Change by Knight(Traveler&AparinaAkumu)

He caught the knife handle as she stepped off the roof, looking for all intents and purposes like she had just jumped to her death. With a startled "N - no!" He shot to the edge to look for her, believing that he'd see her falling to the ground, but instead he saw only the flutter of a bird perched beneath them. Derek panted for a moment as his eyes scanned the street, then looked for a ledge that might have been wide enough for her to use to climb down.

There was nothing.

The sun beat down on his back and he spent a moment simply scanning the ground before sliding the dagger into his belt and then finding his own way to the street. Ten minutes later he was leaving the city gates, his mind more cluttered with contradictions now then it ever had been. She never told him how she escaped the Durwich prison, only spewed off some nonsense about being magic and that he wouldn't understand.

"Of course I wouldn't understand," he muttered to himself. "Even if you weren't 'magic' you're still a woman. How's any sane man to understand the ways of a woman?"

After watching him stare for a while at the ground, she flew off but stayed close enough to watch him. Was she really going to continue her observation? Yes. He almost got himself killed and...he seemed to have another agenda. He wanted to take her in, but he also didn't want her to die. She was confused about him and his ways.

While birds have wonderful sight, she didn't have perfect hearing as a raven and thus didn't hear what he mumbled as she flew around his general area. She perched sometimes, watched then flew again for a while until she perched again. Sometimes it appeared the bird followed him, other times it appeared they merely happened to be going in the same direction.

Derek felt the weight of the city leave him almost as soon as he stepped out of the city gates. As much as the city was his home, he still felt like he belonged out in the wilder corners of the world. The city sat in a defensible spot; along the inside curve of a great river that eventually lead to the sea, and with a tall range of mountains behind it that dissuaded attack from the rear. It had grown around a fort used by kingdom soldiers and eventually became the capital of the region, and now it was, in its own way, the central hub of kingdom trade.

Perhaps that was why Derek felt so drawn to work there and to lay his sword at the service of the king. Years ago he had been a lad on a ship, robbing other ships and wrecking havoc where ever his captain had pointed his finger. When Derek grew older he longed for more stability, for a farmstead and a family instead of the seas and a crew of salty, unreliable scoundrels.

Now he made his way to the hills behind the city and began to scale the rocks that led up the sheer cliffs to the lookout above. When Derek had been a sailor he learned the advantage of a high point with which to spot your adversary. Today he wanted to get a map-like view of the city to figure out patterns in Corbin's thievery. She said that she was going to let him bring her in tomorrow... but he wasn't convinced he could trust the thief to do as she had promised.

As she flew after him, she continued thinking about what she had said. If she lets him take her in, that means she'll have to skip town again. She didn't mind that, she's done it so often before but...oddly, she wanted to see Scarface. And what about her normal life? The blonde haired girl at the tavern...she still had a chance, and Corbin knew that.

Corbin was Annika's real name, however once she found out as a little girl that she could completely change her appearance...well being six at the time it made sense to name herself again. She even has names for her animal forms. Esmeralda, Nightingale, and Akumu. But she didn't let all these memories distract her long, when she saw Derek climbing the rocks she was quick to fly away and perch where she could watch him.

From here, she could see the town very well, and could see her escape routes as she had done them. She could also see out to the docks and river, and she felt rather at ease.

Derek watched the city for a while, memorizing rooftops and considering avenues of movement as he sat there. It was meditative, at best. Work, at the worst. Not many guards cared to study the city when they were off work - most spent their money on whores or alcohol. This guard could not stop working, even when he wasn't supposed to be.

After a few hours on the cliff he decided to return to the city. His day was swiftly going away, and he wanted to walk the streets while his memory was still fresh before going to sleep.

His mind kept going back to the woman at the tavern and the information she shared. For one, she was very informative. She knew more about Corbin then he had every learned from anyone else. For another... she was an attractive woman, both in her appearance and in the way she acted. His mind also danced over his chance encounter with the thief. She was an enigma; he would reserve judgement on her until he had more information. For now... she was neither enemy or friend.

After almost falling asleep a few times, the raven spotted him leaving. She gave him some time before she would follow him. What was with this man? Couldn't he be like other guards, spending money on a whore or getting drunk? Why was he so...persistent? Maybe the right word was...devoted? She didn't know, all she knew was he wanted her in jail. Well, she supposed she could spend an evening before she skipped town...but she has to set up ways for the others to grow the food they need.

She watched Scarface, and while he walked the streets she switched into a cat and ran up from behind him, mrowing once or twice and purring as she trotted around with him.

Princess turned cat...well, never a princess but I have fallen over the years I suppose...noble's daughter, sent to a coven before being expelled as if diseased. Never went home, maybe I should pop in once I'm settled down...or at least have a reason to head back to that city. This one is bad enough, she thought as she looked around. She settled her gaze on Derek, and despite herself found the thought, Maybe not all bad...pushing into her mind when she thought of him.

Derek's look of thoughtful concern turned to amusement when the cat ran up to him. "Hey there Princess," he said without much thought. "Have you been patrolling the streets, driving all the Tom cats wild?" He knelt for a moment at his door and offered her his hand. Once she accepted him he would stroke her a few times before standing and unlocking the door, letting the cat go in first if she wanted to.

He locked the door behind him and then went to open the window and let the breezes waft in. As the sun fell on his countenance he sighed and closed his eyes, basking in the fading warmth. After a few moments he turned from the light to go and light a lantern in his kitchen, then to uncover a cloth that was laid over a dried leg of ham that had been cured for many months so that it would keep at room temperature.

He eyed the cat. Would a feline find ham edible? He supposed that it had to be more tasty then mice or small birds. Derek cut off a small piece and then knelt to offer it to the cat.

She gave a small mrow in response to his words, idly flicking her tail like it had no other purpose. She trotted and pressed the top of her hand to his head, liking his touch on her soft fur. She purred even, knowing it was probably extremely creepy for her to be doing this, but right now it was for a good reason...sort of.

She wandered around his house as routine. Almost like guessing what room he was heading into. She went to the bedroom, then the bathroom, then wandered before trotting into the kitchen and rubbing against his legs again. He seemed like a cat person and he was rather good with them. Then, he was handing her some ham. She sniffed at it, and noticing he looked like he wanted her to take it she licked at it before gently nipping and nibbling on it with her tiny cat mouth.

She would quit tomorrow. Even if she had a way of staying in this city, she'd quit her job. After all, she could find a better job than that? The barkeeper was a nice man, maybe he'd let her take a week off to give her time for sorting things out. She'd think about that tomorrow, tonight it was thinking about her escape plan for tomorrow night.

Derek found the cat amusing, and a little flattering. After all, she chose to hang out with him; she didn't have to. He finished his dinner and sat a bowl of water on the floor before walking to the bathroom. He pulled off pieces of his clothing as he walked, hanging them over the back of a chair and then walking into the room nude.

His body was lean and muscular, and as he bent to draw water for a bath his profile revealed itself to the room. As he sank into the warm water he groaned in pleasure. His eyes followed the lines of the floor until they met the cat's. "There are few pleasures in life for a human, cat. The kiss of a woman, the smile of a child, and the heat from a bath at the end of the day. I guess a cat's purr and a bath will have to do."

Derek chuckled and slid deeper into the water. "Because there's sure as hell no woman other than a whore'd be caught dead kissing Scarface." He leaned his head back on the tub and closed his eyes, sighing contentedly. If he was a drinking man this would be the perfect time for a shot of liquor, but he was mostly sober these days. No, a bath would have to be the peak of his pleasure that night.