<HTML><BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff">part 2 of 2 "Thank you, Victor," Cindy replied, "I admit I don't know a lot about classical or folk music, but I sure wouldn't mind learning more!"  Victor smiled, "Well, I can tell you more, if you have the time to spare."  Cindy made no objection, and the two quickly settled down into a friendly conversation.  Their companions just looked on with smiles on their faces.  "I could be wrong," Laretta whispered to Bob, "but I think Cindy's really taking a liking to this guy!"  Bob chuckled and said to Bill, "Maybe we should just let them alone for a while.  They seem to really enjoy each other's company." Laretta grinned and nodded, taking one last look at the two companions engrossed in conversation.  Finding herself with little else to do, she strolled around the bar, occasionally grabbing a glimpse of young people dancing about on the dance floor, and gave herself a slightly disappointed sigh.  "At least Cindy found someone she really seems to like," she thought to herself, "If only I were so lucky." She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, trying to find something to distract her thoughts, when suddenly Bob came running back to her.  "Hey, Laretta," he said excitedly, "I almost totally forgot.  There's someone else with us tonight who really wanted to meet you!  We owed him a favor, so I was just wondering..."  Laretta smiled and replied, "Why of course, I'd love to meet this friend of yours!"  She grew hopeful again, thinking that her luck was about to change. "That's great, Laretta!"  Bob replied, "This guy, I have to say must be your biggest fan! I know he'll be very excited to see you.  I should warn you, though, that he's really not like a lot of other people you'd know!"  He carefully lifted a specially designed duffel bag onto a table, "For one thing, it's not easy for him to just meet people!" "I see," Laretta nodded, "Is he just really shy?"  The coyote grinned, "Er, not exactly." He unzipped the front of the mesh bag, and peeked inside.  "Come on out, Ben!  She's right out here, I kid you not!" Laretta was at first incredulous about what she saw.  At first, she thought he was playing some sort of prank on her.  Then, however, she saw the form of a small light-furred mouse, about two inches tall, stroll out of the bag and onto the table. The bipedal rodent was even wearing clothes, a loose light-colored shirt and tan shorts with cargo pockets.  He had a large smile on his cheerful face, and his whiskers twitched with excitement.  "Laretta, meet Ben Moss," Bob smiled.  "He may be a mouse, but he's a really smart, helpful, and friendly type of guy.  A real swell fellow, if I do say so myself!" Laretta still had to get over the shock of her initial surprise.  Throughout the history of anthropomorphic genetic evolution, the natural process favored anthromorphs taking on the general size and shape of human beings, to ease their adaptation into society.  There were certain cases of smaller animal types such as squirrels, birds, and mice remaining their natural miniature size, and many of these "mini-morphs" lived together in protected "colonies" in sparsely populated areas of North America, Australia, and Asia.  Nonetheless, small anthromorphs were rare compared to their larger counterparts and typically did not venture into heavily populated places, so Laretta was doubly surprised to find one here. "Thanks for the intro, Bob!"  the mouse spoke up in a faint voice.  "No problem, Ben!" the coyote grinned.  "Well, Laretta, I hope you two have a nice time together!" Laretta nodded, though with slight uncertainty, "Okay, and thanks again for introducing us!" With that, she turned her attention to the mouse.  He certainly seemed nice and pleasant enough, but Laretta was still at a loss of how to approach him without seeming threatening.  She lowered her head close to the table (this made hearing him easier, as well) and started to speak gently, "So, Ben, how did a mouse like you end up in a place like this?"  Ben chuckled warmly and replied, "I can tell that you wouldn't expect a guy my size to be around here, but I really can explain!  I work as a freelance electronics engineer.  I'm a 'troubleshooter', if you will, for anyone who needs the aid of my expertise.  You see, I can get into a lot of little nooks and crannies that a lot of larger people can't reach.  That puts me in very high demand!  I was fixing a circuit blowout for the radio station those guys work at, and when they mentioned Cassie's band was going to be in town, I just had to know how I could meet you!"  He grinned nervously, "I guess it was just luck that we both happened to be here tonight!" Laretta smiled and rested her chin on her hand.  "That's very interesting, Ben," she replied, "and you're a big fan of Cassie and the band?"  The mouse smiled, walking closer to Laretta's nose, "Absolutely!  I must honestly say, though, that you are without a doubt my favorite in the whole group!  You're just the most beautiful wolfette I've ever seen, and I love how you sing!"  Laretta smiled and gently rubbed Ben between his ears.  He giggled and nuzzled her finger, while she grinned, revealing her sharp fangs.  She couldn't imagine what that must have looked like to Ben, but he didn't show any fear.  The mouse had a very kind and sincere demeanor, and Laretta appreciated that. They continued to chat for a while about various subjects, though Laretta held Ben in her hand so they could talk to each other more easily.  Laretta talked happily about all her experiences in Cassie's band and all the fun she had with her new friends, while Ben talked a little about his own background.  Laretta was amazed to hear that he served in a special division of the armed forces, sneaking into enemy bases and gathering intelligence.  "When I was discharged, I was so attached to getting along and working with 'the big people' that I wanted to find a line of work that let me work with them a lot.  My friends and family thought I was pretty strange to do this, but it's what I really wanted to do, so here I am!"  Laretta grinned, "You know, it sounds like we have a lot in common, Ben!" They took a small break from their conversation, watching everyone have fun on the dance floor.  From a quick glance, Laretta could tell that Cindy was still engrossed in her conversation with Victor, so she knew she was in no hurry to leave.  "It sure would be nice to be able to dance with you," said Ben, "but I guess I can't ask for everything."  Laretta looked out to the dance floor, it didn't seem quite as crowded as before.  She smiled down to Ben, "I don't see why we can't!"  Ben looked surprised as Laretta lifted him up in her hand, "What are you talking about?"  She lifted him up to her shoulder, "Hang on to my collar.  Let's at least pretend that we're dancing together!"  The mouse nervously held on to Laretta's collar, unsure if this was the safest thing to do.  Still, he was happy to be close to the lovely she-wolf.  "All right, I trust you," he smiled, "Let's go!" She walked down to the dance floor and found a spot safely away from the other dancers.  "Holler and tug on my fur if start moving too much!" she said to Ben, who smiled and nodded.  Nobody would have thought it possible, but they were going to dance the night away!  Laretta moved about rhythmically, swaying back and forth, side to side, and wagging her tail in time with the music.  Ben held on tightly to her black leather collar and laughed as they moved together to the music.  They were both enjoying their time together immensely. Meanwhile, Cindy was enjoying her conversation with Victor equally immensely. "That's amazing, Victor!" she remarked, "I didn't know you went into rehab, too!"  The white tiger smiled, "I've been sober for almost a year now."  He frowned slightly, remembering his life as a struggling musician when frustration drove him to drinking and drug abuse.  Cindy sympathetically held his hand,  "When did you realize you needed to quit?"  He frowned slightly,  "One night, when I nearly overdosed on booze and poppers.  I was so wasted, I couldn't find my way home, got caught in the rain, and nearly died of pneumonia!  My brother found me and got me to the hospital, though.  When I woke up and found myself with about a dozen tubes plugged into my body, I knew I couldn't go on like that."  He smiled and looked into Cindy's green eyes, "I checked myself into rehab, and it totally changed my life.  I found new inspiration, and I started playing better music than I ever thought I could!"  He played a short, beautiful melody on his mandolin for Cindy.  "That's really nice," she smiled, "What do you call it?"  He chuckled, "My mandolin."  They both laughed as Cindy gave him a hug.  For just a moment, their tails curled together in an embrace. "Say, isn't that your friend on the dance floor?"  Victor asked, his attention drawn away for a moment.  Cindy glanced in Laretta's direction, noticing how Laretta was happily dancing, by herself it seemed.  "I believe you're right," she said.  "It's nice to see she's having a good time, even if she's by herself," she sighed, leaning next to her companion.  "What about you, then?"  Victor asked, running his hand through her hair.  Cindy grinned, rubbing her leg against his, "I think you know the answer to that." Laretta continued to dance enthusiastically, feeling the energy flowing through her body. She never really liked to dance, but there was something about Ben's cheerful and kindly personality that persuaded her to act differently.  "This is a lot of fun!  What do you think, Ben?"  Laretta asked, taking a moment to catch her breath.  She didn't hear any response.  "Ben?"  she asked, very worried.  She started to panic when she realized he wasn't on her shoulder.  OH NO, WHERE IS HE!?!  she thought in a frenzied panic as she came solidly to a halt, fearful that he might be on the floor.  She carefully lowered herself down to her hands and knees, and started looking for him. "Ben?!  Ben, where are you!?!"  she called out in terror.  The other dancers moved out of her way, as bewildered as they were.  Laretta got some very strange glances, but she was now completely oblivious to everything besides finding her small companion safely.  She was almost ready to give up hope when she heard a faint voice from behind her head, "Laretta!  I'm back here!"  She immediately froze in her tracks.  "Ben?"  she asked calmly.  She felt a tickling sensation from the back of her neck as a small form crawled over to her left shoulder.  "I'm over here, Laretta!  Don't worry, I'm okay!"  Ben called out from her shoulder, waving to her. Laretta breathed a sigh of relief as she carefully retrieved Ben from her shoulder.  "Ben, I'm so sorry!"  she said to the mouse, holding him carefully in her hands, "I should have been more careful!"  The mouse grinned, "It's all right, Laretta!  I must have lost my footing and nearly fell off your shoulder, but I grabbed on to your collar just in time! I tried yelling, but you must not have heard me.  It's not your fault, though.  That was a lot of fun!" Laretta rose to her feet, carefully holding Ben in her hands.  "I think that's enough dancing for tonight, anyway," she smiled.  "I must say, Ben, you really are a nice, charming fellow!  You really gave me a night to remember!"  Ben blushed slightly, "Laretta, you really feel that way?  I mean, you're such a big, beautiful she-wolf, and you don't care that I'm a little mouse?" She leaned her muzzle forward and gave him a gentle lick.  "I don't care how big or small you are!"  she giggled, "You're a real sweetie, and that's all that matters to me!" Ben laughed and gave her a hug on her nose.  "Thank you so much, Laretta!"  he happily replied, "I know now that the biggest thing about you is your heart!" They decided that they had enough excitement for one evening, so they went back to where Bob was waiting, so he could get Ben back home safely.  "Sorry to have kept you waiting so long, Bob," said Laretta.  "No problem!"  Bob replied, "So did you two have a nice time together?"  Laretta smiled and shook her head, "Oh, absolutely!  We had a lot of fun together!"  Ben chuckled, "Except for the part where I nearly fell to my death!"  Bob was bewildered for a moment, but he shrugged it off.  "Ben's always been a bit of a thrill seeker, I know that!"  he chuckled, as Ben and Laretta also laughed. "So where are you staying, Ben?"  Laretta asked.  "Well, right now I'm roomin' with Bob," Ben grinned.  "If you can call it that," Bob replied, "his home's a literal hole in the wall!"  Ben just smiled and replied, "It suits me fine, for now, but what I'd really like is to live somewhere on the beach!  A big, cool cave would be really nice."  Laretta smiled and patted Ben, "Well, as long as you have someplace to go.  I really did have a wonderful time tonight!  Thank you."  The mouse churred and hugged her finger. Without saying a word, she knew he felt the exact same way. With a regretful sigh, she bid farewell to her two companions and went to find Cindy. It seemed she had also reluctantly parted from her conversation with Victor.  "You ready to go?"  the snow leopardess asked.  Laretta nodded, "Yeah, it's been a long day.  I'm ready for my beauty sleep!" Cindy just chuckled and led Laretta outside.  When they got back to Cindy's motorcycle, Laretta eagerly hopped into the side cab.  After her wonderful evening with Ben, she had forgotten all about how scared she was the first time.  Strapping on her helmet, Cindy asked, "You ready?"  Laretta grinned, "You bet!"  Shrugging, Cindy kick started the engine and revved the Harley into street.  This time, Laretta enjoyed the feel of the cool wind on her face.  She could tell how much Cindy loved riding her machine. After a short while, they reached the front of the luxury hotel where Laretta had gotten a penthouse suite.  Laretta climbed out of the cab, still a little shaky from the ride, but this time much more at ease.  "That was some night, wasn't it Laretta?"  Cindy remarked, brushing her long silver hair back.  "It sure was!"  Laretta happily replied, "Thanks so much for taking me to that place, Cindy!" Cindy smiled, "Don't mention  it, Laretta.  We ought to do it more often!"  Laretta felt like talking with Cindy for a bit before turning in for the night.  "So how was that guy you met tonight, Cindy?"  she asked with a grin.  "Victor?  Oh, he's a real nice guy," Cindy replied, "He's a great listener and he respects my intelligence.  He's also got a real neat sense of humor."  Laretta pressed on, "Do you think you'll hear from him again?"  Cindy shrugged, "I dunno.  I left him my phone number, so it's up to him if he wants to talk to me again." "So what about you?"  Cindy asked her friend, "Did you meet anyone special?"  Laretta replied with a big smile, "Oh yeah!  His name was Ben, a real sweet, charming guy!  We had the greatest time together!"  "Really?"  Cindy asked, somewhat skeptically, "I saw you having fun on the dance floor, but not with any guy!  Where was he?"  Laretta thought for a moment before replying, "Well, he's kind of shy and doesn't really stand out in a crowd, plus he's not really a dancer, but he really is a nice guy!"  Cindy nodded, "Oh well, I guess that's all that matters."  Laretta smiled and nodded. "Do you want to come up to my place for some coffee?"  Laretta asked.  Cindy shook her head, "No thanks, I'm ready to call it a night!  You take it easy now, Laretta!" Laretta waved as Cindy started up her motorcycle, "Thanks, Cindy.  You take care too!" She watched as Cindy sped off into the night, her tail flailing behind her like a streamer. Laretta made her way up to the top floor, where her suite was located.  Normally she wouldn't have minded sharing a suite with Cassie or the rest of the band, but this time they all agreed that they could do with their own personal space.  After unlocking the door and entering, she kicked off her pumps and pulled off her frilly ankle socks, and rubbed her aching feet in the soft plush carpet.  She was still happy, but totally exhausted and ready to finally rest. Before turning in, she turned on her cell phone and checked her voice mail for any important messages. *BEEP* -- "Hi Laretta, it's Cassie!  You were excellent on stage, as always!  I've got some important news.  We're going to have to bump up our rehearsal schedule a little bit. The Zetag executives need to come into town a few days early to discuss the details about our next album with Foxonian and me, plus they want to hear us all play together.  Then, we need to get together for mapping out our next tour.  Don't worry, though, we'll have time off in between!  Drop me a line when you can, 'kay?  Bye!" *BEEP* -- "Hello, Laretta, this is Ken Steele from Azure Horizons Real Estate.  I'm calling with good news about that property by Lake Tahoe that you were interested in. The seller likes your bidding offer, and would like to close on it soon.  Can you get in touch with me as soon as possible to schedule a time for us to negotiate the contract? I'll be away from the office until Tuesday, but any time after that should work great for me.  Thank you!" Laretta was thrilled to hear this last piece of news.  After visiting Lake Tahoe a few months before, she immediately fell in love with the place and had her heart set on purchasing a vacation home there where she could stay during the band's off time. She immediately scribbled down a note to herself to call the real estate office right away.  She picked up her shoes and socks and let out a contented sigh.  After thinking for just a moment, she felt that she was in just the right mood to take a nice, relaxing bath before going to bed. She made her way to the suite's bathroom, where she found a soft bathrobe and a matching set of plush towels, plentiful enough to dry out her fur.  What she liked most of all about her suite was the bathroom's giant hot tub.  She adjusted the faucets so that water poured into the tub at just the right temperature.  As the water filled the tub, she started to undress.  First, she unfastened her wrist cuffs and removed her fingerless gloves.  Setting those aside, she arched her back inward and reached towards her back to unzip her bustier.  With a bit of effort, she removed her bustier and gave a sigh of relief.  She hung the bustier on a rack in the corner, then unfastened the hook holding up her leather miniskirt just above the base of her tail, slid the skirt off, and placed it next to the bustier.  Finally, she unfastened her collar and hung it on the rack last.  Out of habit, it was always the last article of clothing she removed, perhaps a habit she picked up from Cassie, she thought with a grin. Seeing that the tub was nearly full, she padded over to the tub and turned off the faucets.  The last thing that remained for her to do was to select a bottle of natural fur conditioner, specially blended with herbs and oils for energizing, relaxing, or balancing effects.  "I definitely won't be needing any help going to sleep tonight," she thought, setting aside the red tranquilizing conditioner.  She also set aside the green energizing and the yellow rejuvenation liquids, since those would more likely keep her awake.  She pondered between the blue energy balancing and purple body soothing conditioners, settling on the purple to help her muscles relax.  She poured a cupful into the tub, waiting just a moment for the liquids to mix and froth together. When she was ready, she stepped up to the tub and carefully dipped her toes into the water.  She twitched for a moment, adjusting to the temperature, but then gradually lowered her foot into the comfortable water.  She planted her other foot into the tub, then slowly lowered her body in, gradually immersing her legs, tail, torso, breasts, and arms, until she was finally in the water up to her neck. She smiled and let out a deep, contented sigh as the warm water and frothy bath oil swirled around her and soaked into her fur.  She tilted her head back into a nook of the tub, a separate compartment for washing head hair.  She turned on a spigot and deposited some shampoo into her orange, green, and pink colored hair, and proceeded to lather and wash the dye out.  Gradually, the colors rinsed out of her hair, which returned to its natural black color very quickly.  She smiled and nearly drifted off to sleep when a ringing noise caught her attention.  Perking her ears up, she recognized it as her cell phone going off.  Fortunately, she left it near the tub in case she got a call, but she was still slightly miffed to have her relaxing moment interrupted.  Shaking soap and water off her paws, she reached for the phone and activated the speaker shortly after the fourth ring. "Hello?"  she responded as politely as possible.  "Hi, Laretta," a familiar voice started, in a slightly nervous tone, "It's me, Ben."  Laretta replied happily, "Hi, Ben!  How are you doing?  What a nice surprise, getting a call from you tonight!"  Ben chuckled, still slightly nervous, "Thanks, Laretta.  I had such a wonderful time tonight that I just had to call you!  I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Laretta smiled, as she lifted one of her legs out of the water, wiggling her toes so that the soap and water dripped back into the tub.  "Not at all," she replied, "and I'm really glad you called!  I really had a great time tonight, too.  Thank you so much!" Ben chuckled again, happy to hear the delight in Laretta's voice.  "You're welcome!" he exclaimed, "but there is something else."  "What is it?"  Laretta asked.  "Well, Laretta, I really like you," he said nervously, "and I'd really like to be able to see you again when I can!  How long are you going to be in town!" "Not very long, unfortunately," Laretta said with disappointment, "Tomorrow morning, the band's getting back together for a short business meeting, then we hit the road back to our main recording studio in New York.  There won't be any time for us to meet, unfortunately!"  "Aw, that's too bad," Ben replied, "but we can still always stay in touch, can't we?"  Laretta smiled, "You bet we can!  I'll stay in touch with you when we're on the road, and keep you up to date with what we're doing!" "That's great, Laretta!"  Ben replied happily, "You know, if you like using the Internet, you can even catch me in chat rooms!  Let me give you my nickname - 'Ben_Mouse'."  Laretta was quite happy to talk to Ben again, since she really had grown a deep fondness for him.  "Okay, Ben, I'll give it a try some time and keep track of you!  Thanks again for calling!" "Oh no," Ben chuckled, "Thank you for being the loveliest wolfette on the planet!" Laretta giggled a Ben's wonderful sense of humor.  She turned her cell phone off and drew herself back into her bath.  She sighed and smiled, remembering when she and Cassie chatted about Cassie's love for Foxonian.  She remembered exactly what the vixen told her, that everyone finds love at some time in their lives, and "once you've found it, enjoy every minute of it!"  Even as she would drift off to sleep later and be on her way early the next day, her thoughts would always be with the special little mouse who just made her life so wonderful. END OF STORY Latest version:  October 15, 2001</HTML>