The quiet was unnerving. Usually it meant you were doing good. No one could hear you so no one was on edge, looking for you. But now, it had you tense. Someone else was here and because they refused to make a noise past their original blunder, you couldn't pinpoint where they were. Confrontation wasn't on tonight's agenda and you weren't keen on changing that if you could help it.

So, you had to think. There were only two entrances, the front and the back one you came through. You could see the front one from where you were and knew for a fact whoever else was here didn't come through there. Which only left the back door. You could say confidently that the windows weren't touched. None of them had the ability to open so they'd have to have been shattered for someone to come in through them.

The problem with that was you left the backdoor unlocked for a fast escape. Someone came in the same way as you and they were probably smart enough to guess that they weren't alone either. You wanted to be able to hook around to the back and leave the way you came to avoid alerting anyone. The less people saw of the dragon the less they worried about it and you wouldn't have to transform for a fast escape if you could do that. But you'd keep the front door as an option.

For now, you needed better cover to move around and you had just the spot in mind. A little further in the store was a large table with a cloth over it, reaching the floor. Various antiques covered it's surface and you could tell it'd work great. You could walk around it, crouched over of course, and avoid being seen while getting a view of the rest of the space. Easy.

You held your bag tightly to keep the sound of shifting fabric to a minimum and carefully picked your way over to the table. There was no other movement to be seen or sounds to be heard. You crept along at a snail's pace, eyes shifting restlessly from one point to another. Anything could really look like a person in the dark, add a bunch of old junk to the mix and you swore you could make out at least three other people in the shop with you. Of course that was just your imagination running wild.

You wanted to figure out where the person was before moving further in the store but either they were really good at staying out of sight, or they were already gone and you were making a fool of yourself. Your answer came as the sound of the slightest scuffs against carpeting not far off behind you. They were close enough that you panicked and slid under the table, thanking whoever decided to throw the way too big, tacky cloth over it.

Was it a good hiding spot? No. It wasn't. You'd say it was the equivalent of a child hiding under their bed but you didn't have much of a choice. It was a split second decision that you were glad to have made when you did. The light sounds turned into soft footfalls as whoever else was here got closer. You risked lifting the bottom of the cloth just high enough to see the edge of a pair of heavy looking boots. They were turned to the side, paused as if the person in them was listening for something.

You figured it was safe to assume the person was male. The boots sure didn't look feminine and they were by no means small. The guy had to be pretty big. He shifted to face the table and you held your breath as he approached. He stopped right in front of you with the tips of his boots close enough you could tell they were a worn brown leather in the poor lighting. Big guy can afford nice shoes.

There was a tapping sound followed by a deep masculine voice.

"Someone already hit the place. No, I think I just missed them."

There was a pause as whoever they were talking to raised their voice. All you caught was angry, muffled gibberish as it came out on his end of the phone.

"Yeah, it's gone. They didn't take anything else as far as I can tell."

Was this the store owner? How could they know you were coming?

"We should've moved sooner, we could've stole it first then." He sighed. "Yeah, I'll check around, see if they're still close enough to catch."

Maybe not the store owner.

The man walked off, no longer as quiet now that he thought you were gone. You waited until you heard the back door open and close before allowing yourself to breathe normally again. You were going to ask for an explanation the second you met up with the guy that had you stealing this arm band for. There was no way it wasn't important if someone else was looking to snag it. But first, you needed to wait.

If the guy was going to look around for someone in the vicinity of the store, you weren't going to want to come out for a while. Getting the job done only to risk getting caught at the tail end would be stupid. You stayed put under the table for an hour, wasting time by counting how many antiques you could see from under the table cloth. You came to the conclusion that there were far too many.

When you felt it was safe enough to be on the move again, you crawled out from under the table and made your way to the back door. It was locked again, the man made sure it looked like no one had even come by. Somehow that insulted you, like he thought you were being sloppy by not doing the same.

And that thought made you pause right before you grabbed the lock to twist it.

No thief would be in and out fast and quiet only to make a mistake like that. Whoever that guy was, he had to know that. He also stopped and took a rather noisy phone call right in the middle of the store.

You snapped around to see what you were dreading. He never left the store, he just did what he needed to do to get you to think he did. You had to give it to him, the guy was patient. He was tall, easily towering over you and nothing but solid muscle. How he moved so stealthily with so much weight was beyond you. Thick, long blonde hair cascaded down his back, stopping short of his backside. His bangs almost covered his eyes completely but you caught glimpses of them as he shifted around, crossing his arms over his chest. He even had a scruffy looking goatee on his chin. The guy had more hair than one person ever should.

"If I knew you were right at my feet I would've just pulled you out." He commented.

"Can I....help you?" You asked, backing into the door.

"I think so. I'm looking for an item." He glanced down at the bag you clutched to your chest with one arm. "An arm band of sorts. I hope you don't mind, I'm going to need it from you."

"Sorry, doesn't sound familiar." You said back with a shrug, silently rejoicing as your other hand brushed the cool surface of the door. With a little force, you could open it, locked or not.

He took a step forward, getting a little too close to your personal space. "I'm not interested in fighting a little woman over a trinket. Hand it over and I'll let you go."

"Generous, aren't we?" You felt fingers turn into sharp talons behind you and braced them against the door. One good push was all you needed.

"It doesn't mean I'm above it." He warned, stepping closer once again. Blue eyes, not far off from the shade your right one was.

"Good to know." You nodded and shoved against the door.

It creaked before giving way and slamming against the opposite building in the alley. The man jumped, not expecting it to literally fly off it's hinges. It's amazing what a little channeled dragon strength can do for you, but he didn't have to know that.

You took his moment of confusion to spin on your heel and run. He got a good look at you, so any possibility of a full transformation was ruined. That was if you still wanted to keep it a secret. And you did. You could save that as a last resort.

It took about ten steps on your part before he snapped back to reality and was hot on your heels. He was taller and therefore, had longer legs. You were going to have to get creative to outrun him and you knew just the trick. This part of town was old. Everything in it was aged, from the buildings to the alleys and everything in between. And back in the day, city planning wasn't always the best. That being said, some of the alleys were practically mazes and were quite narrow. You knew this part of town well enough that you knew the routes to take that would be difficult for him to follow.

"I'm not in the mood for this!" He yelled behind you, his deep voice making it come out as a growl.

"That's a shame!" You called back, twisting to take an almost concealed turn to your right.

A large trashcan was in the way but you threw yourself over it, feeling a rush of wind pass by your arm as he almost grabbed you. Not today tough guy.

From there, the alley narrowed fast. Your run slowed to a jog as you moved sideways through it. You didn't bother looking back to see if he was still after you. It was better to assume he was and keep moving like he would snag you at any moment. The path widened back out enough for you to pick up the speed once again and the real chase began.

You moved down one alley to another, always going for the ones you knew he'd be too big to slip through. Your bag bounced against your hip with each movement, reminding you to be careful not to hit it against anything too harshly. The guy probably wouldn't pay for damaged goods after all. The longer you went the more damp your clothes became from scraping against concrete and brick along with the steady drizzle of rain. Water slowly crept into your shoes from going through puddles.

And when you were sure he was no longer behind you, you still continued to go through the maze of streets and alleys like he was. You didn't want to be easy to track. It wasn't until you were out of breath that you slowed down and made your way to a busier street. You kept your head down as you panted and blended in with the people walking along late at night. You'd ended up in a spot known for prostitution and drugs, hence why it was so popular right now. That was just handy for you though.

Women and men alike called to any passerby they could from their spots on the corners. One woman happened to make eye contact with you and gave you a playful wink, swinging her hips in your direction. No thanks. You shook your head and continued along to your goal.

You wanted to find a subway entrance. The train would be your fastest way to get to the guy who sent you on this job and you could leave the blonde stranger in the dust at the same time. It took a couple blocks before you came across what you were looking for. Soon enough, you were hopping down the stairs and running to catch the train right before it left. Your timing couldn't have been more perfect.

That really became the case when you turned to face the train's doors as they closed behind you and saw the familiar blonde man waiting on the platform, his chest heaving from running to catch up to you. It seemed he was only moments too late. You made sure to smile and wave as he watched you leave.