Sometimes a job just falls in your lap: Tad had come to see about upgrading his knives when a thief grabbed the blacksmith's finished work and took off with it. Smith, the Blacksmith, agreed to upgrade the knives if Tad could retrieve all four of the swords that the thief had taken. Tad was thankful for the free work and took off after the thief. He figured this would be the easiest job ever, after all, he was a mage that specialized in high speeds so catching some bum shouldn't be much of a test. Tad hopped over a table with assorted jewelry for sale as he rounded the corner, setting his sights on the thief and the swords he was carrying. The lanky mage picked up the pace a bit, slipping past all bystanders that didn't understand what was going on.
The small alley opened up to a larger area ahead and Tad could see the thief make an abrupt left after exiting the alley. Tad was beginning to realize that this thief had more speed than most average people, because he wasn't catching up to the thief nearly as quickly as he'd expected. The lightning mage slid to a stop just after the alley's ending, taking in his new environment before continuing to chase the thief. Both were soon at full speed, breezing by stands with fruit for sale and little shops with other trinkets. Tad finally realized that this thief was also using some sort of magic to evade capture, perhaps like Tad's own Boosty Boots which increased his speed. The thief looked back for the first time, surprised to see someone chasing them.
One of the four swords that the thief was carrying was subsequently tossed as the thief hurried across a small bridge which crossed over a small drainage bed. The thief seemed to believe that Tad would be glad to have gotten one of the swords back and would cease chasing them once he got one. Tad didn't even slow as he reached the bridge, instead calling out as he leaped to the other side, landing in a roll.
"Yin!" The black fox arrived on the scene as Tad just kept running, yelling over his shoulder "Go back to the bridge and find a sword that was tossed over!" Yin simply muttered in response, not terribly pleased being treated like a retriever. "Not even a hello." Once she found the sword, she took it back with her to her own world, sure that Tad would summon her when he needed it back.
The thief turned to the right, down another alley, but as the thief turned, they made sure to look to see if they were still being chased. Of course, Tad saw the thief turn and headed down the same alley. He stopped as soon as he entered, not seeing the thief anywhere. It was a small alley, no where to hide and pretty long, so Tad was pretty confident the thief hadn't already exited it and turned another direction. There was only one direction to go and that was up. Tad took a few steps forward and then jumped, placing his right foot on the wall to his right and then jumping again. Alternating which foot and wall he used, Tad made his way up the walls until he reached the roof.
As his head appeared over the edge, a sword came hurtling towards him. He was lucky that he happened to be moving away from the side that the thief had thrown it from, rather than going towards the incoming sword. With the moving away from it, Tad was just able to get a hand in front of the sword. The thing was whirling around, its handle acting as a fulcrum with its blade revolving around it; Tad's lightning covered palm reached down just in time, keeping the blade from slicing into his favorite shirt. The lanky mage landed on the roof top, his head turning to where the sword had come from just in time to see the thief leap down into another alley.
"Yang!" Tad called, before running in the same direction as the thief. The white fox appeared from another world and Tad yelled back to him. "Hold onto that sword for me, Yin should have one too." Yang was much more receptive to Tad's request than Yin had been and hurried over to the collect the second sword. Tad decided to take a new approach and spotted the thief down in a courtyard, moving away from him. Rather than try to follow the thief directly, he wanted to follow from above. He began leaping from rooftop to rooftop, moving at high speeds but keeping the thief in his sights.
Every turn posed a problem as Tad would, undoubtedly, lose sight of the thief for a moment. In that moment, Tad would approach the alley in a way that he could see either end, so he knew if the thief exited the alley or not. The thief seemed much more content to stay on the move, so Tad usually headed towards the end that the thief hadn't entered through. Tad found himself getting closer and closer as he made less turns than the thief below him. Tad was then only a couple feet behind him, but nearly three stories above him. Tad saw the thief look back, before slowing down a bit. The thief kept looking back as they slowed to a walk. The thief stopped, seemingly happy to have finally lost Tad.
Without a second thought, Tad leaped from his perch, charging lightning into both of his palms as he fell towards the ground. The thief looked up as Tad was just a few feet above them, too surprised to make a move. Tad landed, his long legs absorbing most of the impact, and smashed both of his hands together in front of him. The two lightnings collided, exerting their energies onto each other before causing a concussive blast outward. The blast pushed the thief backwards, into the wall, knocking them unconscious. Tad grabbed the two swords that lay next to the thief and took off back towards the blacksmith. He'd been hired to return the swords and he wasn't a policeman, so he cared little about bringing the thief to justice.
Word Count: 1055
The small alley opened up to a larger area ahead and Tad could see the thief make an abrupt left after exiting the alley. Tad was beginning to realize that this thief had more speed than most average people, because he wasn't catching up to the thief nearly as quickly as he'd expected. The lightning mage slid to a stop just after the alley's ending, taking in his new environment before continuing to chase the thief. Both were soon at full speed, breezing by stands with fruit for sale and little shops with other trinkets. Tad finally realized that this thief was also using some sort of magic to evade capture, perhaps like Tad's own Boosty Boots which increased his speed. The thief looked back for the first time, surprised to see someone chasing them.
One of the four swords that the thief was carrying was subsequently tossed as the thief hurried across a small bridge which crossed over a small drainage bed. The thief seemed to believe that Tad would be glad to have gotten one of the swords back and would cease chasing them once he got one. Tad didn't even slow as he reached the bridge, instead calling out as he leaped to the other side, landing in a roll.
"Yin!" The black fox arrived on the scene as Tad just kept running, yelling over his shoulder "Go back to the bridge and find a sword that was tossed over!" Yin simply muttered in response, not terribly pleased being treated like a retriever. "Not even a hello." Once she found the sword, she took it back with her to her own world, sure that Tad would summon her when he needed it back.
The thief turned to the right, down another alley, but as the thief turned, they made sure to look to see if they were still being chased. Of course, Tad saw the thief turn and headed down the same alley. He stopped as soon as he entered, not seeing the thief anywhere. It was a small alley, no where to hide and pretty long, so Tad was pretty confident the thief hadn't already exited it and turned another direction. There was only one direction to go and that was up. Tad took a few steps forward and then jumped, placing his right foot on the wall to his right and then jumping again. Alternating which foot and wall he used, Tad made his way up the walls until he reached the roof.
As his head appeared over the edge, a sword came hurtling towards him. He was lucky that he happened to be moving away from the side that the thief had thrown it from, rather than going towards the incoming sword. With the moving away from it, Tad was just able to get a hand in front of the sword. The thing was whirling around, its handle acting as a fulcrum with its blade revolving around it; Tad's lightning covered palm reached down just in time, keeping the blade from slicing into his favorite shirt. The lanky mage landed on the roof top, his head turning to where the sword had come from just in time to see the thief leap down into another alley.
"Yang!" Tad called, before running in the same direction as the thief. The white fox appeared from another world and Tad yelled back to him. "Hold onto that sword for me, Yin should have one too." Yang was much more receptive to Tad's request than Yin had been and hurried over to the collect the second sword. Tad decided to take a new approach and spotted the thief down in a courtyard, moving away from him. Rather than try to follow the thief directly, he wanted to follow from above. He began leaping from rooftop to rooftop, moving at high speeds but keeping the thief in his sights.
Every turn posed a problem as Tad would, undoubtedly, lose sight of the thief for a moment. In that moment, Tad would approach the alley in a way that he could see either end, so he knew if the thief exited the alley or not. The thief seemed much more content to stay on the move, so Tad usually headed towards the end that the thief hadn't entered through. Tad found himself getting closer and closer as he made less turns than the thief below him. Tad was then only a couple feet behind him, but nearly three stories above him. Tad saw the thief look back, before slowing down a bit. The thief kept looking back as they slowed to a walk. The thief stopped, seemingly happy to have finally lost Tad.
Without a second thought, Tad leaped from his perch, charging lightning into both of his palms as he fell towards the ground. The thief looked up as Tad was just a few feet above them, too surprised to make a move. Tad landed, his long legs absorbing most of the impact, and smashed both of his hands together in front of him. The two lightnings collided, exerting their energies onto each other before causing a concussive blast outward. The blast pushed the thief backwards, into the wall, knocking them unconscious. Tad grabbed the two swords that lay next to the thief and took off back towards the blacksmith. He'd been hired to return the swords and he wasn't a policeman, so he cared little about bringing the thief to justice.
Word Count: 1055
