Kleptomaniac (Dub and Invites)

Diana took the non-verbal cue of the traffic and started a brisk walking pace towards the library. Clover at least was easy to converse with; she must've been Diana's age group.

"Hmmm nah, I used to run with the Prodigy group. They made the suit for me. Lets me be a ninja, wall crawl and have a grapple." Diana explained to Clover what to expect from their thief, and decided intel would be extremely useful. "So, what did he take from you?"

“Prodigy huh? I’ll have to remember that.” she said before pausing to take a sip of her coffee. She didn’t quite want to tell Diana the truth about what was stolen from her in case she tried to go public with it. From what Clover could tell, her companion didn’t seem to have much of an idea just who Clover was, so maybe telling her the truth wasn’t a bad idea? The young raven haired girl ruminated on the idea for several moments as they waited to cross the street. She decided to be as vague as possible and if Diana pressed any more than she would tell her what the thief truly stole.

The little red hand quickly blinked over to the walk symbol and The two made their way across the street. Once there Clover would turn to Diana and answer. “Um…Well, you see…The uh thief stole a very important book from my library and I aim to get it back.” she finished by nodding, as if satisfied with her explanation. She then reached into her phone to check where they were in relation to the library. The two girls weren’t very far out, but that wouldn’t mean much if the thief had arrived before them.

“I hope we can make it in time. There’s no telling what all was on that list he stole. Or how dangerous they could be if they got their hands on all those items.” Of course Clover was more worried about the damage the would be thief would cause with that mystical tome of hers. If they were able to master the teleportation spell out of it, there was no telling what else the book would show them. The tome in question was a very fickle thing. It’s pages were blank and remained blank unless it chose to show its secrets to someone. That wasn’t all, the spells it showed varied from person to person according to Clover’s grandfather, so there was definitely no tell just what the book would reveal to the thief. They truly had to hurry.

"Book? Library? You're either a scientist, or a magic user. Or know alot." Diana raised a brow in skepticism at Clover's attempt to be subtle.

The swordsman opened the door to the Library of Magic, there was no time to appreciate the scenery. It was one of those deals where the interior was vastly larger than the building exterior suggested. "Ugh, magical spaces, again?" Diana mumbled, recalling a similar recent event.

"...He... Help..." An old bespectacled man in formal wear lay on the ground, having been attacked. Though he looked old enough that being pushed over was likely to hurt.

Diana quickly drew her sword and went to secure the area, leaving the caretaker in Clover's care. The librarian looked at the two girls, and decided the sword wielder was not one to talk to. "The thief... the thief has entered... the library..." He muttered.

"...Well of course he did! But which way did he go?" Diana looked around. Book cases were set on fire, shelves knocked down. A trail of mayhem led deeper into the library, but of the thief there was no sign.

"...Into... into the library..." He muttered again, clearly on the brink of some exposition.

The doors to the building were a bit rough to open at first and the creaking noise they let out upon being opened only furthered to reinforce just how old this library was. The first thing that caught Clover’s eyes was the faint orange glow that illuminated several nearby shelves. The thief had beaten the two girls to the library and had already gotten to work in spreading around some good old fashion chaos. Clover’s emerald eyes scanned the library for any signs of the thief, but immediately snapped down to the ground when a serious of coughs rang out. Several feet from where Clover and Diana were standing, was a frail looking old man who had definitely seen better days.

He gasped for breath and fought against pain in order to tell the two girls of the thieve’s treachery. Clover chalked up his lack of speech to the pain he was in, but something didn’t sit right. The raven haired mage stepped away from the old librarian and approached Diana, who had been scouting the surrounding area for any signs of their thief. Clover gave the sword wielding girl a tap on the shoulder and leaned in close, speaking loud enough for Diana to hear her but also so that the roaring of the flames made it hard for the old man to listen in on their conversation.

“I don’t trust the old man. He’s not exactly being very helpful, if you catch my drift.”

The young girl was right to be wary. There was no telling just what the thief would be capable of now. He had beaten them to this mystical library so there was a possibility he had gotten his hands on whatever it was he was after. Then there was the unpredictable nature of the tome the thief had stolen from Clover’s home. It was impossible to know just what the book would have shown the kleptomaniac.

Diana nodded to Clover in agreement. She could never stand these cryptic mystic types.



Diana studied the old man's injuries. It seemed he mostly suffered bruising from taking a nasty fall. "This'll make the old man talk sense." Diana administered some eastern pressure point treatment, which made the old man stand up in shock.

"I'm not old, I'm only 70! What I mean is, he has entered the real library, the fabric of the books themselves!"

"So how do we go after this thief, then? What is he after?"

"Read... read a fairy tale. When the story has changed, you will be hot on the thief's trail." He procured a book that had escaped the destruction of the library. "...Thankfully I keep a spare volume. Here, you can start with Red Riding Hood."

Diana was completely flustered at the method. She looked at Clover. "You better take the lead. I can't... read." She hated to admit it, but given how the situation had become specifically difficult for her, she had little choice.

Clover let out a mental sigh of relief as the old man turned out to be just that, an old man. She was a bit taken aback when the elderly librarian explained that the thief hadn’t gone to the depths of the library, but had entered the books themselves. The notion seemed counterproductive to Clover, seeing as how half the library was up in flames. Another notion crossed her mind as she accepted the book from the old man. [i]*What could possibly be in the books that the thief was after?*[/color] No doubt the question would be answered once Clover started to read the fairytale, but it was still perplexing. Was the thief after an item from one of the tales or did someone happen to hide one of their prized items with in the pages of these books?

Clover cleared her throat and opened the book. Everything at a glance seemed run of the mill, and the tale of Little Red Riding Hood was playing out how Clover had remembered it. With each word the young girl read, the letters on the page seemed to slowly illuminate and brighten. Suddenly things in the story stopped making sense and that’s when it happened. As Clover’s confusion rose and her voice trailed off, the book erupted with light and consumed the two girls.

Being closest to the book, Clover had shielded her eyes from the initial blast of light and was not prepared for the oddly over and under saturated world that she and Diana had been thrust into. The young mage’s eyes scanned the surroundings for any clues as to what had happened to them. That’s when it happened, a sudden feeling of angst filled Clover as she spotted a solitary figure skipping along a path just a few feet from where she and Diana had landed. The young figure was clad in a red cloak and was carrying a wicker basket in their right hand. Somehow Diana and Clover had been sucked into the book itself, an event Clover figured would happen. She slowly turned to face her companion and let out a sigh. “I don’t think we’re in Los Angeles anymore.”

"I hate teleportation." Diana shut her eyes when Clover's reading made things start to glow. A feeling of near vertigo later, she opened her eyes to see she and the mage were now transported to some cold eastern European forest in the winter.

Diana shivered. "Good thing we had coffee before we came here." She eyed her surroundings, and sure enough amid all the white snow and dull grey background, a bright red hood stood out like a sore thumb, advertising to every big bad wolf out there.

"Sheesh. May as well wear an 'eat me' sign. Alright, let's go talk to her, see where we are in the story." Diana huffed, and strode over to intercept red riding hood. Incidentally, the young lady resembled a popular hollywood actress in their mid-30's than a real young lady, an actress who also happened to resemble Sea Girl.

"Wait... wait up! Miss! Miss!" Diana called out to Red Riding Seyfried Hood. The tall pale blonde halted in her tracks, and doe eyed looked at them.

"...Hello strangers. What brings you to this part of the wood?" She asked kindly.

"...Before anything else. Did you happen to talk to a wolf on the way here?" Diana asked, having at least heard how the story goes, even if she never read it.

"No..." She answered, rather perplexed at the strange people with the stranger question.

"Okay... okay..." Diana looked at Clover, letting her carry the conversation.

It was for Clover to tell what was the trippiest part about her current situation, the fact that the library they went to was a magical one, or the fact that they were legitimately inside the fairytale world of Little Red Riding Hood. In all her infinite wisdom and intelligence Clover wasn’t quite sure what her and Diana were supposed to do now. They were in the story, where the thief apparently was, but there was no telling how big the book world was or what exactly was in the realm of possibilities here. “Yeah good thing we had the coffee, shame we don’t have any more.” she said, wrapping her arms around her upper body to conserve what little warmth she currently harbored.

As Diana rushed off to interact with the main character of the story, Clover followed closely behind her. Diana questioned Hood about speaking with the wolf yet, to which the overly heppy woman replied that she had not. The look Diana gave Clover next was hard to decipher, but from what she understood, it was her turn to as Little Red some questions. Clover slowly approached the hooded woman and gave her a polite nod of the head. “You wouldn’t have happened to see a strangely dressed individual come through these parts carrying a large book have you?”

Hood lowered her head as she went into deep thought. She recalled what all she had done that morning and remembered a sudden knock on her door just before she started on her journey. The rest of the day seemed fuzz up till now, which prompted the woman to raise her head up and place her free hand on her chin as she continued to try and recollect the rest of her day.

“I’m afraid I can’t recall miss. It’s the most peculiar thing though…The part of my day seems to be vaguely foggy for some reason.”

There was no doubt about it, the fact that Little Red Riding Hood was missing part of her day on served to confirm Clover’s fears. The thief was in story book land and he was already making a mess of things. Clover wanted to press the basket touting woman a bit further, but before her lips could part to form the first words of her question, an ominous howl echoed through the dull snowy woods. Clover’s head quickly shifted in Diana’s direction. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say that, that was Big Bads.”

"Oh dear, that came from grandmother's!"

The sight that beheld them was that of the thief, smugly and arrogantly bidding the wolf like a master commanded his pet. For the most part, the big bad wolf seemed compliant. The predator's senses alerted them both to the presence of the heroes, not to mention the big red target they were with.

"Hmph. Deal with them." The thief patted the wolf on the shoulder, as he himself fled into the cabin. The thief carried also carried an axe, for some reason.

Nearby, a man that had been savagely mauled laid bleeding and groaning in pain. His blood coated the big bad wolf's gray coat and claws.

Diana studied the scene, wracking her brain trying to understand the situation.
"...Wait, the wolf was supposed to talk to Hood first! So the thief coming here put the story out of order? Agh, I don't know... I'm just gonna cut things!" Diana did just that, and drew her sword to engage the big bad wolf. The melee between them was a blur of claws and blade, but Diana knew to draw the wolf away from the cabin, to let Clover see where this story was going...

Clover’s emerald eyes surveyed the snowy woods that surrounded the three girls in an effort to locate the beast responsible for letting out such a terrible howl. That’s when Hood spoke up and said the cry had come from the direction of her grandmother’s house. Assuming that the direction Little Red was looking in was where grandma’s house was located, Clover turned her gaze to a small path that retreated into the woods. At the end of the small trail Clover could faintly make out the silhouette of a small wooden cottage. Two figures stood before the door, one was the thief Diana and Clover were after, the other was a large monstrous looking wolf.

The thief whispered something to the large bloody would before retreating inside the cottage. Seconds later the would would break out into a full blown bull rush at the three girls. Diana wasted little time and jumped into action and began to go toe to toe with the large beast. The clashing of steel and hardened claws echoed through the woods as Diana and B.B. squared off. Little Red let out a frightened gasp as she saw one of the strange visitors going at it with the savage beast. She took a few steps back in terror before tripping on a rock, nearly dropping her basket as she tried to brace her fall.

Clover held her palm to her side and began to channel the energy in her body to a single point just a few inches above her hand. Her plan was to provide support for Diana, but her concentration shifted when she heard Hood let out another frightened gasp as screams could be heard coming from her grandmothers cottage. Without thinking, Clover reached down and took hold of Little Red’s hand and began to drag her through the snow and down the narrow snow path to the wooden cottage. “Let’s go!” she shouted.

The two would skirt past the furious battle being fought between the katana wielding girl and the bloodied wolf. Using her free hand, Clover would point her index finger at the wolfs hind leg and fired off a single solitary beam of energy. If the beam hit, it would slow the creature down and allow Diana to beat it quicker; that way she could join them at the cabin quicker.

The screaming continued the whole way to the cabin and continued even as they reached the door. Either the thief was a really poor killer, or he wasn’t trying to kill the old woman inside at all. Clover reached for the door knob but stopped when she heard a peculiar whining noise coming from inside the cabin. A faint green glow began to shine through the windows. That’s when Clover put two and two together and quickly pushed Little Red down to the ground and dove away from the door. A loud boom would echo throughout the woods, shaking snow loose from the nearby treetops. The thief had used Clover’s spell book to launch an attack at the door in an attempt to catch the young girl off guard.

"Argh!" The Big bad wolf was no common werewolf, if a werewolf could even be called common. As Diana performed a pirouette strike, landing a slice on the beast's torso, it managed to ignore the blow through sheer will and deliver a rake across Diana's back. She staggered a moment, and was put on the defensive. Her blood sprayed onto the now scarlet snow.

Clover's spell was the advantage Diana needed to tip the fight in her favor.

The wolf's movements hampered, Diana sliced the beast across the face, tactically blinding him while ruining his nose. She relieves the wolf of a hand, before disemboweling the beast in poetic justice.

"My... my guts..." The wolf growled, trying to hold his bowels in.

Before Diana entered the cabin, she knelt on the ground to let her sword regenerate her. The pain of her flesh knitting itself was never something she could get accustomed to. She knelt by the wolf's last victim. "...Hey buddy, you alright?"

"...Axe... he took my woodsman's axe..." The woodsman simply muttered, before expiring from his wounds, his face locked an expression of fear.

CABIN

The Inside of the cabin was a mess now, all the furniture upturned, all the tables flipped, as the thief employed intermediate magic to hold Clover off. An old lady in sleeping garments was knocked into the corner, unconscious.

"Grandma!" Red Riding Hood rushed to her aid, helping the poor old lady to her feet.

The thief, now carrying the woodsman's axe and an assortment of other items, stared down Clover from across the bed, beside an empty shelf. The books were tossed about the floor. "You're pretty persistent for a couple of teenagers. Heh, but I would know..."

The thief picked one of the books up. "You know. I'm beginning to think just taking your stuff was a bad idea. Maybe I should've let you two in on my secret plan. I'd offer to return your stuff, plus interest."

"Then make off with that your looking for, while stabbing us in the back?" Diana was no fool and knew a treacherous thief when she saw one.

"...An illiterate grunt like you couldn't begin to appreciate the pay-off I'm working for." He turned to Clover. "Come on. They're keeping something locked away inside a fairy tale. We're here now. We can get it."

The front of the cabin lay in splinters across the pure white snow. The inside hadn’t fared any better. Furniture was over turned and scatters along the walls of the cabin, signifying that the blast had originated in the center of the room. As Clover’s emerald eyes shifted upwards from the snow, a strong breeze picked up, toying with Clover’s black hair gently. The dead silence and howling of the wind was accompanied by the rustling of pages from the many books that were scattered about the cabin floor. The forest seemed almost perfectly frozen in time, in the moments following the blast.

The silence was finally broken when Little Red’s voice echoed throughout the surrounding wood. She rose from the snow and rushed to her grandmother’s aid. Clover also stood up, brushing off any excess snow that had clung to the bottom of her coat and skirt. Her eyes narrowed when the thief began to speak. The young raven haired girl wanted nothing more that to obliterate this punk right here and now, but he had positioned himself in such a way, that it made it difficult for Clover to justify an attack without putting Little Red and her grandmother in danger.

Instead, Clover gritted her teeth and tightened her right hand into a fist. If she hadn’t been wearing gloves, the pressure might have caused her nails to dig into her palm. The thief went on trying to weasel his way out of a confrontation with Diana and Clover, but the two girls were smart enough not to fall for his fiendish silver tongue.

Clover slowly advanced on the cabin and the thief seeking refuge inside, her scowl never changing. Once her foot hit the small stone steps that led into the cabin she stopped. “How about you hand over all the stuff you’ve stolen, and I wont turn you inside out!”

The thief scoffed at Clover as he didn’t buy her bluff one bit. “Please. I’ve seen the pages in this nifty little book of yours. There’s no spell in here for that.”

Clover returned the thief’s scoff with a small chuckle of her own. Luckily for her the thief hadn’t figured out the secret behind the ancient tome and how it only tended to show the reader a spell that fit their needs at the time. “heh. That’s what you think loser. The book doesn’t wor…” Clover cut herself off after realizing that she had almost broken out into a monologue like some cheep bond villain, and most importantly she cut herself off before she could give away the book’s secret.

“This is your last chance. Hand over the stolen goods!” she demanded, wholeheartedly knowing that the thief was definitely going to refuse.