Lost and found again. [Tally-poo!]

[Rhindeer]

"Help, thief! Catch her! Thief!"

The thief cursed under her breath and took off at a dead run, all hopes of subtlety dashed. She'd messed up, accidentally clinked the necklace against a box of rings as she palmed it and a couple other small trinkets off the table while her friend distracted the old man selling them. Old man may have been dumb enough to fall for her friend's antics, but he had a good ear, she'd give him that. Too damned good. Trust her to mess up around the one old man in the world that wasn't going deaf!

She ducked under reaching arms and shoulder-checked a body or two in her mad scramble through the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her friend high-tailing it down a side street. Pivoting, she bolted in the opposite direction, knocked a younger woman to the ground when she got in her way, and ran as hard as she could through the marketplace, silently cursing all the way.

Most people got out of her way, confused, not wanting to get involved, and that both helped and hurt her. She could still hear the shouts ringing out behind her, though, and knew there was no hope of blending in now, but at least her progress wasn't hindered too badly. If she could just get out of her, duck down some alleys and weave like mad through all those streets and side streets she knew so well, she could hopefully lose anyone that might now be pursuing her. She didn't dare lose time looking back to see if she was being followed, but she wasn't optimistic enough to believe no guards had heard that racket.

If she could pull this off, though, she'd be living quite comfortably and her friend could go hang himself. He hadn't stole any jewels and this was every man for himself here. That necklace especially would bring in a pretty pip--she sure ain't never seen a yellow diamond before!

[Tally]

Most people never bothered to look straight up.  Flying above the crowd, high enough to clear most rooftops but close enough to afford him an accurate view of the trouble, all Gospel could see of the people were the tops of their heads.  It didn't take more than that to identify the thief.  Her mad dash through the market place left the usual rhythm of its movement arrested and halting, pointing to her like an arrow. Gospel pursued.

Too many people around. To ambush her he'd need an opportunity, and more space to maneuver.  He's rather see this business over with fast.  Gospel was not City Watch.  Hunting down folk pressed into thievery by poverty and circumstance fell outside his usual responsibilities, but no city guards were as close as he was nor in as good a position to catch the thief.  It fell to him.

Maintaining a distance behind her, Gospel hopped from one rooftop to the next, biding his time and setting himself up for a swift drop.  Best way to go about it would be to swoop down and trip her up.  Once on the ground, he should be able to overpower her if it came to that.

He picked up speed, then took to the air again and climbed, positioning himself directly above her. As this was a Serenian citizen and no looming threat to the people, she would get only the blunt end of his glaive. He lined himself up, tensed, and dived.  At the last instant his wings—glowing, weightless manifestations of light—winked out, dropping him to her side with the glaive's wooden end sweeping down to knock her feet out from under her.

[Rhindeer]

The thief was feeling pretty good about herself when something swooped down from above and landed right beside her. She had time enough to register blinding light and felt a moment of panic when she caught a glimpse of glowing wings and a human shape--a vengeful spirit?--before something struck her legs and she went down with a yell. Her back hit the cobblestones and the back of her head followed with a crack that made her see stars and was sure to leave one hell of a knot.

And beside her, she heard all her jewels tinkling as they poured out of her pockets and scattered across the ground.

"Aw...shit..." she moaned, cracking her eyes open enough to see what the bloody hell had brought her down. Then her eyes landed on a very human, very tangible form and she let out another groan and closed her eyes. That guy was in uniform.

"Oh shit."

[Tally]

"Halt."  Gospel brandished his glaive to bar her path.  It was an impressive looking weapon, with a long reach..  Two wicked blades curved up upon it's end.  "Do not attempt to flee again or you will make the situation worse for yourself."

Those were no glass trinkets she had stolen.  The jewels scattered upon the street looked immensely valuable.  A shame.  Her sentence would be all the worse for it.

"Are you able to stand?  Did you hit your head very hard?"  A thief she may have been, but she was also only a young girl, and a citizen of Serendipity besides, and he hoped he had not caused her to injure herself too badly.

[Rhindeer]

Very slowly, the girl sat up, though her head was aching something terrible and she kinda wished she could have just been knocked out so she didn't have to face this. Eyes wide, she held up her hands in surrender, recognizing when she was outmatched and in no condition to try and run; she felt way too dazed and dizzy to attempt it, and that weapon made her swallow nervously.

"Do I look like I'm runnin'?" she snapped, then remembered he was the soldier and quickly changed her tone. "I'm sorry! Please, here, take these..." She pushed the jewels and topaz-encrusted necklace along the ground toward him. "I won't do it again, this is all of them, just...please don't turn me in..."

[Tally]

Gospel sighed, but kept a wary eye on the girl.  She wasn't so injured she couldn't try to make a break for freedom, though doing so would be unforgivably foolish on her part.  That glaive had a long reach, and no one could run so fast that he could not keep up with them from the air.

"I intend to take them," he said, eyeing the jewels on the pavement.  "After you are secured."

Gospel pulled a small red stone from a pouch at his belt and dashed it to the street.  It shattered and sent a bright red flare shooting up above the rooftops, a signal to the city watch.

"The guards will be here shortly," he said, leaning upon the shaft of his glaive.  "After that, it's up to the courts what to do with you."

[Rhindeer]

And they were there shortly.

It didn't take long for the city watch to notice the flare, and they were fast to respond, and quick to leave. With long-suffering glances and salutes to Gospel, they hauled the thief away even as she struggled and spat and cursed both them and Gospel. But soon they were gone, leaving him alone to clean up the rest of the mess.

[Tally]

The girl put up an embarrassing display when the guards arrived.  Gospel sighed and stood back.  Cleaning up her mess was left to him.

The jewels had scattered all over the pavement.  He hoped they weren't damaged or scratched badly.  He checked each one and brushed it off before transferring it to his other hand, but hardly knew what state they had been in before.

He picked up a necklace amidst the other gems, and brushed it off as he did the others, trying to get the grit and gravel off of it.  He would have a hell of a time getting these back to their owner.  He had no idea who they were stolen from, or where.

[Rhindeer]

"Ooh, aren't you a pretty one," came a voice from directly in front of Gospel, and where once had been an empty alley, now there stood a red-haired woman dressed in not enough clothes and too many piercings, not to mention jewelery. But among all the bangles and bracelets and anklets, all gold, she wore only a single necklace--which matched the one the man was currently holding, if smaller.

Demaht grinned up at the soldier and took a step closer, feet bare though they never seemed to get dirty, each nail immaculately manicured. Her golden-orange eyes sparkled with mirth, and the air was somehow warmer around her as she approached. "Prettier than my last one, that's fer sure. 'Bout time I caught a break! So, tell me, master," she said, and was suddenly behind him, leaning forward so she could purr in his ear.

"Are ya the thief or the hero?"

[Tally]

Gospel started and jumped back a step, but it was only a woman.  She must have approached quite quietly, or else he'd been greatly distracted because he hadn't even noticed her nearby, nor noticed her at all until she spoke up right in front of him.  That was bad form indeed, to be so oblivious to one's surroundings.

Or so he thought, until she was suddenly behind him. A glamour then, or some mage with powers over space and time.  Either way, she wore a necklace exactly matching the one he held in his hand.

"The...hero?" That wasn't right, but he certainly wasn't the thief and she'd only given him the two choices.  He took a step away from her and held the necklace up.  It was definitely a match for the one she wore.  "Are you the owner of this necklace then, my lady?"

[Rhindeer]

"Mmm," Demaht hummed thoughtfully, pressing herself against the man's back and resting her chin on his shoulder, in no hurry to move. She reached out to lightly stroke the necklace he held but only ended up touching air. She could feel the power thrumming through it, the subtle but powerful barrier between them; it was impossible for her to take it.

"In a sense, yeah. But its yers, now. Ya found it, an' finders keepers, as they say. Now we match, an' honey, ain't that just sweet. So, what's it ya want, master?" she asked with a grin, nuzzling his ear and keeping her voice husky. She liked this one. It wasn't often she got a cute, young one to mess with.

"Money? Power? Glory? Women? Men? Both? I can give ya anythin', y'know. Well, I mean, there are some limits, but let's tackle those when we get there, eh?"

[Tally]

Gospel's eyes followed the movement of her hand as she reached for the necklace.  Her fingers...they did not touch the metal, as though an invisible yet solid barrier coated the entirety of the necklace.  He leaned forward to look more closely, but it was no trick of the light.

"It doesn't belong to me," he added, pondering what he'd just seen.  "And if it is not yours then it belongs to the merchant from whom it was stolen."

He did not yet move to return the items.  Something else was going on here, something he was beginning to piece together from her words, and until he knew what she wanted he would remain guarded. Especially given the odd magics at work here.

[Rhindeer]

"Oh, sure, it's mine," Demaht said, growing irritated. He was completely ignoring her and hinting at returning the item? How dare he! "But now it's yers. Don't belong to nobody but the one that holds it, an' that's you, dear master."

Pulling back away from the boy, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts with a huff and flashed him an annoyed look, lips pursed and eyes narrowed. "Certainly don't belong to no filthy damned merchant and don'tcha dare send me back! I'm offerin' ya the bloody world here so ya best take it!"

She stomped her foot for emphasis, sparks and smoke rising from the ground; she hadn't realized she had been growing so hot, her red hair waving like flame, so it was probably lucky that she was no longer hanging all over the soldier.

[Tally]

"Calm yourself, my lady, please."  He had angered her, though he couldn't fathom why, save that she didn't want that necklace to return to its owner.  Or previous owner.  He still had not arrived at the answer to that.

Her hair wavered like flame, and sparks flew from her flesh.  "You are consummate with fire?"

[Rhindeer]

Demaht, who had been about to launch into a tirade about how she was perfectly calm and how dare he patronize her, froze at his question and arched one red eyebrow. "Eh? I'm what now?"

[Tally]

"A creature of fire," he amended.  She could not be human.  There was something about her distinctly other, a sense of distance about her that he had only ever felt from immortals and other fey kin.

"It's not mine, it has an owner," he added.  He began the long walk back to find the merchant.  He could fly, but that would leave her on the ground, and he doubted she was through talking at him yet.  It would be quicker for him to take to the air, but unforgivable to ignore her in that way.

[Rhindeer]

"Oh. Why didn'tcha just say so? Yup, I'm an ifrit, a djinn, and boy? Yer the proud owner now."

In an instant she was before him, blocking his path with her hands on her hips and her bare feet planted. She was not about to be moved and he was starting to grate on her last nerve. She jabbed a finger into his chest to emphasize her words. "Now listen, sugar, and listen well 'cause I'm only gonna say it once and we're stoppin' this in one ear, out the other bullshit here and now! Those pretty looks can only getcha so far." She huffed, exhaling steam and puffed out her chest.

"Ya summoned me by rubbin' that necklace, so now I'm yours. Got it? And ya get wishes with that. Whatever ya want, with a few limits, but lets not fuss over the details right now because the main point is don't ya dare take me back! Understand? Now you put that necklace 'round that pretty neck of yours and you keep it there!"

Her introductions were usually far more formal, but gods almighty, this boy was stubborn and after she'd been trapped in that thing so long, she did not want to go back!

[Tally]

The woman was suddenly before him.  He hadn't even seen her move.  He hadn't seen her, and his reflexes and eyes surpassed those of any human he'd ever met.  He didn't like that she could overcome his senses so easily.

He listened until she had finally closed her mouth, and even gave her a few seconds in case she had more to say.  "This," he said, holding up the necklace, "does not belong to me regardless of what you say.  It's returning to it's owner—what is your name?"  If they could get a proper introduction out of this, mayhap she would be more reasonable towards him.

[Rhindeer]

"Demaht," she answered through grit teeth, unmoving. The idiot was getting on her last nerve and she wanted to throttle him, hands clenching and opening at her sides, but she didn't have the power to strike her master. It was physically impossible.

"My name is Demaht. And listen, you." She jabbed a finger at him again and stomped closer. "If ya wanna get reeeal nit picky, that necklace is mine. See, here, I got its sister--" She pointed at her own necklace. "--and that's yers. I know how this works better than ya do, boy, an' we ain't goin' nowhere 'til ya recognize that!"

[Tally]

"Gospel DeVida," he said.  She could stop calling him you now, and boy.

"Then you and the merchant can work out ownership on your own."  He stepped around her.  This had nothing to do with him, he'd only recovered the thing.  If she had a dispute about it and they couldn't find a resolution, they could always take it to the courts.  "What difference does it make whether he possesses it or I do?"