Lucie beckoned for Aleksandra to follow her, not trusting that her voice wouldn’t be carried towards their quarry, and alert it of their presence. They were close, she knew. Her Talent wasn’t even necessary to figure it out. The forest was as quiet as a tomb, save their own near-inaudible footsteps and breathing. More than once she silently thanked Aleksandra for knowing how to move quietly. 


As they moved, Lucie once again procured a piece of cloth to cover the reflective surfaces on her daggers, making certain that no one would notice her because the moon light reflected. To some of less skilled thieves of Prague, doing such a thing might be viewed as superfluous. But Lucie, having been trained by the best masters money could buy, had had such seemingly trivial things drilled into her. And they [i]had[/i] served her well in the past, as she was sure they would this time.


Forward they continued silence, and unmoving critters surrounding them on all sides. Where was this Creature leading them? Where were they headed? 


Aleksandra was hardly one with the shadows like her current partner seemed to be trying to accomplish, but she was more than capable of staying quiet on her feet, if not with the same catlike grace. Any potentially reflective objects of hers were well concealed under her now filthy coat, save for her two revolvers, both of which had instead been transferred to her pockets for easy access.


Did she think her guns would drop the monster the same as a man? No, she was no fool. But all the same, should the beast turn and come after them instead she would prefer to go down fighting. 


All the same, she thumbed the hammers on the twin weapons. It wasn’t much, but the reassuring feeling of cold steel helped to calm her nerves. Worst case scenario, she would save a bullet for herself.


The monster, which they were now close enough to see, seemed not to have taken notice of them, and was instead tearing its way towards what looked like the outline of an old cabin or shack of some kind. Aleksandra paused, moving to the side a little to shelter behind a tree, Lucie doing much the same on the other side of the road, and watched hesitantly. Almost subconsciously, she began to draw her weapons - not to fire, but as a precaution. 


The building in front of them turned out to be a mill upon closer inspection. Not that such a thing was outside of the ordinary, but why did this Creature want to go to the mill? It was no miller, of that they could be certain. So why? 


They were given no time to consider, as the still air was torn by the loud bang of a gun going off. And it was close. Lucie froze momentarily, then turned to their left and a little behind. In the next few seconds a lot of things happened. First was the creature in front of them. Like Lucie it stopped and turned, only it didn’t stay where it was, but bolted towards where the gunshot came from, no longer silent but trampling the underbrush and smaller trees. 


Ahead of them, further ahead than the creature itself had been, came a woman running. Lucie couldn’t immediately remember her name, but recognised her from the House. Behind her came a duo of horse riders, also House members. All were headed for the mill. 


They had been charged with tracking the creature, and they had. But some things weren’t adding up. She knew for certain that the others ahead of them—the very same people that had been at their meeting this morning—had been given other tasks. Investigating a Lady Isabeau and a mysterious case of butchered animals, she knew. So why were they here? 


Her eyes narrowed for a brief moment before she looked to Aleksandra, motioning for her to follow. She then started moving towards the others at the mill, keeping to the shadows at all times. Within a minute, she and Aleksandra had made it to the trees bordering the mill, and stepped out into the moonlight. 


They were, as of yet, still behind the others, unnoticed, so she spent the next few seconds wiping the makeup from her face. Going from an androgynous man to her highly attractive self once more. It seemed a disguise was no longer necessary. 


“Would someone tell me,” she suddenly said while barely a handful of metres away and with Aleksandra standing silently behind her, “what in the blazes is going on?”