2412 Crescin 31, Velpa

Tension strung the mood in the headquarters to a higher notch. Lufi crossed her arms and leaned back on her seat, trying to feign a stance of nonchalance. If she could project it, maybe her insides would follow. The rest of the Cutlasses filtered into the table, bearing all sorts of proof they did what they're ordered to do. Finally, Ariden trudged in, looking worse for wear than ever. What's going on?

Lufi watched him settle on his seat with an enormous sigh, his leg bouncing up and down the moment he did. Jittery. He's jittery. But why? This was his caper. Shouldn't he be confident they'd be able to pull it off? Think of the number of connections they had to their target. It'd be a piece of cake. Besides, she had guards walk in on her, and she made it out. What's to stop Ariden and their comrades from doing so?

Tria's bangles clinked when she brought up a hand to formally start them off. It's a signal to tell them to fix themselves and be ready for the briefing. "Alright," she cleared her throat. Her shoulders sagged as well, but she tried her best to stand tall and proud. "Let's start."

Even Ralei's energy was off. The soldier sat on his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes drooping every now and then. Ariden's been working them off, wasn't he? That's the price of knowing too much.

Parchment crinkled as Tria stuck the wide sheet into their communal board. She adjusted the perspective, kicking the wheels with her closed sandals. When she was satisfied, she whacked the end of a stick into a spot which Lufi recognized as Otralo. "We're here, and the target is over here," Tria said, moving the stick eastward to a blob resembling the layout of Jehnasson. "To get there, we need to take individual routes that all have the same travel time. Theoretically."

Of course. As they have done during the previous capers, they should never be found together in more than one place to avoid people connecting the dots and building a backbone of details from there. Up until now, the officers in Otralo couldn't agree among themselves how many people operated under the Cutlasses, and it didn't help that other gangs and underground cartels started using the same name to get away with their crimes. Not that Lufi minded. It helped deflect the suspicions.

Of course, this method of transportation posed its own dangers. That's why Tria said "theoretically". Because like what happened in that case involving the Bond Bombers, these roads could get blocked or delays could happen. It'd be up to their own to recalculate the paths and somehow arrive at the agreed time. In their line of work, one minute off, or even a second off, could make all of the difference.

"You'll find your routes in the individual files I'll provide later," Tria flashed Ariden a look before meeting the rest of the gazes trained at her. "Including all of the possible substitute routes. As for the next part of the caper, I'll pass it to the twins."

Said twins shot up and headed to the map. They recounted how they dug tunnel systems beneath the Temple's vicinity and connected it to the servants' quarters as suggested by Lufi. They'd make their entry to the Temple as newly-hired servants. As long as they didn't encounter any overseers, they should be good.

"As for the disguises, Tria and I took care of that, with Lufi's help," Ralei said. "I'll come in as a Temple guard. I already knocked one out and assumed his identity for the coming day. It's easy to get their patrol dates and duty shifts, so I got that part covered."

"And I've pulled some strings to let me borrow a name worthy of my disguise," Tria added. "What remains is what Lufi, Ariden, and Faw will be dressed as."

Lufi raised a finger. "I'll be a priestess, of course," she said. "Already got the dress and everything."

"Ari, any ideas?" Tria tilted her head to one side at the Crown Prince who snapped to attention as if he spaced out the entirety of the time he had been here. He glanced at everyone looking at him expectantly before scratching his scalp. "Well...I suppose I can go in as a servant as well?"

"That's a huge leap," Faw muttered under her breath. "Can you look the part?"

Ariden glared at the girl. With his height and Faw's feet barely reaching the floor whenever she sat on the high-backed chair, they looked to be siblings in a crossfire. Wait. That's an idea.

"How about we pair them?" Lufi said aloud. "They could be siblings. I'm sure it'll work out. They'll be orphans who found solace in the Temple servanthood, and got sold with the prospect of free food for life."

Faw smacked her lips. "It'll work out. I want some free food for life," she said. "Why did no one tell me about temple servitude?"

"You don't even need a briefing," Ariden rolled his eyes, jerking his chin at their youngest member. His ocher hair fell in alluring waves over his eyes, which Lufi certainly did not notice. "As long as Lufi and I get you inside, you'll be good."

A self-assured smirk split Faw's lips. "Good that you know."

Ariden eased something out of his pockets and set it on the table. It's Faw's tool roll, followed by another similar bundle. The Crown Prince slid both towards the girl. "Here are your tools and the original copy," he said. "I figured you want both."

"Ah, sweet," Faw couldn't have swept both rolls out of the table that fast. She unfurled the new set and started putting them in the right places, which to her were her hair, gloves, vest, and boots. There might be more hidden places, but it's up to her to figure out how to translate it to her disguise. Lufi had enough headaches for the week.

Ariden turned back to Tria who took her seat and backhanded Ralei on the palm. The soldier flinched, eyes blinking in rapid successions. A lost expression twisted the soldier's face. Did he just fall asleep? They're just so out of this caper, weren't they?

"Time," Ariden said with a passive stare. Something brewed behind those dark brown eyes, and Lufi couldn't place it. "We need to hammer down on the time."

That's the next part of their discussion. As they exchanged ideas, they settled on fixed dates and schedules, attuned to the times of the day when the patrol would start and when the opportunities for the next shifts would arrive. They developed secondary and tertiary versions of the timeline, and if those didn't work out, they'd have to make do with what they had.

"Let's meet in the morning of the day of the caper," Ariden said, straightening from his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll have final polishings by then. Otherwise, we're good. Rest up, and manage your affairs. I'll see you then. Meeting adjourned."

Their chairs grated against compact soil in synchrony as everyone left seated on the table pushed away from its rim. Lufi opened her mouth to ask Ariden something—she forgot what, anyway—but before she could get a word out, he zipped out the backdoor, which he never did unless he had to go somewhere important that he didn't want any of them to know. He might have looked like this unreachable person when they first met, but spend enough time with him, and he would begin to become an open book. Not that Lufi was paying more attention to him than the others, but...yeah.

Ariden was also out of sorts a few days ago, when he suggested, then later, forced this caper on them. Maybe something's going on in the palace that's stressing him? But what? As far as Lufi was concerned, nothing fazed the Crown Prince, not even a clear attempt to end his life. It happened way too many times in their numerous capers over the years. So...what's happening now?

She stalked after him, going through the same backdoor and the same alleys as him. Her footsteps matched the storm of other sprites around them as she made sure of. He could never know she's following him, or it'd defeat the purpose of doing so. When he realized someone's looking, he'd just clam up again.

Their small game of stalk-and-seek turned into a city-wide endeavor as Ariden made it a point to stop at shops and buildings that have the farthest distance from each other. Lufi's ankles hurt from pounding against cobblestones for what seemed like eternity. Sweat beaded on her forehead and flooded her back, her heartbeat going crazy from behind her chest. Perhaps it's the thrill of the chase and not being discovered despite all possibility to be.

Lufi dove into a corner of a nearby alley when Ariden swerved inside an armory and spent a while there. He came out bearing a small dagger with a bright blue gem glinting on the hilt. Next, he visited a locksmith whose sign said Locks & Shots scrawled in the Keijula koset. So this was where he got all of those master keys made? In a single shop. Really?

Finally, after taking ages to cross from one end of the city to the next, Ariden ducked inside a shop whose facade was painted mold green. As he opened the door, the sickly sweet smell of dried herbs and incense wafted in the air, hitting Lufi's senses with a crisp sense of nostalgia. Her days at the Temple, there's not a day when her hair didn't reek of sweat and smoke from sarigel incense.

In her reverie, a distant bell rang and Ariden stepped out of the shop. Lufi's heart leaped to her throat as she scanned the road for the quickest thing to hide behind. A passing carriage pulled by a hairless tamus was her best bet. Ariden paused in the middle of the road, eyes narrowing at something bothering him. Lufi gritted her teeth and clutched her hands together. Don't look this way. Don't look this way.

He shrugged and strolled off. She released the breath stuck in her chest, relief dousing her with its fluid grace. Where did he go? There.

She tracked him yet to another building, this time, the crest of the Avaloran government was unmistakable. A frown crumpled her features. What in the world was The Shadow of Avalora, as Ariden prided himself as, doing in a government office? Wait. Did he come to snitch on them? On the plan? What was this witch planning?

"Thank you," Ariden's voice, muffled by the cacophony of the bustle of the town around them, floated from the door and into Lufi's ears. She ducked behind a stack of kegs of a nearby store. "I'll see you then."

He tackled the short steps towards the street, and nodded his head at the figure slinking out of the building's door. Lufi popped her head over the kegs and saw a man dressed in a rigid, long-sleeved dark green coat and trousers stride inside the building. The crest and sword glinting in his person was unmistakable.

A soldier.

Ariden Sarethol just talked to a soldier.

Lufi pursed her lips and picked her way back to the headquarters. When she arrived at the familiar alley, the sun had long set. Most of the buildings sharing the same street as their fraudulent storefront started hanging out their lanterns or let them glow through wide, glass windows. She sighed and leaned her weight against the wall of the dead end. Let Ariden find her out here, lying in wait. He did not just talk to a soldier. He couldn't.

He showed up not a few minutes later, fingers tapping discordant and nonsense rhythms against his thighs. His shadow touched Lufi's, bleeding from their feet from the various sources of lights around them.

She dug around her pockets and pulled out a pack of oshella sticks, picking one from the pile and sticking it into her mouth. It's Ariden's damn fault she got into these things, anyway. Instead of joining her in the cul-de-sac for a smoke as he always did, he passed by her and grabbed the backdoor's knob.

"You're seriously ignoring me after today?" Lufi said, stopping the Crown Prince in his tracks. "Where have you been?"

Ariden whirled back to her with a slight scowl on his otherwise pristine face. He snatched the pack from her hands, drew a white stick, and tossed the box back to her. She had to bite a complaint as she caught it without spilling anything. Did he ever stop being rude?

A spark from his lighter and a bright fire burned at the end of his stick. Out of compulsion and not from the goodness of his heart, he leaned forward and touched the fading flame to the end of Lufi's stick. Force of habit, maybe? Or he didn't want to dig up the lighter he already slotted inside his pocket.

"As if you don't know already," Ariden answered after blowing a pillar of saccharine smoke. A passing breeze dissipated it before the smell could permeate. "Why are you following me?"

Lufi inhaled a long drag, letting the burn streak down to her gut. She welcomed it. "Why did you go to the government office?"

"Can't I?" Ariden snapped back, matching the ire lacing around her tone. They shouldn't even be arguing a few days off a major caper. "I have things to do as the Crown Prince. The Cutlasses aren't the only things I mind."

"And the weapons shop? The locksmith? The herbalist?" Lufi waved her hand in the hair, the other keeping the stick from falling off her running mouth. "Who knows where else have you been as I trekked back here. Got a reason for that?"

Ariden flicked the stick off and squashed the half-consumed thing underfoot. "Look, I know you care about this stuff more than I do, but you have to step back a notch," he said. "I went to those shops because I need stuff from them to further polish up the plan as I said."

She averted her eyes and focused on feeling the parched flare down her throat as she inhaled another drag. "Fine," she said. "You just seem...not into it as you have been with the other capers. I thought maybe something's up."

He blew a breath. "I'm alright, Lufi," he said, her name rolling off his tongue as smoothly as the sweet smell of oshella in her mouth. "Don't worry about me. Focus on the caper."

Then, before Lufi could tell him she wouldn't, he went through the door, leaving her alone in the dim alley.