Everything had been just fine and dandy until a few officers burst into the place. The tavern grew quiet as a sullen man, clearly in uniform, barked at a bar maid. He'd caught a snippet, something about hiding someone, but his men didn't seem to wait for an answer as they rushed in, sweeping the place for whoever they were looking for. Their quick search didn't turn up anything, though, and they were on their way just as fast as they'd come, looking even more irritated if that were possible.
The room gradually slipped back into conversation. He heard "that girl" and "murder" more than once, which unsettled him, but he knew it happened. There wasn't a place in all the world safe from murderers, that he knew well enough. No longer having much of an appetite for drink now that the place was abuzz with talk of homicides past, Julian soon got on his way after leaving enough coin for the last of what he would have here tonight.
Once outside, he could see police crawling around. They were ants swarming the streets and he had no idea why. If they hadn't already found whoever, they weren't about to find them here. Figuring he wouldn't find anywhere to resume drinking in peace tonight, he turned on his heel, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and wandered off down the road in search of somewhere to stay for the night.
Alley cats eventually poked their heads out, as he drew further and further from the hoard of police down the way.
~A girl was killed...~
~...He's still out there.~
~Penelope said it was a wolf. She saw it!~
"Ladies, please," Julian pleaded, running a hand through his hair, pausing to cast a look out to the darkness the felines were hiding in. "Did anyone see?"
The calico raised her head, sniffing at him for a moment. ~Lots of blood.~
The orange just licked her paw, eyeing him. ~Pretty girl...lots of blood...~
~Yeah, lots of blood~
The cats weren't helping anything but to grate at his nerves. There was still someone out there, a murderer, whether it was human or wolf. Something had killed a girl tonight.
He continued on, suddenly not liking the idea of staying in town tonight. Heading off toward the woods, he quietly shifted to the goldish-yellow big cat he once out of the moonlight and bounded off down the road.
The jaguar was almost silent as he loped through the trees, relishing in the sense of relaxed power he felt when in this form. It didn't take him long until he caught the scent of blood in the air, however. Snorting, a low growl in his throat, he pushed onward toward it, curious as ever. His nose burned from it. No matter what he did it burned and raged and took hold of him tightly as if it would never let go.
It was getting stronger as he went along, picking up speed as he drew closer and closer to the source. Rounding a bend into a slight decline, though, he finally had what he was looking for. The strong scent practically pulsed in his head as he slowed to a lazy stroll, eyeing the man slumped against a tree. Yes, he was bleeding. The stains on the shirt wrapped around his hips was telling enough of that. And it wasn't all that old. He wondered...
This man was hurt, though, and Julian approached him to sniff at his neck, his shoulder, then the drying blood. Something smelled familiar about him, but he couldn't place it. There was something else, too. It took Julian a few moments to realize it was blood of another. He snorted, flickering his ears about before flattening them to his skull as he eyed the man's hands, which were also stained dark with a mixture of his own blood and that of another.
Not sure if he was even conscious or not, Julian huffed and sat back on his haunches, debating with himself over what to do. Leaning forward after a few quiet moments, he licked the man's cheek, testing him. Rumbling, he laid himself down beside the stranger, eyeing the bloody blotch again. Did he have something to do with it? If he could've frowned as a cat he would've. It was killing him not knowing what to do with this...thing he'd found, that his nose was tormenting him with.
He nudged at the man's hands, growling a bit before letting a short, snarling roar rip through his throat.