After a long week, or what actually felt like an extremely long series of long weeks all seamlessly stitched together, Marcy decided to finally take a break from work, research, various obligations, and really all stress in general, and simply enjoy the evening out. Normally on evenings like that she'd go to her favorite, small, and a little off-putting bar in a shady neighborhood with even shadier clientele, though she's been coming there for long enough that the barman and all the regulars knew her rather well and while most people avoided the place, and in fact the whole neighborhood, by a wide berth she was always met with polite nods and plenty of personal space. They all came to an understanding that sometimes instead of looking for trouble, they could simply enjoy their beers and leave her to her own business. Still, this particular evening she wanted something... different, something to break the monotony and truly distance herself from her day-to-day life.

A quick search presented her with a much fancier, though for some reason also seemingly avoided by others, bar not too far from her house. She'd never heard or seen this place before but it looked nice, the prices were reasonable, and she immediately liked how easy it was to get there and back home afterwards. Not thinking any further on this, Marcy opened her closet and stared for a brief second at all her clothes. To her regular bar she didn't, and never would, dress nicely, usually going there in whatever she was wearing at the end of that particular day, but this was a new bar, today felt... different, and she was after all looking to take a break from her normal activities. Nodding to herself she took out the hanger with her newest dress she bought just last week. It was very similar to her old and trusted black dress she always loved, but this one was a little more fancy, more flashy, with interesting shoulder design. Sliding her paw across the material, feeling its softness and once more appreciating the craftsmanship she smiled briefly and quickly paired it with a golden bracelet, carrying a stone matching her choker. The outfit was ready, waiting to be put on and shown to the world.

Arriving at the location she tipped the driver and stood outside for but a moment to look around the neighborhood. She could've sworn she passed by this place many times on her walks yet she could not recall ever actually seeing the neon sign or the nice looking door. In fact, it did not seem like any of the passersby paid any attention to the bar either, simply walking by to wherever it was they were heading this unusually warm evening. Used to various degrees of magic Marcy shrugged and decided not to think about it too much, it could probably be explained completely logically anyway but she wasn't exactly in the mood to think right now, instead opting to simply go in and have the fun she craved.

The door opened easily, letting her inside and the barman immediately raised his eyes to meet the newcomer, bowing his head in a polite, though silent greeting and went back to inputting something on the register in front of him, clearly not feeling very inquisitive. That in itself made her like this bar even more, as she enjoyed her space and any place that valued its customers' privacy easily deserved her business. Walking over to the bar she glanced over the locale, noticing an older gentleman in the corner smoking a cigar over a newspaper and rubbing his rather large horns, a younger couple closer to the bar clearly having a great time, and another gentleman in the booth on the other side scribbling something in his journal.
"A journalist with a new story? Maybe a writer looking for inspiration?" she thought to herself before sitting down at the bar and directing her eyes over at the barman, who immediately raised his eyes at her again and walked over.

"What can I do for you, Miss?"
"Whiskey, double, on the rocks."
"Any preference on the whiskey, Miss?"
"Hmm... surprise me" she gave a him a small smile and readjusted herself on the stool to get more comfortable, indicating she might be here for a while.

The barman bowed his head again with a serious, professional look on his face that clearly said she's in good hands. He worked fast, but every move he made, whether it was adding ice or pouring whiskey, was well calculated, with no hint of uncertainty. He placed a coaster with the bar's logo in the front of her and put down the glass, then smiled professionally and courteously said,
"Please let me know if there's anything else, Miss" and then moved to the other side of the bar, giving her space again. She followed him with her eyes for a second as he began to restock the shelf and check amount of alcohol left in the bottles on display, then raised the glass to her snout and took a quick sniff of the whiskey chosen for her. It smelled woody, with a clear, though soft and sweet scent of oak, and with a certain hint of hazelnut and cocoa. Smiling with satisfaction she brought the glass to her mouth and took a small sip, letting the dark brown liquid swish around her tongue. It tasted... She thought about it for a second, her ears twitching slightly as the taste began to sink in. It was quite possibly one of the best whiskey she has ever tasted. Taking another sip she sighed quietly, thoroughly enjoying the moment. The relative silence of the bar and the small amount of other guests made the entire experience this much better.

Even though she came here to relax and take a breather from her day-to-day problems she eventually found herself recounting the past few weeks and taking stock of all that has changed, while enjoying the wonderful taste of the whiskey, the peace and quiet, and the seeming detachment from the rest of the world. This moment could last forever and she would never complain about it, yet there was only so much whiskey and she soon reached the bottom of her glass. She placed the now empty glass with the slowly melting ice cubes back on the coaster and was ready to look for the barman to order another, but before she could even raise her eyes above the bar he was already there, in front of her, holding another double whiskey on the rocks. She opened her mouth, whether to protest that she hasn't ordered yet or to thank him for his diligence she did not know herself. The barman smiled and put down the new glass before she could make any sound, then pointed behind her and said politely,
"The gentleman in the back sends his regards, the drink is on him."
She nodded as thanks and looked behind her shoulder in the direction he was pointing. It was the journalist, maybe a writer, sitting in the booth by the wall. Their eyes met and she felt an immediate spark of interest.

She took the glass in her hand, spun around on the stool to face her new friend, and took a longer look at him, not hiding her stare or her interest. He was a tall, muscular, very confident-looking panther with a smirk that gave her a quick, sudden butterflies in her stomach, and his eyes... one glance into those eyes made her knees weak and all she wanted was to walk over to him... She blinked, banishing those thoughts as the two barely even met and haven't even so much as exchanged a single word. And yet, she couldn't take her eyes away. The sheer confidence emanating from the panther, despite his seemingly relaxed, comfortable position in the booth, made her all the more curious about him and well, there was no point arguing with the cat curiosity, as she recently discovered over and over again. She licked her lips, smiled, and raised her glass in a toast, knowing this will not end here.

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