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Nicky had been avoiding Richard, true enough. It wasn't out of fear though, that much even he was able to agree with himself on. No, it was moreso because it was interesting to him to smell the traces of the displacer beast and every once in a while spot the cat in what she was obviously doing. Nicky was an old hand at this game...granted, he was the one usually searching...and the playing field was normally a large city instead of a small island...but he was able to manage. The discovery of scents, too, was a pleasant...albeit rather disturbing surprise. Aside from the initial discovery while dealing with Jordan, he had begun to notice a pattern to scents when he walked near Richard's duplex one day and smelt something very familiar. It seems his brain subconsciously recorded Richard's faint scent when he was still mostly human...and the now improved nose of his immediately picked up on that. He found it almost as useful to try and avoid the Displacer Beast by avoiding the areas in which he noticed the smell as it was to keep a sharp lookout for her. Well...that and he had also been kept busy trying to track down this Ambrose character with no luck whatsoever. As much as he would like to think it was this newfound sense, more than likely he was just lucky as s**t.

However, he had been able to spot Richard enter the entertainment room...and he was tiring of this cat and mouse game...so to speak. With a practiced movement, he pulled a cigar tube out of his pocket and quickly lit it up. At first he was surprised by the intensity of the smoke...but then mentally kicked himself for not realizing the downside of his muzzle. Making a mental note, he decided to order lighter cigars from now on. Casually, he strolled toward the door to the entertainment room and carefully opened it, doing his best not to make a sound. Then, with a slight smirk on his dog-like face, he puffed on the cigar a few times and blew a heavy cloud of smoke into the entertainment room before jerking his head back out and closing the door heavily. That should get her attention, he thought to himself as he walked down the outside of the entertainment building and leaned against the wall. And there, he waited...ankles crossed and staring toward the door with his cigar dangling out of his muzzle.

Nicky's patience was rewarded soon enough as he heard several sneezes coming from inside the entertainment room. He stifled a growing chuckle as he forced himself to enter that calm he had practiced over the years. This calm intensified as the door opened and his body tensed. He knew she wouldn't be able to see him right off the bat, given the fact that the open door blocked himself from her view...but he always liked to be prepared. His calm almost broke though as he watched her storm out of the Entertainment room. He was still unnecessarily happy with how his meeting with Jordan had turned out, and he almost gave away his position by chuckling once more. He would let her know he was there soon enough.

Which was right then as she began walking away from his general direction. Casually, he puffed a few more times on the cigar...letting the smoke drift out of his muzzle as he expelled air from his canine nose, causing the smoke to drift away so as not to be too irritating. Then, with a gravelly voice, he called out to Richard.

"Evenin', love." That smirk still visible on his face as he held the smoking cigar in between two swollen fingers.

Nicky was expecting such a reaction...the magnitude of the reaction though had set him a bit on edge. The pure killer look in her eyes...she would have been more than willing to rip out his throat if he was close enough to her during his intended startling of the Displacer Beast. A slight quirk of his brow followed by a few more puffs on his cigar though was all that showed. With an easy movement, he removed the cigar and held it dangling from two fingers once more. The trickling of the smoke threatened a sneeze so he immediately shifted the glowing tip to the side.

"Oh, I think I'm ******** hilarious," he said with obvious mirth, "But why don't you calm your little kitty self down and hit a pillow because I would not take kindly to any attempts at violence directed toward my person." He clucked his tongue in a disapproving manner as he looked over Richard. "You should really switch to decaf..."

Nicky just watched Richard's reaction with that same infuriating smirk. With a lazy motion he once more puffed on the cigar, subtly leading the smoke in the direction of Richard. For once, the cat didn't have him at a disadvantage. She hadn't surprised him from a tree, nor was he sick with the fever from the change. True, her underestimating Nicky was a large bonus in his favor...but he just couldn't live with such disrespect. She had to know that he could play her game right back. Also...he wasn't above enjoying himself with this little charade. It had been a while.

"Quite done what, Richard?" he asked in mock surprise, "I was just wishing a fine lady like yourself a good evening." He grinned once more as he removed the cigar. In retrospect, he was glad he only brought a short smoke this night...and was more than willing to ditch it if the small burning sensation in his nostrils increased.

He stared her down for a moment...a short lick of his nose betrayed his casual attitude. He had annoyed this person enough though...what with her finicky nature, he wasn't sure if she would just walk away right then. Best throw her a bone. "Took your advice..." he said vaguely in an offhand manner.

Nicky noticed the ear twitch, but didn't think much of it. He did like animals, he just didn't know much about them...much less their mannerisms and behavior. He knew dogs well enough to know that bared teeth and ears back were a bad thing and a wagging tail was a good thing...but other than that he was clueless. To him, it was just something all animals did. Speaking of a wagging tail though, his own unconsciously swayed from side to side at the banter. To anyone who knew dogs...or just knew Nicky, it could easily be told that he was immensely enjoying this. Not because he hated Richard and wanted to hurt her...but mostly being a d**k was his way of letting off steam, and he felt that doing so to Richard was as much that as it was trying to phase the kitty.

"Hit it off? heheh," he said with a shake of his head and a chuckle...his cigar forgotten between his fingers as the red glow began to fade. His mind worked in overdrive as he contemplated just what to tell Richard. This meeting was inevitable, he knew...and he was fairly confident that Richard either didn't respect or just didn't like Jordan...more than likely both. Jordan's own confession had also proved this which left his fear of speculation in the dust. But, he knew as long as he himself wasn't a complete and utter enemy in Richard's eyes, he would be able to glean some information from the oversized cat. "You know...for a cat you don't have much finesse...you forget that you have information I would like...and moreso that I know you have this information. Of course, would like and need are two completely different terms."

The tail lash, on the other hand, gave Nicky pause. That certainly wasn't just another dumb animal movement...and the obvious aura of annoyance radiating off of Richard also attested to this. He gave a humorless smirk to her words as he pushed himself off of the wall, catching his fall with his oddly shaped feet. He really needed to get bigger shoes...or just some sandals. His feet were aching from walking around without protection for so long. Forcing them down into a flat position, he crossed his arms around his barreled chest and quirked a brow at her. "Play ball...interesting choice of words," he said, a little mirth coming back into his smirk. He'll be damned if he played fetch with this b***h.

He watched her shanty away off toward the beach area...eying the swaying tail for a moment with horrified wonder. The marvel of such an appendage on a bipedal creature was not lost to Nicky...and he became distinctly aware of his own tail as it swayed from side to side, constantly reminding him of the need for newly tailored clothes. Going to the beach though...that at least was an intelligent thing to do. There were way too many areas to hide cameras here. The beach should be secluded enough.

"After you then," he muttered out with a smirk before following along behind.

Nicky himself wore just his white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows...he left his jacket hung up in his duplex, the heat finally getting to him. Also, no shoes kind of off-set any and all class...well...that and the muzzle...and the tail...nevermind. At least he had made his own pants relatively wearable with his tail in a comfortable position. He had widened his belt to allow the tail to slip through and still be outside of the waistband of the actual pants. He still envied Richard for the tailored clothing though...not so much the tentacle and extra arm holes...but just something comfortable for his tail to slip through.

True enough though, Nicky was inspecting Richard from his vantage point behind her...wondering just why the name...why the strange look...he had an idea, but really did not want to delve into the implications of such a thought.

At the question, he paused in thought, wondering just what and how much he should tell her. Granted, the information of his origins could be used against him...but a lie would more than likely alienate himself from this wealth of information. Well...what the hell? He was sure that if she did use it against him by throwing dirt around, he would be able to maneuver himself out of such an awkward position.

He gave Richard a sidelong glance as she walked beside him. "Witness protection," he said with a slight smirk making it ambiguous as to whether he was being serious or not. He doubted she would actually think of it as a joke...he had wanted to give off that impression with his mannerisms, he admitted to himself.