The night air was chilly, frost littered glass pane windows, and wood was cool to the touch. Fire mages were in abundance in this town, used for their skill, and paid handsomely for it as they kept the nights cold away and the terrors of the dark at bay with their illumination from their magics light. Thankfully fire mages could usually be found in abundance, but that also made them ideal targets for those looking to make a quick bit of coin, and for those who didn't like the light that they so graciously provided to others. No, there were some that liked to live in the darkness and shadows, some that thrived in it. Some who needed it, and in this little slice of the hell hole known as Kikka that always seemed to be the case. The fog that enveloped the area was especially thick tonight and for Aya, that was exactly what she needed. She had grown tired of keeping on this damned hooded cloak, this time being black in nature, but it was necessary for if any were to see her horns they might jump to conclusions, this was the safest route. However, she yearned for the day when she'd be strong enough, powerful enough to protect herself from all who would do her harm. When she could let these cursed horns show without fear of repercussions.

Aya sighed through the lantern-lit streets of Kikka's marketplace. She stepped cautious, making sure to hide her face, for any saw it they might deem her a target, not because of horns, no, those were tucked away beneath her black hood that drooped all the way down to just above her eyes, it was because even with the horns hidden she was still would some might consider an easy mark. A young sweet, beautiful and gentle girl that others might deem fit as one to take advantage of. She had known prejudice and the lust of dogged men all the well and she no wants to have such things upon her again, at least not now, not while she was still recovering, while she was so dastardly and disgustingly weak.

"It's not fair..." She muttered, softly, gently just enough for her to hear. Though she doubt anyone would've heard her anyway with the loud audible sounds of her stomach growling. She rummaged inside her pocket, her hands hidden beneath her black cloak like the rest of her small body, only about a finger's length of coin left. Not much at all, she would need to take on odd jobs soon or sell her healing talents once more. Though doing the latter was risky, it was ultimately held a much better payoff. It brought to mind an old saying of her father's "high risk, high reward" though she supposed it was an ordinary saying, not one just unique to him alone, nonetheless the voice in her head sounded just like him anyway. At least the ones for quotes, the other voice, the one she couldn't quite make out was much more annoying. It practically screamed inaudible at that, more like a symphony of vocal ranges than anything else. She couldn't make out the meaning of it, but she could make out feelings, directions almost, yearning, and wants. That is when she focused on it anyway. However, lately, she had been doing the opposite, trying to push those noises to the back of her mind as she could tell what it wanted already. She could tell it wanted her to get her old magic back, but Aya could feel it, that something in her was broken, that it was sealed away in a sea of murky black that she couldn't yet swim through, let alone manage to swim in.

She pushed her feelings of hunger, and any annoying thoughts to the back of her mind for now. She needed to find something to do today, she had found herself feeling bored, and instead of chastising herself for it like usual, she decided that she would try to find an outlet for it. Gambling perhaps? She had never done that or maybe, a bit of organized crime to get the old adrenaline pumping, or simply finding an old relaxing area to sit down and watch what little of the night sky she could through the thick blanket of fog. Whatever it was she was going to do, Aya did not yet know, but as she walked she did find where her first stop would be. There was an old tavern, black exterior, warm lights illuminating the windows in the fog, a simple sign above that hung on by hope and prayer that read "The Hot Hog" it was little on the nose but she figured she could get a nice meal there. She wasn't one to drink ale, or any kind of booze really but she figured like most places around here that would be all they sold to drink outside of simple water. Why sell water when booze gave more benefits for business? It made more profit, caused people to be looser with their coins and information, eventually screwed them up enough to the point where they themselves were easier for business whether that be due to robbery or thievery, or other manners of crime, and it had the benefit of keeping most of the hooligans and rift raft happy and sedated. Granted being in the Clover Kingdom made things much harder to get away with and so the business was seemingly protected on two fronts, even though it was known for having a shady crowd.

Entering in she saw brown wooden floors, the place surprisingly looked better on the inside than on the outside, the smell of food wafting in the air made her stomach grumble. With her short stature, she weaved through the larger crowd of men and women around her, making her way to a lone table on the far side of the bar. The table and chairs looked to be in pristine condition, even though the crowd around them looked like they had all been through a recent brawl. She rubbed her petite hands together for a modicum of warmth and relaxation, waiting for a barmaid to walk over and take her order. She was sure she had enough yul at least for room and board for the night but first came food in her belly, and then the rest would be decided later.

She was curious of whether or not she should go along with that damned mission but it was too late to turn back now, placing some yul down for a quick spot of food Aya gorged herself on it within a matter of seconds, with her stomach now full and no risk of her stomach growling and giving away her location she made her way to the outer parts of the Tavern, after all, she would need a way to get too and from the Royal Capital and fast, and what better way than on a broom. The only problem was, Aya knew she truly didn't own a broom of her own, so it was on to the next best thing; stealing. Aya waited until a drunkard came out of the bar after her which didn't take more than mere seconds, and thankfully this one had a broom ripe for the taking. She waited until the drunkard stumbled past her, and she walked closer to him offering to help him get back to whatever inn he was staying at, and in the confusion, he tried to push her away, or rather push up onto her, considering all he could see was the smooth skin and her rose-pink lips under her hood that concealed everything from her eyes and up from her short stature and the angle that drunkard was standing, or rather wobbling.

Soon the man had succumbed to his drunken woes and fell asleep along the side of an enclosed alleyway, his broomstick in hand. With a gentle movement of her hands, Aya began to slowly but surely pry the broom for the man nearly escaping backward and tumbling on her butt as she achieved her effort of grabbing it before the man reached out in a drunken stooped of his sleep trying to pull anything he could into cuddling him close. Aya was thankful that it wasn't her for, even though the man was drunk, his arm was thick as tree trunks and she was sure that she wouldn't have been able to break free of his grip considering just how much strength she had to put into prying to broom from him as it was with him being both drunk and sleep. She was sure had she waited she could've probably picked an easier target, but time was of the essence and right now she had to get a move on if she wanted to be a part of this new super-secret rogue organization. She knew it was time to take the next step in her life or crime, or as she'd put it "survival" and though she might've had other plans of her own this was certainly a chance that she simply couldn't afford to lose or give up. Taking hold of the broom she began to control her mana enough, thankful that even though her mana was nowhere as strong as it was before, was still strong enough to accomplish the bare necessities. She took off into the air with the broom, the air whistling through her hair, and laughter surprised in her lungs as to not draw attention to herself. It had been so long since she had flown that the beginning was a bit of a rocky start, though with the time of night and district she was flying over, with her hood placed over her head she was sure if anyone saw her trying to take control of her balance and flight with the broom that she was more than likely just some drunkard on their way home from a rather eventful night.

Little did they know that the young elf was on her way to the actual main event. As she steadied herself, she adjusted her hood out of habit, making sure that it rested securely over her face and horns. Flying deeper into the night sky, and as she flew she knew had to come up with a way to steal what needed to be stolen, she had never been to the royal library, nor was she some kind of super thief, hell she barely knew sleight of hand and as far as most rogue works went she was a novice. She had navigated her way through the underground world using her own talents of healing to make ends meet, doing something like this was way out of her ballpark and the very thought of it was something that made her nervous, but it was now or never. She couldn't get by on healing forever, not without starting some kind of cult, and not without people seeing her horns. No, she needed protection and strength and when it came to her appearance that made it hard to come by, hell it made it nearly impossible.

That's when Aya's mind began to formulate a plan that she thought was befitting of being a so-called Rogue. If she couldn't handle things on her own she would just need to let someone else do the leg work. After all, everyone had already split up into groups, at least that's what she noticed upon leaving the meeting area. She had only a simple understanding of the Clover Kingdom's layout, and if it wasn't for getting a few directions to the Clover Kingdom's library beforehand from eavesdropping on peoples conversation, and from her knowledge of some old maps her family once the hand of the Clover Kingdom she was sure she'd be lost in the night air without a doubt. After a bit of flying she had finally gotten her balanced and realized that her old skills of flying were slowly but surely starting to come back to her, although the height and speed at which she was moving was enough to make her queasy. After all, it had been years since she truly flew so high in the air, the thought of a fall from this height was frightening so she shook it from her mind electing to the fact that she'd much rather not think about it. Landing in the royal capital far enough away from the building in the archival district as to note seem suspicious she made the rest of the way on foot, choosing to stick to the alleyways and shadows until she got within range of the building that she needed to be at. Stealing new information was the goal, but how was she to know what was new? She barely knew what was old information. The thought gave her a headache but rather than let it ruminate she figured she'd cross that bridge when she got to it.

That's when Aya saw them, cloaked figures in the darkness of night near some of the nearby alleyways, she hid within the shadows herself hoping not to be seen and if any had sensed her it would most likely be the same people from earlier she had come across, after all, they'd know her mana signature to some degree by now if they were skilled enough to sense her from where they were and if they were paying attention. Nonetheless, the three figures seemed to be in some form of discussion which was good because it meant that they like her were probably planning to do something illegal. Aya moved closer, silently and on all crouched down using her small height to her stature, quite as a mouse she slowly moved forward ever closer to the layout of the building. Aya noticed them stop chatting, it seemed they had come up with a plan and she watched as the smallest of the bunch went out, but in the confusion of her trying to pay attention to both groups of people, she had lost the shortest one.

It was then that she had looked over only to see a purple and dark flaming ball, and a guard quickly overtaken by it, unaware of what was happening in the strange fire's development. She looked with stunning eyes that someone was able to so quickly accomplish such deeds with quick cunning and minimal damage. Only to see the small girl later carrying the guard that was enveloped in her spell as she came back into view. Aya made mental note not to cross the young woman, and that sticking close to those people would be the key to her success as long as she wasn't caught or slow, she was sure she could make it in and out of this situation on top, hopefully...

Then Aya watched what happened next, one of the figures began broke the guard's arm, and then held him down, she was too far away to hear what they were saying but it was clear from her sight that they were torturing the guy for something, as to what for she had didn't know but had a general idea that they were here for the same kind of goods that she was and if that was the case it simply meant that she had to wait patiently and follow them. So she did, she sat in a place like the quiet little mouse she was and watched as the big rats did all the scouting and hunting. Though as she watched the guard being tortured she knew, she felt no remorse, not even an ounce of pity escaped her mind, a broken arm so what, being abducted so what? At the end of the day, he probably had a home to go to and a family who loved him, as long as they didn't kill him what did it matter? Besides even if they did, she knew that she'd probably not even give a damn. As far as she was concerned a guard that probably lived a privileged life up until now was a small price to pay for her newly sought after freedom and goals. She then watched as one of the mages, whose facial features she couldn't make out made the man appear to be nothing more than shrubbery or so she thought. She didn't want to get on the bad side of these other rogues that was for sure, they had no problem taking out a guard for the Royal Archives and achieved it with quick efficient timing. Aya's eyes glanced over to where one of the figures was now pointing his hand, towards a window to the east of the building.

Watching ever so patiently she observed the movements of the rogues as they slipped inside the window. Now was her time to move too, she stayed behind, not wanting to be sensed by them if they hadn't done so already. Sure that they among others weren't the only ones sneaking into such a place tonight. Giving it a bit of ample time Aya grabbed her broom and quickly flew up as fast as she could after checking if the close was clear. She was faster than average mages of her strength and as she landed, she had found that the room was rather empty, making her way around the innards of the building she found herself in the utility room probably like those who had entered before had been, but as a bit of rustling could be heard and as she peeked out of the room the figures she saw earlier were fast at work. She hadn't much time, in the utility room chemicals and rags could be seen, she grabbed both, while they were distracted Aya ran to the far corners of the room careful to look for any traps and to not trip over any bodies, luckily she found none. She looked through the archives taking the first thing she could find, but thankfully it seemed to be a high-end target. the leader of the Golden Dawn, quickly she read the information. Then tucked the file into her cloak pocket. It turned out the Golden boy wasn't golden after all and was shadier than citizens thought. As Zaven's involvement in Clover ordered assassinations and partnership with his father whose name had been redacted. She figured that was good enough and not wanting to test her luck and with the shadowy figures already high tailing it out the way they came she could only do the same, falling nearly behind them and even at one point almost being seen as she ducked into the utility room and out the window, she came in. Stopping her fall with the broom, she made her way down the pathed streets, the clatter of footsteps and yelling could be heard coming from the distance behind her, and it was too close for comfort. Sewers were out of the question because that was just plain gross, and any other building was too suspicious. Luckily that when she saw it, the passing merchant caravan headed in a direction away from the Royal Archives. She ran quickly panting as she did so with beads of sweat slowly forming on her brow, if it wasn't for her speed that she was so proud of she was sure she would've been too slow to maintain her lead from the guards now spreading out within the area.

She jumped on the broom to give herself a bit of a rest, before turning into an alleyway that would intersect with the Caravans path and jumped inside the stack of hay that rested in one of the back wagons. Taking a breath she calmed herself and she waited till the caravan was out of ear and eyeshot of the building before she finally peaked her head above the hay. If anyone had gotten caught, or was even suspected of being in the Royal Archives she was sure their first choice of action would be to shut it down and secure the nearby area, the area she had already escaped from with a bit of extra lead on her hands. Now came the rest of the trip hoping on the broom, she began to fly further and further into the air until the ground beneath her was nothing more than a mere spec, it was time to head back to where she once came from, and deliver the information she had gathered. The whole ordeal was much too close for comfort and in truth was only due to the action of the many others who sought to steal information that same night, but she didn't feel about it, after all, isn't that what rogues did? Use and steal from others to get their way.

Word Count: 3,480

[Exit to Civil Unrest]