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"Thom," he offered in reply to the woman's introduction, managing another polite nod before Jordan stepped between himself and Dee. The sheer fact that Jordan was actually standing his ground rather than fleeing for cover, quite frankly, amused Thom to no end, and it showed in the form of a half-smirk as he watched the dog man, shaking his head and opening his mouth to reply--

And closing it once more as Awen came rushing from the surrounding jungle. What was all this? He could go days without running into anyone at all, and, now that he actually wanted to sleep, here came three little nuisances to keep him from his rest. That seemed to be his luck. At least they weren't trying to shove him out of a tree as Miller had. "I wish I could say th' same, though I 'ardly think you've believe me if I did. I'm sure this 'business' can wait. I'd like to get back to my nap before another normie decides th' jungles a good place to blare symphonies."

Three's company, but four's a potential funeral pyre waiting to happen in the jungle of the island. The tension was mounting as Thom was spreading a word Jordan had never heard before. “Normie? What kind of offensive slang is that supposed to be?” It didn’t sit well with the dogman and he didn’t appreciate Thom being such an a** about Dee, him, or humans in general.

It was difficult to outright say what he needed to in the presence of the group, but he’d be damned if he let Thom slither away. “You have something that doesn’t belong to you and I intend to get it back. So, do us all a favor and make this easier on yourself. Just return what you stole from me.” He let go of Dee’s hand as he took a bold, assertive step towards the cobra. He wasn’t playing around. His very livelihood was on the hinge of getting the laptop back from Thom. He wanted to appear the bigger person in this matter and so far, he was already seemed to be a step ahead.

He couldn’t elaborate much more on the matter with Dee and Awen’s presence, but he’d hoped that if he played it correctly he could resolve this without much more fuss. What a naïve dog.

"It's not meant t' be offensive," he snapped back, lip curling. None of the three had ever heard the term before? He was fairly sure he wasn't the only one who used it, though perhaps others were using it in a derogatory sense. He hadn't meant it entirely, though. "It just means you're normal. 'Aven't changed. Which, in turn, means you 'aven't been 'ere long, an' can't be expected t'know much about the island. If anythin', it means I should 'ave more patience with you than with this fool," he added towards Dee, jabbing his thumb at Jordan.

"To answer your demand," he began, fixing his attention back on Jordan, "If you're talkin' about th' rabbit, I'm afraid I don't 'ave it anymore." Thom flashed a grin, patting his stomach almost affectionately. "It was delicious, by th' way." He was sure Jordan already knew the rabbit was gone, and, likewise, he was sure Jordan was now speaking of the laptop. But he didn't have to admit to having the later, and mentioning the former would likely provoke some sort of amusing reaction from the dog man. Thom had the upper hand.

Thom's explanation of the term 'normie' only elicited an annoyed "Hmph." from Jordan.

Jordan growled at the cobra for even mocking the death of his rabbit. Paws clenched into fists as he nearly flew into a furious rage right then and there, but for the sake of Awen and Dee, he restrained himself at the limit of restraint for this contemptable slithering creature that once may or may not have held some manner of humanity to him. All Jordan knew now was Thom was jeopardizing his way of life, even after the fact of becoming a sled dog was taken into account. “You ate Thumper.. and for that alone I’d like to see you pay through the nose for, but that’s not why I’m here for..” he was being riled into anger, his breathing rising in his throat as he was almost through entertaining this façade.

He didn’t even turn his stare from Thom when answering the manta girl. “It’s not something that I can just replace, Awen..” he tried not to be curt, nor short-tempered with his friend “He’s in possession of something that he shouldn’t be and it’s my fault for not locking my duplex. It’s also my responsibility to get it back…” he trailed off, a bit fearfully as he didn’t know what would happen if he didn’t retrieve it.

“I’m so sorry you’re in the middle of this, Dee. I apologize for the scene, but my tail’s on the line here.”

"I don't have it," he repeated stubbornly. Thom watched the three with clear disdain, glancing from one to another to another and back. As amusing as Jordan's anger was, the whole meeting was a waste of time. Thom would have much rather gone back to sleep, or done something equally productive. Sleep was certainly a better use of time than tolerating the dog's presence.

...But the opportunity was just so hard to pass up. "But if it's so important to you, an' you've been instructed to get it back, there must be somethin' particularly useful on it, which really gives me no reason t' give it back to you. Assumin' I do 'ave it, of course, an' we've already decided that I don't. If I did 'ave it, I certainly wouldn't 'ave kept it close at hand. Tossed it in th' river, or fed it to Jamal, per'aps. Why don't you dive down his throat t' retrieve it?" It was all a game now. How long could he provoke the dog before Jordan snapped and Thom was allowed to defend himself?

“You’re lying.” He called Thom out on his bold-faced lie of not having the laptop. “I detected your scent on the case and Lauren was there too. She knows you stole from me.. from Mor—“ he caught himself before he could finish saying Moreau. He was being pushed to the edge of tolerance quicker and quicker with each jolting taunt of the b*****d. “HE knows too..” Jordan added for dramatic effect.

His eye twitched in irritation at the continued insults and adulations. His fists were going white, though, covered in so much fur, that was indistinguishable. He had, no matter how many twisting and turning lies he wanted to sputter. “You’re a miserable piece of garbage! You ate my rabbit when I was nursing him back to health from the injury you caused, then you trash my duplex and steal from me!” Jordan couldn’t take much more of this. He was about to let loose on Thom as much as he didn’t want a scene infront of spectators. If he didn’t do something it was no better than giving up. His nose flared with each deep breath as a growl rumbled in his throat. His leg muscles tightened. Jordan stared Thom down, narrowing his eyes in absolute contempt for this slippery character. And Jordan pounced at Thom, fist clenched and drawn back, hoping to strike a good blow before he was KO’ed.

"Of course I'm lyin', you idiot," he retorted, rolling his eyes. "Do you really think Jamal would swallow a laptop?" Oops, had he just said that aloud? "Though, if he knew it was Moreau's, I'm sure he'd try," Thom noted, chuckling dryly. It had been all too clear where Jordan was going with the word, and it was also very clear that Jordan didn't want the other two knowing what was being discussed. Thom, on the other hand, had no such desire to keep the topic secret.

The outburst that resulted from the dog man was enough to startle Thom, at the least. The cobra raised a scaled brow, eyeing Jordan contemptously as he ranted on. And then Jordan fell silent and crouched ever so slightly, and that was all the warning the cobra needed for the impending attack. As Jordan lunged, Thom quickly jerked back, hood spreading as he hissed a warning towards the dog. Avoiding the initial attack was easy enough simply by drawing back into a coil, but any further ones might be a bit more difficult, especially as he'd rather avoid just strangling Jordan while the women were standing there watching.

For now, he was strictly on the defense. Hood flared, the cobra readied himself for a strike, shoulders slightly hunched, arms spread at his sides in an almost-mimic of the hood. His tail looped in a coil about him on the ground, tensed in preparation of an attack. If Moreau was backing Jordan, Thom wasn't going to attack unless he absolutely had to. ...If the dog man had any sense, Thom though, Jordan would back down now.