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"Okay, hold on."

The door was metal, which made this break-in a little more difficult. His claws were strong, but not that strong. Bazzite's legs were stronger, so he reared back and kicked the door with as much muscle as he could muster. The door sagged and whined as the metal buckled in on itself. The noise from the kick was loud like a gun shot but Bazzite didn't linger and gave it another kick, bending the door on the metal hinges enough that it could be pushed open.

Silent alarms be damned, who were a cat and a monster to care about the police or possible arrests? You couldn't arrest a cat and a monster could easily disappear into the Rift for a few days if bullets were a concern.

Crawling in through the gap made in the ruined door, the youma stood to his full eyes, blue eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. The jewelry cases weren't lit but faint twinkling treasures lay just below the surface of the glass. Scooping the giant Maine Coon from his shirt, the youma set Bob on one of the other cases. A swift punch into the nearest case yielded rings of varying make and sizing. Bazzite didn't know all the stones by name, but there was a red one, a blue one, a green one...

The youma reached over his shoulders and pulled the hood and shambles of a shirt over his head, shaking his fluffy hair. Using the hood and what remained of his tunic as a makeshift sack for stolen property. "Do you think Hydra would like any of these? There's a lot of rings in this one."

Bazzite swiftly returned to the cat’s side, the youma’s trinket collection weighing down what was left of his uniform. Three golden, diamond-encrusted tie clips parted some of the fluffy hair, the youma completely unaware of what he’d picked up. Peering down into the glass, he spied several charms that Bob was pointing to. Toe-bean footprints deftly indicated which ones had Bob most enthused.

Their look contained a treasure trove full of gaudy engagement rings, bracelets, hefty pendants weighing down delicate chains, finished settings simply waiting for their center stone and a few leather-strapped watches.

”Does Hydra like charms, cat?” he asked, tinny and metallic voice softer than it usually was. It wasn’t as though it mattered. The police were already alerted of the devious pair’s involvement in the crime, the silent alarm having been tripped when the door was unceremoniously dented to hell and pulled aside.

Without asking permission, Bazzite scooped the huge cat up with one clawed hand and hoisted Bob over his shoulder to smash the glass on which he had been sitting. Three silver charm bracelets and two gold versions were laying in the display case. These were quickly snatched up and deposited into the sack. Some individual charms lay around the bracelets in the display and did not avoid the same fate - a cat paw, several stars, hearts, jewels, a mermaid and a dragonfly were among the victims that disappeared into their new carrying case.

Police sirens were drawing closer, which made Bazzite’s ears droop in annoyance. ”...we didn’t even eat anybody. It’s not that big of a deal…”

Scooping all the trinkets he could find into the makeshift sack, the recognizable red-and-blue lights were reflecting off the surrounding buildings. Bazzite's ears drooped and he spat at the police as they screeched to a halt in front of the jewelry store. Tires whined as three squad care with armed police officers appeared before the store, one of them screaming for the duo to come out with their hands up. Eff that, who's going to arrest a giant locust and a twenty-two pound Maine Coon?

They didn't make handcuffs that small.

Shining flashlights into the store's glass front, the police were greeted to the same face Bazzite displayed to Bob upon insult - pinprick blue eyes and a face peeled back to his ears. The sight was horrific enough that it startled the officer with the flashlight, who fired his gun right through the glass, shattering it. The bullet went high and grazed part of the ceiling. Bazzite quickly hunkered to the floor, tossing Bob in their sack full of treasures. With one arm around their loot, the youma skittered as only a six-and-a-half-foot bug-man could and retreated through the mangled door. Wings tucked in tight, the youma and feline made their way outside and up the wall of the nearest building, aided by the youma's long legs - jumping was something Bazzite was a bit of an expert at.

Once on the rooftop of a building two blocks away, Bazzite lowered the sack full of cat and treasures to the ground to investigate their loot. "All clear, cat. Police are annoying. We probably could have gotten more if they left us alone... how many of these do you think Hydra would like?" He lifted an emerald ring set in a gold filigree pattern. The center stone was round with the metal shaped like leaves and vines throughout. The ring itself was far too small for Bazzite's monstrous hand.

A few rings were lifted from the stash to eye level for inspection. The cat knew Hydra's taste in jewelry more than he did, and the youma deftly ignored the police sirens that wailed in the distance. They'd covered much ground in a short amount of time thanks to Bazzi's long legs being perfectly formed for high jumps. The police would have a hell of a time trying to track down the two bandits, who were already a good two blocks away from the scene of the crime.

A bracelet or two were inspected next but both of them were golden in color and each tiny link had a cluster of diamonds. Too shiny, too expensive for Hydra's taste. Didn't they grab a charm bracelet? The youma waiting for his feline companion to move out of the way before dumping more of the stash on the ground.

Bob had asked for a tie clip and for a moment, Bazzite seemed confused. A paw pointed to his hair and the youma, in confusion, removed one of his lovely hair clips. "This is a tie clip? It looks like a diamond bobby pin to me. You can have it, cat." As instructed, giant clawed hands deftly slid the tie clip onto Bob's otherwise unimpressive black tie. "There. Now you're fancy too."

Rummaging continued through diamond solitaire engagement rings, tennis bracelets, leather sports watches, pairs of precious gemstone earrings... Ah, the charm bracelet. Rather plain in appearance when compared to the other offerings, but it bore a flat, rectangular and glossy wooden box with PANDORA engraved upon it. The brand name meant nothing to Bazzite, but the charm bracelet already had a small cat paw charm and a dragonfly.

Holding it up to Bob, Bazzite tilted his head. "How's about this, cat? Do you think Hydra will like this one?"

The youma found the task of adding a third charm to the bracelet to be incredibly difficult, given the general size and build of his fingers. They tapered so much at the end and weren't quite as flexible as human fingers. Sure, he could grip and hold things just as easily as a squishy human could, and tie clips were incredibly easy, but delicate tasks such as this one that required manual dexterity were infinitely more difficult due to Bazzite's sheer size.

Bob probably found it amusing to watch the youma try, fail and try again to place the ridiculously tiny charm on the equally ridiculously tiny bracelet. Did Hydra really have that small of a wrist? The youma unconsciously stuck his blackened tongue out while he worked, brows furrowing in intense concentration.

An agonizing ten minutes later and the damn thing was latched. Bazzite let out a frustrated grunt. "I wouldn't have done that if it weren't for Hydra. Small things like this are hard. Made for people-fingers. Clasps are stupid."

Bob had a point, and opted to tell the youma his name. Bazzite seemed to smile at this, idly wondering the entire time if the cat was hiding his name on purpose. "Where does Bob the cat live? I have to take my stash home too and I need my shirt for that. Do you live with Hydra? I bet she has lots of pockets and purses."

Bazzite smiled, a toothy grin brought on by the thought of an unsuspecting meal person being unaware. Scooping up the rest of the loot and depositing it into the makeshift getaway sack, the youma rose to his knees. Wings abuzz, he reached to scoop up the huge feline and deposit him in the bag as well. He'd need at least one arm for this descent and he couldn't hold both Bob and the loot at the same time.

Crawling to the edge of the building, his wings buzzed with excitement. "If you promise to bring Hydra to the park, I'll take you home. Point the way. The police will be busy trying to explain that a bug and a cat robbed a store, haha. Nobody will believe that..."