Hi again! A big thanks to everyone who reviewed! I didn't think I would get so many reviews so fast! As always, I only own anything not already in the books, and Christopher Paolini is welcome to my ideas. Enjoy!
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Raven woke just as the sky reached the dusky grey-blue of early morning. Listening for a moment, she detected no threats nearby, but it never hurts to be cautious. Rolling onto her back she stretched then turned back to her companion. Aside from her, the bedroll was empty.
She leapt up and looked around. The stallion calmly ate some moist grass, but the dragon was nowhere to be seen. Raven reached out with her mind, searching for the creature.
The dragon was not far off, filling its stomach with a couple of squirrels and a field mouse. The thief inwardly sighed with relief. Although the dragon had been unexpected, she was happy to have some company. And their strange mental link was oddly comforting.
She ate a biscuit and some cheese for her own breakfast and began to pack up. When she was about halfway finished, the copper hatchling returned, bloated belly sagging pitifully. It sat in the middle of the camp and watched.
"Don't just sit there you lazy lizard, help. You can start by hiding any evidence of your time here. I expect it would go worse for me if Galbatorix found out that you hatched."
Once everything was ready to go, Raven took the waterskins to the river and filled them. She then drank one dry and told the dragon to drink as much as it could. This way they could save the waterskins for the next day, when they wouldn't have the river to drink from. Refilling the skins, she repacked them and mounted the stallion.
"Come on." She held open the saddlebag while the dragon just sat and stared. Through their link, it mentally communicated the desire to not stay in the uncomfortable pouch.
"Alright," she patted the space in front of her in the saddle. The copper imp chirped and flew to the spot, causing the horse to nicker and stamp nervously.
Raven sent calming images to her steed, followed by the mental message The little monster isn't going away, so you might as well get used to it. The horse whickered a complaint then was silent. She nudged the horse eastward.
"I guess I should give you a name, since I can't keep calling you Dragon," raven said about 20 minutes into the journey. The winged creature chirped.
"And I suppose you want something more than just Copper, right?" an affirmative warble.
"How about Cloud? It's nice and simple." The dragon snorted, sending a puff of smoke into the air.
"Alright, how about…Orin? It has a nice ring to it." a sound of disgust left the dragon's mouth.
"Okay," Raven laughed, "nothing so dignified for you, little trouble-maker." For the next half-hour, name after name was suggested and discarded. Raven even suggested Rogue and Nimbleclaw, but none would satisfy the dragon.
"I knew a puppy once who was like you; eh would bite anything and everything. Everyone called him Niptooth." The baby dragon shook his head vigorously.
"Of course, a dog's name wouldn't do for a dragon, but if we change it a little bit…how does Nipwing sound?" He chirped and launched himself into the air.
"Get back here!" the thief commanded as Nipwing finished his second lap around the nervous horse, "you'll attract unwanted attention." He landed back on his perch, chirping proudly.
"Yes, you do fly beautifully. But if anyone comes within sight, you go into the saddlebag and stay quiet." Nipwing growled his displeasure, which was rather cute coming from such a little dragon.
"No complaints! 'A good thief leaves no trace or sign,'" she quoted her master, "Now hang on." She urged the horse into a gallop, wanting to cover as much distance as possible before dark.
Two uneventful days later, they passed through the gates of Dras-Leona. A cloak covered Raven's recognizable clothes, keeping watching eyes from identifying her later. Nipwing tried to peek his head out of the saddlebag, but was quickly shoved back down and mentally told to stay hidden.
They soon reached the Lakeview Inn. It had been a long time since she stayed here, longer than any other lodging in the city. She rotated between lodging to keep from becoming familiar to the innkeepers.
Removing her luggage, she left the horse with the inn's hostler. Since entering the city, Raven had put on a Mental Mask; now, as she stepped into the inn, the Mask was put to use.
"Excuse me," Raven said to a barmaid with an armful of dishes, "I need a room." She used a maid's accent, proper but not noble.
"Ye need t' talk t' th' mistress, over there." The barmaid nodded in the direction of a stout woman directing the handful of workers who criss-crossed the common room. Thanking the girl, Raven carefully maneuvered across the room.
"Pardon me, madam," the landlady turned angrily at the intruder for a moment, but when she saw the saddlebags and pack, her face softened. "I need a room."
"Well, of course you do, dearie!" she guided Raven over to the end of the empty bar, "jus' for tonight?" she pulled out a slate with chalk squares on it. Most had one or two lines, but some were empty.
"Well, I don't know how long I'll need to stay, but business should keep me in town at least a few days." She dug out the purse that held the few coins she had.
"And what business would that be?" the woman asked in a kind, conversing way.
"My master asked that I see to it that certain items were attained as soon as possible." In a way it was the truth; she was her own master and she needed to get money and supplies.
"Oh, well if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask, alright dearie?"
"Thank you, I will. Now is it alright if I pay for two nights upfront?"
"Not a problem at all." A line was drawn in an empty box, "will ye be wantin' a bath and supper?"
"Yes, please." Raven wouldn't have asked for a bath, it was a waste of the little money she had, in her opinion. But it might cause suspicion if a maid who had just traveled who knows how far didn't ask for one.
"That'll be 5 coppers for the room, 1 for the bath, and 2 for the supper, 8 in total." Raven counted out the coins and was shown to her room on the second floor.
Once the woman left, the thief dropped her things on the bed. An indignant squeak sounded from the saddlebag.
Nipwing stuck his head out and glared at the girl. When she showed no reaction, the small dragon crawled out from the bag and turned to chew on it.
"No!" she yanked on the tail and sent a particularly large spark at the dragon's face. "I can't afford to replace this stuff. Go find a rat to gnaw on." Instead of obeying, Nipwing curled up in a ball and sulked.
Raven grabbed the saddlebags and pack and placed them neatly in the corner so that Nipwing could crawl inside.
"If someone comes to the room, hide in there." She knew that he already understood what to do, but she said it anyway. Nipwing snorted.
It wasn't long before the bath was brought up. Two boys carried the empty tub between them. A muscular young man followed right behind with four buckets of steaming water. The buckets were hung on handles that held 2 each.
Once they were gone, Raven undressed before the water got cold. Nipwing whistled playfully as she stepped into the tub.
"Shut up." The water felt good. She sat there for a moment, letting the warmth relax her muscles. Taking a deep breath, she ducked under the water. The pounding silence was calming. She opened her eyes and stared at the wavering ceiling.
A small angled head peeked over the edge of the tub. Nipwing stuck his head in the water and snorted, sending smoke-filled bubbles to the surface.
Raven's breath was released in an underwater laugh as she rose to the surface.
"You silly creature! If you're not careful, you'll stick that curious muzzle into something that bites back." Nipwing made a sound that sounded sort of like a scoff.
As soon as the bath water began to cool, Raven dried off and dressed in plain clothes. She had intended to go see her buyer after dinner, but decided to wait until she had another treasure to replace the missing one from the palace. The buyer would be upset when he found out that he can't have the royal prize. If she didn't find what she needed over dinner, she would sneak out to choose her unlucky victim. The Raven never just grabbed whatever she saw; she strategized, eliminating anyone the theft would seriously hurt, disregarding family heirlooms and dowries, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
The girl glanced down at the ring she always wore on her right index finger. It was all she had left of the parents she couldn't remember. She had grown up on the street, often teased and kicked around because of her looks. She had always been fair looking, and the slight point of her ears brought many cruel comments. She had learned to steal at a tender age on those hard streets. Her only real treasures had been a small silver chain with a rectangle pendant and the ring. The pendant was inscribed with runes on both sides. When she was 10 years old, her master taught her to read and write; he had explained that the pendant's runes spelled her birth name, in Common(1) on one side, and in the Ancient Language on the other.
Since she had been too young to remember her parents when they gave her the gifts, they held no memories of her mother and father; but even so, she couldn't bring herself to rob another of their memories by stealing their heirlooms.
While she waited for dinnertime, the thief stood in the middle of the room and stretched. She leaned to each side, the front and the back, methodically working her way through each of the most used muscles. Nipwing sat, watching with rapt attention.
After a few minutes, the young dragon moved to the thief's side. He stuck one leg out in front of him and another behind. Holding the pose for a moment, he switched legs.
"You want to be a thief, too, eh?" Raven asked, continuing her stretches, "'A thief must stay limber and agile.'" Nipwing chirped and changed position, now stretching out his neck as far as it would reach. Raven chuckled. Together they limbered their limbs to their limits.
As soon as the noise in the common room below signaled the beginning of the dinner rush, Raven straightened and moved to the door.
"I'll bring back some meat for you. But only if you behave." She reassured the dragon. She closed and locked the door behind her, then headed down for fresh food and fresh gossip.
She picked out a small empty table against the wall and sat down. From here she could hear all but the quietest conversations while not attracting undue attention.
Ordering a simple meat stew, she listened intently to what was being said around her. Instead of alternating between each conversation, she listened for certain words, then focused on the speakers.
Fewer products are being sent from Teirm than during her last visit. That will have hurt several of her potential targets.
A nobleman's son was robbed coming home from a pub a few nights age. She made it a rule never to add insult to injury.
She listened for about 20 minutes, calmly eating her stew, before she heard the tidbit she wanted.
A well known merchant just received a large shipment of silk. With all that valuable material in his warehouse, he could afford a small donation to The Raven.
"This stew is delicious," she said to a passing barmaid, "could you send another bowl to my room, please?"
"Right away, miss." Raven finished her own bowl and climbed the stairs to her room. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside. Nipwing lay in the middle of the floor with his back to the door.
The thief closed the door, nearly slamming it, and approached the hatchling. Standing over him, she saw that he was chewing on a dead rat.
She grabbed the rat, pulling the copper armored face up as it eyed the stolen dinner.
"You're supposed to hide when someone comes!" the dragon made a face, which she interpreted as "yeah, and?"
She let out a frustrated groan, and walked to the pile of bags.
"Get in there, now!" Nipwing could tell she was serious, so he went to his hiding place without complaint.
"Take your rat, too." She kicked the small corpse toward the corner where it was pulled through the bag's opening.
A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. Raven answered, smiled at the maid, and took the stew.
"Here." she set the bowl in front of the bags. A copper nose peeked out of the pile of leather, sniffing. It wasn't long before every scrap of food was gone from the bowl.
After placing the bowl outside the door, Raven dressed for work. Once she had donned her blue-black outfit and a matching mask that covered the lower half of her face, she stepped up to the window.
"I'll be back by morning. Don't make any noise, and hide if anyone comes. Alright?" Nipwing curled up on the bed with a playful "have fun" look on his face.
"I mean it. If you're found, we're both in trouble." With that The Raven climbed out the window.
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(1) I couldn't find what the human language is called in the books so I just called it Common like some other fantasy novels do.
I hope you liked it! It might take me a little longer to finish chapter 4, but don't worry, it'll be posted as soon as I'm done! Now don't forget to review! Thanks.