[hiatus]Siblings [closed]

[Dreadicon]

Traephen smirked. things were going as planned so far. He hadn't had this in mind when he had placed the coins in her pouch, he had done it to genuinely help out with their ever-constant money problems. He felt bad at turning his anonymous gift into a part of his plan, so he made a mental note to be sure to make it up next time he got paid, which should be soon with the Fistfight coming up. He pulled out a bag, and put in it the over-over due books, which would cost a fair amount were they legitimately returned. In the bag also was a couple cloth bands, which he normally used for Fistfighting; they'd come in handy once they reached the Library.

Once he was finished, he swiped the key from the table and opened the door. "Alright, let's go!" he said, with half childish excitement, half deviousness in his eyes.

[gummiarms]

Tisiphone led the way to the library, staying close to the main roads but still making something of an effort to stay out of sight. She wanted to avoid attention, but to still be close to people in case something did happen. She walked in silence, glancing at her brother from time to time to make sure that he was keeping up.

[Dreadicon]

As they neared the Library, Traephen turned to her as they walked. "Alright, now I know you don't have enough to pay for these..." he said, holding up the bag he was carrying. "So, Here's my proposition. You take those to the receptionist, and I'll re-shelf these. Tell her you returned them; that it's a booking error. I'll have them all back in place before you can finish checking in all those." He smirked. "Don't worry about me, I'm a kid, if I get caught, what are they going to do?"

He was quite happy with this plan, then added one last bit. "Once you're done turning them in, why don't you find yourself another few books? I've got a few things I want to look up myself."

[gummiarms]

Tisiphone sighed. "I guess I don't have much of a choice. But I'm not alright with all of this sneaking around, Trae. How am I supposed to make you into a fine young gentleman with all this going on?"

She knew it was useless to argue though. She really didn't have the money to pay for those well overdue books, and Traephan's plan would work as long as he wasn't caught.

Once they reached the library, Tisiphone lugged her share of the books, quite a stack she had to admit, to the receptionist, who looked a little annoyed when he saw the size of the return.

Tisiphone apologized, "I'm sorry, but some of these are a little late. You'll give me a discount for being a good customer, though, won't you?"

The receptionist shook his head slowly, "No miss, I'm afraid I can't do that there thing. I'd lose m' job. But I'll see what I can do... lemee just look here..."

[Dreadicon]

Traephen sprinted with almost silence along the building, through the growing shadows. He reached the window that was always open, which happened to be near the fiction/fantasy section Tisiphone got 95% of her books from. He climbed up onto the windowsill, brushing off his cloth shoes, then taking out the bands of cloth and wrapping them about the balls of his feet, securing them firmly around his ankle. They were made of a plain, off-white cloth which he had picked up from a Royal Tailor who he did odd jobs and deliveries for sometimes. He didn't know exactly what it was, but it was almost slick as ice on one side, and rough on the other. Not to mention durable! He had a hard time cutting it, and so far it hadn't lost any of it's slickness. They allowed him to slide in Fistfights, making his movements unusual to say the least. Now they would serve to help silence his movements and make it so he would leave no dirt in his wake.

With that, he hopped silently to the Library's tile floor, and rand silently across it. It was quite empty at this hour, so he just had to avoid the receptionist, which was relatively easy. Finding where the book belonged was rather easy, as it was a logical system, and had been covered a couple times in class. Finally, he had shelved most of the books, so he made his way to the bookcase near the receptionist. He waited until the receptionist left his desk to investigate the shelving of the books with Tisiphone. As soon as he was gone, Trae fished out the key he needed from the receptionist's desk, and opened the door near the back of the library, then sprinted back, dodging a few lingering bookworms, replacing the key, before slipping back to the door in the back of the library.

In this section were the books that were one-of-a-kind, were highly delicate, or, though not officially, any books of 'questionable' content. Once inside, he closed the door. He'd never seen anyone here before, but he silently swept through it a few times before being satisfied that he was alone. A wide smile filled his face as he began his hunt for books containing material about magic. Finding one, he sat down in a corner, and quickly began reading. It seemed to describe how materials affected different magic in different ways. It was sloppy, and some of it was complete nonsense, but that was to be expected for a book about magic here.

[gummiarms]

"Well, I'll be... They were all here! I don't know what in tarnation is wrong with those mornin' people. Well, seems that you owe me..." The receptionist checked over his list again, and then named a sum of money that was still somehow more that Tisiphone liked, though admittedly he'd been generous enough to fudge the deadlines a little bit on a few of her books.

Once she'd paid the man, she made her way to the fantasy novels to wait for her brother, but she didn't find anything eye-catching that she hadn't read a dozen times over already. Bored, she started heading over to a section that contained historical accounts and such things.

[Dreadicon]

Traephen had finished a couple enlightening books on magic, and finally was able to separate the fact from fiction in them. Reading was difficult in the low light; the restricted wing had no lights lit, so only moonlight and street lamps aided him as he finished the last book he could find on the subject. He had decided that the man had to have been using Mercury, as it was the only way he could have seen the channeling of magic. Perhaps it was in a piece of jewelry? Traephen didn't recall any, but he didn't get a perfect look at him either. he noticed that the moon was getting higher, which meant the Library would soon close. He re-shelved the books, making sure to dust all others nearby so as to not look suspicious, then moved back to the door leading to the main library. Luckly, it never locked just by closing it, so he checked under the door to be sure no one else was about, then quickly moved through it, closing it silently (an accomplishment due to the door's tendency to creek and clank when used).

Traephen was highly pleased with himself. The evening had been a complete and total success, unlike the afternoon. He began searching for Tisiphone, finding her oddly not in the fantasy section, but rather in the Historical wing, and just as the lamps were dimmed to indicate it was closing time soon. "Hey, Tisiphone, what are you doing over here?" he asked.

[gummiarms]

Tisiphone nearly jumped when Traephane came up to her. "Oh, nothing. I just didn't see anything I liked in the fantasy section so..."

She turned to her brother, "Anyways, are you done here, or did you plan on browsing with me? We should head back soon, before all the crazies come out."

[Dreadicon]

He shook his head. "No, I'm done. Let's head back." he said, then added as they started to walk "You know though, I'd really like to see a Thug try to take us on. We're quite a bit tougher than we look." They soon were out of the Library and headed back to their room in the Manor.

[gummiarms]

Tisiphone said, "You shouldn't say such things, brother. It's just tempting fate." Then she started on her way home, much as she had walked there.

[Treijim]

[Lvl 7 Thug approaches ]

Before they were anywhere near the manor, a group of seemingly drunken men came from around the corner, the warm light from an overhead lantern revealing hints of metal weapons. They roared and hollered and wobbled along the street until they saw the brother and sister pair. It took them a moment -- and a few attempts not to fall over -- but they all managed to stop and simply stared for a moment.

"Oi, kids!" said the biggest one at the front. "What ye doin' just walking around, eh?" He turned his gaze to Tisiphone. "Oh, 'cept you. Yer pretty, so you can join us if ye like..." He stumbled forward a few steps, attempting some sort of seductive walk which really looked like he had lead weights on either ear. The other men clapped and cheered.

[gummiarms]

Tisiphone stared at the odd spectacle. "I um... I think you're a little drunk, sir." She said politely. She wasn't sure how to react to the situation, but she knew she needed to get out of there as soon as she possibly could. Hopefully if she played things low-key, they would let her past without any trouble.

[Dreadicon]

Traephen knew trouble was likely imminent, so he did his best to be unnoticeable, stepping smoothly, quietly into a shadow not a foot to his side. Between his generic getup, features, and the darkness contrast with the lamplight, the drunk should have completely lost sight of him unless he was particularly keeping tabs on the boy. He was still well in striking distance if the man were to make a further advance on his sister, but now with the element of surprise.

This was an Ideal condition for Traephen; his combat focused on pressure points, meaning the delayed reactions caused by the men's drunken stupor would give him more than enough time to land his blows in all the right places. Also, because they affect the nervous system, while the men would feel little pain, the effects wouldn't be lessened much. A quick two pokes to the back or head should drop them in this state, sleeping harmlessly. Traephen contemplated a preemptive strike, but decided it wasn't wise. If they moved first, he would have self-defense on his side.

[Treijim]

Indeed none of the hulks seemed to notice the magical vanishing boy and the leader continued his advance on Tisiphone, despite her pointing out their obvious state.

"I said: you can join us," insisted the leader. He changed from miserably uncharming to painfully adamant about his request. His hand clutched the hilt of his sword, possibly both as some sort of pathetic attempt at looking superior and as a form of threat. "I aint gonna repeat myself."

The streets were unusually empty, though it's not really surprising, as anyone who would have spotted the men from a distance would have made themselves very absent. Though moderately patrolled by guards, there didn't seem to be any in sight. It became obvious that the other four men had swords when two of them drew them out. Certainly no way to charm a lady.

[gummiarms]

Tisiphone winced. "Not gonna reconsider huh?" d**n, why hadn't she grabbed a book or something heavy to smack him with when she'd had the chance? He was probably expecting her to run, too, from the look of things, and she didn't fancy her chances on making it too far that way. Unless...

Tisiphone concentrated, mumbling an invocation as she gathered as much moisture as she could beneath the leader's feet. She stood her ground for the moment, hoping he would give her just enough time to complete her second invocation, turning the moisture beneath the drunk's feet into slick frost. Then she might stand a chance of escaping.