Job Nineteen: 
Bright Ideas

    The thief sat silently in the room with Rave and his bondmate. He found that he had nothing of importance to say. However, Raphael had a question that had been eating him up inside.

    *Could you explain why Ahura had wings a few nights ago?*

    "Wings?" Rave looked to the thief, who was staring down at his feet. "Those weren't wings, Raphael, they were magic manifesting itself in a physical form. That's what happens when a person can't control the energy in their own body. That's how powerful magic manifests itself in this realm."

    *But they looked like wings....*

    "They usually do when they haven't manifested themselves perfectly." Rave stood, "I bet they're just like streamers for Ahura, making a skeletal wing like shape." Rave paused, "Let me show you how my magic manifests itself."

    The young pink haired man closed his eyes and stretched his hands out. He slowly focused and forced energy into his them. Slowly something appeared around his wrists and above his head. They were wire framed circles, and they were ornately decorated with various glittering objects.

    The dragon blinked in surprise as ball of light formed in the young man's hand. He looked angelic, if you could call a pink haired teenager that. "You see, this is what magic does to a caster," Rave said with a smile, "Ahura doesn't have wings."

    Raphael gave the young man a strange look, *All right, I think I understand but--How is Ahura going to control the magic?*

    Rave let the magic fizzle out of his hands, and the rings lingered for only a few moments before fading out of site. "He'll have to practice, I supposed."

    "I'm glad you make it sound so simple," The thief looked up and into his close friends eyes. "How do you expect me to practice my magic without causing more harm than good."

    The information supplier smiled, "You know exactly how."

    Ahura wished that had not sounded so ominous.

***

    Ahura closed his eyes and cursed softly. He never should have listened to Rave when it came to advice. When could young people give advice to older people anyway. Ahura had been father around the block than Rave had ever been, and yet Ahura took his advice willingly.

    He pressed his back to the wall, and so did Raphael. The security cameras were still on, and there was no way he could turn them off from here. Raphael was now two slow to make it past the sights of the camera, or below the lasers.

    What other option did Ahura have, but using his "magic." The young man focused his energy closely. He felt something, but it was more like a lot of nothing. What exactly did magic feel like anyway?

    There was a sudden overwhelming feeling in the young man's back. It was like all of his blood had rushed to his back, leaving him with almost nothing to breath. He almost passed out, but he caught himself.

    Raphael watched from the side lines. His bondmate looked too pale for anything good to be happening. The little dragon's worry grew as he swayed a bit with a vacant look on his face. How was this good, and why had Rave suggested they steal such a highly secure object. Of course it was a challenge, but a bigger challenge than Ahura was up too at the moment. Even the King of thieves had a limit. (Even if he would not admit to having one.)

    Ahura felt something burn in his back before something, he wasn't sure what exactly, appeared in the air around him. It seemed like it was made of wire, bit had various ribbons and jewels hanging off of it, which made no sense, not like any of this did.

    Raphael blinked in surprise. There were strange wire like things sticking out from Ahura's back. They sort of looked ling wings, only they had no form of membrane between them, or any method of flight. They were more like wire frame wings of a doll. Rave had been right all along.

    Both the man and dragon felt the air pressure suddenly rise, and just as suddenly all of the lasers shut off and the security lens' glass shattered simultaneously.

    Raphael blinked a few extra times as he watched Ahura's doll wings fade into the thin air. *What...?*

    "I'm not sure, but it looks like it's all clear."

    *That's good enough for me. Let's get out of here as soon as we get the painting.*

    The thief nodded. "All right, we cut it short." With that said he briskly walked over to the painting and wrenched it off the wall. It was the least elegant job he had done, but he was in no mood to play around.

***

    "Why did I take this job?" The assassin whispered to herself. She looked to the man sitting besides her. He said he was her brother, he did look like it, but he acted far from it. Of course, Anghiari never had to deal with a brother before.

    "Because you wanted a challenge--hey, do you know how to fly?" Verona asked from his spot.

    Gi blinked, "No."

    "Think you could learn in a few minutes?"

    "Learn how to fly with tiny wings?"

    "Once I use magic on them they won't be so tiny."

    "You're on something aren't you?"

    Verona sighed, "No, but we'll both be memories if we don't do anything. We did hit the target--"

    "Thanks to me."

    "--but we still need to get out of here."

    The female assassin growled, "No kidding. If I was alone I would have no problem."

    The young man held his hand to his sisters back, and carefully he forced all of his energy into his hands. From an outsiders point of view they could see small rune-like images appear on Verona's skin. They were in no way glowing, they looked more like some form of black tattoo.

    Gi's wings suddenly felt stiff, she blinked and looked back at them. Her eye widened. "OH MY--" She yelled before Verona's hand was slapped across her face. Helplessly, and in great pain, she felt her wings strength and grow, grow large enough to hold her weight in the air. The young man let go of the assassin, and watched her pant and glare at him.

    "Bastard," she whispered. She looked back her detached wings and whimpered, "You're going to fix this afterwards?"

    He nodded, "For now though, I suggest you jump off the building, they're coming in from the back door."

    "And what about you?"

    "You can carry my weight and yours easily."

    "I really do hate you and your stupid bright ideas."