Chapter One: The Cat and the Crimson
"Look, I'm not saying I wouldn't fuck a Furry," Alice explained, trying to keep her voice low enough that none of the other convention-goers could hear. Her head even leaned in towards Jacob; whom arched an eye in curiosity at what his friend could add. "Hell, I have fucked Furries. Not like, in their fur suits, but on a one on one basis? A hotel room, a few beers, and leave the beaver suit in the trunk? Sure, we can make a few stains on the sheets."
"Charming," Jacob remarked dryly, and pointed across the convention floor. "Hey, you think we can go check out that part of the artist alley? Looks like the one guy might have some neat Final Fantasy post-" He was cut off by Alice's continuing rant, her voice carrying with such authority that it wasn't even clear she had realized he was speaking.
"It's the audacity!" she continued in a huff, and stamped her foot. "The idea that someone would just lean in, and ask if I wanted to go out tonight and yiff!"
"To be fair," Jacob offered simply, already walking in the direction of the distant artist alley. He slid in between two badly costumed Klingons, and waited for Alice to catch up before continuing. "You are dressed as a catgirl."
"Taokaka is not a slutty catgirl, I'll have you know!" The response came immediate and vicious, complete with a point with a rounded, plush paw covering the young woman's hand. In truthfulness, she was hardly the least dressed woman at the convention. Her outfit was mostly a tan hooded jacket, with overly long sleeves that went into thick paws that made heavy wool mittens look like tools of fine articulation. Her legs were bare, but thanks to the length of the jacket and the height of similarly-padded paw boots, there was little more than a pair of bare knees and an inch or two of extra skin to be seen. Even her face was obscured by a veil of black mesh underneath her tan hood, and stitched to the face was a smile of pointy teeth and two plain red dots that suggested eyes, but in reality were placed just slightly above where her real eyes gazed through the mesh.
It had been a hit with fans of the character thus far, for which Alice was thankful. Posing for pictures and imitating Taokaka's silly, playful voice was one of the high points of the convention, and the only reason she had bought the two day pass. One day to play dress-up and be silly with other cosplayers, one day to go back to her jeans and t-shirt and spend the rest of the convention talking to artists, attending panels, and spending her paycheck. She hadn't really expected day one to be sullied by an inappropriate proposition from a man in an otter suit.
Not even a recognizable, cartoon otter. Just an otter. An otter with an erection, apparently.
Jacob rolled his eyes and continued along with Alice, and was so very close to his destination when the young woman stopped him once more. A pawed hand reached out and hooked behind his arm, tugging at him to a halt amidst the sea of like-minded nerds.
"Hey, I have to go to the bathroom," she murmured, and looked from side to side, scowling underneath her mesh mask. "Looks like things are pretty busy and it's going to take me a while to get out of these paws. Want to meet up by the goat from Murdergoat 7 in twenty minutes?"
"Neigh."
"I hate you."
-----
The Comic Convention was a small event, at least compared to some of its contemporaries. There was no one in attendance that was anything higher than D-list, the panels were enjoyable but forgettable, and the focus of the event was all over the place. Nerd rock keyboardists performing adjacent to local amatuer wrestling, and a T-shirt vendor tragically misplaced right next to a booth selling ice cream planets shamelessly ripped off from Firefly. The spills and smears alone kept the two booths at each other's throats, much to the delight of the adjacent tables desperately in need of entertainment.
Alice had moved from one end of the convention to the other, swinging her oversized paws and waving cutely at the people that seemed delighted at her cosplay. The search for a semi-private bathroom came after she realized that in the two story convention hall, the actually Comic Con was only taking up the first. A quick duck into a stairwell later and she was rushing down a darkened hallway, tracking down the first ladies room she came across. A sigh of delight came to her lips when she saw the door was push to enter; thankful she wouldn't have to try to wrap her oversized cat hands around a thin handle. In she went, ready to take care of her business, when she stopped dead in her tracks.
"Oh. Hi." Alice's voice chirped through the mesh in her face mask, and the Taokaka cosplayer stood there with a felt, pointed grin on her hidden face, looking at the young woman standing in the middle of the bathroom. The sight of someone else in a suspected empty bathroom was enough, but the woman that stood before her was enough to grab her attention even back on the crowded convention floor.
She was tall; nearly six feet thanks to a pair of sleek, black boots with tall heels lifting her up. The boots disappeared into pressed black slacks, and a black blazer that was hanging open, revealing a tight-fitting, white business shirt that had been cut off at the bottom to reveal midriff, and trimmed in the center to expose ample cleavage. The woman's hair hung down so ludicrously long Alice could only assume it was a wig; with an intricate, single red braid that danced down to the woman's waist. The girl just turned and looked at Alice; gazing at her through a pair of thick glasses, tinted yellow to complete her outfit. Her gaze was cold and scrutinizing, well fitting with the character she had decided to dress as.
"Crimson Viper. Nice." Alice offered a meek little smile; not that it could be seen through the Taokaka mask. She gave a little nod of her head as she stepped into the room, gazing at one of the distant stalls where she could remove her costume. "Don't mind me, I just need to change my costume a bit..."
As she tried to move past the other woman to the rear stall, a hand came out to stop her. One of the woman's hands; gloved in black leather, slammed against an adjacent stall, cutting Alice off and blocking her line of sight. Alice had little recourse but to slowly turn her head to the side, looking at the other woman that had prevented her. The redhead, now wearing a smirk that somewhere between confident and bullying, seemed to be in no rush. She took her time, looking at Alice's costume, tilting her head from side to side to take her in. Their forms were close; uncomfortably so from Alice's perspective, and even through the black mesh mask she could pick up the scent of the other woman's perfume, a bold, rich scent that she herself would never be brave enough to wear in public.