Ellison sidestepped the flying bundle of fur and fury with casual ease, wincing in sympathetic reaction when the wolf crashed into the rough stone wall hard enough to drive the air from his lungs with an audible whoosh. He moved past the staggering elf to the back of the alley, plopping onto the nearest handy crate and leaning back on his elbows to study the sky with its glimmer of early stars. "So you can control this?" he asked the still winter air, refusing to even glance at the recovering, growling street rat. He was too tired, too confused, and far too frustrated to deal with such juvenile threat displays, especially not from little thieves who overestimated their own strength. He hadn't even intended to make this meeting, had gone to bed confident that all the elf had promised to earnestly was a simple, cruel scam. He'd even accepted the loss of his money, drawing on a stoic pride that had served him well during a long life of similar disappointments. Unfortunately fate wasn't through playing with him and at some time in the night a shrill scream had captured his senses, leaving him listening to the bouncing of its echoes for hours. He'd come out of the trance disorientated, exhausted, and ready to whirl a dead cat over his head nine times if someone pledged it would just make the madness top. What could showing up cost him that wasn't already at risk?

Even such fatalistic thinking didn't mean he intended to be foolish, however, and he'd seen that Blair was spoiling for a fight even before the elf registered the mercenary's presence. It had been no surprise when he'd snapped and charged and that lack of shock let Ellison repeat what had worked so well during their first encounter...doing the unexpected. He'd learned in the past just how thoroughly that could short circuit the protective instinct of someone thinking they were in trouble and it seemed this time was no exception.

The wolf on the far side of the cramped little side street shook its boney frame with a rustle of fur, huffed a sign, and Changed with an explosion of golden light that briefly transformed dusk to dawn. They both kept silent for a moment and studied each other, reconfirming the first impressions that had formed only a day ago. The elf was still scruffy but a clean bandage supported his ribcage and a triangle of cloth cradled his arm, which hung at a proper angle again. Dark circles rimmed silver eyes and within a few seconds the tense shoulders fell and he slumped without ceremony against the wall, sighing again. It was clear by his sudden relaxation that he'd accepted Ellison wasn't likely to try to kill him within at least the next few hours.

"I cannot control it. I can teach you to control it by using all of your senses together. You are young to this and it is easy to focus only on hearing or sight and allow your mind to know only that one sensation. As I believe you humans say-you lose the forest for the trees, yes? I will teach you to remain open in all of your senses. You must allow time and patience for your mind to accept such a change."

It was by fair the longest thing the elf had said to him and Jim was not surprised he understood little of it. What he did grasp made an odd kind of sense that felt more intuitive than logical and that was comforting. He hadn't really expected a straight answer, knowing all too well the delicate game being played by them both, but something told him this wasn't an outright lie. That was good enough at this stage of things. "Time and patience while I'm paying you, I assume," the mercenary said dryly, "I'll need to travel soon."

Blair shrugged with one shoulder. "There's nothing holding me in this place."

Nothing holding him and plenty to escape from, Jim wagered. He pushed himself to his feet and moved to stand in front of the smaller elf, extending a hand to formally seal the deal. The hand that grasped his wrist was hot with fever but the grip was firm and offered without hesitance. "Teach me control," Ellison said simply.

The elf's lips peeled back in a grin, eyes flashing a sudden, shocking blue. "I shall. But for the moment…for the moment I do believe you promised a meal a day?"