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"We can't do this!"
Soris shot up from their hiding place, and a hand on either shoulder dragged him back down. He crashed to the packed dirt below as fast as he came up. Novhen, his cousin and notorious troublemaker, tightened his grip on his shoulder and stared him dead in the eyes with the greatest intensity a child could muster.
"If you're going to chicken out," he said in a harsh whisper, "be quiet about it."
Perhaps it wasn't actually the most intimidating sight. Novhen was still learning how to make facial expressions. For all he knew, he just looked constipated, but however it looked, it was enough for Soris. He nodded and shuffled back as far as he could without bumping into Shianni.
Novhen peered out the narrow alley–too narrow for any adult to fit through–and over the crates at Valendrian's door. Soon, he would be leaving to inspect the alienage wall for Shabbat. That would be their only opportunity to get in and get what they need. He pulled back to prevent being seen.
And perfectly on cue, Valendrian's door squealed against its hinges. Another elf immediately greeted him and struck up conversation. As his and Valendrian’s voices softened and were buried under the crowd, Novhen looked back at the door. It was shut, but they would have a clear shot.
He turned to Soris and Shianni. They were both crouched low to the ground. As usual, Soris looked terrified and Shianni mischievous.
Novhen said, "Move quickly, and stay by me. As soon as we find it, we're out. Yeah?"
Shianni nodded eagerly, but Soris hesitated.
"What if we get caught?" he asked.
Novhen said, "You run away, and I take the blame. You'll just owe me one."
Soris said flatly, "Gee, aren’t you selfless."
"If you’re so scared, you could always leave to help Shona find the sticks instead," Shianni teased.
"I…" Soris hung his head, "No, I'll come with you. Maybe that'll make it go faster. I don’t want you guys in there any longer than you have to be either."
Novhen clapped his hands together the same way he'd seen his ma do after assigning chores and repeated her words: "Let's get to it, then!"
With that, Novhen turned on his heel and sprinted for Valendrian's home, hurdling over the boxes in the way. When he arrived and yanked on the door, he found it jammed but not locked. He rested his foot up against the doorframe and pulled again, this time with his full weight. When the door barely budged, Shianni wrapped her arms around his waist and added her own weight. Their feet struggled against the gravity of the door as they slipped and skidded, needing constant readjustment. With several burning, laborious seconds of strain, the door popped open. It smacked Novhen in the nose, causing him to fall into Shianni who fell into Soris who rushed forward to try to catch them. The resulting pile of tiny limbs groaned and reeled.
Novhen rolled off the top and quickly looked around. They had definitely been seen. At least three elves in the busy throng weaving around the vhenadahl stopped to stare and whisper. They would have to be even quicker than anticipated. Novhen ran inside and his cousins scurried after him as they collected themselves.
There couldn't be too many places their quarry could be hidden. The three cousins ran off to inspect different corners of the house. Novhen first dug through Valendrian's cot. Nothing there. Maybe underneath a floorboard? But none looked loose. He ran to the cabinet—
"I found it!"
Novhen grabbed the edges of a large disc and, with a great huff, wrenched it free from the heavy stacks within Valendrian's cabinet. He stumbled backwards and admired the round shield they had sought while Soris and Shianni flocked to his side. Though he had seen it in passing, he had never been able to examine it closely before. It bore heraldry unfamiliar to him: a green mask of leaves on yellow and white stripes.
Shianni, however, began bouncing in recognition. "My ma had a shawl with that mask on it! She said it was a Dalish symbol!"
Novhen asked, "How do you think it got here?"
"What if the hahren's secretly Dalish?" she said.
"He can't be," Novhen said. "Da said the Dalish have tattoos all over their faces. Valendrian just has moles."
Shianni rolled her eyes, "Well maybe he's hiding them."
"How would you hide tattoos? They don't come off," he countered.
She dug her heels in. "They're obviously under his wrinkles."
“That doesn’t make any sense!”
Soris, eyes darting between his bickering cousins and the door, said, "We should really be going now. Shona probably has enough good sticks by now for everyone to get a sword. If we stay any longer, we're definitely getting caught. Valendrian has to be on his way back."
Novhen said, "Probably, yeah. Let's go."
As his cousins shot out, Novhen took stock of the small house quickly and winced. There wasn't a single plank of the wood flooring still visible after their search. Maybe he could hide their tracks just a little before leaving? Except, no, there wasn’t time. If they got caught, they wouldn’t get to play knights. They would definitely need wait to clean until after they brought the shield back. With a gulp, he bolted for the door.
And straight into Valendrian's chest.
“Hello, Novhen,” amusement seeping into his weary voice, “That's a nice shield you have there.”