Because of the Festival, the streets of Metamor were quieter than usual. Most were either soldiers on duty or revelers returning home to sleep. Kendrick kept to the alleys he'd grown to know so well in the last few years. The waning crescent moon wouldn't rise until nearly dawn, so the only light came from street lamps and windows. The Watch always had on an extra pair of eyes those nights, because conditions were ideal for thieves.
Kendrick didn't normally think of himself as a thief. While Rodrick had still been alive, it had always been their father's intention to leave control of the family business in his paws. Kendrick would have found a place to work too and he would've been quite content that way. He didn't really want the responsibility of succeeding his father.
It wouldn't be long before Kendrick's father found a bride for him with the expectation that he'd produce heirs. He'd hoped that one day he'd find somebody that wouldn't mind a husband as odd looking as him, but he also didn't want a wife that was even stranger in appearance.
But now that Rodrick was dead the business would be his. His father had wasted no time training him. He'd learned years before to judge the value of cloth as well as many other goods. It had helped him when he had first made friends with the rats and they'd made suggestions on ways he could help Metamor even looking so odd as he did.
For the longest time, their father had told them of his plans for each of them. Brigitt would be sent south to manage their interests in lands where the Curse hadn't spread. Barrick, as a bear, couldn't join his twin, a fact that he was sure bothered them. Father spoke of having Barrick travel with his caravans through the valley, which meant to Kendrick that he was going to become the caravan master when he was fully of age.
For Emma and Sofie, only the vaguest of plans had been laid. Until they changed, nothing could be known for certain. Kendrick envied them that uncertainty. His future loomed before him terrible and awesome, something he yearned to do well but feared having to do.
When he came to the backside of a familiar shop, he returned his mind to the present. The place stank of onions and vegetables which helped keep the Watch out. Kendrick glanced all around to make sure he was alone before bending over the small door that led into the basement and knocking twice, pausing, and then knocking three more times, pausing again, and knocking one final time. The door opened into darkness, and he quickly slipped inside. The door closed behind him.
Standing at the door was Goldmark. He'd adopted an odd shape which gave him six limbs, four of them legs and two arms. Kendrick had seen a few others with similar shapes, but Goldmark was the only one of them he knew well.
"Good evening, Kendrick," Goldmark said in a low voice. He sounded pleased. "Did you have any trouble?"
"No, I just had to wait for my family to go to sleep."
Goldmark nodded and pointed at the steps leading down. "Go on. I have to keep watch on the door tonight. I hope you weren't planning on going anywhere."
That was odd. Usually he just dropped off what he'd taken and then left by another entrance. Another rule of the guild was that everyone entered the same way, but none of them took the same way out. Kendrick didn't know how many different exits there were, and had only ever used two of them.
But now they expected him to stay? Kendrick nodded to his friend and started down the stairs wondering why.
The stairs turned to the left at the landing and opened into a wide cellar with three doors in the other walls, and a staircase leading up to a fourth. That was Master Derygan's door, and it remained barred. The rule that Julian had drilled into him was the only time that door would ever open would be if the Watch were coming and Derygan had to warn them. The badger merchant enjoyed hosting the Guild, but he never stole anything himself. In fact, apart from the rats, Derygan had no idea who was in the Guild, and they kept it that way.
On one side of the cellar nestled the basin into which the cisterns deposited rainwater. It flowed from the outside so that all who entered could wash and remove the scent of onions that lingered. The water was always cold, but Kendrick was used to it.
Nearby lay the thieving mat. Anything Kendrick or any other Guild member had stolen was to be placed there. Sitting next to it was the white-furred and red-eyed Julian. Elliot sat on a hay bale a few feet away. With them was a young boy he didn't recognize and a stoat he did.
Kendrick stared at him in surprise for a moment before laughing. "Well, Timmins, I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here. Last time I saw you your father made you empty your pouch before he'd let you leave. I don't know how you managed to swipe that ivory sail boat from my father's mantle without anyone noticing."
Timmins, the third and youngest son of the paper merchant, shrugged his shoulders. "You just have to move really fast. What are you doing here, Kendrick? I always thought you were Daddy's good little boy."
Julian held up his paws. "He is here because he is a member of the Guild. Speaking of which, what have you brought for us?"
Kendrick opened his tool pouch and dropped the ten suns onto the thieving mat. He saw a few small sapphires and another five suns already there. He wondered how much they would take in tonight, and who else might show. He'd never met anyone in the Guild except for the rats, and strangely felt quite vulnerable. As long as nobody else knew, it had been a patriotic diversion. Now it became serious. Would Julian and Elliot ask things of him he didn't want to give?
The pangolin swallowed and closed his pouch. Elliot patted the hay bale next to him. "Come here and sit. We're still waiting for one more."
"Why are you doing this?" Kendrick asked. "I thought we weren't supposed to know who each other were."
Julian eyed him and Kendrick quickly sat down. Although there were worse things to have than red eyes, he still hated having to look at Julian's. "You weren't. And there are several members of our Guild for whom that will be true. For you three and one other who is coming tonight, those rules have changed."
"So you want us to know each other?" the young boy asked. From the
tone in his voice, Kendrick knew him to be an age regressed like his parents.
He wondered how old he really was. Timmins at least was only a year older than
he.
Julian turned his red-eyed gaze on the boy and wiped his whiskers back with
his paws. "Gadfrey, if you are going to make me repeat myself, this evening
will take far longer than it should." The boy winced and lowered his head.
Julian smiled and looked at the other two. "The guild now has enough saved
that we can make plans beyond petty thievery. That's why you are being revealed
to each other. In time you'll need to work together outside the Guild in order
to make our plans come to fruition."
"What are our plans?" Kendrick asked.
"Let us wait until our last guest arrives. They shouldn't be long." Julian stood and examined the thieving mat. He knocked the gems over with his claws and tapped the coins against his incisors.
Kendrick heard Timmins chuckle, "So what's the heir to Urseil Cloth doing in the Thieves Guild?"
"The same thing you are, Timmins. Being a thief," Kendrick replied. "I'm not surprised to find you here, despite your father's lucrative business. I'm surprised you've been able to keep your paws from taking more than you should."
The stout shrugged again and set his paws beside him on the hay bale. "Everything else is just practice. I always give that stuff back."
"If you're not careful the Watch is going to figure you out," Gadfrey said rather sternly.
Timmins shrugged and leaned back against the air, a feat only a musteline was capable of. "My father has connections."
"I wouldn't trust your father alone to save you," Elliot pointed out. The rat had his chewstick against his teeth, but he paused gnawing long enough to give him a warning. "His reach extends only so far. If you are caught stealing, at the very least you will be placed in the stocks for a few days. At worst you could be imprisoned or branded on the face. Be grateful that you don't live in certain kingdoms of the Southlands. Thieves have their hands cut off there."
Timmins didn't look nearly so arrogant after that.
Kendrick glanced at the boy and asked, "Gadfrey is it? I don't believe I know you."
"I work for Master Lidaman," the boy replied in a quiet voice.
Elliot grinned. "And you'll be marrying his daughter next year, too. The arrangements were made last week if I'm not mistaken."
"Master Lidaman?" Kendrick said, surprised at this news. Lidaman was one of the few creditors who'd remained at Metamor after the Battle of Three Gates. Through shrewd planning, the Duke had managed not to incur significant debts since that time, Lidaman, by the sheer fact that he'd been the only one willing to lend others money in those first few years, had amassed a significant fortune. Despite this, like most others at Metamor he lived a simple life and kept his wealth out of the public eye. His generosity to friends was also notable, since Kendrick remembered the gift that he'd given the Urseil family after their home had been burned down by the Lutins last winter.
Gadfrey nodded. "I've been helping keep his books for five years now."
"Isn't his daughter a big cow?" Timmins asked.
Gadfrey scowled. "Don't you dare say anything about Elsie! She is lovely and I'm going to marry her."
"And look more like her kid than her husband," Timmins said under his breath.
Gadfrey balled his hands into fists, but Julian chittered meaningfully. "You are very lucky that you will have a woman of such character as Elsie. Timmins, I invited you here because you are both skilled and your family is connected. Do not make me regret my decision."
The outside door opened and they heard Goldmark and a female speaking. A moment later the female came down the stairs and Kendrick nearly dropped his jaw and let his tongue roll out his mouth. It was Davine! When she used to be a boy, they'd played together, often hiding under her father's displays in the market. Together they'd snatched choice fruits and melons, though they'd always put them back when they were caught. After Davine had become female, they'd not seen much of each other. Apparently she still enjoyed taking things that weren't hers.
Kendrick jumped from where he sat, long tail curling at its tip. "Davine! I didn't know you were in the Guild."
She stared at him and her face broke into a smile. Her curly red hair was held up in a bun to keep it out of the way. "Kendrick! What a pleasant surprise. I always knew you were more miscreant than merchant."
Timmins snorted but said nothing. Julian tapped the thieving mat and said, "Good to have you with us, Davine. Did you have any trouble tonight?"
She shook her head. "My target decided to stay open late, that's all." From her belt pouch she produced an additional five suns. Kendrick wondered who she'd stolen it from.
Julian rubbed his whiskers back and smiled at them. He waited for Davine to find a seat next to the pangolin before he began. "Tonight the Thieves Guild of Metamor celebrates a special occasion. We now have enough to begin the next step in our plan. For the last two years we have been stealing from foreign merchants. We have kept ourselves focused on those who have overcharged Keepers for their products. This has been very beneficial for all of your families. Those merchants who charge too much do not return, which drives the prices down, and discourages the greediest of them from making the journey here."
"You can't get rid of all foreign merchants," Gadfrey pointed out. "There's lots of things we need that you can't make here. And I know Davine's family imports most of their wares."
"You're right," Julian admitted, though it was clear he'd thought of it already. "We do need to continue importing wares. But why should foreign merchants be the ones to bring them here? Would they not be willing to accept a smaller price if somebody else were to bring them here instead?"
Kendrick pondered that. As he was thinking on it, he felt something brush down his back He spun to one side and saw Davine smiling at him. Her freckles made her face shine in the dark cellar. She patted his back. "Just wondered what you felt like."
"Bony and pointy if you rub the wrong way." Kendrick turned back
to the rats. "That sounds good except how will we know what to buy?"
"Local merchants already know what people will buy," Julian pointed
out. "If you buy your imports from us instead of foreigners, we can keep
more money at Metamor, and employ more people here."
"So we're not going to be stealing anymore?" Timmins asked.
"Oh you will," Julian grinned and showed off his big incisors. "We
are the Thieves Guild after all. But now we need to focus on this more important
venture. We need to establish the businesses and connections to create a group
of caravans that will conduct trade outside of Metamor and bring their goods
to us."
"The Innkeepers won't like it," Davine noted. "They live for
the foreign trade."
"Which will still exist," Julian replied. "We intend to start small. Each of you has a position in a merchant family or with the creditors that we can leverage for this. If this works, your families and all of Metamor will be enriched by it. If not, we are no worse off than before. Will you help?"
Gadfrey was the first to nod. Timmins shrugged and said, "Sure, I'll help."
Kendrick rattled his claws together and nodded. If this worked, maybe Julian and Elliot would let him become a non-thieving member of the Guild like Master Derygan. As the heir to Urseil Cloth, he did have a reputation to uphold. "What do you need us to do?"
Julian ignored him for a moment keeping his eyes on the girl. "Davine?"
She pursed her lips before nodding and grinning like a tomboy. "Like Kendirck said, what do need us to do?"
"For now," Julian said, "nothing. Continue as you have been. When we ask you to present opportunities to your families, you will do so. That is all. We rats have a great deal to do yet before the first caravan sets out."
He stood up and rubbed his paws together. "As for now, I am going to go back to my cellars beneath the Keep and celebrate this wonderful time with friends. Each of you should leave one at a time every few minutes. Goldmark will see to tonight's pickings." So saying, he opened one of the other doors and disappeared out of sight.
Kendrick, with nothing else to do, turned to Davine and asked, "So, how long have you been in the Guild?"
She smiled and laughed.
Stealth had run into Alex and the two of them were sharing a pleasant word with Andre and his wife, Jenn when a woman and a ferret confronted the cheetah. Stealth didn't know how to react as there didn't seem to be any indication to what, if anything, they wanted.
"Thank you for all the money," the ferret said.
"…money?" the cheetah asked, confused and a little nervous.
"We bet on the game," the woman explained. Realization dawned on the cat. "But not just on the result, on the way it would come about," she explained.
"Oh?" he asked.
The ferret pointed directly at the cheetah which made Stealth raise his eye ridge, "I pointed to YOU, I said 'Hey, if that guy with the spots scores the last try, you owe me ten garrets.'"
"OH?!" he asked, sounding more startled.
"It's true!" the woman said. "I had to cover the rest of the wager! That poor merchant…"
The ferret scoffed. "A fool and his gold…"
"Thank you for having that much faith in me!" Stealth blurted humbly.
"You looked fast. I don't think the fool knew that." He shrugged. "Could have been faster though."
Stealth had lost track of the wolverine's conversation. They were talking to Alex about Jenn's pregnancy and to a small extent, the thought of the gender morph trying the same.
"Next time I will be faster," he answered.
"Let's go celebrate with a drink!" Finbar shouted.
The music stopped for a few minutes and the dancers dispersed to their seats. Drift and Alexis slowly made their way to where Caroline and Misha were standing laughing and giggling as they walked.
"That Fire Dance you did earlier was spectacular," Caroline said.
"It was certainly different," Misha joked, and he chuckled when Drift looked torn between embarrassment and pride.
"I thought the loincloth was cute," Caroline joked.
Misha shot the otter a glare but didn't say anything. She kissed him and caressed his back lightly to mollify him and reassure him she was only joking.
After a few more moments of that, Misha asked, "How did Alexis talk you into wearing that thing?"
Drift chuckled. "It was in the book she gave me, the one that she made up herself. After that, it was just a matter of convincing me to 'go traditional'."
Alexis polished her claws on the sleeve of her dress. "And I am very, very good at convincing and negotiating."
"So does this count toward this strange 'dance total' you two have been working toward tonight?" Caroline asked.
The dog laughed. "No but she owes me ten for that one. One for the dance, nine for revealing the joke in front of all Metamor while I was proposing to her."
Alexis ducked her head, abashed, though she couldn't quite hide a hint of a smile. "I'm sorry, dear. I meant to tell you a bit more discreetly that that." He right hand came up to fiddle with her pendant, an uncharacteristic hint of nervousness showing through. She quashed the slip immediately. "You just surprised me so much that it slipped out. Ten sounds about right."
Caroline opened her mouth to say something more but Misha put his hand around her muzzle. "You don't want to get involved with asking more questions. Some things are best left unanswered."
The implications suddenly hit Drift, and he burst into a flaming red blush. Alexis, who had been watching Drift the entire time, broke out laughing. When she finally calmed down enough to breathe, she said, "It's not like that. Truly. It's for dances here, not anything more…" She glanced over at Drift with a small grin while she paused as if to choose just the right word. "…Flamboyant. It's just a little wager for the party, nothing more. Whoever pleads out of dancing first loses, and has to pay for dinner all next week."
Caroline and Misha just nodded slowly in unison. "Sure it does!" the fox said sarcastically.
Alexis sniffed her nose in amusement. "You two go ahead and have your fun, then. As for me…" She turned her attention to Drift. "Do you have your wind back yet? Or are you feeling tired?"
Drift got back to his feet. "Not likely. Your turn. Five in a row, or until the band takes a break."
Alexis gave a defiant toss of her head, coupled with a roguish grin. "Bah. You call that a challenge? Done."
"Don't you ever get tired?" Caroline asked.
"No rest for the wicked, Caroline," Alexis answered with a wink. Off they went again, straight into a Sathamoran jig. A wild and fast dance – just Alexis's style.
"Bat, not bat, bad, not bad."
Both turned to the sound and found Madog sitting on the table next to them nibbling on a spoon.
"Madog," Misha said to the automaton fox. "What did you say?"
"Bat, not bat, bad, not bad," Madog repeated casually as he devoured the last of the spoon.
"What does that mean?" Caroline asked. She had long ago gotten used to the metal fox appearing and disappearing at will but what he said bothered her.
"I'm not sure," Misha answered honestly as he looked at Drift and Alexis dance. "I wish I did."
"You're a fine dancer."
"Why, thank you, Misha," Alexis said, weaving through an intricate pirouette under Misha's raised hand. "I've had years of practice. You're not bad at this yourself, you know."
"Alexis, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Misha said as he stepped around her, tail swishing in time to the music, before leading her into the next set of steps. "You and Drift seem to get along so well together… Why such a long pause when he asked you to marry him?"
The fox-bat missed a step, looking uncomfortable, her gaze evading Misha's. "I… Drift is…" She searched for the right words. "I just never really expected things to turn out this way," she said finally. "I've never had that happen before."
Misha nodded his head and laughed. "Love sort of blind-sided you didn't it? Just like it did me."
"I've been proposed to before, but never like this. I've never…" She trailed away again, brow furrowed with uncertainty.
"Never what?" the fox asked. "If you can't describe how you
feel - then that must be true love."
Alexis went quiet and pensive for some time after that, and Drift gave Misha
a quizzical look when they exchanged partners at the end of the dance.
"What did you two talk about?" the otter asked as she and Misha came together. "She looks troubled."
"She IS troubled," Misha answered. "She's in love and doesn't know it." He watched as Drift stroked his fingers over Alexis' cheek and said something to her that made her smile, and she nodded in thankful reply.
Caroline nodded, kissing her fox on the nose, too. "She'll figure it out. We certainly did."
"This party is getting too quiet," Misha announced suddenly. He was seated at one of the large tables with many of the Long Scouts around him.
"Definitely too quiet," Arla added.
"Uh oh!" Lisa said earnestly as she hunkered down lower in her chair.
"Well," Misha asked. "What are we going to do about that?"
Finbar nodded. "We could-"
"No hedgehogs," Caroline ordered loudly.
"But-" Meredith added.
"NO!" the otter repeated, shaking her head.
"Drat!" the ferret said. "Then what can we do?" He and Alexis looked toward Drift at the same time and smiled. "Hmmm…"
"No," Drift said adamantly. "Not even if you paid me." He looked from person to person, all around the group. "No. No. No. No. No."
He rounded again on Alexis just as she was winding up for her ultimate. "Not even for Puppy Eyes, Alex." She deflated into a pout.
Caroline laughed. "He's got you figured out."
Misha reached to the center of the table where a large platter filled with various baked items rested. He picked up a roll and put it back. "Too light." Next the fox picked up a muffin. "Now THIS is just right," he said and held it aloft.
"Just right for what?" Arla asked.
"THIS!" Misha shouted and tossed the muffin high into the air.
They all watched as the muffin arced high into the air and then slowly descended to land with a loud plop into a bowl of punch.
"SCORE!" the fox announced loudly as he pumped his arms in delight.
"I have a better idea!" Meredith announced.
Kendrick breathed a sigh of relief when he slipped through the back door to his family's home. Yet another night of mischief had come to a happy end. With careful steps he walked to the main room and found the loose board to hide his gear. After replacing the board, he stirred the dust around with his paws until there was nothing to distinguish his cache.
With a sigh, he retreated back up the stairs and stopped outside his bedroom door. The house slept quietly apart from Barrick's snoring. In the distance he could hear the faint cries of Keepers still reveling late into the night. Kendrick closed his eyes and just listened for a long time to those sounds. He curled up, tail tucking between his legs to brush his forehead.
Without moving his tongue, he prayed for Eli's forgiveness. The excitement past, his heart ached at what he'd done. Why was he given a gift expressly forbidden by his faith? And why did he love the rats despite what they asked of him?
And most importantly, what was he going to do now? If his family knew that he was a thief, it would be the greatest dishonor imaginable. Kendrick wanted to beat himself with his fists, but dare not with his digging claws.
And then he thought about the wine merchant. People like him were thieves in all but name. What they did was legal because through lies and trickery they made people give up their money. Kendrick only took a little and only from the dishonest. He wasn't hurting anyone innocent with this. He had to remind himself of this every time, and this night was no different.
He lifted his head and stared at the underside of his tail, and then at his paws. The curse had given him the perfect body for thievery. Perhaps this was meant to be? And judging by what Julian said, one day they wouldn't need to steal, even if that day hadn't yet come.
Kendrick sighed and began taking his clothes off. He knew it was wrong, and knew that one day it would have to stop. He just hoped that he could find a way to do it that wouldn't get his friends into trouble with the Watch.
He offered another prayer and slipped inside his bedroom. He saw Barrick and Brigitt asleep in bed, and beyond them Sofie and Emma. He smiled a little. No matter what happened with the rats and the Thieves Guild, he always had them to love. They'd had a wonderful time at the festival, and nothing could ever take that away from him.
Kendrick slipped under his covers and pulled them up to his chin. As sleep descended upon the young pangolin, thoughts and plans circled through his mind. One day he'd be able to set everything right. Eli would grant him that. Once more contented, he allow the sweet embrace of sleep to claim him.
"Keep going! Go long!" Misha shouted as he hefted a muffin with his left hand.
Padraic stopped, confused. "I AM a Long!" he shouted.
"I mean keep running!" the fox countered.
"How far?" the rabbit asked as he started running again.
"Catch!" Misha shouted and threw the muffin high into the air.
The small bakery product sailed through the air crossing the vast open space of Long Hall in moments. Suddenly Padraic leapt upwards and SNAP! Caught the muffin in his mouth.
"SCORE! Score one for the fox's team!" Misha shouted.
Watching from the side, Drift just shook his head in amusement. Cupping a hand to his mouth, he called out, "You're odd sometimes, Misha, did you know that?"
"Only sometimes?" the fox called back. "I must be losing my touch! Are you sure you won't join the fun?"
Alexis rode in silence until Drift had stepped out of the Long House with all four feet, and then broke into gleeful laughter. "What?" Drift asked, pausing in confusion. "What's so funny? Why are you laughing?" His incomprehension just made her laugh harder, until she was holding her sides and Drift had to steady her with one arm. "What??"
Only after several such inquiries did Alexis finally manage to get herself back under control. Wiping her eyes, and between repeated fits of giggles, she replied, "I win- hee hee- again!"
"What?!"
"You left the dance first! I win!"
Drift had known from the beginning that he wasn't about to let Alexis pay for their dates, but his stubborn nature kicked in nonetheless. Better think fast… "This isn't the only place for dancing, you know. I just wanted us away before they tried 'pin the tail on the fruit bat.'"
Alexis leaned her head against Drift's shoulder and stroked the sleeve of his dark blue doublet. "You're so cute when you're trying to be sneaky," she said, sounding inordinately pleased. "The bet was for the duration of the party, and you know it."
"The whole Festival is a party. We've still got more than a day to go."
For hours afterward, Drift was certain he had heard the mischievous smile that burst out on his fiancée's lips. "So… you think you've found a loophole, do you? Alright, I enjoy a challenge. Let the games begin."
Misha heard the room go silent and realized something was happening before Caroline touched him on the shoulder. "Love."
Turning, Misha could see Kristinai seated in a chair in one corner of the room. Oberon was kneeling in front of her. From a small belt pouch he pulled out a small, golden ring and solemnly said in a low, nervous voice, "Kbrega tyit Prengor treng?"
Kristinai paused for several moments overcome by her own emotions before she finally answered, "Why did it take you this long? After all I thought that you had realized that we were right for each other after going out for a month." With that said she placed her hand out so that he could slide the plain gold ring onto her finger. As Oberon placed the ringer onto her finger he kissed her deeply, not caring about the other people in the room.
The entire hall erupted into cheering and clapping and a few howls of delight.
Suddenly realizing they had a large audience watching them, they froze for a moment and Misha saw the insides of both of their fuzzy round ears go red in embarrassment.
"Now THAT is the best entertainment I've seen all night," Misha commented
Caroline gave him a soft smack on the muzzle.
"What?" he said to her in a tone of mock anger. When he saw the real anger in her eyes he licked her on the muzzle. "What I meant was," he said quickly, "that was very beautiful."
Wolfram had passed out and was sleeping with his head resting on the table. Gornul rested on the ram's head, curled up between the horns, and was sound asleep. Misha wasn't sure if the ram had befriended the dragon or was just too drunk to care.
Caroline and Misha snuggled close together on a carpet spread in front of the fire place in his apartment.
It had gotten very late before the party had finally worn down and broken up. Even so, people had clung together in scattered, small clumps in the hallways and corridors leading away from Long Hall.
The servants had already done most of the cleaning and they soon had the last remnants of the party removed and the hall clean again. Misha gladly paid all the help and sent them home. And with that the party was over.
"The servants cleaned up a lot faster then I expected," Caroline commented.
"I pay them well," Misha answered. "And they've done this before, at all my other parties."
"I'm sure that with how generously you spread your coins around, they have their own party planned for later," she joked.
Misha gave a short yip of laughter. "I believe in a good days work deserves a good days pay."
"They did fine. Everything went perfectly. It was a good party."
"It was," Misha commented. "But this, being with you, is the best part of it."
Sunday
Alexis circled high above Metamor, frustration setting in as she scanned the crowds below. "One would think a snow-white samoyed would be easy to spot," she grumbled after a third false alarm. She had been all over the Keep this morning, and got nothing but a long walk for her trouble and a bump into a broad-shouldered white tiger. Then she'd been down to the fields at the base of Metamor Ridge, thinking that the next likeliest place to find him, among all the games of strength and speed. She had no luck there, either, just a white-furred bear Keeper and a stoat gone into his winter coat early. Then, finally, she spotted him watching her from the curtain wall. He was seated between the parapets, dressed in the brown vest and pants she had picked out as part of his new wardrobe. They were a little plain for her tastes, but he had wanted something 'practical', and she had to admit they looked nice on him. His sandal-shod feet hung over the edge, and a book of some sort lay on the raised section next to him, while a brown pack sat next to his side. It looked like he was writing something, though she couldn't make out what from this distance.
Below, Drift smiled as he saw his lady love arc toward him, gliding downward, and he kept sketching the shapes of her wings as she curved in flight, his hand darting over occasionally to jot notes in the margin. When she got close, he closed the book and set it aside, and then got up and braced to catch her. His knowing smile vanished abruptly into surprised confusion when she instead pulled up sharply at the last moment, flaring her wings and touching down in a dainty landing just a foot away.
Alexis completed his befuddlement by leaning forward and planting a sweet little kiss square on his nose. "Good morning, handsome," she said, still nose to nose with Drift, before breaking into a rogueish grin. "Do you know how much I love it when you flex like that?"
Drift pointed a finger at Alexis and stammered, his brain misfiring as at least five different sentences tried to come out of his mouth at the same time. "I… you… how… what…" An extra long pause followed and then, when she playfully reached out and gave his bicep a squeeze, an indignant "Hey!" as her well-practiced landing finally registered.
Alexis laughed until tears of mirth flowed, until she had to sit down on the parapet wall or risk collapsing. Wiping her eyes and speaking between giggles, she said, "Oh, the look on your face!" before bursting out into fresh gales of laughter.
"So how long have you been playing me along that you can't land without crashing?" he asked, his disgruntled frown marred by Alexis' infectious grin. He held up a warning finger as she started to reply and said, "And no saying 'that would be telling', or you don't get the treat I bought for you."
That strange threat got Alexis' full attention, and the bat leaned forward in curiousity. "Treat? What treat?" When the only reply she got was an impassive stare, she huffed a pout. "Oh, alright," she said, furling her wings and crossing her arms in an overplayed sulk. "I've known how to land for a long time. You're just much more fun as a landing zone." She wagged a finger at the samoyed and continued, "And that was nowhere near as easy as I made it look. I still crash a lot. Landings are hard."
Drift smiled. "There now, was that so difficult?" he asked as he stooped down, producing a large, ripe orange from his pack and holding it out to Alexis. "As promised.."
Alexis' face lit up, every trace of her sulk vanishing as her crossed arms
sprang loose in delight. "Eeee! My favorite! You remembered!" she
cried, snatching up the orange with both hands. Much to Drift's surprise, she
then bit into the rind, spat it out, and gleefully buried her muzzle deep in
the pulp. "Mmmmm… yummy," she purred as the sweet juice flowed.
"Where did you get this?"
Drift grinned, his tail wagging with pleased amusement. "That would be
telling."
The fruit bat looked up, her indignant expression ruined by the juice dripping off her chin. "Hey! That's my line!"
Drift laughed. "Weren't you the one, just last night, saying not to give away a source?" The pout she gave as a reply just made him laugh harder. "And aren't you supposed to peel an orange before you eat it?"
Alexis stuck out her tongue and replied, "I'm a busy woman, and this is too good to wait." They both sat down, Alexis still sucking and squeezing the juice out of the orange until she spotted Drift putting his book away. Without looking up, she said, "Drift, thank you so much for this orange, and for trying to be sneaky with the distraction, but if you put that book away without showing me what you were writing, I'm going to have to squeeze the rest of it out on your head."
Startled by the odd threat, Drift paused in the process of tying the pack's flap shut. "What?"
Alexis paused to lick her lips. "Actually, I really don't want to waste such a good orange. Yum." She winked. "Besides, you're so cute when you're trying to be sneaky, so I guess I can't fault that. How about this, instead: let me see, and I'll help you prank Wolfram."
"I thought you said you didn't want to get involved," Drift hedged, remembering a certain portrait he'd drawn. "That it was 'too simple a challenge'."
"Everything has its price, my dear," she said, pausing to spit out another piece of rind. "Everything. My price for helping you win your amusing little prank war is to see what's in that book and find out why you keep blushing whenever I mention it." She smiled, licking a few sticky-sweet drops from her muzzle fur. "Just like you're doing right now."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then Wolfram gets to continue laughing at your attempts. Honestly, Edward, 'bet you can't fit your horns through that hole'?"
Drift winced. "That, I admit, was not one of my better ideas."
"And the stink bomb you fumbled?"
Drift winced a second time and covered his eyes with his hand. "Okay, okay-"
"And the snare you caught your own foot in?" the fruit bat asked, chuckling in between licking her fingers clean and setting the remnants of the orange to the side.
"That was not my fault!" Drift snapped, thumping his hand on the parapet. "Somebody moved it to the other side of the table, and-" He paused to give his stinging hand a shake before continuing. "Ow. And tied the other end to the tablecloth."
Alexis smiled, an expression of sweet innocence. "And, of course, one mustn't forget the noodle incident."
Drift leapt to his feet, ears down and arms flung wide in frustration. "I keep telling people, it was that bratty blond kid and his tiger friend! Why doesn't-"
The instant that the samoyed moved, Alexis reached across and plucked the book from his pack. "Oh, I believe you, dear," she said with a mischievous chuckle. "I just wanted you to stand up." Holding it out of his reach off the ramparts when he tried to snatch it back, she playfully admonished him. "No, no, no," she said, the trio of 'no's almost sounding sung as she wagged a finger in front of his nose. "While I applaud you for keeping your purchase of this absolutely gorgeous ring out of the rumor mill for as long as you did, you couldn't possibly be so cruel as to expect me not to want to find out more when you do something interesting right in front of me, could you?" Ducking her fingers under his chin, she grabbed hold of a pinch of fur and pulled his head down for a long, intoxicating kiss. After several long moments, she pulled back and smiled at the dazed samoyed and his slightly goofy-looking grin. "I didn't think so," she continued with an impish grin of her own, setting the book on her lap and flipping back the cover in the few moments it took him to recover. Several pages turned at the same time, suggesting that the book had been opened many times to the page that showed, and for considerable duration. Alexis' eyes widened and she smiled in a direct mirror to Drift's groan. "Well, well, well… I'm glad you caught my good side," she said in a teasing purr. Her teasing stopped, however, when she flipped through the next several pages. Her brow furrowed at all the drawings of her wings, drawn in different positions, notes jotted in small script beside each regarding what each wing position was used for, guesses on the significance of her wing spar positioning, and other such information. "I'm impressed, Drift," she noted as she flipped a page. "You have a surprisingly good eye and memory." On the last page of drawings was a half-finished sketch of… something. It was a generally triangular frame of lean metal tubes, drawn in several configurations and angles of spread. She flipped back, past the grand drawing of herself, and new shapes flitted across the pages. Unlike the later drawings, these seemed more random, not linked in focus like the wing sketches. "Drift… what is this?" she asked, looking up at the embarassed samoyed.
With a sigh, Drift sat back down and took the book from her. "This is my idea book, Alexis. I've had it since I was ten. Whenever an interesting idea pops into my head, I try to draw it, to figure out how it might work." He shrugged. "Sometimes I manage to figure it out, sometimes I don't."
"How do you come up with these things?" she asked as she snuggled up against him, hooking her left arm through his right and nestling her hand inside his.
"Most of the time, it's just a matter of sitting and watching." Drift looked off into the distance, his eyes not really focusing on anything. "Listening to that little voice inside you. Visualizing things in your mind, taking them apart, and trying to fit them back together in new or different ways. That waterwheel over there at the mill, for example," he said, pointing down Metamor Ridge to the river below. "What if it pushed the water instead of the other way around? Say you hooked it up to a really big crank, or maybe a treadmill. I don't know. Something to make it turn faster than the water. Wouldn't it then push the water, like a continuous series of paddles?"
Alexis reached over and flipped a few pages to a drawing of a ship with waterwheels attached to either side. "Is that what inspired this?"
Drift nodded. "Yeah. I was out fishing near the mill with my sister when that one hit me. Our canoe didn't quite qualify as a ship, but still…" Continuing on, he pointed to a smaller drawing in a corner. "I came up with this little scribble a month ago, just from pondering this page. That's a long oar with paddles on each end, for when you're canoeing alone, but maybe it would work better with a smaller craft." He pointed to a small boat next to the paddle, thin, with pointed bow and stern, almost half the size of the canoe drawn next to it, and his mouth quirked into a self-deprecating smile. "If I swam better, I'd try experimenting to see if it worked, but since I really don't feel like drowning…"
An hour passed before he had explained all of the drawings to Alexis' satisfaction, and she seemed amused that Drift was trying to use her wing pattern to create a flying machine. "I won't say it's impossible," she said, "since we live in a place where so many 'impossible' things happen, but I do hope you'll be careful. I really don't want you splattering yourself all over the landscape."
"I really don't want myself splattered all over the landscape, either," Drift replied wryly, and closed his book. "Okay, Alexis. I've showed you my idea book. What do you have in mind for Wolfram?"
"Well," she wheedled, with a playful sidelong glance, "given that I had to trick you and swipe the book out of your pack myself…"
"Alex."
"Oh, all right." She explained her plan, keeping her eyes on the people passing below.
Drift's eyes widened as she spoke, and his tail thumped silent laughter on the parapet stones. "That's really evil, Alexis."
The fruit bat polished the claws of her right hand on her blouse and held them out to admire the glittering sapphire ring on her finger. With a smug little grin, she replied, "I know. It's what I do."
Drift put his book away and started to get to his feet. "I should get moving if I want to get everything together in time for the pie-eating competition-"
"Relax," Alexis said, reaching up and grabbing hold of Drift's wrist. "I put things in motion the moment you agreed."
Drift, startled, sat back down without a fuss. "You did? How?"
Alexis' brown eyes sparkled with mischievous glee as she leaned into the samoyed's side, snuggling in with a wing around his waist. "That would be telling."
"I'll take my ring off if you do."
Alexis burst out laughing. "You can be taught!" she exclaimed in delight. Waiting until he took his ring off, she snuggled in closer, and then held her hand up again to admire her own ring. "That's how."
Drift blinked, not understanding. "That's how what?"
"That's how I set the plan in motion," Alexis replied. "By admiring my ring." Feeling Drift's irritation through tensing muscles, she coached, "Come on, Drift, put that clever mind to use. I'm not going to spoon-feed you the answer."
Drift pondered, unfocused eyes drifting over the crowds filtering through the fairgrounds. Suddenly, what he was looking at clicked with what Alexis said, and his head jerked up in surprise. "You signaled someone watching, didn't you?"
Alexis rubbed a hand over the samoyed's back in reward. "Very good. And?"
Drift's brow furrowed, his lips pursing in a hint of disappointment. "So that person is going to prank Wolfram? Ow! Alex!"
"And you were doing so well," Alexis sighed as she brushed Drift's fur back down where she'd pinched his side. "Don't backslide. Didn't I say I wasn't going to spoon-feed you?"
"That hurt!"
"Now, now. Don't lose focus because of a little pinch."
Drift grumbled, rolling his shoulder back and forth to stop the tingling. "'Little pinch', my fuzzy white butt." He jumped. "Ow!"
The bat giggled and moved her hand back to Drift's side, massaging where she'd pinched the first time. "That I'll do for free. You were saying?"
"I don't remember," Drift replied, rubbing his backside and watching her out of the corner of his eye, his expression equal parts disgruntled and rueful. "Somebody pinched me. Hard. Twice."
"I signaled someone, but not so they could go prank Wolfram," she reminded. "Why?"
"So… that person could go get what's needed and bring it here?"
"Not here. A drop spot- someplace he can leave it so we can pick it up later. Why?"
Drift thought about that for a moment, came to an unwelcome conclusion, and put a hand to his forehead. "Please tell me this stuff isn't illegal, Alexis. The Watch hates me enough already."
Alexis laughed. "So suspicious! Don't worry. It isn't, I promise. Now, why a drop spot?"
"So he won't be tempted to warn Wolfram and try for a reward?"
"That's right. He doesn't even know what we want the materials for, just that he's being paid to drop them off. A perfectly normal courier job."
Drift turned to face her, his eyes questioning and a bit concerned. "Alexis, why are you doing all this? This seems awfully 'cloak-and-dagger' for a simple prank."
The fox-bat grinned. "This will be anything but simple, Drift. And I have many reasons, even beyond my general love of mischief."
"And they are?"
Alexis rolled her eyes, giving Drift one of her most charming smiles. "If we're late to the pie-eating contest because you want everything explained, it won't be my fault."
"Granted," Drift replied, and gestured for her to continue.
"Don't you trust me?" Canine claws tapped in annoyance on parapet stone, and the stubborn set of Drift's jaw convinced Alexis to quit playing around. She always knew it was time to stop playing when he got that look in his eye. "Okay, okay. One, I want to help you. Not just at this, but with your father, too. I figured if I could pull this off cleanly enough, you'd change your mind about letting me help you search."
Drift took Alexis' left hand in both of his, cupping it so the ring shone. "Alexis, I just don't want you putting yourself in the line of fire. If something were to happen to you because of that, I…" He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. "…I honestly think I would lose my mind. Please, please don't."
"Even if it means he never gets caught?" Alexis asked, her ears flipped back in surprise.
Drift replied without a moment's hesitation. "Even then," he said, punctuating it with a decisive nod.
Alexis was silent for a few moments, her eyes wide and her right hand over her heart. "Wow." Looking into Drift's soulful brown eyes, she found herself at a loss for words for an unprecedented third time in a single 24 hour span.
Drift reached out and stroked her cheek, his white fur shining against her rusty red-black. "Promise me you won't make yourself a target, Alexis."
Still off balance, Alexis spoke quietly, cupping her hand over his. "You really are something special, Edward," she said, her voice sounding almost… wistful. "Something precious."
"Promise me."
A long pause followed. "Okay."
"Thank you." He paused then, surprised, and nosed her cheek again, his smile turning mischievous when he recognized a rare chance to tease instead of be teased. "Well, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one here capable of blushing," he said. "Still, it's not fair that you can see mine and I have to feel yours."
"It's absolutely not fair," the fox-bat replied. "It's fewer opportunities for me to run my fingers through your soft, fluffy fur." After Drift's laughter died down, she continued on with her earlier chain of thought. "My second reason for doing this is that you weren't the only one Wolfram challenged the other day."
"He was talking to me."
"It doesn't matter. Those were brand new clothes he pretended he was upending a chamber pot on. If our outfits for Misha's dance hadn't been wrapped up, he might have ruined them." She smiled toothily and rubbed her hands together. "And lastly, nobody messes with my man but me." She winked. "At least, not without my expressed permission." Her over-the-top expression got Drift laughing long enough for her to get to her feet, and she offered him her hand. "Now come on, snowpup, or we'll miss our opportunity."
Xavier smiled when he saw Drift and Alexis approaching, the bat riding sidesaddle on Drift's taur back so she could see over the heads of the crowd around the stage, and the black-furred leopard-man waved the pair over to his booth. Alexis was, as usual, dressed in close-fitting, colorful clothes sure to set the tongues of social matrons wagging in muted (and not-so-muted) disapproval, but Drift's vest, pack, and caparison were all the color of freshly turned earth, and were of a conservative enough cut to balance things out. Quite the change from last night, the leopard thought in wry amusement. How had she gotten him to wear that outfit on stage? He swallowed that thought, and remarked instead, "Welcome, you two. You're just in time to cheer Wolfram on."
The big samoyedtaur thumped his tail against the side of the booth, his grin showing a few more teeth than Xavier figured he'd intended. "Glad to hear it," Drift rumbled, his voice always noticeably lower when he was in taurform.
"Congratulations on your apprenticeship to Saroth, by the way," Alexis said immediately after, giving Drift's shoulder a squeeze as if to maintain her balance. "I just heard about it this morning." The samoyed promptly echoed her congratulations, his smile mellowing.
"That's quite impressive, Alexis," Xavier replied, his ears tipping forward with curiosity, "given that it was only announced last night."
"What can I say?" she replied with an aw-shucks grin and a pleased little toss of her head. "I am the queen of the rumor mill." She looked Xavier's booth over, picking up a bottle of the whiskey he, Drift, and Wolfram had brewed. She opened it, sniffed it, and set it hastily back down to the amusement of both her companions. "I don't mean to be rude," she remarked, her voice contrite, "but it surprises me that you, a nobleman, would be tending shop like a merchant."
"I prefer to think of this as 'tending my investment'," he replied, not offended. "Wolfram has many talents, but arithmetic is not one of them. Drift is better, but I know he needed the break after all the work I've wrung out of him. Thank you, by the way," he said with a nod to the samoyed, who nodded back. "My family made much of its recent wealth through merchant trade, so this is not unfamiliar to me. Also, I would rather not have a middleman taking his cut from the profits of a project started between three friends, so that rules out selling to another merchant or hiring one to sell for me." He paused to accept payment from a gray-haired old lion, handed over a bottle, and then continued. "Lastly, I am not fond of crowds. Too many people, too close together. Here, I am guaranteed my elbow room," he said, gesturing widely, and then leaned forward with a playful smile. "Also, I have an excellent vantage point to watch both of my friends act like crazy fools." He gestured toward the stage, but his smile and the lightly amused tone of his voice took any sting out of that remark. "I may have to miss the Duke's banquet this afternoon, but I'll certainly get my chance for entertainment at the Duke's Ball tonight."
"Are you taking Tessa?" Drift asked, but before Xavier could do more than nod, the announcer on stage called for the pie-eating contest to begin.