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", "count": "35", "submission_left_submission_id": "2495449", "submission_left_file_name": "3667246_XPAuthor_another_path_-_alexis_2.doc", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3667/3667246_XPAuthor_another_path_-_alexis_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3667/3667246_XPAuthor_another_path_-_alexis_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3667/3667246_XPAuthor_another_path_-_alexis_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumb_huge_x": "300", "submission_left_thumb_huge_y": "300", "submission_left_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_y": "200", "submission_left_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_left_thumb_medium_y": "120", "submission_right_submission_id": "2573715", "submission_right_file_name": "3795521_XPAuthor_harvey_lahlis_and_the_dancing_girls_-_part_1_ib_.doc", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3795/3795521_XPAuthor_harvey_lahlis_and_the_dancing_girls_-_part_1_ib_.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3795/3795521_XPAuthor_harvey_lahlis_and_the_dancing_girls_-_part_1_ib_.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3795/3795521_XPAuthor_harvey_lahlis_and_the_dancing_girls_-_part_1_ib_.jpg", "submission_right_thumb_huge_x": "300", "submission_right_thumb_huge_y": "300", "submission_right_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_large_y": "200", "submission_right_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_right_thumb_medium_y": "120" } ], "description": "So, haven't posted much in August. The reason is this monster of a commission I was working on. The commissioner wishes to remain anonymous, but a HUGE thank you to them. This was a blast to write, and ended up so big, that I'm going to have to post it in 3 parts.\n\n...unfortunately... not on IB. Site rules against humans in sexy times means if you want to read the story, you'll have to do it over on FA. [url=https://www.furaffinity.net/view/43308865/]You can find it here.[/url]", "description_bbcode_parsed": "So, haven't posted much in August. The reason is this monster of a commission I was working on. The commissioner wishes to remain anonymous, but a HUGE thank you to them. This was a blast to write, and ended up so big, that I'm going to have to post it in 3 parts.

...unfortunately... not on IB. Site rules against humans in sexy times means if you want to read the story, you'll have to do it over on FA. You can find it here.", "writing": "[center][b]Harvey Lahlis and The Heart of Blood[/b][/center]\n[center]Part 1: The Lady[/center]\n[center]By XP Author[/center]\n\nThe sound of footsteps echoing down the hallway outside my office brought me out of my stupor. They were coming towards my door. Looked at my desk, at the empty whiskey bottles strewn about the top. Opening the bottom drawer, I hastily brushed the bottles out of view, all of them clinking and clattering together as they fell. The music of a drunkard. I reached up to straighten my tie, only to remember I wasn't wearing one. I buttoned the top of my tan undershirt instead, straightening the collar a little. I ran a hand through my short, graying black hair, and pulled up the green jacket of my suit. It was all an attempt to look a little more professional. I knew it failed, but at least it would leave me looking like less of the mess I was.\n\nThe footsteps continued on, moving past my door. Of course it wasn't a new client. Few people were interested in hiring a washed up has-been like me these days. I sighed and turned around to look out of my window. Sometimes it got hard to tell if the view was obscured more by the dirt on the window, or if that was just how the city was out there. Dirty. Alta Ferro, 1936. Twenty years ago, this city was a shining new beacon of hope. Now look at it. Corrupt to the core. Run by criminals. The mob owned everything, from the mayor's office to the cops. It truly was lawless.\n\nI had once had hopes, too. Started my career as a cop. Worked the beat, did what I could to keep the streets clean. Then I got promotions, and I got to see what it was really about. I got to see the kickbacks, the bribes. Got told to look the other way, forget about things, or lose evidence. I couldn't stand it anymore. I left the force, started my own business. Harvey Lahlis, Private investigator. That's what it said on my door and business card anyway. I couldn't change a damned thing if I tried. This city just swallows you up whole, eats your soul, and leaves you broken. Taught you the whole damned world was like that. Ideals were for dreamers. This was the city where dreams go to die, dreamers tended to die young. It was fitting my name sounded like lawless. Detective Lawless. I was born to live here.\n\nI heard the the door opened to my office open. Whoever had come had a soft step. I turned around to see, and my eyes went wide. A woman glided inside, looking as out of place in my dirty office as a shark might in the middle of the desert. She was gorgeous. Stunning may be a better term, as just the sight of her left me momentarily stunned. She was maybe in her late-20's, tall and slender. White fur stood out starkly against her crimson, form-fitting dress. The kind made to show her curves. The hem was split down her right leg just enough to show her shapely calves, covered in expensive stockings, ending in black heels. The neckline was plunging just enough to show off her ample cleavage, but leaving enough of her covered that she kept her modesty.\n\nAtop her head was a red hat, the brim so wide that it partially covered her face. Golden curls spilled free from the hat, running down her back. Everything about the mink standing before me screamed class. She was well out of the league of a 41 year old shlub like me. When she looked up, her blue, bedroom eyes appraised me, and seemed to ignore my overweight physique. She clearly didn't seem to mind that I was a human, either. Though, truth be told, I didn't mind that she wasn't.\n\n\"Are you Harvey Lals?\" Her voice was sweet and melodic, like a wind chime in a gentle breeze. This was the kind of dame any man could fall for, and she knew it. It set the hairs on the back of my neck up. She was dangerous.\n\nI cleared my throat, doing my best to keep my voice cool and even. \"Lahlis.\" I corrected her.\n\nShe dazzled me with a smile and a soft giggle. \"I see.\" She glided into my office fully, brushing closing the door behind her. \"Well, Mr. Lahlis. My name is Natalie Frakes, and I'd like to hire you.\"\n\nI quirked a bushy eyebrow. \"Just what would an obviously classy lady like you want to hire a private eye for?\" A lot of ideas came to mind, most of them involved a lover. Usually it was proof they were sleeping around. Sometimes it was to find someone that went missing. They usually turned up in another woman's bed anyway. Sometimes in a man's. Sometimes in the morgue, if they owed money to the wrong sort of people. That was also a possibility, to see if her lover was gambling or boozing too hard, taking money from people they shouldn't.\n\nThe woman let out a soft sigh. \"I want you to find my boyfriend... well, my [b]ex[/b]-boyfriend.\" So missing lover it was. I was already running over the addresses of every brothel in town as places to look first.\n\nI leaned back in my chair, trying to look relaxed. \"I see. Well, Miss Frakes... I will tell you honest. It's likely he's shacked up with another woman. That's usually the reason for a lover running off.\"\n\nShe shook her head. \"I don't care if he has or not. He took something of mine, and I want it back!\" The forcefulness of her voice took me by surprise.\n\nI masked my surprise by bringing a fresh cigarette up to my lips, flicking my lighter and holding the tip to the flame. \"Well, whatever he took, it must be important to you. What was it?\"\n\nShe closed her eyes and recomposed herself. \"A necklace. It's valuable, of course, but the sentimental value to me is worth more than money.\"\n\nI nodded slowly, taking another drag and slowly letting out a puff of smoke. \"It must be, if you're coming to someone like me to get it back instead of the police.\" I expected some excuse for why she couldn't, but no reaction at all was the last thing I expected. She just nodded to me. There was more to this that she wasn't saying. I set my cigarette down in the ashtray, and pulled out a notepad and pen to take notes. \"Alright. I'll need a name and a description for your ex.\"\n\nThe mink nodded again, then started to pace around my office with anxious energy. \"Of course. His name is Wallace Gibson. He's a rat, 21 years old, brown fur, brown hair, short like yours. He's also about your height.\"\n\nI nodded, writing all this down on the paper. \"Does he have any aliases? Nicknames or the like?\"\n\nShe stood still, tapping her chin as she thought. \"He likes to go by Wally, but I don't think he has any other... aliases, as you put it.\"\n\nI nodded again, scribbling the nickname into the notebook. \"What does he do for a living?\"\n\nShe hesitated for a moment. \"He... does delivery work. Small packages, from one side of the city to the other. Business to business, I think he said.\" She shook her head, trying to deflect. \"I don't know more than that. He never talked much about his job. It sounded dreadfully dull to me.\" She was hiding something again. I suspected his job was not exactly legal.\n\nI jotted down the info, then decided to shift the focus. \"And this necklace. Could you describe it to me?\"\n\nShe stood straighter than before as I asked, suddenly defensive. \"Why do you need to know that?\" There was definitely something strange about this piece of jewelry. Something she did not want to tell me.\n\nI looked up from the notebook. \"Well, you said yourself that it was valuable. If he was looking to score a quick buck, it might turn up in a pawn shop. Quite a few deal with jewelry, but only a small handful handle more expensive pieces. I can't very well go asking every pawn shop owner about a necklace I have no description for.\" She turned around, giving me a view of her fluffy tail. I watched it twitch about with nervous energy. She clearly didn't want me knowing more.\n\nEventually, she turned around to face me again, wearing the mask of cool calm once more. \"No, he would not have sold it. Not in this city, at least. I'm sure of that.\"\n\n\"How can you be so sure?\" She just gave me another look, unwilling to say more. I closed my notebook and set the pen down on top. I picked up my cigarette again and leaned back in my chair. \"Ms. Frakes. Do you want my help or not? If you're not going to tell me everything I need, then I can't help you, and I'm not going to take this case.\"\n\nShe scrunched her face up in annoyance, but then let it fall relaxed again. \"Very well.\" She let out a soft sigh, and I thought I heard her mutter a curse under her breath. \"It is a heart-shaped ruby, set into a rose-gold frame. About the size of a golf ball.\"\n\nMy eyes went wide, but I covered my reaction with a whistle. \"Valuable indeed.\" That wasn't what shocked me, though. I knew that necklace. It was The Heart of Blood. It was valuable, sure, but more importantly it was an heirloom of the Vatrelli family, one of the bigger mob families in the city. And rumor on the street was it was stolen recently. \"Yeah, there's only a couple of pawn shops I know of that would even think of buying something like that, and Mr. Gibson would not be getting a fair price for it from any of them, I can tell you that.\"\n\nShe leaned on my desk with both hands, bending over closer to me. Just enough to give me a view down the front of her dress. \"Mr. Lahlis... Harvey... please help me get my necklace back.\" Her voice was all sweetness and melody again.\n\nI dragged my eyes away from the ample chest on display for me, meeting her eyes. \"Ms. Frakes...\" I took a drag from my cigarette to let a silence hang for a moment. \"I really don't think I should take this case. Something about it feels wrong, and you're not telling me something.\" I have lived my life this long trusting my instincts. If it was the Heart of Blood, I really didn't want to get mixed up in stolen mob heirlooms.\n\nThe corner of Natalie's mouth twitched a little. \"Please, Harvey. I'll pay you whatever you want.\" \n\nI shook my head. \"I'm sorry. It's not about the money.\" \n\nHer expression shifted, turning into a sly smile. \"Well... if it's not money...\" She hoisting herself up to sit on the corner of my desk. One leg extended out, giving me a good view of the slender calf again, and just a little of her thigh. \"Perhaps I could give you a little... incentive.\" She let her heel drop away from her foot, rubbing her toes against my thigh, making it plainly obvious what she meant.\n\nI cleared my throat, shifting in my seat a little. \"I-I appreciate the offer, Ms Frakes, but-\"\n\n\"Please...\" She leaned forward and ran a long finger against my cheek. \"Call me Natalie.\" Her touch was so soft against my skin, it sent shivers down my spine.\n\n\"Natalie... I appreciate the...\" she cut me off again, pressing her finger to my lips. I could just taste her fur. Sweet, like her scent. Intoxicating in a way booze could never hope to achieve.\n\n\"Shush...\" Her finger ran down my chin, grazing along my neck. \"I've always found humans to be a... unique feeling. Skin against fur...\" Her touch trailed lower, down the front of my shirt. Her fingers bumped against every button, slipping them free to open my shirt. \"I think I should give you a little taste... call it a down payment if you prefer.\"\n\nI cleared my throat again. \"I... would usually prefer cash... bu-AHH!\" I tensed up as her hand pressed against my crotch, rubbing her palm against the hard shaft hidden within. \"...but I... can make an exception...\"\n\n[center]* * *\n\nDue to site rules, the rest of this story is not available on InkBunny.\nThe complete version, as well as parts 2 and 3, are available on FurAffinity (Link in the description)\nSorry for the inconvenience.\n\n* * *[/center]", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
Harvey Lahlis and The Heart of Blood

Part 1: The Lady

By XP Author


The sound of footsteps echoing down the hallway outside my office brought me out of my stupor. They were coming towards my door. Looked at my desk, at the empty whiskey bottles strewn about the top. Opening the bottom drawer, I hastily brushed the bottles out of view, all of them clinking and clattering together as they fell. The music of a drunkard. I reached up to straighten my tie, only to remember I wasn't wearing one. I buttoned the top of my tan undershirt instead, straightening the collar a little. I ran a hand through my short, graying black hair, and pulled up the green jacket of my suit. It was all an attempt to look a little more professional. I knew it failed, but at least it would leave me looking like less of the mess I was.

The footsteps continued on, moving past my door. Of course it wasn't a new client. Few people were interested in hiring a washed up has-been like me these days. I sighed and turned around to look out of my window. Sometimes it got hard to tell if the view was obscured more by the dirt on the window, or if that was just how the city was out there. Dirty. Alta Ferro, 1936. Twenty years ago, this city was a shining new beacon of hope. Now look at it. Corrupt to the core. Run by criminals. The mob owned everything, from the mayor's office to the cops. It truly was lawless.

I had once had hopes, too. Started my career as a cop. Worked the beat, did what I could to keep the streets clean. Then I got promotions, and I got to see what it was really about. I got to see the kickbacks, the bribes. Got told to look the other way, forget about things, or lose evidence. I couldn't stand it anymore. I left the force, started my own business. Harvey Lahlis, Private investigator. That's what it said on my door and business card anyway. I couldn't change a damned thing if I tried. This city just swallows you up whole, eats your soul, and leaves you broken. Taught you the whole damned world was like that. Ideals were for dreamers. This was the city where dreams go to die, dreamers tended to die young. It was fitting my name sounded like lawless. Detective Lawless. I was born to live here.

I heard the the door opened to my office open. Whoever had come had a soft step. I turned around to see, and my eyes went wide. A woman glided inside, looking as out of place in my dirty office as a shark might in the middle of the desert. She was gorgeous. Stunning may be a better term, as just the sight of her left me momentarily stunned. She was maybe in her late-20's, tall and slender. White fur stood out starkly against her crimson, form-fitting dress. The kind made to show her curves. The hem was split down her right leg just enough to show her shapely calves, covered in expensive stockings, ending in black heels. The neckline was plunging just enough to show off her ample cleavage, but leaving enough of her covered that she kept her modesty.

Atop her head was a red hat, the brim so wide that it partially covered her face. Golden curls spilled free from the hat, running down her back. Everything about the mink standing before me screamed class. She was well out of the league of a 41 year old shlub like me. When she looked up, her blue, bedroom eyes appraised me, and seemed to ignore my overweight physique. She clearly didn't seem to mind that I was a human, either. Though, truth be told, I didn't mind that she wasn't.

"Are you Harvey Lals?" Her voice was sweet and melodic, like a wind chime in a gentle breeze. This was the kind of dame any man could fall for, and she knew it. It set the hairs on the back of my neck up. She was dangerous.

I cleared my throat, doing my best to keep my voice cool and even. "Lahlis." I corrected her.

She dazzled me with a smile and a soft giggle. "I see." She glided into my office fully, brushing closing the door behind her. "Well, Mr. Lahlis. My name is Natalie Frakes, and I'd like to hire you."

I quirked a bushy eyebrow. "Just what would an obviously classy lady like you want to hire a private eye for?" A lot of ideas came to mind, most of them involved a lover. Usually it was proof they were sleeping around. Sometimes it was to find someone that went missing. They usually turned up in another woman's bed anyway. Sometimes in a man's. Sometimes in the morgue, if they owed money to the wrong sort of people. That was also a possibility, to see if her lover was gambling or boozing too hard, taking money from people they shouldn't.

The woman let out a soft sigh. "I want you to find my boyfriend... well, my ex-boyfriend." So missing lover it was. I was already running over the addresses of every brothel in town as places to look first.

I leaned back in my chair, trying to look relaxed. "I see. Well, Miss Frakes... I will tell you honest. It's likely he's shacked up with another woman. That's usually the reason for a lover running off."

She shook her head. "I don't care if he has or not. He took something of mine, and I want it back!" The forcefulness of her voice took me by surprise.

I masked my surprise by bringing a fresh cigarette up to my lips, flicking my lighter and holding the tip to the flame. "Well, whatever he took, it must be important to you. What was it?"

She closed her eyes and recomposed herself. "A necklace. It's valuable, of course, but the sentimental value to me is worth more than money."

I nodded slowly, taking another drag and slowly letting out a puff of smoke. "It must be, if you're coming to someone like me to get it back instead of the police." I expected some excuse for why she couldn't, but no reaction at all was the last thing I expected. She just nodded to me. There was more to this that she wasn't saying. I set my cigarette down in the ashtray, and pulled out a notepad and pen to take notes. "Alright. I'll need a name and a description for your ex."

The mink nodded again, then started to pace around my office with anxious energy. "Of course. His name is Wallace Gibson. He's a rat, 21 years old, brown fur, brown hair, short like yours. He's also about your height."

I nodded, writing all this down on the paper. "Does he have any aliases? Nicknames or the like?"

She stood still, tapping her chin as she thought. "He likes to go by Wally, but I don't think he has any other... aliases, as you put it."

I nodded again, scribbling the nickname into the notebook. "What does he do for a living?"

She hesitated for a moment. "He... does delivery work. Small packages, from one side of the city to the other. Business to business, I think he said." She shook her head, trying to deflect. "I don't know more than that. He never talked much about his job. It sounded dreadfully dull to me." She was hiding something again. I suspected his job was not exactly legal.

I jotted down the info, then decided to shift the focus. "And this necklace. Could you describe it to me?"

She stood straighter than before as I asked, suddenly defensive. "Why do you need to know that?" There was definitely something strange about this piece of jewelry. Something she did not want to tell me.

I looked up from the notebook. "Well, you said yourself that it was valuable. If he was looking to score a quick buck, it might turn up in a pawn shop. Quite a few deal with jewelry, but only a small handful handle more expensive pieces. I can't very well go asking every pawn shop owner about a necklace I have no description for." She turned around, giving me a view of her fluffy tail. I watched it twitch about with nervous energy. She clearly didn't want me knowing more.

Eventually, she turned around to face me again, wearing the mask of cool calm once more. "No, he would not have sold it. Not in this city, at least. I'm sure of that."

"How can you be so sure?" She just gave me another look, unwilling to say more. I closed my notebook and set the pen down on top. I picked up my cigarette again and leaned back in my chair. "Ms. Frakes. Do you want my help or not? If you're not going to tell me everything I need, then I can't help you, and I'm not going to take this case."

She scrunched her face up in annoyance, but then let it fall relaxed again. "Very well." She let out a soft sigh, and I thought I heard her mutter a curse under her breath. "It is a heart-shaped ruby, set into a rose-gold frame. About the size of a golf ball."

My eyes went wide, but I covered my reaction with a whistle. "Valuable indeed." That wasn't what shocked me, though. I knew that necklace. It was The Heart of Blood. It was valuable, sure, but more importantly it was an heirloom of the Vatrelli family, one of the bigger mob families in the city. And rumor on the street was it was stolen recently. "Yeah, there's only a couple of pawn shops I know of that would even think of buying something like that, and Mr. Gibson would not be getting a fair price for it from any of them, I can tell you that."

She leaned on my desk with both hands, bending over closer to me. Just enough to give me a view down the front of her dress. "Mr. Lahlis... Harvey... please help me get my necklace back." Her voice was all sweetness and melody again.

I dragged my eyes away from the ample chest on display for me, meeting her eyes. "Ms. Frakes..." I took a drag from my cigarette to let a silence hang for a moment. "I really don't think I should take this case. Something about it feels wrong, and you're not telling me something." I have lived my life this long trusting my instincts. If it was the Heart of Blood, I really didn't want to get mixed up in stolen mob heirlooms.

The corner of Natalie's mouth twitched a little. "Please, Harvey. I'll pay you whatever you want."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry. It's not about the money."

Her expression shifted, turning into a sly smile. "Well... if it's not money..." She hoisting herself up to sit on the corner of my desk. One leg extended out, giving me a good view of the slender calf again, and just a little of her thigh. "Perhaps I could give you a little... incentive." She let her heel drop away from her foot, rubbing her toes against my thigh, making it plainly obvious what she meant.

I cleared my throat, shifting in my seat a little. "I-I appreciate the offer, Ms Frakes, but-"

"Please..." She leaned forward and ran a long finger against my cheek. "Call me Natalie." Her touch was so soft against my skin, it sent shivers down my spine.

"Natalie... I appreciate the..." she cut me off again, pressing her finger to my lips. I could just taste her fur. Sweet, like her scent. Intoxicating in a way booze could never hope to achieve.

"Shush..." Her finger ran down my chin, grazing along my neck. "I've always found humans to be a... unique feeling. Skin against fur..." Her touch trailed lower, down the front of my shirt. Her fingers bumped against every button, slipping them free to open my shirt. "I think I should give you a little taste... call it a down payment if you prefer."

I cleared my throat again. "I... would usually prefer cash... bu-AHH!" I tensed up as her hand pressed against my crotch, rubbing her palm against the hard shaft hidden within. "...but I... can make an exception..."

*     *     *

Due to site rules, the rest of this story is not available on InkBunny.
The complete version, as well as parts 2 and 3, are available on FurAffinity (Link in the description)
Sorry for the inconvenience.

*     *     *
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