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Zasha sat in the public gardens of Delphi in the center of its fortress, reading the Artemis Faction bulletin of events. She sighed to herself, noting that the mole hybrids were having trouble with the underground tunnels again. At this rate, it would be another two months before there would be an adequate sewage system for the town.

"Would that necessity had not provoked us to act so hastily...But I would rather deal with these mundane problems than the Cleansing League any day."

She set aside the bulletin for a moment and closed her eyes, letting the sea breeze that came through the many cracks and gaping holes in the masonry soothe her growing headache. Her tail snaked around the legs of the bench she sat on as her whole body relaxed.

"Ahh...Delphi..."

When Zasha reopened her eyes, it was to see one of her advisors flying overhead. She smiled a bit then, but the smile faded as she reached for the bulletin to get back to work. Much to her surprise, the bulletin was no longer there.

She dashed after a rustle in the bushes, attempting to catch the paper thief fleeing through them.

"Hey!"



Kit weaved through the bushes, tearing his jacket and cursing.

"A free paper isn't worth the trouble."

He turned and stopped a moment, throwing the paper behind him.

"Sorry! Thought you were done with it!"

Clutching at his poor jacket, Kit made good his escape.

Kit stopped abruptly, surprised. He crossed his arms and put on his best bad-boy face, pointedly looking Loralei up and down and attempting to look unimpressed.

"Oh, I didn't mean no harm. Besides, I gave the stupid thing back, didn't I? Whatcha want to hassle me for, bird-butt?"



Zasha, having picked up the discarded bulletin, stayed back to watch the interaction with an amused smile.

Kit turned back towards where he had come from and shouted, "SORRY I TOOK YOUR DIRTY OLD PAPER, AND I'M SORRY YOU'RE STUCK WITH BIRD-BUTT AROUND!"

He then turned towards Loralei with a mischievious grin.

"There, happy?"

Without waiting for an answer, Kit dashed towards a hole in a nearby wall.



In her place in the bushes, Zasha stifled a laugh with her hand.

Zasha watched her go with a grin, then sighed and headed towards her tower. She stopped abruptly at the base of it, and turned around.

"On second thought, I should tend to my duties at the Silverworker's Guild."

She tucked the bulletin under her arm and headed for her workshop, the completion of a certain filigreed silver urn in mind. Finishing the bulletin could be put off until a meal break at the Guild.

Kit had just about given up hope on anything interesting happening on this particular foray into Delphi. Sure his run-in with Bird-Butt had been somewhat of a diversion, and he'd nearly snagged a free paper, but the fact that no part of that encounter could be called a success meant that he was going to ignore the fact that it had ever happened.

It was time to cause something interesting, instead of just waiting for it to happen on its own.

He looked up at one of the many strings of darkened lanterns that were lit up at night to brighten the main thoroughfare of the city, and a slow smile spread across his face. It wasn't the sort of smile that usually precedes something nice happening.

Ten minutes later, Kit--having made a lot of noise--was quite a ways away from where he'd started, and there were quite a few broken lanterns scattered across the street. He finished off his caper by taking the lamplighter leaning in a nearby doorway and scampering off to a somewhat safe distance to watch what happened next.



In the Silverworker's Delphi headquarters, Zasha lifted her head from her work and lowered her goggles.

"What was that godawful noise?"

From his hiding spot, Kit stifled a laugh.



Zasha set down her things and opened the door to the Silverworker's Headquarters, her eyes widening as she saw the broken glass in the street.

She sighed and reached into the building for a broom. Whoever was responsible for this mischeif would be dealt with appropriately, but for now the main thoroughfare of Delphi--though hardly crowded at the busiest of times--was a dangerous place to walk. She began sweeping up the shattered lanters, careful to lift her tail as she went and more than a little glad that she was one of the few halflings who almost always wore shoes.

Noticing Loralei down the way, she waved calmly and then went back to sweeping.



Kit didn't even notice Zasha's eyes flick to his hiding spot on a nearby roof. He was too busy being puzzled by her lack of response.