Savannah Blues Part 4
#5 of Savannah Blues
Savannah Blues (4) By Roofles
Isaac was lagging behind as Jack sprinted ahead stopping at the corner to wave back at him. The streets were beginning to grow dark as the sun set behind the tall looming buildings. The side walk was still damp from the rain and puddles litered the streets. A street lamp flickered on as the hyena, huffing and puffing, finally caught up with the wild dog. Jack was a natural sprinter and could out run even a cheetah and speak of the devil said cheetah was waving at them from across the street. The yellow spotted cat was in high spirits as he waved over to them. A large anteater was with him checking his watch most likely going to critic them for being late. Isaac didn't mean to sleep in but the company he had proved to be a lot more cuddlesome than he was used to and the minutes had ticked by as the two kicked back and enjoyed themselves. The small weasel next to them was tapping his paw waiting for them to hurry up. The african skunk was as black as was his american cousins; white eyebrows and a single white mark between them, the back of his hair white that ran down his back splitting into two stripes as was of the sign of any true skunk. He wasn't in the best of the moods. His small wire thin whiskers were rigid and his ears were pricked up, tail straight out. Fuming the skunk called over to them his voice drowning out as a car raced by. Isaac held the street post for support panting finally catching up to the wild dog who wasn't even breaking a sweat. Jack tapped the button again. "Evan's going to rip your throat out." He smiled waving back to the smaller skunk who flipped him off. Isaac straightened up still panting, "we're only a half hour late." Jack pushed the button again. "We were half an hour late when we left. It takes a good fifteen, thirty minutes to get here walking." "Running," Isaac corrected bending back over and holding his knees. "It's not easy you know." Jack touched his shoulder as the walk sign lit up. The two crossed the street both slowing their pace as they clossed the distance between them and the small fuming 'rodent'. The skunk was already biting their ear off even before their paws reached the sidewalk. "I told you not to be late." He scowled, more so at Jack than Isaac. "I sent you about fifteen invites for this thing on furbook. I even sent texts, mailed letters and called you twice!" "You didn't send letters, Ev." The anteater said after slapping paws with Isaac, the two giving each other a tight 'bro' hug. Carl tossed an arm over the hyena. "You didn't even call either." "Besides the point, they both knew what time it was and they make us sit here and wait." Evan pleaded trying to make them the enemy and not himself. "We went shopping and ate. And they texted us that they'd be running late. Doing what I'm not sure..." Bix jumped in tossing a yellow, black spotted cheetah arm around Isaac's other shoulder giving him a sly wink. "And you didn't seem to be complaining then." He continued turning back to the smaller male. Out of all the males here Evan was clearly the shortest. Looking more like a dyed weasel than a skunk. He sagged his shoulders in defeat shutting his muzzle grumbling a bit, giving Jack another glare before turning to Isaac and slapping his paws together. "Well then shall we?" "Where we headed too?" Isaac asked trying to shrug the two from his shoulders. Carl wasn't exactly a small guy and Bix could make him run for his money. The two males seemed to know this and just leaned on him a bit more making his knees shake. "A new bar just opened," Carl said clicking his long claws together. "It should be fun, looked like a chill place." "A few of my hound friends told me about it." Bix said letting go and motioning for them to follow. "Just down the street and into a little side ally. Look you can even see the windows," he said pointing to a row of windows along the side walk at the end before it turned the corner. Light was seeping from them and shadows could be seen moving inside. Isaac never got that, windows on the bottom of the sidewalk. I mean if you had a paw fetish I guess that'd be fine, but otherwise why would you want to watch a bunch of random furs feet go by all day? It was kind of weird, at least for him. And already he wasn't interested in seeing the inside as they reached the steps leading down. Down the steps there was a sign reading "Hound Dog," Isaac realizing Bix wasn't just talking about his friends. Using a little word play wasn't exactly like him but then again the cat would do whatever it took to coax a guy into bed. He may come off as your average standard guy but Isaac knew better, just what a 'horndog' the cat could be. In front of the door stood a rather large husky. Shirtless with tight short shorts on. Nothing else. It wasn't much of a surprise that he drew there attention. "Ok. When we're inside just a heads up its a doghouse." The cat forwarned as they took the first few steps down. "Everywhere there are dogs and-," the cat ran into the husky who had blocked his way. "Whoa there kitty," the husky growled looking down at him. "No cats." "What?" Bix blinked a few times looking at him in disbelief. "I was just here the other night, Rubert and I-," "Rubert doesn't know no cats." The husky said. Bix blinked a few more times taken aback. "What do you mean no cats." Evan said speaking up again. The skunks hackles were raising and his tail was sticking out straight. He had always been a hot head looking for a fight even with a guy twice or three times his size. The husky could pick him up with one paw and toss him back up the stairs with ease and still the skunk was putting on his fighting gloves. The husky looked at the skunk, wrinkling his nose after the gears finally managed to turn in his head, the light flickering on. The dog obviously didn't recognize what he was until his eyes ran down his back and up his tail along those twin white stripes. The large dog jabbed his thumb at the tinted bar window next to them. A small wooden sign hung from a hook reading in small black letter "Canines Only." "That can't be I was just here." Bix pressed taking a step back to examine the sign. "I'm sure that wasn't there before." "Look, kitty." The dog said the word stinging the cat something fierce. Evan's fur was standing on end and he was just waiting for the dog to go on. "I don't know what happened to you the other day but you didn't come in here. Rubert wouldn't be seen in public with a cat." "B-but he even told me to come back," Bix was crestfallen looking down at the steps and at his his own yellowed fur paws. "Look lets just go back to the Honeydew." Carl said placing a paw on the cats shoulders. The dog was looking at the anteater with as much disgust he had given towards the skunk. It wasn't uncommon or unheard of for there to be speciesism. Most groups stayed in their own family and sometimes even then they cut themselves down to only the shallow end. Purebred could be a very sore subject for a lot of families. "This wouldn't be the first place." Isaac reasoned keeping a paw on the skunks shoulder. "A lot of places these days are closing their doors to..." he closed his muzzle as he looked at the husky. The dogs ears perked up and he pointed towards him and Jack. "You two can go in." His face changed going from a scowl to an upbeat happy dog, with large eyes and perked ears. His curly tail was even wagging. "First of all, I'm a hyena. Not a canine." Isaac stated. "Second of all he wouldn't want to hang out with a bunch of shallow, ignorant biggots." Evan laughed in his face glad to throw his two cents in. He was about to go on but Isaac's paw tightened on his shoulder. Carl was lead Bix back up the steps the cat was crushed having been seemingly abandoned by his dog friend. "I'll buy you a dirty martini, would that make it better?" He said softly to the cat walking him up the rest of the steps. The cheetah nodded with a soft whimper. The husky blinked a few times the gears in his head seemingly coming to an abrupt stop, if they were moving at all. He examined the hyena a few times trying to register what he said. "It's a common, ignorant, mistake." Isaac clarified trying to keep his cool as he kept a firm grip on the skunks shoulder. Evan laughed again at the large dog before turning to leave. "Shallow, ball chasers." Evan slurred. "A bunch of hound dogs indeed. Butt sniffing, ball chasing, hand biting, tail raising-," the skunk muttered to himself stomping his way back up the stairs. Isaac shook his head sadly at what the world was coming to before following behind the skunk. The action spoke deeply to Evan but he would never say. People had gone around him or lagged way behind than to walk directly behind him. The stereotype of a skunk was well etched in stone and only a few new age furs could get their minds around it. "It's boring with shallow, close minded people like that anyways. No culture or life," Isaac continued trying to calm the skunk. "Honeydews a great place, no need to fix what isn't broken. Now there's some culture! Cervines, ursines, canines, felines, mustelidae, marsupials - the works! You'll have your pick of guys and gals there my small bi friend, I'll even help you pick out a few." Jack followed Isaac up not really saying anything about the matter looking over his shoulder again as he reached the top of the stairs.
Being back at Honeydews was a nice change. The place was filled with bodies from scales to feathers to fur and every now and then some flesh. It was just a simple underground english styl pub that had been reworked just enough to be viable for society. The whole bar centered around the main pillar that kept the cieling from caving in on them. Isaac thought it looked a lot like that old tv show cheers, but would never say it to the owner. The honeybadger behind the counter was a gruff looking fellow that always looked like he was in a bad mood. Furrowed brows with a scrunched up face the badger served drinks with a hearty laugh that made the nearby anthro's cower away. His rough outward appearance made even the strong willed, head strong older alpha males steer clear of him. And yet you couldn't meet a sweeter guy. The badger was a stout guy with the years finally beginning to wear on him. But as the door opened and closed behind them he was lifting a heavy paw and greeting them with that deep, rustic voice and signaling for a waiter to help them. They took one of the circular tables near the bar and was already immerse in conversation as the waiter took their orders one by one. "So have you heard back from Colin yet?" Carl asked rubbing Bix's back, the cat was letting out a soft purr as the anteater worked the stiffeness from his joints. His eyes were closed and he wasn't thinking of anything else but the nice backrub he was getting. Isaac shook his head and sagged his shoulders. "Would it be wrong to call him? Or text him? Its been a few days now and its just..." "If he's not going to make the effort to contact you. Maybe he's just not worth it." Jack said quicker than he meant. He try to sound innocent about the whole affair as if it didn't concern him, which only crushed the hyena's spirits further. Isaac perserved it that Jack didn't care, that Colin didn't care and in turn the only one who cared was the long island ice tea placed in front of him. Today hadn't been so bad. He had donuts this morning and got in a good nap. But again he had been turned down for something based on his looks and what he was rather than who he was. And it was bringing back some old memories he rather forget. He rested his head on the table mumbling a bit every now and then as his lips wrapped around the end of the straw to his drink and began nursing it. The tea slowly began to disappear as he suckled away lost in his own depression coming back to him. Carl was already signaling for another one. The anteater grumbled at the downcast furs around him. Bix was going to be depressed before a piece of fine meat crossed his hungry gaze. Jack had something up his butt and not the something he wanted, that much was obvious. Evan was always disgruntled but the anteater could understand why, he was in the same boat as he was after all. Such an uncommon species always stood out and not for the better. Isaac was usually the level headed one of the group but the weight of not finding someone, being crushed by someone he thought could've been someone was finally getting to him. It was going to be a long night... Carl did his best though. Spotting a pack of gazelle's he whispered in Bix's ears about the fresh meat and the cheetah was already on his feet doing stretches before sauntering over and picking off the "weak and sickly" one, as he so delicatly put, began coaxing him away from the rest so he would be able to feed. He really was but an animal in the end. One down three to go, the anteater grumbled. Taking the skunk aside he spent a good five, ten minutes easily boosting his confidence. "Your smart and funny, witty and you got a strong will. You have your life planned and your going through with it! You may be smaller than the rest of us but you got a bigger heart than Bix." He had to admit that wasn't saying much but the he could see how much it touched the skunk and kept it up before giving him a high five, saying over and over that he could do it before the skunk was chanting along with him before running off. Carl knew, as he watched the skunk go after someone way out of his league, that he'd be consoling him tomorrow but for now he was free to drink. Isaac was next and easier than the rest usually being the one to help the rest of them out. "And he said he would call! But he hasn't called! Was he going to call? Or maybe I should call?" The hyena rambled a bit taking his third long island ice tea from the chinchilla waitress. "Should I call?" He asked her before Carl smiled and waved her off. "Ralph's a great guy. He's used to listening to this and I'm sure he can help you out." Carl said guiding him towards the assistant bartender. "He's single too and just broke up with someone so I'm sure he'll know how you feel and the two of you can help each other out. Plus he's cute," Carl finished hitting the nail on the head as the hyena perked up. "Yesh...I think thatsss a good idea!" Isaac slurred taking his drink and getting up, stumbling back a few steps before going to the counter. "Hey Ralph! Lets talk about penises! How's your penis today?" Isaac said to the zebra who was serving a few ladies who burst into giggils. Carl rolled his eyes as he went to the final case for the night. He much prefered dealing with the other three, being friends with them for such a long time. Jack was the odd man out of the group and the others (other than Isaac) always made sure he knew it. They were Isaac's friends, not his and only put up with him because of it. They were the misfits in high school and had grouped up because of it. Even though Jack was a wild dog, he was still a dog as Evan put it. And was part of the "popular" crowd and as such didn't fit in well with the others. Bix was a popular guy in his life but had been a long friend of Isaac and in the end when their friendship was tested Bix chose right. "So...Jack." Carl began unsure of how to take this matter. He knew the other three pretty damn well being the third persn most the time, able to see and watch how they did things when they thought no one was watching. He liked it, being the watcher like that. He did not like this. "You and Isaac are pretty chummy." "What does that mean? We haven't done anything. Did he say something?" Jack yipped surprised, startled and rambly tried to explain himself. "The fact of the matter is you haven't taken your eyes off him since we've got here. And," the anteater looked at his watch. "That's been a good two hours or so." "W-well what else am I suppose to do?" Jack said lowering his large ears and frowning down at his drink. "There's pool, several people here. Music, darts and well," Carl motioned around them. "A whole world crammed into this little space." A komodo dragon walked by giving the two a wink as he went over to his booth. The parakeet at the booth greeted him warmly and the two began talking, pointing at the two every now and then. The waterbuffolo at the table to their right was snorting as he laughed with the doe with him and a trio of ferrets were busy talking amongst themselves in what was mostly known as 'dook' speak. "A whole world," Carl motioned to the peacock talking to the otter who was with the jaguar next to the honey badger that was giving orders to the zebra that was still blushing as the hyena flirted with him. "But you keep seeing only one thing. Or one hyena." He said taking a sip of his water. Jack jumped as he was caught staring again and quickly looked down at this drink. "Isaac doesn't even notice me." He said softly after watching the ripples in his drink calm down. "That's because he's a bit," Carl rolled his paw thinking of the water. The long nails clinking together as he did so. "Dumb." He chose the word with no offense intended. "He doesn't see whats right in front of him. I mean we all know you have a hard on for him even if we've only gone out a few times." He raised his paw to silence Jack before he could cut in. "It's obvious but Isaac doesn't notice such things. He notices the subtle touch of the breeze and the smell of a flower. He doesn't notice the truck about to hit him." Carl laughed a bit thinking about it. "He gets lost in the luxuries of life and gets caught up in the wave that follows because of it." Jack scrunched up his brow trying to think about it. Carl frowned watching him. Elegance wasn't this wild dogs strong point. It's his own fault though for being an English major studying in poetry. "He's a carefree guy that likes it when others make the first move." He stated flatly. "Make the first move." He added making sure the point got across. "So...your saying if I just asked him out he would say yes?" Jack asked his ears slowly perking back up as his tail wagged. "In a sense, yes. Isaac tries to be the dominate male role though in a relationship." Carl went on. If he was going to set the two up he wanted to make things went well. "He was raised as such and so being the 'bitch' in the relationship," he said pointing out the word for the present company of the dog. "Would mean an eventual break up. He likes to be the one that pays for his date but at the same time doesn't like being taken advantage of." "So, your saying," Jack said again trying to make sure he was getting this right. "I should wait for him to buy me dinner." Carl stared at him. This dog was as dumb as the hyena sometimes. "He's drunk right now." "So I should ask him out now?" Carl covered his face with a paw. "No. He doesn't like being taken advantage of." "So I should wait." "No." "Then what do you want me to do?" Jack asked desperately and loudly. Becoming rather sheepish as a large big horned ram shook his head as he brought his tables glasses up to refill them. "Just go talk to him." Carl said getting up from the table. They weren't good enough friends, and he wasn't a good enough guy to put up with this. "I got to help Ev, before that alligator over there eats him. Just do whatever you think is right," he said rolling his eyes looking over at the skunk who was between a rhino, an alligator and musk deer. No wonder why he didn't like meeting new people. The ones he had already were more than enough to deal with. Jack nodded as he left looking down at his drink. Taking the last bit as a large shot he shook his head finally getting his thoughts clear. He'd ask him out, and they would hang out for the rest of the day go back to the dorm and cuddle, sleeping the alcohol off. Then they'd go on a date this weekened, he'd pick the restraunt but let Isaac pay for it and they'd walk down the street paw in paw talking about nothing as they've done so many times winding up the morning after at the same bagel shop they had this morning having fresh donuts and spooning again under the table. That's how this would go. "Hey." He asked looked around the counter. "Where'd Isaac run off too?" "He left." The chinchilla said passing him by. Jack turned looking at her. "What do you mean he left?" "With someone," she said picking up his and Carl's drink. "He left with someone." "Oh..." Jack heart fell as his ears droop and his eyes became watery, his tail tucking under his legs. A small whimper escaping him.