Another beautiful day rises in Brightvale, covering the land of books and stained glass in warmth. A certain young thief stood outside, breathing in the freedom and fresh air. Having escaped the dungeons once again, he was re-assured of his ability to avoid any trouble he could ever run into, and so was trotting rather openly through the streets, headed back towards the Thieves' Guild.

Meanwhile, a Kougra hides her smile as she stares into the empty cell that last night held a prisoner. She had gotten used to his tactics by now, and in fact if he was still there she would have been thoroughly surprised. So, while others ran around looking for him, she sat back, wondering how, and if, she would see him today.

This was how their lives were, day in and day out, and they never expected it to change. Being friends was okay, because what more was there to have? How could the ritual ever get old, when it was safer than trying to move forward?

Destiny had other plans.

Life changes unexpectedly. So, it was on this beautifully normal day that Kanrik approached Hanso with a request. They weren't exactly on good terms after the Ixi had stolen from him, but the Guild Leader had to admit that Hanso had talent. It was with this in mind that the Gelert recruited him.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

Hanso practically jumped out of his fur as soon as he heard the deep voice. The bag of neopoints he had been holding dropped and clattered all over the floor. The Ixi thief plastered on his cheeky grin (albeit a bit more nervous-looking than usual) and turned around. "Hello, Kanrik." He said.

The Guild Leader wasted no time with formalities, instead heading straight to the point. "The bumbling fool King Hagan has ordered a new crown, seeing as his current is over a month old, and is having it sent to him Sunday."

"And you're telling me this because…?" Hanso asked, even though he had a very good idea, and was praying that he was wrong about it.

"Why, I want you to lead the raid to steal it, of course." He smiled, since they both knew what a mission like this entailed. "Bring along who ever, I don't care. I want a working plan by tomorrow." With those as his parting words, Kanrik left the shabby room.

After a few minutes of silence, Hanso sighed. "Ah," He muttered, the grin evaporating off his face, "So this is how he intends to kill me."

-x-

"It's been three months since my last patrol! I told you, there is nothing going on between me and Han- the thief!" Brynn quickly corrected herself, realizing how bad mentioning his name would be, considering the situation. She felt bad about lying, but Hanso was just a friend, and he wasn't like all the other thieves. And if it came to it, she would pick the guard over him, right?

"We know." The yellow grarrl in front of her sighed.

"You don't know! Wait, you know?"

"Yes," The grarrl's tone lightened a bit now that he had her attention, "We checked into the rumors and found that there is nothing suggesting a connection between you and the criminal in question. Your patrols should presume sometime in the next week."

Brynn, ignoring the bit of guilt the gnawed at her, smiled. "Really? That's great! Thanks!"

"Yes, yes. And to make up for the time you've lost, you have been appointed the leader of the guards who shall be escorting King Hagan's new crown to the castle. Congratulations."

The Kougra didn't even bother to hide her excitement, "W-What an honor! Thank you so much, sir! I promise I won't let you down!"

"I hope not, Brynn…" The grarrl sighed, now at his desk, looking over the enormous evidence of Brynn and Hanso's friendship, "For your own sake, I hope not."