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"My my, what do we have here?"
Crap. She's been caught. Kallen was so, so careful, but careful can only do so much. The Grand Narukami Shrine is no easy place to sneak into, after all... this must be one of the shrine maidens.
Kallen's blue eyes glance to the window. She has a wind glider. If she can reach it, she'll be out of here in a moment, but she hasn't figured out the chest's lock yet. It'll have been all for naught. They'll tighten security. Maybe she should try and take out the shrine maiden instead? Injuring an innocent lady would leave a bad taste in her mouth, though.
These intense calculations only last a moment, but in that moment, a strange feeling creeps up Kallen's spine, forcing them to a stop. A strange weight lodges itself in her throat. Kallen is one to trust her instincts, and her instincts are weighing in. Her instincts are screaming at her, screaming get out of here .
The woman exhales on the nape of Kallen's neck.
"Don't move. Don't turn around."
When did the woman move? Caught in her throat, Kallen's breathing stops in its tracks. She needs to run away. She can't see this person, her eyes firmly peeled on the wall in front of her, but she can sense power unveiled ever so slightly. There's nothing she can do against her. This person is going to break her without even trying.
The stranger's hands slide down Kallen's arms. She flinches, helpless. She feels a chest press against her back, and that damning breath against her nape, that damning breath like ghosts running their fingers just past her throat. She can't stay. She can't run. She knows it, intimately, one wrong move and she's dead. This person moves leisurely, like a carnivore, and for all that Kallen's a talented thief right now she is no better than prey— a bird caught between a fox's teeth, wings threatening to shatter.
The woman takes Kallen's hands, laces their fingers together.
Click .
The lock Kallen was fiddling with is open.
What?
The shrine maiden's deadly embrace doesn't loosen. "I know why you're here. Take it and leave. You didn't see me. No one helped you. Next time, cover your tracks better, little thief."
The little thief nods, oddly numb. Kallen's legs are trembling, but now that she has hope she can't allow herself to falter. "Thank you," she breathes.
Withdrawing, the woman's hand ghosts over Kallen's cheek. "No need to thank me." She's too slow, too fast. "Hurry up and go." The shrine maiden steps back. Are there Mist Flowers in this room? Kallen shivers.
She staggers to the window like a somnambulist, but she can't let this woman be a formless dream. She glances back. Her eyes widen as if to devour the sight, surprise overcoming fear.
"Farewell," Kallen says with a shaky grin.
The Guuji Yae waves without another word, but a kind smile graces her features, a secret shared only with Kallen.