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Noir wasn't the type to reveal her name so easily to a stranger. Then again, she also wasn't the type to allow strangers into her home. Regardless, she deflected the question, hoping to learn his name first. "I'm not sure. Typically my name isn't my most heavily guarded secret, but given the circumstances, my priorities have shifted slightly. A vixen must always have something to hide, after all."

"I suppose that since you trust your self with your own life, I shouldn't worry about it for now." She dropped the subject, deciding to take his word for it. Noir looked around the cave again, feeling proud after his compliments. "That is actually very nice to hear," she said. "I enjoy the praise. It's almost a pity that I'm too paranoid to show off to other foxes." Noir turned back to the other 'Daeva, a smirk appearing as she said, "My... pretty face, on the other hand, I've no problem flaunting."

What was this fox attempting to achieve with such a proposal? Noir was as suspicious as ever, but she was also intruiged by the offer. It certainly did ensure the safety of her treasures and the privacy of her home, since Noir was sure she would never invite him back again. One evening wouldn't be a problem at all.

Still, Noir didn't answer right away. "What precisely do you suggest we do, Summanus?" She asked instead. "I confess, I'm not familiar with what most foxes do on such impromptu night outings. Depending on whatever it is you're planning, I'll most likely agree to your terms."

Summanus hadn't given Noir much time to respond before walking away towards the exit of the cave. She remained where she was, listening as his laugh echoed off the walls, followed closely by his parting words. The entrance at sundown. She's be there, undoubtedly. He was right, after all. Noir was a master thief. And a challenge like the one Summanus had presented could never go ignored.

After a while, Noir wanted to wait until she was sure Summanus had found his way back to the exit and was really gone, she returned to the mouth of the cave herself. She had forgotten, in all this excitement, about her food. It lay waiting where she had left it, completely untouched at the entrance. Noir could eat, then, as she awaited the sunset. It was still a few hours off.

In the time it took for the allotted time to approach Noir had time to finish her food and pace back and forth considering strategy. Strategy was a hard thing to consider under the circumstances, though. Noir didn't know how many human thieves she'd be dealing with, or the size of this 'very valuable something.' Technically it shouldn't affect her work much, since Noir always stole things on impulse, but Summanus... Well, she wasn't sure what his role in this whole thing was going to be. Would he help her? Would he actually be able to help?

Noir contemplated the possibilities, pacing at the entrance of the cave, so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the sun beginning to lower on the horizon.

Noir didn't even notice Summanus return until she heard him slide down the rock of the cliff face. She moved as close to the cave entrance as possible, sticking her head out to see him. "You know me too well already, Summanus," she responded. "It's almost unnerving. Regardless, I need to be filled in on everything you know, and what you're plan is based on this knowledge."

She remained standing at the mouth of the cave, blocking the entrance so that Summanus would have to remain hanging where he was. "For the sake of planning ahead, I would like to know all of this before we set out, but I guess if it will take a while to reach them, then we can talk while we fly, too."

Noir rolled her eyes at Summanus's comment, but didn't bother responding; she was slowly getting used to his little flirtations. She followed him into the air, flying close enough to be able to hear him. She listened attentively, definitely intrigued by what she heard. Small camp, not too much to deal with, certainly. Most of them would follow Summanus, but Noir would bet that at least two or three would stay behind and guard the rubies. All the better for Noir. They'll make it that much easier for Noir to pinpoint the location of their precious gems. Noir vaguely heard something mentioned about spawn, but didn't bother focusing on that.

"A few," Noir responded. "But overall I'm impressed with this plan of yours, Summanus. In my professional opinion, it'll work. But, I would like to know as precisely as possible how many humans there are in this small camp, do they have weapons, and where the rubies are. Are they in a box, or a little sack, have the humans hidden them in a tent or are they just out in the middle of the camp, by the fire?" In most scenarios, Noir could probably get away with it, but it might get a little messier depending on the details.

If Noir was surprised that Summanus actually had the answers to all her questions, she hid it well. As he spoke, her mind worked, creating a mental map of what she imagined as he described the setting. Ten or so armed humans, some probably sitting around, some walking the perimeter, some perhaps even hidden within the tent. Of those strange human shelters, Noir imagined a couple of them, making a note that the target would be in the southernmost one. The box in this tent would probably be hidden some; it would be rather ridiculous if the humans were stupid enough to leave it lying in the middle of the tent. There would probably be at least two humans inside.

Not saying a word for the rest of the trip, Noir played out the plan in her head as she flew through the air beside Summanus, until his descent brought her back out of her thoughts. The spot they landed on was well chosen; she could see the entirety of the camp with a very slim chance of any humans spotting them from behind the mound.

She spotted the tent he pointed at and studied it and the surrounding area. The tent was open on one side, and a man sat at the entrance. A few feet away was a fire, with two more humans poking at the meat that they had cooking. Noir counted four other humans wandering the perimeter of the campsite, one at each side. If they were better at their job, Noir assumed they should each be marching down their respective lines, but as it was, they were really just standing around lazily and looking around themselves.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... Noir could only see seven of the ten or so that were supposed to be here. They were probably within one of the three tents that stood -- Noir would have to assume that there were at the very least ten, prepare to deal with more than that, and hope that there were actually less.

Let's see, Noir thought. Chances are high that at least three of the humans guarding the perimeter would chase after Summanus. Noir would bet that the two chefs of the group would follow after him as well. If she had to guess, the man at the entrance to the tent that she needed access to would either remain where he was or enter the tent to watch the box directly. The fourth perimeter guard, if he didn't run off after Summanus as she guessed, would either rush to the tent or run to tell the other, unaccounted for humans that Noir couldn't see. Either way, if Noir was fast enough, she may not even need to deal with them. Otherwise, she could handle just a few people, even if they were armed and slightly dangerous.

Noir finally took her eyes off the camp, turning to Summanus and nodding. "I'm ready," she said.

Noir waited a few moments before making her own way down to the campsite. Taking a different route than Summanus, she made sure she could always see both him and the humans below while still remaining hidden. He climbed a tree, waiting for the right moment. Noir, meanwhile, hid herself as close to the side of her target tent as possible, using shadows, bushes and trees as her shelter.

Summanus pounced, destroying a table with his weight and causing general chaos. She watched him while she waited for her opportunity to strike. At present he had the attention of five humans, and when he began burning the nearby tent, three more began to pursue him. Finally he began to flee, running through the forest rather than flying off. Smart of him. Had he flown away, the humans would have given up their pursuit too soon.

The tent that contained the rubies, Noir could tell from the scent, did indeed contain another human, one who had to remain behind to guard their treasure. Ah well, she could deal with him. She couldn't tell if there were others left behind, but if she was fast enough, they probably wouldn't matter. Very quickly, she darted to the front of the tent and entered, running at the remaining human and tackling him before he even knew what hit him. His weapon, she could see, flew out of his hand as he fell. A quick blow to the head with her front paw knocked him out. Her eyes searched the tent for a box; there were a number of them, but the first few she checked didn't contain rubies.

Finally, she found it. They were hidden in a small wooden chest with leather handles on each side. The lid, normally easily removable, was tied down with another leather strap that she easily cut in order to determine the contents of the box. And there they were: around six beautifully shining rubies of a fair size just waiting for her to take them away.

Noir determined that successfully flying or running away with this box, while not losing any of the gems, would be difficult, so without losing any time she cut a large square from the side of the tent with her claws and dumped the rubies into the middle of it. She could then carry sack off in her mouth while she flew away.

As she did this, Noir heard humans yelling out. Some of them had probably returned, giving up on their pursuit of Summanus. And they were probably waiting for a response from their unconscious companion. Noir hastily grabbed up the make-shift sack and, making sure the rubies were securely inside, hopped out of the square hole she had made and flew off. Behind her she heard shouts and more gunshots, but she was already too far away by the time the noticed her. She flew in the direction she noticed that Summanus had run, wondering where he was. She was half-tempted to leave without finding him, and simply return to her cave, but deemed that idea pointless, since he already knew where she lived.