[Jaykobell]

More things were thrown her way as soon as Elina was done dealing with the twin tables. Another door came towards her, which she quickly evaded (instead of jumping over it, which was too risky in this situation). She had no such luck with the iron bars, for while she was able to evade a few, some of them slid under her feet and made her run on the spot up until the chasing Rabbot girl lost her balance and fell. Elina winced at the burning pain on her side, which had landed on some of the iron bars. Holding an arm to her side, Elina got back onto her feet and chased Crymes, trying to think of a way to get back the time she'd lost by falling and avoiding the obstacles. The idea of losing Crymes's trail crept on her at the very moment -- the thought of losing the thief and letting her get away with it. What would happen then? A catastrophe, that's what. Elina couldn't let it happen.

Luckily for her, Crymes's hair stood out in the dark; Elina kept to the thief's hair as a landmark of sorts. As they came by the crowded places of Medicai, that tiny seed of doubt and fear in Elina's mind started to sprout. So many people, at this hour? But Medicai was a city that was shrouded in medicinal things; hospitals, storage buildings, stores... Anyone could need these things at anytime. If someone were to see them like this, fighting in the streets, what would happen? Fine, there weren't that many people, considering this was still some time during the night; but folks were there still, and Elina couldn't afford to put the public in danger. I have... to wait for her to try and escape through an alley or something similar, the Rabbot thought quickly, trying to ignore the pain that was flaring in her side. She hoped that the fall hadn't broken her ribs or damaged an internal organ. But then again, what mattered more to Elina? Her own health or catching Crymes?

... To avoid finding the answer to that question, Elina simply kept on chasing Crymes, running as quickly as she possibly could.

[[ So much filler! DX>; Sorry about that. D:; ]]

[Ander]

The Paragon girl was heedless of Elina's injury, and heard only the dogged footsteps of her pursuer - she thought of nothing, save that she had to get away. The sounds and voices of Medicai at night were fast approaching her. In all truth, Crymes blanched before these sounds. Even though it was currently to her advantage to be seen in a crowd - after all, she surmised, the situation in the storeroom hadn't changed: she still looked like your everyday citizen, and it was Elina who looked like some sort of hoodlum - it was not to the advantage of her alias, Cry Wolfe. What if one of LightHaven's professionals (her higher-ups by association) was in the crowd? Then she would suddenly be dragged back to the College, and a sitting duck to the woman on her heels. Crymes cursed again. She might as well lie down on the pavement for Elina now, if she was going to set herself up like that.

A moment of hesitation in front of one of the city's brilliant streetlights revealed a frowning Crymes. Her hair wreathed around her head, bright color snaking out behind her. Her eyes were narrowed to slits; her lips, curled. Then she turned, and darted off into one of the alleys nearby, enshrouded in shadow. She didn't know what was in it - nor did she know how close the other woman was behind her.

...It was so frustrating when a plan didn't come together.

[Jaykobell]

Indeed, Elina had completely forgotten that she wasn't dressed as one of the casual Medicai civilians. Unlike Crymes, whom was dressed like a normal worker of Medicai, Elina was still wearing the black suit, which  gave her this not-quite-wanted title of thief. There wasn't much that Elina could do now; she had no time to change, and even though they were running through the streets during the night, there were still light poles on each side of the road. If she got under one, someone would most likely spot her and try to interfere. At all costs. At all costs, she couldn't let that happen. She kept to the shadows and let her arm rub against the walls of the buildings. If she could keep to the darkness, she would be safe. She just had to be careful. She was too close to her prize to let it go.

She spotted Crymes running for an alley, leaving Elina to struggle through the crowd. The alley, it had to be a dead-end; it had to be. If it wasn't a dead-end to keep Crymes occupied, then Elina had probably just lost her catch. But she had to stay optimistic. She hadn't gotten where she was now because she had given up on everything once it had become too difficult or hopeless, now, had she? She'd just keep on running and hoping that Lady Luck would be on her side this time.

When the corner came, Elina made a sharp turn into the alley Crymes had taken. Luckily, Elina had managed to avoid getting too much attention from the crowd. She could follow her catch and keep on chasing her to her heart's content.

A dead-end. It had to be a dead-end.

[Ander]

If Crymes had known of Elina's fervent desire, she would have turned the full force of her frustration on the Rabbot without fail. For there, running her claws down a thick wall at the alley's end, was the unbelievably flustered thief. Exactly what she'd hoped against was now at her back: pinned in a dead end. Crymes didn't even hear the Rabbot coming up behind her, focused as she was on any last hope of escape. The wall? Smooth, white stone; something that she couldn't hope to climb. And the alleyway itself was far too narrow to spread wing in, much less attempt a flight.

Crymes' eyes narrowed, glowed visibly in the darker alley. A dead end. It just had to be a dead end.

[Jaykobell]

Luck had decided to be on Elina's side. When the Rabbot caught up to the run-away thief, Elina saw Crymes running her claws against the pristine white wall, frustrated beyond belief that the alley had ended up being a dead end. Elina couldn't say she agreed with Crymes, for because of this dead end, the Rabbot girl had been able to catch up to her prized criminal. The harsh panting and uncomfortable heart rate were worth it in the very end.

Assembling her two weapons into a corbin once again, Elina stretched out the silver stick and pointed the knife towards Crymes, the blade dangerously close to Crymes. "This is... a dead end," Elina murmured between gasps. "Now... will you finally... tell me what I want to know?" she asked as she stepped forward, the corbin's blade shining under the single light atop one of the buildings' roofs. "There's nowhere to run, Crymes," Elina called, excited starting to flood within her like a tidal wave. "Nowhere to run but to jail, that is."

Still, Elina couldn't bring herself to rejoice right away. Something seemed fishy. Was she just good, or had Crymes something up her sleeve? Crymes couldn't just let herself get captured so easily. Elina almost feared what would come out of this meeting in the alley.

[Ander]

The Paragon turned slowly, fingers clutched into claws, and the latter still bared. The talons looked large and ungainly coming from slender female fingertips - would anyone forget that she was truly a Paragon, they might be tempted to believe that they were too awkward for her to use. Normally, Crymes depended on such fatal assumptions. Here, though... Crymes' stare was rueful. As tenacious as this one had been thus far, she couldn't depend on anything normal.

Thus, she'd have to go for the abnormal. "Don't run often, Elina?" The thief's voice was deliberately as sweet as possible. Kill them with kindness, as some say. "Bit of bad luck for ye' then." Crymes spent her life running: her career was based on it, and it showed. The light burr in her voice was barely hitched, the rise and fall of her chest was even. This didn't make her feel any better. She may have been the one in better shape, but Elina was the one with the big stick.

Crymes flexed her claws. A careful observer might notice something odd about them, if they could get past their awkward appearance. Perhaps they might notice that they looked a bit too wide and curved for a normal creature's claws. Perhaps they resembled something akin to a scorpion's tail. "So, you have me." Her voice was even sweeter now, were that possible; but deeper than before, laced with false sweetness. "What exactly do you want to know?"

(Oh lordy filler central. >.>)

[Jaykobell]

While it was somewhat distressing to realize that Elina had almost worn herself out completely from the run while Crymes was still in good shape, the Rabbot still believed that she had the upper hand over her prized criminal, the one she'd been looking for for so long. Elina's efforts were finally beginning to bear fruits. Big, enormous fruits. But something, again, told Elina that her crop wasn't quite rip yet.

She tightened her grip on the corbin when she noticed Crymes's unusual claws. Would the Paragon attack Elina with such deadly weapons, the Rabbot would probably get poisoned, and in the worst of cases, killed on the spot from the powerful venom. Even though Crymes's attitude was letting out this feeling that the criminal was willing to talk, Elina held her guard up, and started thinking about a few questions that she could ask Crymes. Hopefully, she'd be able to distract the Paragon with questions long enough for Elina to recover her breath completely. "First... Your work. If you're not a thief, then tell me what you are. We'll start with that. I think your profession is versatile enough to give me quite a nice and sweet explanation." Crymes wasn't a robber. Then what was she? Elina wished to know, even if it were but a petty detail. At least it'd keep Crymes occupied.

[Ander]

Crymes flexed again, noting Elina's grip on her weapon. She didn't mind the talking, because if it came down to a real fight, she was in a wonderful position to lose. She lacked the arm length to compete with that unusual weapon. And even if she did get lucky, and manage to get a good slash or two in, she would still be on the rocks. Her poison was not enough to drop even this slim woman right away; a fact that Crymes constantly rued.

So, talking. She could do that. "My profession is versatile?" A second or two of genuine amusement touched her voice. That was certainly one way to put it. "That it is, 'tis... Call me an errand runner, of sorts. I collect deliveries for others. It is how I make my livelihood." Yes, that sounded likely enough. "In fact, I was just making such a delivery when you interrupted me. Very important, this one. So, if you don't mind." The last word came out as an odd cross between that faux congeniality and a more obvious annoyance. Despite any other facade, Crymes truly did hate being late for a dropoff. And this whole 'going-to-jail' thing? This threatened to make her very, very late.

[Jaykobell]

There was much processing that went on in Elina's mind as Crymes answered her question. The answer consisted, in Elina's point of view, of two important factors, and both points were contradictory; at least when it came to laws and norms: first, that Crymes was more of an errand runner, which is a basic job that many institutions offer to young and old folks alike; and second, that, even though Crymes hadn't mentioned anything about it, Crymes didn't just deliver normal items from normal errands. If they were just some of your everyday errands, Elina wouldn't be here chasing her down. Oh, no, she would not. Hence, Crymes's answer answered things, but it didn't really satisfy Elina completely. The Rabbot knew the Paragon was still hiding, or rather, knew, other things. Many other things.

After Crymes's answer came Crymes's threat. Elina heard that hint of annoyance in the voice of her trapped mouse (or reptile, more like). "We've just agreed on something," Elina replied with a harsh tone, indicating she wasn't so willing to just let Crymes go. "I do hate being late as well. But, oh, do trust me; I'm not about to let you go. How about moving on?" she proposed. "Tell me a little about those errands that you do. They can't be normal errands, or else I wouldn't be here, trying to drag you to prison."

[Ander]

Well, she was tied there. "No, no... indeed ye' wouldn't." Unfortunate observation, that. Crymes had never considered the thought of prison; but she was quite sure that she wouldn't fit there. Prison was a very enclosed domain. No planning, no thought, no objectives save to sit in your merry little cell and rot, since "getting out" was such an obscure conception. No flying. No running.

Ugh. The Paragoness was hard-pressed not to pull a face. Now she remembered why she never thought about it.

What she did do was wave a claw dismissively in the air, making the movement as small and non-threatening as she could while getting her point across. Elina's tone washed over her, the threat in it unimportant; at least, that's the way Crymes needed it to appear. "Yeah, see, maybe they're not normal errands as ye' think of them. I don't bring old ladies groceries or anything like that. I... work for a more selective clientele. Fetching the hard to fetch, with delivery included." She chuckled quietly. "For a fee." Not that she did it for the money. The pay was nice - the little bottle in her boot was easily worth her weight in Keystones - but it was as she had thought before. Her job was her life.

"And what of ye', Elina?" Maybe questions would distract from this seriously unpleasant inquiry. "Why are you so very determined to send me away to jail?" Oh, it was such an ugly-sounding word!

[Jaykobell]

She had to admit, Crymes's comparison of, "bringing old people their groceries" was quite amusing. One such as Elina had to admit, however, that giggling at the joke of a criminal was... unusual. In a strange, inexplicable way. Well, investigators and police officers can't just play "friendly friends" with the criminals, right? Criminals are not your friends.

... Well. Wasn't she just drifting away from the subject, now.

Back to the matter on hand. Crymes's explanation was rather vague. She admitted, however, that she did not do any "normal" or "casual" errands indeed, and that her clients were those who had the money and resources for such demands. Clients such as mafia leaders, criminals gangs, and other random types of criminals that had nothing better to do with their lives but to screw themselves while screwing everyone else around and near them. What a bunch of... Those people always made Elina use this unnecessary foul language. Oh how anger can mock you. So easily can it laugh at you, too. Just anger itself was infuriating.

But, oh, now it seemed like the questions were for Elina to answer. The Rabbot frowned and fiddled with her corbin as she tried to come up with a good answer, one that wouldn't sound too, "cliché." Elina released, but only slightly, her tight grip on the weapon as she answered. "Society doesn't need more foul people like you." She paused, and she tightened her grip once again, feeling anger overwhelming her. "I'm sick of you egocentric criminals who think they have the rights to make the lives of others miserable for their own amusement and satisfaction." Elina's level of anger was now so elevated that she was gritting her teeth, and so hard that it almost hurt. "It's foolish to think I can eradicate everything that is evil or unjust in this world, or just in this city..." A short pause. "But the less there are in the wild, the happier everyone is," she replied with much determination. "That's why I'm trying to drag you to jail: so there be one less criminal out there."

[Ander]

Crymes had heard it all, so cliche was a concept Elina needn't have worried about. She did lift an eyebrow at the Rabbots answer, though: it was too perfect for words.

"Whoa, whoa." Crymes' skeptical eyes fixed on Elina. The frown on her lips was a nice little cocktail of feigned offense, real surprise and indeterminate anger. "Assuming a bit much about me there, aren't ye'? And here I thought ye' were so well informed." Her frown deepened. "Society? Foul people like me? What world do ye' come from? Society is made up of people worse than I by far. What are ye' doing chasing me, when ye' could be out catching the killers? Motivating a few hobos or putting away kidnappers? What about that fellow who makes the Experiments, eh? Ye' can't tell me that those things, the creatures they become, are socially legit." Crymes paused, feeling a distinct rasp in her throat. When was the last time she had spoken so much in one sitting?

Didn't matter, though. "Call me egocentric. Hah!" The sound came out as more of a snarl. "'Tis people like ye', the egocentric ones. Ye' righteous, ye' ultimate good, deciding that ye' own personal vendettas give ye' free license to screw the rest of the Lands. Ever stop to ask ye'self what lives I make miserable, with my little delivery business? Or do ye' just assume that since I'm no urchin, I take guns to mob bosses, drugs to gangs, souls to Death?

"My delivery today is only a small component, going to a scientist seeking to develop new medicine. And it's certainly not hurting anyone that its gone - it's been sitting in that warehouse for gods-know-how-long, rotting under dust. The great and mighty Medicai will never miss it." Crymes' eyes were downright dark now, almost seething. Her fangs were just visible behind snarling lips. She herself couldn't tell whether she was calm beneath the fervor, or - Xai're forbid - she actually believed what she was saying. "I move behind the beloved society of ye' and yourn. I've no interest in taking anything from them that they haven't already left behind. So ye' tell me how my kind of taking makes lives more miserable than the people who take lives away."

[Jaykobell]

Don't assume. Elina always believed in... well, in her beliefs, quite simply. As she heard Crymes speak, however, her resolution started to diminish. As Crymes explained more and more, the beliefs in which Elina had always believed in slowly got their light squeezed out of them like sponges. Her grip on her weapon weakened as she lowered her shoulders, slowly (but unfortunately, surely) admitting defeat.

Crymes was right. Why wasn't Elina chasing kidnappers? Child abusers? Why wasn't she trying to get all those homeless and jobless people to try to find a meaning to their life? Why wasn't she... doing something potentially productive? Crymes did errands for whoever needed those errands done. As far as she knew, Crymes wasn't kidnapping children, decapitating random innocent victims, nor was she begging in the streets to the passersby. She was doing errands.

That much was true: Elina would admit that much. She was, however, unwilling to admit defeat. At least, not quite yet. She tightened her grip once again, giving Crymes a sharp glare, countering the Paragon's dark frowning expression. Doubt, however, was slowly eating (and destroying) Elina from the inside. "Would you qualify yourself as a mere thief, then?" she asked the Paragon, unwilling to let the other pass still. Not until their discussion would be done and over with. "There has to be a reason as to why you're so thoroughly sought. Surely you can't be just a small thief who runs 'friendly' errands." She tightened the grip yet again, her hands squeezing the lance-like object so strongly that they were shaking from the strain of holding it so hard. "There has to be something else." Criminals are manipulative, quick-witted. They have to be. Only the ones who are like that actually manage to 'earn' the title of a criminal.

[Ander]

To all the Lands, the Paragoness was a criminal through and through. "Well, what else. What am I to say? The old legends of that fox-fellow, Robin Hood - he had his fair share of naysayers, didn't he?" Crymes felt better now. Her anger, so mounted before, was cooling; her certainty returning now that Elina's was on the ropes. "Some people feel that the things I take should be left forgotten, even though others can put them to  better use." Her face, however, remained carefully stony. She took one step - and then another - drawing closer to the Rabbot and her shaking weapon. "I take them to the people that can make that better use. Nothing else."

[Jaykobell]

Was that Paragon seriously comparing herself to Robin Hood? What... an interesting analogy. Elina was, however, stumped (as much as she hated to admit it). Robin Hood was one of the most popular children's cartoons, so of course, even someone like Elina had heard of it. The sore loser in her still didn't want to believe Crymes's words. It still believed that Crymes was only manipulating Elina to get away. Crymes's arguments, however, were valid. "Hmph...!" That was all Elina could reply as the other took a few steps towards her. "So you say..." But what could Elina say to counter this? She had no proof. She had simply followed the orders of her superior without asking any further questions. Yes, she had researched Crymes, but she had found nothing about Crymes's supposed "good intentions" or whatever Crymes called them.

As the conversation progressed, gun shots were eventually heard. Police officers running through the streets with flashlights in hand, gun shots emanating from the streets not so far away from the alley in which Elina and Crymes were in. A loud shout was heard, asking to "find them" and to "not let them escape"; but it was too late for either woman to run away or hide, the officers blocking the only exit of the alley and flashing their flashlights towards Crymes and Elina. "There they are!"