[Amoren - Vivian: The Lantern and the Moth]

[Gloomcrest]

5th of Ash, 4623

For most of the afternoon, the sun’s splendour waned into the distance. The amber-eyed thief, whose humble beginnings started from Alistian, was currently prowling through Rioven, the capital of Couronne. It was well-known by most that the splendour streets of the inner city were merely a side that was presented and sheltered those who were high in status. At the same time, the outskirts showed the true extent of the inequality where the cunning, the cutthroat and the weak lay their weary bodies to rest.

Equally, the buildings were marred in filth and grime, which to the Draedan of Saren was more akin to a home than the glamour yet the fake reality of the inner city. Yet in this false reality where the hours meet, the amber-eyed thief was currently skulking through the alleyways, using the limited light to his advantage, seeking worthy prey to catch and line his pockets and, at the same time, growing his skills to be, able to develop further; cultivating his divinity and his divine spark.

His tattered black cloak hides his features from top to bottom; the only distinct characteristic that can be seen is his glimmering amber-hued eyes, which flow with radiant divinity. His divine energy would bleed out onto his cloak, infusing itself into the very fabric of its being, altering the colour to blend into the surroundings as a whisper was formed into a material that shrouded those—and causing those to disappear with a glance.

Once his entire being was cloaked, Jared started to check the many buildings, his fleet footwork masking most of his sounds as he touched the windows, peering inside to check if anyone was home before attempting his thievery. With his trusty lockpicks, the thief would nimbly start working away at the lock; at times, even in the open, but confident in his abilities to hide in plain sight and use his magic, the thief could quickly get in. At times, the thief would touch the door, infusing the pure refined ether into the locks and opening them with a subtle flick of using Bypass.

Yet despite all of the precautions that were taken, Jared knew that someone who was rather perceptive in their surroundings or who could heighten their other senses would be able to detect him, which was all the thief needed to be on high alert as his recent string of robberies generated a large amount of notoriety and with that, a fated encounter was waiting behind the seconds that past in time.

"Come on, Jared, just get in and out. You don't need to over-extend yourself, but push just enough to test your limits..."

[Vivian]

Being back in the outskirts of Amoren certainly had its charms.

Vivian didn't think anyone would be inhaling the scents of old piss, rats, and filth with a sense of nostalgia...but then again, no one was him. He had taken some of Degare's clothing from the linen closets in the house. Apparently, thieves hadn't thought the man's books and clothes worth risking ghosts to purloin. It worked out in his favor, even if it didn't hang quite right on him. Degare had been a bit broader in the chest and shoulders than Vivian's slender physique. Still, nothing that a nice black woolen vest and rolled up sleeves couldn't fix. Thank goodness they were at least the same boot size.

Vivian was well aware being dressed like he was would attract attention, but unlike his former years spent slinking around in the dark...he no longer feared the knife of a thug or the sticky fingers of a pickpocket. For one, he didn't carry his gold on him. For another, it was the quickest way to lose a hand with a master mage. He walked quietly along the darkening streets, thinking. The afternoon was quickly giving way to the dark; shadows were lengthening. Things were growing quiet, other things were awakening. Rats and fleas coming out to play in the filth. Places Vivian would have been curling up to sleep. Gods, to imagine a year ago he was shivering in trash and thought communing with fleas was the best way to advance his magic. How time truly passed.

His power was growing stronger with each passing week. Every week, his well of ether grew. He had recovered from his pregnancy, given birth to a very healthy babe, and now he needed to devote himself to his magic once again. So far his use of his magic had been limited. He only had around six templates, and had not attempted to steal a face since leaving Radenor. His imprinting could be used for so much more. He could become anything now. Any large beast, any nightmare, any horror the world threw at him he had only to touch and understand. Gods, it was only just now starting to hit him.

Vivian wanted to find his patron. The man who had cocooned him in a brothel and had turned him seemingly out of sheer curiosity. To do that, he had to be much more... refined than the raw fount of power he was.

He turned a corner, still deep in thought, but the familiar rattling of a lock pulled him out of his thoughts. He blinked, and smiled at the black clad figure wrestling with the back door of a house. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly, perhaps a little mockingly. "Dear dear. Enough noise to wake the dead nevermind the occupants of that house." Vivian purred. "You really ought to be a bit more careful slinking around in the dark. You never know what you'll find."

[Gloomcrest]

5th of Ash, 4623

While the amber-eyed Draedan was focused on breaking down the lock with his divinity, the brief midnight-shade purple was leaving out the tips of his nimble, gloved fingers, trickling down an ethereal mist that seeps into the nooks and crannies of the lock that he was attempting to break in. Surely, Jared thought that he was doing an excellent job in masking his presence, but it could be due to his unease nature of being at the heart of Amoren, a place where intrigue was bound to happen and where the enemies are looming from the shadows whether one liked it or not.

Yet, as his troubled thoughts clouded part of his rational thoughts, the divinity flow would waver for a moment. What should have been a quiet execution on his part using his Bypass, a brief yet notable rattle would be generated, which startled the Draedan for a moment before realigning his concentration back to maintaining the flow of his refined ether back into the lock before the noise was suppressed, which after a second; the door itself would be available for the thief to trespass with no one suspecting a thing simply.

It was only when a click of the tongue caught the thief’s attention that Jared’s glowing amber-hued gaze over to a figure who seemed a bit familiar at first, but the details themselves were very much messy; after all, it had been many seasons ago since Jared awakened from being a simple Nightfallen mortal to a child of Saren, the god of time, fate and decay; a burden in itself was massive. Understandably, the thief was quite tense at the situation as he was simply planning to break into a few homes for the night, nab some items to fence off and spend the remaining time training on various skills to foster his abilities better.

Whether Vivian saw what the thief was doing was up to his interpretation, but one thing was pretty straightforward; the Alistian thief in question was rather tense, his odour or pheromones was different, as if something other than a mortal was present, and his figure had a lot more charm than one would expect from a thief. It was odd to see faint lines of shimmering gold flowing through his veins and his amber-toned eyes exuding a radiant shine that burned low.

“What is that you want? If it is none of your business, then simply leave. If you want to chat, I suggest we head to another place?”

Jared, despite placing some force into his voice that produces a rather sharp and raspy tone, was prepared to start a scuffle the moment he sensed immediate danger was detected, as the faint glow of his veins would once again briefly flare for a moment as he readies his divine spark to lash out as it is common practice to bear one’s fangs to defend themselves.

[Vivian]

Vivian cocked an eyebrow. Rather well spoken for a common back alley thief. Uncommonly well spoken, given that most thieves wrestling with locks in the wee hours of the evening would have cursed and spat at him. Or perhaps recognized him as a fellow denizen of the filth from which all commoners sprang. Vivian lifted a hand, quietly emanating a soft blue glow from his skin so he could see better. Bioluminescent material was a gift quite common to insects, and as he was discovering quite useful.

The glow illuminated amber eyes, a little spark of energy. This one wasn’t scared, not like a normal cut purse, nor did he leap immediately to violence. He did seem willing enough to abandon his quarry. Vivian dismissed the light, releasing his ether back into his veins. “Calm down, I’m not about to go screaming for the guards or anything. I’m not going to attack you either.” Vivian shrugged. “Just a fellow mage out for a walk, wondering why a man like you is off trying to filch pewter plates and grandma’s jewelry.”

He tilted his head. He knew this man from somewhere. Somewhere a long time ago, when they had both been different. He frowned. “Don’t I know you? I feel as though we’ve met before…” he trailed off, shaking his head. “Regardless, could I interest you in a drink rather than larceny? Or I could at least point you at a better target than a few poor people trying to eke out a living. Trust me, the people here don’t deserve it. Threw me a few bowls of soup in the summer when it mattered…nice bunch.”

Vivian jerked his head back toward the street. “Well? What do you say? I get to figure out where I know you from and you get a better target.”

[Gloomcrest]

Seeing this stranger with a familiar face, inquisitively cocked their eyebrow; the thief started to relax; Whatever this strange platinum blonde-haired man? Woman? Certain features raised a brow of his own as it wasn’t typical for someone dressed to a fancy degree for commoner standards to wander the dirty streets that most peasants and ruggish people called home. Yet something caught the thief’s attention as the feminine man lifted his hand, swaying for a moment as a brief blue glow lingers, leaving a faint trace before fading into the air.

It was immediate that this person was no mere commoner but a magus or some sort of alchemist; either way, whoever this person was held more power that, if swayed to a violent retort, would spill some trouble, but luckily, in Jared’s case, his manner, would suggest someone is curious rather than someone who would bear arms.

“You have my ears then; as for why I am filching pewter plates and someone’s antique jewellery made of wood, copper or brass, merely to stay under the radar. Stilling from wealthy merchants and especially nobles would cause quite a stir; the resources they have to find someone are far and deep. I would rather still from those that can afford a little bit of misfortune, but I never take more than I need to live for the next day simply; wealthier people, on the other hand, is another story.”

Focusing his attention on the lock that was picked, the thief takes a moment to glance over to his familiar stranger, quickly mentioning as if he had seen him before. Offering a slight shrug, the amber-eyed Draedan takes a moment to stand up, quickly dusting his legs as the suggestion to move to a place that could provide some respite wasn’t a bad idea in the first place.

“Well, if you are leading, I hope you have some places to recommend. I'm unfamiliar with these parts; most memories are from the Northern Marches. But I am still holding onto you for those drinks; the past couple of days have been rough, and getting some R&R isn’t bad for one’s health.”

Waiting for Vivian to lead the way, the thief takes a moment to cover his cloak in his divinity as his body begins to fade, warping surrounding for a moment before his form becomes transparent; while noticeable if one was wise or close to note the distortion between background and where the thief stands. In the thief's opinion, using Acclimate was safer as he did not want to be seen as more critical than most.

"I will be close by. If you were able to find me picking locks, then I am sure you can find me eventually even while I can't be seen."

[Vivian]

Vivian smiled as the other man relaxed and accepted his offer of a drink. At least he seemed an ethical thief. Stealing from the middle class rather than the rich seemed to be a measurement of risk rather than a predatory attitude, and Vivian could understand that. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t blatantly stolen himself. As for bars…Vivian cocked his head for a moment. There were the gutter trash bars he had frequented looking for clients, and something a little nicer.

He leaned toward the latter. He didn’t want to be bothered by former clients or worse, guards who remembered him. Vivian watched the other man fade, cloaking himself in shadows. Vivian’s eyes seemed to slide right off of him at first, but if he looked he could see him. It was hard, but focusing on breathing, shifting, the way the man’s cloth moved helped. What a clever little trick. “I hope you’re going to become visible when we get to the bar or I’m going to look mad.” Vivian chuckled, and walked down the road.

He led the strange little thief to a higher part of the city. Not quite the standards of a Veir, but not quite guttertrash. Merchants, traders, lesser nobility and the like would frequent a place like this. The floor and bar was worn but clean, the bar well lit with colored glass and candles just bright enough not to be cheap tallow, and there was a guard by the door. Vivian would normally have been thrown out. No one wanted a man selling blowjobs in the middle of a decent bar. How far he had come, that the guard barely gave him a look.

Vivian settled down at the bar, and pulled out a stool next to him for the stranger. There was a small basket of freshly baked bread at the bar. Nothing too extravagant, but enough to make sure that the men soaking themselves in whiskey actually had something in their stomachs. Drunk people got hungry. Vivian plucked one of the rolls out, smiling and inhaling the warm, yeasty smell. Bread had been a major craving of his when he was still pregnant, and a warm roll was still enough to make his stomach lurch in hunger. He bit into it appreciatively, sighing at the flavor.

Maybe he didn’t need liquor at all, just more rolls.

[Gloomcrest]

Having the platinum-blonde man lead the way, the amber-eyed thief took in the sight around him. Allowed his vision to take in his surroundings as Amoren’s slums seemed slightly different compared to back home in Genteven or Alistian; despite it being more tidy & kept, the mere fact that many buildings were in disarray in various degrees.

Despite making his presence minimal, it would seem that additional practice would be required to heighten his ability to hide in plain sight, as evident with Vivian being able to see where he was generally but to what extent the Draedan didn’t know. Still, nevertheless, this was merely an indicator that he needed to work harder in fostering his divinity.

“You will see me, don’t you worry; I’m not that cold to make a lone man babble into the air and curse into the night unless you are a victim of my many petty crimes.”

The amber-eyed Draedan couldn’t help but chuckle for a moment. His raspy, low tones echoed for a moment before silence consumed his voice as he returned to focusing on creeping whilst weaving through the streets and alleyways that his new-found friend was guiding him through.

After a few minutes of walking and passing through multiple checkpoints or avoiding them, the thief’s eyes would lay upon a clean, well-lit street, with various faces, body types and walks of life moving through the streets. Based on his guess, most people in the district were merchants, which wasn’t a wrong guess based on their attire. Yet, despite all of this, it was when Vivian led himself into a bar, with a guard barely looking at the man, that the thief took a moment to be as sly as the Draedan took a moment to use the guard’s blind spot to slip by him for a moment, quickly honing in on a loose pouch that was hanging loosely.

Briefly brushing his fingertips, the petty thief would infuse his divinity into the guard’s belt and adjust the weight to mimic the importance of the bag based on a guess, as Jared didn’t have enough time to assess how heavy the bag with one hand; the other was reaching out for the drawstring and altering the properties for the drawstring to become frail, enough that he could simply rub his fingers on the drawstring or pull the pouch without the guard noticing.

Despite it only being a matter of seconds, each passing second they counted. With the assistance of his divinity and skills as a growing thief, the Draedan nabbed the pouch before quietly sneaking into the bar with Vivian, who was currently at a table and pulled a stool out, drooling over some bread, which brought a brief smirk on Jared’s face—quickly looking around for a moment to see if people were watching, once the coast was clear. The thief would immediately. Stop the channelling of his divinity that was imbuing his cloak to become transparent, which was masking his presence and appearing on the stool with a slightly hefty pouch in his left hand.

“Never caught you; name Jared. If you are looking to eat, I got some funds to fill the stomach but will need to quick about it unless trouble brews about.”

[Vivian]

It only took a few minutes for his new friend to appear on the stool beside him, hefting a bag of coin in one hand. Vivian smirked, setting down the bread and eyeing the other man. His eyes trailed to the guard. Ah. So he had lifted it off an unfortunate patron...considering standing men were more vulnerable than sitting when it came to purse slitting, he had his money on the guard. "Good work." Vivian said lightly, swallowing and brushing crumbs from his lips. The other man introduced himself, and Vivan cocked his head. Something about that name. Jared. The scent of fresh bread.

A memory struck him. A shy baker, promising to teach him how to make stew. Licking the shell of his ear to make him blush; he had been so sweet and shy. He'd also admitted to being a thief, but had been working in the bakery to fill his own stomach. Were it not for the Mage's Guild and his own pregnancy, Vivian would have liked to sample the sweet little thing he'd tried seducing a year ago. Vivian peered at him. He was more mature now; there was confidence in the way the other man held himself. New power streaming off of him. Something had happened to him in much the same way it had happened to Vivian.

The Malformist laughed, tossing his head back and throwing his arms around Jared. "Look at you all grown up! I knew I had recognized you from somewhere. Perhaps you don't recognize me without the pregnant belly." Vivian giggled, and leaned in close to Jared's ear. "I had every intention to come back and learn how to cook from you...a pity I never got to bed you. You blushed so sweetly for me."

Vivian released him and motioned to the bartender. "Whiskey, for the pair of us!" he called. He took Jared's other hand and kissed his palm affectionately. "You certainly have grown up quite a lot...what happened to the darling little baker I stole from in a fit of desperation?"

[Gloomcrest]

5th Ash, 4623

“A little bit of thievery, practice and hard work will always pay off; just make sure you are getting a fair sum for the effort being put in.”

The amber-eyed Draedan couldn’t help but let a slight smirk creep upon his visage. It was only when his friend had finished consuming his delectable delight that the platinum-blonde magus cocked his head to the side as if his thoughts were bouncing back and forward, waiting for something to become clear as day.

When his face conjured a genuine smile, the thief tilted his head slightly, which was still obvious who the man sitting across from him was. The way that Vivian was staring at Jared made the thief feel somewhat nervous, but he was trying to maintain a poise about himself; the Draedan of Saren smiled momentarily, clearing his throat before speaking.

“Seems like you have recalled something, may I inquire wha…”

His sentence was interrupted as the Malformist laughed, throwing his head back before reaching over to the thief and embracing him gently yet firmly. Only when additional detail was provided, especially about his pregnancy, did gears start to move, and a realisation would settle in.

“Oh… Geez, I can’t believe it… What have you been up to, and where have you been? You kind of disappeared, but to be fair, I haven’t been around as much myself. We should catch up as much as possible, and I still recall needing to teach you a few things about cooking; I can give you more details when we have more time to discuss more personal matters. For now, let us enjoy the night.”

For now, it was best that the two simply enjoy each other’s company for really; it has been a long time since Jared had some time to rest and just for tonight. Relax and let go of the pent of stress that has been building up for some time.