The Thief

There was very little Ide liked more than traveling to another place. Her life had little excitement save from the circus, not to mention she had started getting in trouble with the Garda when they had been in Ireland just before. They had not caught her, but they had come close. Her parents didn't care, so long as she continued earning them money. She was their star, their acrobat, their circus freak. She hardly cared. She could otherwise do what she liked. They had sent someone to advertise their circus several weeks in advance; her father had named it after her mother: Cirque d'Elodie. They had been preparing since their arrived in Illium, and Ide had little time to roam, but it was night now and she was restless in her trailer. Slipping out was easy. No one would notice her missing until morning. And for the night, she was free.

Her feet were bare, feet light as she all but danced over roof tops. She tumbled, flipped, dove between buildings, clambered up drainpipes and leapt off great heights only to open her wings at the last minute. She would keep her reflexes sharp by sitting still until a bird flew past her and catching it in the air. She liked plucking a feather off each one she did; not one that would inhibit their flying, but she enjoyed having them as a keepsake. While doing this, her sharp eyes noticed a glint through a nearby window and she let the pigeon alone for now. The jump to the apartment block was narrow and easy, but she rolled after landing regardless to prevent injury from the broken glass that was there. She crawled down the side of the building like a spider; a quick peak inside showed it to be empty. While still upside down, she reached inside the leg of her leotard where a knife sat in a holster, and she quietly jammed it in the space between the window and the seal; after some wiggling and a bit of blunt force on her part, she managed to pry the window open.

Meanwhile

A slim cocky grin shone like a razor blade across Reme's face as he sprinted across the rooftop of a large apartment complex, heart pounding in his ears. This was a feeling he'd come to adore since he'd arrived in this city, this Illium. Leaping from roof to roof, the cold wind rushing through his air, flooding through his lungs. The impact that shook through his muscles with every close landing, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. This was patrol, night in and night out, traversing the rooftops and hunting for criminals, to anyone watching he was nothing but a blur of motion, the only sign of his passing a faint trail of blue light. Suddenly he slid to a stop at the edge of a courthouse's roof, deciding to take a second to survey his surroundings. Pulling out his pair of binoculars he scanned about intently, eyes passing over the relatively ordinary scene of the street, only for something to catch his eye. A figure, small and slight, perched near a window with a knife, a thief!

Ide slipped inside; holding herself off the ground by her hands on the windowsill momentarily, she gently placed her feet on the carpeted floor. It was soft, and she briefly let herself enjoy the feeling between her bare toes. That was until she scanned the room and spotted what had originally caught her attention. She was in a dressing room; a large walk in closet took up one wall, while shoes lined another from ceiling to floor. And the prize? A large mirrored jewelry box sat on the ivory dresser. She made a beeline towards it, hesitating only for the briefest second with her fingers feathering the clasp as she caught her eyes in the dresser mirror. She saw the mischievous glint in her eyes, as bright and blue as fresh water. She popped the clasp of the box open, and inside there glittered a treasure trove. This is what she'd been after. She slipped on a large sapphire ring and admired it on her small hand.

"So..what you got there?" A voice suddenly asked from behind her, ha, he'd always wanted to pull that trick. Appear out of nowhere with a calm collected question, he had, to be honest, he understood why Batman did it so much.

It is safe to say no one had ever jumped quite as high as Íde did in that moment. She knew she had checked the room for other people. Shit shit shit. Without missing a beat, she ripped the ring off her finger, spun and chucked it at the man behind her before all but diving out of the window. There was nowhere to go but down.

Without even a blink Rene caught the ring between two fingers and tossed it back over to the box, then with a reckless grin, leaped right out of the window after her.

The wind whipped her hair, stole her breath, but nher focus did not waver. Her eyes were slits as she focused on the ground rushing up to meet her, ever more rapidly. At the last minute, her wings ripped from her back and she stole away from the ground, darting down the narrow street with naught a sound.

The swordsman's eyes widened rapidly as he watched the events from above, a...a fairy? He hadn't expected to encounter one of those in America, he suppossed the pesky ne'er-do-wells weren't so rare after all! Perhaps the order should here of this? However, this train of thought was cut off by the small matter of the ground rushing up to meet him. With the grace of a skilled acrobat, he shifted his trajectory so that he would stop against the wall of a nearby building, knees absorbing the shock as he hit the wall. Ok, this was going to take some finesse. As soon as he stopped against the firm red brick he shifted and began to run rapidly along the wall's side, eyes locked on the thief as he attempted to follow her as best he could.

Íde stole a glance behind her; to say she was surprised to she him persuing her on the wall was an understatement. She took a sharp turn to the left, and flew up. He could hardly catch her now..

Mierde she was going to getaway! Rene's breath quickened slightly as the flying thief took evasive maneuvers, mind rushing for a way to stop her! Oh right, just teleport! With a sharp crackling hiss, he slid the enchanted blade from its sheath, and with a slash-cut opened a blue glowing portal in the air! Then with one last push from his legs he corkscrewed through the hole in space and time! For a moment, the world was nothing but a blur of crackling electric blue light and intense velocity! Then with a 'pop' the hole opened up again and he was above her! With no time to waste he sheathed the blade and attempted to tackle the fairy girl out of the sky, which would send them both hurtling down to the car-filled street below!

As she rushed towards the sky, she could not resist the grin that split her lips. She was free; she was invincible; she was - the spotted the hole immediately, spotted the man who fell out of it; instantly, almost... too fast, almost before his own eyes had processed her, she darted around him. She circled him, then, plummeted to the ground, arms tucked like a bullet. His... Whatever that was... Well, it would be easier to lose him in the city.

Wait...what? How did, when did, what?! Sea-blue eyes widened in utter surprise as his brilliant, daring, bold ploy completely failed and he began hurtling down towards the bustling noisy, very much occupied street below. He had to admit, she'd gotten him. A reluctant grin tugged at his lips, as he pulled out his blade again and cut himself an escape, reappearing again perched atop a nearby light pole. She was good.

Íde on the other hand... Did not consider that a victory. She had never met anyone like him, and she knew that could have very easily gone awry. She did not even know why he wS after her; he was obviously not the police, that much was obvious. So then what was he? The answer came to her instantaneously, shockingly, and sent a bolt up her spine... A superhero? And if he is one, then there must be more. More people like her. Darting between two buildings, she flipped in midair as a method to slow herself down before landing lightly on the roof. She would find him again.. But for now, she must return home.

With a sigh Rene somersaulted off the pole, landing deftly onto the asphalt below. Welp, there was no point in chasing now, even if his pride stung at the thought. No reason to get all huffy about it he told himself, she didn't get away with any valuables, right? And he had to admit that, in a peculiar way, the chase had been rather fun. Regardless, he needed to get back on patrol, it would be two hours before the sun came up, two more hours where criminal scum felt safe under the cover of darkness. Besides the circus was in town right? Maybe after he was done he could go and see the show?

(Timeskip to the next day?)

(yes)

Cirque d'Elodie, once a quaint circus that toured France, had since become one of the most famous circuses in the world. This was simply put down to the fact they had something no one else did.

On the outside, it looked just as any other circus did. And indeed, the first couple of acts did too. Strongman, juggler.. But the real show was yet to come. The ringmaster, a beast of a man with a flash of blond hair and a thick French accent, introduced their last act, the name and nothing else: The Demoiselle. It was, after all, what everyone had come for. He of course left the best to last.

Meanwhile, in the crowd, a young man with sea-blue eyes and dark black hair grinned widely with anticipation. He couldn't help it, it was good to just be able to relax and watch a show after a hard night of patrol. He wondered what kind of act would be next, a magician? An acrobat perhaps? It would only make sense, Demoiselle, he ran the name through his mind, that was a species of damselfly no? Although he did worry that after that morning's aeronautic antics, the show wouldn't impress him nearly as much. After all, what is a skilled gymnast to a man who can leap the length of Main street?

The lights dimmed until naught could be seen but the faint lights on the seat steps. Then, suddenly, a spotlight shone down on the centre of the stage, and there was a girl. Curled up, tight with her back against the audience. Her leotard revealed the majority of her back, pale and ghostly against the bright light, and on it was what looked like a shimmering tattoo of dragonfly wings.
The music began, slow, smooth, and in time with it her arms snaked at her sides, rose and fell in a hypnotic nature. The tone of the music changed quite suddenly; a drumbeat was introduced, fast and overwhelming. Her movements changed in response; she retracted into herself, as if in pain, as one at a time dragonfly wings sprouted from her back. The crowd of course responded quite wildly. But she payed them no heed. The dance was begun, and she could think only of it. For the next hour she moved in graceful arcs, flipping and leaping. Her skill was obvious, in the way she moved in a hypnotic nature. She held the crowd and she knew it.

Juste une secunde, was that? It was! Well...honestly that made perfect sense. Despite that, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed, outdone by a circus girl? And a little kid at that? He hadn't trained his sweet ass off for twenty-some-odd years to get the run-around from a 7th grader!..But more alarmingly, did the people running the circus know what the girl was up to? Were they in on it?..He had to find out. Pride, a sin Rene gave into by force of habit, was replaced by nagging, uncomfortable concern as he pondered on the subject, his enjoyment of the show soured by the possibly sordid circumstances surrounding it. It was decided, he needed to find her, one way or another after the show, and figure out what exactly was going on here.

A standing ovation greeted her when her act had finished, and she bowed with a self satisfied grin. Her confidence could be felt from the very back of the audience, her cockiness. She floated off the stage like she had just gotten gold at the Olympics, to be replaced by the ringmaster who announced the end of the show for tonight.

As people began getting up to leave, Rene decided to wait a bit and watch where the girl went, hoping to find her after the show. To be honest, stalking after a middle schooler felt...ick, but he couldn't help it. What if they were forcing the poor girl to steal? Using her as an extra form of income? As a self-proclaimed hero, sticking his nose in other's people's business was just part of the job! Even if he didn't like it.

The crowd began to dispurse as the lights brightened, revealing the mess the audience left. Meanwhile the acts returned to their trailers, or helped clean up the stage. The ringmaster shouted orders in his delightful French accent.
Íde herself was looking forward to collapse into bed, and left the back of the tent to return to her own trailer.

When he was absolutely sure about what direction she'd gone, Rene proceeded to follow the rest of the crowd out of the big top pavilion. Yet instead of following the loose procession of patrons out of the circus, he peeled off from the crowd and circled around the circus tent itself, heading in the direction he'd seen the girl going. Making sure to avoid being seen he continued through the carnival until he reached the performer's trailers. Stopping for a moment, he looked about for a way to differentiate who occupied which trailer, hoping for some kind of sign.

Being the star, her parents had of course gifted her the most decorative trailer: it was painted blue and white, with a pair of white dragonfly wings on the side.
Ide grabbed an energy drink from her fridge.

Yet as the probably tired acrobat prepared for rest after a good day's work, something knocked against one of the windows of her trailer.

She jumped again, dropping the energy drink from her hands; she ducked to catch it before it hit the ground and huffed. Whoever is disturbing her now, it better be important. She opened the door to her trailer and peered out at the window that had been knocked.