StarHawk/NelMetOwl

The compound was silent, the air still in the middle of Great Forks, the town asleep. The middle of the months of Fire, sweltering heat in the city and plains. The museum stood tall in the middle of the district. The great structure was probably a hundred feet from ground to ceiling, modelled in the manner of a great cathedral. Statues of the Three Spirits dominated the centre, a gift from a powerful Earth elemental to the museum years before.

A dark form landed without a noise upon the roof, and slunk along the walls as if a spider, disappearing into a second floor window. The guards below, vigilant on their patrols, noticed nothing and continued scrutinising the square.

Inside the great museum, in the main hall, a silent figure stood from a bench, where she had been reclining all night without interruption or notice. The room was quiet but for the steady beat of the guards' footfalls and the occasional drifting conversation. Two walked past the silent figure, speaking casually of a bet in the local gambling parlour. The walls were decorated with great frescoes and paintings, with the floor space dotted with sculpture.

Also on the walls, Still Owl took in the view as he continued his silent scrambling across the room. At the head of the room, framed by the great domed roof, was his objective; a small gilded glass vial amongst a display of royal jewels.

Nel, still shrouded in enchanted invisibility, stepped away from the bench and made her way to the jewel-case without fear of detection. Her blind eyes would have left her groping for her target but for the seeming bandage across her vision. The precious metals glimmered with reflected essence and their ambient light guided her path. Then suddenly, she stopped, cocking her ear to the walls above the case.. did she just hear someone breathing?

Still Owl placed his glasscutter to the case, taking a last look around the room for guards as he did so. Not seeing any, he commenced cutting, the muffled scrawl of the cutter his biggest concern. Just as he finished cutting the largest circle he dared to remove, his hands jumped as he heard and felt an exhalation near his ears.. someone was hear, and they wanted him to know it. In answer, he laid down the glass with a barely audible clink, moving his other hand to his blade.

Shit! On the Case, the Vial! thought Nel, taking a single, undetected step closer. As her rival began to slowly remove the Vial from the case, still scanning the floor for her, she heard him whisper to her: "I know someone is here, I heard you breathe.. if you're here for the vial, you're too late; it's not worth the effort for you now, leave and you won't have to die in vain." Scowling deeper, Nel thought for a moment.. he was obviously here for the same reason as she; her employers must have thought her insufficient to complete the job..

"I would say the same", said she, as she suddenly grasped him by the wrist and simultaneously threw the glass cut-out to the floor, shattering it loudly for the guards to hear. Before he could react, Owl was surprised by the sudden appearance of a young and slight girl with a firm grip on his cutting hand, and a mean scowl on her face.

"By the Sun, you're good! I didn't see you 'til now, but as I said the vial is mine!" He gripped the hilt of his sword tighter. He never had the chance to draw, as she cast him down to the ground with a powerful throw. Not expecting her sudden strength, an off-guard Still impacted the ground with a meaty smack, skidding to a halt only to look back and see the slight young lady flicker and fade away again. He rolled to his feet, and, channelling his essence into the air around him, he too shimmered and disappeared. "You don't know what you're messing with.."

Nel, moving slowly towards where she'd seen and thrown him, grinned viciously as she spoke back. "Oh but I do. They will pay dearly for thinking I can't handle this on my own."

Stillowl, by now against the wall and beginning his climb back up, whispered as his essence-charged hands adhered to the sheer surface. "Look, give it up. I'll admit that you're good, but I have the vial..." He paused, just then considering her own words. "Who hired you?"

Nel spat their names like an epithet, only just avoiding breaking her shroud of invisibility in doing so. Resuming her steady pace towards where he seemed to be coming from, she hissed back to him "I do not give up so easily. And you only have the vial for now. Just wait, we will see. Or you will..." As she said so, the sounds of heavy footfalls and running guards echoed just outside the room.

Stillowl chose to ignore the threat; he supposed he'd done the same. "Well, I have no idea who you are talking about, and there's no way in hell you're taking this from me."

Nel looked down the two adjoining corridor. Her time was running out, and, unable to pursue the other thief without causing a scene, her only remaining choice was to leave through the main gates and walk away from this. "If my employers didn't hire you, then who did?" Her face took on a crease of thought as Stillowl told her the name from his contract, a rich merchant collector from uptown GreyFalls. As Nel thought through this, ten armed guards entered the room, their swords in hand and their livery marking them as reasonably well-to-do offspring of the spirits of the city.

Looking around for signs of the break-in, one of them spotted Stillowl upon the wall, his somewhat muted form nonetheless visible now to them. Stopping a moment and turning aghast, he stuttered and then shouted to his fellow guards; "Anathema! On the wall!" Still had been mid-sentence, about to suggest a mutually beneficial arrangement to his fellow skilled thief. It had been his plan to sell to his collector only to aid her in stealing it back for her own contractors. However, the guards had rendered conversation impractical. His legs bolstered again by the ambient essence clustered around his form, he made a grand leap to the roof of the dome and exited, swinging is head around for a last glimpse of the lady within.

He didn't see her, but he thought he heard her say something from the midst of the guards, and in terror, the ten of them fled the room. Perhaps she'd be a useful ally after all, he thought. He paused a moment more, and then returned into the room, leaping to the ground beside where he imagined her to be.

"So what do you say, I'll sell to mine as I got there first, and then I'll help you get it for your own. We both benefit, and I couldn't care less about my own employers." He by now had his sword out, although he didn't anticipate need at this juncture. "We should move fast if you're interested though, they won't be long calling others.."

Nel considered his plan, and didn't see much of a problem. While she was more concerned about her reputation with this client, her time-limit in which to deliver left a large enough margin for this man's plan to perhaps work to her favour.

She decided, becoming visible to him again with her hands on her blades. "You will find I can be very accommodating to such plans.. when they suit me.."

Stillowl smiled, and then his face became more serious as he heard the call for the guard going up outside. This square and the surrounding quarter would be swarming with soldiers and militia soon, some of them spirits and perhaps able to pierce his charms. Perhaps she was a spirit? "We've gotta move fast" he said, now not concerned about volume.

"Do you see another exit?" She drew her blades and took a defensive stance, looking for another way out.

"Always.. get on my back"

Taken aback somewhat, she looked at him incredulously. On his back? That was a bit forward! However, it occurred to her what he intended, looking at the skylight. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, she trusted her new acquaintance and took fistfuls of his cloak, shaking her head as she refused to allow herself to reconsider.

Checking one more time for pursuit, and making sure she had a good grip, Stilloul sprang out onto the roof. To Nel's enchanted vision, tiny sparks danced around his legs and flew out into a contrail as he did so.

Immediately releasing her grip upon their soft landing, Nel checked herself to ensure she had all her possessions and then looked up at an expectant Stillowl. Reluctantly, she acknowledged to herself his help. Seeming to struggle with the unfamiliar words, she addressed him as graciously as she could muster. "Thank you for helping back there. I guess.. not all Anathema are as they say."

"I'm curious," Still began, cocking his head slightly in curiosity "You call me anathema, but you're no Dragonblood.. what are you?"

Nel smiled inwardly and feigned stupidity. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean". She adopted an expression of fright at their elevation. "Can we get down from the roof soon?"

"Don't play dumb, I know you're far from mortal. There's no way you could have caught me otherwise"

"Perhaps you don't wish to admit you've been beaten by a girl?" Nel took another step away from the edge.

"Well alright, if you don't wish to admit your true nature to me that's fine, but please refrain from calling me Anathema. I am a Solar exalt, and you can call me Owl."

Nel stopped and dropped her false expression, her face softening. "Solar.." she whispered. Turning to face him, she made a small curtsey. "My name is Nel, exalted of Night."

Stillowl smiled. "A fellow Solar. Good to hear; now that this is settled, let's get our pay.. hop back on"

Nel grimaced slightly, and hesitated again before latching onto his back again. As the guards below swarmed into the museum and street patrols covered the exits and alleyways, they sprang from rooftop-to-rooftop, and disappeared into the night.