A/N: In which Rannve drags Onmund into stealing the books she needs, and he provides a surprisingly decent distraction...though, as Rannve comes to discover, he does not make the best thief. Please enjoy this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it ;)

I'll be leaving to attend a wedding for a few days, so updates will be put on hold until I return!


Chapter Eleven | Muffle

At midnight, Rannve was as prepared as she'd ever be for a heist. She had changed out of her noisy steel plated armor and was now favoring a leather outfit that she looked surprisingly comfortable in. Onmund tried not to notice the way it hugged her form just so, but once her saw her step out into the dim light of the dormitory hall, it was rather difficult not to steal glances at her every chance he got.

He was, after all, unaccustomed to being around a woman such as her. College robes didn't exactly do any wonders for the female form. (Or the male one, to be honest.)

She had plated her hair back and twisted it at the base of her neck. She wore several daggers on her person – why, Onmund didn't want to know and decided not to ask. They weren't breaking into a particularly dangerous place (though Urag would certainly be dangerous if he had any inkling as to what they were about to do). Besides, he was a firm believer of the phrase 'ignorance is bliss', especially when it came to her.

Little did he know he would soon eat those words.

"Come along," Rannve said after sweeping her eyes over his form. It was a critical glance, nothing more, but Onmund felt his cheeks flare to life under all the attention. He was in over his head with this one and he knew it.

Together, they quietly left the dormitory and ventured out into the cold, snowy night. There were still some lights on in the main hall, but they weren't any cause for alarm. The Hall of the Elements was often lit up during all hours, and sometimes there were students inside, doing last minute studying and spell-casting hours after everyone else was in bed. Rannve never understood why one would lose sleep over a test, but then she'd never considered herself to be much of a student either.

Regardless, it was for this reason that the two of them didn't bother sneaking across the small campus. Though there wasn't anyone outside, it wasn't particularly strange for them to be awake at this hour.

"How good are you at staying undetected?" Rannve asked once they reached the doors to the main building. Her hand was on the doorknob, but she didn't turn it quite yet. She looked over at Onmund with a serious, contemplative look in her eyes.

He shuffled beneath the gaze and mumbled, "Uh…if by that you mean sneaking around like a thief, then not very good." Rannve hummed in agreement and he felt his cheeks redden.

"Thought so," she sighed, and chewed on her lip for a moment. He tried not to notice, but couldn't deny that his eyes strayed to her mouth more than once. His was probably one man in a million who had a childish crush on the Dragonborn, but he couldn't stop himself from falling harder and harder with every second spent in her presence.

In a way, he couldn't imagine why that was. Rannve wouldn't be his normal choice when it came to the female gender. In fact, he often found himself preferring women with daintier hands and a personality to match. (Mages came to mind, naturally.) But she just had this way about her – it was difficult to describe – a certain pull that he could neither deny nor ignore.

When she looked at him again, she had a musing look in her eye.

"You'll make a half decent look-out, then. Stay outside the library door and signal me if anyone is coming," she told him, and before he could protest, Rannve opened the door and stepped inside the main hall.

Onmund had no choice but to follow as he hissed, "I still don't think this is a good idea," at her back, as if he thought it would make a difference. He knew it wouldn't and she knew it too, if the amused smirk she sent him over her shoulder had anything to say on the matter.

"Every thief needs a good look-out, Onmund," was all she said. She swiveled around, grabbed him by the shoulders, and thrust him beside the library door with a firm nod. "See? You look perfectly nondescript."

He frowned at her, deciding not to take that as a compliment.

She opened the library door and was about to step through it when she turned back to look at him. "Remember, signal if anyone tries to come inside."

He didn't even have time to respond before she disappeared. He glowered at the door and slid his back against the wall, hoping that he wouldn't have to wrack his brain for a decent signal should anything happen. What kind of signal did she even want, anyway? He sighed. It was a good thing he decided to become a mage rather than a thief, because he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to make a living sneaking around in the dark. He wasn't particularly surprised that Rannve was better at it though. She seemed to be better at nearly everything, whether it was because of her Dragonborn prowess or the arrogant way she needed to know something about every little topic imaginable.

Inside the library, Rannve was giving the room a thorough look-over to determine if the sulking Head Librarian was in sight. It didn't take very long realize that he hadn't yet gone to bed and was at that moment grumbling about stupid apprentices and their aptitude for disturbing his precious books. It seemed that was all Urag bothered to complain about.

What a scintillating life he led.

Sneaking through the library was so easy that Rannve wondered why she hadn't just tried it weeks ago. Urag's angry mumbling did wonders in covering up any stray sound she might have made as she weaved her way through stacks of books and towering shelves. Her thieves guild training was coming in handy. Urag's naivety certainly helped as well. For such an aggravating old Orc, Urag was surprisingly blind to the ways of the world. Or at least to the thieving world, of which Rannve happened to be fairly proficient in.

When she was close enough to see the desk clearly, she glanced around at the shelves behind it. Urag wouldn't have put those books just anywhere, not when she'd been badgering him about them for the past few weeks. He'd want them close by to ensure they weren't missing. They were probably in one of the locked bookcases behind the desk.

Now she just had to figure out how to get to them without being seen. The desk was large enough to hide behind without being caught, but she didn't know how long Urag would wander around his precious library. He was always at his desk at every hour of the day, it seemed, and she could already hear his grumbling getting closer.

Tucking herself into a stack of books and crouching down into the shadows, Rannve studied the locked bookshelves with a contemplative expression etched onto her face. There were three, all of which no doubt contained older, more expensive tomes that required more careful handling than the other books in the library. She doubted she'd have time to open all three of the cases and peruse her way through the many titles contained in each one, so she'd have to try her best to guess at the correct shelf and hope she got it right on her first try.

Of course if Urag had just gone to sleep like everybody else she wouldn't have a problem. Stubborn Orc. What kind of work could he possibly be doing that couldn't wait till morning?

With a shake of her head, Rannve peered out into the library's pulpit, trying to locate the stray librarian. He had his back turned to her and was pouring over a stack of books on one of the tables, appearing very engrossed as he mumbled incoherently to himself. She decided to try her luck while she still had some and silently crept to the desk, keeping an eye on him the whole way. She stopped in front of the middle bookcase and drew out a lockpick.

The center case was always the most cliché of hiding places, and Rannve had a feeling that Urag was just cliché enough to assume it would be safe from prying eyes. After all, she very much doubted he was so suspicious of her that he'd assume she'd try to steal his books. Unless he was keeping an Elder Scroll in there, Rannve knew of no thief who would go out of his way for a few underrated writings from some mentally unstable crackpot from Talos-knows-where.

For the first time that night, she realized how insane she looked right now.

With a roll of her eyes, Rannve broke the lock and glanced over her shoulder. Urag was right where she left him. He'd barely moved an inch.

She turned back to the bookcase and, as quickly as she could, ran her eyes over the titles, keeping a look out for any that contained the words 'Elder Scrolls'. There was only just one problem: no such books had that title.

Rannve grit her teeth and shut the case. A quick glance behind her told her that she still had time remaining, so she moved to the left bookshelf and broke the lock as quickly as she could. It was a useless endeavor though. The books she searched for were not in there, either.

She had a feeling they weren't even in the library.

Silently fuming, Rannve turned away from the case and huddled behind Urag's desk. Her legs were starting to cramp up from crouching in the same place for so long and she knew she should probably just get out of here before Urag discovered her. He make sure that she'd never see those books if he caught her sneaking around like this.

She couldn't make it out of the library fast enough, brimming with impatience as she was. Urag didn't appear to be wise to her presence at all, though, which was probably the only good thing to come from the experience.

"Onmund," she hissed quietly as she poked her head out of the door. Her unlikely accomplice jumped up in surprise when her voice suddenly cut through the silence of the hallway, and he put a hand over his heart with a frown.

"By the Nine – " he began, no doubt ready to scold her for scaring him like that. She might've found amusement in it had she been of the mind to, but her impatience won out.

"I need you," she told him, effectively cutting him off. He immediately stilled and stared at her.

"Huh?" he stumbled, then blushed. Talos, he sounded like an imbecile, and he was probably thinking like one too, but a declaration like that would derail any man.

She rolled her eyes at him and said, "Just come here. I need you to distract Urag for me while I sneak into his quarters."

Onmund's stare turned horrific. "Sneak into Urag's quarters?! Are you insane?"

Rannve sighed as if he was being entirely ridiculous about this and said, "Obviously. Now follow me." Before he could argue, she disappeared back into the library.

Onmund ran a hand over his face and sighed. This was not going to end well.

…He followed her anyway.

When he got to the top of the stairs, Rannve reached over to grab him and thrust him into the library foyer, a little off to the side so as to keep him away from Urag for as long as possible. He let out a small grumble when his back hit the hard stone wall and glowered at her.

Rannve just gave him a look and pointed to the floor, silently telling him to stay right where he was. His glower turned into a glare but he didn't argue. He was beginning to wonder if he ever would.

Urag's bedroom was in the library (unsurprisingly – it probably pained him to be away from his precious books). Fortunately, one could get to said quarters from the foyer where they were currently standing. Unfortunately, there weren't exactly a lot of places to hide in the foyer, and they were definitely on borrowed time by now. Sneaking around the library was one thing, but breaking into Urag's bedroom was quite another. The repercussions should they get caught…Rannve didn't really want to think about it.

Instead she just turned her attention to the door and quickly stuck a lockpick into the lock, twisting it around until she heard the telltale sound of the lock breaking. Onmund watched her as she did, though he kept most of his attention to the library to ensure that Urag wasn't on his way over. He tried not to wonder at how proficient Rannve appeared to be when it came to breaking into places. He had a feeling he didn't really want to know.

Still, he was reluctantly impressed that she was so good at such a thing. And, even more so, that she was so silent as she crept inside. If he hadn't been watching her out of the corner of his eye, he wouldn't have even realized she was there at all.

Urag's chambers were tiny. There was just enough room for a four-poster bed, a writing table, and a dresser, all of which were shoved against the walls to optimize the space. He had one window that overlooked the courtyard and was scarcely decorated with heavy maroon curtains that had seen better days. Other than that, there wasn't much else.

Rannve got to work immediately, going to the writing desk first. It was locked, but the lock was so flimsy and delicate that it took her mere seconds to get into. There were stacks of parchment inside, some stray pencils, and an unfinished letter – but no books.

She turned to the dresser next, opening ever drawer and feeling around for any objects hidden within the clothing. Nothing. Nothing underneath the dresser, either, when she knelt down to look. And nothing behind the pillows or hidden in the sheets (thank Talos for that, at least). She was beginning to wonder if he even had the blasted books at all when she decided she'd better be as thorough as possible while she still had time, and she knelt down to check under the mattress.

And – there. Rannve had a positively savage grin on her face when she extracted two books from between the bedding.

Effects of the Elder Scrolls and Ruminations on the Elder Scrolls. That paranoid bastard.

She smirked and tucked the books into her satchel, making sure they were secure before hurrying back to the door and closing it behind her on the way out. A quick flick of her wrist ensured that the lock was back in place, and when she turned back around to the foyer, she realized very quickly that had she remained inside a moment longer she would have been caught.

Urag's figure could be seen walking toward them, though his head was tilted back mid-yawn and his eyes were closed to the sight of them huddled together outside his personal quarters. Onmund turned to stare at Rannve with wide, anxious eyes. She returned the look wholeheartedly.

Her luck seemed to have run out…but she was nothing if not a quick-thinker.

In less than a second, Rannve was turning into him, grabbing the front of Onmund's robes, and pushing her lips against his.

He did what any man would do in such a situation – he flailed.

"Kiss me back, you idiot," she hissed at him, though he barely even heard her over the sudden thumping of his heart as it tried to beat out of his chest.

He had scarcely managed to reach up to clasp his hands around her face when Urag's voice cut through the hectic silence of their abrupt intimacy.

"What in Oblivion are you two doing?" he demanded, with no small amount of disgust.

Onmund rather expected Rannve to pull away at such a question, but to his surprise (and enjoyment), she remained right where she was, moving her lips against his with a slow sort of passion that had him trembling against her. He wasn't entirely sure if his trembling had to do with his own fear of being caught or of the way she was so perfectly cultivating their kiss into something that felt immeasurably more intimate than it actually was.

It probably didn't matter – shouldn't matter – because he knew that this was only a distraction and not born from any feelings on her part. But Talos take him if he didn't suddenly yearn for the latter.

Rannve quietly ended the kiss, slowly breaking her lips from his and glancing up at him with something that looked like adoration in her eyes. She was a really good actress. Even Onmund himself was rather swept up in the lie.

With a small sigh, as if being interrupted was the worst possible thing imaginable (Onmund was of the mind to agree), Rannve turned to look at Urag. Her expression fell flat as she quirked up an eyebrow and drawled, "What does it look like we're doing?"

If it was possible for an Orc to turn red with anger, Urag would've been crimson by now. Instead, he was turning an odd greenish purple color that looked extremely scary in the dim light.

"Well why are you doing it in my library," he demanded, his voice a grind of displeasure and anger.

Rannve just shuffled closer to Onmund, keeping her arm latched around his waist and her free hand resting on his chest. She frowned at the librarian and said, "This is public property. Besides, I can kiss Onmund wherever I please, and it's nice and quiet in here."

Onmund's cheeks turned an impressive rosy hue at her declaration. He tried very hard not to appear overly intimidated at their current circumstance, but he doubted he made a good impression.

Urag just looked disgusted and didn't even try to hide it. The librarian's eyes swept over Onmund for a brief moment before he sent them both a glare that would have scattered an army. It definitely would have scattered Onmund, had Rannve's arm not been secured around his waist. His knees felt shaky, like he might fall at any moment.

"Just – " Urag growled and said, "Get out of here before I call the Arch-Mage."

Rannve laughed. Onmund wanted to tell her to shut up, but then she wouldn't give up the chance to harass the librarian even now.

"I doubt the Arch-Mage would bother concerning himself with a few students at this time of night. It's not like we're doing anything wrong by being here. The library's open 24 hours, after all." She gave Urag an imperious look and he turned greener.

But, thankfully, she didn't seem to want to push her luck anymore than that. With a simper, Rannve pulled Onmund toward the door as she said, "I suppose we could always find a spot in the Hall of the Elements though. Come along, Onmund."

They made a quick escape before Urag could complain any further, though Rannve sent him a smirk over her shoulder before they shut the door behind them.

The moment they reached the bottom of the stairs, Onmund let out a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall. He ran a hand through his hair with a shaky exhalation and mumbled, "Talos. That was…" he trailed off.

That was what? Horrific? The scariest thing he'd ever done in his life? Absolutely amazing? He looked at Rannve, only to see her staring at him with a wide smirk etched over her face. He immediately blushed a deep red and she laughed.

"Yes, well, it was pretty exhilarating, wasn't it?" she asked, and his heart gave a rebellious thump in his chest.

Exhilarating. Now that was a good word for it. Her kiss was extremely exhilarating – all the more so because it was so unexpected –

"Breaking into places always gets the adrenaline going," she added, and at once Onmund's pleasure deflated.

Ah. She was referring to the actual break-in…not the kiss. Of course she wouldn't think that kissing him was exhilarating. What a silly thing to assume. She was the Dragonborn, after all. She probably had dozens of exhilarating kisses with much more exciting men.

"Come on, let's get back to my quarters. We should read through these books and take some notes just in case Urag discovers they're missing," Rannve said, patting her satchel where the books were hidden. Onmund grumbled in agreement, only half listening. He was too busy wondering what kinds of exhilarating kisses she'd had.

It was a dangerous thought and he knew it, but he also knew that, at this point, there was no way he could stop himself from wondering. Not now, when he had felt her mouth on his and tasted her – not when she had answered one of his foolish daydreams in a matter of moments.

He was in a lot deeper than he'd originally thought.