Ikori's mood seemed to improve slightly when Mahira paid attention to him, stroking his hair. He really really liked that, and for a few moments he let his eyes slipped closed, as he moved his hand to push that stubborn sleeve back up above his elbow. When Mahira spoke to him, those eyes opened and he looked up at her, blinking softly with his sad eyes. People sat in chairs, and he was in human form. She did have a point, though Ikori wasn't sure he knew what a dominatrix was.

He pulled away from Mahira gently, standing next to her and looking at her. He was half pouting now, and he tugged at the shirt. "I have a new shirt....but it's not very comfortable at all. It's itchy, and tight." It wasn't really tight at all, it fit him rather well actually. "It makes me feel trapped and I don't like it..but I have to wear it, so the rude person will be nice to Hikari and Master Mahira." He nodded a bit as he spoke, tugging at various parts of the shirt. Then Hikari had appeared with food.

Delicious smelling bacon, and sausage. Ikori licked his lips, and took some bacon. He didn't take much, wanting to make sure there was enough for everyone. It seemed like it would be, Hikari had made a lot of food. Once he had the bacon on a plate he moved to sit down in a chair. Sliding it a bit closer to Mahira. His eyes were on the lady, Kalliope now. Ikori's brow furrowing just slightly as she had asked about him. He gave a slight shrug.

"I'm just a dog, but I'm a good dog, because I do as I'm told, and I don't bark at people and I don't bite them either." He seemed rather proud of that fact, though his face fell suddenly. "Except..I was bad earlier wasn't I?" He bit his bottom lip slightly and tugged at the shirt for emphasis. "Because it was inappropriate for me to be not wearing a shirt when you came in? But then Hikari said I was good..so.." His expression had turned to one of slight confusion and he trailed off.

Master? It did sound and look like Mahira was a rather dominant person ... Shaking her head, Kalli pushed the thought aside in preference of paying attention to the man, dog, who had first welcomed her to the Inn. A dog? "Does that mean you're a ...", she paused to find the right word, "... a shapeshifter, right?" That explained why he was so uncomfortable in the shirt, and so adorable!

Kalli smiled kindly as she worked to find the words to explain her brother's behavior. "Well, you see people are kind of funny about things like that. When we walk in someplace, we kind of make up our minds fast about it, from the information we get from our first look. Well most people do. So when we walked in, you gave my brother one impression, and me a different one. Arius is ... very protective of me." She glanced at the others as well as she continued. "He tends to want to make everything fit the way he thinks things should be for me, and he also does his best to control the demon inside him. He gets angry to stop the demon from breaking free and hurting people even more then his words do. So I'm sorry for how he acted, but if he hadn't ... Things could have been much worse..." She didn't want to keep going on, not now.

Her delicate features had clouded with worry. Now that she was working there, or would be working there, how would these people react? Her brother would stay there too, and with his temper and the thing inside him, she was afraid no one would give him a chance.

Kio was still cautious, but he relaxed a little as he took more of the surroundings in, returning his eyes to the man as he mouthed the name spoken, making sure to show his respect and attention as the man spoke. "Yes... It was something that I done at a very young age...the decision was made in haste, but it's nothing regrettable."he paused wondering if he should be as open as he was."I just have to be careful when it comes to being around people when he takes over..."He tilted his head, the locket he held made him look down before kio put it away in the safety of his pocket. "The demon you shelter seems a rather angry one...strong...enough it made me worry over my brothers soul safety..."he smirked." but you seem to have managed somewhat a control?...". He could sense the demon, he probably would have been able to see it the more clearly but Kio was already exhausted. "I see it's strong willed and will keep its place melded to you..."the demon that resided within this man made him curious..."how do you keep him at bay?" he asked.."

Gemini tilted her head and drew up a chair, where she sat. She was back to her usual shy self. "It's n-nice to m-meet you, Kalli. I'm Hikari. I hope you l-like the f-food." She said, blushing. Listening to the conversation, she tilted her head inquisitively. "A demon? S-so that's why. In th-that case, I should apologize...b-but, for now...I c-could help...I had a friend once who had a d-demon, and it h-helped him to battle with me. J-just training, not real fights, but the exertion really helped..." She offered quietly. Though she didn't look it, Hikari was an excellent fighter and could easily hold her own.

Mahira was about to explain that he was essentially a dog with a shapeshifting ability when Ikori spoke up. His remark about a rude person and wondering if he was a bad dog stopped her. Just what had occurred while she was upstairs? She raised an eyebrow and looked towards Hikari and Kalli for an explanation. As expected one quickly followed, that while not very detailed definitely made things clear. Well... that would have been an entirely new spin on her offering to be his way to vent anger wouldn't it? She couldn't help but chuckle softly at the thought and the misunderstanding that had almost occurred. She pushed away the thought and glanced towards Ikori, he had looked puzzled. Probably the term dominatrix. She leaned over to whisper in his ear that a dominatrix was a 'female who derives sexual pleasure from being in control, and occasionally inflicting pain or humiliation on her sexual partner. Something i'm not' She then drew back from Ikori's ear and turned to look at the group again after she patted Ikori's hand to reassure him after he moved to the chair closest to her only to push it closer. She then spoke aloud.

"I'm not worried about what impression people get... as long as people cover their privates anyone whose been to a brothel will fairly quickly figure out this isn't one. Still, it's up to you Miss. Kalli. As the manager you can decide with these two if there's going to be a uniform of some kind. I've never run an Inn before but the kind I went to were always fairly laid back. I can't promise good pay either Miss. I mainly just charged enough for four people's salary and food. Being I intend to get a fruit and vegetable garden set up eventually it should work out." She mused lightly. She shrugged a bit and glanced back towards Ikori, a soft sigh escaping her lips. She reached up to pat his head.

"And you Ikori, you're a good dog. Some people just have this idea that everything on the body needs to be covered for it to be 'decent' because they think nudity is something automatically sexual. I think it's silly and you couldn't know that there are people like that so it's not your fault, you did nothing wrong. I guess I should have made you a vest or something, at any rate we can take of the sleeves." She said simply as she waved a hand slightly to dismiss the thought. She then playfully tugged his sleeve to indicate what she meant and turned her gaze to Hikari. She simply gave her a warm smile to let her know everything was alright since she was talking to Kalli. She then stretched her arms back behind her head getting comfortable. She could sense the two... three? demons outside. It was a strange feeling and she closed her eyes to focus on the two. There was two demons.... yet there were three? It made little sense... they were alike with the duel presences, but she'd never heard of two demons sharing the same body before. Hmm, her inn was attracting the oddest people wasn't it?

[I'm gonna post, since I'm online right now, but I won't be on after this.]

Ikori stared at Kalli for a moment before shaking his head. "..No. I'm a dog." It was a simple concept for Ikori, so why didn't this girl understand it? He wasn't a shapeshifter, just a dog that could disguise himself as a human. His attention shifted to Mahira, he didn't seem particularly surprised by the definition she whispered in his ear, he had known people like that. Some people were like that, he supposed.

He seemed to relax a lot when she pat him on the head, and he munched at his bacon quite happily. Content in the knowledge that he was indeed a good dog. It was what he strived for, he really did try hard to be a good dog. When she mentioned the sleeves of his shirt, he nodded slightly. They were really annoying.

Akakio's eyes wandered out past the dirt road and onto the greens, the thick brush and trees. He wondered how long it would take this time... maybe a bit longer, he hoped it wouldn't take too long though he knew he must have travelled off further then usual. A faint sigh passed his lips, the travelling group didn't care if he disappeared hours on end they were only thankful he had been there to help in dire needs but he was not fully welcomed. He knew that very well and didn't expect anyone to come searching, well none of the adults anyways... But maybe just one person, one out of the whole group that also was ignored by the group. The young man he thought of had been one he saved from near death. An infection had taken over the child and by the rules of the travellers. 'Leave those incapable...' The burns were pretty bad and gone untreated lead to an infection in the blood...

That was years ago, the child survived and both demon and child now bare a strong friendship.

Besnick frantically searched the riverside, moving with a slight limp as he crouched down...almost crawling across the long lengths of grass in search of any signs left behind by his travelling companion. He known he shouldn't have gone too far from the demon, but the waters were to shallow to fish... A gleam in his eye and a smile to his lips, he caught sight of the leather bag Akakio's carried and Besnick known then that the one Akakio's sheltered must have woken. No wonder foot prints didn't follow one exact path.

He threw the bag over his shoulder as he soon found a path and followed the tracks, pulling his cloak over his head to shield most of his face from the sun, the scars being too delicate to handle the heat. He was slow as he moved, but he knew there was no need to rush, he was a good tracker and if Akakio's woke then he wouldn't go any further.

Kio turned towards the entrance into the Inn, he didn't carry his bag with held what little currency he had... But he needed a place to rest. He removed a thick golden bracelet from his wrist, emerald and rubies laden within intricate designs of the gold. Many of the items he had on him were usually ones he'd barter, ones he'd taken for helping or trades from elixirs so he wasn't attached to any little item but one locket with the mirrors. "Sorry... Shall we continue our conversation a little after... I'm in need of rest..."The demon spoke, bowing his head slightly as he turned and headed into the Inn, making his way to the front counter and placing the jeweled item onto the countertop as he awaited for service, blotting at his nose annoyed as the bleeding begun again, but it had been more the stench of his own blood that annoyed Kio.

((Besnick: ))

Suddenly Ikori couldn't stand it at all anymore. Being inside, the walls seem to creep up closer and closer on him, and that shirt. That shirt felt unbelievably oppressive and tight so suddenly. He felt hot, his heart began to beat fast in his chest. He felt lightheaded, as if he might faint at any moment, and his breath was short, quick gasps. As if he were on the verge of hyperventilating. Ikori had never been claustrophobic before, being tied up and chained down had never made him feel this badly restrained before, so it made no sense to him that just wearing a shirt would make him feel so, so trapped. It was worse than any feeling he had ever had from being actually trapped before.

The dog stood suddenly, his chair tumbling over behind him from that sudden motion. Then he was turning and running for the door. Outside. He needed fresh air. He had to get outside. He would be able to breathe freely outside. His fingers fumbled with the shirt as he moved, tugging and pulling at it. He got it off as soon as he stepped foot over the threshold of the door, and then his form changed. That soft, fluffy dog was bounding off the porch, instead of a dark haired young man. The shirt was left behind, laying where he had discarded it on the porch. He had bolted past the two men by the door without even noticing them at all, in such a haste to get outside. Now he was outside, and in his true form and it felt better than it ever had before.

Ikori raced around in a wide circle in the front yard, barking rather happily. It felt so good, and it made him wonder. It probably wasn't all the shirt, it was just him. His true form wanting to come out..maybe. He hadn't really been in it very much lately and sometimes that did make him feel weird. So it was most likely a combination of the restrictive fabric and not being in his true form for a while. Right now those things didn't matter, as the wide circle Ikori ran in slowly became smaller and smaller until he was doing that thing that all dogs do.

Ikori was chasing his own tail.

Mahira had been debating just how to adjust the sleeves, from sleevelets to complete removal when... Ikori ran off like something was chasing him? She blinked as if in surprise and glanced towards Kalli. With a soft 'excuse me' she was off and bounded off after the man. She soon arrived behind him to find him chasing his own tail, the shirt left behind them. She watched a moment with her hands on her hips, her head tilted as if perplexed. She wasn't sure why... but there was something just amusing about it. He really was a dog in mind it seemed.

"Hey, you okay?"

Kalli pursed her lips as the measured everything the others had spoken so far. If Ikori really was a dog, then it explained so much about him. She felt quite horrible for the promise her brother had extracted from him, but could do nothing about it now that the two involved were outside and out of her reach.

"I think you may have to speak to Arius about the battling, but he'll probably agree Hikari." She turned her head to watch as Mahira left. The young woman stood and offered a quick apology as she left to follow the Inn's owner.

"Hey, Mahira! Didn't you want to hear my answer to your revelation about how the payment will work? And we still haven't discussed what exactly my responsibilities shall be." The young woman watched curiously as a strange dog ran around with a frown. Now where had that come from?

Arius nodded as the demon departed and leaned against the wall for a while. He made no move to greet the newly arrived man. In fact, he only moved when he saw Ikori run from the Inn and change swiftly from man to dog. It surprised him, and explained some things. When Mahira and his sister arrived, he pushed past them as he plucked something from his belt.

He threw the bright red ball to the ground in front of the dog, and waited to see what would happen. Meanwhile, he glanced up at the two women with a somewhat challenging glance, as if he was expecting to be reprimanded.

Ikori chased after his tail, ears twitching at Mahira's voice and he came to a stop almost immediately. That head snapping up, muzzle parted and tail hanging out one side. He looked like any happy dog, even though that happiness still refused to reach his eyes. Ikori was about to trot over to Mahira, when something round and red caught his eye. A ball! It'd been a while since someone had tossed him a ball. He seemed to prance slightly on his feet for a moment as he barked at the ball before he ran at it and snatched it up in his jaws.

That tail wagging, he ran towards Mahira, then swerved just before reaching her. His course shifting to bring him to Arius. Ikori dropped the ball at the man's feet, tail wagging as he looked up at him and barked expectantly. His front feet moving slightly, as if impatient. Ikori did like games, and he hoped the other wasn't just teasing him with the ball. Would Arius throw it again, or just put it away? He jumped up and barked eagerly. Ikori wanted the ball to be thrown again.

"Well, whether you have duties depends on if you don't mind the pay! If you're fine with that then basically you'd just run things. Order supplies, pay everyone while managing the funds, and make sure everyone knows their job as well as does it. I'd leave an item for you to call me in case of emergencies but otherwise it should be fairly routine. I want this to seem a fairly carefree, safe, individualistic place but i have no real requirements as long as it runs and keeps everyone happy." She said simply in response to the woman. She looked up as the man approached. She was able to gather who it was fairly quickly from the slight resemblance between the two and having seen him leave earlier. It helped that there wasn't many staying at the inn...

"First you treat him to much like a man and now completely a dog. Still he seems to like it so you two should play it seems." She teased arius with an amused chuckle. She wondered if he'd withdraw his requirements about shirts now? She shrugged at the thought and simply watched Ikori a moment. She couldn't help but smile softly, amused. She really did feel more like he was her dog then her friend... though in a way that made her wonder how the former master of the inn could have used the boy as a 'bed warmer'. It seemed odd somehow... though she supposed humans often played catch with family. She'd never really had such a family situation so sometimes her idea of normal was... different. She only dealt with adults really, and generally one with a reason to want to be close or use her.

Arius cracked a smile when he saw Ikori swerving towards him with the ball. It faded away as he glanced from Mahira to his sister. "Pay? What would you be doing here?" Shaking his head, he bent down to grasp the red globe in his hand. He threw it up and down for a few moments, watching Kalli, Mahira and Ikori, before finally launching it into the air.

It flew back for a while, before finally landing with a resounding thump in the dirt. Ikori had seemed so excited about playing. Even Arius couldn't find it in him to disappoint the dog, now that he knew he was a dog...

The young woman crossed her arms and glared at her brother. "I shall be this Inn's manager. Basically, I'll be the one in charge while Mahira is gone, I'll run things. This is a nice place, tucked away and nothing like anywhere our family would search for us." Shaking her head, she let out an angry huff.

A smile bloomed across her features as she turned to Mahira again, and glanced time to time at her brother playing with Ikori. "So it seems I will be accepting the job after all."

Ikori's eyes never left that ball when Arius picked it up. He watched intently as the other tossed it up and down a couple times before actually throwing it. Once the ball was thrown, Ikori shot off like a streak of lightning. Eager to chase down that ball and snatch it up, he barked at it once, maybe a warning, right before he snatched it up. That tail wagging furiously and he raced back to where the others were. Though he wanted everyone to to play, no one should be left out of such a fun and exhilarating game of 'chase the ball and chew on it' so this time his movements brought him to Mahira and he dropped the ball at her feet.

He barked at her once, to get her attention, then watched her expectantly. That tail wagging furiously behind him. His whole body seemed to shake slightly with the force of that wagging tail. That outwards happiness, it very nearly made it's way to his eyes. Just not quite.

"sounds good to me. We'll just have to hire on a maid, though I can do that in the mean time... or summon some undead. I have a few I could use. I'd have to make sure everyone didn't mind though." She mused thoughtfully, delighted at the thought. Now she could run the inn as well as give in to her wanderlust now and then. She had never quite been able to build a home for herself that made her feel right, feel safe, not since she found out the truth of why her 'father' had taken care of her. She always told herself it was just she enjoyed traveling to much and maybe it was. Before she could continue or explain further however, Ikori was bouncing at her feet. She blinked and looked positively puzzled for a moment.

"You want me to play too huh? sure, why not." She finally said with an amused chuckle. She patted Ikori's head briefly before she picked up the ball and tossed it forward. She watched Ikori a moment longer before she half glanced at arius thoughtfully. He had ignored her joking teasing of him completely. Was giving his sister a job just that bad? Or was she just that easy to ignore? True, as a thief and a planeswalker both her presence was always somehow muted, distant, ghostly... as if she wasn't really there, but generally when she spoke up people became aware of her. Oh well, being ignored was something she was use to.

Ikori leaned against Mahira's hand when she pet him, that tail continued to wag, and he watched intently as she picked up the ball. Again, once it was thrown, he was off just as quickly as before to run it down. Barking at it before snatching it up and running back to the others. He brought the ball to Kalli, depositing it at her feet and barking lightly at her while watching her expectantly. He was panting slightly from all the running, though he wasn't tired yet. He was still more than ready to keep playing.

Arius stared at his sister angrily. "And I have no say in this?" His eyes turned to Mahira, assessing her. "Are you the one who encouraged her? Who suggested this?" He knew his sister could make up her own mind, but he wasn't used to her trying to steer the course of their lives without consulting him about it first. All this independence was getting to her head.

Kalli ignored him. She crouched down to watch Ikori chasing the ball with a small smile. He looked like he was enjoying himself so much. She'd always wanted a pet, but ... Circumstances hadn't allowed for that. There had been too many things to learn, to take care of.

"I'm not sure how much our guests might appreciate the reanimated. It could shock some of them, and turn their business away." And in order for the Inn to prosper, they needed as many customers as they could gather from the road.

Ikori had dropped the ball in front of Kalli when he returned, barking happily and expectantly at her. Those ears twitching though, and he looked from her to her brother for a moment. Arius seemed upset about something, but Ikori hadn't really been paying attention to their conversation. They shouldn't be arguing about anything, they should be playing. Having fun. Because fun was, well it was fun. He barked at all three of them, a rather excited yip to get their attention back on the game at hand.

Mahira chuckled at the dog and simply shook her head. Was this what it was normally like to have a family pet? Technically she had her spirit guide but that was different.... and her 'father' had a familiar. A small shapeshifting creature that often took the form of a cat, fox, or bat. She supposed the creature was still with the man.. it'd been years since she had seen him so she didn't remember much. All she remembered was it following the man around really and disappearing with him whenever he went out. She supposed that was kinda like a pet but it had never seemed to like her. It was an animal though.. sorta... She found her musings halted, however, as she debated whether a familiar was like a pet in general as Arius shouted at her. She glanced over and one sapphire eyebrow raised.

"She IS an adult, I don't think i have to encourage her. As to the undead issue, I can probably find ways around it... they look alive. Of course other necromancers and those with spiritual affinity might sense it depending on what they're sensitive too. Maybe I can hire a maid from one of the towns." She mused thoughtfully. She wasn't too concerned with Arius being so angry at her. She'd only seen him angry so she wasn't sure it was really her or not that made him angry. Still if he wanted to shout at her he was welcome to do so, better then shouting at his sister or Ikori she supposed.

Left alone at the table, Hikari blinked a few times and followed everyone outside. By the time she got there, they were arguing about something, and Ikori was in dog form and playing fetch. "Um...w-what's all the f-fuss...?" She asked, joining the group. Looking at Arius, she wondered if he would actually agree to her battle practice idea. She turned to him, not waiting for an answer to her first question."I have an offer for you. If I may, I would like to help with your...situation. See, a friend of mine once had the same issue, and it helped him quite a lot to battle with me. It was good practice. If you'd like, I can battle you regularly." She proposed, using the last bit of backbone she could summon. Then she looked down, blushing. "Y-you know...i-if that's okay..."

The demon hadn't bothered in gathering attention towards himself as he had entered the Inn, only watched the patrons take their leave after the dog, exhausted he sat himself at a table in the furthest corner of the room and fallen asleep, head buried in his arms on the table. Tired to the bone, even his brother did not waken once more. The body needed rest and Kio did not fight it as he dozed off.

The walk had taken Besnick far, it made him wonder what had taken the demon along that way he could have pondered on many ideas but he knew it could have been just the simplest distraction that took the demon along the strange path. His pace slowed to the sounds of voices, carefully Bez moved forward, peeking through brush towards the small happy crowd. They seemed happy, entertained... His eyes peered past them and towards the building... An Inn, Yes... he must be there! A smile grew upon his face, pulling at scar tissue which made his smile just as quickly disappear and just at the same moment Bez was out of the brush, crouched over with cloak hiding much of his face as he carefully made his way slowly over to the group of people, hand rummaging through the cloak along his side where a bag lay hidden beneath the fabric. He may have looked a little threatening as he was mostly hidden and his features shadowed by his cloak, crouched over as so... He did frighten many children, made even a few cry as he came up by them too suddenly, but it was something he couldn't help, he did need to protect his sensitive skin from the sun, and scar tissue is what caused him to slouch forward as he did as the scars lead right down his abdomen and stomach making it uncomfortable to stand proper.

He fumbled with the cloak as he was still searching for one specific item, stopping in his tracks as he dropped his hunting knife but didn't bother to pick it up as he still searched through the leather satchel on his left side.

Ikori's nose twitched, and then his ears. His muzzle snapping shut for a moment as he sniffed the air and then turned. His tail had slowed down in it's wagging movement as he stepped off the porch, sniffing at the air. Then the person he smelled stepped into view. Covered in a cloak and somewhat hunched over, soon he stopped, and dropped something. Ikori gave a soft bark, a bark of welcoming, the man didn't smell of danger. Then again, Ikori didn't really not what danger smelled like. Still, the man didn't send off any warning signals, didn't put him on edge or anything like that.

So Ikori left the ball at Kalli's feet, forgotten for the moment, and trotted up to the stranger. He made his way to the knife that had dropped and sniffed at it cautiously for a moment. He pushed it towards the stranger lightly with his nose for a moment, then he busied himself with walking in circles around the man while sniffing at his feet. Tail wagging, Ikori was being friendly.

As the dog had come up Bez stopped in his actions, he actually found what he had been searching for, keeping the item curled up securely in his hand before he knelt down to pick up his hunting knife and tied it back about his belt before setting his eyes onto the animal once more with the slight smile upon his face, having to pull the cloak hood back a bit as he watched the dog make it's rounds about him. He chuckled softly, he could tell easily the dog was friendly, of course Bez found more comforts around animals then any person other then Kio of course. But many seen Bez's scars rather then him. "Your a happy pup aren't you..."he softly spoke. "Here you go..."He held out his hand palm up holding a delectable piece of dried meat from one of his hunting trips. "Here, take it fast before Kio see's me giving you the best of my lot" he laughed faintly as he knelt down to pet the dog.

Ikori finished his rounds around the man, and sat down before him. That head tilted to the side slightly, when something was offered to him. Ikori stretched his head forward and sniffed once at it. One sniff and then he gently took the dried meat from the man's hand and wolfed it down the way any dog would. He gave a happy bark, standing as the man knelt so he could move a little bit closer. Until Ikori's body was nearly pressing against the man, his tail wagging rather happily and he leaned into the man's hand. Ikori greatly enjoyed being petted, and making new friends. That tongue flashed out to lick at the man's hand, happily for a few moments.

He laughed softly against the actions of the dog licking the palm of his hand, tickling slightly. He then returned both hands to rubbing the dogs ears, before clearing his throat as he looked up towards the others, quickly looking to the dog again and pulling his cloak securely against him. He was uncomfortable, uncertain... "Hm, if only I could ask you if they are just as friendly...But then... I still wouldn't know how to act even if friendly..."He looked to the pup, patting him on the head as he turned his eyes to the Inn. Yes, he should be here...Slowly he stood, adjusting the cloak and slowly removed the hood just enough to not overshadow his face anymore. "Hm, would you like another treat..."he asked, purposely taking his time before he should go asking the dog's companions about the demon he searched for.