Floral Stripes [DragonSong]

[Juno]

Irah startled slightly to see his transformation again, but it happened so fast he didn't even have time to study the intricacies of it. Trying not to distract himself and anger the tiger again he tried to stare straight forward instead of letting his eyes wander, though he had no idea where they were going or that Akio was even following any particular trail he was accustomed to.

He watched his tail moving erratically, frowning for how it didn't just sway in time with his natural cadence. "You're doing it again," he muttered under his breath.

[DragonSong]

Akio growled and glanced back over his shoulder, ears flicking. He couldn't speak, but the gesture seemed clear enough: Doing what?

[Juno]

He rolled his eyes for the growling but the pointed stare was enough to get across to him. Walking a little faster to get close enough to gently take hold of the end of his tail he grumbled, "You're batting it all over the place again."

[DragonSong]

The tiger yowled and leaped away, quickly taking human form. Panting slightly, Akio spun and glared at Irah, wrapping his tail instinctively around his own leg.

"Don't...do...that," he hissed, eyes very wide.

[Juno]

The mage jumped and released him quickly, worried he might have injured him the way he'd reacted. "Sorry... I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

[DragonSong]

"No!" He snarled, defensive and offended all at once. "You just-- that was-- you surprised me!" he snapped eventually.

His cheeks were very red, making the black markings of his face stand out starkly against the flush. A shiver still tingled at the base of his spine, making him want to whip his tail-- though he managed to quell the impulse.

[Juno]

"Surprised you," he repeated, studying the agitated tiger curiously. He certainly noticed the change of color to his face, though he half-wondered if it was bubbling rage more than anything. Still, that thought didn't keep him from pushing the shifter further. "I scared you, didn't I?"

[DragonSong]

"No!"

And that was true, actually. He hadn't been scared. Surprised and annoyed, certainly, but not scared.

It was the...other reaction that had him so livid. The tingle that raced up his spine and had refused to go away, the color in his cheeks that had yet to die down.

What the hell was wrong with him?

[Juno]

Even though he denied it so fiercely Irah just shook his head with a smile, glancing down at the way his tail stayed coiled around his leg so defensively. "You just look so...flustered," he pointed out, eyes settling on the intense color along his cheeks again.

"Can I just check you over quickly? Maybe I pulled something out of alignment...you look a little dazed," he pointed out, stepping closer to crouch down next to him and fully intending on helping if it was something minor his magic could heal.

[DragonSong]

"No!" Akio backed away so quickly he almost tripped over his own feet. "No no no no no no no. No. No no. No...looking over. I'm fine. It's fine. Just-- no," he stammered quickly, eyes narrowing.

[Juno]

Irah eyed the shifter curiously, hands poised in front of himself suddenly framing nothing as he'd backed away again. "Alright... Tell me if it's hurting later, though? I can help, no need to suffer it."

He picked himself up with a huff, smoothing out his hair and stepping out to follow Akio anyway. "Shall we keep moving? Find a place to camp?"

[DragonSong]

"Yeah. Sure. Okay." Still desperately trying to figure out just what the hell was going on with him, Akio didn't even bother to shift back to his cat form as he started walking again. "There should be a good place up ahead, it's not that far."

[Juno]

"Good!" Irah chirped, hurrying to keep up with the tall shifter. "You know, it's probably the smart thing to do anyway. The inn here is charging me a small fortune to stay," he scoffed lightly. "I do like my comforts as well as the next man but I'm going to be out here most of the time anyway. It's sensible."

[DragonSong]

Of course he did.

Akio bit back a sigh and rolled his eyes heavenward. “Right. Well, I guess I’m cheaper than an inn,” he muttered, not really thinking about what he was saying.

[Juno]

The mage paused at that, blinking and then shaking his head after a moment of thought. "They were practically robbing me, but I'll pay you well for your help with all this. Much more worthwhile."

[DragonSong]

"Yeah, okay." He huffed, and added churlishly, "You'd better."

[Juno]

He snorted, chuckling softly in amusement at the implication hanging in the air with that. "You don't trust that I will?"

[DragonSong]

Akio just gave him a dry look, then turned and continued walking.

Plenty of people had tried to cheat him out of hard earned pay. This pretty boy wouldn't be the first.

[Juno]

While Irah wasn't fazed by the look Akio gave him for that his lack of words was answer enough for him. "Ah," he'd breathed, immediately slipping his bag down off his shoulder to rummage through it.

Retrieving his coin purse he dug through to pluck a few shining pieces from the pile and hold them to the shifter palm-down. "For yesterday," he insisted with a small smile.

[DragonSong]

He paused, glanced back, and scowled. "No, keep it." He shook his head— but there was just the tiniest hint of a new softness to his eyes. "You hadn't hired me yesterday. I'm not gonna take money I didn't earn."