Clara leaned back in her office chair, enjoying the cracks and pops of her neck and spine as they put themselves back into their proper position, she seriously needed some time off, maybe a short vacation, the woman could feel the wear of weeks on end without pause gnawing at her and pulling her down. This project would be the end of her if she wasn't careful.
Moving a lock of auburn hair behind her ear, she looked out the window, the sky was cloudy but it didn't look like it was going to rain, the air felt slightly fuzzy and humid, she needed to go outside and take some air.
"Got any plans tonight?" The voice made Clara turn her head and look up, the blonde wore a prim and proper blouse and blazer combination, her blue glasses framed her petite nose and pretty eyes, within them she showed an expression of hope. With a minor thought, Clara glanced downwards and spotted the tip of her tail, it was wagging.
"Today?"
"It's Friday." Fran stated.
A groan left her, she felt like hitting her head against the desk. "Already? Gah, we'll never get this thing done before the deadline."
"Let me reiterate." There was the slightest little hint of amusement in Fran's lips as she sat at the edge of Clara's desk. "It's. Friday. How about we hit a club or something?"
The first instinct that came to her was the thought that maybe she ought to stay and do some overtime, get one good push in for the project, maybe she'd come Monday regretting it a lot less. The second instinct was to look at the list of tasks that were left and groaning, no amount of overtime would make the impossible deadline any more plausible to achieve. "Fuck it." She slapped her hands against the desk as she stood up.
"So... nine?"
"Half-past nine, no way I'm getting home and doing anything but taking a long bath first." Clara grumbled, rubbing her temples.
Fran's tail was a whirl as she could only grin from ear to ear. "Casual clubbing? Hot clubbing? 'I might be looking for something' clubbing?"
Clara considered it for a moment. "Trashy, I need alcohol and I'm going to get it."
"After the week you've had, you probably need to get laid more than anything." Fran giggled, turning and winking. "See you at Red's. Half-past nine!"
"It's a promise!"
* * * * *
It was half-past eleven, she was late! Fran was going to kill her! She'd gotten home and gone to take a short nap, it was a short nap! She only needed a little shut-eye, a tiny little doze, she'd put up her alarm and everything! Why had her phone have to die out like that? In a dizzying rush, she'd gotten cleaned, dressed, and almost ran her way out.
Surely she'd find Fran at the club, she might chew Clara out, but at least she'd focus on everything else. They'd have a good time, they'd get drunk, and... fuck, Clara realised she was wearing her flats, she'd forgotten her heels back at home.
But she was already near Red's Club, she couldn't turn back now, well, whatever, she might get teased over it, but it wasn't like she came looking for some action. Mindless booze and fun, that was what she was here for. She was let through by the bouncer after checking her ID, inside the lights were dim, the music beat against her skin, she could already smell the alcohol and sweat.
Once inside Clara began to move with purpose, eyes darting through the clustered people dancing and grinding and drinking, the low lights didn't help, but Clara had enough experience to know where to look for Fran. Much to her surprise, she found Fran in the VIP section, she was seated next to two girls Clara didn't recognise.
"You have a name?" The mass of maleness moved to intercept her before she could step closer to call out her friend over the loud bass of the music. Clara looked up at the man and squirmed slightly.
"Clara."
"Sorry, not on the list." He said, crossing his arms.
The woman felt a twinge of frustration, wriggling in her tube-top as she glanced in Fran's direction. "But that's my friend right there! Could I just call out to her?"
"No can do, not on the list."
As Clara was about to open her mouth and shout out to the doggirl, she noticed one of the girls look her way and stand up. Even in the dim lights of the club, Clara could see the look of interest peaking in the woman's face, her eyes a dim yellow that was recognisable even at this distance in the dimness of the club. Was she a feline of some sort? Clara wondered as she saw the woman stand and sashay her way over, she wore a white flannel shirt that was open to expose cleavage, the effect increased by the presence of a loose red tie. She wore a skirt, short, teasing, exposing creamy thighs that led to stripped fur.
A tigress of some sort. Clara decided that the way the woman moved certainly looked predatory, almost stalking her way towards the bouncer and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Is there a problem, Ted? Who's this?" Her voice was low, but it came through over the booming sound of the music, almost as if it was being whispered into her ear.
"No ma'am, she was trying to sneak into VIP."
"No, I'm not, that's my friend Fran right there!" Clara pointed at her companion.
The proclamation brought about a grin from the feline, she eyed Clara up and down and took her in with clear hunger. "Ah, you must be Clara." It made the woman shudder a little and feel slightly uncomfortable. "Let her through, Ted."
"Yes ma'am, right this way." He stepped aside and raised the little strip of red string that halted access to the VIP sectioned off area.
With a little hesitation, Clara nodded and stepped through.
"Name's Aria." The tigress offered a furred hand, her claws retracted as her tail swished. "Welcome to my club."
"Th-thanks..." Clara hesitated, shaking the hand, feeling a little weird. This was the owner? What had Fran been doing!? "I just came to pick my friend up..."
That brought some amusement to the tigress, her eyes shone slightly. "If that's what she wants."
The way she'd said that... it made Clara feel a little uneasy. "We only came to have some drinks."
"You're more than welcome to join us, then." Purred Aria, placing a hand on her shoulder and nudging her towards the sofa, Clara squirmed out of her grip and accelerated her pace slightly, walking up to Fran, noticing the woman blushing as she spoke to the other woman.
"Hey, Fran, sorry for making you wait?"
"Oh? Wait?" The doggirl blinked, straightening a little and turning to look at Clara with a tiny frown, blinking. "Don't worry over it, you're here now, that's what matters. They got great booze!"
There was a thought to answer with a slight insistence to go out to the dance-floor, maybe get some solo time to discreetly ask how she'd ended up here, but there was something else that caught her attention, what was that smell? It was something... peculiar, a very earthy perfume. It made Clara turn her head to look at the second stranger.
