The next morning, Edric's school day went as usual; attending a few classes before him and his twin decided to skip as they inevitably always did. Learning illusion magic definitely helped in their favor when they needed to sneak past teachers and other school faculty. They eventually made it outside, unspotted.

"Ahh, freedom." Ed stretched his arms out and let them relax behind his head as he walked. There was a skip in Emira's step as she sped up, turning to face her brother whilst still walking backwards, "You know what time it is?" She grinned.

"Time to make coven scouts hate their lives!!" They both yelled, in unison. The duo then quickly scurried off before they drew any unwanted attention to themselves.
‎
‎
‎
They chose to stop by their manor first with the intention of changing their clothes (it would be a hassle if people found out they were skipping school), so they did before beginning their journey to The Market Place; their favorite place to cause havoc.

Dressed in their now casual outdoor attire, the two planned their "attack" until they eventually arrived at their destination after a little while of walking. They immediately began to scout out for targets, soon spotting a few of the Emporer's Coven scouts lazily patrolling the market. Even without seeing their faces, it was easy to tell that they wished they could be anywhere else but there.

Edric and Emira didn't waste a second to set their plan into action. They had their eyes set on a muscular, tall looking scout who was leaned up against the wall. The two nodded to each other and worked together to draw a large circle in the air, creating the illusion of a very busty witch.

The twins snickered to themselves and watched as the witch made her way over to the guard, whistling to get his attention. "Hey there, pretty boy! You come here often?" She asked, resting her weight on her right leg and twirling her hair flirtatiously between her thin fingers.

The scout huffed, "Get outta here, lady. I'm bus-" He cut himself off when he turned to actually look at the witch. He began stammering, "I- Uhh, I'm s-so sorry, ma'am." He quickly apologized, getting down on one knee, "Please forgive my rudeness. I've had a long day." He explained.

The witch giggled softly, taking a step closer. "That's quite alright." She purred, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder, causing the scout to stiffen slightly, "Do you want to talk about it, cutie?"

The scout laughed nervously, still on one knee, "Ah, Belos- I mean, The Emporer, he's just been very upset lately, w-which is completely understandable! B-But he's been taking it out on us a bit... the scouts, I mean." Nodding in acknowledgement, the female witch hummed, removing her hand from the scout's shoulder to cup the side of his mask instead.

"I think I know a way to make you feel better," She smiled and leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on the forehead of the scout's mask. His face immediately reddened, heating up and countering the coldness of the metal mask. The witch then backed away.

"I better go now, but it was lovely meeting you, handsome." She winked, and with that she turned on her heel and began walking away, rounding a corner and heading deeper into town. The scout instantly hopped to his feet, "Wait!" He reached out towards her momentarily before hurrying after the witch.

In a desperate attempt to catch up to her, he turned the corner without much thought and ran face first into a pole that was holding up a lamp. He wobbled around, his vision going fuzzy before collapsing to the ground with a loud thud.

The twins had already made the illusion vanish long ago, and were now almost in tears over what had transpired. "Do you think he'll be okay?" Emira asked, struggling to get words out between giggles. "Probably not." Edric replied, wiping a tear away and regaining his composure. He was already eager to find his- their next victim.

"Let's check down this way," He suggested, pointing into a more crowded area of the market. Emira perked up, "Potential audience this time? Count me in." The two grinned widely and began making their way further down. Edric stopped when he noticed a certain poster on the wall.
‎
‎

THE GOLDEN GUARD

Join the
Emporer's Coven
today!

He'd seen this poster a million times, but had never taken an actual good look at it. The Golden Guard himself was stood proudly, facing the camera with his arms crossed in a confident stance. Emira had continued walking ahead but stopped and backtracked when she saw what her brother was staring at.

She walked up beside him and got his attention, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks out, clearly mocking the poster. Edric laughed, as did his sister. "Imagine being the Emporer's literal pet," She commented, rolling her eyes. "With a golden collar," Edric added, with a smirk.

The two further poked fun at the poster until they grew bored. They then went back to what they had originally planned to do. They walked further into the market and messed with a couple of other scouts, each one being just as entertaining as the first one. They even went as far as to mess with some of the stall keepers, doing small things like taking something from their table, only to return it, take it again, and continue that cycle until the owner seemed like they were about to lose their mind.

The twins eventually had to put an end to their fun, though. If they went any further, they risked getting caught, which was, in their own words, "totally lame." It was starting to get dark by now, anyway. They hadn't even realized how late it had gotten until Emira pointed out the purple sky with bright stars dotted everywhere.

"Shoot, we better get home before Mom gets suspicious," Edric frowned, earning a nod of agreement from his sister. The duo quickly hurried out of The Market Place and in the direction of their manor, but what welcomed them when they got home was a lot less than desirable.