Well, Neil didn't have a lot of willingness to rest after that. He didn't usually worry about theft, and perhaps it wasn't the catalyst for his lack of sleep. However, he was so tired he couldn't sleep, which was a dreadful combination in any situation, much less this one. He thought about what she needed from him, and he supposed he could just steal whatever he felt like, but eventually the warmth of the fire and the rhythmic breathing of the woman beside him caused him to nod off. 

At some unknown time later, Neil gradually woke up. His eyes opened first, slightly just to peek and gauge there was no one else in the room. Once that was discovered and he felt safe, he blinked and cleared his throat, sitting up. The windows were black, and the only light was from the fire that still crackled in the hearth. Empty soup bowls and half-empty bottles of beer lay on the table next to biscuit crumbs. Beside him, Calliope still slumbered peacefully. 

Her back was curved and her face pressed to a pillow above her arms. Neil had been to a royal enclosure before where great cats from the Arad Luin and the Southlands were set in cages to display the magnificence of the crown. He had seen a leopard sleep like she did, and the comparison suited her. Beautiful, soft looking, but deadly. As he looked at her, he realized something. He blinked and knew what he needed to steal, which was something he knew wasn't possible. 

She stirred, and he could see a smile on her red lips. 

Once he got outside, he'd think about that. Maybe running  was the best option. Whatever she was planning it was going to be something wicked. Then again, self preservation was once again overridden by his affair with danger and the very real but strange realization that he had a thing for her. Pulling up his newly found coat, snow drifted lazily down from an endless black sky. No moon or stars were in sight, the only light accompanying him were torches and lanters raised across roads every, what he guessed, were 10 strides apart. Every now and then a guardsman or the fearsome streltsy marched pased him, but he managed to evade being detected by halting his progress far too often for his liking. The snow's crunch was way too loud for his tastes. 

Eventually he made it to the edge of the square, where the temple loomed. He couldn't exactly call it a church, the structure only superficially resembling the more familiar temples and structures of the trinity faith. It had the look of a strange longhouse with a tower at its apex, and brightly colored supports at its sides set up to have the visual look of leaning. Even now, Neil could smell smoke and see a bit of a haze lazily floating out of the temple. It gave him an idea he hated, but there looked to be only one entrance and he had to get in. 

"I do?" He whispered to himself, questioning again why he was doing this. Wow, the cold really sapped his normally gung-ho confidence. Then again, he was still doing it so he apparently had a lot of willingness, regardless. 

Once Neil had reached the top of the timber and brick tower, he peered into the opening just below the sharp top, and saw a small fire alight about eighteen feet down. Taking in one last breath of fresh air, he scrambled in and pressed against the walls to shimmy down. He went slowly, and once he was man-height above the fire, he stopped to try and hear if anyone was walking around within. 

Silence. 

He dropped down and spread his legs to land and miss the fire. In front of him was a long, chapel-like room where a priest soundly snored on one of the pews. 

"Oh," he mouthed. He could have just picked the lock and walked in then. Well, water under the bridge. Now about that looting... 

[i]3 hours later...[/i] 

Neil sat by the fire, his arms criss crossed under his armpits to heat his hands up with his coat still draped over his shoulders. He had wanted to get a fresh beer, but he didn't want anyone to think he had been up at all during the theft. He merely finished one of the two bottles they had, and ate another biscuit. The night was still dark, and likely would be for another few hours if he had guessed correctly. He had sat there for a good half hour, and had just about dozed off again when he heard Callipe stir behind him. 

In the corner of the room, two items glinted. A gilded mirror, with its frame carved into snarling wolves and big enough to showcase the upper half of one's body. Beside it was a glass chalice, silver vines snaked across its outer shell as if its base were roots and the cup itself was foliage reaching for the sun. Neil was warmed, but since the outer edges of the room was still cold, he shivered slightly and turned to regard the naked woman but obviously warm sorceress draped in the covers. 

"I hope you like shiny things as much as I do." Neil remarked sardonically.