Every city had its darker side, where the smoke of pipes and whispers of deals went on in the privacy of taverns and back alleys went on as clandestinely as possible. This was an interesting city, and there was so much to explore if you knew just the right way to do it. Just as there were two sides to every city, like that of a well-traveled coin. But sometimes, there were those that were capable of seeing to it that the coin stood on its side.
Voices knee deep in bourbon and thick with wine were broiling loudly through the tavern doors. There was the abrupt sound of glass smashing and more yells. Some were violent, most were roiling over with laughter and curse words. It was too easy all of it. Obviously there were some hard drinkers in here, and it wasn't as quiet an establishment by night as it had been by day. There were some shrill shrieks within and a rock shattered the window of the bar. The shrieks turned into women's laughter. This time of night, he imagined the revelry was only just beginning. And made for a perfect moment to strike.
He'd cased the place for at least three weeks, observing and learning who the regulars were and where they roomed, what they drank and what they did while they were here. The two black-haired men that walked out now always arrived at three and left at a quarter to eleven. The woman with the white scarf always ordered the cherry brandy and roomed at the top, farthest room on the left. And an older man with a patch on his eye and a pipe in his mouth always entered at around seven thirty in the evening and didn't leave until deep into the morning.
Dram leaned his head to the side and furrowed his brow. He ruffled back the erect hair of the red stripe on his head and threw back the braid that had been resting on his shoulder. Now was not the time for distractions. The target room was just ahead of him and quick run and somersault would have him on the roof of the tavern in no time. With his kopis sheathed on his back, Dram took a few steps back from the roof he was currently on before running full force over the ledge and spreading out his limbs and twisting his body in a somersault before landing abruptly on the roof. His steps were light and his form was quick as he landed in a crouch, holding the ledge just so that he wouldn't slip off.
He grunted softly as he rolled off the roof, with one hand clutching it while his feet propped themselves on the side of the building. With his free hand, he pulled out a series of picks from his belt, all looped together with a thin string and shoved one in the crevice between the double windows. He jimmied the pick a bit before sliding it upward and unfashioning the lock. It was never difficult into breaking into buildings like these for people hardly cared to replace these old rusty locks.
The pick was promptly put away into his utility belt and the window was swung open. Dram pulled himself just above it before letting his feet hang. He swung himself gently at first until he had enough momentum to land into the room unhindered. The curtains parted for him and he landed without so much as a creak in the floor. Yes, this was the room with the jeweled necklace that he sought. It was a rubied beauty that couldn't be missed, large and set with diamonds decreasing in size as they went down toward the clasp in the middle. The rich man to whom it belonged would not miss it for sure.
It was rare to see a moment of enjoyment on his face just as he approached his goal. With the window open, the jewels glistened in the moonlight. He approached the corner they were in, on the wooden neck model on the nightstand. Just as he approached it, with his hand outstretched, a voice gave him pause. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" they said. Dram's brows furrowed and he grunted in annoyance. Wonderful, just wonderful!
When the window opened, Love froze before melting back into shadows. She had been coming for a necklace, an utterly stunning one that would go just smashing with her hair and a few other tidbits to sell off and keep Nell from whining at her about needing new boots.
It had been...sadly easy to sneak into the building actually. Really, these nobles were so cocky with their valuables. A few guards, a sad amount of locks and they just though everything was safe. Please.
Though, she hadn't been expecting someone else to come after the prize. Her green eyes followed the man's movements, lips curled into an amused smile. As he reached for the necklace, she stepped out of the darkness, leaning against a support pillar, hip cocked, "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Sachi had had her eyes on that necklace for weeks, at least.
She had spent the better part of that time scoping out the home it was located in, observing the comings and goings of its inhabitants to try and figure out what their schedule was (if there was any) and what kind of security they had. She had traveled about the perimeter, looking for weak spots and blind spots and good entry points. Finally, when she felt confident enough, she had set a date and off she went.
If she did this thing, the prize would feed her for months! Maybe even longer. Honestly, she couldn't even wrap her head around its worth, for there were only so many zeros that she understood.
Creeping through the large home, Sachi had rummaged through several different rooms with no luck, which left only one. That had to be where it was! Had to be, unless the master happened to take it with him when he left or something crazy like that, in which case she might scream. Those locks had been rather difficult to pick! She'd spent at least five hours on one and--
She froze in the doorway, tail stiffening in shock. There was a woman already there--one she hadn't recognized when she was scouting the place!--and a man hovering in front of...were those the jewels? Gods be damned! Had everyone picked this night to throw some sort of bandit party she wasn't privy to?! Those bastards!
No matter! She would not be so easily swayed from her goal! It was all or nothing!
"Hey, guys!" she said, voice a hushed whisper but loud enough to carry. Putting on a bright smile, she strode confidently into the room, tail swaying as she headed toward the jewels. "How's it going? Party at the noble's, huh? Fantastic, great to see y'all, glad ya could make it! Now, if you don't mind, I'll just, ah...go ahead and get those outta your hair, 'kay? Can't stay long, early morning, y'know how that goes."
The annoyance soon passed into frustration and he remained perfectly still. He didn't know if the voice that had caught him was a fellow patron or someone else entirely. He didn't care and furthermore it certainly didn't matter. All that needed his full attention was grabbing the jewels and getting the hell out of there with his life intact and losing these goons that thought it was a good idea to interrupt him. Dram still had his back to them before he quickly snatched the jewels from the stand it was so ostentatiously displayed on, while his other hand had been digging into one of the pockets of his belt.
In an instant, he whirled about and unleashed a handful of throwing darts from his hand that flew out at the two intruders that dared step in on him. He'd worked the joint longer than any of them to be sure! He deserved it more. That ought to have them running home to mama, nursing their wounds. He grinned for a second and didn't stick around long enough to see if any of his darts actually hit them. Immediately he headed for the window and lunged out of it, the jewels in hand.
There was a good chance he would break his neck if he allowed himself to become a concrete sandwich. Fortunately he twisted to the balcony of a nearby building and made a rough landing that knocked him momentarily off his feet. In that, he'd lost a very precious second of escape time, but it didn't matter as long as those two stayed off his back. He started to scale the windowsills and headed for the roof. Once he made it, psh, he'd be homefree!
When the girl arrived, Love turned her attention from Dram to the silver haired girl that entered. Opening her mouth, she was going to reply when suddenly the man let loose darts at her. Cursing, Love jumped back, eyes narrowing and hissing with surprise and rage.
Luckily the dark just grazed her arm, drawing blood, but nothing serious. "That bastard!" Apparently there was no honor among thieves! He was not about to steal her necklace! Or get away with throwing things at her!
Ignoring the other girl, Love took off after Dram, eyes glowing for a moment as the magic ran through her. Leaping out the window, huge leathery dragon wings appeared on her back, catching enough air to glide her past Dram, landing to block his path and whirling to face him.
"Not so fast! I worked my ass off for that necklace!"
Okay, thaaat was unexpected.
With a yelp, Sachi jumped back and threw up her arms to protect her face, wincing as she felt several of them graze her, tearing skin and clothes. Thankfully, none of them sank home, though a couple got snagged in the cloth of her shirt. With a muttered curse, she yanked them free, tossed them away, and bolted after the two of them. Dammit! Her necklace!
"Hey! Stop! You...you thieves, that's mine!"
They would not be getting away so easily! She'd had her eye on that forever and she wasn't about to be outdone by two half-rate scoundrels!
Racing to the window, she climbed out onto the ledge and jumped.
There wasn't enough time to be really graceful about it. Another time, and she would have had time to strip before she shifted. Now, she shifted in mid-fall, clothes ripping as her body grew and changed, fur and feathers and talons and claws replacing her softer human form. She snapped open her wings, caught the air, and propelled herself forward, a silver gryphon now. Subtlety no longer mattered. He would not be getting away!
With several powerful wing-beats, she sailed over her target and landed heavily on the roof, whirling around to face him and letting out a low hiss, beak clacking. "Stop!"
The darts seemed to have done their job, distracting them or wounding them for at least a fraction of a second and that was enough time for him to scale to the roof, the jewels promptly placed over his arm like a rope and he pulled his kopis from back. However one of the goons landed in his path and he snarled viciously at her. When where these fools going to learn? If they pressed it further, no doubt they were going to be taught a lesson they wouldn't soon forget.
Dram grimaced at these two magical thieves. Typical, he thought, having to cheat just to earn a living. And this coming from a two-bit crook himself. But he was a professional and would do all he could to escape. He would make it up to the roof, even if it meant one of these two had to lose a head. Dram sank back on the pipe he'd been climbing, charging the muscles in his legs and pounced up high into the air like a frog making a leap for it.
He twisted in the air, turning so that he faced them by the time he landed, this time prepared to make sure he was still on his feet. He clutched the sword in hand, ready to strike if they came at them. His voice was rough and raspy as if from lack of use and he glared at them a hellish glare. "You two ought to run home to your mothers," he said. "Finders keepers, I'm afraid. You know the rules."
"Try it and I'll shove that little dagger so far up your ass you'll be able to taste it." Love was not impressed with this guy. Hand on her hip, she narrowed her green eyes, cocky and far more confident than she should be.
"Let's not fight. That bauble is worth plenty. Some bad luck means we all went for it at the same time, but fighting just ends with people dead and/or bleeding. How about we split the shares, by some drinks and laugh about it all."
"Mother's dead," Sachi hissed, and snapped her wings out to the full span, fanning them out to make herself look larger and more ominous than she was. And she was already rather large, the size of a lioness and built like one, too. "'Fraid I don't know the rules, either."
The woman spoke then, though, and she tilted her head to glance at her out of one silver eye. Sachi was fine with splitting the spoils; she'd been part of a gang of thieves in the past and that came with the territory. But these people weren't part of any gang she was part of and she didn't know them and, thus, couldn't trust them. Even assuming the man agreed to something crazy like that, she couldn't trust that they wouldn't go back on their word later.
But they'd also come to an impasse and that wasn't going to change anytime soon at this rate.
She flicked a glance toward the armed man, but didn't relax her stance. "Um...sure! I will if he will!"
Dram could help it. He laughed at her suggestion and attempt at an insult. Words...the armor of weaken, fragile souls, he was certain. And as useless as they always were. The other, well, she was just as bad as the horned one. Or at least he would assume as much until proven otherwise.
"Split it? With you two? If it hadn't been for your magic tricks, you probably wouldn't even be competent thieves at all." Dram wasn't afraid of them, but perhaps he should have been. He didn't like to be threatened, even if he found humor in it all. And splitting the spoils was not his idea of a good plan. The jewels were his. Plain and simple.
"I don't expect a bunch of rookies like you to get the message on the first go around, so let me say it again, meat bags: Go home, you're lives aren't worth the trouble for something like this," Dram was adamant and his tone was dangerous. His free hand was already loaded with a small, minor explosive that could be useful in shaking them off his tail. As long as the path behind him was clear, he quickly threw the clay marble-sized ball that exploded in a cloud of dust and fire, either burning them or blinding them, at their feet. And he made a run for it once again, ready to leap for the next rooftop.
Love didn't have a chance to reply before the little ball exploded and she hissed in pain, her arm coming up to shield her eyes. She had been used to the dark, so the sudden light was blinding. That little shit! How dare he do that! She was trying to be nice!
Shaking her head, she tried to clear her vision, searching for where the thief had gone.
Sachi opened her beak to respond, but it was too late. Light and dust exploded in front of her, blinding her, and she screeched in alarm and pain and ducked her head away, rubbing her eyes against her foreleg to try and clear her vision. Dammit! And he accused them of magic tricks! This was no magic! This was what she was supposed to look like. His little fireballs and stuff, that was the magic, the little hypocrite!
"That hurt, ya bastard!" she called and, before her vision had recovered, she leaped into the air and snapped her wings open, circling upward and hoping the clean wind would help clear her fur and feathers and eyes of the dust. She squinted, eyes watering and burning; it was hard to make out much of anything beyond shapes and motion and sound, but she was a hunter and that, in the end, was enough to go on.
A shape on the rooftops caught her notice. It was blurry, but she didn't care. Whirling, and dove down at it, claws extended, ready to pounce and tackle down the figure.
Dram glanced back at them and grinned as they tried to recover from the blast. He didn't want to kill them if he didn't have to. He was a thief after all and not a murderer. But if they continued to get in his way, he knew he would have to take the fight to them. For now, the way was clear and they were occupied trying to clear their vision or nursing their wounds. The wimps!
Dram landed on the rooftop in a roll and used the momentum to get him back on his feet once more. As long as he stayed on his feet, they couldn't catch him. They wouldn't catch him! But there was a sudden change in the air and his ears twitched back at the sound of flapping wings. That goddamned bird thing!
It was now that he'd wished Bane was here. The giant eagle would swoop down and have her for breakfast! But alas that stupid bastard as out having other fish to fry. If he got out of this alive, he'd strangle that useless, no good, two-bit, bird-brained son-of-a-bitch with his bare hands for not being there when he was needed him!
He didn't have time to contemplate the matter further before she swooped down and threw him in a roll. He tumbled down on the rooftop and dropped the jewels from his arm, sending them sailing several feet away down the clay tiles. His head hurt from the impact, but he saw them glinting in the moonlight and ignored the pounding headache as he tried to climb to his feet again.
Dram didn't have a chance to grab the necklace. By then, Love's eyes were clear and she was pissed. Leaping across the rooftop, wings spread to catch the wind, Love took the opportunity the gryphon girl gave her to snatch up the gems.
If they didn't want to play nice, that was fine by her. She can take it all for herself. No sweat off her back. Blowing a kiss at the two, Love kicked off and took off away from the pair, hoping they would stay tangled together enough that she could get away.
Got 'im!
Sachi felt a thrill of triumph as her blow connected and sent him tumbling, and she pulled up out of her dive and climbed again. She was preparing to dive again, vision still clouded and unaware that he no longer had the jewels, when she saw the other woman swoop down, pick something up, and kick off the roof.
And with how quickly she was high-tailing it away from them, that could only mean...
No way, really?
"Hey! Wait!" she screeched, whirling and taking off after the winged woman. "I said I'd share! Come back!"
Dram shook his head to scare away the dizziness away and snarled menacingly as he watched the other thief take off with HIS prize! May whatever bastard gods existed drag them all into the abyss! From one damned soul to another, he guessed. Dram scrambled to his feet and hated that she was taking off so fast.
The bird-one, whatever the hell she was, she was gonna get away too. Not on his time! Dram crouched low, charging the muscles in his legs until he was promptly launched high enough into the air and made a grab for one of Sachi's limbs. Why run when he could hitch a ride?
So close! A little farther and she'd be able to drop down and make a grab for the girl. Stretching her front legs out, Sachi flexed her talons in preparation--
And then gave a surprised squawk when she felt a hand close around her ankle.
She struggled in the air, wings beating hard and straining to keep altitude, but the extra weight was more than she could carry. With another yelp, she dropped down, flailing. "Ack! Let go, oaf! You're too heavy! Leggo!"
Too late. Her wings gave out and she fell, lashing out wildly to try and grab at something, anything to slow the fall, like a building or a roof, or--
A person?
Her talons snagged in something that felt suspiciously like cloth and it was then that she realized it was the other woman. Curling her claws, she held on tightly. If she was going down, so were the other two!
Love was sure she was about to get away clean when all of a sudden she felt a sharp pain on her back. With a startled yell, she felt her shirt catch against her, claws ripping through her back and the skirt.
Her wings beat frantically, but two extra people were far, far too much weight for her. With a shriek, Love went down in a tumble with the rest, the necklace falling from her grasp.
He knew he was heavy, but he was only hoping that the gryphon would be strong enough to carry him. Well, she wasn't a giant eagle that's for sure! And her wings struggled against the newfound luggage she tried to carry, Dram readjusted his grip on her leg and put his sword back in his sheath. He was going down with her and soon she invited the other thief to go along. Already this was a bad party, he could see it coming a mile away.
But his eyes were on the jewels all along as they went down, down. Circling to their deaths to be sure! But soon all three of them crashed down through a glass roof. Dram cursed erratically as gravity claimed them back to the ground and he let go as he crashed to the ground, his head pounding and his skin cut from leaning on the ground. How he survived, he didn't know. As he gazed up around him, he saw a rather large and unappealing group of people dressed up in city guard regalia... This couldn't be good at all.
Love landed hard, glass cutting into her skin. The wings quickly vanished, pulled back into her body, the faint blue lines on her body glowing briefly as the magic flared. Hissing, she pushed herself up, her palms getting sliced up the glass, but there was too much to avoid it. None of her cuts were serious, just numerous and small trickles of blood ran down her pale skin.
"Well...shit."
All she wanted was to hijack some jewels and spend the rest of her day rolling in riches. Was that really so much to ask?
Apparently.
She had time enough to let out a bird-like scream before they went crashing through the roof, glass shattering. Her thick fur and feathers protected her from the worst of it but not all; it still cut her bare front legs and left angry red stains against her silver fur. It looked worse than it was, but it still freakin' stung!
She landed in a heap with the others and for a moment, she just stayed curled where she was, not quite sure if she was dead or alive. Then she heard someone curse beside her and she cracked her eyes open.
And immediately wished she hadn't.
Oh dear gods.
With a startled hiss, she scrambled away from the other two, glass shards falling from her fur and feathers as she moved. She was too startled to realize that her gryphon form probably wasn't the best shape to be in right now. "Ahaha, wow, hi. So, uh, yeah. They're together! I'm not with them!" she announced before spreading her wings and--pain shot through her limbs and she toppled back down before she could take off.
It didn't take long before the guards had their weapons on them, the kind that were sharp and made people scream in pain. Dram wouldn't scream, but nor did he like having eight or nine swords in his face threateningly. He turned and saw one guard push at Sachi, back toward him and Love and he scoffed smugly. Escape wasn't as easy as she though.
A part of the crowd parted and a woman stalked forward. Her regalia was too fancy to be taken in with rest of the guards. She wore a sword at her hip and she grinned as she eyed the three of them. "I don't believe it. It seems we have a trio of party crashers here, don't we men?" The guards around her laughed in unison and seemed to step in closer.
"And just who might you be?" She asked, looking at Dram.
"A stupid son-of-a-bitch," Dram replied bitterly, glaring at her.
"Ah, a joker." In a flash her boot came up and landed right in his jaw, sending him to the ground again.
"Does anyone else want to be a smart ass today? Didn't think so. Now you, with the horns. Who are you?" the female captain said and didn't have a look on her face like she was in any mood to play games.
"What? Me? I'm a poor innocent traveler. I was just on my way when this crazy man came out of nowhere! Attacked that gryphon he did, and then I was just watchin' out of my window and they crashed into me and I ended up here."
Love wasn't much of an actress, but really, it never hurt to try! She hated fighting and those swords looked sharp and even if she got her wings out, she didn't think her chances of getting airborn before they stabbed her were very good.
Sachi's stomach lurched when she looked about and was greeted by a sea of swords, all pointed at them. She let out a startled grunt when one of the guards pushed her back over to the group and right then, she was too sore and tired (and too aware of all the swords) to resist. The glass cut her feet, crunching beneath her weight, and she winced and hissed, though the adrenaline pumping through her veins masked the brunt of the pain.
She would feel it later, for sure, and have a fun time picking glass out of her wounds.
Right now, however, she was more concerned about potential future wounds from things far worse than glass. And these people didn't look like they were fooling around. She was looking around wildly for an escape route when the other woman spoke up.
Now that was a bandwagon she could hop right on!
"Oh! Yeah! That's right! Came right out of nowhere!" she quickly agreed, realizing the woman had mentioned her. She turned around to face the captain and moved closer to the woman, pulling her wings in close to her body. "He, uh...I was scared! He scared me! Oh! Um, I don't usually look like this. Shifted. To protect myself, y'see. Er...see...?"
It was a good thing Sachi was shameless, and she had even less shame when she was cornered. Brushing some of the glass out of her way with her claws, she let herself change back, feathers and fur shrinking away to be replaced by pale skin and--
Well, a perfectly naked human woman. If banged up and bleeding.
Curling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms and lion-like tail around her legs, Sachi let a practiced blush color her cheeks and ducked her head, silver hair falling around her shoulders. Really, as a creature that spent a good deal of her time totally naked, she didn't see the big deal, but she'd come to learn how to at least fake human modesty and shame. "I was indecent and he attacked me!" she said, pressing a hand to her mouth and hoping she looked timid and vulnerable and innocent. "I had to do something, lest he steal my virtue!"
Well, he was a scary looking fellow. Red eyes like a crazy man with wild red hair chopped up ragged-like, a massive scar on his face and with sharpened teeth that could kill. Not to mention a voice like lead, heavy and raspy, deep and guttural. He didn't blame them, but he wasn't really expecting when they suddenly turned the blame on him. Damn dirty, no good, rotten rookies, he thought savagely and spat out bitter blood from his cut lip onto the floor beside him. Well, it didn't matter that they were trying to save their asses. Nowadays, city-guards seemed to be getting too smart even for their own good.
The captain glared at all three of them, but particularly at Dram. "Is that true, Stupid Son-of-a-bitch!?" she demanded with fire. Her foot came up, ready to kick him in the chin again.
He sighed, with some anger and gave a death glare to both of them before saying very candidly. "It's all true, I'm afraid."
"What!?" Her face was livid and her boot was ready to collide with his face again, when his hand came up, stopping it before collision.
"I wasn't finished. Of course, it was true in the fact that I attacked them. But they left out one very important detail, Captain What-the-Fuck. They were very keen on taking some jewels that belonged to an Emissary from a nearby province, Count von Drago, I think. They're just mad because I got them first and would have made a very prompt, very good escape if it weren't for these two meddlers. So you see, Captain, the reason we are here is because of their bad decision to try to interrupt a professional thief at work. They're thieves too, trying to lie to you in order to get me and keep themselves safe."
She stared at him very intently, standing like she didn't know who to believe. "Why should I believe you?" She clearly wasn't playing any games. Thankfully, neither was Dram.
He looked at her plainly. "Why would I admit to being a thief, trying to steal from a very important man? And suddenly appear with these two in my midst if it wasn't?"
"A very good liar perhaps—"
"Or a stupid son-of-a-bitch." His eyes locked with hers.
She stood back and looked at all three again. "Escort these...these thieves into custody. Now!" she ordered immediately.
Dram was promptly yanked up and shackled by guards who so conveniently seemed to have them at hand. He smirked at both the girls. Hell if he was going to go to prison, he might as well not go alone!
When the guards grabbed Love, she started struggling, twisting in a an attempt to get away, "Stop! No! I don't know what he's even talking about! What jewels? Hey! Get your hands off me!"
Without any magic, Love's small frame wasn't a match for the guards and they kept a tight hold on her. Love continued shrieking and struggling all the way to the cell, where she was tossed unceremoniously onto the floor.
"Yeah, well your mother likes it in the ass!" Love glared at the guards, rubbing her arms where they had grabbed her, "Damn pig fuckers. And you!" She turned her angry expression to Dram, "You son of a poxed whore! Way to get us all fucked!"
Whaaaat?
The act didn't work? No shock? No pity? No reaction at all? She was naked, here! Weren't humans supposed to react to that? Sachi's mouth dropped open in horror as that bastard sold them out, but before she could try to defend herself, the thief had sealed the deal.
The guards swarmed, and Sachi shrieked and struggled, trying in vain to fight them off. "What? Wait! No! No, ya scoundrels, get off me! Let go! You'd touch a lady like this? How dare you, ya bastards! Let go at once!"
She yelled and kicked and even bit the entire way there, struggling as wildly as a pissed-off cat--well, okay, not quite the entire way there, though that would have sounded far more impressive. Truthfully, she exhausted herself halfway to the cells. The remaining half of the journey had her much more subdued, hanging limply between her captors and panting from exertion.
They dumped her into the cell with Love and Dram and she clamored quickly to her aching feet and made a rude gesture with her hand. "Ya won't hear the last of this!" she shouted as the guards turned and left, and then she heaved an agitated sigh and whirled on Dram just as Love did.
"Well, gee, thanks a lot for nothin'! Some gentleman you are," she snapped, tail lashing angrily behind her and arms crossed under her breasts.
Dram scoffed and laughed at both of them, even though he'd sunk himself in this shit hole too. But he had one thing he doubted the did, he'd been to prison before, he knew what he was up against. They would more than likely have no idea. But even then, it didn't matter. They were both locked in the cell for now and would be for a while until the guards could figure out what was what.
They had to hold on to them. Sure there was a chance that Dram had been lying, and the Guard Captain couldn't be sure of that. And there was the chance that she could be letting two potential criminals get away if she only locked Dram up. Maybe they would all be released, maybe they wouldn't, but until then, Dram would enjoy the shock and misery they both went through at finding out their little story had not been so convincing after all.
They'd confiscated his weapons and his gear as he knew they would and when they tossed him in there, he went with a roll and didn't resist, taking a seat by the small, dim cell window. He sighed and tapped his foot to the tune of their whining. This was going to be a long night indeed.
He shrugged and gave a sarcastic grin. "What can I say? Dishonesty has never been my strong suit," he said, laughing a little. "And you, Ms. Gryphon, you ought to consider putting on those rags the guards left you than letting Pride and Glory hang out like that. Unless you want to get sick and die, which is all well and good for me, but the apothecaries here won't give two shakes of their dicks to make sure you get well. So you might as well get dressed." He pointed to the ragged cloth shirt and shorts that one guard had tossed at her through the door.
Dram stood and looked out the window and watched the city skyline with a tired breath before looking back at the two.
"Now that we're stuck here, we might as well get to know each other. So start with your names and why the hell you two were hanging around my mark."
Love glanced over at the poor naked girl and the nasty rags left for her and took a small amount of pity. She wiggled out of her pants, leaving herself in her underwear and handed them over, "Here, these are at least better than those rags. Probably have lice."
Turning to Dram, she gave him withering glare, "You shut it. Ass. You could have let us get out of there at least. Though, names seem a good idea. I'm Love. Yes, that's my real name. And I've heard the jokes, so don't bother making them."
"What? Ya got a problem with my girls?" Sachi snapped, though he did have a point. It was dank and chilly in there and as the excitement began to fade, she started to feel it. But him having a point just made her not want to do it because she was pissed at him so he couldn't be right! It was a matter of pride, so she'd show him!
...By, uh, suffering through the cold?
Yes.
With a huff, she sat down, tail curling into her lap and shoulders hunched. Luckily, she didn't have to make a statement for too long because the other woman offered her her pants, and that was far more acceptable. "Heeey, thanks! You're a doll," she said, perking up and accepting the pair.
Thank goodness they were similar sizes! She had to wear the breeches low to accommodate her tail, but it was still a relief to have something between the cold, gross floor and her bare bottom. The ragged shirt, however, she left untouched. Yeeeah, like hell she was wearing that stuff; it probably did have lice and who knew what it had touched before.
That done, she turned her attention back to Dram, frowning at him. "Name's Sachi, and I was hangin' around my mark, thankyouverymuch. I'd been watching that place for like a week before you had to ruin it and get us all jailed." Her tail twitched. "I hope you're happy."
"No, no problem," Dram said absently. "Just thought I'd do you a favor." He watched her reject the prison clothing with a curious brow. Well, he couldn't argue with that. The clothes couldn't always be kept in good condition. And while he was not a generous soul, he figured it was the least he could do, even after what they put him through. He took off his own tunic and tossed it at her, since there was no real reason for him to hold onto.
He kept his eyes outside, knowing that if he looked at them he'd probably kill them. Sure it was he that got him thrown in here in the first place, but if they hadn't barged in on what was supposed to be a clean sweep, they all wouldn't be here. So he was passively pissed and tamed for now.
"Okay I'll admit it, I'm a little happy, Sachi. But that's beside the point. I'm Dram. Just Dram. That's all you really need to know. Now if you don't mind....I think I'll go ahead and take his as my point of leave." If they didn't know what that meant, his idle hand slipped into his shoe and produced a single pick, something the guards somehow overlooked to search. He grinned wickedly and headed for the cell door as quickly as possible. It wouldn't do at all if they got their hands on it. It was the only pick he managed to stash on him.
Love stood quickly, thrilled the man had stashed a lockpick. She hated being stuck, hated feeling the walls closing in on her. Jail did bad things to her and she was all for getting out. Moving behind him, she peered over his shoulder, "Well, hurry up then! I want to get the fuck out of here!"
She rubbed her arms, wanting to be out already. And Dram better not think he was getting away with trying to steal her necklace, then had the nerve to get her locked up as well.
Sachi considered the tunic for a moment, then sighed and pulled it over her head. It was pretty chilly down here, goosebumps raising on her skin, and at least she knew where that shirt had been. And, alright, so she felt a little good knowing it left him without one and she sure as hell didn't plan on giving it back! It was childish, sure, but least she'd get something out of this ordeal.
She'd just popped her head through the shirt when Dram mentioned leaving. "What? Ya mean--ah, thank gods! Hurry up!" She crowded next to Love, hovering behind him and watching that pick. He better not even think about trying to give them the slip and locking them in there!
Get them out of here!? HA! Like THAT was gonna happen any time soon. Dram actually had to stop and let out a huge heap of laughter that made him pause for the door. "You're kidding right? I hope you had some kind of lockpick stashed because, I've got a necklace to cash in."
Dram was already starting to work on the lock as quickly as possible before they got wise, or any guards showed up.
"It was a pleasure meeting such wonderfully bitchy ladies such as yourselves, but I've got better places to spend my time." One tumbler, two, three...four. The was almost done with the last one when he felt something collide with his back. Hard!
Love yelped when something flew past her and collided with Dram. She had been standing close, ready to dart out as soon as he got it open. He wasn't going to be able to keep them in. At this point, he could keep the fucking necklace. There was no way she was getting locked up.
Sachi yelped when Love did, taken by surprise, but crowded in close again as soon as she could. She wasn't taking any chances here! "The hell was that? Never mind! Hurry up and don't stop! Also I am not a bitch, thank you kindly! I'm a gryphon. Gryyy-phon. Not an ounce of dog in me, now wouldja hurry!"
Or at least hand the keys over to someone more competent!
The slam knocked the breath out of him and Dram yelped when his face hit the cell door. His head hurt and worse of all he felt his hand open...And what had been clutched in his hand dropped to the stone floor with a disappointing clang and the stupid bastard looked through the bars. "What!? NO!" Dram said furiously, his anger always ready to react. It had been but one tumbler left that stood between him and precious freedom. And now he would never get out.
"You fucking idiots!" He shouted at them. "What the hell were you thinking!?" Dram looked at Love with a fury burning in his eyes and his hands went for her, easily grabbing her by the shoulder with iron hands and shaking her like mad. "I could kill you! Both of you! Now I'm never getting out of here!"
"Me?! I didn't touch you!" Love yelped and struggled in his grasp, trying to break his grip, "Let go you son of a bitch!"
"What're ya doing?" Sachi yelped, and smacked at Dram's arms to try and get him to release Love. She didn't particularly care for Love at all, but there was some sort of solidarity there now in that Dram was apparently out of his mind and blaming them for his fumble.
"Ya crazy? We didn't do nothin'! We want out of here as bad as you, now let 'er go! Stop that! Both of ya! We just...we just gotta calm down and figure this out, and actin' like a madman ain't gonna do neither!"
Damn the gods, damn them to the hottest or coldest pit in...a place where gods went to die! Dram wasn't religious but he was pissed beyond thought and he felt like he was starting to see red. How and the hell was he going to get out now? Oh damn what did it matter! It wasn't like he carried another lockpick on him! And perhaps this was what he got for even thinking about leaving behind these two dead weights.
Dram instead sent his fist smashing into the wall next to her head and though he felt a painful shock go through his hand, he took a chunk of stone off. His knuckles, callused though they were, were torn open and he let go of her after an angry shove. "Ugh! Damn! Could this night get any worse!? Oh, right, yes it can!" Dram went to the window and grabbed onto the bars and yanked futilely on them before sinking down to sit on the stone bench that was built into the wall. "You know, even if I did open that door, I would have left you two here to rot! But now I'm stuck with you..."
Dram laid back and put his arms over his face. He have a heaving sigh and gestured to both. "So much for best laid plans... Funny thing...we'll probably be hanged tomorrow... Haha, so much for trying to make the best of things." Another sigh.
There were steps coming down the corridor, they echoed off the prison walls. While they were there for only a short while, every second seemed like an eternity and Dram, should he be hanged by dawn's light, slowly began to resign to that fate. It really wasn't that difficult to determine what was going to happen to them. The ropes were no doubt being lengthened as they occupied themselves with bitching in a cell. He honestly didn't think it would all end because of some useless meddlers. But if that was how it would go, he wouldn't bother complaining. Maybe he was wrong and there was going to be a trial first, but the evidence was irrefutable. Only a complete idiot would believe them innocent of being thieves.
The steps were drawn closer and it soon appeared to be the boots of the guard captain that had ordered their arrest in the first place. In her wake followed three armed guardsmen. As soon as she approached the cell door, she had a peculiar looking grin on her face. "Alright you three," she said. "Up and at 'em. I think you're going to like what I have to say."
Dram just stayed lying down and peeked from underneath his arm. "You're going to let us go?"
"No," and she scowled at them, though her .
"Then go away."
"How about you just shut up and listen, maggot," she said. At that Dram sat up and slouched as he poised with his elbows on his thighs in his listening mode. "Good news and bad news. Bad news is, you're not getting out any time soon. But the good news is we won't be dealing with you much longer."
"I knew it. You're going to hang us."
"Would you shut up!?"
"Sorry!"
"Don't be sorry, just shut up!" The captain looked about ready to walk away until Dram put his hands up defensively. "Good dog," she snapped. "Now, I've given this a lot of thought. You three were obviously found in a very compromising predicament. It doesn't look good. But there's a special place we can send people like you. It's mostly an experimentation, so not many know about where you're going to go. To keep things short, I think you three should think about getting some sleep. Come morning, you all are going to get a once in a lifetime visit to Caitiff Island. Good night, dogs." She grinned before spinning on her heel and stalking off back down the hall.
Dram just sat there jaw open and looking very confused. "I was...not expecting that."
Love stared, open mouthed and rather stunned. Everything had happened so quickly, before she had a chance to react or respond. Quickly snapping her mouth shut, she stood up and quickly put some distance between her and the crazy person.
"Okay, what? What the fuck is Caitiff Island? And what the fuck is wrong with you?!"
Sachi could only stare in horror. She hadn't said a word during that exchange, too stunned to say anything (and even she knew better than to back-talk a soldier; they already had plenty of reasons to hang them and the last thing she wanted was to give them another reason). When they were alone again, she let out the breath she'd been holding and let her shoulders slump.
"Uh, well, she didn't make it sound like a good thing," she said, massaging her temples with her fingers and suddenly feeling very tired. "And it can't be good if she likes it better than hangin'. So can we like stop bein' crazy at each other and I dunno...figure somethin' out? 'Cause I don't wanna find out what the hell that is."
Not much was said, but it didn't have to be. The guards were pretty well pressed that these three would resign to their fate without a word or complaint. Dram was miserable, as always, and grumpy, as always. It wasn't that he never had happy moments, but it certainly was hard to be cheerful when everything seemed to be going from bad to worse.
"Damn straight, it ain't a good thing," Dram snapped, a little annoyed. "And for your information, Sachi, I might be a little crazy, but I sure as hell wasn't before I met you two." It was part-truth and part lie, but he felt they ought to be a little responsible for what happened so far. "And what could we possibly figure out huh? I think it's time you threw some ideas on the table. What do you want us to do, rip the bars right out of the window?" ....Now wait a minute...
"Look, stop being such an asshole. We're trying here, okay? Let's try and get along, yeah? Get your panties untwisted and maybe we can work together to get out of here." Love glanced over at the window and the bars.
Standing up, she brushed her hands off on herself and squared her shoulders, "I might be able to pull that one off." Lots of power use in one day. That was going to help the dragon zoom right in on her. Taking a few slow, deep breaths, Love gripped the bars, channeling her magic into her strength, calling on the brute force of the dragon.
And she pulled hard, tearing out two of the bars with a loud crack.
"Oh sure, blame us!" Sachi snapped, throwing up her hands. "And maybe we could figure somethin' out if you stopped--"
A loud crack cut her off and she spun around in time to see Love yanking two of the bars out. Well then! Hope spiked within her and she crowded closer to the woman, forgetting Dram for the moment.
"Whoa! How'd ya--never mind! Can ya do some more? It looks almost big enough but hurry." She darted a look over her shoulder. That was loud and certainly someone would have heard that. They wouldn't have much time and if they were caught, then she doubted the guards would have much patience with them. This was their last chance.
She grabbed onto one of the bars and tugged at it, but it was locked tight in place, not budging even as she planted a foot against the wall to help her yank at it. "Dram! Get your ass over here!"
Dram's ear twitched he could have sworn he heard footsteps approaching. "Oh to hell with this," he muttered. The hackles on his neck began to rise and he shoved Sachi aside and pointed to the stone. "These bars are embedded deep into the stone. You gotta break the stone first. You, Love, bash your head against the rock!"
Sachi stumbled to the side and almost fell, but she gave a little hop and righted herself before whirling to glare at Dram. "The hell are ya doin'? Uh, hello?"
Jerking her thumb at Love, she raised an eyebrow. Love had already pulled out two bars. Why would he want her to bash her head against the wall?
Love gave Dram an odd look, "Uh. No. Shut up if you can't be useful." Love handed Sachi the bars, then took a deep breath, centering herself and drawing on more of the power. This was very bad, she must be lighting up like a beacon for the dragon.
She needed to get away and away right now. She grabbed the bars and yanked hard, tearing the other two out of the wall and tossing them aside. Quick as a wink, she was shimmying out between the bars and into what she hoped was freedom.
That was all she needed.
Sachi tossed the bars Love had handed her down and, not wasting a second, she hauled herself out of the cell, through the window, and into freedom. Dram could stay and rot for all she was concerned.
"See ya!" she called before she vanished out into the light beyond, dropping with a soft thud to the ground. She found Love out there, too, but she wasn't wasting any time. By now, people would have probably heard and she did not want to risk getting caught again--in case they had second thoughts and decided to hang her and be done with it.
"Hope ya got a good way out," she told Love as she started to yank off her rags and toss them aside.
Love laughed and winked at Sachi, "Always!" The wings were back and she took a running jump, flapping desperately. It wasn't graceful, but it got her away fast while the guards were still trying to figure out what had happened.
She needed to find Nell and get the fuck out of there. So much power in such a short time was going to lead Him right to her. And she wanted to be gone.
As soon as her clothes were off, Sachi shifted, transforming once more into her gryphon form before launching herself into the air, powerful wings pumping. She gained altitude fast, reveling in the freedom, and it didn't take long for her to catch up with Love.
Well. Today had....not gone exactly as planned, to put it lightly. She was short one necklace but still had her life, at least, and only due to sheer luck! She had no idea how Love had been strong enough to break them out of there but she wasn't about to question it.
"Hey!" she called ahead of her. "Girl! Love? Yeah, you! I really owe ya!"