The city's market street dimmed as twilight fell, lanterns flickering to life one by one. JP and Lyra moved down a quieter lane, the bustle fading behind them. JP hummed cheerfully, clutching the few coins he'd earned from selling glowcap lamps.
"Not bad for my first day," he said. "A few sales, some side-eyes, one incredibly slimy merchant guild rep. I'd call that progress."
Lyra's gaze swept the shadows. "You should stop talking like you've won anything. They're watching you now."
JP laughed nervously. "Watching? Nah. It's just city paranoia, right?"
A voice cut through the air like a knife. "Not paranoia if it's true."
From both ends of the alley, men in rough leathers stepped into view, blades glinting. Their eyes were the hard, greedy kind JP recognized from too many movies back home. One with a scarred cheek smirked. "Little lamp-maker thinks he can stroll through our city without paying dues?"
JP's hand went instinctively to his satchel. "Uh, funny story, actually, I'm allergic to paying dues."
The thug laughed. "Then you'll pay in blood."
Before JP could panic properly, they lunged. He fumbled, yanking out a small vial bound with resin. "Okay, okay, plan B!" He hurled it to the ground with far too much enthusiasm.
The vial burst in a sticky explosion of shimmering goo. Unfortunately, JP had miscalculated the wind. The resin splattered upward, gluing his sleeve to the brick wall behind him.
He froze, wide-eyed. "...This is fine. Tactical glue explosion. Totally part of the plan."
Lyra groaned and stepped forward. Her hood slipped back just enough to show the faint tips of her ears as her daggers flashed in the dim light. She moved like liquid shadow, sliding past a thug's swing and slicing his belt clean off. His trousers hit the cobblestones, and the man yelped, tripping over them.
"Your partner's terrifying," one thug hissed.
"I know!" JP shouted, still tugging uselessly at his stuck sleeve. "I've been saying that since we met!"
Another thug charged him. JP yanked his arm free just in time, swinging a Pulse Stake like a club. The device jabbed into the man's side, sparking violently. The thug convulsed, limbs flailing, before crumpling in a twitching heap.
JP blinked. "Whoa. That… actually worked."
The last conscious thug backed up, pointing a trembling finger at Lyra. "Forest-spawn…! They'll kill us if they know—" His words cut short as Lyra's dagger pinned his collar to the wall.
JP frowned, glancing at her. "Forest-spawn? What's that supposed to—"
"Nothing," Lyra snapped, her eyes colder than usual. She retrieved her blade and turned to leave. "Let's go before more come."
JP followed, still brushing resin from his clothes. "Right, right. Tactical glue. Tactical zappy stick. Tactical… me almost dying."
Lyra gave him a sidelong look, lips twitching despite herself. "You're hopeless."
"Hey," JP said, grinning shakily, "being hopeless is working out pretty well for me so far."
They melted back into the city streets, but JP couldn't shake the look in Lyra's eyes when the word forest-spawn had been spoken.
And he knew, for the first time, that she was hiding something big.