[Jessari]

"I don't think we're supposed to be in here!" the little Drakel stage whispered.

"Quiet!" The Draculi hissed, touching a padded paw to her lips. They might actually be able to pull this off, she thought, if she could keep her partner in crime quiet. Which, it seemed like, was actually going to be harder than the task they had set for themselves tonight. "You're going to get us caught! Then we really will be grounded forever."

That might have been an exaggeration, but not by much. Lady Erebos had been on high alert ever since the colors had been sapped out of Evelon.

[Jessari]

Lady Erebos was their benefactor. They didn't know too much about her, except the fact that she seemed to love books and tea almost as much as she loved her privacy. She had established what had started out as a ranch for rehabilitating trouble young Evelonian youths, but the ranch's goals had expanded to include helping out down on their luck Evelonians of all ages. Some of the details were legal, some not so much, but no one who lived on Lady Erebos' ranch was likely to blow the whistle. All of it was done to help people. If the law didn't specifically condone certain things, well, the law would be kept in the dark.

[Jessari]

But although Lady Erebos would often bend rules to assist people (and creatures), she didn't enjoy her own rules being bent. When all color disappeared, she had set a curfew for all those who currently called her ranch 'home'. For their safety, she said.

Well, as far as Keisa was concerned, Lady Erebos was being an old ninny. Not that even she, with all her bravado, would have the courage to say that to the Lady's face. No one she knew of had seen Lady Erebos lose her temper, but there was always a first time. And it wasn't wise to bite the hand that fed you.

[Jessari]

"I really, really think we should go back!"

Seth was bouncing from foot to foot, tiny paws clenched anxiously in front of him. Keisa rolled her eyes. If he managed to get any more nervous, he would probably wet himself. "Listen, scaredy cat," she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "If you're afraid, feel free to go back without me."

"Without you?" Keisa winced. She hadn't thought his voice could get any higher. Apparently she had been wrong. "I-I-I can't go back without you! It's dark out here! You can't expect me to make the trip back on my own!" At this point, he was clinging to her leg.

[Jessari]

"Get! Off!"

Keisa wriggled until she had rescued her leg from his grip. She blew out a breath. "It's up to you. You can go back alone, or you can help me find some color."

"But Keisa," he whined, "we didn't even get one of those devices from the professor! Lady Erebos said we were too young to be running around by ourselves when all this was going on."

She shook her head, dark fur whipping around. "I've got that all figured out," she said proudly. "All we have to do is grab whatever we find with color and stick it in here." She lifted the nearly empty bag she had slung over her shoulder.

[Jessari]

"Do you think that will work?"

Keisa couldn't help it - she hissed at him. And not a little hiss, a full-on Draculi hiss, with lips pulled back to show her teeth, and ears laid flat against her head. Seth had been like this since they had left the ranch, and it had finally gotten to her. "I don't want to hear one more word out of you," she lisped through the pointed canines that had lengthened in her fury. "Unless it's something helpful. If you can't stop whining, you won't have to worry about going back to the ranch alone. I'll bury you right here!"

[Jessari]

As she had first begun to hiss at him, Seth had jumped back to cower against the nearby stone wall. As Keisa's rage subsided, his face and half his body were covered by his furred wing, and he was shaking so hard that he was beginning to shed. It made her feel a little guilty. She wouldn't really have hurt him. Not much. Not on purpose. But he was being so frustrating!

"I-" she said, then stopped. Apologizing didn't come easily to her, and besides, hadn't he been asking for it? After a long moment, she shouldered the backpack again.

[Jessari]

Taking a few steps down the path, Keisa shot a look over her shoulder. "If you want to come with me, you can." It seemed like something else needed to be said, but she wasn't sure what. At last, she said, "I won't yell at you any more. Just try not to be such a crybaby, okay?"

There. It wasn't quite an apology as such, but it made her feel a little better. Keisa turned and kept walking, as though she didn't quite care if he came along or not, but her sensitive ears were perked up, listening for the sound of footsteps behind her.

[Jessari]

Keisa heard nothing. There I go. Did it again. I really am doomed to be alone forever, she thought. Her mouth was always getting her into trouble. The rules were fairly lax at the ranch (well, despite the current curfew), but she had already been spoken to a few times by one of Lady Erebos' overseers or another about her attitude, and she was moderately worried that one of these days she was going to be given the boot. Kicked to the curb like she had been all her life. And even if she got to stay, she held no hope of having any friends while she was there.

[Jessari]

Then, from the darkness behind her, came a loud squeak that made her flinch. "Wait!" Seth called. Keisa spun around and shushed him, but without the anger that she had before. Seth clapped his hands over his mouth, tottering toward her as quickly as his short legs could carry him.

"Wait," he said again in a stage whisper. Keisa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. At least it was quieter than the first time. His eyes, as colorless as everything else, peered up at her earnestly. "I do want to help, I really do! And I don't want you to be mad at me. I'll be good, I promise!"

[Color Harvested]

[Jessari]

Keisa relaxed, but only a little. They still had a rather large task ahead of them, and if they wanted to sneak back onto the ranch without reprecussions, they would have to complete their task fairly quickly.

"Okay, so here's the deal," Keisa said, continuing down the path that was bordered on either side by tall stone walls, "I was out today, and heard some people talking about how there was a color hot spot here."

Seth nodded his head, then looked at her askance. "Where did you hear that at?"

Keisa glanced at him. He did ask a lot of questions, but at least it was better than whining.

[Jessari]

"I was just out, okay?" she said. There was no need for him to know that she had been out indulging her dirty little habit. It wasn't like it was hurting anyone, anyway. Keisa had been making a living from theivery for a long time, most of her life. She didn't have a need to steal now that she was allowed to live at Lady Erebos' ranch, but she still didn't want her skills to become too rusty. The ranch, like everything else in her life, would not be permanent. Someday she would have to move on, and she would need her fingers to be as quick as ever when she did.

[Jessari]

"I was browsing the stalls at the marketplace. There was a group of people stocking up on supplies. I just happened to be close enough to hear them gossiping."

In reality, she had been at the marketplace to see what kind of trinkets she could lift. She had done well that day. Sometimes the shopkeepers all seemed to be watching her like a hawk, but it had been a busy day, and they had a lot to distract them. Keisa had followed a family of four around for a while, a mother and three small children. Whatever stall they ended up at, she managed to end up at the opposite side.

[Jessari]

While the shopkeepers seemed magnetized to the children, making sure their 'grubby little hands' didn't break or snatch anything, Keisa would select an item from the opposite side. And nearly any customer was fair game as well, distracted by the bustle of the crowd.

That day, she hadn't taken anything large or expensive. She was lifting only for the purpose of staying in practice. A group of young people had caught her eye. At first, she thought they were playing Pokemon Go or something, the way they stood in a circle and kept their focus on the devices in their hands.

[Jessari]

Keisa had neared the group, already warming her fingers up in preparation. Gamers were her favorite marks. They got so wrapped up in their games that she could jump up and down in front of them and they wouldn't even notice.

When she got close, though, she noticed they weren't holding game boys or cell phones. They were holding strange devices that almost looked like simple gps sets. It was then she got curious and began to eavesdrop.

What she discovered was that they were part of the 'search and rescue' effort to bring the colors back to Evelon. Keisa had listened long enough to glean some info, then moved on without lifting anything from their group.