Chapter 18: Heist

After the servants escorted him, neither Caitlyn nor her family came to see him. It was late, and the staff took him straight to his room, showing him how to use the shower and laying out clean clothes to sleep in. Immensely grateful, Orion bowed his head in respect, earning faint smiles from the servants before being left alone for the night. He decided not to shower, saving it for when he returned.

Orion turned off the lights and approached the window, waiting for his eyes to adjust. The guest room had no grand view. The front of Kiramman's manor was gated and expansive, while the side where he was placed had stone walls several meters away.

Still, he couldn't wait; he needed the money. Cracking the window, he took a quick glance to ensure the coast was clear. Then, with a quick breath, he jumped out and sprinted toward the wall. Using his momentum, he scaled the first two meters of the wall, grasping wildly at the top until his fingers caught hold.

"Whew", he breathed, before hauling himself up. It was only after that it occurred to him that he should've checked the other side. Fortunately, the street was empty so he shrugged dismissively and swung himself, landing with a quiet thud. His feet his the pavement, and he began carefully weaving his way through the streets to his destination. 

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Orion crouched along the windows of the botanical garden, his hands running along the glass frame as he studied his options. The garden really was breathtaking at night, glowing with a radiant blue from the floating pollen. Inside, flowers swayed and danced as if alive, their nocturnal traits shimmering in the darkness. Occasionally, a burst of bright blue pollen illuminated the air, adding its otherworldly qualities.

Orion glanced up at an open glass panel several meters above, allowing some of the pollen to escape.

"It's too dangerous, even with magic," Orion calculated. "If I try levitating or using wind magic for the first time here and mess up, I'll have a bad fall." He dismissed the front door where flickering lights inside suggested the presence of security.

He frowned, finding a spot where a large plant partially obscured the view from beyond the glass. "There's the spirit fox... but I don't think I can get around that." After another careful sweep of the area, he crouched down and placed a hand on the glass, focusing intently on opening the magic channel.

The concept was simple: make a hole in the glass large enough for him to fit through. How much mana it would require, how much it would drain him, and whether it would even work were the main problems. Orion believed the concept was possible, considering the destructive power of the Hextech crystals in Arcane, but imagining the flow of magic was difficult.

For his first attempt, he tried gently pouring the mana into the glass to his desired circumference. The glow was faint, matching the light from the garden, but the results were underwhelming at best. Small shards chipped free in a perfect circle along the edges, but nothing more.

Panting, he withdrew as exhaustion crept in from the strain of magic circulation. "A sharper burst might work, just like how the Arcane's Hextech crystals exploded, but..." Orion contemplated. Rising partially from his crouched stance, he scanning the garden again. The doors leading inside remained open, but he saw no signs of humanoid life.

"Nothing," Orion concluded, crouching back down. "I don't like the door situation, but this is my best chance." 

Focusing once more, Orion returned his hand to the glass and began collecting raw magic. This time, he had to rely on instinct when determining the right amount to release. The energy was chaotic, trying to escape his body and flow back to the mana rivers threading through this world. As if trying to give him a signal, a sudden burst of bright blue pollen illuminated the air and he released the magic in a sharp, precise burst toward the glass.

Clink

A sharp but quiet sound echoed as the glass circle separated cleanly from the frame, falling forward into the bush below. The cut was precise, almost as if a laser had carved through it. Faint cracks radiated out, however, spreading across the surface of the glass exterior to indicate his imperfect control of magic.

Orion wheezed as he collapsed forward, his head nearly striking the ridge. His arms trembled, trying to support his exhausted body. "I can't do it anymore," he muttered to himself. "Not if I want to make it back inside the manor." He stayed there for a few minutes, struggling to regain his lost strength while listening for any signs of alarm.

The world around him was eerily silent. No faint tapping of footsteps inside, no approaching sounds from outside. "I must be damned lucky." Orion thought, relief washing over him. He let his head hang for a moment longer, reflecting on his actions before shaking it off and crawling through the hole.

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Ethereal silence filled the garden, which pulsed with a life of its own. Each plant swayed to its own unseen rhythm, the blue-hued pollen surrounding and distorting Orion's view of the world. It was beautiful- he really couldn't deny it- as he paused behind the bush, mesmerized again by the sight. A rich variety of intoxicating smells emitted from the plants which only deepened his distraction.

Orion shook his head sharply and tensed, his gaze darting toward the doors. "Are they sleeping on the job?" he muttered under his breath. Earlier, he'd sworn he saw flickering lights when approaching the menagerie.

Unsettled and nervous, he crept his way along the exterior plants, hoping to get a view down the hallway. The lights were gone now, and only the pale glow of moonlight illuminated the distant entrance.

"Something's wrong." Orion warned himself, adrenaline and apprehension sparking to life. His instincts screamed, but too late- faint, wolf-like eyes glinted in the shadows, staring him down with predatory intent.

Orion bolted for the hole he created. A flicker of motion caught his eye but before he could react, a powerful force sent him flying into the glass wall. He collapsed to the floor in a heap, his vision swimming.

"Be grateful, human." A low voice emitted, feminine, and containing a predatory snarl. "The sacred spirit fox takes kindly to you- that is the only reason you live."

Through the pain and shock, Orion's blurred vision sharpened slightly. Standing before him was a cloaked figure, illuminated by the glow of the garden, and nine tails swaying gracefully behind her. Glowing golden eyes pierced through the blue shimmer, green fox eyes near her hip.

Coo.

"Ah..." Orion's hazy thoughts drifted, "I know that coo..."

Coo.

The sound echoed one last time through the garden, lingering in the air as the figures gracefully disappeared from view. Orion lay on the floor, struggling to recover, his mind racing to make sense of the events that just transpired. His vision slowly returned, and with a groan, he slowly lifts his head up once more. The Red Blossom Flowers taunted him from the center of the garden, its vibrant crimson petals swaying gently.

"Fucking Flowers," he cursed, forcing himself to his feet.