A Day Spent as Nigiht (Open)

[Ezra]

Ezra had to admit, out of all the things in the entire museum, the planetarium was his favorite. He just laid on the ground, his hands behind his head for a pillow, and stared up at the stars on the ceiling.

This was where he stayed during the day most of the time. Being the creature he was, there was no way he could be in sunlight, so he was forced to spend his days in the darkest room he could find. That happened to be the planetarium. It was never light in there. No windows, only the light from the stars that reflected on the ceiling. So, even though there was sunlight shining bright outside, he was watching the stars and searching for constellations.

He heard footsteps then, but he wasn't worried about it. It was probably just one of the workers there. And anyone that shows up at the museum definitely wasn't a threat to him. Because of his age, wisdom and experience, almost nothing was considered a threat by his standards.

Ezra stood up so he wouldn't look like a total freak to whoever walked in. Obviously, an adult man lying on the floor of the planetarium all day wasn't exactly normal. It was dark, and his eyes were naturally used to that so he could see the new stranger clearly. He only hoped they hadn't' seen him lying on the floor like an idiot... He smirked slightly and spoke, in polite tone of course.

"Hello."

[Ophelia Cait]

Ophelia found herself in the museum after-hours. It wasn’t that hard. How many people would rob a museum? The security system was hopelessly outdated! Ophelia had in her sights the Tiffany Yellow Diamond. It did not take much but clever means to expose the protective beams guarding the yellow diamond. Once Ophelia cut off the security alarm she was able to cut a hole for the diamond to be squeezed out. She put the diamond necklace in her bag. In its place she put a faux diamond after wiping it down for the tenth time to make sure there were no prints. It was smaller than the original but hopefully no one would notice for a few days. Ophelia carefully placed the glass back and began to work on the residue; soon after working one could barely notice that a small circle had been cut.

Ophelia was on her way to her exit route when she heard the word ‘hello’. She stopped walking immediately. She froze. A guard was not supposed to be here. The guards were in the guardroom watching TV, Rocky II in fact! No. No. It wasn’t possible. Ophelia took off running down the hallway trying to not make a sound. She needed to get out of here fast! If she was found it would be devastating. Ophelia would not be able to stand twenty-five years to life in jail! She would rather die!

[Ezra]

Ezra smirked slightly. Just a little redheaded theif. A human one, too, by that scent. Well, he'd never really considered himself any kind of guard, but he knew the police here stunk and the security cameras might as well be dinosaurs. But she took off running. He sighed then. But with his perfect vision in the complete darkness that surrounded most of the museum, he caught a glimpse of what she was attempting to steal. He smirked then and right as she reached the door, he sidestepped in front of her. He wasn't supposed to reveal himself as a demon to any human, and he hadn't. As far as she knew, he was just really fast, and probably knew shortcuts to the entrance. Not that Ezra needed shortcuts.

"The Tiffany Yellow Diamond. Smart choice."

He waited to hear her reaction. There were plenty of options. And even though he'd seen humans do the strangest things on occasions like this one, he was never disappointed by the way the human mind worked. She could either attempt to fight him, which he really hoped she wouldn't do. Or she could run in the other direction. But, if she's wise, she'll just stop and talk. Ezra was a great listener, and even though it seemed otherwise, he wasn't even planning on stopping her from stealing the diamond at all. He was bored, and had found over the years that theives made very interesting company.

[Ophelia Cait]

Ophelia gasped loudly as someone appeared in front of her. They knew that she had taken the diamond yet had not stopped her. The man before her wasn’t wearing a standard guard uniform. There was no time to even rummage through her tote bag and reach for a weapon. The damn thing wasn’t even loaded yet. Ophelia had never used it before on a heist though she had used it on a getaway when things went rocky. “Who the fuck are you?” Ophelia swore at the man. This didn’t seem real. Shouldn’t he scream, ‘Stop. Freeze.’ and hold a weapon at her?

The man was handsome now that she looked at him. Quite more attractive than what you’d think a museum guard would be. They were usually retired policemen too old for the beat or unable to get a real job as a job, young and ambitious at first only to be so syndical and half-assed once you begun the work. Ophelia took a step back and looked right into the man’s eyes. She could only hope that he would forget her features during a sketch when a sketch artist came. Ophelia would not go willingly to the police. She’d take out anyone who tried to stop her.

[Ezra]

Well, at least she was original with her choice of words. He couldn't help but read into her thoughts to see what she thought of him. First impression were mostly pointless, but he couldn't help but smirk when she thought he was handsome. That was one of the upsides to being an immortal demon, you never have to worry about your appearance. As for the sketch part, Ezra never forgot a face. His memory was astonishing, and even with only seeing a face for a split second, he could memorize every detail.

"Is this always how you start a conversation?" he cocked an eyebrow at her, not even sure if human eyes could perceive all of his features in the dark lighting. Seeing as she probably would just snap at him again, he added. "And despite what you may think, I wasn't planning on turning you in."

This was true. He wasn't going to turn her in, and as far as he was concerned, he'd let her leave and never bother to tell a soul that'd he'd even met her. But that didn't mean he was letting her leave with the yellow diamond, either.

[Ophelia Cait]

“Who are you?” Ophelia asked in response. Why wouldn’t this man turn her in? Who was he? “And you didn’t answer my question. Who the fuck are you?” Ophelia opened up her bag and felt around for her weapon. She found the magazine and soon enough found her gun. She popped the magazine in the gun and clicked off the safety feature. “Who the fuck are you!” Ophelia replied again as she shaked the gun at him. It wouldn’t do for her to shoot him. The noise would be great and would attract attention. Attention that Ophelia did not wish to receive.

“Why won’t you turn me in?” Ophelia asked. “Not that I’m complaining.” She laughed before taking another step backwards. Her exit was forwards but there was another exit behind her that she could use. However she’d rather use her original entrance because if she used another her first would be noticed since she had kept it open for her quick escape. Ophelia slowly turned to the side so that now her first exit was behind her. “Don’t move. Oh, and don’t try for the gun. Okay?” Ophelia replied cheerfully. “I really hate a fucking hero.”

[Ezra]

Ezra knew that would be her response. It was disappointing. He hoped she'd be more unique than all the other thieves he'd caught red-handed. At least her hair was unique. Anyway, next thing he knew he had a gun pointed at him. As if a gun could hurt him. Not that she would fire. That would just get those lazy guard's attention. They'd leave Rocky II running and come out with their guns. And they would shoot, if it was necessary.

And this was the time being a demon annoyed him. He couldn't lie. And Ezra wasn't exactly a normal name, but it was the most decent out of the several aliases he had. "I'm Ezra," he said simply as she pointed the gun at him and took a step back. So he stepped closer to her, just to get her reaction. He was really hoping she would do something different than all the other thieves he'd come up against. "You might as well put the gun down. We both know you won't pull that trigger."

[Ophelia Cait]

“I didn’t ask for your name. Who are you? Museum guard? Donator? What the fuck are you doing here?” Ophelia asked. Her voice was just below a whisper but she was mad and sounded it. If she could yell she would but right now she did not have the luxury of screaming her head off to make a point. She did not want the guards to come running, guns drawn. “All the same. I’ll keep the gun where it is.” Ophelia replied as she steadied her grip on it.

“So, Ezra. What are you doing here? We both know what I’m doing here. No bullshit. Stop dodging my question. I’m getting really tired of repeating myself.” Ophelia wanted an answer quickly. She had to get out of here. It was not good to linger. Pretty soon the guards would be doing their hourly walk and Ophelia did not want to be in the building when they were doing it! Ophelia tapped her foot on the ground to show impatience.

[Ezra]

"I don't work here," Ezra admitted. "I'm the loner that the guards trust enough to let stay here."

He had to admit, he kind of liked this girl. From all his research around the city, he knew everyone's face and name by heart. Ophelia was her name. The redhead human who steals. But if Ezra knew anything about thieves, it was that there is more to them than just stealing money and jewelry. And there was definitely something more to Ophelia than just being a yellow diamond thief. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, though, but there was something different about her.

"I'm here because I have nowhere else do be," he answered truthfully. "Now tell me, why do you need the Tiffany Yellow Diamond?" he cocked his eyebrow at her curiously. He could easily find out the answer by scanning through her thoughts, but wanted to see how she would reply.

[Ophelia Cait]

“Seriously? Ha. I don’t believe that!” Ophelia responded. Did this man think that she was a complete idiot? Just because she did not bother with a degree at college did not make her an idiot. Guards letting someone non-employed stay with them at the museum at night was a one in a billion chance! In other words, ‘fat chance’ that was likely to happen! “What are you stealing?” she replied, her eyebrows poised and raised. Ophelia arched her back.

“Does anyone really need a diamond?” Ophelia replied casually. “Except perhaps illegal rebellion groups in Africa. Or at least the money from the sale.” Ophelia placed the gun in a small holster that was on her waist. “Now good luck to you, Ezra, with whatever you’re taking. I’m leaving. I hope we don’t meet again. Bye.” Ophelia replied as she turned around and ran. Her feet made soft little clicks but the museum was so large that the guards would be hard-pressed to hear. Plus she would tip-toe if she was passing the guard station, thankfully her entrance/exit was nowhere near them.

[Ezra]

Ezra sighed, knowing that would be her answer. "I'm not stealing anything." But as she spit out everything about needing a diamond, he just listened. She was lot more interesting than the other thugs who'd tried to steal from the museum. And he enjoyed listening to her thoughts about the 'fat chance.'

And then, she took off. He didn't stop her this time. But as she left his sight, he just smirked. And despite what she wanted, he had a feeling they'd meet again. She was near her exit when he lifted something in his hand. He tossed up the Tiffany Yellow Diamond and caught it with his other hand. What thieves need to learn is to check things before they take off, especially after making an encounter with a thousand-year-old demon.

[Ophelia Cait]

Ophelia found the rope she had hidden from the window pane. It was still hanging and gathered behind a bench. She climbed it effortlessly. The climb required a strong grip and a lot of upper body strength. Soon Ophelia was on top of the museum and pulling the rope up towards herself. Ophelia untied the knot and stuffed the rope into the bag. She also took the magazine out of the gun and tossed both in the bag. She had her diamond and she had escaped. All was good! Ophelia placed her bag down and used all her effort to lift the glass and place it back into the window pane.

Ophelia huffed after such a task and then jumped to a closer building and was then on their roof. From there it was only a matter of climbing down the fire stairs until she was on the ground and getting into a rented parked car three blocks away. It was only then as Ophelia was driving did she think to check on the diamond. It was just a nagging suspicion that she had with her. She knew before she opened up the pocket that it was gone. “Oh. That bastard!” Ophelia cried. Somewhere between her stealing the diamond and meeting the man did he take it. But how? He was a damned good thief. A damned good thief with her yellow diamond!

[Ezra]

Ezra tossed the diamond up and caught it again as he walked slowly back down the long hallway. Now was the moment of truth for Ophelia, he thought. Would she dare sneak back in and try to take it from him again? Or would she just leave and try again some other time, just hoping that he wouldn't be there next time. But he would be there. Actually, during the daytime he never left because of the sunlight. At night, though, he usually left and did all his adventuring then.

Although, he really hoped that she'd come back. There was something about her that he liked, other than her red hair. He didn't know what it was, but he did know she had good taste in jewels, anyway. And he could hear her thoughts all the way outside when she was driving. He nodded in agreement with her thoughts, a smirk growing across his face. A damned good thief he was. But he was a damned good thief who cheated another young, redhead thief out of her jewel. He made his way back to where the yellow diamond was kept, removed her fake diamond, and then placed the real one back before it triggered the alarms. Then he sat back, holding the fake gem in his fingers, and waited.

[Ophelia Cait]

Ophelia was mad. There were two decisions that she could make. She could go home and call her loss or she could risk everything to reclaim the diamond. But who was to say that the man was still even at the museum? The yellow diamond was not everything. Ophelia would try to reclaim it if possible or she would get another diamond. It was foolish of course, very but Ophelia did not like being made a fool of. She drove back to the museum and glanced at her watch. The watchmen were doing their hourly rounds about now. Ophelia scaled the building, annoyed at having to do this twice before jumping and using gymnastic type moves to scale the museum building which was a few inches higher than the other building. All there was to do now was to wait for the guards to go back to their room. Their rounds would not take a lot of time. This was rather foolish for a thief and her mentor would be screaming his lungs out at her for going back after a failed outing but she could not help it. She crouched and waited…

[Ezra]

Ezra sensed her returning and couldn't hide his smirk for very long. He wasn't surprised that she decided to come back, but he was very satisfied. He slid the fake yellow diamond into his pocket and headed out toward the sound of her thoughts until he was standing right behind her, silently, of course. He leaned against the wall behind her, and she didn't even noticed he was there. She was just waiting for the guards to go back inside.

"Well, that didn't take long," Ezra admitted, referring to her return. She'd left only three minutes ago, if even that long. He waited to hear what angry and inappropriate words would escape her lips this time. "You know, those guards are ridicules. You could walk right by them and they wouldn't even notice," he smirked kind of slyly then. "I did."