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Most of the band was gathered by the back of Blake's van and Ciji joined them.

Greg grabbed the genet's cart, "I'll run this over to my car. Have a seat."

Ciji climbed onto the bumper and noticed Blake and Tish coming around the building.

"Alright. Benny's getting the last of his stuff and should be out soon and Varney's talking with Troy. I think we made good time."

"Why did we leave so quickly?"

Blake smiled at Ciji as Nina leaned over to explain, "It's Blake's idea of good show business."

"Leave 'em wanting more. Besides, when we open for other bands, we need to get out of their way quickly."

Varney walked up behind Blake as Benny pushed his cart around the building, "You can always go back in after Blake has his say. I think those girls would like that."

Nina nudged the genet playfully, "Yeah, Ciji's stealing our fans."

Blake grinned, "It's not stealing if she's one of us. I think it was a great show and they were dancing to our music. Ciji's work on the board made a big difference."

"It wasn't that great," Tod grumbled.

Tish looked at Ciji, "I liked what you did with Morning. The silence really made an impact."

"I could have done that."

"So why didn't you?" Nina snapped at Tod.

"Enough," Blake interrupted, "We liked it, Tod. Deal with it. Next. Eric, what was with starting Tornado?"

Eric shrugged, "It was ready and everybody loved it."

"But Greg wasn't. He hadn't had a chance to practice it with us."

"He did okay."

Greg chuckled, "Just give me a little warning next time, so I don't look like I don't know what I'm doing."

"Right. For future reference, Greg, you shouldn't be in sync with anyone, but we'll get it right at practice."

Greg nodded.

"How's your throat, Tish? I heard you crack."

"Yeah, I felt it, but I made it through. I'll be okay."

Blake kissed her cheek and hugged her. "And Nina..."

"I know. I know. Slow it down."

"I was going to say nice job keeping the tempo."

"Ha! Really? Awesome!" She excitedly kissed Wart, then hung on his shoulder.

"On a non-production note, great dancing, Ciji. I think it helped loosen up the crowd. I wanted to make sure you're okay, though. First they're kissing you, then they're biting you?"

"I'm fine. She surprised me with the kiss."

Eric dropped his keys and bent down to pick them up.

"You looked a little freaked out at the end of Zombie Down. Do we need to include a warning not to eat the band members?"

Ciji liked being called a band member, "Oh, we talked about it. It's okay now. That song is just really weird."

Nina grinned, "It's supposed to be creepy, like a classic zombie movie soundtrack."

"I've never seen a zombie movie."

Nina brightened explosively, "Oh, you need to be educated. We have got to have an emergency movie night. I've got all the best, but you can't go another moment without seeing the original classic that started it all, Night of the Living Dead. You can whine about it being flat black and white all you want, but once you see it in its fully restored glory projected seven feet tall, nothing will ever be the same. I wish we had a house so we could make it twenty feet or fifty feet ... but ... um ... Zombies are cool." She finally gave in to Wart trying to reign her in, but punctuated her last statement with a nudge to the genet's shoulder.

Blake chuckled, "Alright, Nina can zombify you later. Is everybody going to make it to practice Wednesday?"

The band members looked at each other for someone to say no.

"Alright, good. Tish and I are going back in for a beer. We'll see you guys later. Great show."

As they turned away, Ciji leaned to Nina, "He says 'Alright' a lot."

Nina jumped up to stand on the bumper of Blake's van and shouted, "Alright Blake, see you later alright. Alright?"

Blake waved back, then turned to Tod, who was trying to talk to him.

Wart smirked, "We've mentioned it."

Greg nudged Ciji, "So, are you going back in to dance with those girls some more?"

"Can I? Don't we need to find a place for you to sleep tonight?"

"Don't worry about that. I've already got a plan."

"Well, I can't stay out too late or Tod won't let me in."

Wart laughed, "Are you kidding? Tod'll be here till Troy kicks him out to close up."

"Oh. Are you coming in, too?"

Nina sneered, "Nah, my pills don't go well with alcohol."

"And she turns into a gremlin if she stays up too late."

Nina jabbed at his ribs, then grinned, "Besides, Harvey gives me plenty of reasons to go to bed early." She hugged Wart's arm and nibbled at his neck.

"Who's Harvey?"

Wart offered his hand, "Wart is just a stage name. I'm Harvey Tailor and Nina is Kathryn Unruh."

Ciji shook his hand. "Why doesn't anyone else have stage names?"

"It's just a personal choice. For us, the performance is more than just the music."

"When I'm grabbing at those strings, nothing else matters and Kathryn's world doesn't exist. Nina is a better person and people like her."

"I'm just glad Nina likes Wart."

She wrapped a leg around his waist and pressed against him, "You keep plucking like you do and how could I not?"

Wart kissed her lips and pulled at her back, then Greg cleared his throat and he pushed her down.

"So, um, why not be Nina all the time?" Ciji wondered.

Nina dropped her leg, "It's exhausting. I feel great as Nina, but i can't keep it up twenty-four, seven."

"We try to work around her crashes and make sure she's safe, but stress can sometimes make them unpredictable."

"Like Tod or Sam or..."

"Let's not think about stress right now." Wart tried to keep her calm.

"You're right. Ciji's not stress and doesn't deserve to meet Kathryn."

"Is ... Kathryn really that bad?" Ciji still wasn't sure what to think.

"I'll put it this way: Harvey has bruises from trying to save me from myself and I love the stubborn idiot for putting up with it."

"You're worth it. How could I not?" He slipped behind her with his arms around her middle and nibbled her neck.

Greg chuckled, "I think we should head back in, so they can get home before they lose their clothes."

Wart whispered in her ear and Nina laughed, "Clothes don't get in our way. Wouldn't be the first time we played outside."

Greg smirked knowingly, "Just don't get arrested again. I've got enough to deal with tonight"

"No problem," Wart picked up Nina and carried her struggling and laughing to the car.

"You're gonna owe me for that!"

Wart whispered to her again as he put her down and her eyes went wide with a grin and she quickly got in the car.

Greg headed back to the bar, "Looks like they'll be having a good time tonight. Why don't we go find those girls and maybe you can, too."

Ciji hopped off the bumper and caught up. "Um, Greg, I don't know. I just liked dancing with them. I don't really know them."

"Well, that's why we go back in and you can get to know them. If you like to dance, just dance."

Eric stepped up to walk beside the genet, "Um, Ciji, can I dance with you?"

Ciji smiled and looked at him, "I'd like that. Should I get my stilts?"

"That's okay. I'll just bend over a little."

"Well, you were right, it is a scrawny little throp." A group of five men stepped in front of them. "This tiny thing gave you trouble?"

"Not the throp. It was all the fur loving freaks in the bar protecting it, especially the bartender." AJ's date was with them.

Greg stepped up, "Why don't you guys just leave us alone tonight."

"Figures the nigger'd stand up for the throp."

"Yeah, the bartender's a nigger, too."

"Guess we need to teach them a lesson." The main bigot glared at Greg, "Do you know your place or do I need to beat you down to it?"

One punch put the guy on the ground and he looked up to see Blake standing over him as Tish rushed up to pull him back. Lights came up on the crowd and a horn honked, then Kathryn jumped out of the car and rushed at one of the men. She kicked and sent a gun flying that the guy had pulled out, then wrapped her arms around his neck and wrestled him to the ground. Harvey rushed up to pull her off, but she turned and grabbed his throat. He deftly wrapped his arm around hers and turned her around, speaking calmly in her ear as he held her struggling.

A loud shot went off, making Ciji jump and grab Eric, and everyone turned to see Troy lowering a double barrel shotgun at them, "That's enough. The cops are on their way. Inverted Aura can get out of here, but you guys are going to sit against the wall."

The band made their way to their cars.

"That's not gonna happen. You can go fuck yourself, nigger."

The big man moved threateningly toward Troy and he pulled the trigger.

The guy yelled in shock, then groaned in agony, "What the hell is this?" The other guys started to groan as the cloud drifted past them.

"That's my own mix of salt and chili oil." Troy snapped the gun closed and pointed it at them again. "Now we've progressed to pellets. Anybody want the next shot? There's enough of you that somebody could get this slug. A hole in the chest is great for sleeping." He held up a green cartridge. "Now, everybody over to the wall and sit down."

The men grumbled as they complied, lining up at the bottom of the wall. Troy waved as the band's four cars pulled out of the parking lot.

"Man, what a crappy end to a great night. Who were those guys?" Benny leaned forward between the seats.

"Doesn't matter; they're getting what they deserve." Greg watched the road as he tried to forget.

"Well, did you see Nina jump in there? She was ready to take them all on. That was so cool."

"No it wasn't. If she gets in trouble like that, they could lock her up for good."

"Oh. That wouldn't be cool. Well, what about those girls that were dancing; looked like they liked you, Ciji, then Sam got in there and Troy kicked him out again. I didn't see what that other guy did."

"Benny ... Just sit back." Greg was trying to forget his frustration that people like that still existed.

"That guy was AJ's boyfriend. He was with the guys in the parking lot because he was mad at me. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble tonight." Ciji fidgeted.

"Hey, none of that was your fault. Those guys were looking for trouble and they found it. You didn't do anything wrong."

Ciji thought about scratching Tira's arm and rejecting Sam and Karma's attitude and

Greg's phone rang and he pulled over to answer it, then put it on speaker, "Yeah, we're all fine; a little rattled, maybe."

Blake's voice came over the phone, "Good, good. You have Ciji and Benny?"

"Yeah, both."

"Hey Blake," Benny piped up.

"Would you call Eric? I'm going to try Harvey, but I suspect he has his hands full."

"Yeah, no problem."

"I just want to make sure everybody is safe and handling it okay. I mean, we had that fight break out in front of us while we were playing last year, but this was actually directed at us. Hey Ciji, are you there?"

"I'm here."

"I want you to know we're with you. You're part of the band, so nobody gets to give you any trouble. Alright?"

Ciji smiled at hearing his favorite word, "Alright."

"Are you guys headed home?"

"I'm dropping Benny off, but Ciji has to hang out until Tod gets home."

"Tod went home after I told him I wasn't paying him for tonight; just before Troy saw you on the security cam."

"I guess that's where we're going, then."

"Alright, so Greg, you call Eric and I'll try to get ahold of Harvey. We take care of each other. Have a good night guys."

The phone beeped, then Greg searched through his contacts, "You know what; here, you talk to him." He set the phone in the genet's lap and got the car moving again.

"Wait, what do I say?" The phone started ringing on speaker.

"Just talk to him to see that he's not freaked out by what happened."

"Hey Greg," Eric drolled over the phone.

Ciji replied nervously, "Hey Eric."

"Ciji? Hi!" His tone picked up. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Are you?"

"I'm good; well mostly. I was just telling my mom what happened. It was a little scary, but I'm glad those guys didn't get a chance to hurt you. I think my mom wants to meet you. I told her she should come to one of our shows, but she's not a fan of what we play. I'm glad you like it. You're coming to the rehearsal, right? I want you to hear some of the songs we're working on."

"Later, Eric." Benny shouted as he got out.

"Benny?"

"We're just dropping him off, now."

"Greg?"

"Who'd ya think? It's my phone."

"What happened to Ciji?"

"I'm still here."

Greg chuckled, "We're heading to Tod's."

"Ugh, do you have to?"

"That's where Ciji's staying."

"I can still talk to my mom about the spare room."

"Relax Eric, we'll be fine."

"But Tod wasn't happy about Ciji taking his job. What if he decides to kick him out."

"Why don't you come over and make sure he doesn't?"

"What? What am I gonna to do?"

"Whatever you have to."

"But..."

"Hey, we're here. Let me know if you're coming. Talk to you later." Greg ended the call and took his phone back.

"We're not there, yet" Ciji watched the buildings pass by.

"Yeah, I just lit a fire."

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes Eric needs a push. He didn't think he was good enough to join a band, but I tricked him into a rehearsal and look at him now."

"He is good. And he wrote Tornado?"

"Yeah, he's got talent. He just needs someone to show him what to do with it sometimes."

"Like you?"

"I don't want the permanent position, but I may have to train my replacement." He parked the car and looked at Ciji, "Ready for this? I'm going to make him mad, but just trust me."

Ciji nodded solemnly.

Greg got the genet's cart and a couple bags of his own from the trunk, then they headed up to Tod's apartment. He knocked loudly and waited.

"Go the fuck away," Tod shouted from inside.

Greg knocked harder.

The door swung open and Tod shouted, "Fuck off!" at Greg's belt, then stood up.

"Hi, Tod." Greg pushed his way into the apartment and Ciji timidly followed.

"Didn't you hear me say go away?"

"Well, we're here now." Greg tossed his bags by the bedroom door.

Tod slammed the door. "What do you want?"

"You need a roommate, I need a place to stay; I'm moving in."

"What? Fuck that. This is my apartment; I say who moves in. You guys already screwed me over with the gig. What makes you think I'd want you here?"

"Because you need the money." Greg held out a couple bills.

Tod snatched the money. "You already owed me this from the show."

"Owed you?"

"I showed up. You wasted my time."

Greg tried not to laugh. "What about all the money I've loaned you and you never paid back?"

"How can I pay you back if this throp steals my job?"

Greg was done laughing. "How about I take your spare room and we forget about your debt and what you just said."

Tod knew that face. The game was over. He lost. "Fine. But my stuff stays where it is and you don't touch it. This is my apartment. You're not going to come in and take over the place."

Greg smirked, "Whatever you say, Tod."

"I'm going for a beer. Don't make a mess." He grabbed his coat and slammed the door as he left.

Ciji stared at the door, then looked at Greg as he walked to the couch and flopped on it. "Didn't he just say..."

"Tod says a lot of things. Come on over and relax." He pulled out his phone to check his messages and smiled, then tapped a quick reply. "Eric's on his way. He just asked about Tod's mood. He'll be happy to hear..." Another message arrived. "Yep, he's on his way up. Why don't you answer the door."

Ciji hesitated nervously, "Greg, what are you trying to do?"

"Relax. He's cute; you're cute; you've got something in common. Go with it. Unless you'd rather invite those girls over?"

That didn't help any, but a knock at the door interrupted the conversation. Ciji anxiously turned to open it.

Eric smiled when he saw the genet."Hey Ciji. Is Tod treating you okay?"

"Um, Greg talked to him. Do you want to come in?"

He stepped inside, so Ciji could close the door. "Uh, you look a little ... ruffled. Are you still shook up from those guys?"

The day had been an emotional roller coaster, but Ciji was thinking more about the man smiling back than the parking lot, "Kinda."

"I would have done whatever I had to to protect you."

Greg laughed loud, "You would've been play dough to those guys."

"I don't care. They weren't going to hurt my friend."

"Hey, okay. Come on over and get comfortable. I don't want to talk about them anymore." Greg patted the couch beside him.

Eric gestured and smiled for Ciji to lead, then followed the genet to join Greg on the couch.

Greg put his arm behind them on the back of the couch, "What a show. The audience was really into it. It's great when they're responding like that. Makes it easier to keep up the energy."

Eric held his hands in his lap nervously, "Yeah and I think they liked my song."

"I liked it." Ciji smiled at him.

"Everybody liked it. Let's get some music going." Greg turned on the sound system and woke up Tod's computer. He scowled at the background image of a bound, and gagged sheep and quickly opened up the music to hide it. Morning After an Evening started playing and he smirked, "I'm going to go change my shirt; got a little ripe on stage tonight." He got up and grabbed his bags as he headed into his bedroom. It was just a bare bed in an empty room, but it was quiet. He dropped his bags on the end and flopped on it, reveling in a moment alone.

"So, uh, you ... you really liked Tornado?"

"I did. I thought it was great how everybody was playing the same thing, but mixed up and going around like in a tornado."

Eric grinned and excitedly grabbed the genet's arm, "That's the idea. And each section is supposed to sound like different things that might get picked up in a tornado, but you probably already noticed that, too." He noticed that he had touched the morph and got worried that he didn't have permission.

Ciji smiled and touched his hand, "No, I didn't, but that's okay. I see what you mean, now."

He looked at the small, furry hand on his, "You don't mind if I touch you?"

"I like to be touched. When I was young, my mom and dad would hold me and scritch me to make me feel better."

"Scritch?"

"Yeah, they would start at my neck and work down my back, moving my fur with their fingers, and it didn't matter if I was scared or angry or anything, it all just melted away." Ciji leaned against him, remembering the feeling, then gasped softly as it almost became real.

"Like this?" Eric rubbed the genet's neck and shoulders.

"Just the tips of your fingers." Ciji gave a satisfied moan as he got it right.

Eric continued scritching and as the genet slowly fell over into his lap, he used both hands to scritch over the morph's whole back, enjoying the pleasured sounds, maybe a little too much.

After a while, Ciji rolled over to smile up at him and pulled his hands in to continue with belly scritches.

Greg was pulled from his thoughts by a moan. He got up and peeked out the door, then tried not to laugh as he saw Eric playing the genet like his keyboard and getting very happy sounds from it, especially when he moved a hand up to stroke the morph's ears. It seemed like such a nice scene, he was just going to let them be, but when he noticed Eric's other hand slowly pushing down the top of Ciji's pants, he decided that it was time to remind them that they weren't alone. He pulled off his shirt and grabbed a fresh one.

The front door swung open and slammed shut as Tod stormed in. He dropped the half a six pack he was carrying and threw an empty can at the kitchen. "What the fuck is this?!"

Ciji jumped up and scrambled to get off the couch. Eric tried to get up, but his arm got tangled in the genet's shirt. He pulled it free and they scrambled to their feet as Tod fumed.

"You force your way into my apartment, force me out of my jobs, and now I catch you fucking some loser on my couch! Fuck no!"

"Tod!" Greg pulled his shirt down as he came out, then reeled from the smell, "Damn, you're drunk."

"No. You don't get to say anything. You're not staying. Get the fuck out. Everybody get the fuck out, especially the throp fucking freak."

Greg scowled, "Tod, they weren't doing anything; that's Eric."

"Yeah, he's a double loser. Doesn't deserve to be in the band. I could play better keyboard right now with my feet and he's a fur fucking freak, too. He should just go kill himself before someone does it for him."

"Tod, you're..."

Eric ran past and out the door.

"You're an asshole, Tod!"

"Yeah, but it's my fucking apartment." Tod groaned and grabbed his chest. "I'm gonna piss. When I get back I want everybody gone." He started for the bathroom, then dashed and threw up in the toilet.

Greg was flustered, but solidified a plan. He pointed to Ciji, "Hide in the closet. I've got to get Eric." He dashed out.

Ciji hurried to the closet and closed the door, then climbed up to the shelf, keeping the light off, and listened. It didn't seem like a good idea; Tod knew where to look and there was no other way to escape. The toilet flushed, Tod walked around, nothing happened. Greg would be back soon and he would deal with Tod. The waiting felt like forever, listening to him grumble and shuffle. Ciji decided to get online and quietly see if somebody else could help. Nobody responded; the other band members were dealing with their own problems.

"Why the fuck am I messing around with this crap when I've got the real thing?" The closet door swung open and slammed against the wall.

Ciji scrambled to the back of the shelf and tried to see in the sudden light, then didn't want to.

Tod stood naked in front of the closet and sneered up at the throp, "Just what I need to fix this shit of a day." He snatched the small creature's neck and dragged it off the shelf. It grabbed and clawed at his arm, so he slammed it down on the table. "You're gonna do what you were made for whether you like it or not. I'm gonna fuck you in half and when I'm done, I'll throw you away like the trash you are."

Ciji struggled, but he was too heavy. It was hard to breathe, let alone scream for help.

He grabbed the throp's small head with one hand and held it on the table as he yanked off its pants, then pulled its butt up by its tail. He pressed his thumb against the creature's butt hole, "You're gonna get it the hard way. Wanna see the monster that'll rip you open?"

It hurt. It hurt, but Ciji managed enough breath to try pleading with him and looked up at him, "Please stop." He was stroking furiously, but it wasn't much bigger than his thumb, but that didn't matter.

"That's right, beg, cry. You know this is gonna hurt and then you'll die. Lemme see your fear, throp." He yanked its tail again and rubbed against it, only slightly disappointed that there wasn't more begging and screaming, like the videos.

Ciji stared at the couch, thinking maybe it might be good to just pass out and not remember any more. Then the world turned upside down. Tod was grunting and yelling. Ciji looked up to see Greg on top of Tod and beating him into the couch.

"Wait. Stop."

Greg froze, choking Tod and ready to hit him again as he looked down at the small morph on the floor. "What?! You can't tell me you wanted him to do that."

"No. No," Ciji found breath and curled up, "but if you kill him, they'll take you away."

The big man looked down at the disgusting thing trying to pull his hand away from his throat and wondered if it would be worth it.

"The police are coming. Somebody already called them." Eric pointed at his phone.

Ciji wanted to disappear between the overturned table and the couch.

Greg let go and Tod yelled, "Agh! Get your fucking knee off my dick, you fat ass!"

Greg noticed it was there and pressed harder, making Tod yell, then grabbed a pillow to put under him and sat on Tod's hips.

"Get off me, you fucking pig! Perverted jackass! I'll fucking kill you!"

Greg raised his arm threateningly and Tod shut his mouth, glaring menacingly up at the man sitting on top of him.

Greg noticed the small morph huddled and staring at Tod. "Are you okay?" No response. "Eric, take Ciji to the bedroom."

Eric turned to close the door.

"Leave it open, so I don't have to get up when the police get here."

Eric nodded and came over, kneeling by the genet, "Come on, Ciji." After some coaxing, he led his furry friend away and they climbed onto the bare bed.

Ciji leaned against him and pulled his arms around, trying to feel safe.

Eric held the genet, wishing he could do more and feeling terrible that he didn't stay and stop Tod.

"Am I... just... a thing... to be used and thrown away?"

"No! No." Eric held Ciji tight, "I don't want to use you or throw you away. I want to keep you forever..." He realized what he said a moment to late. "Not... not 'keep' like own you, but... but like... a friend. I... I love you."

Ciji stared to cry and hugged him tight.

Without thinking about it, Eric started to scritch Ciji's back as the small morph cried against him.

"Sir, I need you to get off him."

"Get this fucking asshole off me and get them all out of my apartment! It's my fucking apartment!"

"You may want to cuff him first."

"We'll take care of it, just get off of him, now."

"Get the fuck off me!"

"Sir, I need you to lie down on the floor."

"Fuck that! Don't listen to them. This is my fucking apartment. Arrest them."

"Sir, if you don't get on the floor, I will arrest you for indecent exposure."

"Like fuck! This is my fucking apartment. I can be naked in my own apartment. I can do whatever the fuck I want in my fucking apartment. If you don't like it, get the fuck out and take these fuck holes with you. This is my fucking apartment!"

Ciji clung to Eric, wanting to be anywhere but Tod's fucking apartment.