Requested by: SkycloudWC

Prompt: #5

"Are you clinically insane or just annoying?"

"A little bit of both."

#16

"You're a psychopath."

"I prefer creative."

#24

"You can't kill me. You'll hesitate again."

#43

"I'm not a thief. I'm just good at acquiring things that aren't mine."

#48

"We weren't all born with the ability to do that."

"I pity you."

Warnings: None

Extra: Ahhh, this took so long!

~*~

The only thing I loved more than stealing was wandering. 

Being able to go wherever I wanted without a care in the world, no connections, no obligations, it was a rush that never stopped. I'd seen places that were long forgotten by time, met people hidden away for centuries. Yet somehow, it was a group of three people my age that caught my attention.

Actually, only two of them were my age, a human and a Moonshadow elf who caught my eye. The third was younger, still a kid. Along with them was a Glow Toad. Head tilting curiously, I really wanted to know what their mission was when they stopped for a break. The youngest reached into his backpack and pulled out an egg. Giant and practically thrumming with life, magic deep beneath it. The only thing that could compare was-

I followed them. When night fell, the group settled down to go to sleep. Even after the Moonshadow Elf closed her eyes, I waited another hour just to be sure none of them would wake up. With that, I finally slunk down from my tree. The ground beneath me was barren, no sticks or leaves heightening the risk of discovery.

Kneeling in front of the smallest child, I carefully unlatched his backpack. The egg cast a dim glow over his face, and something seemed to wrap around my heart and squeeze it. Sighing, I slowly pulled the egg from the pack, clutching it close to my chest. I wouldn't sell it, it was never even an option in my mind. It was too precious, and as a Sunfire Elf, I knew it was crucial that the egg made it back home. Based on the path they were on, that was their intention. So I'd borrow it, just for a little while.

~*~

"You what?"

Waking up with a start, I clutched the egg tight to my chest when my body nearly fell off the branch I was lounging on. I must have dozed off after I was finished casting magic around the egg. Nothing to even risk the chance of the precious creature inside being harmed, just certain things that would ensure warmth and health while its mother was absent.

"It was in my bag and now it isn't!"

"Well, it couldn't have just grown legs and walked away. It wasn't ready to hatch."

"How do you know that?"

"Because, Callum, I grew up in Xadia around magic, and I know the egg wasn't ready to hatch. We should have had more time."

Hooking my legs around the branch, I kept the egg in my grip and swung down to face the group. All of them screamed, while I simply smiled.

"Missing something?" I asked, holding out the egg.

The group panicked, and the Moonshadow Elf drew her blades. Swinging myself off the branch, I landed surely on my feet, setting the egg down before a battle could start.

"There, no problems, right?" I asked innocently.

"You stole our egg!" The older of the two boys - Callum - yelled, "You're a thief."

"I'm not a thief! I'm just good at acquiring things that aren't mine," I defended, crossing my arms. The Moonshadow Elf darted forward, and I was quick to back away from her attack, "Woah, I see how it is!"

The Moonshadow Elf was good for her age, raised to be an assassin most likely. I didn't bother fighting back, just focused on dodging. Sunfire Elves had no qualms with Moonshadow Elves, all the tribes priding themselves on diplomacy with their fellow Xadians. Even then, and even with all the experience I had outside of the Sunfire Kingdom, I didn't want to fight the girl.

"Oh, that was good," I mused, wiping my hand over my cheek to rid it of the blood forming from the cut the elf managed to give me.

Then the elf tackled me. To say I didn't enjoy the situation would be a lie. Both of her blades were positioned on my neck, and if she moved them slightly, I'd be dead. But she didn't, and so both of us sat there in a staredown.

"What'd you do to it?" The younger human asked, finally breaking the silence.

"I put a few charms on it- nothing harmful," I emphasized when the elf raised her knives again, "It's been away from its mother so long that it needed some help. And no offense, but I doubt your group has given it what it's needed."

"What do you mean?"

"Heat, maternal touch, dragon imbued magic. So I put some charms on it to help with that."

The Moonshadow Elf finally lowered her weapons, and it seemed to be a silent signal to the other two that I wasn't dangerous. At least not at the moment.

Eyes wide with bewilderment, the Moonshadow Elf asked: "You know Draconian Magic?"

"Bits and pieces. Us Sunfire Elves specialize in heat-based magic, and I've traveled enough to pick up some spells and simple charms. Xadians always complain about humans being clueless, and they are-" you ignored the cry of outrage from the older human, "but Xadians can be too. Draconian Magic used to be common."

Without anything further to discuss, or any further threats they could give me, they were quick to pack up camp and leave. I wasn't sure what they were expecting me to do, but I was invested in their quest at that point and was determined to join them.

It wasn't easy. The Moonshadow Elf, Rayla, was slow to trust and even slower to lower her guard around me. The older of the two humans, Callum, was cautious around me, but when I started explaining Draconian Magic and the concept of a connection to the world on a deeper level than what you were born with. The youngest one, Exran, was the most easy-going, and it was the easiest to gain his trust out of everyone because he was so young.

"So are you two like commoners or high class?" I asked as you flitted around the group. I'd be consistently asking questions and then dodging away whenever one of them seemed particularly annoyed. I was just waiting for one of them to break, and they lasted hours longer than I thought I would, "Because the materials your clothes are made out of are nice, but I've never been in a human village so I can't discern if you guys are actually that wealthy or not-"

"Are you insane or just annoying?" Rayla finally snapped, drawing one of her swords from her back and putting it at my throat.

"Little bit of both," I dismissed with a wave of my hand. When she didn't immediately move the sword from your throat, I pouted, "You won't kill me. You'll hesitate, again."

With a huff, Rayla returned the weapon to its sheath as I claimed she would. Looking at the sun, I noted with a start that it was slowly becoming obscured by thick storm clouds. The group would have to find shelter soon.

Looking back down the path, I remembered a cluster of small caves that weren't important when we passed them ten minutes ago. But my memory served me well, and I brought the group back to the area so we could set up shop to either wait out the storm or spend the night.

By the time the group was prepared to make a fire, it started raining and any foliage and wood we could have collected would already be soaked through entirely. The other three were shivering, despite getting out of the rain in time to not get wet.

"Alright, time to prove my worth," I quipped, sitting down in the middle of the half-circle and shaking out my arms.

"What are you-"

Without warning, my entire body lit up in a mock show of fire. The other three jerked back as heat filled the cave, and I chuckled.

"You're a psychopath!" Rayla cried after she got over her shock, "Lighting yourself up outside of the lava falls, outside of your kingdom even!"

"Thiefs like me don't have a kingdom, not after we get caught one too many times. Besides, I prefer creative," I winked and took pride in the way she looked away with a flush dominating her cheeks, "How have all of you survived without me up to this point?"

Crossing his arms, Callum sassed "We weren't all born with the ability to do that."

"I pity you."

The mood in the cave was much lighter after that. The group exchanged stories of their adventures - although I dominated that conversation considering how long I'd been traveling without a destination in sight.

As the day turned into night, we all felt fatigue creeping upon us. Over time, the heat coming from my body had lowered into a steady warmth as I grew more exhausted. Finally, all of us fell asleep.

~*~

Early the next morning, I awoke to gentle patters on the stone just outside the cave. The rain was finally stopping. Shifting slightly, my eyes shot open when I realized that someone had their arms wrapped around me. Blinking the sleep away, I chuckled as quietly as possible when I realized it was Rayla.

Wrapping my arms around her middle in return, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to rest a bit longer. It'd be another day full of walking, but this time, I had a destination in mind.