[Mid-life]

Possible reserve ^^

[master of spaz]

res

[anxious ghost]

res

[drift.]

username;; kodiak
name;; Sylviianel
gender;; Female
prompt responce;;

"You there! STOP!"

a gruff voice bellowed through the night, drowning out the soft thrum of paws against the sun-hardened earth.

the kalon was dressed head to toe in black, merely invisible in the pale moonlight. An advantage, however, for Sylvii.
The ignorant guards of this sickeningly perfect green country rightly called Quenlock. The name itself meant beautiful green country, which was exactly what this place was. Very, very, green.

Sylvii's lip curled up in a snarl as she pushed on, growing farther ahead of the handsome kal.
she glanced over her shoulder with a taunting smirk, "What's wrong Cass, still can't keep up?" she asked innocently, her ruby eyes wide as she stared back at his annoyed face.

[Takk]

Friend or Foe?

[Cyrano]

Marking to see winner

[.:Viv:.]

username;;
Vyx
name;;
Manami
gender;;
Female
prompt responce;;
"Manami? Ah yes, that sneaky Kalon. I've been chasing after her for a quite some time. If you have the time, I have no problem filling you in on this story.

It all started quite a while ago. Manami's hair, before it was held up beautifully, fell over her face quite clumsily. You probably figured out that this resulted in quite a bit of teasing from others. Oh, if only she had something to show off! Though she loved her gorgeous pelt, it was not nearly enough in her opinion; her hair was her kryptonite. All of her problems traced back to her hair. Might as well do something about it! she told herself.

While it was good she wanted to solve a problem of hers, her methods may have been…quite unorthodox. Manami wanted something as beautiful as her fur to decorate her hair with, but she determined that very few things in this world met that criteria. She pondered on this for quite a while. She let her mind wander, letting her paws take her off on a small hike, and as she was lost in thought, she stumbled upon a group of Kalons. It just so happened to be a group those who had teased her over her clumsy hair! The five of them were huddled in a circle, in awe at something they found. Manami kept her distance and perched on a nice low branch in a nearby tree to take a peek at what they had found. When one of them moved just a bit to the right, she was in awe herself. Before the five Kalons were five beautiful jewels. They ranged in size and shape; each was beautifully unique. Unfortunately, they were in the paws of her tormentors. How unfair! They would be better off in her own possession. They were just as enchanting as herself, she believed.

It was then when she discovered her mischievous side. She wanted those gems; how perfectly they would go with her hair, allowing her to tie it up gracefully, she thought. With the sun setting on the horizon, and the world settling down for the evening, she was in the perfect environment to get what she wanted. Quickly, she went to work. Bounding around, she snapped branches, shook bushes, and rustled leaves, all the while letting unnatural sounds escape her mouth. The Kalons were spooked, and they quickly left, not wanting to stick around to see what was causing such a ruckus. To Manami's delight, they left behind their findings; some sweet, ripe fruits, some flower crowns, but most importantly, those gorgeous gems. Leaving the others, she claimed those four jewels for themselves. I'll take this as payment for their relentless teasing, she told herself.

She began to experiment with new hairstyles, determining that it was the safest pace for her to keep her collection. Not to mention, it was one of the best ways to show them off! She eventually decided on the perfect hairstyle to contain them all. It was at this point, Manami realized what she had to do. The few gems she had were not enough to properly project her beauty, but her efforts so far made her realize that she was the only one who should own them. No one else deserved to possess the stones but her, and thus, she continued her journey. It was only a few days later on a rainy day when she found her next target. It was a human; a tall woman decked out in colorful jewelry. Manami was a bit disgusted, actually. Nothing matched, it seemed as if the woman wore everything she owned for the sole purpose of showing off. How dare she! You should wear only what compliments the colors you are wearing! she told herself angrily. From her ears hung two deep pink stones. What they were exactly, she could not tell. But they definitely did not go with…whatever it was this woman had going on. But you know what they went with perfectly? Manami and her hair, of course. Who else can rock those stones like there's no tomorrow? Manami was the one who truly deserved to show them off, and so she should take them herself. Though the sky was overcast and was shedding its tears upon the earth, this woman had dressed as if it was a scorching hot summer day. The part of her that Manami was focusing on was her footwear - she wore tall shoes with a heel as thin as a rat's tail. The woman ckearly didn't have much experience walking in them, for her ankles shook with each step she took. It was if all it took was a strong breeze to topple her over. Or, in this case, a Kalon. Manami did not hesitate to leap at the woman's back, pushing her forward into a large puddle of mud. The woman let out a loud shriek as she fell in, painting her body brown from the thick substance. Oh, what a sight to behold! Her colors were soaked, and her jewelry no longer shone. She began to weep, as she saw what had become of her appearance. But as fast as lightning, Manami snapped those beautiful earings from the hooks that held them to woman's ears, and took off. She ran until she was far away, but all the while held on to the stones so gently. It was only when she got home when she was able to pry off the backing of the earrings, leaving only the two stones. Though they were small, they would serve their purpose just fine, she determined.

The next three were acquired a similar fashion-she took it upon herself to give someone's possessions a proper home. But you are probably curious about the story for those too, right? Well, it was that time of the year again, where there were festivals all around for many to enjoy. It was at this particular one that Manami explored where she found her targets. There were two poor souls who fell victim to her antics. Rightfully so, you could say. The first was a young girl, quite the spoiled brat. Her father had made her a crown from only the finest materials, decorated with an array of jewels. The brat did not appreciate his efforts and threw a tantrum because the festival was not in honor of her. Not that she did anything redeemable. In her ruckus, she dropped the beautiful crown that was crafted for her - not that she cared. It was a given opportunity. Clearly, that brat did not care for the crown, which implies that she couldn't care less about what happened to the jewels that were crafted into it. It was a golden opportunity. Manami saw the bridge and crossed it. She snatched up the crown as the girl stormed off, claiming it for herself. But you and I know very well that it wasn't the crown that she wanted. Ever so carefully, she was able to remove two gems, the prettiest ones. After struggling with the other jewels, but to no avail, she decided to just leave the crown behind. She put it back where she found it - let someone else make value of it.

Manami was satisfied with what she was able to salvage. That was her first stroke of luck. The second came much later in the night, when the rowdy folk came out. Oh, how loud they sang and chanted, hopping around clumsily as if they were trying to dance. The Kalon decided that this was no longer a fun place to be and tried to head home. But with such a dense, rowdy crowd, her wish wasn't easily granted. Weaving around others, searching for a way out, she didn't get very far before she was tripped by someone. When she fell, she dropped one of the gems she had just collected. Scrambling to her paws, she quickly scoped it back up. Oh, the horror! Her precious gem now contained a scratch, tarnishing its rough surface. Manami let irritation rise within her, and she turned to the one who tripped her. Before she could say anything, she caught a glimpse of the ring he was wearing. The ring was a silver band, clutching onto a jewel that was much too big for the man's finger. Manami quickly determined that it was sufficient enough as an apology and knocked down the man. He fell hard on his back a bit disoriented from the sudden change in his world. He barely noticed the Kalon slipping the ring from his finger until it was too late. But before he could say anything, Manami had already disappeared into the thick crowd, out of his sight. This time, Manami made it safely out of the crowd with no further damages. Aside from the small mishap and her damaged jewel, Manami now had three more stones to add to her collection.

Ten jewels closer to her goal, Manami had grown a tad bit weary from her efforts. She had begun to wonder if it was really worth all of the work she had done, to rid others of their precious stones so that she may adorn them in her beautiful locks. Her mind was heavy at night, clouded with conflicting thoughts. In the morning, much remained on her mind, so she decided to go on a small trot through nature to clear her mind a bit. She made her way along for quite a while until she rested under her tree. It was then that some splashing caught her attention. There was a human, presumably a young adult male, enjoying his time in the water. He was wearing an old t-shirt and shorts, with what looked like a change of clothes set in the grass nearby. As her eyes were transfixed on him, the man reached into his spare clothes and produced a beautiful pink gem. It gleamed perfectly in the sunlight, and she swore a ray of light shone upon it from the heavens. The gem had a wonderful luster, and from where she sat, seemed to be a perfect shape, with no rough edges.

Only upon closer inspection would she be able to tell if it possessed any scratches or faults. It was then, that the answer she was looking for came to her. Of course it was worth the effort! The longer she kept her gaze on the gem, the more she just had to have it. She waited for the man to retreat back to the water, foolishly leaving the gem behind in his clothes. Manami began to creep towards the pile of rags, when she soon realized that the man was well aware of how prized his possession was, and as a result, remained on high alert. Every movement she made that disturbed the earth and plants around her caught his attention. Though he couldn't see any other beings than himself, he was beginning to grow antsy. Manami realized this approach wouldn't work and decided retreated to her previous position. This, she realized, was going to be one of her trickiest, yet most fun, maneuvers to retrieve what she wanted. She didn't recall anything she saw on her walk that would help her, so she quickly made her way further down her path, keeping her eyes peeled. Eventually, she spotted a tree, presumably dead, hanging into the water. It bore no leaves or flowers, and its trunk was a dull brown, covered in fractures and cracks. The only thing preventing it from being swept away by the current was a stubborn splint of wood, still clutching the trunk that remained rooted to the ground. At that moment, Manami let a cruel and mischievous spread across her face. Excited yet carefully, she made her way to the toppled tree, moving as roughly as ever. To her delight, she heard a loud splitting sound and leapt off the tree before it got carried away by the rushing water. Racing along the path, she followed it down the stream to where the man was enjoying a good swim.

She heard a loud, inhumane shriek erupt from his mouth, and had she blinked, she would have missed him fleeing from the water. As she had hoped, the large piece of wood had scared him off. Eagerly, she made her way down to the water's edge, and was full of delight. As she expected, the man was in such a hurry, he left his extra set of dry clothes, as well as the precious jewel. It was as perfect as she imagined; no flaws tarnished its appearance. Such a person did not deserve such a precious stone, she thought. If he truly cared about this beautiful stone, he should have taken the time to scoop it off before running off. I'll be sure to give it proper care it deserves. As she shuffled the clothes aside, however, something hard pressed against her nose. As if she had been blessed for her efforts, it turns out there was another gem inside one of the pockets of the pants. Though it was much smaller and had a few small scratches, it was still a beautiful deep red.

Twelve beautiful gems, each positioned perfectly in her hair, were taken from their former owners. Rightfully so, she convinces herself. Each person didn't deserve the gorgeous stones, she reasoned. She loves them all dearly and wears them proudly. However, she is nearly not as proud of them as she is of the one she adorns around her neck, the one she refers to as her most prized possession. That gem, that luxuriously red garnet stone, perfectly cut into a heart, is one she would probably die for. The one thing Manami values as much as her precious stones is her pride, and that stone is all the proof you need. It was the very first gem she collected, and it holds a heavy symbolism, to her. It symbolizes, I am ashamed to admit, her victory over me.

Yes, that last gem belonged to me. Well, the last that I will tell you about, but the first that started this journey. This sly Kalon managed to swindle even me from such a beautiful find. That gem had been passed down through my family for generations - it was a sign of unity in our household. That deep red heart always reminded us what it meant to be family, even when we were most upset with each other. But…one day, things fell apart. I ended up alone - just me and this garnet stone. I envied it. It remained perfect for so long, unlike my family, which somehow ended in shambles. How did such a thing remain perfect for such a long time, when it is my family that gets ripped to pieces, like how a tornado turn a structure that took years to build into a pile of debris. It made me angry.

One day, I took it outside with me. I planned to go for a long walk, and it was the only "company" I had. With it in hand, I walked. Who knows how long my trek was? I just headed off in one direction until I grew tired. All I knew was that I was alone. I eventually grew tired, to the point where my legs couldn't move forward, and I plopped myself down in a nice shady spot. That's when she arrived.

A Kalon with a beautiful coat approached me, with her hair falling over her face and pass her shoulders. It partially covered her eyes, causing her to move quite clumsily. My immediate thought was to offer a hair tie, but unfortunately, I had none to offer. Her eyes seemed gloomy, much like me. Somehow, we began to talk. The more we chatted, the more we acted like old friends who hadn't seen each other in ages. As time went on, the exhaustion from my body found its way to my head, encouraging me to take a delightful snooze. After that, things were fuzzy. The Kalon began to hum a delightful toon and lulled me to sleep. My garnet heart was the last thing on my mind. You can assume what happened after that. I woke up quite a while later; both the red stone and the Kalon were gone. Thus, began this journey. The more jewels she gained, the more I learned about her. It became my job to return everything she had taken, and I became dedicated to achieve that goal.

But…I will admit. Ever since my precious stone had been stolen, ever since I've been on this wild goose chase, I have started to feel reinvigorated. I no longer feel dispirited, like a disappointing empty carton of ice cream. It's as if…I have found a purpose. This Kalon somehow managed to put a life in me that I didn't have before in the strangest of ways. Almost to the point where I don't want to win. I think I'm enjoying this goose chase as much as she is, to be quite honest. Maybe I'll keep playing along. I mean, what a shame it would be if she just so happened to slip through my fingers again. What a diddly darn shame that would be.

…Thank you, Manami, for putting the energy back into my life."


I'm sorry for how long it is, I got super into it c':

[Peppermint Mist]

username;; Peppermint Mist
name;; Sasha
gender;; Female
prompt responce;;

These are extracts of a detective’s report in what many called the Great Jewel Race.

Entry 1

Recently, it’s been brought to my attention that thieves have their eyes set on certain jewels. I’m assuming that someone has ordered their collection, and since many detectives have been hired for this case, I can only conclude that is a big reward involved.

It’s known that a few of these gems have been found in Venice and placed in a museum and many of the other detectives are heading there and so I might as well join them. I will be using my journal for written entries and I will strap a camera to my body, just in case it catches something I don’t see, and I will also be interviewing eyewitnesses.

Entry 2

Venice is quite the sight if I do say so myself, although it is late I must start searching for these thieves as many are more active at night. The next entry will be most likely a video.

Video log 1
(Please note that the video has been edited so that whoever views it can see only the important segments)

The detective is walking through a crowded area, slowly wandering amongst the crowd when suddenly a hooded pink figure crashes into him, “ah, I’m so sorry!” she reaches for his arm to steady him. “Are you okay?” the detective jerks his arm away and mumbles “I’m fine” the stranger walks off, but the camera swerves back around, the detective slowly follows the stranger, who is now further away.

After a while, the stranger stops in front of what seems to be a museum, the home to 5 of the jewels. Even though the camera is at a far distance from the stranger, you can just about tell she’s smirking. she turns around and walks along a crowded street with the camera jiggling as the detective runs after her, but she’s disappeared.

Entry 3

I believe I’ve found a thief looking for the jewels. She acted very suspiciously around the museum and not only that but my map of the place, and the location of the jewels, seems to be missing. I have reason to believe the stranger I bumped into is the cause of this.

I will be entering the museum early in the morning to make sure no one steals the jewels. How hard can it be to catch a crook anyway?

Video log 2

“it’s been a few hours now, the museum opened early but there hasn’t been any suspicious activity yet. Many of the detectives have also arrived and we keep switching places”
The detective walks through the halls of the museum, whispering gently and then he turns into a room and gasps where he finds everyone crowded around broken glass with no jewel to be found. The detective turns rapidly and the image from the camera flies around wildly as he runs from one room into the next room, jewel gone. The next room, jewel gone. He looks behind him to see a few other wild-eyed people close to him, most likely the other detectives. He almost collides into someone running straight towards him and she looks at the crowd behind him and says “Not you too?” she moans “its gone in my room too”
“What about the last room?” a detective pipes up, and the running continues.

The crowd reaches the final room but the last gem is gone. “How could we miss this!” someone screeches. “surely we’d have heard the glass breaking?” In the corner of the camera, there’s a flash of pink and the detective slips quietly away, just in time to see the same pink kalon he saw the previous day disappear behind a corner. Once again, the camera bobs up and down as he sprints after her.

This chase continues for a while until finally, he corners the pink kalon. She’s by the bridge next to the canal dropping one of the jewels into a little satchel and closing it tightly.
“Aaand ten! Wow, I’m on a roll today!” with a wide grin on their face she says, “Thanks for the map, it really helped me! And now let me help you, because I’m sure I’ll be seeing you in France.”

The detective lunged forward to grab her arm but the thief stuck out her tongue and fell backwards into the canal, not resurfacing. The detective returns to the museum chuckling “Game on” he murmurs.

Interview one

Detective: Please state your name for the audio
Kit: Hi! I’m Jasper!
Detective: Now, Jasper if you could sit still for a moment so that you can answer some
questions, please?
Jasper: Yeah, yeah sure! I’m just extremely bored! It took forrevverrr to wait for this
Detective: Uh- I’m sure it did, now, did you hear or see anyone steal the jewel?
Jasper: Nope!
Detective: Would you… care to elaborate?
Jasper: What does that mean?
Detective: Um, well it means add more to what you were saying
Jasper: Oh! Okay! So I’m on holiday and my parents wanted to go to a museum but I thought that was really boooring, but I was promised ice cream so I decided that I’d go and we went left out the hotel-
Detective: I meant… the time around when the jewel was stolen
Jasper: ooooh! You could have just said so! I didn’t see anyone because it was very
crowded and loud! And then boom! The gem was gone
Detective: …
Jasper: Can I go now? This is boring. No offence.

Entry 4

At first, that interview didn’t seem to be going anywhere. The crowded rooms and noise made a bit of sense, making it quite easy to steal things unnoticed if no one was looking. If the thief does have ten of the jewels then she must be heading to France. I only hope that it’ll be harder to steal the last three. It just seemed to be so easy for her. It’s a good thing I have a few tricks up my sleeve, hopefully, they will work.

Video log 3

The camera swerves to the detective’s watch, 1:50 pm. He pulls out his phone again and the camera focuses on what seems to be a tracker, the dot right above him. The camera then veers upwards to look at the top of the building, the detective scoffs and walks inside.

-cut out footage-

The detective is finally on the roof and the camera moves to focus on his phone again, the dot has moved away from him and he makes his way to the edge of the roof muttering that he can’t believe he’s doing this. He takes a few steps back and then runs and jumps, the camera moves about wildly, and he lands oddly hissing in pain, but then quickly moving across that roof to jump on to the next one.

-cut out footage-

In the distance, there is a pink kalon. The Thief. The detective hides behind chimneys and anything else he can find sticking upwards on the roofs. The camera swerves to his phone again. On the little map, there is a pin where the dot is. The museum. The pink kalon slowly lowers herself through a window. The detective grunts and almost misses his footing when he lands, he sprints towards a door on the roof.

-cut out footage-

The detective finally gets to the bottom of the stairs and runs towards a seemingly empty room and there the thief stands. Two smaller gems must have already been placed in her satchel as they were nowhere to be seen and the thief is tying the necklace around her neck…

“Stop!” the detective shouts, the sound echoing around the room and the thief jumps in surprise.

Interview two

Detective: Please state your name for the audio
Thief: … Sasha
Detective: All right then Sasha, why did you do it?
Sasha: -chuckles- hmm, why did I do it? That’s a good question. Most likely out of spite.
Detective: Out of spite?
Sasha: Well, I have nothing to lose I guess… My friend, not the nicest of them all,
money has corrupted their mind you see, their grandmother left them treasures for them to find when she died but they couldn’t be bothered to find them. A few days ago they told me how they were going to send out a message to make others go and collect these jewels, gems, whatever you call them. And I got a head start. I managed to find the first five that were hidden in another country and by the time I had stolen the ones in Venice I had most likely already won the game. Everyone else must have given up. Come to think of it, it would have been way easier if others kept their noses out of mysteries, eight of the thirteen jewels had been found before all of this and that’s why they were in museums.
Detective: Ah, I knew it. what were you going to do with them?
Sasha: Keep them myself, not just to annoy my friend, I actually think that they are very pretty.
Detective: How did you do it? I’m quite curious about that.
Sasha: Well, I have always had the knack of coming and going as I pleased without anyone noticing, and with the noise in the museum I somehow managed to break all the glass cases using one or two distractions. But you, I underestimated you, how did you find me?
Detective: …a tracker, but I'm surprised the water didn’t fry it
Sasha: Very clever, we’re definitely alike. But I too have a few tricks up my sleeve…
How is your coffee? Feeling tired Mr Detective…. a bit, sleepy?
Detective: … you didn’t…
Sasha: I’m sorry but it was the only way I was going to get out of this situation. No hard feelings, right?
-there’s a thump, a sound of jangling of keys, a door shutting-

Entry 5

Sadly, from all accounts, as of yesterday I have been forced to close this case. The thief, or Sasha has escaped. With the jewels and it’s no longer my job to chase them.

Well-played Sasha. Well played.

Entry 1

I’m the new detective on this case and from what I’ve just flipped through these notes, the past detective seems to be a madman. Jumping across rooftops is just insane. He also seems to be overdramatizing his accounts too, I mean, how hard can it be to catch a thief anyway?

[orbiting]

username;; Quartz.
name;; Valentin
gender;; Male
prompt responce;;

Adrenaline. That feeling that’s coursing through your veins when the roller coaster is about to tip downwards, or when you’ve been racing through the rain to get to that finish line that you can finally see right in front of you…
When you’re about to get caught.
Everyone needs it. It gives us the thrill, the pure rush that we only rarely get in our mundane, settle down with a nice girl-get a good paying job - have children that get straight A’s and live in a cozy yellow house with a white picket fence - lives.
And some do experience it - a few times, and they’re done. They’re fine with it. They prefer a cozy life where such exhilaration isn’t necessary.
But for Detective A, that just wasn’t the case.
When he was 8 and gave a presentation on what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said police officer. His teacher made him tell his reasons; so, put simply, he said, “I want to catch criminals. I want to help people. I want to make the world better.” And it was done - quick, inspiring, made his teacher smile. But what was underneath that? He really meant, ‘I want to run miles chasing after a criminal who’s just robbed the bank and get the thrill of tackling and handcuffing him. I want to watch the detestable creep who murdered a child’s parents get tortured in prison. I want to feel like a hero,
by watching all the villains suffer.’
Of course, such words underlying heavy violence were not suitable to be said in an elementary school in front of his fellow young peers. It wasn’t even something he could talk to the counselor about.
But as he grew up, it was there. The compulsive need, as he watched the news.
Robberies, shootings, murders, abuse.
punish them, get them, chase them make them pay suffer they deserve it
Even now, at 26, finally having achieved his dream of a detective agent of the JOPD -
look at him, all smug - did you hurt someone today, filth? Are you a murderer?
even with his partner in the car next to him,
another murder another criminal let free another one another murder
“For goodness sakes, A!”
A was pulled out of his trance. He turned to stare at his partner.
His partner sighed. “A robbery. Hignman Jewels. 12 rubies plucked from glass cases like eggs during an Easter egg hunt. And get this - the biggest piece in the store, a giant Garnet gemstone, taken right from the center. And no cameras picked it up - one second it’s there, the next, it’s gone. It’s right on the feed.”
A nodded slowly. “Then let’s go.”
His partner narrowed his eyes. “You’re a good detective, A, I can give you that, no matter how much you creep me out. But this case? People are saying it’s a good ol’ Sherlock Holmes uncrackable.”
“Why’d you tell me, then? We’re sitting here doing nothing? I know Hignman. We went to school together - he’d want me on this case.” A paused, and then started the car. “If I solve this, I get to call you Watson.” He said with a smile on his face.
His partner groaned. “Fine, then. Let’s go.”
--
“Can you do it?”
The blacksmith just stared back at the red kalon in front of him with empty eyes and a falling mouth.
“Oh come on, Val. Where in God’s good grace did you get this, huh? I know you didn’t pay for it…”
“That’s not necessary information I need to tell you for you to do the job,” Val replied. He had a slight smirk on his face. It unnerved the blacksmith.
“A- and you want what? A pendent? A golden pendant with this as the centerpiece?”
“That’s correct. Oh, and uh - turn it into a heart.”
“A heart?”
“Yes!” Val snapped. “I want that ugly mess of a gem’s edges carved into a heart, right in the center of the gold pendant! Is it so hard? Is it so hard, Mr. Blacksmith? I can go - I can go to anyone, anyone else who can get me what I want. And at the price I’m paying, don’t you think it would really hurt your daughter if you turned down my deal?”
The blacksmith’s heart dropped. “What did you say?”
“Oh, debt. Friends to all who live in the slums, like you and Abigail. Isn’t that right?” Val replied.
“How do you know - how…? Abby?”
“This could help you,” Val was inching forward. His entrancing red eyes were gleaming, yet splinted with deviance. “This could help you out of that dark void you’re falling ever-so-helplessly into.”
“Fine. Fine, I’ll do your… your necklace. But you need to promise me-”
“Thanks. I’m sure your daughter will appreciate it.” Val interrupted.
But he was still approaching. He was menacing, despite looking like such a lovely Kalon.
"And you'll keep it a secret. Won't you?"
"Y-yes. It'll be done by tomorrow-"
"Thanks. I'm sure Abby would appreciate that, too."
--
"And you're saying there's no fingerprints?"
"No."
"No evidence, at all?"
"No."
"Let me see the camera feed again."
"Come on, A, give the man a break. It's an 8 hour long tape, and we've watched it-"
"It's fine," The jewel-store owner said quickly. "As long as it can help me find who took my Garnet."
"The Garnet's what your most concerned about? Not the rubies?"
"Oh, the rubies were important, too, no doubt. But that Garnet... it's the one thing, I... it was passed down in my family, for generations! It's never been for sale, ever... always in the center, to show it off, my family’s pride and joy… Oh…” Hignman’s voice broke off quickly with a choked back sob.
A’s partner rolled his eyes. “If it’s so important, why not keep better watch on it?” He remarked.
A clenched his eyes shut. “It’s fine, Hignman. Just - rewind the tape till the moment it disappears, again, will you?”
Hignman nodded. He pressed the rewind button, then sped it up.
It was quiet as the three men waited in the store’s security room, the only sound that of the tape rewinding.
-noos oot nelots kcen ym n
“Wait!”
A slapped Hignman’s hand, forcing it to stop the tape.
“Did you hear that?”
“What?”
“It sounded like words. Reverse words! Go back 30 seconds. Let it play.”
Hignman looked confused, but he obliged.
And slowly, in less than 5 seconds, they all heard it.
“noos oot nelots kcen ym no tenraG
dnuow tohsnug a ekil daeh ym ni seibuR”
They froze.
“Play it forward again.”
Hignman did.
Nothing.
“Play it again… I’ll write down what it says-”
“Garnet around my neck stolen too soon,
Rubies in my head like a gunshot wound.” Hignman deciphered aloud.
“A riddle? A poem?” A’s partner asked.
“No,” a small smile was appearing on A’s face. This was his break. His dose of thrill.
“It’s Valentin.”
--
Valentin was impatient.
It had been 2 days, and nothing from A.
Realistically, he knew he’d heard the message. It wasn’t hard to decode, at all. And with the two’s past, well… A would know where to meet him.
But when? Valentin left that out. He thought the time of night he showed up to wait for A was special to A, too, but apparently, it was nothing of the sort; the last 2 nights, he’d waited for hours, the gems all placed in his head, his beautiful golden pendant around his neck. But he was apparently dressing up for nothing.
His eyes scanned the room longingly. He’d wait an hour or two more, but after this, it would be just too risky. He’d have to leave town right away if A didn’t show up tonight. And well, that was just no fun, was it?
But his eyes finally caught something. The floor vent was slightly cracked open, and from within it something was emitting a metallic gleam. He raced from his chair, sitting pointedly at the door, and pried it open. Inside was a tape recorder.
Fiddling with the buttons, feeling his tension rise, Valentin finally pressed the red button down.
“Behind you.” It said. And then static.
Valentin turned and there he was. Hidden in the shadows, his eyes dark. The whole time Valentin was there, A had been waiting, stationary in the coat closet.
“I waited for a long time,” A spoke slowly. “Just waiting for you to notice - for someone who likes to play tricks, you really are slow…”
“A,” Valentin gasped out. “You really - hah! You really got me.”
“Why’d you steal them, Valentin?”
“Why did you come?” Valentin ignored his question.
“I wanted to talk to you.” A responded.
“I was off my rocks when I heard you were a detective now. But you figured out who I was too easily. It was no fun.”
“You’ve been waiting here for two nights straight. I agree. No fun.”
“So maybe I am slow,” Valentin responded. He was smiling widely. “But you are, too, if you still haven’t figured out why I stole those gems yet.”
“Indulge me.” A responded. His blood was pounding in his veins.
“A garnet… prized possession of the last member of the family…”
“Completely priceless. Irreplaceable,” A configured, his eyebrows furrowed.
“And it’s worth? That of a priceless family heirloom?”
“... could never be replaced.”
“You’ve got it. I stole something that is completely irreplaceable. I wear it around my neck, after desecrating it’s original shape, as a trophy! Isn’t that neat?”
“So that’s what you are now, Valentin? A thief that only steals things with emotional worth? Just to keep them? And what about the rubies?”
“It’s not necessarily the ‘keeping’ part, A. It’s the fact that I took something that was the last in the family. Never to be replaced. Treasured for years, seen and loved by many faces. I took it, and there will never be another one. That prized heirloom and its tradition? Dead. Oh, and the rubies? Just for fun. I’ve always loved their color.”
A swallowed.
“And you know what? I love it. I love taking something… that can never get redone.”
“V-” He'd made a mistake.
“Let me finish. I love knowing that just with one action… I’ve stopped something from being.”
A couldn’t say anything. He just stared.
“You are the last man with your family name, right? Only you… to carry on the tradition?”
A realized now.
he’s a thief, he will kill you, he remembers oh he remembers what happened so long ago, get out
“That’ll be the next thing I take.
The tradition of your family name.”
It went dark.
-
A died in a hospital bed of wounds that were quick and assured death.
But he died with a certain knowledge that would haunt him in his last moments.
He watched V walk away, stolen into the night. With rubies in his head, a stolen treasure around his neck as a trophy, he took his last futile breath knowing he’d never get to catch the jewel thief turned murderer that had stolen so much more than just a Garnet gem.
And he also knew that that wasn't the end of Valentin's story.
Not at all.

[Grey_Hoodie]

Username;;
Grey_Hoodie

Name;;
Vaughn Garret

Gender;;
Male

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prompt responce;;

Charcoal smog flooded the citadel, electricity curling and whipping through the air only to ignite itself in bright bursts of violent lightning. A red haze worked its way between the billowing pillars of volcanic ash and a sweltering heat swarmed the lands. The air itself seemed to scream, drowning out the hysterics of the island’s inhabitants as they fled towards the shores.

The panic rose and the swallowing clouds of ash became suffocating. What few could escape throttled the gears of their boats into overdrive, slicing through the incoming tide’s waves. Skin darkened with soot, mouth hanging agape in a desperate search for clear, clean air, the detective looked on from her seat on her brother’s vessel as her home was set aflame. She wrapped her hands around her stomach to prevent their shaking before hiding them away in the pockets of her jacket when it seemed they only further encouraged her body’s shivering.

Her palm slid against the smooth surface of an envelope, fingers catching on the stamp folded in half at the corner. Brows furrowing, she pulled it out, clinging to it as another rumble sounded out from the island. Vibrations shook the waters and waves eagerly sloshed their way into the boat. There were cries coming from all around her, and the line of boats pulled further away. She didn’t know where they were going, and she wanted to spare thoughts to those left behind, but the letter consumed all her focus.

The paper itself was dirty with sooty fingerprints that had smudged out several paragraphs and the author’s signature farewell words. It was long and sloppily written, as was to be expected with the sudden need to flee surging up through the people. The detective rubbed her thumb against the page reflexively, thoughts wandering back over the last few weeks of her first case, before her eyes finally stopped watering from the burning sensation of ash.



𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞.
𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈’𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐧, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭-𝐚𝐧𝐝-𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭… 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐬. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞. 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐝𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭… 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐭, 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈’𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝.

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐈’𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈’𝐦 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞, 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍’𝐓 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐇𝐄𝐑! 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤-𝐢𝐧𝐬.

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐬. 𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤? 𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞? 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐞.

𝐈 𝐚𝐦, 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐨𝐜𝐜 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐗𝐕𝐈, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡, 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥.

𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭, -- the rest of the words are smudged and cannot be made out.

𝐏.𝐒. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐨𝐜𝐜 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐗𝐕𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞, “𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐦 𝐕𝐢𝐱 𝐃𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭.” 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞: 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞.



The detective wasn’t certain why, perhaps only for old times’ sake, but she wanted to see her old pursuit’s signature one last time. Perhaps she would if he got bored. But then again, what was he to steal? His collection was complete. With a sigh, the boat skipping along calmer waters, the detective was drawn into her thoughts and memories of the first time she’d met a certain, cheeky thief known as Vaughn Garret.

After being propositioned by a wealthy old woman to find and recover her very valuable necklace, the detective had been hot in pursuit… of practically nothing. What exactly she was meant to do with only the knowledge that the necklace had been stolen from a third-story windowsill, she wasn’t sure. So she spent her days looking active and reassuring the woman while also waiting for the thief to strike again. A risk, definitely, and one that could have ended her career entirely if the thief’s interests extended past garnet gemstones, but it paid off.

The city’s new mineral museum was hosting a festival to celebrate its opening. In its attempts to draw in large crowds, it was announced that that the festival would have a slew of games and competitions with promises of wonderful prizes. On display was a pair of dark, rosy garnets, evidently the same gems as the ones on the old woman’s necklace. The detective knew better than to get her hopes up and wish that the thief was only attracted to that specific gem, but she was beyond surprised to see a young man just waltz into the museum with his long hair partially pulled up and decorated with the stolen jewels.

He noticed her immediately and the couple stood silently, taking each other in. After a very audible gulp, the boy turned on his heel, tossing a wary smirk over his shoulder, before disappearing into the crowd. Momentarily stunned, it took a bit before the detective could move. Angry, she stationed herself protectively near the prize table determined to not slip up this time. The guards there gave her an odd look, but ultimately decided to ignore her when she flashed her badge.

The festivities rolled around her as people came in surges. High scores and names were called out over the speakers and winners began approaching the table in search of their reward. Her sharp gaze raced across each of their faces, eager to locate the one of her thief. No. Not them. No. Where was he?

Suddenly, a gasp! The detective swung around to see that the secure glass meant to protect the museum’s ultimate prize was completely empty. What?! When?! How? She spun, charging for the exit. Her shoulders clashed into those of passerby, and her path was continuously changing as the crowds shifted. A foot caught her own, and the detective was sent crashing to the ground.

She felt the hard knob of a knee along her back, and glancing up, she was caught in the enveloping gaze of the jewel thief. It was abruptly cut off as he turned his eyes back down to the detective’s ID. When had he taken that? The detective lashed out, but before she could unbalance him, he rose and dropped the ID and her badge. When had he taken that?!

“x280 Whitman Court, hmm.” The thief offered her a hand, and she latched onto him, clawing her fingernails into his skin and pulling herself up. He glanced down at the clasp she still had on him and snickered before shaking their hands, “Vaughn Garret. I’ll keep in touch, Detective.”

And with a salute, he was gone, and her hands were filled with the fallen badge, ID and a picture of the boy dressing up more strands of his hair with the two new jewels he’d just added to his collection. When--? No, the detective refused to think on it. Apparently her thief was a slippery one. That’s fine. She’ll just need to up her game next time.

But even as she walked out of the museum, glancing down at her hand, she wondered if she’d just let him slip away. No, the blood caught in her nails said otherwise.

The detective wanted to laugh at her younger self for naively believing she might be able to catch him, jerkily brought back to the present by a sudden slosh of seawater spraying against her face. The letter in her hands was growing damp and her own sooty fingerprints were beginning to block out what remnants of the letter were still available to her. Carefully, she folded the paper and slid it back into her jacket’s pocket, hoping that it wasn’t completely ruined. When she was back in her right mind, maybe she’d be able to pull some facts from it and continue her pursuit, but for now she was content to think back to the first letter Vaughn had sent her.

She couldn’t remember all the words, but she could remember the photo. He had tossed up his hair rather elegantly, a line of jewels adorning the soft pink strands, but his face was sour and his expression looked very much like a pout. An odd clump hung down over his shoulder, and the picture had been captioned with, “See why I need them all?”

She had been disappointed with herself when the words made her laugh because this was her job and she needed to take care of the thief… but she couldn’t really help it. Even now it brought out a chuckle, and the detective could almost recall the writing that had accompanied the picture.



𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞.
𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞? 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞?

𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡? 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭.

𝐈’𝐦 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 – 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 – 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐬! 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭.

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞, 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝟐,𝟎𝟎𝟎$ 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥. 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭. 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐬. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐈’𝐦 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐭. 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐛, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭? 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐬, 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐬. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐠.



𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥,

𝐕𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐧 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐭



𝐏.𝐒. 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐝.

𝐏.𝐏.𝐒. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬. 𝐒𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥.

𝐏.𝐏.𝐏.𝐒. 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭? 𝐇𝐚𝐡𝐚, 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐝.

𝐏.𝐏.𝐏.𝐒.𝐒. 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨. 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐩, 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞.



Ah, there it was. Words worked for him like magic, fluid and easy to follow, at least for her, and it was a relief to know that her memories weren’t scrambled too terribly. When she’d managed to catch him on the streets after the letter, happily slapping a cuff on his wrist before he managed to slip out of her grasp again, he had looked horribly guilty for the prank. The detective can’t say she was fine with what he did. It was unbelievably rude and took a huge chunk out of her paycheck to appease the antique shop’s owners, but if it could draw him out to her, she’d rather it happen. One step closer to catching the crook was exactly what she needed.

The boat was slowing down. Another island was beginning to break the horizon line, and the burning glow of the one she’d left cast an ugly glow across the waves. She tried not to think of the destruction she would be returning to once the volcano had settled and the island was once again safe to visit. No, she’d rather think of the treasure trove that Vaughn had been so excited about. She didn’t want to think about tomorrow just yet.

Vaughn’s clues had been less than helpful in regards to the Treasure Island he was absolutely certain existed. With as many times as he acknowledged it in his letters, one would think she’d been convinced to think so too, but really, she wasn’t. She had no doubt that there were old relics and mysterious treasures still waiting to be discovered, but a whole island full of them? Not likely. But if her thief was going to trudge out into the middle of the ocean to find some hidden land of wonder, then she was going to follow right after him just to make sure she could cuff him when she next got the chance.

Unfortunately, the currents had been exceptionally strong the day she wished to depart, and with a nearly black storm brewing in the distance, the detective had decided that it was probably a better idea to wait. Even more unfortunate was the fact that the storm lasted four days, leading to floods throughout the citadel and her attention was drawn more toward helping struggling citizens than it was to the adventures of her thief.

The disappointment wafting up from his next letter was palpable.



𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞.
𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐥. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.

𝐈 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬. 𝐇𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬. 𝐀 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫.

𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐬. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐞.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 – 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤; 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐣𝐞𝐞𝐳 – 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮.



𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥,

𝐕𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐧 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐭


𝐏.𝐒. 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐈’𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.



The detective hadn’t really hid the gem. Despite his wishes, she’d kept it close. Very close. Clenched-in-the-palm-of-her-hand close. She remembered sitting at her desk, occasionally glancing out the window to see if she could catch his approach.

Vaughn, however, simply appeared at the study’s doorway, and the detective could hardly muster up any surprise. His eyebrows furrowed, and with a mild look, he gazed about the room. Petulantly, he muttered as his eyes settled on her form, “Could I have a hint?” The detective hid her smile behind her hand, trying horribly to stifle the giggle choking up her throat. The thief’s eyes widened, catching a glimpse of light reflected off the tiny garnet hidden away beneath her thump, and he surged forward.

They began an odd dance, swinging around the room and ducking beneath each other’s outstretched arms. Their steps were fluid and swift, carrying them from the office to the kitchen to the living room. The detective pinched the jewel between her fingers, letting the light glint teasingly off of the stone. Vaughn’s eyes were dilated, solely focused on the last piece of his collection. He pressed forward, settling his hands on the detective’s forearms and drawing her eyes towards his own.

Captivated, once again, by his pinkish gaze, the tilt in her center of gravity didn’t register until her back was slammed against the ground and the air was forced from her legs. Dizzy and straining to catch her breath, the detective managed to toss a glare in the thief’s direction. His snickering filled the room, and the detective was suddenly bursting out chuckling as well. Vaughn offered a hand, dragging the detective up off the ground and showing off his prize in the other. The detective swiped at it, but wasn’t surprised when her thief leapt away from her.

"And with this last garnet, your lucky thief will make his gallant escape," Vaughn laughed, folding his body in half with a dramatic, almost theatrical bow, "Catch me if you can, detect--"

Abruptly, the ground began shaking, the walls trembling, the roof coming apart in pieces over their heads. A thunderous roar rumbled throughout the building, and the detective rushed over to the front door, holding it open for her thief. Stepping outside, her eyes widened as she took in the sky. It looked set ablaze, a ferocious red color streaking through the air only to be swallowed up by pillars of smoke.

The ground continued to tremble, and the pair rushed into action without a word of goodbye to one another. The time seemed to pass so quickly. Every movement, every sound, everything was a flash before the detective’s eyes. And then she was boarding her brother’s boat, a careful arm guiding her to sit down before the engine started and they were fleeing her home.

In the myriad of thoughts swelling within her head, the detective spared a brief thought to her thief’s luck, and she wondered if that had anything to do with his final spectacular escape out of her grasp. But then her mind drew blank, and a dull gaze settled back on her home.