<JETMODE> *Kender is hanging out with the beast tamers, gazing wistfully at a couple of the tamers, who're working with a leopard.

<JETMODE> *Cinno is sitting on the fence swishing his tail, firmly convinced that he's as good as any leopard.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper strolls up behind them silently and starts stroking Cinno's head and back. "Yes, we all know you're just as good as that big beast, don't we?

<JETMODE> *Cinno yawls in agreement and starts to purr. Kender startles and glances over at Whisper, blinking. "Oh, hey! I wasn't expecting you to stop by." He grins.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper smiles mysteriously at him. "Oh, I was just passing by and I noticed you here, all by your lonesome self. Haven't made any new friends yet?

<JETMODE> <Kender> *boyishly enthusiastic* Oh, I've met a couple people, but they're busy right now. I just came down to watch the animals a little bit.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper chuckles. "Ah yes, the big Beast Tamer...been in any fights yet?

<JETMODE> <Kender> Er? Oh.. one or two. I need the money or I won't be able to stay. *he looks a little depressed at that* I haven't been able to write home and tell my family that I made it yet, and I know they're bound to be a little worried.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper scritches Cinno's chin. "Maybe you should partner up with a few people. Groups can usually handle bigger battles, and the bigger the battles, the more the awards. Of course, the bigger the group, the more you have to split the profit too.

<JETMODE> <Kender> *nods* I met a guy who's gonna help me out a bit, I think..

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: How long you planning on staying?

<JETMODE> <Kender> *firmly* As long as I hafta. I promised Dad I'd learn the trade.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper chuckles as she scratches Cinno's ears. "Perhaps you'll become the Gladiator one day, eh?

<JETMODE> <Kender> Er ... *blushes a little* Well, I hadn't really thought about that ...

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: You'd certainly be better than that bucket of tin that holds the title now ...

<JETMODE> <Kender> *blink* I don't think I've ever seen him ...

<JETMODE> *Cinno attempts to leap onto Whisper's shoulders.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper blinks and holds still, steadying Cinno and smiling as she pets him. She frowns, however, when she gets back to the topic of the Gladiator. "He's a Dark Knight and no one likes him. He shows no mercy to any of his enemies and he slaughters the monsters whenever he gets a chance to. I'm sure you'll hear more about him from the Beast Tamers, seeing as they're the care takers of the monsters that go into the Arena.

<JETMODE> <Kender> *slightly white* He just.. kills them? For fun?

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: Basically.

<JETMODE> <Kender> *low* That's ugly ...

<JETMODE> *Cinno mrrrs.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: Indeed. Most people would agree with you. But until somebody gets enough guts to face him and enough skill to beat him, there's little anyone can do.

<JETMODE> <Kender> Oh.. *looks a little depressed*

<TIAMAT> *Whisper glances up at the sun. "I've a fight I must prepare for...

<JETMODE> <Kender> Aw, really? I guess I better let you go, then ...

<JETMODE> *Cinno yawls.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper smiles and scoops Cinno off her shoulder, stroking his head lovingly as she passes him back to Kender. "Yesss, I know, 'tis such a shame. But I'll be available afterword. *she winks at Kender.

<JETMODE> <Kender> *taking Cinno* Wha? Uh.. *blushes* Oh.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: Until later, then. *she smiles again and gives a wave as she wanders off.

<JETMODE> *Kender waves after her, looking terribly bemused. ^_^

<TIAMAT> *Whisper's getting ready for the battle...I was thinking Jeanne might be a spectator in the stadium.

<JETMODE> *Kender wanders over to the stadium. Takes a ringside seat, at that.

<TIAMAT> *Er, right. The last battle just finished (A Dragoon and a Thief, the thief got pretty banged up and they had to haul him out on a stretcher, though they say he'll be okay...). They're cleaning up the mess down in the Arena when a girl comes bustling down the steps and into the aisle where Kender is. She plops down next to him and tries to contain her bird, a large, emerald green parrot which is squacking and flapping its wings and generally causing a lot of attention.

<JETMODE> *Cinno hisses explosively and ducks into Kender's backpack. Kender looks over at her in blank astonishment.

<TIAMAT> *Girl: DOWN, Will, DOWN! *she strokes the bird until he finally calms down and sits on her knee, pecking at her skirt a bit. She sighs and brushes hair out of her face, then turns to Kender, all smiles (^_^ ^_^ ^_^ type :P). "'allo, mate! 'ope Ah didn't cause much trouble...

<JETMODE> <Kender> *a little weakly* Naw, Cinno's just jumpy ... interesting bird ... *he peers at the parrot with fascination*

<TIAMAT> *The bird peers back at him and hops onto his knee, flapping his wings just enough to make the jump without falling. The girl grins broadly. "Ah, das jus' Sir William, Willy fer short. 'Ee's a bit 'o a rebel sometimes, like t'cause trouble, donchya Will...

<JETMODE> *Kender sticks out a finger to stroke the bird's beak. "He's a handsome bird, though. I haven't seen any like him ..."

<TIAMAT> *Willy clamps onto Kender's finger gently and shakes his head back and forth, like shaking his hand. The girl giggles. "Och, jus' go down south a ways an' y'won't see anything but! Jungles're full 'o tropical birds an' the like...

<JETMODE> *Kender wags his finger up and down a little. "Wow.. I came from a way off north ..."

<JETMODE> *Cinno makes rumbly noises from the backpack XD

<TIAMAT> *Willy releases his grip on Kender's finger and starts to waddle around on his knee and up his leg a bit, pecking at his clothes occasionally. Girl: Och, too cold up there...not partial t'snow an' ice, Ah'm not.

<JETMODE> <Kender> Well, we don't always have snow and ice. *pets the bird's feathers occasionally* We run a farm and ranch.

<TIAMAT> *The girl looks curious. "Och, really? How fascinatin' ...y'raise animals fer a livin'? Don' think Ah'd be able t'do that, either...

<JETMODE> <Kender> *nod* My dad sent me here to be a beast trainer, like him. *happily* I love the animals ...

<TIAMAT> *Hmm, physical description...she's got fairly long, somewhat curly jet black hair that she wears down but held back with some kind of ornate jewled tiara thing...each ear has several piercings and she wears large brass hoops and other jewlery...she's got a white, loose-fitting top and a long, billowy broom skirt of multiple colors, and LOTS of bracelets/necklaces/earrings/other jewlery. She's very gypsy-ish.

<TIAMAT> *Oh, and her skin's tannish but lighter than Whisper's. Whisper's probably got "black" blood in her, while Jeanne's white with a really dark tan. ;P

<TIAMAT> *Well, the next battle's just beginning. Whisper strolls out toward the center of the Arena and the announcer calls her rank/name/etc. and the crowd cheers. From the other end of the Arena some kind of large, sluggish lizard-thing appears. It doesn't have weapons but it's claws and fangs are enough. It blinks down at Whisper and hisses menacingly.

<TIAMAT> *Girl: Och, look! The fight's beginnin'!

<JETMODE> *Kender blinks and looks out at the arena. "Oh, it's Whisper!" He cheers loudly.

<TIAMAT> *The girl watches as the fight begins; Whisper leaps toward the lizard and slashes out with a pair of daggers, then nibly avoids its claws as it sweeps at her, roaring in anger. The girl doesn't take her eyes from the battle but asks, "Y'know 'er, mate?

<JETMODE> *Kender nods, watching the fight. "She helped me out when I first got here."

<TIAMAT> *Girl: She looks like a good fighter...ya been 'ere long, mate?

<JETMODE> <Kender> Uh-uh ... only a few days. You? ... Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Kender, what's yours?

<TIAMAT> *The girl turns to him and smiles broadly, taking up his hand and shaking it a bit forcefully with both of hers. "Jeanne-Margurite DeLancre! Pleased t'meetchya, Ah'm shore, mate. An' t'answer yer question, no, Ah jus' got 'ere myself but a few days ago.

<JETMODE> <Kender> *a little startled* Oh, neat. A-are you here to train? *he's still keeping one eye on the fight*

<TIAMAT> *Jeanne: Och, heavens, no, mate. Ah came 'ere lookin' fer a...*she hesitates a bit* a friend 'o mine.

<JETMODE> <Kender> Hm ... I dunno if I'd've met him.. her? ... I haven't been many places besides my room and the stables.

<TIAMAT> *Jeanne: Him. Ah...weel, no worries, mate. Ah'm not even shore 'ee's 'ere, but Ah thought Ah'd 'ave a look around, seein' as Ah was passin' through...

<JETMODE> <Kender> Well, it's worth a shot. There are a lot of people here! *sunny smile* Good luck to you.

<TIAMAT> *Jeanne returns the smile brightly. "Och, Ah thank 'ee kindly, mate!

<TIAMAT> *Willy flies up to Kender's shoulder and perches there, nipping his ear affectionately.

<JETMODE> <Kender> *winces a little at the nips, then returns his attention to the fight*

<TIAMAT> *Oh, yes, the fight. Well, Whisper's doing pretty good -- she's managed to get a few good thrashes in, but her daggers are small and the lizard's scales are fairly tough, so she's not doing a terrible amount of damage to it. She lands it a good blow to its underside, but it trusts out with its tail as she backflips and slices her arm along the shoulder. The crowd lets out a unanimous "Oooooh..."

<JETMODE> <Kender> *rather enthusiastically* YOU CAN BEAT HIM, WHISPER!

<TIAMAT> *Whisper, hand clamped firmly over the wound to stop the flow of blood, hears the call and glances up, smirking and giving Kender the thumbs up. Curiously, the creature glances up at him as well (seemingly to glare right at Kender :D) and Whisper uses the time while it's distracted to leap upon its back and thrust both daggers into the base of its skull.

<JETMODE> *Kender blinks and cringes a little, but cheers anyway. Sigh. His attachment to critters is going to get him in trou-ble.

<TIAMAT> *The creature lets out a horrible roar as Whisper rips the blades from its neck and flips away, her arm hanging a bit limply at her side. The lizard wavers on the spot for a few moments -- the crowd seems to pause as one as everyone holds their breath -- then it collapses to the ground in a cloud of dust. The crowd cheers and claps as the announcer calls out Whisper's victory. :D

<TIAMAT> *Willy lets out a shrill whistle. "Victory! Victory! Och, och!

<JETMODE> <Kender> *blinks at the bird and grins* Yeah!

<TIAMAT> *Willy bobs his head forward proudly, then flaps his wings a bit and nips Kender's ear again. Jeanne giggles.

<JETMODE> <Kender> You teach him to talk?

<TIAMAT> *Jeanna waves a hand dismissively. "Och, 'e learns on 'is own mosta th'time. Picks up words 'ere an' there, donchya Willy?

<TIAMAT> *Willy bobs his head in agreement and whistles.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper's claiming her prize down in the Arena while a couple of the Beast Masters haul off the dead lizard.

<JETMODE> <Kender> Neat. *ruffles Willy's feathers a little* ... I wonder what they're going to do with the lizard ...

<JETMODE> <Kender> *gives himself a shake* Er, anyway.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper's collecting her prize and getting her arm bandaged up.

<JETMODE> *Kender's trotting along down to meet her -- presumably he dragged Jeanne along. Or at least invited her. ^_^

<TIAMAT> *Jeanne's stumbling along behind him, trying to keep Willy's wings from flapping into anything or anyone. :)

<TIAMAT> *They won't let you into the Arena though, and it'll be a few minutes till Whisper's done in the, er, little waiting room chamber place inside. :P

<JETMODE> *Yeah. He'll wait outside the door, rocking back and forth on his heels. ^_^

<TIAMAT> *Jeanne finally gets Willy calmed down and sitting on her shoulder and watches Kender for a while with growing amusement. Finally she can't contain herself. "Och, methinks you like this 'ere girl, donchya Kend?

<JETMODE> <Kender> H-huh?! *goes a little red* N-no! She's just a friend of mine. She helped me out when I first got here.

<TIAMAT> *Jeanne grins and giggles. "Och, no need t'be embarrased by it. Pretty girl like 'er, betchya all th'guys swoon over 'er... *she winks at Kender. Willy whistles. "Pretty girl, pretty girl! Woo!"

<JETMODE> <Kender> Aw c'mon now!! *waves his hands placatingly* I'm telling you, it's nothing like that!

<JETMODE> *Cinno yawls expressively.

<TIAMAT> *Just then, Whisper walks out, swinging a bag that jingles happily. She nearly bumps into Kender from behind. "Oh, Kender! Are you waiting for a battle...?

<JETMODE> *Kender yelps and stumbles forward.

<JETMODE> <Kender> *spins around* H-hi! No, I just wanted to congratulate you on your fight. *grins*

<TIAMAT> *Whisper chuckles. "Thanks. That great lug didn't stand a chance...*she jangles her bag of prize money* Want a drink, or do you have somewhere to be this evening?

<JETMODE> <Kender> Sure! I'm not signed up to fight until tomorrow. *suddenly* Oh! I'd like you to meet Jeanne! We met right before your match.

<JETMODE> *He half-turns and gestures for Jeanne to come forward.

<TIAMAT> *Jeanne hop-skips forward and Willy flaps his wings a few times, giving a whistle. Jeanne does a clumsy curtsey and introduces herself. Whisper glances at Kender with a "Where did you drag this thing from?" look but manages a smile.

<JETMODE> <Kender> *slightly uncertain look* She's looking for a friend.. I thought you might have some information.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: Ah...well, I don't know that many people here...