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Thursday

Yoshika Hito jumped out of the van as soon as it stopped in front of San General Hotel and Suites, face beaming, tail whipping excitedly.

"Yosshi, honey," called the tawny lioness behind the wheel. "Wait for Scotty so you can both check us in!"

She stopping, spinning on one foot to wait patiently. The 19 year old white tigress still bounced on her heels slightly as her rotund bear uncle climbed out of the passenger side of the van. Pretty with only a hint of cream colored stripes on her face and tail and long cream colored hair, she was very aware of how she stood out. Not many folks believed that she was even a tiger, especially when she was with her adopted lion family. It made her look strange as a child, but now as a women, very exotic. And her excess energy at the moment was making her stand out all the more.

Scotty finally caught up to her, chuckling at her enthusiasm. "I guess you're glad to be here, huh?"

"You bet, Uncle Scotty! Thank you for letting us tag along!"

RenCon, short for Conventions of Renaissance Fairs, was a gathering for Renaissance Festivals all over the country to meet, gather, do business and exchange information and tips with each other. With a strict concentration on handcrafted wares from smaller businesses, the Con gives the crafting community a boost above corporations. Vendors use the Con to market their wares and get contracts with Fairs to supply weapons, costumes, and so on or to buy from them directly. There are also panels, demonstrations, and entertainment for attendees. Yosshi's aunt Bebe runs a costume booth at their local state Faire in Sharpington and has never missed attending a Con with her photographer mate Scotty. Once Yosshi started college, she was invited to come along with her best friend Mae to help run the booth.

Once in the line for check in, Yosshi let her keen amber eyes wander, looking at the sights of so many other furs, in the line, milling about, struggling with luggage and wares. Just last year was her first spring working at the Sharpington Faire after years of attending, and the setup interested her more than the actual event itself. Just watching everyone get set up before the dressing up and acting for the crowd arrived amazed her.

She was also looking very close for someone, a memory from long ago. She didn't know if she would find that memory here, but she was banking this whole weekend on it...

"Yosshi?" Scotty's voice interrupted her thoughts as he handed her the hotel keys. "Take these back to your aunt and Mae while I hunt down a bellhop, okay? We're in room 403 and you girls are in 404."

Nodding, Yosshi dashed back outside where Bebe and Mae were already unloading the van, taking out suitcases and unrolling three huge trunks filled with dresses, skirts, blouses and Bebe's signature creations, corsets. Well, at the very least, Bebe, with her stocky strength, handled the heavy lifting. Mae, built more for modeling than for bodybuilding, took it upon herself to charm a bellhop to help load them up already. Not many males could withstand the black spotted bunny when she chose to turn it up.

Yosshi shook her head at her friend. "I think Uncle Scotty wouldn't have nearly as much luck as you, Mae. And what would Paul say if he saw that?"

Mae grinned at the mention of her boyfriend. "He'd be very proud that his woman holds such power to get stuff done. Now come on, even I know that cart won't hold everything."

Grabbing a armful of tubing and her own suitcase, Yosshi followed Mae into the hotel, running into Scotty, who just as she predicted wasn't able to grab a bellhop.

Later, once both rooms were full of luggage, the crew headed to the vendor room to set up the booth for Curtsies. Scotty and Bebe took a trunk each, and Mae and Yosshi struggled with one. Leaving Mae pushing forward and leading, Yosshi walked backward, carefully putting paw behind the other, tail up in order to not step on it and fall over. The task was made a little more difficult with the tubing strapped to her and Mae's backs.

"So, Yosshi, do you think we'll be spending most of the Con working the booth?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. Uncle Scotty wants us to model a bit in the hotel garden too, and you remember that we're working during the opening pub sing tonight, right?"

"Yes, I remember. I just hope that we get to have some fun, too, you know. There's a drum circle going on every night, and I want to attend that. I brought my prettiest dancer outfit and I want to shimmy my tail!"

Mae's fascination was belly dancing, and she had been practicing the art since she was 14 years old and convinced her parents that it was be great exercise. The Sharpington Faire started featuring her troupe two years ago as well as welcoming a vendor that sold handcrafted and imported bellydance gear. Yosshi met her around then and they became fast friends, even rooming together at nearby Halbart College.

"Don't worry, ladies," Bebe called from the head of their little caravan. "We won't keep your nose to grindstone all weekend. Just watch the booth for us when we want to see a panel or two."

The vendor floor was located on the lowest level of the hotel. Luckily, the hotel staff allowed vendors to use the staff elevator which was big enough to accommodate heavy and cumbersome loads of several people at once. As the car dinged on the bottom floor, though, Yosshi and Mae couldn't get their trunk rolling fast enough to stay with Scotty and Bebe in the pressing throng of other folks trying to leave and board the car.

Scotty waved back to them before losing sight. "Just catch up with us in the room, you won't miss us!"

Now Mae had to keep her eyes peeled for the two as they pushed their way down the hall. "Maybe we should switch, Yosshi. You've got the better eyes."

"It's too crowded to switch now. Don't worry, just keep me from bumping into some-Oof!"

"Yosshi, stop!" Mae yelled, entirely too late.

Yosshi struggled hold the truck steady as she found herself suddenly backing into a furry wall. Quickly turning around, her resistance looked down at her. A grey wolf, male, with blue eyes that made her stop thinking for a second.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out.

"Are you alright?" the wolf asked, turning slightly and nearly dropping the armful of swords he was holding.

That voice, asking the same question years ago...she could never forget that voice, or his scent...

"Y-yes, I'm fine.."

The wolf nodded, smiling. "Good, good. Look, I've got to run before I actually drop these. See you two around!"

His departure brought Yosshi back to her senses. "Wait," she called back feebly, but wasn't heard.

"Yosshi, are you sure you're alright? You look like you've seen a ghost..."

The young tigress shook her head. "I'm fine, Mae. Let's get this trunk moving before Aunt Bebe and Uncle Scotty send a search party for us."

Later that night, an exhausted Tobias Swain collapsed into a chair at the pub. He was amazed each time how much work it took to get his own booth set up. He barely had time between a nap and a shower to change into proper attire; white poet's shirt, black loose trousers with a matching leather belt around his middle. Luckily his friends saved him a seat at the largest table in the place.

One of the hotel's meeting rooms was transformed into the space that con attendees would use as a pub, with plenty of thick wooden tables and chairs, and a bar that promised to fill up customers with ale and snacks. But the true highlight of any man's experience at RenCon, beautiful and friendly barmaids, usually young and usually spilling out of their corsets.

Paul, his friend from many cons past, held his paw up for a high five. "Nice to see that you've managed to pull yourself away from Her Majesty for a little while."

Rolling his eyes, he slapped his paw against the lab's. "Very funny, man. Cicero isn't that bad, really."

"Are you kidding? I've never been so glad to not have last shift at the booth. I see her leading you around by the tail every RenCon. Are you sure you're not dating her anymore?"

Another member of the table, a tall lanky raccoon snorted. "Oh please, let's worry about Queen Bitch-Vixen later. Now I want to see if we can get the attention of the pretty maid who's assigned to our table. I tell you Tobias, she's one cool drink of water."

Jason, the bull head of security, nodding in agreement. "This time, Randall's eyes are not fooling him. Pretty white feline with long kinda off-white hair...I've never seen anything like it before. Oh, here she comes. I'll wave her over to get you a mug of ale. Pardon me, miss!"

White feline with "off-white" hair? Tobias mused. That sounds really familiar...

The girl sauntered up, holding two mugs of ale in each paw. "Aye, sire? How may I help you?"

Jason pointed over to the wolf. "Could you send a mug over to my friend Tobias here? He's tired from a hard day."

As she followed his hoof, Tobias got a better look at her. Even in a deep green corset with various dollar bills sticking from the cleavage and hair flowing down her back, it was unmistakable. Yes, that was the girl that bumped into earlier, but there was something more to her. Then he noticed her eyes, deep amber. He'd seen those eyes before.

The girl also stared a bit at him before nodding slowly with a slightly visible blush. "Of course, I'll be right back."

The other males at the table jeered as she quickly darted away to deliver the mugs in her paws. "Looky there," Paul grinned. "You're got yourself a little fan, my friend. Hope Cicero doesn't find out."

The wolf blinked at his friend before realizing what he said. "I keep telling you, Cicero and I are nothing more than partners."

It took the maid only a couple of minutes to return with one mug of ale. She held it out with a tiny shy smile. "F-for you, sire."

"Hey, beautiful, what do they call you?" Paul asked with a leer. Tobias heard a growl a few seconds before realizing that it was coming from his own muzzle. Paul blinked at him, confused. "What's the problem, man? I'm just being friendly. Her name is a sight better than calling her 'beautiful' all night."

The maid curtsied. "I'm Yosshi."

"Well, good to meet you Yosshi. You're doing a great job. I hope we get you as our barmaid for the rest of the weekend," Paul replied, holding up his mug as a toast.

"Yosshi" opened her mouth to say something, but quickly got distracted by something further away than their table. "Thank you very much, but I've got to help my friend over there. She's new. Excuse me." She zipped away, the men at the table following her move to another table to grab the other end of a tray full of mugs and platters that a rabbit girl seemed to have difficulty handling.

Randall quickly turned to Tobias. "So what was up with that growl? You've just met the girl and you're staking a claim already."

"Yeah, Tob," Jason added. "Hell, I've never seen you act so territorial before."

Tobias took a sip of his brew, taking the time to think. He had no idea why Paul's flirtation bother him so much. If anything, he should be grateful that he asked the girl for her name, something that in his attempt to remember her, he'd forgotten.

Yosshi. Yes, he remembered those eyes, but not as they were now. When he saw them last, they were big, scared, teary with relief eyes. That fall of hair was done up in twin buns. And she was much shorter. Much younger.

"Sorry, Paul. I don't know what came over me."

The fellow canine shrugged. "No problem. Buy the next round and we'll call it even."

Mae was still patting her fur dry as Yosshi stepped out of the shower. "So, that hot wolf from earlier was at your table? Lucky you!"

Yosshi smiled to herself. Now she had a name, something she'd never had before. Tobias. It even sounded heroic.

She kept visiting his table throughout the night, wanting to hear some other hint about his life. Where was he from? What did he do at Fairs? Did he remember how they knew each other? Unfortunately, her mere presence drew minor flirtations from the other males, so she couldn't get the information that she wanted. But he was here. Her wish had come true. Now all she had to do was talk to him, one on one.

"Hey, Pale Stripe," Mae was now standing in front of her, waving a paw in front of her face. "Come back to earth, will ya? We miss you here. Or are you daydreaming about your 'Knight in Shining Armor' again?"

It was a point of teasing for the friends now, but Yosshi told her years ago during a sleepover about dreaming of her Knight. How she meant him once, and wished to meet him again.

"You dont' think he's it, do you?"

Yosshi sat on her bed. "I know its him" Now is the time to tell her friend the whole truth about her Knight.

"But you've never seen him before."

"Yes I have. You know this isn't my first RenCon, right?"

"No, I didn't. How'd you get in? I thought this con was for vendors and Fair staff."

"Well, they allow a handful of public passes to be released to locals in every town they host the con in. Aunt Bebe pulled some strings when the con was hosted in Sharpington 7 years ago..."

Yosshi, aged 12, placed the last pin on the twin buns of drying hair before petting down her overly fluffed fur. The fur dryer in the hotel was set too high, in her opinion, and was made to make her look like a cotton ball. At least she showered at night and didn't have to worry about going around the con looking like one. How would her dress fit?

Melaine, her 6 year old adopted little sister, was sitting next to the door, eyes teary. "Yosshi!" she sniffled, "Archie left the room! He said he wanted to go to the Ball, too, and you couldn't stop him!"

Yosshi's heart stopped. Mom and Dad left the kids in the room while they attended the Saturday night Ball, with her in charge and orders not to step one paw out of door unless it was an emergency. Figures Archie would wait until she couldn't possibly stop him to bolt. Now she was in trouble for sure.

"Why didn't you knock on the door and tell me when he left?"

"I tried, but you didn't hear me." Tears now fell down the girls eyes.

Yosshi knelt down and pulled her close, picking her up as best she could. "It's not your fault, Melanie. I need you to sit right here and listen for the phone to ring. Can you do that for me?" She set the girl down on the bed designated for the kids. "If Mom or Dad or Aunt Bebe call, you tell them that I've gone to find Archie. Don't leave the room while I'm gone, okay?"

"But Yosshi, I'm scared to be by myself."

The older feline grabbed the preschooler's stuffed tiger doll and handed it to her. "Here's Willby, now you're not alone. I'll even play the Waggles tape again. I'll be back real soon with Archie, I promise."

With Melaine's nod, Yosshi threw her nightgown on and grabbed her badge. Once she was out of the room, she put her nose to work, sniffing out the errant 8 year old cub, all the while thinking of all the horrible ways she could make him pay should their parents find out about this. His scent was barely there, meaning that he probably left just a soon as she started her shower.

The trail led her to the stairwell. If anything, Archie was smart. Most of the nightly congoers take the elevator, and would catch on pretty quick to a cub riding along in his pajamas. The Ball was taking place in the main ballroom on the 6th floor, and that's were the scent lead, down from their topmost 12th floor room.

Two floors later and since no Archie. Yosshi was rethinking her plan of tracking the boy down herself when she heard voices below her. The scents were not lion at all, but perhaps they'd seen Archie. A tan fox and cougar sat on the steps below her, stinking of sweat and too much alcohol. She stopped, unsure of how to proceed until the fox sniffed and looked up at her, eyes red and bloodshot.

"Hey, Benny-boy, look here. Looks like one of you."

Benny-boy looked up as well. "Nah, Roger, smells like a tiger, but doesn't look like one to me. Where's your stripes, sweetheart?"

Yosshi decided to ignore that all too familiar question. "I'm looking for a little lion cub. He might have ran down here some time ago. Have you seen him?"

"A tiger cub looking for a lion cub?" Benny laughs. "Now that's something you don't hear every day."

Yosshi also declined to explain that she was adopted 4 years before her mother finally got pregnant with the little brat who was causing her such grief. "Have you seen my little brother?"

Roger stood up on wobbly legs. "Nope, there's been no one but us for a while, sweetheart. But we could help you find 'em. How about it, Benny?"

The tigress felt very uncomfortable at their looks. She'd never heard of that look in any thing but bad guys in the romantic novels she devoured when at home. Hungry, nasty looks. She started to back up. "That's okay. I'll take the elevator instead."

Benny was also up and climbing the stairs slowly. He didn't seem as far gone as his friend. "Now, why would you do a thing like that? Roger and me'll be happy to help you find your little lion bro. For a price."

Roger laughed. "Yeah, a price."

"No, I'm not interested in your help." With that, Yosshi turned to run, but Benny proved to be much faster, grabbing the girl by her foot and dragging her down to them.

Benny wrapped his arms around her smaller body, covering her mouth to silence her screams and pining her arms together. "Now, settle down and be good for Roger, here. We've been kicked out of the ball without even getting a little play, so you'll have to do."

Yosshi continued to fight, kicking her legs out so fast that Roger in his drunken state can't grab them. One paw struck out, catching him right in the muzzle. Angry, Roger punched her the stomach, the shock being enough for him to grab an ankle in each hand.

Raising her legs up and out, he licked his lips. "What luck, Benny-boy, a virgin. Little white panties and everything"

Benny rumbled his satisfaction, already snaking a paw up her hitched up nightgown to fondle her tiny breasts, squeezing each gentle mound. "Yeah, a fucking rosebud."

"Don't worry, sweetheart, we'll make your first time extra special. Just let me get a deeper whiff."

Yosshi thrashed as best as she could as the fox knelt between her legs, sniffing at her panties while holding her legs high and apart. Shutting her eyes, letting her tears fall as she sobbed though the stifling paw. This isn't want happened in her stories. Where was her hero?

A loud clang above her made her sensitive ears fold back, but the arms around her slackened enough for her to slump down. Opening her eyes, she saw a grey wolf slamming Roger's head against the wall, his face twisted into a fierce growling snarl. Roger's release the grip on her legs, allowing her to curl up and watch as the fox's eyes roll back into his head.

The wolf let him drop with a thud before looked down to her. He expression immediately changed to one of compassion, with blue eyes looking her over for any injures. He knelt down, keeping his distance. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

The emotional backlash suddenly hit her, and with a wail, she flung herself into the wolf's arms, shaking and crying in relief. He simply held her, rubbing her back until she calmed down enough for him to radio security.

Extra people arrived soon after to formally hold the two assailants until the police arrived and examine Yosshi. It was then discovered that her parents were already upset over finding Archie wandering into the ball. They were instructed to stay in their hotel room until Yosshi was found. The wolf volunteered to take her back via the elevator.

She clung to his side during the trip, still shaking at the thought of facing her parents.

"Yosshi," he called to her. "It'll be all right. Your folks are very worried about you. I'll explain to them what happened, if you want."

She looked up at his smiling face, so very kind and comforting. This was truly her Knight, her Rescuer, her brave Sir Galahad, pure and true.

She would never forget him.

Mae's jaw remained dangling from her muzzle as Yosshi finished her story. "Oh my...I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry that happened to you."

Yosshi had moved to the head of her bed, with her knees up and tucked under her chin, her tail wrapped around her body. "It's alright. Mom and Dad and the Con itself pressed charges. They, the guys who did it, were arrested and thrown in jail. My parents refused to attend another RenCon, or a Fair for that matter. It took a couple of years before they would even let me go, and I could only go if I volunteered to help Aunt Bebe, and only if she didn't let me out of her sight. Funny, I never caught his name, until tonight."

"So, you think that guy who saved you is this Tobias?"

Yosshi shook her head. "I don't think, Mae. I know. And I'm sure he knows who I am now. He looked like he recognized me."

Mae stood up to fill up two glasses with ice and water from the sink. "So what now?"

Yosshi took her glass and sipped a bit. "Now I tell him how I feel. I tell him that he's never been far from my thoughts. And that I'm very grateful to him.

"And?"

"And, that's as far as I've thought"

"You're expecting some fairy tale happy ending, aren't you?" Mae sat down and took her friend's hands. "Yosshi, you're my buddy, and that's the only reason why I feel I can tell you this, but he met you when you were 12 and just assaulted. He looks nearly 30 years old now. Do you really think he'd be interested in you like 'that'?"

Yosshi couldn't answer that at all. In her dreams, she got her "fairy tale happy ending" with Tobias admitting the same feelings she had. She really had no interest in other boys in school growing up. Her parents assumed it was an off shoot of the assualt, and she wasn't in a hurry to tell them different. Other boys just weren't Him. Her Knight.

Then again, she knew that she had to realistic about this. Mae was right, she couldn't so sure about his feelings. Things will just have to happen as they happen. At the very least, she could thank him for what he did for her back then.

Mae's cell phone rang, signaling to them both that Paul was calling to wish her goodnight. Hugging the tigress, she grabbed the device and stepped outside the room to take the call. Pretty sure that overthinking her situation wouldn't solve anything, Yosshi started to braid her hair in preparation for sleeping. It would be a busy day tomorrow.