Guarded Ep. 07

The larger wolf quickly shifted and planted his left foot before snapping a kick out towards her. She could have blocked it but knew how much force he was probably bringing behind it and simply jerked her head back, the tip of his boot catching the crimson bangs of her hair faintly.

Some of the fans started screaming, others began cheering. The smaller dog clenched her teeth as the larger moved in quickly with a knee kick which she again slipped to the side before grabbing his leg and used his own movement to send him sprawling forward onto the stage. His recovery wasn't as graceful as her's but he quickly spun around and set himself once more in a stance.

"You're so popular right now, people are dying to see what you can do..." The larger dog growled the words as he changed stances once more, shifting into something that looked more akin to a karate stance.

"Looking for your fifteen minutes of fame by picking on a girl, little pup?" Tracey snarled the words and shifted her own stance to mimic him, showing she was happy to keep up.

"The whole internet will see my skill as an MMA fighter first hand after I take you down a peg!" The larger dog lunged in as if he were going to throw a jab.

Tracey whistled at the attack watching as his movement shifted in mid-swing, the wolf was obviously going in for a grapple and she knew it. The smaller wolf showed her canines and took the blow rather than counter it. Their arms locked as they grabbed one another at the shoulder. It was a similar lock she had shared with Dan on several occasions when she lost her cool.

"Ha! You came here for fame... but all you're getting is... jail time and humiliation!" Tracey barked the words into his face, her spittle hitting his cheeks.

"Shut up you stupid whore!" The larger dog pushed on her, baring his weight and moving to pivot her body against her. Tracey had been on the receiving end of the technique multiple times from the larger judo members of her dojo.

The bodyguard shifted and let the force come as she deftly slipped down and brought a leg out in a wide sweep. The sweep caught up the larger wolf and brought him toppling to the ground face first with a heavy drop. She had purposefully grabbed his rightmost hand that had outstretched to catch himself, letting his head bang into the stage with a thud.

"This is my ram's stage, not yours pup. Tuck your tail and walk away, save yourself anymore embarrassment." The wolf huffed the words while disengaging from the larger dog, putting a hand on her hip looking bored. The audience was cheering and clapping at this point for her as the other wolf climbed to his feet, he was obviously stunned from the drop to the floor.

Two members of the security team were already around them with a few more closing, but none of them seemed to know what to do with the situation since both the wolves were obviously in a duel. Leo looked slightly panicked seeing his partner outright locked into a fight before him, unsure if he should try to help her or not.

"Stupid bitch!" The larger dog snarled the words and pounced at her. The two locked once more and Tracey grinned up at him defiantly.

The grip to her bad shoulder sent a jolt of pain down her spine but the smaller dog seemed to just focus it into more adrenaline. "Oh yes... this was what I wanted..." The smaller of the wolves panted the words and slammed her forehead to the larger dog's, grinning and glaring into his eyes with a growl. "You don't get this kind of action watching government..."

The large dog winced from the impact, seeing stars for a moment but kept bearing down on the bodyguard with his full weight once more. "Stupid... whore... you think you can beat me?!"

"I know I can beat you, puppy!" Tracey barked the words out joyously before shifting and bending her knees. The larger wolf felt the shift, thinking she was trying for a leg sweep again and bared down, keeping a grip on her shoulders so she couldn't pivot.

She let him bear down and used his weight to bring him in close as if embracing him in a hug. She snapped her knee up in a vicious blow to the larger dog's midsection. The impact made the bigger wolf's whole body shudder before he barked out in a gagging cough his eyes rolling up and slumped forward against the smaller wolf's shoulders.

Tracey grinned, feeling the rush of adrenaline taper off as the bigger dog practically was laying over her standing form now. "Ha... but like my boyfriend, I also enjoy putting on a show sometimes..."

The small wolf steps to the side, letting the larger one topple to the ground in a heap. Knowing she was still being recorded she casually flicked her tail towards the audience and gave the ram a knowing grin before sauntering up to him.

"Are you okay?" Her ear flicked as she heard herself on the feedback of the speakers, the feed still live in his headset.

"Y-yeah... are you?" The idol asked with worry in his voice, both of them looking over as the security was dragging the guy off the stage.

"That was nothing but a little puppy trying to be a grown wolf, get back to your fans. Tell them I'm sorry for stalling your show." She gave a grin, knowing they could all hear her through the feed anyway, then sauntered back behind the curtains of the stage.

Leo blinked a few times and looked over the audience, some of them were cheering for the wolf, others were still looking stunned and there was a small murmur of chatter that was filling the whole concert hall. He looked back at his band and then to Max and Tracey on the sidelines before turning his attention back to the thousands of people looking upon him.

"S-so uh... terribly sorry about that my loves! Let's uh... hear it for my lovely bodyguard, Tracey!" The idol called the words out into the stadium as the fans seemed more than happy to do whatever he wanted, cheers, and applause starting to fill the building.

Tracey put her hand to her forehead and groaned as the rush of the encounter finally left her body. "Gawd that was so embarrassing... Seriously, why do these security guys even have jobs?"

Max sucked a breath in through his teeth and rubbed his mostly bald head with his handkerchief. "This is a disaster... the label is going to lose their minds when this gets out... I am happy you're safe though, Tracey."

"This is like some kind of gunslinger shit... the hell was that guy thinking?" The wolf barked the words then frowned at the realization of it all. "This is my fault on this one... damn it..."

"D-don't think like that, Tracey!" The rat huffed out and clenched his fists. "You're here to protect him, it's not your fault in any capacity!"

"If anything, this is going to make him even more popular." Trixie chimed in from behind them, grinning as she folded her arms.

"T-the fuck do you know?! I never wanted him at risk over me!" The wolf growled the words at the llama as she walked further back into the stage to start to circle around to the other side.

"Causation is a bitch, Tracey." Trixie followed after her, walking with her as she moved to the other side of the stage. "However, had you not shown up the last few times, what would have happened then?"

"I know that! But..." The wolf frowned and folded her arms over her stomach, watching her ram on stage. He was singing and entertaining his fans, the ache in her shoulder now letting itself be known while she watched, "I don't want to take this from him... I don't want to be the cause of him losing it..."

"Are you crazy? This little stunt and the one prior is going to make his popularity skyrocket!" The llama pushed at the wolf's shoulder gently so she looked at her. "You already knew his career was on the way out, right? How many pop idols make it to twenty or more?"

"I know that!" Tracey barked the words, an edge to her voice now as her tail thrashed.

"So like it or not you just gave him a major injection of popularity. If anything... you've probably extended his career by at least a year or more now." The llama put her hands on her hips and watched the ram strut around on the stage for a few moments before clicking her tongue. "He's a pain in the ass but he really does love his fans..."

"Yeah..." Tracey stood there watching him sing and huffed out, closing her eyes for a second, trying to take the moment in.

The show came to a close and the ram and wolf found themselves back in the dressing room. "Are you sure you're okay? Everything happened so fast." The idol called out from his chair, a slight pant still on his breath.

"You kidding? He didn't have a prayer. I'm perfectly fine." She huffed out and rolled her bad shoulder, truth be told it ached like hell, but she wouldn't worry him about that.

"How about your shoulder?" The ram asked pointedly, as if he had already processed her intention to keep quiet.

"It's fine my ram." The wolf huffed the words out trying to sound bored.

"Yeah, bullshit... should I get you a cold pack or ice?" Leo was already standing from the chair as he spoke.

"Stupid sheep, you just finished working, stop worrying about me!" Tracey growled the words and stomped over to him, shoving at his chest and pushing him back down into the chair.

Leo grunted as he hit the chair and grabbed Tracey by the wrist pulling her forward. The smaller dog yipped out as she tumbled into his lap hands resting on his chest and blinking up at him.

The ram grinned and shoved a hand against the wolf's butt, pulling her closer, feeling her breasts pushing to his chest as she slid her palms along his shoulders and embraced him tightly. "I was really scared to see you fighting, but you were really cool on stage too..." The ram cooed the words down into her ears gently.

"Nothing cool about it, I felt more like a bully than anything else." The wolf grinned and rested her forehead to his chest, listening to his heart, still beating slightly elevated from his show.

"I was worried all the same. I didn't know what to do, I wanted to help you, to protect you." The ram spoke the words with a little remorse in his voice now.

The wolf snorted a laugh and shook her head. "Damn, did you forget what my job is, Leo?" Tracey grinned up at him then showed her teeth with a playful smirk. "Or does it hurt your ego to be protected by a giiiiirl?"

"It's not an ego thing. I just-"

Tracey grinned and pushed her fingertips to his lips. "I get it, I do..." She shifted up off his lap and pushed her forehead to his own, huffing softly. "You've done so much for me... Even in this short span of time... You say you want to be my rock and bear my burdens. Then I will be your shield and protect you."

"Thank you..." The ram rests his forehead to her own, then lifts his ears in concern. "But... what if he had been carrying a weapon?"

The wolf gave him a blank look like he was dumb then grabbed his wrist, guiding his hand off her ass and further up to the small of her back, letting him clearly feel the outline of the holster and gun. "Then he would have gone to a morgue instead of jail."

Leo gave her a shocked look and pulled his hand away from the gun. "W-would you really have killed him?"

Tracey frowned at the look and slid off his lap, giving a shrug. "Of course I wouldn't unless it was unavoidable." The wolf grit her teeth, showing her sharp canines as she growled and clenched her fist, "But if someone were going to hurt you... yes, without hesitation I would."

His eyes shifted downward at the words, feeling his cheeks grow warm but also feeling unsettled at the thought of her doing such a thing. Tracey saw the body language and gave the ram a gentle smile. "Relax, again it would only happen that way if I had no other choice. I like to think I'm a good shot, I would always try to disable someone before killing them."

"Have you... ever shot someone?" The idol asked her hesitantly.

"Gods no!" Tracey barked the words and put her hand to her forehead as if she had a headache coming on. "I could only imagine the pain in the ass that would be..."

Her ear lifted as she heard a knock on the door before Max opened it and walked in. Tracey turned back to Leo and put her hands on her hips with a smile. "Relax my ram, hopefully, it's a bridge neither of us ever need to cross."

The manager walked up and looked between the two of them. "Well, I just got off the phone with the label. I figured I should warn them before it got out to them through the media."

"Yeah? How did that go?" The ram asked dryly as if he didn't really care what they thought.

"They asked if people got it on video." Trixie chimed in as she trotted into the dressing room with the three of them.

"Seriously?" Tracey growled, her annoyance evident.

"The label knows what side of the bread their butter is on. So long as they're not going to get sued or have to lose money over it, they will be happy for the extra publicity." Max folded his arms and frowned, the look on his face showing he didn't agree with the decision.

"Well, I hope they don't expect me to start putting on a show every concert for their asses!" Tracey barked the words out, folding her arms over her stomach and glaring at no one in particular.

"Fans can be stupid with their fervor, but they will sniff out a fake scene like a bloodhound." Trixie hummed the words while raising a finger.

"Tell that to the people that watch pro wrestling." Leo chimed in while waving a hand.

"Everyone knows that's about as real as a soap opera. No one thinks it's legit." The wolf spoke as she stepped over to her duffle bag.

"Heh... well, I got a backstage video of the whole thing, my blog is going to go crazy once I upload this." Trixie cooed the words as she waved her cellphone about.

"You have a blog?" Tracey called out curiously.

"Sure. I show off my cosmetology and work I do here on tour. Networking is life in this day and age." The llama spoke the words with a grin as she slides her phone back into her pocket.

"I would flip my shit and tell you to leave me off it, but I saw at least two dozen people recording me during that shit, so I guess do what you've gotta do." The bodyguard grumbled the words as she hefted the bag over her shoulder.

"Regardless the label is fine with this situation since it's just going to make you more popular, Leo baby. It also looks like they've gone ahead with the other two stops, so our stretch through the plains won't be as dull as we thought." The rat chimed the words out with a cheerful squeak.

"Cool, then they can give me a bonus for working more shows than I agreed to, help me recoup the loss I took giving everyone a raise." The idol said dryly as he stood from the chair and moved over to the mirror to clean his face off.

"Leo baby, Uh... I'm not sure-"

"Then I'm not sure I will do the other shows. Do I need to call them myself Max?" The idol barked the words out sharply, glaring at the manager through the mirror.

The rat focused his gaze back at him through the mirror and snorted through his nose. "No, you're right, I will tell them and work it out, that's my job."

"That's why you're paid the big bucks." The llama cooed the words as she walked past the rat and trotted out of the dressing room.

"So does this change things? Are we doing a hotel tonight or hopping right back on the bus?" The idol asked while wiping paint off his horns.

"We can still do the hotel tonight, but it will be a tight window to get to the next venue." The rat spoke the words as he looked through his phone, obviously checking the schedule.

"Cool. Once I've gotten cleaned up at the hotel I'm stepping out for a few hours with Tracey." The ram scrubbed the last of the stars off his cheek while speaking, "Have one of the assistants get her a nice dress and tell the limo company I need them longer."

"Oh? Not even going to ask me?" The wolf grinned at the ram through the mirror, her free hand on her hip, the other still holding her duffle bag slung over her shoulder.

Leo turned and grinned at her, flicking his tail. "No, I'm not. I'm taking you out to dinner. A proper dinner, not some lunch date or quick bite to eat at a truck stop."

The wolf gave the ram a grin, her cheeks growing dark at the confident tone and demand for her company. "You know I'm happy to have your company no matter what, it doesn't have to be so formal."

Max rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You guys are great. Let me get out of here before it gets too mushy though." The rat flicks his tail and passed by Tracey giving her a glance. "Limo to the hotel leaves in ten minutes, I'll meet you at the exit."

"Got it." The wolf grinned and gave the rat a slap on the shoulder before he stepped out. She turned to the ram and gave him another smile, "I appreciate you, Leo... In a lot of ways."

The idol grinned at his bodyguard and moved over to her. His hand drifted to her free one, grasping and offering a faint tug as he moved towards the door. Tracey grinned and walked with him to the door, hand in hand. The two of them made their way to the exit of the venue and on to the waiting limo.