ORIGIN - Stop right there, thief!

Sharp needed sticks.

She was a crafter. To craft, you need supplies. Sticks were a type of supply. And she previously had a good amount of them, until a certain angry big-scale-not-friend came and burnt everything down.

How ungrateful!

Well, now she had to head out again. The lizard woke up early to the sound of insects, looked around her hut, and found with a sigh that none of her children were home. Oh well. She really could've used the help, especially while her wagon was still broken. Sharp padded out, admired the shiny lightbulbs for a few minutes, screeched at the sky and was on her merry way.

The sillouhette of the forest was a lot... gloomier... than she was used to. Black flames scorched away most of everything and left the woods split between lush flora and dark ashes. Spooky. Still, she was undeterred and marched right into the coals to find any good branches that survived.

Flash forward to a few minutes later and the lizard was dragging a good number of large, sooty sticks in her mouth. Gosh, this was so hard without a cart! Nothing to worry though, Sharp was a strong lady! Sharp could carry it home all by herself!

Her gemstones laid still within the house, twinkling.

@Aviatrix

- AVIATRIX -

Forests were good. Forests were good and fun because they had lots of trees to climb on and lots of undergrowth to slink through; it was easy to hide in a forest, even if someone was right on your tail. Aviatrix loved all this cover—loved slinking up trees and leaping from branch to branch, having the best view in the whole wide world while they looked for cool things like shinies.

This forest, however, is… darker. Burnt up by something… something foul. The fire didn't smell right; it smelled acrid and bitter, instead of the rich smell of smoke. The undergrowth was burnt away, leaving only ashes, and Aviatrix quickly learned that they had to be careful when leaping from tree to tree, lest a branch break from beneath them and send them tumbling back down to the ground. Ouch!

They're currently nursing a bit of a bruise on their side, from where that exact thing had happened earlier, but that won't stop them! They're a daredevil and a thief, they can do whatever they want and go anywhere they want and nothing's going to get in their way!

And the bruise doesn't stop them from climbing through the trees (carefully, this time, attempting to select only the least burnt branches), tail twitching with mischief as they continue to search.

They're looking for something. Something cool. Something… shiny.

There—, a twinkle catches their eye, and they pause, leaning forwards in anticipation. Is that…?

Yes! There—gemstones, set inside a little stone hut. Many of them; shining and sparkling and man, they've never seen this many in one place!

They have to have one. Particularly, a light yellow one catches their eye, the way the light shines through it enrapturing.

They just have to get a little closer…

They jump down from their tree, the dirt muffling the sound of their landing, and creep closer. Once they're close enough, they reach forwards, trying to grab the gemstone beneath their teeth as gently as possible…

The motion causes the stones in the pile to clatter and clink against one another, and Aviatrix winces at the sound, thief's instincts protesting at the noise, but they manage to extract the gemstone from its pile, prize firmly held in their jaws.

Oh, it's even prettier up close...

@Sharp

Good, good sticks. It was hard to find anything of value among the ashes, but she managed. More than a few times the charcoal got up her nose, causing her to sneeze, and trying to wipe all the gray powder off bark was a pain. But it was all, all fine! Sharp was Sharp! She could do this!

The song of a Caroller soothed her ears, and she looked up just in time to see the one-legged bird perch on a stump. Already life was returning to the burned forest. Good thing Azigh was there to stop the wildfire before it caused more damage. She wondered what Huma would think of them when he comes back home...

Oh right, she had to bring these back home! Sorry little birdie, but she had business to do!

The little lizard returned back home with a hum, sweeping a trail through the soot with her tail. Good, good times-- what was that noise? Sharp's song stopped, her movements stilled, trying her darndest to discern what it was. A trickle? A clinkle? Gah, curse her earless head! Whatever it was, it was certainly coming from her hut, and sounded suspiciously like a gemstone.

Of course, Sharp had never been robbed before. So her mind immediately went to the most optimistic possibilities first. Perhaps Aerie was home! No, no, Aerie was massive. She'd be able to see that floating little tail poking out the door. What if Huma was returning for the day? Or Comet or James were paying a visit? Maybe a stone just fell, and that was the end of it. Maybe she was being too hopeful over nothing.

Safe to say Sharp was perplexed. She gently let her branches drop to the dirt and rounded around the back of the hut. She wasn't to the door yet, didn't yet notice the spotted pelt of a thief, and was still operating on the assumption that this was a good visitor and not a bad one. A poor choice.

The sungazer vocalized a single, scratchy-voiced question: "Hello? Is anyone in there?"

@Aviatrix

- AVIATRIX -

For a few long moments they stare, enraptured, at their prize; tilting their head this way and that and watching how the gemstone catches the light, sending little beams of color across the dirt floor. It's hard not to admire such a precious thing, and Aviatrix lets themselves grow complacent in their reverie. It's not like anyone's here to catch them, anyways—otherwise, they would have seen them by now. It's okay to stand around for a little bit…

...until, suddenly, it isn't. There's a clatter of wood and muffled footsteps, followed by the sound of a voice coming closer. A question—someone knows they're here!

Their eyes go wide and they round around, staring at the entrance to the hut, weighing their options. Their first instinct is to bolt, of course, to make off with their new-found treasure, but the instinct to stay hidden quells that thought. Whoever it is, they haven't seen them yet. That means they have an opportunity to do something.

A cursory glance around the hut reveals nothing particularly suitable as cover… but does reveal the myriad of other treasures stashed in the area. Oh, if only they had the time to take them all…

...but, that does give them an idea. An idea that just might work…

As quickly and as quietly as they can, they turn their head over their shoulder and place their prize on their back. Then, leaning forwards, they pick up a pebble from a nearby pile. Awfully convenient, for someone who wants to cause a distraction…

They adjust the pebble between their jaws and, with a flick of their head, toss it squarely out of the hut, hoping to hit it against a tree or rock or something to make a sound.

@Sharp

The hut glistened with morning dew as Sharp rounded the corner to it. The only sounds were the chirping of birds and rustling grass around her. There wasn't even a response to her question. She frowned. Maybe she just imagined the noise.

Back to pulling wood it seemed.

With a suspicious little huff and a pad of her paws, the lizard grabbed her branches once more and continued dragging them through the grass. Still she maintained a sense of extroverted optimism, eager to see if anyone payed a visit, and trundled over with more enthusiasm than usual. The doorframe became visible, then the corner of the gemstones pile, then--

Fwiiing!

Sharp only caught the end of the motion, a grey blur being flung out the hut and clacking against a tree. Her head snapped at the sound. She wasn't smart enough to put two-and-two together so just as curiously as she came she scurried away to investigate. The sungazer dropped her twigs, put her nose to the ground and sniffed, her back to the house all the while. Where did that noise come from... hey, was that her stone? How did it get here?

Meanwhile Aviatrix still had valuable time to flee, or continue their little robbery if they were willing to risk her detection.

@Aviatrix

- AVIATRIX -

Huh. The owner of the house appears to be a lizard. They don't think they've ever seen one of those before; they take a few moments to notice how cool those overlapping scales look. Man, they wonder how protective those are... they wonder how good at fighting the lizard is.

...okay, bad thought, considering it reminds them that they're kind of in a precarious situation here, but, look, their distraction worked! The pebble goes flying out and hits the trunk of a tree squarely, and the lizard is none the wiser to it, sniffing at the stone as if trying to figure out where it came from.

You're a genius, Trixie.

Well—they look around at all the pretty gemstones left in the house, still unattended. Still perfectly unguarded... still perfectly vulnerable to be stolen.

But as much as they'd like to take more of the precious things—they'd like to take all of them, shining and glittering and gorgeous, stunning to the eye—they're pretty sure they can't carry any more than this. Plus, the lizard might stop investigating the rock and turn around at any moment. Time to get out of here.

They return the yellow stone balanced on their back to their jaws, clutching it as steadily as they can, and look around for an escape route. The only problem with pulling off a successful distraction like that is that the lizard is now right in front of the house... and they don't think she'll fall for another pebble.

On the bright side, there's a bunch of foliage and stuff they can disappear to, and a good few intact trees to scramble up and vanish... they just have to get there.

With paws as quiet as they possibly can be, they start forwards, figure crouching low to the ground in an attempt to be less obvious. It's right there... they just have to be quiet and sneaky enough to get there without getting spotted...

@Sharp

ooc: I liiiiive

Silly pebble! How did it get out here? Sharp genuinely had no idea. Even as her mottled head turned this way and that, even as she prodded it with a claw, the way it was seemingly flung settled in her mind as making no sense at all. Unless someone threw it to distract her....?

Oh hoh hoh. It was all coming together.

The lizard turned around slowly, at the peak of suspicion, to see--

A funny cat.

Or... a sorta-cat? The tail end of a cat? Sharp wasn't sure how to classify them given they were already slipping into the underbrush, leaving nothing but crumpled leaves in their wake. A strange little one. But what was she doing over here? Was she the one who cast the stone?

Wait a second-- was that her shiny in those jaws? You know, the pretty yellow one? It all came together in her mind: this little thief must've snuck into her hut, rummaged around in her stores and booked it the moment she came by! There wasn't much time to think, so she slapped her spiny tail, rushed forwards and screeched a single word:

"Hey!"

@Aviatrix

- AVIATRIX -

So, uh, good news and bad news for them.

Good news: they've managed to make a good distance from the house by now, that beautiful gemstone clutched firmly—but not firmly enough to scratch—between their teeth. They're well on their way to making a good escape.

Bad news: The owner of the gemstone has well—uh. Noticed. Very obviously.

And the worst sound an aspiring thief could ever hope to hear makes its way into their ears: Hey!

Well, maybe not the worst sound. They're sure there are plenty of other, worse things the lizard could be shouting right now, like thief! or somebody help me!—but that's kind of not the point right now and they kind of have better things to worry about.

Halfway into the undergrowth, they consider their options for a single, brief moment, freezing up as their brain works on overtime. Okay, so, size up the situation: the lizard is coming towards them at a rate that seems to be very fast. They have a gemstone in their mouth that they very much do not want to drop after spending so much effort attempting to obtain it. And they've already been spotted, so it's not like another distraction is going to work.

Their mind leaps to the next best thing: obscuring their position.

As fast as they can, they dig their back paws into the dirt, kicking it up from beneath the undergrowth, aiming vaguely in the direction of the lizard. If it gets into her eyes: good! They can hide. If it doesn't: well, they're kinda screwed, but Aviatrix elects not to think about that and focuses on getting the impromptu dust into her eyes in the first place!

@Sharp

Oh no, this little rascal don't!

The squat lizard charged after Aviatrix, quite irritated that this slinky fellow was charging off with her hard-earned shinies. The only problem? The robber was a lot faster. And bigger, and stronger in every way. There was no way a tiny blunt-teethed reptile was gonna pry it away from them. She'd just have to think fast.

Sharp reeled back for a moment, ferns whipping her face as a poorly-aimed shower of dirt sailed over her head. Hah! Still, despite their blunder, they were getting away, and she needed to do something, quick. So on a complete impulse, the sungazer leaped forth, claws outstretched, aiming to land on the Genet's long tail.

And by god, she did it.

The moment Sharp landed on the swiftly-waving tail she'd wrap herself around tightly like a prickly, somewhat annoying bracelet. She shouted over the wind, "WHAT! ARE! YOU! DOING!"

This was probably gonna be a problem for Trix.

@Aviatrix

Yeah. They think now's the time to start bringing out the curses.

Speaking of which: a most indignant shriek escapes them as they feel something land on their tail and grasp on tightly, full of their internal monologue of shit shit shit shit SHIT—

They're a thief in the worst situation—not only caught by the very Gembound they were intending to steal from, but in fact, actively being attacked by them.

Their only respite being the second thought of, Y'know, this would be a lot worse if she was bigger.

And then it's back to screaming internally because she is on their TAIL and this is kind of a bad situation??? If not bad, then incredibly concerning because there is a LIZARD clinging to their TAIL can she please STOP that—

They skid to a stop in the dirt, concluding that there's really no use running when there's a Gembound wrapped around their tail like the world's worst jewelry, making a split-second decision. Drop the gem in order to try to get her off more effectively, or try to somehow get her off without dropping the gem.

Well, they're not letting go of their hard-earned shiny without way more effort than that! They grabbed it, so it's theirs now! And they're not gonna drop it just so a lizard can potentially steal it back!

They mumble-yell something around the gemstone that might have equated to "Mine!" before thumping their tail rather harshly against the trunk of a nearby tree, trying to get her to let go already for the love of the caves—

@Sharp