A red-haired cheetah returns to the Temple steps, her collar still obscured by a scarf she wears … not all that hard to explain, given how chill the weather has been of late. Her strange little mission for the day has been accomplished, with only a small degree of humiliation required.

Leeta walks up the steps, still breathing heavily after her run. She heads purposely for the gate, glancing at the guards to see if she recognizes any of them. She has just one, maybe two more things to do inside, before she can return to Tahir's room.

Actually, one of the guards the cheetah notices looks fairly familiar, having an expression on his face as if he's been looking for someone … and just found her. He barks something to the other guards with him, one of whom is conspicuously larger than the other wolves nearby.

It would seem that Moffat's former personal guards must be looking for the cheetah.

The Savanite fortunately, is looking for Moffat's guards as well, especially the large one. She changes track and heads towards them, keeping her gaze down as she approaches.

"Look!" says one of the guards, although all of them have evidently spotted the cheetah by now, scarf or not. The big wolf, Nebo, has his head down in a manner much like the cheetah does. The guards stop a short distance before the cheetah, and one of them nudges Nebo, while another pushes him forward.

Leeta lets her head and gaze rise up a little, to look at Nebo.

"Go on!" prods one of the guards, while Nebo lowers his head, looking repentant. At last, he growls, "I'm … sorry. Thank you for making me not dead."

Leeta crouches down, standing where Nebo's eyes are focused, and looks up and smiles at him. Then she straightens up, holding Nebo's gaze so he'll have to stand proudly as well. "It's okay Nebo, you were too good for Moffat. I couldn't let that happen to you," she signs, knowing the large wolf won't understand.

Nebo looks to the other wolves to translate. They don't. One of them, Kray, steps forward, holding a fluffy something in his hands. "In honor of your achievement, we have decided to bestow a special honor upon you," he recites, oblivious to the redundancy, doing his best to sound officious. "Therefore, we now honor you with the honor of being … Jupani for a day!"

The other wolf guards in the small group applaud, and let out a few hoots and howls of approval.

Leeta grins widely, standing up very tall and clapping. She smiles at the wolves, wondering what it means, but curious to find out.

Kray hands the bundle of gray fluff to Nebo, who looks as if he doesn't know what to do. Kray elbows him. "The TAIL. It's the honorary Jupani TAIL." It looks like a great deal of shed – or shaved – wolf fur has been affixed to a length of cord, one bare end of which dangles out one side.

The Savanite's own tail flicks happily behind her as she puzzles it out. She holds her hands out to Nebo, waiting to take their honorary tail. Her surprise very evident. {Oh this is more than I expected, this is great!}

Nebo begins to hand the tail to Leeta, but gets another poke in the ribs. He pauses ponderously, then walks around behind Leeta … and starts tying the cord around her quite-real tail. He's pretty loose with it, at least, not cutting off any circulation, and it probably won't fall off immediately, though it will surely work free.

Leeta holds her tail still, and waits for Nebo to finish tying. She can always tighten it up later, and loose is the preferred option. She tries to watch over her shoulder without twisting too much.

Nebo stands back, admiring his handiwork … which looks absurd at best, and looks for all the world like … a bundle of wolf fur tied to a cheetah's tail. No pretenses here.

The other wolves whoop and whistle and applaud some more. Even some other guards (though NONE of the Elite on the steps) join in as well.

The Savanite feels a knot of tension that had been in her back for two days just release, from the friendly gesture of the guards. It may look absurd, but it lets Leeta know they cared enough to thank her, that what she did mattered to someone. She just waggles her wolf tail, testing it out.

The Savanite grins, and hunching over in an obviously mimed attack posture, gives at little growl back at Nebo and the wolves. Grrr!

This makes the wolves hoot even more. "All right!" barks Kray. "If she's going to be Jupani for a day … she has to EAT like one!" More whoops of approval. "Onward to Bromthen Heaven!"

Leeta bark barks happily back at Kray. She can't speak, but she can sound like a Jupani, if you don't listen too closely.

The wolves herd Leeta back down the steps, toward a waiting (and fairly rickety-looking) wagon. The wolves start piling on, using every method EXCEPT the steps up in the back.

The Savanite follows suit, jumping up the side after one of the wolves, and scrabbling to get over the edge.

One of the wolves pulls Leeta the rest of the way on, as the driver in the front barks at the two-dromodon team, yanking on the reins and prodding them. The wagon rolls forward, not being one of those equipped with wooden suspensions, resulting in a fairly jittery ride over the cobbled street. The hay piled in the back helps to cushion some of that, at least.

The cheetah grins, sitting on the hay amidst the wolves, her wolf tail wagging between her legs. She looks at all the jubilant faces around, and forgets she's a slave. Instead, she's a new Jupani guard! She holds on with them as the carriage bounces down the cobbled street.

It seems someone else must have a similar idea. One of the wolves grabs the chitin helmet at his belt and adorns Leeta's head with it. Of course, it's far too large, but surprisingly light.

Leeta's smile is eternal. She brushes at her mane, tucking it off her face and under the helmet. The armour sits so low, she's almost peeking out from under the ridge above the face opening. The cheetah looks back at the other guards for approval, and gives another short bark.

The cheetah gets several back claps – controlled enough that she's not sent sprawling or anything like that. The wagon rolls through the street at a faster-than-is-probably-advisable pace, some Kavis having to scurry to get out of the way of the rampaging Dromodons. Several more twists, turns and careens, and the wagon at last slows in another part of the city, a little less posh, but not the part of town where you would fear for your life after dark. After all, it's home to a very popular Guard hangout.

The wolves start piling out … and two of them practically carry the cheetah out, then lift her up between them, so that she's riding on their shoulders as soon as they're through the front door. The ceiling inside is fairly high, so there's no danger of bumping one's head against anything. Many other Guards – evidently off duty – raise mugs and hunks of meat in greeting, howling and barking at the newcomers.

Leeta bark barks! As she's carried in, wagging her wolf tail and holding her helmet on. Her arms wave and she looks around at everyone in the room. The cheers and praise overwhelming her, she can't stop smiling.

{Oh Star! There ARE good people,} the Savanite-guard thinks, as the others carry her along.

The wolves set Leeta down on a table, then bark out directions to the servers. They must have been expected, because in mere moments, a great big dish is brought out … a whole cooked Bromthen forest hog, with a Bromthen truffle in its mouth. Its ivory tusks, however, have been replaced with darkened wood imitations. After all, this place isn't posh. The meat is extravagant enough.

Leeta's eyes bulge at the hog. She's been eating well the last few days with Tahir, and before that, extremely poorly. The sight of a whole cooked hog, truffles and all, is overwhelming in its simplicity and size. Just what a guard would eat, not a slave. She barks happily to the person on either side of her, sitting up.

The guards let Leeta free, as the hog is put on the table. Mugs of ale and other drink go around, much of it sloshing on the floor, which shows stains from many other such adventures, and is covered with broken nut shells that crunch under boots.

Chitin knives are set at the ready, and it looks like the wolves are expecting to help with the seasoned hog, though a knife given to Leeta and some encouragement suggests that she's expected to do the first honors.

Her helmet tips forward onto her muzzle, and she has to push it back up. Leeta takes the knife, and looks at the Jupani, as they gaze back at her expectantly. She stands up and signs, "I'm going to take it all" in formal, then in gestures that will let them get the idea. She stabs into the meaty back of the beast, and mock-struggles in pulling it towards herself.

The wolves laugh and loudly encourage the cheetah. "Whoo whoo whoo whoo whoo!" they chant, pounding the table with their fists and wooden mugs.

The Savanite grins so much her muzzle might lock that way, not that it would be a bad thing. As the wolves whoop and howl she waves, "Okay, just kidding," and carves at the shoulder. She saws and slices and manages to cut off the foreleg, and holds the meaty mass up as a prize.

More applause follows, and some of the wolves will likely be very hoarse tomorrow for all the noise they're making. Several other guards join in … though the cheetah notices a couple of guards and a poodle at a far end of the room that seem to bear looks of disapproval. Nobody seems to be paying them mind, though.

Leeta doesn't pay attention to them either, this is for her. She manages to forget her worry and just enjoy. Holding the leg up to her mouth, she opens wide and sinks her teeth right into the meat, and tears it away. The Savanite looks for Nebo, to make sure he's enjoying himself, and holds the knife towards him, behind her, her wolf tail is held high, and wagging.

Nebo smiles, taking the knife, and ripping off a large hunk of the hog for himself. The other wolves see their cues, and tear in as well, either with knives or their claws or one just uses his teeth (though he gets a bap on the nose from one of his comrades for slobbering all over dinner).

Kray breaks open the Bromthen truffle, a feat that requires a bit of hacking, due to the thick skin on this "truffle". Inside are nodules of a hard darkish substance. Kray breaks off a hunk of the cluster, a few smaller beads rolling on the table, and hands the palm-sized hunk to Leeta. "Have dessert early!" he barks, grinning.

Leeta takes the hunk from Kray. She sniffs at the strange nodules, then bites the chunk in half, crunching them in her muzzle…

The Savanite lets a couple of the beads spill from her muzzle, it's aJupani thing to do, and she crunches away on the rest of the chunk, savouring its new taste.

The chunk tastes very much like the Xocholatl drink that Tahir was served … except that this is quite solid with a texture of its own, and not a liquid. It leaves little brown marks on the cheetah's fingers and palm, though. Some brown marks around Kray's muzzle indicate that this is probably EXPECTED to be a messy treat.

Leeta licks at the marks on her palm, but not too much. She lets herself get as messy as the wolves, biting the rest of her dessert and getting it on her muzzle, then ripping into the haunch of meat. She pounds on the table, looking for a mug, someone forgot to give her one. Bark!

The wolves laugh more, and soon Leeta has a frothy mug of strong-smelling liquid.

The Savanite grrs, and makes eyes at the mug. She's a guard, she's not afraid of this! She sniffs it, then takes a huge swallow, getting foam all around her muzzle.

The food, the truffle, it's all been lovely … but this is the most foul substance the cheetah has ever swallowed! Bathwater? Fume-emitting hazardous toxins? POISON?!?

Leeta coughs! The drink sprays out of her mouth as she gasps for air. Sucking in a huge breath, she looks at the wolves she 'got', and hopes the don't mind.

Nebo blinks confusedly, foam and grog dripping from his face. The other wolves, of course, are laughing hysterically, one falling backwards off of his barrel chair.

Leeta grins at Nebo, giving him a slap on the shoulder, and holding her mug up to tap his. "Cheers!" She tries again with the drink, a little slower, and a little less.

It's still pretty foul stuff, probably an acquired taste, but the cheetah's tongue has dulled a bit, perhaps. Everything seems so much more funny now, and Leeta seems SO much more suave and sophisticated!

Leeta gives a big sloppy grin to Nebo and the other wolves around the table. Her ears wiggle almost continually, making the helmet rock on her head. She takes another messy and sophisticated bite from her leg of meat, and suavely chews with half of it hanging out of her mouth. Leeta, the debonair guard!

Music plays loudly, and one of the guards grabs Leeta by the arm, growling something that sounds vaguely like, "Let's dance!" And, before she knows it, they're dancing. And, oh, so well! Everyone is impressed.

Leeta dances, she's a good dancer normally, and now, she's fantastic! She swings around and bounces off the wolves, and only occasionally slips on the shells on the floor. The Savanite takes her mug with her, because, dancing is thirsty work, and she might need a drink. Funny though, it's all spilled out now, and she definitely needs another!

One of the wolves helpfully gives Leeta another drink. So that she won't have to stop dancing, he tries pouring it directly into her mouth. Some of it actually reaches its intended destination.

The Savanite laps at the grog as it spills around her muzzle and down her clothes. That's okay, she was getting hot. She barks happily and shows the Jupani just how you swing that tail, swish swoop! She spins around from wolf to wolf.

My, how the room is spinning! Everything rushes by, larger than life, getting hazier and hazier, although the cheetah is still having a blast, for all she can tell, and positively wonderful things are happening, if only she could be sure what they were.

Leeta just keeps grinning through it all, even when the helmet falls over her eyes and she staggers around in the dark for a while without noticing. The Savanite's ears wiggle constantly under her helmet, and her Jupani tail has a life of its own. As things start to spin too much, she just hangs onto the people around her more. They'll hold her up, she's one of them.

The Savanite barks and growls. She can talk now! She tells them everythingthat's on her mind, which must be important, even though she can't remember whatshe's saying.

Everything keeps spinning. And then there's this throbbing sensation in Leeta's head. Then, there is a blinding flash of light, and loud, pounding noises that loose a nest of hornets in her skull. She feels sticky … as if ale has dried on her, after letting a whole night pass without cleaning up first. "Yeah, she's still alive," a loud voice says, as a finger pokes at her. She's not dancing anymore. She's lying on a pile of thunderous balls of fur. Or, perhaps, snoring wolves, except that the snoring sounds like thunder to her over-sensitive ears right now.

Leeta grunts when poked, curling up in a ball and putting her hands up to her head. Blinking her eyes open a crack, she looks around.

It must be the next morning. The darkness of the helmet would seem fairly welcome by comparison. Perhaps Leeta has heard of this phenomenon before … something called a "hangover". She's in "Bromthen Heaven", amidst several slumbering lupines. Sunlight is glaring in through the open front door, partially blocked by an Elite Guard's silver-and-black-attired form. "I don't think she can walk on her own. Let's carry her out."

Leeta moans, trying not to look at the sun, and burying her head back against a wolf. She's tired, they'll go away. She tries to block out the hornet someone let into her skull.

The cheetah begins to move, lifting up in the air and turning, and jolting about. The helmet falls off. The hornets get angry. Then, it gets dark again. The inside of a carriage. The ride seems bumpier than that in the wagon the night before. But after a small eternity, and much more jolting, she's lying down again, in a comfortably dark place – back home, in her usual shared quarters.

The Savanite purrs happily, grabbing and lying on top of the pillow as she sprawls on her cot. Her fur is sticky and her head hurts, but she keeps it out. Her tail keeps flicking along with her legs, she's still Leeta the Dancing Guard, in her dreams.