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The Aftermath of a Gruesome Story Has License to Alter Social Paradigms

There were shocked expressions across nearly everyone's faces after Nghia finished his story. However, the iguana was of course not in the least bit taken aback by his own story, and Amy was sipping happily at her tea cup, her ears perked up happily. Nghia drank the rest of his tea, which brought out two shocked gasps from the vulpine furs, and a bemused rumble from the dragon. The iguana looked at his companion's in curiosity, his eyes narrowed and the indents of his scaly brows were raised.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Nghia asked them.

"You just...Drank...The tea that..." Hale said, stumbling over the words.

"Should you be...Drinking that?" Khor asked, her ears flat down on her head in worry.

"Oh, don't be so afraid. The tea I'm drinking isn't the actual poison that was used in the story. It's named 'Sanguine Dominion' because it's brewed in nearly the same manner, but not close enough to kill anyone," Nghia said, waving away their worries with his scaly hand.

Amy nodded her head cheerfully, sipping at her tea as well. Hale looked at her in curiosity, and asked, "Why are you smiling?"

Amy put her tea down, not yet finished. She pulled the tea bag out of her pocket looking over the ingredients briefly. "I knew it wasn't poisonous because the bag doesn't have any ingredients that I know can hurt people. So it was just an interesting story to me," she yipped.

"Wait a minute, Amy. How do you know what types of herbs are poisonous?" Saszik asked, his tone humorous but nonetheless concerned.

"I don't know which are poison, I just know these ingredients from other teas, and they're all okay," Amy replied, putting the teabag back in her pocket.

Khor studied Amy quizzically, her ears perked up in amusement. "Well, I suppose that's one way to learn what can kill you."

Amy laughed lightly. "Oh, don't be silly. I would never try to learn what can kill me."

"I would," Nghia rumbled.

"We know you would. That's what makes you so wonderful, good sir," Saszik chuckled, drinking the rest of his tea with a broad smile on his face.

"Wonderful story, Nghia. And good to know that drinking that poison won't kill me," Hale said, running a hand nervously over his ears.

"Oh, don't worry. I haven't known you long enough to have any desire to kill you," came the iguana's nonchalant rebuttle.

"Hey, don't kill my foxy. He's too pretty," Amy said, stroking her mate's ears for him and fondly kissing his cheek.

Hale's muzzle turned a deep scarlet at her words, but he moved his head into her petting all the same. A soft murr came from his throat, and for a time, there was a pleasant verbal silence in the room. This amazed everyone.

A Bow and an Exit Are All That Is Needed (And Don't Mind If I Join You)

---

The company of friends and one iguana sat there in relative comfort, enjoying the ease that had settled over the room for the first time since the four newcomers had first arrived. Having learned that Hale's new roommate was not, slightly possible as it had seemed as first, a homicidal maniac, everyone felt less threatened.

Amy continued to preen Hale's fur, keeping it nice and clean, and even licking over his ears a few times to get the fur nice and sleek. Khor gathered up the tea cups, bringing them over to the sink to be cleaned. Saszik pulled out his phone and checked his messaging, typing away at the phones touch screen with his dulled claws.

As for Nghia, he remained at the couch, lounging comfortably and stretching out. He let out a soft low pitched screech which the others took for a yawn. He then looked over at Hale and reached over Amy to get at his ears, pricking them with his honed claws. This action brought a yelp to the fox, who looked over at his new roommate in surprise.

"Alright, I think I finally feel compelled to ask my questions. Why are you mammals so...Affectionate?" the iguana asked after the fox recoiled from his touch. This inquiry was met at first with a wall of silence and hesitation, as Hale and Amy looked at each other, then at Khor. The latter merely shrugged her shoulders and began speaking with Saszik about her disapproval.

"I mean really, everytime I meet any mammals, they are always so...Intimately touchy, and snuggly, and..." the iguana shuddered at the next word, "cuddly."

Amy looked between her mate and his new roommate with an amused smirk on her face. "I'm affectionate because he's my foxy, and I love him. Why else would I be so touchy and snuggly and cuddly with him?" she replied, putting sweet emphasis on the word 'cuddly'.

"No, no, you're missing the point. My question is why you are all so...Intimate," the iguana continued, reaching for the fox's ears once more. He moved away, batting at his hands lightly.

"It's probably just that people aren't used to having their ears touched," Hale said, his ears flat.

"You let her touch your ears," Nghia argued.

"Well, yes, because she's my mate. I don't even know you," Hale said.

"Are reptiles not intimate?" Amy asked curiously.

"Oh, not really. Scales aren't exactly the nicest things to touch, after all. And our claws are sharper than yours. Look," Nghia said, reaching out to poke Hale's arm with his claw. The touch connected, which brought a twitch to the fox. "You know, you're a lot more twitchy I would have expected from someone with your background."

"He's not usually twitchy. He's just shy when he's meeting new people," Amy said with a smile, licking her mate's ears, which earned her an affectionate smile.

"Thanks for the defense, lieutenant," he chuckled.

"Anytime, colonel," she replied, kissing his head.

"And there it is again, the kissing. Why all the kissing with you mammals, I just don't get it," he mused, moving away from the two and leaning over the couch arm, brooding.

"Well, Nghia, if I may offer some insight from my own experience, mammals are more physically intimate than others because their young have a physical growth rate lower than that of their reptile counterparts. Because of this, having both mother and father around to care for the young, and to keep them close and snuggly, raises the odds that the young will survive and reproduce, thus carrying on the 'cuddliness' that you see here," Saszik said without looking up from his phone as he texted.

All four animals in the room looked over at the dragon in surprise, especially Nghia. His eyes went wide, not from the explanation, but from the sudden intelligent discourse leaving the dragon's mouth.

Saszik looked up at his friends with a smile, his tail swaying behind him. "Why are you all looking at me like that? It makes sense."

"I'm just surprised to hear such an astute explanation from a fellow reptile," Nghia remarked.

"Oh, I'm not a reptile," Saszik said with a grin.

"Not a reptile? Pray tell, what the f of x are you?" Khor asked with a dark tone.

"I'm a dragon," he rumbled proudly, stretching his wings out and standing up to pose draconically.

"Dragon is not a taxonomical class, Saszik," Khor retorted.

"It is where I come from," he chuckled.

"We come from the same country, and neither Orabar or this country or the rest of the world recognize dragon as a class," she shot back.

"Alright, fine. I guess it's a phylum," he said, giving her a sweet smile.

"You're impossible!" she barked.

"Oh, hey guys, I don't want to interrupt your debate, but we should actually get going soon," Hale interjected.

"Oh, that's right, it's five-thirty. We need to be at the restaurant by six," Amy agreed, standing up with her mate.

Nghia regarded the newcomers with a quizzical expression, his scaly brows rising in interest. "A restaurant? What restaurant?"

"Oh, we didn't say? We're meeting my friend Emma at The Sapphire Heron for dinner. She's welcoming us into town, so it's kind of a little celebration," Saszik told him.

"We've never been there before, so it'll be a new experience for us. And I hope that everyone behaves themselves while we're there," Khor said, fitting the dragon male with a scathing glare. He replied with a cheerful grin and a flit of his wings.

"Alright, you've convinced me. I'll come," Nghia said, standing up and walking over to his room.

"Er, wait, Nghia, you can't just-" Hale began to stutter, but the iguana was back with surprising speed, wearing a shirt.

"Saszik, are you driving?" the iguana asked as he was doing up the top bottoms and tucking the shirt into his pants.

"Sure, Amy, keys?" the dragon asked. The wolf smiled amiably and tossed over the keys, which earned her a shocked look of disbelief from her mate. She fixed him with an innocent shrug before kissing him on the cheek.

"Shotgun," Nghia called as he and the large dragon left the room. The three furs watched as the scales walked away, the two vulpine friends staring on in shock and awe.

"Oh, by the Scepter of Shkaran...Now there's two of them," Khor disapprovingly muttered, before following them out.

Forward Unto Dinner

The five anthros stepped out of the dorm room, making their way across the parking lot towards' Amy's medium-sized, green paint car. Saszik took the driver's seat, and Hale's new roommate took the passenger seat, hopping in easily and settling against the chair with a grin. The three furs took the middle row, with Amy sitting happily between her two friends.

"Well, this is exciting! We've already got a new friend for dinner tonight," Amy yipped, nuzzling her mate affectionately.

"Yes, isn't it just wonderful," Khor commented, leaning her head back against the head rest. "You do realize this means your friend Emma will have to pay for her, right, Saszik?"

The dragon nodded, turning the keys in the ignition, bringing the engine alive. "I know, but I don't think I'll make her pay."

"Oh? Then what is your plan?" Khor asked in a lightly scathing tone.

"Oh, Hale, it's so generous of you to offer to foot the bill for your new roommate. Bravo, good sir," Saszik rumbled.

"Wait, what?" Hale asked in surprise, his eyes wide.

"Saszik, you can't do that. You invited him, you pay for him," Khor barked, glaring at the large horns on his head.

"Ah, I see that Khor has offered to pay. You are such a dear, madame," Saszik chuckled. He then pressed down on the pedal, and the car made their way out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"Ah, come on Hale, it'd be a nice thing to do. You are his new roommate after all," Amy said, nuzzling her foxy's head.

"No, Hale don't do that. Saszik, pay," Khor growled.

Nghia sighed lightly, reaching into his pocket, producing a single bill, and handed it back to the male fox. "Here, take it."

Hale took the bill tentatively, looking at it with wide eyes. "Nghia, this is a one-hundred dollar bill. It's really not going to be that expensive you know."

"I am aware. Consider the extra my compliments for being allowed to bask in you and your friends' positively friendly glow," he intoned neutrally, with a small grin.

Amy barked happily, wagging her tail against the seat. "I told you we were wonderfully fun people to be around!"

Nghia chuckled darkly. "Yes, that's precisely what I was thinking, Amy."

The wolfess wagged more, cuddling closely with her mate and licking his ears. "Tonight it going to be wonderful, I'm sure of it."

The dragon nodded in agreement, turning the car around a tight corner that turned onto the street the restaurant was on. "I'm sure we'll have the night of our lives. Wont' we, Khor?" he asked merrily.

Khor sighed and closed her eyes. "Are we there yet?"

At the Parking Lot With You And Your Lot

---

Saszik turned the car into the parking lot, cruising easily into a spot before pressing down on the brake, bringing the car to a halt. The dragon then turned around in his seat to face his three friends.

"We have arrived at our destination. Please, be careful of the overhead lights, you may turn them on with your heads. I hope that our in-flight service was satisfactory, and I hope that you choose to ride with Dragon Driving again soon," he pronounced, giving a sweet smile to Khor.

The fennec chuckled lightly, then swung her door open. "Sometimes I wonder if I should be pitying you, not getting irritated. You have such delusions."

"Oh, Khor, don't say that. You know you enjoyed the ride," Saszik said, unbuckling himself and climbing out after her.

"I sure did," Amy bared, her tail wagging. She took Hale's hand and followed him out of the car.

"It was...Interesting," Nghia commented quietly, following suit.

Saszik looked around the parking lot, his eyes scanning for someone, or something. After a moment, he pulled out his phone, dialing in a number and holding it up to his ear. "Hey, Emma. Are you inside The Heron?"

Khor looked over at the dragon as he made the call, her ears twitching briefly. She then turned back towards the others, calling out to Nghia, "Have you ever been here before?"

"On occasion, yes. It's a wonderful restaurant, I'm glad that you invited me along," the iguana replied.

"But we didn't-" Khor began, before Amy hugged her, voicing her own comment to interrupt her.

"And we're glad that you joined us, Nghia," the wolfess said cheerily.

Nghia nodded, giving her a small smile.

"Alright, we'll be inside in just a minute. Okay, bye, babe," Saszik said, finishing his call and putting his phone back in his pocket. "Okay, everybody, Emma's already got a table for us, so let's go."

The dragon's three friends and the iguana followed the dragon as they crossed the parking lot the restaurant's front doors. The dragon held the door open for them, and Nghia took the second seat inside the foyer. Now inside the building proper, Hale approached the front counter, that was manned by a male aardvark in a white and brown restaurant uniform and apron.

"Good evening, sir. How may I help you tonight? Do you have a reservation?" the aardvark asked in a pleasant, perhaps spicy accent.

Hale nodded. "Yes, we're here with a doe named Emma, she's expecting four, but we have a fifth person here with us, will that be alright?"

The aardvark checked his computer momentarily before replying. He looked up with a smile and said, "That shouldn't be a problem. Miss Arlen has already been seated, so Lauren here will take you to your seats." The aardvark gestured over to a husky waiter who had been waiting behind the counter. The husky gathered up a stack of menus, then motioned the group to follow her.

"Your table is right over this way. I won't be your waiter for tonight, but I'll get you set up and you can start thinking about what you'd like to order," the husky, said. Her head fur was streaked with bright blue and violet markings.

Saszik turned to his friends as they walked through the restaurant. "Tonight will be wonderful, I'm just sure. I promise."

Everyone nodded in agreement, although Khor's ears were flat for just a moment after those words. Memories came to her, unbidden...Memories she would rather have left buried.

You Are Our Guest

Lauren brought the five anthros over to their large round table. Already seated was a young, white tailed doe, wearing a fine dress that displayed her lithe, slim figure. She stood up as they approached, smiling warmly at Saszik.

"I'm glad you made it, everyone," she said in a friendly tone. She then turned to the dragon, holding out her arms to him. "There's my big draggy."

Saszik grinned, moving forward to hug her closely, a rumble leaving his throat as he lifted her up and kissed her cheek. "Good to see you, babe." He set her down, then wrapped an arm around her hip, bringing her in close to him. "Hon, this is Nghia. He's Hale's roommate, and I decided to invite him to join us tonight."

Nghia nodded, analyzing the interactions between the scale and fur closely. The femme smiled, holding out her hand to him. The iguana looked down at her hand in surprise, his 'brows' cocked high. "Now, Saszik, I thought we talked about this. Aren't we reptiles beyond this...intimate cuddle business?" he asked.

Saszik chuckled his hand softly stroking the doe's side. "I told you, I'm not a reptile, Nghia. I'm a dragon."

The others watched the discussion with slight interest, before they all took seats. Hale and Amy sat close together, with Khor sitting beside the male fox. The female deer looked in surprise at the reptile, perturbed that he wouldn't shake.

"Do you not-" she began to ask.

"Don't bother, Emma. I already tried that," Hale told her.

The deer perked her eyebrows high, but then pulled her hand back. "Oh, well okay. My name is Emma, I'm Saszik's mate," she told the iguana. The dragon smiled, kissing the top of her head before leading her over to the table. They took their seats, which left the iguana a spot between Khor and Saszik. He took it easily, sitting down and leaning back against his chair.

"Well, tonight just gets better and better, doesn't it? I'm now as confused about physical intimacy as I was before your enlightening explanation, Saszik," Nghia commented.

Lauren placed the six menus down in front of each diner, then afterwards set down their cutlery. "Alright, I will just take your drink orders right now, and then your waiter for the evening will be here soon to take your orders," the husky said.

"Sounds good to me," Saszik smiled. Everyone gave the menu a quick look over, before the husky female asked them for their drinks.

"I'll have a Shirley temple," Amy said with a beaming smile.

"An iced tea," Emma ordered.

"A glass of water for me," Saszik said.

"I'll take a Shirley temple as well," Hale ordered after Amy whispered happily into his ears.

"Water," Khor asked briefly.

"And I will have..." Nghia began, before scanning over the menu. Everyone but Emma knew to watch the iguana closely for whatever it was he was going to order. Nghia closed his eyes in thought, then made his answer. "A Ragged Red Raver."

Lauren's ears twitched in surprise, looking at the iguana in surprise. "Umm...I don't think we have that...I know the drink, but I don't know if we have what we need to make it..."

"Oh, of course we do, Lauren. Cara knows how to mix the drink in the back, and we just got a shipment in this morning for our drinks. Don't worry about it, I'll get you your drink," came the voice of a young male from behind Nghia. Everyone turned around to view the new comer, with Nghia swiveling around in his seat.

"Ah, Snow, you came quicker than I expected," Lauren yipped in relief. "Here's their order."

The group's waiter was some form of wolf hybrid, with ears that were too slender and a build too lithe to be a pure-wolf. His fur was stark white, and his eyes were a deep lavender-grey. He wore the same uniform that all the others wore, and as he saw the group looking over at him, he gave them a pleasant, friendly smile.

"Hello everyone, my name is Snow. I'm going to be your waiter tonight," the wolf-hybrid told them. "Alright, looks like we can get all your drinks in just a moment. And, Mr. Iguana, I promise I'll get you that Ragged Red Raver."

Nghia looked at the waiter for a moment, before he nodded. "Thank you. Finally someone who doesn't question my taste in drinks," he muttered.

"Thank you, Snow," Amy yipped with a smile.

The wolf-hybrid nodded, then turned away, returning back to the kitchen. He'd liked the feel of that group, and he was glad that he got to serve them. It always brought a smile to his face when he met new, kind people.

"Cara, I've got some drink orders for you to fill, okay? Can you have them ready in a few?" he asked a rather scruffy looking feline.

"Sure. How's the crowd tonight?" she asked, taking the order and looking it over. "Ragged Red Raver?"

Snow nodded with a small smile. "They seem like a nice enough bunch. And I think it's three couples all eating out together? Isn't that so nice?"