No Returns! [Open]

[Jette]

If it didn't earn him a beating, Jette would have laughed at the look on his seller's face when he was returned again. Every time the raven was brought back the man's face turned a darker shade of red, and now he was edging in to the purple range. Perhaps given a few more returns his head would just explode and Jette could escape in the resulting chaos? But that was a wild wish, and it didn't help him out at all.

Still, he struggled when the man shoved him in to a cage, fighting to keep his legs out of range as his seller tried to get a shackle around one. It was a useless struggle that would just earn him more bruises once the Rings closed in the early morning, but for now Jette laughed and enjoyed the curses his actions got until he was finally grabbed and captured. The cage door swung shut a bit too forcefully behind him, and the Valravn tried to ignore the chilling spike of fear that traveled down his spine. He had been forced to deal with this fear before and he refused to show it affected him, sticking his arms out the spaces in his cage and watching the people walk by. People-watching helped some, and he ignored his seller as the sign with his information was posted again, with an even lower price than before. Soon he'd just be giving the slave away!

However, at the sound of another sign being put up Jette turned to look at it. Hanging from the other sign was a much smaller one, but the words were larger, written in all caps: NO RETURNS. Seemed the man was hell-bent on getting rid of him forever... He scowled as he considered what that meant for him, what would happen once he pissed off another master. Would they sell him to a new trader? He didn't like not knowing what was going to happen to him! The raven's seller didn't seem to care however, turning to the crowd.

"Got some fine slaves here folks! Half-giant, good for manual labor! A pretty little lycan woman with curves in all the right places, she'll warm your sheets at night! And a pretty little Walravn, quite exotic!" Jette winced at the butchered saying of his species, snorting lightly at the words. He was far from little, but he couldn't help but notice his seller didn't say too much about him... Not that there was much about him to compliment anyways, was there?

[Dell Wakeman]

The bar was hitting one serious slump and it was driving Dell crazy with stress. Not only did the government want to shut him down for illegal fight-marshaling but he was making less and less profit each month. At this rate he'd have to run the entire place with slaves to cut the wages and see if he could train them into fighting for the cage. He knew it was a cheap move and he loved his employees like his own family. But when you had to hose between a one-time-payment worker and a monthly salary worker, you tended to pick the former. So, with a sigh, he stepped into the dank, cold warehouse that he'd so desperately tried to avoid.

He scanned the rows and rows of cages that lay before him, stunned that so many people could be smuggled into one black market. Taking each step as carefully as the last, he made his way down the first aisle and tried to pick out the slaves with real potential. All females were out. No matter what their race, species, shape or will. He refused to let women fight in the cage because men didn't like it. Hell, he might book a special girl's fight once a quarter but even then it'd be a night of bra+panties fun more than real fighting. So a woman was useless to him. Sure they could work on the bar but he wanted someone that could pull a pint, pack a punch and pledge to follow the rules. So he needed someone with a fair bit of muscle and stamina. He ignored the weaker looking slaves as he passed them, picking out the occasional vampire male, itching for a chance to prove his worth. But he'd fought with vampires before. They lose control in the heat of the moment and go for the throat, not what he needed at the bar. So no women, no vampires and no weaklings.

As Dell rounded the corner, he spotted a seller hammering a sign onto a cage, a small label underneath claiming that he wasn't to be returned under any circumstance. A smirk spread over Dell's lips and he thought about it. The slave must have a flaw then. He seemed healthy and fit enough, so it must be mental or something to do with personality. If it was personality, it was most likely to be defiance that got him sent back. Defiance was a form of violence. It was a fighting spirit, asking to be set free. Dell walked over and looked into the cage; he wasn't a weak looking sod and he certainly looked like he could manage a shift or three at the bar, so he knelt beside the cage and looked in at the slave.

"Well now, looks like you've been giving these guys trouble. Are you a fighter?" he asked simply, liking to get to the heart of things.

[Jette]

Jette was just getting ready to settle back in to another few weeks of the pen when he saw Dell walking over. Just what was this butt smirking about and why was he coming his way? Did the idiot not realize that he wasn't returnable because he was a reject? Though maybe he was one of those types that got off on breaking people. Jette hadn't had the misfortune to run in to a master like that but he knew they were out there... Those that bought up cheap disobedient slaves and bent their minds disgusted the raven, and he immediately grew wary of the man that moved to kneel beside his cage.

"Go fornicate with a swine." He moved to kick at the demon but the shackles brought him up short so he instead scuttled back, trying to get out of range. His cage wasn't large enough to give him much space, but at least he would be able to see any attack coming as he glared at Dell. What a weird looking man, what were those things in his chin?

His seller noticed the disturbance by his cage, and hopes of getting rid of a difficult slave made him scuttle over, ducking his head to the demon as he gave a wide smile to his potential customer. "Hello there Sir. Interested in the Valravn? He's a bit of a handful, but his price is quite the steal. You won't find anything of his quality cheaper here I assure you." That got a snarl from the cage, Jette's glare increasing. He hadn't fought for this form just to end up a slave!

"You want a fighter you should go for the half-giant, /sir/. He's dumb as dirt but I bet he hits hard." Jette's tone was far from respectful and the seller was quite flustered. He bit off a curse as he kicked the cage, getting a squawk from Jette before the slave went silent. "As I said... He is disobedient. But there are plenty of things you could use him for that don't necessarily require obedience as I'm sure you know." The seller's attitude went right back to business mode as he turned to Dell, giving another greasy smile. "What do you say? Interested?"

[Dell Wakeman]

Dell barely moved back as the slave kicked out, his smirk growing for a moment. So the kid had spunk, but what caught Dell's attention was that the slave boy scuttled back as though he expected to be hit for trying a cheap shot. Dell watched him, would someone strike the kid for an unsuccessful shot like that? And even if he had managed to kick Dell, it proved the boy had a spirit that could be used for the fight. He didn't want to beat that streak out of him. No way in hell. He looked to the seller with a dark glare and placed a hand on top of the Valravn's cage.

"I think there's been some sort of clash of interests here. I don't mind if he's a tad hard to handle. But I won't be forcing him to do anything he has no control over. You are one sick man and if you think that beating a slave to train them is the best way to go about things then I'm shocked that you haven't got more of these rebels on your hands." he sighed and knelt to look at the Valravn, as the seller had called him.

"Look kid, my name is Dell. I run a fight club in town and I'm looking for someone with a bit of wit. Someone who can learn the ropes fast and grow in the environment I'm offering. So a half giant just isn't going to cut it. You've got a fighter's streak in you...and you're unpredictable. I kind of value that in a person. So here's the deal. I'm gonna treat you like a person, unlike these bastards and a few of those people who call themselves Masters. I wanna teach you to fight like a pro, give you a way to vent your anger...hell, even if it means letting you take a few strikes at me. What'dya say? I'm offering you a room of your own, unlimited food and drink. Free reign as long as I can trust you. The only catch is that I'll ask you to work a few shifts at the bar in the evenings and you might be called up to fight sometimes if you decide you want to sign up."

He'd had a kid join the fight club a few years ago, he'd had a spitfire attitude but he wasn't anything like this slave. This kid didn't have the sense in his gaze to take a good deal when he saw it. He ruined his chances and left the cage with permanent scars. He could see that this guy had been through a lot. It was written on his face. Dell wanted to help, to free him, to give him something back. But he could only do that if the Valravn didn't betray his trust. But at the end of the day, it was a risk he was willing to take.

"So...Jette. That's you're real name right? Not some name they gave you? Alright, it's a real nice name. So...what's your final answer. Come with me and live like a king amongst warriors...or stay here and keep skipping through the trading rings. Your choice."

[Jette]

The seller's smile was wiped off his face for a moment, uncertain if his words had cost him a sale. Or perhaps this guy was just one of those bleeding hearts that would buy him in an attempt to save him- as soon as he was done talking to him he turned back to the slave. Huh, the offer wasn't a terrible one... Was the Valravn too dumb to take him up on it?

Jette was shocked by Dell's words, but he was immediately wondering if the words were just fake to get him to trust the man. But why? Trust didn't mean obedience, was he just cruel enough to try and crush him by betraying him? He shifted his position a bit, eyes snapping back to the other as he leaned down again to talk. He was going to teach him to fight? He had seen fighting before, the way the humans did it. He had fed on the remains of those who had failed to win, but this man made it sound like the fight did not end with death.

And he would be given a room of his own? Food, freedom... Even if that freedom was somewhat limited. It was still better than what he had had before and what probably awaited him with any other master. But it sounded too good to be real, he didn't see why this man would do that in exchange for his labor. He mulled it over before he leaned forward, frowning thoughtfully. "Working in such a position could mean tips for me. Would I be allowed to keep any of them?" He had learned quite quickly that money was everything for humans, and freedom would mean very little if he was penniless. If he had money of his own he could spend it in whatever way he wished, and he craved the freedom to decide something for a change.

"I named myself Jette, not them." He almost sounded insulted at the idea that he would go by anything but something he decided, but he still looked thoughtful as he eyed Dell. "I will come with you. But if you are lying about the things you will give me, I will not rest until I have pecked out your eyes." He stretched his legs out, taking note of the look of glee on his seller's face. He obviously wouldn't be missed around here, that's for sure. "I do not know how to work in a bar though. I will need teaching." Worst comes to worst, he could always shift back to a raven and fly away. But shifting took a lot of energy out of him even if it didn't exactly hurt, and he wouldn't be able to do it quickly. But it was still a bigger chance than he would have in this cage. And hey, maybe if he was allowed to keep some tips, he would be able to buy his freedom someday... If it wasn't all a big lie.

[Dell Wakeman]

Dell listened to Jette as he talked things through, he could see that the kid was sharp. He'd been given less than a minute to mull things over in his mind and he'd already considered the chance for tips, free time, what his work would include and come to a decision. He'd learn fast, Dell could see that. It would serve Jette well in this job, if he's this sharp in the ring, he'll have his opponents down in seconds. He certainly had fight in him, he'd just need a little coaching and a few trail shifts behind the bar. Luckily, bar work was simple enough to pick up.

"Any tips you earn, you can keep. If you win a fight, you also get to keep the money you win. If you win a fight, you'll get about $50 in cash. You usually get two or three dollars each shift in tips. But that's your money, I won't touch that." he promised with a soft smile, "As for working in a bar, it's fairly simple and I reckon you'll pick it up within a week. It's just a case of knowing how to pull a pint and how to measure out shots. You'll learn fast." Dell offered his hand to the man slowly, as not to startle him or make him suspicious. "So it's a deal. I'm glad you see sense."

Rummaging in his pockets for his wallet, Dell stood and took a cheque from the inside pocket. He wrote it out and signed the bottom, handing the slip to the seller and taking the keys from him. He knelt and unlocked the cage, stepping back to let Jette out in his own time. He doubted he'd need anything like the leads and restrains he'd seen some masters dragging slaves by. It seemed inhuman, wrong. These were people, not pets to be walked home and worked. Dell smiled and looked to the man before him, wondering what new and wonderful chapter of his life he'd just started.

"Let's get you home to an actual bed, yeah?" he smiled, "I'll even give you today and tomorrow off so you can get adjusted and settled."

[Jette]

Two or three dollars, that wasn't much at all; but fifty sounded much better. Of course, that meant fighting and Jette still wasn't too sure about combat- accidents happened and he was not looking to die. Still, he'd have to keep it in mind and find out more about these fights before he chose to do anything. Maybe he could use some of his magic in the fights, that would definitely give him the edge. His lips twitched in an attempt at a smile as he took the other's hand and shook once before pulling away, watching him fill out one of the paper slips he had learned counted as any amount of money.

He stayed still as Dell unlocked his cage, but didn't hesitate once Dell moved out of the way to get out. He stretched his arms over his head, glad to be out of his cramped cage again. He ignored his seller who was clutching his cheque enthusiastically, a huge grin on his face. Jette certainly wouldn't be missing him and his beatings, that's for sure.

"Will I be supplied with clothes, or do I have to wait until I have enough money of my own to pay for them?" What he was wearing was all he had- a dirty tanktop, worn jeans and a single sandal. He was sure he had lost the other shoe when he was struggling around with his seller but he didn't really want to bother to go look for it either. They had been too large for him to begin with, and if he was without shoes surely his new owner would at least buy him some if he was to be working in a bar.

"If I have to buy them, perhaps I could be loaned some money which I could pay back as I worked." He eyed the demon's head and considered it before he spoke again. "And maybe we could get some shampoo, since you don't seem like you use it..." Hopefully he wouldn't get in trouble for that- was he bald naturally and sensitive about it? Oops.

[Dell Wakeman]

Watching Jette get out of the cage and stretch, Dell felt encouraged. He hadn't run away as soon as the opportunity was available and he seemed to be in fairly good condition. It seemed he could trust this one. If he was willing to stand beside him and chat instead of running or begging to leave this place as soon as possible, it was a testament to his will power and strength. but he wouldn't dare ask the kid to spend the scraps of money he'd earn on buying clothes. He'd have a few outfits for him back in his room along with two uniforms and fighting clothes, should he decide to join the match. Dell couldn't help but chuckle and ran a hand over his head slowly.

"We can buy shampoo, that's not a problem." he smiled, he liked that the kid had a sense of humour. "There's a few outfits waiting for you back at the house, if they're not the right size or if you're not fussed on the style, we can go find you something that suits. That money will be yours to spend on whatever you want. If there's anything you need, don't be afraid to ask me for it. Because you won't be paid wages like my employees, I've decided that I'll accommodate for everything you need. More clothes, food, water, books, whatever you want."

He wanted to be fair. This guy wouldn't be able to earn wages like the rest of the guys at the bar because he was licensed as a slave. However, if Dell could accommodate for him, he wouldn't need the wages and would just be able to buy what he wanted with his small savings. Maybe if the bar thrived again and Dell could afford it...he'd one day release Jette and just have him around as hired help. But as it stood, he couldn't afford the outgoings from the bar. So he walked with Jette to the 4x4 waiting in the car park.

"I should probably explain about the bar. See, we hold fights every night. But we don't get hurt too badly because of the way we fight. Once a man is unconscious or unable to fight anymore, he loses and the fight is finished. The winner gets $50 and a free drink at the bar. Understand? We don't fight to kill or to injure, we fight for entertainment." he explained, hopping into the drivers side. "I'll train you to fight like we do if you want to. But that's up to you. I'll just be happy if you can manage to work the bar five nights a week. Oh...and you'll get weekends off."

[Jette]

This man was rather unbelievable- he was just going to buy him whatever he wanted because he wouldn't get paid? Jette thought that was the point of slaves- you paid for them once and then you could do whatever you wanted to them. Hired employees could complain about how they were treated, but who cared what slaves felt? Jette couldn't tell if this guy was serious or not, it just seemed too good to be real.

"You fight for entertainment? That seems... Rather barbaric." Jette glanced around the parking lot as he followed behind Dell, taking a deep breath of air. After being stuck in the dirty warehouse it smelled like heaven out here to his nose. "Can I think about it before I decide anything? Maybe see a fight or two before I go throwing myself in to it all." He paused for a moment before he sighed. "I have to admit to you that I do not know much about fighting, only what I have seen of battles. My kind, the Valravn, we are ravens who gained different forms by devouring certain beings, one of them being this humanoid form. I have never truly battled in this form before, I'm still getting used to it really."

He flexed his hands, thinking carefully. He would have to be careful about asking for things from this man, he didn't want to get too greedy and had the privilege taken from him. "And if I do fight, if I get injured during it am I expected to return to work afterwards?" If he had a few bruises he wouldn't mind, but who knew what sort of things could happen in the heat of the moment? "And if I am injured badly enough can I expect that I will be able to get treatment for it or be forced to heal on my own?" He rubbed his chin, suddenly frowning. "And what am I supposed to call you? Master, sir, what title?"

[Dell Wakeman]

Dell started the car and listened as Jette talked about fighting and his different forms, now that certainly was interesting. He'd never met a Valravn before and knew very very little about them. But apparently they could change form, much like a shifter perhaps, but he wouldn't really be able to use that if he decided to take up fighting. But when he asked about whether he would be treated for his injuries, Dell looked to him for a moment and sighed.

"Do you honestly think I'd just leave you to heal up without help? Come on, I know you don't know me but that's more than a little cruel. If you get hurt, say for example, you're too stiff to move the next day, you get a day or two off to recover. If you break something or need medical attention, the club has it's own personal paramedic. He'll come down and sort you out." he explained, this kid had trust issues, and judging by the way some masters behaved, Dell wasn't surprised. But he liked to think that he was different to them. He treated slaves like he'd treat anyone else. "But before we get to any of that, I'll have you work a few weeks behind the bar, you can watch fights from their. If you want to go into it, I'll train you up and enter you in against suitable opponents."

Dell thought about possible opponents for a premiere fight. Sure, he wouldn't be able to pick suitable opponents until he'd seen how this boy worked but judging by his size and presence, it might be a good idea to put him against a newbie rather than one of his regulars. Maybe Toby, Toby was small and fast but he didn't hit all that hard and didn't fill the stage enough with his attitude. Jette would draw the audience's attention and it would make for an interesting match. Still, he didn't even know what this kid was capable of. Given his species, he could be capable of a lot.

"So kid, tell me more about being a Valravn. What exactly can you do that makes you a Valravn?" he asked, genuinely curious, "Oh, and you can Dell. Or sir if you really want but...Dell is fine."

[Jette]

Huh. He seemed insulted by Jette's questions, that was a good sign. And they had their own paramedic as well on-site, he wouldn't have to spend too long in pain if he was injured. Perhaps he'd give this whole fighting thing a better chance than he had thought to at first, if he could make money in it. Of course, to make money meant he had to /win/. "Alright then. That sounds fine with me."

He leaned back in his seat, looking around the vehicle with interest. He'd never really had the time to appreciate any sort of car before, he was usually too scared to think about checking out any he had ever been in. He was starting to fiddle with the window when Dell spoke again and he glanced at the other, thinking about what to say.

"Well first off, to be a Valravn you have to be a regular raven. Y'know, those big black scavenger birds. You don't really become a Valravn on purpose, it just happens if you eat an alpha shifter's heart; something about them and us causes some sort of magic. We gain the intelligence of a smart human, and we get some magic as well. Just little things though; so far i've been able to create lights and fires, maybe cause a bit of fog... Not that impressive. But you get this instinct to eat children. I know it's nasty, but in order to rid myself of my raven form I ate a child's heart. Didn't kill it myself, found the poor thing dead, and it was too tempting."

He looked out the window for a long moment, unsure of what Dell's reaction would be- not too many people found eating hearts out of corpses anything but disgusting. "But when I did it, I gained the knowledge and the ability to change my forms. I'm not like your usual shifter though, I've got three forms- my original raven one, this one, and... Well, I don't know how to describe the third really well. It's like a raven knocked up a huge wolf. I'm big and I've got a wolf body, but my neck and head are like my raven form and I have wings. Looks sorta weird but I'm stronger and faster in that form." He bit the inside of his cheek, eyes still fixed out the window as he drummed a foot against the floor. "Now that you know about me... Care to give me a hint about what you are? I'm not really good at telling one humanoid from another unless you've got extra bits."

[Dell Wakeman]

Dell couldn't help but listen in silent respect, it sounded like Jette had been through a lot of changes to get to his current state. Imagine starting life as a simple creature such as a bird and after eating your normal, everyday meal, becoming something so much more. It was a little inspiring. Dell could tell that Jette was a little anxious about telling him about the eating hearts part of the story and while Dell admittedly did find it a little unnerving, he had a fair way of looking at it. Humans ate the flesh of animals in the form of pork, beef and so forth, so why should humanoid creatures look down on a raven for eating a different part of an animal? For a scavenger bird such as a raven, a heart was as perfectly acceptable as eating bacon is to humans. There was no need for anyone to be biased about the idea.

"Sounds like you've been through a lot, huh? But don't worry about the heart stuff, I'm not much better when it comes to feeding. I'm a Pain Demon, I actually feed on the physical pain of others, so I have no right to be prejudice." he chuckled and looked to Jette as he pulled up in the bar carpark. "When I hit someone, say for instance that I were to punch you, the electrical impulse that your nerve endings give out will be absorbed into my skin and converted into energy. That's why I set up the fight club, it gives me a way to feed on pain without really hurting people."

He stepped out of the car and unlocked the back entrance to the bar, looking to Jette and letting him in. So far, the kid seemed pretty calm and willing to listen; it just went to show that if you show a man a speck of kindness, he's more likely to trust what you tell him. He was yet to see any reason why he'd been returned so often, the kid seemed just fine. He stepped into the main bar area and hung his coat up on the side. The bar was empty at this hour, they didn't open until the evening so there was still plenty of time to set up and get ready. Dell looked around and made sure there was no-one hanging around the bar. The staff weren't due to come in for another three hours so he had to check. When he was sure the bar was empty, he shut the door behind them and gestured to the main room.

"Ok, so this is 'The Trap'. Don't panic though, that's just the name of this place, it's not actually a trap." he chuckled, "This is the bar, behind that door is the storage room and down there, you can see the cage we fight in. It's a small building but w can fit a lot of people inside. Upstairs is my room, your room, my office, a bathroom and a small kitchen. There's also a garage type building out back which is used as a training room and gym. What'dya think of the place?"

[Jette]

He fed off pain... Jette would have to keep that in mind. Dell might be a nice guy and all, but if there was a couple slow nights at the bar and he got hungry, well... Jette was a nice consequence-free punching bag. There was nothing Jette could really do if he started getting smacked around now was there?

He remained quiet as he exited the car, following Dell as he looked around. Now would be a perfect time to escape, when the demon was preoccupied with the bar, but the Valravn stayed put, watching his new master. He had no money, nowhere to go. If he ran away he'd most likely just end up getting caught and sold back to the slave market... He'd rather take his chances with Dell. At least the demon hadn't mentioned anything about sex, did pain demons have sex? Maybe he was just straight.

"It is a bit smaller than I expected, honestly... But it's rather charming." And it was cleaner than he had expected, though he was still careful about where he stepped with his bare foot- even the best cleaners could sometimes miss a piece of glass. He moved forward to look around, paying special attention to the bar. It was his new workplace after all, but it didn't look too complicated... He was more worried about how the customers would be. Only the rowdy types would come to such a place, and they'd only get worse with drink in them, which made him come up with a new question.

"Uh, Dell... Working at the bar. With customers, what is, ah... How to put it... What are they allowed to do to me until I am allowed to say no?" His expression became guarded again as he turned to look at the demon; was he bought to help bring in customers by being something they could molest without being able to quit? He was probably safer than any female would have been but it seemed that humanoids were very sexual even to their own gender.

[Dell Wakeman]

Dell looked to Jette as he spoke, picking up the nerves in his voice. No, nerves wasn't the right word, it was more like caution. This kid had every right to be a little concerned about this job, it didn't sound like he'd ever worked in this kind of environment before and he'd had a few previous problems regarding the people who bought him. Dell just hoped that he'd settle in well and learn to trust him a little more; still, it was early days. But Jette's question was a little unusual, what had his previous masters done to the poor kid?

"What are they allowed to do to ya? Well, let's see. They can order a drink, they can pay for that drink...they can ask you what you'd recommend and they can buy tickets to event nights. However, the minute one of them so much as lays a hand on you, aggressively or 'otherwise', they're no longer welcome in my club and will banned. Jette, I take the safety of my staff very seriously. The people who work at this bar are practically my family, I won't let them come to harm. So if any of the patrons try something on with you, let me know and I'll deal with the situation." he explained carefully.

He wasn't lying either, Dell had left his single living relative back home and the staff were the closest thing he had to a family. Many of the people who worked here stayed for as long as they possibly could, sometimes staying even when they don't need to; not just because the hours and the money were good but because the place had a nice feel to it. Dell looked after his staff and the patrons knew that. The last time he'd had trouble with a customer had been two years ago and had not ended well. A guy had been hitting on Jemima, a bar girl who'd been part of the staff for a few months. When he tried to make a grab for her, she had screamed and Dell had left his match specifically to attend to the problem. The customer left the bar with a permanent ban, a black eye and a broken cheekbone. He'd not had any trouble since.

"The people that visit here tend to leave the staff alone. I made them learn that a few years ago. You'll be fine. The staff here will help you learn the ropes and teach you about working the bar. The fighters will keep an eye on you and make sure no-one bothers you. Ok? ....Now how does a hot shower and some fresh clothes sound?"

[Jette]

Huh, he would be protected... It really did seem like Dell thought of him as an employee rather than a slave. But Jette was still having trouble believing it, kept looking and bracing himself for something bad; nothing good lasted he had found out quickly, especially when it came to masters. He looked to Dell again with a thoughtful frown, brow furrowed. "Is there anything else I will be expected to do for you? Housekeeping, laundry... Sexual...?"

The last word made his skin crawl and he looked to the floor at the feeling. He felt a bit bad for accusing Dell of it when he hadn't mentioned any of it, but he'd feel a lot better if he could hear the other say it himself. "Sorry. I- That was rude of me." He hunched his shoulders defensively, stuffing his hands in his jeans. "A shower would be wonderful though. I smell like I've rolled in something dead... And despite my species, I don't appreciate the stench." Hopefully the joke would help relieve the awkwardness of his question, or else he was in trouble. But a shower really did sound like heaven, especially if it was warm....