Words sometimes better a sword

4th of Marna, 1682. 14th year of Q.E.

The Night Market vendors talked in hushed voices with their customers and the very air crackled around the borders. On opposite sides of the invisible lines rested one or two magically touched tickle pockets from each gang. Their concentration was causing the heavy atmosphere...the weight of someone searching through possible trespassers was not to be waved off. However it had been easy to go about her business during the day as she had simply concentrated on her message deliveries.

One Dragna had stared right at her when she'd needed to get through the borders, they suspected everyone regardless of occupation. But the sensation of something squirming around in her head made her feel sullied somehow. She'd given him a headache though, just continually thinking of what she had to do in the next few hours as a messenger. He'd pinched the bridge of his nose and waved her through after only a few moments of the bombardment.

The young scuttle bug turned on her heel and began to walk the short distance home. However the sea breeze that whispered into the city was wrong, an acrid smell clung to her throat as she breathed in. She stopped and turned, running back the way she'd come. People were a blur as she skidded across the cobble stones. Her heart felt like it would explode in her chest as she beat her fists against the door of the Inn. She had every reason to panic for as some jovial patron opened the door, she let out a strangled cry.

"Fire...at the docks." The reaction was immediate as people flooded into the street around her, the call to arms ringing out all around. The thought of fire sent chills down many a gutter child's spine. Many of the older buildings were wooden and this included drinking houses, lodgings and even the Inn itself. The surge of people urged her on as she lost herself in the determined flow of running people. Others had gone to find water and earth mages.

The plumes of smoke caused Skye to cough as the soot clung to her lungs. A young man passed her a handkerchief and she tied it around her head to cover her nose and mouth. She glanced at him and he had resorted to using the sleeve of his shirt. What they found actually caused a stab of guilt to run her through. The building next to where Rheys ran her business was alight. The fire gnawed and licked at its disintegrating prey, eagerly fanning out and searching for more victims to sate the never ending hunger. The mages arrived just as people had started to throw water on the dying building.

Water and soil raced along the cobbles to rush in and snuff out whatever they could as quickly as possible. The smell of damp earth slowly started to cleanse their airways as they continued to throw well water onto anything the mages had missed. As the ancient city clock struck midnight, the last flame was doused and they cheered. The neighbouring buildings were safe but the fire had gutted its victim and left the building a blackened husk. The owner touched one of the support beams and jerked his hand back just as it made a final ear splitting screech. The roof folded in on itself and threw out ash and soot in its wake. Rheys stood at the edge of the crowd, her face streaked with soot and ash. She wordlessly touched the man's shoulder and he looked at her blankly.

"We can rebuild your livelihood. It is fortunate that no one was working when the fire went through." she said reassuringly as he nodded hollowly. The rest of the people touched his shoulder and offered to help with rebuilding before returning home. Skye slipped away quietly after touching the merchant's shoulder, glancing down the road to see something that would have made her stop dead in her tracks. However seeing a robed figure behind Remus was enough to have her thinking how tired she was. Her grandmother had taught her a valuable skill when she was younger. Mages have to exert a staggering amount of energy to peer into someone's thoughts. Many didn't look beyond the general thoughts and delve deeper simply because the effort was too much.

Yet she still felt the probing sensation as she walked down the street, perhaps this mage was stronger than others. She ducked into an alleyway and came face to face with someone who could help her to stop the mage trying to dig further. Noah. She smiled and took his hand in hers, bombarding the nosy mage with thoughts of her and Noah. Mostly akin to ideas of marriage, children....all the things a normal young girl would think of at her age. Within moments the mage drew back and left her be.

"I enjoy your company...but what are you doing?" Noah questioned and she glanced back at him as they came to the corner near the silk shop.

"A mage decided he wanted to try and sift through my head. I needed to distract him with thoughts that he would find annoying." she saw his frown and tried not to say anything that would cause either of them to want more than they could be at this time.

"So you thought of us?" he asked blandly and she nodded before letting his hand go as he sighed.

"Yes...I thought of what I would have wished for. What I used to wish for when I was younger." Skye elaborated before he smiled and she felt her cheeks heat up just enough to be seen.

"At least you reassured me slightly this time." he responded before they bid each other good night. In the relative safety of her home she contemplated the possibility that Remus had set the fire to prove a point. But he had burned the building next to Rheys' working quarters. Then it clicked, the mage had been there to catch snippets of unprotected thoughts. Thoughts that could potentially lead to the identities of gang members. Who were the only members Remus would want to find out more than cursory information about? Jackal? Ace? Rheys? Then a chilling prospect surfaced in her mind.

What if Remus intended to hunt Alley Cat through the city of Dys? But she was a ghost...a pretend persona. Though if a wolf was dedicated enough, the real persona would most likely have to pay for the perceived sins of the pretender. But she supposed that her safe guards were good enough, only the elderly knew the real story behind her and her family. The elderly didn't participate in gang activities, they were prohibited from doing so. Not that they would want to participate in thief gang 'espionage' of any kind. If she stayed above suspicion she would be able to get along and continue to muddle out the link between the Dragna and the school fees.

She had found out so far, that one of the school masters was Dragna, or at least appeared to socialise with Dragna underlings upon occasion. After lessons he would peruse the Night Markets and talk to some lower end tickle pockets. Were the Dragna skimming money off the top of the school fees? It would make sense theoretically....but what would they need the money for? Skye remembered the very same school master crowing about a farm that he had shared ownership over. That was a possibility at the very least. The farms were needing temporary harvest workers for the next few weeks. Perhaps she would go earn more money with a group of allied scuttle bugs?