Cheers Darlin' [M][DragonSong]

[Lowen Thorn]

"N-No.. No, not that way," he muttered quietly, now talking in his sleep. "Don't worry.. Jynxie.. I'll protect you."

Noah tossed and turned in the bed as he slept through wild and exciting dreams, completely unaware that the hired thief seemed to be talking to herself.

[DragonSong]

The thief turned slightly when Noah started muttering in his sleep, eyebrow raised.

...You sure you don't want me to just eat him?

Despite herself, Jynx had to swallow back a chuckle. "Jury's out," she huffed, getting to her feet and arching her back in a stretch.

With a last quick look at her newest employer, she snatched a dark cloak from where it hung on the far wall and moved toward the staircase that led back up to the streets. It shouldn't be a problem; she'd be back before he woke.

Probably.

[Lowen Thorn]

Noah tossed and turned a little more, and a little more, and then a single click and he woke up suddenly. The darkness that surrounded him told him that he didn't sleep too long at all, and he could probably doze back off at any minute and it be perfectly fine.

But his throat was dry. He couldn't very well sleep with a dry throat. He grumbled a little bit, rubbing his eyes in his hands. "Can I have a glass of water?" he asked desperately, not looking around to notice that the thief had gone. "Jynx?"

[DragonSong]

While the thief had left the hideout, she had not left it unprotected. A massive, shaggy creature was curled up near the entrance to the little hidden room, just barely visible in the now dimmed light of the few lanterns.

When Noah moved the animal raised his head, turning bright, crimson eyes on the human with a low growl of irritation. At first glance he seemed most like a large, darkly furred wolf, all pointed muzzle and sloping shoulders.

Then he raised his other head and curled his lips back in a silent warning, poison green gaze locked onto their guest warily.

[Lowen Thorn]

Noah. Didn't. Move.

Was he dreaming? Or rather, was he having a nightmare? What in all hells was the thing staring down at him? Not just him, but his soul. This thing, this stuff of nightmares, cloaked in shadows.. did it mean to do him harm?

"Jynx," he whispered harshly, pleadingly. "Jynx!"

No sign of the thief.

He was dreaming. That was it. She wouldn't have left. He must've been dreaming.

[DragonSong]

The creature--and it was a creature, not a hound, not a wolf, a creature--raised both heads a little higher and snarled at Noah, a warning sound more than it was a true precursor to violence.

Still. Two snarling, wolfish heads on a massive body that heaved itself to its paws and stood threateningly in the entrance was hardly the most comforting of images.

[Lowen Thorn]

This wasn't a dream. He was fairly sure this wasn't a dream. Which meant that that thing he saw was very much real, and it was about as scary as it gets. He thought Zantaric was bad enough, but this?

"I'm s-sorry," he mumbled in a weak attempt to reason with the creature. "I'll see my way out."

He slipped out of the bed cautiously, took one slow step away from it, and then dove into a full-sprint into the direction of which he hoped was the exit.

[DragonSong]

Considering there was only one way in or out of the hideout, Noah's attempt to bolt put him right in the animal's path.

The massive creature lunges, knocking him into his back. He stood over him, snarling, hackles raised, teeth poised just above his throat—and then he turned and planted his massive rear on the man's chest, effectively pinning him in place.

And he seemed quite content to sit there for some time.

[Lowen Thorn]

Oh Gods Almighty!

Noah let out a tiny shriek of fear and surprise when the creature sat down on him like a giant lap dog. What to do? He couldn't move. Not that he was too scared to move, but he was physically unable to move from the creature. That, and he was too scared to move.

It didn't seem to be doing anything else though. Maybe he should... wait it out?

Jynx, where are you?"

[DragonSong]

The two-headed dog was all too happy to sit and wait for his mistress's return--which, luckily for Noah, didn't take much longer than the next quarter of an hour.

Jynx paused at the foot of the stone stairs when she caught sight of the demonic creature sitting on her employer, and a heavy sigh rose up in her chest. "I thought you were sleeping," she noted as she stepped into the room.

The dog's tail wagged and he whined plaintively at her, suddenly transformed into an obedient pup begging for attention. The thief chuckled quietly and clicked her fingers at him. "Janus, up."

The beast sprang to attention happily, trodding rather heavily on various bits of Noah's anatomy as he trotted over to her and shoved one head into her hand, the other sniffing at her hip. Jynx gave both chins a scratch and quirked her eyebrow at the man on the floor.

"Did you really try to run passed a hellhound?"

[Lowen Thorn]

A little groan and a grunt escaped him after the hellhound all but trampled over him to get to its master. Then, he sat upright with a breath of relief. "Jynx, thank gods," he said uneasily. "I uh.. Yes, I did. I thought you had left and that I was under attack."

He buried his hands in his face, embarrassed. "You left. What was I suppose to think?"

[DragonSong]

Jynx raised one eyebrow pointedly. "He was sitting in the doorway. On guard. He's a dog." She looked from the massive creature now sprawled happily over her feet to Noah and back. "You were supposed to think he's a guard dog?"

The hellhound--Janus--barked once from one head, then twice from the other, both tongues lolling happily.

[Lowen Thorn]

"It's really dark in here!" he retaliated weakly. "I didn't know what it was, I wasn't sure how-"

He stopped himself from embarrassing himself any further. He shrugged it off, and stood. "Where'd you go, anyway?" he asked, attempting to change the subject.

[DragonSong]

"None of your business," Jynx replied with a smile. She knelt to give Janus a few more scritches, then snapped her fingers and murmured, "Return through the Veil."

The two-headed hellhound woofed happily and vanished without so much as a pop.

Straightening up, Jynx started striding toward the cot and said over her shoulder, "Well, if you're not going to use it, I'm going to grab some shut-eye."

[Lowen Thorn]

"I, uh- She.. He- what"

He fumbled over his words quite drastically. What had just happened? What was that thing? Return through the veil?!

He was still struggling to compose himself and his words when the woman helped herself to the cot. "Oh, sure," he said in quiet defeat. He looked around the dark room and sighed.

Guess I'm sleeping on the floor then.

[DragonSong]

Oh gods. Not the kicked puppy face.

Damnit.

"Alright, c'mere." She scooted to the furthest side of the cot and gestured to the empty space beside her. Narrowing her eyes, she sat up a bit and added, "But no funny business, yeah? Or I will make you sleep on the floor."

[Lowen Thorn]

As if the gates of heaven opened, his eyes went wide and he smiled brightly. "Thank you," he said more excitedly than he intended to.

He cautiously crawled into the bed beside her, laying on his back and trying to focus on anything but the fact that he was laying in bed with a curvy redhead. "I'm too scared of you to try anything, anyway," he admitted. "Plus, I'm a gentleman."

[DragonSong]

"Damn straight," Jynx muttered to herself as she rolled to put her back to him. He should be scared of her; if he was smart enough to be scared of her, he was probably smart enough to be scared of most folks in this city who would have killed him in a heartbeat.

...Didn't mean she always liked people being scared of her.

"If you snore I'm kicking you onto the floor," she warned him, before promptly shutting her eyes and settling in to grab what sleep she could.

[Lowen Thorn]

"Right, I won't."

He really had no idea if he would or not. The only women he ever shared a bed either robbed him blind or tried to eat him, and they never once complained about snoring. He closed his eyes, hands cupped on his chest, and concentrated on his breathing in an effort to fall back asleep.

It was not the easiest task when side by side with dangerous beauty, but he managed.

He didn't snore, but there was something of a light purr escaping his lips.

[DragonSong]

Jynx slept lightly, as she always did, and her body was well-trained in waking after a certain amount of hours.

Though there was no way to tell underground, she knew it was dawn when she woke. She sat up and arched her back in a long stretch, then kicked one leg out to nudge Noah with her knee.

"Oi, you. Up."