On the Sly

[Devon Sawyer - Council]

On the sly

w/ Ayana Whitelock

• Clever as a fox. •

Devon's tired eyes moved about the street below from his high vantage point on the roof of the forge, leaning against the stone hood where the smoke from the fires inside puffed out to the cloudy sky. The heat from the structure warmed his back while he lazily watched the people below and chewed on some bread after dipping it into his stew. He should've been back inside by now to continue working on the order of crude practice swords he was given that was being sent to the newly training soldiers at the castle, but he just couldn't find the willpower then. Frankly, he couldn't care less about wanting to arm any of those bastards.

He drained the cooling soup bowl till it was empty and leaned his head back. The air was mixed with the usual smells of the market area, the good and the bad, but now it was tangling with the crispness of a promised rainstorm. The sun was fully covered by light grey clouds and the first bit of drops began to splash on his soot covered face. Devon reached back and pulled his leather hood up, completely hiding his face then. What he wouldn't give to just drift off to sleep for just a few minu... 

The sudden surprised shouts of people below made the Rogue crack an eye open. Surveying the commotion below, he could see the crowd parting as they screeched and leaped out of the way of something unseen. Whatever it was, Devon couldn't tell from his vantage point and pulled himself up from his comfortable position to kneel for a better angle. A blur of bright reddish brown fur dodged and weaved between the legs of the townsfolk as it darted from sight. A moment later and the crowd was parting again, a young blonde woman chasing the mysterious blur and calling out a name that Devon heard as she finally raced passed the forge; Wit. Quite the name.

He smirked and shook his head. There never was a quiet moment at the market. He gathered up his bowl and bread and headed for the ladder to make his descent to get back to work when he heard the familiar clanking of armor and more shouts not far behind the woman. The guard was chasing her and possibly whatever she was chasing. "Shit."

He shouldn't get involved. That was usually the words that entered his head when something like this happened, but he rarely followed his advice. He wouldn't be much of a Rogue if he did. Pocketing the bread and putting the bowl down on the stone hood, Devon jumped from one roof to the next, easily catching up to the blond who looked back in fear at the knights who kept chase through the market. She turned a corner and Devon nearly slid off the roof as the sky finally opened and the rain began to pour.

The Rogue had the easier route in the end, finally overtaking the fleeing woman with his more direct path. She had caught the critter at some point in the chase which was now bundled up in her arms, but it had led her to a dead end. Devon let out a quick whistle to get her attention from the rooftop where he leaned down with his arm extended. "Come on! I'll help you up! Hurry!"

[Ayana Whitelock]

Ayana was living in the forest for a while now. She found an abandoned house that needed a few patches, and made her living with her furry friends. She was used to the harsh live she made for her self. But from time to time she needed to go into the town for supplies. And today was the day. She got her bag with her and walked in the forest toward the town. The forest was quiet for now, but she knew that the hunters will be closer to the town and she didn’t want to catch theirs attention. 

The air was clean and the smell of blooming flowers near by made her smile to her self. When she got closer to the town, she stood for a minute near the entrance. She took a deep breath and pushed her fear deeper inside. She knew that she can’t let her fear from her family or anything else dictate her life, stop her from living her life like she wanted to. Even if sometimes the fear was crippling. 

In town she walked between people, looking at the stands and the goods that was on display. She was about to buy something when she felt a movement in her back, She froze and took her bag from her back and opened it. Two yellow eyes looked back at her. Fuck the thought ran through her mind as she stared back at Wit, her fox friend. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, she glanced to the side to see if someone saw what was in her bag. But the people around ware busy with their own things to do. “Wit! What are you doing in the bag?” She whispered to the fox who was looking sleepy, like she just woke him up. He liked his nose and moved a little bit more in the bag. She moved to a nearby ally while holding the bag in her hands, trying to move fast while Wit was starting to budge more and more. “Stay quiet in there, people will see you” she said when she was no longer close to people. The thought about going back rushed through her mind, but at the same time she needed to get stuff, or else she was going to starve in a couple of days. “Please Wit, stay still for a little while and we will be back in the forest and you could roam around as much as you want” she pleaded with the fox, but in his eyes she could see he didn’t like that. He moved in the bag a bit more and then jumped out, starched, looked around and then dashed. 

Ayana was now running, running like her life depended on it, and it was. Because behind her knights ware running after her, while she was running through people. “Wit!” She screamed after the fox, her breath heavy in her lungs, her heart pounding in her ears. The fear roaring inside her, making her move as fast as she could. She can’t go back, she won’t go back. And for sure she didn’t want Wit to die just because he was a fox, because he was her friend and she didn’t have many friends. When she finally got him she was standing in a dead end. Breathing heavily, she looked around, looked for an opening when she heard a whistle from above. She looked up and saw a stranger with his hand starched out to her. She didn’t think twice and grabbed his hand while in her other hand she held Wit. When she was on the roof she collapse on her knees, still holding the fox, not letting him run away again. “Thank you” she said while trying to steady her breathing, she could still her the commotion down on the streets. She only could see the boot’s of the stranger who saved her life, as she looked up a hood was covering his head, so she couldn’t see clearly his face. the rain was hitting her face, cooling her skin as she pushed the fox back into the bag and closed it. Still on her knees she looked around thinking how to get out of this situation and still get what she needed.