checking out the canidae bars. She let her hair hang loose and put on a low-cut black blouse that accentuated the little cleavage she had and added a leather jacket on top of it. She completed the look with a pair of black motorcycle boots with a y-shaped buckle at the heel. An examination in the mirror revealed that she looked appropriately badass.
The first bar on her list was called the Bull and Terrier, a small basement pub north of the city. There seemed to be a larger population of used cars than people, judging by the amount of dealerships she passed, and she could only speculate about how many of the cars had actually been legally obtained. The bar was advertised with a simple wooden sign that depicted the silhouette of the bar's namesake standing at attention, its snout raised in the air as if catching a scent.
The stairs leading down to the bar were dark, but she could see the fireplug of a man standing casually next to the doorway. His skin was as black as his uniform shirt and jeans, his hands casually stuck into his pockets. He turned his head to watch her as she descended from street level. He had a head shaped like a bullet and Ari guessed English bulldog. As she approached him, she detected a faint smell coming from the wall behind him. There was a small glass enclosure with something inside that was emitting the slightest of scents. As she passed, she flared her nostrils. "Strawberries?"
He dipped his chin and let her pass without harassment. The bar had a heavy wooden door, making her feel like she was slipping into a private basement rather than a business. The bar jutted out from the wall opposite the door in a wide U, surrounded by barstools. Ari saw a few people sitting at tables throughout the room, a few more engaged in conversation at the tables. When she sniffed, she could smell a handful of people in the back room playing pool.
Not everyone in the bar was canidae or even a shifter. The centurion outside was most likely to keep the ratio as dog-friendly as possible.
Ari slid onto a stool and waited patiently until the bartender made his way over. He was slender, but with broad shoulders and a severe underbite. Ari guessed he was an American bulldog from the way he moved. He placed a mug in front of her and raised his eyebrows in question. Ari said, "Red Dog?"
He nodded and placed a bottle on a coaster next to her glass. She thanked him with a two-fingered salute and pushed the glass aside to drink directly from the bottle. She had been hoping to grill him a little about the patrons, but it was clear he wasn't the talkative type. A lot of male canidae were like that, oddly silent when they were in human form. But run into them as dogs, and good luck getting them to stop barking.
She turned around on her stool and scanned the room. Music was playing from the jukebox, but Ari didn't recognize the music or artist. A woman came up to the bar to get another drink and she met Ari's eyes, smiled, and settled on a stool three away from where Ari was sitting. Ari couldn't decide on what she was, so she focused on her human form. Slender shoulders that were shown off by the thin straps of her top, long blonde hair, and tight blue jeans. She had her elbows on the bar, her back bowed so there was a slight gap between her ass and the back of her jeans. Ari took a sip of her beer as the woman glanced over and caught her watching.
"Hi." Ari lifted her bottle in greeting and then nodded toward the door. "Does this place only hire bulldogs?"
The woman laughed. "No, just got lucky, I guess. Waiting for someone?"
Ari smiled. "Am I supposed to say, 'yeah, and you just got here' to that?"
The woman laughed. "Only if you want to see me roll my eyes."
"I'd watch your eyes do any number of things."
"Ooh, that's a new one." She ordered a Rolling Rock when the bartender returned. She subtly moved one stool closer to Ari. "I'm Rebecca."
"Hi, Rebecca. I'm Ari."
"Well. That's certainly a unique name."
Ari shrugged. "I'm a unique lady."
Rebecca laughed, made a noise of consideration, and dragged the side of her index finger down her throat. Ari watched its journey with keen interest, stopping