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Rep had been increasingly restless lately, snappish, inclined to take offense at the least excuse and unpredictably bristly. It worried Jordan, his concern beginning as a sourceless uneasiness that had nevertheless differed from the tension that had hung unresolved between them for months, growing slowly into a certainty that something was wrong and that this time it wasn't the relationship that was the underlying cause. Thinking it over, he'd realized that Rep had had very little in the way of outlet for his aggression for months, that Tracey must also be frustrated and hungry with Marie binding him away from his charges, and that it was entirely possible that the situation was building towards a dangerous peak.

He hadn't seen it coming before, perhaps because he wasn't familiar enough with the signs, perhaps because he hadn't been paying enough attention. Now, though, he was noticing.

He watched Rep pacing through the room, out into the connected room that had once been the hoard, back again, and thought of a tiger circling a too-small cage, over and over. He put his book down on the table, open but face down, and waited for Rep to pass near where he sat again before he spoke, his tone neutral, the statement barely not a question. "You're starting to need to kill something again, aren't you."

Had either of them actually been cats at the moment, the look would have started a wrestling match. Jordan caught himself thinking about it, and wondered if being turned into a cat one too many times could have permanent mental consequences, then briefly wondered what it said about him that this was, for their lives, a relatively normal thought.

He stretched, interlacing his fingers over his head and cracking his joints. "I'd like to help find something you can kill," he said, conversationally. It might not be the best solution to the problem, but he'd turned alternatives over in his head and discarded them all. Sparring wasn't an adequate release of tension any more. Duties weren't sufficient to take care of the aggressive energy. Taking Rep out to a bar somewhere with the attendant chance or risk of getting into a brawl could help, possibly, but if they ended up getting arrested Harrison would not be happy with them. Going to Simon or Allan to request a mission might work, but if Jordan tried that without notifying Rep first and Rep found out, it would be a fresh new break in the still-shaky trust they were rebuilding. If he asked first, he'd concluded, maybe he could do something about it.

"It's worth trying," Jordan said. "Something to do other than patrols and busywork. There's got to be a nest of something we can clear out somewhere." He got up, leaving the book on the table. "Or something to investigate. Getting out of here would do us some good, anyway."

"It might take some doing to get a mission arranged, but until then, we could check the Haunted House or do externals, go find an artifact, or hell, just get a couple of days of leave and go do something that's not work." Jordan padded around the table, brushing his fingers across Rep's shoulder on the way past, absently and affectionately.

"Yeah, true," Jordan conceded. Rep got an inquiring look at the truncated sentence, but Jordan didn't push. If Rep was stopping himself, he didn't want to talk about it at the moment. He might bring it up on his own later, and if he didn't, time enough to ask another time.

"I haven't taken leave this month," he said. "We could just get out of here for a while."

"A bar?" Jordan blinked at Rep. That had come out of left field. If he thought about it, though, maybe that was a good idea. Something for Rep to put his energy into, something he owned and cared about, something that would keep him busy and get him positive attention. Before Rep could get offended about his surprised reaction, Jordan added, "That sounds great. We could check out a few bars. For good research, you'll need a decent sample size." His mouth quirked in a mischievous smile.

Jordan grinned. "Obviously it will be. What kind of stuff are you thinking about for it? We should make sure to find bars with the right atmosphere so we can get a good look at what works." He tucked his hands into his pockets, looking a little embarrassed. "You're going to have to pick places. I don't know anything about bars."

"Maybe both," Jordan suggested, only half joking. "I mean, who says you can't have neon and trophies in the same room? Are you planning on fixing up a place down in town?"

"Okay," he agreed. "Research is great, but this is for fun too. An ice bar sounds pretty awesome."