Soon enough be it because of the tea or because of being utterly exhausted, the Symenestra fell asleep, movements ceasing. In the quiet Brandon could easily hear the woman's heartbeat, noticing it slow down just like her breathing, assuming the restful rhythm of sleep. Making use of the opportunity, the bat crawled to the edge of the bed once more, careful not to prod the Sym too much; no-one slept very deeply only chimes after drifting off. Once Brandon had reached the edge, he clambered down quickly, the task easy because of the fabric of the sheets and his neat little claws.
He shifted then, growing into a man with a soundless though extremely bright flash of sparks. It lasted for just an instant, probably not even enough for a sleeping person to register it. Throwing his arms in the air, Brandon stretched for a long couple of ticks, enjoying the sensation. It felt like waking from a long night of sleep, though the bat merely hadn't been able to get much exercise the last dozen days. One arm pulled the other over his head, and then they switched roles. His legs came soon after, and then his neck, making a rolling kind of motion with his head.
“Damn, my body's all stiff. I feel like a rusted hinge,” the Kelvic muttered silently.
To prove his point, the thief bent over to touch his toes with his fingers -keeping his legs stretched- and much to his surprise he found that he was still able to do it with ease.
“Maybe that wasn't as bad as I thought it was...” Brandon frowned,
“but it still was pretty horrible.” Deciding to further test his flexibility he bent backwards then, placing his hands on the floor and forming a bridge.
“No problem either...” His back did sting a little though. Then he went even further, letting his chin and forearms touch the floor while his legs still stood there. Except for some minor pain he did not really find any signs of impairment in the flexibility of his back.
“Well that's good then,” the bat mumbled contently.
Unfurling himself by letting his legs push themselves away from the floor, and already using his arms to haul himself back to his feet, the bat got up as if undoing a handstand. Another couple stretches to make sure he wouldn't be like a wooden board the next day, and then he padded towards the door quietly, making sure not to disturb Drusilla's sleep. It wasn't because he didn't want her to see him like this, but because she was tired, and he found he should let her rest. Opening the door quietly was no problem at all, seeing as Brandon had done that sort of thing many, many times back in Lhavit. He closed it just as quietly, then looked around the dark room.
He didn't really remember having spent a lot of time here the past few days, but it mattered little; darkness never had given his nocturnal eyes much trouble before. Soft rugs under his feet muffled his steps even more as he maneuvered through the room and zigzagged between the tables, picking up a soft, fuzzy fruit from one of them. He bit into it immediately, the sweet juice running over his chin and dripping onto the floor. Peach; finally he could eat one after having been teased with it the first day. A sigh and he took another bite, chewing it slowly as he strode through the room and entered another set of doors, finding himself in a chamber with a pool. The water was warm and Brandon washed his hands there with a couple quick motions after having eaten the whole peach, dropping the stone-like seed onto the ground by accident. It bounced once and then fell into the water.
“Well petch, I'm not going to get that.”Next room was linked to the outside world, with lots of glass things hanging from the ceiling and a huge mirror on the wall. Brandon turned his back towards it and glanced over his shoulder, sighing deeply and running his fingers over the huge scar.
“That's one giant scar... Actually, it's more scar than back I see!” He cursed the owl then, many times and each swear was more rude than the other, until he finally decided to go away, going to visit the other places in Dru's home. Another bedroom was found, this one adorned with furs and weapons; Brandon raised an eyebrow. Who the heck lived here? Dru had said she was lonely, there was no way there was someone else living here...
Closely inspecting the bed and furniture, Brandon spotted a thin layer of dust on the wood, and no crumples whatsoever on the bedsheets. This room had gone unused for a while, though judging from the minimal amount of dust he guessed Dru cleaned it every so often. Swiftly Brandon went through the drawers and closets with the ease and efficiency of an accomplished thief, making sure everything was returned to its original state before he moved to the next location to search. When he left the room, Brandon was ten feather-shaped glass coins richer. The money had been stuffed in a sock, and he wore the other one. He didn't really know why he'd put on the sock, but he thought in necessary to remove a pair of socks as opposed to just one.
And then he returned to Dru's room, entering sneakily, hiding the sock with coins under her bed, stuffing it between two slats. Once that was done, Bran lowered himself on the bed, crossing his arms and watching the Symenestra sleep, studying her face with human eyes. With the tips of his fingers he gently stroked a lock of hair out of her mouth and nose. Then he turned back, staring at the wall.
“It's almost time for my release eh? You might be in for a pleasant surprise when that happens. Or maybe not. Depends, I guess.” He grinned.
“Either way, I'm not going anywhere for a couple seasons. Aren't you a lucky one?”NOTEThe coins stolen are taken from Turrin. Turrin has agreed to this. The changes have been made in both our ledgers.