The following morning - The Grove Pleasure Palace Room 511
San cracked his eyes open slowly as he laid on his side, the blinding and warm sensation of bright daylight warming his face as he awoke in easily the softest bed he'd slept in since forever. Still, he felt groggy, and the bright morning rays were not helping in the slightest.
Morning?
Morning?! Aw, shi-
The camelid immediately sat up, met with a full dose of sunlight. Ugh….so damn bright! He thought as he shielded his eyes. Waking up to a face full of the sun was a rare experience for someone who slept in a brick cell like the ones at the tower. It was funny, he hadn't even noticed this room had a window, in all his recollection, he swore that it had been just a compact windowless studio with at best some large wall-sized wood-carved artwork.
On closer inspection, he spied two of the alleged carvings had been separated, both situated on both sides of the window, evidently panels that could be rolled back to give a view of the lustrous morning skyline. A neat little feature that was quickly forgotten as he found himself fretting. He had stayed out all night.
"I am soooo going to get an ear full when I get back," he groaned as he ran his fingers through his disheveled bed hair. He stretched out feeling a bit of stiff pain in his lower back and neck. No doubt the result of his prolonged sessions with Pris last night. Everything past the initial intercourse was a blur. They must have been really rough with each other as he had to stretch till he heard a nice and satisfying "crack". His cellmate had to be wondering if he was still alive or not right about now. After all, he had told her that he would come back last night with the fight footage. His ears already trembled from prospects of the intense nagging she'd lay on him, or worse knowing Kyuu the way he did he feared a physical fight would come along with the verbal sparring as well.
"Pris-chan I need to…" He said, turning to rouse his lover awake, stopping short when he found the messy bed he had awoken in, empty.
Huh?
Where? He thought, searching the room. Nothing. She was gone, she couldn't have just slept with him and left, could she? They seemed more serious than that. He quickly hopped out of bed, still in the buff from their previous escapades. The naked soles of his feet met warm shag carpeting instead of the cold hard stone floor he was accustomed to. His unfamiliarity and morning stupor almost caused him to trip as he clumsily tried to keep his balance on the alien terrain. The shag fibers felt so strange between his naked toes as if he were walking on top of himself. He found his discarded white robe lying to the side and hastily covered up as he started the search for the missing fox.
"Priscilla-chan? Priscilla?" He called out, his cracking voice was still able to carry throughout the small room. "Priscilla-chan!"
Nothing. Still no answer. He apparently was alone. The room was nearly silent save for the goat news anchor droning about the morning weather on the flatscreen television in front of their bed. He took note that the television was in fact on, which meant someone turned it on.
Predicted sunny forecast huh? Go figure, he sardonically quipped as his squinting eyes finally started adjusting to the oppressive sunlight. His eyes still weary, he was at least able to properly survey the room.
The hotel room, something about the morning light made it look more impressive than last night. There was a nice-looking beige couch, likely comfy, and an ebony wood coffee table by the television, a couple of dirty magazines were littered on top. There was also a compact breakfast nook with a stove and toaster oven, nice foreign-looking art of beasts wearing fancy old-timey clothes similar to the bull downstairs. It felt cozy; it felt like a home, a step up from his home at the tower at least. It almost reminded him of the hospital, but this was much nicer than their room.
His senses finally kicked in when the scent of herbal tea started filling the room. The pot on the stove started to whistle. It was coming from the nearby breakfast nook area. The rich smell of breakfast also hit his nostrils. Fruit pastries from the smell of things. His hungry stomach rumbled and growled as his nose pinpointed the source, a compartment located near the hallway door. He investigated and found two plastic-wrapped trays, full of mouth-watering delights he could only dream of eating for the longest time. The first plate had scrambled eggs, some sauce, a danish, and some form of fried pocket that smelled like rice. While the second had even more appetizing contents, sugary and sweet treats like French toast and a serving of pancakes drizzled in syrup that had a hint of apple. As well as two cans of mango-flavored tea that he guessed were for later. The pancakes smelled much better than the kind he was able to whip up at the tower, likely a superior mix than what they could find at the convenience store.
San almost couldn't resist digging in, but he wisely held off. If this food was here, it had to have been ordered. Priscilla would have been nearby, she's the one who likely ordered it. Simple as that. Which would mean she's probably still in here. It also would probably be proper to eat it with her rather than pig out like some hungry bum.
You "are" a hungry bum.
He heard a commotion from the bathroom and saw the light shining underneath the door.
Mystery solved.
She probably was freshening up, he sniffed his wool, it was drenched in sweat like the aftermath of a long workout. Freshening up sounded like something he needed to do once she got out, he thought. Last night had been very...exhausting.
Considering she was indisposed, he decided to take the trays and prepare the table as well as take the tea off of the stove. The tea more accurately smelled like ginseng. His favorite blend, just above the variety of bamboo that their former teacher.
Maybe a sip, he thought as he went to pour himself a cup.
Immediately the flavor tasted...bitter to him like maybe it had been boiled too hot or perhaps the roots weren't properly chopped. This felt like something a novice would make. Like something Kyuu would make. He appreciated whenever his cellmate attempted to try her hand at preparing their food, giving him a break, but it was clear he had the better prowess in the kitchen. One of those "it's the spirit that counts" sorta deals.
As much as she would hate to hear it, Priscilla was probably cut from the same cloth as Kyuu. Maybe that's what the other teas were for after all he thought as he got up to look for some sweeteners. As he stood up, immediately he felt the soreness and irritation in his neck again. Curious, he rotated his neck slightly and an area just under his jaw started feeling inflamed. His fingertips ran along his jawline down to his fleece-covered neck, where he felt what he could only assume were… a ring of bite marks! He in a panic brought his hand back and saw a little bit of blood on his fingers.
His body felt light and his heartbeat increased, he was wounded! His whole body fidgeted and tensed up as his instincts reacted. He fell to the floor, writhing, checking his body for any other wounds or missing parts. Nothing was out of place, just his neck. He even checked downstairs, but thankfully those were also still intact.
Taking a deep breath and relieved, the llama got back up and gave the apparent wound further inspection, perhaps he had overreacted, it felt nothing scarier than a small bite. Still, he had been bitten.
She... bit me? Why would she bite me? Did she find me tasty? Maybe it was only a matter of time. When did this happen?! How did it happen? He was sure she had been gentle with him last night.
A legion of thoughts raced through his mind like speeding cars on a busy highway, each going through his brain a mile-a-minute. His instincts might as well have materialized around him, judging him like a convict before a dark council, gloating and pointing fingers at him for how right they apparently were, about how dangerous it had been, laying with a carnivore. The receptionist from earlier might as well have joined in to chime about how they were right also! You "knew" from one day you would get bitten, you moron! You should get out of here now before she finishes the job and eats you alongside these eggs and pancakes!
A knee-jerk reaction in his body, had him look for a way out, but his sharp mind wouldn't let it rest, dispelling the rhetoric of his instinctual suspicions. There were things involved here that didn't add up, if she bit him, why not finish the job? Wouldn't she have taken more? Just a simple bite and that's it? Why would she leave the room like this? It didn't add up. He had to get to the bottom of this.
Am I...just bland? A weird thought came to mind. Errrrgh… stop thinking about stuff like that!
He marched over to the bathroom door and began knocking until he got an answer. "Good Morning, Sweet Treat!" Her muffled voice came from the other side sounding a bit cheerful. She doesn't sound distressed, he thought. Then again, this might not even be a big deal to her.
"Priscilla-chan," He said, addressing her respectfully. "Hey...can we talk?" He nervously asked, leaning against the door.
"Look, San," She answered. "I'll be out in a minute, I'm dealing with something important in here. Is it possible for it to wait for just a minute or two?"
What's so important, he thought? Is she getting rid of the evidence? Is she cleaning herself off? Undeterred, he knocked on the door again, much harder and urgent. "Priscilla! This is important. Did...did you bite me last night?" He asked.
A nervous "Oh" came from the other side.
"Oh?" He said out loud in response. What's "Oh?", He thought. It was like she was expecting him to eventually ask.
"Look...it's not what you think."
So she "did" know, he thought.
"It's nothing major I swear, don't worry." Her voice was starting to sound a bit distressed like something was bothering her as if he was laying upon her more stress.
"Nothing major? He shouted. "Y-you drew blood. I'm still bleeding I think! I think that's something to worry about! Priscilla, I need answers!"
The door finally cracked open wide enough for her to reveal her face and standing before him was an almost solid dark brown furred fox. She looked upset. It was definitely Priscilla, that much he was sure, but it seemed that even more of her white fur had gone missing. "I'm sorry for this ugly look, I'm still shedding." She said as if that was the biggest issue.
"That doesn't matter to me," San said as if her changing beauty was of little relevance. "What is important is why did you bite me? I thought you didn't like eating meat? Is this part of...our game or am I that tasty looking?" He asked.
The fox raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "So you're not talking about- Look, San. You need to understand that I'm a female carnivore and well things… sorta got hectic last night and well...I couldn't help myself."
"What do you mean by "hectic" and what do you mean "you couldn't help yourself?" He frantically asked, crooking his head at her. "Don't you usually have more control over your body, right?"
That was a very poor choice of words on his part and she quickly made it clear when she frowned and wedged the door open wider, cocking her head at him. He got a much better view of the process she was going through, her looser fur was breaking off in clumps from the fresh and only a bit of white remained, mostly on her muzzle and brows. "Just what the hell do you know about my body?!" She angrily barked at him, poking him in the chest. She was offended that he would even say such a thing. He had poked a proverbial beast and he had no real reply to answer that, only some nervous stammering.
"Look, I...I didn't mean-" He tried to explain, giving her some distance.
Priscilla just sighed at him. "That's what I thought."
"Look, I'm not talking about your changes. I'm talking about what you told me and how you have control over your appetite."
"I have perfect control over my appetite, thank you very much! I drink alcohol every so often and I'm content with the alternatives placed upon me by my family's code. I don't go out of my way to eat meat."
"Then why did you bite me?!" San asked.
"Because I was getting fucked really hard last night!" She exploded back at him. "That's why!"
His eyes widened as he felt stunned by the simple revelation. Only one word that he could mutter, and it was a simple "Oh." That's all he could come up with. His eyes darted bashfully as the ramifications weighed on him.
"See you don't understand because you weren't the one getting…" She stopped short of saying something crass, a bit of embarrassment took hold as her face started to redden. "It was a sex thing, alright?" She blurted out. "Sometimes we carnivores like to clamp down on our lovers' necks in the heat of the moment to get a good grip and well...you surprised me with how much energy you had."
San quickly looked to the floor, embarrassed. He didn't recall much about last night, but he did recall giving it his all and not wanting to disappoint her. After their first escapade, he had done whatever she had asked of him, even taking inspiration from some of the adult films they watched in between sessions.
His red-faced reaction was not lost on her, as he heard her start to giggle at him. "Hehehe. We call them love bites ." She properly explained. "See, I got so wrapped up in all of it that I forgot you were a herbivore, and well...my jaws had to clamp down on something." She said, her face becoming flush just thinking about it.
"A love bite?" He asked, his eyes narrowing with skepticism. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You carnivores and your mouths." He muttered, half-serious.
Her ear twitched as her eyes narrowed at him. She wasn't going to take such a snide comment without a little venom of her own. "You weren't complaining about my mouth last night, herbivore. "
"Heh, good point." His tone lightened considerably. "So we were having too much fun and you got bitey?" He asked, "That it?"
She nodded with a content smile on her face. "Yeah, that's it. And you know what else, Mr. Herbivore. I seem to recall you nibbling on something yourself. Maybe I should start calling you Nibbles!" She shot back, lightly punching him in the arm.
"Ow, well, I…" he stammered. A proud smirk slid across his face. "It did get pretty wild last night and I just wanted to make it special."
"Wild? You were a savage last night, I was not expecting such energy from a virgin, and a herbivore at that. You really went all-in with me by the fourth session."
"Fourth session?" He asked, amazed. "I only remember three rounds ."
"Mmhmm if you want to see it like that. The fourth is where I bit you, after all, so you were likely on auto-pilot by that point so you probably don't remember." She said with a certain smugness. "Regardless, you were a great ride."
"What? I'm a bike now?" He joked.
"Yeah you are, Nibbles. You were a 10-speed last night." She said, clearly thinking favorably about last night.
"Wait… Nibbles. Okay, no." He said, shaking his head at the cutesy name. "That name, no, no. That nickname dies in this room."
"Oh come on…"
"Noooope, we've reached the limit of cute nicknames with Watame-Kun and Oatmeal ."
"Alright, fine." She said, sighing and biting her lip.
"So…" he started off. "Do we have to be even more careful from now on if you're going to bite me during sex?" The notion amused him, "Am I going to have to wear body armor with you?"
The fox opened the door wider, revealing herself wearing nothing but the hotel's monogrammed towel. San froze in the doorway, taken aback as she moved forward and hugged him. "Nothing like that I assure you. I barely even bit you to be perfectly honest."
"Uh... huh." He said, unconvinced.
"The flesh around your neck is too tough for my bite force anyway." She whispered softly into his ear. "What? Is a couple of bites and scars too much for you?"
"No." He said, becoming a bit overwhelmed, stumbling back and almost falling to the floor with her.
"Then why are you so worried then?" She asked as they stood in the warmth of the sunshine together, her brushtail swaying from side to side. "You make it seem like you don't want to be with me anymore." She was teasing him.
"Well, I'm still new to all this. And it's my well-being on the line after all." He grunted, feeling like he was going to tip over. "Hey uh...could you ease up, my knees are getting wobbly here."
She promptly shifted their weight to her side for which he was grateful. "New to this? Could have fooled me. Hehehe." After what seemed like a while, they finally parted and she adjusted her robe.
"Say, are you finished in there? He asked. "I need to clean this off. I don't need my little friend to think the worst when she sees this blood. With luck, I can probably just clean it off and let my wool cover the marks."
"Well, since you don't seem to care about my shedding, I guess I don't need to worry about fixing myself up right now. You can go in, I'll just go set up for breakfast." She moved out of the way and headed towards the kitchen. "Oh! I see you already set the table. Well, I'll fix us some tea."
He paused before closing the door. "Uh...about that...if you are going to make ginseng tea like that, you might want to boil it at a lower temperature and make sure the roots are properly chopped. The ones you had in there were kinda thick."
"You tried it?" She asked, concerned.
"Yeah. It was...bitter." She could hear the hesitation in his voice.
She sighed. "That makes sense. I've never been much of a kitchen person." Her tone was a bit deflated, "Usually I just buy it straight out of the pack, but I was feeling adventurous today...wanted to be traditional."
"Well, it's just tea. No big deal. I could teach you how I was taught if you'd like." He offered. "I know a little bit, I mean."
"Why don't you worry about that wound there first, hmm?"
"Right, right." He agreeingly nodded and jerked his head back in the bathroom. "I'll be out in a bit."
After finally washing the pesky red stains out of his blonde locks and taking a nice relaxing shower, San got dressed and properly showed Priscilla how to chop and crush the ginseng roots and add sweeteners like honey rather than raw sugar after boiling it.
"So there's a certain temperature?" She asked, mouth agape after she sipped what she found to be a very nice cup of tea. Her visual satisfaction brought a smile to his face.
"Yeah, you want it at a medium temperature. Too hot and you'll boil all of the flavor and the helpful stuff out of it. You should have seen Kyuu try it one time. Had the whole thing tasting like a cup of literal mud."
"So where did you learn how to make such great tea?"
"Our master. He mostly made a fine bamboo blend, but he also stressed that we drink other types to stay healthy. At first, it was to get strength back up after our ordeal in the livestock trade, but afterwards, it was just so we could stay in shape. After a while we drank so much bamboo tea, we swore we were turning green ourselves."He closed his eyes and laughed. "We got so sick of that stuff. "Nutritious and healthy for us," he said "None of that sugary soda crap." We always thought it was a double standard. He taught us to eat healthy, but he smoked like a freight train."
"Bamboo? What was your master, a Panda?"
"Mhmm." He said taking a nice sip.
"Huh. A llama, a rabbit, and a panda bear. Talk about a strange family dynamic."
"Well, you're a fox dating a llama from such a background. Must be infectious."
"Hehehe. A half-breed fox at that." She giggled. "We're just an odd bunch, aren't we? Probably why we gel so well." She took a bite of her fried aburaage. "You mention your master quite a bit. You talk with him often?" She asked, loudly crunching the tofu pocket.
"Sadly no." His face sank a bit.
She covered her mouth as the thought crossed her mind. "Oh is he?..."
He knew what she meant. "Oh, no." He quickly clarified. "We just don't talk much anymore or at all more like. Honestly probably for the best. He'd probably flip out if he knew we were living like this." He had a gloomy demeanor about him as he cut a piece of the pancakes and took a bite. The llama paused halfway through chewing and just sat there motionless while Priscilla looked on.
"What? Don't want to talk about it anymore?" She asked.
"No….This is...THE BEST BREAKFAST I'VE EVER EATEN!" He proclaimed before scarfing down the sweet delights like a mad beast. After years of simple meals and ready-to-cook dinners, the home cook-styled pancakes were easily the best sustenance he'd had in ages, right next to the pizza from last night. Even the cooking that Mr. Gouhin treated them to as youths weren't this good. The camelid almost had a food orgasm from how delectable the fried flat cakes were as he wolfed them down.
Priscilla just stared at him, blinking twice, stunned at the voraciousness the herbivore showed. She hadn't even seen lions eat in such a way. "You should slow down. You're going to make yourself sick or worse." She warned.
"But they're sooooo good!" The llama moaned as he took another bite of the soft and buttery flat cakes and savored the sweet sticky taste of the apple syrup as they practically melted in his mouth."I wanna eat this every morning for the rest of my life!"
"Well, you shouldn't eat pancakes every day, not unless I actually want to fatten you up. " She joked.
"Ha ha ha." He sarcastically laughed with his mouth full, rolling his eyes.
But, I'm sure we can have a few breakfast dates in the future. My Inari sister Kan has a great restaurant that serves excellent herbivore food from what I've heard."
"You think we could bring Kyuu? She has to try this stuff." He asked.
"I don't know…" She said, rather disinterested. "I'm dating you, not her."
"Aw come on. I just feel so bad that she can't enjoy this while I can."
"Well, San...have you ever thought about getting a job? If you made your own money, perhaps you could take her yourself."
"Who would hire me?" He asked, coming up for air and washing it down with some tea. "We don't have an education and well, don't you need that for a good job?"
"Would you like it if I offered you a...job?" She asked. "I own a few businesses in the market."
He looked at her perplexed. "You? Me? A job?"
"You and I guess Flopsy too." She rolled her eyes. "Think about it. You both could work for me. You're already under my group's protection. Why not make it official and work directly under my clan?"
"You'd hire me?" He asked, skeptical. "But, isn't the Inarigumi an exclusive female carnivore gang? Won't your sisters protest?"
"It's true, we are mostly comprised of vixens, but we also employ other beasts. Regardless of gender. It's just that most of our elites are female."
"Yeah, but just carnivores right?"
"Well...yeah, most of us are carnivores given it's the Back Alley Market. Not like herbivores are jumping at the chance to join, but I got positions that you and Flopsy could fill."
"What would I officially be your boyfriend or something?" He joked with a cheeky grin.
She shook her head at him. "Shut up. I know I could find you a job. I mean just think about it. Anything is better than living in that old tower."
"Yeah, you got a point." He said, taking another sip of the tea. "There are times I wish we could leave that place behind for goo-" He stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at his cup for a moment before training his eyes over to her, her face looked like she was expecting a response from him. She knew what she had just said, and that's what worried him. "What did you say?" He asked, if only for confirmation.
Priscilla hesitated before coming clean. "The Livestock Tower. The place you keep trying to hide from me."
"You know?!" He dropped his fork, the silverware clang off of the plate. "You...know?"
"Yea, I know you live in that old ransacked tower on Yanshii Street. The old livestock building."
"How?"
She pointed to her snout and took a set of loud sniffs in the air for effect. "Honey, I'm a canid. You should be very careful around us. Our sense of smell is nigh unbeatable. I personally pegged that you were from around that area months ago just from you and her scent. Then when you told me you were once a livestock animal at the park last week, that was just icing on the cake.
"There was only one such business in that area, run by the Kumagumi, twenty years ago, before their decline and it got ransacked by a vigilante. At least that's what the rumor was. Legend has it that it was the Sublime Beastar that did it, but we were never sure. I just put two and two together though after listening to your story."
San just sat there, mouth ajar, processing just how to handle this. He laid out the facts. She wasn't a malicious carnivore, he knew that to be sure, but this was a big breach in their security. If it was that easy to find them…
"San, I'm sorry to just pop that on you, but It wasn't hard for me to figure out."
"Wow...if Kyuu were here she'd probably be lecturing me about keeping my mouth shut. That or something much more violent." He said under his breath. "However, your research is right. We do live in the old tower. That rumor about the vigilante is somewhat true, that was our master. We were in a bad way when he found us, the handlers at that point could barely afford to feed us and a bad illness had started catching on in the cells. Only me and her survived past a month."
"Lucky ones huh?" She aimlessly stirred her cold food, listening to his harrowing tale. He just nodded silently.
"How long exactly were you going to hold this from me?" He asked.
The fox rested her head on her palms and exhaled and rubbed her cheeks. "I was waiting for you to trust me with that information yourself. At your own pace."
"Well, at least I don't have to keep playing this dumb charade anymore." He said, taking a bite of his lukewarm pancakes. He still was able to savor the sugary sweet flavor. "You still want to date a guy who lives in a dirty old tower?"
"I'm still dating you now aren't I? Least you don't live in a cardboard box and you keep yourself clean. Of all the places you could be living, you could do a lot worse.
San snickered. "You're right."
"There is one thing that does bug me. That place ran out of business, years ago. How do you still have power?"
"Well, we aren't exactly sure ourselves. My theory is a glitch in the system."
The fox thought hard about it and nodded. "Hmm, maybe. A lot of the buildings in the area have a faulty grid. The former owners probably rigged it to their neighbors to save on cost. They were probably going under from the sound of things." She explained. "A weasel laundromat tried to do that to my casino once, I only noticed it once my electronics started losing power when next door started to become packed."
"So about that job? What would you be offering?"
"Well. For you…" She stroked her fingers along her chin as she put some thought into it. "Well, there are card dealer spots open or maybe you could be a host at one of my cabarets or my casino, we could always use a greeter. Or maybe you could work at my uncle's gun store...you seem pretty good with guns and you learn fast."
"Uh, maybe not...your uncle kinda...scares me." He said, thinking about how protective her mastiff uncle was the last time he saw him. He also really didn't like the prospect of being around firearms that much.
"Oh relax, Uncle Janco is not that mean!" She indignantly insisted, waving off his concern.
"Well, I'm still fresh with guns...and uh...so probably not."
"Um... maybe you could come and work as my assistant, I already have Fa in that position, but she could always use some extra help, plus you'd be a lot closer to me and I could keep my eye on you."
"But I'm a herbivore…"
"And?"
"And I'm a herbivore."
"These are progressive times, San. Think about it, the Shishigumi of all people were led by a Red deer just a few months ago and the people loved that. I'm sure no one's going to put up that much of a fuss about a llama following behind a fox."
"That guy downstairs did..."
"Yeah, well he's old and decrepit. He's still a receptionist when everything has gone digital."
He mulled over the proposition and found it appealing, but he worried about his cellmate. "Well, that sounds good, but what would you be offering Kyuu?" He asked. "I would have to know what she'd be doing before I answer... It's only fair. She worries I might leave her."
"I guess I could offer her a job as a dancer... though an ugly bitch like her, that probably might be a stretch, especially with her attitude. " The fox said under her breath.
"Priscilla, don't be mean." He frowned at her.
"Well, then she should try not to be mean herself!" The fox growled. "She'll never make any good impressions with that shitty attitude."
"I don't think that's a great idea anyway. Kyuu isn't what I would call a lady …I don't think she could do... well what you did last night ." He got a giggle out of her.
Priscilla clicked her tongue as she thought more about the prospect. "Hmmm...how about a card dealer? I'm sure she could probably make it as a card dealer on the floor or a valet."
San just shook his head while running his fingers through the back of his hair. "Kyuu can barely count. Plus she sucks at card games, I clean her out almost every time even without figuring out her tells."
"Well then...what can she do outside of being a pain in the ass?" Priscilla asked.
"I don't know. She's perfectly fine with the arena. She likes it as it keeps her on edge and she likes the violence."
Priscilla paused, looking around in thought. "Hmmm...maybe," she muttered.
"What?" He asked, curious as he could see she had a plan in mind.
"Well, I have certain roles she could fill with that sort of mindset she possesses…" She looked around the room suspiciously. "Well, I'm not really at liberty to speak about them here. I've heard things about places like this...these walls might have ears and eyes hidden around here somewhere."
He curiously studied the room himself, hoping to see some of these so-called hidden surveillance devices. If they existed he was certain they were more clandestinely placed than he could pick up.
"Mhmm, creeps like the guy downstairs probably can make some extra scratch on the black market. That's how the trade works. I know one thing though, If I find out that you and I become an overnight sensation on the adult market, my clan and him are going to have a very productive conversation ." She vocalized very loudly and menacingly as if threatening someone.
He just shrugged, as such things didn't really concern him. "I'll be honest, even if you offered her a job, I doubt she'd take it. She barely respects carnivores, much less trusts them."
"How about this? I'll go with you and ask her myself." The brown fox offered with a smile. "That way I can drop the cooperation bombshell on Lùn and ask Flopsy the question personally with less prying eyes."
"I don't think that's a good idea." He said, cringing a bit. "We both have issues, mine greatly differs from her, but one of hers is that she doesn't like Carnivores hanging around our place. I can't say we're exactly forgiving of trespassers."
"Oh come on." The fox groaned. "She should at least trust us by now, if we wanted to do anything to you two, we'd have done it by now."
"I'm telling you Priscilla-chan, it's a bad idea."
"Well, she's just going to have to deal with it. We're going." The vixen said, putting her foot down. She had the look of an animal that didn't like being told she couldn't do something and it kinda scared him.
"I can't do that Priscilla." He politely insisted.
"Well, then you're going to walk home then." She threatened softly, taking a sip from her tea.
"Are you serious?" He asked.
"Yup. And I don't think you know how to get home from here. We aren't exactly in the dark zone."
"You know you're actually really starting to resemble that stereotype of the crafty fox villain, scheming and plotting wicked deeds." He commented with an unamused frown.:
"Of that, I'm proud. Hehehehe!" She said with a content inflection as if that was a compliment.
A few minutes passed as he took a few more bites while she gave him a serious look that she still meant business. He cleaned his plate before he asked, "You're going to be stubborn about this aren't you?"
"Yes." She plainly stated with her arms folded and that smug devilish grin he was beginning to grow accustomed to. He just sighed and palmed his face as he just gave up.
"Fine...she's going to kick my ass either way for being out so late."
The Defunct Livestock Tower a few hours later.
I think I'll just break his face. A black eye. Yeah, a black eye. Maybe a missing tooth too. That's what that jerk deserves if he shows his ass back here.
Retribution was on Kyuu's mind as the Holland lop sat seething on a crate curling her 10-lb dumbbells to clear her head. That AWOL asshole had some nerve telling her to keep the lanterns lit for him only to never show back up. She'd guessed he was dead, captured by some trafficker in the market, but she knew the chances were more than likely he was out learning how to be a male again, mating with that greedy white vixen. Probably making all sorts of hybrids with that... posh slut right now.
Maybe a kick to the balls too while I'm at it, she thought, thinking about it more.
All that flowery talk he spewed at her last night was just a bunch of bull to get her out of his wool. She knew it. Training? Give her a better chance with Lùn? Like he was going to talk to the harpy about helping her.
All of a sudden there was a loud clang and loud rustling in front of her. It was the elevator, coming back down again. He was back. It was about damn time, she thought. Still not going to save him from the mother of all beatings she had waiting for him.
"So you aren't dead," She shouted as soon as she was sure he could hear her. Her tone setting with annoyance and anger. "Not yet at least. Do you have any idea how long-" Suddenly her eyes widened as the slowly descending box revealed not only the llama returning, but two other occupants rode in the car as well.
"San?" She feebly asked before it became clear he was with two carnivores, a short canid wearing white and a taller dark-furred one wearing a blue dress. In no time at all, she recognized the shorter animal as Lùn, her rival... and her crush.
San was the first to speak. "Kyuu, now don't freak out…I know this is going to be hard for you to swallow." He might as well have been speaking another language as his words were drowned out by all the rage building up within her. The rabbit quickly sank into a turbulent ocean of betrayal.
"What the hell is wron-?!" She screamed, dropping her weights and backpedaling from the elevator. "What are they doi-" Words began to fail her.
"Kyuu! Now just wait! I can explain!" The camelid cried, trying to soothe the escalating drama.
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR A THING FROM YOU! YOU TRAITOR! YOU LED THEM HERE! TO OUR HOME!" The rabbit screeched, pulling at her ears. "KEEP BACK!" She shouted.
"Kyuu, please calm down." He shouted, trying to press the button to open the gate. "I told you this would happen." He said to the taller fox. His words fell on deaf ears as the rabbit hastily retrieved one of her concealed tanto blades and angrily hurled the dagger towards the elevator.
The projectile flew like a missile, sweeping through the diamond-shaped gaps in the gate and nearly hitting the darker fox in the face, San saving her in the nick of time by pushing her to the floor. The out of repair elevator's floor buckled as the two fell on top of each other with a loud thump. No time to thank him, The brown-furred canid was livid after such an attempt on her life.
"That stupid little-" The dark vixen growled as San picked himself off of her. The llama promptly apologized and raised his hands trying to calm his cellmate down but to no avail. The inconsolable rabbit wasn't done, she threw one of her weights next. The heavy dumbbell clanged loudly as it made a dent in the old elevator's gate causing it to bend on its track. Another caused it to slip off the track. "Priscilla-chan, This is why I told you I should have come alone. She has a thing about carnivores showing up here reminding her of the old handlers."
"Just get off of me and calm her down!" The arctic vixen shouted.
"Don't worry," Lùn declared swiftly as she armed herself with her kukri knives. "She's mine!" Before San could fully say, "Wait, what?" The pygmy fox managed to slide open the rickety gate just enough for her to squeeze her way through. He and the other fox tried to follow but the old gate had become jammed, unable to fully slide across the sliding track. They could do nothing but watch the two pint-sized fighters head for a collision course.
Kyuu tensed up and ejected her other concealed knife as the nimble vixen bolted towards her like lightning. Kyuu had little time to maneuver before the orange-furred blur was upon her.
"You almost hit Onēsan, you dumb bitch!" The big-eared small fox cried, wildly swinging at her with one of her curved kukris. "Now I'm going to hit you!"
"That was the point!" Kyuu barked back, jerking her body in response. "Bring it!" She shouted, preparing for a skirmish.
The rabbit's honed agility saved her as she ducked the first swing, Lùn's blade coming within a hair's breadth of the short fur on her head. Kyuu gritted her teeth and reverse gripped her dagger, swiping at the fox and scoring a clean cut into the fabric of her qipao tunic. The fox slightly winced as burgundy began to stain the white cloth.
Crush or no crush, survival and winning this encounter was the only thing on both their competitive little minds and adrenaline compelled the both of them to go all out but to San's horror as he and Priscilla continued to work with the stubborn gate.
Furious at the close fur cut, Kyuu swung with all her might at the vixen with a savage crescent swing. Her tanto blade's arc produced a widened eye surprise and gape from her opponent as the fleet-footed fox danced her way out of its path. The vixen sucked in her gut and twirled, making what was supposed to be a slash to the midsection a wasted effort, while answering back with her own offense.
Lùn swung both blades at the rabbit as she made a full 180-degree pivot. The rabbit avoided decapitation with a quick hop before vaulting herself off the narrow hallway's brick walls. A loud smack and "Erggh!" echoed through the long brick hallway as the rabbit's foot slammed hard into the small fox's snout, dropping her to a knee.
A rare content smirk was on Kyuu's face as she advanced towards her stunned adversary. "Come on Loony, you can do better than that right?"
"Oh, now you're using my name more familiarly." The fox grumbled as she straightened up to face her. Groggy but she was not out, Lùn had seconds to react before the rabbit closed the distance. A desperate swing of her large kukris deterred the knife-wielding lapine long enough, to create an opening that got her back into the fight and the rabbit on the backfoot. "Well, I'll do much better when I put you on the ground, you floppy bitch!"
By the elevator, the trapped animals were having little success freeing themselves. The old gate had already needed a good oiling for the longest time and now with its bent frame, it was going to be nearly impossible to budge.
"Kyuu!" The worried llama hollered out fruitlessly as the two fighters sized each other up, ignoring him, and became a violent blur of fast-moving color. "Stop fighting already! Lùn, just get her to stand down! Don't kill he- oh what's the point?" There was no way neither of those two would listen short of him pinning them to the ground. Lùn had been all too eager for a scrap and Kyuu was fighting on the power of rage from his apparent betrayal. Priscilla knew all too well that talking was not going to do the trick.
"Hardheads usually have the deafest ears." His fellow occupant said, grunting as even her brute strength failed.
"Kyuu can be reasonable ... this is...well this is just an... overreaction!" San insisted.
"You think?!" The arctic fox barked as she looked around the elevator car. "We just went down one floor right?" She was planning something he could tell.
"Yeah it's just the basement down here and this is as low as the elevator goes." He answered. "The other floors are above ground."
"Okay, shot in the dark, this place has stairs right?"
"Of course, we usually take them when we want to get the exercise... why?"
"Well, just take us back up to the 1st-floor, we'll come back down via the stairs."
"We can't unfortunately," He said pressing the 1st-floor button. "This antique is jammed with the gate screwed up like this. It needs to be cleared before it will go back up."
"So we're stuck here?" She gathered, pinching her nose in annoyance.
"I think so." He groaned deflated as he slumped down against the elevator's wall. "Great."
Uncontent with such a predicament, the fox moved over to the panel and began scanning the buttons for any helpful information that would possibly aid in getting the hell out of this mess. The dispirited camelid looked up and cocked his head at her apparently futile efforts in making the car go back up.
"What are you doing? I told you it's useless." He said.
As if to answer his question, the fox pressed a single button three times and what followed was a loud ping. Suddenly the elevator car's emergency hatch panel dropped to the floor, getting a startled yelp out of the llama as he scooched up out of its way. A brown blur flew up past his face and when he looked to track, he saw Priscilla at the top of the hatch, squatting down and reaching for him with her clawed hand.
"What are you doing?" He asked again, bewildered at her action.
"I'm not about to be stuck in this deathtrap any longer when there are better alternatives! There's a ladder up here, we'll just climb up to the 1st floor and then we will come back down via the stairs. Now take my hand!"
The llama without hesitation took hold and the fox lifted him up into the dark shaft and directed him towards an old ladder on the side.
"How did you know this was here?"
"It was a hunch. I've had to climb my way up a few elevator shafts in my day, they usually have these in here for maintenance."
"Wait...what?" He asked as that reply sounded awfully suspicious to him.
"It's occupational, now climb." She said almost jokingly, ascending the ladder with cat-like reflexes.
"I can't see that well though." He said in protest as he was at a disadvantage in the dark.
"I know you can't see, but look up, you see those glimmers of light up there?" She said referring to the rays of light poking into the shaft from the various levels. "That's your salvation, climb towards that!" She shouted.
"If you say so." He said, ascending with her.
"Just keep feeling for the bars until the light gets closer and make sure you have a tight grip. Hopefully that gate up there isn't a piece of shit either." She called back down to him.
"Priscilla, I'm sorry she reacted this way." He said. "Please don't take it personally."
"What did I tell you about being sorry? Just shut up and keep climbing."
The rabbit growled in frustration as one of her lightning-fast combos failed to land on target. She was overextended and she paid for it as sharp cold steel ripped into her left shoulder. A pained grunt escaped her lips and was punctuated by the fox slamming her right hand right into the rabbit's nose, sending Kyuu spiraling against the nearby wall. A hard collision with the layered brick and a hard floor landing felt almost as bad as her wounded pride, the fox had scored a hit and it wasn't lost on her opponent either.
Lùn stood over her practically beckoning her to get back up, that they weren't finished. The fox wanted to punish her, beat her to a pulp, rather than simply take her out. Blood started trickling down the lapine duelist's face as she attempted to clear the cobwebs in her head. Lùn struck her again rather than cut, twisting her head back and causing her to stagger more drunkenly.
"Fight me better! Damn it. You'd be dead if I was for real." The fox finally outright admitting to her wish for a more drawn-out affair as she allowed Kyuu to get back up, sadistically wanting more of a struggle from her lapine rival.
The lagomorph shook it and gritted her flat teeth at the vixen and attempted to regain her posture, wildly swinging her sharp dagger at her foe to coerce Lùn into giving up more space between them. The fox instead remained close by, a vicious smile on her toothed visage as she began shifting her feet into a shuffle and danced in front of the lapine fighter, ready for them to duel once more. Kyuu found her footwork not as intricate as the monkey, his was more playful and loose, deceptive. The fox's feet nimbly hopped from side to side, methodically putting her in varying positions of leverage. More utilitarian and practical. One second she was able to attack, another she could more properly defend.
"I've been dying to put my blades against yours." Lùn confidently remarked. "I regret I didn't bring them the first time. Then again, if I had it'd have probably been the only time." She bragged.
"Funny how you always seem to catch me with a handicap." Kyuu fired back, charging in and taking careful swipes at her and baiting out her much longer blades. "Too bad I'm just fighting with one blade."
The fox growled at her frustrated. "Of course you would find some way to ruin this for me. Well, in any case, it's not my fault you idiotically threw away a vital piece of your arsenal... literally." Lùn sarcastically taunted, jerking out of the way of a close swipe from the lop.
She was confident in her skills, that much Kyuu could tell. The fox answered in retaliation with a sharp stab aimed to gut her. The rabbit twisted her torso out of its path and hopped into the fox's 7 o'clock position with her own fast footwork, getting more aggressive with the cocky fox who in turn upped her game as well.
"I will admit…" The lapine fighter spoke between the swipes and parries. "I respect that you're much better than the first time we fought."
"Oh, praise...that's new for you!" The fox said, swinging wildly and deflecting her share. "Not sure if I like it!" Lùn shouted as she cornered Kyuu against the wall and swung with lethal intent. The attack overswung, missing its mark by an inch and the quick-reacting lop took advantage, ducking under the fox's arm and swinging her tanto quickly enough to rip into the fox's midsection. A small blood spatter painted the brick walls and Lùn grunted harshly in pain.
"Bitch!" The mini-vixen cursed as she flinched and hastily retreated a few steps and leaned against the wall. It wasn't a lethal wound, the rabbit was sure of it, but it probably hurt the fox's pride a bit, and that satisfied Kyuu well enough.
"You're also still cocky." Kyuu lectured as she wagged her blood-stained knife at the fox.
Lùn found Kyuu not as merciful as she had been, as the lagomorph immediately rushed in to attack the wounded fox, bringing with her a set of serious stabs and swipes that kept the ailing vixen on her toes. The rabbit kept up a ferocious almost carnivore-like demeanor as she kept the pressure on the diminutive vulpes. Lùn was finding herself overwhelmed and then she saw it. The savage beast that Kyuu usually conjured to project her desired strength and fierce nature actually began to appear in her place as the little fox danced out of reach.
A vicious swipe from the rabbit became a terrifying claw strike that nearly clipped the fox's ear. Lùn's tongue stuck out panting as she exhaustively jinked and juked out of her murderous opponent's assault. She knew the creature wasn't there, but the chimera image made it difficult to sneak in a proper offense lest she risks a fatal mistake. One strike to the wrong place could mean a cleaved organ.
Eventually, Lùn found herself cornered, the giant beast raised its paw for a deadly swipe. Lùn, knowing better, readied and expected an attack in that direction. The chimera's claws rushed down to swat her, but the fox went airborne, leaping as high as she could over the beast's outstretched arm. The fox tucked and rolled upon landing before jumping and launching herself off of the wall much like Kyuu had done earlier. Putting her right behind the monster and to that extent, Kyuu.
To the rabbit's surprise, the canid had successfully circumvented her chimera technique and now that she was in her blindspot, she was open to a more direct attack. Twisting fast to face her, Kyuu's long ears swirled through the air, as she brought her blade up to reave into the fox as the chimera for another swipe, but Lùn locked on to her hand through the image and managed to block the attack with an upward parry of both her kukri blades. The herbivore's knife was deflected, flying out of the rabbit's hand and embedding itself into the ceiling.
Kyuu's shocked eyes followed the skyward knife and jumped back down just in time to react to Lùn's swift retaliation. Disarmed, the imaginary chimera vanished along with the rabbit's fierce bravado. The fox's curved blades whistled as they swung at the rabbit in a flurry that Kyuu dodged with acrobatic evasion. The rabbit, realizing she was outmatched, turned tail and broke off down the hallway in a mad dash.
"Get back here!" The pygmy screeched furiously after her, giving chase with her blades at her side. "Don't you run from me!"
As the two vanished down the long cell bay corridor, the larger animals finally arrived down the short flight of stairs with the other Inarigumi members in tow. Their frenetic panting and grunting echoing down the empty halls clued the group into where to look.
"Lùn and Kyuu wait!" San cried out as he, Priscilla, Fa, and Loba bolted after them. "Damn it! Come back!"
"You're just wasting your breath," Priscilla shouted, starting to outpace him. "I told you. Cataclysmic disaster."
"And I told you I should have come down alone." He said.
"I guess we're both fools then." The Arctic fox quipped. "She probably would have freaked out regardless."
San couldn't deny that Priscilla was right. Kyuu probably would have attacked him in some way if he came down here alone with a surprise like this. He was expecting her to be pissed after all. Still...this was a bad situation.
Deep in the bowels of the defunct livestock basement, Lùn had lost sight of her quarry. She still however could smell that she was close. Which direction she was uncertain. The musty odor of the old hallway made it difficult to pin down her foe's location.
She passed through a junction when the rabbit ambushed her, dropping down on top of her from an unlit lamp fixture. Kyuu managed to nail her rival hard on the nose with a flying knee and promptly buried her fist in her gut with a hard haymaker. The rabbit then grabbed the ailing vixen by the arm and sent her flying over her hip with a judo toss. Lùn's grip on her kukri knives loosened and the rabbit mounted her and began to pummel the living daylights out of her, going for all the soft spots on her face. Lùn's good eye managed to lock onto the rabbit's face during the beating and she lurched up quickly, taking a play from the Kyuu's playbook and smashing into the lapine's bloody nose with a headbutt. The rabbit's harsh grunt was music to the fox's ear as she stunned Kyuu long enough for the fox to slug her right in the cheek, knocking her off.
Lùn got to her feet and didn't even bother collecting her blades. The bloodied canid had the look of an excited child. "Okay, let's do this proper then." She said putting up her dukes.
"Oh, you want some more from last week, huh?" The surly doe taunted, following suit.
"Let's see you call this beating a draw you lying bitch!" The vixen cried out, hurling a hard jab at Kyuu. The rabbit's head moved out of the way as she weaved and threw her own offense trying to fight dirty by striking Lùn's cut midsection. The fox wisely slid to the side of the punch and threw Kyuu's head back violently with a surprise uppercut that had the herbivore reeling and leaving her open to a hard right to the gut that knocked her against the wall.
Furious, Kyuu tightened up her guard around her face, peeking over her fists as she stanced up and assumed a more boxer-like style. The two squared up again and Lùn made the first move, charging in with a jumping punch, slamming her fist down where the speedy rabbit had just dodged. She quickly rose and swung hard, canceling a counterattack from Kyuu, who weaved out of its path. They were nearly evenly matched in terms of speed, but Kyuu was easily the more defensive fighter as the herbivore.
The fox followed the strike with some hard-hitting body blows that got some pained grunts from Kyuu as some of them found their marks. The rabbit answered back with a good jab to the snout and swung hard on Lun's scarred eye getting a hurt shriek from the fox. She sought to punish the fox some more with another hard cross to the face, but Lùn's reflexes allowed her to swiftly dodge the brazen strike.
However, just as crafty as her vulpine counterpart, Kyuu anticipated the vixen's evasion and used the punches' energy to catch her carnivore counterpart with a wheel kick as soon as she was in her five o'clock position. Lùn's eyes nearly popped out of her head as the rabbit's flying foot found its target in her gut as she was sent flying backwards into the stone hallway.
Stubborn and even more pissed, Lùn stood up ready for more. "Now we're kicking, huh?" The fox growled, firing back with some kicks of her own. The canid's kicking failed to land like her punches which were to the rabbit's advantage as she ducked and dodged each of the telegraphed strikes. The evasive rabbit punished her shortcomings with some harsh counters, weaving under her kicks and lunging in with strikes of her own.
She still needed work, Kyuu thought as she expertly immobilized the fox's latest kick that flew overhead, and promptly humbled the vixen by sinking her knuckles deep into the carnivore's soft bosom and followed that with a hard knee to her flank. Lùn's sharp mouth sprang open and spittle flew over the rabbit's shoulder and Kyuu heard the vixen's raspy panting as her knees began to buckle and the rabbit found the fox leaning onto her for support. The bunny, remembering a similar incident from their first bout where she had been tossed aside, wisely pushed the fox away before she could get any ideas, and jerked the fox's head to the side with a violent heel kick that sent the small big-eared canid listing and slamming against the hallway.
Kyuu seized the opportunity, began pummeling the fox right into her slash wound.
"Ergrrh!" Lùn cried out as her flesh stung with each punch. She grunted harshly as she tried to pay the lagomorph back in full. The fox quickly hurled some headshots Kyuu's way, but her lighter opponent bobbed and weaved under her punches, going low and tagging the fox with some quick shots to her bleeding midsection.
The sounds of the mini-fox's pained grunting had the rabbit's body starting to heat up and her little heart started to race as she started putting all her effort into the blows. This was exactly what she'd wanted. A true contest of someone who could match her will. She relished the determination in the pygmy each time she struck her hard and she faltered but she stayed on her feet, ready to come swinging back for more. The fox's frustration got her off.
However, the bunny brawler's bliss was short-lived as Lùn wised up and caught the rabbit just under the eye with an elbow to the face. She was whacked right out of her enjoyable stupor. While the rabbit had been admiring her, the fox had been thinking. She recognized that her punches took too much time to catch the slippery lapine, but her elbow could extend much quicker and cover more space. One slip-up was all she had needed.
The rabbit stumbled back and earned the vixen some more needed area to work. Kyuu was in a bad predicament. She had lost her focus and her first action was trying to tag Lùn back, but the fox was ready. The fox grinned sinisterly as she parried the rabbit's punch and countered with a hard jab to the face. She clocked the rabbit all but good on the beak of her nose, sending the dazed lagomorph flying against the metal bars of a nearby cell. The battered bunny brains were rattled as she slid down to the floor, her vision dizzy and disoriented.
"Call this a draw.." The pissed-off fox growled as she reached in to grab her fallen opponent. Kyuu in a last-ditch effort, jumped up trying to tackle the canid, however, the fox was ready for her. Reacting quickly, Lùn gracefully twirled out of the way and caught the rabbit with a deceptive clothesline, her backhand smashing right into the rabbit's bloody nose once more, sending her crashing back to the floor for good this time.
"Ughh." The rabbit groaned pitifully as more blood flowed from her busted nostrils as she writhed on the floor.
Lùn doubled over out of breath, palms on her knees as she collapsed to the floor on her butt next to the knocked-out lop. Kyuu was still conscious, though she wasn't rising just yet. A wave of contentment came upon the fox as she relished in her hard-fought victory. She'd finally and definitely gotten one over on the surly bunny. No interference, no breaking up. Finally, she could say that she had beaten her rival clean.
The defeated rabbit's chest heaved up and down as she panted heavily next to her. Lùn looked over to her and stared down at her for a minute before rolling over and crawling on top of the doe, planting her claws on her shoulders and pinning her to the ground. The rabbit's breathing increased frantically as the carnivore hovered her sharp-toothed visage over was easily her helpless prey. All it would take is one bite to the neck and she was done.
However, Lùn dipped her head down, and instead of a bite, locked her bloody lips with Kyuu's own. Kyuu's shocked eyes soon closed as the fox pressed her snout more into her as they passionately kissed. The rabbit's arms instinctively wrapped around the fox's waist and the two made out with each other right there in the dark corridor. The rabbit's hands ventured to places much to the fox's delight and the fox's narrow snout ventured down towards the rabbit's bust, rolling up her defeated rival's sweaty sleeveless shirt and giving her full access to her breasts. The fox nuzzled her snout deep between the rabbit's valley. Kyuu felt a bit of embarrassed shame as she instinctively whimpered and shuddered as one of the fox's jutting canines nick her flesh. Sensing her drop her guard even as lightly as that, the fox grinned satisfied as she began running her rough tongue along the short creamy fuzz of the rabbit's neck.
"You just wanted to be the one to start it off?" The rabbit feverishly asked as she grabbed hold of the small fox's head and pressed the canid back closer to her chest. "Better yet, you wanted to earn it, huh?" The fox's snout nuzzled itself deep between the rabbit's cream and dark-furred breasts, taking her to new levels of intimacy.
"Don't fucking ruin this," Lùn growled lightly to shut her up as she slid her claws down into the rabbit's pants and her fingers slipped into Kyuu's womanhood. The rabbit eyes widened with passionate surprise as the fox's thick fingers ventured further into her tunnel. A moan escaped her bloodied lips as she rubbed the fox's large fuzzy ears between her soft fingers. The fox purred lightly as her other hand cupped Kyuu's breast and began licking the fur around her areolas. Her tail swayed rapidly as the fox savored the taste and smell of the beaten herbivore's flesh. She was finally hers.
"Kyuu!" "Loony!" "Flopsy!" "Lùn!"
The sound of their names broke the peace as they heard voices and footsteps echoing down the cell bay.
"Fuck," Both of them cursed in unison, both equally frustrated. Kyuu was actually enjoying the fresh experience of bodily pleasure and Lùn was finally letting loose with the feelings she had awoken that night. The voices called out again, this time sounding closer.
It was Kyuu's llama friend's familiar voice. It was soon followed by Lùn's Inari sister Fa. Their time was up unless the pygmy fox wanted to explain to her closest sister Fa that she had lied about her feelings, that she had enjoyed the impromptu erotic experience last week. No, the embarrassment would be too much. Lùn quickly rolled off the rabbit and sat up, straightening and putting on the appearance that she had merely knocked her adversary down.
"Don't you breathe a fucking word of this." She threatened down at the rabbit as the group arrived down the hall. Kyuu lightly smiled with smugness as she pulled her shirt back down, knowing that the cat was already out of the bag at least with San, Lùn just didn't know it.
"Or what? The rabbit responded.
"I'll knock your block off again is what!" The fox barked before assuming the appearance of the winner of their fight as the other beasts arrived. Fa quickly scooped up her sister and almost hugged the life out of her.
"Put me down, Fa!" The little fox angrily demanded. "I'm fucking fine!"
"You guys... really made us... chase you two down this dank and terrible place." Priscilla growled out of breath at the two.
"Oh great," the llama groaned as he finally saw the state his cellmate was in. "You managed to get more cuts and swelling...and cripes I hope that little nose of yours isn't as busted as it looks." He complained, crouching down to check her out. "Stand still. Let me get a good look." He said, grabbing at her arms.
"Don't touch me, you traitor!" Kyuu growled as she slapped his hand away. "You stayed out late AND you told them where we lived! You knew that was against the rules!"
"Kyuu, I didn't tell them anything!" He angrily insisted. "They figured it out on their own."
"Yes, but you lead them here!" She said, punching him in the shoulder with what strength she had left. He winced from the blow and glared at her, fed up with her tantrum.
"Kyuu, I know you don't like seeing carnivores in this place, but you need to stop being so hardheaded. I did all this to help you! Lùn only attacked you because you overreacted!"
"You should listen to him, he's been your biggest defender, almost insufferably so," the brown/white-furred fox said standing behind them. "You should also be grateful. An Inarigumi elite usually doesn't take too kindly to threats on their lives."
"And just who are you supposed to be?" The sullen lagomorph growled, jabbing her finger at the brown fox.
"Kyuu, this is -" San quickly tried to explain, but the Arctic fox hybrid intervened for herself.
"I'm Priscilla, head of the Futekigo Clan. An elite within the Inarigumi. His girlfriend and the person who you threw a bloody knife at and almost killed. I believe we've met before under better circumstances I'm sure."
"But…aren't you supposed to be white-" The rabbit said, squinting at her curiously just to be sure it really was the Arctic fox. "You...you look different."
"So I've been told." Priscilla dryly replied.
"You didn't tell me she could change color!" Kyuu whispered angrily at her cellmate as if he had been withholding information.
"You never asked." He plainly replied.
"So what, you're gonna kill me now?" The rabbit said with an unflinching scowl. "Why don't you just stop wasting my time and do it already. You already stole him out of my life."
"Kyuu, that's not tru-" San started to shout at her.
"No, actually I'm gonna offer you a job," Priscilla said to the rabbit, cutting him off.
"What?!" Kyuu, San, and Lùn all asked in response simultaneously.
"I'm going to offer her a job, within the Inarigumi." The Arctic vixen repeated, more proper. "If you recall San, we had a conversation about employment earlier this morning. I had a place for you, I also had ideas for her."
"R-Right you did say that." The llama said, quietly remembering their breakfast conversation.
"Well, I was thinking that maybe she could put that violent nature of hers to good use and perhaps strengthen your idea of these two working more closely together.
"Together?" Both the lop and the Fennec hybrid asked in unison, both looking at the Arctic vixen with perplexed looks.
"Lùn, Flopsy here is going to train at the den with you from now on. San is going to be bringing her over with him."
The pygmy exploded at the news. "Me and her? N-No way! Hell no!" Kyuu slightly smiled at the little fox, knowing she probably was just putting on a show of resistance. She was certain the fox had a thing for her now.
"Not up for discussion," Priscilla said, putting her foot down. "You two are going to see each other a lot more now. Depending on how well you do in your next matches, that is. But I trust you two are resourceful enough to survive. Which is also why I'm offering Flopsy the opportunity to work as a contract worker." The bruised rabbit tilted her head up at the fox, a slight frown on her face. "You will be tasked with eliminating enemies of the Inarigumi, and you'll be well paid. I could probably scrounge up a job or two within the month."
"No," Kyuu said without hesitation.
Priscilla cocked her head curiously at the short herbivore. "No?" Even San was almost surprised by her rejection. He knew all too well what she was about to say next. "You know what you're passing up? I'm going to pay you to kill people."
"First off, my name is Kyuu, not Flopsy. Second, if you think some carnivore like you can just boss me around...you're sorely mistaken. You may have him under your thumb, but not me." The rabbit said, standing tall in front of the fox who easily towered over her.
"You got guts telling me no, I'll give you that," Priscilla said, grinning with her fangs out slightly at the little herbivore's unflinching nerve. "The offer however is still there should you want to take it."
"Whatever," Kyuu coldly said before walking off down the cell bay.
"Alright, uh" San chimed in. "I think the both of you two need medical attention. We have a first aid kit in the old infirmary. It's in the wing next to this one." He nervously offered. "Oh and Kyuu I got your monkey guy's fight on video. I can show it to you anytime you..." The rabbit kept walking not even acknowledging him. "Aaaaand...she's giving me the silent treatment. Great...just great. I told you, she'd be mad at me for staying out late."