Unknown Secrets

@ Jaguar's Heart

Leah
Leah wilted as they reached the door, and she turned to Vella sheepishly. “That obvious, huh?” She asked. “I’m just so little and weak compared to most everyone. Please don’t hate me, I promise I won’t cling to you or anything like that, I promise!” She worried at her lip, shifting from side to side anxiously. “I know I’m weird but I’m not scary, I just want to be friends, please?” She fidgeted a moment longer, then turned and opened the door to the RV. Immediately she was assaulted by the stench of hyena. “Oh, no,” she moaned, stepping inside. “Not again!” Tears pooled in her eyes as she took in the mess. “I just cleaned it, too!”

---

Oberon
Oberon growled, twitching slightly as Logan carried him across the lot. He didn’t like punishment, he just wasn’t a dog to roll over and take the kind of treatment they received without protest. And besides, if the boss was pissed off at him, he was less likely to take things out on the weaker shifters like Leah. Logan might not care about them, but he had this problem where he did. His nostrils flared as he caught the scent of running water and he started to struggle slightly, trying to get the big oaf to turn in that direction. He wanted to get wet, and the RV only had a shower. Besides, he couldn’t operate the faucets when he still had paws.

@ Aikofox
Vella
Vella stepped into the RV, having to plug her nose at the stench. She glanced around, then just walked right out. She coughed a bit, waving her hand in front of her nose, "What the hell happened in there?" She asked, looking at Leah, "Who did that? Because from your face I'm going to assume that it wasn't you."

Logan
Logan noticed Oberon's twitching a sighed. He knew Oberon's preference and obediently turned in that area. When he was near the elephant troughs he tossed Oberon non-too-gently into the trough, smirking at the amount of water the splashed everywhere, "Odd cat." Sure, Logan like water as much as the next guy... but not enough to have a love affair with it.

@ Jaguar's Heart

Leah
Leah nodded, shoulders dropping and hiding her face as she tried not to cry at the insults written in various mediums across the walls. She had very few personal items in the RV because of incidents like this. “Don’t…don’t worry about it,” he sniffled. “Now that I’ve got a hu-bunkmate, they’ll stop. It only happens when I’m living alone.” She caught herself before she could say ‘human’, hoping that Vella would chalk it up to her distress.

---

Oberon
Oberon grunted as he hit the water, eyes closing in bliss as the water sloshed over him. The trough wasn’t big enough for him to swim or even float, but it was something. He rested his chin on the edge of the trough and chuffed at Logan as he let his aching body relax. It was nothing like the lake he’d had by his cabin back home in Montana, but at least it was something.

@ Aikofox
Vella
Vella sighed, the distress on the other woman's face very obvious, "Seriously, just tell me-" She was cut off by the sound of a loud splash. She turned to see the tiger resting in a water trough, the large man who'd been watching them earlier there with it. Not really thinking anything through she called out to the man, "Hey!"

Logan and Vella
Logan blinked at the sudden voice and turned, frowning at the new girl and Leah, "Uh... hi?" how had he not known they were there? Too focused on Oberon, probably.

Vella walked a little closer, still keeping her space from the tiger, "Some... person left Leah a little message in her RV. Know who would have done it?"

Logan looked at the Rv. The only ones who typically do anything to Leah were the hyena females, "That would probably be Veronica and Stacy and their gang. They normally hang out down by the kitchen tent. About six trailers that'a'way."

Vella nodded, "Thanks." She waved her hand at the large man, then started down in the direction he'd indicated.

Logan shrugged and turned back to Oberon. Why she'd want to know was beyond him. They'd only start some sort of argument- oh.

Vella
Vella made her way down to the kitchen tent, one goal in mind. She'd talk to these bitches and set things straight.

@ Jaguar's Heart

Oberon
Oberon looked up at the approach of the lovely human, though he didn’t move from his position, tail swishing through the water lazily. Though at the sound of the conversation between Logan and Vella, he stood, water pouring off of him. Those damn hyenas again! And Logan had sent her off after them! He hopped out of the trough and swatted Logan with one massive paw, claws sheathed, then jogged off after her, leaving a trail of wetness in his wake.

---

Leah
Leah watched Vella walk away, wringing her hands. What was she going to do? Was she going to talk to the boss? She hoped not! But then she saw her approach Logan. What was he-oh, there was Oberon’s head sticking out of the water trough Logan was standing by. That was okay. As long as she didn’t stir up more trouble. Leah turned back to the trailer and sighed. Well, best start cleaning now. This would take a while to air out.

@ Aikofox
Vella
Vella continued to walk until she came across a group of women just sitting around. Vella walked up to them, "Hey!" She called, knowing that the lead bitch would be the first to respond.

Veronica stood, glaring at this new person, "Who the hell are you?"

Vella grinned, "Ah, Veronica, I take it." Vella rushed the woman, slamming her into the trailer behind her. In a flash she had her pocket knife out, the blade pressed against the woman's throat, "I'm the bitch who's gonna teach you a lesson. Now, I don't know anyone else here," She snarled, leaning in close to the woman, "But there's no way in hell I'm going to stay in an RV like that. So, unless you want to relinquish your RV to me, I'd suggest you and your ladies clean up Leah's. Comprende?" she allowed the blade to draw a little blood.

The other hyena woman stood, wanting to defend their alpha, but the problem was that hyena's lead by force... If Veronica couldn't control this human than she didn't really deserve to lead..."

Logan
Logan sighed, ignoring the swat from Oberon and walked over to Leah, trying not to breath in the stench, but not really able to accomplish that, "You okay?" He asked gruffly, looking at the RV interior from outside. They'd done a number on the place this time and it caused Logan to shake his head. Why anyone would put this much effort into it, he'd never understand. Just tell the person you hated them and then go on with you life. There was no point in all this drama.

@ Jaguar's Heart

Oberon
Oberon stopped, staring in shock as Vella took on the hyena matriarch. This was the woman who not ten minutes earlier had been terrified to touch him. He padded up silently behind her. He made no sound, merely bared his fangs at the other hyenas, warning them off of any retaliation. This woman might be tough as nails with what she thought were humans, but these were shifters. And not just any shifters, but hyena shifters.

---

Leah
Leah jumped, looking up from pulling the rubber gloves and cleaning supplies from under the sink. “Wha-oh! Logan! I, um, hi, I didn’t see you there.” She looked at him sheepishly, trying to ignore the stench and mess around her. “I’m fine, I just…” she shrugged. “I can take care of this, your nose is more sensitive than mine, you should go finish setting up before you’re missed. I can’t really do much, so it’s not a problem if I clean up this mess.”

@ Aikofox
Vella pressed the blade in a little more at Veronica's silence, smiling when the other woman finally stuttered out, "O-okay...." Vella continued to stand there a few seconds more, just for extra effect, before stepping back, "Good. Then get going. I want that RV to sparkle while I'm here. And, just so you know, if this happens I'm coming after your ass again. Even if you and your gang didn't do it."

Veronica nodded, completely caught off guard by this human. Who did she think she was? While, normally, Veronica would just beat the crap out of her, this time she did as she was told, gathering her group and giving the lady - and tiger - a wide birth as they all walked by.

Vella watched the go, then turned around - wondering why everyone seemed to be wearing collars - then jumping a bit back at the tiger behind her. She stared at it, freezing in place. Where the hell was it's controller? Seriously, the thing was dripping wet and just standing there looking at her... as if she was dinner...

Logan
Logan opened his mouth to argue that it wasn't right for her to clean everything up on her own when his gaze caught sight of the hyena females walking toward them. He stepped in front of Leah instinctively, then stared in shock as all the hyenas filed into Leah's RV except for Veronica, who stopped in front of him, snarled, then roughly took the cleaning supplies from Leah and entered the RV.

Logan blinked, then turned to Leah, "Did I see blood on her neck?"

@ Jaguar's Heart

Oberon
Oberon gave a coughing roar-the closest he could come to a purr-and stepped up to rub his head against her in approval. His wet fur soaked her shirt and he leaned up to nuzzle her chin. Being bigger than a normal tiger, he hardly had to stretch to reach her face. Then, deciding he was done scaring her for the moment, he turned and padded away, heading back to the elephant trough to continue his bath. Besides, he didn’t know how long it would be until he was forced to shift again and he wanted to enjoy his fur as long as he had it.
He stopped, spitting in anger as he reached the elephant trough. The damn brutes were already messing up his nice soaking tub! He swatted the trunks a few times, but it was useless, the elephants knew him and weren’t intimidated. Growling out his annoyance, he stalked away to try and find a quiet place to sun himself until-ah, damn it!
Oberon shook himself as the familiar jolt went through him. He darted around a corner as quickly as he could out of sight to shift in privacy, grunting softly in pain.

---

Leah
What in the world was happening? The hyenas were cleaning her trailer! Why on earth would they do that? Had Oberon smacked them around or something? She looked around in confusion, then up at Logan. “What?” She asked, clueless. She made the mistake of trying to scent Veronica, but gagged at the still pervasive stench coming from the RV. She covered her nose and took shallow breathes. Her free hand curled into the back of Logan’s shirt as she peered around him, wide eyed as she listened to the hyenas snap and giggle at each other as they cleaned. What was going on?

@ Aikofox
Vella
Vella stood, frozen, as the tiger rubbed against her. The thing terrified her. Sure, it was being nice and cute now, but she had no doubt that it would turn around and bite her hand off the second she tried to pet it. Once the cat was gone she gave herself a mental shake, then walked over to the RV to check on Veronica and her girls. When she got there she crossed her arms over her chest, watching Veronica clean, before glancing at Leah, "Don't worry about this happening again."

Veronica growled and snarled at Vella when the human wasn't looking, but didn't stop cleaning.

Logan
Logan was just as confused as Leah was, and frowned when Vella walked up. Had the woman done this? That was... surprising. Then he looked around, "Where's Ober- uh... the tiger?"

Vella turned and glared at Logan, "You really need to control the animals here a lot better. He's just walking around... sneaking up on me or rubbing on me... and it's weird... and dangerous."

Logan blinked at the girl, "He's just walking around?"

@ Jaguar's Heart

Leah
“What did you do?” Leah asked in an awed and slightly horrified whisper. The hyenas weren’t going to let this go. Vella was a human, so she was safe –the boss would kill them if they retaliated against her- but she was still fair game. The boss didn’t care about shifter politics. Some day very soon the hyenas were going to corner her and teach her just what they did to little cheetahs who squealed. She’d have to stick very close to Logan or Oberon for a while, but it wouldn’t do her any good. She swallowed, quivering in fear. It would happen, it always did, and if she were lucky, she could run away in time. But there were only so many places to run.

---

Oberon
Oberon groaned and picked himself up off the ground. That had hurt. He hated quick shifts back to back, they were much more painful that way. Which was why the boss had done it. He cleaned himself up, found his discarded jeans and pulled them back on. Still wet, he walked back to Leah’s RV. The hyenas were still cleaning while Leah, Logan, and sweet-scented Vella watched. “What happened here?” He asked, playing dumb.

@ Aikofox
Vella and Logan
Vella flicked out her pocket knife and looked at it before wiping the bit of blood on her pants, "I just... had a talk." She glanced at Leah, frowning, "Why do you look worried?" When Oberon walked up she glanced at him, then frowned at him and Logan, "Why are you two standing there? There's a tiger loose out there!" She waved her knife at them, "Don't make me cut you."

Logan blinked at the human, "Uh..."

Vella shook her head, "Great. A slow one. Jeez, what is this, a freak show instead of a circus?"

Logan blinked again, "No." He answered honestly, "Don't worry about the tiger."

Vella tossed her arms in the air, "So you're just going to let him maul innocent people?"

@ Jaguar's Heart

Leah and Oberon
Leah stared, wide-eyed at the knife. “Uhm…okay,” she said, deciding that it would be a very good idea to stay on this human’s good side. She grimaced up at Oberon. “You stink like wet cat,” she complained. It wasn’t as bad as the smell coming from the RV, but it was a distraction.

“Do I?” Oberon asked innocently, shaking out his hair all over Leah and Logan, causing the younger girl to squeal in outrage and hide behind his friend. He looked over at Vella. “Like Logan said, don’t worry about the tiger, he won’t hurt anyone.” He offered his hand. “We haven’t been introduced, my name’s Oberon, and you are?” He glanced inside the RV and gagged at the smell. “Wow, that’s rank.”

@ Aikofox
Vella and Logan
Logan glared at Oberon, the water dripping from his face, "Thanks." He rubbed at the water on his face, not really all that worried about the knife.

Vella looked at the hand the new guy offered, hesitant to take it. Something about him just... "Her really do smell like cat." She said, "You should probably get that fixed." Still she took his hand and shook it, putting the knife away with her free hand , "And I'm Vella. Apparently the new animal tamer." She shook her head, "Bad idea, if you ask me."

@ Jaguar's Heart

Leah and Oberon
Oberon shrugged. “It’s not really something I can control,” he said with a grin as he shook her hand. “When a tiger wants a bath, he gets a bath, and so does anyone in his way.” He glanced up at Logan, amused as he remembered the last time he’d accidentally flooded the RV. “So you’re the animal tamer, huh? I’m guessing you’ve never been around animals like these guys before. But don’t worry about it, they’re all harmless. I know they’re big and scary looking, but seriously. You’ll be completely safe. Except with the hyenas. Watch it with them, they’re bitches who only respect force.” He shot a glare at the nearest giggler, shaking his head in disgust.

Leah sighed, “Oberon, why are they cleaning my RV? They’re mad at me, aren’t they?” She clung to Logan’s shirt, shrinking in closer. Glancing around, she noticed they were starting to attract attention from both curious shifters and humans who were getting angry that they were slacking off when there was work to do. “I think we need to get back to work, the tent’s not going to put itself up.”

@ Aikofox
Vella and Logan
Vella shook her head at Oberon, "Yeah, everyone keeps telling me that they're harmless, but I don't believe it.' She looked at Leah, "And they're cleaning it because I told them to. They made the mess, they can clean it. And enjoy cleaning it as well, right girls?" There was a bunch of growling coming from the RV that Vella took as agreement.

Logan glanced at Leah, then back to where they should be working, "I suppose so." With a shrug he walked from the group, heading back to the tent to set up, completely ignoring the glares from the humans. Why did he care? They couldn't do anything to him. Only Richard could with his damn remote.

@ Jaguar's Heart

Leah and Oberon
Oberon frowned at the hyenas, glaring them into silence, before he turned back to Vella. “Really, don’t worry about it. After set up we’ll be going through practice so everyone can get to know you, and you’ll see then. But like I said, watch the hyenas.” He grimaced at Logan’s retreating back, then turned to Leah. “You stick close to Vella, she seems nice, and she’ll protect you. But if anything happens, you come find me or Logan, alright? No hesitation.” With a final nod to Vella and a clap on the shoulder for Leah, he followed the grizzly, grumbling as he got back to work.

“Okay.” The cheetah girl sighed, shoulders slumping. She fidgeted, wringing her hands together as she watched the hyenas clean. She really didn’t feel comfortable with this. “So, um, since you can’t put your stuff away right now, how about a tour?”