A preview for an upcoming commission, featuring some smoking, furry changes. enjoy!
Today had been going nice and normal for once. Rachel and JD were having an early dinner at a local Italian restaurant, eating on their patio with the weather being nice for once. It was even mostly empty, which made it feel like they had the place to themselves.
“Sure.” JD gave her a little smirk before smiling warmly. “Well, it's just nice to be out with you and have dinner.”
“I getcha.” Rachel smiled back. “Just the two of us, chatting and enjoying one another.”
JD replied, but she didn't fully hear him. Her gaze wandered over his shoulder, all the way over to a few tables past them.
Besides them, the patio had only one other person there, sitting alone. It was a woman. She looked rather anxious, nervous, even a bit bothered by something. She fidgeted in her chair, occasionally checking her phone and looking at something on the table.
That something was a small, wooden box. It didn’t look like it belonged to the restaurant, meaning she brought it in. It seemed to be a potential cause of her woes. Rachel couldn't have guessed what they could've been.
Rachel also couldn't have guessed the lady's next actions. She suddenly got to her feet and hurried over to the patio's railing. She suddenly jumped it like a hero jumping a fence in an action movie and rushed down the parking lot. She disappeared behind some cars.
…the hell was that? Rachel had never seen a dine-and-dash before, but she was pretty sure they didn't usually play out like that! Plus, shouldn't she have gotten her food or even drinks first before dashing off? Everything about what just happened baffled her.
Then there was that little box. The woman had left it behind. It seemed like such a big deal to her, but she had ditched it.
After everything, curiosity was overwhelming. “H-hey, I'm gonna hit the bathroom. I'll be right back!”
“Sure! No problem.” JD nodded, digging back into his garlic bread. Apparently, he hadn't noticed what went down.
Rachel left and casually wandered over to that woman's table, glancing back to see if JD was looking or not. With the coast clear, she picked up the wooden box. It felt light and, giving a gentle shake, sounded like whatever was in there was light as well.
Opening it up, she found a curious item. On red, velvet-esque cushioning, there was a cigar and a silver lighter of all things.
Wasn't expecting that! Rachel curiously looked at the items. The cigar had gold foil wrapped around its center, an “A” embedded into it. The lighter had a similar-looking “A” on it as well, though with a bit more flourish around the letter.
The blue-haired woman examined it until her curiosity was satisfied. It wasn't anything she was interested in, thinking it would be best to let the waitress know about it when she got back. She began to set it back down, ready to get back to her lovely evening.
However, she found herself just not quite ready to do so. She stared longer at the lighter and even longer at that cigar. She could sense the scent of tobacco in the air, rising from the stogie towards her nose despite it not being lit. She didn't smoke…