He walked back from The Outback....crossing to the stables. A quick spring sends him up to the sloping roof. A few paces and from there another short leap onto the roof of the Inn.

His steps were silent on the roof, nobody in the rooms below would be aware of his passing. He comes to the corner where the roof of the Inn joins with that of the Great Hall, and steps over the edge. A quick pivot, his hands grab the edge of the roof, his body swinging in an arc. Releasing his hands his momentum takes him through an open window and into his room, landing in a crouch with the slightest of thumps.

Rising from the crouch, he slips his side pouch off his shoulder, slinging it over a hook on the wall. Turning towards the side room, he pulls his shirt off over his head and tosses it on the bureau. There's steam rising from the tub in the corner of the room, just as it always does. The leggings lay on the floor where he steps out of them.

First one leg, then the other lift over the edge of the tub. His tail curls about his leg, out of the way as he lowers himself into the water. The warmth wraps around his muscles as he sinks in up to his chest. With a deep yawn, his arms reaching overhead, he stretches....holding that position for a few moments. The warmth seems to increase as he lowers his arms again, the muscles all up and down his body relaxing.

Sliding lower in the water, it's soon up to his chin. His eyes close as his head falls back against the rim of the tub, his long black hair draped over the edge. One leg braces up against the opposite end of the tub, the claws on his toes extending and retracting as he flexes the feline foot. Him mind begins to replay the things that happened over the course of the day. In particular, those of the last few hours. Specifically, about Janella.

What is it about her that has him so intrigued" That seems to draw him to her" She is definitely nice to look at. If it was just that....well....if it was just that he'd try and bed her and be done with it. No. Maybe it was that when he first saw her months ago, before leaving RhyDin. But not now. Maybe it was the events of those months he was gone.

Maybe it was just that she was so different than anyone he knew. Her temper, her humor, her strength, her beauty. Hmmmm...Well, he wasn't going anywhere in the near future. And as far as he knew, neither was she, so there was time to figure out this puzzle.

Shifting a bit in the tub, his foot dropping, his head slides slowly under the water. Bubbles continue to float to the surface after the ripples have calmed. Then slowly a hand, one lacking in thick black fur grips the rim of the tub. A second grips the opposite edge. Then the head, the face of the man inside the cat breaks the surface. A shake of the head whips his hair about, sending a spray of water against the wall.

Reaching for the bar of soap and hand towel near the tub, he spends a few minutes scrubbing the dust and dirt from his body. Another dunking under water rinses it all away. Wringing as much water from his hair as possible, he rises and steps from the tub. The night air feels refreshing as it hits the water beading his body. Taking a deep breath he drinks in that night air as he makes his way back to the main room.

Flipping back the covers on the bed, he slides under the sheet and lays back against the pillow. Before his mind can wander back to thoughts of Janella, or anything else, he's drifted into a deep sleep.

Animal Attraction 11-SEP-1998

Moving quietly through the courtyard, he came up to the building known as The Outback. He hadn't been in RhyDin since spring, having headed to the northern plains to do some work. It wasn't that he needed the gold. It was the challenge of the work. He'd spent nearly four months being a tracker....helping hunt down more than just local game.

Shoving open the door to The Outback and stepping in, his feline eyes quickly adjusted to the sudden change in lighting. His ears and whiskers twitching slightly as the noise and smells of the room rushed him. One smell, no two, were of particular interest to him. The first was lingering over near the rings, attending to the nights duels. The other was the ale in the kegs behind the bar.

Moving behind the bar he grabbed a mug and filled it up with some Banes Brew. The first half a mug went down rather quick. A stranger, at least to him, was over near the ring, and seemed to be fawning over Janella. Throwing out compliments as she tried to concentrate on the ongoing duel. Topping it off he moved over towards the rings. He hadn't really planned on coming back tonight....but she had said something about wanting to discuss something. That was more than enough for him to let her know he was planning on returning anyways.

He wasn't paying much attention, but his interest was piqued again when for some reason the conversation between Janella and the stranger turned to murder. He nearly spilled some ale when he had to sidestep the fool as he finally understood what she was meant when she had murdered before, and fainted. He finally awoke and scrambled out of the building, murmmering about something or another.

He spent the remainder of the evening casually watching the fights, conversing a bit with Janella and the others, doing a bit of thinking. She had intrigued him since he first met her. Of course it was her looks that first caught his attention. Only a blind man would not notice the well placed and ample curves of her body. But there was more than that. Maybe it was the way she carried herself, or her somewhat dark history. In any case, her gruff, mysterious exterior only served to pique is curiosity all the more. A curiosity that only seemed to grow the more he got to know her.

The last of the duels had finished, and he thought they were getting ready to go, when Janella jumped from the couch and seemed like she was about to kill one of the men who was just dueling. He barely caught what the excitement was about. The target of her wrath seemed to make a quip about Janella being wed. From his own talks with her, he know that was not a good thing to do. He didn't know the details, just that she had been married at one point, and now wasn't. And was very vocal when it came to the topic of being married again. Vocal to the point of willing to inflict painful, physical damage, as this gent was seemingly about to find out.

Almost as abruptly as she fired up, she backed down again, grabbing her things, making ready to leave. She did take a moment to remind him that there was something she wanted to talk about, so he moved to follow her out the door. Her stride was fast and purposeful as they left The Outback, but slowed a bit as they made their way through the courtyard behind the Dragon's Hall. He turned to look at her a moment.

"You know....that odd fellow was right." he said as he stopped walking.

Her gaze indicated she was trying to figure out what he was referring to.

"You are quite stunning..." he continued.

Her expression seemed to lose a bit of it's edge as she chuckled at his words. He thought he even detected a hint of a smile.

"Some think so, perhaps." she replied. "My ex-husband may have as well, at one time." The fact she brought up the ex again this night did not escape him. She stepped around in front of him and continued to talk. She spoke of the Opals, the ranks in the Duel of Fists sport who are bestowed a magicked rock. He knew of them, but only in passing. Their presence came about after he had left RhyDin for an extended period last year, and he never bothered to learn much about them. The one thing he did know, about the magic, he didn't care for.

Janella, like himself, was no high fan of magic, and it's presence in a sport of combat did imitate him some. He listened as she told of a man who had contacted her to get rid of the Opals. Knowing her history as well as anyone, he had to ask what was meant by getting rid of them. It did relieve him to hear the stranger was after the stones, and not those who held them. Claimed they would be destroyed.

He was mulling this over while she continued to speak of what her payment would be. In exchange for the stones, she would be given information on the where abouts of her ex-husband. She must have noted the....surprise in his eyes for she quickly added that she didn't seek him out of love.

He wondered out loud about her needing, or wanting his help in getting the stones. She seemed to think that despite his recent and extended absences, that he still held some influence in these parts. The mood was seeming a bit too serious and by instinct he released a quip about being wanted for his mind instead of his body. It seemed to have the desired effect, at the least he got a small laugh from her.

He felt himself being drawn in by her words as she spoke a bit more of this stranger, and the things she felt from her encounter with him. No other plans had yet been made, but it would have to wait as it was getting quite late. He suggested getting together in the next day or two so they could discuss it more.

"I'd love to strategize with you." she said, then agreed it was late and she needed some rest. Then she added a comment about not wanting to miss *this* opportunity, and adding some intrigue to his usual hunting.

He was just about to let her go when he stopped her. "Before you go..." he started. As she turned back to face him, he took a step forward. Reaching his hand towards her head, almost as if to brush her hood aside, he wondered if she wouldn't grab for the hand and try to put him on the ground for such a transgression. Instead, she held fast as he slid his hand around her neck, pressing his body up to hers, pressing his lips to hers.

She was only a few inches shorter than he, he barely had to tilt his head to kiss her. He'd wanted to do this for quite some time, and silently chided himself for having waited as long as he did. The kiss lasted but mere moments, but he felt the passion in it, a passion he readily returned. All too quickly she stepped back from him, his hand falling slowly back to his side.

"I'll find you again, soon." she said, with what he dared hope was a smile on her face. As she turned towards the Inn, he replied with a simple "g'night 'nella." and slipped off into the shadows.