::Experience::

A Final Fantasy XI Tale

Level One: To Thief or not to Thief

Her boots clicked lightly on the stone floor after she lowered herself from the tiny slit window, the rope from her grappling hook dangling like the string she so loved to play with. Small beads of sweat were beginning to gather on her furry forehead, her ears pressed hard against the back of her head. She would do this right. She needed it. Those people needed it. She was a modern day Robin Hood in Training, and today was the final test to tell her if she could really do this or not.

Gasping for air as a hulking Galka guard lumbered around the corner she dove for the cover of shadows, disappearing just in time. She could feel the vibrations in the floor as he pounded down the hall, only to turn again and leave her keen sight.

Again she was on the move, dodging left and right to avoid the primarily Galka raced guards. She could probably outrun them if it really came down to it, but she wasn't here to run, was she?

Determined, agile, she'd been training on her own in the woods for the past month to succeed in this one simple task. What was the task, you ask? To steal several articles of the stupid Hume king's clothing. Each one of the silky robes was worth at least one-thousand, and she calculated she could carry about ten of them without dying under the weight.

Being so tiny was never really fun for the Mithra. And being tiny in her case meant both in the chest and in height.

Up ahead she saw the door to the king's room. Readying her lock pick, she smirked, checking every which way for one of the giant guards before dashing across the stone and going to work at the lock.

"Dammit.." She murmured after ten minutes of unsuccessful picking. After another five she stood, grabbing the handle and pushing on the door. It opened effortlessly, since it hadn't been locked in the first place.

"…" She would save the self chastising for later. Slipping into the chamber she heard the distinct sound of snoring. Over in the bed lay the king, his eyes heavy and closed, his bare chest falling and rising slowly. If she didn't hate Hume's so much she probably would have enjoyed the sight, since the king was only in his late twenties and fit, but ever since she was a child she hated their kind, meaning both Hume's and men in general. She would never give her heart away, to anyone. She would never give herself away to some selfish bastard.

Sliding over the carpeted floor to the giant wardrobe she picked the lock easily, opening the doors with a slight creak. Inside was any number of silken, wonderfully expensive clothes, all different, bright, beautiful colors that caught her eye. With a smile she pulled the giant sack out from under her belt, beginning to stuff it to the brim with the fabric loot. A moment later she tied the bulbous thing to her shoulders, making herself look like a giant humped monster before slinking out of the king's quarters and back to her dangling string.

The rope was in sight, and as far as she could tell she was in no danger of being seen, so she headed for it.

But just at the moment she was about to mount the rope and pull herself up, huge, shinny plated arms wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her away into the shadows. A soft, warm hand clapped over her lips, and a few stray, dark blonde hairs tickled her face as they blew in the wind that came from the slit window.

-----

That was just a few seconds ago. But really, I felt like scratching this guy's eyes out.

"Settle down, you feisty little feline, and give me a chance to talk to you!" He whispered easily into my ear, his voice was calming, cool, collected. But it was definitely male, even if it held a bit of femininity in it. He untied the sack from my shoulders with swift fingers, and it went falling to the ground with a fwoof.

I kicked his groin and rolled forward, pulling one of my daggers and taking a defensive position.

"Mmf… Very feisty…," He groaned, his face and most of his armored body distorted by the shadows he stood in. He straightened up. "You should give a man a chance to introduce himself before you go after what's below the belt, sweet heart."

"Don't talk genitals with me, you sexist bastard or I'll cut yours right off and make you a eunuch..!" I hissed, which actually was hissing in my case.

He almost giggled. "Such big words for someone so tiny, it's almost precious!" He squealed after a moment of listening to the halls. He danced forward, grabbing me around the waist before spiraling into the shadows again. He pressed himself against the wall, holding his hand over my mouth. I thrashed for a few seconds before a platoon of Galka rumbled around a corner, weapons in hand. They saw the sack on the floor a ways away, and then the rope dangling from the window before they rushed down the hall, calling an alarm.

He let me go.

I turned and pressed my dagger against the skin of his exposed neck. By what little moon light shone in from the window I could at least tell he was wearing the shinny, white gold armor of a paladin. And he wasn't hulking, pointy eared or tiny like a Tarutaru so, by process of elimination, he was a Hume.

The blade pressed into his skin, drawing blood. He barely winced underneath his helmet. "S-settle down, kitten. I mean no harm..!" His hands rose to either side of his face and I could see his lips twist into a shuddering smile. I growled deep in my throat. I could hear another platoon of guards coming, and the Galka that had passed before had ripped my rope out of the wall and taken the clothes.

"Show me a way out of here, you ass, or I'll slit your throat and leave your blood for the beasts."

Without another word he snagged my wrist, the one that held the dagger to his neck, and pulled me away and into the light. I couldn't see his face, just his lips as he ran me, literally he picked me up off the ground like a foot ball, down halls and stairs and then finally to the basement. A river, where the entrance gate was guarded by some really ditzy men, ran through there leading to the dungeon. Apparently he was going to sneak me through there. He didn't explain a thing as he put me down behind the corner and strode out into the torch lights. The two, slightly chubby Hume guards straightened up at the sight of the man, saluting.

"Everyone in the castle has been searching for you, Sir!" One of them called.

"And why would that be? Today was supposed to be my day off." His voice was amazingly strong, calm, almost angelic…

I shook my head, watching, trying to figure out how this plan was going to get me out of here.

"There's an intruder somewhere in the castle, expected to be a Mithra of some sort. She broke into the king's chambers and stole many of his favorite articles of clothing." I couldn't help but cackle under my breath. "Have you seen her? You're usually the one that spots these kinds of annoyances fast."

He was going to rat me out!

"No, no. I'm sorry boys, but I haven't seen any Mithra around the castle lately. No cute ones, anyway." They all chuckled strangely. The kind of chuckle that meant he just made an inside sex joke. "By the way, boys, I've been asked to escort you upstairs. The cooks have asked me to join them for some midnight sweet snacks and I asked if I could bring a few of my friends with."

The two men smiled wide and nodded. The paladin smiled as well, motioning for them to follow as he led them down the river side and away from the gates. He let them begin to climb the stairs first before his helmet front turned toward me, and then he was gone.

I slunk out toward the river. The only way out of the river was to either go under the gate or bring it up, and I was too small to bring it up on my own. So, taking a deep breath, I dove into the water.

Swimming downstream was easy, though uncomfortable for a cat like me. When I finally did pull myself onto the river bank the castle was far in the distance, the sun rising behind it.

You should be thankful! That Hume saved your skin! A small voice in my heart yelled at me. I rolled my eyes and began to strip off my wet clothes. "Stupid stuck up Hume paladins. Always wanting to do good. I can take care of myself, thank you very much!!" I yelled into the early morning before sinking down, laying in the dewing grass, my red panties ready to dry in the coming sun on my body as the rest of my things awaited spread out on the bushes beside the bank.

You asked him for help in the first place…


Coming Soon Level Two: Stranger in the Bushes