..E m p i r e * o f * O s a n e n.. [O/A]{Ignore Page Count}

[Brethil24]

Other than quirking an eyebrow, Shaena ignored the thief’s burst of laughter. It was good that the boy had finally relaxed a little; it meant he no longer considered her a threat and she could finally get Racquel out of this mess. Feeling mildly relieved herself, Shaena smiled back at the thief. “I’m glad you agree with me. Well, guess we’d better get going.” Leaning forward, Shaena muttered in Shelly’s ear, perhaps a final admonishment to behave herself or a brief farewell, before pulling out the length of rope she brought with her. Several knots later Shaena had a very crude hackamore to slip over Shelly’s muzzle. “She’ll take verbal commands, but I guess it’ll be quicker if you use these like reigns. Just be gentle. She’s smart enough that she can figure out what you want without you yanking her head off.”

Shaena remained silent for a moment after the thief’s request. A week… A little longer than she would have liked, but at this point she couldn’t exactly just refuse. “Very well. You’ll keep her in good shape, I’m sure. She’ll eat basically what normal horses would eat, just don’t do anything stupid that will hurt her, or I’ll be very angry, right?” After smiling at him again, Shaena slid off Shelly and handed the thief the ‘reigns’ before turning to the black warhorse.

General Andrei’s horse truly was a magnificent creature, and Shaena kept a careful eye on him as she slowly moved closer to him. He snorted at her, probably unhappy with a stranger riding him through the rain, and Shaena soothingly scratched behind his ears and leaned forward to murmur soothingly in his ear, the horse gradually calmed down. Poor thing. While he was probably used to being ridden hard, having someone else than the general do it probably upset him. “Suppose you’re being a gentleman just for not bucking off Racquel the moment she hit your back.” In one fluid motion, the pet merchant slid onto the horse’s back before looking back to the thief. “You know where to return Shelly. My shop’s right across from Lance’s forge. I’ll see you in a week.” Looking to Racquel, who’d been very quiet the entire time, Shaena tilted her head, silently inquiring how she was. She’d deal with the general when they got back, but being essentially taken hostage might have shaken the girl up.

[~::*Shinji*::~]

ℛ α c q υ є ℓ....❅.... 𝕮 α и δ є ℓ α я ι α

Underneath my lucid skin
The cold is lost, forgotten

Quite a lot of the things, if not all, that she had planned to have happened or expected, actually didn't occur at all. If anything, it was the complete opposite. Instead of the man attacking her or throwing her off and galloping off into the distance with her beloved animal, he had at most grabbed her arms and talked to her, reasoning with her his situation. Then, under the preconceived notion that she would loathe this man for what she has done to her and her horse, it was now weird to even think of having such feelings for him… a strange pang of sympathy now ran through her. Even the way he was interacting with her friend who had come to the rescue for her was unlike anything she had expected. This horse thief, this stranger… whoever he was, he wasn’t like any of the other law-breakers that roamed the streets of the empire.

And because of that, everything was different than what she originally perceived it as.

Without even realizing it, the two had come to an agreement, the mysterious boy having gotten off her steed in order to take Shaena's. Underneath her, she could feel Artemis's body relaxing as the animal felt the stranger leave its back, thus taking the opportunity to position herself on her pet so that she was comfortable and rub a gentle hand on the side of its neck in assurance that everything was going to be alright.

Racquel had noticed her friend's body language that was directed at her. It was only logical that she would want to know how she was - a lot had happened within a short amount of time. The pale girl had become soaked to the bone, "borrowed" a horse to chase a stranger and get her's back, had leaped onto her own, threatened a man and failed, and had become temporarily his hostage. However, that was not her main concern anymore... like what the animal trainer had hinted earlier, the General was still waiting for his horse back at the store. Not only would he be angry, but if he were to tell anyone, more specifically her parents, the family situation would only be worse in comparison.

She bit her lip in silence, feeling the rain slowly letting up. Her eyes drifted downward to where the thief stood, in front of her horse, hanging on to its reigns. Two things were obvious about this man - he had a goal in mind, and nothing would stop him from accomplishing it, even if he had to steal someone's steed. Before taking the cue to leave, Racquel slid off Artemis and walked up to the bright blue eyed man, letting her golden irises meet his. Then, she reached over to the boy's hand that was holding onto her reigns and pulled it away from its grasp, instead opening up his hand between them. With one hand holding his in place, the other reached for her side, pulling out a small satchel of sorts, and placing it in his possession, forcing his fingers to curl around it. With her hands now cupping his and the bag, she gave him a warm smile, despite how chilled she was.

"Thank you, and I wish you the best of luck on what you must do."

Finishing with one last squeeze of his hand, she released her hold on him and stepped back, nodding once, then swiftly climbing up onto her horse once more. She knew that she gave away her one on-hand bargaining chip to use for the General, but this, she felt, was a better cause than for someone who had more than enough money and power to accomplish his tasks. Even if she gets in trouble from either the General or her parents, she will not regret giving it away.

The girl then looked over to her friend and smiled, signifying that she was ready to depart as she had the reigns in her hands.

My mouth is so frozen I can't even speak
You're making it hard for me
All I can do is freeze

[Dragon_Lord_Akuma]

-=══════════════════════════════ Șpy══=-

As Shaena stirred and placed the muzzle over Shelly’s mouth, the thief could hear the diminishing energy in her voice. She seemed uneasy, but then Keiji couldn’t blame her. She was about to hand over her creature to a complete stranger, a thief no less, with out any real assurance that she’ll get it back. A pang of guilt hit him… he really wasn’t cut out for this stealing business, but he didn’t think he would have to. He was a little surprised at how long it took him to really try it out, all things considered. Chances were he would have to again, but would he be prepared to do so? There were really so many things to contemplate regarding this… responsibility he had.

He was loosing himself being here. He couldn’t stay like this.

Suddenly, the raven-haired boy heard something sliding behind him. He turned just in time for their eyes to meet. He felt a bit apprehensive as her gold orbs stared into him. He barely even noticed that she’d unwrap his hand from the reigns of her horse and was hesitant of what to do, owing to the fact that he expected her to be afraid or angry with him. Before he could respond she placed a bag full of metal in his hand and close it. Realizing what is was, he meant to stop her and return it, but she beat him with a smile, and friendly bidding of good luck. He grimace, mostly to himself than her, but he hated that his situation seemed so pathetic that he’d get pity money from the person he stole from. Resolved the matter by agreeing to himself that he would eventually return it, as well.

He turned his attention back to shop owner, he wanted to reassure her that he wouldn’t be too reckless, “I’ll bring Shelly back in good health. I give you m-“ he paused realizing that his word wasn’t worth jack at this point in time. He ran his hand through his soaking, jet locks rubbing the back of his neck trying to think of something he could do to prove he could be trusted and that she didn’t have to worry too much.

That’s when Keiji felt the string on his neck and came to a realization. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. He tugged on the red string to loosen it from under his shirt and pulled it over his head. “here!” he tossed some kind of talisman at Shaena and climbed on Shelly’s back.

“Rest assured, I will return for that.”

At that he pulled gently on Shelly’s reigns and started off down that street.

[Brethil24]

Racquel… The girl could really be a little bit too nice for her own good at times. After all, giving money the guy who tried to steal your horse did sound a little foolish. Though perhaps she hoped this would keep him from committing yet another crime? Shaena shook her head slightly at Racquel’s words, but otherwise stayed silent. She probably wouldn’t be saying the same thing if she knew exactly what the thief was up to. Hopefully the general wouldn’t feel the need to mention that to her.

Looking up as the thief addressed her, Shaena couldn’t help but grin with amusement. The boy looked almost sheepish as he tried to reassure her only to realize that his word wasn’t worth very much. No matter though. She wouldn’t be lending him Shelly if she thought she wouldn’t see her again. Still, as the thief untied the pendent and threw it to her, Shaena leaned forward and caught it, more as an automatic response than anything else. Interesting…And it apparently held some kind of sentimental value from what the spy said. Slipping the necklace over her head so that the charm was hidden under her shirt, nodded at the thief. “Then I’ll do my best to keep this safe. See you.” Holding her hand up to wave a bit at him, Shaena kept her eye trained on the pair as the rode off down the street until they turned the corner. Huffing slightly, the merchant turned to Racquel, who seemed about ready to go. "Guess we better see if we can pacify that general.” Nudging the horse’s sides with her heels, Shaena took off at a brisk trot through the rain.

Now the question was what to do about the general. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure Racquel knew what she was doing, Shaena urged the horse into a gallop as they neared the forge. She’d promised to try and give the spy a little more time, but it would be best to at least make it seem like they’d rushed back to report to General Andrei as soon as possible. Pulling up in front of the building, Shaena slid off the horse and ducked through the doorway, quickly spotting the general. “The thief’s heading towards the western section of the city. He took my mount during the struggle, please hurry!” Putting a pleading look on her face, Shaena hoped that the general would act first before questioning her story.