Thief Antics

"Permission granted, Calli. Go see Wynne." She made a small yip and Torture went to an armoire, knocked it then pulled out a blanket then took it to his person. Nygozy gathered it from him as Sinjan bowed slightly and turned, going out the door.

She wrapped the blanket around Cestrah and picked her up, "I have a room connected to Maghai's so you are close to him. Torture will look after you, he's my mabari. We're leaving and locking your doors, Jez. I have Cestrah." The warden commander knew what was up in the other room but did not think anyone else caught on except Kai because they were far enough away not to hear the almost silent sounds from the other room and she was not going to tell them.

As she started out the door Kai appeared and lifted Maghai to take him to his own room. The assassin did so swiftly, setting the elf on his bed then coming back into the front room, locking the door between Jezarine's and Maghai's. He then locked the door to outside as well.

Calliara bowed her head and followed Sinjan out of the room. She wasn't really sure where Wynne would be though.

Once they were alone, the Wolf sighed and looked at Sinjan with a smile.

''Thanks for your help. If you need help with those noble hunters of yourself, just tell me and I'll hunt one or two'' She chuckled, then motioned to him with one finger ''Now come down here, Ser, I'm not going to tiptoe again. Then you'll take me with Wynne, if you're not busy''

He was smiling. Why was he smiling? She must have been amusing him but was that a good thing or a bad thing.

"Jez," The nickname came out gently then she was caught up in another wonderful kiss. It was another shock but this time she reacted much quicker in kissing him back as she realized that the first one was no fluke. How could it be? There was so much behind them that there had to be so much more.

Jez smiled back at him as he pulled back then settled in against him as he rested his forehead on top of hers.

"Be quiet, for just a sec,"

For once the Dalish listened to the request for quiet and that was very much due to the fact that she was comfortably listening to his heart. The thumping was soothing against her cheek and her eyes closed. She heard the others out in the other room and Nygozy telling them they were leaving and locking the doors. Only the locking of the doors registered but not for long. It only settled into her mind because the doors would be locked. She was alone with Ianto and he had kissed her. He had kissed her twice and he looked happy.

That was enough for her. Jezarine could stay snuggled against him forever. It just felt right.

When Calliara spoke to Cestrah, she nodded slowly. "I...I know... What could you have done?" she said softly to the Warden. Past that, she just went with things with either a nod or another simple motion. Eventually Nygozy brought her to a room, much larger in size than any other room she'd seen, and the hero simply placed her down on the bed.

"Thank you... For everything... Good night..." And then Nygozy closed and locked Cestrah's door. After a few seconds, Cestrah remembered a few questions she had for Nygozy, but when the young girl unlocked and opened the door, she couldn't see the woman. Disappointed, she closed the door but forgot to relock it. She removed the towel and laid in the bed, her mind thinking of everything that had happened today. The accumulation killed her emotionally, so she burst into tears once more. After a few seconds, she realized she may be drawing attention to herself, which she didn't want. Using the pillow, she buried her face into the pillow. She laid under the covers, the blanket sticking slightly to her wet skin, and now all she could do was cry.

Murky depths roiled over the wet tributaries destroying all in it's path as it seethed across the water ways. It seethed and bubbled in an uncontrolled fashion as it ran into a secondary tributary, both sets of liquid twisting into a caustic turbulance which overflowed the banks of riverbeds and took over the land to the sides and eventually spread out further, tearing down plant life and killing whatever animals came too close to the sticky mess that did and did not look quite like water with it's grimy top and flourescent center.

It was a poison which consumed. It was a poison with eyes that bore into one's soul trying to destroy what was within the mortal shell.

Maghai sat up with a yelp of fear, his breath coming in and out in a terror stricken puffing of air. It was that dream again. That dream of forces enveloping the world and making all wither and die. He could not get himself to calm down right away so was about to get himself a drink from the bottle on the bedside table when he heard crying.

Crying? The twin got out of bed, wondering how he got there in the first place. Had he not been walking with Nygozy when that huge monster beetle strode over his foot? There was no memory after that. Just an ache in his head. Whatever. It did not mean that much but now that he heard crying he needed to investigate.

The sound was not coming from his sister's rooms so he walked towards the other side where there was a door to the bedroom on the other side. He had been snooping in there earlier in the day but there had not been enough time before visiting Jez to see if there had been anything good to pick up so he left the door open so he could check again later.

Now there was crying and somehow it seemed familiar. He went to the door and looked in at the bed, noticing Cestrah and walked in, his head cocked to the side, "Cestrah?" Now he remembered what was going on. He had saved her earlier, "Are you ok? You weren't hurt again were you?" His voice was laced with concern as he waited for her answer.

Torture lay at the end of the bed on the ground, glanced at him then snorted only to watch him but did not do anything further. Maghai was no threat.

She'd been crying for what seemed like forever now... But her tears still hadn't run dry. She had also lost track of the time hours ago. Suddenly, a voice tore her out of her sorrows. She was too tired and stressed to recognize it, so she turned and sat up in a quick motion. It was Maghai. He'd finally woke up and now was in her room. She didn't know why, but because it was him, she was much mare relaxed than if it were someone else. "M-Maghai... I-it's just that... My father is... D-dead... He... K-killed himself... I'm... Sorry for waking you up."

she then realized her entire upper body was uncovered by blanket from when she sat up. "A-Ah!!" she let out a small yelp as she grabbed for anything to cover herself. She was bright crimson by the time she finally brought a blanket up the her neck, but didn't stop there. She was so embarrased that she almost brought it over her whole face, stopping just under her tear filled eyes. "I-I'm so sorry for that..." she said worriedly. Not only had he seen her naked upper body, but also any scars on it.

"If I need help with the noble hunters then I will be too busy to ask as you will see a Sinjan shaped blur. At least you would know that I am in trouble then." He partially joked and leaned down, "Come, we will go see Wynne. Hopefully she will put her attention on you and not notice me."

Calliara laughed and kissed Sinjan's forehead tenderly. ''There. Thank you for your help. Now, let's go and see the wise one. I hope this would let a pretty scar''

The crazy Dalish blinked and watched Cestrah's face but did not look down as she sat up so that she would have some privacy in a sense, even though he wasn't looking away. Maghai did not want to make her feel like he was ignoring her either. He waited and smiled at her proprietary action of covering herself then walked back into his room.

After a few moments of digging, Maghai came back to her room and handed her clothing, complete with female's underclothing, handed them to her then sat on the end of the bed looking the other way. The shirt and slacks were more masculine though.

"Those clothes I just outgrew last year. I don't think they will fully fit but they should be fine until Jez finds you something prettier." He said almost as an afterthought as he looked at the ceiling, "You are a pretty girl so you deserve pretty clothing. Not rags and tatters. Your father should have, well ... I have to admit, Cestrah that even though his death hurts you I'm glad he is gone. All he ever did was hurt you and he would have continued until you could not do anything for him any more. Then he probably would have killed you. Sorry ... but I much prefer you over him so better he is dead rather than you."

Cestrah was quite surprised that Maghai hadn't reacted to her slip in any way more than briefly leaving and getting some clothes. As Maghai sat down and looked away to let her change, Cestrah started quickly putting the clothing on. She was still blushing heavily from the previous mishap, only intensifying from when he called her pretty. She'd never really been complimented on her appearance before, so it was a tad surprising. But his next words brought her redness down. What they also did was make her a bit sadder. She found it odd to hear someone say they were happy that her father was dead, but she kind of was too, wasn't she? She wasn't sure what would have happened had she stayed there, but she wouldn't be as happy as if she left now.

She frowned a little when Maghai said that he would have eventually killed her, as she really didn't know if he would ever do that. "H-he wouldn't go that far... I don't think he'd kill me... Would he?" She said whille slipping the shirt on, now fully clothed. She listened to the rest of what Maghai was saying, then upon hearing his last comment, she was touched. Nobody ever really cared about her before, so it was new and welcome to have someone express concern for her. She wrapped her arms around the elf from behind, hugging him close. "Thank you Maghai... I owe you my life... You... Saved me from many years of torment..." an interesting point then crossed her mind. "Ummm... Maghai? Why did you have women's underwear in your room?" She asked with a slight blush. Did he maybe have a woman in there prior?

"If he was unable to get more out of you then yes. Or he might have sold you to a brothel. Some parents are not nice at all." Maghai said as he looked at the door in front of himself, playing with the laces on his boots. Sometimes he only said what he knew without realizing what was the possible effects.

When she put her arms around him he turned his head and smiled at her, "No no you owe nothing. You're my friend now right? That's better than anything else. But the underthings? Well ... I saw them in a shop and thought Jez might like them. They were pretty and I know she likes pretty things, and pretty things to wear. If her friend ever figures out that he likes her then he might like them on her too."

Cestrah released Maghai and sat next to him on her bed. “Ah...” She was somewhat surprised about Maghai buying that kind of thing for his sister, but it wasn’t so bad. She also blushed a little upon hearing about Jezarine and Ianto from Maghai. She had never had a sister or brother, but were siblings usually that close? She didn’t know, so she just nodded.

“Well... thank you very much for the clothes Maghai... Yet another thing you’ve done for me...” She added with a faint smile. She then realized how late it was and that most people were asleep, and that Maghai was up for some reason. “Was it my crying that woke you up?” She asked apologetically.

"Oh no problem. I can swipe more easy when I'm back at the market." She was also a thief so didn't have to worry about telling her these things .

He undid then redid the laces on his boots, his mind wandering as he sat there. It was something to do, not that he was bored. He was just a fidgety type of person, "Crying?" He turned to look at her, "Well, I noticed you were crying when I got up but I woke up because of a nightmare. Even if you had woke me up it would be ok. I don't sleep all that well sometimes."

"Nightmares? That doesn't sound good..."She recalled nightmares she'd had before, often horrifying things like being arrested and executed or her father killing her in a rage, they were never pleasant. But Cestrah never got them all that constantly. "Do these nightmares happen a lot? How bad are they?" She asked, curious as to the elf's nightmares.

He went back to tying up the leather laces trying to do some kind of fancy format and didn't even look up as she spoke, "Uh ... yeh they are ... well, strange and scary. They happen a fair bit since I saw a witchy woman who could tell fortunes and such. That's sort of weird, don't you think? I mean, I seldom had nightmares before and certainly not ones which happened afterwards."

Upon hearing that Maghai was having nightmares this bad, she looked at him with genuine concern. It may have actually been good for getting the problems in her life off her mind. With a slow, small motion, Cestrah put a hand on his leg. "Have you told anyone else about these dreams? I know it may be viewed negatively to be afraid of your nightmare, but sometimes you should let someone know what's happening." She looked at him concernedly. "I-I don't want to see you get hurt either Maghai..."

He blinked when she put a hand on his leg and tilted his head curiously, "No I haven't been around the others long. It's been only a few days since Jez and I got back together and when I was going to tell her she had gotten kidnapped. I don't want to go worrying her or anything when she's scared enough. And now there is Ianto. She should have some good in her life for once before I mess her up with things."

Cestrah looked at Maghai sadly. He had to endure nightmares like that because he didn’t want anyone around him to be affected... “Well, you can always talk to me about any problems you’re having...” She smiled as sincerely as she could despite her red, tear worn eyes. “It’s the least I could do for someone who’s done as much as you have for me.” She wasn’t sure why, but Cestrah felt very comfortable near Maghai. It was odd, because she had only known the elf for a day, but it felt like today lasted a lot longer. She trusted him. Of that much, she was sure. The rest was blurry, though. Was this friendship?

"No no no!" He suddenly snapped with a pouty look on his face like a puppy, "You don't owe me anything! I want to be friends because you want to be friends. Not because you think you owe me. Friends do things for each other and don't expect to be re compensated! That's what my sister says and she's smart you know. Maybe a bit shy and all but real smart."

Suddenly his eyes lit up and he jumped off the bed, putting out his hand for her to take as sunlight started to stream through the window, "Let's go have some fun."

Cestrah listened carefully to Maghai's description of friendship. Doing things without expecting to have anything repaid? That was kind of new to Cestrah, having been a friendless beggar her whole life. It was an abstract stretch from her usual life, but she would try it. It was only then that Cestrah noticed the sunlight outside. Was it morning? Then Maghai extended his hand. With no hesitation, she took the elf's hand, standing up slowly. "Wh-what kind of fun are you thinking? she asked curiously.

What kind of fun? "Well ... I'm not sure really." He said as he led her out of the room and into the hallway, "Maybe just ... wait ... I know!"

Maghai gave her a hug then tapped her hand and started running, "You're it! Catch me if you can!" He yelled as he zipped off and away from the girl. This was going to be fun. He hadn't had someone to play chase in a long while. The last time he had played tag was well before his and Jezarine's clan had died.

He laughed as he ran but then another elf came around the corner and he had a difficult time just moving around her, not wanting Cestrah to bang into this new person so he tried to move this girl out of the way but tripped, "Oh no!!!! Sorry sorry sorry!" He yelped as he fell towards her.

((Moving this one to here: https://dragonageafter.forumotion.com/t244-a-whole-new-world ))