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“So how is it?” Talulah leaned forward, setting down her coffee as Lin finished scrawling on the script Talulah had given her. “Any good?”
Lin sighed, passing the script back over to the reporter. “It’s… okay.”
The multitude of annotations scrawled in red ink did not inspire much confidence in that answer. Almost reminding Talulah of her days back in school.
“I…see…”
“I’m sure it won't take too long for you to do it up,” Lin took another sip of her coffee, either not noticing Talulah slumping into her chair as she flicked through the script, or choosing not to. “You are a professional, after all.” The two were suddenly interrupted by a buzzing from Talulah’s bag. Fishing through it, Talulah pulled out her phone, quickly answering it. “Swire? You okay-”
“GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE THERE’S GONNA BE IF-”
“Hey, hey! What are you going on about?”
An angry sigh echoed from the other side of the call. “Your Yeti friends are causing an absolute ruckus here! Get down to Hen Street right now!” with no other explanation, Swire hung up the call, leaving Talulah utterly befuddled. Lin raised a brow. “Tigress sounded a little mad.”
“Eugh, something about the Yetis,” Talulah pinched her nose, sighing. “Apparently they’re causing trouble at uh, Hen Avenue? Wherever that is.”
“Hen? That’s the street with all the bars.”
“Bar-” Suddenly, Talulah shot up, a look of abject terror plastered across her face.
“You okay-”
“I need to go!” Talulah rushed to grab her stuff, sprinting to the door whilst shouting across her shoulder. “Let Alina know where I am!”
With that, the Draco was gone, rushing out of the cafe in a flash. Leaving Lin utterly bewildered at the table, utterly bewildered at what just transpired.
~ ~ ~
By the time Talulah had managed to grab a train and a bus (she wasn’t getting a taxi. What was she, royalty?), an hour had passed. Panicked, she rushed down the street, scanning along until she finally spotted Swire, tapping her foot angrily under a lamp post.
“H-hey. Sorry… bus took…” Talulah could barely pant a word, hunched over as she caught her breath. “Taxi… couldn’t price…”
Swire scoffed, rolling her eyes as she sauntered over, and hit her over the head with a rolled-up newspaper. “May I remind you I am part of the Swire family. You could have just called and I could’ve paid for your fare.”
“I… okay,” Talulah was too exhausted to argue, leaning back with a sigh as the cool night air cooled her down. “What’s… “ Talulah could hear the ruckus in the pub from out here - a chorus of yells and screams surrounding whatever chaos was going on in there. “What the…”
“Your little friends have been causing an utter ruckus in there and unless they’re sorted out soon, someone is gonna end up filing a noise complaint. And we don't need them getting arrested right after a diplomatic meeting so can you PLEASE sort them out?”
“I mean… I can try,” Talulah finally stood up, scratching the back of her head. “Though I’m not sure what you expect me to do that you can’t.”
“Again - I am part of the L.G.D. Remember? I go in there, I have to arrest them. You go in, you’re just a concerned friend helping their drunken mates out. So go on!”
“Fine, fine!” Talulah sighed, working up the courage before making her way into the pub. It was crowded and stank, although most of the patrons were surrounding one side of the building, away from the entrance. Talulah prayed that wasn't where the other yetis were as she spotted Amy at a table, jogging over and waving the Draco down.
“Hhheeeeyyyyyy Tal!” Amy’s words were noticeably slurred though she didn’t seem too shaky. Empty glasses of every size littered the table, stinking of spirits and beer. Amy even had a pint in her hand now, filled with a dark stout.
“Hey, Amy. Are- where are the others?”
“Uuhh,” Amy glanced around the room, seemingly unsure herself before looking down to her side. “Oh! There’s FrostNova!” Talulah glanced at where Amy was looking, and spotted the Cautus - passed out on the floor, drool sticking to her face and a spilled pint still clutched in her hand.
“Oh my-” Talulah pinched her brow, trying to hold in a Lungmen expletive. “Okay, it’s fine. We can carry her out. Where’s the cat??”
“Hmm. Over there I think?” Talulah followed her finger all the way over to the crowd surrounding the other side of the pub.
Of course.
“Okay, okay. Amy, you grab FrostNova, I’ll be back,” not waiting for a response from the inebriated Draco, Talulah rushed off, slowly pushing her way through the crowd. As she struggled to get through, she was shoved back and forth, until a sudden push knocked her right into a patron’s drink.
“Oi!” The man, a tall, slightly scarred Lupo, turned to her, growling. “The fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Hey, I just got pushed! That’s not my fault!”
“Oh, okay. Sorry about accusing yah,” and with that, the Lupo turned back to where he was watching. Flummoxed but choosing not to question his surprising understanding, Talulah continued through the crowd, eventually getting to the centre where she finally found her target - currently engaged in an arm-wrestling contest.
“Hey! Blaze!” Blaze looked up from her opponent, spotting Talulah among the crowd. “Heeeyyy Tal!” With one movement, Blaze slammed her opponent against the table, standing with a longwinded stretch before sauntering over to the Draco, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “What are YOU doin’ here, huh?”
“You stink,” Talulah tried to push the Feline off of her, failing horribly. “Swire wants you three out of here. You’re all causing a scene and we don’t want you to end up arrested.”
“Oh come oooonnnn, can’t you Lungmenites have a lil’ fun?” Blaze poked at Talulah’s cheek, giggling to herself. “Coommmeee oooonnnn, show a lil smile! Get that stick out of your arse!”
“I don’t- gods would you get off!” Talulah began dragging herself and Blaze through the crowd, who had begun to disperse now the excitement was over. “Come on, we’re going.”
“Mmmmmmm, nah,” Blaze pulled herself off from Talulah, spinning with a grin. “I’m enjoying myself. I’m not leavin’ with a bore like you now!”
“A- for- can you not do this!”
“Come on, little Dragon. Make me,” Blaze crossed her arms, grinning. “Drag me out. You can't can you, you glorified lizard.”
“Ooooooo,” Amy had now turned up, FrostNova on her back, and was happily watching the whole thing.
“Why you,” Talulah hushed a Lungmen expletive under her breath, earning an even wider smirk from Blaze. “I’m not above dragging you crying if I have to.”
“Oh, you can try. No force in this pansy city could drag me out of here, so you-”
“WHAT DO YOU ******** THINK YOU’RE ****** DOING!”
Every patron in the pub turned to the door, where a thoroughly pissed Elafia stood glowering in the doorway - a thoroughly cowed Lin and Swire behind her.
“A-Alina!?”
“W-w-we tried to stop her but she insisted-”
“-I tried to not tell her but-”
A single glare silenced the two of them.
“Aaaaaalllliinnnaaaa,” Blaze wrapped an arm around Talulah’s shoulder again, waving a pint she’d somehow just acquired with a grin. “Here to join the F-U-N?”
“No.”
“Awww, come on-”
“-wait, Blaze,” Amy had entirely sobered up at this point, attempting to stop Blaze from sauntering over to the angry mother deer to no avail.
“Awwww, here to spoil the fun like your little girlfriend? Well just like her you can't GUAH.”
Blaze was cut off by a sucker punch to the gut that shook the entire pub. A newer member of the yetis, she had yet to see the mother's wrath Alina could bring to those under ‘her’ care that angered her.
Now, she was getting it in full force.
“WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING SAUNTERING AROUND THIS CITY LIKE YOU OWNED IT? DO YOU KNOW THE TROUBLE EVERYONE WENT THROUGH TO GET US HERE? AND YOU WANT TO RUIN IT WITH PINTS YOU *ursine expletives* ”
“I’m sorrrryyyyy, I’m sssooorrryyy,” Blaze was unable to do much, barely able to recover from the gut-punch before Alina had grabbed her ear, berating her like a mother scolding a child after detention, and left her with nothing but the option to desperately try to apologise.
“WELL, MAYBE YOU SHOULD’VE TRIED TO THINK BEFORE COMING IN HERE, HMM? WHERE ARE THE OTHER TWO?”
“H-here!” Amy finally chirped up, quickly shutting up as Alina whipped around, fire in her eyes. A fire that dimmed to embers the moment she saw FrostNova passed out on her back.
“Oh dear, of course, you let her have too much,” Alina let go of Blaze’s ear, checking up on the sleeping bunny. “Alright let's get her out of here so she can rest easily. Come on!” as she began to march the three out, Blaze still nursing her ear, Alina turned to Talulah. “And you.”
Flick
“Call me over next time,” Talulah itched her flicked nose as Alina rolled her eyes. “The yetis are my kids, remember? If anyone knows how to take care of them, I can.”
“Yeah, I know… I just wanted you to enjoy a calm trip for once.”
“With the Yetis? No way.”
“I guess, yeah.”
The group finally made their way out of the pub, beginning the long stroll back to their accommodation.
“Oh, by the way, what did Blaze mean by girlfriend-”
“Don't question it.”
“Yes ma’am!”