The first rule of a thief was to remain silent.
Andreas was pretty good at doing just that—if his quarry's lack of awareness of his presence was any indication. He crept through the underbrush below the tall pines and tamarack that filled the forest, disturbing nary a twig as he went. Ahead of him was a rocky ledge that looked down onto a small clearing brimming with mosses and wildflowers of all kinds. He moved stealthily up to an old pine and crouched down to observe.
As she always was at that time of day, a brunette with long hair, emerald eyes, and seductively full lips was standing on the green carpet of moss below. Bathed only in the first rays of mornings light, she padded across the soft ground and procured a finely strung bow from an alcove in the rocks. Andreas settled in as she began using the dead trees around her as target practice.
He didn't know her name, why she practiced archery in the nude almost every day out in the woods, or anything else about her other than the fact that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Her body was a little on the muscular side, he thought, but her figure was trim and her alabaster skin smooth. The woman boasted a pair of impressive but not overly large breasts, a firm buttocks, and a cleft that was always shaven down to just fine hairs.
At least he wasn't a total pervert, he truly did appreciate her innate beauty and he always looked away when nature called to her—it would be un-gentlemanly not to. Though on occasion, but only after she was finished practicing, she would lie down on the bed provided by the forest and submit to more carnal pleasures. That he did watch. Even so, he never satisfied himself during her performance. It was difficult, but the opportunity to watch this beauty practice her leafless art was a gift he didn't want to spoil.
The sun had nearly reached its zenith when Andreas felt his stomach grumble. Seeing the woman going to collect her arrows, he peeled his eyes away and leaned back against the sturdy trunk of the pine. Closing his eyes, Andreas rested his head back for a moment. He had forgotten to bring jerky and Moroccan dates today to snack on.
His stomach growled again, too loud for comfort. Needing to go find something to eat, Andreas poked his head around the tree one last time to find that the woman had gone. He stood to get a broader scope of the clearing, concerned as to her whereabouts.
"Enjoying the show?"
The voice behind him flowed like the sweetest of honeys.
"Turn around, slowly."
Andreas did as commanded. The brunette was standing there, in all her glory, with her next shot trained between his eyes—eyes that couldn't help wandering up and down her alluring form. She was even more ravishing up close.
"I-uhh...," he stammered. "H-how did you know I was here?"
"I noticed you last time," she said smugly, "I just didn't get the opportunity to get a jump on you."
"So why not confront me earlier instead of letting me watch for half the morning?"
The brunette shrugged, "Maybe I like having a secret admirer. How long have you been doing this?"
Andreas glanced at the ground, his cheeks going crimson.
"Awhile then," she surmised.
Andreas looked up and his eyes came to rest on her glorious mounds, tipped with perfect rosy buds.
The stretch of a bowstring brought his thoughts back to the situation at hand only to find that the woman had switched her target to his crotch, which was bulging out a little.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Andreas Falco," he replied.
And what is your job class, Andreas Falco?"
"I'm just a thief."
"Well, your obviously not a bad one if you could stay hidden from me for this long. How old are you?"
"Nineteen," he said. "You?"
She scoffed, "Don't you know not to ask a girl her age?"
"Twenty-three," she said, seeing the abashed look of his face.
Andreas' eyes wandered south again. When his gaze reached her cleft he stopped, noticing something peculiar on the inside of her left thigh.
""Hey!" she exclaimed. "Eyes up thief!"
"You're a Heine?"
"Huh? No. My name is Ereffea Solune," she said.
Still looking to the left of her crotch, Andreas shook his head, "Then why do you have the birthmark of a Heine?" The Heines were one of the seven royal families and possessed a strong magical aptitude. They called the city of Geffen home.
Ereffea furrowed her brow, glancing down at the star-shaped beauty mark, "That? It's just a birthmark. And will you please stop staring at my crotch!?"
"Sorry," he said quickly. "My uncle knew a Heine once with that mark on the back of his shoulder. But, anyways, I think I should be going now."
He was about to turn away when her arrow whizzed by his ear. He froze, thinking that the shot was meant as a warning against leaving. Then, seeing her looking past him and wide-eyed, he spun around. Before him on the ground was a freshly killed goblin, the arrow still vibrating in its skull where it had struck.
"Shit!" she swore. "I hope you know how to fight."
The woods around them exploded in a jarring discord of shouts and "whoops". All around them goblins wearing a mélange of different bits of armor leapt from the trees. The ugly little brutes were focused mostly on Ereffea, leering and making crude noises.
Ereffea loosed another arrow that took her next victim in the chest. The goblin nearest Andreas lunged at him with a crude spear made from a branch. He stepped to the side, grabbed the branch and slammed it up into the off-balance goblin's nose. The creature let go of the spear and reeled back, clutching it's bloody face.
