Renee's ears twitched as the whistle for the end of the work day blew. She finished checking off
the last row of crates that had been unloaded from the last truck and left her clipboard on her desk.
The warehouse was beginning to clear out as workers were finally able to take a few moments to
relax before making their way to the staff rooms and exits.
Renee's office was small and elevated, perfect for someone of her stature to be able to monitor
the situation as deliveries came and went without getting underfoot of the larger employees and
lifter trucks on the floor below. She usually preferred to wait until most or all of the others had left
before making her own exit for that reason.
For the ten minutes she waited reclined in her chair, she flicked through her phone, her thumb
drawing to the message app with a shaky sense of guilt and longing. With a sigh, she put her phone
down. It had been almost two weeks since she'd last seen Firros, and the cheetah had only made
one attempt to contact her in that time. It had been a simple text, asking if she was okay. When she
had replied with an equally simple yes, it was as though his obligation to check up on her was
fulfilled, and nothing more had passed between them.
As she stood from the chair behind her desk and stretched her limbs, she became aware of
someone still inside on the floor. A raccoon man she didn't recognize, dressed in a uniform she did.
He was evidently a member of the company's security tasked with monitoring the cameras that
watched the warehouses and the docks they were attached to both on the water and on the roads
outside.
She pocketed her wallet and phone and stepped out of her office, beginning to walk down the
stairs slowly as she acknowledged the stranger. 'Hello there.' She began. 'You're in the security wing
over by the north edge, right?'
'I am indeed.' The raccoon nodded, his green eyes meeting the blue of hers. His hair was dyed
silver, only the roots remaining a visible black where he had combed it backwards. 'So, a productive
day was had I see.'
'Did you come here for small talk?' Renee raised an eyebrow and stopped just short of the
bottom step. 'I thought maybe you spied one of my workers pocketing something they shouldn't
have?'
'Oh, if they did? I missed it.' The man shrugged with a small grin. 'I was far too busy trying to catch
glimpses of those pretty eyes of yours.'
'You're...' Renee felt her voice catch as the raccoon's words sunk in. 'Y-you're flirting with me?!'
He lowered his gaze for a moment and seemed to sombre up. 'Is it a bad time? Or do you already
have someone?'
'Well...' Renee ran the words of her last conversation with Firros through her mind. 'No, not really
in any official capacity. I was just... flirting, myself, I guess. But he made it clear that we can't
happen.'
'So... officially single?' The raccoon's grin returned. 'In that case, my name is Dezmond. Just Dez if
you like.'
'Well, hi Dez.' Renee bowed a small bow and stepped off the last step onto the floor. 'I'm Renee.'
'Very nice to meet you.' Dez returned the bow and took a step closer. He was noticeably taller
than the rabbit was, with the top of her head only making a little over two thirds of the raccoon's
own height. He was not as imposing as a cheetah of course, but for a smaller person like her he still
carried a significant presence.
'So how did I catch your eye?' Renee asked, stepping slightly to the side to glimpse the man's tail
and how far back his hair was combed. It stopped short of his shoulders, and then he turned on the
spot so that she was looking at his other side.
'Oh, I've been noticing you for a while.' Dez replied. 'A smart, strong rabbit in control of a whole
warehouse. Even got your own setup for late nights here on the job.'
'Well yea, it's safer than trying to go home most of the time.' Renee shrugged. 'So, is there
something you wanna ask me or are you just gonna try and keep me here flirting until after eight?'
'I don't want to hold you up.' Dez shook his head. 'But I did want to ask if you're free this
weekend or sometime soon?'
Renee hesitated. She had expected this, but it was still not something she was really prepared to
respond to. If the raccoon was leaving the time and day up to her, chances are he was being genuine
about the ask. But of course, he could just as easily be a long game hunter. She would still need to
be careful. 'Uhh... I might be able to manage a mid-morning or an early afternoon?' She managed to
reply after a few long seconds.
'Let's swap phone numbers.' Dez suggested, slipping his phone out of his pocket. 'Most of my
shifts are on the same schedule as yours, so I should be free almost anytime you are.'
'Sounds good.' Renee nodded, glad that the conversation was drawing to a natural conclusion.
She felt no ill will towards the raccoon, but she had not expected to be asked out and was having a
hard time keeping her racing heart and mind under control. When they met up again, she would
definitely be on her game.
'Well then...' Dez smiled as their phones beeped, automatically adding contact details to each
other with only a moment of being tapped together. 'I guess I will see you... another time.'
'That you will.' Renee smiled. Dez offered a small polite nod as he turned and headed towards the
exit. Renee gave him a few minutes head start while she gathered her thoughts, then made her own
way out and locked the door behind her.
* * *
Two days passed, with the weekend on approach Renee was getting more and more excited to
see Dez once again. She had not heard from Firros in that time and had refrained from sending any
messages of her own. The cheetah had been close to the brink of losing control with her after her
last visit, so she reasoned it was best to leave him be and let him decide when he wanted to talk
again.
In the meantime, Dez presented a more realistic opportunity for a relationship with a predator.
The two of them were definitely closer in size, which granted the dual benefits of making her more
difficult prey for him and making them sexually compatible with each other. Assuming that was his
interest of course. She couldn't deny the thrill of being in a relationship with a biological carnivore,
as Firros had described, the hunter's instinct was an almost tangible force in the back of a predator's
mind. She had awoken the wrong kind of appetite in Firros with her flirting, as he had put it. But
would someone nearer her size have the same compulsion?
Friday afternoon was finally upon them, and the thoughts swirling through her mind had not
stopped the entire time. As she prepared to close up, she heard the tell-tale buzz of an incoming
message on her phone from her pocket. As she removed the phone from her jeans and read the
message, she felt her nerves suddenly begin to crumble.
Can you send me your address so I can pick you up? It was from Dez. But the implication that he
would be her ride home was an unsettling one. She had a good impression of the guy, but it was
their first date and he was a carnivore. Putting her trust in him entirely seemed unwise no matter
how much she wanted to see him. But what could she say at this point?
After a few more seconds of thought, she replied to him. Sure, but what's the plan?
His reply was almost immediate, suggesting he'd thought to type it almost immediately after his
first message went through and had sent it at the same time as her reply. We'll be going to
Smalltown Nightlife. It's a club designed for people like us. Hunting is off limits so we'll both be safe.
She raised an eyebrow at the name of his chosen venue. It sounded familiar, somewhere she'd
heard of somewhere at least. A quick search on her phone confirmed his explanation. A nightclub
designated as a safe zone even during hunting hours.
Sounds fantastic. She sent her last reply, followed by her address and an approximate time that
she would be ready. With nothing else to be done here, she closed up and headed home.
From what she could ascertain in her brief research of Smalltown Nightlife, it was a somewhat
formal place that offered meals, numerous recreational facilities and overnight accommodation. She
had just finished tying back and straightening her hair after a longer than usual shower where she
made sure every inch of her fur and hair was spotless. After a few minutes of internal debate, she
also trimmed her claws, but only on her hands. It was half an hour until Eight, and the first time in
months she'd planned to be outside home during hunting hours.
Having opted to leave the claws of her toes sharp, she decided to wear her favourite pair of
formal shoes. Being low heeled and narrow, or at least narrow for a rabbit's foot, they would tie in
well with the blue shoulder dress she had also chosen and would slip off easily enough if she needed
to move quickly. She doubted that Dez had nefarious intentions, but it never hurt to be cautious in
case the pair found themselves in trouble. After packing a small overnight bag, she reassured herself
that she was really doing this and fixed herself a small shot of bourbon to try and calm her
increasingly shaky nerves.
When she was ready, she sent the message. It was less than ten minutes before she heard the
knock at her door. As she opened it, she laid eyes on Dez looking far fancier than in his simple
security uniform. His suit was a dark maroon in colour, pulled over a white undershirt that
accentuated the white fringes of his own cheek and tail fur. His hair was parted and combed into a
low hanging bang that slightly obscured his right eye.
'Oh wow...' She breathed. 'You look amazing.'
'You're quite the well-dressed bunny yourself.' Dez replied, bowing slightly and holding his hand
out for hers. She stepped out and pulled her door closed behind herself. Her movements were shaky
and hasty as she did so, betraying her nervousness despite her best attempts to seem in control.
'A-alright.' She nodded after a deep breath. 'I'm ready.'
'Excellent.' Dez nodded, leading her to his car on the street. He drove a simple sedan of metallic
blue sized for cats and larger mustelids. The seats were technically too large for her, but she was
able to climb in and sit regardless as he opened the passenger door for her. She felt like a child in the
large seat, and found herself stifling a laugh as he climbed into the driver's seat beside her. 'I'll spare
you the embarrassment of a seat adapter, but if we get pulled over, tell the officer that we forgot it
after I picked you up.'
'Sounds good.' She replied. Despite not being quite tall enough to see out the windows, she could
not hide her sense of thrill at her first car ride. While she had lived in the city for almost a year now
and a smaller town most of her life before that, this was the first time she had actually been in a car.
They weren't practical for someone her size in Leona City, and she'd never been able to afford one in
her hometown. As Dez drove to the end of the road and turned left, the approach to the central
district and its numerous skyscrapers could be seen even from her lower position in the passenger
seat.
'Ever been out after dark?' Dez asked her. The sun had set mere minutes ago, with it now being
less than fifteen minutes until official hunting hours would begin.
'Not for a couple weeks now.' She replied. 'I used to stay with Firros sometimes, but he made it
apparent that wasn't a good thing to be doing regularly.'
'At least he was nice enough to tell you before he ate you.' Dez shrugged with a small smile. 'It's
actually pretty unusual for a predator to do that. You said he was a cheetah?' He made another turn,
pulling into the motorway that would take smaller vehicles like his above the main roads sized for
leopard and lion sized vehicles. The infrastructure had existed for the smaller breeds of cat even
before Equality, so all that was new about this road was the onramp from several of the newer
districts.
'Yea.' Renee nodded. 'I grew up watching Delarys Vayne music videos. Seeing the way they can
move just...' She trailed off with a sigh, realizing she needed to stop before she started missing Firros
even more than she already was.
'Oh, you naughty bunny.' Dez laughed. 'Cheetahs are the least aggressive big cat. Unless they
decide that you're their food.'
'Yea, I never realized how difficult I was making things for him.' Renee sighed. 'I wanted to think
we were friends, even though I knew what usually happened between our species.'
'That size difference.' Dez remarked. 'Even if he wanted to be your friend too, the instinct paired
with how easy it would be for him to... well. You were in more danger there than he was. But you
don't have to worry about that from me.'
'Is that so?' Renee grinned. 'Well, what's a relationship without a little bit of danger?'
'I...' Dez trailed off, realizing he had begun to speak before completing the thought. 'Huh. I never
expected to hear someone like you say that.'
'Someone like me?' Renee laughed. 'I told you I was flirting with a cheetah and you're still
surprised that I'd be attracted to danger?'
'Well, I just meant it's unusual for someone in your position to be so bold.' Dez shrugged. 'I never
meant to imply that I was harmless, I just didn't want you to think of me that way.'
Renee was silent after this, but didn't lose the smile that had been on her face for almost the
entire conversation. After a few seconds her gaze panned back to the window of the car and she
could see that they were approaching the central district in earnest. Skyscrapers were around them
now, illustrating the full extent of felid architectural might. The smaller nations had never matched
the infrastructure of their larger rivals before, with only the canids daring to challenge the felids'
mastery over civilization and structure.
The car ride took another twenty minutes, and there were only a few other motorists on the final
approach as Dez made the last turnoff towards the upper carpark of a building much wider than any
of its neighbours. With the sun now well and truly set, the lights made the structure seem brilliant
even when compared to the rare sight of the night sky.
Once they pulled inside, she saw rows of cars neatly arranged beside one another filling this level
and realized that this was only the parking lot. While she had lived in this city for months, the true
scale of its infrastructure was only now becoming apparent as she realized the sheer scale of the
place and the number of its citizens was far more expansive than anything she had been prepared
for.
Dez pulled into one of the empty spaces and turned the car's engine off. 'We're here.' He
announced with a small grin.
'Stop trying to scare me.' Renee retorted playfully. 'We're going on this date and you can't talk
me out of it.'
Dez responded with a soft playful growl and leaned over to her seat. 'Don't make me rough up
that pretty blue dress this early.' He grinned and then planted a quick small kiss on her cheek. 'Come
on, there's a lot to this place and I want to show you around.'
Once they were out of the car, with Renee still blushing through her fur, Dez led her by one hand
towards the large doorway opposite the driveway they had come in from. The doors slid open
automatically and revealed an area of polished timber wall panelling and a small reception desk with
an elevator several metres either side of it. Behind the desk sat a lynx woman, instantly firing up
Renee's nerves again.
'Hello there.' The woman greeted them through black hair and yellow eyes, giving Renee a brief
glance before deciding that Dez was in control of the booking and smiling the same forced smile any
customer service worker was forced to wear. 'Do you have a booking?'
'I do.' Dez replied. He released Renee's hand and lifted his wallet from his pants pocket, slipping
the lynx a small piece of paper that looked like a receipt, at the same time eying her name tag.
'Booking 726. Cerel. Are you new to this?'
'Only the reception.' The lynx nodded. 'I needed a break from the kitchen. Would you like to go
straight to your room, or do you plan to visit another area first?'
'I think we'll head down to the dining area first.' Dez replied. He placed his own bag on the desk
to the woman's left and gestured for Renee to do the same.
'No problem.' Cerel nodded again. 'I'll get these taken up, and you can stop by here when you're
ready and I'll have your room key for you. Enjoy your stay at Smalltown Nightlife.'
'Thank you.' Dez nodded in return.
'Yes, t-thank you.' Renee managed to repeat as Dez held out a hand again. She fell in beside hm as
he headed towards one of the elevators. After he hit the call button, there was a moment of silent
awkwardness as Renee took a deep breath.
'Still nervous?' Dez asked softly.
'I was...' Renee breathed deep again. 'I just wasn't ready to see a big cat here. It's after dark, and I
just stood in front of a lynx for a solid minute without dying...'
'She's under contract.' Dez explained. 'Not for just for her job. Places like this are a bit more
serious than just that. If she broke her employment contract and consumed a patron of this place,
she could face prosecution. Not many places can afford to enforce contracts like that in this city, but
Smalltown happens to be one of the few that can. Like I said, we're both safe here.'
'Right...' Renee grinned and nodded. 'So... what are we-'
She was interrupted by the chime of the elevator followed by the doors smoothly sliding open.
'You'll see.' Dez answered. 'This night is only beginning...'
