Valdearg made his way slowly through the entrance to the city, wondering what this new place would hould in store for him. He had heard several stories about the art here, and he had decided to come and see it first hand. He walked through the streets, watching master sculpturs(sp?) putting final touches to pieces of their work, going over them, looking for the slightest flaw. He saw several painters working in a cluttered area that was littered with cans of paint and stacks of canvas. He also saw several gaurds, stands to reason, since these pieces of art would be worth several thousand gold pieces each. They had to be careful of thieves. Now that Valdearg thought about it, he had seen a few people that were acting very peculiar, like they were trying to not be seen. He pushed it to the back of his mind, most of the areas were to well gaurded for any successful robbery to take place. Valdearg continued down the street, admiring one piece of art after another.

The short figure was in front of a carefully set up art table, painting in long, slow strokes. Open paint jars were scattered around his working area, the cloak wrapped around him perfectly clean even though everywhere else around him had drops of paint on it. The picture was quite goos; a shining sunset over a cliff, a woman standing there, her hair blown back in the wind. Cliched, he knew, but it served his purposes. No one dreamed that this talented young artist, with hisshock of red hair, would be a thief. they were all horribly wrong.

Daisuki added another line of deep red, matching his eyes and hair almost perfectly, to the picture. He was watching the sculptors with interest; he had heard a mater sculpter would be here today, with one of his most famous pieces. His family had asked him to steal it, and he had agreed. He continues to work, waiting patiently.

the one piece of art Lemon had been eyeing for the longest time, finally it was going to be in his reach. Sometime soon the artist of the famous sculptor would arrive and show off all of his famous statues. The one piece Lemon was after was definitly the most spectacular and most costly. It was worth thousands. Adrenalin built up inside him as he waited for the sculptor. With a stiff figure, Lemon walked up and down the streets of Cascadia, admiring all of the soon to be famous sculptures which he would one day steal. Most of Lemons body was hidden beneath his cloak, the only thing realy visible at all was his white chin, the tip of his nose, and his yellow eyes which glowed in the shadows.

As he walked along he couldn't help but notice the countless guards. Stealing this painting was going to be much more difficult than he had origanally planned. He noticed a young boy, he seemed to be the youngest of all of the artists. Slowly he approached him. "wow, look at you. You must be the youngest person here." HE said with a smile which was only visible for a short second while the sun reflected off his teeth.

Daisuki looked at the man with interest; there wasn't much to see. There was a white robe and gleaming yellow eyes, a flash of white teeth. Still, he felt instinctively on gaurd for some reason. "Yeah, probably am. I had a hard time convincing them to let me in here. They got word of some threat via the underground. But what thief would be stupid enough to try and steal from us with all these gaurds here?" He kept the broad smile on his face, his own intentions kept carefully gaurded. "And I know that some of the artists here are also magicians. Any thief coming here would be walking into a death trap." Except me.

Valdearg continued his examination of the different pieces of art that were there. It was then that he spotted Daiuki, and wondered how such a young person had become an artist already. From what he could see of the painting, it looked pretty good. He decided to go over and have a conversation with this young artist. He always found a certain joy in paintings, they told only what you could see. There was no true deception, only beauty and art. Valdearg made his way through the crowd, and came up to Daisuki. It was then that he noticed the strange person that Daisuki was talking to. There was something about this person that seemed strange to Valdearg, and he had seen more in his life than he cared to remember. It wasn't just the way he practically hid in his robe, several people where like that, they didn't like being in public. He decided to introduce himself and try to form an opinion as to what it was that bugged him. "Hello, that is an interesting piece of art you have there. Where you planning on selling your pieces today, or are you just showing them off?"

Daisuki smiled. "Oh, I'm no where near good enough to sell it. In my... business, I happen to see a lot of art..." Carrying it out windows, shoving it in bags, hanging it on his walls... well, he DID tell the truth. "It's really just a hobby of mine, though several people here told me I coudl be great one day. But..." He shrugged. "I came mainly to see the famous sculptor... he is knwon to be hard to meet, and even harder to see his works." He grinned, adding a few more brush strokes to the sunset. "It's really hard to meet a man as reclusive as him. Reclusive, and quite rich, from what I've heard."

With Daisuki's last few statements Lemon began to get suspicious. The way in which the boy spoke of things, it was almost as if he wanted him to know he was a thief with out actualy telling him directly. Lemons smile stayed moled to his face, his sharp teath glistening. The sun now shone on his face, revealing it and dimmied his glowing eyes. " What a coincidence." He said in an extatic, yet sarcastic tone. " I too am here to meet this sculptor. Oh and by the way, I completely agree with you. Any thief who would even think about stealing any of the art here would be an idiot. but i wouldn't be surprised to see a young stupid thief try and pull it off." He said sincerely.

With that said he then turned his attention to the newcomer. His smile had disapeared by now. He had no real interest in the man at all, and so just ignored him.

"That is a strange coincidence." Daisuki looked at Lemon;s back and smiled. It was not that of a human boy; more of a wolf's smile when he sees his prey. "But the efforts of... some thieves should prove amusing, if they end up being brave enough to take action." He turned back to hsi painting, adding a few last strokes, and put down his brush. It was done; the bbright colors of the sunset in a direct contrast with the woman's dress, the shading flawless. He grinned and scribbled a small mark in the corner in red ink; it looked like a PT, intertwined in fire. He shrugged and put the painting on a different easel, for display, and grabbed another blank canvas. "Hey... either of you know when he's supposed to show up?"

" I beleive he is supposed to show up later tonight. He wanted to display his art under the famous full moon of Cascadia. I'm getting anxious though." Lemon then looked at the boys painting. It was much better than he had expected. " I might as well steal that while I'm at it" He said to himself, holding in a small chuckle. He continued observing the painting. " That's a fine piece of work you've done there. How much are you planning on selling it for." Lemon was suspicious of this boy and began questioning him to find out more about him. He didn't want anyone standing in his way. Besides he had to do something to pass the time as he wiated for the sculptor to arrive.

"Hm. Well, I wasn't really going to sell it. I didn;t think anyone would buy it." Daisuki shrugged and looked at the piece with a thieves eye; it was good looking perhaps, but not really worth that much. But who knew. maybe one day, it would end up being incredibly famous. Daisuki grinned at the thought. "Well, if someone wants it I'll let them have it for whatever they want, as long as it's an ok price." He shrugged and dipped his brush in the blue paint and started on the new canvas, humming merrily. "Interested, Cloaked Man?"

"Lemon, the names Lemon" He said to the boy. It didn't seem he would get much out of him, and his suspicions began to die down a bit. Lemon then focused his attention to the other man. " S othen, what brings you here." He said with a small lisp, almost like that of a snake.

Valdearg had been listening to the conversation with interest, intrigued by the way the other two people seemed to be testing each other. He fixed his eyes on Lemon when he was asked a question, and thought about how to answer it. He wasn't really here for any specific reason, he was just here. "I had heard of this city from some friends of mine. It is known for it's wonderful pieces of art, so I decided to stop here and see for myself how ggo dthe art looked."

Lemon chuckled. " So then it's by coincidence that you're here during the same time such a famous sculptor is going to be here. Lucky or you then I suppose." Once Lemon had finished his statement he looked above Valdearg. HE noticed the full moon beggining to show up. It wouldn't be long before he had his chance to steal the sculptor. He then addressed both of the men and said. " The sculptor should be arriving soon. I can hardly waite..." He said with a large, devious smile.

"That makes two of us lemon..." the boy met Lemon's gaze for an instant before turning back to his painting. A cool blue sky was painted, with a green field beneath. He stuck the end of the brush in his mouth and looked at the picture. It looked strangely blank; though the colors were smooth and flowed together, and the field's detail amazing, there was something missing. He grinned as he saw the moon start to rise and took the brush again, and started on a largfe pale orb in his painitng to match the one slowly moving higher in the sky. "I'm pretty excited to see him too. His art is supposed to be the best. He'll probably show up any minute now..." The young thieve's eyes brightened as he said this, adding shading and detail to his moon in the painting.

Valdearg saw a crowd approaching, and wondered what was going on. Suddenly, out of the midst of the crowd, came an old man. The only thing that gave him away as old was his white beard, in every other way, he still looked young. He stood tall, carrying a bag that looked to be full of several items. He walked over to an empty space, and quickly and efficiently began pulling statues out of his bag and arranging them in neat groups. The crowd of people gathered around, looking at the works of art. All of them seemed eager to buy them, yet no one reached out to try and touch a single piece. Valdearg continued to watch him for a few seconds before turning back to Lemon and Daisuki. "Looks like the sculptor has arrived, from what I can see, he looks to be very good."

In the distance the clamping of orss feet could be heard, which soon was followed by the sound of a wagon. " He's here now!" Lemon said with a very exited grin. He finally was going to be able to see the actual sculpture he had been searching for. "Let's go." He said in a frantice voice while walking hastly towards the wagon. Only a moment after everyone began to crowd over towards the wagon.

((ooc: Um... I'll assume a crowd of people came when he was in the wagon... your posts contradict each others, lol. So he has his stuff on display outide his wagon, and he's in the wagon))

Daisuki grinned and dropped his brush. He nodded to Valdearg. "Lemon has already departed; now it is my time to see this grand master of art." He turned and drew his cloak around him, seeming to melt into the crowd. He passed through it quickly and easily, his small stature allowing him to get up right beside the wagon in moments. The gaurds had all converged to the wagon, and stood around it, eying anyone suspicious looking uneaszily with their hands on their weapons. But Daisuki was an artist here, so they didn;t give hima second look. He grinned and looked at the sculptures, looking for the one he had come to steal.

(hey don't look at me, I posted first. It's Lemon's fault.)

Valdearg followed after them, wanting to get a good look at the pieces as much as anybody. He came to stand near the back of the crowd, but he new a way around that. He jsut made himself a little taller with a spell, and he was able to see over the heads of the other people there. He watched as the sculptor put out many pieces of art, each of the worth a fortune. Valdearg decided to try and help the gaurds if anyone tried to steal something, and he was pretty sure there were at least five thieves here. One statue alone would pay for food for several years, no thief would be able to resist the urge to try and steal one.

( i know what happened. We were both writing our posts at the same time and he posted first.)

An enourmass amount of adrenalin began to rsh through every limb in Lemons body. He clenched his fists together, trying to hold back his exitment. He clecnhed them so hard a small stream of blood began to drip down his fingers. " Let's make our way over there now so we can get a good look." He said quickly while taking off towards the wagon.

An old looking man stepped out from the carrage. He seemed to be too weak to un load his own sculptures, however he was stronger than one would think as he did help un load a few. However the guards had to help un load the larger ones.

Daisuki finally saw the piece be unloaded, and his eyes widened. It was not or marble or stone liek the other statues; no, thsi one was carved out of pure crystal. It showed a small globe, a sun and moon enevloping it on each side, their elements in constant battle. Fire and Earth spirits streamed from the sun, while Water and Wing spirits came from the moon. In the middle, standing calmly, a sword hald against teh groud, was an angel, keeping both sides from reaching the globe. The piece was called Opposite's Epiphany... Daisuki had no idea what that meant. Something about a transformation or other. but it's beauty was amazing. And it would be hard to steal.

This piece was kept right beside the amster sculptor, sunlight shimmering on the crysal. The first thing he told the crowds was that this piece was not for sale. Daisuk grinned ferally and went back to his table in a hurry, pulling out a package from underneath the table, and went back to the wagon. Tiem to get to work.

Valdearg gasped at the finest piece the sculptor had brought out, it's beauty was astounding. He saw someone out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see who it was. There was nobody there, he guessed it had been his imagination, and turned back to face the pieces of art. He made his way slowly forward, allowing himself a better look at the piece, while still maintaining a respectful distance. While it was true, all of the pieces here were wonders, this piece put them all to shame. Just the fact that it was made out of crystal increased it's value tenfold, Valdearg stopped at that thought. There was no way a thief would not try to steal the piece, he would have to be on gaurd for anyone that tried to take it.

while non one was looking Lemon quickly ran away from the large crowd. He zipped through the shadows like a snake. Quite and agile. He made his way to a roof top and gazed down upon the amass of people. He knew it was going to be a very dificult job to steal that sculpture, something almost imposable. Slowly he scanned the area below, looking for the most vulnerable area. He knew the best time to steal it would be in the middle of another sculptures showcase.

Daisuki grinned as he came up to his frontal spot in the crowd again, the bag now in his hands. While the gaurds were busy, he rolled underneath the wagon, the crowd hiding him form everyone's vision as he was so short. He took out a dagger and stuck it into the wood at the bottom of the wagon, and held himself off the ground with it, propping his legs against the side of the wagon so even if someone looked under the wagon, they would have to crawl under as well to see him hanging here. He started to pry loose the nails on the bottom with the small dagger, the bag writihng slightly at his side.

As Lemon analyzed the wagon below he noticed something strange. It appeared as though a boy was trying to stealone of his sculptures, probably the same one Lemon was after. He couldn't let the kid get away with this and decided to take action immidiatly. HE jumped straight off the roof of the building, his white cloak floating up above him, reealing his tradtional jester outfit which most people never saw. He ran towards a guard. " A boy is trying the steal sculptures from the wagon!" He said in a frightened voice, trying to sound beleivable. " I was watching from atop that roof and watched as he snuck under the wagon. He's there right now!" Lemon continued.

The guard took action imidiatly and told the other guards around him what was going on. He made his way through the large crowd to the wagon. guards now surrounded each side of the wagon. At the same time they all looked underneath.

Valdearg had turned his attention to the gaurds when he saw all of them converge on the wagon, and relaized a thief had been spotted. Not very smart of the thief, he thought, now he has no way out. Valdearg turned back to face the statue, determined not to let it leave his sight. He was confident that the number of gaurds surrounding the wagon was enough to apprehend whatever thief was lying there. Valdearg still tood a head taller than everyone else in the crowd, so he had a clear view of the sculptor and the statue. He almost felt sorry for any thief that tried to steal something on this day. They wouldn't get more than 20 feet before running into a gaurd or group of gaurds.

"Nice try." The gaurds looked up as one; on top of the wagon, the short boy stood. His red hair blew in the wind, red eyes alight with mischief. In one hand he held the crystal sculpture, in the other a writhing bag. The master sculptor gasped and touched the sculpture in front of him; it collapsed into dust. "Neat trick, eh geezer? Next time you try to catch a Pahntom Thief..." the captain of the gaurd gasped; that name was known very well to most authority figures in Imythess. The last had died 100 years ago, and the coming of the fourth one had been much rued. "Try harder."

Daisuki grinned and threw the writhing bag down to the ground. Out of it came a live version of the sculpture. Fire and Water and Wind and Earth fairies danced out, Red or Blue or Green or Brown, tiny wings batting the air. Chaos insued immediately. Fire sprand up on clothes, drenching rain poured down, wind blew away hats and clothes and weapons, people sunk ankle deep in solid rock. In the midst of all this Daisuki leaped from shoulder to shoulder of the crowd lightly, avoiding the grasping hands and hitting the ground hard, rolling and running away as fast as he could.

Lemon watched in horror as the boy was about to escape with his trophy. Lemon forcfully shoved his right hand in front of him with an open palm. Out from it came an enourmass serpant which seemed to be endless. With lightening speed it continued flowing out of Lemons hand towards Daisuki. Finally it was able to get in front of him. It spun around and met the boy face to face. Finaly the serpent had ended and the last of its tail fell out of Lemons hand. with great force it whipped its tale around the rest of daisuki, completely encirceling him. The serpent was large enough to wrap around and crush the boy, but that wasn't its style. Serpents liked to bite there pray and inject them with there deadly venom, causing them to be prarlized while it slowly eats them whole. It stared blankly into daisukis eyes, waiting for him to make the first move.

Daisuki met the snakes eyes defiantly. "You know, you keep doing that and you'll crush the fake sculpture..." He grinned and held it up, then hit it, hard. It crunbled away to dust again, and the boy laughed, then grabbed the corves of the snake's body and slipped out of it's hold nimbly. He rolled down the street, comign up in a fighting crouch with a dagger out. "At least that won;t get in my way anymore... But where'd you come from, beastie?" He looked past the snake and saw lemon, rembering his lisp. "Ah, that guy? Weird clothes too. Anyway..." Seele watched the snake warily; he was superhumanly fast, but then, so are snakes. He wasn't quite sure which one of them was faster, and didn;t want a bit in the neck to be his answer. "Want the sculpture? Good luck finding it..." He grinned as a small fire faerie danced towards the snake, the air flaming in its wake. He ahd no control over the faerie's, but this one could prove useful.

The snakes eyes were singed by the Fire fairies trail. It ginnied up like a horse while letting out the oddest of screams. A very high pitched sound, almost like that of a teridactle. "damnit!" Lemon shouted.He ran up towards his precious Serpent. Slowly it crawled back into his body. Lemon however, had more than enough Serpents to go around, unfortunetly, none even half that size. Lemon reached for his shadow dagger and began slicing his way through the crowd of people. Stabbing someone while biting the other. Daisuki was far ahead of him, but Lemon wasn't about to give up. He too had incredible speed, like that of a snake. He ran as fast as he could, his head sticking straight out, waiting for a chance to strike and inject his fangs into the anoying boys face.

Daisuki saw the rampaginf man, and yelled out. "Hey, Lemon... the best thief won, eh? I knew you were here too steal Opposite's Epiphany too..." He flipped backwards, grabbing onto a beam at the top of a wagon on the side of the road and using it to flip up onto a low roof. "Make sure you don't get burned either..." He smiled and looked at the chaos he had created; flashes of light shined as building caught fire, were put out by sudden rain, and caught fire again, only to fall de to small earthquakes. "Oh, if only my mom could see me now, she would be so pround..." Daisuki turned and ran off along the rooftops, following the road, one eyes on Lemon behind him. He needed to get to the sculptures hiding spot and get it out of the city, and fast.

Valdearg quickly raced after the fleeing thief, recognizing him as Daisuki, the painter he had spoken to earlier. He shoved past any people that got in the way, using his superior size to force people out of his way. He doubted he could catch Daisuki like this, but he needed to get closer to him before trying anything. He was also sure of one advantage he did have. He had built up an incredible endurance during the years, while it was true that a thief would probably have a strong endurance, he was willing to bet that he could last longer than any thief. Valdearg also cast Draconic Strength on himself, allowing him to push off even further with his strides, allowing him to slowly begin catching up to the running thief.

Lemon stomped his foot in anger as he watched the other creatre try and catch Daisuki. Lemon wanted that sculptor and it seemed like he would never be able to get it. Quickly though, he ran after him on the streets, looking up at him on the rooftops. Lemon then cast ignite on Daisuki, which would cause him to spontaniously combust and hopfully drop the sculptor so Lemon could catch it and run off with it.

Daisuki gasped as his cloak caught on fire, and threw it off quickly. he beat out the flames that had started on his tunic and pants, then glared at Lemon. "What will that accomplish? i don;t have the sculpture on me. You won't ever find it unless you ask me!" He stuck his tongue out at the cloaked Lemon and jumped backwards off of the building, landing gracefully in the next street over. he quickly turned and started to run the other way, towards the chaos he had made. It would take a few moments for Lemon to reach this road; he need to take full advantage of them. He pulled out a bottle and poured it over his head; his hair became black and no longer stuck up every which way, but hung down in a small ponytail. He grabbed a blue cloak from an empty stand and wrapped it around himself, slowing to a walk. He now looked like an young noble, out for an evening stroll, perhaps to see the famous sculptor. Only the red eyes still belonged to Daisuki, but he fished out a pair of glasses and put them on, then swallowed a small pill. He was completely unidentifiable, or at least he hoped so.