Picking the wrong pocket to pickpocket

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar had a busy month head of her she was planning a party for the full moon where all of the registered werewolves in new zealand would be invited. she had sent out invites and had man replies back some positive, some not so much. though there were still many people she hadn't herd from. a few days ago she put a large order for wolfsbane potion in at st mungoes and that morning she had received an owl saying it was ready and bottled up for her. smiling she had left the dark office and headed into the sunshine enjoying the short walk from the ministry to st mungos. she went in and headed down the stairs to the basement where the potions were brewed. half expecting to see Jeremy her friend from school there. he wasn't instead there was an old wizard. when she asked him he said that jeremy had the day off. which was a good thing as he had looked tired when she had last seen him like he needed a day off and also she knew he wasn't a big fan of this particular potion and she had just put in an order for enough for 20 months (or one month for 20 wolves) she left about 20 minutes later thinking the wizard and her hands holding two bags full of the wolfsbane. deciding that it was lunch time and that she may as well grab something nice before heading back to the ministry she made a slight diversion into the nearest cafe. she ordered a drink of fruit and vegetable juice and a meat roll now her hands were really full.
she placed the still wrapped roll into the bag and slowly sipped the drink as she left the shop letting each of the flavours come out as she went. slowly she meandered up the street taking her time and enjoying the sun as for a girl who had not been in a building until she was 11 she was spending a depressingly short amount of time outside at the moment.

 

[Horus Chalthoum]

Horus was basking in the summer sun, sitting comfortably on a bench by the sidewalk. The job he had undertook that period couldn't occur in a better time than this one. It was summer for the south hemisphere and New Zealand and Horus was thankful that he wouldn't have to endure low temperatures and the snow that he so much detested.
The fact that the weather was hot there was a catalyst for him and so he told to his older brother to send him in New Zealand to take care of this business. They had to obtain a maori artefact or better say, steal it from a museum in Auckland and sell it to a customer who showed interest for such kind of items. Horus and his brother were great partners but when there are too many customers, they had to split way and work alone. The young egyptian could work alone flawlessly as well but he was feeling more confident with his older brother around. For now he had to do it alone without disappointing his brother by getting caught.

Horus wasn't a man of hasty desicions. He was weighing every option and every opportunity. He had already found the blueprints of the museum, muggle guards' shifts and their security equipment. However, he wasn't ready yet to break into the museum and get the item he was asked to. In case something was going to get wrong he should have a plan B, a getaway. So he have decided to scout as many places around New Zealand, in case he needed some sort of a hideout or a place to blend with the rest of the crowd. For that day, he had chosen the Obsidian Harbour. It was somewhat reminding him of his hometown and wizards were all over the place. Horus liked observing people in public places. He could extract so many information by just watching them emracing their everyday activities.
But he needed something more risky to entertain himself. Pickpocketing was a pleasant hobby for him to spare his free time. He was targeting people who were looking wealthy, absent-minded or just too occupied with something else to notice him doing his magic.

His jade eyes pinned on a redhead girl coming out of a cafe. Her flow had something that magnetized his attention immediately but it wasn't just that got him. Her hands were full and she seemed quite unsuspected the way she was enjoying herself and the hot weather. He let her pass in front of the bench he was occupying and let his senses to fill up. His eyes rested for a moments on her bulging pockets, his ears caught the jangling sound of her pockets and his acute sense of smell distinguished except from the fruity sweetness of the juice in her hands and the fresh smell of the meat roll, something else, familiar. He leaned forwards on his seat and took a deep breath as she was moving on. "Wolfsbane." he murmured to himself. She was either a healer or a werewolf. That was making things more interesting. He stood up and started following her discreetly. Fortunately, he wasn't wearing his favourite travel cloaks. Shirt and jeans were supporting the profile of the man of the next door that he wanted to display. He waited until the crowd thickened and she had to maender through them. "Excuse me." he muttered as he shoved her supposedly accidentally with his shoulder. "My apologies." he come out with an apology that was exuding honesty. He glanced at his watch before blending into the crowd out of her sight to show that he was in a hurry.

He had done his damage. He quickly pocketed what he have pickpocketed from the girl. He didn't stopped to see what exactly was but his first impression was some galleons, a wand and some sort of jewelery. He soon the left the flow of the crowd and vanished in the shadows of a deserted alley. He took out of his pocket his swags. He was right as always. His loots were a few galleons, a nice wand that Horus could tell that it was ordered by its owner and an amulet. An amber amulet with the depiction of the egyptian jackal-god Anubis. Horus frowned and turned to look at the crowd that was moving like a river in the main street. He wondered how that ended in the girl's hands but a sound next to him got him into his vigilant mode. It was just a blind beggar, sitted inext to a trash can.
Horus dropped the coins in the container that the blind man had in front of him and kept the wand and the amulet. They could generate him profit, especially the amulet. He stepped deeper in the alley to find out where exactly it was going to lead him.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

it was about a half hours walk between the ministry and the hospital one that most people tended to skep and apparate. Briar however liked long walks whish is why she had gone out at lunch break so she didnt have to feel rushed. There was a disadvantage of mid day and that was that this was the time that most shoppers were on the street causing it to be rather crowded something that made the werewolf girl uncomfortable. she liked her own space. she was just thinking this when she felt someone bump into her from behind, emphasising the point of her thoughts. thankfully she had a good sence of balence or she would have fallen, and dropped everything. Once she was balanced again she shruged of the mans appology, it was just an accident, it could have happened to anyone, and he seemed to be in a rush.
she continued down the street and after a few moments she thought there had been something odd about the accident. she was sure she had briefly felt the strangers hand in her pocket. although her hnds were full she couldnt check bt she was sure it was lighter. she looked around and for a moment the crowd seemed to part and she saw the man slip into an ally. she quickly headed through the people wth ease as although she didnt like crowds she was pretty good at moving through them, her years of practice dodging between trees whilst running full speed was to thank for that.
As she rounded the corner of the ally she saw the man drop some coins into a beggars box and look at two things a wand and something else that she was sure was her amulet she had recived of her brother. "oy" she called stepping further into the ally. somehow the dimmed light made the scrs on her face arms and legs more stand out due to the shadows, and her eyes sparked in a way that her usual day to day life ad caused to fade, a way that showed a hunter, the animal she was the spark only normally appearing on the quiditch pitch.
she put down the bag in her left hand and went to reach for her wand, she wasn't really surprised that it wasn't there. she resisted the temptation to reach for the knife she almost always caried snce she had left school, a leftover from her hunting days, and instead looked at the man. it was her wand he was examining. her last gift from her mother had been the wood and centaur hair in that wand was from her sister, the amulet had been a gift from her brother. "I think you may have something of mine" she said. her temper was rising but she was trying as best as she could to keep her voice calm and steady. silently she cast the jelly fingers jinx aiming it atthe man. hoping that it would cause im to drop the items. It was an odd choice of spell and she knew most people would use the disarmng charm, leg locking or body bind hexes but briar wasnt most people, she knew when she got too angry she did stupid things, and attacking this man when she had no evidence they were her things would class as stupid, if the man ran she cold follow so binding him was not necessary regardless. even carrying the bags she was sure she would be able to catch him.

 

[Horus Chalthoum]

Horus was walking deeper into the narrow alley. He was feeling more secure as the shadows were enveloping his presence. He was trained enough not to let his footsteps sound and he was going to slip quietly out of the buzz of the crowd unperceived. Unlike him, the person who was approaching him from behind was not that careful of moving silently. He could hear footsteps and they didn't belonged to the beggar he had helped. From their sound, Horus could distinguish determination and frustration, as well as they belonged to a female. The voice that echoed along the brick walls confirmed his suspicions. He accelerated his steps and didn't turn back to face his caller. He knew that it was the redhead girl and he was somewhat impressed that she probably had realized that he had pickpocketed her. Most people didn't realize it until it was too late and almost never they tried to follow him.

He counted on his hope that she was probably going to hesitate to enter a dark alley. Such alleys were quite dangerous. They were magnets to the most notorious people, people who wanted to cover their dirty deeds and were ready to silence whoever was going to expose their secrets. To his misfortune the girl seemed to be persistent and determined to get back her belongings. "I think you may have something of mine" she called from behind him. Horus stopped walking and remained still, silent with his back turned on her. He had to confront her with caution. Her voice was welling some irritation and the last thing Horus wanted was a young woman's hysteria, bringing the spotlights on him. He didn't reply to her accusation but his ears picked up the sound of a spell piercing the air and rapidly zooming towards him. His reaction was lightning-fast. He turned around and flicked the wand he had just stolen from her.

The power of her spell was encircled by an invisible, spherical energy field. The jet of the spell was now orbiting at random directions within it. "I don't think so." His voice replied emotionless but his jade eyes were leering at her. "By the way...nice wand. I think I'll keep it." he admired the wand in his hands and flicked it once more to unleash the power of her spell back at her. He grasped the opportunity and left her deal with the spell he had just deflected upon her. He ran away deeper in the shadows of the alley, meandering among abandoned craters and garbage bins to finally fell on a dead end. He looked up at the wall that was raising high at the roof of a building. It was too high to just climb it. His brain started working feverishly as the girl was still dealing with the spell, coming up with a way to escape.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar walked along the ally towards the man. a few more paces and she would be upon him. she her hands itched to reach for her knife but she still didn't. "you said i have a nice wand but still claim that you have nothing of mine. smart" she said as he fired her own spell back at her. doing two things at once she put down her bag so as not to break the potion if the spell did hit her and she dropped them the other thing she did was to cast a shield charm and she was glad that the spell was deflected out of the top of the buildings. "that is a pretty good wand, I'm glad you agree. you don't even want to know what it's made out of." she said. technically she was half of the the core to her own wand.
His slow steps further into the ally started to aggravate her anger she crouched down and cast a couple of charms and set the bags and food to her desk in the office. she was glad she had had night patrols the previous year to school where she had spent hours practising soundless and wandless magic. when she got up she was not the ministry worker, headgirl she had become but the wolf, the hunter, the feral girl she had been brought up to be. she was up and running full sprint down the ally jumping over the bins as well as dodging them. she was fast she had to be. and soon she had caught up with him. she grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. "I want my wand and amulet back. otherwise I will report you the ministry. and that isn't an empty threat as that was were i was heading before this rather interesting detour" she said starting as a hiss but evening out as she spoke. she looked where they were. the ally was long and there were about ten meters from where it was separated with a high link fence and she was on the ally side of him.

 

[Horus Chalthoum]

Horus didn't have enought time to come up with a good plan to escape. The girl caught him up and grabbed his arm tightly. He had some strenght for a girl. Horus' jade eyes wandered from her hand that had a tight grip on him and then at the scars on her face. He let a smirk first and with a blink of his eyes, his body, his clothes even the items he had on him turned into sand that swirled into the air. A mini sandstorm picked up and moved on from the place Horus was standing, a few meters behind the girl. There, the sand zoomed into place and materialized into Horus again. He loved apparating while boosting it with some of his elemental magic. He didn't check out if the girl was surprised or even more furious but instead he studied her wand that he had stolen. He even sniffed it before replying to her.
"The only thing that is yours on this wand is the fur of werewolf in the core." he stated his voice always deep and flat, empty of emotions. He could tell she was a werewolf. The scars, the wolfsbane in the bags that she just evanesced, he could even distinguish the characteristic smell of a werewolf on her.
"Apart from that the wood and the hair of centaur weren't yours so the wand as a whole is not yours as well." Horus continued. He had a slightly different idea of what was someone's property.

Things could be getting serious when she mentioned the Ministry. Horus sensed from her words that she was probably working there but she didn't look like she was an auror. He could distinguish likes like them and she had such a wild beauty to be wasted on such a foolish job. "Oh I'm scared to death now. I also just got goosebumbs." he sarcasted flatly when she threatened him. He slashed twice the air with her wand and piece of large rocks materialized to be shot towards the brick walls that were rising beside him. The rocks jammed into different levels in the concrete walls forming improvised steps. Horus started jumping from stone to stone, from wall to wall ably using some flips as well until he reached the roof of one of the buildings. He looked down at the girl who was still in the alley.
"Hey Ginger! I can show you a more interesting detour. If you can keep up of course." he taunted her from the roof, underestimating her abilities. Couldn't he escape just by apparating away? Of course he could but Horus wanted to test her. He still wanted to entertain himself and she seemed capable of playing along.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar was a little surprised that he knew what her wand contained. he must have known a fair bit about them to know as her cores werent normal not in the slightest. "the wood is mine, it's from my tree, and the centaur hair is my sisters" she shouted back. not knowing what she was saying, she certainly wouldn't have said that much about herself if she had been less angry.
she saw as he conjured some stones from her wand and used them to climb the wall. not watching him she flew towards the fence using the speed she gained to help propel herself up the fence. it was an easy climb and once she was half way up she tried once again to disarm the man as maybe if he was paying so much attention to keeping his momentum going he wouldn't be able to react properly.
soon she was on the top though unfortunately her had ended up on the other side and the ally was a gulf between them. the next thing the man said would probably be the most fatal of his words yet. if you can keep up the climb had decreased her anger and given her a new stealy resolve. she was not going to let him leave here with her wand an amulet. "what? you don't think i'm up for it? you don't know what you're dealing with" she shouted back taking a few steps back and launching herself at the other building. unfortunately she didn't quite make it but she managed to grab a drain pipe a meter below the edge and used that to hoist herself the last little bit. as she came over the top she looked to see where the man was. quickly she slipped her feet out of her semi smart slip on work shoes. she had always run better barefoot. and the shoes were noisy barefoot she could run almost soundlessly.

 

[Horus Chalthoum]

Horus stooped to dodge the disarming charm that was targeting him and came out of nowhere.
"Easy Ginger. You might harm someone." he said as he watched her from the edge of the terrace. She managed to climb easily up a fence and make her way up to the terrace of the opposite building. The buildings had the sme height so the two terraces were at the same level with the alley between being the gap that waited for the first one to jump and swallow them.
"Oh so you are cultivating as well and your family consists of centaurs?" he wondered loudly, some irony conspicuous in his words.
"I can't help but wonder what else you got." he rubbed his chin as he waited for her to do her next move. Surprisingly, she had the guts and made the jump between the two terraces. When Horus show her disappearing in the gap, his heart skipped a bit and he took a few steps forwards, fearing that she hadn't made it.

His smirk returned on his face when she slowly used the drain pipe to get on his terrace.
"For a moment I believed it was game over." he said and took a few steps backwards as she was approaching him. "That's true. I don't know what I'm dealing but I'm surely going to find out." he said and waved her wand. The stones that had pinned the brick walls down the alley came off and rised into the air above them.
"Let's see first if you are good at dodging." he waved once again and a couple of them, turned their sharp edges towards the girl before the gravity pulled them towards her. "Engorgio." he commanded and the rest flying rocks turned into boulders that came to crash on the terrace between him and the girl, forming a ferocious stone wall. This would have probably been audible to the residents of the building but he didn't care, he could apparate whenever he felt like he was too exposed to stay. The girl now had to get passed his wall if she had manage to survive his attacking rocks.
"Salaam. Have fun!" he shouted for her to listen if she was still alive behind his stone walls. He started running at the opposite direction of his magic's doing, building some speed before jumping on the next terrace which was full of antennas. He landed casually on his feet, fixed the collar of his shirt and moved on.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar wasn't surprised when the spell missed him as without a wand it was hard to aim and being half way up a fence didn't help. when he mentioned that her family was a centaur she scowled. how did he know? all this from her wand? her anger turned into determination to get her things back.
just when she was ready to sprint off after him across the roof tops when she heard a sound just n time to see the boulders lift over the edge of the roof before growing and flying at her. thankfully she was able to dodge them then by duck in the gap between two chimneys. she let out a shout that made it sound like she was trapped though she was lucky that it was clear behind for her to get out. sneaked behind a ridge in the roof glad that she had taken her shoes off so she was a silent predator.
she was aided by the fact that she was sure that he thought that she was behind the rubble. taking the way long way around him so that she wouldn't want to be caught in the corner of his eye. she moved quickly and soundlessly instinctively knowing how not to make a sound. she was also aided by the mid day sun not causing much of a shadow, and by the chimneys and other things scattered all over the place. which she could duck behind. eventually she made the last move sneaking up directly behind him she reached into his pocket to take her amulet back just as he said "Salaam. Have fun!" before turning straight into her. "yeah I think i am going to. now I think I deserve my wand back" she said a challenge spread on her face as she reached for her wand.

 

[Horus Chalthoum]

Horus looked over his shoulder, hoping that she had manage to survive this. He expected to see her coming out of the stony structure he had created but there was no sign of her. For a moment he thought of returning back to the previous terrace and help her if she wasn't already death but he realized that he was going soft for no reason and he shook his head to come back down to earth. He turned to keep on moving across the terrace hae had just jumped on and to his surprise, the readhead was already standing in front of him. He watched her impressed, letting his guard down. The girl found the right opportunity and slipped her hand in his pocket to get back her amulet made of amber and he didn't stop her.
"Wow! I'm impressed Ginger. Well done! You have it in your blood." he slow clapped a few times. This needed some praising. Others wouldn't have survived a minute with his little tricks.

He still had her wand in his hands and that gave him an advantage. The wand was of no use to him. He could just donate it to some old wizard or witch that needed it. The amulet however, looked interesting and he was sure that he could have discovered more about it if he had the time to study it.
"My brother would have been ashamed of me if he was going to learn that a random girl actually pick pocketed me." he shook his head, acting ashamed.
"Perhaps I should redeem myself." he said and whistled through his fingers. He swished her wand to defy gravity and shot himself into the air before landing on a chimney. Djet, his trusted ally didn't took a long time to respond. His egyptian eagle with the white plumage and the yellow head, dove from the skies towards the girl and stole with its claws the amber amulet.

Djet brought the jewel to Horus and dropped it in his hand.
"Shukran." he turned to thank his friend who had roosted on his shoulder.
"Indeed. You deserve your wand back." he agreed with her earlier statement and tossed her wand down to her.
"I'll keep this one however. It's a fair trade." he stated and he nodded to Djet to fly away. The eagle obeyed and opened its wings to soar away.
"Now if you are still up to it, let us test your stealth." he winked at her and jumped. He drew his arms close to his body and vanished within the hole of the chimney. It was too narrow, dark and dirty but soon his descent ended as he landed on the empty fireplace in slow motion with the aid of some wandless magic. He dusted ashes off his shoulders, his once beige shirt now having an ecru color. He listened to see if she was going to follow him again. Then he looked around him. He had ended in the spacious living room of an appartment. His arrival was silent but the residents of the property could be around. He took a few attentive steps further in the room to make sure that no one was around.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar couldnt believe the effort this man was going to to keep her things. she looked at her watch and saw that it was already nearing the end of her lunch break and she still had to get to work, but this was some of the best fun she had had in a while. it far beat the afternoon she knew she would have writing letters to her "party guests" and sending wolfsbane out to them. if she had her wand she owuld send a message off to work saying that she would be back soon and that she would make up the hours at the end of the day, not that she was short on hours, she probably had enough on overtime to make up the rest of the week if she needed it. when he said his brother would be ashamed for lettng a random girl pickpocket him she shook her head. I am sure he would be if a random girl pickpocket you. but I am no random girl so you should be okay"[/b] she said however just as the last word was out she hears the swish of feathers and an eagle was on top of her taking the amulet out of her hand. what ws he playing at with his games. didn't he know she would win at the end or she would report him to the ministry and then she would win. as the wand was passed to her she grabbed it in case it was some trick. "that is not fair trade if both of them were mine to begin with." she called as he headed over to the chimney.[/b] she stated as she watched him travel down the floo.
she rolled her eyes and headed over to the edge of the building looking over she saw a balcony on the floor below her. casting the reviling spell she saw that there was no one in the floor welow so she dropped on the balcony casting the spell again she saw the room below had one man in. this annoying man. she climbed over the rail and swung herself into the balcony below. landing with almost feline finesse she opened the door with magic after seeing it was locked prior. she knew she shouldn't be doing this but she wouldn't back down now it was too much of a challenge, and a fun challenge at that. "If i loose my job because of you I will track you down" she said an edge in her voise that showed she was serious. "i don't know what you are playing with please just give it back" she whispered keeping her voice low so as not to be heard by anyone passing on the stairs ouside or in another room that her can had missed

 

[Horus Chalthoum]

It was the kind of place that Horus would have chosen to stay for a couple of nights if the owners had left it for vacations. He noticed the wrinkled covers of the sofa and he placed a hand on it. The cloth was warm which meant that whoever was living in this apartment was sitting there not long ago.
"Homenum Revelio." he casted this time with his own acacia wand. He focused on the rooms down the corridor and there was no human presence there. He was feeling uneasy for some reason as if someone was spying on him. He remained still letting his hearing do its job but the door of the balcony bursted open. The readhead had found her way again. "Delivering wolfsbane? Is that what you call a job?" he raised an eyebrow as this was his closest guess of what could be her job, judging from the bags full of this potion that she was carrying earlier.
"Such a talent shouldn't be wasted on Ministry rubbish." he was talking to her but he was looking around him restlessly.

Horus was moving from furniture to furniture, trying to spot the source of his disquietude. He could sense it. They weren't alone. "Now if you could just stop complaining for a moment." he turned to look at her after sometime, his eyes demanding and intimidating. "Do you hear that?" his expression soften as he could hear better now a gentle vibration coming from somewhere in the room. He sensed movement behind him and he turned instantly while waving his wand. Thin white smoke emitted out of its tip to cloak the creature that tried to escape among the furnitures. The transparent smoke materialized into bandages that wrapped around the creature's body, turning it into a mummy. It was a house elf, startled by the presence of the two strangers. The creature now was immobile on the floor. "Now why it couldn't just stay out of this? Why?" Horus felt sorry for the poor little creature. It wasn't really mummified. Just unconscious under the tight bandages. A somewhat egyptian version of the petrificus totalus spell. "Sorry for that." he apologized to the little house elf mummy and hid it in the cabinet of the closest bookself.

The girl was going to have a terrible idea about him by now but he couldn't just leave tracks behind him.
"It will be fine. When the effect of the spell is over it will be as good as new." he explained slightly embarrased, scratching his temple. His movement slowed down as he noticed a shiny object in a show case close to the exit door. "Khufu's pyramid!" he whispered possesed by awe. His jade eyes widened at the view of a golden chalice shining behind the glass of the case, decorated with blood-red rubies. That piece of art could be sold at black market for a high amount of money. So high that he could go for permanent vacations at the Bahamas. Before he was able to make an attempt and get it in his hands, footsteps sounded outside the exit door coming from the buildings staircase. "Quick, over here!" he invited Briar through the door he had just opened. It was a storage cabinet, dimly lit by a tiny window at the back of it. He got inside and waited for the girl to join him, pushing a few buckets and brooms away to make some space in the confined place.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar could not believe she was doing this. standing in some strangers apartment with a complete stranger who had stolen her amulet. "At least I'm not steeling things then leading girls down alleyways across rooftops and down chimneys she said back rolling her eyes. "what talent. and what ministry rubbish" she said. she wasn't sure hat talent he meant and she knew full well that her job at the ministry was not rubbish even if many people thought it to be. her ears had already picked up the sound when the man had asked her to be quiet, picked up the sound and decided that it was a small creature like a house elf or pet "Of course I heard that what do you take me as, Deaf?" she snapped. although it was quiet she had ell tuned ears enhanced by her condition. what she hadn't expected was the smoke to come out of the mans real wand and ended up binding the elf in what seemed to be bandages. the man picked it up and shoved it harshly into a bookshelf. "You monster. what has that elf ever done to you?" she said opening the door and pointing her own wand at the elf. "Finite she said and the bandages disappeared. and the elf was concious again. she crouched down in front of him and whispered "I am so sorry about this. I didn't mean to beak in at all. this man took something of mine and I followed him trying to get it back. I promise not to hurt you or your family. and once " she said but even then she heard the steps on the stairs on the other side of a door. she was already up and heading for the balcony by the time the man told her to get into a cupboard. she wasn't that stupid. the first thing the family would see was that the door was ajar and then they would search the apartment.
she exited onto the balcony and locked the door again before twisting on the spot and aparating onto the roof when she decided what to do next. the obvious thing to do would be to go and call the law enforcement squad. but that would mean explaining how she knew of the break in, and why she hadn't called them sooner. instead she just waited. casting homenum revelio every ten or so seconds to see what was happening in the room.

 

[Horus Chalthoum]

Horus waited for the girl to join him in the closer but instead she broke his spell.
"What are you doing?" he tried to confine his anger into a whisper regardless his frustration. She was going to blow up his plan with her moral crisis. He really wanted to jinx her as she was heading for the balcony, shutting the doors behind her. "Stupid girl!" he murmured as clanging keys were audible behind the exit door. The scared to death house elf turned to look at the crack he had left to be able to watch from his hideout. Horus placed one index finger on his lips whereas the other crossed his neck, sending the message to the house elf that it will be dead the moment it was going to say something to its master. The house elf gulped and nodded shakingly as the keys turned in the keyhole. The exit door opened and Horus smirked when he saw the occupant of the appartment.

A gibbous, old lady was standing at the door step, holding her cane on one hand and a bag of shopping on the other. He was extremely lucky. It would be that easy to escape from there along with the golden chalice in the glass case. He just needed the right opportunity. His jade eyes followed her as she walked inside her appartment and closed the door behind her. "Floofyyyyy" she brayed suddenly that made Horus almost fell behind on the pile of brooms and bucket. "Yes madam!" replied the shaking elf that rushed to get close to her. Horus wasn't so sure if it was afraid because of him or because its mistress.
"Take this to the kitchen and prepare my tea." she barked order and gave to the elf her shoppings. For a little, old lady she had some lungs to be shouting like that. "And fast!" she pushed with her cane the poor house elf which was still trembling in front of her feet. The creature moaned and moved on towards the hall that was leading to the kitchen. The old lady took a seat on the wrinkled covers of the sofa and started to knitting what looked like to become a scarf in the future. She started crooning as well while absorbed in her activity and Horus found the perfect opportunity.

He looked around him and took a dust pan in his hand. With his free hand, he flourished his wand from the crack of the cabinet door and he flicked it to cast a switching spell. The chalice was replaced with a bleak of an eyes from the dust pan he had seconds before in his hand. His finger now could feel the cold gold of the chalice with th gems decorating it."Geminio." he whispered and he created a perfect replica of the golden chalice. He used once more the switching spell successfully, this time replacing the dust pan with the replica now in the show case. His smirk had almost reached his ears. His heart was pounding with excitement and adrenaline at the same time. He then attempted to apparate but something blocked his effort. It seemed that the old lady wasn't such a fool. She had placed a magical barrier to block apparition. It was no problem for him. As she kept humming a song, he opened slowly the cabinet's door and sneaked like a panther behind her as she was sitting on the sofa. He reached in that way the balcony's door at the other end of the living room. He opened it noiselessly and closed it softly behind him.

He studied the chalice and a grin lightened up his face. He then climbed on the railings at the edge of the balcony He stood up still holding the chalice and jumped to grab the rain gutter above him. Hanging from there, he started swaying from right to left until he gained enough momentum to climb back on the terrace.
The readhead was already there.
"You just let me down." he shook his head disappointed.
"For your information, I've never led a girl down any alleyway. Girls usually follow me." he replied to a previous comment of hers, with a smug on his face. He couldn't hide how much rapture he was for his newest acquisition.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar watched rom above as the man lingered in the cupboard as the lady called the elf she could hear her voice echoing even from this distance and she was glad that she had let the elf go or the lady would tell something was wrong. she found a pice of paper in her pocket and a pencil (an easer way to write than a quill and ink) and wrote a quick note to send to her office saying she had got caught up in something and would be back as soon as she could. in case anyone was wondering about her. eventually he moved slowly behind the lady and out of the door. she moved out towards the edge and saw him appear on the balcony and move up to the other. she watched him make most of the way up and ask for a hand for the last bit. she took it and pulled him up.
"What do you mean letting you down, how do you think that lady would have reacted if the house elf was bound in the cupboard, or if the door was open. I just saved your neck" she said sitting on the brick bit around a chimney. before looking at her watch, she was luckily she had been working hard so no one would mind her being a little, alright a lot, late.
at his comment about leading or following she rolled her eyes "It's a small difference between the two, and they wouldn't have gone unless you were there first so you lead them" she said flippantly. she stood up and walked over to him, a sense of determination and presence around her, she was she was shorter than him but she had a way of bringing a presence when she needed to. "now look. here is the deal. I wont ask you why you stayed there and you wont tell me or I have no option to report you. however the deal is that you give me my amulet back and then meet me at five thirty in the thee broomsticks to tell me why you did it" she said. she was lucky today was the day Dederick had his appointment with the councillor so he wouldn't notice if she was be late.

 

[Horus Chalthoum]

Horus rolled his jade eyes in listening the girl saying that she had saved him.
"You saved nothing Ginger. As you can see I can do good on my own and get the best prize." he showed her the golden chalice he had just stolen. "If the house elf was still bound in the cupboard, she would have gone to make her tea on her own after calling it several times unsuccessfully and leave me alone do my job." he countered back her statement. Either way it was another challenge for him which he had accomplished successful. When the old lady was going to find out that her heirloom was not the authentic, if she was going to realize that in the first place, it would be too late. Horus would be possibly at the other side of the globe.
"Actually, you are the first one to have ever realized in time that I had picked your pockets." he stated sincerely.

He was impressed by that and that was why he hadn't escaped when he could and preferred to play around with her. He had already showed her what he had stolen and he had no problem to have him reported. Time to make himself notorious in New Zealand as well.
"I don't need yout amulet anymore." he reached for it in his jeans' pocket and gave it to her.
"I guess it has more value to you than it will ever have to me." he pointed out, realizing that she wouldn't have chased him all the way there if it was just a common amber amulet.
"Oh now you ask me on a date? Many girls have followed me but none of them have ever asked me on a date." he joked and smirked sligthly as he took a step closer to her. He liked the fierceness that her eyes were shoting at him. Like a desert wild cat.
"I'll be there."he nodded, not really planning to say to her much about him but it was an opportunity to learn about her. He snapped his fingers to send the chalice to his cache which wasn't really far from here.
"I'll be looking forward to see you." he said his final words before turning away and making his way from terrace to terrace until he vanished into the gap of another alley to make his way back into the slow-moving crowd.

Out of Character:

i didn't notice you mentioning that briar was already on the top of the building so I edited my previous post to match yours

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar shrugged off his comment on the lady making her own tea, she guessed that neither of them were seers, and they didn't know what would have happened. when he said she was the first one to realise she shrugged. "I guess I'm just observant" she said trying not to notice the cup in his hand. though trying to not notice something was pretty pointless. so she decided to keep an eye out for it if it ever came on the black market. "thanks" she said glad that she had the amulet back she kept it in her hand she she finished the conversation.
when the man said she was asking him on a date she pulled her face. "a date. no way. firstly you;re not my type and secondly i already have a boyfriend" she said unhappy uncomfortable at the whole idea of a date. maybe she shouldn't have suggested it. too late now. "No not a date. I just want answers and don't have time for them now." she said before turning and heading back to where she left her shoes before aparating to the ministry.

Out of Character:

continued in the three broomsticks Hard shell, soft core