The Inn has recently undergone construction, it is no longer in a state of disrepair. It has been fully repaired and refurbished. It's a warm, friendly place, welcoming to all.

It was just an Inn like any other, though perhaps a little out of the way. Farther from a town than an Inn should be. It was a place that had first been built as a way point for adventurers and travelers on the Dusty Road. Though that had been years ago, and the Inn had changed hands and names many times since being built. It's original purpose never truly forgotten, but it seemed to have fallen in very slight disrepair. There were still many adventurers and traveler's along the Dusty Road, but seldom did they drop in for a rest or bite to eat anymore. It was probably due to the inhospitable nature of the Inn's most recent owner. A grumpy man who never had anything nice to say to anyone, it was even rather questionable as to how he had acquired the place.

It didn't matter, at least not to Ikori. His master was away, as the grumpy man often was, and there were no patrons in the Inn, as it often seemed to stay empty. The young man sat behind the bar, slumped forward in a chair, his arms resting on the bar and his chin resting on his arms. It was boring, it was always boring, but Ikori loved it when the Master was away. It was good, having a break from the mean man's presence. Ikori rather enjoyed the peace, and treasured it. He knew it wouldn't last long. His Master had gone into town, as he often did in the mornings, he would return sometime late in the night. Of that Ikori was sure. The dog in human form sighed softly at the thought of his Master returning, he wasn't very fond of the man at all. He wanted to changed into his true form and run away but a couple of things prevented him from doing that.

A small solid silver circlet rested around his neck, it was a magical thing. It prevented him from changing to his true form. Trapping him in the guise of a human, and then there was the heavy shackle that rested around his left ankle. A thick chain ran from it to a solid loop bolted to the floor in a corner behind the bar. It was a long chain, giving Ikori free reign of most of the kitchen that was through a doorway behind the bar, and he could go out a little ways onto the floor in front of the bar. His eyes held an expression of sadness in them, but they had always held that sadness, humans had always treated him badly no matter what form he was in. He shifted slightly in his seat, making the chain clank against the wooden leg of his chair. Those eyes, darker in this form than in his true form, lingered on the door. He almost wished someone would come in, so he would have someone to talk to.

Some distance away the tall woman bent over a corpse of a man who had been mugged. Most of his items had been taken but she found the deed to an inn and a few keys the thieves had missed. Sloppy and poor enough thieves to have to resort to killing. To Mahira thievery was an artform just like any other careful skill so those who muddied it's name doing such as this offended her sensibilities. She frowned as she picked up what few items of the man who remained in tact and formed ice around the body carefully so she would be able to lift it without getting blood everywhere.

"Ugly....huh Crystal?" She remarked to the icy blue spirit orb next to her, who could only be seen by those with spirit sensitivity. Those with similiar sensitivity would be able to see not just it but also inside the woman a dragon soul would briefly be visible as she channeled it to control the element of ice. The odd blue spirit orb seemed to agree as Mahira nodded with a warm smile, her eyes on the body. Soon she lifted the ice encasing the body with her control of the element and plain-stepped to arrive just outside the inn. She sat the ice coffin on the porch before she stepped inside and knocked on the door jam to announce her presence. Her silver eyes were stormy with thought as they searched for some sign of a worker or similiar. She saw the male at the bar and approached with a smile until she saw he was.....chained.

"What the hell.....? What's going on here?' She asked softly as she approached him with just a little caution. She was already prepared to channel one of her dragon spirit friends to release him, in fact one of fire already lingered in the space behind her, but she did realize their may be a reason he was chained. She dropped the keys and inn deed on the bar as she approached, those pale eyes still on his.

The door opened, and Ikori perked up just the slightest bit. Sitting up some in his chair with tilted head. His Master would have used the back door, so it must be a customer! The dog sniffed tentatively at the air as the person knocked lightly on the door jam, it was hard to keep still. Someone was here, and he was going to do a very good job of being a very good bartender and when his Master returned the grumpy man would be so pleased with him. His excitement grew as the girl approached closer to the bar, and he stood almost abruptly, making that chain rattle softly against itself.

"Welcome to the Lazy Dog." He had offered a soft smile, though that smile seemed very uncertain once she spoke and dropped some familiar items on the bar top. Ikori reached for them uncertainly but quickly, those sad eyes suddenly wary and almost afraid. He snatched the items from the bar top rather quickly bringing the keys and the deed up to his nose to sniff at them lightly. They smelled of his Master, as he knew they would. "Where..where did you get these?" If the young man had been in his true form his ears and tail would have been drooping. Instead his shoulders slumped and his sad eyes looked a little more sad and a bit afraid. He even took a few steps back, that chain clinking slightly, clutching the deed and keys protectively to his chest.

Did this mean his Master wasn't coming back? Had this woman done something to the grumpy old man? Ikori wasn't sure how he should feel about all this.

" A man, he'd been mugged on the road near town. His body's outside, i figured his family if any would be here since he had that deed. Are you... family? And why are you chained?" She asked to repeat her earlier question a little clearer. She was beginning to wonder if giving him the keys that likely included to the chain might not have been the best idea. Still she doubted he was a dangers. He looked, and felt to her, like he was a little afraid, maybe even a little lost. She felt a twinge of pity as he eyed her so warily but there was little she could do until he answered a few more questions for her...

"Not right now" She muttered to apparently thin air, but instead her guardian as it suggested one thing she could do. She could use the abilities of her race to read the place memories and ask any lingering ghosts what they knew but it seemed a bad idea. When viewing place memories she became blind and deaf to the reality around her so she could instead see and hear the place as it was. If this man was dangerous then she probably shouldn't leave herself so vulnerable. The spirit knew that but at her response simply said that she had been wondering what else she could do, not what was wise to do. That sort of joking sarcasm was the nature of the spirit and if Mahira had been less focused on the dog man she might have stuck her tongue out at the creature in response.

So then the Master was dead. Ikori frowned deeply, it was sad that a person should die, it was even sadder that a person should be killed for the few possessions carried with them. It was those things that made him sad, not the loss of his Master but simply the loss of a life. "He has no family..just me, his pet." Ikori was even more uncertain now than before and he moved slowly to place the deed and keys back on the bar top. Did that mean that now this place belonged to this woman? Ikori was a dog, he couldn't own property, could he? Well he didn't want to own it anyway. He shifted slightly on his feet her other question causing him to shrug slightly. "It's so I won't run away." He said the words as if it were an obvious thing, but he still seemed rather uncertain about this entire situation.

"This...this place is yours now..I guess. Since you have that." He nudged the deed and keys a little closer to her with a finger. "What will you do with me?" That was really the important question, wasn't it? Perhaps this girl would be a nice master. A kind master. Ikori would do his best to be a good dog for her, he would do his best not to make any mistakes. But, what if she wanted to put him down?

He reached up to tug at the silver circlet collar around his neck. It was one solid piece and somehow magically suppressed his natural ability, trapping him in whichever form he had been in when the thing was placed around his neck. He tugged at it lightly. "Please don't kill me. I'll be a good dog, I won't bite anyone or bark at them or anything." If he had noticed her muttering to something he couldn't see it didn't show. He might not have noticed it all in this new fear that had wrapped around him.

"Why would I kill you.....?" She responded with a puzzled expression. She watched him a moment with a little uncertainty of her own and glanced at the spirit orb next to her again. Still, the idea of running an inn didn't seem like a bad one she supposed and the deed did decide ownership in places like this with relatively loose laws. She took the keys and the deed slowly as she slowly began to realize he was some sort of animal shifter... dog if what he said was true. She bit her lip and put on a pair of thicker gloves with fingers before she looked to find which key would unchain him. Once she had she would unlock the thing, if he was dangerous and wanted to try to kill her he would and that would settle what he was or wasn't.

"Besides, I've never run an inn so I'd need help. What's this?" She finally mused cheerfully to let him know her good intent... even if the idea of keeping him as a pet seemed odd to her. She looked at the metal loop around his neck then, it seemed to have some type of binding magic in it. If it was pure silver she could touch it, otherwise she was allergic to most metals and something that delicate would be hard to remove. Her thick gloves would make that type of fine motor skill to difficult. She took a breath and removed her over gloves, leaving just the fingerless black ones she had before for warmth. She reached to touch it and if it was pure silver, if not she'd have a red welt on her finger in response.

"...I dunno...because there's no proof you didn't kill my Master..?" Once she had asked that question he seemed very uncertain in his fear of her. It seemed logical and foolish all at once to him, foolish because she seemed rather harmless and didn't smell of danger, but logical because he really had no evidence at all that she hadn't been the one to kill his Master.

When she came near him with the key he backed away until he could no longer back up. It was only a couple steps and then shelves that lined the back wall full of bottles were pressed against his back. His body tensed and he flinched slightly, expecting the worst when the click of the lock opening came to his ears, and then the shackle fell away from his ankle. Revealing the skin to be a little chafed and irritated but otherwise fine.

He seemed to perk up slightly when the shackle was unlocked. "..I could help." He started to smile, that smile fading quickly as he turned his head away and cringed when she reached for his face. He realized that she wasn't really reaching for his face. It was the collar, he bit his bottom lip gently when she touched it. "Master said it was a gift...but it's just a cage without bars." Ikori was frowning deeply.

The circlet around his neck was pure silver, silver being a rather pure metal in it's own right, was used instead of another metal as it seemed to channel and hold the magic better. It even seemed to boost the effect of the magic, not that it really needed boosted at all. "It...It keeps me in this form." He spoke the words quietly. Half afraid to tell her, she might decide to keep it on him.

The red head was tired, and looking for a place to stay. She had avoided the town naturally, simply not trusting a place with too many people. She was just about to set up camp on the side of the road when she spotted a somewhat run-down inn. She smiled in relief- there wouldn't be too many humans there. A perfect place to nest for the night. She wondered if they had a large fireplace. Walking inside, the young Phoenix in human form took a glance around and saw two people standing there. She froze. "Oh, um...s-sorry. Should I have knocked...?" She asked, her quiet voice somewhat musical.

"I thought you could. This place seems a bit big to be run by one person. We also need to bury your former master i suppose since he doesn't seem to have any family here." She said with a nod as she gave him a small smile, though as always her smile never seemed to quite reach her eyes. It was not that it lacked sincerity but more as if she'd been marred by some sadness that left her always a little distracted. She let out a soft sigh of relief as the metal failed to burn her. It was pure silver... she could get that off in a second! She channeled the fire dragon's strength and snapped it by grasping two portions with her finger tips. She then carefully removed it from his neck and put it in her bag just as she heard someone enter. She looked towards the female and gave her another of her smiles.

"Nah, this is an inn after all.. I just acquired it recently though so you'll have to bare with me. You want a room?" She responded cheerfully. She could sense the spirit of a phoenix... or rather the fire dragon could even as she released the draconian spirit back into the spirit world. So a phoenix huh? She was surprised to see one in such a human form but she supposed plain hopping one could never really be sure which rules of any given reality were different and which were the same. At any rate it'd be some good coin to earn.... and legitimately at that.

][ Hi Wolfie! <3][

Ikori's body seemed to relax slightly, even more when the collar was broken and removed. His body felt different now, before it had felt weighed down. At least that was the best way of describing it, now he felt lighter. He watched her as she put the broken collar in her bag, a slight whimper escaping his lips. Surely the only reason she was keeping it was so she could put it back on him, probably a punishment for if he misbehaved. He moved to reach for her bag, to take the collar out of it, his intention to run off and hide it somewhere. She might punish him for that, but without the collar he could take his true form and run fast and far and be truly free of such oppression.

He stopped his hand halfway out to her bag as his head snapped up when the other girl walked in and spoke. For a few moments Ikori looked like a caught deer. His heart pounded in his chest, the woman infront of him spoke to the new girl and that seemed to snap him slightly out of whatever daze he had fallen into. "K-keys are here..." The hand that had been reaching for the woman's bag moved so he could point a little to the side of him.

A section of wall between two shelves held a bunch of little pegs, and a couple of keys on each peg. Each room had two to three keys to it. A number engraved rather elegantly on the keys, matching the number on the door of the room they went to, and a number under each peg so the key could be placed back in it's proper space on the peg board. He moved his hand to point off to the side of the room just past the fireplace. "Rooms are down the hall and up the stairs at the end of the hall." It was a very short hall though, and held two doors of it's own. One was a room where the cleaning products were stored, the other door led down to the basement.

That hand dropped and he looked very uncertainly at the woman who now owned this place. He had pointed out keys and rooms almost automatically, he had been trained well, and he was a good dog. Part of being a good dog was doing as you were trained to do, but now he wasn't sure. "...Am I your pet now? Or am I free to seek out a different master?" It seemed to him like he was her's now, as she had mentioned she would need help running this place. He could help, he was very good at running it. Then again it almost never got customers.

The girl tilted her head slightly. So this place had only just changed hands? Though the male seemed to know his way around. Shyly, she shuffled forward to take a better look at the keys he had pointed out. "Uh,um, th-thank you. I'm ,uh, that is to say...m-my name is Hikari. Nice to m-meet you." She muttered. Hikari had her reasons for being shy, and even more so for being nervous around people, human or otherwise.

((Hiya, Kry!!))

Mahira gave him a slightly puzzled look as he reached towards her bag. It didn't seem like he would try to steal anything so the only thing she could figure was he wanted the silver thing back. She just wanted to use it for material.... was he afraid she would put it back onto him? Yes... that seemed likely. She suppressed a sigh and watched him a moment in thought. Just what was he thinking? Her empathy wasn't enough to tell her thoughts... but his words soon revealed it. He really did think like a dog or other pet didn't he? Still Mahira was not the type to use or trap anyone. It was just too wrong.

"You are free to do what you want, I don't want to trap you or anyone else. I don't even have pets really, just friends. If you want to go find someone else to stay with you can, if you want to stay here and help me run the inn you can do that too..." She said simply. She reached over then to pat him on the head a couple times, being easy to do being a rather tall woman at five eleven. She gave him a small smile then before she turned to the girl. She seemed so timid and shy... everyone did but Mahira right now it seemed. Her spirit gaurdian corrected her at that point which caused her to mutter to the invisible spirit 'I know, I know' before she focused fully on the shy girl.

"I'm Mahira, nice to meet you."

Ikori chewed his bottom lip, expecting some kind of punishment for trying to take something that wasn't his from her. Punishment never came, instead she told him that he was free to do whatever he liked and reached for him. He ducked his head slightly, unsure if she meant to pet him or smack him. Quickly her intention seemed clear and he relaxed as she patted his head. He was good. She wasn't angry at him or anything. Only good dogs got pats on the head. His tail would have been wagging if he had been in his true form, but he wasn't. Still it was clear in his always sad eyes that the simple action had made him rather happy and pleased with himself.

The other girl was speaking too, and Ikori turned slightly to grab a key from the peg board beside him. Number 3 was engraved on the key and he held it out to Mahira, so she could give it to Hikari. "...I'm called Ikori." He tilted his head to the side slightly, watching Hikari. She seemed so shy, he liked it. It was sweet and adorable. "...Former Master charged really high prices for rooms..will Master Mahira charge the same?" His gaze had shifted from Hikari to Mahira as he spoke. Ikori had decided he would stay, truly he had no where else to go, except to wander into town and try to find a master that he could be a good dog to. So why not stay here and see how things would go with this Mahira and Hikari?

He peered at Hikari again, wondering how long she might stay at the Inn.

Hikari blushed. "Oh, um...I d-don't have much money to offer, I'm afraid. I c-could work, if you w-wanted." She said, looking from the man, to the woman to the key and back again. She had nowhere else to go, really. No home to return to- not anymore, at least. This was the first place she'd stayed longer than a minute in for a long time. She contemplated staying, if they would let her, and just working there, but the very idea of living in a place with other people made her nervous.

"No, no skill in that. Hmm... Most similiar inns would probably charge ten coin a week, so.... lets go with six coin. Can you afford that? If not Ikori should know some work that can be done." She answered after a moment. She figured stealing business would be more of a challenge then gouging a few coin from people who might have no choice but to stay there. Six coin a week would mean that the partial day they checked in would be free, and then a coin a day which would pay for the food and basic maintenance of the inn. It may be minimal profits but that was alright, she would probably spend a minimal effort anyway so it was only fair. She may be a thief but it was never about money anyway.

"So can you afford that Miss, or do we need to find some work? I need a maid and a cook anyway." She offered cheerfully, as she quickly gathered there was not many people here there probably wasn't many workers either. So she needed three essential positions. Desk clerk, maid, and cook. She already had a desk clerk in Ikori, if this woman filled one she could fill the other. Of course... if she had to be the cook it was not an inn that would be known for its food, unless she channeled a cook... that could work. It had been a while since she had channeled someone other then her dragon friends she'd found along her journey but she could and this was near a human settlement so there was probably someone in a nearby grave that had loved cooking enough to want to keep cooking after death. She just hoped she could find one that was as good a cook as they thought they were... sometimes it wasn't clear. If she ended up being a cook anyway, maid she could do with no channeling. She had kept the tower clean as a child then...

Ikori blinked, staring at Mahira for a moment. She was charging so little for the room, it was suddenly clear to Ikori just how badly his former master had been trying to cheat people out of their money. It made more sense to him now as to why there were almost never any customers. He knew price had been really high, but he hadn't realized it had been outrageously high, Ikori was sure now that Mahira would be a nice person she had brought the price down so low. Then again maybe that just meant she wasn't greedy.

He shifted on his feet slightly as Mahira spoke of work for Hikari. His entire body seemed to droop slightly. Was Mahira trying to replace him already? Quick to toss him out at the prospect of someone else working. Maybe it was because he was a dog. His former master had always said he made the place stick, like a dirty dog. He had probably gotten fleas in all the bed too, somehow. But Mahira had said he could stay and help. He was so confused now.

"...But I...I thought those were all my jobs....I won't get fleas anywhere, or make the place smell like a dirty dog..and I don't even shed so my fur won't fall in the food.." He had sniffed at his arm lightly, then tugged on his hair a bit, as if to make sure to himself that he didn't stink, have fleas, or shed as he spoke the words. "....Are you going to replace me?" He was frowning deeply, looking so uncertain.

Though he had been chained behind the bar, there were other places with in the Inn that had spots in the floor for his ankle chain. So that he could clean rooms and do other things. The chain that had held him behind the bar had also been long enough to allow him nearly full use of the kitchen. He was still tugging at his hair, almost nervously.

"No, I'm not replacing you. In fact i wanted to make you the desk clerk and bartender because i know you can trust you not to steal from me and those two are the positions that require taking money. The price is low enough that I couldn't afford to have a thief on the pay roll and still pay for food and everything. Silly pup, a good price will attract more costumers so it may get to busy for one person so it just makes sense to have at last three workers. A cook and a maid will be needed too for sure, most inns this size have multiple maids, a cook, a bartender, a separate desk clerk, and sometimes a maintenance worker on top of all that. Would you prefer to be the cook or maid instead of the bartender who also checks people into the inn?"

She explained herself simply and patted ikori on the head as she called him a silly pup. She assumed since he asked how much she wanted to charge that he could count, maybe he couldn't but was too embarrassed to say so? She wasn't sure so she offered him his pick of the jobs. She could always be the check in clerk/bartend if needed. She shrugged at the thought and began to look around. She wasn't sure about the decor, and not just the chain. It was as if the guy had put minimal effort into it all.... there was probably a cache of hidden gold under a mattress in his room somewhere. She laughed softly at the thought and then turned to look towards Ikori again.

"Oh and I'll also need you to help me with the heavy lifting too. I want to re decorate the place in a style a little more ... friendly and inviting and a little less early dungeon style. That means the chains are out but not because I'm getting rid of you, I just trust you'll stay with me since you said you would. You'll keep your word, right Ikori? Keeping one's word is really important." She said with a sweet smile. She was already imagining how she wanted to do the inn. It wasn't too far from the sea side... maybe it should be sea themed? With pale greens and blues and breezy colors? or should it be more foresty based with strong woods, pretty flowers, and deep forest colors.

Hikari fumbled with a small coin purse at her hip and pulled out...three coin. "Oh d-dear...I can't seem to...um...well, I'm good at c-cooking...? She said, leaving the end a question to see if she would be accepted as a cook there. She had always been good at cooking, and she was a hard worker, so she was sure that she could earn her keep. "Also, um...c-could I suggest a change of names? The L-lazy Dog is okay, b-but not very inviting. M-maybe something happier for Ikori? The Friendly D-dog...? Or not..." She added, a little frightened that they would hate the idea.

"Oh." He spoke the word quietly, feeling rather foolish as Mahira explained to him what she had meant by asking if the other could work also. His hand dropped from his hair when she moved her hand to pat him on the head again. It brightened him up a bit more, he was getting so many pats in such a short time. Surely he was being a very good dog. Former Master almost never patted him.

"I can count good, so I could do that, take the money....I...I mean, not taking the money..I would take it for the Inn, for Master Mahira, is what I mean. Dogs have no use for money." He blinked, feeling rather foolish again, a soft sigh slipped past his lips. He hadn't meant to sound like he would take the money and run, but to his ears that first sentence had sounded like that, but now he felt silly for explaining what he truly meant. Mahira was smart, she probably would've realized what he had meant.

He did look around for a moment as she spoke of redecorating. The atmosphere of the place did seem a little oppressive to him and when she mentioned getting rid of the chains he seemed to perk up even more, but that sadness didn't seem like it would ever leave his eyes. It had been there too long and he had been through too much, not just at this hands of his former master, for it to leave so easily. "I never liked the chains anyway...." Ikori nodded slightly. "I'll stay until you make me leave, I said I'd stay and good dogs never lie or go back on their word."

His attention moved to Hikari when she spoke, and he smiled sweetly at her as she mentioned changing the name of the Inn, but he did duck his head slightly. It was a nice thing, for her to want to change the name like that, for him. Ultimately the decision was Mahira's though and also, Ikori didn't feel as he deserved something like that. His smile slipped some. "...No..But I am a lazy dog..I'm too slow, and things never get done on time because of my slowness. If I weren't lazy I wouldn't be so slow."

Those sad eyes turned to Mahira. "...I'm sorry..I am a good dog....but if I work here things mightn't get done on time....I should've said that sooner....please don't make me leave because of that. I'll do my best to get everything done quickly, I really will! I'll try really hard, I promise!"

"I guess that makes me the maid for now, so the three important positions are filled and we'll just run the inn all three of us together." She responded brightly as she gave the phoenix girl another of her small smiles. She had no problem with it really, she could always channel an air dragon to get it done quickly if needed. Her guardian grumbled at that thought which caused her to stick her tongue out at it.... or to those lacking spirit sense what seemed to be thin air. She giggled a bit as the spirit orb tried to do the same but turned back towards the group as the others began to speak further. She was starting to feel a little concerned about the dog shifter. He really was too down on himself. It was sad enough to make her want to stay though she had originally intended to drop of the body, fix up the inn and leave. These two wounded souls, however, made the naturally protective woman want to stay and take care of them.

"You're not lazy, no one can get everything done on time all by themselves. If they try they have to either do a sloppy job or do things slow. Doing things right takes time sometimes. For now though we need to bury a body before the ice melts... then we can decide if we want to rename the inn." She said with a wave of her hand. She'd then take both Ikori's and Hikari's hands before she lead them out together if they let her. If either resisted she would let them go and simply focus on doing the task she sat out to do. Once there she would channel an earth dragon to dig a pit over six food deep a small distance from the inn so it would be on the property but still a decent distance away. She would then use the earth dragon's strength to move the body before covering it and erecting a headstone. She put the man's name on the stone after asking the inn's place memories to tell her. Once done she stood back with her hands on her hips as she gazed back at the inn in thought.

"We'll have to do an inventory of the food to figure out what we need... and figure out a new decorating them. We could decorate the inn according to a new name if we make one, though what to name it if we do? If we name it after ourselves we'd have to go with a good dog, a fire soul, or a simple traveler but then it wouldn't make sense if any of us leave. We could always name it the Dusty Rose inn after the dusty road and the decoration." She mused thoughtfully as she used the earth dragon to begin decorating the outside of the faded structure with beautiful flowers that happened to include various colors of rose simply because it seemed to suit the soil along with a few other random flowers. It would cover the faded paint a bit and brighten up the place. Paint was more expensive then a few roses after all, especially enchanted ones that took their life from the ground water.

Ikori shifted on his feet slightly, looking from one female to the other for a moment. So then all of them would be working together and everything wouldn't be left to him to do all on his own? Well that would make things easier. He blinked and his head tilted to the side slightly when Mahira stuck her tongue out at the air near her, he watched her intently for a few moments. Wondering if maybe she had seen something that he couldn't see.

He smiled at her when she spoke of how he wasn't lazy. It was really nice of her to say that, but she had never seen him work before so she couldn't really know. Still Ikori knew his former master hadn't been a kind man, but he did wonder if maybe he hadn't been at least a little lazy. There might have been some truth to insults the grumpy man had often tossed in his direction. He said nothing, and when she grabbed his hand he let her lead him outside.

A little bit of that sadness in his eyes seemed to melt away, just the tinniest bit. It'd been a long time since he had been outside, and for a few moments he made it a point not to look at the body encased in ice. It was a sad thing, the loss of a life, any life. Still he would have helped dig if she had asked, he was a good digger but she seemed to have everything under control with her magic.

He watched Mahira as she made the hole, put the body in it and then covered it up and made a headstone. Ikori wasn't sure about burying the man so close to the Inn. What if he decided to haunt it? He shifted slightly on his feet at that thought and shoved the idea out of his mind. Ikori wanted to run. Run and bark and jump and just be a dog.

Mahira hadn't said he couldn't, and she had taken the collar...but would she put it back on him? She was talking again, something about inventory and food and Inn names, but Ikori wasn't really listening anymore. He was going to change, and if she didn't like it she could just punish him for it, but it would probably be worth it. It had been so long. Ikori's form shimmered a bit, as if fading in and out, then suddenly where the young man had stood, there stood a dog.

In this form, his true form those sad eyes were a bright blue color and his fur was lighter brown than his hair had been. For a moment he barked and yipped as he chased his tail, then he was bounding around Mahira. Leaping and barking happily, tail wagging furiously as he ran bounding circles around her legs. Suddenly he dropped to the ground and wriggled around. Rolling onto his side to wriggle around and then onto his back to wriggle around like that.

Once he was back on his feet he raced over to the flowers that Mahira had grown and buried his nose in them. Inhaling deeply, he sneezed lightly once and pulled his head out of the flowers, he turned to look at Mahira, tongue hanging out of one side of his muzzle and his tail wagging furiously. He seemed like a very happy dog, except for that sadness that still lingered in his eyes.

Hikari stiffened when the other woman took her hand, but followed anyway. She watched as she used magic to dig up a grave, place the body, cover it and put up a headstone. Then she started talking about decor, and names. Hikari was stuck on the subject of names, when she saw Ikori shift into the form of a dog. As he romped and frolicked, Hikari smiled widely. "The Heart's Freedom Inn!" She said brightly, then blushed and put her hands over her mouth. "S-sorry...I just meant...b-because we're all f-free n-now, and Ikori j-just made me think of a-a free heart...m-maybe..." She mumbled, embarrassed by her outburst. She badly wanted to pat Ikori, and shyly reached out to do so.

Ikori's ears had twitched a bit at Hikari's suggestion of another name for the Inn. It seemed like a good name to him, but truly the decision was Mahira's. He had tilted his head to the side a bit, as if considering it, while he watched Hikari approach him. As she reached out her hand to pet him, he ducked his head for a moment, suddenly afraid the two girls were angry at him for suddenly changing his form. Still as he watched Hikari he realized she merely wanted to pet him, Ikori moved forward, closing the slight distance between them and pushing his head up against her hand.

That tail wagged furiously behind him, and he let out a happy, playful bark at Hikari and then licked at her hand enthusiastically. His whole body seemed to be wriggling slightly from the force of how fast his tail was moving, and he sat down on his haunches almost on top of Hikari's feet and leaned his body against her legs. Muzzle parted, tongue hanging out one side but he seemed to very much enjoy the attention she was giving to him. It was so nice, getting that kind of attention from people. It certainly wasn't what he was used to.

Hikari blushed and smiled as Ikori sat up against her legs. She giggled when he licked her hand, and, hesitantly at first, started scratching behind his ears. Hikari loved dogs, she always had, though it was a little odd thinking of Ikori as a dog. Yes, that's what he was, but he had been in human form when they'd met. Most dogs couldn't become human. So Ikori was a dog, but also more than a dog. She decided not to worry over it too much and pet him, because he clearly enjoyed it.

Ikori enjoyed it very much. He loved attention, as long as it was pleasant attention and this was some very pleasant attention. He pressed his body against her legs a bit harder, not trying to knock her over, but just trying to be as close to her as he possibly could. She was being so very nice to him, it made him happy. Though he was a simple creature and it usually didn't take much to make him happy, no one had never put in the effort though. He was a good dog and he only wanted to be someone's perfect pet. That seemed to be his calling in life, it was the desire of his heart. It was why he couldn't stay far from people, he had tried it once. To stay away from people and their towns, but it had nearly drove him insane. He barked happily, content at the loving attention Hikari was giving him. That tail of his continued to wag madly behind him.