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The first short story of my new series, Tales From The Tricolor Beguile! Inspiration for this story comes from the song/music video Kangaroo Court by Capital Cities, and additional thanks to the pawsome writer on here, Gruffy, for inspiration for a certain fruity metaphor! :3

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Chris pushed open the heavy, smoked glass door with a paw and walked into the equally smoky bar, making sure to not get his tail caught in the door as he stood just inside and surveyed his surroundings.

The establishment was surprisingly busy for this time of night. The sun had barely set, and already half of the barstools were occupied by furs of all species (and, even to his untrained eye, of all sexual orientations). They all talked a little louder than needed and held their drinks lazily in their paws. Here a white tiger and a black otter leaned close to each other in intimate conversation, there a cocoa-colored horse sat by himself, hunched over a small collection of empty shot glasses. Smoking in the corner was a muscular jaguar decked out in leather pants and gloves, and on the small dance floor a handsome wolf and a lioness jumped up and down in time with the music, their tails bobbing wildly in the air. In the center of the controlled chaos, behind the bar, stood a slender, energetic-looking orange-red fox who danced between the small groups of furs, serving, chatting, laughing. He looked up as Chris entered and greeted him with a wave and a warm smile, beckoning the rigid, uncertain wolf over to the bar.

"Welcome to The Tricolor Beguile!" the fox said happily. "I can't say I remember your face. First time here?"

"Yeah," Chris mumbled as he sat down at a stool, "heard about the place from a friend, thought I'd stop by for a bit."

"Heheh, your friend has good taste! Nice to have you for the evening!" the bubbly fox continued. "So, what'll it be? You don't quite strike me as the hard drinking type. Something lighter perhaps, something colorful? We've got an exceptional strawberry cider many here are quite fond of. Like to try it?"

Chris scrunched up his nose. Strawberry-flavored cider?, he thought. That's, like, the gayest drink imaginable...

The bartender seemed to pick up on his sentiments. "Not your type? No worries; a number of furs here aren't fans either. Some people are just born strawberry cider lovers, I suppose," he said thoughtfully. "So, what's your poison?"

The gray wolf took a deep breath. He would not succumb to the overly-energetic fox's aura of giddiness, nor would he be pressured into something he didn't want. He was a confident, sophisticated fur with sophisticated tastes, and always knew what he wanted and when he wanted it.

"Um... I'll have a, uh... Dr. Pepper, I guess..." he muttered.

Or at least, that's how he would have liked to view himself. But he had always been timid around others, and conversation was never his strong suit. He always stuck out like a sore thumb at parties and he knew it. Whenever everyone else was having fun he always stood by the side, paws in his hoodie pockets, swishing his tail slightly to the music if he really got into it. Maybe parties weren't his thing. They always made him feel alone, no matter the number of people around him.

Why he had decided to go to a bar, of all places, was beyond him. He had heard about the place from his apartment roommate, that was true. But he had passed the tale off as just another grandiose story of getting laid yet again by yet another flaming hot chick. Chris had been in the journalism business long enough to know bullshit when he smelled it. It was probably just another bar with your average everyday drunk crowd, and average everyday dance music average everyday furs danced to.

But he was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere of the establishment, now that he was here. It looked very well-kept, the crowd wasn't too rowdy (although it was still early in the night), and the music was actually pretty good--Chris' tail was starting to show signs of moving back and forth by the time the fox returned with his soda.

"Here's your drink, sir," the bartender said with a smile.

"Thanks," Chris said, barely audible. He took a careful sip to make sure the stupid fox hadn't spiked it.

"Oh come on, I wouldn't try something like that," the fox giggled, once again seemingly reading his thoughts. "Besides, correct me if I'm wrong, but now that I'm looking at you closely you don't look quite old enough to drink yet. You're about, what, nineteen years old? Twenty?"

"Twenty-one today, actually."

"Well a very happy birthday to you then," he said, an even bigger smile across his muzzle. "Don't worry, I won't embarrass you by singing."

At least he has that much sense. "Thanks."

"Y'know, you really don't seem the type to be at bars in the first place," the fox said, lowering his voice and leaning closer. "If ya don't mind me asking, what's on your mind?"

Chris exhaled audibly and tapped a claw against the counter top. "Single."

The bartender nodded slowly in understanding. "I hear ya. Looking to get lucky?"

"Looking for a relationship, yeah. Not some fling. But apparently that's hard to come by these days."

"Not always! Sometimes, you just gotta look in the right place. I've seen relationships form, crumble, reform, and strengthen, all from behind this here counter. This place has better odds than most, I'd like to think."

"Good, I'll need all the luck I can get," Chris said, taking another sip.

"Well, it is your birthday... Your birthday wish just might come true," the fox said with a wink. "I've got another customer over there who needs refills, so if you'll excuse me for a bit..." The bartender started to walk off. "By the way, my name's Favian, so holler for me if you need anything!" he barked over his shoulder.

Except now that I told you my wish, it won't come true...

Chris cursed under his breath and took another sip of his soda before continuing searching the crowd for potential. That lioness on the dance floor was pretty damn sexy, the way she moved her tail, but she appeared to be taken by the wolf dancing with her. Not like I'd have the guts to go up to her anyway, even if she was alone. There was that horse on the other end of the bar to be considered. But he was looking miserable as Favian filled another shot glass and tried to console him over whatever he was upset about. It was probably best not to bother him. That was all he could see to his left without fully turning around, so he casually faced the bar and continued scanning his surroundings via the large, wide mirror behind it.

Couple: nope. Jaguar in the corner: nope, don't like smokers. Vixen at the opposite wall... nope, too angry-looking. Another couple, nope. Antelope walking in? Nope: too timid, even for me. He systematically searched every fur in the small crowd behind him, but he could not find a suitable date. He would really prefer finding another female to be with, but he was open to being in a relationship with a guy as well. Unfortunately for him, this meant there were twice as many good-looking furs in the bar he could not ask out or would never have the courage to. Damn being bisexual!, he thought, and scowled.

"Mirror scouting, I see?" said low voice to his right. He nearly jumped as he turned to see the chuckling hyena two stools to his right at the bar. Chris had been so busy looking behind him he had forgotten to look at who was practically right next to him. The fur in question was cleanly dressed in a plain white dress shirt with its sleeves rolled up to show off his hazel fur dotted with black spots. Down below were plain blue jeans and gray tennis shoes.

"Without much luck," the wolf answered ruefully, taking another sip.

"Come here often?"

"Nope."

"First time here?"

"Yup."

"You're not very talkative, are you?"

"Not really."

"Heh, not everybody is, I guess." The hyena finished off his brightly-colored drink, obviously one of the strawberry ciders Favian mentioned. Chris shifted in his seat uncomfortably as the other continued, "The Tricolor Beguile is my favorite place in the city. The people here are the best, and Favian always goes out of his way to brighten everyone's day. You don't get that from most bars anymore."

"S'pose not."

"You talk as if you don't go to bars much."

"Probably 'cause I don't."

"Ah, that would explain why you look so uncomfortable," the hyena conjectured.

Well, that certainly was part of the reason. "Not used to being around people in a setting like this. I get anxiety when they try to get me to do stuff like dance or... talk."

"Heh, well I'm not gonna force you to do anything like that, don't worry." Chris was about to comment on the hypocrisy of this statement, but was stopped when the other said "I'm Nick, by the way." The hyena held out his paw.

Chris hesitated, and gingerly shook it. "Chris."

"Nice to meet ya, Chris!" The gray wolf nodded and turned his face away from the other's toothy smile. Somehow Favian caught his eye from the other end of the bar, and the fox gave him a wink.

Chris shook his head to dispel his thoughts. Nick was nice enough, but he wasn't really... his type, Chris supposed. He had really hoped to hook up with a nice girl tonight, but instead a gay hyena was starting to hit on him. It was fairly obvious; he was making all the only-somewhat-subtle moves Chris would have used to charm some hot chick, except--

"Can I buy you a drink?" Nick asked.

Never mind, that one too. It was clear the hyena was hitting on him, from the way he talked, to the way he sat leaning intently forward eager to listen, to the look in his amber eyes. He was looking for the same thing Chris was: a relationship. The wolf was thankful he was spared the awkward conversation there would have been if the other was looking for a one night stand instead. Chris wanted to tell the hyena he wasn't interested, but he just didn't have the courage to tell him to go away. I'm too damn polite...

Maybe that was the real reason he had never had a lasting relationship. He didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. But he knew sometimes you have to tell people what you think. He knew you have to be brave to say yes, and even braver to say no.

"You okay?"

Chris blinked. "Sorry, what?"

"You kinda spaced out there for a bit," Nick said with a frown. "You okay?"

"Sorry, I was just... thinking."

Nick shifted in his seat. "Chris, am I... making you uncomfortable?"

"Nonononono, not at all," the wolf hastily assured him. Okay, well maybe a tiny bit. Then again, so do most people. "I'm just trying to figure things out here..."

"Are you... straight?"

"Kinda. Not quite..."

The hyena nodded slowly. "I think I get you. Trying to figure out what direction you want your life to go?"

"Yeah, exactly," Chris replied, looking up at the other.

Nick smiled. "My advice? Don't. Don't try to figure out that stuff now."

"...What?"

"You're focusing too much on the future to see the present. You're trying to figure out big questions like what you want out of life, where you see yourself in ten or twenty years, who you want to live with, what you'll do for the rest of your days... You have your whole life to figure that stuff out, y'know? There's no deadline, no rush. You can figure it out as you go. There's no harm in living life in the moment."

Chris sighed. "But what if later I regret a decision I make in the present? What if I choose the wrong path?"

"It's never too late to change paths. If you decide you don't like one, there's no rule that says you have to stick with it."

"But what if it ends up hurting people?" Chris snarled.

Nick put a paw on the wolf's shoulder. "The person that you hurt most in your life is yourself. No matter what other people do to you, it is how you deal with it that determines your happiness in life."

Chris digested this for a second. "You a philosopher or something?" he mused.

"I took a few classes here and there," Nick said with a smile. "I read some books too. But most of what I feel is true is from personal experience."

Chris struggled to take in so much wisdom at once. How do I know what he's saying is true, anyway? Chris obviously hadn't had that much "life experience" yet, being so young, but the hyena next to him didn't really look any older than he did. How can someone experience so much in so little time?

Maybe Nick had been hurt by someone in the past. Maybe he had been in a serious relationship and his significant other chose a different mate, or another life. But the hyena sure didn't act like any of this affected him, if these suppositions were true. Maybe it's because he chooses to forget (that would explain why he's in a bar). Or maybe... Could the other's advice really work? Was Chris hurting himself by trying not to hurt others? Is living in the moment really the way to live?

...Only one way to find out.

Chris' tense shoulders relaxed a bit. It would definitely be fun hearing more of Nick's wisdom. And like the other said, he had his whole life ahead of him if he wanted to be with a girl instead. But for now...

No harm living in the moment. "I'll take you up on your offer for a drink now, if that's alright," Chris said.

"Sure!" Nick said with a grin. "Hey Favian!"

The brightly-colored fox was there in an instant. "What can I do for you gentlemen?"

"I'd like another strawberry cider, myself. You?" Nick asked Chris.

Figure it out as you go. "I... I think I'll try a strawberry cider, too," the wolf said with a smile.