Edolas: Thieves Guild Sabertooth

13

Rogue rode the wagon from Cereus back to Calla with Wisp now that the first stage of the plan was complete. Yukino was staying behind to continue working at the Bank of Edolas as Mielle.

"Nice day, huh, Wisp? Bet Dobengal will be thrilled to see you." Rogue told the raven cheerfully. Wisp cawed in response, not feeling like talking. They arrived in Yarrow early in the evening and Rogue decided to stop at the same inn.

The lady from last time had her back turned, so Rogue decided to pretend to wait, signaling Wisp by tapping a finger to his knuckles.

"Hello?" She cawed. The lady turned around, her face turning to shock as she recognized Wisp.

"Go-good evening, sir, ma'am. It's nice seeing you again. How can I help you?" She asked shakily.

"Good evening. We'd like a room for one, please." He told her politely. She handed him a key asking for 5'000 jewel. He thanked her and paid before going to bed.

The next morning he was left for Calla, expecting to get there that evening. The journey was uneventful, though the road was well traveled.

He returned the carriage to Dobengal, having Wisp land on his guildmate's head to the man's displeasure.

"Don't tell Sting I'm back. I want to surprise him." Rogue requested.

He and Wisp went to a bakery run by a woman named Ultear, a good friend of his. She adored Wisp, which according to Dobengal meant she had inhaled too much flour, whatever that meant. As far as Rogue was concerned, she had all her wits about her, and she gave him free macaroons whenever he bought anything, so she was way more trustworthy than Dobengal.

"Hey, Ultear! Guess who's back?" He announced as he walked in, only to realize that the woman behind the counter wasn't Ultear. She was younger, with wavy pink hair pulled into a ponytail and an excess of black eye-shadow. On top of that, she was wearing purple lipstick and black, finger-less gloves.

"Who're you?" She muttered, looking from him to wisp. "Ultear's baking right now."

"I'm Rogue. Could I have one white chocolate cake and two of each kind of the macaroons please?" He asked. The woman nodded and gave him the goods. Rogue paid and left.

"Tell Ultear I said hi!" He called out as he walked out the door.

He was in a good mood as he walked down the streets. He was home, about to surprise his boyfriend. The air was warm and there was a light breeze. His friend had finally taken his advice and hired someone to help her with her shop. His heist was going better than he'd expected. Nothing could ruin this for him.

"Oh, hey Rogue! Welcome back. Sting's waiting for you." Rufus greeted him. Rogue felt a surge of joy until he realized someone had given him away. The culprit was sitting with Orga at a table in the corner, waving at him. Orga was openly laughing at him. Oh, well. No chocolate cake for them.

Rogue walked down the stairs to the office, bursting glamorously through the door.

"Missed me?" He asked Sting, who looked up at the sudden movement.

"Not at all." Came the expected response.

"What if I brought cake?" Rogue asked, doing his best kicked puppy impression. Sting got up to hug him.

"Maybe." He conceded. "Of course I missed you. Idiot."

-

Working at the bank had become routine to Yukino, so she had decided to take another job to keep things interesting. That was how she found herself on a rooftop with soldiers combing the streets for her.

She'd chosen a jeweler as her target and had struck just before closing time, when there would be few customers. She had been in luck, as the clerk was alone. The high collar of her jacket hid her face, concealing the fact that she was wearing a mask. She wore a puffy, glittery red skirt under it, as well as some leggings and running shoes. Her hair was tucked into a red beret and a backpack was hidden under her jacket.

She had pretended to look around before thrusting her gloved hand through the glass of a display case to grab a pearl necklace. The clerk had screamed, drawing attention from the people outside. Yukino had run like her life depended on it, though she was risking so much more. Fortunately, she'd planned her escape ahead of time, so it took little effort to duck into an alley and scale the roof of a house.

The soldiers had arrived sooner than she had anticipated, so while she waited, she removed the skirt and beret and put them in the backpack with the necklace. After some deliberation, she put the jacket inside as well, just to be safe. Now to get down. Carefully, she jumped onto to roof of the next building. The next few houses were all joined together, so Yukino had no trouble making her way down the street. The calls of the soldiers were fading into the background when Yukino slid off a roof onto a willow tree by a river.

She sat there for a while thinking about how much fun her day off had been. Yukino sighed. Soon, Dobengal would be complaining about her too.