The Starlight Tavern receives a new face in the form of a badger who happens to be a professional race car driver. How will the others react?

A New Face

Business at the Starlight Tavern resumes as usual, with Scarlett and Warwick guarding the door. Basically, Warwick is the one guarding the entrance while Scarlett is providing backup behind the counter. But so far, things have been boring recently. Work has been quite slack and patrons were very few. The only activity is just Scarlett wiping down the bar section.

Warwick is standing by his usual position by the doors when the sudden deep rumbling of a Modular V8 approaches. Being the first to notice, Warwick becomes astonished when he sees a rare vehicle pulling up to the curb. "Is that a Brabham BT62??"

Excusing himself, Warwick jogs outside to meet the driver when he stops, observing a male badger exiting from the right side of the car. The badger, upon noticing the striped hyena, greets him with a winking smile. "Ah, Warwick! It's been a while!"

Absent-mindedly, Warwick is pulled into a hug by the badger where he also returns the gesture. Finally, his mind compels him to speak after a moment of silence. His chartreuse eyes bear incredulous surprise with him whispering, "Ren… but how?? It's been a long time and now you show up? Weren't you still in the racing business?"

Fiddling with his tie a bit, Ren explains, "I'm still in the professional leagues, though I also have my other job as a bartender. I heard they're looking for more bartenders, so I jumped at the chance."

"But aren't you worried about this," the striped hyena gestures both hands to the green / gold Brabham BT62 "being stolen??"

Ren brushes off the concern with a wave of his hand and admits, "Truthfully, I'm not concerned because I installed a security system on my car. Anyone who even attempts to break in will have the police on them in a heartbeat."

Warwick perks his ears up from mention of a security system having been installed on the Brabham. Instinctively, the striped hyena whirls to the parking lot to view his gold AMC Javelin AMX 'Defiant', thinking about what he could do with his own hot rod. He turns back to Ren and admits, "I never thought about equipping a security system until you brought it up just now. Whenever someone tried taking something from me, I always had a gun by my side."

Ren folds his arms and scoffs, "Having a gun by your side isn't always going to save you. Sometimes you just gotta let them go. Anyways, I'm curious about this place. What's it like there?"

"The Starlight Tavern?" Warwick turns to the local bar, directing Ren's attention to the building. Leading Ren inside, the striped hyena explains, "This Tavern has good service, but it's also a hotspot for gang activity. Best to be prepared, just in case anything funny happens."

Ren admits with a sigh, "I was part of a gang once, but after facing jail time and a fine or community service, I decided to clean up and get myself back on track." Catching Warwick's surprised expression, Ren giggles at the hyena and teases him, "Man, you hyenas look so cute like that, it should be a natural charm! But anyways," the badger simply shakes his head in amusement, resuming his conversation, "like I said, I cleaned myself up. I'm surprised that I even went into professional racing. Not only that, but my wife has been supportive ever since we've been married."

"Who's the girl, if you don't mind me asking?" Warwick gives Ren an inquisitive head tilt and an equal stare to match. This only makes the badger chuckle in return with him elaborating, "A badger like me, but she is beautiful throughout. And it's not just her appearance that's striking, it's her personality. She makes me feel special and she loves me, just like I love her."

Warwick sighs and slouches over slightly in defeat, "I see… I wish I had a woman to call my own. You're really fortunate to have found someone to cherish forever."

Ren assures him with a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, "Rest assured Warwick, you'll find that special someone eventually. All it takes is patience to find the right one."

The two finally make their way back inside the tavern, with Ren meeting Scarlett in the process. And with Warwick taking up his position again as bouncer, he observes the interchange for a little bit when he suddenly hears movement nearby. Whipping his head around, the striped hyena tenses up, ready for a confrontation when he relaxes, seeing the familiar face of Spencer. "Oh, it's you. I was ready to jump on you."

"I have a proposition for you - an assignment if you're interested." Instead of his usual greeting, Spencer gets down to business in hopes of having Warwick on his side. But after stealing a glance at Scarlett, the striped hyena gangbanger does a double take - only then does he see a male badger speaking with her.

Discreetly, Spencer whispers in Warwick's ear, "Warwick, you see that badger over there? I recognize him."

"I know." Warwick whispers in return, "That's Ren Masterson. Was he part of your posse by any chance?"

"I'll admit, yeah he was. But he was later arrested. Got clean, rumors started buzzing around him going to some kind of professional racing field. Now here he is, acting as a barkeep." Shaking his head slowly, Spencer keeps his nose to the floor, incredulous.

"You don't think jail time changed me for the better?" Warwick openly shrugs his arms for emphasis while directly facing Spencer. "If I was still the way I was before, I'd be dead or still in prison."

"Life sentence, huh?" The two hyenas glance back at the fox and the badger for a bit when Spencer marches over to meet the badger personally, seeing whether or not he recognizes him.

"Ren Masterson!!" Spencer calls out to the badger while marching to meet him and Scarlett. And the way the striped hyena is coming is to intimidate them. The conversation between the two is interrupted where Ren whirls around to see Spencer waltzing toward him. The badger isn't fazed, but he does light up in recognition upon seeing him. "Spencer Mariner! It's been a while!"

"So you do recognize me, after all! Buddy, you don't look like the type to be a bartender." Warwick cautiously steps over to join Spencer, making sure things are under control. But what Spencer does next catches everyone by surprise.

In an attempt to assert his dominance, Spencer closes the gap, getting up close and personal to Ren to visually inspect him. The badger is unaffected, blankly staring down the gangbanger. When Spencer begins to gently rub Ren's cheek, the badger slaps his hand away and raises his right hand to reveal a turquoise studded wedding ring on his ring finger. "Dude, we've been through this nonsense before and I told you to stop doing that. It wasn't funny back then and it certainly isn't funny now. In case you haven't noticed, I'm officially married."

"Oh what, are you gay now?" The words fly out of Spencer's mouth faster than his mind processing the information. While Scarlett's mouth drops in utter shock, Warwick smacks an open palm to his face in a hard facepalm. As for Ren?

Spencer finds himself dazed and picking himself up off the floor after being sucker punched and pimp-slapped by the badger - a red handprint on the left side of Spencer's face is the result. And poor Ren is left shaking his hand while fuming at the gangbanger, "Call me 'gay' one more time and a handprint and bruised jaw won't be the only result. Who do you think you are to assume such a baseless, pointless position such as that?? You're very stupid if you think I swing that way. I don't play the tambourine if that's what you assume. I am married to a beautiful female badger who also happens to be a doctor, and I can arrange for her to make a simple doctor's visit look like an accident." The enraged badger retrieves his smartphone to prove his point. He pockets it and, grabbing Spencer by his collar, prepares to throw him out.

"Spencer, you really screwed up this time." Warwick is next to Ren, also seeing the gangbanger being tossed out, yet unlike Ren, Warwick has a bit of pity in his green eyes.

Spencer is shoved roughly out the door, where he discreetly whispers in Warwick's ear, "I have a safehouse I can fall back on. I want you and your team to meet me there for the job offer I have planned for you."

Before Warwick can respond, Spencer's phone begins vibrating, leading the striped hyena to retrieve it to see who's calling him. Recognizing the number, he answers. However, his eyes widen in alarm and he exclaims, "Look Warwick, there's no time! An urgent situation has developed and I need to get there quick! Can you give me a lift??"

"I don't mind, though I should tell Ren and Scarlett first. Should I bring my team with me though?" Although Warwick has no qualms about providing service to Spencer, the bouncer also wanted to make sure he knows what he's getting into.

"I will leave that decision to you but the situation is urgent! No time to explain!" Spencer exclaimed. He hurries to the gold AMX while Warwick explains the situation to Scarlett and Ren before leaving the tavern and rushing to his car, withdrawing his car keys from his pocket.

~~~~~

Scarlett belongs to AzulunaStudio from ToyHouse; Warwick Durham and Ren Masterson belong to me!