Taste of Your Own Medicine [Gabrielle]

[Tara]

Winter 7th, 511AV.


It was only the start of winter but a cold wind was beginning to blow and the air had an icy tinge and was chilling to the bone. When Tara breathed out a small puff of white mist escaped her lips. She had abandoned her cloak, as this scheme tended to work better the more fragile she seemed. She had hidden it inside a small hiding place behind a loose brick. It came with a price though and Tara was shivering slightly and had goose bumps trailing down her arms. She hugged herself in an effort to keep warm in her light dress. Tara had chosen this spot exactly as it was not very crowded. It was also late at night so the chances of many witnesses were slight. She was hiding down a small alleyway just off the main laneway. She peeked around the corner and noticed a girl walking down the lane.

Tara spotted where the money pouch was kept and pressed herself against the wall. Her heart was pounding, as this way of doing things had become harder since she had gotten older. Tara took a few short sniffs of the air to familiarize herself with her unlucky victim. Interesting.. Tara mused as the unmistakable scent of svefra wafted down the lane. Her amber eyes glinted as she sucked in a breath. It was time, she decided as she could hear the girl’s footsteps approaching.

Tara let out a strangled gasp and toppled out onto the street in front of the svefra, making sure to land with her hair facing the girl. She lay there motionless, holding her breath. She could hear the svefra stop and approach warily. This made Tara smile. It was a good sign when things went well. She knew that svefra were notorious for taking what wasn’t theirs, so this would be ironic. Once the girl was close enough Tara leapt up and grabbed their pouch right out of their pocket. She was fast and agile due to her feline essence.

Getting away was the part that Tara couldn’t predict as easily. She turned on her heel and ran like hell until she turned a corner. Once there she let a stream of bright lights engulf her and dissolve her form, leaving a small silver cat in it’s place. She quickly gathered up her clothes and the pouch and shoved them behind a loose brick in the wall of a building into the same hiding place that she had stored her black cloak. She had discovered it a couple weeks ago and was making use of it with the trick she'd used on the svefra.

Then she sat, not wanting to leave what she’d just stolen. She licked her paws and tried to look as innocent as possible, like just a normal cat out for a walk. Her only problem was that the svefra may have seen her shift, in which case Tara didn’t know what she’d do.

[Gabrielle Seawind]

It came as a shock to Gabrielle when, in a second, she found out that the girl was simply duping her. In a flash, her pouch was gone. Gabrielle swiftly turned around to see the retreating form of the girl. Irritated and cold, the Svefra turned on her heels and bolted after the girl. The girl was fast, and while Gabrielle wasn't as quick, the Svefra kept up a good pace after her.

To a Svefra, it was a great shame to have your belongings taken from someone else. It meant that you weren't strong or clever enough to protect what you owned. To Gabrielle, it was a sign of weakness. In all her years, whenever she took an object from someone else, she immediately marked that person as weak. Because of that, she was not going to let some random city thief get away with stealing from her. She knew Syliras as a city practically free of crime, but even she knew herself that there were sometimes petty thieves (she being one of them).

Rounding the corner where the girl had turned, Gabrielle couldn't see her anymore. The Svefra cursed, her face irritated. She was in an alley, a quiet and empty alley -- where was the girl? The only creature moving around was a silver cat. On closer look, she had caught the cat in its last few moments of shoving a brick into the wall. Then, the feline went to licking its paws as if nothing had happened.

Realization hit Gabrielle. She had been bested by a Kelvic. The Svefra had not seen the girl transform, but she knew that cats didn't simply push bricks into place. This girl was smart, and if Gabrielle had been a second slower, the Kelvic would probably had gotten away with it.

To say the least, Gabrielle was furious, and she was impulsive by nature. Not even thinking about the consequences, she grabbed her long bow from her back in a quick manner, and unsheathed an arrow as well, aiming it straight at the cat. If anyone else passed by the alley and took a glimpse, all they would see was a girl practicing her archery on a cat. It looked cruel, but then again, she wasn't aiming it at a human being -- if discovered, aiming at a person would lead to a knight’s intervention. Aiming at a cat would only lead to disapproving head shakes.

Gabrielle was trying her luck. Who knew, maybe this cat wasn't the girl from earlier. If she was wrong, there wasn't anyone else to laugh at her foolish mistake.

"You do know I don't need to put an arrow through you, right?" hissed Gabrielle at the cat. "I'm assuming my pouch is behind that brick, and I can just take it. But I think I'd rather put an arrow through you first."

Her words were violent and uncharacteristic of her in a normal situation, but she was pissed.

[Tara]

Tara hissed. Damn… she thought. She had really gotten herself into something she really didn’t want and she’d gotten caught doing it. Her personality told her there had to be a way to fight back, but realistically Tara was not in a good situation. She back away from the wall slowly, glaring at the angry svefra. Slowly she walked to the other side of the alley. She was in her feline shape and couldn’t communicate with the girl as free as she wanted to but that could also lead to the svefra underestimating her. Then, the small kelvic had an idea.

She walked against the opposite wall to where the pouch was. Tara was a proud and irrational kelvics and this girl had irritated her. She arched her back and hissed but showed no sign of stopping the svefra from getting the pouch. As soon as the girl let her guard down Tara had ran behind her and shifted back into human form with a jet of white light.

She caught the svefra from behind and put her hand to the girl’s throat. She let a small amount of gas-like res slip into the tiny gap between the svefra’s neck and Tara’s hand. She heated it up but not enough to burn, just to let the girl know what she was capable of. ”I’d appreciate it if you didn’t point arrows at me” she hissed into the girl’s ear. She let the girl go and walked back to the front of her.

Tara smiled, a friendly facial expression twisted into something threatening. Tara was not stupid, but when she could take on an opponent she would. She bent down and pulled out the brick. She pulled out a black cloak and wrapped it around herself. She also took out the svefra’s pouch, holding it up triumphantly with a smile. She felt a only a small weight when she picked up the pouch, so there was probably not a huge amount in it but Tara did not want to just give in. It went against her very nature, being essentially a cat.

She leaned against the wall, seeing that the svefra was blocking her way out. The opposite direction led to a fork in the road, both paths leading to dead ends.

[Gabrielle Seawind]

The girl was a swift one, which was what was to be expected of a feline. Aside from that, she apparently practiced Reimancy, a certain ability which sent chills down Gabrielle's spine. The Svefra scrunched her nose, not sure of what she should, or could, do next. Should she fight for her pouch? It didn't have much in it, but it was all she had.

She could see that the girl seemed to be trapped between the wall and Gabrielle herself. However, Gabrielle knew she could turn into a cat once again and bolt amidst the little openings before Gabrielle even realized what was going on. 'I can't allow that.'

The Kelvic girl practiced Reimancy, putting Gabrielle in a big disadvantage. But Gabrielle was daring to a fault, which would somehow spell bad consequences for her later on. At the moment though, Gabrielle wasn't thinking about consequences, or even what the Syliran Knights would do if they knew what was happening.

Without second though, Gabrielle lunged forward, one of her arrows still held tightly in her hand. Her bow was tossed to the floor in order to give her a free hand and easier movement. She thought it would be a better idea than aiming an arrow, because the girl was quick and could probably dodge it. If Gabrielle had a grip on the girl, it would be much more difficult to escape.

The Svefra attempted to tackle the girl and push her against the ground, in the hopes of getting the air out of her and momentarily disarming her. Gabrielle pointed the sharp edge of her arrow right at the girl's face. It was maybe an inch away from the girl's face, and as quick as she could, Gabrielle started to grab for her pouch. At the moment, and despite her earlier threats, Gabrielle was very wary on spilling blood in an alley on Syliras.

"Give me my pouch, now!"

[Tara]

Tara let out a gasp as the girl leapt on top of her, holding the arrow in front of her face. She looked at the svefra and let out a hiss. She felt the pouch being grabbed from her hand. Tara was swift and agile, but not exceedingly strong. When pinned down like this there wasn’t much she could do. She held on to the pouch, but knew she would not be able to keep her grip for very long. She also knew that Gabrielle now had the upper hand and was now barely an inch away from dealing out some pretty nasty injuries.

Tara glared at the girl, not wanting to give over the pouch but also not wanting to turn this into a fight she couldn’t win. She had underestimated the svefra’s ability, obviously. She let out a frustrated sigh and loosened her grip on the pouch. At the same time she got her arm loose and grabbed the arrow away from the svefra, throwing it aside. In a matter of seconds she wriggled from beneath the girl and stood upright. ”A lot of near-bloodshed for a small amount of coin, isn’t it?” she said with a taunting grin.

Now that Tara was up she had the advantage again, being able to use her reimancy and was not going to flee like a cowardly thief even though a thief is what she was. She could probably slip past the girl in a matter of seconds but she had burdened herself with clothes and a bag, as well as her own bow and arrows. It didn’t seem wise to leave them here with someone she had just stolen from.

[Nithus]

NoteTara gave me permission to jump in
Nithus was casually wandering around Syrilas when he realized he was unintentionally following a Svefra. His body was concealed by his black cloak he had tightly wrapped around him. Unknown to the svefra infront of him he had a shortsword on his belt concealed and he was prepared to use it. He decided to continue following the Svefra he lightened his footsteps to try to avoid detection when suddenly a small girl ran by the svefra and robbed her. Nithus stopped in his tracks and quietly observed.

Fastforward a moment and the Svefra was attop the thief and the thief tossed the bag. Nithus walked a bit closer and quietly grabbed the Svefra's bow she had tossed aside. With the bow in one hand he pulled out the shortsword with his other and aimed it at the back of the Svefra's neck.
The girl got out from her victim's grasp and Nithus now came into her view.
Aswell Nithus pressed the tip of the shortsword into the svefra's neck not enough to pierce her flesh but enough to make her feel the cold iron.

[Gabrielle Seawind]

The Svefra gave a growl when she saw that another person had somehow joined into the brawl. She saw that it was a man concealed in a black cloak. Who was it? Was it this Kelvic's bondmate? She was caught between this man and the Kelvic, and at that moment, she feared for what was to happen.

The tip of the man's blade felt cold against her flesh, and she knew one wrong move meant her life. None of the citizens of Syliras were intervening, which meant this alley was probably hidden from their view. For a first, that spelled even more problems for Gabrielle. The Svefra scrunched her nose and dropped her arrow, putting her hands in the air and not moving in any way. She didn't even dare to turn her head to get a better look at the person holding a blade to her neck.

"What do you want? All this for some Mizas, really?" said Gabrielle sharply, and she cursed under her breath, ashamed at the predicament she was in. She shot the Kelvic a glare. "You and your bond mate are going to pay for this."

[Tara]

Tara looked up in surprise as a man in black appeared behind the svefra. She backed up until she was as far away as she could be and still see the two. She hissed, slightly irritated that he felt she couldn’t take care of herself. Her eyes opened in surprise when the svefra assumed this man was her bondmate. ”Don’t kid yourself” she snarled at the svefra. ”I’ve never seen him before. I gave you back your mizas anyway” she said.

She looked at the man who had interfered. While she was grateful for the intentions, she had gotten the situation back under her control. Accepting help was hard for the proud kelvic. She flicked her eyes to the side of the alley where the girl’s pouch had ended up. She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the situation. She looked from the svefra to the man in black with a calculating stare. She wasn’t exactly sure if the man was on her side or just after some mizas. His methods were a little dramatic for Tara’s tastes. In fact, if things had gone the way Tara had planned this wouldn’t have happened. Though, if the man was not helping Tara and was just after some mizas then Tara was most likely in danger. She couldn’t run unless she had some element of surprise. She knew she was not yet skilled enough to get away using reimancy alone, as she was not able to control her elements from that distance and she didn’t dare to get any closer in case the man turned on her.

She decided that even though she wasn’t going to be able to get out of this situation just yet she could disarm the man. She crept up slowly, watching him with cold amber eyes. She turned her palm away from the two so that they could not see the misty res which was forming a sphere in her hand. As soon as she was at the right angle the res burst into flames and she threw it at the shortsword in the man’s hand. It hit it with a force and sent it flying against the wall. As soon as it happened Tara sent a stream of water after it so as not to cause a fire. She looked at the two with a strong gaze, trying to hide the fact that her instincts were screaming at her to run.

[Nithus]

oocsorry for the delay i have to type this all on a phone
Nithus grabbed the svefra by her arm pulling her up. "stand against the wall." He snapped. The smell of beer coming lighlty from his breathe. He wasnt drunk but the smell was still there. Just when he thought he thought he had things under control he remembered the other girl. He scanned the alley for her. His search was cut short when his sword flew from his hand. He rushed to pick it back up.

[Gabrielle Seawind]

Much to Gabrielle's surprise, the two strangers didn't know eachother -- that meant that everything that was going on at the moment was all because of bad luck. She had no idea why this man was interfering. Was he there for their money, or did he have another reason to interfere? Gabrielle had no choice but to obey the man's orders, and with her hands still raised in the air, she hit the wall with her back.

Her eyes were slanted and focused, looking from the Kelvic and to the man and trying to figure out what a good escape plan was. She knew she had to get away, that a fight would not be in her odds. Gabrielle's eyes widened when the man's sword flew to the ground, and she knew that this was her chance.

She grabbed the arrow she had previously discarded on the ground. Then, she lept towards the man, positioning the arrow's sharp head against the skin of his neck. It was a pathetic piece of weapon, but against a disarmed man, it could prove useful. There was still the other girl, but she was further from Gabrielle's reach. If the girl turned against her now, then it would be terrible for Gabrielle.

"Just let me go, and I won't slit your throat," hissed Gabrielle. "Please, I don't want to be caught by the Knights. That would be much more trouble than what my pouch is worth. Let's all leave with what we had from the start. I'm sure we can all come to an understanding." The Svefra's eyes went from the man to the Kelvic, pleading.

Gabrielle felt the desperation in her voice, and how she was practically begging. It was unlike her, but she had to swallow the pride that might have been the end of her. She knew that this wasn't worth it. Hopefully, the other two would realize that as well. Her pouch was on the way out of the alley, and if she ran, she still had the chance to swipe it -- but she wouldn't risk her life for it.