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"Break A Leg"

By Marcus Noble

This is my first time writing a furry story, and is the first of four chapters. So feel free to leave me feedback. I will continue this story if I get enough positive feeback. So feel free to contact me directly with the contact information at the bottom.

Chapter 1

The blonde haired vixen stepped out onto the stage, her black spike heels tapping against the stage. Her long, slender, orange furred legs, which were almost all showing. Since she felt that a pair of Daisy Duke jean shorts went better with her shirt, A white tank top with the "Whole Rest Club" logo across her very large breasts, which bounced as she grabbed the wireless microphone from the stand on the center of the stage. "Hey there! How's everyone doing tonight?" Her long, blonde hair waving and hitting against her body, her voice was high pitched but alluring. A talent she picked up from her days when she used to work in a strip club. She made her way to the Whole Rest Club because she wanted a job that she felt was less degrading than stripping. Though as the old saying goes old habits die hard, and the fact that she kept the clothes from her old job didn't help. The club owner didn't mind though, he needed some eye candy for the intros and he got it in spades with Veronica the Vixen.

The crowd cheered and threw their arms into the air after Veronica's standard greeting. The Whole Rest Club drew a diverse crowd of music fans of all species, furs and humans alike. Different genres of music were represented at the club from classical solo instrument performances and bluegrass bands, to pop and rock music performed by local singers and backed up by the club's famous all fur house band. The club's owner was an eccentric, fifty year old grey furred bunny that had been a fan of music since he was a child and wanted to share that love with others. And he always had a good view of the stage from the plexiglass window next to the desk in his office, so he could keep an eye on any promising new performers.

After about a minute and a half of cheering, hooting and hollering, Veronica introduced the house band. The overhead spotlight shined over the tiger guitarist Kiro Katsuno as he began to play a vicious solo, his fingers moving like magic as he played. His long light blue hair done up in a pony tail, waved in the air as he bobbed his head with the rhythm, around his green fur and the white stripes on his body. Around his neck he wore a black collar with a cat bell, which ringed softly as he moved. The open fingered gloves on his paws made sure to give his fingers plenty of dexterity, and the white tank top and blue jean shorts that clung to him, showing off his muscles. Then the spotlight faded out along with the solo and went over to the left side of the stage over the bassist.

As the light shined down on Daniel Yorkie, he went into the same solo that Kiro had played, except it had a deeper sound to it and the tempo was a bit faster. His fur was almost all white, with a black "mask" around his eyes, on his ears, feet, and on his small tail. He was somewhat chubby around the waist, but he always wore baggy jeans and large shirts to kind of hide it. His hair went around his head in kind of an upside down bowl and was kept trimmed around his ears and shined the same bright red as his bass. Once again the spotlight faded and shone behind Kiro and slightly above him.

As the light shined down on Cody O'Riley he immediately went into a rapid drum solo. He was very quick with his paws and it definitely showed from the vibration of the drum set. This grey wolf had an average built which was a break from the normally heavy set drummers you see in most bands, that and he was six feet tall as well. His outfit usually consisted of dress slacks and a wife beater shirt, an ironic statement in itself or maybe it meant something else? As Cody continued his solo he looked to the offstage area for a second and winked at the first performer that would come out after the band introduction. The interesting thing was, this performer was a male ferret. After Cody finished his solo the spotlight faded once again and shone above and behind Daniel.

As the light shined down on Mizu Makoto she didn't do too much of a solo, Just did the "Charge!" medley that you'd normally hear at a sports game. An all black squirrel girl, somewhat goth, she tends to hang out in the poetry clubs where she writes and reads. Quite proud of her bushy tail and her long raven locks, she constantly brushes them to a shine. She is usually seen wearing a black satin and lace corset, over a long black velvet skirt, cut into long slits up all sides of it, with black gauntlets. Her eyes are the only things out of her inky blackness that shine with a bright twinkling blue. After the crowd shouted "CHARGE!" after the medley the spotlight faded again as two lights, one from each side of the stage converged on the wireless microphone in the stand front and center on the stage.

Marcus Noble took a deep breath as the cheers went up from the crowd; from the flyer outside of the club with the card of singers for the night they knew who was coming up to the stage first. The ferret felt sweat forming on his forehead, wiping his white furred wrist over the sweat to keep it off his head. He adjusted the green and black pinstriped tie knotted around his neck. The green vest on his chest extended all the way down to his waist, and laid over a button down, ruffled white shirt, which was lost against the pure snow white of his fur. The slacks he wore were a solid black to contrast the green and white of the upper part of his outfit. His tail flicking back and forth as he stepped towards the microphone, the crowd chanting his name and clapping with the syllables "Marcus! Marcus! Marcus!" Ever since his first night singing at the Whole Rest Club, something his last girlfriend had suggested him do for fun, he took a liking to it and the house band and after performing there twice a week for the next month, his girlfriend suddenly left him. She had packed up her things in a duffle bag, gave him the finger and raised her black, raven feathered tail in a stuck up fashion. She wished him luck with the groupies, shut the door behind her, and he never saw her again.

As Marcus stepped up to the microphone the crowd cheered loudly. He raised his paw to silence the crowd as he took the microphone from the stand and held it about an inch and a half from his mouth. Then as all the overhead lights turned on, revealing the house band behind him, Kiro started in with his guitar as Marcus started singing "Learn to Fly" from the Foo fighters. Then the rest of the band came in shortly after he started singing.

Cassandra Rosslyn couldn't believe her bad luck, it was one of those days where nothing just seemed to go right. She had forgot to set her alarm the night before so she had accidentally slept in. She quickly jumped out of her bed and into the shower. She was a raccoon so she was naturally very fast and crafty. She was tall, six feet even and had a very light build which allowed her to move quickly. The only things that betrayed the look of a traditional raccoon were the muscles on her arms and her jet-black hair. The hair has short bangs, which hung right above her black furred eyebrows and ran down to her shoulders, resting there. After quickly cleaning herself in the shower, she threw on a navy blue t-shirt and a pair of black, tight leather pants. She then hopped into her car, a restored navy blue crown victoria, and sped off to the martial arts dojo downtown where she taught classes along with her master. She had been so late; she missed the first morning tai-chi class with the senior citizens. She quickly ran into the locker room and changed into the clean karate gi in her locker and got to the main room of the dojo in time for the next class. The second tai-chi class was for executives on their lunch breaks to help relieve stress. It started off without a hitch, until the class was over that is. On his way out an old, grey-feathered eagle "accidentally" groped her butt on his way to the locker room. She just ignored it though, but her master knew it bothered her from the crimson blush coming from her cheeks. After the second tai-chi class it was time for lunch. Since Cassandra did not have time to pack her lunch because she was late, all she had were a bottle of water that she always brought with her whenever she went to the dojo, and half of a cucumber and cottage cheese sandwich that the master of the dojo, a purely white furred, nine tailed kitsune, would always eat. It didn't taste very good, but the master insisted it was healthy. After lunch, the master meditated while Cassandra practiced her striking moves in the air, and then against a hanging heavy bag. After two hours of practice, she grabbed a towel and wiped her head with it, wanting to clean herself up before the kids' class started.

Cassandra never liked the kids' class. Not because of the children though, she loved the children very much. It was most of the parents that she couldn't tolerate. Most of them insisted to stay during the lesson, which Cassandra told them on many occasions was not necessary. Her and the master could take care of the children quite well. But what really got her upset over the parents was their constant cheering for their children to beat someone. This wasn't a wrestling match; so cheering during the "play" matches between the children was not needed. It also needlessly encouraged the children to violence when the arts taught at the school were mostly for self-defense and to build strength and confidence in yourself. Cassandra swallowed her pride however, as she loved to work with the children. After the kids' class ended, the children left with their parents. Cassandra bowed to the master and made her way to the locker room. As she arrived at her locker and dialed in the combination, she heard her cell phone ring from behind the door.

Cassandra grabbed her cell phone and looked at the caller ID screen on the outside. Her phone was a shiny, silver, Nextel phone with a camera on it. Her mother had gotten it for her last birthday, figuring it was time she upgraded from the older, solid black phone she had. And also, as everyone knows, raccoons like shiny objects. The caller ID screen read the name of Cassandra's best friend, Molly Dumas. Cassandra opened up the phone and pressed it to her right ear. As she did, she slowly undid the belt of her gi. "Hey there Molly. What's up?" "Hey there girl how you doin'?" Molly said in a light southern accent. She was a cheetah who worked at the Whole Rest Club as a bar tender and waitress. After hearing the question, Cassandra let out a loud sigh and shook her head. "Today has been the worst day ever!" she yelled out as if to let all of the tension she was feeling out through her voice. "Easy there girl. I got the perfect solution for you." Said Molly, grinning and licking her lips. "There's this cute ferret guy that is opening tonight at the club here where I work." Cassandra sighed, holding the phone in one hand as she tossed the belt of her gi into the locker. Then she pulled the sleeves of it from her shoulders and then tossed the top into the hamper by the door, revealing a white sports bra and her normal sized breasts. "Why is it that you're always trying to hook me up with guys, I'm not ready yet." Then, as if on cue, there was a clap of thunder from outside, followed the pounding sound of rain on the roof of the dojo. "Girl, the only way you're gonna get over what happened is to move on. Life idn't gonna wait up fer you." Molly told her firmly. "And besides, all you ever do on Friday nights is sit at home on your ass, watch crappy sitcoms and eat New York super fudge chunk ice cream." Then there was a long period of silence before Cassandra broke in softly. "Actually, tonight I was going to have some chunky monkey."

"Girl you keep on that habit your thighs will be so big that no guy will wannah be with you." Molly giggled under her breath. Cassandra let out an annoyed sigh as she pulled the bottom of her gi down to her feet and stepped out of it. Then tossing it into the hamper she said. "You're not going to let this go are you?" "No way girl, I'm gonna bother you 'bout it every week." Then Cassandra reached behind her back to undo her bra "Well all right, I'll be there. When does it start?" she sounded less than enthralled. "6 PM sharp, and don't worry about the cover charge. I'll be waiting outside for you and the bouncer will let you in." Molly giggled happily all the while and then said "I'll see you then" Then she hung up. Cassandra tossed her cell phone back into the locker and closed it before heading back into the showers. Being that only her and her master were left in the dojo, she had the shower room all to herself. As she cleaned the sweat off her body, images flashed through her head. There was a thunderstorm on that day too....and that was why she hated them, had a fear of them. She kept seeing images of him in his head, his face twisted in an expression of anger and happiness. She quickly snapped her head up toward the showerhead and opened her eyes. Despite the warm water cascading down on her, she felt a shiver move down her body. She grabbed a towel and dried her fur and her hair with it. Then she went back to her locker, brushed her hair and put the clothes back on that she had worn on the way to the dojo, a solid navy blue shirt and black leather pants. She looked at the time on her cell phone and realized that it was 5:30 and she forgot to get directions from Molly on how to get to the club.

Cassandra quickly dialed Molly's number but because of the thunderstorm, she wasn't getting a signal. She asked the master for directions, he had been there a few weeks ago for a classical music performance and he did know the way there. The bad thing was, the master gave her directions using landmarks, which wasn't much help at all. Not one to question the master, she thanked him, grabbed her duffle bag, and ran at full speed out to her car. She didn't bring an umbrella, so she did get a bit wet. She started the engine and quickly drove away from the dojo and towards the downtown area. She followed the master's landmark directions as best she could, but after making a left turn into a dead end alley she knew that she was officially lost. She asked directions from some teenagers walking down the street. They were of various species, and their bodies covered in piercings and tattoos but despite this, they were very friendly. After getting directions, she quickly found her way to the club and parked her car in front of the valet. It was still raining but the entire entrance area of the club was under a canopy in order to keep customers from getting wet in this kind of weather. After tossing her keys to the valet she made her way to the front entrance. Molly was there in her uniform of black slacks, a white ruffled shirt, and a sequined blue vest with her name embroidered on it. She looked down at her watch as her cheetah spotted tail wiggled behind her, showing her impatience. She was shorter than Cassandra, but Molly did have quite a mouth on her and she knew how to use it.

Molly looked up and saw Cassandra dashing in her direction as the valet drove off to park the blue crown victoria. Cassandra quickly ran up to Molly and then leaned over, breathing heavily as she placed her paws on her knees. She panted heavily as she spoke "Sorry I'm late. I forgot to ask for directions from you and the master's directions were no help at all." Molly shook her head and sighed "You're so absent minded girl. You'd furget yer head if it weren't attached to yer neck. Well you bettah get in there quick. That ferret ah told ya about is almost finished his set." Molly motioned to the door and stepped to the side, as did the bouncer. Cassandra rose to her feet and dashed into the club, as she ran through the entrance hallway, the sounds of the house band and the on stage singer got louder and louder. Then as she arrived at the seating area, a large, circular path went in both directions from the entranceway. Another circle was then formed by a line of velvet ropes, the entrances guarded by big, burly bears that wore yellow t-shirts and blue jeans. The shirts had the Whole Rest Club logo on them with the word bouncer in all capitals letters under it. The bouncer stepped to the side and ushered Cassandra into the center circular area. The crowd was out of their seats, which were laid out much like a traditional restaurant. The tables were circular and there were two seats for each table. And the crowd was so lively; some were lying on the floor. As Cassandra struggled through the mass of furs and humans to try to find an empty seat, she looked up to the stage and saw the singer; she stopped in her tracks and just looked at him.

As Marcus continued to sing "Scars" from Papa Roach, he noticed in the back of the room the bouncers had let someone in. This was odd, as the club policy was that if you were late to a performance, even if you had a ticket, you weren't allowed in. Marcus only thought about it for half a second, as he didn't want to get distracted. As he got to the last refrain of the song tears started flowing from his eyes. Though this wasn't something he was doing for the sake of the crowd. He had always put his emotions into his work, and the songs he chose to sing were always ones he felt he could put passion into, and the crowd could feel the passion coming from his voice.

Cassandra watched with awe as she saw tears coming from the ferret's eyes. She had recognized the song, it was one she listened to a lot herself since that day...Then as he sunk to his knees after singing the last refrain she saw something in his eyes besides the tears, it was a look in her eyes that she would see every morning in the mirror, eyes that showed a lonely and heartbroken soul. It was then she realized that the tears weren't something he put on for the crowd, they were real. Showing the sadness and loneliness he felt deep in his heart.

Marcus rose up to his feet after he finished singing, he thanked the crowd and said goodnight. Then after putting the microphone in the stand he made his way stage right. He went down a small set of stairs to the performers only sitting area. This was a rectangular area in front of the stage with five tables, but one chair for each of them; velvet rope and burly bear bouncers also guarded this area. Marcus took a seat at the far right table and let out a deep breath, loosening his tie as Veronica came out onto the stage and announced a ten-minute intermission. Though since Marcus had already finished his set for the evening, he'd be sitting in that performers only area for the rest of the night. As the rest of the crowd returned to sitting in their seats, Cassandra made her way towards the front. She needed to talk to the ferret that was singing on stage, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out his name. She knew it was on the marquee outside the club, but she was in such a hurry to get in she forgot to even look up at it on her way in. As she approached the performers only area one of the bouncers stood his ground in front of her, and cleared his throat.

"Where do you think you're going chica?" The bear spoke in a Hispanic accent and looked down at Cassandra. He was a good seven feet tall, but it wouldn't surprise her if he were maybe a few inches taller than that. "I wanted to get his autograph." She said timidly and pointed in the direction of Marcus. "Sorry there chica, but this area is for performers only. If you'd like an autograph, he and the other performers will give them to you after the show." The bouncer crossed his arms and stood firmly in place, he obviously wasn't going to budge. "Please sir, I just want to talk to him for a few minutes." Cassandra pleaded to him, she couldn't wait until later to see him, he'd be swamped with people and furs wanting his autograph and he'd probably just blow her off right after signing an autograph for her. "No chica, this area is for performers only. That's the rules. If you don't like it, I can show you to the exit." Cassandra gulped as sweat poured from her forehead. Not sure what she should do next.

Marcus sat at his table in the performers area and loosened his tie. One of the waitresses came to him and gave him a glass of water. He gave her a five-dollar bill and she happily walked off to serve one of the club's other customers. After taking a sip of his water, Marcus' heard someone's raised voice over by the entrance to the performers only area. He saw there was Juventud, one of the bouncers, talking to the raccoon woman that had come in during the last song of his set. He didn't want her to get thrown out; Juventud once threw out a frail old woman because she got too close to the stage during one of the classical music performances. Marcus quickly stood up and strode over towards them. His tie moving back and forth against the cloth of his shirt as his tail moved back and forth in rhythm with his steps. Then as Cassandra saw him walking towards them, she immediately fell silent. "Is there a problem here Juvie?" Marcus smiled as he addressed the bouncer.

Juventud cleared his throat again as he turned to talk to Marcus. Juventud knew whom it was without having to turn around though, as Marcus was the only person in the club that called him by that nickname. "Well you see Marcus..." Juventud said, trying to assert authority in his voice "This chica said she wants an autograph, but I told her to wait until the end of the show. She keeps asking me to let her in to talk to you, but she won't listen." Marcus' smile turned into a grin as he grabbed a twenty-dollar bill from his pocket. He wrapped his left arm around Juventud waist and hugged him, slipping the bill into Juventud pants pocket. "Tell you what Juvie, you look thirsty. How about you go get yourself a coke. My treat." Juventude smiled as his tone softened to sounding somewhat normal, at least for him anyway. "Sure thing ese. This place can get pretty hot." He turned around, apologized to Cassandra and made his way up the audience area and towards the bar.

"Sorry about Juvie there miss. He really gets into his work." He laughed nervously, and scratched the back of his head with his right paw. Cassandra laughed as well, moving her own right paw to run through her hair. "It's all right, he was just doing his job. Thanks for letting me in though." She then held out her paw to him and smiled brightly, she was finally going to shake his paw. "I'm Cassandra Rosslyn" Marcus hesitated for a moment, but then gently grasped her paw and shook it softly. "I'm Marcus Noble." He wasn't used to women wanting to just shake his paw. Mostly they just wanted his autograph. And the really weird ones would want him to sign a part of their bodies. "So what brings you over here?" Marcus said as he let go of her paw. He looked up and down her body for just a few seconds so that she wouldn't notice. She was taller than him yes, and from her grip, probably stronger too. "Well I came in right when you finished your last song. The tears, those were real, I can tell." As she said this, his ears stood up at attention, and his cheeks flushed a bright red. This was the first member of the crowd that had figured out that he put his emotions behind the music he sang. Most just figured he just sniffed an onion he had stashed in his pants pocket. Marcus was unable to say anything; he just nodded and pulled his tie back up to his neck. "I could see in your eyes that you've been heart broken, I've been that way myself for the longest time." Cassandra could tell that she was right by Marcus' nervous behavior. But she just smiled at him to try to make him more relaxed. "You're not gonna say that we're soul mates or something now are you?" He smiled himself as his blush faded. There was something about Cassandra's smile that just seemed to make all of the depression and anger he was feeling just evaporate from his body.

"Nothing like that Marcus. I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone. And also, you have a very beautiful voice." Cassandra giggled softly, her tail swishing about behind her. "Thanks, and well..." He wanted to say something back to her but he struggled to think of something. So without thinking, he blurted out "And well, you're just beautiful. I've heard raccoons can steal hearts." He then winked at her, trying to play it off like a bad pick up line. Cassandra giggled at the comment. She figured he was too nervous to come up with something more romantic. "Well I've heard that you weasels can be very crafty as well." Marcus chuckled at her; normally he hated to be called a weasel. But when Cassandra said it, it sounded humorous. He then looked over to the bar and saw Juventud coming back in their direction. Marcus acted quickly; he grabbed the notepad and a sharpie from his back pocket, scribbled something down, folded it up and shook Cassandra's hand. "It was nice meeting you Cassandra, but the next set is gonna start soon. So you should get to a seat." She nodded and smiled to him "Okay. I know you'll be swamped with fans after the show, so I'll come see you next time you perform." Marcus nodded and let go of her paw. He walked back to the table where he was sitting before and loosened his tie. Looking as if he had never moved. Cassandra took an empty seat on the side of the audience area before she noticed an odd feeling in her paw. She opened it and saw a small scrap of paper folded up in her palm. After opening it she smiled. On it was Marcus' name, phone number, and a small sketch of his face. She giggled softly and whispered to herself. "That crafty little weasel."

Well that's it for the first chapter, if you'd like to give me feedback directly via e-mail or via AIM, my screen name is JimFoxhart.