Lucie was a shadow, darting between trees and leaping over fallen trunks. It was a long time since she had stretched her abilities to their limits, and now when she finally had the chance to utilise every skill at moving unheard and unseen that she had ever learnt. She felt the blood pumping in her veins and the exhiliration rising up within her, bringing an ecstatic grin to her lips. 

She knew where this Lady Isabeau was, having continuously used her psychometry to keep track of her. It had proven useful as, even with years of training, it was still a challenge to track anything in the dark of night, with the colours muddled grey by moonlight, and details washed of colour for the lack of sun. That said, she was still gaining on her quarry - feeling the distance between them lessen with each stride, every branch she pushed aside and every twig she carefully stepped over. 

She jumped over a particularly large log, continuing on the deer track she had been following for a while; the hard-packed earth making it easy to stay silent when compared to the soft, leaf covered ground all around. Just ahead of her she knew was the path leading directly to Prague, which was also where she sensed the presence of the only other human in the vicinity. That could only mean one thing, that Lady Isabeau was at the end of the line. Lucie have never willingly let anyone get away from her when she had designated them as her target. It was one reason why she had managed to keep her identity safe for so many years, and also partly why she could walk around in the open without risking discovery. 

She slowed down to the point of walking, then creeping carefully through the bushes to catch a glimpse of the woman she was to capture. She was surprised at how easy it was to not only hear her, but also to see her. This was someone who was not used to having to stay out of sight, and so to Lucie's trained eyes and ears she looked like someone bumbling about, making enough noise to awaken the dead. Such a thing was of course not possible. Or that is what she would have said, had she not witnessed the monstrous amalgamation of different men that was the Creature. While she may not be as skilled as Adam when it came to making deductions, even she could figure out that this Lady had quite a lot to do with the disappearances, as well as the creation of the abomination. She could only assume that Isabeau had access to something that allowed her to go beyond what current science was capable of, because otherwise the creation of that Thing would have been an unachievable endeavour. 

Whether this meant that she was simply a genius without compare, or similar to Lucie herself, Aleksandra, and the rest of the House in that she had some psychic ability, she could not be certain. That in and of itself merited some level of caution, and yet she would have to act before they reached the city proper. Perhaps frightening her, or revealing her presence nearby, would compel the lady into action and give away whether she was a psychic of some description. 

So Lucie set to work, deliberately letting leaves rustle as she passed them, stepping on a twig some distance later, and even darting out behind her and running to the other side of the road like a shade. This went on for several minutes, with Lucie making small amounts of noise at random intervals, and at random places, all to see how the Lady Isabeau would react. She couldn't quite keep a smile off of her face, finding some enjoyment in deliberately frightening yet another target. 

Finally she decided to speak, retreating into the trees to keep her location as hidden as possible, her voice as directionless as could be. "Frightened, are we?" She asked lightly from somewhere behind Isabeau, before darting in front of her as quietly as she could. "Did you expect to get away?" She laughed, giggled even, before returning to a place behind Isabeau only to step out onto the middle of the road, face covered in shadow yet amber eyes burning bright with reflected moonlight. 

"You're never getting away from me," said Lucie Ruzicka, the Baroness of Thieves, with dreadful finality.