The Good Samaritan [FINISHED]

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

[This takes place immediately after "Just Around the Riverbend"]

Rajah walked into the strange building, taking the time to look at the architecture and the vintage look of the place. Even though he took the time to admire the inside of the building, he at the same time followed the woman directing him toward the one he was told was in great need. That trek was ended by the time they arrived at a closed door.

"This is it," the elderly woman said. "I'll be back in fifteen."

Rajah wasn't even granted the opportunity to tell her thank you she walked away so quickly. But Rajah shrugged off the woman's awkward gesture and entered the room. Inside was a bed, a table and a few chairs. There was another room connected to it, and Rajah assumed that was where the person was located. So he sat and waited for whoever it was he was going to help to reveal themselves to him.

[Jin NPC]

Another older woman, small and worn, saw Rajah, a large tiger man in oen of the more empty rooms.

"...." she sucked her teeth. "Come with me. Don't wander around on your own. I've never seen you in this place before.

And with a brazen fearlessness that could only be found in someone who had seen much in their life, she yanked on Rajah's hand, not afraid of the large tora-jin in the least, pulling him rather harshly in the direction that she knew would lead to a girl whom she guess would "match" him. Glancing back at him several times, she finally made her decision and abruptly turned right in the labyrinth of the brothel. They were faced with a ornate mohagany door.

"Customer," the woman growled before opening the door.



Turning to Rajah, the old woman said. "there's a white cord hanging from the ceiling outside of the door. Pull it when you're done." And with that, she shoved that large tiger into the room, and closed the door.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Rajah was somewhat taken back at the randomness of being transferred from one room to another. Even the transition of being pulled by yet another old woman was rather random.

"B-but..."

Yet the woman continue to drag him by the paw. Rajah had to admit; this was the most random situation he had ever gotten into. But with a reward as sweet as helping someone in need, the Tora-jin had no right to complain.

The woman sent him through many twists and turns until they finally arrived inside a room Rajah could only guess the woman found him right in. When she opened the door and said the world "customer," it made Rajah rather curious. Entering the room, he saw the most gorgeous female -jin he had ever seen. But the fact that he probably had not seen many yet was a major factor in gazing upon her beauty.

The old woman gave instructions as to how to signal when he was done and immediately pushed him into the room. Once again caught off guard, he jumped when he heard the door close behind him. But the fact that he jumped while in the presence of such a gorgeous -jin made him start to blush in embarrassment. It took a clearance of this throat to evade his bashfulness and approach her with an extended paw.

"Good day, miss," he said with a warm smile. "My name is Rajah Nagoyaka. What's yours?"

[Jin NPC]

Esperanza leapt from her bed in one swift movement, landing in front of Rajah, and she stood. "I'm Esperanza. But I don't mind if you give me a nickname," she purred, walking two fingers along his arms. "You're rather muscular," she said. "Very attractive. I usually get customers that don't quite look as good as you," she added. Staring openly at Rajah, she smiled and then asked, "What would you like to do first? I know all sorts of tricks? Want to try something new?"

She sauntered over to her bed and took the same position that she had before. "Don't be shy..." she said, patting a place next to her on the bed.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Rajah was instantly taken aback as he saw the -jin leap and land in front of him, calling herself, Esperanza. The name itself was beautiful; just hearing it made the Tora-jin less nervous about the situation that sparked between the old woman and himself. But when she started to touch him, Rajah started to feel something completely different; something he never had felt before. The thought of experiencing this feeling made him a little worried, since he didn't know what to expect from it.

Even when she stopped touching him and laid back on the bed, Rajah still felt a bit awkward. What was this sensation that came over him all of a sudden? He tried his best to keep his mind from hinting at what this could be and immediately accepted Esperanza's invitation to sit next to her lying body on the bed. When he did, his heart started to beat a bit faster when he looked at her. The strange thing about it, was that the unsuspecting Tora-jin had no idea why.

"Esperanza's a beautiful name," he said to her, finding calling her name out loud calming and aidful in this unknown situation he was in. "It actually sounds like a name picked for royalty."

Rajah's eyes lit up as his mind started thinking of the possibilities her name could imply, followed by a gasp that left his mouth in an opened smile.

"Are you a princess?" he asked gleefully.

[Jin NPC]

Esperanza had the feeling that this guy was a little off. Why did she have to get all of the crazy ones? But maybe he was judging her a bit prematurely. He did seem kind of cute. This could have been his first time afterall--she got those sometimes. Dared to come in by a friend, that sort of scenario. But Esperanza had never left a customer unsatisfied, so she wasn't about to start now.

He did make a move however; he at least sat next to her on the bed, and he complimented her name, saying it sounded like royalty. She wished she was--then perhaps she wouldn't have to work in this god-forsaken place. But she kept those thoughts in the back of her mind. Despite how she felt on the inside she had to put in the best performance for her customer.

Then he asked if she was royalty--and she couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. That could not have been farther from the truth if she had run for hours on end. "My goodness, no!" she said, holding her stomach as she tried to calm herself down. "I wish. My name is simple espangnol for hope, dear. You are near Barcelona, after all. What were you expecting? If I was a princess, love, I would definitely not be here." Her laughter subsiding, she added as an afterthought, "But you're sweet," she said, leaning up so that she could kiss the Tiger on his cheek.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

When Esperanza laughed at Rajah's question, his head shrunk into his neck a bit in embarrassment, along with his ears laying flat against his head. His feelings were a bit bruised with her response. But once she explained the origins of her name, Rajah started to feel a little bit better, realizing that she found his question honestly funny instead of just laughing to make fun of him.

Then she kissed him. And when she kissed him, his eyes lit up. And even though it was placed on his cheek, the innocent Tora-jin started to get that sensation again within him that he honestly had no clue what it could be. Once the kiss to his cheek was over, Rajah smiled a bit bashfully at the female.

"Thank you very much," he said, blushing a bit at the combination of the kiss and Esperanza calling her sweet. She was very interesting to Rajah; the fact that she was the first female -Jin he had come across was a bit worthy of that. And if he was to help her, he had to know more about her. He laid across the bed, leaning on his left side and smiled at her, admitting to have been a bit side-tracked by her beauty.

"Why are you here then," he asked, "if you don't mind me asking?"

[Jin NPC]

"Ah, you're a talker." She said, sighing. They got those every once in a while. Men who paid their way into this place just so that they could speak to the women. Usually this was because they didn't have a woman in their life to talk to; that, or they wanted a complete stranger who could not possible know enough about their life to make things worse. Esperanza actually felt a bit better knowing that there was a talker in the place at the moment. It meant tha tshe wouldn't have to do anything, and it also meant that there would be more time for her to rest before the next customer. As far as she was concerned, this was great.

He asked why she was here, and the neko-jin honestly wasn't quite sure what to say to answer. He laid down beside her, and for a moment she bristled. Even if he was a talker, it was possible that he would want something else, anyway. But the older woman at the door had signaled only fifteen minutes to her, and so, the explanation of him being a talker made complete and utter sense.

Her ears laid flat against her head, she gave him an incomplete answer. "I really didn't have a choice in the matter. I've never experience the possibility of going anywhere else." To be completely honest, she had been born here, and because of it there were many things in the world that she had only experienced second hand. She had no skills--she couldn't get a job. She could barely hunt on her own, let alone survive outside. She didn't realy know what she would even have to look out for in the big wide world. "Why do you ask?"

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

The way Rajah looked when he heard Esperanza state that she didn't have a choice was something close to shock. How could one not choose to do go wherever they desired? The concept was how Rajah carried out his entire life and was how he knew as much as he did about certain aspects of the world, including magic.

"I just don't understand," he said in response to her question. "You always have a choice when it involves your happiness. There's a whole wide world out there; you should take advantage of it with every opportunity you come across."

Rajah started to wonder if this was the type of help that Rowan was talking about giving the people here; to tell them that anything was possible for them if they would just put their minds to it. And the fact that Esperanza looked the way she did when she answered his question only told the Tora-jin that she was a candidate for that type of help.

He smiled at her as he rose her head by the chin gently with his index finger. "Anything in the world is possible for you, Esperanza," he told her sweetly. "You don't have to be confined to just one place. The world is big for a reason; it was meant for us to explore, to get lost in, to discover. Just because others say you can't do things shouldn't keep you limited here if you really want to leave."

[Jin NPC]

Esperanza relaxed a little bit; this Rajah certainly did seem as though he was going to talk these fifteen minutes away. He had also seemed to pity her, saying that there was much more for her in the the outside world. She had never had a customer feel quite this bad for her before. She sighed, still smiling through her inner turmoil as she spoke.

"I have another year and a half here before I am free. I can't do anything about my predicament until then. I must work here. I have no other chioce. I was sold here and so the transaction was not of my control." She closed her mouth, not sure whether or not she should say anything else about herself, so she changed the subject. This customer was getting to her a bit too much.

Pushing him down onto the soft bed, she laid beside him, planting a small kiss on his cheek like before. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do for you? You still have almost ten minutes left...I'm sure that you could think of something."

If Esperanza knew anything, it was that an attractive enough woman could distract a male from any subject of conversation, and this Tora-jin would not be an exception.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Hearing Esperanza's situation left Rajah was completely heartbroken. He didn't know that she was here against her will; a prisoner of sorts. And even though he knew a good amount of how the world was, just the fact that slavery still existed amongst places like this made the pit of his stomach turn. How could someone like this happen to a being as sweet and caring as Esperanza?

He silently thanked his friend Rowan for telling him about this place. He just knew that he was here for a reason. And now that he knew the extent of what she was going through, he knew how far he had to go to make sure she lived a real life.

But that didn't stop the innocent-minded Tora-Jin from blushing after being pushed down on his back and being graced by yet another kiss to his cheek. She reminded him that they had about ten minutes left, followed by a sentence that gave Rajah one of the most brilliant epiphanies.

"I'm sure that you could think of something."

A smile graced his maw as he looked at the beauty on his right side. He moved in close to her so that Esperanza's head was resting on his chest. He placed his right paw softly on his waist and held her right hand gently with his left, placing on his stomach. He nuzzled his cheek with her own before resting his head gently atop hers. He was so happy with this intimacy that he started to purr. He closed his eyes and smiled, basking in the moment before staring into Esperanza's hazel eyes and answered her question.

"Run away with me," he said sweetly. "Leave this place and never look back. If you want, I can teach you what it takes to survive out there; I am one with both the earth and spirit."

Rajah blinked a few times as he still stared at her. When he finished, his brown eyes turned blue, symbolizing his sadness he found in her situation. They glimmered in the light provided by the room. His look of innocence aided in the delivery, as he asked the one-worded question that mattered to him the most..

"...Please?"

[Jin NPC]

Honestly, she had thought that her distraction would work; he seemed to be enjoying the attention that she was giving him to the point of even purring. He was very cute that way, content and seemingly satisfied with the small bit of interaction that they had. Right when she was beginning to settle into the more seductive mood, he began begging her to leave with him again. Esperanza was slightly insulted. Either he wasn't interested in her at all or he was really adamant about her leaving. She didn't know why he would be, exactly, when she had never met him before and barely knew anything about him, but it was not her place to question her guests. She could only decline.

"No, I can't. Things are not that simple, Rajah." Her mood was now disturbed and she no longer felt like even completing her job as far as this guest went. However, her kind expression remained on her face after years of experience with annoying or unwanted customers. She had no choice in who she received, and she had learn to deal with it herself. He wasn't being violent or physically harming her, however, and because of that there was no reason to call the house caretaker. She sighed. "If asking me to leave is all that you wished to do with your time here," she added, "I will have to admit you will be my first dissatisfied customer in a long time."

She felt bad, actually; she did want to leave, she wanted to see the outside world. And it seemed now that those two years were just around the corner. She could see it, taste it, touch it. She knew it was coming soon. He meant her no harm, but she had no choice but to turn him down. She didn't want to have to live her life running from those who owned this brothel. It was wrong that she was forced to be here--after all, there were plenty of women here who enjoyed their work--but she wanted to leave the right way, the proper way, and then she could be free and never have to worry about anyone else again. She could walk freely in front of this place without having to go inside. It would be perfect.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

There was that word again. Rajah honestly could not understand why he was being called a "customer" from the one he was sent here to help; it didn't make any sense to the Tora-Jin at all. But once hearing Esperanza's reply to his query, he gave that thought the never mind. To the Tora-Jin, it seemed that he had done something wrong; as if to offend her. Her facial expression was definitely the same, but Rajah could just as well feel it off of her. And that alone made Rajah upset at himself.

"No, no, no," he replied to the Jin's statement of making him dissatisfied, his eyes still blue and his hears immediately folding to the back of his head. His voice sounded a bit pleading and the paw that held her hand reached out for her cheek, as if she started to retreat. Once his paw found it, he gently rested it there as he laid his head down to view her face. A smile appeared on his maw as his blue eyes turned golden.

"You have done everything but dissatisfy me, Esperanza," he said in a sweetened whisper. He smiled as he moved his face in closer, until their noses touched.

"If I have offended you, then I am truly sorry," he said. His paw then once again found it's way to her waist line to try and find the comfortable intimacy he shared with her before. "Just know that when you're time here is up, you have made a friend in me willing to help you in any way I can. And I don't think you can make me any more happier than I am now."

Rajah closed his eyes happily and nuzzled his nose with Esperanza's as he continued to hold her close. He once again released a purr of delight, finding this intimacy simply blissful.

[Jin NPC]

"I'm not offended at all," Esperanza purred, glad that he had finally decided to drop the subject since she had become a bit frazzled. She had met men who wanted to buy her, but never one who had advocated for her full freedom so vehemently. It didn't make any sense to her why he cared to this degree. He had paid to see her, hadn't he? What would he have said had it been one of the other girls? Would he have reacted the same way, or collected the services for his payment and left? There was no way to tell now, but Esperanza knew people. And there were very few who were kind enough to wish that a simple slave girl had her freedom.

But regardless as to whether or not he honestly gave up the conversation, he at least pretended to, nuzzling his nose with hers and holding her hand tightly. And they stayed that way, with Esperanza saying nothing, until his time was up. When that time came, the feline stretched and rose slowly, making her way to the door, still without a word. She would wait to see what he had to say this time.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Apparently the old saying was true; time truly does fly when you're having fun. Seeing Esperanza retreat from the bed and head for the door was fact. Her departure from his embrace almost made Rajah whimper in sadness a bit, causing him to immediately elevate his upper body from the bed just to look at her again.

He smiled at her, trying to fight the urge to stay perched on the bed and to meet her at the door. Sooner or later he triumphed over his sudden lazy urge, meeting her by the rooms exit with one of the most sincere smiles that ever graced his face since his arrival in the building. Staring at her, he was right to question his friend Rowan.

Fifteen minutes was indeed too short.

The Tora-jin swallowed somewhat nervously before deciding to speak to her again. But he soon got over his nervousness and smiled at her.

"I... I would really enjoy seeing you again, Esperanza," he said. A blush came to his cheeks immediately after the sentence. His hands retreated behind his back as he fiddled with his fingers in nervousness. "I-if it's okay with you, I mean..."

[Jin NPC]

Rajah was kind enough to follow her to the door, rising up from the bed almost immediately after she had. Unfortunately, any extra time that was taken during an appointment was punishable in this establishment, and while Esperanza could at the very least admit that this customer had somewhat of a kind heart, he was certainly not worth feeling any sort of sting on her back. She was glad for his cooperation, and was somewhat touched when he mentioned wanting to see her again. It wasn't totally unexpected, as she often had visitors who wanted to return to see her, but considering their lack of activity, the feline had to wonder what exactly was it about her that he wanted to experience again. She hadn't done very much other than tell him about herself, and none of that was exciting at all. Rajah was very nervous when asking about seeing her again, but there was a small sparkle in his eye that denoted that he was nervous for some reason other than she expected. He was peculiar, this tora-jin, and Esperanza supposed that was something that she would never figure out.

"Sure...you can see me any time you want. You know the building now, so..."

Esperanza opened the door, gesturing for him to step out of it. As expected, there was a single white rope--spun very beautifully with a tassle on the end--hanging from the doorway. Without another word, Esperanza pulled it, a soft bell ringing as a result. Almost as though it had summoned her, the old stout woman who had escorted Rajah into the building before appeared, her eyes filled with never-ending annoyance as she grabbed the large tiger's paw, pulling him forcefully down the intricate labyrinth of hallways once again until they reached the front door.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Rajah smiled when Esperanza gave her answer, allowing the bashfulness to cease. Watching her with every move she made, Rajah came to realize how happy spending time with Esperanza made him. And the fact that Esperanza was also willing to see him again only told the Tora-jin there was the possibility that she felt the same way.

But before Rajah could gain a chance to outwardly acknowledge his happiness toward her, Esperanza pulled on the finely woven rope and the old woman mysteriously appeared once again. Somewhat surprised at the quickness of the woman, Rajah blinked his eyes a few times to catch help his mind catch up with his eyes.

Without a moment's hesitation, the woman grabbed his paw and started pulling him down the halls once again, the Tora-jin's reaction being a subtle sound leaving his maw after the first forceful tug of his arm. Like a child held by the pinch of the ear by it's mother, Rajah was pulled through the maze of hallways before surprisingly ending up back to the front doors. Once he was let go, he tried to gain a sense of what just happened. And when he turned toward the direction of his escort, the old woman was gone.

Rajah did not question the phenomena at all. Instead, he exited the building only to see Rowan and Felicia a few feet away from the building. Rajah smiled at the two, finding their interaction somewhat adorable. When he walked over to their location, he smiled at Rowan.

"I believe I made a new friend today."

[Jin NPC]

Rowan had been speaking to Felicia the entire time that Rajah had been inside. He had found out quite a few things about her--she preferred her feline form, for reasons that had not been explained; but Rowan knew better than to push a lady to reveal more about herself than she wanted. Felicia seemed very intelligent for someone so young. When the girl had revealed her age, it seemed ridiculous to the lion-man that she was so sophisticated. But then again, she was a member of the cat family in part. She had also told him that she had been missing from her family for quite a while, that her parents were not the greatest of people so she was trying not to contact them, but that she had a sister who was probably searching for her and crying her eyes out. Rowan knew that he and Rajah had to get this little lady to Madrid immediately to contact her sister, and so they continued to speak while waiting for Rajah to emerge from the brothel. Rowan had not lost sight of his little prank in the midst of speaking to the girl, and as the tora-jin exited Rowan stared to see his reaction. Even Felicia knew what a brothel was--which was really a shame for her age, but--and Rowan hoped he had not scarred his friend for life.

"I believe I made a new friend today," was what Rajah said.

Felicia meowed her feelings of happiness, and Rowan broke into large amounts of laughter. "Are you serious, young one? You speak the truth? Turned a harlot into a friend, have you?" Felicia added a hiss disapproving of the lion's word choice.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Rajah had to admit; hearing Rowan's burst of laughter was not expected of the Tora-Jin at all. He knew he would be happy that he was able to make someone inside that dreadful place happy, but to excrete laughter like this? There was indeed something amiss.

"Harlot?" Rajah questioned confusingly, his face frowning up at even the mention of the word. "I can assure you, Rowan, she was no harlot. She was the most beautiful -jin I have yet to see..."

He placed his paw on the cheek that Esperanza kissed her on. Instantly remembering the situation, all he could do was smile and blush.

"Besides," he said softly as he faced Rowan and Felicia. "She called me sweet..."

[Jin NPC]

Rowan couldn't help the look that crossed his face--he was honestly perplexed. Did Rajah not yet realize...? shaking his head, he turned and began to walk away from the tall building, knowing that Rajah would follow. "Well, Rajah," Rowan said rather bluntly, "I'm inclined to call her a harlot, seeing as you were just in a brothel..." he felt almost a big brother to the Tiger at this point. All joking aside, the Tora-jin should have known at least a little bit. Rowan shook his head again, he changed the subject after that revelation. "So, we are headed to Madrid for this young feline here. It would be a lot more convenient if we could simply borrow a phone. Lovely Felicia here knows her sister's number."

To confirm this, Felicia purred happily, Rowan reaching with a single claw to scratch her beneath her chin.