Daily Life with Furry Girls

Cani opened the door of the hotel room when someone knocked politely on it in the morning, and gazed upon a black and white bird reminding her of a magpie, dressed in a black uniform with matching highlights and a stern look in his eyes. She wasn't sure if he was an official or a fancy doorman until he gave her a nod and presented his identification. 'Inspector Garud, National Security Division.' he said with more authority in his voice than Cani had expected from a bird. 'I'd like to have a word with all of you, if I may.'

'Sure?' said Cani and let him inside.

He introduced himself again to the others and Guy offered him a seat. 'How may we help you?'

'Have any of you left this room during last evening or this night?' Garud asked and observed the reactions of everyone in his undetectable professional manner.

'We've been here since we returned to the hotel.' Guy said. 'Did something happen?'

'We received reports of disturbances.'

Feli raised an eyebrow. 'What sort of disturbances?'

'It couldn't be us.' said Cani. 'We kept the windows shut and we didn't make more noise than usual.'

Mami hit her with a pillow. 'I'm sure that was not what he was talking about.'

Garud cleared his throat. The group of foreigners might be stranger than he anticipated from the profiles they had initially made of them. 'Someone has been scaring people during the night. Someone described as having large ears.'

Guy chuckled once. 'Large ears? That's it?'

Garud stared blankly at him. 'Know any birds with large ears?'

'No, but if the only clue is ears and nothing else, they could be fake ones. Or maybe some sort of head wear that looks like ears.'

'We do not take this sort of thing lightly. It's deadly for us if our hearts are strained hard enough.'

Guy nodded. 'I understand, but to judge just from that.'

'There's also your reputation for anarchy.' Garud said and held up the file folder with their profiles. 'Causing chaos at a theme park. Clashes with the royal Mouse guard, not to mention engaging into a fight with our own security personnel.'

Cani stood up at once. 'Hey! They started it! And how do you know about how we captured Mami and defended her when they tried to kidnap her!?'

Garud leaned back slightly. 'It would seem you're not above causing chaos, unintentionally or not. That is why we needed to check up on you.'

'We can assure you it was none of us that did anything like that.' said Feli. 'We always stay together during the night.'

Ara wrapped her arms around Guy from behind. 'Why would we leave in the first place once we're settled in bed comfortably?'

Garud cleared his throat while Guy blushed. 'Did you notice anything strange yesterday?'

The girls thought and shook their heads, except Cani. 'There was this couple we saw a few times, but they turned out to be tourists as well.' she said. 'Nothing suspicious about them.'

'All right, I have to look at every possibility.' he said and stood up. 'Thank you for your time.'

Cani led him out of the room, and he waited out of sight of the door for a moment to be sure no one was looking through the peep hole, then gestured in front of the opposite door to open it. Tas opened it quickly and he slipped inside. He surveyed the room in an instant. 'Did they leave during the night?'

Tas and Jae stood straight. 'No, sir.' said Tas. 'They kept to their room until morning.'

'Any strange behaviour?'

'No, sir.'

'You were seen in close proximity of the subjects.'

'Sir?'

Garud feigned interest in a painting of meadows full of flowers in spring time seen from the sky, a theme reproduced in every hotel that had more than one room. It was his tactic to increase nervousness in those who wanted to keep something hidden from him. 'You had lunch at the same place, and you were playing around at the festival with family members of Avia.'

Jae exchanged a glance with Tas. 'We didn't want to arouse their suspicion by hanging around, doing nothing, sir.' Jae said. 'Refusing the request of playing a game with the kids would have looked out of place when everyone else was enjoying the festival.'

Garud hummed, then turned around and sternly watched the both of them. 'Keep a close eye on them. If they're the ones causing trouble at night, it's your wings which will be clipped.'

'Yes, sir.' they said as Garud left, and sighed in relief.

A knock on the door startled them.

They opened it for Cani. 'Hey, we were wondering if you knew more about what that inspector asked about?'

Tas shuffled a foot. 'What inspector?'

'Yours.' said Cani with a grin. 'Avia does remember how things work here.'

He sighed. 'We don't know what he knows or what he said to you. He didn't tell us anything.'

'Oh.' Cani said and wagged her tail. 'Then come with me. Maybe we can solve the mystery together.'

Tas looked at Jae, who recognised the excitement in Cani's expression and that of her waging tail, and nodded at Cani, knowing they likely had no way to refuse her. 'We'll come.'

Guy explained the situation to them, and they thought back on the day before. 'I can't think of anything.' said Jae, and Tas nodded in agreement. 'Another of your kind would surely have been noticed.'

Feli leaned forward. 'Is it possible someone from the outside could have come here to the city unnoticed and stay somewhere out of sight?'

'We monitor all tourists coming into the country, and they could only hide if someone sheltered them.' said Tas. 'It's as good as impossible for it to be anyone we don't know.'

Guy looked at Avia and she gave him a nod. 'I don't think a foreigner would have come this far unnoticed.'

'Maybe someone just played a prank.' said Mami. 'If it couldn't be someone from abroad, then it must be a native.'

'That would seem logical.' said Jae. 'We'll just have to see if anything happens again, and watch out for suspicious behaviour in the meantime.'

'Speaking of suspicious behaviour.' said Cani and laid down the map of the city on the table. 'Where are we going today?'

***

The gang arrived at the museum and the cashier looked at the group. 'Six adults?' ventured the young bird with shades of blue and green feathers. 'Today the museum is only open for couples. It's specifically for the romance exhibition.'

Cani grinned at him as she grabbed Guy's arm in hers. 'We're sort of a couple thought.' she said. 'Only all of us girls together with him.'

The bird tilted his head. 'Excuse me?'

Cani chuckled. 'All of us girls are engaged to him, so we're all in the couple category.'

The bird stared at them with open beak and Guy chuckled. 'What she said is true, but make it six normal tickets, as a way to sponsor the museum.'

The bird handed him their tickets and gestured at a photographer to the side. 'You can have a photo taken for the occasion with your fiancées.'

'Oh, fun!' said Cani, and pulled Guy along towards the stand. 'Come, girls.'

She moved Guy in front of the camera on one knee, and placed everyone around him while whispering in their ears.

Guy gazed at the camera while the photographer readied the shot. The bird looked up from his camera. 'Hold still.' he said, and the girls kissed Guy all at once before the shutter signal sounded.

Cani grinned while Mami and Ara laughed, and Feli, Avia, and Guy blushed at the photo displayed on the photographer's laptop, who sniggered while he sent it to the address Cani gave him and the printer produced a hard copy.

Tas looked at the cashier, then at Jae. 'So, we'll have to, you know?'

Jae fluttered her tail lightly and nodded quickly. 'Yes, to not raise suspicions.'

They bought their tickets, and were a little hesitant to have their photo taken when they noticed the gang smiling and glancing at them on the other side of the hall. Tas took a deep breath. 'I'd like to have a photo of just the two of us. As a team.' he said. 'All we have are our own or one of the entire department.'

Jae smiled a little. 'Yes, I think it's a good idea.' she said, and they went to the photo stand.

The girls giggled softly and pushed Guy towards the first part of the exhibition, depicting various forms of courting partners in different cultures. By the end of the tour, each of the gang had taken mental notes, and Jae and Tas had to take off their jackets to cool off a little from all the influences they were not trained to handle at their department.

'Time for something refreshing.' Feli said while she tried not to think of how one piece showed how many times her biological ancestors could do it in a day, and also explained a little private something about herself.

'There's another park nearby where we can enjoy some shade and probably find something cool to drink.' said Avia.

More people had the same idea, but they found an empty spot in the cool shade underneath one of the big trees and settled underneath it. Cani nudged Guy and gestured with her eyes towards Jae and Tas standing a little way off. 'I'll pick us up something to drink from the vendor,' she said. 'and offer them a place to sit with us since there's no space left.'

Guy stroked her ear. 'Subtle, obviously.'

She grinned. 'Of course. You know me.' She walked towards the vendor and his cart with a slight detour, and held her hand up in greeting as she approached their security escort. 'Hey! Fancy seeing you again.'

Jae and Tas gave her an awkward smile and greeted her back.

Cani gestured behind her. 'If you're looking to sit down and cool off, there's still some room over where we sit.'

Jae looked at the others, and gave Cani a nod. 'Ehm, thank you.'

'No problem.' said Cani, and headed over to the cart.

The rest of the gang greeted the pair innocently, and they sat down in the free spot next to them. 'So, what did you think of the exhibition?' asked Ara. 'I never thought some of the dances of your species could be so complicated.' She winked at Tas. 'Or was that dance yesterday enough of a courtship?'

Tas coughed. 'I'll dance something more special than that when I do.' he said and glanced sideways at Jae, who's head feathers rose slightly as she looked away. 'I mean, taking that step is a big decision.'

'But the exhibition was interesting.' Jae said quickly. 'It really showed how the needs of the different species dictate how courting is done.' She looked at Guy. 'Did you do all that?'

Guy blushed. 'I didn't know all that back then.'

Mami sighed. 'He was just lucky that we're such easy girls.'

Ara laughed while Feli huffed. 'We're not that easy.' she said.

Mami raised an eyebrow. 'Didn't you sleep next to him on the first night together?'

Feli pouted and blushed. 'Only because I was too nervous on my own in a strange, new place.'

'Drinks!' said Cani as she arrived with two cardboard trays and several cups with double straws, and handed them to everyone. 'She has a special for lovers, so I bought medium sized with double straws for us,' She smiled at Jae and Tas. 'and a large for you two.' She grinned at Guy while Jae and Tas exchanged shy glances with each other. 'You share with all of us, so you'll have to drink less from each cup.'

He chuckled. 'I think my stomach couldn't handle half of all of yours anyway.'

Jae and Tas watched Guy sip from cup to cup with the girls and Tas cleared his throat as he offered the cup to Jae. 'It's all right if you want the whole thing.'

Jae smiled softly. 'I couldn't drink it all on my own, so let's share.'

Tas swallowed and with an initial hesitation, they moved closer and slowly sipped their drink.

***

After a leisurely walk along more points of interest and eating at a small market with a couple of food stalls, the gang walked back to the hotel after dark with Jae and Tas close behind. They were close to it when a shrill cry sounded from the garden at the side of the hotel. Without a word, all of them rushed towards the source and found one of the hotel employees struggling to get out of a bush.

Guy and Tas pulled him free from the long, twisty twigs entangling him and sticking between his wing feathers. 'What happened?' asked Tas, recognising him as the hotel janitor.

The janitor puffed for a moment, then pointed at the dark spot underneath a small group of trees. 'I saw something shining there, then noticed it was a pair of eyes, and then they turned sideways.' He shuddered at the memory.

The girls and Jae looked around at once but found nothing. 'Could it have been an animal?' asked Feli.

The janitor shook his head. 'They were at the same height as mine. And too large.'

'Did you see anything else?' asked Tas.

'It startled me so much I stepped back into this bush here and tripped.'

Fluttering of wings surrounded them and a familiar voice called out to them. 'Care to explain this?' They looked back towards several birds in black suits, and Garud as he walked up to them. 'Did the prank turn wrong this time?'

'It wasn't us.' said Cani. 'We heard him shout and came running to see what happened.'

Garud looked sideways at Jae and Tas. 'Is that so, hmm?'

'It's true, sir.' said Jae. 'They were walking in front of us when it happened.'

Garud turned to the bird in a suit, who hurried towards him. 'Nothing, sir.' he said. 'We looked all over but found no sign of the culprit.'

'Cordon off the area and find some strong lights to search the ground with.' said Garud. 'There must be some footprints somewhere that can tell us who we're dealing with.'

'Yes, sir.' said the bird, and left again.

'You still think it's one of the other species?' asked Guy.

Garud nodded. 'There was another incident earlier at Watery Park, where someone saw the large eared subject.'

Guy frowned and looked at Tas. 'Wasn't that the park we were at until we went for dinner?'

Tas nodded. 'Correct.' he said, and Garud raised a feathery eyebrow at him.

'Ah, we ran into our hotel neighbours earlier in the day.' said Guy. 'We also had dinner plans at the same restaurant.' Garud hummed but let it go, and Guy looked up into the night sky. 'How about we help you out?'

Garud tilted his head. 'Help us?'

Ara looked at Guy. 'Are you thinking about luring and catching the one sneaking around?'

Guy nodded. 'I think we have a good chance of capturing the one who does this.'

She chuckled as she looked at Mami. 'Well, we do have the experience of catching slippery creatures.'

Mami rolled her eyes. 'Yeah, yeah, we know.'

'Ah, the reason for the theme park incident.' said Garud.

The gang looked at him. 'You also know about that?' said Feli.

Garud smiled lightly. 'We have our sources.' he said, and looked at his team moving around in the search for evidence. 'But it gives me enough confidence to accept your offer. I have a hunch it's still related to you.'

'That's what I've been thinking as well.' said Guy. 'So here's what I have in mind.'

***

'Wow!' said Cani at the sight of the many baths in the large natural bath house covered with a steel beam dome structure. The baths were separated in a natural stone plateau with several layers, and plenty of greenery in between.

'We have a large variety of baths.' said Koolwitje, the owner. She gestured in the different directions as she named them. 'We have some with different mineral contents for specific healthy effects, electrically charged ones for relaxation therapy, light mud and fine sand ones, and three with increasing salt contents, and of course, the familiar bubble baths and regular ones. And at the back we have a large curved pool spanning from one side to the other for all your swimming needs.'

Guy smiled at Cani's wagging tail. 'Looks like we'll have no trouble spending the entire afternoon here.'

'Enjoy your stay.' she said, and left the gang to explore the baths at their own leisure.

Jae and Tas watched the girls decide on who takes Guy to which bath, and Jae giggled at Guy's resigned expression. 'So, how do we proceed? Who keeps an eye on whom?'

Tas tried not to look at her light blue bikini too obviously. 'Actually, Guy mentioned earlier in the changing rooms that coming in together, and then going our separate way would draw attention from others, so it's better to stick together.' He gestured at the lively gang. 'They won't go anywhere, and we have colleagues monitoring the outside in any case.'

She nodded. 'What do you suggest?'

He glanced at the bath filled with flowers and two couples enjoying the fragrance. 'I was thinking maybe begin with relaxing in that one? To take the opportunity to rest?'

Jae smiled and gave him a quick nod. 'All right.'

When Feli took Guy to the flower bath later, they smiled at the two as they sat asleep in one corner, Jae leaning her head against Tas's shoulder, and his head against hers. 'Should we wake them?' asked Feli.

'Let's have them sleep a little longer.' Guy said. 'It's not that they've been soaking too long in the water yet.'

Feli giggled and Guy let her lean against him as they relaxed in the sweet mist drifting above the water surface.

***

When Tas woke up suddenly, he realised he'd fallen asleep just after Jae fell asleep against him. He hadn't planned on falling asleep himself, and only wanted to make sure she rested well. He smiled softly until he noticed Guy and Feli on the other side of the bath. 'Ah, hey.' he said and tried to come up with a reasonable explanation. 'I was just, ehmm, I mean, we..'

Guy chuckled. 'Are you doing anything illegal?'

'Ah, no, it's just that, ehmm..'

'No problem then.'

Tas sighed. 'No, not really.'

Feli smiled a little. 'I think she would have said something if it was, right?'

Tas looked down on Jae as she blinked. 'I, didn't want to complicate the situation.' she said.

Guy stretched. 'Well then, time to try out the next one.' he said while Feli stood up. 'I think it's best to try them all while we still have the time.'

Jae sat up straight and smiled softly. 'Shall we try another as well?'

He chuckled. 'Yes, let's.'

***

The gang, Jae, and Tas enjoyed a light meal at tables set into a special bath where they were submerged into water up to their waist, and then relaxed afterwards on inclined chairs where water ran down their backs and legs. Except for Ara, who adjusted her chair to lay down on it on her stomach.

The lights had dimmed with the darkening of the sky, and the stars and moon were visible through most of the dome, with a background of the lightly shimmering reflection of the water below, lit by low ground lighting.

'Beautiful.' said Guy.

'Like a scene from a dream.' said Cani.

'So now we wait?' asked Jae.

'Yes.' said Guy. 'If my intuition is correct, they'll be here tonight.'

'Who?'

'Our mystery guest.'

'Who?'

'We don't know yet who it is. You know that.'

'Who?'

'You.' said Guy, then sat up straight. 'Wait, who asked that?' He looked at the small section of plants next to him and into a pair of yellow eyes.

'Whao!' he uttered and fell from his seat.

'What is it?' asked Cani.

He pointed at the greenery. 'The eyes.'

The others looked at the pair of eyes between the rich layer of leaves, and gasped when they turned from one side to the other, then rotated sideways.

'That's the one!' said Feli. 'Catch them!'

They eyes disappeared and Cani jumped into the plants. 'They're gone!'

'Close all exits!' said Tas.

Ara rushed to a pillar reaching up to the dome. 'Already on it.' she said, and pulled on the strings she had hung there during the afternoon. 'All exits are closed off with my webbing! Only the one in the dome is still open!'

'The one directly above us?' Guy asked.'

'Yes, the section near the top.'

Guy turned to Avia. 'Can you fly up there and check?'

'Yes.' she said and fluttered her wings. 'Give me a moment to shake off the water.'

Garud hurried towards them. 'Tas, go up there!'