Night on the Town, 2

"Charl? Charl, wake up."

Wrapped in the warm embrace of blankets, Charl the panther had little inclination to get up. The gentle touch of sleep had been kind that night, blessing him with soft dreams and kind images. So when the gentle female voice spoke to him early that morning, it was only natural for him to respond as if it were part of his dream.

"Mmm, baby, I like it when you swing your tail that way." His murmur was accompanied with a soft puff of breath.

"Excuse me!?" The voice exclaimed before erupting into laughter. "Charl! Get up! Do you know what time it is?"

Charl fought viciously to remain asleep. "Time for me to keep sleeping?"

"Wrong answer." Charl could feel someone pushing gently against his blanket-covered shoulder.

"Com'on dear, It's getting close to mid-morning. Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"

"No better place to be than here, hon," the panther murmured.

The other furson in the room went quiet for a few moments, leading Charl to believe that he successfully staved off the assault on his sleep. His ears twitched though, turning in the direction where the voice was coming from as he heard soft steps along the carpet. The end of his comforter flipped upward and exposed his bare footpaws to the air. In the second that he realized what was happening, he could feel something cold and wet being pressed to the pads of his feet.

"Aieee!" Charl exclaimed, yanking his legs back under the covers. "What was that?"

"The ice water that I was drinking," said his giggling reply.

Charl wiggled his footpads against his leg to warm them up, still groggy. "It was cold," he muttered. The panther heard a sigh followed by the sound of a cup being placed on the dresser at the side of the bed.

"Hieeeeeyaaa!" He heard the female voice cry just before her pounce landed on him.

Charl gasped at the sudden added weight and struggled under the blanket, complaining with a growl.

Another growl accompanied his as he felt himself being tucked tighter and tighter within the covers and the end being thrown over his head.

"Alendra! Have you gone mad?" Charl said, struggling but unable to keep from laughing. "Get off of me!"

The female voice was laughing also. "I asked you nicely!"

"Yes, but I was sleeping nicely too!"

"Do you think I'm going to let you sleep when you finally have a day off?"

"I thought it was going to be a nice way to start!" Charl felt a cold handpaw reach into the blanket and rest against his bare bellyfur. "Aaagh! That's cold!"

"Are you up now?" Alendra sing-songed, giggling at his reaction.

Charl wiggled his head under the blanket. "I can't see."

"What do you need to see for? I didn't ask if you could see, I asked if you were up!"

He snorted under the blanket. "Well, I guess I am now!"

"Good!" Alendra exclaimed. She gently rubbed her paw over his taunt belly. "Mm, I like this."

Charl mock-grumbled at her, "Well, I like sleep." He could feel her fingers standing on end, resting just below the right side of his ribcage.

"Now," Alendra whispered, the sound heavy with the gentle pants of her breath, "are you going to get up or am I going to have to start tickling?"

The panther male twitched under the blanket, but she held him fast. The slightest hint of a poke was enough to excise any ideas of escaping. "Okay, okay. I'm up."

"Good!" Alendra purred, pulling the covers from over Charl's eyes.

The panther flicked his ears back and forth and blinked up at Alendra as the light hit him. She wore the second smuggest smile he'd ever seen on her dark-furred muzzle. Alendra was a panther, as was he, but her feminine shape definitely set her apart. Her melanistic fur was the color of night, and Charl saw stars anytime he looked in her eyes. She leveled a toothy smile at him, not bothering to hide fang with its broadness. The last drops of resistance trickled from Charl as he gazed up her.

"Mm, look what I caught," she purred.

"You would have been a fantastic hunt mistress," Charl purred back.

Alendra gently kissed the side of his muzzle before nuzzling it in. "For luck," she said, as always.

Charl smiled and gently kissed back. "You always say that after you do that."

"Do what?"

"Kiss me, and then nuzzle it in. Why?"

Alendra laughed. "What? I've explained it a million times."

"Indulge me," Charl whispered. He pinned his ears back and tried to look as cute as possible.

Alendra tapped the end of his nose with a pawfinger. "Mum says that nuzzling in a kiss shows you mean it."

Charl let his head turn to the side, "Aww, that's so sweet." Now it was his turn to grin toothily at her. "What else does mum say?" He asked, brows rising and falling in suggestive fashion.

Alendra gently wiggled her fingers into his side. "Mum also says don't tease if you're ticklish."

Charl tried to turn sideways, but could do little outside of giggle briefly. "Okay, okay." As her hand fell still again, he relaxed with a happy sigh. "I just think it's cute when you start with the 'Mum says' stuff." He felt her fingers start to twitch again and quickly added, "No, seriously! I love you for it."

"Mm, really?" Alendra said, the gentle hint of skepticism touching her voice.

Charl nodded emphatically. "So, you worked out this morning, hm?"

"What was your first clue, dear heart?"

"Well," Charl said, "you smell like the gym, you're much stronger than I remember, and you're frisky this morning."

Alendra gently slid from atop him and onto the other side of the large bed. She snuggled against his warm body, using the hand wrapped about his belly to pull herself closer into a snug. Charl purred at the affectionate contact and watched the panther femme move over him. He craned his neck forward and let his muzzle brush along her neck. "And you're wearing that gym outfit that I got you."

"I thought it'd be a nice surprise," Alendra said, her voice soft, "seeing as how you're normally gone when I get up in the morning."

"Yes," Charl said, "it was a nice surprise. I don't think I ever got a chance to see you wear it."

"Well, now you have," Alendra replied, "and yes, I did have a good workout this morning."

"I'm happy to hear it. You are stronger, really."

"You think so?"

"A fantastic hunt mistress for certain."

"You're sweet, Charl," Alendra purred him, resting her ears against the side of her head with a smile.

It was at this point Charl noticed that she'd managed to drag the blanket's end such that it rested under her body. He tugged at his arms again, but they were still firmly pinned. "You did that on purpose."

"Did what?" Alendra asked.

"You're still lying on the blanket." He wiggled. "I can't move."

His female companion giggled. "Are you complaining?"

Charl thought about this. "Mm, not really. Though I thought you might want to get up and have some breakfast or something. You know? Since you got me up and all."

Alendra pushed her neck closer to his ear, nipping at it until Charl was helpless with purrs. "Actually, seeing as how this must be a special occasion for you to be off, I thought we might wash up first, and then eat a little something."

Charl liked the sound of that. "Mm, I'm going to have to invest in a larger fur-dryer."

"Uh-huh," Alendra said, shifting a little closer to drape one leg over him. "So, what's the occasion?"

"The what?" Charl said. He was busy looking at the leg.

"What are you doing home? I thought you'd be working still."

"Ah, well, that," Charl said, swallowing, "well, the bureau gave me the day off. I'd been working hard you know."

Alendra nodded her head, mostly unseen due to their body positions. "I'm sure that they could spare their best systems analyst for a day or two."

Charl smiled, but said nothing. Due to the nature of his work, it was necessary to keep the truth of his job from Alendra. As far as she knew, he was a just systems analyst that worked on the twenty-second floor of the Investigations Bureau's headquarters. To her, he woke every morning at five-thirty to get on the roads before six for the hour-long drive to the office complex. Charl looked at the ceiling in thought. It was not, he continually told himself, that Alendra couldn't handle the real nature of his IB duties. She was as strong of mind as he was, and might even make a decent intelligence operative herself. But what purpose would it serve to tell his mate that his days were measured in the number of times he almost gets himself killed? Charl told himself that he didn't want her to worry, but the reality was that he didn't want to worry himself.

"Hey, you spacing out on me?"

Charl gave her a wry look. "What do you want me to do? I'm all tied up here."

Alendra smiled at him. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do." She rubbed his belly gently as she spoke in a soft voice. "I'm going to let you go, and then slowly get up and walk around the corner and start the showerheads. I'm going to take off my clothes, and then you," she accented her words with a gentle scoring of claws across his belly, "are going to get up and join me."

"I like the sound of that," Charl said, a low chuckle accenting his voice.

Alendra winked at him, and Charl watched her move in that slow, sensuous manner she was adept at. As the blankets relaxed, the panther reached for the handpaw that rested on his belly and gave it a gentle squeeze. Alendra smiled and slipped away from him, stealing around the corner. Charl stretched to the ceiling as he heard water begin trickling onto the shower's tile floor. He tossed the covers aside and rose, letting his tail swing freely behind him. From the bathroom door, he could see Alendra's handpaw beckoning him around the corner. Charl grinned and went over to join her, both of them engaging in a little more unplanned fun.

The shower took a little longer than either expected, but Charl and Alendra were not complaining. In fact, they weren't saying much at all. After the shower, breakfast seemed like the logical next step. Their handpaws were busy with the preparation of breakfast, but as they swept around the kitchen, they passed each other coy looks and caressed each other with their tails. Charl leaned over Alendra's shoulder and inhaled the deep aroma of frying breakfast meat as she cooked it.

"Mmm, smells heavenly."

"Why thank you, dear," Alendra purred.

Charl hugged her around the waist. "Yes, you smell good too love."

The panthress shook her head with a smile. "You never said you liked the smell of fried PMP before."

"PMP?" Charl asked.

"Processed Meat Product," Alendra said, flipping the browning patties as they sizzled, "PMP is what all the kids are calling it these days. Slang, you know."

"I guess I don't," Charl said with a feigned smile, "after all, I am in an office all day."

"I suppose so," Alendra mused. "Go turn on the videoscreen so we can listen to the news while we eat."

Charl mock-whimpered at her. "Aww? I don't get to silently bask in the glow of your presence as we eat?" He traced the outline of her hips with his handpaws, purring softly in her ear.

"I always listen to the news in the morning," Alendra said, "how else am I going to keep up with what's going on in the world?"

"There's always Ikara-net?" Charl suggested.

"Too crowded, and not as reliable. I'd much rather see Pellician Update," she glanced over her shoulder, "something more reputable, you know?"

"Oh, I suppose," Charl said, reluctant to release his warm embrace. "I just think that the news has become far too sensationalized to be useful. I mean really, what does it matter if you know every murder that happens in the city?"

Alendra's voice became soft and somewhat heavier. "I'd think that there are obvious reasons why we'd want to be concerned, hon."

Charl gave her a gentle squeeze around the waist and left to activate the videoscreen in the living room. Despite their relatively safe location on the outskirts of Winter Parkland, Alendra's fear was more legitimate than Charl wished he could let on. Common knowledge and a few unsolicited mails from the Society for the Protection of Predators Everywhere made it clear that carnivores living in the area could be in danger. The SPPE was fond of calling Winter Parkland 'the most dangerous herbie den' on Pellicia. Though law enforcement tried valiantly, it was clear that mob thought could not be stopped in time if some group decided they were going to make an example of an unsuspecting carnivore.

The panther turned on the videoscreen without a word. It was the kind of thing Alendra and he didn't talk about. It was not an incapability to discuss the matter. Rather, it was a concerted effort to keep spirits high without acknowledging the omnipresent threat that could possibly cost them their lives at any unknown moment. Charl didn't like to think that way, and love demanded that he not encourage Alendra to think that way either. Some primal logic said that if the fear was not given a name, it might not exist. So the couple went on, pretending that there was not a shard of concern for the unpredictable twists life could take due to their dietary preference.

"Charl-hon, would you mind setting the table while I finish up?"

Charl flipped through the channels to get to Pellician Update. "Sure thing. Just let me set the volume. Can you hear it okay in there?"

Alendra's voice came back to him from around the corner. "Sounds fine."

Charl turned his back on the screen and went into the cabinet to find some plates. He found a pair that he deemed 'not-too-dirty', and started to set them out. He was about to go for some silverware when Alendra started talking to him.

"Oh, that's interesting," she mused aloud.

"Huh?"

"They're talking about some operation that the IB had the other night. Know anything about that?"

Charl felt his flesh tighten and the fur of his arms rise. He walked into the living room after putting the utensils down and peered at the videoscreen. Nighttime concealed the majority of the image, but it was easy to make out the swirling blue and red lights of the Investigations Bureau's vans. The hanging sign of the Windsor Patch Club seemed ethereal under the flickering lights, and several bystanders of indeterminate species watched the parade before them. Fursons swathed in dark combat gear led a steady stream of cuffed herbivores from a building and herded them into the transport trucks. Charl gave himself a quiet pat on the back that he'd managed to get out of the scene before there was time to be caught on camera. Shaking off the eerie feeling of watching, he tried to tune into what was being said over the images.

"…a daring operation by the Investigations Bureau. Officials from IB claim that this most recent strike is a significant victory over Anti-Predation Party progress. Though they are not releasing specific information about the sting, they did collect a significant amount of evidence."

"Thank goodness," Alendra said, exhaling a long sigh.

Charl jumped. He was so busy listening that he didn't notice her coming to stand next to him. "Yes," he said in a soft voice, "real progress."

"Did I frighten you," the panther femme asked, rubbing his back.

Charl chuckled wanly. "Just a bit. I was distracted, I guess."

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"

Alendra's question backed Charl into that small corner he hated - the one where he had to lie. "No, had no clue at all," he said. His tail flicked up and down behind him.

"None whatsoever?" Alendra did notice his tail.

Charl shook his head, then shrugged. "Nope. None. Well - not really. I mean, I may have analyzed some kind of data for this, but not known what it was for. Or passed along a folder or something." He looked at Alendra, hoping his coolness would leave no further question. "Nothing dangerous at least."

The female panther took his arm and hugged herself to him, looking at the videoscreen. "That's good," she said, sighing.

"Hey," Charl asked, turning to hug her, "are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Alendra said in a voice that hinted otherwise. "I just get a little concerned when I hear things like this. I worry about backlash."

"Backlash is just as illegal, dear heart," Charl tried to comfort, reaching for a remote control. "the current climate getting far too serious for fursons to play around like that anymore."

"I know, I know," Alendra exhaled another noisy sigh. "It's just frustrating, you know? This whole specism thing is frustrating. No matter how many laws we make, or how many guidelines we put in place, it's always going to exist in some fashion. Imagine what it must be like to grow up around this city. Everyday someone's cub is being forced to endure some kind of prejudice just because of what they eat at home. It's the kind of thing that money can't heal, and revenge doesn't make better. How can anyone look another furson in the eye and say 'I don't like you because you eat meat?'"

Charl hugged her to him, but it was more than just a hug. Her words struck a chord of familiarity in his mind. He wanted to tell her that life would be different for them. He wanted to promise that they would create their own little haven for their own cubs in the future. He wanted, in no small fashion, to say that he had been thinking the exact same things during the sting last night. But he couldn't, and instead found solace in the loving realization that they thought along such similar lines. Charl turned off the videoscreen.

"I don't know, Alendra," he whispered in her ears, "I don't know."

The panthress shook her head with a scowl. "Well, as long as something's being done, that's better than nothing. I just hope that it lasts."

"The ITC was formed with a dedication to wipe out that kind of thought," Charl said, "it's going to take some time, but I think that it can be possible if we believe."

"I think we've grown impatient in too many ways," Alendra said, returning to the kitchen, "I guess it's impossible to expect the world of such a large organization so quickly."

Charl followed her. "The ITC has only been around for, what? Twenty cycles or so?"

"Yep," Alendra said, "something to that extent. And it's only now that momentum is really picking up in the right direction."

"The time will come eventually," Charl said, "probably not in our generation, but it will come."

"I hope so." Alendra took a pan of sizzling meat from the stove and brought it toward the table. "But I don't intend to have my morning with you ruined by the thought of a few specist bastards."

Charl smiled. "A little breakfast will do wonders to the mood. I don't know about you, but I'm famished."

Alendra put the skillet down in a wooden holder and tapped the end of her mate's muzzle. "You're the hungriest systems analyst I know."

"And hopefully the only one," Charl winked at her.

She swung her tail seductively. "I can't help it if I'm beautiful." When Charl lowered his chin and pinned back his ears with a playful growl, Alendra giggled at him. "Of course you're the only one, darling."

Charl grinned. "That's more like it. Now have a seat so we can eat!"

They ate breakfast in relative silence, the gentle music of clinking utensils and sounds of satisfaction the only thing adding noise to their repast. Charl reached for a ladle and dug into a bowl full of fresh trannel. The white granules were still fluffy and steaming, just the way Charl liked them, and he eagerly mixed it in with his PMP. Traditionally, trannel was so bland that it could only to add bulk and nutrients to a meal, but once mixed with the right spices, it could become almost a delicacy in itself. Alendra knew how to make it to just the right consistency, and enough ground spice to give it a delicious kick. The panther was already salivating before he managed to shovel the next load into his mouth.

Shortly into their meal, Alendra suddenly leapt up. "My goodness! I hadn't realized how late it was getting! I have to get to work!"

Charl looked at her and mewed a soft 'aww', cheeks still bulging with food.

The panthress giggled and started toward their room, not before giving him a gentle tap on the end of his muzzle. "Don't stuff yourself dear. If you get fat, I'm leaving you."

Charl struggled to swallow his food as a well of laughter threatened to spew it across the room. "Me? Fat?" The panther chuckled and pushed away from the table, getting up and following Alendra into their bedroom. The panthress was already swinging around the closet, picking out this piece of clothing or another.

"What do you think?" She asked, holding up a shock of red against her ebon fur.

"I think you look nice," Charl replied.

"You think?" The panthress paused, "No, no, it's just not appropriate enough." She rejected it and picking out something yellow, "how's about this?"

"I think it makes you look good," Charl replied.

"Eh, it's a little too conservative," Alendra mused, "I need something else." The next thing she grabbed was a deep regal purple. "Ooh! This could be good."

"That looks great on you," Charl said.

Alendra nearly cuffed him. "You keep saying that!"

"Well, you do!" He grinned, teeth flashing out at her. "I can't help it if you look good in everything and nothing to me."

She herded him out of the closet, purr-growling at his male fashion sense. "You're no help. I need something just right for the day."

Charl shook his head and shrugged, chuckling to himself as he plopped onto the end of their bed. Alendra's rummaging in the morning was a small pleasure that he missed on a daily basis. He could never understand the female obsession with fashion sense, nor could he really appreciate the subtle difficulty in dress for an educator. But he shrugged it off, guessing Alendra knew her profession best. But a certain side of him just kept wondering why she worried so much when she was just going to spend most of her time teaching cubs anyway.

Before his mind could parse some feasible thoughts, the panthress emerged wearing a happy green dress that carefully subdued her features and brought attention to her radiant smile. The sleeves to the upper part were short, exposing her well-toned arms, and the dress concealed everything from her mid-calves up. A pair of sandals and a smile completed the ensemble.

Charl smiled back. "Green for luck?" He asked.

"Green for hope," she answered, "what do you think?"

"I hope those cubs keep their eyes on their reading and not on you," the panther grinned.

Alendra giggled and turned to grab a few things. "Alright, I'm off then."

"Wait," Charl said, rising, "I have the time, how's about I drive you in today?"

Alendra blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Sure," he said, "and since you're there, that'll give me an excuse to come pick you up for lunch, and when you get off."

Alendra seemed surprised that he was taking the interest, but was overtly pleased. "Why, sure! That'd be great! Wow, this is going to be a good day."

Charl hugged her and went to shrug on some comfortable shorts and a shirt. "Anytime I can eke out some more time with you, it's all the better."

Charl's vehicle was non-hoverable, but he had a special attachment to it. It was his sports car, his utility vehicle, and his luxury sedan all rolled into one creature. The forest green exterior looked as if the rain wasn't doing a good enough job washing it. On the rear window, the words 'wash me, please', appeared in script that looked suspiciously like Alendra. The panthress had denied any involvement, but never failed to point it out to him through laughter. With harder angles, the two-door car may have been box-like, but engineering and aesthetics rounded the edges and gave it a smooth, aerodynamic look. Charl was fond of saying it was the smoothest thing on four wheels, a joke that would inevitably lead to a bump in the road a few seconds later. The interior provided above average comfort though some felt the gentle seats were too close. It could fit four average sized fursons but that was it. Any larger and the roof would have to come off.

Alendra slipped into the passenger seat and made herself comfortable as Charl ran the startup sequence. "You are going to relax today, right Charl?"

"Mmm?" He answered, backing out of their driveway.

"You're going to relax, right?"

"Oh, oh sure. Might try to get some sleep," he feigned a yawn, "kinda got interrupted this morning."

Alendra mock-pouted. "But aren't you glad you did?"

Charl took his eyes from the road just long enough to smile at her. He said nothing, but the response was sufficient to satisfy her question.

"I guess I should be lucky," Alendra said, relaxing into the seat as she watched the world go by, "not many fursons can say their lifemate is so dedicated to them."

The panther pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "Yes, that's true," he said in a soft voice, "I feel the same way."

Alendra leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before nuzzling it in. "For luck," she said.

The panther felt a swell of warmth overtake him and he purred. "For love," Charl said.