Animalistic

That's the tea

"Kur-plunk."

Volio stiffens a bit, hitting some bump in the road while pulling into the parking lot of Jakey D's, the bar the group of three animals were supposed to pick up an eccentric panther they met only a few hours ago at. Max opens the door as soon as Volio safely parks, feeling a buzz in his phone at the very same time. He pulls it out of his pocket, finding a call from one of his dancing partners, a vertically-challenged puma named Monty. Max declines the call with a scoff, deciding he was too busy to answer it at the moment. As he continues to follow his best friend and his fiance inside, he looks behind him. Max notices Volio has parked in a handicap spot. None of them have a handicap placard. 

Max feels a cold breeze against his face when the wolf in front of him opens the entrance door. Max quickly spots his bartender friend sitting along in a corner booth, looking like he very badly wanted someone to sit with him. Zandar has changed outfits since the last time Max saw him, now wearing a pair of bright orange exercise shorts and a sleeveless tee that reads "Big Daddy". Volio struts up alongside Max, commenting on Zandar's change of clothes. "I like your shirt."

"Oh, hey people." Zandar says, acting like he just now notices the animals standing in front of him. The panther stands up, straightening out his clothes. According to Max's judgement, it seems to be the only thing straight about him. "Alright" Starts the panther, "I asked my manager, giving him the whole 'Purple beefy kangaroo' situation, and the description the antlered one gave me. He claims to know exactly who you're talking about, but she hasn't been by lately at all."

"Darn." Comments Aaron, "I don't know what we were expecting."

Max sighs a little bit, smiling at his panther friend. "It would really help if she had any social media presence at all, but I can't find anything." Zandar gives him a concerned look, reconsidering something in his head. 

Max's paws clench with a jolt, as he realizes the stupidity of the decision he made in the parking lot. He quickly dials Monty, somewhat apologetic for missing her call. He speaks very quickly, "Hi, sorry for missing your call, I-" 

"Hi, Max." responds the puma's voice, interrupting the jackalope. "Don't do it again. What I was trying to tell you was... Well, you know my friend Cas?"

"You mean the leader of the rival dance team?"

"Our crews don't have leaders, Max.  Although I suppose I can admit she is kind of the boss of them. Anyway, she called me a while ago, and asked me for your number. I gave it to her. However, I dislike when people give out my numbers without my permission, so I'm telling you now that I gave out your number. Feel grateful."

Max's ears shift positions, as he glances back at Volio, making a face. "Actually, I-kind-of-need-her-number-too-"

"That's nice, I gotta go." Monty hangs up abruptly. 

Everyone who had overheard that call, being the three animals Max was accompanied by, stared at the phone held in Max's paw, expecting something at any second. With incredible timing, the phone lights up with a notification from an unknown number. It's a text reading:

"Midnight. Behind Goodwill. Show up or you'll never see Pinky or Gothic again."