Nathanial finally let himself relax, but in his mind he was complaining about his partner's habit of referring to him as her property. Sure he was her partner, but he didn't belong to her at least on in the sense that most people would take what she was saying. Raja seemed to be calmer than what she had earlier. For now he would stay quiet and let the two woman talk. Not that Raja would let him say much while she got a feel for the pair he had introduced her to.

“Yes, that I am. You're probably wondering why I am in human form instead of animal.” The red headed woman spoke politely. She knew the girl most likely had many questions, but first she wanted to prove to her that she was an elemental. She took a couple of steps back with a quick glance to Nate. He gave her a small nod. With his approval the woman started to shift into her animal form. Once she was finished a large bangle tiger stood in the middle of the room. “As you can see, it's safer for me to travel in human form when near humans.”

"Yes... I see" Krysta agreed quietly. She frowned at the tigress a moment in thought. She had never been more gratefully that todd could fit in a little bag. Still it felt strange to be facing down a tiger, even when you had the powers of an elemental. Still she didn't say anything more but simply gazed at her. She stayed silent for a few moments, as if inwardly comparing how she and todd matched up with the two. They were both physically stronger, Nate and this tiger woman, and she wasn't sure about magically. It'd probably only take seconds for the tiger or nate to tackle her to the ground. Krysta was tall but ultimately a frail woman physically.

Why'd Nate need a room?" She finally asked as she gazed at the tiger. She was still not sure how much she trusted them. Would she be able to summon energy before the tiger snapped her neck? She shook off the thought and simply looked from Nate to Raja and back and forth. She was waiting for an answer... and unsure.

Raja stretched a bit, it felt good to be back in her tiger form. The girl's nervousness was no surprise to her. The tigeress' large head tilted to the side slightly. “He didn't tell you?” She shot a glance over at the male with a short growl. “It was his idea that the two of us stay in separate rooms.”


Nathanial shifted uneasily when the tigeress growled at him. “Ok I should have mentioned that earlier I guess. I thought that it might be safer for the two of us to stay in separate rooms because before we got here we were being pursued by a hunter. We lost them a few days ago, but there is no telling when that hunter or another one might start following us. I figured if we had separate rooms that it might throw off anyone looking for elemental partners.” He shrugged slightly, “besides Raja likes to hog the bed.” There was a grin on his face at his comment about his partner who already wasn't pleased with him. The tigeress just shook her head at his bad joke. He looked back at Krysta. “I hope that clears things up a bit.”

..... It's good enough i guess..." Was Krysta's lack luster response to the explanation. She wasn't so sure what to think of it, then again Todd tended to stay in animal form and was tiny enough that it felt like she was sleeping with a stuffed animal. It probably was much easier then dealing with the tiger woman. Still she said nothing of her inner thoughts and simply slowly sat down on the end of her bed. She gazed at Nate now. The look on her face seemed to ask, 'What now?'

It will be time for bed soon..

Nate knew that his explanation probably wasn’t very good, but it was the truth. He looked at Krysta wondering the same thing as she was. Really he had no reason to stay in this room since his partner had a room. Little did they know that the inn keeper was currently looking for Raja because there had been another room mix up. The male rubbed the back of his head and looked at the floor for a few moments. In a way he felt bad for deceiving the girl and fox, but he had to do it to find if they were elementals partners as well.

“I’d understand if you kicked us out right now since Raja has a room that we can share.” He hesitated for a moment, “umm…I’m sorry for causing you trouble.” The tigeress lifted her large head and looked over at the boy. She was surprised that he seemed to be giving up all of a sudden. While her partner continued to talk she shifted back into her human form. Nate ran a hand through his hair. “It was fun teasing you though,” he said with a slight grin and wink.


Down the hall the inn keeper knocked on the door to Raja’s room several times. The man sighed frustrated when there was no answer. He wished to resolve things quickly if he could. There were a few rooms mix ups that he wanted to straighten out right away. One of these mix ups being that the room that was given to Raja had been reserved a few days prior to her arrival by a gentleman, whom wasn’t too pleased to find out upon his arrival that they had given his room to someone else. The inn keeper had his daughter check the dining room to see if the woman was there, but no one seemed to have seen her.

At this point the inn keeper had little choice and resorted to knocking on other room doors to find out if anyone had seen or knew where the woman was. He walked down the hall and started his search at the room that belonged to Krysta. A loud knock came from the door.

"Well....- Oh would you stop with the teasing!" Krysta started to answer him only for him to tease her again. She blushed gently and shook her head at him. She just didn't understand why his merely having the slightest bit of suggestion in his tone made her feel like there were butterflies in her stomach. She pushed away the thought, however, when she heard the knock. Instantly her nails flashed black and the shadows rippled as she looked at him almost suspiciously. Back up? She glanced at Todd but came to the door. She opened it slowly to see the owner. Instantly she relaxed and invited him in curiously.

Nathanial chuckled slightly, but his chuckling was cut short by the knocking that came from the door. His eyes shot to the door, the air in the room shifting ever so slightly. Cautiously he watched the woman answer the door. Had he been tricked? Hearing the owner’s voice he relaxed a bit and so did Raja who was tense. He looked at the inn keeper questioningly.

“Thank you Miss,” the old man said with a smile. It was clear by his facial expression and the look in his eyes that something was bothering him. He entered the room, closing the door. “Sorry to interrupt…” Looking around he paused. Finally his search was over. “Ah, there you are Miss Raja. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he said, a look of relief replacing the anxiousness in his expression. The older male walked over to the woman with red hair. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but there were some mix ups in room reservations and well…your room was reserved for a man who arrived this evening. You will need to find another place to stay as he’s demanding the room. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I will give you back the deposit you made as well as let you have a free dinner." As the man apologized he bowed his head to her. Clearly he was embarrassed about what happened.

Before Raja could say anything the inn keeper was halfway out the door. “I wish you luck in finding a place to stay,” he said before disappearing out the door, closing it behind him. Raja stood there dumb founded for a moment. Now what was she supposed to do? Stay here in the room with Nate, the woman and fox? A low growl came from her as she glared at the door then at Nate. Had he planned this all out without telling her? “What am I going to do now Nate? Neither of us have a room…it’s all your fault isn’t it?” She questioned the boy.

Nate wasn’t sure what was going on or what to do now. He hadn’t planned on something like this happening. He rubbed the back of his head, thinking. “I guess we are all stuck in this room. Or you and I could spend the night in the alley…it’s a little late for us to go make camp somewhere outside of town.” For the first time this entire evening worry was on his face. Why weren’t things working out for him? At this point he had little faith in Krysta letting Raja or him stay in the room, though he hoped that she would. He had a funny feeling about her.

"I still get the bed" Kyrsta said after a moment of tense silence, indicating they could stay. She frowned a moment at the door, however, thinking it seemed like the plot from one of her novels. She shook her head and quickly moved to the bed, sitting on the edge again. She just watched the two again, that same studious silence. She didn't know what to say to them no, still not sure she could trust them. She adjusted her glasses a moment, that frown still on her face.

"You two have sleeping bags or something?" She finally asked. She didn't seem inclined to show her emotions to them, staying hidden as always. She would wait to see what they did and how they did it... only time would tell what would happen. She was waiting mainly on their reaction now. She wanted to see if they were too eager, or too reluctant, or any other such thing that indicated to her there may be tricks involved.

“That’s fine,” Nate gave her a slight nod. His gaze went back and forth between the two females in the room. It almost seemed like he was trying to decide between the two of them. His eyes finally fell on Raja, it was up to her whether they stayed or not. Well at least to a point it was. He sighed slightly before his mood turned more serious. “I will leave it up to you about where you stay Raja. Depending on your decision I may or may not join you,” his tone was the serious it had been the entire evening. The way he seen it. This was their only chance to attempt to align themselves with others like themselves.

Emerald eyes with speckles of gold stared back at the young man. Raja answered the girl’s question, only glancing at her for a moment. “Yes, I have a sleeping bag and a few other things in my room.” For a moment she thought she felt a connection between the two humans. She wasn’t sure about this, but time would tell. “Nate, I don’t mind sticking together, but if we stay here even if the four of us have something in common we’re intruding. We can’t expect them to trust us, just like they can’t expect us to trust them.” She sighed slightly. “Nathanial you are my partner and I trust you with my life even if I don’t show it often. I will trust your judgment, but don’t let your emotions get in the way. I would rather we find some other place to stay.” She found herself lecturing the boy in front of the girl and fox. Unexpectedly she blushed slightly before excusing herself to get her things.

He thought over what his partner had said after she excused herself. Of course she was right, but something told him to stay even if it meant being separated from his partner. He looked over at Krysta. “If you’re really sure about it not being a problem I will be staying here tonight.” His voice wavered slightly as he spoke. Am I really making the right decision?

"I don't care, if you want to stay, stay.. if you don't, don't." Krysta responded with an uncaring shrug, though there seemed a little hurt in her voice. She didn't like how they were talking about her, as if she was imposing on them or going to kill them in their sleep. She tossed her hair then and finally took off her hoodie, clearly getting ready for bed and intending to ignore them both. Whether out of coldness or hurt was anyone's guess. She put the hoodie on the bed post and sat on the bed. She began to remove her shoes, still not even looking at him. Todd, sensing her irritation, moved closer to her and put his head on one of her thighs. He was the opposite of Raja, more animal then human... even in human form he was more what he as now, more a lap dog then anything else.

Nathanial rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes closing slightly. The red headed male wasn’t about to go after his partner since he knew that she’d do what she wanted. In some ways he hoped that she wouldn’t return, at least not right now. After a few minutes of just standing there the boy moved over to where he had made him a spot to sleep. He could guess that Krysta was annoyed so he didn’t look at her and had his back to her. He started to get ready to sleep taking off his shoes and jacket, laying the shoes at the foot of his bed roll and his jacket on his bag. Without thinking he started to take off his shirt, revealing one a large scar going diagonally across his back and a few smaller ones. From the looks of them one would guess that they had been caused by a bladed weapon. When he realized what he was doing his shirt was over his head. Quickly he pulled it back down, covering his back. Hesitantly, without looking around he asked, “You didn’t see anything, right?” The tone of his voice gave away that the male was nervous. After asking the question he glanced over his shoulder at the woman setting on the bed.