Kassian wasn't the only one down on his luck that night.
As soon as the rain came down, Vahni not only learned that he really wasn't as great of a house-builder as he'd reckoned, but that those tiny, miniscule gaps in the roof really did make a difference! He probably should have fixed them when he'd first noticed them, but he'd been so proud of his little shanty (though even calling it a shanty was being extremely generous) that he'd decided it was <I>perfect...for the time being. He'd fix that other stuff later. Which happened to be now, a week after he'd constructed the shelter after continuously putting it off--until, of course, he woke up to rainwater splashing down on his face.
In his groggy, abruptly awakened state he hadn't thought about using something already inside the room to temporarily patch the roof but had instead stumbled outside, grumbling, only to remember three seconds later that, hey, he had some stuff inside that he could probably use! By then it was too late. He was already soaked through to his skin, so with a series of curses he'd decided, screw it, he was already wet so why not just bloody scavenge for something now and get it over with?
After making sure his kittens were safe and snug in their box, covered with a blanket, and out of the rain's way, he'd headed out.
Maybe he could snag some dry clothes from somewhere or someone while he was at it, too. All his other clothes? Wet of course! He'd picked this day, which had started out sunny, to do the wash at a local stream outside the city and said clothes had been hanging out on the roof of his home to dry. Which never happened because it rained. If he wasn't a relatively clean thief, he may have had some clothes. But no. Even years later he still retained many of the habits his grandmama had beaten into him. Not literally. Most of the time.
Grumbling still as he walked through the rain, head bowed against the downpour while trying to stay under the shelter of the leaning buildings, Vahni decided his best bet was to scavenge for some more wood. People discarded all sorts of junk in the alleys, but he would only stick to the areas around his alley...not that it was his alone, he shared it with a few other homeless people and he had only taken up residence there recently after getting kicked out of his old home in a better part of the city. In any case, the thieves and homeless could be very, very territorial and there were some places he just wouldn't go in the day, much less at night. For a thief, he was pretty nonconfrontational--at least where it concerned his ass getting chewed up, spit out, and served to him on a platter.
Ew.
Lightning cracked then and Vahni jumped and hugged himself, shivering in the cold and bracing himself for the thunder that was sure to follow. Oh! The kittens! Thunder and lightning would probably scare them, wouldn't it? Oh no...poor things, all alone...he probably shouldn't have left them! He jumped again when the thunder roared, seriously considered giving up and racing back home, and was about ready to turn and head back and endure the rest of the night with a leaky roof and wet clothes when another flash of lightning illuminated something...shiny.
Vahni paused, brown eyes focusing in on said shiny object which was propped up against the base of a tree. And as his eyes adjusted, he began to make out its shape, the belt, the sheath, the shiny pommel...a sword! Wait. A sword just...sitting there? He quickly scanned the area, first the ground--just a little girl, standing there and looking up toward the tree. Then he scanned upwards, squinted against the rain and into the tree--aha! A guy. Climbing the tree. What the hell was a guy climbing a tree in the rain for? Didn't he know lightning liked to strike trees? Silly.
But it was only a momentary thought before his eyes were glued on that sword again. Sword. How much coin could a sword fetch? Way more than he'd ever seen in his life, he was sure. And there it was, just a little girl on the ground, the owner up a tree, just begging to be taken. No one else around. No one else that would care, that is.
It was a once in a lifetime chance, and the set-up was perfect for a smooth getaway. By the time that guy got down, he'd be off.
Hesitation gone, Vahni sauntered over toward the tree casually, still hugging himself to keep warm but also to come across as just a casual, curious onlooker. He looked over toward the girl, then followed her gaze up to the tree and blinked as though seeing that sight for the first time. It was kind of the truth, too, since he hadn't noticed the cat before. Aw...kitty. He hoped if the tree got struck, the cat made it.
"Oi! You! Tree-guy! Ya might wanna be careful. Yer gonna get fried," he called up to the cat-rescuer. By that time, he was right by the base of the tree--and the sword. "Very nice of ya to rescue th' kid's cat! Thanks fer th' sword, too!"
That was when he swooped down, grabbed the baldric, threw the strap over his shoulder, and took off running for all he was worth. Here's hoping the guy didn't know this neighborhood very well! Because Vahni knew this place like the back of his hand and he was sure that it wouldn't take much to lose him.
Here's hoping he wasn't that fast of a runner, too.
