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A** ct Three: "Meeting Up"**

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Where August had lived in his humble lodgings of Apartment 117 for the last few years in Acorn Glade to the north, Amber resided in a very fancy looking suite in the eastern part of Kreenville where the richer, snobbier, supposedly more formal folk lived. Indeed, since she'd begun going to college a year ago to learn how to be accountant rather than remain a waitress for the rest of her life, the she-otter called the "Apollo Suite" her home nowadays where there was a fabulous kitchen, two bedrooms, a living room along with a garage out in front.

How on earth did the otter maiden pay for such a treat of a home on her own, one would ask? Well, that was due to the fact that she hadn't ever lived alone. Truly, ever since she'd graduated from high school some years back, before she'd even come to the Apollo Suite, she had always brought her two best girl friends in life along with her. And although the three of them had had their arguments in the past, even though they sometimes had needed their space from one another, they really were the best friends of best friends. Together, they'd experience done adventure after the other. For the last year, they'd helped pay for their fancy lodgings in their own way.

Whereas Amber was presently finishing up at work at the moment, her two roommates were currently awaiting her at home. In one of the suite's bedrooms, with the walls covered in hanging pictures, portraits, frames along with all other sorts of very beautiful artwork made by her own hand, one of the said roommates - a stunningly beautiful vixen whose pelt was an entrancing blue/white shade - busily dressed herself in very stylish, tight black jeans, a pair of leather boots that reached up to her shins, a white sweater shirt with long sleeves, an onyx colored jacket of cotton make as well as set two very dazzling arrow tip shaped earrings onto her ears.

This she-fox dressing herself so nicely was none other than the artist of the Apollo Suite, "Vanille Krysta" who had forever been very popular with the opposite gender. Indeed, whether he had been human or anthro, she'd dated more than enough suitors in the past all of which had not exactly worked out for her. Mind, she was no easy catch. She had some dignity about her. She was, unlike her two friends in the suite, more open minded about relationships. She was simply willing to let any guy who had the nerve, try to impress her enough to go on a second date.

If it were not obvious before, none of the guys that'd caught the bleu vixen's attention had been good enough. Some had tried too hard to make her like them. Others hadn't tried enough. Some had even tried to use her which had made her, in turn, smack them across the face without fear. For since her middle school days, she knew that she was a desirable female. From past experience in many a bedroom, she knew that she was a most excellent piece of action. What bothered her though... was if she would ever find a mate who would rival her reputation. Not in passion, mind, but in wisdom, faith along with loyalty.

Truly, although a bit well-traveled in the ways of romance, Vanille was no floosy. She was just as wise as Amber to the game that men played. However, where most men thought they had the upper hand on her, she simply encouraged them to keep being stupid. It was a wicked thing on her part but she rather enjoyed having them - the snobbish boys who didn't hear "NO" enough in their lives - become so full of their own hubris before she shot them down with a rejection.

If only she could have taken a snap shot of the looks of disbelief, anger along with confusion on each of those guys' faces when she'd told them she wasn't into them. Hah, her walls would instead be covered in those memorable photos rather than her glorious art. They would be reminders of how many men she'd conquered. They would always be there to tell her that she was a good girl with a good head on her shoulders, rather than most of the empty headed girls she'd had the misfortune of meeting in the past. Bleh.

And to be perfectly honest, it was rather insulting towards the blue vixen that she hadn't found a mate who cared about her as a person more than her beauty yet. Sometimes during nights where she really thought over it while trying not to break down into angry tears, she wondered inwardly if her natural beauty was more of a curse than a blessing. Yet, no, that wasn't at all the issue. The real issue, as she'd been told by her roommates repeatedly, was that the world was full of jerks for guys... and the nice ones seemed to be hiding from view.

With a sigh, brushing her sapphire bangs out of her violet eyes that could have been mistaken for actual amethysts, whipping her elegantly brushed tail up into her hands so that she could study it for any possible ugliness, Vanille pushed aside the depressing thoughts of her rather unsuccessful past of dating. Tonight, having met him a while ago when he'd bought her art for his own suite three months ago, the blue vixen was bound to go off on a date with yet another male. A male she knew as not at ALL going to work. For seeing as he'd forever owned his own private filming studio for the last five years and had been successful at it, he was another one of those "I'm Better Than You" types.

And where he'd bought her artwork supposedly to give them both good business, Vanille knew better about her customer's actual intentions. He saw her as the ultimate piece of artwork he could acquire for his "collection". And where that was a tad honorable on her part for him to see her that way, she was not at all pleased to know that after she'd researched his history a bit... he had many secrets; secrets who were more than willing to reveal that he was a playboy who loved them and left them after saying, "It's just good business."

Still, whether she wanted to or not, forcing herself to smile a fake smile of happiness in the mirror in her bedroom, the date between Vanille and her customer was bound to happen at eight tonight. For the last month, even when she'd kept hinting that she wasn't interested, he'd insisted on them getting together for a grand dinner where they could supposedly get to "know" each other better. Well, unknown to him, the blue vixen already knew more than enough about her suitor. In fact, she knew too much about him. None of it good. And if this date was going to be the only way for him to stop bugging her then she was going to have to endure it.

"Okay, hair, eyes, face, dress attire, fur quality, tail..." Vanille murmured to herself, spinning in place as she spoke so that she could see every bit of her good looking self in the body sized mirror she stood in front of, "As usual, it all looks good, darling. Heh, and why wouldn't it? Are the earrings a bit much, you think? Yes, for him, anyway. If anything, you've dressed a bit too good for the likes of him. Oh well, you have to maintain a sense of beauty, don't you? You have to practice in some way."

At this, the blue vixen giggled gleefully with her purple eyes bright, "Alas... This isn't a date, after all. No, it's practice. Simply practice. To him, I'm a target. And to innocent little me, heh, he's just practice. Ooh, I can be so evil sometimes. I make myself sick."

Flicking her hair out of her eyes once more, doing another spin in place so that she could grasp just how good she looked at the moment, the blue she-fox decided that she could do no more to make herself look any more celestial like than she already was. Thus, with the time reading quarter to eight on the clock on the wall, grabbing her purse from the nearby dresser, throwing it over her shoulder, she gracefully strode from her bedroom and down the hall towards the living room near the front of the suite. To preoccupy herself until her date would arrive, though, she stepped into the kitchen to the right where she began to make herself a much needed cup of coffee.

Heaven forbid that she fall asleep during the dinner to come with a valuable customer. She was going to need every bit of energy as well as caffeine she could manage to get throughout tonight without losing patience or dozing off or even coming to the point of throwing her drink in her date's face during the series of lies he was surely going to tell her. That had happened in the past, you know. In the middle of public, Vanille had tossed her wine or whatever beverage at hand into her suitor's expression when she knew he'd been fibbing to her. She'd proudly done so.

Just as she was beginning to pour some creamer into her newly made dark roasted coffee at hand, the blue she-fox nearly lost her grip on everything in her hands when a very loud explosion of sound - screams, gunshots, curses - rang out from the living room further down the hall. At once, having lived with her since high school thanks to Amber keeping them together somehow, Vanille knew at once it was "Janelle" - the video game fanatic - playing her damned video games at maximum volume for the millionth time!

Why did that she-shark have to play such horrible things every hour of every day? Mind, it was true that Janelle was a hired tester and reviewer of prototypes for not yet released video games. Still, why on earth did she always have to make everything so extreme during her gameplay? Why did she have to play HORROR games at maximum volume for all of the rest of the suite to hear?

To be quite honest, having lived under these conditions for some years now... Why had Vanille not grown used to the screams, the gunshots, the overall ill feeling that horror games brought about? After everything she'd had to take part in thanks to her she-shark roommate, the vixen was shocked she was even able to go to sleep at night.

"Janelle, goddammit!" The blue vixen yelled sharply while walking towards the living room, mixing her coffee with the creamer and doing her best not to jump out of her goose bumped skin when another bloody shriek of someone - or maybe something - sounded out from ahead, "How many times do I have to ask you not to play those stupid game of yours so loud - Oh for the love of god! Why do you even have the television sound working when you have headphones in your ears?!"

Sitting crossed legged in the middle of the well-kept living room floor with a box of Pizza Hut pizza beside her along with a half drained 2-Liter of Sierra Mist, staring intently at the screen before her that displayed numerous grotesque creatures attempting to take her character down, "Janelle Sharkin" - the oldest and third roommate of the Apollo Suite - did not hear Vanille address her. Why was clearly because she was in the "zone" with her leaning forward, fingers flying over the controller in her hands, eyes darting form one place to the next. Not only that, she was wearing headphones over her sharply pointed ears!

Why?! Why was she wearing headphones while also having the tv's sound at its highest?! What was the point?!

Snarling curses under her breath, knowing that was maybe starting a rather nasty bit of fighting with her old high school friend, the blue vixen purposefully stepped forward. Ignoring the bloody happenings occurring in the video game before her which included aliens of some kind trying to kill Janelle's astronaut character out in the vacuum of space, the she-fox ripped off the she-shark's headphones. Then, as the game was paused, all hell broke loose.

"WHAT THE HELL, VANILLE?!" Janelle instantly snarled, whipping around from looking at her activity and locking her sapphire blue eyes with her friend's violet ones, "Can't you see I'm a bit busy here trying not to get ripped apart and have to restart at the last checkpoint? I'd really like to not die because you have some kind of problem, please."

"My PROBLEM, missy, is that what you have going here makes no sense." Vanille hotly replied, shaking the headphones in the shark's face while her tail stood out on end with frustration, "What on earth are you doing with the volume at maximum while you're not even listening to it?! You have these earmuffs on!"

"They're not earmuffs, pal, they're headphones that were delivered with the game. They're supposed to help make the experience of Dead Galaxy here that much better for the player! And to be perfectly frank, they work damn well enough in doing that. I feel like I'm there in the game with things breathing down my neck." Janelle snapped back, grabbing the valuable headphones away from her fuming friend while her tail whipped about irritably, "You're freaking lucky, Vanille, that I didn't begin attacking you or anything when you touched me. Sheesh, can't you see I'm at a tense part? Lord almighty, be glad I didn't bite off your freaking hands."

"If you would have bitten off my hands, dearest..." The blue vixen hissed, looking livid, "I would have strangled you to death in turn."

There was a pause where the she-fox and shark looked at each other seriously for a few tense moments. Then, trying her best not to laugh at the thought, Janelle wondered heatedly, "But how would you have strangled me without hands, eh?"

"Where's there's a will, there's a way. And trust me, Jenny, I would most certainly find a way to throttle you." Vanille replied swiftly if not jokingly, sitting beside her shark friend nicknamed "Jenny" with her coffee and looking at the video game at hand, "But lucky for you, I don't have to choke you. Hooray. Now, what are you going to do to fix this obnoxious problem of you playing this, ugh, ugly game at max volume? If you hadn't noticed, you were playing it with both the headphones and tv giving off sound."

"Was I?"

"Duh! That's why I was just in your face a moment ago. Now, how are you going to fix it, eh?"

For the next few moments in silence, turning down the volume on the television with the remote, sorting through Dead Galaxy's game menu with a mashing of buttons on the controller, Janelle came up with the solution to the problem at hand. Finally, putting her headphones back on, the she-shark tested the game and, hurrah, the television gave no sound. However, unable to look away, Vanille watched with distaste at Janelle's character fought off the creepiest, humanoid, blade armed looking aliens she'd ever seen.

How did the shark girl enjoy these kinds of games? How on earth did anyone? There was so much fear to this Dead Galaxy title complete with blood, gore, flying body parts, paranoia and more. Still, despite the terrifying elements of it, Janelle whole heartedly played this prototype of a video game. She'd played many such things during the last few years since she'd become a known tester. And perhaps her love for confronting such evil video games... had to do with how she was as a person?

Out of all of the girls staying at the Apollo Suite, it was well known that Janelle was undoubtedly the most straightforward if not rebellious. For where Amber as well as Vanille had an angelic beauty about them that made every guy have to look at them once, the gray skinned, blue striped, blue haired she-shark was a lass that drew out the shady bad boys from the world. For just by looking at the many tattoos she bore now, looking at how heavily her pointed ears were pierced by rings, it was clear that she was no fish looking to be caught by just any simple fisherman. She was, literally, a shark on the prowl who ate anyone alive who got too close to her without taking the appropriate precautions first.

And in all honesty, formality was not a strong suit of the shark girl. For example, where Vanille had dressed up so grandly for a date at the moment, Janelle would have simply tossed on her casual attire that would have included her same old sports shoes, some torn blue jeans, a simple shirt, her black leather motorcycle jacket and then to complete it all she would have tied her wild, shoulder length hair back into a familiar ponytail that - although simply done - never failed to drive guys insane. And where Amber, if present, would have prettied herself up for Vanille's coming date just to be nice, Janelle didn't try such a thing.

Frankly, she knew that the guy coming to pick up the blue vixen tonight had been harassing her for the last month. So, frankly, she didn't give, ahem, two turtle shits what he, the asshole, would think of her current attire which was her gaming outfit; black short shorts as well as a very loosely necked, gray tank top that didn't leave... much to the imagination. Not when her rather large chest could almost practically be seen, anyhow.

Either way, no matter how one dressed or behaved or lived her life, it was made clear back in high school that Vanille was the model of manners while Janelle was the icon of being a badass. And in their own ways, the two girls had gotten their fair share of admirers to this day. Not only that, despite their differences, they were the best of friends which they began to show as they started to discuss about the night to come.

"Tell me, Jenny, what is it about games like Dead Galaxy here that seem so fun to you?" The blue vixen wondered, looking at the video game's case in her hands, "I mean, there's so much blood and horror and brutality to what you're playing right now... It's sickening."

"And hot." The she-shark rather bluntly stated, pulling off the headphones so that she could hear friend talk to her while she played, "I've told you over and over again, Vanille, I play these things because they put the best kinds of heroes into them. They pit guys who refuse to die against the impossible. The horror genre dishes out the best kinds of champions."

"And that, er... Turns you on, does it?" Vanille wondered a bit in disbelief, "No matter the blood, no matter the horror, you find these heroes of yours hot?"

"Yep." The she-shark yawned, having her hero of Dead Galaxy melee a certain alien zombie into pieces with much yelling, cursing along with shouting on his part, "Look at him go. That's my kind of man. Don't fall down crying because something is trying to kill you, buddy. You kill it before it kills you. Well done."

"Right." The she-fox grumbled, suddenly not interested in her coffee at seeing the hero of Dead Galaxy smashing the alien into a bloody pull, "I've suddenly lost my desire for coffee. Fancy some caffeine?"

"Hand it over." Janelle bluntly stated, taking the mug of coffee, downing it in one go and then focusing back onto the game at hand, "Thanks."

"Anytime."

"So what have you got against me liking men who have backbone, hm?" The shark girl asked next, having her video game hero shoot out the legs of an alien coming his way and then curb stomping it to kingdom come, "Better for me to like my men with spirit rather than fakers who try to use girls for their own gain, don't you think?"

"Of course. That's much better." The vixen agreed, nodding her head and knowing they were talking about her date to come now, "And I have no feelings for this supposed gent' coming to get me tonight. You know that, Jenny. I've talked about him for the last month. Him and all that he's done to his previous relations in the past. And after tonight... I do believe he and I will be finished for good."

"So there'll be no more talking about this Victor guy after tonight?" Janelle laughed, actually humored, "Finally."

"Yes. Finally. Well said. I am sorry... for the way I've done nothing but speak ill of him to you and Amber for the last month, Janelle. It's time that I stopped putting my problem on you, grew up and put an end to all of this negativity."

"How will you do it? How will you put an end to this negativity you're talking about?" Janelle questioned next, pausing her game so that she could actually hear what was being said, "Are you going to insult him? Are you going to key his car? Are you going to belittle his manhood?"

"No, no and no." Vanille laughed in turn, knowing that all of the said things had been experiences that the she-shark had performed against her own boyfriend failures, in the past, "I will simply... let him know that he's a scumbag who does not realize that the game between him and myself was decided long ago. I am not interested in him. He cannot win me over, no matter how hard he tries."

"And then you'll give him your classic rejection, eh?" The she-shark chuckled, a toothy smile on her face now, "You'll throw your drink in his face?"

"Perhaps. It all will depend on how long he keeps me."

"Then I'm praying he keeps you long enough. For all that he's done to other girls before trying to do so to you, a bastard like Victor deserves glass after glass of wine thrown in his face."

"Alas, although he would deserve such treatment, I am no animal. Unlike someone else I know who would more than likely drown him and call it an innocent mistake." Vanille admitted, winking at grinning Janelle beside her, "Still, I do know that there is someone who is going to want you to drown someone she doesn't care for tonight."

At this, knowing exactly what was about to be discussed, the shark girl went from grinning to grimacing. She brushed her wild, blue dyed hair of her narrowed eyes as she next growled, "Yeah. Amber is going to want Loki to die tonight. She should have been here long ago. No doubt that stupid, brainless oaf of a wolf is holding her back. Do you think I need to go down there and rescue her? She's far too nice for her own good."

"Indeed, she is nice but not too nice, Jenny. There is never too nice a person. There are instead those people who take advantage of someone who are nice. And stupid Loki does not only take advantage of her kind nature but tries to corner her with it." Vanille sighed, standing up with a worried expression, "Would you be so kind as to go down to the County Seat, Jenny, and see if Amber does indeed need our help in getting away from work? I'd go myself but-"

"But you'll have your own asshole to deal with soon. Yeah, I know." The she-shark said, looking irritated yet a bit excited at the prospect of saving her she-otter friend from an annoying if not very infamous admirer known in the Apollo Suite, "Leave it to me, the rebel, to be the heroine once more. Can I take your car?"

"Of course. I just had it washed this morning so if you could keep from running over Loki with it... I'd appreciate it."

"Damn. Read my mind." Janelle playfully complained, then acted innocent, "Oh but wait, whatever do you mean by that? Run over who?"

"You would do it if you could. We both know it." The she-fox laughed, swatting her shark friend with her tail, "Just try to resist the urge, okay?"

"Yes. Fine, fine-" Janelle began to admit when she was cut off by a sudden knocking at the front door. Both girls stopped what they were doing at once. They glanced at each other, knowing it was Victor coming to pick up the vixen. What surprised them though was that it was fifteen minutes before nine; the set time he was supposed to come get her.

"Perhaps Victor has manners, after all. He's a bit early and he's come to get me from the front door." Vanille jokingly scoffed, straightening up, "How very gentleman like of him, no?"

"Gentleman like? You mean snake like." Janelle growled, looking very irritated, "A guy like him will do anything to get on your good side, Vanille. Don't fall for it."

"Tut-tut. You're talking to she who knows everything about him already. Still, it doesn't hurt to him pamper me a bit before I ruin his night." The blue fox giggled, spinning in place before asking of her fellow, "Well? Do I look good enough for him?"

"You look good enough alright. That's because you're too good for him to begin with." The shark girl quoted, shaking her head, "Honestly, are you sure you don't want me to try to tell him to piss off tonight? I can bite him for you if you like."

"I can look out for myself, dearest. Don't worry. You have Amber to go pick up, remember? Go on." The she-fox replied, smiling brightly as she walked up to the front door, brushed herself off, put on a smile and opened it, "Victor, darling, you're a bit early but that's no problem. Let us be... off?"

It was not Victor who stood awkwardly before shocked Vanille outside in the gently falling snow. Victor was a taller, bolder, more confident looking human man in his late twenties with black hair cut short, a bit of scruffiness on his chin and a pair of brown eyes that could have been mistaken as gold. No, the young human who now stood in Vanille's way looked to be in his early twenties. He was very uncertain, very apologetic with dirty brown hair, bluer than blue eyes, and a piece of paper clutched tightly in his hands.

"Oh, uh... Sorry." The human muttered, immediately looking away from the splendor that was Vanille before him, "I suppose I have the wrong place after all. Damn it."

"Oh hold on. What do you mean you have the wrong place?" The vixen said at once, feeling a bit sorry for the young man turning away from her who looked obviously conflicted over something, "I mean, yes, I believe you're at the place. I can't say that I know you... but what are looking for?"

"Well, this seems to be the right address. Is this not Apollo Suite on 3489 Willow Road?" The human said, pausing a minute rather than going back to his car down the street, "Look, does a she-otter by the name of Amber live here? Please say that she does because if you don't I'm going to be in seriously deep shit."

"Why yes, a she-otter by that name lives here." Vanille replied, feeling a little shocked to hear that a boy was looking for Amber and not her like usual, "Are you a friend of hers?"

"Yes. I am. Or I hope I still am, mind." The man admitted, still looking concerned but relieved too, "See, I've been sitting in my care for the last half hour waiting for her to show up here."

"You have?" Vanille questioned.

"Vanille, hey, what's the hold up. You and your date can talk in the car right? Don't just stand there letting out the warm air." Janelle began to say, now fully dressed to go get Amber and pushing the blue fox out the door, "Honestly, you talk to me about how I eat up electricity and here you are... Uh, this guy isn't Victor, is it?"

"No, it isn't." The she-fox told the shark, trying to get her to show some manners, "He's not here for me, he's here for Amber. And I was actually going to find out who he was before you barged in-"

"Who are you, fella?" Janelle bluntly if not firmly asked at once, making Vanille roll her eyes, "What are you looking for Amber for?"

"Uh, well, I know Amber from work. We agreed to meet up here at her place at eight which was a half hour ago."

"Wait, you know Amber from her place of work?" Vanille wondered from the human at once, seeming to know whom she was speaking to, "Hold on, dearest, your name wouldn't happen to be August Cousiteau, would you?"

"Uh, yeah, actually." The human, August, admitted shyly with a hopeful smile on his face, "I'm August. That's me."