The Unnecessary Balance I

C. A low level thief isn't going to take out a squadron of guards and mages.

I vote C for City Escape



Gotta go see ya slowpokes later

"See ya, losers!"

Leah launches herself at the ladder and starts climbing back up the side of the building like a hyperactive spider monkey. Within mere moments, a squad of bewildered City Guards are staring at an empty alleyway, and she's back to dancing across rooftops, little more than a swiftly moving shadow in the moonlight. Every few minutes like clockwork Leah checks for any sign of pursuit behind her, and each time she comes up empty. She's extra, extra careful on the last leg of her little journey. She finds a nice chimney with a good vantage point to hide behind and spends several long minutes just waiting, watching the streets below with a near-unblinking gaze. Finally satisfied she really lost them, Leah leaps from her hidey place, slides down a nearby drainage pipe with a single bound, and casually walks out of a side street and into the Waterside Port District. The bustle of big city nightlife is still well underway, and the main street is crowded with merchants, sailors, neer-do-wells, and random drunk people in odd positions. Yup, lots of them. Leah starts humming loudly and obnoxiously to herself and skips off down the street, effortlessly blending in with the crowd.

"Will you stop humming? Please?" Asks her Shadow.

"Nope!"

She hums louder.

------

"I'm home!" Leah shouts, a few minutes later, throwing open the door to the old abandoned warehouse where she and several other orphans lived. Well, technically, not abandoned anymore. A grand total of seven young children come rushing to greet her with huge smiles plastered on their faces, ages varying from 6- the youngest- to 12. Leah is promptly bombarded with countless questions, all of which she somehow manages to answer. Then she presses her finger to her lips, digs into the seemingly endless folds of her seemingly magical cloak, and produces several small bags of food and two larger bags. For eight growing young people it wasn't much, but... Compared to what they were used to, it was a feast. Leah had gone out of her way, and risked her freedom, to get this extra amount of food for tonight. Tonight was a special night, after all.

"Happy birthday, Le-Le!"
"Yay! Big Sis is all grown up now!"
"Does that mean she's going to go away now?"
"No, silly! Big Sis will never leave us! Right, Big Sis?"

Leah smiles widely and bends down to ruffle little Atton's curly brown hair. "Of course. We'll all be together forever. Now come on, you lazabouts! It's time to celebrate!"

-----

Most of the kids didn't even make it all the way through dinner. With their bellies full for the first time in weeks, even months, they fell asleep right there in their chairs. And when they did, Leah tucked each and every one of them into bed and kissed them goodnight. Once all the children were asleep, only then did Leah allow herself to eat, if only just a little bit. There wasn't enough food left... And she really thought she had got enough this time. Her stomach growls and rumbles pleadingly, but she bites her lip hard, just enough to draw blood. The pain helped take her mind off hunger, if only for a little while. Then she carefully packed and stored the remaining food, triple checked the warehouse was locked, and snuck off to bed on her small, holey mattress, in a tiny room with a single partly broken window. Moonlight filtered in through the shabby blinds, along with a very chilly sea breeze. Leah curled up into a ball, like a cat huddling for warmth, and pulled the itchy blanket over her head. She wouldn't sleep much tonight. However, as it would later turn out, that was perhaps a good thing.

------
Leah's subconscious realized something was wrong before she did. One moment she was asleep, the next she was sitting up in bed alert and wide awake, the hairs on the back of her neck tingling, with no apparent transition. At least none she could remember. Nerves as tight as a whipcord, Leah slowly gathers her bearings and looks around her room. Nothing seemed wrong, or out of place, but... Something was. She didn't know how. She just knew. Rising to her feet, she reaches up to the window and brushes aside the blinds. The city outside was very quiet, she could only hear the constant splash of the waves gently lapping against the nearby pier. By the position of the moonlight now, compared to earlier, she could tell that she must have only been asleep for a couple hours. The city should have been bustling still. So why was everything quiet?

Okay, I think I'm a little scared now... What's going on? Dhaos, care to shed some light?

Silence. And that silence freaked her out far more than anything else. She turned to look down at her own shadow, and-

... What? That... That's not...

As far as she could see, Leah Belmont had no shadow.

B.) Medium Risk Medium reward I am good with that. Besides we kinda of made a ruckus last night with the guards up in rich town so yeah let's avoid that place for now.

Tourists are easy to steal from.

B.

(This post is dedicated to Lady Yvan)

Tourists. Tourists are easy marks. And tourists have lots of nice dosh. Nice, sweet dosh. Only thing better than biscuits is dosh. Leah grins to herself as she skips down the street, winding her way through the crowds. Festival day was always so much fun!

"Did you hear? Tensions between Midgard and Drakia are rising again."

"And? They've never gotten along. Probably just end up in a small skirmish. Drakia will give them a good whipping, and everyone will go home and forget about it in a week."

Leah slowly comes to a halt, as she catches wind of two sailors talking about juicy rumors. She loves juicy rumors. Leah sneaks around a street corner near the sailors and peers around the corner, listening in.

"Wouldn't bet on it," the first sailor argues. "Not this time. What I heard is, Drakia's Emperor got in a huge argument with Midgard's King at the last Summit. The two nearly came to blows. And the Emperor promised "he would do what must be done". There was a whole uproar in the Holy Capital about it."

The second sailor shrugs. "Eh. I'm really not worried. Wouldn't affect us sailors much, anyway."

Well, he had a point, Leah thought. Even if Midgard and Drakia butted heads, the free kingdoms like Melbourne and Arcadia probably wouldn't be affected much. Life would go on as normal. She shrugs a bit, mirroring the sailor's action, and steps back out into the street. Time to go rob some rich stupid people!

-

The Middletown open market was packed. Lots and lots of people. And the tourists stood out from the locals like giant peacocks in a parade of ducks. The wealthy and noble tourists, even more so. Their outfits were so garish and loud that it actually hurt to look at them. And that, of course, was just another thing that would help disguise her; no one would be looking at them too closely. It couldn't have been more perfect.

Leah spends a few minutes carefully choosing her mark- a stern looking old dude with a big nose and fancy purple and black robes- and then spends several more minutes tailing him from a safe distance. He appeared to be alone, and from the size of the pouch he used to pay for a souvenir, he was l-o-o-o-aded. And best of all, people seemed to be avoiding him. For a strange moment, Leah thought she recognized the old man. It was like... A split second of deja vu. And then it was gone, and Leah shrugged. She had probably just seen the old guy around this time of year before. But he was the perfect mark. No way she was going to let this chance go to waste.

Leah makes her move when the old guy stops to look at another stall of trinkets and dolls and things. The crowd had grown fairly dense around that area, so Leah keeps her head down low and twists her way through, right up behind her old mark. She bumps into him, ever so slightly, and with the skill of an expert thief, swipes his pouch of gold coins from his pocket. Then, in a single fluid motion, she slips the pouch into the folds of her cloak and continues walking. With her head down, Leah starts to disappear back into the crowd, giddy at the prospect of counting all her shiny new coins. But she only makes it a few feet when she walks smack into a brick wall.

"Ouch!"

Leah stops and looks up, surprised by the sudden wall materializing out of thin air. Only it wasn't a wall. It was a man in dark purple heavy armor. Stunned, Leah stares up at the guy mouth agape, and before she can react, he roughly grabs her arm.

"H-Hey!" Leah shouts, yanking her arm away. "W-What do you think you're doing?!"

The guard- or whatever he was- seemed unfazed. "Open your cloak. And show me your hands."

Leah held her ground and put on her best outraged expression. Though, inside, her mind was racing. How did he see me? Where did he come from? How did I not notice him?!

"I don't think so, buster! Who do you think you are?! You're not from the City Watch! You put your hands on me again, and I'll scream so loud, the City Watch will be arresting you!"

That certainly fazed him, at least. He stared at her in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe a grubby little street urchin had the nerve to defend herself. And it gave Leah the chance she needed. Lifting her chin in defiance, Leah placed her hands on her hip, inhaled sharply, and-

"There you are, sweetheart! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Leah blinks, her mouth opening and closing like a stunned guppy fish. A sudden large shadow fell over her and someone gently grabs her arm. Leah's too stunned to react for a moment. Then she looks up, and gasps. He was a very tall man, well over six feet, and quite muscular, though his build was more that of a soldier- strong and athletic- than that of a bodybuilder, like the hulking mass of stupid that had tried to arrest her. How someone built like a brick wall was able to sneak up on her is something she'll never know. But this newcomer- that wasn't any surprise to her. His hair was an odd shade of silvery blue, and it was combed back neatly and styled with obviously expensive hair gel. His eyes were a sharp piercing green, and he constantly scanned his surroundings without ever seeming to, like a bird of prey. He was dressed in clearly expensive clothing- all black- and immaculately groomed, and had the poise of a haughty young noble- Leah pinned him at ten years older than her, at most. But the most surprising thing about him were the pair of jet black feathered wings sticking out from his back, which he kept partially folded against his spine. Leah had never seen a Laguz before, much less a Raven, and was completely caught off guard.

"Sorry to bother you, good man! You've done me a great service! I've been looking all over for my little Sis the whole morning. Whoooo boy, finding someone amidst all these crowds is tough work, 'specially in this heat. Must be even worse for you, huh? Having to stand guard out here all day. Well, I appreciate you, man. I really do. Keep up the great work, yeah?"

The guard stares at the winged-man, looks back at Leah, back to him, and sighs. "Whatever. Just take her and go."

"Much obliged! See you round, old chap! Come on, Sis. Time to head home."

The winged-man takes Leah by the arm and leads- more like drags- around the corner and down a side street. Leah stifles her protest, instead choosing to glare daggers at his back. Once they were out of sight and earshot, Leah yanks her arm away. And continues to glare at him.

"Whew! That was a close call, eh Sis?" He casually leans back against a wall and turns to grin at her. Leah, meanwhile, continues to glare.

"I am not your 'Sis'."

He mockingly jerks his hand away from her like he'd been burned. And she was the fire. "Ouch! So cold! And here I thought I'd at least be awarded with a peck on the cheek! Or, you know, maybe a 'thank you'. I've heard that's a custom with you humans. Haven't experienced it myself much I'm afraid, but it's what I hear. No? Gonna just stand there and glare a hole in my soul all day then, eh?"

A: Thank the annoying Birdie.
B: Bite him. Birds are tasty.
C: Give him what he wants- a peck on the cheek. And then bite him.
D: Some combination of the above. Should also probably maybe ask him what he wants.

Jeez, X. Kitten beats bird. Dog beats bird. Bird has to beat someone...

Crows and ravens are not to be trusted. I'm telling you. C. Show him we're even more not-to-be-trusted.

C.

Leah simply stares at the bird-man for a moment. Then a wide grin spreads across her face. She marches up to her new 'friend', places her hands on her hips, stands up on her tiptoes, and places a quick kiss on his cheek. She savors his stunned expression for a brief moment, then leans down and bites him on his arm. Hard. He yelps in surprise and jumps back, holding his arm and staring at her like she was a demonic creature from his nightmares. Leah grins.

"Ouch! What was that for, you demonic little kitten?!"

"Hey! Don't call me a kitten!" Leah shouts back, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance. "You aren't allowed to call me that."

He runs his hands through his hair. "Man, you sure got a screw loose, you know that?"

Leah resumes glaring daggers at him. "Who are you? What do you want?"

He sighs and nonchalantly sticks his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I guess we didn't exactly get off on the right foot... So long story short. Name's Naesala. I've got a job for a thief... And I'm willing to pay more than you can imagine."

Much to Leah's shock, Naesala shrugs off his leather backpack and opens it to show her several pure gold bars. Leah's eyes widen. Those must be worth thousands...!

"More where that came from," Naesala continues. "I've got the rest in a bank in Drakia's capital, safe and sound. Do one job for me and it's all yours."

With that much money, she and the kids would be set for life... She could buy a proper house, bribe her brother to pardon her crimes, send the kids to school... They would never have to go hungry again. But at what price?

"What's the job?" She asks suspiciously. "And why me?"

"I need someone rescued. She's important to me. Her name's Cleo, and she's a Laguz like me, though unlike me, she's a very rare breed of cat Laguz from the northern continent. A Snow Leopard. There aren't many of her kind left, and I swore an oath to her father to keep her safe. Due to their beauty, Snow Leopards are often hunted and enslaved, which is why they're so little left. We fled to Drakia to start a new life, but one of the fat pig Nobles there had her kidnapped right out from under my nose. I tracked her to that noble's summer estate here, in Melbourne. Baron Alton is the one who's holding her. I tried to break her out myself, but underestimated the number of guards and my right wing was wounded in the fight. They've stepped up security since then. And that's where you come in. I need you to sneak in, free her, and signal me. I'll fly in, provide a distraction, and you two can sneak out. I have the floor plans of the house, I know how many guards there are and what their patrol routes are, and I know where she's being held. I just need someone who can sneak in and break her out, and sadly, that's not quite my forte. As for why I chose you... You're the only competent thief I've seen so far- the rest are just common thugs. And I don't have a lot of time. Well, what do you say?"

At least he's not lying... The break-in at Baron Alton's estate a few days ago caused a ruckus all over the city. The guards had been searching for the culprit for nearly two days straight, which had made things difficult for her. She did want to help, but... This would be really, really risky.

A: Accept the job.
B: Decline the job.