Aletta glanced up and shook her head. "You've no need to worry about that. He's as much as guest here as you, unless he harms anyone. Then I will personally make sure that he leaves." As a healer she usually took away pain, but that didn't mean she couldn't reverse her abilities as well. It had taken her a long time to reconcile herself to the fact that sometimes she needed to do just that in order to protect herself, and her patients.

Cade had finished his plate, and was staring with concentration at a mouthless face. He did wonder what Jack looked like. Hesitantly, he drew a few lines, sketching just a hint of lips.It was wrong, all wrong! With a frustrated groan, he ripped the sheet apart, quite unaware of his silent observer.

Jack watched Cade in silence, as he ripped up the sketch. "You wouldn't like what you saw if I showed you. I'm horribly disfigured beneath this mask." Well perhaps not horribly, but maybe it would keep Cade from being too upset about such things, and it did give a viable reason for why Jack was so secretive about his face. He moved to grab the ripped up sheet, for a moment his eyes glowed, and the sheet became whole in his hands. It wasn't really whole, it was just an illusion, but the paper becoming whole wasn't the only illusion. The image changed slightly, a perfect sketch of the face Jack once had, perfectly formed lips. No scars. He knelt down next to Cade and held the illusion so the other could see. "That's what I used to look like." Perhaps now that would pacify the artist somewhat. The illusion didn't last very long, before it began to shimmer and fizzle out. Leaving the actual ripped up pieces in Jack's hand.

Krinn couldn't help but smile slightly at Aletta, she was so fierce. "I'm sure I'm the only one he wants to harm. There isn't much he could do to me that I haven't already experienced anyway. No pain he can put me through that I can't endure." No, nothing the cat could or would do to him could be worse than the things he had already experienced, some of which he was still experiencing. Lilac colored eyes went cloudy for a moment, distant as he remembered some things he probably be better off forgetting. He shook his head. "I can't be killed by conventional means, so there's no fear of that." He spoke the words as if to reassure her, that no matter what the cat did to him, he would be perfectly fine. "I'll try not to stir him up into a frenzy, though I think him just seeing me might do that." Frown upon his lips as he spoke those words, and he turned from her to find a window he might be able to peek out of to see what the cat was doing.

"You can't decide that for me!" Cade snapped the words out, but regretted them immediately. He looked to the ground with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Certainly not in that way.

Seeing the way Jack was moving about, Cade watched curiously. As the pieces of paper were gathered, the artist frowned, until he saw them look whole again. Wide eyed, he stared at the drawing in disbelief. His eyes caught on Jack's features, drinking in what he had looked like once.

He watched with disappointment as the illusion faded away. "Thank you, Jack." Cade shifted, moving to give the nekojin a brief hug. He was grateful for the glimpse he'd been given, even it galled him to know that he was still ignorant of how Jack truly looked.

He was trying to sound so non-chalant about everything. Maybe it really didn't matter to him, the nameless wolf... It mattered to Aletta though. She wanted to find some way to ease the man's pain, to take it away. As a healer it was her duty to do so, but it was just a little more then that. He had helped her in the forest, and she wanted to return the favor.

"Well hopefully there's no need for you to endure anything while you stay here. Take the time to rest." Aletta didn't ask him to stay again. "What's your name? I think we may have forgotten to introduce ourselves during the commotion yesterday." She finished with the dishes, putting them aside.With efficient movements, the woman dried her hands, then turned to lean against the counter and eye her guest.

The nekojin tensed lightly when Cade hugged him. "You shouldn't rip up art. No matter how frustrated you get." He pressed the pieces of paper into Cade's hand and stood slowly, running a hand through his hair and over one of his feline ears, scratching at the base of it for a moment. "Breakfast was good." Jack shifted on his feet slightly, normally after a night out in the woods, which was an often thing for Jack, he would wash up in a stream or river. He didn't want to leave the healer's yard, still keeping watch for the wolf, and he had a feeling Cade would follow him and peek at the things Jack didn't want seen yet.

"Only the pain of the change. I'll have to change again, probably soon. I can't maintain my human form very long." The words were spoken quietly and he shifted on his feet slightly. Lilac eyes meeting Aletta's eyes for a moment. He would rest as much as he could, rest and relaxation seemed to ease some of the pain, but only after a change was made. Still, slipping from human to wolf wouldn't hurt as much as going from wolf to human. He bit his bottom lip for a moment. "I'm called Krinn."

"Feeling restless again?" He accepted the scraps of artwork with a shake of his head. He didn't want to be rude, and it was flattering that the nekojin called his scraps art. He tilted his head to the side, glancing about. There wasn't anything around that Cade could think of that might make the nekojin act in such a way.

She nodded with a frown, obviously trying to think of some way to alleviate the pain Krinn spoke of. "I am Aletta." She wanted to ask about his changes, but couldn't find the words to. It was quite the personal question, and she didn't want to pry.

Then again, if she were to help Krinn, she needed to know more of his circumstances ... "I hate to pry b-but you see .. W-w-why do your changes pain you so?" The change was natural for weres, needed for their health even. Things seemed different for her guest though.

"It's rather boring. Just waiting and watching for the wolf to come out." He was frowning behind his mask, those ears twitching lightly and his tail swaying side to side. Though truly he just wanted to go splash around in a stream or river for an hour or two. He rolled his shoulders and began to pace back and forth, as if all those motions were just to give emphasis to how bored he was. He was bored, but not quite bored enough to be that restless yet, still, maybe Cade would do something to entertain him a bit.


Krinn let an amused smile play over his lips at Aletta's words. She thought asking that question was prying? He shook his head slightly. "It's a curse. One I rightly deserved but one I'm afraid I'll never be able to break on my own, and even then apparently it can't be broken completely." It was a long story, and Krinn motioned for her to sit down as he moved to sit as well. He would wait for her to get comfortable before telling her the story. The whole story.

He told Aletta how when he had been sixteen he had been orphaned, both parents dying from some disease. Shortly after he fell in with a rough crowd, who one day decided they could get rich from stealing from and selling a sorcerer's magic scrolls. They slipped in while the sorcerer was out, and they did make quite the money selling those items. Thinking they had gotten away and were free from the sorcerer's wrath they were taken by complete surprise one night. The sorcerer had used magic to find them of course, the other boys the sorcerer destroyed out right. Because he could see the evils in their heart and knew it would only grow no matter what. Krinn he cursed, because there was still hope yet for his young heart. Cursed to the form of a wolf, immortal, ageless. A curse that could only be broken by a special thing.

Of course Krinn didn't know what that special thing was. He told Aletta of his life as a wolf, a wolf with the ability to speak, but he shied away from humans. He wandered, in isolation searching for that 'special thing' to break his curse. He learned how to live as a wolf, but never lost his humanity. He told Aletta how he wandered for years upon years searching, until one day he found a were-leopard. They became fast friends, and one day even lovers. Love seemed to break the curse, at least partially. It gave Krinn the ability to change at will, painlessly, effortlessly. Seamlessly as if both bodies were truly his own. Krinn spoke of how one day the were-leopard, Vega, simply vanished. Quite literally and right before Krinn's eyes. He searched and searched for more years than he cared to count, every time he thought he was close, the trail went cold.

Then one day he had felt it. In his heart, in his entire body. Wherever his lover had gone, he was dead. Ever since that day the change became painful, he was unable to hold his human form for long periods of time. With every passing year the pain increased, the time in his human form shortened. Now with every passing day it's worse and one day he wouldn't be able to take back his human form at all.

The artist watched the nekojin pace. Back and forth, back and forth, and with his tail swaying temptingly not so far out of reach. Cade couldn't help but wonder how soft it was, but he feared what kind of reaction that might get.

"We could play tag ..." suggested Cade rather lamely. He didn't think he'd ever win that kind of game, but if it helped alleviate some of Jack's boredom, then of course he would play.

Aletta smiled a little. So perhaps she'd been worrying just a little too much. She settled down after that, spreading her skirt and tugging at her tunic, until everything was just right.

The moment Krinn began to speak his tale, she felt her heart rise and fall with the wolf's sorrows and joys. It fell more then it rose with happiness, the healer's heart did. Wordlessly, the woman moved to wrap an arm around the man's shoulders to give him a gentle hug. "I know you don't want to stay here, but come back and visit from time to time alright?"

She didn't think he wanted to hear her sorrow over his fate.

Jack blinked, stopped in mid pace when Cade made his suggestion and he peered at the artist. Tag was one of Jack's favorite games but, there was no way the human could out maneuver him. It just wouldn't be a fair game. He shook his head. "No, I love tag, but it wouldn't be fair for you. You've not the speed or agility I have. I'd win every time." He was pouting behind that mask and he scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. Jack had nothing. So the cat plopped down on the ground next to the artist and rested his head on Cade's thigh, those cat eyes looking up at the artist's face. "I don't think the wolf is ever coming out." He was pouting again.


Krinn accepted Aletta's hug easily. Truly it wasn't that he didn't want to stay, he just couldn't. Krinn didn't really know what it was that drove him forward anymore. Hope of breaking the curse perhaps. He sighed softly and leaned into the hug. "This is a nice place, but if I don't keep looking I might never find a way to break my curse completely." Krinn was in no real hurry to leave, though the cat outside made him nervous. He was sure Jack wouldn't hurt these people but he really couldn't be certain about that. "I will stay for a while, maybe the cat will get tired of waiting for me to come out and he'll go away." Cats were fickle creatures, but he wasn't sure how patient they could be.

Cade actually pouted. The artist didn't even realize what kind of face he was making as he leaned forward, following the nekojinwith his eyes. "We could play hide and seek, couldn't we?" A shrug of his shoulders showed just how little he knew about what was going on with the wolf. He had no way of knowing, unless he went inside and asked Aletta and the wolf man himself. Cade was rather reluctant to do that ...

Jack's unexpected action startled Cade slightly, but instead of asking questions he smiled and began to run a hand through the other man's hair. He was careful whenever his fingers brushed up against Jack's feline ears. Causing any harm to the nekojin, if even inadvertently, was about the furthest thing from Cade's mind.

Aletta nodded, and moved away. She walked to a nearby shelf to pull a tome out, and then another. "I may not have any of the knowledge you seek, but I do have these." The healer placed the books upon the table, and opened them. One held a list of names and locations, and the other was a collection of maps. Each person listed was a keeper of knowledge, of sorts.

"These people, they might be able to help. They're part of a network dedicated to preserving the knowledge of the world, of each trade, including magic." She was one of these people, the one responsible for remembering the art of healing in all it's aspects. "You can take these, I have other copies. When you visit, tell them I sent you and they'll be more then glad to do what they can for you." The brunette tilted her head, offering up a smile to the wolf man.

"We could play hide and seek, but have you ever seen a panther that didn't want to be found? I'd win at that as well, I can track better than you also." He spoke the words simply as if he were just stating facts, he wasn't trying to make Cade feel bad for his superior abilities but humans were rather inadequate. In fact it surprised Jack that they had such high survivability. It didn't matter. Truthfully though, Jack didn't want to play a game, and as Cade's hand ran over his hair and ears, those eyes slipped half closed. For once when Cade touched him he didn't tense up and almost flinch, but Jack had technically instigated this touch. It was unexpected at all. He didn't purr, even though the gentle touch should have caused him to.


Krinn watched as Aletta pulled out some tomes. When she put them on the table, he moved closer to peer at them. It was a record, of people and where to find them. That was very interesting. In all his life he had never seen a record of people like that. Most records of people were just lineage and family trees. Such a thing as these could be helpful, but perhaps even dangerous for the people listed. What if someone untoward decided they needed to pay these knowledge keepers a visit, to glean their knowledge by force? Krinn hoped they were well prepared for such a thing. "This would be a great help, though I doubt any of these people have the knowledge I seek." Still there was a chance. A slim one in Krinn's opinion but even a slim one was better than none.

Instead of answering, he started humming slightly. His fingers moved to run over the nekojin's ears lightly, rubbing and teasing at the tips before moving to start the process at the base again. It was a soothing action, and Cade was surprised that Jack was even letting him touch him, let alone rub his ears. The thought had the artist smiling softly to himself.

She was glad to hear that he thought there might be a chance, slim though that was. Aletta glanced at the book again, and wondered if warning them about the possibility of a guest might be a good idea. Everyone had their own defenses set in place, and having an unannounced stranger upon their lands would certainly make quite a few of the listed people set their traps off.

"I'll need to tell them you might pay them a visit. A lot of them have defenses set in place for when strangers come around." She had her own as well, but that lay with her abilities. "Later though. For now, would you come with me to get some herbs? I would like the company." Aletta hadn't gotten all those she needed the day before. Finding Krinn had stopped her gathering before it was done.