Sellouts or Survivors
Omen
Breaker
Sellouts or Survivors
by
Assilsasta
¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸September
21, 2013¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸
¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Putting
on a Show¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸
The Chymara
Preparatory Academy football stands were packed with students who came just for
the free concert and a few out of towners that paid the ten dollar admission to
see the once underground band perform live for the first time in a planned
venue.
As the crowd
moved and rustled, conversations becoming too loud to truly be understood even
when standing next to the person, the field lights flashed off plunging the
audience into an almost total darkness. The crowd fell into absolute silence,
and a strange chorus of voices echoed through the ear, speaking words in some
strange language.
"Dia duit, Aille Marmar, agus buíochas a
ghabháil leat as fáilte a chur romhainn. Anocht is mian linn a draíocht ar tú
lenár amhráin, Ach nach bhfuil do fáilte a deonaíodh dúinn go pléisiúir. Anocht
na Máthar, Maiden, agus cailleach a thabhairt dúinn ár n-dlite. Agus anois a
thabhairt dúinn é ar ais chugat Trí Fill."
A spotlight
lit up a small area of the stage, From the distance they could see the
unmistakable black armored white cat on the stage as her voice echoed over the
speakers. "Hello Marblecliff, our new home. And thank you for your warm
welcome. From the time we set paw on your streets, walked the halls of your
schools with you, we have seen just what we have expected from you all. Your
world is cruel and judgmental. You make snap generalization about what you see,
without the time to know the truth." While she talked the standard fog
generators covered the high stage with a thick layer of mist. "We came here as
your equals, your peers, and we were greeted as the outcasts we have always
been. You bump into us in the hall, you slap the books from our paws, you
whisper lies about us to one another. But, we do not blame you for this, it is
the way of your world, of you silver spoon fed fools." The crowd remained silent as the feline made
her speech without a hint of anger or animosity in her melodic voice. "We bring
you this concert as a peace offering to the masses. We return from the shadows
we entered for those that have begged for our sound. Those sounds of the mystic
twins, Dubh and Ban." As she spoke a light flashed on over the canine pair
mirrored black and white costumes of feathers and leather. Each held a shiny
battle axe shaped guitar, one obviously a bass with the other an eight string,
evident in the distance only by the sound of the soft Celtic style music they
were playing. "Rainstar, our Lady of the ivory keys." The sound of a keyboard
joined as the light fell on a corgi girl dressing in leather and lace outfit.
"And dealing out beat on the wyvern skins, the Dragon Nadraka!" With the
introduction a black light brought the neon and fluorescent steaks and patterns
of the drummer's fur to life against the black of its fur, as it tapped the
sticks together four times before they were dropped on two opposing drums and a
blast of fire sprang forth from the drummer's muzzle into the air. "I am
Jabyses, and we are Omen Breaker, and invite you to our world of Ethundova."
The screeching
guitars and loud thrash music started with a strange melody of the dog girl
twins singing in whatever language they had spoken earlier. A small crowd of
out of towners rushed out of the stands onto the field and formed a pit as they
slammed their bodies into each other not in time with the music. Pyrotechnics
and sparklers light up around the stage as the twins danced as bounced with the
music, Jabyses' voice screeching the incomprehensible words to whatever song
they were playing. Soon an intricate guitar and bass duo started as the lead
singer and keyboard player moved to center stage and lifted a pair of poles
with a Mystic Schools uniform and the drummer stood placing one paw on top of
the kick drum. Several audience members screamed as a ball of fire burst forth from it's muzzle once more,
igniting the obviously accelerant socked uniform in a blaze of blue flame. It then jumped over the
drums and tumbled to the front of the stage, where it proceeded to blast a
pillar of flame over the moshing crowd causing many of them to run and scream
as others rushed in waving small flammable objects in hopes of getting
scorched.
The twin swung
axe guitars over their heads as they caught the flaming uniform and pinning it
hard into the wooden stage floor. The group turned their backs to the audience
as Jabyses said into the headset mic, "We're done, FUCK YOU ALL!" then turned and led the group off the stage
having played only part of one song.
"What the Hell
was that?" Megan asked, looking at her giraffe companion and drummer.
Vivy snorted,
"And I thought I had a temper. Man, what a fucking joke! It was a free show,
and I still feel like I was ripped off!"
"They have a
lot of talent, though," the bat said. "It's too bad they mask it with cheesy
theatrics and effects. If I ever sell out like that, break up the band, ok?"
The taller
girl replied, "No problem there! I'm pretty sure I recognize the corgi girl
from work, though. And I know it isn't her, but their singer looks a lot like
-"
"Don't fucking
say it," Megan groaned. "I don't want to talk about her."
¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Back
Stage¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸
"What the hell
was that?" The Lion roared at the band as the left the heated stage into the
cold September air. "Where the hell do you think you're going? You have to do
more than one part of a song. Get your ass back on that stage."
Jabyses turned
on her heals a look of anger in her eyes, she started to walk forward only a
moment before Nadraka pushed her out of the way. The fennec/Jacob sheep hybrid
walked up to the larger, older male as shi said, "You wanted us to put on a
show, here, for these people. That's what we did, and listen to the cheering.
They loved it, all hundred and twenty seconds of it." shi ripped the flame
breath apparatus from hir neck and jaw as shi started to wipe the flame
suppressant jell from hir muzzle. "This is not us, this is not the Omen
Breaker. You want screeching thrash with no reason, or soul? You got the wrong
band."
Jabyses put
her paw on the fennec's shoulder as a tall lemur boy walked between the group
of five. "Here's the deal from now on, Mr. Marks. You want us to play? Next
time work with us; don't tell us where to go and what to do. We have a style,
and that is what got us here. You don't know shit about what we do. And to
force us to do a free show for people that have done nothing but push us around
and treat us like crap... It's not happening again. Fuck your contract; we'll go
back to the streets." He turned and put his arm over Jabyses's shoulder as he
said, "Come on, we have a real gig to hit at a warehouse down town, where our
real fans are."
Eric Marks
watched as the tightly knit group of young musicians walked away from a
contract venue in favor of a dirty warehouse with no budget, what they had been
playing for the past two years and nearly starving to death. The sound of the
cheering crowd grew restless as the time passed without the band. He yelled to
the group, "Wait, What do you want? What do you need to get back on that
stage?"
The lemur
turned to him again and said, "They're not getting back on the stage, but you
can tell them we'll be at Hellion for the rest of the night. Anyone that really
wants to hear us will know how to get there."
¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸June 10,
2013¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸
¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Dead
in the Water¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸
The poorly
painted ture bus sat quietly in the department store parking lot. inside a
small group of teens gathered around the table with a laptop open. A corgi girl
sat at the keyboard as they looked through and read comments in their forums.
She stopped and pointed at the screen. "Here's one. They're even offering to pay."
"Flagstaff?
How far is that?" The black furred fennec fox hybrid asked as she pulled a
brush through hir still wet hair.
"Yea, we're
going to need something before then," the white feline said as she walked
toward the driver's compartment. "Tell them we are in San Diego and will need
an advance on that if they want us to show. And let them know we get a cut of
the door if they put our name on the leaf."
"Sure thing
Jaby," the corgi girl said as she tapped away at the keys.
Jabyses
stepped into the driver's area, the engine cover was off and a young lemur sat
in the engine space with a toolbox to his side. She knelt down next to him and
asked, "How does it look?"
"We need a new
rotor and distributor cap. We're dead in the water," he said as he held up the
large black plastic object. "That and we're almost out of food again. I swear
Nadraka's pregnant, shi eats like a horse."
Jabyses patted
him on the head as she replied, "If shi is shi's been pregnant for two years
now. Come on back and rest a bit, Rod, we might have an advance on the way to
get the parts and eats."
"And reindeer
shit brownies," he said as he got to his footpaws. "How many times have we
actually ever gotten anything before they collected the door?"
As the two
rejoined the others a stream of profanities flowed from the corgi's muzzle as
she slapped the laptop shut. Jabyses dropped into the seat next to the black
dyed fox and said, "I take it that means no on the advance."
"Fuck no," she
said as she slumped back in the booth seat. "Only decent gig and we have no
fuckin' way to get there."
"We're out of
food, out of gas and broken down in San Diego," A young white and brown dog
girl said as she looked at her twin sister with polar opposite color pattern.
"Only two options left."
Jabyses looked
around at her five band members, "We're going with option one until it fails.
Unhook the car Nadraka, we'll hit up the clubs and see if we can get a one
nighter to get us back on the road. Everyone else get some sleep, we might need
it."
¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Option
One¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸
Jabyses, a
common white feline with orange coloration around each paw, looked over at her
best friend as the pair drove through the city looking for a club they
might get a gig at for the night. Their
chances were slim at best, but they needed to try. "Hay, Vic?" she called over
to the fennec/jacob sheep hybrid, a name she only used when the two were alone,
the last remnant of the life the hermaphrodite left behind.
Nadrakatoria
looked at back at her and blinked, one of the few times hir deep amber eyes
were not concealed by hir florescent colored contacts, "Yea?" shi questioned as
she slumped down in the seat in a vain
attempt to avoid the daylight. hir blue-black dyed fur hot and unbearable in
the direct sun when it was filtered through the car windows.
"Do you think
we should try to go home again?" Jabyses asked as she pulled into another club
parking lot. "I mean, we're starving out here barely making it one gig to the
next."
"You really
want to try again?" the fox asked as she hunkered even lower in the seat.
"Remember what happened last time? The twins' parents were going to have them
arrested. And my Mom left again, with no forwarding address. I guess dad found
her again. You, Rod, and Tessa are the only ones with anything to go back to."
Jabyses sighed
as she cut the power to the engine. "Truth is I really don't have anything
there either. Last time I called home they said they were moving. Dad got a
promotion that moved him to Columbus, Ohio. And Tessa can only move back in is
she has a steady job, or going the College. That's what she was told when we
left."
"Then why even
bother?" Nadrakatoria asked as shi reached for the door, "We have nothing to go
back to. We've missed two years of school. It's not like we can just walk back
into the classes and friends we left there. Besides, we do okay most of the
time. Rod keeps the bus running. We get gigs that give decent cuts. Hell we are
requested enough that we can pick and chose what we take."
Jabyses looked
over at her friend as they walked to the back door of the club , "That's not
the problem and you know it. We can get a gig anywhere we want; it's getting
there that's the issue. And that dream of getting discovered, let's get real,
what label frequents raves looking for new talent?"
"The kind that
want's good talent, the fennec replied with a smile, her oversized canine teeth
poking well past the bottom of her chin.
Their
conversation was cut short as the door opened in response to her knock. "What
do you want?" the deep voice of the large brown bear asked.
Jabyses spoke
up first, confident and forward. "We are members of the band Omen Breaker, and
we would like to run a show at your club tonight."
"Look, girls,
I don't know how long you've been doing this, but there is no point in paying
for an act on a Sunday night. Half the time I even close up early. So I can't
pay you for a show when I'm not even
going to make the money to cover being open."
"We'll work
for part of the cover. If you don't make anything we don't get paid." Victoria
said just as confidently as her friend. "We'll bring the crowd; you just have
to provide the stage."
"I don't..." the
Bear was interrupted by another voice from farther in the club. "Let them play,
If they are only playing for part of the cove, all we can do is make out if
they really do bring them in." The bear looked down at the two as he finished,
"Well you heard the man. Be back here by five to set up."
"Thank you
sir," Jabyses said as the pair turned nearly giddy at the chance to play. She flipped
open the pre-paid cell and dialed the number for the one they kept in the bus.
A moment later she said, Flood the forums, we are play tonight for a cut of the
door. Location coming in a text."
¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Burned¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸
The night progressed
as the feline leader of the group thought it would. Even with their toned down
theatrics and lack of pyrotechnics, their rave crowd showed is droves as soon
as the word was out on their forums. It had only been two years since they had
started their journey into stardom, and how they had gathered such a following
in such a short time still amazed them.
As the crowd became restless and shouted, chanting over the screeching thrash
music that filled the small club. Jabyses looked to the twins then the corgi,
each returning a nod, as they readied for the event that would end their night,
in both triumph and possibly defeat.
The music
stopped and was replaced by a beat as ad the
twins patted the strings of their axe guirats. "Chanadh muid go dtí an
t-ardú dragan. Tabhair dúinn do tine dorcha. Dóigh dúinn do fhearg geal. Dóigh
dúinn an oíche dorcha. " The two dog girls chanted into their mics as the crowd
fell silent. The stage lights dimmed to the point only the spotlight was on the
white feline lead singer as she walked to center stage.
"You want
Nadraka to dance?" She looked across the audience as a cheer rose with the continued
chanting of beat from the twins. "You know well what will happen in a place
like this if we set the dragon free." Lighters and cell phones lit up across
the dance floor and seating area. "Very well, but remember what burns our
passion and souls can devour your flesh and burn your world to the ground."
With her final word the spotlight flick off and the beat and chanting stopped,
replaced by bagpipes and a slow paced traditional sounding Celtic melody.
As the music
played several small glow sticks,
bracelet, and rings came to life on center stage. The slow movements kept in
time with the music as the tempo slowly rose to a Dance club rush speed. The lights turned to
streaks in the dark club as a black light fell on the stage. The fluorescent
yellow and hot pink streaks and patches of the fox hybrid burst to life,
glowing against hir black fur. Hir horns that she inherited from her father
show in the flaming pink of the fluorescent enamel painted over them. The crowd
cheered as the streaks of light spun and flipped through the air, soon joined
by the thrashing sound of the band. Mot tuned and timed to the fox's movements
as they continued to play in the dark, lit only by her frantic acrobatic
display.
Soon the band
as a whole chanted the archaic gaelic summoning, "Chanadh muid go dtí an t-ardú
dragan. Tabhair dúinn do tine dorcha. Dóigh dúinn do fhearg geal. Dóigh dúinn
an oíche dorcha." Which brought with it burst of flame from the mouth of the
dancing vixen. The burst steadily growing longer as the song and dance
progressed. With the climax of the song
the fox perched high in the air, held up as if by magic or wings on the
dark stage as a pillar of fire burst forth from her muzzles setting of the sprinkler systems and
fire alarms.
The house
lights came on, showing the lemur that held the fox in the air as she stood on
his raised paws. The band continued to play, their equipment covered with black
ponchos and tarps. The fox hybrid dropped from the lemur's paws as she flipped
to the stage and swiftly moved back to hir drums as the band continued their
show even in the spraying downpour of the fire suppression system. Small
splashes of water bounced of the drums as shi picked up the beat of the latest song.
The group
continued to play as the bouncers rushed and pushed their audience out of the
building and the club manager pushed his way to the stage. The bear shouted at
the group as he approached, his words lost in the music, but the anger in his
eyes evident. The band finally stopped playing as the firefighters came in and
cut off the suppression system.
"GET THE FUCK
OUT OF MY CLUB!," the bear yelled as they started to unhook their get and tear
down the drums.
"We'll be out
of your hair as soon as we get our cut of the door," Jabyses said as she looked
at the club manager.
"You're not
getting a dime. Your cut is going to have to go to the cleanup and repair of all the damage you
caused," the bear swung his arms in the air as he spoke, "What the fuck were
you thinking using pyrotechnics in a closed club?"
"Your fire
suppression system was more than enough," Victoria said as dismantled the
drums. "And I was far enough away from your precious booze soaked dance floor
not to set it off. This fuckin' place if
a fire hazard without me."
"Just get the
fuck out of my club!" The bear said as he pointed to the door.
After checking
the place was clear one of the firefighter walked up to the bear, "Sir, it
looks like you sprinklers got everything."
"GOT
EVERYTHING? There was nothing to get!," he yelled at the bear, "These little
shits set of the system with their fucking show."
The younger dog winked at Jabyses as he said,
"Well Sir, you should notify the local fire departments when you are planning
on a show that has pyrotechnics, that way we are ready for any issues that
might arise."
"Call a head?
It was a last minute show. They didn't tell me they used..."
The bear
looked at the older bear sternly, "You telling me that you scheduled a show without
knowing what it was, in an establishment that serves alcohol? I might need to
alert the Police about this."
The bear
glanced out the open door at the crowded filled with young furs, some still
holding bottles in their paws as the Police cars arrived on the scene "Fuck!"
The twins
wrapped their arms around the bear from both sides as they said in unison,
"Give us our cut and we can take care of the boys in blue."
"Fine,
whatever," he said as he pulled a roll of cash out of pocket and put it in one
of the paws. "Just never come back here again."
Tessa, the
corgi, ran to the door and shouted, "First four to get our gear to the bus get
a free ride to the next party." As the door was rushed by a small crowd of
teens she pointed at a few, "You, you, you and you," she said as she picked out
four of the larger more physically fit of the group. "Now the rest of you beat
it before I let Nadraka out." She then looked at the four she had picked, "Come
with me, you're taking our gear, the twins and myself back to our bus. You
think you can handle that?" Tessa being the oldest had filled a mother and
enforcer role among the group, using Vicatoria as a threat more often than not.
She swiftly turned to the stage with the sight of the officers heading for the
door, "Jaby, Nady, time to make a show of it for the boys in blue."
The fox and
cat looked at one another with a smile as Nadrakatoria pulled on her jacket to
ward of the chilled ocean air. Jabyses walked to the door to clear the way for
her friend as she got a running start before she moved into a succession of
flips, spins, and other acrobatics, causing the gathered crowd to clear a path
farther into the open air. As her fried
distracted the crowd and the cops, Jabyses ran to the small faded blue rusty VW
Bug.
The crowd
gathered around the the fennec hybrid just as she expected them to only moments
before the backed off at her shout, "I am Nadraka the Dragon, and I am free!"
her words were followed by a long blast of fire into the air. She then
proceeded to perform another flaming aerial acrobatics display as she forced
the crowd to move out of her way with flailing arms and legs, coupled with
busts of flame as she made her way to the car. She tumbled herself up to the
curved roof, now with the officer's full attention. She looked down, being sure
to make eye contact with at least one as she said, "catch me if you can." She
smiled as she crouched toward the front of the curved roof and the wheels
started to squeal.
¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Nadraka
the Dragon¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸
Eric and his
lawyer sat in the observation room and the officer tried to calm the fennec and
Jacob sheep hybrid down. he watched as the rave rockstar's persona displayed in
full form as the young hermaphrodite sat chained to a chair bolted to the
floor. They had striped the hermaphrodite to near nudity as they removed every
article they thought might be a danger to them or herself. All that remained on
the fennec was a flimsy tanktop and a pair of boy shorts. He glanced over the
arrest report as she listened to hir maintain the show name, Nadraka the
Dragon, as they tried to question her. Shi lunged at them to the length of the
chains each time anyone approached her, barking and growling like a feral
animal.
As the car came to
a stop the young hybrid "Car Surfing" rolled off the top of the vehicle on onto
the ground. It seemed uninjured as it took a feral stance on all fours and
began to "Breath Fire" at fellow officers. Officer White used pepper spray only
to have the canister ignite with one of the perpetrators flame blasts. Officer
Backer and Stern proceeded to used other non-lethal methods, to include a stun
round from a shotgun. The perpetrator was finally subdued with the use of a
tranquilizer.
He looked at
his lawyer with a smile as he said, "They had to put hir down like a feral dog
to bring hir in."
"Her? She has
a bigger package than I do," the weasel said as he watched the commotion with
his client.
"H-I-R not
H-E-R, read their fucking site when I tell you to something," the lion said as
he dropped the report on the table. "Shi is and has embraced being the third
gender. I dare you to walk in there and call hir either a young lady or young
man; shi might rip your face off."
"Why are we
here again?"
"Because they
are good," Eric took a seat in a nearby chair as he spoke. "They had a club
crowded on a Sunday Night with only three hours' notice to their fans. People
want to see this group, they have both talent and they put on a show. And I
think we have a chance to sign them before anyone else can."
"That still
doesn't tell me why we are here," the weasel said as he took a seat next to
him. "They are a grunge band, and rave junkies from what you said. Not the type
to sign recording contracts."
"They are
Celtic Thrash, a rather unique sound if you ask me. It's a bit harder than most
of the Celtic folk rock I've heard. And I want them in my portfolio." He looked
at his Lawyer as she continued. "And that lead singer, Jabyses said the dragon
is the one I have to convince. Everyone else should follow them."
"And how are
you planning on convincing a wild animal to sign a binding contract?"
"By offering
hir the two things shi craves more than anything," He said with a little smile
as shi jerked the chains to their limit with another lung at an officer. "hir
Freedom, and her show."
¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Sold
out¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸
Tessa leaned
out of the bus as she looked at the tall lanky lemur that leaned against it
with as nearly finished cigarette in his muzzle. "Any sign of them yet?"
"Not yet,"
Rodrick replied as he flicked the butt across the parking lot at a small can
that sat nearby. "They should've been back hours ago. I'm sure they were
pinched. And you Know Nady, shi is not going down without a fight."
"I'm starting
to get worried too," the older corgi said as she stepped out of the buss. She
leaned against the bus next to Rodrick as he pulled out another cigarette. She
snatched it out of his muzzles as he started to light it. "You're on rations
until we get to the next show. We don't have the cash to support that habit if
you're going to smoke 'em till those two get back."
As the corgi
scolded the lemur they both felt the bus shift as a loud thud came from the
wall of the sleeper section. "Sounds like the twins are having a little fun
with their new toy. I just hope he figures out what's going on before he tries
anything with Eby."
"Don't worry
about that. He brought his girl and they split the two up," Tessa said as she
took a drag off the cigarette she snatched from him. "Did you get the
distributor or whatever fixed?"
"Yeah," he
replied as she handed him the smoldering cig. "The posers over there took me to
an all-night auto parts store on the way back." He tilted his head toward as
small car with a pair of hyenas sitting on the hood. "They can't come to the
next show, but they wanted to get autographs from Jaby and Nady."
Tessa
snickered as she looked at the pair. "They're in for a surprise if they are
thinking what I think they are."
Rodrick looked
out over the vacant parking lot as he watched two cop cars pull off the street.
He hammered his fist against the buss a few times as he said, "I don't think
they will be in for anything tonight." As he put the cigarette in his paw out
he heard the sound of the hyena's car start up and pull away.
The two squad
cars pulled up close to the tour bus, followed by a black suburban. Two large
bulldog officers stepped out of one of the squad cars and opened the back
door. Victoria's pink paws touched the
ground as she stepped out of the car. The Hermaphrodite fennec hybrid stood,
dressed in only a thin white tank top undershirt and loose fitting boxers. Hir
arms and legs were shackled. One of the officers stepped in front of her with
the key as she calmly said, "Get these off of my." The look on the fennec's
face told Rodrick that approaching her right then was a bad idea. As soon as
the cuffs were removed the shi pushed her way past the larger bulldogs and
headed straight for the buss, not making eye contact with hir two band members.
Rodrick looked
at Tessa as they saw Jabyses get out of the suburban followed by an older Lion.
"What do you think is going one? The guy looks like FBI or some shit."
As the feline
led the big cat to the bus she said, "This is Eric Marks. He is with 'The Dream Mind Records'."
Just as
Rodrick was about to speak yelling came from the bus. "Get the FUCK out of my
bus," Victoria screamed as shi shoved the two cocker spaniels out into the lot
with a pile of clothing in their arms. "Dubh, Ban, Get your fucking clothes on
and get your asses out here."
Shocked into silence by the anger in their
drummer's voice the small band gathered at the entrance to the bus. The twins
wore matching slick robes while Victoria stepped out with a small selection of
clothing, spandex and tight fitting as opposed to her normal loose fitting rave
attire. shi tossed a small box to the lemur as shi said, "I'm already done,
Come get me when you gay are."
As the fennec
hybrid ran off at a full sprint Rodrick and the other looked to Jabyses as she
asked, "What the fuck is going on?"
As the lion
opened his mouth to talk, the twins spoke in unison, creating the most vocally
elegant, yet threatening line he had ever hears, "Bí ciúin roimh sracadh muid
amach do chuid súl."
"Enough,"
Jabyses said as she raised her paws to the group. "This is Eric Marks. He is a
band manager and agent for The Dream Mind Records."
"Deam Mind?"
the group questioned in unison.
"Here's the
deal," the feline started again. "He offered us a contract, but before you get
all excited there are a few stipulations."
Rodrick pulled
out another cigarette as he asked, "What stipulations? I don't like the sound
of this already."
"First," The
lion spoke up, "You will need to spend the next two months in a recording
studio. A proper recording studio to put together the beginning of your first
official album. To do that, you will need to miss your next show, and every
show you think you can do between now and then."
"No shows mean
no money," Tessa spouted out as she pulled the cigarette out of Rodrick's
muzzle. "How are we supposed to eat, or even get to your studio?"
"The contract
will take that into account. We will be advancing you the estimated earnings
from the shows you will be missing during the recording sessions." Eric
straightened his tie as he continued, "From that point on you will get a
regular royalties pay out based on CD and Download sails each month. I will
also set up live performances and concerts from which you will also get
payments based on the ticket sales."
"And of course
you will get your cut," Tessa said with a near scowl on her muzzle.
"I will only
get a meager ten percent."
"That's not
it," Rodrick said in a low even voice, "That's too easy and it doesn't explain
why Jaby and Nady were brought back with police. So let's have the real deal
Mr. Marks"
"Due to your
ages, and some extenuating circumstances surrounding you last show and Ms.
Stone, you will need to be enrolled in a reputable school during the length of
the recording contract, or until you have graduated or turned eighteen."
"What does
that have to do with what happened tonight?" Ebony, the twin dog girl with the
darker fur asked.
Jabyses sighed
as she said, "In order to get Nadraka off the hook for everything we did,
including assault on an office, Shi had to agree to the contract, or paying the
label back in full within the next month without leaving town."
"Wait, so
you're telling us it's a contract with this jackass and now shows for two
months," Tessa started with a slightly upset tone in her voice, "or we spend
the next month here in this shit hole looking for work only to starve to death
as we pay back whatever the fuck it cost to get Nadraka out?"
"That's the jist of it," Jabyses said, "I
don't know how, but he already got Nadraka to agree, but only if we do. This is
an all or nothing deal. She would rather go to jail for six months than do
anything without all of us. I mean, let's get real here. Shi's nothing without
us but we're nothing without her. If she's out of the picture for that long,
we're all going home anyway, just to survive." She looked around the group as
she continued, "We started this as a group. We gave up and walked away from
everything. Rod and Tessa are the only ones left with anything to go back to.
Eby, Ivy, your parents tried to have you arrested when we went back to visit.
Mine have moved to Columbus Ohio. If things fall apart now, we might never see
each other again. And Nadraka was willing to give up the thing Shi has been
fighting to keep, the raves, the picking our own shows, doing anything we
wanted to. shi is going to give that up to keep us together. Do you have any
idea how hard that really is for hir?"
¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸Running¸¸?·¯·?¸¸?·¯·?¸¸
Nadrakatoria
looked at the small device in her paw as shi thought through the free run rough
that hir and Rodrick had scouted the day before. She snapped and shook several
glow bands to light her up in the predawn hours. Hey were in the business
district so shi was hoping to keep to the rooftops as much as she could. The
route went through and over several offices building and ended with a show
stopper that she and Rod had planned to video if shi did the run. But he wasn't
here, not this time. There was no one to catch hir at the end.
shi looked up
the narrow gap between the buildings as shi spotted the open point in the fire escape several yards
up the side. The security firms had all but blocked access to the latter and
platform systems from the ground, leaving them open only as the third floor and
above. shi secured and started the
waterproof sport camera on her belt and started a short run before bouncing
between the walls. The neon glow of hir bands. shi swiftly lost hir self in the
running, tumbles, and jumps as hir mind played though the image of the course
and obstacles that would come up.
shi lost, this
fight was over. She knew there was no way the group would go for such a strict
contract. They would be giving up everything they had, freedom, the choice of
venues, maybe even the type of music they played. All shi could think about was
losing them. The only friends shi had that accepted her the way she was. They
let her flow with her mood, never questioned her swings between gender
identities. They life they had chosen was hard on them all, but it brought them
closer together, and now it was at an end.
Shi began to
growl as the impacts hit harder and the flips and jumps went farther. Each
passing step shi forced hirself to go faster. As if the speed would turn the
world back to the way it was only twenty-four hours ago. shi closed her eyes as
she cartwheeled through the air from one building to the next, hir mind
drifting from the course before her to the thought of them, her band, her
family, gathered around the small laptop as the picked out their next show. shi
opened her eyes as the fact that the grand finish was before her, paws hitting
the roof top and rolling back into a full sprint run. The edge of the building
drew closer, faster than she could imagine. Only a few steps to the glorious
rush as she would dive off the edge. But hir partner, hir wing man, hir base
and catcher would not be there this time. Shi closed her eyes as shi flipped
off the edge and tumbled through the air. It was better to just let it end now,
than to deal with losing it all slowly.
Shi felt the
thin yet powerful arms wrap around her and she cushioned her fall. Shi felt the
hard impact knock the breath out of both of them as hir landed softer than
anticipated. Shi opened her eyes to meet the emerald green that looked back at
hir. He smiled at hir as he said, "I didn't have time to set up the camera, but
I don't want to see you do that again either."
"What the fuck
were you thinking?" Jabyses nearly screamed as the group gathered around the
fennec sheep hybrid. "There's no way you knew Rod would be there, but you
jumped anyway. What the hell Nadraka, What would we do if you actually got hurt
or some shit?"
"Doesn't
really matter does it?" the fennec said as he got up off the lemur. "It's all
just about over anyway?"
"What are you
talking about?"
"Come one, By
the end of the week we will be so broke, performing without pay to cover my ass
that we'll all have to go home, or die on the street."Nadraka said as she
brushed hirself off and tapped the stop button on the camera.
In unison as
they so often did, the twins said, "We still get the money form the shows we
were going to do, and they are just going to fly us to the studio and get the
bus fixed up while we are there."
"Wait,"
Victoria looked around the group, "What are you saying? You guys would never go
for anything like that."
"We would for
our dragon," Tessa said as she tossed and arm over Victoria's shoulder. "But if
you go and break yourself by trying to dive off a building without your catcher
in place, we'll be set back while we wait for you to get out of the hospital."
Jabyses smiled
as she said, "No one is going anywhere without our dragon. We need you Nadraka.
And we need to get to the airport."