Topic: Thievery

Abel Norwood

Date: 2010-04-05 12:37 EST
Perched on the rooftop of a squat building, Abel watched as the small group of merchants entered the city through the gates and immediately made a course of the marketplace. He notched an arrow into his bow and slowly crept along the top of the building, eyeing his target warily. The caravan itself was too big a target for him, but one of the merchants walking alongside it had a hefty bag of what could only be coin or other valuables hanging from his belt. An arrow flew from his bow, cutting through the cloth that covered the wagon. The caravan stopped, the merchants and its two guards turning to inspect the tear.

He slung the bow over a shoulder and hopped swiftly and quietly to the street below, his dagger coming loose to deftly cut the string of the wealthy merchant's purse. Luck was not on his side, however, as the merchant and his fellows turned almost immediately as he cut the purse loose, all crying out in varying degrees of surprise. The two guards came around, drawing and brandishing their swords on Abel.

"Good afternoon!" Abel said cheerfully, slowly backing up from the armed men. "Lovely weather we're having, innit?"

"Drop the purse, thief." One said coolly, confident in the thought that they would stop this lone man.

"Now, I can't do that, and you very well know why." Abel explained, backing into a crate before quickly hopping up onto it as the men approached. "I need this money, food's expensive and I'm awful hungry." A hand moved to rub his belly. "Besides, what a waste this would be, you have plenty more where this came from."

A bolt flew past him as one of the merchants produced a crossbow. Abel ducked in surprise, eyes wide as he turned to hop up onto the wooden support beams of a vendor's stall, them climbed up onto the roof and turned around.

"Thank you for the generous donation, my good sirs!" He called down to them cheerfully, sheathing his dagger and pocketing the coins. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be off!" Turning, Abel ran just as another bolt flew toward him, narrowly escaping.

Jude Godwin

Date: 2010-04-09 13:51 EST
((Scene edited and posted with permission.))

It was pretty dark inside the merchant's house, the owner having gone out to a dinner party of some kind and left his dogs in charge of his unlocked house. As if that wasn't stupid enough, the dogs were more than happy to have Jude feeding them scraps of rabbit meat while she waited for Abel to get his act together. "Get a move on, would you?" she hissed into the darkness of the basement. "M'runnin' outta meat here!"

"Should just let me shoot 'em." Abel complained, glancing around with squinting eyes. "Where's he keep all the coin then" I can barely see down here." He turned to peer in her direction, not thrilled about the dogs being present. "You could lock 'em upstairs."

"They'll get loud, we dunt want his neighbours t'know what?s goin' on, do we?" she hissed back. With a sigh, she rose, holding out a hand in the hopes that the dogs would stay put, and moved toward the sound of Abel fumbling around. "I told you, the stuff's behind th'wine rack thingy."

"Dogs get loud." He shrugged. "Tie up their mouths or somethin." Abel turned, nudging the wine rack lightly while peeking behind it. He started to pull, gently easing it further from the wall.

"Oh, yeah, 'cos that's really gonna make 'em lie still an' let us get on with it." As she moved to help him ease the rack from the wall, the dogs - large but rather passive Rottweilers - padded over to watch.

"Should just let me shoot 'em." He grumbled, slipping between the rack. "Keep an eye on 'em then." He said while looking around for a safe or strongbox or something that might hold the coins.

"What'd you think m'doin', pissin' in the wind?" She scowled at him, gesturing toward the set of loose bricks behind which the strongbox was kept, and turned to kneel with the dogs again. She had been right; she did have a way with the animals, for they didn't try and snatch at the scraps she offered them, waiting until the meat was given.

"You could lead 'em upstairs, then drop the food for 'em an' come back down." He suggested while tugging out the bricks and quietly setting them aside. He then reached in for the strongbox.

"Sounds like you're scared of 'em," she snorted, petting the dogs while she waited. "I was gonna lock 'em down here when we're done, make him think we dint get down here at all because of 'em."

He snorted, pulling the strongbox out and examining it. "We takin' the whole thing or did you bring a bag?"

"S'up to you, I done most of the work here," she snorted, rolling her eyes. One hand snagged a couple of pouches from her belt and threw them at him.

"Oh, yeah, feedin' the dogs. A lot of work that is." Abel rolled his eyes, catching the pouches before he moved to pick the strongbox's lock. It opened with a faint click.

Jude scowled at him in the darkness, and on cue, the dogs began to growl. She hurriedly fed them more from her fast dwindling supply of meat, muttering to the pair of canine guardians in a voice there was little doubt Abel could hear. "Oh yeah, never mind the tailin', an' snoopin', an' findin' out all about the place, that's a piece o'piss compared to feedin' you two, innit?"

Abel laughed, beginning to shovel the coins he found into the pouches she had tossed over. Once they were full, he tucked the strongbox away and replaced the bricks, moving around to slide the wine rack back into place.

"All done, right?" Jude rose to her feet, jerking her head toward the stairs down which they'd come to enter the basement level. "Get your arse up there, I'll sort these two out."

His lips moved silently as he mocked her from behind, moving to head up the stairs. "Hurry it up."

She stuck her tongue out at his back, following him to the stairs with the dogs close behind her. At the bottom of the steps, she turned, and flung what was left of the strips of meat into the darkness of the basement. The dogs ran after them, and Jude turned, scurrying up the steps to push the door closed and lock it. "Should hold 'em a while," she grinned to Abel cheerfully.

"Shootin' 'em would be easier." He shrugged, moving away from the door with the pouches all stuffed into his pack. "Now maybe we can get somethin' to drink aside from water. A nice ale."

"Shootin' 'em leaves people angrier," she argued quietly. "Shift over." She nudged him out of the way and hiked herself up onto the high window ledge, carefully levering the window itself open. "After you."

He paused as he passed her, reaching down to tweak her rear with a decidedly cheeky grin before he hopped out of the window. "Who cares if people are angry?"

She started, jerking against the wall, as he pinched at her, narrowing her eyes on him. Despite his constant comments, she was refusing to go with his form-fitting clothing idea, much preferring to stay confusingly androgenous to a casual glance. "Angry people search harder an' they carry weapons, half-wit," was her hissed reply. "Catch my foot, I gotta get this window shut proper." Her foot lowered for him to hold her up with.

He reached up to support her, grinning. "So' We live in the forest. They search through the city."

She failed to answer for a moment, carefully pushing the window shut until a click told her the catch was down. Then she jumped down beside him. "You just love trouble, don'tcha?"

Jude Godwin

Date: 2010-04-09 13:52 EST
He shrugged, turning to start away from the building. "Wouldn' be in this business if I didn'."

"Where to now, then?" she asked. "Money's burnin' a hole in m'pouch already."

He laughed, nodding toward the market. "I wanna get some ale. Anythin' you want' Somethin' more suited to your body perhaps?"

She offered him a flat look. "Need some leather t'patch m'jerkin is all," she told him calmly. "You want girls' clothes, you can wear 'em yourself."

"Oh, come on. You cold at least wear somethin' more fittin' in the forest, don' want everythin' to catch on twigs and brush an' all."

"Can't wear new clothes, m'still dirty from grubbin' up t'hide in shadows," she pointed out, gesturing to the new dirt on her face and hands. It was a grope in the dark of an excuse.

"So you'll take another bath." He grinned. "Oh!" He reached down and caught her hand, tugging as he hurried through the streets. "A good bath, that's what we'll get."

"Eh' Oy!" Her quizzical look was replaced with one of mild annoyance as she was yanked along behind him. "What're you blatherin' 'bout?"

"A bath." He grinned. "A good one at one of the inns nearby. Ain't much, we've got plenty. Nice warm tubs to soak in."

"Reckon they'd wash our clothes too?" See, she wasn't above getting clean. "Seems a shame t'get clean an'shift back int'these." She flicked at his shirt.

"I'll have 'em bring somethin' up. Somethin' new an' clean." He grinned. "An' pretty for you to wear when you're not tryin' to steal stuff."

Jude rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, 'cos pretty's really useful when you're in a forest most o'th'time," she grumbled, knowing she wasn't going to win this argument.

He chuckled quietly, slowing as he spotted the sign of one of the nearby inns. "Just one thing, since I did take you in and fed you an' all."

"You dint have to," she objected, slowing with him with a suspicious look cast to the inns. "What?"

"What?" He blinked, quirking a brow as he reached out to open the inn's door.

"You said 'just one thing', I thought you had somethin' else you was goin' to insist on," she muttered, bumping into his back as he drew the door open.

"No. I was talkin' about the somethin' pretty. I'll even let you pick it." He winked at her, then tugged her inside, instantly heading to the bar.

She sighed, defeated at this point but buoyed up by the chance to make sure this 'something pretty' wasn't going to be ridiculous girly. "I ain't even got decent hair, I ain't never goin' t'look as pretty as them other girls you eye up all th'time."

"I dunno. You're pretty enough with just what you normally wear, when you don' try an' hide your face." He glanced over his shoulder at her, chuckling. "You don' have to wear a dress or anythin'."

"Betcha I do, betcha you tell 'em you want somethin' pretty for me an' they bring up dresses," she muttered, sticking her tongue out at his chuckling face.

He rolled his eyes. "Nah. You tell 'em what you want." He nodded, moving over to ask for a pair of baths. "We goin' in the same room or are you gonna hide?"

"No point, is there?" she shrugged. "'Sides, you owe me a look at your backside."

He grinned and relayed the information to the proprietor. "An' we're gonna need some new clothes." He added. "Simple an' practical for both o' us, somethin' extra for her." Abel thumbed toward Jude. "No dresses, but make sure it ain't all loose an' stuff." He then tossed Jude a wink while they were told to sit so their baths could be prepared.

"An' I ain't wearin' anything what shows off no skin," she added as she moved to sit down, ignoring the disapproving look she got from what had to be the proprietor's wife, as well as the giggle from one of the serving girls. She glared at Abel as though everything was all his fault.

"Yes she is!" He added. "Just make sure she doesn' look like some sort o'prostitute."

"Hang on a mo -" But they were gone, no doubt with his instructions ringing in their ears and not hers. Jude twisted around and delivered a wallop to Abel's shoulder.

He grinned, accepting the hit without complaint. "You got pretty skin."

"It ain't fer everyone t'look at," she argued. "Shouldn'ta been for you t'look at, only I was damn certain you wouldn't like it anyways."

"Shouldn' be so ashamed o'it." He argued lightly, glancing up as one of the serving girls beckoned for them to follow.

"You're damn lucky I ain't ramming my fist down your throat, mate," she grumbled, rising to follow the girl.

He let her lead, leaning to brush his lips against her ear. "You weren' this hostile last night."

"I wasn't thinkin' straight," she snapped back, but there was no mistaking the faint flush over that pale skin he seemed to like so much.

"Nah. You're not thinkin' straight now, is all." He nodded, grinning as they were lead up the staircase.

Jude Godwin

Date: 2010-04-09 13:53 EST
"Soon as they're gone, m'gonna wallop you so hard," she threatened under her breath, managing a rather tight smile for the girl who opened a door into a room where the tubs had been set up. There was another girl in there, and both seemed rather determined to undress the pair of them. "Here, what?re you doin'?"

"We got it." Abel assured them, shooing the pair out. He laughed at Jude then, moving toward one of the large tubs. "You always so touchy?"

"When I dunno what th'hell m'doin' inna tavern house, yeah," she grumbled, setting her weapons' belt aside with its brace of knives.

He dropped his bow onto a small table, quiver joining it, followed by his belt and short sword. A grin was flashed as he reached down and tugged his shirt off. "You complain too much."

She stuck her tongue out at him, turning her back as she dragged off her mantle and jerkin, followed by her boots. One hand dipped into the water, testing the heat before she slipped out of her pants and shirt.

He paused in undressing himself to watch her, grinning cheerfully. The moment her pants touched the ground, his did too, and he slipped into the tub before she could turn to look at him. Triumph was painted all over his face.

She snorted, rolling her eyes as she, too, stepped into her own tub. "Cheat."

He winked at her. "You look pretty when you're naked an' angry."

"You got somethin' in your eye," was her answer. "Oh, I know what it is ....your ego." She took a breath and ducked her head under the water, letting the heat soak into her skin for a long moment before she came back up for air.

He laughed before dipping beneath the water as well, soaking quite comfortably in the heat before he surfaced. "Even prettier when you're wet, too."

She twisted, laying her arms crossed on the side of the tub and her chin on top of them, effectively hiding most of his view from him. "Have you always been this difficult?"

"I'm not difficult at all." He grinned, mimicking her posture.

"Yeah, you are," she laughed, reaching down to the basket of soaps and various other things set between the tubs. "Go outta your way t'be difficult when you're talkin' t'me." Her hand came up with a comb, and she set to detangling the mess that was her chin-length cropped hair.

"I'm not difficult. You're difficult. I'm just tryin' to get you to not be so ashamed of your pretty skin an' body." He winked at her, still content to relax in the water.

Wincing as she dragged the comb mercilessly through tangles and knots, she snorted with laughter. "M'not difficult, m'a product of m'times," she argued.

"That so' Explain." He reached down for a bar of soap then, dragging it up to soak in in the water.

"Girls ain't worth nothin' back home, 'cept for rogerin' an' havin' babies," she shrugged, running her fingers through her now detangled hair. "An' I ain't even a proper girl, m'an outlaw's daughter. Makes me less'n nothin'. Folks'd use me an' throw me away if'n I let 'em ....an' I did used to, 'til m'uncle taught me how t'hunt. Been a boy for so long, s'hard t'be a girl jus' 'cos you want it."

"Ain't askin' you to be a boy or a girl." He grinned. "Just to enjoy yourself a little, bet'cha you'd like it if you turned heads while you were walkin' down the street."

"M'a thief, s'a bad thing if'n people notice me," she pointed out, snagging a bar of soap for herself.

He grinned. "You ain't a thief at all times. Right now, for instance. Right now, you're a pretty girl takin' a bath."

Her expression darkened for a moment. "If I see any heads other'n yours in here, I'll scratch their eyes out."

"An' you won' be a thief while we're walkin' in the market. You'll be a girl then, too. What's wrong with lettin' people know you're pretty?"

"Pretty girls get old fastest," she said bluntly. "Men use 'em and use 'em until they ain't got nothin' left. Kills 'em in th'end, I seen it."

He rolled his eyes and sank back against the tub, dragging the bar of soap up to begin washing.

"Why you so set on makin' me out t'be what?m not?" she asked curiously, lathering her hands as she set to cleaning her upper body.

"You are pretty, you just don' want to admit it." He argued, glancing over at her.

"Dint answer th'question."

"'Cause I'm not tryin' t'make you somethin' your not."

"Alright, why's it so important t'you that I admit t'bein' pretty?" she rephrased her question, one foot lifted out of the water as she scrubbed at her legs.

"'Cause you are." He shrugged. "Isn' a secret to it or anythin'. Just think you should realize it."

Jude Godwin

Date: 2010-04-09 13:54 EST
"Back home bein' pretty ....jus' bein' a girl'd make me a danger t'be around," she commented, lowering her foot with a soft splash. "How's it diff'rent here?"

"'Cause everythin's differen' here." He grunted. "How long you been here anyhow?"

"Maybe a month," she shrugged, concentrating on a particularly stubborn bit of dirt on her inner thigh.

"Well, welcome to Rhy'Din. Everythin's differen' here. Get used to it."

"Thanks." She snorted with laughter, twisting this way and that before giving in with a sigh. "Dunt s'pose there's any chance o'you scrubbin' m'back for me, is there?"

He grinned and nodded, glancing around before sitting up. "Sure, turn away."

She offered him a grateful smile, twisting away to take hold on the other side of the tub. "Thanks, mate."

He leaned over, picking up a bar of soap to begin moving it across her back. "Where you from?"

"England," was the quiet reply. "Was born inna village called Nutley, but lived most o'my time in th'forest. Ashdown, they called it."

He nodded slowly, hands moving to her back now that he'd lathered it up enough to begin wiping away the dirt and grime.

Her head turned towards him as his hands took the place of the soap. "Where're you from, then?"

"Here." He nodded toward a window. "This city, born an' raised near the Old Temple."

Her eyes lifted toward the window thoughtfully. "Why'd you go outlaw, then?"

"Dad lost all our money, people came an' took him away, then expected my mother to pay off his debts. So I started stealin' to pay for it. Got caught, chased out of the city."

"No choice," she nodded slowly, looking back over her shoulder at him. "Uhm ....think m'clean now."

"Think so?" He chuckled, drawing his hands away to sink back into his tub.

She nodded, sinking into the water to rinse the suds away. "Want me to do you now?"

Abel grinned, nodding, and turned to put his back to her. "Have at it."

She didn't quite have the reach he did, moving to kneel up in her tub to rub the soap over his back. "Y'know, you dint strike me as th'kind who liked pamp'rin'."

"Takin' a bath ain't pamperin'." He snorted, glancing over his shoulder at her.

"Tis, sort of." As he had done, she now laid her hands on his back to rub away the dirt and tension with the lathered layer of soap.

"No it isn'." He argued, chuckling.

"Sort of, I said," she grinned back, smoothing her palms over his back. "Hot water'n soap ain't exactly everyday for folks like us."

"It is for people who aren' outlaws. An' there are plenty of hard workin' people who take baths. Don' mean they're bein' pampered." He said as he turned to sink back into the tub, satisfied that his back was clean.

She sank back into her own tub, keeping herself twisted to face him as she settled once again with her chin on her arms. "Feels like pamperin'."

He turned and faced her again, shrugging. "You're just not used to it."

"I'll go soft if I get used to it." She tilted her head toward him, mouth opening to say something more, when she was interrupted by a knock at the door. The girls came back in, each carrying a bundle of clothing, and one of them removed the clothes they had shed before getting into the tubs. Much to Jude's horror, however, the other girl came straight to her and tipped a jugful of water over her head.

He was about to say something in return when the girls entered. Abel turned and watched them curiously, eyeing the clothing that had been brought in before laughing as Jude had water poured over her. He grinned, leaning back to relax and watch with curious amusement.

She wasn't given a chance to complain verbally as the girl set to washing her hair with ruthless efficiency. It would seem they were used to ruffians who didn't know how to get themselves completely clean. With shorter hair, Abel was safe from the rough treatment being meted out to Jude as she flailed around.

He laughed again, grinning. "Sit back an' relax. It'll go by faster."

She glared at him from under a halo of suds, opened her mouth, and got a mouthful of soap as another jug was tipped over her head. Patience only went so far, however, and when the woman started to reach for the soap to go round again, Jude elbowed her in the ribs. "That's enough, get out!"

Abel rolled his eyes, motioning for the girls to leave. "You're gonna get me banned from this place."

Jude Godwin

Date: 2010-04-09 13:54 EST
"A bit o'warnin' wouldn't've done 'em any harm," she coughed, wiping her face dry. Yes, her hair was clean now, but was all the rough-handling really necessary' "What'd it have cost 'em t'say 'we're gonna clean yer head'?"

He chuckled. "Maybe they assumed you'd done this before?"

She stuck her tongue out at him again. "Notice you dint get dunked. Mebbe they was tryin' t'drown me, 'cos m'with you."

"You have more hair." He pointed out, grinning.

"Not that much more," she grumbled, squeezing the excess water out of said hair.

"Enough to count." He laughed, dipping beneath the water again.

Out came the tongue again, and she rose out of the tub when he sank into the water, grabbing a towel to wrap around herself.

He poked his head up, grinning as he glanced around. "Try on some of your new clothes."

"When m'dry," was her absent answer as she moved toward the bundle set aside for her, rubbing the water from her skin.

He grinned, hopping out and wrapping a towel around his middle. He picked up a second, scrubbing his head as he padded across the room.

Picking through the clothing, she found she had a complete set of clothes, although there weren't enough pieces for her comfort. "You sure they understood m'meant to go out in these?" she asked warily.

He chuckled, glancing over at her as he flicked through the his own bundle of clothes. "Yeah. Why?"

"Dunt think I got a shirt," she muttered, securing the towel about her chest so she could shimmy into the form-fitting pants they'd left her.

He grinned, drying himself off before tugging his new pants on. He then turned to eye her. "Oh. I like those."

She gave him another of her flatly unamused looks as she laced the pants tight at her waist, turning her back on him to study the bodice she'd been given before shrugging into that as well.

His grin widened exponentially. "Like that even more." He said while tugging his tunic on.

It was just as form-fitting as the pants, skin-tight crimson leather, sleeveless, and laced from the hem to the dipping vee of the neckline, doing marvellous things with what little cleavage she had. Jude had never felt so naked while dressed before in her life. She turned to perch on the bench and pull her boots on. "This is all I got," she grumbled. "Feels like m'not dressed."

He chuckled, pulling a jerkin on next. "I'll get you a cloak in the market if it'll make you feel better." Abel replied. "But for what it's worth, y'look fantastic."

She stood up, hands on her hips as she stared at him. "I look like a scarlet woman," was her answer to that. The boots weren't even hers; her own had been replaced with higher topped, heeled boots. Evidently the girls had decided everything that was feminine about her needed accentuating.

"Nah. You don' have a tight enough corset an' you're wearin' pants." He laughed, shaking his head. "Quit complainin'."

"Says th'man who's wearing pretty much what he was before he stripped off," she snorted derisively, rolling her eyes. "Least they left me these." As she spoke, she turned and reached for her belt, on which her knives still hung. The movement tightened the black suede across her backside before she straightened to buckle her belt.

He grinned, enjoying the view for the time being. "You'll get used to it." He shrugged, turning to buckle his belt and sword into place, then tossed his quiver and bow over his shoulders.

"Aye, I can see you're already used t'it," she shook her head, sighing as she shook out her arms. Her own bow and quiver had been left back at the cave, since she considered carrying anything that was taller than herself a stupid move when breaking into houses. "Now what?"

"Now, we go get some ale an' get you a cloak so you'll stop whinin'." He shrugged, moving toward the door.

"I ain't whinin'!" Her hand smacked out against his backside as she brushed past him, determined to make a point of not caring that she looked ready to strip off for the first customer of the day.

He rolled his eyes. "Are too." Even as he hopped forward. When she passed, he swatted her rear in return, grinning. "We'll get you a shirt too, if it'll make you quit. BUt you gotta promise, no more complainin'."

"Ain't a promise I can make, y'know that," she laughed, looking over her shoulder at him.

Jude Godwin

Date: 2010-04-09 13:55 EST
"No more complainin' about your clothes at least. Or I'll go get the money back an' you'll walk aroun' naked."

She spun on her heel, stopping dead to glare at him. "You wouldn't!"

"You care to test that?" He asked curiously, grinning at her.

Her eyes narrowed, studying him thoughtfully, and she raised a brow. "Fine, no more complainin' 'bout m'clothes," she agreed, turning on her heel again to walk down into the main tap room. And if he was paying attention - which she had no doubt he was - he'd notice a sway in her step that suggested she was thinking up a way to make him regret having her womanly attributes suddenly very obvious.

He grinned at the sway in her step and followed closely, leaning forward to whisper against her ear once more as he caught up. "I love it when you walk like that."

She smirked, glancing over her shoulder at him. "It ain't just you," she grinned sweetly, glancing to the crowded tap room, where a certain number of heads had turned to watch as they entered.

"See" Heads turnin'." He swatted her backside again before brushing past her. "Make a scene an' yer clothes'll be gone."

"What, m'not allowed t'be friendly now?" she laughed indignantly, hopping forward under the force of his swat.

"After all that talk about not wantin' to draw attention to yourself" You're gonna sound like a hypocrite."

She grinned impishly at him. "Jealous o'other folk enjoyin' me now, are ya?"

"They can look. Anyone tries to touch an' they'll lose a finger."

The look on Jude's face at that comment could only be surprised shock. With a little warm satisfaction thrown in; at least now she knew he wasn't just teasing her. "That ain't all they'll lose, an' you know it," she agreed with a smile, leaning on the bar to order a couple of ales.

He chuckled, waiting for their drinks to arrive. "Anythin' else we need to get while we're in the city?"

She twisted around, leaning her elbows back on the bar as she smirked at him. "I dunno," she shrugged. "Way you're actin', maybe you should stop'n get me a collar with your name on it?"

"Be a nice addition." He smirked, sliding coins across the bar for their ales.

"Wouldn't put it past you, neither," she snorted, lifting her tankard to take a drink.

He toasted her with his tankard then took a gulp. "But seriously. Need anythin'?"

"If'n we're gonna be sharin' blankets, should get a bigger roll," she shrugged thoughtfully, looking around the room. A man leered at her, and she sent him a cheerful smile back, absently drawing one of her knives to pick at her fingernails with it. "Aside from that, can't think o'nothin'."

He nodded thoughtfully, glancing over his shoulder before grabbing his bow. "May get a new bow, much as I love this one, it's losin' its edge."

"Should have a composite," she nodded to him. "Got the arm strength for it, you have." She knew her limits; toned and strong as her arms were, she could only manage a long bow.

"Thinkin' about it." He nodded, taking another sip of his ale. "Saw a hunter with one once, took all m'will not t'steal it."

"Can't b'lieve you're talkin' 'bout buyin' one when you could've had one for nothin'," she snorted with a grin, flipping her knife back into her belt.

"He was a hunter, made his livin' off o'that bow. Couldn' have taken it from him. Wouldn' have been right."

"Ha! You're soft, that's what you are," Jude laughed, taking another drink of her ale before hopping herself up to sit on the bar itself.

"I just have standards." He snorted, shaking his head at her.

"Oh, an' I don't, obviously," she rolled her eyes, poking at him with her toe.

"Do you?" He smirked, quirking a brow at her.

"Well, yeah." Jude grinned at him over her tankard. "Otherwise I'd have let you do more'n what you did last night."

He laughed then. "Uh huh. I think you were a bit disappointed when I decided to sleep."

"Not as disappointed as you when I stopped playin' along," she insisted, poking his thigh again with the toe of her boot.

"Mmm. Probably not." He agreed, flashing a wink up at her while he took another sip of his ale.

Jude Godwin

Date: 2010-04-09 13:55 EST
His agreement disconcerted her to the point where she choked on her ale, losing a small amount of the dark liquid down into her displayed cleavage as she gasped for breath. "God, you don't half know how to wrong foot me, don'tcha?" She grabbed his sleeve and lifted it up to mop her skin dry, arm and all.

He blinked as his arm was lifted, arching a brow at her. "Uh, I'm not followin'."

Her hand slid into his, making sure he couldn't have a feel of her while she was using his sleeve to clean herself up. "You argue when you should give in, agree when you should argue ....never know what?s comin' next, wi'you."

He laughed, fingers struggling in her grasp before his arm went limp. "I'd say sorry, but I'm not a liar."

She laughed, releasing his arm as she leaned sideways against the wall. "Dint think you were. S'why you insistin' on all this makin' me pretty is so weird."

"I'm confused again." He eyed her. "Thought we clarified this already."

"Bout time you were as confused as me." She drained her tankard and jumped down next to him. "C'mon, you've got shoppin' t'do." She flashed him a wink and a smile and moved away, those hips swaying again, this time unconsciously. And this time, a rather stupid hand reached out from one of the groups seated as she passed and had an ill-advised fondle of her backside.

Abel grinned, draining his ale as he stood and turned to follow. A hand lowered and caught the offender's wrist, the other moving to grab the handle of his sword. "Fingers out, you gotta lose at least one now."

For her own part, Jude had spun about the moment she felt the touch, her knives whistling from their sheaths at her waist. The offender shrank back from both of them, wide-eyed. "Now, hang on," he muttered, "there's no crime in it ..."

"You either let me have a finger." Abel explained. "Or, you let her do what she wants. It'll be worse, trust me." The sword came free then. He bent down to speak in a mock whisper. "She has a thing for riddin' men of their genitalia when they piss her off."

Never let it be said that Jude couldn't play a role when it suited her. At Abel's whisper, she snicked her blades together, her expression one of rather murderous intent. The man in question almost gibbered. "Does it have to be a finger" Why not just slice me and go?"

"Fingers leave an impression." Abel grinned, tapping the tip of the blade beneath the man's chin. "Or I could cut you here, save you the pain of losin' your manhood."

"From the sound of him, there i'nt anythin' t'cut away down there," Jude snorted derisively, just about managing to keep a straight face when their unfortunate victim whimpered and crossed his legs. He scrambled backwards along the bench, dislodging his companions who were watching with interest. "What do you want?" was whimpered to them.

"A finger." Abel said, waving his sword about threateningly. "One more shot, then I let her do what she wants." His grin was wickedly murderous as he motioned toward Jude.

She stepped forward to loom over the man as he gibbered, and finally his nerve broke, sending him whimpering from the tavern and out into the street. Jude burst out laughing.

Abel laughed along with her, sheathing his blade quickly and turning to walk toward the door. "See" Just gotta make a name for yourself."

"I dint do much, did I?" she laughed with him, sheathing her own blades as she fell into step alongside him. "Just stood there and looked dangerous."

"All you have to do sometimes." He grinned and pushed out through the door, glancing around. "Where to?"

"Thought you wanted to go to the market?" she asked, pushing out behind him and again bumping straight into his back. "You really have t'stop just stoppin' like that."

He snorted, glancing over his shoulder at her. "You should look where you're going."

"Shouldn't have to, 'less my glorious leader's got lead in his boots," she shot back, stepping to his side and turning toward the marketplace.

"Oh' I'm your glorious leader now?" He asked with an amused grin, turning to walk after her.

"Well, you took me in, dintcha?" she chuckled over her shoulder at him. "Sort suggests you're thinkin' o'startin' your own little band o'thieves."

"Takin' in one person doesn' constitute for a band o'thieves." He laughed, rolling his eyes.

"First job we pulled went well," she pointed out, ducking under the overhanging wares of a leather worker's stall. "Stands t'reason you might be lookin' to expand."

"More people means bigger chance of gettin' caught." He countered. "Don' want to expand, cave isn' big enough anyways."

She snorted with laughter, pausing to let a small family pass in front of her. "Cave i'nt really big enough for two."

"It works." He shrugged, glancing around. "Tell you what. You find us a bigger cave, I'll see about takin' a bit more on."

"Fat chance o'me findin' anywhere better'n that cave o'yours," she snorted, looking over her shoulder at him. "Why're we here anyways?"

Jude Godwin

Date: 2010-04-09 13:59 EST
"For a cloak an' a bigger bedroll." He reminded her, glancing around before slipping past to speak to a vendor who was selling cloaks and other bits of clothing.

"Thought you were happy wi'what I've got on?" she grinned. Admittedly, a while of wearing her decidedly skimpier clothing had made her more comfortable in it.

"I am. But you kept complainin' so I said I'd buy you a cloak too."

"I never agreed to it, and it's not you buyin' me a cloak," she objected. "We stole that money, so it's mine to spend just as much as it's yours."

"Whatever." He waved dismissively. "An' you did agree to it."

"I did not," she laughed, poking her hand into his midriff. "All I agreed to was not complainin'."

"Oh. Good. Then we don' have to waste money." Grinning, he turned and walked away from the vendor.

She paused, experiencing a feeling that she'd just managed to talk herself out of a cloak, and sighed, turning to follow him. "So ....now what?"

He grinned at her sigh. "You want that cloak?" He asked, thumbing toward one that seemed about her size, made of a dark green material.

She grinned. "Depends, how're you plannin' on gettin' it?"

"You go look for some bedrolls." He said, reaching into his pack to hand her a pouch of coins. "I'll get us some cloaks."

Chuckling, her hand closed around the pouch with a cheeky mutter. "Waste o'money."

He chuckled and turned back to the vendor stall again, moving to converse with the owner.

She slipped through the crowd toward a stall she'd stolen from before, so she knew the wares were good quality. Apparently news was spreading quickly through the market about a woman of her description who had a propensity to cut off certain intimately male organs, for the vendor stepped smartly behind his stall as she approached, his male customers hastening away.

After he spent several long minutes talking to the owner of the stall, Abel turned and walked off, cutting through an alley that eventually brought him back around, only on the opposite side of the stall now. He slipped forward while the merchant busied himself with another customer, hiding behind the large display of hanging cloaks to rummage through the boxes that housed the others, finding two dark green ones for the pair of them.

Jude was rather enjoying her newly intimidating presence. It only took a little persuasion for the stall owner to hand over two good rolls of blankets, without any hint of blackmail or threats. He just gave them to her, in exchange for a promise not to cut anything important off him. She nodded to him and moved away through the crowd, ducking into an alleyway and up onto the roofs to continue on her way to the gates, rather than give the guards someone to chase.

If she was paying attention, she'd see him walking through the streets toward the gates without a care in the world. His step was confident, he even flashed the guards a smile as he passed. They didn't look twice.

She saw him alright, grinning to herself as she hopped down into an alleyway and moved into the stream of people walking through the gates. Her smile to the guards was distinctly flirtatious as she walked out of the city, hips swaying once more as she moved to follow him.

And contrary to the efforts of Watch, Guard and Knights, both thieves walked out of the city before they even knew a crime had been committed.