finders keepers // vlad

Vlad was not a bird. Damn people ruined everything. The riots were happening way too often, and they were highly inconvenient. Vlad wasn’t sure where he and Dimitri were going to go, but he had thought that they’d be able to get there before the chaos started. And boy, was it chaotic. It was almost impossible to keep up with the kid as we weaved his way through the crowd of people. He lost Dimitri more quickly than he had been hoping, being shoved in various directions. In a slight panic, Vlad pushed his way forward as much as he could, his eyes darting back and forth in search of the young boy. To his relief, he caught sight of him on top of a bunch of crates. Dimitri! he called in response before looking in the direction that Dimitri’s eyes had been going. He saw an alley with a ladder—perfect. He didn’t even need to ask where that ladder was leading to. Very soon after, Dimitri had made his way back to Vladimir and was pulling him in the right direction. Come on, come on, hurry up. Hurrying, he assured, this time, being sure to stay close behind his friend. They made it to the alley and Vlad looked at the ladder with uncertainty. He grabbed one side of the ladder and tried to shake it to make sure it was secure. When it didn’t move, he looked at his friend. Dimitri, you’re up first. Don’t fall off. I’m right behind ya.

Vlad watched Dimitri climb up the ladder as if his eyes were keeping him from falling off. They had to be fast, because there’d be a potential problem if anyone saw what they were doing. Then again, odds were in their favor for that much, because the streets were a little more distracting than two kids climbing up a building. Either way, they needed to be fast without letting go. Dimitri succeeded and made it to the window at the top, and Vlad pulled himself onto the ladder. You coming? You made this look easy, he answered, getting the hang of gripping each step. When his friend declared that the window was stuck, Vlad looked up just in time to watch the kid knock his elbow into the glass. He instinctively pulled himself closer to the ladder and shut his eyes as a few small pieces of glass fell down from the top of the ladder. That’s one way to do it, he muttered, satisfied with Dimitri’s idea but thinking he was crazy for doing it at the same time. Vlad finished climbing up the rest of the ladder, continuing to look behind him as he did at the mob that still seemed to be oblivious to the two boys. He waited at the top below the window until his friend gave the All clear. What’s in there? He stuck his legs in the window and slid through, looking around at the dusty room. Jeez, break windows often?

Once he pulled himself in, Vladimir tried to get a good look at what was there, but there wasn’t much light. Don’t think anyone’s gonna be missing that window, he said. It looked like the room had been empty for a while. It certainly wasn’t palace-worthy. When Dimitri asked for a match, Vlad nodded and searched through his pockets. He knew he had one somewhere. They were helpful to carry around when you snooped as much as they did. They weren’t always in the best condition, but they could usually get them to light without any problems. He managed to pull one out, slightly softened by the coins in his pocket, but it was perfectly dry and usable. Vlad walked up to the desk and wiped off a spot, sending dust into the air. After coughing and swatting the dust away, he held the match tightly and ran it across the cleared part of the desk, successfully lighting it after 4 tries. Beginners’ luck, he added with a small smirk in regards to Dimitri breaking the window without really hurting his elbow. The older boy walked over to his friend and brushed off a few more shards of glass with his left hand while his right held the lit match up. Okay, Mr. Prepared. How do we get outta here?

Vlad laughed as he watched Dimitri unsuccessfully try to prove that the place wasn't "all that bad". Mmhmm. A little less dust. Why doncha keep off the desk? He swatted more dust from his face and by that point the two were already very covered in the stuff. If Vlad went back home like that, he'd be punished for so much as getting a fingerprint on anything--and he would get it somewhere. Everything was clean and expensive and he would walk in and taint everything. Whatever, he wasn't going back anytime soon. This was more fun (yea, that really said something about how much fun it was living in a palace). I.. and then he chuckled, having no real response. He just hadn't really considered staying in the room for very long because part of him feared that a mob of people would end up occupying it soon. Oh, we're not goin back down there again.. not until they're gone. It's way too easyta get lost. By "get lost", he was referring more to getting separated from Dimitri. That part of the mob wasn't very pleasant, because everyone was going crazy. it wouldn't have been that big a deal to just go out and battle through the crowd if they were guaranteed that they'd stay together. He walked over to the window and carefully peeked out without making himself very visible to people outside. S'not lookin too good. Always takes forever to clear..

Vlad watched Dimitri peek out the window, a not-so-enthusiastic expression on his face. Dimitri, pay no attention to out there right now. There’s nothing worth seeing. There was a hell of a lot to see but seeing it wasn’t going to do much good for them. Besides, looking meant getting close to the window, which risked getting seen which could end badly for them depending on who saw them. Yeah… We could go out the back, but they’re probably all over there too. Voz’mi… Guess we’re stuck here until they calm down. Father’s going to be thrilled. Not that he really cared much about his parents freaking out on him, but it wasn’t a pleasant thought since Dimitri wasn’t their favorite to begin with. The riots could last hours sometimes and were really unpredictable. Going outside… it wasn’t an option, and Dimitri may have been thinking it and not wanting to admit it but Vladimir wasn’t about to go out there either. Might as well kill some time. Well we could’ve gotten stuck in a more boring room… On the bright side, it looked pretty cool and there were plenty of things to go through. Vlad followed Dimitri to the chest and put his hand on the latch. Well whoever’s been here’s probably not coming back. Guess they don’t need this then. He started to pull at the top half, but it wasn’t budging. Hey, Dimitri, it’s heavy. Give me a hand?

Listening to Vlad was always a good idea. Dimitri was a very nosey and curious kid and he needed to know when not to look for his own good. It was still good to be nosey to an extent, though. It made Dimitri adventurous and that’s why he was Vlad’s best friend, to Vlad’s father’s disapproval. Isn’t he always? Vlad laughed—he never was while Dimitri was around, and rarely while he wasn’t. Heh. Don’t tell him I said that if you ever want to see me again. Vlad smirked.. You say that like it’d keep me from sneaking out. He wasn’t going to tell his father, but even if he did and the man retaliated, Vlad would be hanging out with Dimitri with or without permission. The two agreed that the chest was there’s for the taking—well the contents of the chest… if they could even open it. They managed to open it slightly, and Vladimir used both hands to hold up the top to make sure Dimitri’s arm didn’t get stuck. Why would anyone even need a box this big?! To make it difficult to open? There’s got to be something good in there. They were going to be in so much trouble if someone saw them leaving that room with anything expensive. I can’t reach anything. Vlad looked around for a moment while keeping his hands pulling on the top of the chest. Get your arm out of there and keep it open. Hold on. He slowly let go of the top, making sure that DImitri had it before running over to the desk Dimitri had been sitting on. He grabbed a small pile of papers and shoved it into the crack from the chest. There… now if we could find something to pry it open with… The room was dark and crowded so it wasn’t exactly going to be easy… but the two were experts at snooping.

I know it wouldn’t—but it’d sure be inconvenient waiting around for you. Vlad laughed. You’re right. I won’t tell him. And then they were dealing with the obnoxiously heavy chest. They’d gotten far enough to get it open slightly… they weren’t going to give up until they could see what was inside. Now they didn’t have to worry about holding it open so that would allow them to look around for something to open it further with. I’ll take this side of the room, you take that one. Got it, he said, shuffling around on his side. The two of them were pretty good at searching through stuff. They were very accustomed to splitting up to find something worth finding. Someone forgot to dust, Vlad said with a chuckle as he pulled items from a shelf and clouds of dust formed in front of his face, causing him to cough and swat it away. It’d be so much easier if we could just pull it open. Any luck??