FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Ciji followed Greg into the bar. It was small, with the bar on one side, a small stage in the back, and some tables anywhere they could fit. He walked down to where a very dark skinned man was putting away glasses.

“Hey Troy. Expecting a good crowd tonight?"

“Hey Greg." In a sweeping gesture, they clasped hands and shook vigorously. “Only if this rain doesn't scare everyone off. What's this? Did you bring this morph in here?" He leaned on the bar for a closer look as Ciji climbed up the stool.

Greg sighed, “Yeah, this is Ciji, a genet morph. Don't give us any trouble about it."

“Trouble? You could be causing trouble for me." He leaned closer, “How old are you?"

“Ciji's twenty-four." Greg answered.

“Got an ID?"

Ciji sighed, “They're still validating my birth records, which could take years."

He looked to Greg, “You know I can't let anybody stay in here without checking their ID."

“I have my records on my computer."

Greg stood up, “I can go grab it from the trunk, if that'd work."

Troy thought a moment, looking at both of them, “Don't bother. I trust you. Just don't get into any trouble that the police find out you don't have ID."

Ciji smiled, “I like to stay as far away from trouble as I can."

“Alright, so what can I get you?"

“Nothing right now, thank you. I need to stay sober to learn the sound board for the show."

“Oh, you're working for these guys? What happened to Tod?"

Greg smiled, “We upgraded."

Troy chuckled, “Anything's a step up from that slosh. Good riddance."

“Well, I'm gonna go unpack. You want to wait here until we get the mixer for you?"

“Yeah, I guess. Better than getting soaked."

Greg patted Ciji's back and left.

“So, where're you from?"

“Texas."

“Ah, what's it like down there?"

“Hot, I think. I've never been."

“How can you be from there, but never been there?"

“My grandparents were created there."

Troy leaned closer and poked the small morph's chest, “I meant you."

“Oh. Well, I was born in Maryland. My mother was owned by a family in Baltimore. My father was brought over from Missouri to breed her. After we were freed, he found us and we lived in a tiny town called Whiteford."

The man resumed his cleaning, “You still haven't told me anything about yourself."

“That's where I came from."

“That's your grandparents and your parents, but where have you been? What do you do?"

“Oh, I haven't been a lot of places. I had to meet somebody in Towson to sign papers for my patents, but this is my first time out of Maryland."

“Patents?"

“I've gotten six patents, sold two, one is making me some money, one is being challenged, and the other two are in development."

“Wow, and you're only twenty-four?"

“Well, once I got the first one, it was kind of addictive. I look for problems I can solve, things I can make better. Who knows what my next big idea will be?"

“That's pretty impressive." He chuckled, “So, what got you mixed up with this band?"

“Well, I just met them today."

“Today? You must be pretty good."

“I've never seen a sound board in person before."

Troy froze and stared at the small morph for a moment, then smiled. “So, they were that eager to get rid of Tod. I don't blame them. I bet he didn't take it well."

“I… don't know if he knows, yet." Ciji thought again about how he might react.

“Oh man, that could be a scene." He realized that scene might happen in his bar. “Maybe I should invite some police in."

“If he gets arrested, I won't be able to get back into his apartment."

“Why would you want to?"

“I'm renting a room from him."

“From Tod? I thought he was… Never mind."

“Is something wrong?"

“No, no, maybe I was. Listen, if something happens and you need a place to crash for a couple nights, I can let you stay here. Nothing permanent, but if you need it."

“Thank you. Hopefully everything will be okay."

“Ciji! This one's yours." Blake rolled a black and silver box up to the stage.

The genet smiled to Troy, then hopped off the stool and hurried over to see it.

Blake popped open the latches and lifted off the top to reveal rows of sliding switches and buttons and knobs, then continued to remove the front and back panels. “There it is. Tod likes the old physical controls; says they're more reliable. I don't know. He usually sets up here, by the stage."

“Really?" Ciji looked out at the rest of the room. “How does he know what the audience is hearing?"

Blake smirked, “That's a good question."

Greg came in carrying a big guitar case and a speaker, “Hey Ciji, your cart is there behind you."

The morph turned around and found it.

“Good, you have your computer." Blake continued. “Tod hooks his up to the mixer to sync Varney's lights. I guess we should have had him come early, too. There are colored dots on each set of controls. You're not colorblind, are you?"

“No, no."

“Good. There's colored tape on our lines to match."

“That's a good idea."

“Yeah, Tish thought of it. And put our names over the controls." He pointed to bits of tape with the band members' names. “Tod had some trouble keeping it straight when we started."

“Why did you hire him?"

“Greg knew him from high school. He made a video for one of our songs and told Greg he could run a board. I don't know what board he meant, but the first show he did for us was terrible. He said he didn't have the right equipment. I was thinking we were better off with straight sound or sometimes a house tech, but he picked this out and we all chipped in, except him. See what you can do with it. I'm gonna grab my mic and we can give you some noise to play with." Blake patted the box, then headed for the door.

Ciji stared at the board, momentarily overwhelmed by all the knobs and buttons and switches and inputs and outputs, but slowly recognized things from the night's research and started to piece it together. There was a low twang, followed by a string of quiet rapid notes that the genet recognized.

Greg smiled and picked up a small box as he walked across the stage, “How about I plug in and give you a private show?" he knelt down and plugged his small box into the board, then plugged in the speaker cables. He stood up and flipped a switch on a box on his guitar. “I'm wireless." He strummed, then flinched as it came out of all the speakers very loud.

Ciji looked up at him with ears covered.

“Sorry." He pushed the master volume slider down the board, then gently touched a string on his bass.

The small morph smiled as he started to play, then began fiddling with all the controls and listening to what they did.

Blake came back carrying a notebook and a small box with a handle. He pulled a microphone out of it, then put the box and notebook on a speaker and quickly plugged in. “Coming downtown in the pouring rain to be with my friends and sing again. I've got some that are old and some that are new. There are lots of people in the world, but I'm glad I met you." He smiled and grabbed the notebook to quickly write down what he sang as Greg continued to riff on the tune.

Benny slipped into his seat, hit everything in his set, then started a complicated rhythm that fit with Greg's riffs.

Tish pulled another microphone from the small box and plugged in to join them. “People all are big and small, bearded, bald, and furry. Running round in the bustling crowd; everyone in such a hurry. With all the people in the whole wide world, I'm glad that I met you."

Blake scribbled what she sang quickly, then stood up, “We've got all our friends here and we want to make it clear that we'll stand together forever. We're a band, a crew, a family too, whether human, morph, or whatever. In front of all the people in the whole wide world, I'm glad that I met you."

Ciji ran to a table in the middle of the room to listen as Blake recorded his verse on paper and Tish tried another.

“We'll play all night if the feeling's right till the morning cock is crowing and we'll ride together in the bright sunlight not a care for where we're going, because of all the people in the whole wide world, I'm glad that I met you."

Blake echoed it, “I'm glad that I met you."

They smiled at each other, “I'm glad that I met you. I'm glad that I met you."

Greg flourished an end and Benny closed it.

Ciji applauded from the table as Blake bowed, then kissed Tish.

“That could be something." Benny cheered.

Tish pulled back from the kiss with a smile, “It needs a lot of work."

“Of course, but we can do it." Blake squeezed his girl and smiled at her.

“I think we should get a line in about that gorgeous tail."

“Mine or yours?" Blake grabbed Tish's butt with both hands.

She grabbed his and smirked, “Ciji's"

“Mine? Was that song about me?"

Blake chuckled, “That's where I started it, but I think it ended up about all of us."

“And why not? Being a morph doesn't mean you can't be one of us."

“Of course not. We voted unanimously to make you part of the band and you're already doing better than Tod."

Troy spoke up, “Absolutely. It may not be the whole band, but you sounded better than last time."

A clunk and clatter caught their attention.

Greg chuckled, “Our back up singer chips in late as usual."

Troy walked over to the ice machine and lifted the lid to see it was mostly full. “Alright, I'll put it on hold, but I can't do anything about the compressor. I can't run a bar without ice."

Varney came in, followed by Wart and Nina carrying their guitars and amps. He nodded to everyone and headed for a box in the corner, while they set up their instruments.

Eric came in shortly after, pushing his keyboard on a dolly and trailed by the cheetah morph carrying a box.

“But if I'm going to help, then I'm part of the band, right?"

“You don't play an instrument, you don't sing, you don't run the equipment, you're not even a groupie because you don't come to all the shows."

“But I helped you with this one, so I should get paid, right?"

“Shut up, Sam. You carried one box that I could have gotten myself."

“Then fine, get it yourself." He put it down in the middle of the room and turned to Ciji. “Hey, there's my fellow morph. Want to go see how our anatomy measures up?"

The genet didn't look at the cat, “Are you the same Samuel that I met at dinner?"

“Sam."

“The same Samuel that has a negative score with me?"

“Well… It's a score."

“A bad one."

He leaned over the genet and put his paws on the table. “Then give me a chance to make it better."

Ciji's claws flexed, “If you don't back off, I'll put a score in your hide."

“Ooo, you like to play rough? Me, too." He stretched his own claws, then noticed someone standing on the other side of the table and looked up to see Greg glaring at him and the rest of the band looking disapprovingly from the stage.

“You want to back off before something bad happens."

“What, I'm just trying to make friends."

“And you've already been turned down, so back off."

The cat stood up, “Whatever, I'll get some tonight."

“Not from any of us."

The cat scowled and headed for the bar.

Troy frowned, “You're trouble. Better not bring any in here."

Sam grinned slyly and held up his ID, “I'm a good time and I've got one of these, so give me a beer."

Troy reluctantly got a cheep beer and set it in front of the cat, then held out his hand.

“Hey, first one's free."

“After you pay your cover."

“I'm with the band." The morph took a gulp.

“I heard that conversation when you came in. Pay the cover." He nodded to the box still sitting on the floor.

Sam grumbled and pulled out his wallet.

Ciji returned to the board and looked at all the cables connected to it. “Can I move this over there? It sounds better."

Blake shrugged, “I don't see why not. Hey Troy, can we move the sound cart in front of the stage?"

The bartender came over, happy to get away from the ungrateful patron. “If it's not in the way of the customers and nobody can trip on the cables, it's fine by me."

“How about by the end of the bar there? It's close and the cables will only bother the staff."

Troy considered it, “I've got a mat I can throw over them. Alright."

Greg and Blake worked together to move the cart and lay the cables neatly, then everybody tuned and gave Ciji a chance to hear their sound.

“Hey guys, sorry I'm late; had a little trouble with my new room… mate." Tod hurried in carrying his computer bag, but stopped short when he saw Ciji at the board. “What the fuck are you doing here?"

Greg put his guitar down and walked over between them. “Ciji's running the sound for us tonight. You'd know that if you were here."

“Like fuck, that's my job. I told you I was sorry; I had to wash my shirt because…" He pointed at Ciji then reconsidered. “Never mind. I'm running the board."

“No you're not." Tish pushed past Blake to confront Tod. “We put Ciji on it tonight and you're out."

“Look bitch, I'm…"

“Tod!" Blake rushed past Tish and pushed him down the bar. “You need to calm down. We're giving the morph a chance tonight and you have two choices: you can sit here and see how it goes or you can fuck off and forget it. But if you ever speak to Tish like that again, I'll let her kick your ass, then I will. Got it?"

Tod sat on the stool beside him, “But I'm still getting paid for tonight."

Blake scowled and headed back to Tish.

“I could have kicked his ass."

“Why do you think I stopped you? We've got a show to do." He kissed her and she smiled, then he turned to the rest of the band. “Alright. Twenty minutes to showtime; do what ya gotta do, but don't be late."

Varney came over to Ciji and offered a hand, “Nice to meet you. You don't have Visigod installed, do you?"

Ciji shook his hand, “No, I don't."

“Should only take a moment, then we can test the lights." He offered a thumb drive. “You've really stirred things up."

Ciji ran the program from the stick and watched it install, “I didn't mean to."

Varney chuckled, “I know. Things have been tense, just going through the motions in some ways. It's like you're giving them a reason to shed some dead weight. Hope they take it. But what do I know? I'm just an electrician with a hobby."

Ciji smiled and opened the newly installed program.

The crowd was starting to grow and a large woman pushed through to find Greg.

“What are you doing here?"

“I've never missed a show. Why should I start now?"

Greg shrugged.

“Hey, I'm sorry we fought earlier. I don't want to lose you. Are you coming back tonight?"

The stage lights flashed and ran through a test sequence, catching Greg's attention. “Enjoy the show." He walked back to Ciji and Varney, leaving her with no answer.

Varney leaned over the small morph to point at the screen, “I've got pre-programmed sequences for each song. It follows the beat to keep tempo; you just have to queue up the right one from what they're playing. I'll just set the same order as last time and it should be good to go. Hit the big green play button when they start."

“That's pretty impressive."

“Should be, it was an expensive app."

“Giving away all your secrets, Varn?" Greg patted him on the back.

“Not all of them. I've still got a few tricks. When we play something bigger than a bar, I'll pull them out."

“I can't wait. So Ciji, what was it that Tod was going to blame on you that made him late? He had to wash his shirt?"

The genet chuckled nervously, “Well, I think he was masturbating when I came out of the closet."

“What?"

“I guess I surprised him and it looked like he made a mess."

Greg started to laugh, “On his shirt? Why didn't he just put on another one?"

Varney smirked, “You're trying to make sense of Tod?"

“You're right. He makes none." Greg laughed louder.

Ciji glanced nervously at Tod, hoping he would calm down by the end of the night.

When Blake returned, the band gathered on the stage. After a moment while the crowd grew restless, Benny took off on the drums. Greg and Eric joined him, then Wart and Nina followed. Ciji kept up, giving each one a moment of focus before blending in, then made sure Blake was on top before he started singing. It was almost fun making sure whoever was leading the song at the moment could be heard, but it was a lot of work. The small audience applauded and the genet felt happy to be part of it.

“Thank you. We're Inverted Aura. Thank you for coming out to OM tonight. We've got a great show for you. We'll get started right away. Here's Sampled."

Nina squealed her guitar and turned it into a broken fall that lead into the song, then everyone joined in and Tish started singing. This one was easier, since it was mostly just her on top and Nina underneath, but Ciji brought up Greg a few times to give it some character.

“Alright. We're Inverted Aura. I'll introduce everybody now. We've got Benny Gatterly back there on the drums."

Benny started playing and Ciji quickly brought him up, then back down when Blake looked ready to talk again.

“We have Greg Norton on bass."

Greg did a long slide into some showing off, then joined Benny in building the background.

“Eric Cabrilli on keyboard."

Eric pounded the keys dramatically in a full cord fanfare, then settled in with Benny and Greg.

“Wart and Nina on guitar."

The two squealed their guitars into a synchronized fall facing each other, then let the last notes echo as they leaned in and kissed over their guitars. Ciji slowly pushed up their volume to keep the waning notes going longer.

“The beautiful Tish Grace."

She posed, then moved beside Blake, “And the sexy Blake Kanner."

“We'd also like to welcome for the first time, running our sound board like an instrument of its own, our furry friend, Ciji."

The genet smiled shyly and turned to wave to the applauding crowd.

“We're Inverted Aura. We just cut a new album; so new, we don't even have copies ourselves, but you can order it through our website if you like what you hear tonight. Next we'll bring you a song written by our bass player. Here's Moving."

Benny chopped an end and everybody stopped, then Greg started again. Ciji couldn't help moving to the beat, but had to focus on the board as Eric shadowed Greg's bass line, then added a top that Wart and Nina picked up.

Finally, Blake started the fast paced vocals. Ciji felt like leaving the board and just dancing, but Tish joined Blake for the repeat verse, then took the next one. The urge worked its way into the genet's hips and tail, building to frustration as they repeated the verse together, then Blake took the last one. Resisting and wiggling until they both finished the repeat verse, Ciji cranked Greg as he started his solo and sprang away from the board to dance.

Bending, flexing, arching, flowing, ears to tail fluid groove while the music moved. Blake stared and smiled and as the song neared its end waved for the band keep going. Greg bent the last note and started his solo again with more energy. Wart and Nina picked up the original solo and Blake led Tish in an echo of the last verse. A few people jumped up to dance with the genet and Ciji kept moving.

When they finally finished the song, Blake cheered, “Woooo! Let's hear it for Greg and Ciji!"

Greg gave a flourish and the audience cheered, then a girl that was dancing picked up Ciji to hug the genet.

Blake laughed, “Now put our sound tech down; we've got more to play for you."

The girl smiled bashfully as she set the small morph back on the ground. Ciji gave her another hug around her middle and smiled, then hurried back to the board.

“Stay on your feet, 'cause we've got two more that'll keep you dancing."

Benny pounded on his snare and Ciji quickly recognized the song from the album and cranked Wart as he started a slide that Nina finished and the rest joined in on a hit at the bottom. Blake screamed, then brought the microphone to his mouth to catch it and Ciji added to the effect. The song kept the dancers dancing and as it ended, Eric led right into the next, not giving them a moment to stop. Tish led this one and Ciji was mesmerized as the tall, dark woman mimicked some of the genet's moves. The dancers on the floor were also trying to dance like the morph, but didn't look nearly as graceful.

Blake helped finish the song then put his arm around Tish, “Alright. We'll give you guys a chance to catch your breath with something a little slower. Here's more of Tish with A Morning After An Evening ."

Wart and Greg started together, then Benny and Eric came in soft, finally using his volume. Tish hummed gently into the microphone and Nina joined her on guitar, then Tish started singing, soft and sweet, a lovely contrast to her sharp energy in the previous songs.

Ciji noticed someone close to the board and looked up to see Troy leaning on the end of the bar and offering a bottle of water. The genet nodded thank you with a smile and took it, then focused back on Tish's gradually growing voice. The same energy from before was now being channeled into passionate power that sounded so much better in person than the recording. Ciji remembered what was coming and brought Tish's volume down a little just before she belted out a line about the sunrise. The woman's voice was full and vibrant and made the small morph feel bigger, a feeling that even great quality headphones just couldn't carry. The song ended on a beat and Ciji quickly zeroed the master volume. The sudden silence surprised everyone, then applause erupted while the genet balanced the board and brought the volume back up before Blake stepped forward.

“Yes! Let's have some more applause for the amazing Tish!" He let the audience cheer her again, then continued when it died down, “You're an amazing audience here tonight. We want to thank Troy for letting us play in his bar, so grab a beer or something stronger."

“Or both." Tish leaned on his arm and smiled at the crowd.

“Absolutely. Drink up, but know how you're getting home tonight. We want to see all of you again at our next show. Right now we're going to do one more song before we take a break. This one is from Wart and Nina. Here's Tangible Distance ."

He pulled a mic stand over and stepped aside as the two guitarists came to the front of the stage. They smiled at the crowd and at each other, then started strumming fast. Benny emphasized the accents, then Greg and Eric joined in just before Wart and Nina started singing. This one was fast paced, but didn't need a lot of changes and Ciji took the opportunity to enjoy the water.

At the end of the song, the audience applauded and Wart grabbed the mic, “We're gonna take a little break, now. I've got some business to take care of." He turned and kissed Nina on the lips, getting another cheer from the crowd.

Blake laughed and applauded, “Alright. We'll be back in a few. Don't disappear on us. In fact, call your friends and get them down here, 'cause this party is just getting started." He pointed and nodded to Troy, then headed for Ciji. “Man, you are awesome. I think we sound better than what the pros did."

The genet blushed, “I'm sure they did the best they could with what you gave them. You should do a studio recording for a good, clean sound."

“Yeah, you're right there, but, even after three years, this still feels like just fun. You know? Doesn't feel serious enough to pay for studio time."

Tish came up beside him and looked like she was going to say something, then looked down the bar instead when someone started shouting.

“I am not anti-morph! I just don't want you bringing one into my apartment to be your fuck pet. You're supposed to be my man."

Greg glared at her, “Do you even listen to yourself, Karma? 'Cause I know you're not hearing me. There's no. sex. involved. And there won't be anymore between us as long as you're thinking like that. Morphs are people, too. If you can't accept that, then you should just leave."

“I've been to every show and I'm not going to miss one now just because you're throwing a tantrum 'cause I won't let you keep a dog in the apartment."

“Ciji's not a dog. …" He started to say something, but decided it was pointless. He tried something else, but before he could get a word out, he realized that he just didn't want to fight for a relationship with someone that was so contrary. He looked at her smug smile and threw his hands up as he pushed through the crowd for the door.

“Men can be such children. You just have to know how to put them in their place. He'll forget about that morph."

“At least you're not getting replaced with one." Tod slid off the stool and walked down the bar.

Karma smirked at him, then noticed Sam in the next seat, “I'm _not_anti-morph."

The cheetah morph smiled slyly and slid onto the stool Tod vacated, “Want to prove it?"

Tod glared at Ciji, “You think you're something, do you? You keep playing around with the switches and you're gonna break my board. Enough's enough. Get out of there, so I can do my job."

Blake put his hand on Tod's chest and pushed him back, “Okay, we need to have a chat." He kept pushing and ushered Tod through the crowd and out the door with Tish following.

Ciji turned away to think about all the trouble, then looked up to see Eric standing in the middle of the stage staring back. When he realized he had been noticed, he hurried off and toward the bathrooms.

Troy leaned over the bar and offered two more bottles of water, “Everything alright?"

The genet took them with a smile, “I hope so. It seems like I've caused a lot of trouble."

“Don't sweat it. The trouble was always there; they're just finally dealing with it. You'll be fine. You're doing a great job. They sound really great tonight."

Ciji smiled, then thought aloud, “I should probably go to the bathroom before they get back to the stage."

Troy slapped the counter, “Good idea. Keep up the good work."

The small morph hurried around to pull the stilts out of the cart and put them on; public toilets were not pleasant to climb on. Ciji headed down the hallway and checked the doors: Women, Men, Employees Only. No separate bathroom for morphs here. The last door was open a little and hushed voices were coming from behind it. Ciji gave in to curiosity and peeked.

Sam pushed his pants down his legs, “You're in for a real treat, then. I've got a natural cat dick. Check it out."

“I don't give a fuck. Just hurry up and do it. Greg thinks he's better than me because he dicks a morph? I can play that game, too. Come on." Karma propped her foot on a utility sink and pulled her thighs apart.

“Do you have a condom?"

“Don't worry about that. You're a morph, so fuck me."

“Yes, ma'am."

Ciji was in shock at the sight and couldn't look away as the cheetah morph guided his bristly penis into the large woman.

Karma grunted as Sam humped her, “Dammit, you're scraping me up."

“That's cat love, babe." He tried to kiss her, but she shoved his face against her shoulder.

“Well, it's not working. Fuck me right, morph."

Sam shifted his feet and started thrusting quickly into her.

Karma gasped in surprise and slid a little down the shelves she was leaning against, grabbing handfuls of the fur on his back, “Oh… dammit… ah… just… unh… fuck…"

The cheetah's tail twitched and he turned his head, his face scrunched in a grimace as he strained to keep up the pace.

“Fuck." She pulled her foot off the sink, then jabbed her heel in his butt to make him stop and he lifted his head to look at her. She pushed his shoulders down, grunting as his penis pulled out of her, then examined the damage. “You fucked me raw. Get down there and make it right."

Sam grinned as he squatted between her feet and gently rubbed with his soft pads to spread her vagina.

“That's better. Now, get me there before the band gets back."

The cat nuzzled her folds and pushed a finger into her, making her moan in satisfaction, then licked her clit.

Karma shoved him back on his tail, “Goddammit! You stupid morph. Your tongue is worse than your dick."

“I am a cat. What did you expect?"

“Obviously more than I should have." She bent down and yanked her panties back up her legs.

Ciji realized she was coming out and hurried for the next nearest door.

Karma stopped as she opened the closet door, “I'm still not anti-morph; you just suck."

“Ciji?"

The genet turned away from the door to find Eric staring surprised.

“You're a guy?"

Ciji looked back at the door then walked over to Eric to speak softly, “Karma is out there."

“Is she mad at you?"

“No, not exactly."

“Yeah, it doesn't take much with her."

The genet watched the door nervously, wondering if the woman had gone by, yet.

“Ciji." Eric looked at the stilts, then up the morph's body, tail, and finally eyes, that were now level with his own. “I don't care if you are a guy. I think you're beautiful."

Ciji was stunned for a moment, then smiled; after his question at dinner, it was exactly the right thing to say. The genet leaned in and kissed his cheek, then headed for a stall.

Now Eric was stunned. He tried to quickly figure out what was going on, what was important, and what he should do, when he realized that he hadn't washed his hands. He took care of them quickly and headed back out to the stage.

“I'm not gonna fault anybody for having their fun; I'm just saying be more careful." Blake grabbed his mic from its box as he came back to the stage.

“Sorry, I just needed a refill before we play again." Nina slid her hand down Wart's belly to grab his belt buckle and bit his ear playfully.

Wart grinned, “Maybe you should see if Tish needs any."

“I'm good." The tall woman stepped up onto the stage and looked around at everyone getting back to their instruments, then smiled as Ciji hurried across to the mixer on stilts. She raised her mic and took a breath, “Gimme a beat; we're gonna rock it sweet; gonna make it hot; and we're never gonna stop."

Everybody started at once and Ciji almost panicked; this song wasn't on the drive Greg had left. It was so fast, it was almost chaotic and nobody seemed to have the lead. Ciji waited and watched and listened for anything that would suggest what to do. Blake and Tish were exchanging short, lyrical banter, but it had no progress and seemed to be just to add to the intensity.

Then Ciji heard it, it did have form. While everyone was repeating their pattern of short, rhythmic chords, Eric had longer phrases: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, all in piano instead of lyrics. But just as the genet was starting to feel confident again, everything changed. The music stopped as Benny played a solo while Blake and Tish quietly chanted “Crank the volume and rock the beat" and Wart and Nina patted their strings rhythmically. Then Greg took a turn with a solo, but with everyone else already quiet, he didn't need to be brought up. Wart and Nina took their turn and Ciji gave them a little more. Finally, Benny pounded the drums and they returned to the original format. This time Ciji brought Eric up as he played through the first verse and a double chorus to finish it.

The crowd loved it and applauded heavily. As they quieted, Benny started tapping out the next song on the frame of his set.

Ciji recognized this one and set the mixer while Eric changed settings on his keyboard, Wart and Nina slid clips toward the base of their guitar necks, and Tish and Blake grabbed a tambourine and clacker. Benny switched to the rim of his snare as Greg started a low and fast rhythm and Eric came in sounding like a wooden wind chime. It was a surrealistic mix of percussion and high and low extremes, but the crowd liked it. Two girls that had been dancing earlier came back up and churned rhythmically.

Suddenly, Ciji was yanked onto the dance floor. It took a moment to get steady again; dancing on stilts was a completely new experience, but the girl wouldn't let the morph fall over.

“Don't hog him all to yourself." The other girl caught the genet's fluffy, striped tail and danced with it.

When the song ended, the girl kissed Ciji's lips, "You're so cute."

The genet blushed and stumbled back, then fell over. There was a collective gasp and Greg jumped off the stage to help, but Ciji waved him off, taking the opportunity to remove the stilts.

“I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?"

“Just a little embarrassed." Ciji got up, letting the girl help, then kissed her back, making her blush.

The other girl giggled, then checked behind the morph, “Is your tail okay?"

The genet turned around and waved it for her, then grabbed the stilts and headed back to the mixer.

"Alright, well, let's keep things going with Noctero." Blake pointed to Eric, then stepped back in the silence to tap the edge of the keyboard.

The small man shook himself from staring at Ciji, then started to play. The organ sound was dark and mysterious and Greg joined in low, then Benny hit the drums hard and Wart and Nina came in strong. Blake sounded like a different person as he growled through the lyrics, but Tish soared in beautiful contrast on the chorus. Ciji adjusted the treble and bass to enhance the dark feel, then froze, feeling someone standing close. The morph turned around to find one of the girls smiling back.

"I just love your tail. It's so long and fluffy." She grabbed the middle with both hands and slid them to the tip, surprising the genet. "You're fluffy all over!" She grabbed the small morph in a hug and started stroking the tail repeatedly.

Eric hit an off note and Ciji quickly pushed away from the girl to turn him down a little, but before anyone could comment, the other girl smacked Sam so hard that he fell over a chair.

Troy rushed around the bar and grabbed the cat as he was getting up, then escorted him through the crowd to the door.

"Hey, I'm the victim here! She hit me!"

"And she should have done it sooner. Out!"

A few people applauded and laughed as the song ended unnoticed under the scene and a man stepped up behind the girl, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. He just thought dancing with a morph meant I wanted to sleep with one, then he got grabby."

The man put his hands on her shoulders, "Stupid throp should know better, to stick to its own kind."

She spun around and smacked him, too.

He held his cheek, "What was that for? I just said what you're thinking."

"That's not what I was thinking, at all."

"What, you think it's okay for humans to screw beasts?"

"Right now, Ciji has a better chance with me than a bigot like you."

He pointed and glared angrily at the morph, "That throp better stick to doing his job and keep his dirty paws off my girl."

"_ And _ it's time for you to leave, too." Troy stepped in front of the man's finger.

"What, you're kicking me out for defending my girl?"

Troy chuckled, "She can clearly take care of herself and you're ruining everyone's good time, so out."

"Fuck this place. Come on, let's go."

"A few dates doesn't make me your girl."

"I drove you here. How are you getting home?"

Troy butted in, "Not your problem anymore, just go."

"Whatever." He looked around at everyone staring, then rudely shoved his way to the door.

Blake stepped back onto the stage, "Alright. Let's get back to the music." He pointed to Benny, who banged out the intro to the next song, then started the beat and everyone else came in as Ciji balanced the board, only half watching as Tish started the low, moody lyrics.

Troy turned back to the girl, "Any more problems?"

"No." She sighed, "I hope not. I'm sorry. I should go, too."

"Not until they're both long gone. Why don't you go clean up in the bathroom and when you come back, I'll buy you a drink."

"I don't want anything, but thank you." She tried to smile, then headed for the bathroom.

The girl behind Ciji followed after her and Troy came over to kneel by the morph. "Everything okay here?"

The genet paused at his strong smell of tobacco and cinnamon, "Um, I'm okay. Sorry about the trouble."

Troy chuckled, "You're no trouble. It's been a quiet night; probably because the music's so good. Keep up the good work." He stood up and patted the morph's back as he walked back around the bar.

"Alright. We're still Inverted Aura and that was Tempered Seal . Be sure to check out our site and our new album. Here's the last one from that album, Price of the Street ."

Nina leaned back and played a syncopated walk down her guitar, then repeated it with Wart. Greg joined the next repeat and one more time for Eric, then Benny joined in and they settled into the song.

After adjusting the board, Ciji turned to find the two girls kneeling down.

"Hey, um, we're sorry about how we treated you."

"It's okay, I liked dancing with you." The genet smiled.

"No, it's not okay. Well, um..."

The other girl tried to finish for her, "We were talking and we realized that we wouldn't have acted like that if you were human and that's wrong."

"It's not wrong wrong, but..." She offered her hand timidly, "Hi, I'm AJ and this is Tira. We just..."

"Alright. Hope it's not a school night for anybody, because we're keeping ya up late. It's time for the Class Bell Riot ."

Ciji turned back to the board as Eric played a bell and faded it down while everyone hit incrementally faster beats that led into the organized chaos of the song. The genet made sure everyone was blended in, then turned back to the girls. "I'm not upset at either of you."

"I know. It's just..."

"We used you like an object, a play toy, instead of a person and that's not right."

"And then with what Phil said, we didn't want you to think we're like that."

Ciji touched AJ's arm, "Oh, I could tell you're not like him. Why were you even dating him?"

"He seemed nice. We never talked about morphs, or anything, really. At least I found a new friend from it." She put her arm around Tira.

"Two friends, right Ciji?"

AJ looked expectantly to the morph.

Ciji smiled and nodded, "Definitely."

All three hugged happily.

AJ leaned back to look at the morph, "And I'm sorry about kissing you without asking."

"Don't be. You surprised me, but I liked that, too."

"Can I do it again?"

The song ended with a final bell.

"Sure, but..."

AJ grabbed Ciji's face and kissed the surprised genet's lips.

"Alright! Let's..."

Eric started playing hard and fast and Blake turned to look at him in confusion, then Benny shrugged and punctuated the end of the wild phrase. Blake quickly shouted into his mic, "Tornado!" Everyone but Greg picked up as the chaotic phrase started again.

"Come on, let's dance."

Ciji looked panicked, "I don't know this one; I need to figure out the board. You go ahead." The girls jumped out to dance, spinning and gyrating, and left the genet trying to find the song in the cacophony. Everything stopped suddenly again and everyone shouted "Tornado!" This time Greg joined in, playing almost along with Eric. Varney appeared and grabbed Ciji's computer, quickly stopping the list and running a preset called test3, then stood behind the genet.

It seemed like chaos, but there was something... They were passing around a phrase... No, the whole thing was like a hyper-speed round, each starting in a different place, playing the same thing until they got back to where they were, then, "Tornado!" Ciji picked where Eric started and highlighted him, then Nina with the phrase, then Wart, then it disappeared, then Benny had it, then back to Eric, but gave Greg the highlight.

"Tornado!" Much of the audience joined in and suddenly it was over.

The crowd cheered and applauded as Blake shook his head and gave Eric a glare. "Alright. Well that storm struck out of nowhere."

The keyboardist shrugged, "What?"

"Let's get back on track with Cramberry."

Greg started out a short phrase that he repeated four times before Benny and Eric came in. Another four and Wart and Nina started the song with Tish. This one was familiar and easy to set, so Ciji hopped out to dance. It didn't flow like Moving, it bounced and so did the genet. The girls joined in and mimicked the morph's energetic dancing. Ciji bounced over to the mixer a couple times to adjust the sound for the bridge and after, then Tira caught that long, striped tail to dance with it to the end.

"Alright. We've got one more for you. You've been a great audience. Thank Troy for having us. We've been Inverted Aura. Check out our new album on our website. Let's thank Ciji for a great job and don't kidnap our sound tech, no matter how cute the genet is. We're ready to wrap things up here with Zombie Down. "

Ciji pulled the tail-barnacle girl to the board as Benny started fast with brushes. Greg and Wart came together with a pair of phrases that made the morph's fur crawl. Nina came in with wailing and bending notes and Eric underneath, sounding like three strange instruments at once. Blake and Tish traded moans, then started singing while moaning.

"Are you okay?" Tira tried to brush the genet's fur back down.

"This song just makes me feel ... I don't know. It was weird on headphones, but in person, it's so much more ..." The small morph shivered and all the fur Tira had pushed down stood back up.

The girl gave a frustrated sigh, "Come on. Let's go dance. That'll distract you." She caught both of the morph's paws and backed up until she ran into AJ, then put the genet between them.

Ciji tried to relax and join them, but something felt wrong. It felt like somebody was watching. Well, everybody was watching. Looking around, there were a lot of faces of unfamiliar people, human faces, but they were all smiling and enjoying the music. Except Tod at the end of the bar, but he didn't look as dangerous as this felt. Karma was leaning on a bar stool and shaking her butt around. Troy was still serving drinks and stopped for a second to give some instruction to one of his staff. The band was into their song. The only one looking was Eric and he was smiling as he played. What was it? Something was just... The bathroom door opened. A chair fell over. A burst of laughter. Something was suddenly on the genet's ear, moving and holding. Ciji tried to see, but couldn't, then grabbed at AJ's shirt for help. The girl looked and laughed, then opened her mouth menacingly and leaned over. The genet was being eaten, but knew they weren't, but still , the feeling... Had to get away.

The song ended with Wart and Greg bending off key notes around Eric's awkward chord while Nina played quickly.

Ciji broke free and rushed to the mixer, then looked back, panicked.

"Ow!" Tira held her arm and AJ looked from it to the scared looking morph.

Benny smacked the end and everyone stopped.

"Alright. That's it for our show. We're Inverted Aura. Did everyone have a good time?"

The crowd cheered and the girls looked up to applaud.

"Alright. We'd like to thank Troy and his OM for having us. Check out our website for our music and contact info. We could be playing at your next party. Have a good night and get home safe."

AJ and Tira started clapping and chanting and the crowd picked it up, "More. More. More. More"

Blake looked at the rest of the band and got approving shrugs and nods, then checked with Troy and got another nod, "More? What do you mean you want more?"

"Moving. Moving. Moving." The girls started another chant with the crowd, then rushed over to Ciji.

The morph was confused, "I'm so, so sorry. Did I hurt your arm?"

"Don't worry about it. Come dance with us."

"No, no. I don't want to hurt you again."

"It's fine. Look, no blood. You just surprised me, that's all. Come on." Tira started brushing down the genet's fur and AJ joined in, then they gently pulled Ciji out in front of the stage as the audience cheered.

"Alright, Greg. Get us Moving."

Greg played a flourish, then started the intro.

AJ and Tira held onto Ciji and tried to get the genet to dance.

The comforting music helped to push away the uneasy feeling from the previous song, slowly relaxing from ears to tail. When Tira caught that fluffy tail, Ciji finally let go. In a fluid motion, the genet swung around to rub against the backs of her legs, then slipped between them and danced around AJ. The girls laughed and danced as their small morph friend twirled and snaked and flowed around them. The band played through the new longer version as the audience clapped along, then finished with an improvised tail that toyed with the crowd.

Ciji hugged AJ and Tira during the applause, "Thank you so much. I needed that. I don't know what happened earlier."

"Don't worry about it. We got a little carried away and it's been a crazy night."

Ciji took a closer look at Tira's arm and rubbed the white claw marks.

"Sorry about eating your ear." Tira stroked the ear she had nibbled.

"Yeah, we didn't know it would freak you out that bad. We were just playing around."

Ciji felt the tender touch echo all the way down. "No, I ... The music got to me, that's all."

AJ knelt down and started to stroke the other ear. "So, now that you're feeling better, we can play with them some more?"

The genet smiled at the tingly sensation, then gently shook off their hands, "Not here. No, no."

Tira knelt down and scritched the back of Ciji's neck, then started rubbing the genet's belly. "I'd love to take you home with me. You could have all the petting and attention you want."

AJ joined in, scritching the genet under the chin and at the base of the tail, "Can I come too, Tira?"

"Of course. We can both make him feel good."

Ciji melted, putting paws on their knees to stay up. It felt so good, it was very tempting. A box hit the floor, breaking the moment and the genet pulled away. "I, I should help pack up."

Tod was boxing up the mixer and gave the morph an annoyed glare.

Varney was putting the stilts in the cart and smiled, "I've got this. Go on."

The genet looked back nervously at the smiling girls, then Eric rolled his keyboard between them and stopped.

"Hey Ciji, what did you think of the show?"

Ciji was glad for the change in topic, "I liked it, but there were some songs I hadn't heard before."

"Yeah. What did you think of Tornado?"

"It was interesting. Kind of chaotic, but it worked."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Hey Eric, keep moving." Benny came up behind him pushing a cart with half his drums and they continued through the crowd.

AJ moved closer and leaned down to whisper in the genet's ear, "Is he gay? I think he likes you."

Ciji was flustered, "Um..."

"Here's your cart." Varney smiled and rolled it beside the morph.

Tod pushed the boxed up mixer past and bumped Ciji's tail.

"Hey, watch it, jerk!" Tira jumped up, but Tod kept going.

Wart and Nina walked by with their gear, "Great show, Ciji. Thanks."

Then Greg went by, "Hey Ciji, come out to Blake's van for the after meeting."

"Oh." Ciji looked to the girls, "Gotta go. Thanks for all the fun. I'll message you later." The genet hugged both of them, then grabbed the cart and headed out, leaving them a little confused.

Benny came back with his empty cart and held the door as Ciji left.