Riley watched, utterly fascinated as the Dragon became a woman. "Wow. So that's what it looks like from outside. Huh." She looked over at Danny Boy now, a little lop-sided grin on her lips. "Oh. I was just thinking about how nice it was that there was no SSSV skulking about. Which, logically lead me to announce that skulking is an awesome word."

"Ah, I see", he chuckled. "Very true, too. I've seen enough of them to last a lifetime already."

"Amen, mah brutha," Riley said, affecting a truly horrible Southern-fried preacher's accent.

"Thank you," said Vex, slipping inside with a grin over to Riley, "Yup, how's the night for you two?"

"Quite well, thanks,? Daniel replied, ?And yours?"

Riley now took a moment to look over the crowd, noting exactly one familiar face. She gave Kendall a little wave and headed barwards. "I had chicken Korma tonight. It was wicked yummy."

He nodded to Kendall, trailing behind Riley. "I'll have a cup of tea, if you're fetching drinks."

?Heard yer Indian place is doin' all right?, Kendall said to Riley's Daniel, with oblique acknowledgement of Riley's comment about the Korma.

?Kinda tea? Kendall said, that went toward Riley's Daniel.

Riley slipped through the break in the bar, nodding to Daniel and glancing into the kettle to see if there was water and if so, if it was hot. Seeing that both were negative, she filled it and set it on the heat, before grabbing the Special bottle of scotch whisky. "I'll get it for him, Kendall. No worries."

Daniel flashed a quick grin at Kendall. "Indeed it is. Packed all day long, usually. You should come by some time. In fact, I'm looking to hire a delivery person, if you know anyone who might be interested."

?Slick.? Kendall said to Riley. She hasn't moved from her lean on the backbar for a while. Left heel's jittering when she gives a sharp look at Tej ?Yeah? Kinda hours??

He paused to think. "Hmm. Lunch and dinner rush, mostly. Say, eleven until two, then five until nine."

Filling a highball with two fingers of the delicious, peaty amber liquor, she added a splash of water to the scotch and gave it a little swirl. Then she mimicked Kendall's lean as she waited for the water to heat.

He dropped into a stool directly across from Riley.

?Can take t' lunch rush, Kendall said, ?know a chickee what would pro'lly handle dinner. Meal each shift an' how much coin?? She took a gulp of coffee.

"Hmm. Thirty silver per hour, plus tips. And yes, a meal per shift sounds fine." He glanced up at Riley, watching her prepare the drinks.

Vex nodded to Riley, ?Sorry to cut this short but I just remembered something and need to be off. You two take care and I'll see you again."

Riley smirked a little, listening to the negotiations going on between Danny Boy and Kendall. The kettle began its wind-up and she removed it deftly from the heat before it let loose its high-pitched shriek. She decanted the water into a cup, plunked in a tea bag and slid the cup across the counter to him. She followed it with a little pot of milk and the sugar bowl.

He turned and raised a hand to Vex. "Have a good night."

"Good night, Vex. Have a safe...erm...flight?" Riley finished, a little slowly.

Vex gave a nod to those she knew and didn't then turned to leave and chuckled waving behind her, "Good night and thanks." then out the door.

Kendall gave chinjerk up to Vex along with, ?Watch yerself.? She squinted at Tej ?Yeah, I'll take lunch. Chickee's named Amy, bring her with me t'morrow fer t' lunch shift so's you can give okay. She's sharp.?

"That would be great, Kendall. You know where it is, right?"

Sadir's mouth twisted downward as he continued his observation of the trio at the bar. His green eyes had narrowed on the pair of Cats and then focused on the ragged girl who had served his drink so sloppily.

"Indeed. Helpful, though,? Daniel said.

Riley could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight up and she very slowly turned to stare right back at the new Cat. She had the look of a cat who'd just noticed something rather interesting - and potentially either tasty or dangerous - in the bushes.

Kendall squinted at Riley and Daniel. That's a topic change if there ever was one. Another shrug - she'll ask Ali tomorrow - and she dumps her mug in the sink. ?Need another runner let me know. I know most'a th' good ones in t' city what work cheap.?

Daniel noted the sudden change in Riley's scent and posture and turned to find the cause of it, giving only a distracted nod in response to Kendall's statement.

The hard stare from the female Cat reminded Sadir of the surroundings, apparently. His expression smoothed, though with a flare of his nostrils that showed he was scenting the air carefully. Once again he leaned back in his seat and picked up his goblet of lotus wine for a small sip.

Her stare continued unabated for a few moments more before she turned back around, facing the counter now. "You might want to stop in to the shop next door to Danny Boy's Cafe tomorrow, Kendall. Might be some more money in it for you." She took an oh-so-casual sip of her scotch.

He leaned his shoulder gently against hers, chuckling at the 'Danny-boy'. "Couldn't hurt, certainly."

?Cain't take any more routes on,? Kendall replied, ?But fer a one-off can work sommat.? She nods, rounds the counter. ?Watch yerselves, yeah??

"You too," Daniel said.

Riley gave Kendall a smile. "Night. Be careful out there."

Kendall snickers as she heads for the back door. ?Always am.?

Sadir placed his goblet on the linen and pushed to his feet. Precision in his gestures as picked up his greatcoat and shrugged back into the garment.

Daniel slid off the stool and stretched a bit. "Want to sit somewhere else? I can't get used to these stools."

Riley nodded towards the hearth. "Fire?" And then she nodded towards the booths. "Or privacy?" She pronounced the word like he would - with a short vowel sound - and gave him a little saucy smirk.

Kendall went out the back door - she let it slam behind her, too.

"I'm happy to follow you either way, sundari," Daniel replied, knowing she'd be curious about the meaning of the word.

Sadir's prowling steps took him through the room with the unmistakable grace of a large feline on the hunt, toward the back alley door in the wake of the ragged girl.

Riley followed the other Cat with her eyes, noting that he seemed to be following Kendall. She glanced back at Daniel, a brow raised in question - should we or shouldn't we?

Daniel turned to watch the unfamiliar Cat as he appeared to follow Kendall, taking careful note of his scent. He looked back at Riley to see what she thought, and caught the raised brow. He gave a little shrug in response, not sure if it was coincidence or intent.

She nodded once and set the scotch down on the counter, following the new Cat out the back door, trusting that Daniel would cover her back.

He glanced around the bar once, then placed his tea next to her scotch and headed out after her.

?Doctor Sadir Shenouda,? A concession granted, then - he nodded his head and moved a pace or two back toward the pair. Meticulous care took him around the worst of the puddles. ?You seemed to have some knowledge of ... Ali.? The pause indicated a word omitted in the sentence.

"The boxer? Muhammad Ali? Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee? That guy?"

Daniel moved up, letting his shoulder brush lightly against hers. "A time and a place, Riley."

She pouted at his gentle chastisement and subsided into silence, taking a step back, letting Daniel take the floor for a moment.

Sadir's green eyes were colder now, hiding the rage that seethed behind them. ?The Ali who frightens and harms my young cousin and sends her fleeing home in fear of her life.?

"We are acquainted with the man, yes, though neither of us knows him particularly well." He paused. "We did, however, witness that incident."

?Ah,? he paused, and resettled his greatcoat on his shoulders before he asked - again, with utmost courtesy, ?Would you tell me of it, the details? Zahra was... rather distraught.?

"Details?" Riley shook her head. "I wasn't privy to the entire conversation, but Ali was rather...adamant that Zahra leave him alone."

?Really.? That was a statement rather than a question, ?From what she told me, he was the one who approached her, inside,? he gestured toward the interior of the Inn. ?Who questioned her, most harshly, and then drained a portion of her vitality before he fled.?

She shrugged. "Like I said, I wasn't privy to the conversation. He put his hands on her, scared the crap out of her."

?He did that. I wished to speak with him about the incident, and came here in hopes of finding him. That girl,? His long fingers flicked out in the direction of the urchin's fading scent, ?made mention that she knew of his residence.?

"And you were gonna follow her there."

"She said something about everyone thinking he was dead,? Daniel said, ?It was shortly after that when he grabbed her."

The incline of Sadir's head might have been in answer to Riley's comment or to Daniel's. The verbal response however was toward Daniel. ?We did think so.?

"There was some mention of killing whomever the girl had brought with her." Riley said this casually, off-handedly, almost as if it were an after-thought.

Daniel nodded in agreement, though he'd been too far away to catch more than a few words of that part of the conversation.

Sadir's eyes narrowed again at that, once more flaring out the fan of creases at the corners. Then he gave a tight-lipped smile and directed his short half-bow toward Riley. ?He has always been a rash and rather violent man. I thank you for the warning, Ms. O'Rourke.?

"Another thing?" She juxtaposed her next words with a sweet smile. "I'm thinking you shouldn't be following her to Ali's home."

?Do you have a care for the urchin? I did not intend her any harm.?

"I have a care that you're taking a fight to a man's home, a sacred place. You understand?"

?Are homes sacred in your culture?" He asked it with the mild observational interest of a scientist, ?They are not in ours.? He lifted his arm and checked his watch with a glance before putting his hands into the pockets of his greatcoat. ?But it seems the opportunity is gone for the time being, with this abominable rain washing away the girl's scent. And I've to return to my residence.?

She blinked; at another time and place, that little bit of National Geographic information would have been enough to pull her into a discussion. Focus, Ri, focus. "Safe havens? Home base? Yeah, they're sacred. And not a place for whatever beef you have with Ali. You keep that here, or on the streets or hell, in the Marketplace."

"The trouble with homes is that they tend to be full of people. People who don't deserve whatever trouble might be brought there,? Daniel said.

?I will keep that in mind, Ms. O'Rourke,? Sadir inclined his head to her, and to Daniel, ?Mr. Tej, Ms. O'Rourke, I thank you for the conversation. I would ask that if you encounter Ali again, that you keep your distance from him. Or at least, have a care for yourselves. He can be... unpredictable, I fear.?

Riley chuckled. "He's a Cat; doesn't that go without saying?" She hooked her arm through Daniel's, leaning against him, though her eyes were still on the other Cat. "We should go home, too. But first I hafta go get my coat. There is no way I'm leaving that here."

?So it does,? Sadir replied. The briefest quirk of humor showed before he gave them a short half-bow. ?Bast keep you in her grace.? With that for a parting he turned and stalked toward the alley-end that let out to the street. His prowling steps wove between the puddles of who-knows-what until he reached the end and turned onto the street itself.

Daniel was relieved that this encounter had gone so civilly. He turned and walked with Riley back to the Inn, to collect her coat and head home.