Shrouded behind the relentless veil of wind and snow, Asana darted on light footsteps across the rooftops of Everlook. Her boots barely touching down before leaping smoothly to the next. A dangerous affair with the frosted state of each one, but acrobatics was one her talents. She did appreciate the blizzard though. It had blown in suddenly earlier that evening and had made her job so much easier, even if it was unpleasant. Her hooded black coat didn’t do much to offset the intense chill.
“Oi, find that thief, you lazy mugs! I don’t give a damn how cold it is!” The goblin man’s voice echoed somewhere in the streets nearby.
Yeah good luck with that, she smiled wryly. Visibility was pretty poor already so she doubted they would catch up to her, but it was best not to take chances. Goblins were not kind to those who stole from them and they were very clever. Maybe she should consider marking up her price to the client.
Asana leaped across to a building with a rounded roof. Her foot slipped a little as it fought to find a hold in the uneven structure. But it found a ledge to latch on to and with a firm hold she scurried her way up to the top. Once up she paused a moment to catch her breath and survey what little she could see of the scene below.
“I see her, boss! On the rooftop to the south!” called another goblin.
Oh damn, someone has good eyes. Asana was about to climb down when she heard a whistling sound streaking through the air. A second later an explosion detonated above the house next to her. The fireball briefly warmed her half-frozen limbs, but the the shock wave of air upset her balance. She barely had time to hold up her arms to protect her head as she was blown off and tumbled down the roof into the alley below.
She landed unceremoniously in a heap of snow and hit something harder that she didn’t recognize. “Ugh…was the rocket really necessary? A little overkill, don’tcha think?” She groaned and forced her stiff body to move. No injuries as far as she could tell. She still couldn’t stay here, they probably had more of those. Hell a damned grenade was probably about to drop in here for all she knew.
Asana felt movement in the snow and looked down to see a small form wriggling her way out from beneath her. Curiously it was little girl, a blood elf child apparently going by her pale skin and long ears. Her dark blond hair was cut in a short neat bob, but her clothes had seen better days. She looked half-dead really. Asana noted her violent shivering and nervous fearful gaze. That thin little coat probably did almost nothing to warm her.
“Did I land on you? Sorry about that,” she apologized lightly.
The girl said nothing. She eyed her warily and tried to back away into a corner.
“What are—” Asana was interrupted by more male voices nearby. Easily only one or two streets away.
“Did you get her?”
“She fell around here, I know it!”
“You blockhead, I saw what happened. You missed her entirely! Where did you learn to aim?”
“Ah shut your trap, you try aiming a shot in the night through a thrice-cursed blizzard. It was close enough.”
Asana swiftly grabbed the girl and yanked her closer. She tried to worm them both down farther into the snow pile. “Don’t rat me out and I’ll get you a hot meal and keep you alive. Sound good?” she whispered in her ear.
“Y…yes…” the girl stammered quietly while nuzzling in.
The minutes ticked by as they waited. She heard footsteps pound in the streets around them. A couple pairs even stopped in the entrance to this alley, but her quick concealment must have worked because they didn’t enter any further. She listened to their irritated arguing as it faded away to other neighborhoods. When it went silent she crawled out of the snow.
She sighed, that was a relief. “Yep I’m definitely getting better pay for this. You all right, kid?”
The girl was still clutching on to her tightly and Asana realized she must have enjoyed the warmth of laying against her. “M…m…more…or less.”
She looked down into the girl’s brilliant green eyes. “Do you have a name? You can call me Asana.”
“I do. I’m Tianel. W…what was that about?”
She smiled. “Pretty name, Tia. Oh that?” She waved her wand to dismiss it. “Nothing important. I just ticked someone off tonight. Quick question, can I assume you’re alone in this city? No friends or family?”
Tia looked down and shuffled her feet. “How did you know?”
Because it was obvious of course. Looking at her was like looking into a mirror of herself. She knew the telltale signs of someone who clearly had no place to go. She reached out and flicked the girl’s forehead. “Because you’re standing out here and going to be dead by morning. No one does that because they want to.” Then more kindly she grabbed Tia and hoisted her into her arms. She was very light. “Anyways, I promised you a meal. You can tell me your story too if you want.”
Tia’s icy face cracked into a faint smile and she buried her face in her shoulder. “What if the guards come back for you?”
“We’ll avoid them. I haven’t been captured yet.” And that would be a sad mark on her resume if she was done in by a bunch of security goons. She’d rather go out with more style than that. Fortunately, she was fairly sure they could be evaded as long as she kept to the ground this time so mister “eyes of the gods” doesn’t spot her again.
“And if we get into a fight?” Tia asked.
She shrugged and pulled up her hood, already planning out multiple routes to travel through and had a particular tavern in mind as a destination. One on the far edge of the city where they could rest then leave quickly in the morning. “Then we hope they’ve run out of explosives.”