Maynard patrolled the outer wall of the Clubs District, scanning for thieves and overseeing his fellow patrolmen from above. Calibraxus was a large city, thousands of years old. Its towers reaching miles into the sky, scraping the edges of the stars. He’d been working with the guards for almost ten years now. He dozed off, daydreaming.

He still remembered his first day of training and getting to meet one of the Suits, The Spade. The marble floors lined with gold, The mechanical lifts and gondolas making movement far easier for the elites. Growing up he’d never gotten to see the luxuries of Calibraxus, most people spent an entire lifetime trying to be in the presence of a Suit. After the death of Maynard’s Father he was taken in by a Noblewoman who fell ill. Elsie Gundacker. She was a kind, old woman looking for a young prodigy to pass her fortune to. Maynard often worked long hours in order to provide for her, making sure he could do anything he could to repay her for her kindness.

A loud snapping noise pulled Maynard back to reality. His eyes widened as he looked into the darkness of the outer wall. This high up it was hard to make anything out, especially with the city lights down below. He turned towards the noise, pulling out a flashlight and his firearm. Most guards were given muskets or specialty longarms, however Maynard considered himself a special case. He fought hard against the commissioner to allow him to use a new kind of firearm, a revolver. The snapping had to have come from something on the wall. He thought to himself. Probably another thief trying to make a break for it. Another one of those rope pulleys they love to use. He smelled the cold damp air, taking in his surroundings. Three deep breaths, like his training said. Focus. He pulled out another part of his guardsmen gear, this time a small vial. Nightbrood. It was only one dose so he had to make it count. He downed the vial and felt his heart rate increase. His pupils dilated and the darkness began to brighten, the lights from below becoming as bright as the sun.

He walked towards the edge of the wall, near the snap. He scanned the ground first, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. Then came the wall. The stones were the same, the chill in the air maintained throughout the building. But somehow there was something off in the air, and whatever it was, the Nightbrood had amplified it.

A Heartbeat. Someone was using a spell to make their body invisible to the naked eye. Maynard approached the faint heartbeat, aiming his revolver at the wall. Another snap came from behind him, followed by the noise of a rope flapping through the wind. Then footsteps.

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Aisling ran through the street, pulling at the end of her necklace, she ran her fingers across a stone tied to it.

“Are they armed?” She asked through the sending stone.

“Course they are!” A man replied, almost as if it were coming out from the rock. “Thank the Gods. On my way.”

She let go of the stone, pulling her focus back to the chase. She turned her head around. There were six guards, two more than the usual number patrolling. She threw a few pieces of gravel at them to attempt to throw them off. They were slower than her but at a steady pace, she had a hard time keeping her stamina compared to them. She thought while scanning her surroundings. Think, Think Aisling, come on. She took out a small scroll. She unfurled it and began to speak the elvish words on it. Her shoes began to glow slightly, she felt lighter on her feet. Running was easier, for a moment she felt weightless.

She spotted a tower, the Unison Tower. A large complex made for the Elites to lobby while the Suits went in and out, bending the politics to their will. A Building filled with lackeys and yes men. It would be empty this late at night. Except for a few guards that would be easy to shake. She took another chance, realizing her scroll was running out she finally decided to use her spells. Her hands pressed against each other, and she pulled. She pulled as hard as she could as she imagined a bird, no—a falcon. Fast, agile, capable. As soon as her hands released the pressure she felt a flash of light.

She launched into the air, She swooped towards the building, darting up and down. She used another spell as she let out a cry out from her beak. The door to a stairwell was thrown open. Bullets began to crack the air. One of them missed her and hit a rope instead, letting out a loud snap. Looks like the guards finally saw me as a threat. I wondered when that would happen. Aisling thought. Making it to the top of the stairwell, she felt the weight return to her body, and braced herself. She crashed into the floor, two stories above where the guards were. That would give her a few seconds to prepare. She pulled out a stick of chalk, drawing on the walls as fast as she could, her hands shaking from adrenaline. It was rough but it would do.

“By the order of The Suits! Stop at once, Criminal!” The guard at the front of the line yelled.

It was the same script every time, she wondered if they ever got tired of saying that. “By The Order of the Suits!” The phrase made her chuckle. She even let a laugh slip as the guard spoke. Aisling put her hand to her mouth, then pressed her hand onto the sigil. A large blast of smoke filled the room. The guards all began to cough. Aisling focused as hard as she could, reaching into herself for another spell of magic. She thought about anxiety, shyness, the want to be small, the need to survive. Then, as the smoke subsided, Her body flashed out of existence. She was invisible.

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Corinth threw his body against the wall, chains and shackles trembling from the force of his body hitting the stone walls. A new prisoner was being transferred so there were reduced Guards inside of The Shard. This would be his only chance to break out. He grabbed onto the shackles and pulled, he writhed in pain as he continued to pull. Cracks began to form within the bones of his wrists. Skin and nerves begin to tear. He didn’t have the magic Aisling had, but he grew up in the outskirts. He was used to clawing his way out of things.

He threw his body against the wall once more, biting down on a piece of wood he’d broken off of the food trays given to him. His left arm was freed, and blood began to spill out of his wrist. He quickly removed his shirt and fashioned it into a bandage. He stopped for a moment, becoming a bit more light headed. He caught his breath and continued. He pried his right arm free, fastening the same bandages to it. He then pressed his hand against the necklace with a stone around his neck. “Aisling, Still got the guards distracted?” No reply. He cursed out into the cell.

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He let a knock ring out on the bars, then a man from across the hall, Deacon Feathermore, a petty criminal who quickly became allies with Corinth over his stay in the Shard, tossed over a key.

“Thanks a million, Deek. I hope we never- And I truly mean this. Never, ever meet again.”

He gave a smirk to the man and passed over two coins he had hiding in his pillowcase. He put the key in the lock and turned it. Two months in this prison, two worthless months spent eavesdropping and playing dumb. Two months wasted. He was finally free.

⥯⥥⥣⥥⥮

Maynard opened his eyes, the cold air making his cheeks red as the blood flooded back into them. His arms covered in rope, his head ringing and aching. He let out a groan, his voice was far more hoarse than he’d expected it to be. He scanned the room for his revolver. In front of him were two people, one of which had the barrel of the gun pointed at Maynard’s head. Immediately he began to take a mental note of their features. The woman wore a cloak that draped over her shoulders like a cape obscuring most of her features, except for her masked face and black ponytail. The man was outfitted with a bloodied prisoner's uniform, despite missing a shirt that was likely used to create the bandages and arm bands around his body. He was covered in blood, his face weathered and covered in a scruffy blonde beard, his eyebrow slit from a scar.

“Finally, you’re awake.” He let out in a sarcastic tone.

Maynard paused, and began to collect himself. “By the Order Of-” “The suits. We know.” The man and woman said in unison, followed by a collective groan. Maynard looked defeated.

“What do you want with me?” Hearing the tone shift in the Guard’s voice, Corinth thought he heard desperation. This man really thought this night may be his last night alive. Lucky for him they needed him.

Aisling spoke telepathically to Corinth. That was their way of talking ever since the night they’d met. It was what made them such a good duo of criminals. The ability to speak to each other through their minds if they were within a certain distance. Corinth cleared his throat and walked closer to the Guard, kneeling down to get to his level.

“Keep your chin up, friend!” He said while pulling the Guard’s head upward to meet with his eyes. “Now, You’re probably wondering who was stupid enough to climb the outer wall, especially in the Clubs district. Well, That would be us.”

He followed the instructions, paused, then continued.

“I’m getting ahead of myself. Don’t worry, your life isn’t in danger as long as you give us what we want.”

The Guard let out a sigh. “You think this is my first time being exploited by a criminal? I’ve been in the Constabulary for a decade!” He said, proud of himself. “My name is Maynard Callianthe, I am a ward of Calibraxus and an Officer of the Clubs district and whatever you think you’re doing will certainly not-”

The hammer clicked in place as Corinth cocked the revolver. Maynard let out a gasp and replied. “I could have you killed for that.”

Corinth rebuked. “Escalating a conflict like that with your aggressor surely goes against your training. Or are you a part of the Old Guard? Are you one of the people who so desperately needed to be Restructured?” Corinth said, brandishing the firearm, waving it around like a madman as he gestured and talked with his hands.

Aisling focused on Maynard, his body was shaking, although he was composing himself well. She could tell his heart rate had increased, but her Husband’s morale trick was doing the job. She thought to herself. There has to be a reason someone this high ranking was on patrol tonight. It would be careless to let him patrol alone. She reached into his mind, retracing his steps. She pushed on images like a door and saw the patrol, she saw him walking on the wall, him putting on his uniform and finally, the report he read hours earlier. She scanned the page within the memory.

“CULLING REQUEST: Everett Hollow, family of four, address: 23 Rheam Street, Clubs District.”

She pulled herself back to reality and her nose began to bleed.

Corinth was trying to talk to him about bland things, slowly but surely wearing him down. By now it had been almost thirty minutes since Maynard came to consciousness.

“-And so I said, ‘Why don’t you ever talk to me that way?’” He laughed at his own joke, Maynard knelt in annoyance.

Aisling whispered to him in his mind. Corinth sprang to his feet and pulled out a dagger.

“Well Maynard, pleasure meeting you! I surely hope to see you again sometime.” He began to cut the man loose, holding tightly onto his wrists.

“So that’s it?! You’re just going to talk my ear off and then let me go? What sort of criminal does that?” Maynard yelled in annoyance.

“You never saw us, and if you did nobody would believe you anyways because- like I said, who would be stupid enough to climb on the outer wall of the Clubs District.”

Corinth and Aisling leaped down from the tower, Aisling turning back into a falcon as Corinth landed onto the ground with brute force.

The fall had to have been almost thirty feet. “So, this Hollow guy. What do ya think he did?” Corinth said to Aisling as they walked towards Rheam Street. His voice had relaxed back into its natural Dawnveil Accent. He always seemed to hide it unless he was in private, force of habit. Aisling dropped her cloak, stuffing it into a bag as they walked.

“Probably the same as most people, just talked against The Suits, spoke bad of them at some party or said the wrong thing to the wrong noblemen. You know how it goes.” Underneath her cloak was a form-fitted suit made for a noblewoman. Nothing too special, just enough to stand out from the commoners.

Corinth dipped into an alleyway and reached into the bag, he removed his bandages. Aisling looked at his injuries with a few comforting glances.

“I’m glad you’re back.” She said as she took out some herbs, turned them into a fine paste and then spread them across his arms. His wounds closed themselves, becoming scars within seconds. He let out a small sigh of relief and smiled at Aisling. They traded a few loving glances before moving on.

“Glad to be back, now let’s go stop this Culling before it’s too late.” He fastened his belt while tucking in his shirt, leaving just enough open to show his chest hair before cleaning up his hair and walking off out of the alleyway.