Fandom Final Fantasy: Stealing Dreams [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

The city of Rosalle Aus was large, larger than any city the two from Rem had passed through before, and made up of so much metal and light as a dusky evening fell upon the red cobblestone streets. Wrought iron lanterns lit up, held high upon poles, as the duo walked along the streets, which were far from empty. Chocobo carriages and people alike traversed, heading to all sorts of areas.

It was the red-headed woman who led the way, soft-heels hardly making any sound as she would scurry ahead, reading signs and looking for the way towards the auction house, which was eventually found, a large structure of marble pillars, veined with rose-gold, and soft lights outside.

The people who stood in line were dressed in suits and dresses, far finer than what the woman and her companion wore. She fidgeted with the sleeve of her dress as she waited to get through the velvet ropes, golden gaze drifting down to the embroidery of her sleeves as she tugged at it.

‘It will be okay.’

It was not her own voice that spoke but that which occasionally borrowed her eyes, the softer alto of Shiva reassuring the young summoner as she stepped with the line, eventually reaching the front.

The one who stood there scrutinized her attire, but she didn’t flinch, just tried to hold herself up higher. Taller. It wasn’t very effective; nothing about her appearance suggested she was intimidating. The dress was not some silk or satin thing, and it covered her arms and legs rather fully, belling out at the end of her gold sleeves, while the green skirt had only a single slit that wasn’t meant to be revealing, but for movement. Golden lines, like a growing stem, wrapped around and upwards, decorating the skirt. A sash was wrapped around her, white, and it held knives within it, but those wouldn’t be easy to notice.

The attire was normal in Rem, but out here? Not so much. “Where are you from?” The guard asked.

“Ah, Kytas,” that was what she had been instructed to say. Kytas was far, and considered exotic, from the other continent.

The guard’s brow furrowed. “Jaina Yue, with Brecht Troy,” she reached for the sleeve of his attire, to make sure he was there, and to make it apparent who she was including with her. “We’re not lost.” She said it almost indignantly. “We have seats in row 4, seats E and F.” She dug for her purse, a pink thing that hung at her side, and pulled the tickets to wave them in front of the man.

The guard just shook his head, before he gestured, “Go on in,” he had no reason to hold them up, and Jaina released Brecht as soon as they were allowed within the auction house, to go find their seats. The tickets had cost, which was unfortunate, but the fee was promised to be applied towards any purchases made so Jaina could still assume it was a part of her bidding pool for the Dragonscale.

Soon enough they found their way to row 4, and Jaina took her seat, looking over the little fan she’d been given to signal her interest in the item. ‘Deep breath.’ That was her own thought, though for a moment she’d almost swear she felt a cool breeze at the back of her neck, to help relax her.

She’d pass a quick smile to Brecht, “We’re here!” It was a small sound, tight, constricted by the desire not to stand out any more than they already did. “We’re really here!”

And then the music began, and the young woman turned her attention towards the stage as others moved to their own seats. A man in a blue suit took to the center of the stage.

“Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Grand Auction House of Rosalle Aus!” There were cheers. It confused Jaina for a moment, but she joined in, politely applauding the fact they were in this location, “I am Gerald Trivs, and tonight, we will show you wonders from across Mundus – and even some wonders that may be from further!” Some polite laughter. Derision. Jaina could hear that, while others looked on with eager eyes.

She wouldn’t be the only one bidding on the Dragonscale, then. Or whatever other wonders of Lucidia had slipped through the cracks.

That was fine by her, just so long as she had more gil than the others, that’s all that mattered.

The auction opened not with the Dragonscale, but with some bit of jewelry, supposedly belonging to some princess of long ago, and Jaina sighed, but tried to make herself comfortable in the seat that was overstuffed with cushions.

At least the music was nice.

~***~

‘Home sweet home.’

The thought tugged at the mind of the musician as he tugged at the cufflinks on his left hand, trying to cover as much of his tattoos as he possibly could. They weren’t professional. The thought made him roll his eyes – as if marking his body could mean he was any less professional. Truly, it should make him moreso. Playing music for a while was a test of endurance, and sometimes, pain. Keeping perfect posture, continuing with monotonous movements….

And yet he loved it.

He never really felt bothered when he got lost in the sounds, focusing on each sweet note as he pulled it from the instrument. That night, he would be in the pit, playing a harp, and he would leave with two paychecks: one for the music, one for the Scale.

‘Dragons.’ Foolish children’s stories, but if someone believed it and was willing to pay for it, so be it.

“Abelle! Hey, Abelle, we’re on in ten minutes, hurry up out here!” A lady called to him.

He gave a laughing smile, “Sorry, I wanted to make sure my tie was on right,” he lied, and again pulled at the cufflink.

The key came loose, and he closed his fingers around it. This would open the case to the Dragonscale. He just had to place it somewhere to be found. He’d told Aisling to claim to be related, or a girlfriend – something of the sort – so she could deliver flowers to his room. He’d leave the key here, and so he opened up a small box on the vanity that held the cufflinks he’d been messing with – star designs in gold.

He set the key within, and covered it with a simple white handkerchief. There was no reason to be elaborate.

Elaborate often got one in trouble, where simple would prevail.

He left the key in place, and strode out onto the red carpet, and into the golden lights of the auditorium, where many were waiting. He noticed a few off to the side, speaking quietly and gesturing out. He tried to follow what they were looking at, and soon enough took note of the oddities. The woman wasn’t in any glittering gown, and the man besides her wasn’t in any suit. ‘Don’t they know there’s a dress code?’ He frowned, but wouldn’t linger on it as he went to his harp and took a seat.

He started to strum a gentle melody, for that’s all they were for – background music – and soon enough he heard the auctioneer begin to speak and welcome everyone. ‘Just keep it rolling. Aisling, I hope that fake you got is good….’

Because he suddenly had a very bad feeling in the pit of his gut, and he realized soon enough what it was as he saw shadows moving above.

There were more guards around than usual.

And in places they hadn’t planned on them being.

‘Your role is up. Just trust Aisling.’ And smile, and nod, as applause rippled for the band, before a ring was brought out, owned by some famous historical princess of Luxerna. Abelle could not have cared less for it, no matter how rare the pink gemstone was supposedly.

 

[moonbeams]

AISLING​

When it came to infiltrating a fancy auction house and stealing a high-priced jewel or such, most thieves would prefer getting in and out without even being seen. In most cases, Aisling would agree and even follow that logic... However, there was a secret thrill of being hidden in plain sight.

The guard posted at the “Authorized Personnel Only” door, for example, a smile, deep cut dress, a bouquet of flowers and knowledge of a certain musician playing in the band tonight was all she needed to get past him.

They don’t make security like they used to, it seemed.

With the route in, through, and out the building meticulously planned it was easy to find Abelle’s room; no one looked twice at the confidant woman in a slinky black dress with flowers.

She stepped inside, closed and locked the door behind her and placed the flowers on the vanity.

Step One: Complete.

Step Two: Get out of this damn dress.

A small bag of the attire she would be sneaking out of was already planted behind the room’s loose vent cover: it effortlessly lifted from the vent and Aisling retrieved her actual clothing.

Aisling peeled the dress off, and unceremoniously tossed it into the vent; it was a nice piece, but she didn’t pay for it or need it further.

Dressed in all black now and her face obscured by a simple face mask, Aisling returned her attention to the vanity-- more specifically, the small box that was currently sitting open just as planned. She plucked the heavy, ornate key from it’s hiding spot and slipped it into the secure bag attached to her hip and thigh.

‘Good job, Abelle.’ She thought, pausing at the door to listen for footsteps.

It was her turn, now.

Like Abelle’s room, the storage with the auction items was easy to find; as expected, a single guard stood to watch. Aisling couldn’t help the grin on her face as she peeked around the corner, hand held out.

A shadow flitted across the light floor to a hallway the guard was facing. It took a few seconds of the shadow dancing and moving to catch his attention.

As planned, the guard left his post to investigate and Aisling could hear him mutter about how this building “better not be fuckin’ haunted.”

Aisling moved silently across the floor and to the room, easily picking its lock with a hairpin. She didn’t have much time but that was okay: she didn’t need it.

The box containing the Dragonscale was clearly marked, and with the heavy key in hand she unlocked it, dropped the key back into her pocket… in exchange for another object; the replica Dragonscale.

With both items in her hand, it easy for her to tell that one was real and one was not: the real Dragonscale had weight to it, and could probably survive hard impacts. The fake would probably just shatter the moment it hit the ground.

Oh well, not her problem!

With the real Dragonscale securely in her possession, Aisling locked the door once more and slipped away. She found a dark hiding spot behind some extra stage equipment, overhearing the guard return to his post.

A few minutes later, another pair of footsteps and a conversation with the man standing guard; something about getting the Dragonscale, something about it being put out earlier than it was listed.

If Aisling didn’t have years of tempering her unconscious reactions, she would have laughed.

Once there was silence once more, Aisling left her hiding spot; following the same route the man who was taking the Dragonscale to the stage took, however, turned early to reach a side entrance of the auction house-- and nearly ran right into a pair of guards.

Aisling nearly gasped, and silently flung herself back behind some boxes.

What the-- there wasn’t supposed to be a guard in this hallway, let alone two!!

A sinking feeling weighed her gut down; she would have to find another way out. Painted on the walls of hallways that intersected were large arrows under locations: one caught her eye that said “Mezzanine Access”.

She took the route, heading up some stairs and eased the Mezzanine’s door open. She could hear clearly someone (The Auctioneer, she assumed) speaking about the (fake) Dragonscale for auction.

She couldn’t pay attention further, because--

“Hey!” A voice across the mezzanine spoke to her. She looked up, seeing a pair of guards making her way over to her. “Who are you? Only authorized personnel--”

She didn’t care to stay and listen to the guard, as she took off sprinting to the next exit but skidded to the stop when another pair of guards blocked her path.

“Oh, shit,” Aisling swore, backing up and frantically trying to identify a route to take. Where did all these guards come from? There wasn’t supposed to be this many--!

“Sir! You need to stop and--”

Aisling vaulted over a row of seats, making her way down to the first row and landing. She could see in the dim light of the mezzanine more movement: probably more guards, given her luck-- but she couldn’t stay and find out.

Aisling looked behind her, below the mezzanine was the stage.

“...Fuck it!” Aisling spat, and jumped over the handrail.

She caught the red fabric of the curtains with her hands, swinging wildly from the momentum of her fall. There wasn’t even a moment of relief, because, between the soft fabric and her swinging, she lost her grip.

“--The bids for this beautiful, sparkling piece will start at--”

If it wasn’t for the fact that it was her Aisling would have said she crashed the party literally. She couldn’t tell what it was she landed on at first, but it became obvious as soon as an empty box and fake Dragonscale smashed into the ground only a few feet away from her.

She could hear audible gasps when the seemingly-real Dragonscale shattered, but--

“The-The Dragonscale-- What the hell is going on!?”

Her heart stopped, spying the real Dragonscale sliding away from her-- the momentum of her fall forcing it to fly out of her pocket!

“Wait-- two Dragonscales?!” One voice cried out.

“Stop him!” Another voice yelled. “Thief!”

“Shit, shit shit shit SHIT!” Aisling chanted, scrambling after the runaway Dragonscale. She snatched it just before another approaching figure could, and started making her way across the stage.

By now, the personnel of the auction house had time to react, and they began closing in on Aisling fast; and she was getting really tired of people so rudely getting in her way.

It was obvious they were going to try and pounce her-- and when they jumped at her she ducked and slammed her palm against the ground. The familiar sphere of darkness swallowed her and the group trying to detain her as yelps of pain erupted around her.

She managed to slide out of the sphere, taking advantage of the sheer chaos to try and make her escape.

So much for the plan.

 

[moonbeams]

BRECHT​

The thief’s head collided with his nose, making stars burst in his eyes and allowing the thief to escape his grasp. He heard them shout something about needing help, and as he shook off the pain radiating from his face and the stomach-churning taste of blood in his mouth… Brecht really wished he had been able to bring his sword.

He wasn’t ready to kill someone, but he also wasn’t willing to let some thief steal away the Dragonscale.

For the sake of his honor as a warden, and for Jaina’s sake as well.

Earlier that evening…​

Although he wouldn’t admit it to avoid worrying his ward, the bustling activity of Rosalle Aus was making it difficult to stay focused. There were so many noises, smells, people, lights…. Even as twilight fell upon the city it remained alive, which bewildered him.

What did people in big cities have to do that needed them to be out at this time? Back in Rem, tasks were always done by the time the sun was starting to set; sometimes celebrations went well into the night… but, he didn’t think that was the case for Roselle Aus.

To be fair, though, they themselves were heading to an evening event. He supposed that just was how things were in big cities…

As the people around the began to grow closer and closer together, dressed in extravagant fabrics, textures and sparkling gems, Brecht could tell they must have been at the event; an auction.

They were there for the Dragonscale only, so perhaps it had slipped their minds to find some attire that would fit in with the population of Rosalle Aus. After all it was a mission, not a chance to socialize with the people outside of Rem.

It wasn’t as if he snubbed those outside of his home, Brecht had a mission to protect Jaina and help her obtain, and keep safe, the Dragonscale. They wouldn’t be the only ones who had their eyes on it that night, and it made Brecht feel exposed to not have his sword with him.

But he was warned by his teacher to avoid bringing it to the auction, as to not cause any disturbance; at least Jaina had some knives on her-- he’d have to make do with that should any trouble arise.

Given the looks the people around them were giving him and his companion, trouble was certainly a possibility.
As the Guard at the entrance scrutinized them, Jaina grabbed his sleeve to indicate he was with her, smoothly telling the guard that they were from Kytas and they had seats. Brecht nodded along with her info, reassuringly patting Jaina’s hand that grasped his sleeve.

When they were allowed in, she released his sleeve and headed for the main hall to find their seats.

After finding their seats, Jaina turned to him with a smile and spoke in quiet excitement about how they were really in Rosella Aus.

Brecht grinned at her and leaned in to keep his voice low. “We really are!” He agreed, taking a moment to look at the people around him. “I didn’t think Rosalle Aus would be this big, or… shiny,” He gave her a sheepish look, and chuckled a bit. “You ready for this? My teacher told me you’ll have to be aggressive when bidding-- if you’re having a hard time, I’ll take over.” He assured Jaina.

He sat back into the plush seat as it seemed the auction began. The host walked onto stage, introducing himself as Gerald Trivs, a charismatic gentleman…. Who apparently couldn’t resist making a jab at them. Brecht frowned a bit, but kept his temper.

The first item was introduced, and Brecht was disappointed it wasn’t the Dragonscale; instead it was a ring that belonged to a princess, encrusted with a pink gem. It was pretty, but not what they were here for.

The next item, however… made his heart jump into his throat. They had brought out a small, enclosed box that they opened to reveal the beautiful Dragonscale. As people around him murmured in excitement, Brecht’s jaw nearly went slack at the sight.

It was beautiful, and more importantly, right there!

Those around him seemed to be transfixed on the item, even he was entranced for a moment… However, something caught his eye. The curtain behind the auctioneer was violently wiggling, and he briefly wondered why…

… Until a body came falling down, crashing onto the table the Dragonscale was placed on. Brecht watched in shock at the Dragonscale flew out of the box, sparkling in the air before smashing into the ground in a million pieces.

He grabbed Jaina’s arm tightly, a sense of horror at what just occurred; they needed that-- Jaina needed that!

Shock gave way to confusion, as he could overhear the auctioneer proclaiming there were two dragonscales! Another voice cried out about a thief, whom he quickly assumed was the all-black figure currently scampering across the stage.

Did this thief have another (?) dragonscale? No time to think about it too deeply, Brecht told himself as he rose from his seat.

Amid the confusion on stage and the sudden display of shadow magic, some audience members yelled in terror as the thief jumped over them… but not Brecht, who instead dove after the thief.

The thief yelped as his body made contact and they both crashed into the ground. The thief grunted, trying their best to wiggle out of Brecht’s hold but he wouldn’t give; not when there could be a real Dragonscale at risk of being stolen.

However, before he could get a word out the thief slammed their head into his nose, causing him to stumble and see stars. In the moment he loosened his grip which allowed them to escape…

But it wouldn’t be for long.

 

[Lucyfer]

It seemed that the excitement Jaina felt transferred to Brecht, who up to that point had done a good job of hiding it. Though, to be fair, Jaina’s attention hadn’t slipped to the Warden much – she kept her focus ahead, and even as he leaned to speak to her, her attention still tried to drift to the front. Still, she heard his excitement, and she gave a nod – but she knew she wouldn’t need his help to be aggressive with the bidding.

At least, she thought not.

The excitement remained through the tedium of the bidding on the first item, and she expected the next would be something equally tedious, but to her surprise, it was the Dragonscale. She started to rise to her feet, preparing herself to bid.

And that was when chaos broke out.

Someone dropped into the midst of all of this, broke the Dragonscale, and sent another skittering about. ‘It was just glass….’ Just pretty glass. She barely felt Brecht’s grip, until the realization struck her that there was another Dragonscale, and it was right there.

Brecht reacted with movement, going for the Scale, and Jaina let him. She was aware that she would not be able to move quick enough, so instead, she dove a hand into her purse and withdrew her orb, rather than any daggers.

She wasn’t there to hurt anyone. She’d come here to try and buy it in a legitimate fashion, after all. ‘Help me.’ Brecht was hurt, she could see that, before that strange double-vision of sight in the present, and sight ahead, overcame her, while her gaze followed the orb in its journey upwards.

It was like looking through a frosted-glass window, which she knew was because it was Shiva who was reaching forward to show her ahead. It did not show the Dragonscale here, or any hope of grasping it here, but the vision that she saw still seemed to be Rosalles Aus. The cobblestones were familiar, the lighting methods, and she tried to see something beyond that – streets and lights.

‘Here.’

The mist cleared like a hand wiping it off a window, a sign on a building where she could clearly see the aura of the scale, as powerful as the figure in her Dreams, the Echo that rippled out in two worlds, in a building with a broken name on it – Larkins Co..

A warehouse of some sort, long abandoned.

And then pain shot up into her, bringing her back to the moment. The orb rolled across the ground in the chaos, but she had swayed too far, crashed back into her chair, and tumbled it down to the ground – and herself, with it.

“Brecht! Ow,” she crawled off the chair and reached for another to help pull herself. “Brecht I know where to go.” Or she hoped she did, anyways, because she no longer saw the thief – even if seeing anything clearly at the moment was a trial in futility. She could at least see her orb clearly, but the rest of the room was a frosted mess of blurry people and objects.

"We should...probably return to our hotel first." She muttered, as others went to argue with the auctioneer, and he tried to regain control of the sitaution.

~***~

Abelle knew there was nothing that could be done for the Dragonscale going out earlier. He was not expecting it when it came out onto the stage, nearer to the middle, rather than the end. Still, he hoped that Aisling had time already to take and swap it out; she hadn’t seemed one for needless delays.

Though Abelle continued to see shadows where he shouldn’t.

He was on edge as the box was opened, revealing the item – but before the starting price could even be given, there was a crash. He winced, internally. Several stringed instruments shrieked in complaint as much of the music came to a crashing halt. Abelle played a few notes further before he let his attention reach the stage, touching on the rather dramatic scene.

Aisling, mistaken again and again for a male (good thing, too) had fallen to the stage. Not only had she fallen to the stage, she shattered the fake scale, and let the real one go tumbling upon the stage. Abelle resisted the mad urge to dash after it, particularly as the man in the weird attire rose to fetch it. ‘If you grab it, you have to return it.’ He reminded himself, and so was grateful when Aisling retrieved it just in time.

Guards were on her, though.

Abelle climbed to his feet, declaring, “I’ll get her!” as he rose, though he didn’t take the obvious path of following Aisling directly.

Those that did, hit a sphere of darkness, for one.

Secondly, he had no real plans of catching her. So, he pretended to be taking a route that would cut her off, diving into the entrance and exit the musicians had used to go to the stage. As he did so, he couldn’t help but notice, briefly, the bend of light in the room, and a clear sphere in the air. He couldn’t understand it, and didn’t dwell on it, as he exited the staff way.

There were no guards this way any longer, all sent to grab Aisling.

He didn’t wait by that exit, but gave two sharp whistles.

This may no longer be according to plan, but Abelle always had an escape-chocobo for just these moments, and as soon as Eris came to him, he hopped up on her back, “Good girl,” he cooed, before he urged her into a run to find Aisling, and throw her on the back of the chocobo with him.

His caravan, and the other chocobos, were elsewhere in the city, where the two planned to reconnect and get going anyways, but he was certain he could lose any guards. He’d soon be out of this professional attire as well, and no one had seen his tattoos. They wouldn’t be looking for a dark-skinned man with white tattoos, and he intended to make those obvious to play against his current appearance.

Once he was in the safe location.

Once he had Aisling.

 

[moonbeams]

So the plan failed - all Aisling had to fall back on was her instinct.

Logically, due to the commotion in the auction room itself, most of the guards were going to start filling in there, which left parts of the building guardless. Banking on that, Aisling dove into the nearest hallway that wasn’t being occupied by guards chasing her and lucked out.

She heard a commotion from down the hallway, swore under her breath and hid behind a large pile of metal rods to conceal herself. She waited a beat… and couldn’t believe her eyes when a bright mass of yellow made its way past her hiding spot.

It took her a moment to realize it was a Chocobo- it took a moment longer to catch that it was Abelle on top of it.

Oh, sweet mercy.

“Abelle!” She hissed, coming out of her hiding to approach him. She wasn’t mad at him, just frustrated that their whole carefully made plan had gone to shit. “You’re a sight for sore eyes!”

* * *​

Brecht had been full-on ready to continue to give chase to the thief but heard Jaina call for him. He couldn’t leave his charge, especially since she sounded hurt, even if their objective was literally running away.

“Jaina!” He rushed back over to her, taking her arms to help support her while she stood. “Are you alr--” Brecht spotted Jaina’s orb on the ground, and took a moment while still holding Jaina up to swipe it.

She must have used her powers to foresee where the scale would end up, he assumed.

He glanced around, in case anyone was watching them with even more suspicion… but, if they were he couldn’t tell through the chaos.

“..Yeah, agreed. “ He pocketed her orb for the time being. “Can you walk?”

​