat sighed with a shrug as she wrapped up a mic cord. “But that doesn’t mean he was wrong. What if this is as good as it gets for us?”
“Stop being so hard on yourself,” Jack scolded. “You’ve only just started to learn the bass this past year, and you’re kicking ass at it, but you’re the best singer I think any of us has ever met. I’m telling you, you’re going to go places with that voice.”
“You know what you need?” the Hyena girl asked. “You need to get out and dance. What are you guys up to after this?”
“Riley invited me back to her place,” the reptilian boy answered with a grin.
“Nice,” the Giraffe replied. “She’d be fucking hot if she wasn’t such a bitch all the tune. Maybe getting laid is just what she needs.” Then with a sly grin, she added, “Speaking of getting laid, Yvette and I are renting a lakeside cabin for the extended weekend, so I need to go home and pack.”
“What about you, Megan?”
“Well, Maykere has to work in the morning, so I guess I’m just going to go home,” the teen herm said with a resigned shrug. “Why?”
“Not anymore, you’re not,” Makena stated. “I’ve got a gig down in the warehouse district in a couple of hours. Tessa and Afon are coming, you should, too.”
“I don’t know,” Megan said.
“Come on, you’ll have fun,” the Hyena pleaded. “I promise.”
“I won’t have anyone to dance with,” she argued weakly.
“Nonsense. You can dance with Tessa and Afon. It won’t be the slow, romantic kind of dancing anyway.”
“Do it, Megan,” Jack interrupted. “After the night you’ve had, you could use a chance to just cut loose.”
“He has a point,” Vivy agreed.
Sighing, the Bat gave in to her friends’ advice. “All right, fine. Just let me go home and change out of this dress and these heels first.”
January 18, 2014 - 12:45 AM (ish)
Marblecliff’s Warehouse District
Megan felt the vibration of her phone against her thigh. Reaching into her pocket, she retrieved the device and checked the alerts on the lock screen. She’d missed a call from Ross several minutes ago, and a voicemail alert - also from Ross - due to the loud pulse of the bass coming from the stage. The most recent alert, the one that had grabbed her attention, was a text message:
[12:46 AM - Ross: I’m sorry. Call me, please.]
Bringing along a date to the dance had been a bitch move, knowing that she was going to be there, performing up on stage. Megan wondered how she would have reacted to that drunken heckler if she hadn’t already been so upset seeing Ross and her date.
“Everything okay?” Tessa asked, shouting over the music.
“Hmm? Yeah,” the Bat said. “I need to step outside and check my voicemail, maybe make a call. I’ll be right back.”
Once outside in the crisp chill of the night, she dialed her voice mailbox:
[“Hey, Megan… It’s me. You know I’m not exactly a poet with words, but I’ll do my best. I’m sorry. About everything. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like I did. I didn’t even give you a chance to try to change my mind, and I didn’t support you in your efforts to find the baby. Who knows… maybe you would have had better luck with me by your side. I know I don’t deserve it, but I hope you’ll forgive me and give me a second chance… Call me when you get this message, please? You can wake me up, if you want. I just want to hear your voice… I love you.”]
Megan couldn’t hold back the tears as a surge of conflicting emotions overcame her. Relief, anger, sadness, elation… her mind didn’t know what to feel at that moment. While she wanted nothing in the world more than getting back together with Ross, the Tundra Lioness’s stubbornness had put Megan in a rather awkward situation.
Maykere.
While she had insisted from the moment they’d met that she wasn’t ready to move on, Megan had developed a slight romantic attachment. While it wasn’t love, she did care deeply for the Mare. Unfortunately, she also knew that Maykere was much deeper emotionally invested in their relationship, and had been biding her time, patiently waiting for her to get over Ross. While she knew she needed to end things with Maykere, she feared that the older equine woman would be devastated and she would lose her forever.
Still, it needed to be done. The teen Bat wiped away the tears using the back of her arm, then took a few deep, calming breaths to compose herself for the call she was about to make. While she was angry with Ross, she did still want to reconcile and didn’t want to let her negative emotions get in the way.
Once her nerves had settled down sufficiently, she placed the Bluetooth earpiece into her ear and pressed ‘Call Back.’ The noise coming from the rave inside the warehouse was still loud enough to be a distraction, so she began walking away towards some of the quieter, more vacant buildings.
“Hey,” Ross said when she picked up. The slight tremble in her voice indicated that she’d been crying. The Bat could make out Buckcherry’s ‘Sorry’ playing in the background. It seemed appropriate.
“Hi,” Megan answered. It was good to hear the Tundra Lioness’s voice again. “I love you, too.”
“Megs, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
“I want to, Ross,” Megan answered. “It hurt, a lot, to think that you could compare me to either of our fathers. Growing up knowing that mine abandoned my mom and me killed me inside. I would never willingly do that to my own child.”
“I know. I just freaked out,” the Tundra Lioness replied. “Just... listen to me, okay? I was wrong. So, horribly and utterly wrong. I wanted to push you away, and I thought by doing so I was giving you to someone who needed you more. Because, how could I have you when there was another kid out there, who would suffer like you and I had? But, life is more complicated than that, and I ended up hurting the only person in this world who I really care about, and it made me sick and I’m so sorry to have treated you like that.”
Megan stood there in the alley, holding back her tears as the tundra lioness bared her heart to her. There was a long moment of silence as both girls were unsure of what to say.
Ross spoke quieter now, holding back tears of her own as she continued. “You know, I always thought that when we have kids, they would be yours and mine, not yours and someone else’s. I admit, a large part of me was jealous.”
“You said ‘when,’” the Bat observed.
“What?”
“You said ‘when we have kids.’ Not ‘if,’” she explained. “Does that mean -”
Megan felt a sharp pain shoot through the back of her head, followed by the vision of the dimly-lit alleyway being engulfed in darkness. She could hear the sound of Ross’s voice, but it seemed so distant and the words were unclear. She was vaguely aware of the sensation as a pair of paws grabbed her roughly and rolled her over onto her back.
“This bitch wants kids?” a gruff voice said harshly. The set of paws went to the buckle of her belt and started unfastening it. “What do you guys say we give her one?”
“Come on, man, hurry up before someone spots us,” another voice said in a hushed, urgent tone.
She groaned weakly as she felt her jeans and boyshort panties getting yanked down over the curve of her ass and off her legs. “Fuck!” the gruff voice exclaimed.
“What is it?” a third voice asked.
“It’s a herm!” gruff voice said.
“What? You’re fucking kidding me,” said a fourth.
“Damn, dude, I bet it’s got a bigger dick than you!”
“That’s just nasty. Look at all those piercings it’s got on its junk.”
“Fucking freak!” the gruff voice growled. A second later, Megan felt an explosion of pain in her cheek as one of her attackers struck her. The blow was followed by another, in her gut, and then another in her crotch, and another, and another, until she couldn’t even sense that she was being attacked. The only things she was aware of was the sharp pain enveloping her entire body and the panicked tone in Ross’s voice somewhere off in the darkness. The sensations were unbearable, and she found herself willing to give anything to just die and make it stop. Her wish was granted, though she wasn’t sure if it had only been an instant or an eternity since she’d made it, when a loud boom broke through the ringing in her ears and she was swallowed into oblivion.
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