Welcome to Gaia! ::

Candace stepped to one side out of the way of the door as it opened, biting down on her lip and waiting one...three..five...ten seconds. Nothing happened. No alarms, no one coming to investigate the door. So far so good! She stepped into the workroom and closed the door behind her, reaching into her pocket for the Swiss army knife and clicking on the flashlight. Ah, this room. The one she hadn't been able to see into from the outside. Okay. The flowers must have been in a cooler ready. What a smart woman that florist was.

Candace took a minute to look around for some kind of alarm system before covering the light of the flashlight with her hand and venturing into the rest of the store. She remembered the camera pointed at the cash register and avoided it; Candace wasn't interested in money, and she doubted anyone who caught her would take 'I came here for the flowers not the money!' as an acceptable excuse for breaking and entering. She needed to get to the coolers where the flowers were kept.

Candace stopped when she heard movement, turning off the light and ducking into the workroom again. She pressed her back tightly against the wall beside the doorway, holding her breath and waiting for the sounds to hopefully go away.

Not yet not yet not yet..

Nothing happened. Oh thank god. Candace sighed with relief and pushed off the wall, a glint of something metal catching her eye. She stopped and stared.

Was that...it was.

Candace looked around, stepping up to the door and giving the handle a tug. It opened. Whoa..nice! What now? She looked inside, gasping with delight. Her bouquets! All three of them! They were just...sitting here! Rubbing her arms, Candace opened the door fully and checked each bouquet. Oh, yes. These were definitely hers.

She needed something to carry them in.

Candace stepped out of the storage cooler and into the workroom again. There were baskets in here. She looked over the shelves of baskets to find one large enough to carry all three bouquets.

She found one, carrying it to the cooler and collecting the bouquets. There was a pause as she looked around, stepping out of the cooler to close it as quietly as she could.

This was almost too good to be true. Was it...was it really this easy to get what she wanted?

Candace stopped again when she heard voices. No. She shouldn't go out there. She had the roses. They were all she needed.

With soundless steps Candace made her way to the door she had come in from, standing beside it for a moment. No sounds. No voices. Nothing.

Good. She could do this. She opened the door again and slipped out of the building, not even bothering to try locking the door again as she shut it. Candace looked around for any signs of security guards or random passerby. Don't run, that's suspicious. Just walk calmly and quietly. Don't draw attention to yourself..

She stopped. s**t. What should she-- Just go out there.

What?!

Atropos purred. I'd never let something hurt you, let alone a mere human. Fine..

Candace put the basket down to take a moment to remove the black turtleneck. Good thing Lance had suggested she keep her tank top on underneath. The turtleneck was hidden underneath the three bouquets in the basket again. Nothing out of the ordinary here, just a pretty woman in a frilly top with a basket full of flowers at an ungodly hour of the morning.

Alone.

'Defenseless'.

Bring it on, ******** continued down the street, not showing even the slightest hint of worry. If it was just a pair of civilians she could easily fight them off, right?

Still not worried. Candace had face dragons, bazookas, claws, teeth, explosions, arrows, a sniper rifle..this wasn't anything special to her right now.

...Goddamnit. They attracted cops.

Candace groaned. It wasn't the gunfire that bothered her it was the cops. She needed to get to the sidewalk and fast. She could make up a story if a cop caught her. She was far enough away from the mall that they couldn't pin it on her. In fact she already had a story in mind if she was questioned.

She quickened her pace. Don't run, just..walk very fast.

There was a shout and she stopped, eyes wide as she looked behind her to see who had spotted her.

That...was not a cop. That was not a cop. Not a cop. Not a--ABORT. ABORT. GET AWAY. Candace backed away, her pace quickening until he grabbed her arm. She squeaked, tightening her grip on the basket.

She felt the metal. She heard a click. Candace sighed with annoyance, keeping still. Don't be scared. Don't be afraid. Don't show fear.

Atropos would never let someone hurt her...especially not a human.

"Are you ******** kidding me." She hissed, resisting the urge to shake her head. "..Is that a gun!?" It could have been mistaken for terror, her question as she realized there was a weapon against her neck, but it was more anger than anything.

Don't fail me now, Atropos.

"Let me go. Now. Swear to god if you don't.."