[b]Tuesday, Spring 2nd[/b]
[i]Forget-Me-Not Valley[/i]

As he and the stranger pummeled to the floor, Ryder's concern instantly flashed to the possibility of waking the Inn's residents. The two had crashed to the ground with a loud THUD, and Ryder was almost sure that someone must have heard them. He was all about excitement, but when you're trying to break into an inn without being noticed, it would be much more effective if it were done quietly.

It was only a few moments after Ryder had hit the floor that he began to hear the sound of approaching voices. Their footsteps echoed through the silent night, growing louder and louder as they seemed to approach the room. Ryder knew that he only had a few moments to act. He rose to his feet in peril, and, for the first time, met the eyes of the stranger who had knocked him into the room. In the dim moonlight that leaked in through the window into the pitch black room, Ryder was able to discern a few of the stranger's features. Most importantly, he was able to recognize the stranger's silver hair; it was the same silver hair that belonged to the thief from earlier! The thief quickly made his way back to the window to seal it shut, leaving Ryder wondering how they could possible escape this situation now. Before Ryder could ask any questions, however, the thief covered his mouth and pulled him into the closet, just as the voices in the hallway came to a stop right outside of the room. The door knob began to turn.

"I could have swore I heard a noise, TIm..." a nervous female voice announced upon entering the room. [i]We're done for....[/i] Ryder thought. He heard someone flick on the lights, and for a moment, there was silence. It was a brief moment, but to Ryder, it felt as though it lasted forever. He could feel his heart beating through the suspense.

"Well," began a stuffy male voice, "there's no one here, Ruby. It could have just been the wind, or one of those darn raccoons..."

Another moment passed before Ruby gave her response. Ryder assumed that she was scanning the scene for any evidence that someone had broken in. "I guess you're right," she said at last, seemingly reassured, but still not speaking without haste. "You just can't be too safe with that Phantom wandering the Valley!"

At the mention of the "Phantom," Ryder felt the silver-haired boy's breath against his neck, as though he were silently laughing. [i]They must be talking about him,[/i] Ryder gathered. [i]So I guess they call this dude the "Phantom..."[/i]

"Let's head back to bed, Ruby. It will be morning soon. We really should be getting some sl-" Tim's stuffy voice broke off at the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching the room.

"Tim, Ruby, come quick!" a bold female voice panted. "Muffy and Griffin have just been robbed by the Phantom! They're chasing him down near Vesta's farm right now!" Ryder could hear Tim let out a defeated sigh. [i]He really wanted to go back to bed,[/i] Ryder laughed in his mind. The Phantom must have been laughing as well, because Ryder felt another warm breath strike the back of his neck.

Ryder imagined Ruby clapping her hands to her mouth as she said "Oh my," and in another instant, all three footsteps could be heard running out of the room. One set of the footsteps stopped to close and lock the door to the room, then turned to catch up with the other two. Ryder had been so caught up in the excitement that he hadn't even realized that the Phantom's hand was still covering his mouth. A familiar scent seemed to linger on the Phantom's hand, a scent that reminded Ryder of some sort of curry. Ryder realized that he hadn't eaten since before sundown, and couldn't stop his stomach from growling wildly. After waiting a few moments for the footstep to subside, Ryder broke free of the Phantom's grasp and emerged from the closet.