Omen Breaker
04 Working
by Assilsasta
¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸October 2, 2013¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸
¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸Coworkers¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸
Tessa sat behind the counter as she looked over the latest catalogues that had arrived at the shop. Being her first day back at the shop after the concert, or lack thereof, she was expecting someone to recognize her, but through the day no one had. She was a little relieved at the fact. It made her day go by much slower. She was even able to work out some music for a few songs the twins had written, even if she was abusing the synthesizers while her boss was out. She had moved back behind the counter as she awaited Vivy’s arrival at work.
She looked up at the door chimed and her coworker’s voice filled the room, “I’m fuckin’ serious. I swear to god that it’s her.”
The giraffe was accompanied by a komodo dragon who quickly replied, “I mean, working at Guitar Center? A pro musician? Think about it, Vivy.”
Tessa shook her head and looked back into the catalogues in her paws. Vivy rolled up to and slapped her paws on the counter in front of Tessa. “Yes, Vivy?” she asked as she looked at the giraffe girl.
“My friend and I have this little wager going, and I need you to help us settle it,” her co-worker said. “Are you Rainstar from Omen Breaker? You look just like her, and I’ve been hearing rumors floating around that they’re in Marblecliff.”
“Even if she says ‘yes,’ that still doesn’t prove anything,” the reptile muttered to his friend. “You could just be getting some girl you know to play along and trick me.”
Tessa sighed as she sat the book down on the counter. “Okay, Jack, what would it take to prove it?” she crossed her arms while she looked at him. “It’s not like you know any of them personally.”
“I don’t know…” Jack said, “Maybe someone more distinct, like Nadraka or Jabyses being here to tell me themselves. Your friend here could be any corgi and I wouldn’t know if it was Rainstar or not. You know I don’t pay attention to keyboardists.”
“Let’s see. Jaby, Rod and the twins are at the mall. No hopes of getting them here without the car. Vic stayed back at the bus to meet up with a study group or something.” She glanced over at the keyboards. “I could play something. I don’t know, it’s not like any of us besides Vic and Jaby look all that special.”
“Nah, don’t bother,” Vivy said, shooting her friend an angry glare. “It’s not like this idiot’s got that good of an ear anyway. Unless it’s guitar or drums, he couldn’t care less. Fuckin’ uncultured jackass.”
She shrugged as she said, “I can play a little like Ivory… I mean Ban, they are both better than me. Come on, give me something I can do without pulling them all into some fanfest on their first free day in like months. You have any idea what it’s like in a recording studio for hours everyday after class? And then playing the same song like five hundred times because it doesn’t sound good enough to be distributed.” She tilted her head and looked into the air as she added, “We are a bit harder on the engineer than he deserves. It’s not like he’s worked with us before. We used to do it all ourselves and Rod would edit it for release. How about I see if I can get you some tickets for the next concert? I think we can do that.”
“Backstage,” Jack said, “so we can see for ourselves. Anyone can just snag a pair of tickets.”
“Don’t be an ass, you fucker,” Vivy said to her friend.
“I don’t know,” the corgi said as she leaned on the counter. “Never really did anything like this before with a manager, so I guess I have to ask him. How many do you want?” She smiled at Jack while giving Vivy sa wink. “By the way, get any use out of that recording gear? I would hate to see it go to waste.”
“Still trying to figure out the software, but making some progress,” the giraffe answered. “Thanks again.”
“Three passes should be fine,” the reptilian boy said, “I don’t want to be greedy if you’re for real, but Megan wouldn’t want to miss out.”
She pulled out her cell phone and dialed. She set the phone on speaker and waited for the answer.
“Mr. Marks’s Office,” a male voice said as it answered.
“Hey John, It’s Tessa. Is Eric in?”
“He just stepped out, can I take a message?”
“Sure thing,” Tessa replied, “I wanted to know about getting back stage passes for a few people.”
After a long pause the voice on the other end said, “I’ll have him call you as soon as he gets in.”
“Thanks,” she said as she hung up. She looked at Jack and said, “That’s the best I can do for now.”
“Eric Marks? The A&R Director from The Dream Mind Records?” Jack asked. “Okay, I’m starting to believe you now. What are you doing in Marblecliff?”
She shrugged as she said, “Most of us were born and raised here. Except Vic and Jaby. I guess they just thought it best to bring us back. Got to have some sort of home, can’t just live on the road forever.”
“Need a better place to hang the awards and trophies,” Vivy said, elbowing her bandmate. “They fall off the bus walls and shelves every time they hit a pothole.”
“I think it was something about signing an underage band and them needing to be enrolled in some school,” Tessa said as she went back to thumbing through the catalogue. “Really they said something about us needing to be off the road for a while and get some recordings done.”
“Either way, I’ve wasted enough time. I have to be at work soon,” Jack said, turning to leave the store. “Practice tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” the giraffe replied. “As long as Megan’s up for it.”
“Right,” he said. “I’ll call you. Nice to meet you.” The last part was directed at Tessa.
“Same to you,” she said with a smile. “I’ll see about those tickets.” She looked up at Vivy and asked, “So other than your ‘OMG it’s Rainstar’, how was your weekend?”
“I fuckin’ knew it,” the giraffe teen said. “And it’s not like that at all. We had a conversation a few months back about how Omen Breaker just up and vanished. Then I start hearing these rumors circulating about sightings of you guys all around the city, and you, a corgi that happens to play the keyboards, just happens to get a job at my work. Too hard to ignore.”
Tessa shook her head as she said, “It’s kinda hard to miss the dragon, even if shi is not under the blacklight. Managed to stay out of jail through, so I think we’re doing good.”
-----
Their conversation was interrupted by a pair of young boys looking at the guitars. “A few more weeks’ allowance, and I’ll be coming back and getting this!” a boar boy exclaimed as he ran his fingertips along the strings of a beginner-lever Fender. “After I practice enough, I’m going to start my own band and we’re gonna be like Nickelback!”
Vivy rolled her eyes at the pair of cubs and walked around the counter to the porcine boy and his fox friend. “You guys like rock music?” she asked.
“Yeah!” the boys shouted.
“Then why do you want to be like some lame-ass Canadian pussy-rock sellout band like Nickelback?” she said. “I mean, their best song is that one when they talk about how they’re wannabe rockstars, because at least they’re acknowledging it.”
“Rockstar,” the little vulpine corrected.
“Whatever,” Vivy said, dismissively. “That’s not what rock and roll is about, man. It’s not about selling your souls to the man for a paycheck. That’s the complete opposite of what being a rockstar is about. You know who the real rock stars are? The small, no-name, hard-working musicians grinding out a living playing gigs. For them, it’s all about the craft. Fuck Nickelback.”
The two boys just stared back, slack-jawed and wide-eyed at the giraffe teen as she ranted on about how terrible their favorite band was. She wandered on over to a nearby set of drums as she spoke, sitting down on the stool as asking, “Do you wanna know who the best rock band ever is?”
“Uhm… sure?” the pig answered.
“Omen Breaker,” she replied. “I mean, they did the gig circuit, playing underground shows, paying their dues in blood, sweat, and tears. Amazing shows, kinda like a goth rock opera complete with costumes, fantasy weapons, and pyrotechnics. They sing in Gaelic. Then they finally sign a big record deal, and do you know what they do? They go and break every stipulation on their contract so that the label gets to keep most of the cash, just so they can keep catering to their fans, not the corporate bullshit asshats.”
“Not everyone,” Tessa interrupted, “I hear they are at least doing the studio sessions.” She snickered a little at the thought of being hyped up by her coworker who just discovered who she really was.
“Yeah, of course,” Vivy said, “I mean, how else would they get their music out there? But seriously, guys, we’re talking successful, signed artists who haven’t forgotten who they are and what they’re about. Rainstar, their keyboardist? She has a second job. Most of the rest of the band go to school. I actually hear that Nadraka the Dragon stands up against the bullies at hir school.”
“Who?’ the fox asked.
“Dragon?” the little boar added.
“Oh, fuck,” the giraffe said, “You kids are fuckin’ deprived. So Nadraka is the drummer for Omen Breaker. Amazing costume, INSANE drum solos. And then she has this pyrotechnic apparatus that she wears so that as she performs…” She grabbed a bottle of water from her hoodie and took a long sip, before tilting her head back and spraying the liquid out into the air. “She breathes fire out over the stage, just like a dragon. Fuckin’ badass.”
“Whoa…” the two boys said in unison.
“Yeah. Forget Nickelback. Buncha pussies,” Vivy lectured. “Go home and watch all the Omen Breaker videos you can find.”
“Okay,” the pig boy said.
“I mean it,” the giraffe replied. “I’m not going to sell you that guitar just so you can make more crap like ‘How You Remind Me’ and ‘Photograph.’ Fuckin’ shoot me first. I’m going to ask you all about Omen Breaker before you get that axe, so you’d better be ready.”
As the two boys exited the store, Vivy looked over at Tessa and said, “Fucking Canadian pussy-rock. Kids these days are morons.”
The corgi shook her head dejectedly as she said, “Everyone starts somewhere. Our sound didn't really take shape for the first year.”
“Yeah, but did you want to be like Limp Bizkit when you were his age?”
“To be honest,” She said as she pick up another catalog, “we didn’t think we would make it through the summer. And maybe I should bring the band by sometime and check you guys out.”
¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸Study Group¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸
Vic hunched over the table, hir head in one paw as shi stared at the math books, pencil rested on a clean sheet of paper. Shi knew Torben and the others said they would come by to help hir, but she didn’t want to look completely stupid to her new friends. Basic math, solving for one, answer was hard enough, graphing functions felt like an impossible task. Shi wished shi had taken the twins up on their offer to do some of the work for hir before they had left for the mall.
Shi sat reading the introductory pages over again, only to find it just as confusing as it was the first dozen times. Shi thought shi had it in class, but it had all left hir as soon as the teacher was out of hir reach. Shi just hoped Torben wouldn’t think she was completely stupid when they did get there. Shi leaned back in the ben seat that stretched around the table and groaned in frustration as shi looked at the stack of books that were barely high school level curriculum for every remedial subject the private school offered. The young fennec sheep hybrid knew shi was the bottom rung of the latter,and if it were not for the record label shi would have never been accepted to such a prestigious school. She knew the twins deserved to go to Chymera Prep., as did Jasyses. Even Rodrick was more deserving than shi was. And now their opportunity was riding on hir success. The one thing shi wanted was to do well enough that shi wouldn’t ruin their opportunity.
Soon hir frustration turned to drumming on the table as shi zoned out Songs rolled through hir head as hir bare paws tapped the floor of the bus. Shi jumped as the sound of the knock came from the door to the tourbus, signalling the arrival of her friends. As shi stood up and started toward the door shi realized shi was in nothing more than a pair of boxers and a tank top. Instead of going to the door shi shouted, “Just pull on it, it’ll open,” as shi turned to head back and put on at least a pair of pants or skirt. Shi could hear them talking as she slipped into the oversized Janco pants.
“Wow,” Tabby said as she looked, wide-eyed, around the bus. “So, this is your home away from home, huh? Pretty nice.”
“It’s Home for now,” Shi said as she walked back into the front of the bus to meet the group. “It’s better than what we lived in for the past two years. More bunk space, a nice sitting room in the back. But Tessa should be getting us something a bit more… stationary to move into soon.” Shi leaned against the fridge and left the door open to the back of the bus. “So I can give you the dime ture from here. This, I guess, is the living room, dining room and kitchen, Bathroom in through that door. Bunks are in there, and the TV room, changing room and whatever else in past that. Help yourself to the fridge and snack in the cabinets over the stove and stuff.”
“I’m good for now,” Rachael said as shi sat down at the table while Tabby squeezed in next to her. “I’ll have to cook dinner when I get home, anyway.”
“I’m fine,” the vixen added, “but thanks.”
Torben was leaning forward, staring into the refrigerator as he muttered to himself. “So much tempting stuff, and I’m on this stupid diet.” Finally, he pulled out a bottle of lemonade and joined the others at the table. “So, what are we working on today?”
Vic dropped onto the built in couch across from the table were hir abandoned work sat in front of the two girls. “Math’s due tomorrow, that might as well be Greek. The rest is due at the end of the week. I think I have the history stuff done right, but then again it is history. I’m just glad we are working on poetry in writing, the teacher just told me to not use any songs and that she’d check.” Shi stood back up, not wanting to seem like she didn’t care as she added, “I was working on the math, but it looks more like alphabet soup than numbers to me.”
“Yeah, that’s all Torben there,” Tabby giggled as she looked across the table at the discarded worksheets.
“Oh, come on, Tabby - it’s just the Pythagorean Theorem… so technically, it IS Greek,” the bear chuckled. “But it’s just a simple equation to determine the length of a third side of a triangle when the lengths of the other two sides are known. Just a matter of simple algebra, really.”
“Yeah, simple for you maybe,” the herm said. “When amd I ever going to use that in real life? I beat on drums and try and land in the right spot without kicking Rod in the face. Not too many triangles involved.”
“How involved do you get with setting up your stage?” the chubby ursine boy asked. “Think of it like this… If you know a spotlight needs to shine down a certain number of feet ahead, and the pivot joint on the mount only angles up to a certain extent, you can figure out how high up it needs to be in order to reach the spot in question.”
Vic smiled sarcastically as shi said, “if you want a spot as a roady you should talk to Rod, he handles most of that. I’m just picky about how my rig is set up. But I guess I understand. I just feel like this stuff evaporates out of my head as soon as I leave the class. It’s been two years since I’ve even had to think about homework, and the new level of importance doesn’t help me much.”
“It’s fine,” Torben said reassuringly, “just remember that ALL math, even calculus, is just addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. You know how to do that, right?”
“I know how to do that, it’s when I get to all these ther… whatevers and things that for some reason I’m just supposed to remember or some shit. I guess I should just blow my money on one of those smart calculators or whatever I see everyone else with. But then I’d need all new classes on how to use that shit.”
“Right,” he answered, “well, if it helps, here’s how you remember what this equation is for. We’re dealing with triangles here, so that’s three sides. C squared equals A squared plus B squared. Three variables. One for each side.”
Shi sat down across from Tabby and Rachel and picked up her pencil. “Yeah, I kinda get that. So, if I manage to finish this shit, you guys want to hit a movie or something? We… kinda got paid so I have a little cash on me.” Shi looked up at the bear before they could answer and asked, “Okay Einstein, how to I figure out which one is side A, B and C?”
“Pay attention,” Rachael said with a laugh. “I swear, you’re determined to get out of doing this, aren’t you?”
“C is the longest side, or the hypotenuse. You don’t really need to remember that, just that it’s the longest side. A and B, it doesn’t matter,” Torben explained, ignoring the question.
“I’m a rock star,” Shi saide with a crooked smile while she looked back down at the worksheet. “Shouldn’t I be paying someone to do this shit for me? If I was trying to get out of it I would just not do it and deal with the outcome. I really want to at least get it enough to pass the test, then I’ll do a brain dump for the next subject.”
Torban continued to ignore the off topic comments as he sat down beside Vic and continued to explain what he was talking about. Shi knew how badly shi needed to get a passing grade, and how hard he was trying to get her to concentrate on the subject. It didn’t take her long to zone out and begin tapping out a beat with hir paws on the floor and table. Soon shi found hirself, eyes closed with a pencil in each paws as shi pounded out the beat on the table and books gradually picking up speed as shi went. Her mind drifted as she knocked out the rhythm. “If only math was counted in quarter notes,” shi muttered, not realizing Torben had stopped talking. When the lack of the other voices finally got to hir, shi opened her eyes to see hir friends just watching hir.
The drumming slowed to a stop as shi smiled weakly. “Math sucks?”
“I get it,” the bear said, offering a sympathetic smile. “I hate gym, but the school says I need to do it. But it can't suck as bad as being out on the street.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Shi replied as she leaned back over the the table and started back at the work. “Through gym might be the only thing I am going to pass without help.”
“Just an example,” Torben shrugged. “And probably a little exaggerated. But this isn’t a second chance for us like it is for you. You can do this, Vic.”
“You know, if I pass this shit I’ll get you guy backstage at our next concert. You guys can carry drums, right?” the fennec said with a hint of sarcasm. “But seriously, I’ve never really had anyone I knew backstage besides us.” Shi continues to work slowly but diligently on the math as she worked out even simple addition on a small stake of scratch paper.
“You’re welcome,” Tabby said softly. “Uhm… I don’t want to cause a distraction, so we’ll talk about it later, but I have no clue what kind of music you guys play.”
“Celtic folk rock,” Vic said. “It’s kind of a thrash or grind shounk with a lot of folk and celtic undertones. You know, screaming loud shit. I guess it’s an acquired taste., the sound is really varied between your classic folk and heavy metal. And tempo for a slow nearly sleepy speed to heart attack fast. It kinda evolved into what it is.” After finishing the few problems left on the paper she pushing it away. “It’s kinda funny. It all started as a summer road trip when Tessa graduated. I guess we just forgot when summer was over. Next thing you know two years passed and we get…” shi paused a moment as she tried her best Godfather imitation. “An offer we couldn't refuse.”
After Torben finished reviewing the work, he looked up and said, “Good job here, but you missed this one. Instead of solving for the volume of a cylinder, you solved for a sphere.”
“Show hir that trick you taught me,” Rachael said. “It’s pretty clever.”
“Okay,” the chubby ursine boy said, sitting forward and leaning over the table. “So, the formula for solving for the volume of a sphere is π times radius squared times height, so π r squared h.” He wrote the formula down on the paper for Vic, talking as he went. “So, what exactly is a cylinder, but a circle with height to it, right?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Shi said a little confused but clearly understanding the analogy. “Like a drum.”
“Exactly,” he smiled, then resumed scribbling on the paper. “Or, if you do a little substitution of the variables… So, let’s use ‘a’ instead of ‘h’ for height, and ‘z’ instead of ‘r’ for the radius… That makes the formula π times z squared times a. Z squared is z times z… Spell out ‘pi’... and what does that formula say?”
Vic dropped her head to the table with a loud thud as she said, “Pizza. You're as bad as the twins.” Shi turned her head to the side as she added, “but I think I can remember pizza better than the things they come up with.”
“And what is pizza? It’s round and has height, right?” Torben asked.
Shi stood up with a grin as she boldly stated, “Pizza is meant to be square and always delivered in pairs.” Hir stomach rumbled as if a request to the unintended change in topic. Shi put her paw over her belly. “I guess I forgot to eat. You guys hungry? My treat.” Shi paused for a moment and frowned. “That’s right you have to cook tonight,” shi said with a glance at Racheal.
“You know what? I’m not cooking for myself, so I could stick around for a while and have some. I’ll just have to hurry home after,” the gray tabby said.
“You won't get in trouble or anything, will you?” Vic asked.
“Not if I get back by seven,” Rachael shrugged. “My parents tend to work late, which is why dinner is up to me. But as long as I’m back by seven, I can have something decent prepared by the time they get home.”
“So I guess knocking back a few and passing out is out of the question,” Shi joked. “What do you guys want on your pizza?” Shi picked up hir phone and started the pizza ordering app.
“Pizza’s pizza. As long as you don’t make a salad out of it, I don’t care,” the bear teen replied, looking over at Tabby.
“Hey, there’s some meat on a supreme,” the vixen quipped back.
“Not enough of it,” Torben answered indignantly.
“How about a supreme with double sausage and double pepperoni?” Rachael asked.
Victoria tapped at the screen, “I’ll get a large Supreme and a large meat lover’s. Its easier than trying to order for us… The Twins are vegetarians...when they want to be. We usually end up with like five different pizzas and get stuck eating them for a few days.”
“However you want to do it is fine with me,” the gray tabby girl said, “as long as I get food in my belly.”
The Fox/goat hybrid walked over to the fridge and said, “No I have that hard core rocker image to maintain. So you guys want something harder than Mellow Yellow? I have some wine coolers, not sure if those really count though,, some beer and I think we have some gin.”
“No, I think we’re fine,” Torben answered. “But thanks.”
“None of us drink,” Tabby added.
“Well Shit. What are the tabloids going to say when a bunch of good-looking teens leave the abode of the infamous Nadraka the Dragon, sober and unharmed?”
Tabby giggled at the remark. “You may not have noticed it, but we’re the geeks of Chimera Prep. The good-looking teens were probably just passing by.”
“Can it still be called sober if I’m hyped up on sugar?” Torben asked. “I don’t usually drink soda, so the Mellow Yellow’s going to my head.”
¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸Shopping Run¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸
Jabyses strolled through the mall relieved to have a little time to herself after the twins disappeared to do their own thing. Rodrick had left them at the mall to get some parts for the Bug, giving her the first breather she had from the group since they had gotten to Marblecliff. Everyone was out enjoying their share of the first royalty check, after Tessa made sure everything was paid for and there was a bit set aside for getting an apartment to get them out of the bus. It had been so long she couldn’t remember what it was like to have her own room, though she was beginning to miss the freedom of being on the road.
She stopped in front of what must have been a local game shop named The Rising Dragon. She smiled as she saw the replica weapons that hung in one window. She thought it would be nice to get some more props for the show, and the small game and hobby shop might just be the place to find them. As she walked in she noticed a few teens at a table in one corner playing a card game, one she had tried once, but never got into. The walls were lined with shelves of game books and manga. On one side were displays of miniatures for a tabletop strategy game. Behind the counter was a Bat girl she recognized from school. She sighed as she thought about the two types of reactions she might get from her. It was either going to be the typical fan girl reaction judging by her punk rock style, or irritation and backlash of selling out they had received from many fans after their return.
To her surprise the reaction was neither. As the bong for the entry sensor sounded, the girl looked up at her. For a brief moment the was a look of joy and longing, like she had been hoping Jabyses would come into the store. The expression faded in less than a breath to utter dismay, and an almost depressed look. She decided to ignore the reaction as she started looking over the replica weapons display. She figured that the girl had mistaken her for someone else and was not a fan, or even aware of the Omen Breakers.
The selection on display was a bit disappointing, and the service was not much better. She had never been in a place where most of the customers where busy with themselves or their games, and the workers took no interest in someone who was actually shopping. The only thing she thought was really worth looking at in the store was a large flamberge that hung on the wall behind the counter. The feline walked up to the counter and said, “Excuse me, can I have a closer look at the large one on the wall back there?”
The bat looked up at her from her Global History textbook and sighed. “Sure thing, Jabyses,” she said, dispelling any notion that the girl didn’t know who she was, though her voice lacked any and all enthusiasm. “Another prop for Omen Breaker?” she asked, confirming that she knew of the band as well.
“Okay, you’re going to have to explain this to me,” she said with a little smile as she leaned on the counter. “in the last week I’ve only gotten two reactions to people that recognize me, anger or retarded fan. So what’s up with the ‘OGM it’s… wait never mind’ reception?”
“Oh. That. Sorry,” the girl explained, blushing a little at her rudeness. “I didn’t mean anything by that. I didn’t even know my disappointment was that obvious. You just look a lot like my ex, and I thought… I hoped… that she was coming in to try and get back together.”
“I’m going to use my magical powers of deduction and go with your ex is Ross.” Jabyses gave her a little smile as she thought about the few times she had been mistaken for the tundra lion before, and their first day when the others mistook the other girl for her. “But I’m also guessing you probably don’t want to talk about it with a stranger.”
“Not really, no,” the bat huffed. “This sucks. I finally get the chance to meet the lead singer of a band my friends and I love, and I have to ruin the moment by getting all emo over my love life.”
“Hey, I get it, emo happens around us more than I like. And the fact that apparently I do look a lot like her wouldn’t help matter.” the feline replied. “It’s really no big deal, a little refreshing to get treated like a normal person again.” She paused for a moment before asking, “So your friends are fans? Maybe we can get you in backstage one day. I’ve always wanted to do something like that.”
“That’d be pretty cool, but I’d hate for you to go through a lot of trouble on my part,” the bat explained as she carefully handed over the weapon.
Jabyses took the sword in cautiously with both paws, unsure of the weight of the replica. “Well our after shows it mostly guys showing up to either get with the twins, only to be disappointed when they find out one’s a lesbian and the other is bi. Or random furs trying to get confirmation on our dragon’s gender, once again too often be surprised, disgusted or disappointed.”
“So just friends looking to hang out and chat, no underlying motives would be a nice change,” the girl said, nodding in understanding. “Yeah, I can see how that could be a pain in the ass.”
She gave the long blade a gentle, short swing through the air. “Yeah, one of the parallels of your name getting out there. But we never had an issue getting roadies… until Ebony or Nody scared them off.” She looked up at the bat and said, “You know what? I’ve seen you around, but I have no idea what your name is. You kinda have an unfair advantage here.”
“Sorry,” the bat girl said with a shrug. “When half the school’s seen you naked, you kind of take it for granted that they know your name already. It’s Megan. Conroy. Nice to meet you.”
“I think we missed that,” She said as she handed the sword back. “You got anything else?”
“For what you guys do?” Megan asked, shaking her head. “Not here, no. But check this out.” She reached under the counter and pulled out a catalog of a broad assortment of melee combat weaponry. “We don’t carry most of this in-store because Heather is worried about selling things at a loss when they don’t sell. But anything in the catalog we can order for you, half the order total due up front. Take a look,” she said, passing the book to Jabyses.
As she started thumbing through the catalogue she said, “I can understand that, but I am working on a bit more of a budget than we originally expected. They didn’t take our walk off too well, if you know what I mean. And some shit about unscheduled appearances.”
“Why did you guys sign the record deal if you’re just going to keep getting fined by the label?” Megan asked. “You could have just kept doing what you were doing, right?”
She looked up at the bat as she asked, “You want the P.R. version or reality?”
Megan shrugged. “I’m sure all of you have your own reasons. Tell me yours.”
“Let’s see, I like eating more than romen,” the feline replied. “It’s not really about the money for any of us, but then again, Our bus was on its last legs, and we were kind of in a bind that would have brought the whole thing to a screeching halt anyway. Getting signed is every band’s dream. Our opportunity just happened along at the best and worst time. We all agreed to sign to keep our drummer. Our last free agent show didn’t end well, and we got arrested. All the money we did get paid went back to the club it happened in. And needless to say, Vic... Nadraka doesn’t do well in a cage. Mr. Marks offered to pay all the legal fees and a few other things if we agreed. Not really much of a choice if you ask me, but its working out, I guess. But the underground shows, the raves, that’s where the fun is. We pick the venues, the fans show up in droves, and we can do whatever the hell we want. It’s where we started and where we will likely end up anyway. It’s worth the loss.”
“I see,” Megan said softly. “So the record deal was to save what you loved. It must have been hard.”
“It still is,” She said as she continued to look through the selection of items. “We’re a bit of a shock group, and our approach is a little more aggressive than the label or Miss Gaithers liked. Nearly got us expelled.” She glanced at the bat again and asked, “did you and your friends catch the show?”
“I did,” Megan answered. “And so did a few of my friends, but not all of us go to Chimera Prep. Some of them had to hear about it afterwards.”
“Yeah, It was more of a statement to a few people than a show,” she said. “Don’t judge what you don’t know. Not many people know what it’s like to be a hermaphrodite, and Vic… Shi doesn’t take things sitting down. I’m just glad we got hir to agree to do it that way rather than just go after the guys. We thought it would be easier to deal with that backlash than more legal action from some whiny rich kids that can’t really back up what they say.”
“Yeah, Marblecliff’s a bit behind the times on herm equality,” the bat girl replied. “I know from personal experience.”
“OOh,” Jabyses exclaimed as she stopped on a page filled with ornate fantasy style swords. “I think we can do something with some of these, even if it’s a little stage decor. Not functional in the least through.” She pulled out her phone and started adding up some prices as she continued. “Vic doesn’t make thing easy for hirself through. It’s hard for hir to um… identify as one gender like everyone kind of expects hir to. When she was younger her father insisted shi be his daughter, while the school wanted hir to be registered male. She has a somewhat gender-neutral approach to everything now… aggressively so most of the time.”
“I can respect that,” Megan replied. “I don’t completely understand it, but I can respect it. I mean, I identify as female; I always have. I like girly things. So for me, the choice is easy. But then again, I had a choice. But I love the way my male half makes me feel, and it hasn’t gotten me any complaints in bed. I don’t know… I mean, I guess I welcome both halves, but I embrace one over the other.”
Jabyses snickered a little as she said, “I think Vic through everyone for a loop when shi said shi needed both uniforms for the pep-squad. Shi has a habit of mixing the gender uniforms just because shi can.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” the teen bat said with a chuckle. “I think we need a strong-willed herm to push people’s boundaries and help them understand us. But I bet Headmistress Gaithers about had an aneurysm.”
“I think the show did that for her,” the feline said with a smile. “I swear she wanted to strangle each of us individually. It wasn’t as bad as we expected through. She took it out on Vic and Rod more than the rest of us. But it makes me want to go to the football games just to see what shi does.”
“I just hope shi leaves the fire breath at home,” Megan laughed. “I mean, could you imagine everyone’s faces? Shi’d probably get arrested!”
“Been there,” she replied, “Done that. I think shi would have more fun if shi did get arrested. How long does it take for special orders to come in?”
“Depends on if what you want is in stock. If it is, probably about a week or so,” the teen bat explained. “If it’s not, it depends on how long it takes for the wholesaler to get it from the manufacturer, but that could take a few months.”
“It’s not like the twin’s axes. Just want some props. Stock should be fine.” She looked up at the bat and asked, “You get sales commissions?”
“Not if I order it using my employee discount and get it for you at-cost,” Megan said with a smile. “Consider it my way of saying ‘sorry’ for the rude welcome, and that I’d like for us to be friends.”
“Can’t really do that if I want to claim it as band expenses,” she said flatly. “But thanks for the offer. You said fifty percent down right?”
“Yeah,” Megan answered, getting up from her seat to grab the order form. “It’s non-refundable, unless the merch comes in damaged, so make sure you read the product descriptions carefully. I actually had someone once get mad because they failed to see the words ‘letter opener’ in the name of the ‘sword’ they ordered, or the fact that it weighed three ounces. You would think they’d have had the sense to think it was too cheap to be a real sword… Anyway, the other half is due on delivery. We’ll call you when it comes in, and we’ll hold it for one month after notifying you before you lose the deposit and it hits the sales floor.”
“I think that’s doable. And anyone that thinks they can get a decent looking sword for less than a Benjamin is an idiot.” She started to fill in the order form as she went over each item she wanted to be sure it was what she was thinking after the bat’s warning. “I’m not sure if I’ll be the one picking it up or if they’ll send someone from the label after I turn it in as a purchase, but I’m sure I’ll stop by again. Is cash okay?”
“Cash is fine,” Megan replied. “If you won’t be the one picking the order up, just phone ahead and give us a name. Don’t tell me at school, because I might not work again before whoever you send gets here.”
“Can do,” she said as she turned the form around and reached for the wallet in her pocket. “What’s the damage?”
“Fifteen, feventy-five, fourty,” the bat girl said as she read over the order form. “Oh, that’ll make a good mic stand.”
“We’ll figure out something after we beat them to hell a bit to give them that real used look.”
“Hey, you two,” an older rabbit woman with blue-dyed hair said as she approached the pair of teens, “I’m glad to see you got back together and all, but I can’t have you coming in here and distracting Megan from her job. She’ll call you when she gets off.”
“Heather, this -” Megan started to protest before Jabyses cut her off.
“What the fuck? Do I really look that much like her?” the feline said. “I’m sorry for taking up her time. I’ll just pay what I owe and be on my way.” She pulled a small wad of cash out of her wallet, sat it on the counter and added, “Just put it all toward the total.”
“Wait, what?” Megan’s boss asked, her expression shifting to confusion and then shock as she realized she had just insulted a paying customer. “Oh, I’m so sorry! To be honest, I only met Megan’s ex a few times, but she is an all-white feline, like yourself. And then the way you two were talking together just seemed so relaxed and natural, so I just assumed… I’m sorry, Miss.”
“Heather, this is Jabyses Starstalker,” the bat explained with a gesture towards the teen cat, “lead singer of the band, Omen Breaker. Jabyses, this is Heather, proprietor of the Rising Dragon Games and Anime Emporium.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Jabyses said with a smile, “And I’ll get out of your employee’s hair as soon as I get a receipt.”
“Thank you,” the bunny woman said, still visibly flustered over her faux pas, “I’m sorry once again for my mistake, Miss Starstalker. I’ll leave you two to your business.”
“Awkward,” Jabyses muttered as the adult walked away. “Anyway, I hope I didn’t get you in any trouble, and thanks for your help.”
“No problem. I don’t know what I’d be in trouble about, anyway,” the bat said with a grin. “You just made me this month’s top salesperson.”
She snickered a little as she said, “Well, I’ll see you around. Maybe we can get you into a concert some time.”
“Sounds fun,” Megan replied with a wave. “You know where to find me.”
She glanced at her watch as she turned to leave the store. She had another hour before she was supposed to meet the others in the food court. She thought about hitting up the Hot Topic to pick up some new gages for Vic since she stayed home to study.
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