The call of the heroes

[Tetroneaque]

"Wah!" Tetroneaque made a surprised noise as his bag of loot suddenly became much heavier than before, causing him to fall over and spill it right where these two busy bodies could see it all.

"Heh heh, I have expensive tastes?" He said with a shrug, making a small joke since he'd previously mentioned these were his groceries.

[Sapphire Flame]

Serkane sighed. He figured as much: that the man was just an ordinary criminal. Well, he did manage to get an impressive amount of loot. "You know, if you hadn't already given me an obviously fabricated cover story, I might have believed that had gotten these legally. I don't have the legal authority to arrest criminals, but I can keep you until a guard comes around. Oh, and in case you decide to escape..." Serkane pointed at Stormwing, who was now looking up at Serkane from below. "Unless you have a dragon of your own -which I highly doubt-, I'd suggest you come with me. " (OOC: Serkane doesn't know Phantos is Tetroneaque's, obviously. )

I can't just let this man's crimes go unpunished... I made an oath to myself a long time ago. Still, for some reason I almost pity this man. It's odd... certainly a man stealing just to feed himself is definitely in the moral grey area -though I would suggest getting him a job instead-, yet this man was motivated by greed. No one who would steal this much possibly could be motivated by anything else. Well, better not think too much about it.

[Tetroneaque]

"Well its not like that fleeing army needed all this stuff to weigh them down." Tetroneaque said just a bit indignantly as he bent down and started putting everything back in the bag, as if he'd actually be getting away with all of it still.

"Very nice dragon. I bet it costs a lot to feed'em. What say you forgot you ever saw me and I cut you in on some of this, eh?" Tetroneaque said in the friendliest manner he could. It was a good deal and wasn't technically illegal since one could consider all the loot some sort of 'spoils of war'.

If he doesn't accept my generous offer, well there is always plans B and C.

Tetroneaque didn't seem at all worried about being caught, still smooth and cool as ever.

[Raro]

Cleoy bent down to stuff some more of the spilled items back into his bag. "Really? You'll share some of that with us!?" (How naive of her...) After doing what she could to help, she returned to the ladder and dropped back to solid ground. "Serkane, can you forgive him? I mean, he's obviously generous enough to share a bit, I don't think he had bad intentions when he stole it in the first place. I mean, I took this!" She pulls out the dragon egg, "Hrm? It's kinda hot... ow!" She quickly dropped it to the ground. Holding her burnt hand she cried out, "What happened to it!?"

[Sapphire Flame]

Serkane sighed. On one hand, he had made a solemn vow to himself to fight injustice. On the other, the kitsune had been stealing by the Vernis army. He pondered for a bit. "Very well then. Since the Vernis army is my enemy, I'll cut you some slack. I'll make a counter-offer. I won't turn you in if you drop the bag of loot and run. I won't even bother checking your pockets. If you don't accept these terms, I'll be happy to negotiate..." his hand made his way to his sword. He ignored Cleoy for now, he had more important things to think about.

[Tetroneaque]

Tetroneaque let out a sigh and rolled his eyes, though the eye rolling bit was hidden by his mask.

"Oh jeez, you're one of those types aren't you? The whole, 'I must do what's right no matter the cost!' types am I right? Or maybe you just want all the loot for yourself. Either way, I'm not leaving it here cause I worked too hard to get all this. There's no need to get violent though, I'm sure we can reach a more reasonable compromise to the both of us." Tetroneaque stated with a little indignant huff.

"Let's talk about it in the shade though, it's a bit too hot out here for my taste." He started walking toward a rather shady spot nearby where a nearby building cast it's shadow on the roof they were all standing on. He made sure to keep his actions slow so the bird wouldn't get jumpy and do something drastic. As soon as his entire body was in the shadow he let out a little chuckle.

"I really would love to stay and chat with you longer, but I'm afraid I need to get going. See ya later chumps!" He then simply vanished into the shadow... literally!

Tetroneaque looked around from the strange area between shadows. He could see every shadow within miles, except they weren't shadows to him here. They were like doorways back to the light filled world. He saw something he recognized on the other side of one of these doors and stepped though, appearing two blocks away from where he had been and that much closer to his clock tower hideout. It was only about a half block to his home now.

"I hate nosy people like that bird. Always sticking their beaks into other people's business. Heck, I got a dragon to feed too and that ain't cheap. Also got to cut The Dragon's Claw in on some of this heist, I'm sure they'll appreciate it. The kid seemed alright though. Naive but alright." He hoisted his bag higher up on his back to a more comfortable position and continued his way home through the streets. There still weren't many people out in this area, and most knew better than to ask a masked person with a sack what was in the bag, which was one of the main reasons he chose this area to hideout in. He knew the roof tops would prove bothersome now if he had someone who could fly trying to find him, so he stuck to the shadowy streets. They'd stay shadowed to until around noon, which meant he'd have no lack of getaways if he needed them.

"Heck, I'll probably only have half this bag to myself once I pay for all that other stuff!" He lamented, though his voice was ringing with joy. Half that sack was still half a fortune and sure to keep him living comfortably for quite some time.

[Sapphire Flame]

Serkane went to inspect the shadow, and cursed silently to himself. He's got magic too? he thinks to himself. He starts looking around, and makes a sound signaling to Stormwing to fly into the air. He flies onto the dragon's back. I probably could've handled this better... way better... he thinks to himself. "Thief, I have no idea how you did that, but I won't let you get away that easily. You may mock me for the way I choose to live my life, but you have no idea what I've been through... " he said, not really expecting the thief to hear him.

(OOC: Sorry for the short post. )

[Tetroneaque]

Tetroneaque would have been skipping down the road now he was in such in a good mood, at least if that bag didn't weigh so much to his small frame. Even though it was heavy it didn't weigh down his mood now.

"Heh heh heh! I almost wish I could have stayed around to see the look on their faces when I pulled my little vanishing act. I bet it would have been priceless." He chuckled to himself as he took a moment to rest. Using his little shadow step so much in one day was tiring, not to mention the sack full of heavy loot!

"Heh, this has been a good day. This should keep me living quite comfortably for a good awhile, not to mention earning me quite a few brownie points with the higher ups in The Dragon's Claw." The little fox anthro picked the sack back up and continued toward the looming clock tower he called home. He knew Phantos would be waiting there for him. Such a loyal companion and friend, even if the big lug was a bit overzealous when it came to fighting. Tetroneaque paused a moment as a shadow passed over him... a dragon's shadow. Tetroneaque peeked up toward the sky and frowned.

"Dang, that guy is persistent. Doesn't he have a hobby or something?" Tetroneaque asked aloud in an annoyed tone. He hurried his pace and hoped that he hadn't been spotted. He tried to keep toward the shadows just in case he had to make another quick shadow step.

[Sapphire Flame]

Serkane looked down at the streets below. He smirked as he spotted the masked man. "Nice trick you pulled. " he said as he jumped off the dragon and dropped to the ground. "Don't move a muscle. I don't want to have to do this, but I can't let a criminal go unpunished. " he said, pointing his sword. He pauses for a moment, and sees a pillar of smoke out of the corner of his eye. That guy must have set some fires to some of the houses! he thinks to himself.

He sighs. I can't believe this. I got so worked up trying to catch this guy I forgot to help the people who were truly in need. Stormwing dropped to the ground, eying Tetroneaque. I'd better finish what I started, though. "I have more important places to be, so I'll make this quick. If you drop the bag, I'll let you go. If you want to try and escape, I'll have Stormwing here deal with you. "

(OOC: Serkane is just a tad overzealous, isn't he? )

[Tetroneaque]

"You really are starting to get annoying you know. I haven't done anything illegal here. Those soldiers were attacking the city, I took some of their stuff. Spoils of war are perfectly legal you know." Tetroneaque stated. Of course he failed to mention that one needed to be a soldier or at the very least a mercenary to fall under that law.

"Besides, if I just drop this here then what happens to it? You take it? Some random beggar finds it? It just sits here and rots? Those all sound like terrible choices to me. So I have a better idea." Tetroneaque suddenly whistled quite loudly. They were quite close to the clock tower now and Tetroneaque was sure Phantos would here the signal.

"How about you and your dragon go bother someone else, before some of my friends show up? Oh, too late." Tetroneaque said with a laugh as Phantos suddenly flew down from the tower.

"Stormwing, meet Phantos. Phantos, these are the two busy-bodies who want to take our lunch money for the next month." Tetroneaque called out with a laugh. That was all Phantos needed to hear though he didn't attack immediately. Instead the dragon's throat began to glow, showing he was ready to let loose a rather potent blast but was holding it back.

"I suggest you both leave before he gets mad. It simply wouldn't do to have a fight break out here when the city has already taken so much damage from those jerks." He said pointing toward the areas where the fire had broken out.

"I mean really. You should find more interesting ways to spend your time than bothering the Dragon's Claw." Tetroneaque didn't like to advertise his being a part of that group too publicly. He figured it might be the best way to prevent an unnecessary fight from breaking out though.

[Sapphire Flame]

He's a dragon rider from the Dragon's Claw!?! thinks Serkane quietly to himself. "...Very well. It's clear that I haven't put as much thought into this as I should have..." he sighed to himself, mulling over the last few moments in his head. The anger that overtook him those last few minutes subsided. He looked over at the smoke from the burning buildings. Why am I over here, anyway? I should be over there helping them... instead, I'm chasing someone who hasn't technically broken any laws. "I'll let you go. It's just that I've been through a lot. I ran away from my own anthro tribe years ago when I was forced to kill an innocent girl that was protecting her kids. Ever since then I've despised injustice and those who prey on the weak. Wait, why am I telling you this?" He started to walk away.

"Vernis is the real enemy, not you... I don't doubt that you've stolen plenty of stuff before, but it's not my place to decide your fate. Keep this in mind, though. If I catch you breaking the law, I will bring you to the necessary authorities. " He motioned for Stormwing to come on. He didn't like losing, but Serkane knew he had to pick his battles, and even though he didn't approve of Tetroneaque's behavior, he also knew that he was at a disadvantage. He clutched his wounds from the fight with Sigmund. He was hurt more badly than he thought. If he picked a fight with the man, he would almost certainly lose anyway.

(OOC: Yeah, it's a bit of a cop-out, but Serkane knows when he's beaten. )

[Tetroneaque]

(OOC: That fine. Tetroneaque didn't want to fight. )

Tetroneaque was relieved when his persistent stalker finally saw reason and left the area. Phantos seemed a bit miffed that he wasn't going to see a battle though and let out an annoyed growl after Stormwing and Serkane had left the area.

"Hey don't worry big guy. We got what we wanted." Phantos let out another growl.

"Okay we got what I wanted, but its also going to feed us for the next month or so. We're going to have to abandon this hideout though. Don't want Mr. Nosy snooping after us again. That guy has got a serious stick up his butt... and what was with him dishing out his life story on me? Really what was with that!" Tetroneaque asked his dragon. Phantos merely let out a little puff of smoke from his nostrils as reply.

"Well, we might as well clean out the clock tower and high tail it out of here before he's done saving the day." Tetroneaque said cheerfully. Phantos came down into the street so Tetroneaque could mount and then took to the air. They went right to the clock tower's top floor where there was an entrance. Tetroneaque started grabbing his belongings and items. He had a few chests of various things, which he lashed together with some rope. After about thirty minutes Tetroneaque had everything packed up and ready to go.

"Okay, time to get moving." Tetroneaque said as he started loading his stuff onto his dragon. Phantos let out a roar as protest but otherwise complied with his rider's wishes.

Tetroneaque took a moment to gaze off toward the area where the fires were and noticed that there wasn't nearly as much smoke as there was earlier. That probably meant they had everything under control by now. That was good. Tetroneaque hated to see innocent people suffer.

"Time to get a move on big fella." Tetroneaque said as he hopped onto Phantos' back. The dragon seemed eager to get moving by this point as well and was more than happy to run out the entrance and take off into the air.

"Now we just need to figure out where to head next. We might as well stop at the Dragon's Claw den in Riverside first to drop off their share of this haul. Go ahead and get that out of the way." Tetroneaque said, simply thinking out loud. Phantos roared his approval and flapped his wings to gain more altitude before angling toward the river and going that way.

[Tetroneaque and Phantos leave the thread.]