On the Run

Adam

It starts with a teaspoon of trouble - It ends in bliss and penury
There is no pension plan for heroes - So you'll want to get the hell out of my way

Adam had only been in The Hallowed Grounds for a couple of weeks, but he'd already found a way to cause trouble. While there wasn't money, as such, in the place, it still wasn't very polite to just take whatever you wanted; there was a trade expected.

And where there was a trade expected...there was a chance to take without giving what was required. The promised thrill of a steal had been endlessly attractive to Adam and he had begun to spend time in the markets, making mental notes of who owned which stall and who left theirs unattended. As it turned out, a lot of them did. There couldn't be many thieves here, he thought.

Which was good. He could make an impression.

...Except he accidentally made entirely the wrong impression when he tripped over mid-steal, throwing the bread he had been trying to take up in the air and landing on his face in the mud. This action had emptied his bag next to him....containing several trinkets and goods he hadn't paid for.

There had been a moment of silence as everyone worked out what had happened, then all Hell had broken loose. Adam, thankfully, was very good at running. He hopped over obstacles, swerved corners...but he could still hear shouts behind him. He needed to hide.

Spotting a slightly open door he made a beeline for it, entering with a clatter and seeing a woman inside, going towards the first wardrobe-adjacent thing he could see. "Hey. Cover for me if they ask, yeah?" He asked, before going to hide.

Phoebe had just returned from the market, a basket of goods in her hands. Since her business was finally picking up she wasn't so desperate for the necessities...which was an incredibly comforting feeling. It probably also helped that she didn't have a bunch of extra mouths to feed between various newcomers and...Emmett and Chris and Milly. She didn't want to think about that though. The point was that she had a heavy full basket in her hands, so she had left the door of her clinic slightly ajar after entering so she could get the basket to a counter. Of course she would go back and close it... But as she turned a man rushed into the room and she gaped at him wide eyed. Immediately she grew concerned - what was he doing in here so suddenly?! Was he running from something - and if so what? She was so shocked all she could do was nod her head numbly. Phoebe Be gentle to all and stern with yourself

Only moments after Adam had gotten the sole of his heeled boot into the wardrobe, the door was pushed open by a portly baker, backed by a crowd of incensed-looking craftspeople and merchants. He looked back and forth in the room and not seeing what he was looking for, focused to Phoebe.

"Hey! Girl! Have you seen a tall man with bad hair wearing all black? He's a thief!" He yelled in a gruff voice towards her.

Adam

It starts with a teaspoon of trouble - It ends in bliss and penury
There is no pension plan for heroes - So you'll want to get the hell out of my way

From where he was in the wardrobe, Adam could only see a thin line of the edge of the door; if he tilted his head he could just about see the profile of Phoebe's face. This was clearly not a closet made to hold a 6ft+ man, things poking into all kinds of places on him and his head bowed uncomfortably, but at least he was hidden.

Bad hair?? Pulling an offended face he nearly considered coming out guns blazing and demanding an apology, but he restrained himself. Running a hand over his luxuriant and very nice hair, thank you very much, he waited to see whether Phoebe would offer him up or not.

The shocked expression on her face didn't change as another man barged into her little clinic. Now, if only she could convince people coming for her assistance to come in without knocking, rather than these very loud, rather terrifying men... Of course, she normally was not one to be deceitful. In fact, she was a horrendous liar. So terribly in fact that she never got away with a lie. But there was a rather scary man - a criminal no less - hiding in her closet who not only knew what she looked like and where she lived but would have every reason to bring her harm if she helped him get caught. It wasn't like she had any natural defenses after all. She didn't even live with anyone. To her it seemed she didn't have much of a choice but to lie...though for once the rather abrupt, terrifying circumstances of a loud brash fellow barging in might work in her favor. With wide eyes, Phoebe shook her head, staring at the baker - who she had just visited not long before - with trepidation. He was a big fellow and equally scary when mad in his own way. "I-i just got here myself..." she said - which was true - though her tone conveyed her nervousness. But of course, why wouldn't she be nervous with a big scary fellow yelling at her? Phoebe Be gentle to all and stern with yourself

The girl seemed scared but successfully convinced the baker that there was no thief in her clinic. With a heavy, irritated sigh he shook his head, looked back out of the door.

"Fine. If you do see anything. Come tell us." With that said he pushed himself out from the frame, yelled to the men following him to keep looking, and headed on down the street, the door swinging shut from the force at which he left it.

Adam

It starts with a teaspoon of trouble - It ends in bliss and penury
There is no pension plan for heroes - So you'll want to get the hell out of my way

Phoebe did her part excellently, looking every bit the innocent he had wanted her to be. It did not occur to Adam that her fear could be genuine, sure that she was acting and was delighted to be a part of his game. As soon as the baker's head left his view of the door, Adam counted to three then jumped out with a grin on his face.

"Hey! Thanks!" Confidently he strode towards Phoebe, outstretched a hand towards her in greeting. "S'all just a big misunderstanding, you know. So what's the name of my saviour?"

From the decor of the room he could  tell she likely was not the kind of person who did this sort of thing often, knew he needed to soften it all a bit. So he wouldn't be a criminal, not quite, just a wronged man who had been cut off before he could pay for his bread.

...Of course, his idea was immediately ruined by Coffee ploughing the door open and coming to rest on his shoulder, clearly frazzled from the distance between them.

"Oh, uh. This is my dragon Coffee. He's friendly."

The fear in her eyes did not dissipate as the man emerged from her closet and strode over to her, despite his upbeat disposition. She swallowed and shook his hand, her tough light and hesitant. She didn't really want to give him her name, she didn't want to give him any more reason to know who she was to be found again, but what choice did he give her? None, that's what choice. "Ph-phoebe." she said quietly, unable to hide the nervousness from her tone. As soon as she could, she pulled her hand back to her chest, clutching her hands together there in an almost protective manner. Of course, someone - rather something - else came barging through her door and she jumped with a start...surprised to see a little dragon of all things come bounding in. As adorable as it was, she wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to ooh and ahh over it. "It...it's nice to meet you, Coffee." she said quietly. Phoebe Be gentle to all and stern with yourself

Adam

It starts with a teaspoon of trouble - It ends in bliss and penury
There is no pension plan for heroes - So you'll want to get the hell out of my way

Ok, clearly his charming entrance was not working here. Did people here not like it when dashing rogues crashed into their buildings and took up residence in cupboards? Adam took a couple of steps back, tried to smile in a more friendly than scandalous way. "Hey, don't be scared. I'm not gonna hurt you. The whole thing with the guys was just a misunderstanding." He dismissively waved towards the door.

Coffee walked down his arm, leaned from his head towards Phoebe, wide curious eyes taking her in. "He won't hurt you either, he's just interested. This is a nice place you got here..." He said, looking about at it for the first time without an eye for somewhere to hide. "This a...doctors?"