A Thief in the Night (Ostara/PM for entry)

[Heinrich Ivan Fenwel]

Etruria. Ivan had only been here for a few days. He tried some local cuisine and visited a church or two since it's big on religion here. The food was good, but religion just doesn't sit well with him, especially this Kraft guy. The night life is what Ivan was really interested in. Well, maybe not the same night life the owners of this house were enjoying, but Ivan wasn't really a social person. The house was quite big and luxurious. He usually doesn't do big theft's like this, sticking to swiping gold here and there, but this was an exception. That exception- the owner of this house was a jerk.

Earlier that day, Ivan was just walking through town looking for a place to sit down and have some lunch. When he passed a rather rotund fellow with lavish robes and rings on, said man tripped Ivan in his hunger idled mind. He caught himself from hitting the ground but Ivan was pretty pissed now. He marched up to the fat rich man and demanded to know why he tripped him. To which the man had replied it was his right to play with the poor as he was rich and beautiful while Ivan was a poor urchin. The man placed a few gold pieces in Ivan's hand and walked away saying, "Don't spend all that in one place!"

Ivan had gripped the gold tightly as his anger rose. He decided to follow the man home to see where he lived. He chuckled evilly when he saw the huge place. Later that night the rich man had left leaving Ivan free to have some fun.

Now back to the current time, Ivan was going through a dresser full of jewelry when he heard a growl... right behind him. He mentally cursed himself for not checking for a guard dog as he turned around slowly. "Hiya boy. Wanna play?" He asked cautiously as he reached back to the hilt of his dagger. The dog approached the intruder slowly, growling the whole time. "Listen, mut, I've dealt with far worse than you, so your growling ain't gonna work on me" Ivan antagonized, not like the dog would understand that it was being antagonized. The dog lunged at the thief, but Ivan had been prepared for that, and rolled to the left into the middle of the room while the dog hit the dresser he was just looking in. Now angry, the dog charged Ivan again. The nimble thief jumped to a table and kicked a vase at the dog. The canine flinched but jumped at the thief now. Ivan had wanted this. He dove under the dog stabbing up into the dog's underside with his dagger. As Ivan slid on the ground, he watched the dog crash into another dresser. "Sorry, mut. It was either you or me, and it certainly wasn't going to be me." Ivan went back to collecting gold from the house. He'd have to hurry now, just in case the jerk came home early.

[Ostara]

Ostara was surprised at how strange humans' customs were, even after all her parents had told her about them. Apparently the bigger your house was, the stronger you were? It was strange that the owner of this house was so fat - then again, she had seen many even bigger bear taguel. She made it a point to only target the ones that could afford to be stolen from. There was little honor in stealing a beggar's crumbs, and she had a disdain for the perceived softness of the important humans here anyway.

She crouched in the bushes, her eyes scanning the area for anyone. She could, of course, have outfought anyone who tried to capture her, but she could tell that that would only cause her more trouble further down the line. Besides, she was too hungry to fight properly Even knowing that she was far stronger than any man was little comfort on an empty stomach. Not seeing anyone, she opened the window with a claw and slinked in.

Pantry raids were her main means of living out in the city now. The strongest warrior of her tribe, reduced to a sneak-thief...it humiliated her to think about it, even as her feet fell silently on wooden floorboards. Still, even taguel needed to eat. The pantry should have been somewhere around here, around - ah! There we go, she thought.

She slinked in, footfalls barely audible, and shut the door slowly with her tail. What happened next she could only describe as an assault on the senses. The scent of sweetbreads, cured meats and spirits swam around her and she drooled. The first thing she learned about human food was that only humans could create art from wasteful, fattening junk. A shiver went down her spine as she grabbed some sweetened ham and sank her teeth into moist, juicy flesh.

Her dreamlike stupor was interrupted by a crashing noise from above. Not willing to give her prize up yet, she jumped into a corner and hid there.

[Heinrich Ivan Fenwel]

Ivan walked out of the master bedroom, his pockets full of gold coins. "Alright, time to bolt." As he made his way towards his entry way, his stomach grumbled. "Eh heh heh, guess that dog fight made me pretty hungry, and I didn't have any supper either." He looked around and saw some stairs going down. "Hmm, I believe the kitchen is this way."

The thief walked down the stairs cautiously. He was getting pretty good at this being undetected part of being a thief. Of course, right as he thinks that, he steps on a creaky step. Ivan pauses for half a minute as he stays still for half a minute keeping himself calm. No one else was home in the other rooms. Why would someone be in the kitchen? He was fine. The thief crept down the remaining steps and peeked into the kitchen. He sees the pantry across the kitchen and heads for it. "Jackpot..." he whispers.

On his way to the pantry, he passes a pot of tomato sauce that's just simmering on a very low fire. Ivan gets a mischievous grin on his face as his find fills with pranks. "I hope you like your sauce spicy..." He grabbed some hot spices and dumped more than should normally go int the sauce. He stirred in the spices before turning towards the pantry again.

"Now, where was I? Oh yeah, Supper," Ivan said, probably louder than he should have. He started to open the pantry door. When he looked inside, he saw a lady who had a cat tail and ears holding a piece of ham and hiding in the corner. Mind you, Ivan had never really seen a Taguel. He had vaguely heard of some new race of people living on that newly explored island called Vinland, but that was it.

Ivan, being startled by this woman being there jumped back as his right hand flew behind his back to grip the hilt of his dagger. "Ah, wh-who are you? Do you work for the rich fat guy who lives here?" Ivan questioned once he got his bearings.

Although before anything else could happen, both hear loud knocking from the front door. "Open up! We have a tip that a loud crash happened inside here. And we are here to investigate. We will kick down this door if we need to!"

"Ah ,crap, the Etrurian Guards..." Ivan looked back at the lady. "Uh, hey, you. We both need to get out of here, cause I doubt you work for the lord here."

[Ostara]

Ostara was as startled by the sudden appearance of the human as he was by hers. A cursory glance told her much about the boy. He was young, too young to be doing something like this - Ostara was shocked that they started this early. Then again, human needs were still something alien to her.

Before she could respond, however, she heard a knock at the door. She wasn't really in the mood to discuss the moral implications of his presence. So she bounded past the boy before she could even hear the end of his sentence and through the hallway. Loud footfalls followed as she bounded up the stairs, perhaps a counter-intuitive move on her part.

Ostara picked the nearest window she could find and leaped out of it, sending glass shards scattering with a crash. The guards, some distance away, were too late to catch her as she landed on the ground below. Her ears picked up the rattling of armor and she ran even faster. When she got to the fence, she impatiently grabbed two bars, bent them open and disappeared into a nearby bush.

From her vantage point in the bushes, she made out two men in full armor looking for her within. They must have assumed a human assailant. Most of them did, which allowed her to get away with stunts like that. She bent the bars back into shape while hiding, straining her muscles to do so - it might have looked wonky, but no-one would have believed anyone who knew the truth. Besides, the hole was only small enough to fit her or -

Wait. The boy. What had become of him?

Ostara decided to wait a little longer to make sure he was alright.

[Heinrich Ivan Fenwel]

Whoosh!

Ivan felt the wind rush as the female dashed past him and up the stairs. Wow, she was fast, he thought. He shook his head to snap him out of his daze and bounded up the stairs as well. He heard a shattering sound and was able to catch a glimpse of the female's tail disappear out the window. He saw some knights run past said window. Ivan sighed as he thought he had gone unnoticed. Unfortunately, a guard following the knights turns and caught sight of his cloak. "Halt! you!"

Ivan mentally cursed himself for letting his guard down and bolted back into the hallway making sure to shut the door as the guard clumsily got through the window evading the broken glass. Ivan ran into the master bedroom and checked out sliding glass door to see if it was clear. He saw the two knights from earlier looking about. no doubt searching for the cat lady. He could hear the soldier's footsteps in the hallway. Luckily, the soldier was checking every room he passed. Ivan scanned the hedges and fence for any sort of break or low point. He finally spotted a weird oddly bent out of line area. He almost thought he could see a pair of eyes in the bushes on the other side. But didn't that lady skedaddle already? Did she stay to see what happened to him?

He heard the soldier's footsteps even louder. he had no more time to think so slid open the glass door and dashed for the bent bars. He made sure to start dashing when the knights weren't facing his direction. He soon heard a "Thief!" followed by the heavy footfalls of armored soldiers running towards him. he dove into the pushes as a javelin lodged itself in the ground where he had been. he could plainly tell the cat lady was indeed on the bushes just on the other side of the fence. Of course, he had no time to ponder this as he squirmed through the bars.

After he squirmed through, he dove into the bushes next to the cat lady. he had some questions for her, but he waited for the guards to check the area, curse profusely, and wander off. "Phew... that was close, wasn't it? or maybe not for you cause, you're really fast. heh heh," Ivan nervously chuckled as he tried to make small talk to the thief that he almost got caught cause it was his fight with the dog that attracted attention.

[Ostara]

"I am rather fast by human standards, yes." said Ostara. Her voice was raspy and her speech interspersed with licking noises, but she spoke with calm candor and a smirk hidden beneath the leaves. She was more than a little impressed at how deft this young human was, although of course still inferior to her. And anyway, a thief was a thief...though she did belong to that category as much as he did.

She thought that maybe now was not an opportune time to brag. The guards had left but she feared they'd be back, and she wasn't sure if she could evade them with reinforcements. She wasn't sure if she could outfight that many people, in fact. "We should leave, young one. This will not be the last of it for sure."

When she was sure that the guards were out of sight, she jumped out of the bushes and disappeared into the alley, leaving a straight line for the young man to follow. She waited there, still crouched, wondering if he was quick enough to spot her - or curious enough to try. Humans were becoming more and more entertaining to play with by the minute.

[Heinrich Ivan Fenwel]

Ivan could hear faint licking sounds as the lady talked from under the leaves. He knew cats licked themselves, but apparently cat people do to? As he looked in her direction- he still couldn't see her that well since it was night- he thought he noticed her smirk.

"Oh yeah. Leaving would be a good idea," Ivan replied quietly to the woman. He watched for anymore guards and suddenly the lady dashed for an alley straight across the way. 'Hmm, should I follow her?' Ivan thought. 'I might never meet one of her kind again, and I am really curious. Screw it. I'm going.'

Ivan inched towards the edge of the bushes. He could see 2 guards walking past him now. One had a sword and one had a bow. 'Just my luck... an archer... What a pain.' Ivan furrowed his brow as mentally cursed the bow user. 'Just wait for them to pass.' After ten minutes, neither of the guards left the area. They kept turning around and repeating their movements. 'Crap, they're on their normal patrol now.' He cursed again this time at his own lack of far sight.

Ivan watched the two continue their patrol for five minutes before he grabbed a pebble. 'No way this is gonna work. They aren't going to fall for such a simple ruse...' Ivan thought as he chucked the pebble at some bushes down the line from him. The guards both look over in the direction of the pebble. The archer signaled that he would check it out. the swordsman watched from a distance. Ivan crept out from his hiding place and slowly made his way to the alleyway. The archer shrugged and looked back to the swordsman before spotting Ivan. "There he is!"

"Too slow!" Ivan yelled as he threw his dagger at the archer before bolting to the alleyway. He was already over halfway there. The knife hit the archer in his shoulder. "Dang, I was aiming for his hand..." Ivan ran into the alleyway, saw the cat lady, and ran past her. "Sorry, can't talk. Swordsman coming" He said as he passed her. He jumped up to a ladder that lead to the roof. The swordsman would be rounding the corner to the alleyway as Ivan reached halfway in which he stopped climbing and watched to see what the cat lady would do.

((Sorry for the late reply.))

[Ostara]

That's a good reason not to talk. thought Ostara to herself. Only briefly, though - the swordsman was coming around to where she was. The cat grimaced and scratched her chin. "I have had had quite enough of this farce." she said aloud, stepping out of the shadows to face the swordsman.

Hunched over with a deranged look in her eye, the swordsman must have thought her more beast than man. He stumbled back and attempted to keep his sword hand steady. Ostara could tell a greenhorn from one glance - he hadn't considered that maybe all that training would end up being put to use, thinking that his large build would be enough to dissuade any troublemakers.

She breathed in and focused her power inside of her, her eyes reverting to catlike slits. When she exhaled, her breath shook her entire body, and as she shook purple fur started growing on her outstretched arms. She snarled at the confused swordsman as her countenance became more bestial, with fangs jutting out and twin pairs of ears fusing into an amalgam of man and monster. Slobber dripped from her maw - she thought it was a bit much, personally, but it never hurt to ham it up a bit.

Ostara lunged forward and her claws unsheathed, cutting the air around them with a sharp sound. The swordsman, clearly not expecting this, turned tail and fled. He hadn't signed on for this, clearly.

She breathed again, more softly than before, and shrank back into her human form. Ostara grimaced. She probably didn't do wonders for the reputation of her people here, but it was preferable to the alternative. The humans were just doing their duties, and spilling their blood would be dishonorable.

She spotted the young man and waltzed over to him. "We had better hurry on, before he calls less cowardly soldiers."

[Heinrich Ivan Fenwel]

"WOW..." Ivan said as he watched the female transform into some cat like creature. He had never seen or heard of a power like that before. One might think to be scared at this point, but the height challenged thief was just amazed. One new thing he can add to his list of adventures he's been through.

He chuckled as the soldier fled in fear. He slid back down the ladder and landed on his feet. "Yeah. I know a good place to hide until the search dies down. Follow me." He would like to ask how the heck she did that transforming thing, but thought now was not the time for questions. Luckily, in his short time in Etruria, he had come across a few good places to hide from guards, angry citizens, drunks, and rival thieves.

Ivan ran to the end of the alley and peered out at the street. No guards were in sight so he motioned for the cat lady to follow him and dashed over to an ally across the street. There were not a lot of people out now. It was pretty late, probably past midnight. He checked his pockets for what loot he had swiped before the guards interrupted while he watched for the cat lady to follow. He had a few handfuls of gold coins shoved into his pockets and a fancy silver key with a ruby embedded into it. "Tsk, key is useless without the keyhole it goes to..." He shrugs and looks back up waiting for the cat lady to follow.

[Ostara]

The human had, so far, proven himself defter than Ostara would have expected for one so young. She walked towards him, stretching as she walked, yawning with her eyes half-lidded. Arching her back, she scratched her belly before the cold air made her realize that she was exposing too much skin for her liking. Ostara shivered and covered herself, glancing instinctively at the boy before resuming her stride.

When she reached him, the taguel eyed the young boy with lips pursed and eyebrow raised. "You, youngling. What is your name? And do human thieves really get as young as you?" she said, crouching to look him in the eye. She didn't think pleasantries very necessary among thieves, which - grimacing a bit - she was one of now, technically.

[Heinrich Ivan Fenwel]

Ivan was startled when she crouched own in front of him suddenly. "The name's Ivan! And, ah, well. I'm not as young as I look. I'm actually seventeen. I'm pretty short for my age." He thought for a moment before speaking again. "I suppose there are probably a lot of young humans who turn to thievery. I don't really make a habit of stealing. I'm more of a wanderer. The rich guy who owns that house really pissed me off. Eh, doesn't justify theft, but I kind of gave up on caring about others when my f- er, just never mind. The hideaway is just down this alleyway." He hastily broke off as he started down the alleyway. 'Tsk, gotta be more careful. Can't be bringing personal problems into this,' Ivan thought as he walked to a cellar door.

The young thief pulled a key out of f his sleeve and unlocked a pad lock on the doors. "This way," Ivan said as he climbed down a ladder into the cellar. There was only a singular hallway so he did not bother to wait for the cat lady to follow. At the end of the hallway was a wooden door. He opened it up and left it propped open for the cat lady to follow. "Eh, haven't been to this place in awhile. Still in decent shape since the last time i needed to use it." There were two beds, a cabinet, and a table in a small room. Another door to the side lead to a bathroom. "Hmm Probably won't even need to stay here long. They'll end the search, or at least lessen it, by noon probably." Ivan theorized.

[Ostara]

"You humans don't have much in the way of stamina, do you? Where I come from, hunts can last for days on end." purred Ostara, yawning a bit. She sat on the chair and put her feet on the table, leaning back and rocking it. "Ah, the glory days...you should really have seen me in action, kid. Something really worth looking at." Her voice changed as she spoke: it became coarser, more slurred. Now that they were in private, she figured it was time to drop the serious act. She vaguely overheard something about caring for others, but didn't pay it much mind.

"Anything to eat around here? You kind of interrupted my last meal, Ivan." Ostara sat up and stretched, her bones still stiff from the escape. She kicked her leg over and over again, grimacing while doing so. Those humans had strained her muscles more than she expected to in the running - perhaps she was getting too arrogant in that regard. "And I'm tired, too..."