Renegade: Outlander

Chapter 1- Mean Streets

A cloudless night is cast over the city of Hypex. The streetlight illuminates with a yellowish white glow, a few people walk towards home in the promise of a good night's rest. Two individuals however had other ideas with how to spend such a calm evening. One was a man, tall, slender, fair skin with a five o'clock shadow upon his face. He was wearing a crisp dark blue suit and blazer with a bronze enameled pin clipped to his lapel, glinted in the moonlight. It showed a rather abstract image, something akin to an orange mask made of flowing fabric. As he walked, he exuded a very smug aura, as though everything around him wasn't even close to his level of either sophistication or ability. That said, he occasionally glances at the smaller woman by his side, which always forces a warm smile upon his face when he sees her.

The woman was a head shorter than himself and seemed very cheery as she skipped along beside that man. Her outfit was elegant yet restrained, sharing design elements from both Zealon and Shalguin. It was form fitting but not in an explicit manner and simply added to her rather adorable appearance. Her hair was a mix of black and blue, most likely being dyed in a haphazard way out of inexperience. Her eyes as well were unique, one being a rich sapphire blue whilst the other was a warm orange. She looked up at the man beside her, her mixed eyes meeting his calm brown ones as the moonlight removed the shadow cast by his fedora.

"Nights like these are the best, eh, Shino?" The man asked the girl, now identified as Shino, with a soothing and excited voice as he moved his gaze up toward the moon with its all encompassing blue-white light. "Not too hot, not too cold, barely a cloud above and best of all..." he trailed off as he turned, now facing the destination of their stroll. An Illarite shop, with the latest in arc stone tech, fresh from Zealon. "No lines to wait in." The man finished as he opened his suit coat and reached into the inner pocket. He pulled out a kit, opening it to reveal a set of long metal objects. A lock pick set, favored by thieves.

With but a moment and a few clicks of the lock, the door opened. Instantly, Shino flashed through the door to the far wall by the counter. A small glass panel rested at about eye level for the man but Shino defied her limited stature and easily clung to the wall and disabled the silent countdown the panel displayed. The man smirked as he walked in himself, closing the door behind him. "It's always a treat to see you work, my dear." He compliments his agile companion. She stood behind the counter, giving him a happy peace sign with her fingers and smiling, delighted to be praised by her partner.

With the immediate obstacles dealt with, the man begins examining the store, looking for something particular. Shino however was snatching anything she could, targeting anything that was interesting to her or just shiny. Hearing the rustling of the trinkets in her possession, the man looked over his shoulder at Shino. He smirked and shook his head. "Better halve that. Don't wanna be making too much noise on the way home, yeah?" He spoke with a bit of levity. An almost fatherly tone about his words, one that Shino understood and placed some of her snatched goods back onto random shelves. As she did, she caught something moving out the window, a silhouette on the rooftops across the street.

Shino clicked her tongue, signaling her partner of a possible hiccup to their smooth robbery. Quickly, the man grabbed what he was looking for and he and Shino went out the back. The back door opened quickly, a squeak escaped from the hinges but the pair of thieves were already walking at a brisk pace down the alleyway. As they emerged onto the sidewalk, a figure stood in their path. However, to the man's surprise, this stranger was no taller than Shino and had a slim, feminine frame. From the knee down, she had some high tech boots of some kind, with the rest of her outfit obscured by a cloak. Then she spoke, "They say crime never pays. And it certainly won't tonight." The voice came with a forced gravelly tone, making the pair of thieves lose any notion of intimidation as it was all too clear this was a child playing hero.