There was an eerie feeling to being on the streets in a small town after a murder. Shutters were closed, people were inside, leaving the place feeling like a ghost town. Noa swore he even saw tumbleweed roll by not a moment ago. The bad news to empty streets meant that there wasn’t much to hide behind. Conagan peeked around every corner before they made the turn, and the slightest sound had them jumping into the nearest alley each time━not that there were many of those.
The last thing either of them needed was to run into She-monstrosity and her husband. Conagan noted that he could easily hide in plain sight, but that Noa would have to run. Right, so energy preservation was a priority right now.
Making it through town felt nerve-wracking, yet not near as much as when Noa saw the farmhouse. His spine tingled, trembling to jump right out of him, but he pushed it forward with the rest of him. They gave it a wide breadth as they rounded it, having only wheelbarrows of apples to hide behind. As they reached the backside of the house, they ran out of those quickly, but at this point, they moved to the window Noa snuck into before.
Crouching under it, Conagan peeked up to peer into the building, then looked at Noa. “Empty,” he said, barely audible. Straightening up, Noa moved to jiggle the window just like he did before, and as he did, it... didn’t make any sound. Huh, odd. The thing didn’t budge, and he furrowed his brow, realizing there was now a nail in the wooden locking mechanism. Curses!
What a lame curse word. I should introduce new ones to these people... he thought momentarily, and looked at Conagan, shaking his head.
The blond pursed his lips, then waved him over to the door. He crouched in front of it, and pulled a pack out of his pocket. Rolling it out, he revealed a collection of lockpicking tools. Damn, this kid was serious about his thieving career.
Noa reached over, and turned the handle. It wasn’t locked.
Conagan pouted, and put his tools away. “Way to take the fun out of it,” he grumbled, then slowly opened the door. It too made no sound, not even a squeak on the old hinges. However, as they stepped into the house, the sounds Noa feared groaned with each step.
The short blond in front of him cringed, and looked back at him. He opened his mouth, then just shook his head, and they continued on their way. Doing this a second time was somehow less stressful, probably because Noa assumed no one was home at the moment.
Noa directed Conagan up the stairs, then down the hall. They stopped briefly in front of the bedroom door while the young blond opened it slowly. He waved Noa inside after verifying the coast was clear, and Noa beelined for the closet.
Never was he so disappointed to open a door. The only thing on the other side of the barn door were clothes. Either Noa’s [Aether Sense] broke, or the lock wasn’t here. He sneered, looking at Conagan and shook his head, the boy frowning in return.
Okay, Elorn, one of those guiding tugs would be really helpful right about now, he thought. Noa felt something writhe, and turned around quickly when he swore something brushed his shoulder. Nothing was there, but that familiar tug did come back, and it was strong.
He took the lead this time, following the tug out of the room and back towards the stairs. Each step creaked loudly, echoing fears that he shoved deep down as he reminded himself no one was home. Stepping into the small hall, Noa furrowed his brow as he moved to the foyer, where the tug in his chest was nearly pulling him all by itself to the front door.
The doorknob jiggled before Noa’s hand was on it, and Conagan snatched his arm. With a jerk, pulled him into a room across from the hall, slamming the door shut soundlessly. Damn, how did that kid do that!
Conagan didn’t stop there, and pulled Noa under a massive wagon full of barrels, then directly to the other side. He made quick chopping motions that... didn’t make any sense. With a scowl, Conagan pushed Noa to crouch behind one wheel, before he moved to crouch behind the other. It wasn’t exactly a good hiding spot, but given that this was the only thing to hide behind, Noa hoped. Mostly that no one would come into the room.
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That was a pipedream, because after a series of loud creaks, the door opened with a SQUEEE that made him wince. Noa held his breath, hearing lumbering footsteps move from hardwood to dirt flooring. Two sets of them.
“Fetch the horses,” She-monstrosity said, and Noa peeked to look at the two pairs of feet. Waroc moved towards the front of the building, where he opened a wide set of barn doors, and left. She-monstrosity, however, began to round towards the back of the wagon. As she did, Conagan waved for Noa to move to the front. That gesture he understood.
They moved with an impossible quietness through no fault of Noa’s, staying across from She-monstrosity the entire time.
“Cursed husband,” She swore, stopping at the back of the wagon.
Yeah, your cursed husband is going to come back and see us right here, Noa thought, gritting his teeth. He looked towards the open doors behind him, freedom just beyond, but then felt the tug in his chest urge him towards She-monstrosity.
You’re kidding... Noa deadpanned to nothing in particular, but something deserved the deadpan. Yeah, no, he refused. Getting caught now was not an option. He started to move towards the barn doors to leave, but Conagan grabbed his arm tightly, and pulled him as She-monstrosity moved to the other side of the wagon.
“What a mess,” she said, and as she moved to the front, Noa started to sweat. The wagon sat so high, he was sure she would notice them at any moment. If not, then Waroc likely would when he returned.
Damnit, Conagan! Those barn doors were their only escape, and he blew it! Unless she saw us, Noa told himself, and looked towards the door to the foyer now that they were at the back of the wagon. Yeah, he trusted the actual thief with this stuff far more than himself, he decided.
Peeking under the wagon, Noa saw the hooves of two horses behind Waroc’s feet before even hearing them. Both She-monstrosity and her husband worked to position the horses. Safely distracted by them, Noa dared to breathe, which sadly didn’t help his nerves, nor relieve the relentless tugging in his chest.
Waroc climbed up in front of the wagon, but She-monstrosity stayed, standing on the side closest to the foyer door. Conagan pulled Noa to the opposite side, and together, they hid behind the large rear wheel.
“Don’t screw this up either, Waroc,” she said.
“Curse you, woman,” Waroc hissed.
What a great relationship they have, Noa thought. Even though he already knew these two had problems, they never ceased to amaze him.
“I’ll be hiding with your stolen apples until all of this blows over,” he growled.
Apples? Stolen? Noa blinked. The wagon moved before he could finish that thought, and Conagan pulled him along to walk beside the wheel. They moved just a bit faster, getting ahead of the wheel, the short blond keeping an eye on She-monstrosity’s feet. Once they were outside, Noa took the initiative, and jumped away from the wagon, hidden safely behind the outer wall from the barn-like garage. Conagan joined him, and together, then hurriedly crossed the entire front of the farmhouse, rounding the corner of the building to hide.
Seconds later, the barn doors rumbled as they closed.
They waited for a long moment, Conagan peeking around the corner to watch. “She’s inside,” he whispered.
“And she has my lock on her person. But maybe if we can find the stolen apples instead...” Noa trailed, watching the wagon as it moved further away, turning off to the left.
“You’ll not only prove your own innocence, but a couple others as well,” Conagan nodded. He too kept his eyes glued to the wagon, watching as it off-roaded towards a small forest cascading down from a set of mountainous hills.
“Let’s go back, get a party to search,” Noa suggested, furrowing his brow when he felt the tugging grow stronger.. He looked over his shoulder, seeing no one behind him, and assumed that She-monstrosity was close to them from inside.
Conagan nodded, and turned to look at Noa while a familiar sense of crowding spirits washed over them. He jerked away with wide blue eyes, looking just past Noa, and a jolt shot up Noa’s spine when he heard lumbering steps behind him. He pushed Conagan forward into a run, who rolled and stumbled, halting Noa completely. His heart dropped when a large hand grappled the shoulder of his jacket.