And I thought we were normal. How wrong I was.

   Over the next week Uefi and I helped to fix up the Apple family home during the day and at night when I slept he would go out and train with Berry to get ready.

   I close my dresser, putting away my everyday clothes. I already have on my clothes for tonight, but I have my blades hidden in the back if my coat to make sure nopony who doesn't need to see them views them.

   I set my watch, book and other trinkets down on my desk before exiting the room, but not before checking the time 11:12. In truth I am a little scared for tonight. For starters, there won't be anypony on the inside to give me an edge like when I broke Uefi out and I've also had to chance to see Uefi train at all. Not to say I doubt his abilities, but I don't know how much I can rely on him to do.

   Dismissing my worries for the time being, I enter the common room to see Uefi sitting on the couch wearing a black turtleneck and a pair of navy blue running pants. On the glass table in front of him sits a pure black device, which I believe to be his crossbow.

   While it holds the same features I expect of the device however the limbs seem to be retracted against the center of the frame to make it more manageable and concealable until he plans to use it, with a shoulder strap along its length. The entire weapon is pure black, save for the small red gem which is embedded at the end of the device, opposite the stock. A scope of the same shade of black is attached to the device with a green gem midway along its length on the topside of the object. Both gems emit a small glow of their own colours. Next to it sits a quiver filled with a few arrows and strap similar to its counterpart.

"Ready to go Uefi?" I ask him and I pull up my face shroud and hood.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Needless to say I'm glad I skipped dinner." He mumbles, throwing his bow and arrows over his back.

"Please; I'd rather not know." I kid; trying to break the tension we're both undoubtedly feeling.

   We both climb out of the hole, one at a time mind you, and begin our walk out of the forest.

"So what's the plan?" He asks and I yawn.

"I scouted the outskirts of it a little yesterday. The house itself is close to the edge of the forest, but the trees are too dense to get through and there's extra security there. You can probable get into a position on one of the sides where the trees aren't as thick and wait for me to give you targets." I explain to him as we exit the forest.

"Ok, but where will that leave you?" He questions as we turn off into the grassy fields to avoid traveling along the roads, the last thing we need to for somepony to question our attire and what weapons we're carrying.

"I'll have to pull myself up and over the front wall. At night the guards move closer to the mansion itself; so the front wall should be clear enough for me to get over it easily. From there it's about 100 meters of open lawn with a few decorative shrubs that I'll have to move through. I don't know anything else though. All I know about the inside is that the library should be somewhere in the left wing and the master bedroom will be on the second or third floor in one of the other sections. Your shots shouldn't be any more than 30 meters though."

"I should be able to handle that easily enough then. Where will you go first?" He asks as the grass rustles underneath or hooves as we travel by the faint moonlight.

"I'll go by the library first. The amount of guards there should be lower than that of the bedroom so it'll be easier. Also, if I get the ring without any problems and then get found while trying to get into the bedroom, I can just grab the stuff quickly and run like hell." I explain my bare-bones plan to him and he just nods as the mansion comes into view.

"So after you get the things we need, you're just going to sneak out and we're done?"

"That's the plan. After all we're not stealing because we want to, we're stealing to survive." I remind him.

"Glad to see you haven't forgotten." Uefi remarks and we continue in silence until we reach the gray masonry front wall of the estate on the left corner facing the manor.

"Ok; I'll wait here for now. Radio me when you're in position and we'll get started." I whisper to him. I asked Berry about cameras but she said the owner respects his own privacy as well as that of his family too much to want cameras everywhere however I'm not sure as to whether or not it's the same story in the outdoor part of the estate.

"Got it." He whispers back and we both put on the ear pieces and small microphones we were supplied with.

   Uefi skulks off around the corner and I wait for another half hour before I hear his voice come through the device with some static.

"~I'm ready when you~ are."

Clicking the button on my own communicator I call back to him, "Got it," before reaching up and placing my hands on top of the wall.

   After pulling myself up and over the masonry, I land softly on the plush grass and my eyes dart back and forth to check for any movement.

"Any movement, Uefi?"

"Nah~, there's no one for the next 60 meters or so. Ju~st take it slow and steady."

   Following his advice, I slowly take my daggers and put them back in their respective places at my waist before crouching low and continuing onwards, making sure to not stray too far from the left wall in case I would need to escape.

   I dart back forth from bushes to the open courtyard careful to go fast when moving and taking a minute or two before moving again.

I finally get within the last twenty five meters or so to the oversized structure before I'm able to see faint silhouettes and Uefi radios back to me, "~ok; there's a set of shrubs about twenty meters up along the wall. If you ca~n get into those you'll be able to just hug the wall and~move behind them until you find your entrance."

"Ok I see them, but what about the guards?" I ask, hearing the faint voices of the bodyguards.

"I'll tell you when to go for i~t," he answers me and I wait about three or four minutes before hearing him again, "go for it."

   Quickly activating the quick step spell, I lunge towards the greenery and roll upon landing, perfectly into the small clear space between the bushes and the left wall.

"You're fine, keep going forwards and tell~me when you have a plan to get in." Uefi reassures me and I move on.

   The mansion could be described as being in the shape of a rectangle with semi-circles forming the shorter sides at the end of each wing. Formed of an outer layer of bricks with lines of windows running along each floor.

   I line myself up with the center column of windows before thinking about my options. I could try finding a way to the roof and getting in from somewhere up there, or move around to the back and see if there's a back door of some sort. Wait a minute; I'm looking for the library in this wing not a small study. This is a mansion so I doubt the library would be anything like the one back in town. This one would be for showboating. If it was me I'd have it have high ceilings, like two of three story high ceilings.

   Deciding to bet on the idea that the entire semi-circle is the library, I make plans to scale the wall up to the second story window within the column and go from there.

"Uefi; you know where I am, right?"

"~Yeah, about centered with the building right?" I hear his voice come back.

"Yeah. I need you to tell me when it's safe to run at that column of windows."

"Let me look~ around for a minute to see where the guards are."

After about ten minutes of waiting I hear his voice come back over the ear piece, "Ok, we have a potential problem. There's a guard~on top of the roof standing over that column of windows. I can take him out but there are~about five other guards on the roof." I sign.

"Are they moving at all?" I ask, downtrodden that my plan might already have a snag.

"No; I've been watching them for the last five minutes~but they never moved."

"Then they're probably just stationary lookouts, I'll take the risk on it." I decide to take the risk. Please let this pay off.

"~Got it Quentin. I'll take the shot when the guards aren't looking. When I do, you run at the windows~as fast as you can." He answers back and I take up a stance. I can't risk using magic in case they see it.

"Tell me when."

One minute....

Two minutes....

Three minutes....

"GO NOW!" Uefi comes of the comm urgently and I can hear the click of the trigger through the ear piece.

   Not wasting the opportunity, I keep myself low to the ground and sprint to the illuminated windows. I make it the windows without anypony noticing and I lunge upwards and pull myself up the wall and climb quickly until I'm midway between the first story and second story windows. Thank god for thick and poorly maintained grout lines.

   I pant heavily for a minute or two, with my hands and hooves firmly planted on the wall as if I was rock climbing.

Taking one hand off the wall I click my mic back on and whisper, "Did it work?"

"~Yeah; he fell backwards onto the roof, but I don't think~anypony noticed you or him."

"What luck; alright, I'm going to get up to the next window and go inside. Once I'm in I need to you to make sure nothing unusual goes on and to wait for me to come out." I tell him before resuming my climb upwards.

"You were right~, once you get past the idea of it; this gets fun."

"Don't get used to it." I pant, turning my mic off afterwards.

   After scaling the wall up to the next window, I peek my head up to look inside. Thankfully I was right about my suspicion that it was a two story library. Built in bookshelves line the walls up to this line of windows with a small overhang from the windows, probably enough for me to stand on.

   Using a hair of magic, I pull the window open and slip up into the library and onto the wooden overhang. My good fortune showing through again, the inset lights that run along the overhang are turned off, effectively shrouding my in shadows while giving me a view of the library floor where the lights that run up the bookshelves are still lit.

But if the lights are on, then someone is in here. I think before surveying the room.

   At the stair wall of the semicircle, directly across from me, is a small collection of chairs facing inwards towards and unlit fireplace and about 4 meters away one both the left and right sides are long wooden tables with books sitting in neat stacks on them. A few meters in from the edges tables are positioned to fit the curve with openings periodically. Directly under me is some sort of square display case and I can see a small gleam come off of it. Bingo. Closer to me from the fireplace is a small circular table with four chairs.

   However only three of these chairs are empty, a pegasus with a brilliant coat of yellow with a red tint at the end of the wings which are over the back of the chair and on the fur slightly who wears a short golden mane occupies the other chair facing away from me. I cannot determine a gender, but, due to the night clothes it's wearing, I know it isn't a guard so if worse comes to worse I should be fine. Just go slow and quiet; it's one pony who's facing away from you, no big problem.

   I form a few boxes in the shape of a staircase to avoid climbing down a bookshelf and making a racket. Keeping low and slow, I descend to the floor quietly without more noise than that of a feather falling to the ground.

   I turn to face the pony, who has still not noticed my presence, and then back to the display case.

   Within the case, which is about half my height sits a small silver ring on a cushion with a bright purple gem in it. I stare at it for a moment, captured by the object's glow, before getting back to business.

   I lift the fabric quickly to check for any form of wires or alarms as I was taught to do. After confirming a lack of traps, I lift up the glass from over the box before pulling the ring out from under it with my magic and into a pocket in my coat. One item; stolen. I congratulate myself as I set the glass down.

   I turn around and I can instantly feel my heart sink and my stomach churn. Standing no more than one or two meters from me is the yellow pony, who I now see to be a mare about my age, holding a white cane and staring at me with large yellow eyes that seem to have an odd hazy look in colour, but that makes them no less intense.

"What're you doing there?" She asks innocently and I double back from my plan to use a book held in my magic to knock her out.

"Umm... What?" I respond, standing up now.

"Oh good; I was hoping I wasn't hearing things again." She laughs shyly. Hearing things? I thought I was being pretty quiet. "You must be one of the guards then?"

   One of the guards? Is she's been watching this whole time then she knows I just took that ring. Or maybe she just now saw me?

"Yes, I am." I lie through my teeth to her. "I just came by to check on the library. I didn't mean to disturb you. I hadn't thought anypony would be in here at this hour."

"Do you promise not to tell on me, then?"

"Tell on you?" I ask, unsure of what she means. Is she just a klutz or something?

"Yes, just please don't tell Dad. He'll be angry with me if he knew I was reading this late again." She whines a little and it darts to take shape for me.

"So your Coin purses daughter?"

"Well yes, didn't you know?" She asks me, it now being her turn to double back.

"No, actually, I just got hired today as a house guard; so I'm not too familiar with your family yet or this mansion for that matter." I continue to fib. If I play my cards right I might be able to make this work.

"Oh, sorry for not knowing. Dad tends to leave me out of any business." She apologizes.

"No it's fine. I was just hired today anyways." I tell her before checking the room one more time with my eyes. "Would you like me to walk you back to your room before I continue my rounds then?" I offer. If I do that it might prove to be a good way to get information on where things are here and of guards come by I'll have an alibi.

"If you could, please. I'd rather not risk having another guard find me and telling Dad or Mom, they've already given me plenty of hell for this stuff." She says and I'm surprised at her profanity due to her more elegant way of speaking. Of course being caught snooping around with the daughter of the guy I'm supposed to steal from could prove problematic.

"Alright, but you'll have to lead the way. I only, found my way in here by accident." I say and she turns to leave.

   Using her cane as a walking stick, she moves forwards and I follow, still a little confused as to why she doesn't suspect me of anything. After all, anyone with eyes should've been able to see me take that ring. Think as we walk past the table she was at and I look at the book, whose pages are just filled with random bumps in the paper.

Wait. A book filled with odd bumps in the paper, a long cane she always extends in front of herself before moving and she didn't see anything I did even though she was looking right at me. Bingo?

"Excuse me for asking, but are you blind?" I shyly ask the blonde mare for confirmation and she smiles.

"Yeah; the blind second daughter, born without sight of any form. Dad tends to not mention the part about my blindness to the guards." She confirms my theory as we exit the library and begin to head down a dark hallway with the rhythmic tap of her can filling the void.

"I'm impressed that you're able to get around this place. I can barely even find the library." I kid with her to change the conversations focus and she laughs a little quietly.

"You just have to get used to it, I guess." She mumbles as we enter a large room which I assume to be the entryway to the home with one large staircase in the back leading upstairs and three doors on the wall opposite of me and one on either side of the stairs.

"I guess we go to the upstairs now?" I quietly ask her.

"Yes, after that it's just a few doors down." She says and we climb the stairs, myself walking behind her in case she was to trip and her with a hand clutching the guard rail.

   After a few minutes, we step off of the stairs and onto the second floor. I follow her to the right and down another hallway, thankful my time as a fake escort is almost over. We stop in front of a single door and she fumbles around in her pocket for a key.

"Thank you for coming with me this far." She thanks me and bows slightly.

"Not a problem, but could you tell me how to get to your parents room? I'm supposed to go by and make sure everything's alright." I ask her as she opens her door.

"Sure. Just head back towards the staircase and on either side there's staircases leading up to the third floor. After that turn towards the back of the house and you'll see the door immediately." She tells me before entering her room. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight and thank you." I return the phrase and she closes the door behind her. Thank god, at least it doesn't seem like anything has gone wrong yet.

   I walk down the hallway and back to the staircases before stopping for a moment.

"Hey Uefi, anything weird going on out there?" I ask to make sure that mare wasn't just playing me for a fool.

"Nah~ I flew over a little while ago and moved that guard I shot so they wouldn't see him if they changed out guards.~ How are things on your end?" His voice comes back through and I sigh in relief.

"I almost got caught but she was blind, so I was able to convince her that I was a guard. I've got the ring and I'm heading up to the master bedroom now. I'll call back to you if anything changes." I whisper back and turnover my mic again.

   I stay low to the floor and slowly make my way up the staircase, testing each step to make sure to avoid any creaking steps. I come off of the last stair and turn around to see a set of double doors on the wall a few meters away.

   I sneak up to the doors before I hear a small rhythmic creaking noise from one of the alternate hallways along with a light coming through from the hallway at the end if the right stairwell.

   Thinking of no better place to hide, I slip behind the guard railings of the stairwell, hoping that the dark metal rails will allow me to blend into obscurity.

   A moment or two later a dark gray pony wearing a suit comes through the doorway, holding a flashlight in one hand and in a holster at his side I can see the handle of a pistol sticking out and I gulp in fear before putting my hands on their preferred blades, just in case.

   He begins to shine the light around the room, but thankfully only along the walls and not for very long. The light passes over my head and I freeze in fear. He doesn't seem to have noticed me though and continues on through the room and into the next hallway.

   Taking no chances, I sneak back to the other side of the room and look down the hallway to make sure he's still just going on his way. Happy to see the guardsman still walking down the hallway and shining his light around, I go am to the door to the master bedroom.

   I turn the knob but I'm stopped partway through the turn and I sigh. Locked; time to break in. I pull out my tools and put them into the lock before beginning to methodically push up each tumbler.

   After five minutes of screwing around with the lock, I finally get the last tumbler in place with a satisfying click. I turn the knob and open the door enough to peak my head in.

   I see a table on the left side of the room with dressers on either side and the story is the same on the right side, against the back wall is a king sized bed with two large rises in the blankets. Just go slow and don't wake them, whatever you do; don't wake them.

   Taking my tools back out of the lock, I slip through the door and close it behind me quietly. I move to the left side table first and look the table over. A few small rings and trinkets sit on the table, but for the most part none of them seem to be the necklace or earrings I'm looking for.

   However at the far end of the tables I can see a necklace sitting on a small stand. Emerald in the center, rubies on both sides, thin golden chain; this is it. I slowly lift the necklace off of the stand and I hold it I my hand for a few moments, admiring its glow in the lowlight.

   I slip it into another pocket and move to the opposite side to look for the earrings. I can see a small glow being emitted from one end and I go over to that first seeing as how everything else enchanted I've seen glows.

   Sitting amidst the glow are three things, the pair of diamond earrings, which I pocket immediately, and a note with a key over top of it. I move the key and take out the ring to read the note with its low light.

~Sir, we've finished installing the hidden safe you requested in the hallway outside your bedroom behind your father's portrait as requested. Just as well we moved your research project into it was well. Although it would've been nice if you had told us of it prior. ~Guard Captain Ash Shield~

Research project? I think as I fumble around with the key. Something like that must be valuable if he's hiding it. A smile creeps across my face and I pocket the key and leave the note on the table before slipping out of the bedroom.

"Uefi, I've got the stuff. I'm got to check something out first though. I'll radio back to you when I'm leaving." I whisper into the mic after making sure there aren't any guards coming.

"~Alright, just don't push it. Remember we're just here for the stu~ff."

"I know but I need to check this out first." I click off the device before moving down the hallway at my right.

   To avoid giving off too much light, I pull out the ring again and hold it along the wall without windows to look for any paintings. I find a few, but almost none of them are of a male and those that are don't have anything behind them but more wall.

   I reach the end of the hallway with no success and turn around to tryout the other end of the passage. Since I already went past everything, I move quickly at the cost of making a bit more noise, but nopony seems to have heard anything.

   About halfway down my search of the alternate hallway, I come across a painting of a rather impressive looking red stallion. I slip my fingers behind the portrait and I feel the cold of metal behind it.

   I pull the painting down, revealing a small square safe with a key hole and handle. I check around me quickly before pulling out the key and slipping it into the key hole. I turn the key and a satisfying click is heard and I sigh in relief.

   I turn the handle and open the safe to reveal only two items. One being another piece of paper and the other being a set of fake hands in a glass box with what looks to be some kind of white wraps around them which emit a glow of the same colour. What's so special about a piece of paper and boxing tape? Although those wraps do look pretty cool with that white glow.

   I pull out the piece of paper to read it. ~I am sorry to inform you that despite our best efforts to determine the nature of the wraps. We were only able to figure out three things. They always conform to the hands of whomever or whatever they touch and after a few moments on any of the test subjects they always drain them of their energy. On unicorns it drains magical energy, earth ponies have physical strength drained and pegasi have their wings temporarily crippled until the wraps are removed. Finally there seems to be some kind of odd crystalline structure woven within the threads that we've yet to identify. We've requested for an audience with the science board of Canterlot to see if they could bring more light to this, but it could be months before we get a response. If you wish to get more information faster, it may be a good idea to finally tell us were you found these accursed things. ~Steel Core~ I finish and set the paper down.

So they drain energy? I think as I pull up the glass, curious of how the fabric actually feels.

   The moment I lift the dome however, the two strands of thread come to life and slip off of the prosthesis faster that I can react and wrap onto my own exposed hands, tearing apart my only set of gloves.

"Shit." I curse under my breath as I try to pull the damnable things off of my hands.

   I try to get my fingers under the clothe to try and pull them off, but they've already wrapped around my hands and are firm against my skin. "They drain the magical energy of unicorns..." The words echo in my mind.

   I stop for a moment and think about that, after all shouldn't my energy of been drained by now? I try to form a box in my hand and it forms just as easily as before. I'm still able to use magic? I think before something catches my eye in my peripheral vision.

   I turn my head to see an approaching light from the right and I curse my luck. Forgetting the wraps on my hands, I close the safe and put the painting back on the wall and at that moment I feel the light on my skin. Shit.

"STOP!" I hear a rough voice yell at me and my instincts kick in.

"Nope." I say back to him before dashing past him and down the hallway.

"We've got an intruder on the third floor, running now probably going down." I can hear him relay to the other guards form behind me.

   I make it to the stairs with the guard close behind and I freeze for a moment as I hear a gunshot ring out and I can feel the air next to my neck moved towards me. I snap out of my daze when the second shot goes through the tail of my coat and barely misses my right leg.

"~What the hell man? The guards are going crazy out here." Uefi's voice comes through as I lunge down the stairs and roll on my landing, another bullet coming at me.

"They saw me; take out any guards from where I came in. It's time for us to disappear." I whisper hastily back to him as I slide down the handrail of the stair case quickly.

   The moment my hooves touch the ground the doors to the outside open and guards begin to flood in, most carrying pistols but a couple carrying rifles. I quickly take out a razor trap I modified and throw it at them. A few moments into the flight, it activates and the bladed wires wiz around causing light lacerations to the crowd.

    I quickly dash into the hallway leading to the library, but not before a few shots come back at me, one of them impacting the wall just in front of my eyes. I close the door behind me and quickly drop another razor trap behind me with the razors drenched in the sleep drug.

   As I see the lights flood through the now open door behind me, I duck low and use quick step to accelerate my pilgrimage to the library. I turn back to see the guards tripping over a few of their now sleeping comrades and I sigh in relief. Then another shot punctures the floor behind me and I'm pulled back into fear.

   After an onslaught of shots that I dodge by ripping doors front the walls to block off the hallway, I enter the library and immediately from a staircase to the unlit windows above the book cases.

   I make it up to the overhang and dispel the blocks before stopping to radio back to Uefi.

"Is it clear for me to run out?" I whisper as the remaining guards burst into the room and begin to search for be both high and low.

"~Yeah they're all down. Just g~et out of there." He confirms and I open the window just as one of their lights comes across me.

   I dive through the window as shot after shot can be heard impacting the walls behind me. Not letting the fall get the better of me, I form a long box underneath me and land on it.

   I run along the box, using it as a bridge to the forest, and jump off of it into the forest, the wailing of sirens and the yells of confused guards behind me.

"Where are you Uefi?" I ask him through the mic and a few moments later he lands next me.

"Right here. Let's go already." He says urgently and we dash out of the forest and back across the open fields our pursuers far behind us. Intense; no words, but intense.

~\o/~

   We dive down into our home, the sounds of the chaotic mansion far behind us and Uefi turns back to me with his face in between laughing and yelling with his crossbow still in his hands, the limbs not retracted as they were before.

"What the hell happened back there man?" He decides to say.

"Sorry, there was something I had to check out, but it was a bust and I got found just as I was turning to leave." I explain to him as I check my coat tail to see about 10 new holes in it at various places.

"And what pray tell did you find?"

"These," I begin, showing him the hand wraps, "apparently they're supposed to neutralize the energy of whomever puts them on, but they didn't do anything to me."

"So we almost got caught so you could get those." He complains and taps the wraps, causing emote come back to life and wrap around his hands.

   Uefi screeches in pain and his wings spring out unnaturally as he tries to pull the wraps off. Remembering what he did, I try to pull the wraps off of his hands and they go back onto my hands.

"Now stay." I tell the inanimate fabric, or would it be animate?

"How can you stand those things?" Uefi asks, taking one hand to stroke his wings.

"Huh, so it's just me that's immune to it then. The paper said that its drains magic from unicorns until they're taken off and cripples pegasus wings while they're on, but my magic is fine, interesting." I think aloud and he sighs.

"Yeah really interesting. You almost got shot and we both almost got caught so you could get some pain inflicting clothe."

"At least we weren't caught." I say and a figure drops though the shaft and Uefi pulls up his bow which still has an arrow loaded.

"Calm down Flowers, it's just me." We hear Berry's voice and we both sigh in relief.

"Damnit, Berry you scared us half to death." I mutter and she laughs.

"Funny; I would've thought the gunshots did a good enough job of that."

"They did." Uefi and I both say simultaneously.

"I've got to ask though; what happened in there?" She asks, walking past us and sitting in her chair.

"It went perfectly until I pushed my luck too far." I confess to her.

"What do you mean?" She asks and I sigh for seems like fortieth time tonight.

"I got all three things without any complications, but I found a key for a safe and I couldn't help myself but look for it. I found it without getting caught, but as soon as. I got the stuff out a guard saw me and I ran."

"And what was in this safe?"

"These." I say, holding up my still wrapped hands.

"So some clothe..." She mutters and Uefi laughs a little.

"That's what I said." He comments and I grimace.

"I guess I'm the only one who likes them then." I groan before smacking Uefi's hands. "Go play with Flowers." I tell them and when my hands contact his they come off of mine and go onto his, causing his wings to stretch out again.

"Damn you." He's able to mutter through the pain and I hit his hands again, reversing the process.

"I'm also the only they like."

"Umm... Mind explaining that?" Berry asks with what feels like faux innocence.

"Not at all. You see apparently these things drain the magical energy of unicorns and cripple pegasus wings until they're taken off. They also drain earth pony stamina. For some reason though they haven't done anything of the sort to me." I explain and she walks over to me.

"Interesting." She mumbles and taps the clothe causing it to move to her and I'm surprised to see her double over in pain. "Really interesting." She punches me in the gut and the curse is back to me.

"Ow." I say with a cough.

"Sorry, I just didn't expect it to work that well." She sits back down.

"I don't know how he stands that thing either." Uefi concurs again.

"I'll make a few calls to see if I can find information on it, but you did get what you needed, right?" She asks and I nod.

   I pull out all of the items from my pockets and move them over to her with my magic.

"Good, good." She pockets the jewelry and turns back to us. "Congratulations, you just finished your first real job. I'll have a report for you tomorrow, but besides that; consider it a day off." She says before standing up and bidding us goodnight.

"So; we're complete criminals now." Uefi says simply.

"Yeah; honest to goodness thieves."

"I need to sleep on this. It's completely different actually doing it than just thinking about doing it." He tells before walking off to his room.

"God, I'm glad that's over." I say to myself as I walk to my room.

   Not wanting to spend too much time, I just unhook my belt and let the blades and traps fall to the floor. I pick up the belt by the blade handles but the moment I grip the handles I can feel them shatter. What the hell?

   I open my hands and the shards of the handles fall out of them. I hastily flip the sheaths over and to my great dismay shards of the blades simply fall out of both of them.

"What the hell is this?" I mutter picking one of the shards and it proceeds to disintegrate into a fine powder.

   To test something, I quickly pick up the traps and other things on the belt, but none of them exhibit the same result. I toss the belt onto my nightstand and grab the broom and dust pan from the corner.

   After getting all of the shards and dust into the pan, I begin to tap each shard causing each one to turn into the same fine dust. Why is it just with these? I get it all into a fine powder in the dustpan before pouring it into the trash can; deciding to dismiss the anomaly for the moment. I guess I can work without blades, but this is still a problem.

    I pull off my coat and hang it up on the rack I got for it and stare at the bullet holes. Definitely the closest I've ever come to a bullet. I guess I'll have to get used to that though for this line of work. I think as I walk over to the restroom and vomit into the toilet. That too I guess.

   I flush the toilet and I look up to my left hand and notice something odd; my hand is smooth. I take my right hand I run it over the surface of the back of the hand, but I can't feel any chitin under the clothe.

"Get off of me." I tell the wraps, seeming as how they've listened before, and they slither off of my hands and onto the floor.

   I come to a mix of elation and dismay when I see it for myself. My hand is devoid of any changeling features. I rub the fur around to see if it maybe just retreated below the fur, but the only thing I find is more skin. It's just gone.

   Seemingly done with being off of my hands the wraps slip back onto me on their own, but not as ferociously as before. I stand up and sigh a little at the loss of the blood impurity as I look into the mirror and see that my teeth are back to those of a herbivore. How did this happen? I think as I lie down in my bed. I think I know two being that may hold an answer though.