Topic: Frustration - June 30, 2000

Panther

Date: 2006-07-06 13:19 EST
He stormed out of the Inn, having just left the Arena....leaving her there. Turning from the staircase and heading out into the night, the back door slams closed behind him. "Damn it all!" he mutters to himself. He had gone down there looking for her, in a good mood....but now....cripes.

He stops in mid-stride, half way across the back courtyard. He takes a deep breath "damn." - it almost hisses out of him. He's not mad at her. He's mad at himself. He should know better, it's not her fault Jesse showed up....and what should he expect anyways? He was in the Arena, and he's a Baron. Gee, imagine him showing up there.

He had let himself get carried away....they'd been able to spend a lot of time together these last couple days as they we're working out the details of this latest scheme....this way of getting Bargos. And he had good news too, his poking around incognito was starting to show results. Inquiries were reaching back to him that there may be some interest in the ring. Hopefully the right parties were also getting the word.

Another deep breath as he glances around the court yard. A couple of bounds and a high leap put him on the roof of the stable, a quick scramble and he's on the roof just above his room. Turning and dropping he hooks the edge of the roof with one hand, his tail swishing to and fro, countering his swinging. Reaching out with his free hand he trips the outer latch, allowing the window to swing open. A quick kick against the wall pushes him out and away, then as his body arcs back inward he lets good of the roof and floats in through the open window. Yes, returning through the Inn would have been much easier, but as the events of tonight are showing him, he doesn't seem to take the easy way out.

Panther

Date: 2006-07-06 13:23 EST
Act of Mercy 2000-JUL-01

He lay in bed, moonlight drifting in the open window. It had been an hour or so since he left the Arena, sleep wasn't going to come easy tonight. The events of evening, the last few days, even the last few weeks kept playing over in his head.

That night in the Outback, their duel, he actually managed to best her that night, but he wasn't going to have a chance to relish the victory. She had made a playful grab at him that turned into a painful grip on his arm. He didn't recognize the man, but he did recognize the boy in his clutches. It was a lad that he had seen in the Outback when he was here waiting for Janella, he would offer to help clean up and such. And right now he did not look good.

Janella released his arm with a snarl and started towards the man, but a threatening motion towards the boy kept her at bay. He could barely remember what words were exchanged between them, he just knew there was trouble, and it was only going to get worse. Janella was pretty much acting as a screen between himself and the man he would later find out is Bargos. He slowly slipped a hand into the pouch at his side.

The moments ticked away, the words were more urgent, heated....until things were about to explode like a powder keg. It was time to act....a drop to the knee and in one fluid motion his arm moved from his pouch and in an arc, letting loose with a pair of throwing spikes. They went right past Janella's side - had she inadvertently moved they may have struck her, instead they found their mark in the back of Bargos' hand. The spikes weren't lethal by any means, but the shock of the hit caused him to drop the chain that was about the boys neck and gave Janella the edge she needed to start advancing on him.

Then to their surprise, he didn't stand and fight. Instead he fled out into the night, leaving the boy behind. She reached the boy before he did, and as he came up behind her and cringed. His mid-section was sliced open, innards spilling from the wound with each labored breath....other wounds, mild by comparison riddled his body....and when the boy tried to speak only labored groan came out mixed with blood and bile. Most others would have been long dead, but Bargos had given the boy something, something that kept him alive in spite of his injuries. Or so the note left tied in the boys grasp said.

Janella turned to look to him and her eyes said everything. They both knew what had to be done....he asked if she wanted him to do so, she refused. Instead he held the boy still as she drew Terminus across his throat, releasing him. Cries were coming from around them....someone there was cursing them....cursing them for not saving the boy....saving a boy who by all rights was already dead....it was the only thing they could do. His fur was matted with the blood that had spilled from the boy as he carried them out, gave him a proper burial. Picturing the injuries in his mind still sent a shiver through his body.

Panther

Date: 2006-07-06 13:24 EST
Why Bother" 2000-JUL-01

Now, a few weeks later, they think they have a plan to draw Bargos out. Draw him out by thinking he's getting the better of Janella. And they're using Jesse's Baron ring to do so. Maybe the worse part is, most of it was his idea. So now she's spending more time around Jesse. They need to make sure he doesn't suspect her when the ring goes missing....even though it won't really be missing. To the rest she will have been robbed....that part may be the hardest part of all, getting others to believe someone gets the drop on her. There's still so much that could go wrong with this plan, and there's no promise their intended target will even take the bait. But for now, it's their best shot at drawing him out.

He floundered in the bed, tossing the covering aside, pondering, questioning himself. Why was he even doing this" He knew he could never truly have her heart. Did he think by helping her in these things he would win more of it"

It would be foolish to think that he could take any more than she's already given. Even if he could, is that what he really wanted" His own history should have sent him fleeing long ago. But maybe it's the limits they've both set, the freedom they both have given that drives him. Maybe it's the thrill, the excitement. The duels in the ring, the brawls in the taverns, the lust in the bed....Or possibly it's the high of the chase" Like when hunting, what is more enjoyable" The hunt itself or the meal it provides?

It's nearly dawn, these thoughts continuing to worm their way about his mind when he hears the trip of the doors latch, catches her scent drifting in. As her silhouette moves towards the bed he decides, maybe it's best not to bother with the why and just live with what is.