Markus was a hard man. Used to working with his hands and not accustomed to wiping off blood, his or his enemy's, until a job was done. He was very good at holding back his mischievous impulses until he could cash in the fruits of his labor. Though he was still not without the curiosity of youth, and here he felt he had a difficult time not indulging himself on whatever he saw fit, even though he knew logically that he was in the stronghold of a despot who could easily use he and Calliope as leverage for his own personal gain. 

The Palace begged to be enjoyed. The light filtered off in ubiquitous rays of overlapping gold, with the aroma of foreign scents in the air. Not to mention Markus was starving, and seeing both the delectable food and Calliope's dress hugging her curvaceous form as she walked didn't help him keep his mind sharp. Still, he knew he could control himself and summon the urge to be crisp at a moment's notice. But there was an inherent magic to the air that sweetened lift by its very presence, [i]and[/i] he had just survived an impossible battle. Why not celebrate a bit? 

Markus plucked a grape off the table, ripped the stem off and ate it. It was fresh, though it didn't sate his hunger. "Well are we not blessed then?" he said in reply to Calliope, and gave a sweeping bow with his immaculate cloak to her, before he sat down and began to dig in. Calliope chuckled and joined him, and though they started out being picky, they began to eat a bit less politely as they began to understand how truly hungry they were. 

"I saw you gazing past the villa." Calliope said, inspecting the food with a meticulous focus. 

"Looking for an out, just in case." He explained, having already spotted a small low incline in the back wall through the gardens with his practiced eye. 

"You know, you'd make a fine first mate." She said, winking. Markus let her have the jab with humor. It was then they began to dig in.

Calliope felt a near insatiable hunger for the red meat on the table, and Markus was morbidly impressed that she could eat so much prime steak and pork and uncaring to how it looked, while somehow being delicate and quick enough with the cloth to keep the juices from running down into her top. It was a true sign of nobility. Markus was not quite as skilled, but he kept himself relatively clean. If it wasn't for the sound of what seemed like a rudder chain running off of a ship's wooden railing, they would never have heard the Leopard approach. 

It's growl was low and constant, and Calliope drew her feet and legs up on her comfortable chair, grabbing the arms as she glared warily at what was approaching. It was walking casually. The Leopard they had seen lounging at the front of the palace when they arrived. A beautiful beast the size of Markus, loping slowly with its body moving in perfect motion as it approached, mouth open to aid with the heat, its four inch fangs protruding from its maw. 

Markus stiffened for a moment, before slowly grabbing a rib bone. There was a glint in his eyes that matched the leopard, and he smiled ferally as he began to whisper in a flowing language that seemed to drift into the walls as if carried by whispers. The Leopard halted, its rounded ears perked up as it turned to look at Markus in the eyes. Calliope would recognize the language as Elvish, something Markus sometimes spoke aloud when talking to himself. 

Slowly, the beast turned and began to make it's way over to the Captain, and just as it neared less than a pace away, Markus' soft elvish reached an end, and he tossed the rib to the beast, who caught it easily, slumping down to gnaw on it happily. 

Markus, looking like a prince in all but title, ran his hand over his new 'friend' approvingly. 
[@Penny]