Habile Voleur (Stryder Aedernis)

This was an awkward situation. What were the chances? Apparently good enough. Two thieves went for the exact same item, at the exact same time. But what Korat found to be even more strange, is that she didn't hear this man moving around at all.
Now they stood in the darkness, with Korat shyly looking down, but listening intently. After a few short moments, she looked at him.

Unlike her, who was crouching down with one hand on her katzbalger's hilt, he was standing up, completely relaxed. It was no trouble for Korat to see him, even in the darkness, so she directed her gaze, as a matter of habit, to his eyes. He stared right back at her with his big blues. Her own shined lightly in what little light was present in the building. She began to relax as he was staring back at her, and stood up.


The original plan? Just to steal a golden necklace with a sapphire jewel. It's all she really 'needed' right then. She woke up that morning thinking how she'd been sort of neglecting her appearance. A little jewelry couldn't hurt her looks, could it? No, of course not! She'd already stolen a bracelet earlier, since she happened by it along her way, so a necklace would be a good addition.
She found it not so long ago in a large mansion-type house. That day the owner had opened the place to anyone who wanted to look at his collections of fancy items, and what-not. Korat had seen the lovely little necklace when visiting, and made note to come back later.

Someone else had the same idea, it seemed. When she got inside, she walked back to where the necklace was kept. The silly owner had taken off the glass case, and left it out in the open. She was laughing inside until she reached for the necklace... Her fingers bumped right into those of another person! She had stood there, motionless for a second, before jumping back, and crouching down.


And now... Now the two thieves just stood there. Korat certainly wasn't going to be the first one to talk. Her shining eyes just stared back at the man through the darkness.

Luca Mercury stood in the darkness, calm and relaxed. He smiled confidently at the stranger in the dark. He'd had quite the shock when his fingers had met the dark strangers, but as he tensed his body to flee, what he saw made him stop. His eyes, already accustomed to the dark, saw the vague shape crouching before him. As he stared at the shadowy form, the figure looked up, and the dim light from the window far behind Luca caught the figure's eyes, making them sparkle and dance in the darkness. He saw, in the shadows, a lithe, alert form.

He moved not a muscle as the figure before him stood. He grinned now, his natural confidence already at its peak. A petite, female figure, he saw now. His grin reached his eyes and his face crinkled into one huge smile. He could tell she was tense, probably nervous too.

Mercury knew he should grab the bejewelled necklace and dash for the window, but his easy confidence got the better of him. The feminine figure in front of him seemed to be content with the silence; so Mercury decided to break it.

"Well, it looks like we're both attracted by something of beauty," he said softly through his grin. The girl said nothing. He chuckled. "I can see you have good taste in jewellery. I'm sure the jewel would look fine against your lovely figure." Still the girl said nothing. Mercury opened his mouth to gush more compliments, when a door burst open, dim light flooding through. Four men stared at them in surprise. Luca looked at them, then glanced over and grinned at the stunned girl. "Maybe we could take the jewel and discuss its rightful ownership somewhere a little more secluded, eh? If you can keep up, that is," he said with a wink. He grabbed the necklace before she could react and cried, "See you on the rooftops!"

Turning, he bolted for the distant window. Hearing the guards thundering after him, he reached the window and grabbed one of the heavy curtains. Throwing a last grin back at the guards, he swung and twisted through the open window. Holding the thick material, he curved through the air to the left of the window and planted his feet on the wall. Running along the stone back under the open window, Mercury laughed as he saw two of the guards peering out in shock. As the curtain begin to grow taut Mercury released it and pushed off the wall. Diving through the air, he used his momentum to jump to the next window, grabbing its jutting ledge. Hauling himself up, he sat on the ledge casually, his feet dangling over forty feet of death.

He whistled tunelessly as he reached into his pouch, ignoring the shouts of the guards. Pulling out the rope and his small grappling hook, he deftly knotted the rope through the hoop of the device before releasing the catch of the hooks. Leaning forward slightly, he swing the rope in a broad circle, faster and faster, then released it at its peak. The hook flew through the air, and hit the roof. Mercury waited for it to catch, then tugged on the rope to check its sturdiness.

Sure it would hold his weight, Luca pushed himself off the ledge and twisted in the air, planting his feet against the wall and steadying himself. Hauling himself up the rope, he made his way quickly to the rooftop, the necklace safely in his pouch.


OoC: Top that, catgirl.

Half the guards had bumbled right for the window the thief had swung himself through. While no doubt showy, his actions certainly weren't wasted.

Korat speedily assessed the situation. Two guards foolishly clambering out the second floor window, thief-man took the necklace, two guards were approaching her, and she was in practically the center of the room. There was a staircase behind her, leading to a third level, and more windows up there. No guard could reach one of them, as there was no access from the platform up there. Korat spun around and leapt from the floor, halfway up the stair's banister, then leapt again onto the the next level. From there she jumped onto the banister nearest the window, and then again right at it, crashing through the glass.

She used her tail to latch onto the window sill, and planted her feet onto the wall. There was a tree several feet away; an easy distance for her. It went up past the roof, making it perfect for getting to the roof. She pushed herself off from the wall, letting go of the sill with her tail, and dug her nails into the trunk of the tree. She jumped again, back at the building, but moving up. She went back and forth from the tree a couple more times, and came flying up onto the roof. She landed without half a sound, and crouched. The thief-man was leaning against a short chimney, with his back to Korat. She snuck up soundlessly behind him, and tapped him on the shoulder, while crouching on top of the chimney stack.

With the moon behind her back, she spoke. "I'm here." Her voice was soft, and somewhat high-pitched. Her tail was slowly swinging back and forth in the air, and she was staring very intently, yet 'nicely' at the man. "The necklace, if you please?" she asked cautiously, holding her left hand out, with her right hand on her katzbalger's hilt again.

Leaning against the chimney, Luca hummed quietly to himself. He really should just move on. The necklace must be worth a few nights of fun, at the very least. He knew plenty of fences who would gladly take the piece of him. But seeing the other thief had intrigued Luca. Seeing that it was a female had intrigued him even more.

He sighed happily. He'd always had a soft spot for women, and he knew it. He smiled to himself, and looked out over the rooftops, gazing at the sleeping town. He froze when he heard a tiny noise behind him, and then a hand tapped on his shoulder. "I'm here." She had a small, high voice. He smiled, hearing the carefully disguised curiosity behind it. "The necklace, if you please?"

He sighed carefully. Without moving, aware that the girl was very close behind him, he said, "Business before pleasure, hm? I don't follow the same regime myself, but each to their own, I always say." Very carefully, he moved forward and turned slowly. His eyes widened as they saw the girl clearly for the first time. Large eyes stared right at him. He took in the large ears, the whiskers, and the fanged teeth in one glance, and then spied her tail, languidly waving through the air. She sat on the chimney itself, her hand outstretched, crouched with her bare knees raised.

He saw it all, took it all in, looked deep into her eyes, and gave her his biggest, most charming smile. "You know, I was quite surprised to find another thief in there. It's not every day something like that happens." His eyes wrinkled slightly, and he winked at her playfully. "Maybe it's fate, eh?" She just stared at him, with her hand still outstretched. He chuckled, more to himself than anything. "May I at least ask your name, O lady of the rooftops?"

Korat withdrew her hand, and smiled. He was likely one of those types.
And 'that' type was the fun kind.

She sprang off the chimney stack, flipping around over the man's head, and landing neatly behind him. She turned to face him in a single, lithe motion, and crossed her arms. Still smiling, she leaned in towards the man's face. "I find my name, for that necklace, to be a fair enough trade," she said, winking. She straightened back up, but didn't take her eyes off his. "You know, you've got to treat women nicely... Your record so far is clear." Taking a step back, she turned around. "Keep it that way, knowing that words alone won't woo me... and a sly guy like you can figure the rest."

She quickly cocked her head back to looked again at the fellow thief. "My name would be Korat." She flicked her tail around playfully and took a few steps back, so that she was close, but still with her back to him. "Korat Si-Sawat. And does the slick fellow like you have a name?"

Korat was really quite surprised at herself. She really didn't take to people very quick... It could be because he was also a thief, or maybe it was because we was 'that' kind of guy. Regardless, he certainly smelled interesting, with a smooth voice, and clear smile. His attire could use some work, though, as far as Korat was concerned. Still, he was easily likable, which meant something for Korat.

OoC: He made a fairly good first impression, however breif, so she's giving him a chance.

"Korat Si-Sawat..." Mercury rolled the name around his tongue. "It's a beautiful name." He grinned.

"But I'm not so sure that's an even trade-off...I went through a lot to get this necklace...perhaps we can come up with some other bargain?" He smiled again.

"My name," he began, before looking past the girl to the rooftops behind her. "Is Mercury. Luca Mercury. And we have to get out of here." With a smile he took a step backwards. "Unless you want those guards to stop us, that is."

Behind Korat, three guards were clambering clumsily out of a skylight.

Mercury cocked his head and grinned at the feminine feline. "Shall we?"