Heirot

Caleb twitched his tail at her gratefully as the window opened. Unfortunately, the moment his freedom was offered, a dog on the street noticed him and began barking madly. The canine ran over to just under the window and began jumping up against the wall, hoping to reach the window where the small creature was staring in disbelief. Not only was the dog's owner nowhere in sight, but the glider couldn't spot anything on the outside of the building that he could use to climb up higher to safety. It was almost like something was trying to keep him in this room until dusk.

Caleb looked at Celeste hopelessly. There was no way he'd be able to communicate to her that he needed to get out, or that he needed his own room, or any of the other things that might help avoid what was almost inevitably going to happen.

Celeste looked at Caleb and sighed softly. She could feel his discomfort and didn't know how to help. She reached down and scratched his head and back. "I feel there's something about you . . .that's really similar to. . .almost like a spell . . ." She puzzled a bit " maybe . . .I'll figure it out . . .someday"

Caleb eyed the girl tensely. Her speculation was closer than he wanted to admit. He shivered as a jolt of magic went through him. Damn it, he was out of time. He glanced out the window at the dog and wondered, briefly, if it was worth getting eaten to avoid ending up naked in an innocent girl's hotel room. He shuddered again and knew his better judgment wouldn't let his pride through him out the window to contend with that infernal canine.

Desperate, he ran behind the curtain and hid there in horror while his blood ran hotter and hotter. The change came over him in a wash of power, and he found himself clutching the curtain in front of him to cover as much as he could, which wasn't very much, and staring into Celeste's eyes dreadingly.

He narrowed his eyes at her tensely, and could not for his life think of what to say to her. For an agonizing moment, he just froze in horror.

Stephan looked up as he saw a shadow pass over the snow. He narrowed his eyes, not quite fixating on the source, but he had a feeling he knew who it was. He could still smell blood faintly in the air. He decided to ignore her until she either did something to attract his attention, or went away. He walked and walked, following the path that the woman in the inn had told him about, until it was dark, and he saw lights. He walked into town and it was pretty much a ghost town from what he saw. Everything seemed to be boarded up for the night. He saw an in, and it was the source of light.

When he stepped inside, the chatter silenced again, and he stood in the doorway for a moment before shifting towards the counter. “I need a room for the night,” he told the owner.

The owner eyed him carefully. “Strange eyes you got there,” he pointed out as he reached under the counter.

“My eyes are strange, but my money isn’t. So which will it be?” Stephan asked him, putting the gold coins on the counter.

The inn keeper took the coins and examined them.

“These isn’t Ighten gold,” he muttered. “Where did you get it?”

“Gold is gold,” he shrugged.

“You aren’t from around here,” the inn keeper said slowly.

“Not many people are from around here anymore, right? Arken drove everyone away. Look, I just need a room for the night. I’m looking for a friend in this town. She smuggles people out of horrible situations. When I find her, I’m gone,” he told the man. “I don’t cause trouble, unless trouble causes it with me.”

The man eyed him suspiciously for a moment, and he figured maybe it was because he still had his hood and veil up. So the Raith dropped it down, and smirked. “Have a deal?”

“Out by morning,” he told the Raith and slid him the key.

“Not a problem,” Stephan replied, pulling the key from the counter and turning to head up the stairs.

Celeste blinked and laughed a bit "I get it now!" she held eye contact with Caleb, she she closed her eyes "oh, my that explains alot" she held her eyes closed "you don't know, but I'm used to well Bathing with my family . . .including my brothers! so I'm not at all you know" she stambled, heat raising in her cheeks.

~~~

Yoruhana settled in a tree and sat there, she smelled feathers again, she looked at the inn and sighed, maybe it was time for her to make a public appearance.

Caleb stared at her in disbelief, his complexion darkening. She actually thought this was okay? No, she was obviously blushing. Of course...There was no way a girl would react well to this situation. "Look, please believe that I didn't plan this," he said tensely. "Just...turn around for a minute...I swear I won't try anything."

"I know you won't" Celeste replied as she turned to get her bag, she dug in it a while finally pulling out a man's tunic, she laid it on the bed "here, I don't know if they'll fit but it's better than nothing" looked at the outfit with a look of almost longing but she the continued "I'm gonna preen so you can change, okay?".

Caleb stepped cautiously out from behind the curtain and took the tunic uneasily. "Why do you have a men's tunic?" he asked in confusion.

"it was my Brother's" she replied simply, she walked over to the chair and sat down to preen.

Caleb frowned at the garment, remembering what she'd said about losing the rest of her kind, including her siblings. "Thanks," he said quietly, pulling the tunic over his head. It looked good on him, possibly a bit snug, but it hung to his knees and kept him decent for the moment. He looked back at the girl and wondered what she was thinking. She seemed very calm about his appearance. "Sorry, I've been like this...for a while. I didn't mean to intentionally follow you. Well....I might have," he stumbled over his words. He took a deep breath. "Damned dog," he concluded.

"it's fine, Caleb" Celeste looked up at him "I really Like it, I haven't had a traveling companion . . .it'll be nice" She smiled sweetly "plus I might be able to help you"

Caleb took a slow breath. He couldn't quite believe this girl. She was so easy to talk to, so understanding. The back of his mind kept warning him that it was too good to be true, that any minute now, something would go wrong. People just didnt' get along with him this well, ever. And now she was saying she wanted to travel with him? He tried to tell himself he couldn't travel with someone else. But why not? She already knew...and apparently didn't care.

"Yeah...I'd like that too," he said with a careful smile. He glanced to the door as if he'd just remembered something. "There was someone outside..."

"yeah, A really dark skinned man . . . something felt wrong about him" Celeste said softly. She shuddered and looked at her injured wing "well I sould just forget preening for a while"

~~~

Yoruhana climbed down from the tree and walked toward the Inn, she might just spend the night there, warm for once.

Caleb turned his attention to her wing and studied it thoughtfully. "Unfortunately, it will probably take some time to heal," he agreed with her. His memory flashed back to how wounded she had seemed before, when he'd been unable to ask her what was wrong. "Are you in pain?" he asked her. "Your bandages may need to be replaced."

"I'm upset, I don't-didn't have anyone to talk to or to keep the clouds away" Celeste replied, she looked at Caleb "My Wing isn't bothering me much, thank Nauru, and I should heal pretty well"