The Finest Little Honky Tonk on Skalga [13]

Thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the universe and thanks to the other fanfic writers for giving me the inspiration for this little masterpiece of nonsense I have cooked up. Thank you to u/rookamillion and u/Roddcherry for the artwork! Can’t forget, also got an awesome ficnap from u/Heroman3003

------

I also made a profile post with a synopsis for all four of my stories and each chapter with individual links to everything! If you haven’t caught up with Honky Tonk in a while or want to read the other series, that’s the place to start!

------

Intro: Halin got his own no Tiltva chapter, so Tiltva will get her own no Halin one. Let’s follow as she goes about the first half of her workday while she is in the latter stages of preparing to finally join the Honky Tonk band as a singer.

------

[First] | [Prev] | [Next]

------

Memory Transcription Subject: Tiltva. Venlil Singer in training at Little Branson. 

Date: [Standardized Human time] February 18, 2138

I watch him stand there stupidly at the edge of the street as Raymond’s car takes me and a few other employees into the sky. Just before Halin becomes an indecipherable dot on the ground, I see him startle at something behind him. A light giggle bubbles in my chest as I turn my gaze out onto the golden-glowing lake. Feeling a bit obligated for conversation with my coworkers, I turn my view back inside the car but see everyone is already absorbed into their pads for the commute to Little Branson.

I guess I don’t do a lot of talking with them during our flights anyway. Usually it's just Halin and me watching Bleat and MyHerd videos together.

Halin…

He’s been so much more… Close. Yeah, "close" is the word. He’s been so much closer since that day we spent swimming Ray and Thyla, but he’s still so avoidant! Breathe, the plan is still in motion; I got this.

------

I quickly step out of the car to get out of everyone’s way as we arrive at work. We all quickly split to our separate tasks, but I have a particular task that’s the envy of the whole company.

First meal with the owner and his daughter.

Normally it is just on virtue of tagging alongside Halin as he’s Ray’s right-tail man running the business, but Thyla insisted that I come anyway for first meal this waking. 

Unlocking the door with my own pad this time, I step inside the Oakley residence and take a deep, tasting breath as I take ear to the speedy tunes lofting out of the kitchen. On the air, flavors of cooked fruits and warm strayu flood my tongue, and I nearly let my mouth water at the thought of another one of Raymond’s meals. Strangely, I don’t taste anything savory in the air.

Huh, Raymond must not want any meat or meat substitute for myself or Thyla this paw. Oh Stars, here I am wondering why there isn’t meat to eat. Not long ago I sold the supplies that would be used to deal with someone with those thoughts. This cycle has been a wild ride…

Before I can reminisce too hard on my old job, a small missile hits my midsection, nearly knocking the air out of me. Instinctively, I lean down and wrap my arms tight around the fluffy and clothed little menace. Luckily giving me time to catch my own breath back, Thyla steps back and, with a wagging tail, waves at me. I notice this paw she has on another new dress, but this one has a few different parts with a white, short-sleeved top part and a knee-length blue cloth skirt.

“Mornin’ Tiltva!”

“Warm waking, Thyla! I love your dress! How is your paw so far?”

Thyla’s ears and snout turn a light blue as she twirls her dress for me quickly before resuming.

“It’s good! Dad said he thinks you’ll like his breakfast. Are you hungry?”

“Now that you mention it, I am hungry. Do you need any help setting the table?”

“No, I can do it.”

Following Thyla as she heads back into the kitchen and dining room area, I see Ray hovering over a baking dish on the stove as Thyla starts collecting plates and utensils for the table. Ray turns around and gives a wave before lowering the volume of the music and talking back at me despite still messing with the dish in front of him.

“Mornin’, Tiltva. Got any bruises on your stomach from that kiddo yet?”

I quickly run a paw across my belly and feel the slight tenderness from Thyla’s favorite impact zone.

“She doesn’t jump at me that hard…”

“...”

Ray’s silence speaks volumes as he completely stops his motion in obvious doubt at my statement.

“Okay, being completely honest, I checked last time because I thought there’d be one for sure this time, but nothing. Anyway, she can give me all the Thyla hugs she wants. I think she and I benefit from them equally.”

“Well, appreciate you treating my girly nice.” He turns to look at Thyla in the other room, ears raised as she very conspicuously listens in to us. “And Thyla, don’t think I don’t know you’re listening! Tiltva said you jumping at her hurts. Apologize, or she’ll stop letting you do it!”

Ray then takes an insulated mitt and picks up the dish he had been working on as he also grabs another tray with slices of toasted strayu and small wedges of what I’d learned is called avocado and others of lime citrus.. Noticing that the table is just missing drinks, I step to the refrigerator and pull out three pitchers, one of water, one of sugary lemon citrus juice, and the other with milk…

Joining the two at the table, we fill our own glasses as Raymond points towards his two dishes. The steaming dish is filled with slices of brown-speckled golden fruit, and with another scenting breath, I get a sharp sense of spice from the dish.

“Alright, Tiltva, this mornin’ we have apple crisp, which is baked apple slices with some cinnamon and oats, real sweet and nice. The other is toast with some avocado slices. Put the avocado on the toast with a bit of salt, pepper, and a drip or two of lime juice. Savory side of breakfast. And of course, milk for Thyla and myself only unless you want to take another try at it, Tiltva?”

I feel my stomach try to twist itself into knots to prevent entry of the potent white liquid before I quickly laugh it off with a flick of ‘Absolutely not’ with my ears and tail. As we dig into first meal, I hover my hand over my stomach again from where the bubbly little girl had jumped into me. As I do, I notice her focus right on me. I flick a ‘What?’ to which she flicks back a ‘Hurt? I’m sorry.’

Aw, she is sweet. Good thing she isn’t a Venlil pup, though; otherwise, that’d be a much harder head to take to the chest.

“I’m fine, Thyla, thank you. You guys just got back from Earth again, right? How do you like going to Earth now, Thyla?”

“Oh, I really like it there! Dad’s-I mean my family lives in these hills called the Ozarks, in Missouri, in the United States of America, which means they have more than just the big UN government; they have a country and a smaller country-thing inside that! Oh, it’s also really cold there during this season. Oh, and my family is all really touchy with me. They keep hugging and kissing me all the time! They’re really nice, I guess…”

I’m sure she gets plenty of attention there as a family member given how much of a hit she is here with the humans. Huh, maybe half of the Venlil-Farsul tension is just Farsul taking just as much attention from humans?

“That sounds like a wonderful time, Thyla. The flights there and back aren’t too bad, I assume?”

“Well, it takes five hours from Mirror Lake City to St. Louis, and then two hours on the train, and then the same back to Mirror Lake City when we leave, so it’s a lot of sitting around, but I keep sleeping for a lot of it.”

Raymond giggles with some food in his mouth as he quickly washes it down.

“By ‘sleeping,’ she means using me as a pillow while my hands go numb scratching at her head and ears for half of a day. It’s good though; everyone at home loves their Thyla. Anyhow, I think it’s time you get going, kiddo. School starts in an hour.”

Thyla's eyes widen before she scarfs down another few spoonfuls of apple crisp and then downs her glass of milk. She then bolts over to her backpack on the wall and nearly out of the house door but stops in her tracks. She then sprints back to us and wraps Ray in a hug.

“Bye, Dad, love you!”

“Love you too, have fun at school.”

Those two are just so adorable. I wonder if anyone thought the same of Dad and I…

With just the two of us now at the table mostly finished with first meal, Raymond turns his attention to me.

“So, Halin is out on an orthopedic appointment again. What are your plans for the day? Just practice on your own again and then together at our normal time? Still working on your ‘plan,’ right?”

“Yeah, plans for the paw are to practice on the stage before second meal and then after that join up with everyone around for main practice.”

“Sounds like a plan. Don’t worry about helpin’ with clean-up. I’ll handle it.”

“Are you sure you don’t want help?”

“I’m sure. Have some fun, good luck.”

With an ear-flick goodbye, I step up from the table but make sure to bring my own plate and glass into the kitchen despite Ray’s assurances otherwise. Only then do I leave the house and make my way over to the old ipsom barn containing what might be the only ‘Honky Tonk’ on Skalga. Slipping in through the employee entrance, I enter near the stage and release a happy sigh as I look out over the glowing dance hall. No artificial lights shine, as only the sunlight from the windows lights the barn. Stopping to listen and look for anyone else inside, I neither see nor hear anyone or anything.

Good. Just me and this music. Ray’s song while cooking has me inspired; the ‘bluegrass’ songs do need more practice, but first I better focus on my set.

I step on the stage and walk to the center, where a small stand waits. Booting up my translated music app on my pad, I connect to the hall speakers and set the pad in front of myself on the stand. I reach to my own ear and turn off the translator as the steel guitar and regular guitar kick in, and I mentally morph from Tiltva the failure anxious, to Tiltva the confident singer. I take a final deep breath and roll into my part.

“ɛvər sɪns ju lɛft mi, aɪv dʌn ˈnʌθɪŋ bʌt rɔŋ”

He hasn’t left me yet though, and I wouldn’t say I do any wrong.

“mɛni naɪts aɪv leɪd əˈweɪk ænd kraɪd”

Won’t pretend I haven’t been crying though

“wi wʌz soʊ ˈhæpi, maɪ hɑrt wʌz ɪn ə wɜrl”

My heart is always in a whirl with him.

“bʌt naʊ aɪm ə ˈhɔŋki tɔŋk ɡɜrl”

I guess that can’t be denied. Here I am singing at a honky tonk.

“soʊ tɜrn ðæt ˈʤukˌbɑks weɪ ʌp haɪ

And fɪl maɪ ɡlæs up while cry

I've lost ɛvriˌθɪŋ ɪn ðɪs wɜrld

And now I'm a honky tonk girl

I just can't make a right with all of my wrongs

Every evening of my life seems so long

I'm sorry and ashamed for all these things you see

But losing him has made a fool of me

So turn that jukebox way up high.

And fill my glass up while I cry

I've lost everything in this world

And now I'm a Honky Tonk Girl”

------

Song after song fills the hall, but before long I come upon the end of my assigned practice set. As I finish out the last note to match the twangy human instrument, I nearly jump into the air in fright as I hear a single set of tail thumps and whistles from within the dance hall. I look out to see a short old lady I’m all too familiar with getting herself a drink from behind the bar. Out of habit, I quickly turn my translator back on before yelling at her.

“Brelkam! You nearly scared the tail off of me!”

“Well, I couldn’t stand to interrupt you while you were doing such a wonderful job singing! You really do sound like a human woman singing!”

I feel my face flush orange, but before I can eke out a reply, she quickly pours a second drink of a rather different composition than her own and sits it on the bar next to hers, and she bugles out to me as she waves me over.

“I know that look, dear; you’re about to say something like, ‘Oh, it’s really nothing. I still need to get a lot better,’ and while practice makes perfect, I’m a bit worried you might actually believe it’s ‘nothing.’ Am I right, darling?”

Direct hit. I still am not great. I think…

“Spot on, actually.”

“I thought so. Now why don’t we share a drink and let your deep, pretty voice take a break?”

Huh, that might be the first time a Venlil aside from my closest friends called my voice pretty… Wait, drinks?

I take a seat next to Brelkam as I look down at my short glass of amber liquor with a small red fruit at the bottom, while she has her own glass filled with a liquid nearly the color of my stripes.

“Is Ray alright with us having drinks on the job?”

“‘Us’ having drinks on the job? Dear, you’re the employee, not me. I just bum food and drinks off the boy.”

“Well, that’s very nice of Ray, I guess.”

“Oh, it’s not, not paid for. My little Beg is kind enough to pay for her old mother’s tab with that big Chief Exterminator salary that she has. It’s not like she’s using it on a mate or grandpups…”

“Grandpups… Is Kam your only one?”

“That human want-to-be? No, he has a sister that is off doing who-knows-what in Dayside City for her Assistant Magistrate position. But those are my only two, with no sign of great-grandpups coming anytime soon. Unless you and Kam…”

My tail sinks as I can feel my face instantly flush a deep, sad orange at the statement.

“I-uh-Miss Brelka-”

Her serious demeanor only lasts for a moment before she breaks into whistles with her ears flicking all around.

“You should see the look of your tail and ears, dear! Oh my Stars, I got you good! Me and this whole compound know that you are after that Halin boy.”

The whole place…

“Everyone knows? Then why doesn’t Halin?”

“He’s just nervous. It’s silly from our perspectives, but I’d wager he’s just worried about not wanting to create any distance between you two.”

I guess I haven’t exactly helped with that in the last cycle.

“That’s why I have a plan. A plan I’ll enact very soon.”

“Oh my, now you’re scheming like my Beg. Tiltva, you have really grown into a bold young woman since we first met. Well, ignoring you giving that big ol’ lick to Halin at the Christmas party, that was pretty bold.”

As I finish my glass, the thought of what Brelkam’s milky-colored drink could contain finally breaks my curiosity.

“That means a lot, Brelkam, but I do have to ask, what is your drink, and why did you make me a different one?”

“Oh, this? This is a White Russian: good strong liquor mixed with coffee liqueur and milk cream.”

“Milk cream? Are you like Thyla, and you can actually drink that stuff?”

“Oh Stars, no dear, it makes me all types of gassy, but there’s no nose on this old Venlil, so it’s not really my problem.”

We simultaneously break out into deep whistling laughter as the absurdity of her statement echoes through the dance hall.

“Brelkam, that might be the funniest thing said to me in a whole herd of paws; the best part is I know you’re not lying.”

“Not lying even a bit. Now are you going to do another song?”

“Actually, I think I’ll get second meal before getting to the late paw practice with Ray.”

“Enjoy your meal, dear. Have a nice paw.”

“You as well, Brelkam!”

As I leave my glass on the bar and head back out of the dance hall, I take a quick moment to just close my eyes and feel the warmth of the sun and the humid breeze flowing off the lake. The crunching of shoes and paws on the paths around the site alerts my ears to the first patrons of the paw heading over to the restaurant. In the crowd I see a healthy mix of Venlil in with the normally strong human crowd during paws like this. My moment of silent relaxation done, I walk behind a small group and enter the restaurant with them.

With a flick of my tail to the Yotul hostess girl, I enter the human side of the building and take a seat at yet another bar. Around this side of the room, various types of meats are being consumed with all of the stealth and grace of a Mazic in a ceramic shop. My stomach briefly bubbles at the sight of bones in one man’s food before I quickly turn to just the bar itself. I wave to the bartender and give a light shout for my order of Ittelian icewine and a plate of preserved, sweetened stringfruit strands.

As I wait for my small meal to be served, I notice a human man take a seat beside me. Still not allowed in most places on Skalga, Ray’s property has no rules requiring face masks, allowing me to see the man staring hard into the side of my head as I stare off the wall mirror into the room behind me. 

“So, Miss? Miss right?”

Oh, he’s talking to me, isn’t he?

“Are you asking if I am a miss?”

“I-uh. How are you doing today?”

“I’m doing well, I guess. How are you, sir?”

“Great. I mean, I’m good... So, I don’t really see too many aliens on this side of the restaurant because of the, you know, but here you are.”

Meat? Yeah, it’s weird, but even I eat some fake stuff sometimes.

“Yep, here I am.”

“So, will you be here all day for the dance hall to open up? Because I was thinking that maybe we-”

Oh brahk, he’s asking me on a date! 

“Wait, we? Sir, sorry, I’m already taken.”

“Oh... Sorry, have a nice day.”

Stars, I was not expecting that at all, and I am taken as far as I’m concerned.

I watch the man return to his friends, who split into half of the group laughing at his expense while the other half consoles him for my shutdown. I notice the bartender bringing my food over with a speh-eating grin. Before I can even tell him to shut up, a familiar gray-wooled man with a cowboy hat and boots walks in, arms loaded with three boxes. He drops them off in the recently vacated chair beside me and quickly begins to unpack them without even a word to me.

“Kam! Is that what I think that is?”

“Yes, yes’n, howdy, and a fine good paw, Tiltva. Quite literally just got’en these delivered, and Ray tol’ me to find you and han’ ‘em over. So ‘ere’s you hat, boots, and dress. Yippee.”

Standing out of my stool, I take the smooth, knee-length red dress and without a care for the eyes of the room, I throw it on, taking a moment to make sure it sits well on my shoulders and gives my tail clearance. Then I take the white, synthetic-skin boots and put them on my feet, followed quickly by the white fur-felt hat on my head with clearance for my ears to go through the cutouts. Looking back at the mirror behind the bar, I twirl myself back and forth to gauge the outfit. A loud thunk echoes across the room as I look to see the human man from earlier has let his head drop onto the table with a groan.

At minimum, this outfit has one fan.

“Well, Tiltva, up to snuff?”

“It still feels weird on my tail, I think.”

“It’s a dress; that’s what dresses feel. Anyhow, congrats on da outfit. Ray said to meet ‘em at the house when you’re ready. ‘is meetings are done fer the paw.”

“Thank you, Kam. I-I, does it look nice at least?”

“Lookn' great, but am not exactly ‘un unbiased opinion on this’n type ‘o clothes.”

There goes his accent change again. He can’t keep it straight even after all this time practicing…

“Yeah, that’s right. See you later, Kam.”

“Farewell, Tiltva.”

Still in my new outfit, I retake my seat at the bar and watch as Kam takes the empty boxes away, leaving me to actually eat my second meal. Looking at myself in the mirror at the bar, I again catch a few stray gazes and even a not-very-subtle picture being taken of me as I eat and drink my small meal. A nervousness begins to bubble in my chest again at the attention, so I quickly finish up and wave bye to the bar staff as I exit the restaurant and start back over towards Ray’s house.

Just as I am getting close to his front porch, I hear the telltale thin hum of the hovercar coming in to land. I stop in my tracks and look behind me to see a familiar Farsul pup quickly throw open the car door as the screen door to the house now creaks open behind me. The little girl’s eyes light up as she sees me, and she comes running with her pack bouncing wildly like her long ears. I brace for a tackle that never comes as she much more softly hugs me and quickly releases.

“Hello, Tiltva! School let out early today!”

“Oh, why’s that?”

“There were some people protesting down the street, so they sent us all home. It’s alright because I finished my homework already while—Oh, your clothes! You look like Hilda when she—OH! Dad! I’m home!”

Thyla then sprints past me and jumps the last few tails of distance up and into her father’s arms. He lightly spins in place while pulling her tight into his chest. The force of the spin has no power over her tail as it flails wildly behind her as he stops the spin and sets her back on the ground.

“Welcome home, girly. How was school?”

“It was okay. You had the car pick me up because of the protest, but it was really fine because it wasn’t against me. Oh, Dad, we didn’t eat lunch because of it; can you make something?”

“Sure thing, let’s get something going.”

Ray rubs the top of her head as he begins to walk inside with her trailing close behind. He stops for a moment to look back at me, and with a wave over his shoulder to the door, he calls out.

“Come on, Tiltva, I think kiddo here would love to tell you about her day over lunch, and then we can get started. Your outfits looks great, by the way. Good choices for sure.”

I flick an ear in agreement and then in thanks and make my way towards the house. Thyla again gives her dad another big hug as they cross the house. The way they interact sends a pang of longing in my heart.

Oh, how I miss being in Thyla’s spot…

But that’s not to say I can’t be in Ray’s if things all go to plan. Just follow the plan…

------

[First] | [Prev] | [Next]