like taking candy from a baby [o]

[Atratus]

Adelaide Danica Sharp

Tonight had been a fantastic haul. The innocuous-looking brown leather bag she toted on her shoulder was filled with beautiful and expensive things. She had stole a gold necklace with a jade pendant, a ruby and silver ring, a sapphire and diamond ring with a gold band, two iPods, a real silverware set in a leather breifcase lined with red satin, and she was getting ready to hit the last house on the block. She could have taken more, much more, but she found if she didn't take too much from one house at a time it didn't cause much of a stir. Sometimes, in rich neighborhoods like these, nobody even noticed. People just assumed their children had lost their iPods or ditzy wives drunk on Merlot and good fortune had lost their rings under the bed. All the better for her, the less attention her fishing caused.

She walked down the street in her black jeans, black longsleeve sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, and black ballet slippers. The slippers were for silence. They were basically coverings of cloth on her feet to reduce the tapping of shoes on hard floors. Not that she had ever been caught before anyways. Passing a big white house with pillars on the front, her skin began to tingle in that familiar way when she sensed precious stones. Goodness, being a goblin made for some wonderful theivery. Approaching the house, the sensation grew stronger. The adrenaline set in for the forth time that night. Stealing really was a rush.

She took the long route, circling back behind the house until she found a window large enough she could fit through. She pulled out the special piece of bent metal used for unlocking windows from the outside, and did her work swiftly and silently. She stashed her bag in the bushes, something she always hated doing but she couldn't risk the extra weight and noise, and crawled through the window. 

Nice digs, she thought. Big stone fireplace, crystal chandelier, rugs thick enough to sleep on. She moved silently through the house, not opening any drawers. In the living room she found a jeweled bracelet, probably taken off hurriedly after a wife's long day at work, and slipped it on. The rest of the first floor proved fruitless. She always hated climbing the stairs, the risk of squeaks was so high, but she did so without so much as a whisper from the mahogany steps. 

In the bathroom she found a nearly full bottle of Vicodin pills. Score. She stashed them in her sweatshirt pocket. The jewelry box, thank god, was in the bathroom and not the bedroom. She got get another jeweled amulet, a pair of crystal earrings, and a fat sapphire ring. Her skin tingled all over in the most delightful way. 

Deciding enough was enough, she made her way swiftly back down the stairs and out the window.

[avery]

Friday had warned him about lingering about at night, especially in the residential areas, but he'd assured them he would be fine and that he could handle himself. He was older than them -- by a lot! -- and he was a knight. Still, they'd said something about people getting suspicious of wandering folks, probably just to get the last word in, and he'd gone out  for his purpose. It was quiet -- quiet in a way that reminded him of his home and of the forests surrounding the Oriens Court -- and the moon was out, and he almost felt like he'd met an old friend looking up at it.

He made sure to stay away from the homes, just in case, and so he could tell his vampire friend later that he was somewhat competent in this realm. He didn't make any noise either, no matter how much he wanted to hum as he wandered. And there was certainly no dancing as he went by, even though he knew a moon such as the one he could see would warrant a night of festivities for his people. Kailen was never that big of a dancer anyway.

He was about to turn around, to leave for the home he shared with his vampire and to, more than likely, sleep, but something stopped him. It was a noise, one he'd never heard before and while common sense told him it was a bad idea, he still reached down for the blade in his boot (not his preferred weapon for checking out possibly dangerous things, but it was better than nothing... not that he was exactly useless with nothing) and held it as he slowly crept towards the sound.

His vampire would definitely be unapproving of him entering someone's backyard. He was used to walking silently on snow, not grass, and while he did make some noise he tried not to make too much, and he stopped when he found one open window. The only open window he'd seen, which struck him as odd, but he was about to dismiss the entire thing when he caught the sight of a bag. There was no way he was touching it without knowing what was in it, just to be on the safe side, but he did lean forward slightly to try to see if there were any distinct smells on it.

It smelled distinctly fey, though he couldn't tell which type by smell alone.

Raising his eyebrows, he looked back to the open window, and decided that this certainly wasn't what it seemed. Either this home belonged to a fairy and they'd simply left their window open, or there was a fey participating in mischief tonight. The knight was going to put his bet on the latter. After a moment of hesitation he took a few steps back, since the last thing he wanted was his find to be instantly defensive. Cornered animals -- or fey -- were not fun to deal with, especially unarmored. Not entirely unarmed, though; he kept the knife in his hand, adjusting his grip on it in impatience.

The fairy came back out the window and, while he couldn't see them well, he knew there was a large chance of him being the taller of the two. And they had a good chance of being armed with something he could be seriously harmed when touched with, so he figured they were even. "I know windows are quite the invention, but I was under the impression they weren't for entry or exit."

[Atratus]

She had just set her feet on the ground when she heard the voice. Fuck, the cops. She must have made some noise, someone must have gotten suspicious and called in to report her for wandering around at night. What the fuck was anyone doing up this late anyways? She turned around, calm and collected, but her eyes snapped open in relief and shock when she saw no policemen, but another fey. 

Admittedly not the worst thing that could have happened, most fey were mischievous, but if she had swiped any of his stuff he was bound to be pissed. She calmly walked over and hefted the fashionable bag up and over her shoulder. "I guess it depends what you're using them for." Her gaze flicked to the knife in his hand. "I assure you that's not necessary. Or wise," she added. She was unsure of his fighting skills, but not so unsure of her own. "Careful you don't prick yourself with that toothpick, our kind don't take kindly to metal. Then again I've never been offended by it," she grinned and slipped off the necklaces, rings, and bracelets she's donned off and into her handbag. She left the pills in her sweatshirt pocket, in case the guy was a narc. Then again, the was fucked anyways.

She leaned back against the house, the bag almost thrumming with the energy all those precious stones were giving off. She wanted to leave, in case someone came downstairs for a glass of water or something, but this guy was big and tall and a pretty direct threat. "Might I ask why such a handsome fellow is loitering around this late at night? If you're in my business you won't find much left in this house."

[avery]

He didn't know whether he should be bemused, amused, or offended by her condescension. If that was even what she was intending with her casualness and words, but he had a feeling she was. After all, she was a fairy, and he was sure any fairy was going to use any advantage possible to get out of what could be deemed a sticky situation. Unfortunately for her, such a thing wouldn't work. Facing off winter wyrms tended to make it pretty hard for one to be intimidated.

"Do you think me young?" he asked, almost curious as to see if there was a reason behind her ego or it it was just a thing she did. With fairy it was difficult to tell and, well, if she thought she had some age superiority thing going then he wanted to discourage that as quickly as possible. "Or do you think me dumb? I am well aware on how to use this 'toothpick'... I think you should be worried about whether or not you can avoid it."

Threats weren't something he liked, but he'd rather not let on that she scared him. He was sure he had some reputation, as a knight, and well. Kailen kind of liked the idea of fairies knowing his name. Despite them not knowing who he was, or at least seemingly not, the way she quickly went to threats amused him.

"I merely heard a noise and was curious. My curiosity was sated when you emerged," he stated, and he shrugged and sounded far less interested than he was actually implying. "Though I believe my curiosity might be renewed."

[Atratus]

Great, now he was directly threatening her. Adelaide knew how to handle herself, but this guy sounded old and important. Still, it was just so tempting to poke the bear with a stick. Especially when the bear talked like a colonial and made her giggle. She covered her mouth with her hand. "I shall alert the courier of your handiness with a blade, good sir," she made a sweeping bow, and the lowering of her arm caused the bag to fall off her shoulder and tumble onto the ground. An iPod, some rings, and the silverware breifcase rolled out. Damn, she really needed a backpack or at least a bag that zipped shut.

Not wanting to expose herself, but also banking on this guy not being a complete nut and attacking her while sh was defenseless, she kneeled down and swept her (stolen) possessions back into th ebag. she hoisted it up back onto her shoulder and carried on like nothing happened. "I believe we've gotten off on the wrong foot and I feel terribly rude. Allow me to introduce myself.

She bowed again, not as low this time so her bag remained firmly on her shoulder. "Adelaide Sharp. Goblin," She removed her glamour for a moment, revealing her true appearance, which was by no means an overly striking one. She threw her glamour back up after a second and stood from her bow. "By all means, I can satiate your curiosity. And maybe a few other appetites aw well." She threw him a wink.

[avery]

She was, erm, spirited. And quite possibly mocking him, but he wasn't going to accuse her of that, seeing as he really wasn't looking for a fight. Not that he ever looked for fights but, well, they'd happened. Kind of came with the job description sometimes. He said nothing as she dropped her loot and picked it up again, and all he did was shift his weight slightly and go to cross his arms, but he decided that was a bad idea after he remembered the knife.

Adelaide. Interesting name. Not one he had heard before. Was this woman a changeling? Erm... he probably shouldn't ask that.

He returned the bow, lips curling up at the absurdity of the gesture here of all places, but he figured that if she was trying to mock him then he could at least try to catch her off guard. "Sir Kailen of the Oriens Court of Morning. Pixie." And he too dropped his glamour, taking the moment to stretch his wings (because it was uncomfortable keeping them glamoured all the time) and then putting it back up. He noticed that she was better at it than him, but he supposed that she had spent more time needing one than he had.

He eyed what of her bag he could see, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I'm surprised you go for thievery; I was under the impression that fairies have a number of other tricks for tricking others out of wealth."

[Atratus]

Most men fell to her feet when she flirted with them. At least when she had this glamour up they did. It was all high-cheekbones and big eyes. This guy just appeared... well, uncomfortable was an understatement. That was interesting. "Do I make you uncomfortable, Kailen, Knight of The Morning Court?" She tried to keep her mockery to a minimum, but by god she could not stand the obsessive government systems of hey kind. She had gotten out of that realm as quickly as possible. Granted, the human government system was more like a bad joke than the feys', but at least she could stay under their radar.

Satisfied that this altercation had not become violent, yet, she relaxed a little. "In a land where these beings have stripped their Earth of all that is shiny, what use are my skills to sense them if not to take them from people who can just afford more?" She slipped a hand into her bag, fishing around for something she had stolen a while ago and wanted to keep for herself, but it had been too large for her petite fingers. 

She pulled out a shiny jade band. It was made of bluish-green polished stone and carved into a ring. She could touch the metals of gold, silver, and titanium rings to pick them up and put them down, but wearing them made her fingers itchy and swollen. This had been the first stone ring she had found, and she had wanted it to be her size so badly that she couldn't tolerate the idea of selling it to someone who could fit into it. "Take this, as a token of friendship." She tossed the ring at him.

[avery]

Did she make him uncomfortable? No, he'd say, only because she was the most familiar thing he'd seen since coming to this realm. Yes, he'd say, because she was the most familiar thing he'd seen once in this realm, and he knew well of the danger she could pose if she truly wanted to. No, because fey liked beautiful things, and even if he had long ago discovered that he wasn't nearly as interested in that beauty as many were, beautiful things were still something he liked gazing at.

Beautiful things were often the most dangerous.

He didn't answer her, nor did he react when she threw the ring at him, and he looked to it once it was on the grass near his feet. Kailen knew there was no way for her to know about his inability to touch most -- nearly all, if he were to be completely honest -- metals, but there was still something in him that thought this a challenge and a test.

He hesitated. Then he remembered a knight from another court, one he had seen in his page-hood, that had worn a circlet of pure iron upon his brow. The scarring was horrendous. The stench was too.

He bent and picked up the ring, inspecting it and not looking at her as he went to see which finger it fit best on. "In some cultures," he began, twisting the ring as he tried to get it off a finger that was too large for it, "this means we have an obligation to one another." It was something Friday had tried to explain, once. He would admit he was rather clueless on the topic still. "And I did not mean your jewel sensing capabilities; I meant glamours. I once met a fairy who claimed he could glamour rocks into gold and the glamour would last until the last of his heat vanished. Why do you not try something like that?"