Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a clear night and LuLu’s attention was least focused on the waning moon above her. The shining crescent and its twinkling counterparts went unnoticed as she played with her newest trinket. The crisp white light pouring from the overlooked sliver of sky was soon hidden behind a lone, billowing mass of fog, one of few that were floating across the open lot surrounding the rabbit raevan. LuLu turned to Josh. Her soft ears were perked with curiosity as she held up the camera in her hands. A well groomed nail pointed to a silver button on top of the contraption. “What does this do?”

Josh’s first reaction was to gently shush the girl. You usually did not talk when you were sneaking around. It had a way of getting you caught. He looked around to check if the coast was clear. Sure enough, the guards were in their same spot in front of the building. The duo’s talking seemed to have gone unheard. Josh spoke up, “It takes pictures LuLu. That is why we brought it, remember? We need to take some picture of the Shadow Bandit. I am going to need it soon.” Josh wasn’t fond of wading through bushes to get what he wanted; however, this seemed like the only way he would get close to finding the Shadow Bandit and capturing their elusive mug shot. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t smiled upon when he asked the company if he could spend the night next to their prized gems. You know… so he could get a few pictures. Apparently, corporate pow-wows around your valued merchandise weren’t popular. No, they sent him hurdling through the exit door promptly after that question. In addition to the four hours he had waited to get in there… Josh was a little peeved to say the least.

LuLu spoke up again as she fondled her way through the camera, “So… I take the picture?” Josh chuckled at the idea of putting so much responsibility on the frei. He had adopted a policy of getting her more involved with his life, but he didn’t expect it to develop into long treks through parking lots in the dead of night. Josh reached for the camera and chided the young raevan. “No, I will.” LuLu frowned and retracted the camera to her small chest which did a good job of incasing the black chunk of plastic. Josh had no chance of reaching it. “LuLu! I need th-” A faint rustling in the bushes a few feet from them alerted Josh to the presence of someone else. The boy allowed himself to let his action speak louder than his words. He tugged LuLu’s floating form towards the rustling then yanked the camera from the bewildered frei. Her viselike grip loosened momentarily winning him the camera. His victory was short lived though as LuLu lunged for her pilfered camera. Her arms flailed wildly as she tried to regain the black bauble. A wayward hand slapped Josh’s hand which activated the flash on the camera. A blinding light doused the pair and likely the on looker in the bushes. This was not how Josh wanted to meet the Shadow Bandit.

The flash of light sent Josh reeling for a moment. As soon as his vision returned, he noticed two things. The disgruntled clicking of heels against concrete and the back door that was still partially ajar. Josh concluded that he was either about to get caught by those guards, that option would certainly lead to some form of bodily injury, or take his chances by running through the newly opened doorway a few paces away. Josh scooped up LuLu and high tailed it towards the door that was closing inch by inch, second by second. The promise of freedom was quickly fading.

He just managed to slide through the opening along with LuLu. He shut the door the rest of the way and hoped that the guards were dim enough to assume that the light was nothing. Though, Josh had a gut feeling that he would not be that lucky tonight. This plan was already starting to fall through and it had only just begun! Josh peered down at the bunny frei that was securely tucked under his arm. The boy set her down slowly and stepped back from her. LuLu was still confused and shaky. Apparently, a sudden flash of light in conjunction with being abducted did not play well for her.

LuLu floated around sluggishly in small circles until she gained her composure once more. Her leathery wings gave a gentle flap. As if on cue, her honey yellow ears swiveled back to rest protectively against the sides of her head. “I do not like.” This place was dark and new. Two things she did not like. She hugged Josh’s camera to her chest as if it would give some extra defense to her.

Josh shushed the raevan and entwined their hands. “Just follow and stay quiet.” The boy began to walk down the dark hall they were in…. at least it felt like a hall. His fingers traced along the walls to guide them down the corridor. In hindsight, they should have brought a flashlight.

Their journey down the dark hallway seemed to span on for hours. When you had no idea where exactly you were going the trip had a way of lengthening. Every so often, Josh would pause just to make sure that they were on the right track, or at least what he thought was right. Luck was on their side the first time that night considering that so far the path had been relatively straight. The boy took a few more steps forward and felt something was amiss. He swiveled his head blindly as if his meager vision would some how prevail. Something was wrong, but just what was it?

LuLu! Josh’s hands waved frantically in the dark but did not make contact with hide or tail of the rabbit girl. He called out meekly for her, “LuLu? … LuLu?”

Time passed.

A small squeak erupted from the shadows a foot or two away from him, “Y-yes?” Josh breathed a hefty sigh of relief and mouthed silent curses of dissatisfaction, “Come here LuLu.” Again, he was met with a moment of silence then a hesitant answer, “No.” Josh’s mouth hung agape but most likely went unnoticed due to their surroundings. The boy’s voice rose just a bit in annoyance, “Why?” He did not need his raevan being obstinate at a time like this. LuLu’s response did not seem to come this time. He could hear her ribbon shuffling somewhat on the tile floors, but that was his only answer.

LuLu just could not believe it. She could see it but why couldn’t Josh. She strained her eyes once more. There it was again! A faint green light coming from behind the wall ahead of them. Was there someone there? Someone bad? LuLu’s eyes adjusted and she managed to catch sight of Josh taking a few more steps forward. He was closer to that light. The deadly still light that promised something other than safety. She mouthed her distress to the boy, but it only came out as a silent cry that was lost in the darkness. The same darkness that seemed to hinder Josh’s judgment.

Josh followed the path down the hall. If LuLu wasn’t going to follow he would give her a reason to.

Josh inched forward step by step. Every second he advanced closer to where Ebony was hidden. He stop when a static filled voice flooded from the space near him. Josh jumped in fright. Could this be it? Was this mysterious voice the Shadow Bandit? Josh wasn’t going to take a chance by waiting to find out. He turned back towards LuLu. He could not see the rabbit frei, but he still could relay a message to her. The boy’s voice rang out clear and crisp, “LuLu throw the camera.” He thrust his hand into the shadows. Josh held his hands there to wait until the familiar form and weight of his camera was placed in them.

LuLu gave another silent plead for them to turn around but it went unnoticed by Josh. She frowned and did as she was told for once. She threw the camera. Like magic, it hit right where she had aimed.

Where the mysterious voice was coming from.

Josh’s hands remained wavering through the air. He had heard her throw the camera; however, instead of hearing the mechanism land safely in his grasp, he heard a hollow sound as the device whizzed past his head and into the darkness just past him. Josh gave a low whimper when he heard a metallic crunch in the distance. Maybe they should leave now…

Josh yelped and dove to the side when his camera seemed to boomerang back at him from the darkness. The boy narrowly avoided getting hit in the head by the makeshift projectile. With another crunch, a few shards of plastic peppered his clothing. They were the only remains of his precious camera save the other scattered bits lying behind him.

LuLu began to retreat further towards the direction they had come. Her urge to flee was over powering any desire she had to stay with her human. As a matter of fact, the stranger’s suggestion was sounding very promising to her right now.

On the other hand, Josh had other plans. “We are not going to turn back!” The boy started boisterously but soon gained a more hushed tone as he examined his predicament. He was without weapons, without a camera, and up against possibly the most famous thief in all of Gaia. Josh gave a hesitant gulp of nervousness before he continued. The action betrayed any illusion of resolve he had once had, “Without a camera, I guess will just have to turn you in for the reward.” He fought to bring a smug grin to his face.

LuLu learned one thing in that moment. Her human was either very brave or very stupid.

Josh’s expression fell into grief when he made out the bandit’s dim form making a slinky stride away from them. She was actually going to leave them there! The boy decided to take this conversation another route. She had the power in this confrontation and he would take it back. A guttural laugh erupted from his chest and a confident smirk graced his face, “Go ahead and go on. You’ll just be walking into a trap.” He flipped his hair nonchalantly and continued, “You didn’t think we just came for you?” He added a final chuckle to complete his act.

LuLu was already making her way back towards the exit. It was true. Josh was an idiot!

The boy’s arm snaked out a grabbed hold of her securely. The rabbit raevan gave a small peep of protest but she was still unable to float away any further due to his grip around her arm. It seemed as though she would be stuck with her guardian for now. She hoped his clever charade was convincing enough.

Josh’s calm auburn eyes locked with hers… or his, the boy still wasn’t sure at this point just what gender the bandit was. To be honest, he still was unsure if was actually making eye contact. It was times like this he cursed his bad night vision.

He continued on in his explanation, “I am new to the thieving scene… as if you could not tell.” His smile never faltered as he spoke. It added an eerie quality to his speech, “Once I heard about those data gems I started scoping this place out…. For a while now actually. I wanted to start my thieving career with a bang.” LuLu struggled gently to break free once or twice as he droned on. Josh shot her a gentle glare to make her settle down. He also spent this time trying to concoct a valid story. His mind was frantically grasping in all directions to create a believable account.

Meanwhile, LuLu pondered whether biting him would be a good idea.

“I have been watching this place long enough to know what is going on…. Isn’t it unusual that we both got in so easily?” He gestured around them as if motioning to the lack of security in the building. He was trying to but more time to think. “Yes, the cops have set a trap to catch you.”

The boy’s head was spinning; however, his smirking poker face never slipped, “I also came here for the data gems…. Maybe I could’ve snagged them in the chaos when the cops sprung their trap? It is obvious you would be here. So I thought I could also get some pictures of you then trade them in for a reward….. Chump change to go on the side.”

Josh suddenly frowned, “But I think I am in over my head now… So why don’t we reach a deal?”

LuLu sunk lower next to Josh. His words were confusing and she could care little about what he was saying. They had a chance to leave. She wanted to go. Now.

Maybe it was a good idea to bite him.