Emeralds from mountains and thrust towards the sky [tag; chantal]

“Shoot.”

Her legs dangled from the window, small feet swinging a bit as if searching for something solid to land on, as she exited yet another home she'd broken into. Her days were far too long and way too boring for the blonde to be productive. Well, at least without breaking the law. Mishka heaved a sigh as she struggled to get her footing properly, maybe magic was good for something after all. It had been so long since the young witch had held a wand in her hands she doubted her memory on what the feeling was like and was more hesitant with her ability to perform spells properly. Finely crafted wood beneath her fingertips making her job easier, safer and far too deadly for those in her path. Ah, well she would find other ways to break and enter, muggles did it all the time and if compared she wasn’t that much higher on the pole of blood purity. She missed Grims, the stability he provided as well as the way he nurtured her. Mishka had never truly grown up, her childhood had been ripped from her by drunken nights and bad attitudes. She lived to enjoy the space around her and took without the regard of others hard work.

Her day had been full, climbing through windows and picking locks as she moved along the quiet streets.  She’d peeked in doorways and watched as people exited their homes to start their day. The Bulgarian found joy in the fact that once they returned that small solace they had would vanish like a drop of water in the hot dessert. “Oh, buttons.” Delicate brows pulled together as her halter snagged on the window seal and a breeze ruffled up her skirt, the draft nearly making her jump. Her thigh high brightly color socks, stopped just where her skirt met them and did wonders to keep her warm. Her torso shifted as her upper body finally freed itself. Gosh, this was harder than she remembered and if she was honest half the fun.

Thud!

Came the sound of her white tennis shoes hitting the ground just below where she had been hanging. A small hand used the wall for a bit of support as she got situated, reaching to fix her thigh highs before her honey brown gaze rose. She was frozen, caught. A strange sensation rose in her core that told her to turn tail and run. Her mind went back to the harsh treatment before she was tossed in a cell to lose her mind. Slowly, she took a step back reaching for a lollipop that wasn’t there in either of her pigtails. This was bad, really bad. “Sorry,” came her sing song voice with a false apology. “Does this belong to you?” her head tilting towards the house she'd just escaped from.

Because she had refused to go and monitor the Snuggles protests any longer, after several arguments and complaints, Chantal’s superior had decided to let it go just for today, and have the young Auror do some office work instead. She had done several interrogations that day, and once they were complete, Chantal put together the files and had gone to submit them to her boss. However, the man surprisingly said that those documents should be delivered in person to the Bulgarian Ministry, for a collaboration of some sort. The specific details of the complexity of the case weren’t given to the former Ombrelune, but Chantal wasn’t even remotely curious. Too much of that and it could kill someone with her profession, so naturally, she was playing on the safe side.

She had quickly prepared for her journey in Bulgaria. It would only be for a few hours, but Chantal had to be ready in case the Bulgarian Aurors wanted more input on the interrogations she had done and wait for their summary of conclusions to deliver it back to her boss. She had taken the port key which lead to the Bulgarian Ministry and delivered the papers without any delay or issues. One of the Aurors in charge said that it will take some time for the summary to be ready, and handed over to Chantal the address to a local traditional pub, for her to wait there while enjoying some traditional dishes. Later on, the Bulgarian Auror in charge, will bring her the summary and lead her back to the port key.

Chantal hadn’t visited Bulgaria before, or anything either of the Balkan or Eastern European areas, therefore, when stepping out of the Ministry, the first thing that she noticed was the air. The air felt so unpolluted and fresh, it almost shocked her. Comparing it to the air quality of France or Portugal would be a crime; the freshness of the air, even in the midst of a capital city, it was definitely something which Chantal enjoyed. Somehow, for her it felt so liberating; actually, it felt like freedom itself.

It didn’t take Chantal long to get distracted by a tobacco shop and later by some natural cosmetics made out of rose extract, which were characteristic for Bulgaria, and consequently she found herself deviating from her original course, in the end, losing her way around. The young Auror suddenly found herself on a residential street, and covered her robes with her cloak more. She despised the fact that she had to wear robes as a Ministry official, for the simple fact that it made it harder for her to blend in a crowd. Thankfully enough, it didn’t take her long to realise it was a wizarding community residing in that area; a father was taking his young daughter for a walk, and noticing the girl had a pygmy puff as a pet, was a clear sign that she was safe.

Chantal made her way around the street and, upon turning left as she thought it would be the right direction for towards her meeting spot, the young Auror noticed something rather unusual – there was someone sneaking out of a house, from a quite decently high level. Truth be told, at first sight Chantal couldn’t tell if it was just some rebellious kid trying to defy their parents, or a robber, but then she recalled that the term had already started, therefore the second assumption would be more likely to be the correct one. 

It was such an irony – to work so hard on planning a robbery, just to get caught in the middle of the act. Truthfully, she hadn’t thought such a thing could actually happen, but Chantal was somewhat trilled, as it brought some salt and pepper into her working life. What Auror wouldn’t want the criminal to simply jump right in front of them? It was the ideal way of doing the job, really.

As the robber landed in front of Chantal, the former Ombrelune took out her wand and slowly toyed with it with her fingers. Her crystal clear blue eyes focused on the other’s figure, waiting for her presence to be noticed. It didn’t take long, just enough for the girl to regain her balance. Chantal sighed loudly as the other talked; thankfully, she had performed a translation charm, however, for a moment she regretted it as the robber’s nerve really annoyed her. Why was it that some of them were so cheeky, despite being solid proof against them, it was beyond her comprehension.

“Incorrect. I’m an Auror.” Chantal stretched out her arm in a perfectly straight line, wand pointing towards the girl’s chest. “How about you and I have a chat? Just put your hands where I can see them, unless you want to make a show out of this, which I don’t recommend.” She could hear her voice sounding a bit harsher than usual, however, Chantal had to be in the bad cop role at this moment. Having a criminal right there, directly in front of her, in a country different than hers, definitely meant that, should she bring the other in, she would receive extraordinary praise. Chantal categorically couldn’t afford to mess this up.

Well, this was exciting! A moment she could swear would go down in the histories books, the day Mishka Danailova was apprehended without her purposefully allowing it. Big expressive brown eyes drifted from the wand being toyed with to the blue gaze staring back at her, and action she repeated a few times. Her mind worked and her face showed the slow turning of thoughts beneath her high pigtails. She wished she had a sucker to calm the rising nerves. Nerves the Bulgarian could swear she had never felt before. The racing of her heart pounded painfully against her chest and she nearly thought the halter she wore kept it from flying right into the other woman’s hands. The witch swallowed softly before her head turned, looking along the empty streets. She could run, or at the very least she could try, but the wand being toyed with told her that getting far wasn’t an option. Now, wasn’t this just adorable? Her at a lost and quite possibly on her way back to the soulless cell that had nearly destroyed her. 

“Oh, buttons.”

Her voice a melody on the passing breeze as it sunk in rather slowly, she had been caught. Her eyes traced the lines of this stranger's face for a long few seconds before her hands lifted, fingers spread and a smile slowly made it’s way to her full lips. Her cheeks ran hot and the flush rose rather quickly as the weight of her body was shifted to her left leg. “Just when a girl thinks her day will be full of fun and adventure….” She leaned a bit, her hand reaching out to allow her index finger to graze the tip of the wand as she played dumb, “Why ever do you have a stick pointed at me?” her head tilted causing her blonde hair to follow suit. She had no robes and possessed no wand so pretending to be muggle seemed far more logical than attempting to explain her multiply thefts of the day. She only hoped the other blonde gave in to her lies. “Is this a joke of some kind? Granted…” her hand rose once more to join the other, the small purple bag dangling at her wrist brushed against her arm lightly, reminding her that her treats as well as all of the beautiful gifts she’d searched for were inside. Briefly she scolded herself for being so reckless but she assumed had she been going back to Azkaban there would be very little waiting and no conversation.

“…I was climbing from this window. So, maybe not a joke but more of a warning to my own stupidity. It is not very often such things occur and if I do say so myself, I fell helplessly into your lap.” Her brown eyes drifted along the robes the other woman wore and saw the coloring that told her she was in fact who she said she was. This was such a funny situation that her shoulders shook as she began to giggle. Her head shook as if to say that her laughter had nothing to do with this other woman, that was a lie because it had everything to do with her. “I should have stopped two houses ago.” She muttered to herself. “Well now, copper, what would suggest we chat about I have ideas if you have none of your own.” Her grin only widened as Mishka felt the fun had only just begun. Though, she hoped beyond all hope that she wouldn’t go back there.

Those years inside of Azkaban had ruined what had been good within her, the small pieces of her sanity had slipped away as she amused herself. Going back was not an option and she would die a horrible death before she willingly allowed anyone the privilege. She feared very little but that possibility sent a shiver along her spine that tugged at something deep. She had been free for nearly a year and she was enjoying what it felt like, learning all over again what it meant to be a part of society. This could not be the end of something so beautiful, could it? Had she been foolish enough to be greedy that she had put her future into the hands of another person?

Chantal could tell from the other woman’s gestures that she was feeling a tad flustered, perhaps even perplexed herself by the uniqueness of the situation. Granted, the auror was sure that this must be very frustrating for the robber – to get caught so openly when fleeing from the scene of the crime, even Chantal herself could understand why the Bulgarian (she assumed) was acting in such an inconsistent manner. While her mimic didn’t change, deep down the French was amused by the other’s remark. Truly, while her day hadn’t been fun, or at least will not be fun from this point on, it would definitely be full of adventure. In the end, getting caught in such a fashion was undeniably a whole adventure on its own.

Her inner state of amusement suddenly disappeared as the thief’s index finger scraped the tip of Chantal’s wand; much to her surprise, the former Ombrelune was terribly bothered by that gesture. Nobody aside from her boss and her partner had touched her wand before, not even for one moment, for one second. She had shared a dormitory with others for years at Beauxbatons, and even then no-one touched her wand, even the tiniest bit. It was a feeling of invasion of privacy which Chantal never experienced before; having her wand touched, even for the half of second that it happened, made her feel dirty, repulsed and undeniably torn to her very core. She hadn’t planned on being harsh of the other blonde, however, this little gesture annoyed her by far more than the other’s bad acting and foolish words.

Chantal narrowed her eyes, her gaze becoming colder than before; the girl herself didn’t know it was possible to be so bothered by a criminal’s behaviour. On the other hand, it was the first time she had to deal with one of this specific kind without her much more experienced partner by her side. Perhaps it was because of that slight insecurity, the feeling of being on her own, that the auror got so terribly bothered by the robber’s gesture. She could feel her emotions being transferred to the wand itself, and soon enough a small spark appeared, but Chantal’s self-control took over and that little warning was all that the auror revealed.

“Put the bag down.” She said on an emotionless tone, her right eyebrow slowly raising, as Chantal looked closely at the thief’s purple bag. Putting her left hand in her robe’s pocket, the auror took out her pair of handcuffs; she thought that the reveal of the two silver bracelets would make the other quit her flustered behaviour and make her cooperate. Truthfully, she wasn’t forceful or anything similar, but should she have been violent, Chantal probably wouldn’t have felt so irritated; she had experience with violent criminals, but not with those who had the nerve to touch her wand.

“And then put your hands where I can see them.” The auror continued, her gaze raising from the bag to the woman’s face. She was such a pretty one, it was really a pity that she took this path in life. Granted, she could have taken an even worse one, but still, it was regrettable. Chantal then realised what her partner would have told her in this situation; she should keep her personal emotions in control, and always act objectively. The handcuffs in her left hand she had probably taken out more out of the annoyance caused by the girl’s gesture towards her wand, and not out of objectivity.

“Listen.” Chantal started on a slightly, barely noticeable, softer tone, which revealed a tiny bit of understanding from her side. “It must be really frustrating for you right now, but if you collaborate with me, I won’t have to use these.” The handcuffs jingled in her hand, as she lifted her hand at her chest’s height and more openly showed them to the thief. “I don’t want this to get messy and, trust me on this, neither do you.” The auror waited for the Bulgarian’s reaction, truly hoping that she won’t have to make a big case out of this. In the end, it was a simple robbery case, which was found out at the right time. No matter the other girl’s behaviour, overall, it wasn’t as bad as other crimes, and the whole matter could be solved relatively easy.

This was bad, the worse that she had been involved in. Mishka had always been careful in her work, even, if she ran around like a child on the playground. Her playful banter was a cool mask she wore to keep all the pieces of herself she cherished safe. But, this was bad because not even that mask would help her in this. She had been led along this street by her boredom rather than any thoughtful planning and it would seem also be her downfall. The spark from the tip of the wand caused the Bulgarian witch to jump and she knew then that she’d pushed too far.

Her wrist rolled and the bag slipped down to be hooked on her fingers. Mishka hated to part with things, especially when those things were gifts given to her. Sure, she had stolen from several people during her day out, but, she had just taken her due. No one would ever really understand unless they had lived the way she had, “Can we just not put my bag on the ground…” Her neat brows had pulled together at the thought as her finger stretched out, offering the bag to the other woman. Its contents consisted of an endless amount of suckers and trinkets from the mantels of the houses she had broken into. She liked the little statues of things the most, they were so pretty.

Her hands stayed high as her mind worked through the possible outcomes. Mishka had to find a way out of this that didn’t end with her being locked away. There had to be a way. The Bulgarian hadn’t noticed the cuffs at first but the moment she saw them everything changed. The reality of her situation became very real and the thought that she could be locked away became more of a possibility. Her weight shifted a bit in her frustration and she looked around them once more as if somehow she might see her savior. “I won’t go back.” She whispered softly as she turned to look back at the Auror. “You’ll have to kill me before you take me back there.”

She couldn’t go back to that place. She wouldn’t survive, not again. Those lonely moments and quiet hours had chipped away at her, broken down what had made her Mishka and turned her cold instead. It had stolen her graces and left her more unprepared for the outside world. Mostly, the most important part was that she had felt alone and desperate. She could feel herself going insane. She could feel the fine edges of her mentality fraying with the passing days. She wouldn’t go back.  “I’ll do whatever you ask of me, just please don’t send me back there…”

The fear was reflected in the brown of her eyes that seemed bigger somehow now that she found herself on the verge of begging, “Being good is hard.” She confessed, it was all she had left; the truth. “I try..” She nodded her pigtails swaying as she did so, “But…being bored is worse.” Her gaze fell and she twisted at the waist, “I hate to be bored the most.” It had landed her in trouble then it was no surprise that her boredom had gotten her into this very situation. “I’m all alone now,” Everyone else was far too busy to devote the extra time she needed now as she readjusted. It was okay because the little they did had been enough to start the process.

“I’ll do it, just name it.” She said once more and for the first time that day she shivered, it ran cold up her spine and sent a wave that echoed within her before it pulled a gasp from her pouty lips. “I’m sorry…” Not that she knew what it was to truly regret something she just knew in instances such as this being filled with guilt was a proper response.

The thief just liked annoying her, it seemed. Not only that she previously had the nerve to touch her wand, but now the other witch was not agreeing with basic orders, meaning to put her bag on the ground. Was a bag so precious that it couldn’t be placed on the ground? Chantal doubted it. The other witch surely must have thought that she could cause some diversion, to get the auror distracted by the bag, the goods, their possession and whatnot, in order to escape. Perhaps because she was still new, or because she was in a different country, or because she was without her partner, but Chantal was more sensitive about her surroundings than usual.

She smirked, her wand gently swaying, as she let out a soft whisper. “Wingardium Leviosa.” The bag then levitated towards her, Chantal’s wand not moving at all from the woman’s direction, pointing specifically to the thief’s chest. If she was going to try anything funny, Chantal wasn’t going to hold out on anything. The bag reached her and the French witch grabbed it with her free hand, quickly gazing inside. There were a lot of house decorations, little statues, which while normally weren’t going to specifically stand out in a house, and they were generally known to be rather expensive.

Such objects were a perfect target for thieves; owners wouldn’t notice their disappearance right away and in the meantime, the thieves could sell them at very good prices. By the time the owners would notice them missing, the thief wouldn’t even be in their possession anymore. It wasn’t surprising at all to find such objects there, but Chantal found herself ever so slightly amused that in all countries it seemed thieves were all the same, lacking originality at an international level. Still, she was thankful she didn’t have to deal with something more complex in a country foreign to her.

“Hey.” She addressed the witch in a rough manner, as the other seemed to be looking in a different direction. Chantal bringing out the handcuffs had caused the other quite the panic it seemed, as for a moment there, she had been looking around, for an escape route, most likely. “I’m here, I haven’t evaporated, nor has your situation.” Chantal added equally cold, encouraging the thief to pay attention to what was actually happening and not think of escaping, for that would be impossible, especially with this auror around. It wasn’t beneath the French to abandon the now confiscated goods and follow the thief around, should she try to escape. In the end, catching a thief looked way better on a CV than confiscating stolen goods.

It seemed that the situation, the reality of things, had finally hit the thief. She became a bit inconsequent, saying she won’t go back, that she’ll have to be killed, later on switching to saying that she would do anything in order not to be taken away. Chantal had issues following the train of thought, especially since the thief said she was ‘bored’, listing that as the main reason for stealing. The auror’s eye slightly twitched in annoyance. Well, maybe she could get a job; Chantal had a one of those and she was definitely not bored, especially in the current situation. As much as she had wanted to say that though, she couldn’t. In the end, as she actually thought, she was on the job and had to be professional.

The thief ended her chaotic discourse with an apology, making Chantal think that the entire scene might have been a result of the anxiety or panic the thief was now facing when coping with the situation. “Listen, everything you say can and will be used against you, so I would advise you either keep quiet, or be very careful of what you state without having a lawyer by your side.” Chantal smirked, making one step forward, her wand still pointed towards the other’s chest. “I don’t care about your reasons for stealing, and I also don’t care about how many times you offer your services, or how many times they’ve worked in the past.” She was sure that other aurors would’ve taken on her offer, for having a snitch was quite the feat. However, Chantal wasn’t part of the Bulgarian Ministry and she had no idea whom this individual was – if she could help the Ministry here and have her freedom gained that way, it wasn’t her choice to make. Consequently, it was her duty to still take her to Headquarters, along with the recovered and confiscated stolen goods.

“So, how about this doesn’t end with me having to use spells and you quietly accompany me to Headquarters.” Chantal continued, cautiously making another step forward.