The atmosphere in the bar was raucous, with people pressed shoulder to shoulder, many bouncing along with the thrumming music, and the ever present haze from a myriad of smoked substances.  The subdued lighting, punctuated by periodic bright pinpoints of light as they reflected from mirrored surfaces, erased individual silhouettes, and camouflaged the entire crowd into a single large undulating creature with multiple heads and limbs.

Dro waited patiently in a corner booth, as far from the entrance and booming speaker stacks as possible, but within line of site of the rear exit.  The acoustics in the booth reduced most of the music to a dull throb, and the public chatter to near inaudible background noise.

He lay back in the booth, with his legs and tail taking up the majority of the semi-circle, while he slowly stirred an enormous punch-bowl sized drink in front of him.  The rim was heavily encrusted in sugar and salt, while long wooden sticks protruded from the center.  Some held submerged skewered cubes of fresh fruit, while others were only decorative, topped with gaudily colored paper umbrellas.

The ambient sound suddenly dulled, and he knew someone had approached the table.  Glancing up, he saw a lithe vixen standing next to his table, holding a tall glass of white liquid.  She wore a low cut, one-piece, sequined dress which caught and reflected the pinpoints of light coming from the dance floor, making it appear as though she were wearing a star filled night sky.  She looked nervous, and out of place in a bar like this.

"Can I help you?" he asked, over the music.

"Is this seat taken?"  she asked, gesturing to the opposite side of the booth.

Dro craned his neck and looked over the far edge of the table. "No." he replied.

"I mean, are you expecting someone?" she clarified, glancing over her shoulder, back into the crowd.

"Eventually." he said.

She gave him a playful scowl, as she realized that he was toying with her. "May I sit here?"  she finally asked.

"Certainly." he said and gestured for her to sit, as he retracted his tail and tucked his legs under the table to give her space.

"Thank you." she sighed with relief, dropping into the booth and looking back into the crowd again.

Dro looked in the same direction, but only saw the multi-headed beast as it writhed in time with the music. "Trying to avoid someone?" he asked.

"Three." she replied.  "Two wolves, and a Todd who wont take a hint.  They keep trying to one-up each other in hopes of impressing me.  I thought maybe your company would be a deterrent, and a safer bet for me."

"Glad I could be of service." he chuckled. "If celibacy is your goal for the evening, I am definitely your best choice in this establishment."

Raising his taloned hand, he deftly pulled a small chain attached to the booth's light, and submerged them into more darkness.

They sat in silence, as she slowly nursed her drink, and watched the crowd for her pursuers.  Every time she stole a glance at the dragon, he was staring into his drink, as the contents rotated slowly.  She got the feeling that he was watching her closely, and could see her clearly, even though his eyes were not directed at her.

"I didn't know that dragons frequented the bar scene." she finally called across the table.

"We don't." he replied, without looking up.  "I was supposed to meet someone, but they are late."

She looked down at the huge bowl full of reddish translucent liquid in front of him.  "What is that you are drinking?" she asked.

Dro blinked, and looked at the bowl as if it had suddenly appeared there.  "I don't know.  A friend recommended it to me.  It is frighteningly sweet." he said, wrinkling his facial muscles in a grimace.  Plucking an umbrella from the bowl, he popped it into his mouth. "These are good though." he said as he chewed.

The vixen just stared.

"Your friends are here." he said without looking up.

Turning her head toward the crowd, she watched as two wolves and a fox made their way through the press of people, and into the empty space in front of their table.

The fox was wearing overly tight clothing to emphasize his physique, some of which was most likely padded strategically to enhance his perceived virility.  The wolves on either side could have been twins, or at the very least litter mates.  They were similarly attired, though their shirts were sleeveless, displaying impressive biceps.  The trio had all of the hallmarks of a spoiled rich boy who kept a couple well muscled friends around to get him out of any trouble his mouth got him into.  

"There you are." said the Todd, as if he were well acquainted with her, "Who's this?" he asked, gesturing to Dro without even looking at him.

"Just a friend." she replied, looking over the top of her glass at the dragon with pleading eyes.

"Friends it is then." he proclaimed as he made to sit in the booth with them.

The vixen growled, refusing to slide further into the booth.

"Hey now.. If I didn't know better, I would think you don't like me." said the fox.

"But you don't know any better, do you?" replied the vixen.

"Ouch." he chuckled, "Such venom from someone so pretty."

"Maybe she prefers girls." chided one of the wolves.

"Maybe the dragon IS a girl." said the other, looking at Dro. "You can't tell by looking, ya know."

"Tell me, gentlemen.." began Dro, the last word dripping in sarcasm. "How often is your technique successful?"

"What do you mean?" asked the fox.

"The way you relentlessly pursue a female, despite her making it obvious that she isn't interested." clarified the dragon. "How often does it manage to get someone into your bed without you having to pay them for it?"

The vixen quickly took a drink from her glass to keep from laughing.

"As if a dragon would know anything about it." the fox countered.  "It's a wonder your kind aren't all extinct, as often as you pair up with each other.  You'd probably fall asleep half way through."

Dro calmly ate another umbrella, as he imagined the look on the foxes face, if Rix had been here, and they decided to show him what was involved.  Unfortunately that dream ended with everyone screaming as the bar burned down around them.

"Just because I am a dragon, it does not mean that I don't know how to please a women." said Dro flatly.

"Oh ho.. really now?  How about you prove it." said the male fox.

Turning his attention to the vixen, Dro asked.  "In the last twenty minutes, have I made any advances toward you, or made any vague innuendos about potential mating activities?"

The vixen looked confused. "Umm.. no?"

"And are you pleased with this?" he asked, his eye ridges rising.

A smile swept across the vixen's face as she leaned back into the booth. "Completely." she replied.

The Todd looked as though he was ready to chew glass and was about to counter when Dro added, "I am also very good at tongue twisters."

"Tongue twisters?" scoffed the Todd.  "How is that relevant?"

Dro pulled one of the skewers from his drink, removed a cube of fruit from it, and carefully impaled the morsel on one of his facial spikes, just behind his right eye.  Leaning back in the booth, he locked eyes with the fox, and opened his mouth.  With careful precision, his tongue worked its way around the side of his head, grasped the cube of fruit with its forked tip, and returned it to his mouth.

The fox stared, slack jawed as Dro chewed, then he repeated the action, using the forked end of his tongue to lick the rivulets of juice and alcohol off of the facial spike.

The vixen shuddered involuntarily.  The two wolves inclined their heads and made a gesture of applause with their paws.  Then one of the them patted the fox on the back. "Good luck, buddy." he said, as he and his twin melted back into the crowd of people.

The fox seemed much smaller without his entourage. "You aren't worth the trouble." he sneered as he turned to leave.  Then he suddenly stumbled back against the table with a shrill yip.  He then spun facing the table, his hands grasping the edge seemingly trying to hold himself back.  Wide eyed he looked at the confused vixen, then at the very smug looking dragon.

"Oh no, you cant leave yet." said Dro.  "I haven't had my fun yet, and you haven't apologized to the young lady."

The fox turned toward the vixen, his eyes slightly crossed as he was lifted off the ground.  Now the vixen could see that the dragon had wound his tail around one of the Todd's legs, and the prehensile spade was tightly gripping the foxes groin like a massive hand.

"I.. I'm sorry." sputtered the fox.

"A sorry excuse, yes..  Tell her why you are sorry." said the dragon.

"Because I am a jerk." the fox whimpered.

"Anything else?" Dro asked, jiggling him slightly.

"I'm sorry I didn't take 'no' for an answer.. Ahhgh! and kept following you around.  Owwwmmm.. I beg your forgiveness, p-p-please!  Just don't kill me." he whined while trying to pry the tail spade away from his nethers.

"Who said anything about killing you?" replied Dro. "You wouldn't learn anything from that."

Dro looked to the vixen for permission. "Your call."

"Oh, let him go.  The sooner he is gone, the better." she said with obvious disgust, waving him away. "Apology accepted."

The fox looked as though he might vomit or pass out, so Dro loosened his grip a little.

"Looks like it's your lucky day.  Now, if you look over your left shoulder, you will see the rear exit."  said Dro, as he rotated the fox in the general direction.  "I suggest you make use of it.  And just so we are clear on the matter, I happen to own this bar, and if I ever catch you in here harassing the clientele again, I wont be giving these back." he finished, squeezing the foxes crotch again for emphasis.

The fox whined and nodded rapidly, as he was returned to the ground.  When Dro's tail released its grip and slithered away, it left a noticeable impression in the material and the padding underneath, leaving no trace of the foxes previously exaggerated masculinity.  With one hand over his groin, the fox stumbled his way to the rear exit, and pushed his way through the doors.

Dro picked up his punch bowl and sipped noisily from its edge, cringing again with its cloying sweetness, as he returned it to the table.

"You don't really own this bar..  do you?" asked the vixen with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I don't, but I doubt he is brave enough to test that." he replied with a wink.

The vixen burst into laughter and was still laughing when the entrance to the booth was blocked by large canine, his body blocking most of the light and muting the sounds coming from the dance floor.  Dro pulled the chain on the light again, and revealed a white tigress standing at the table, with an enormous black wolf immediately behind her.

"Sorry, I am late." said the feline. "Things have been busy."

The vixen finished her drink, and slid the glass to the middle of the table. "I believe that is my cue to go."

"Only if you wish to." said Dro. "There is plenty of room."

"I think I should.  Thank you so much for your help." she said smiling.

"You are most welcome, and you are welcome at my table anytime..." he started, but then stalled.  "You know, I don't believe I caught your name."

"I don't believe I ever dropped it." she said with a wink as she was swallowed up by the bouncing crowd of dancers.

"We didn't interrupt something, did we?" asked Mira.

"No, not at all.  In fact, I'm not entirely certain what that something was." said Dro.

"It was a vixen." said Rook, flatly.

Dro looked at the wolf quizzically, unsure if he was being serious or had made a joke.

The tigress and the wolf slid into the booth next to Dro and were just getting comfortable when the vixen reappeared, holding a large tray of various drinks.

"I have reconsidered, and I think I would like to join you, if your friends have no objections?" she asked.

"Any friend of Dro's.." agreed the tigress, as she and the wolf slid in a little further. "I'm Mira."

Dro gestured to the space where she had previously been sitting, now next to the large black wolf.

"Mira?  Oh, like Mira's Massage?" asked the Vixen, as she placed the tray on the table and slid herself into the booth.

"And more." said Mira and Dro at the same time.

"Yes, very much like that." said Mira, playfully jabbing the dragon with an elbow.

"I'm Cassidy." said the vixen. "And you are.. Drew?"

"Dro.  Short for Crwydro, and much easier to spell." said the dragon.

All three then turned their attention to the wolf.

The dragon was always amazed at how shy the massive wolf was in public, compared to the force of nature he could be when being protective, especially of Mira.  Dro and Mira had made a pact to do something about that, and this meeting had been part of that clandestine plan.  They might still be picking up the pieces if Rook had been here when the Todd fox made his appearance.

"My name is Rook." he said quietly.

Mira smiled, then reached out and squeezed his hand.

Cassidy reached across the table and pulled the large punch bowl away from Dro, then replaced it with a large metal cylinder from the tray. "Try that.  The bartender said he cant serve it in plastiglass."

Dro sniffed the container. "Its hot!" he exclaimed, and took a tentative sip.  His eyes widened, "This is good!  What is it?"

"Mulled acetic acid." said the vixen, with a smile. "Shouldn't be as sweet as whats in that bowl."

"mMMHHmmm." he said taking another drink. Then reached across the table, and snatched the remaining umbrellas from the bowl. "I'm keeping these, though." he said, dropping one into the metal cup, and watching it slowly sink and vanish as it dissolved.

"So was Dro boring you to death with his stories?" asked Mira, starting a conversation.

"Oh no, he was quite entertaining." said the vixen, waggling an eyebrow as she looked at the dragon over her own glass.

"Oh no, he didn't do the tongue trick did he?" asked Mira, rolling her eyes.

Dro tried to look innocent but failed miserably.