Kev watched the black-leather-clad frog-woman walk away. She moved with an odd, bow-legged gait, her platform boots making a soft, clumping sound on the glowing floor, her riding crop swaying at her hip. She quickly disappeared into a cluster of elegantly dressed beastmen.
"Why would you be so rude?" Lanon was frowning. The easy, playful amusement was gone, replaced by a cold, reptilian stillness. His argyle suit, which had looked merely preppy before, now seemed like the jarring, unnatural skin of something trying to blend in where it didn't belong. His sharp-toothed smile was gone, his lips a thin, unmoving line. "You have slandered me in front of Ms. Tongue."
"Slander?!" Kev raised a finger, his hand trembling slightly. "You called me Fang's pet!"
"Slander is a lie," Lanon crossed his arms. "Define the word 'pet' for me."
"Shut up." Kev's eyes were closed, his fists balled at his sides. He was focusing hard on not yelling.
"'A pet is a domestic or trained animal kept for companionship or pleasure'," Lanon recited, looking down at Kev.
"If you are calling me an animal, I'm going to lose my shit," Kev whispered, his voice dangerously low.
"We are all animals," Lanon said, his tail flicking once, a sharp, impatient movement. "Unless a human is something... exciting."
"Gretchen," Kev said, turning away, his voice tight. "This person is bothering me."
Gretchen looked over. She had only been half-paying attention, her gaze shifting between the room and the modern art sculpture that was just an empty frame. A small sign next to the frame said, "I Feel So Very Empty - - $1.2 Million." "Who is bothering you, Mr. Kev?"
"This dirty pimp," Kev pointed at Lanon. "He's making insinuations about myself and Fang."
"Uhhhhh..." Gretchen looked between the Club Manager and her Primary, her mind working overtime. The gears visibly turned behind her green eyes. "...what?"
"You have slandered me once more," Lanon huffed, looking around anxiously. "Others might hear your baseless words."
"I guess you'll need some extra time with your therapy devices to get over it," Kev said, and walked away from the reptile. Gretchen could only make passing eye contact with the iguana, who was frowning and glaring after the human as she followed.
Kev knew if he'd stayed and argued semantics with Lanon, he would have gotten too worked up. Pet versus companion, pimp versus public relations.... what did it matter? He found a piece of art that was not occupied and stood before it, glaring up at it, not really seeing the black-and-white photograph of what looked like white zig-zags. We are all animals. Damn you, Lanon, he thought.
"Excuse me, miss, but this art is occupied at the moment," Gretchen's voice cut through Kev's frustrated thoughts.
Kev looked back to see Gretchen standing before another woman... a very large woman. Not out of shape, but just... massive. She wore an elegant, floor-length red dress that hugged her powerful curves, and a plush white fur boa was draped over her broad shoulders. A large, white handbag was clutched in one hand. She was nearly as tall as Horns.
"It's fine, Gretchen," Kev said, turning back to gaze up at the photo. Just because he was in a bad mood didn't mean that other people should be affected. He was so consumed with thinking about how to argue with Lanon over semantics that he jumped a bit when the elephant woman next to him spoke.
"This is, uh, a powerful photograph," her voice was an octave lower than Sabrina's, but held the same energetic tone.
"I guess," Kev said, glancing over. "Zig-zags are... deep, I guess."
"Zig-zags?" The elephant woman raised an eyebrow, looking down at Kev. "It's two zebras fucking."
"No, it's..." Kev looked up at the photo again. Now that she had said those words, he couldn't unsee it. He wasn't even really sure how he'd missed it the first time. The stark black and white stripes were locked in an unmistakable, energetic tangle. "It's... uh... yeah," Kev quickly turned around and faced the crowd. The photo was an action shot.
"I'm assuming you're not one of the artists," the elephant woman said. "That's too bad. I was hoping to chat with one before the show started."
Gazing across the crowd, Kev couldn't help but keep spotting Ms. Tongue. Her black leather was like a highlighter to the eyes, despite the monochrome motif of the space. "The woman in the leather is quite... interesting," he said. "She's pretty down-to-earth, too."
"I'll have to keep that in mind," the large woman said. "I'm Elle, by the way. It's nice to meet someone willing to talk for a change."
"My name's Kev. It's a pleasure."
"I hate to be that guy," Elle said, "but the reason I came over to you was... you're... look, I thought you might have some new type of bodysuit on, but I can see now that I was... mistaken."
"I'm a human," Kev said with a bit of a grin. It had been a few days since someone had asked him.
"Wow," she said, her large, intelligent eyes widening slightly. "You know, I don't think I've ever met a human before."
"We aren't native to this continent," Kev said.
"So interesting," the elephant nodded, before quickly moving on to another subject. "I haven't seen you around the city before either. Are you new to Dala'Bon?"
"It's a big city," Kev countered.
"Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't," Elle said. "The social circles are tight, and you were on the invite list. I think I would have at least heard of someone as... recognizable as you."
"You got me," Kev grinned. "I'm new to the city. It's really amazing."
"Just give it a week," Elle laughed. "So how did you make your fortune, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I'm not rich," Kev said, his eyes drawn to a macaw woman wearing an outfit of what looked to be... clear Ziploc bags. She did not have the body to pull off the look.
"Then what do you do for work?" Elle asked, her own gaze joining Kev's confused and resigned look at the bird woman.
The thoughts of Lanon's semantics were still swirling in Kev's mind more than the elephant's small talk. "I'm a companion."
"Really?!" Kev was startled. The elephant woman's instant, intense interest was very uncomfortable. "Are you here with a bachelorette? But who is it? Obviously a fashion junkie, she has you in a suit, and you're some endangered primate! To pull that off, they couldn't be mid-tier, they'd have to be at least B-list! At least! Wait... it couldn't be!" Elle's voice had ramped up to a mile a minute before she turned and looked down at Kev, her large eyes wide with manic energy. "Is Lady Wicket here?!"
"I don't know who-"
But the elephant in the red dress was already gone, disappearing into the crowd, leaving Kev quite confused. When he looked back at the very large, very explicit photograph on the wall behind him, he decided it was best if he moved on too.
Kev walked slowly through the lounge, gazing at the different provocative art pieces. Once he had realized that every piece was just porn or a joke, they lost their shock value. He stopped at a larger sculpture. At first glance, it was what looked to be a tree made out of adult toys of various shapes, sizes, and colors, their silicone forms catching the light in unsettling ways. However, with the under-lighting from the floor, the "true deep meaning" could be uncovered. On the ceiling, the branches' shadows formed words, spelling out "Love Yourself." It was the epitome of terrible, on-the-nose modern art.
"We should go back," Gretchen said, her gaze fixed on Lanon across the room.
"I'd rather not," Kev said. The more he looked at the dildo tree, the more he was actually impressed. The branches looked decently convincing.
"Are you mad he won the fight?" Gretchen asked.
"No," Kev said before quickly correcting himself. "We didn't fight. I set boundaries."
"No. You slandered him," Gretchen said, still gazing at Lanon.
"Oh, whatever," Kev said. "Personal relations, highly specialized staff, his therapy equipment... Call it what you want, I'll call it what I want."
"But you are wrong."
"Okay, little thought experiment," Kev said. He was so frustrated with the lizard, and now the panther woman was sticking up for him. "Lanon's job is to make sure the customers have someone to pass the time with in the private rooms, right?"
"Yes, but-"
"Lanon's job involves hiring staff to fulfill the customers' desires, no matter what they might be, right?"
"Yes, but-"
"Lanon walks around the west wing every night and makes sure his... 'staff'... are hard at work, if that be on their knees or on their backs. And Lanon is the one who takes the money."
"Yes, but if you'd just-"
"What is the definition of the word 'pimp'?" Kev finished, his voice sharp.
"I'm not a dictionary," Gretchen said with a glare. "If he were a pimp, he would have been arrested by the enforcers long ago."
"Well, hasn't Rex beaten up like a million people?" Kev said. "He isn't arrested."
"That is different too," Gretchen said, her voice exasperated.
"Oh, everything is an exception now," Kev said, turning away to walk back towards Lanon near the big double doors. "We can't let the walrus in the elevator, but now we can let Rex beat people up."
"I'm not a fan of leaving scars, but customers do sign the waiver before they are put on the invite list."
"What? They can't sue if a dangerous animal attacks them?" Kev said, his steps slowing as his gaze fell upon a white sculpture. It depicted a pair of birds mid-flight. Or... mid-wrestling, Kev hoped. Regardless of the compromising position and the compromising, ecstatic facial expressions, the craftsmanship was undeniable. The white marble seemed to flow, capturing the graceful arc of the wings, the tension in the powerful legs, the way the two bodies connected and intertwined. Feathers, carved with an impossible delicacy, seemed to ripple in an unseen wind. It was exquisite, maybe better than anything he had seen back on Earth.
"They cannot sue if they get into a physical altercation with a staff member," Gretchen said, her own gaze stopping to take in the stone birds. "Fang's lawyer came up with it a while ago, and now it's in every contract. I'm pretty sure I agree to it every time I log into my library app."
From his spot by the copulating bird couple that had been caught in Medusa's gaze, Kev noticed Fang was now talking with Lanon. The wolf was starting to lean in, and his fur was beginning to bristle and stand on end.
Is Lanon trying to tell Fang I was rude, or is he asking him if going poop was exciting? Kev thought, and started towards his... companion.
Gretchen followed closely behind. "It looks like Mr. Fang did not enjoy the bidet either."