The cafeteria was mostly empty, save for a few techs and ground crew seated together at one end, obviously enjoying a little down time until the midmorning shift began when the alpha patrol returned to be serviced and refuelled. Which meant that there were few eyes to be drawn to the two felines that slipped into through the double doors which connected to the rest of the base. Yet eyes that were still drawn, as much to the male panther as his tigress companion, both standing out a little in differently styled and dyed jackets and trousers that seemed almost alien compared with the camouflage uniforms worn by the regular officers, soldiers and techs alike. Outside of those uniforms in any other clothes they wouldn't have attracted any attention at all, just looking like any other of their species really. Even with Arty's striking white hair contrasting against his black fur as it flowed loosely around his face, or Mellissa with her unique markings especially the little arrow over her nose that matched perfectly the black of her hair and counterpoint to her white fur.
Still, those glances were more cursory now as opposed to the open curiosity openly displayed when they first arrived.
Taking the subtle attention in her stride Mellissa drags out her chair with a sigh, that latter sound echoing around the near empty cafeteria before the tigress quickly takes her chosen place at the small table set in the corner. A position which gives her a perfect view of Arty collecting two cups of coffee from the dispenser in the corner and cutting his way over to her, moving with the easy power and grace that comes naturally to a Panther .
'I'd say you look like you need this.' Arty said with a smile that drew one in return despite the little flutter in her stomach. 'But I don't think you really need something to keep you more alert.'
'That obvious is it?' Mellissa asked.
'To me?' Arty said with a sip of his coffee that became a grimace. 'Where do they get this muck? Anyway, yeah. its obvious. But that's okay. I'm nervous too. Yesterday wasn't that great a start to our little search, was it?'
'Not the best.' Mellissa admitted, taking a sip of her own coffee with a hesitance that proved justified, her muzzle twitching in distaste. 'Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon but...'
'I don't think so.' Arty shrugged. 'So, the first apartment we looked at wasn't right. I've got nothing against lizards and reptiles. Don't get me wrong. I just don't see why they had to keep live food around the place, especially huge bugs and spiders and things. Gives me the creeps really.'
'I know. It was bad enough seeing them crawling around in those boxes.' Mellissa replied with a shudder. 'Could you imagine if they actually got loose? Ick..doesn't bear thinking about.'
'I know. So let's not think about it. Third time is the charm, so I've heard. Now I know, the second wasn't so great either but could have been a lot worse. Could actually have been a household of insects.'
Mellissa couldn't help a smile crossing her lips, Arty always knowing what to say to make her smile. 'Which rates just a little bit worse than a household of gamers.'
'Hey. I'm a gamer.' Arty joked. 'So were my roommates at college. Thankfully we got on better than that lot did. I swear I don't think I heard an interaction between them that wasn't bickering or arguing.'
'Don't forget the actual swearing.' Mellissa reminded. 'I guess you could get used to it, but I think it would get very wearing very quickly.'
'Well..luckily we don't have too.' Arty reminded. 'Three o clock we said for the next viewing, didn't we? If you like I'll meet you out front around two and we can scoot down there, check it out. Luckily it's actually pretty close to the Barracks here so that's a plus, not much travelling time.'
'Well, we could do with a plus.' Mellissa nodded before finishing her cup of coffee hastily. 'I'll see you there. Don't be late now.'
'Don't you be late.' Arty teased with a grin. 'I've got a good feeling about this one.'
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Those words rang in Mellissa's ears as the tigress stepped out of the car a second behind Arty lingered a second to activate and confirm the locks on his sporty red pride and joy which sat cooling in the sunlight that gleamed off the polished hubcaps.
Even before she had had a chance to look around properly, it seemed Arty's feeling had been right on the nose, as the instincts of her panthine best friend often were. Certainly did look like a nice neighbourhood anyway, Mellissa reflected, even if a bit suburban with the small identically designed square yards out front, the potential monotony broken by the refreshingly varied selection of plants from one to another. Tall trees in bloom with fruit on one side. Low flowers waving in the sun on the other. And before her a neatly trimmed lawn that perfectly matched the smartly, and recently if she was any judge, house that stood before them.
'Not bad. Not bad at all.' Arty broke into her thoughts with just the words she had been thinking. 'Good location, that's for sure. Nice and close to the Barracks as well. Should make the commute a snap.'
'Not too far away from the centre either.' Mellissa agreed. 'And I'm sure there have to be some good local stores around here. Just to grab the essentials from. But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.'
'You sound enthused.' Arty smiled brightly. 'Can't argue with that. Still..we really should see the place. So, let's see it.'
'Agreed.' Mellissa said, striding towards the path a few strides ahead of Arty. Sure, she could have let him go first. Or stayed at his side. But something within her stuck to the idea of..well..taking the lead. This was her shout after all, her idea. And she couldn't exactly pass the buck.
So it was with that conviction she pressed the buzzer as soon as she was in reach, the steady firmness of her extended finger in counterpoint to the slight tremble in her heart. One that only grew as her sensitive ears picked up footfalls approaching the deep green door before them both. Taking a deep breath Mellissa glanced at Arty almost as if to say 'here goes' but also to check how he seemed. Outwardly he looked calm enough, but likely she did too. It was just...
'Hello there. You must be Mellissa and Artyom. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. A small chore crept up on me.'
'Don't worry about it.' Mellissa replied, her eyes fixing on the wolf who had opened the door. Casually but neatly dressed in loose t-shirt splashed with a sporting logo and plain cream trousers, his grey fur styled and smoothed, twisted into a small goatee beneath his chin. 'You didn't. We spoke on the phone earlier? Kaven yes?'
'That's me.' The wolf replied with a toothy grin. 'Please, come in. I'll show you around.'
'That's the lounge through there.' Kaven pointed to the room directly to the left as the door clicked shut behind them. 'Nothing very grand but it's big anyway. Even for five people. It's actually huge for the three of us. The whole place is. That's kinda why we are looking for a couple more bods around the place.'
'Having a few more people to help out with the bills can't hurt either.' Mellissa held back a frown at bods, something about that choice of word not sitting quite right for some reason. But maybe that was just her general anxiety raising its head again.
'Can't say that isn't a reason. Not that we don't have that covered ourselves. Anyway, I'd introduce you to the others but I'm afraid they just popped out, running a few bags of trash down to the collection site.' Kaven continued without drawing attention to Mellissa's discomfort. 'Usually we'd just dump it outside but it's quite big and I'd rather not have four bags of beer cans and crisp packets and paper plates outside for a week.'
'Had a big party last night?' Arty asked.
'More like a small party.' Kaven answered. 'At least on the drinking front. None of us like getting hammered. Not when we can be the ones doing the hammering.'
'I'm sorry. I..I'm sorry?' Mellissa asked.
'Yeah.' Kaven nodded. 'It takes people like that. Still, we just love the lifestyle really. You know, invite some friends round, maybe some new friends, and just..let it all hang out. If someone isn't going down on it.'
'Wait..you mean..you guys..this place is..' Arty asked, sounding a stunned as Mellissa looked.
'A place that runs wild sex parties? Sure is.' Kevan grinned. 'Is that going to be a problem?'
Mellissa and Arty shared a stunned glance before they both answered in unison. 'Yes!'
-------------------------------
'Well..that was unexpected.' Arty said with a chuckle as soon as the door closed well..kinda slammed..behind them in the haste with which Mellissa left the house. Although stormed might have been a better word. She wasn't exactly fuming but neither was she happy. And it was only through rigid control of not wanting to snap at her friend that prevented that.
'You can't find this funny.' Mellissa said, hoping she sounded more exasperated than angry. He didn't deserve her anger. Neither did the wolf they had just abruptly walked away from, but right now Mellissa was more than happy to focus at least some of it on them.
'Oh come on. It's a little funny.' Arty grinned. 'Kinda awkward I know but a little funny too.'
'Well..I guess.' Mellissa relented a little, her shock and anger placated by Arty's relaxed attitude. 'Just..it wasn't what I was expecting. And certainly not something I'm comfortable with. Neither are you I'm guessing.'
'Maybe if I knew them better.' Arty grinned again. 'Or if it was someone I knew better. Several someone's I know better. I dunno. But right now and right here, I'm not either.'
'Which makes us zero for three.' Mellissa sighed as she walked back over to the car.
'Yeah.' Arty joined her, unlocking the doors with a click of the remote. 'But not out yet. We still have that flat Samantha mentioned.'
'Yeah.' Mellissa nodded. 'I guess we do.'
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Normally Mellissa wasn't exactly a fur to throw herself into paperwork of any sort, but right now she was glad of the distraction. And distractions weren't exactly easy to come by at the Barracks for the moment, even the main war room where she had easily snagged a seat at the circular table of polished steel which dominated over the discrete terminals set into the plain grey walls, barely noticed by the couple of junior officers as she spread the collection of tables and lists and requisition forms out before her. Inventories and equipment resupply wasn't exactly a job that came natural to the tigress; she would much rather be out in the field or even on patrol in the city than here. Yet as they often did at unexpected times and despite the distance between them, her mother's words leapt almost unbidden into her mind.
'An officer must sometimes do duty she would rather not do. It comes with wearing that uniform.'
Mellissa chose to allow those words to echo around her head like the whisper of the past they were, instead of cling to the still somewhat raw memory of the argument they had before she left. It would be all to easy to get swept up in that train of thought and wrestle with that argument in her absence. If she really wanted to argue that more with her she should do it person not cowardly do so when she can't defend herself.
besides, she has work to do right now as tedious as it might be. At least she had avoided the temptation to dump it on the first junior officer she saw who seemed to at something of a loose end. It's not like Arty is dodging his inspection detail or Alice shirking her roster planning, so she could hardly do any less. So, she had better get....
Brriinggg. Brriinggg.
Surprised by the sudden and shrill clamouring of the phone across the table from her, Mellissa snagged the receiver from the cradle almost without thinking, fully expecting to take an external call for someone trying to find either Hitomi or another senior officer. So she couldn't have been more surprised by the voice she heard on the other end.
'Hello?'
'Hiya, sexy tigress. Just your favourite vixen here.'
'Samantha.' Mellissa couldn't help smiling in genuine pleasure, her mind conjuring up the image of the striking vixen she had met at the city archives reclining at her leisure with the phone held casually against her ear. 'This is a surprise. Especially since I didn't exactly tell you where I worked.'
'I'm good at surprises. And I have my sources.' Mellissa could almost hear her grinning on the other end of the phone. 'Besides, their aren't many tigress' in the city's military. And you and your team are kinda the hot thing around right now. But that's not why I'm calling. I was just curious to see how the house hunting is going.'
Samantha must have read something into the way Mellissa paused because she spoke again before Mellissa could. 'That well, huh? Still, luckily for you that place I mentioned is still available. ** Want me to make a call and set up a time for you to visit?'
Mellissa didn't even have to think before replying. 'I would like that.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Two guards. No problem.' That softly muttered phrase flowed from the lithe figure crouched with literal feline agility atop the narrow wall surrounding the military base that said figure now surveyed. 'No reason to have more I suppose, not this far inside the city. Still, that works for me. I can be in and out before they notice I'm here.'
Putting those words, words most likely spoken in aloud thought rather to a third party, the figure leapt down, loose brown tunic flapping in the wind to land in a crouch which turned into a low sprint behind a stack of battered crates. From there a glance was all it needed to Carry the figure in a series of calculated dashes from cover to cover, ducking behind trucks, jeeps, barrels and sheds, all of which lead to a sturdy metal door secured and locked by a keypad.
Anyone watching would have been forgiven for believing said door might prove a impassable barrier. Yet that was not to be, the figure extending a paw and after a moment of silent concentration letting dexterous fingers fly over the keypad which yielded with a charm before the door opened willingly. A door through which the figure slipped without looking back.
Barely had said door closed than the mysterious figure was on the move again, moving with a purpose and direction almost unfaltering in its certainty. Even the way the stranger ducked into doorways or around corners to avoid the scant few people who slipped past without being aware of the presence of another who didn't belong seemed almost preplanned or foreseen, this odd foresight carrying the figure to a door almost like any other around it. One that yielded as easily as the first, clicking softly closed again to reveal the sign which read 'digital records room.'
Digital records no doubt held on the large bank of computers lining the rear wall, the large terminal screen waiting for a user to input his or her ID and password. A security measure which no doubt would have foxed any usual intruder. But did nothing here. Advancing on the terminal with paw outstretched, the figure after barely a seconds concentration tapped out and entered a combination of letters and numbers quickly yielding access to the once secured system.
'Now..let's see. Record search...record search. Here we go. Desert operations. Construction projects..no..new facility reconnaissance..no..water mining and collection..no....sites of historical interest...that's more like it. Now..let's see if you've found it.'
-----
'Come on. What's wrong with you?' Mellissa scowled at the computer terminal that she had planned to simply check a few figures on but instead was being nothing but stubborn. Something proved as the simple tap of a command again displayed the same frustrating error message. 'How can I already be logged in? I'm right here for heavens sake. Unless...did I not log out again when I popped into the records rom? Guess it couldn't hurt to check. I can't exactly do much here.'
Her paperwork abandoned where it lay, Mellissa made a bee line straight for the aforementioned records room, intending simply to drop in, check the terminal she used and either get back to work or in the worst case, track down someone from the tech division. Plans that took a hit the second she walked through the door, the latch yielding with a soft click.
'What the..' Mellissa exclaimed, brought bolt upright by the sight of the white furred feline leaning over the terminal she had been using, barely catching a flash of the green markings on her ears before she spun to face her. It was only then that her eyes went wide with recognition, the mere sight of her catapulting her back to the first time she had seen her in the ancient city. 'Hey..it's you. But what are you...ahhhh!'
Instinct took over at the same time as that surprised cry, one paw thrown up to cover her eyes against the sudden blinding flash that filled the room. One that faded just as quickly as it appeared, leaving Mellissa blinking furiously, her vision clearing in a few long seconds by which time the room was empty with no sign of the intruder.
'Hey. Are you alright?' That question arrived as sharply as Arty did, the panther almost barreling into the close room with his sidearm drawn. 'I heard you cry out. Is something wrong?'
'I..don't know.' Mellissa admitted slowly. 'It was...she was here. The feline. The one we all saw months ago.'
'You mean before that giant rock monster attacked us?' Arty holstered his sidearm reluctantly. 'I guess we should be glad the building is still here.'
'I don't think she meant us harm.' Mellissa replied. 'This time or that. I think she was looking for something.'
'Well..that's great.' Arty said with a sigh. 'Any idea what?'
'No.' Mellissa glanced at the still active computer terminal. 'But I think I know where to start.'
