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The Tail-Chaser's Lounge Part 3

By

Charles E. Terrell Jr. aka Nightmask

As she wondered off to see how everyone else was doing, as well as manage a snack before preparing for her own turn on stage Brad stumbled shyly into the softly lit room, eyes roaming around the room as he heard the door swish shut behind him. He managed to take note that the room was surprisingly spacious, with a full-length mirror along one wall and a table with a variety of grooming items set out upon it, before his train of thought was derailed abruptly by the reason he was there.

"Come on in and have a seat," he heard in a sultry purr that touched off every male instinct and gland whether he wanted it or not, and drew his eyes towards the divan she was casually lounging upon, the lovely lapine attired in a soft blue robe that matched her fur. She was dressed quite modestly from the way she had it draped about her, although her ample bosom made it impossible to completely conceal the dip into her cleavage of that soft white fur that ran down her belly. With a lazy gesture that left her sleeve rolling down her arm she motioned to the chair strategically placed to make it easy to talk with her without her having to either sit up or make things uncomfortable for him in talking to her.

"Oh, uhm, thanks," he stammered out, feeling overwhelmed by the offer and clutching without thinking at the panties still in his left hand, and crossed the few feet remaining between him and her. Settling into the chair he gasped in surprise as it molded itself to him until it was a perfect fit and evoked a smile from the lounging lapine.

"I gather you've not enjoyed the pleasures of a conform-o-chair before," she purred to him while shifting slightly to better situate herself in her own cushions as she laid back and looked up the short distance into his eyes, her blue eyes a surprising match to his own. "Top of the line and quite expensive, but with the different body styles we anthros have it's a must-have if you can afford one, and as you can see we can."

"It does feel very comfortable," he agreed, and tried to focus on what Karen had told him earlier; just relax and enjoy the opportunity presented to him. "Oh, I'm Brad," he said while offering her his hand, then blushing as it was the one with her panties in them and squirmed in embarrassment as he looked flustered, dropped them into his lap and then didn't seem to know which hand to offer her.

Patricia couldn't help laughing and shaking her head in amusement, her silver hair spilling around her shoulders as she pointedly reached for his left and gave it a firm squeeze.

"That's a sweet reaction but really dear considering where you saw my fingers earlier you've nothing to be embarrassed about," she informed him in a good-natured way and made sure to keep his hand snuggly in the grasp of hers, and left him trying not to squirm as he found himself subjected to a thorough inspection as she ran her gaze over him. "It's also a pleasure to meet you Brad, I'm Patricia, in case no one told you before now. Welcome back stage here at the Tail Chasers Lounge. I'm very glad you came."

"Well I wouldn't have wanted you feeling slighted by not accepting your offer," he blushingly stated. "Plus I've never had anyone, especially such a lovely lady as yourself, invite me to a private chat," he admitted as well to her, which earned him a warm smile from the bunny.

"A real lady appreciates any male who knows not to disappoint her by turning down her invitation," she replied, then gave a long, lazy stretch that worked every muscle of her body, the only delay coming when she placed his hand on the headrest of her divan so it'd be in easy reach when she was done. With a final wriggle of her toes and rearranging of her robe to recover her legs and bosom she reclaimed his hand and curled her fingers up with his.

The room settled into a moment of silence as he tried to recover from the complex spill of emotions set off by that seemingly simple display. The lapine was such a sensual creature that even without trying she left Brad with much to cope with, not the least of which the breathtaking beauty that filled his vision as she lay there, such a study in feminine form his eyes kept trailing over her as much to admire her for her artistic along with her sensual features.

"What's the matter, bunny got your tongue?" she asked before tickling him beneath the chin with her other hand to snap him back into the real world, then stroked his cheek with the pads of her fingers. "You weren't simply trying to flatter me earlier, were you, when you said you hadn't ever spent any time like this before?" she inquired, looking sadder when he gave a nod of his head, then gave her head a shake that set her ears to flopping and worked a smile back onto her face. "Just more for me to enjoy then, getting to be your first, that is if you don't mind my being your first," she asked innocently, and smiled more widely when he gave a start and started to smile along with her.

"No, I don't mind you being my first at all," he replied, enjoying the feeling that thought invoked, even if he felt it was really no more than a pleasant fantasy and that such an amazing female would never really want him for more than friendly conversation. "I just hope I'm not too disappointing, being so awkward and all, since it's my first time."

"Honey there aren't many seasoned males who escape being flustered when I'm around," she quipped, her left hand stroking along his left arm gently while the right remained laced finger to finger with his. "The same goes with the rest of us who entertain here at the lounge. It's part of what drew us all together and ended up bringing this place into existence, since it makes it difficult and sometimes impossible to function in most work places. We simply found it easier to pool our talents and funds into creating the lounge, where we could make use of those assets and use our other talents for our hobbies instead."

"If the others are like you and Karen I don't doubt that," he stated with a lingering blush. "I don't think I could work either with such beauty to sit and watch all day," he added, eyes roaming down along her robed form and back up again in unconscious confirmation of his words.

"For someone who says he's not spent any time like this you do know how to flatter a female," she declared with a throaty laugh, her bosom jiggling softly in time with her laughs. "Keep that up and you'll get a private show, if you think you can handle one."

"Don't you have to be ready for another show later?" he asked, trying very hard to keep his eyes above her bosom but unable to resist the temptation, in part because she was so obviously okay with him looking. "I mean, you don't do only one show a night do you?" he added, not sure he could handle a private viewing and looking for an out if one were available.

"Sometimes I choose to just do one, and definitely after a show as intense as tonight's," she told him, dashing that hope but leaving that part of him that wished to be so blessed with her personal attention like that leaping for joy inside of him. While she wasn't the expert of body language Karen was she could read the conflicting emotions and desires circling around inside of him as she drew his hand up to nuzzle the palm soothingly. "There are eight of us who routinely dance here with every half hour someone dancing for roughly five to fifteen minutes, depending on her mood or routine. If someone wants to dance more they can have more of those slots, as we don't have any real schedule saying everyone dances x number of slots a night."

"None of you mind if someone's doing less entertaining than the others and leaving the others to do most of it?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course not dear," she reassured him, then playfully licked his palm. "In case you didn't notice from the distraction I presented we don't profit off the entertainment. Oh sure we get some hefty gratuities from the customers to reflect their appreciation of the show, but we profit mostly from the cuisine. We've so many who order take-out, mainly humans who'd not want to be seen patronizing a place like this that we do quite well. Especially since several of us are superbly talented at managing money, on top of their other talents."

"So you're actually a part owner of this place?" he exclaimed.

"I'm an equal partner yes," she told him, the luscious lapine reclining back on the divan with a parting lick to his palm before she was out of range, although kept his hand firmly in hers. "We all contribute based upon our various skill pools, and quite enjoy what we've created here. Don't let the body fool you dear, that old human saying about brains and beauty being mutually exclusive is quite given the lie here. If anything we're all as intelligent as we are beautiful," she concluded with no hint of arrogance or sinful pride in her statement, just a modest statement of fact.

"Wow! I mean, I've never heard of anything like that where I come from. There's such a stereotype that women who dance like you do must be not very smart and couldn't really do anything else."

Patricia shook her head sadly at that and drew her free hand back to comb her fingers through her long silver hair, letting it fall around her shoulders as she gazed into his eyes. "I don't think I'll ever understand how humans have managed to reach so far yet still have such problems when it comes to accepting sex and sensuality as natural things, especially with how they've been slowly idealizing the human form in the centuries since they first created us."

"I wouldn't know anything about that," he replied softly, and left the bunny embarrassed herself this time as she hadn't even thought about his being so clearly not one of those idealized humans and the pain her comment must have inflicted. The next thing he knew she was sitting up and drawing him to her and hugging him close, her hair blinding him as it spilled over him and he was immersed in the warm, scented fullness of her.

"I'm so sorry! That was thoughtless of me to say," she said while her arms kept him snuggly clutched to her chest, his glasses knocked slightly askew with the rapidness of her hold. "I didn't mean to imply there's anything wrong with you or inferior, it's nice seeing a more natural human."

Brad couldn't help but clutch at Patricia in return when he found himself embraced by her, eyes closing as he found himself just wanting the moment to go on forever and afraid speaking would break the magic of the moment. He couldn't go indefinitely without speaking though, as he heard the worry in her voice as she spoke his name several times, the questioning tone drawing him down from that emotional high her embrace drew him to.

"It's okay Patricia, I know I'm very different compared to a normal human here," he told her, his voice kept soft as he didn't want it seeming as if he were shouting to her with her ear so close to his mouth. He made no effort to pull away from her or release her as he nuzzled her soft furry shoulder, as her gown had slipped from her shoulders leaving them bare. "At least someone thinks I'm worth spending time with, even if I'm not really good at anything, too shy and flustered and always sending the wrong signals to women to ever get one interested in me."

Patricia frowned briefly and drew her head back enough to give him a stern look.

"Now you stop talking like that you hear? You're doing just fine, you don't need to do anything to impress me or anyone else here, some strutting male acting all cocky has no appeal here. I happen to like you, even from our brief interaction so far, and you don't want to blow that now do you?" she concluded, although let her stern look shift to one of playful teasing as she licked him on the nose and nuzzled his glasses back in place.

"No, I wouldn't want to do that," he managed to stammer out, blushing brightly at the lick and for him intimate nuzzling. Even with a lifetime dreaming about such a moment and how suavely he'd react the reality of it was still too overwhelming for him to easily slip into that roll, after all it wasn't like he believed in his heart he could really draw the attention of such a sensual and self-confident female, human or otherwise.

"Right answer, now would you like something to drink or snack on?" she asked while remaining nose to nose with him, her breath mixing with his as it puffed out of her nose and across his cheeks and lips. "I doubt you got to finish your meal or have dessert before Karen invited you back here, and I'd be a poor host if I left you neglected."

"Well, sharing some dessert with such a lovely lady would be nice," he admitted. "Never shared dessert or drinks with anyone, only had a few drinks in my life anyway."

"I'll order up something nice then, and we can sit and continue getting acquainted while we eat," she purred, her ears twitching as she stretched out, drawing herself up and placing her free hand upon a recessed pad nearly hidden in the wall. While it didn't seem as if she'd done more than simply rest her hand against it he'd have never been able to say what she really did. With that to her innocent action her robe fell open to reveal her right breast and belly to his gaze, a view he simply couldn't keep his eyes from until she settled back down and casually drew it back closed.

"Shouldn't be too long a wait," she told him once she lay there once again, and gave him a quirk of a smile before teasingly adding. "After that show a lady has a need of something to make up for what she burned off after all, and shouldn't have to wait to eat."

"A lady shouldn't have to wait for anything," he couldn't help saying, which resulted in a warm glow igniting inside him from the way she laughed and sat back up so she could reach in to place her left hand on his chest right over his heart.

"I can feel quite the romantic heart beating here, one I'm glad you're finally feeling relaxed enough to show," she told him, her fingertips and claws lightly rubbing and scritching at his chest through the burgundy sweater he wore.

He couldn't help but smile some himself when she said that, right hand lifting up to rest on the back of hers on his chest, laying tenderly there while he closed his eyes and took a long, deep breathe to savor the moment.

"Thank you," he finally managed to say, his voice soft, his hands squeezing hers as he opened his eyes, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I hope it makes you happy in some small way. I think you can tell how happy you've already made it."

Before she could reply or do more there was a chiming from the door as it announced someone outside, then after a few seconds slid open automatically, allowing the one who triggered it entry.

The first thing entering into the room was a refrigerated dessert cart, a variety of confections visible within through the clear sides. Sundaes and splits and more stacked neatly within, with a section taking up the back with a variety of toppings to allow customizing of the desserts by their consumers. There was also a bottle and two glasses taking center stage in the top layer of the tiered device. It made not a sound as it floated into the room, riding the magnetic cushion it generated to interact with the floor's customized grid and guided by the tall, slender ferret who'd brought it by.

Standing around five foot nine in height in her bare feet she stood even taller from the five-inch heels she wore with her outfit. White silk stockings clad her legs snuggly and disappeared up beneath the hem of her skirt, the maid's uniform she wore ending right around her knees and more modest than one of limited mind might expect from one working someplace with an adult theme. In fact the uniform seemed to be more than serviceable for traditional maid duties, with the top revealing only a modest amount of cleavage with the expanse of soft gray fur that trailed down from her black-masked face and spread out across her chest. The gloved look her black-furred arms presented showed through the white-lace gloves she wore, while an elaborate matching white hat rested between her ears.

"Here you go Patricia, only the best for you and your guest," the perky ferret said as she greeted them, her tailtip flicking lazily behind her as her long furry tail looped up out of the way behind her. While Brad started and looked embarrassed and almost pulled away from the bunny's grasp the ferret made no comment and displayed no reaction at all to what she'd walked in on, simply going about her business with practiced efficiency. "I should have everything set up in just a minute."

"No rush Fatima," Patricia told her, the luscious lapine giving Brad a reassuring smile and squeeze, and rubbed her foot along his leg playfully. "I'd like you to meet Brad. Brad this is Fatima, one of the other dancers here in case you couldn't tell," she said, chuckling throatily.

"Well hello there! It's a pleasure to meet you Brad," Fatima beamed, rewarding him with a winning smile as she took a moment to shake his hand after Patricia gave him a little shake of encouragement. Along with the handshake came the naturally musky scent she exuded, washing over him like a strong perfume and causing him to take a few deep sniffs reflexively. "Oh, sorry, I hope my musk isn't a problem, I know humans don't care for it generally," she said contritely, unaware his reaction wasn't out of displeasure.

"Oh no, Fatima, it's okay, really, I don't mind," he reassured her, and gave her hand a firm squeeze. "I was just startled is all, I thought you had on a strong perfume and just wanted to try and identify it."

"Oh! Okay!" The ferret looked quite surprised and pleased to hear that, her left hand coming up to rest against her chest briefly as felt quite flattered to have her musk compared to perfume, especially by a human. "I think you've quite a winner here Patricia," she added as she gave a few practiced signals to the bunny before slipping her hand out of Brad' and with a practiced wriggle of her backside to them both recovered the fold-out table from the small closet and set it up where they could both easily eat from it. With a brief flick of a switch hidden underneath it the table bonded magnetically to the floor, holding it as sturdily in place as if it were bolted down.

"There you go," she cheerfully concluded once she laid out napkins and utensils for both, and took the time to set up the glasses and filled them midway to the top with the rich crimson contents of the bottle. "Some of the house's finest, and nicely complimentary with the dessert tray. Help yourselves of course, and if you need anything else just give a call, otherwise I'll get back to my other duties."

"Thanks for bringing things by and setting them up Fatima," Patricia purred as she gently disengaged herself from Brad so she could check out the dessert cart items. "You didn't have to though, I'd have been fine with setting it up myself."

"No reason you should have had to dear," the friendly ferret said by way of disagreement. "I'd stay and serve you both but I do have things to do and don't want to be intruding either. You two have fun and feel free to make a mess if the fun leads that way." With that she quickly slipped off to her other duties, leaving Brad blushing again from her casual reference to more intimate possibilities.

"Sometimes I think she spends too much time playing a maid, as much as she likes to clean up around here," Patricia commented with a toss of her head to reseat her long hair along her back and out of the way, then cocked her head to the side as she thought for a bit about something. "You know, I think that's the first time I've heard her actually offer to serve anyone, must have been what you said to her earlier. That was just the right thing to say to her by the way, that she actually smelled like she was wearing perfume."

"But I do think she smelled like perfume," he told her, confused by her statement.

"Apparently you're even more unique than I originally thought," she replied, blinking several times in surprise before she shook it off and changed her train of thought back to what had prompted Fatima's arrival in the first place. "So, what would you care for Brad? We've some quite heavenly confections here, including a deluxe sundae with chocolate, strawberry, and butter pecan ice cream."

"Sharing a sundae with a lovely lady is something I've wanted to do since I was a kid," he told her, brightening as he heard that.

"Sundae it shall be then, with all the toppings," she announced with a triumphant grin and set about loading it up liberally with various items from the toppings dispenser, her tail flicking merrily about through the opening for it in her robe and fanning him with the air it stirred up. Once she had it fully decked out she turned about and slid it onto their table and settled down across from him to dine.

*******************

While the pair was busy enjoying their leisurely dessert and the remaining ice between them melting faster than the ice cream, Fatima sashayed down the hallway with a delighted spring to her step, her tail dancing about behind her.

He'd actually said she smelled like she was wearing perfume! She knew she was too old to be feeling as giddy as she was but she couldn't help it, no one had ever told her that before, even to another ferret her musk was generally perceived for its sexual or territorial markers, rather than simply as a pleasant aroma. For a seasoned female like her she could tell he wasn't lying or simply saying it to be polite either, but truly meant it. Definitely one of the nicest males she'd seen around the lounge in a while, and a human on top of that, truly the world was full of surprises and miraculous things. Also conflicted with her private belief that humans engineered anthros to smell bad to humans so that they'd not be attracted to them, but perhaps he was just a fluke.

Breezing through the roomy corridors she took the impulse to detour through the area where the other dancers would hang out together while waiting their turn on stage. It was nice and spacious and had areas set aside for up to a dozen ladies at a time to primp and prepare themselves, although only half were occupied as she strolled through. She didn't have much time to do more than toss them each a friendly wave and hello but did like to see what the rest had in mind for the evening, since some outfits she felt would be redundant to see on several different furs in one night, and make sure they got plenty of variety.

She wasn't too far from her destination as she left through the other means of access to the dressing room, just a few doors down she found herself waiting outside the office that was her target. Now that she'd done her check of Patricia's guest it was time for her to meet back with her other half when it came to internal security and see what she'd learned with her net search. Everyone underwent a deep background security check and a discrete personal inspection by her when admitted beyond the public domain of the outer lounge. A brief chuckle slipped from her as she thought about it, hadn't had a male come through yet that caught on that he was being checked out. This last male she had to admit to herself had managed to put a surprise perk into her step though, hopefully he'd prove acceptable and be a common guest in the future.

In any case she waved her right hand across the door sensor once she was close enough, a quick look inside through the upper portion of the door making it easy to see that she was awaited. As it slid open she could see it instantly going fully opaque and quirked her head to the side at that, hardly any need for privacy screening of the room at that level so far as she could tell. Oh well, no point worrying about it, just head on in and share her observations and see what Heather had learned.

The room was probably one of the most lavish and expensively furnished in the lounge, considering the items scattered around the room. There wasn't a single mass manufactured item anywhere one looked, short of the desk top wafer computer on the ancient oak desk and related items wire-linked to it. Even the chairs were centuries old and some of the first quality pieces designed with anthro anatomy in mind, with a slot to let the tail rest comfortably out the back rather than cramped up behind them and silk cushions fitted to them to compensate for variations in body shapes. The walls were hung with several paintings of nature scenes of a different era, with a single more modern morphing liquid crystal painting that flowed from scene to scene in a slow, steady rhythm.

There was more than that to the room of course; there was also the room's primary occupant, a maturely figured mephit tastefully dressed in a well tailored business outfit with the ubiquitous tail opening nearly all anthros required and allowed the large fluffy tail with the characteristic striping freedom. Also in the room with her was Karen, but something that didn't surprise her overmuch, considering the mouse had also spent some time talking with the mephit regarding their latest guest. Both were reclined back in their chairs on the mephit's side of the desk, with Karen checking out the display of the terminal while the mephit reviewed the material more directly through the network connection plugged into the cyber-jack behind her right ear. She greeted the ferret with a lazy wave before continuing her hand's movement into a reach back behind her ear to disengage the computer link and let it rewind back into the computer.

"Welcome back Fatima, how'd it go?" she murred throatily while motioning for her to have a seat. "Karen said she found him charming, in a shy sort of way, and noted that the fox with him was a bodyguard."

"A bodyguard? Really?" Fatima asked, surprised, and blinked at Karen when she nodded her head to confirm it. "What does he do that rates a bodyguard?"

"No idea, the background checks show they both work at the Advanced Ideas Institute, but there are discrepancies in the human's records that leave me to think that it's been fabricated," the mephit informed her while turning the computer display around to give the ferret access to the condensed data.

"You'll notice that cross-checking shows the records seem to appear about six months ago, around the time of that accident the institute reported," the mephit pointed out to her while Fatima was reading.

"I know they cracked the Unified Field Theory a few decades ago and finally gave us practical anti-gravity drives and artificial gravity for our space colonies five years ago, but I hadn't heard about any accidents."

"They had some sort of generator overload in one of their high-energy labs," Karen piped in before elaborating. "That night back in December when I was called away unexpectedly it was to help with emergency cybernetic surgery on some of the victims. From the tissue damage I saw they'd been exposed to some serious radiation or intense electromagnetic fields. I didn't hear of anyone dying from it but it was touch and go for the ones I treated."

"Any reason why it'd be connected with the inconsistencies in Brad' background check though?" Fatima asked, confused. "I don't get a hint of anything out of him that'd leave me thinking he's got some kind of unsavory past or hurtful intent towards us."

"I've no idea, and I trust yours and Karen's instincts when it comes to reading people, but I think we should put in some extra time back-checking just to be sure. We haven't managed to remain free and clear of unwanted scrutiny as long as we have by being careless."

"If you think we need the deeper info-scan go right ahead then Heather, that's more your expertise than mine," Fatima stated while she finished up reading, including the notations where the discrepancies where. "The last thing we need is to have some agency giving us hell and trashing our nest egg after we've worked so hard to vanish into an obscure and relaxing retirement."

"I volunteer to give him his physical exam," Karen interjected which triggered a spate of laugher from the others and a slap on the back from the mephit.

"Patricia's probably already busy doing that," Fatima teasingly replied while returning the computer screen to its original facing towards Heather.

"Well now a second opinion would be in order, have to be thorough after all," Karen tossed back to her good-naturedly before reaching up to remove her glasses and clean them on the hem of her skirt. "Seriously though we can do a blind DNA search at the Genealogical Archives once we've a sample and see what turns up there. Shouldn't be a human for the past two hundred years who isn't listed there."

"We can check there after we see how the back-checking goes," Heather stated. "Considering the age of the firewalls at AII I think a small group effort will get us into their records enough to clear up the confusion for why one of their employees only seems to have come into existence six months ago."

"What should we tell Patricia in the meantime?" Fatima asked as she looked back and forth between the other two. "They were having a nice time together from what I could tell, and you know how rarely we manage to find a male we can enjoy spending time with."

"You don't need to remind me about that," the mephit said, sighing deeply, her own love life equally stunted by the public perceptions about skunks, even among other anthromorphs. Considering how tired she was of virtual pleasure and artificial outlets she wasn't about to jump the gun and interfere with her friend's good time unless it was absolutely necessary. "In the meantime we'll just let her know we haven't found anything to worry about so far, that you and Karen found him to be okay, and I'm just clearing up some discrepancies I noticed in his records."

"Sounds good to me," Fatima agreed while she stood and brushed out her skirt and returned her uniform to its original unwrinkled appearance. "I'll head on back to the kitchen and help out there then, since tonight's one of my nights to help with the cooking for the customers. I already told Patricia to give me a call if she needed anything else and I'll check up on them discretely as the night goes along."

"Okay Fatima, I'll let you know as soon as we learn anything from the background search and hack job at AII."

"See you both later then," she said before padding out the door in a swish of her skirts, not even pausing as it opened automatically at her proximity.

"I'd better get going as well Heather," Karen told the mephit as she stood as well and took a moment to do a few stretches and wriggles to restore her own appearance to that of a proper schoolteacher. "I don't want to miss my turn on stage if I want to be free in case Patricia needs anything, since Minerva's busy cooking tonight."

"I quite understand," Heather replied, standing to accord her friend respect and give the mouse a hug before drawing back, her hands resting on the mouse's shoulders. "I'll talk with Rebecca to find a good time for the three of us to coordinate our hacking efforts, and let you know when. I'm sure we ought to be able to find out everything available on our guest with a little work."

"Just let me know when, you've got my schedule for the week, barring any unforeseen need for me at the hospital," she noted and reached up to give her friend's hand a friendly squeeze where it rested on her shoulder. "Although I think we've all the important stuff we need to know; that he's delighted to be here and Patricia's delighted to have him. I doubt I'd have singled him out to invite him back if I'd seen him from the stage but I find that I have enjoyed what little I saw of him when I invited him back."

Heather couldn't resist shaking her head in amusement at that and releasing the mouse's left shoulder to scritch her beneath the chin. "If he has the same kind of affect on the others here like he's had on you, Fatima, and Patricia we might find ourselves having trouble getting anything done around here while he's around."

Karen wished she could hide the blush as her ears pinked with embarrassment and her tail lashed about. First Patricia and now Heather, at her age she shouldn't be embarrassed by such teasing, but had to admit she was reacting more like she would have when she was a youngster blossoming into puberty. Oh well, at least she was in good company she reminded herself, having easily noticed the giddy energy adding to the already energetic ferret's step, and Patricia's perky behavior.

"I'll have to make sure you get some personal time with him as well, so you can do some independent verification about that," Karen tossed back before stepping gently away from Heather. "In any case I should get going and will see you later. Enjoy your evening dear."

"You have fun too, catch you later," the mephit replied as she saw her friend out, and making a mental note to save meeting Brad until after the deep background search, just in case he did indeed have the same kind of effect upon her as he had on the others. While she wasn't averse to enjoying a human's company if he were worthy of her attention she didn't want to risk her objectivity being compromised before learning everything she could about him. She had her duty to her friends after all to do everything she could to protect them, watching out for guests who were dangerous in ways that were subtle instead of obvious. For the obvious threats Tori and Nutmeg were more than sufficient, for the subtle that was her job, along with the help from Fatima and Karen. With that taken care of she returned to her seat and plugged herself back into the desktop and settled into run more searches on the rest of the customers and update their data-files where needed.