Taliana stood in the shadows of an alley, staring at three cages. They were sitting there, unattended near the docks. Creatures of extraordinary uniqueness were locked behind those bars, beautiful things she had never seen before. The first was a black cat with red eyes, the very air around it would drive a sane or religious person running in the other direction. Second was a three-headed puppy, its fur a deep brown, darker than any mud she had ever skirted around. But the third locked creature… The third is what held the pyromaniac enraptured the most.

It was a small butterfly. Not very many of those creatures were seen around Kurayo, but that is not what held her attention. The butterfly was made of fire, glowing as it crackled and whispered. All three looked sad and desperate. Talia darted from the shadows, approaching the cages with as much stealth as she could muster. "Descuia," the young vampire whispered, pointing her wand at the lock. It opened with a satisfying click, the door gently swinging open. For a moment, the hellcat and girl stared at each other, unblinking.

Finally, the hellcat stepped out of the cage and nuzzled against Talia. Happily, she darted to the next cage, only to be jumped on by the Cerberus, all three heads licking her simultaneously. "Alright, alright! Shh, before we're caught!" she giggled before unlocking the final cage. "Descuia." The flaming butterfly fluttered out and seemed to land on her nose, her facing warming up for a moment. Talia wriggled her nose with a chuckle, not realizing the butterfly left a sooty mess on it. With all three pets now in tow, Talia ran home.

By the time she got there, the fae vampire had it figured out. Jared would not allow her to keep all of them at one time, so she would present them one at a time. First, the smallest. So when she got to the door, she burst through it, out of breath. "Jared! Jared! Look what I found!"

While Talia was off doing her thing, Jared was busy sweeping the floor at home. When all is said and done, even magical vampire fae had to clean up once in a while. Their home was something he was particularly proud of. It was a small two story house. The first floor held the kitchen, living room, and the bathing room. The bathing room was a separate room while the kitchen and living room were combined. There was a ladder that led up to the second floor. The second floor had two bedrooms, one for himself and one for Talia. Jared had bought the house through stolen money and sold off items that were also stolen. It may have been small to others but to him, the house was comfortable. It was better than living on the streets. He still remembered what it was like, to be lost and alone on the streets trying to care for her. This house was paradise in comparison to that. 

Jared believed Talia had gone off to play. Anybody else would have been concerned about a child wandering a city but Talia had her fire magic and had been taught in the art of self defense. If she got into trouble, she could burn them or wiggle her way out of it. He also had a group of friends who looked out for her. If anybody dared touch a hair on her head, he would know about it. He was almost done sweeping when Talia burst through the door. She was out of breath and for a moment, he'd wondered if something had happened. Then Talia showed him the flaming butterfly she'd found. Strange. He didn't think that elemental animals lived in the city….still it could have been a coincidence or some lost pet. 

"It looks beautiful!" He said with a smile

It would be a good pet for her. An animal that she could never accidentally kill with her fire magic. It was small too, so he wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up after it or the creature getting too big for the house. 

"Where did you find it?" Jared inquired. 

Her face brightened when he said it was beautiful. "I was at the market when I heard sounds by the docks. And there it was, stuck in a cage!" The butterfly landed softly in her hands and she gently ran a finger over its flaming wing. "It looked so sad. I had to help it." Its feelers reached out and touched along her wrists, causing her to giggle. To have found the elemental was a rare find. Talia knew that this was one creature that would escape any fire she caused unscathed.

"What do elementals eat? Can it sleep on my hair and not cause me to burn up? Do you think it poops?" The butterfly took flight and began to fly in circles around Jared. Talia, of course, had to start chasing it, jumping to try and catch it. "Can I keep it, Jared, puhlease?!?" Finally, she stopped in front of her brother, hands clasped together under her chin as she gazed up at him. "I'll take good care of them! Feed them, clean up after them!"

The vampire realized what she just said and had a suddenly guilty face, hands clasped behind her back as she twisted slowly too and fro. "The butterfly wasn't alone… There were others… and… I may… have… freed them all?"

So she had stolen it. He didn't mind her stealing, since she wasn't stealing from family nor was she being reckless about it. And it was small and easy to handle, so he didn't mind the idea of a fire butterfly. Jared would have to do some research on what they ate and what was needed for the elemental. Then there was the issue of where it could stay, since he didn't want it to cause anything to light on fire. But those things could be dealt with. He watched as it fluttered around his head and Talia began trying to catch it. Then she asked to keep it and began begging.

"Sure. You can keep….wait. Them?" He looked down at her with confusion. 

Then she had a guilty face and he began to realize…it wasn't just the butterfly. She freed more. Again, he wouldn't have minded that if there wasn't the issue of taking care these creatures. He hoped to the gods that she hadn't found a flaming pony. They didn't have enough room for one. Not to mention the idea of a giant stolen flaming pony sitting right outside the door didn't appeal to him for some reason. 

"Bring them in. Let me see them." Jared said with a sigh. 

He leaned the broom he was holding up against a wall and plopped down on a red armchair as he waited for her to bring all the creatures in. Was this the animal phase he'd heard so much about from other families. Fathers complained non stop about how their little girls were begging to get the latest animals. 

Talia clapped with excitement. She darted back out the door to her two new friends. Kneeling down, she brushed some dirt off of the cerberus's flank and smoothed the fur on the hellcat's head. Scooping the cat up, Talia beckoned the puppy to follow her. The pup didn't wait to follow her, instead scrambled into the house. His noses were immediately on the floor, sniffing furiously at the scents before lifting all three heads to spy Jared. With all three tongues rolling out of its jaws, the pup bound towards him to jump up on his legs.

When she came in with the cat dangling from her hands, Talia giggled at the playful three-headed puppy. "I think he likes you already!" She pulled the hellcat up to her face, rubbing her cheek against the cats fur. The cat looked displeased with the manhandling and show of affection, but did not have any signs of intent to stop her. "Can I keep them, please?! I promise you won't know they're here!"

The butterfly stopped fluttering around Jared, choosing to bother the cat instead. Each time the cat swat at the butterfly, it would be just out of reach. Talia giggled again as she let the hellcat down, who jumped up on Jared's armchair, then again to the back of it and curled up lazily. She sat down on the ground and caught the attention of the cerberus pup, who was more than happy to jump into her lap and lavish her with all the puppy kisses it could bestow.

He watched as she left and opened the door. The first creature to enter was a three headed dog. A cerberus? It would be fine with fire but when it grows up, the dog would be almost impossible to handle. The puppy jumped onto his lap and he was a bit surprised. Then again, it was a dog regardless of its many heads. The next animal was a hellcat dangling out of Talia's arms. Training would take a while and they would cause messes. Not to mention there was an issue of fire hazards. Jared was also wary of spoiling his little sister. He'd seen many children become spoiled because their parents didn't know when to draw the line. But…the only large one would be cerberus. The hell cat and the fire butterfly would stay the same size. And the dog could be trained to protect Talia when trouble reared its ugly head. 

"If you train them and take care of them fully, then you can keep the animals." He said, "If they misbehave or if they seem unhappy, I'll hold you responsible. Got it?"

If she wanted to take them in, then she would have to take care of them. Jared would provide things like food but it was her job to give the food to them. He would buy toys and other things but she would be responsible for playing with them. The animals in turn would help keep Talia company when Jared was off on his own. That was something valuable that the animals provided. He didn't trust other people to keep her company, as they could turn or betray her at any moment. But animals, they rarely did that unless the owner was extremely cruel. 

"I guess I'll need to steal some of that food from the shop." Jared said standing up. 

Talia disengaged from the puppy, pulling her face away from the pup as best as possible so she could pay attention to her brother's words. She gasped, pulled herself up off the floor and threw her arms around him. "Thank you, thank you, Jared! You won't have to worry about a thing!" The child climbed up onto the chair to throw her arms around his neck and pressed her nose and lips onto his cheek.

What she hadn't thought of was getting supplies for them today. She thoughtfully put her finger to her chin as she regarded her new friends. "Can I come too, Jared? I can put them in my room. They won't cause much trouble there." Talia picked up the cat, the butterfly landed on her head, and the puppy danced around her heels as she began to herd them up the stairs. Once there, the cat was happy to lay on her bed, the cerberus was exploring the smells while Talia gently coaxed the butterfly first onto her finger then onto her oil lamp.

After ensuring her pets were safely locked behind her bedroom door, Talia ran down the stairs and beamed at her brother. "Ready!" Her hand was placed eagerly in his. "I heard Mrs. Bovaria complain that dogs chew things like shoes. Does that mean we gotta get them toys and stuff to keep bad behavior down? How will I train them? Can't they eat at the table with us?"

He was glad to see her happy. A small smile formed on his face as he reached for the house keys. Jared watched as she began to herd the animals up into her room. Once she returned, he headed towards the door of the house. When they left the house, he used his keys to lock up and tucked them in a hidden pocket. Suddenly, Talia began asking a thousand questions about how to train them or about toys. 

"We should get them toys. But only cheap ones." Jared said, "As for the training, we'll have to look that up. And no they can't eat at the table with us. They need to have their own place to eat." 

They began to walk through the city until he found where she had stolen the animals. Nobody had seen Talia when she stolen the animals, which was a relief, and seemed to be flabbergasted at the fact they were missing. The merchant was busily ranting to the guard about his missing animals. Next to the empty crates was a pile of dog and cat food. There wasn't anything for the elemental butterfly but he assumed fire magic was used to feed it. A distance away from the animal area was a stack of crates intended to be sold. 

"Talia I need you to distract them. See those crates? I want you to set them on fire and start screaming for the guards to put it out. After you've shouted, head into the alleyway and wait for me there." He instructed her, "I'll do the rest." 

Despite his sisters young age, he knew she was talented and smart. Her magical talents were impressive and she knew how to get out of trouble when needed to. He was confident of her abilities and trusted her to be able to complete the job. Silver magic swirled from the palm of his hands and he spoke an ancient fae word. Soon his body and clothes faded away into invisibility. It wasn't the first time he'd performed this trick and it would be the last. Now hidden from the eyes of others, he turned his attention to the pet feed. 

It was rather disappointing that they would need to eat separately from herself and Jared, but rules were rules. "I like libraries. But the library master still won't let me take books home. Says my magic would eat up the books, and won't let me practice my magic there!"

She was rather pleased to see that her deed had appeared untraceable to her. Jared gave her instructions, asking her to do what she loved best. Releasing his hand, the pyromaniac to the stack of crates he had pointed out. A quick glance at the merchant and guard reassured her that she was still not suspected of any mischief. "Incendiu," Talia whispered, touching the crate with her hand. Now, for the spectacle.

Talia screamed. "FIRE! Help! Help!" Childishly, she hopped back and forth worriedly on either foot, pretending to be panicked over the growing flames. The merchant started complaining over the loss of his stock while the guard and anyone else nearby started throwing water and dirt on the flames. "Get out of here, girl!" one of them said as they roughly pushed her aside. Quickly, she scrambled away to the alleyway. This alleyway happened to be her favorite, as she stacked the abandoned crates just so, and used the sheet someone discarded to drape over it, hiding her entrance. Talia crawled in and waited, hidden from view while waiting as she was told, giggling at her mischievous deeds.

Talia's performance was perfect. Everyone's attention had been turned to the bonfire and were focused on trying to put it out. Meanwhile Jared walked up to the feeds and snatched as much as he could carry. He was invisible and the floating bags didn't catch anyone's attention thanks to the fire. Jared ran off with the feed and into the alleyway where his sister waited. The magic hiding him from sight faded away and he became visible. 

"Sis its me." He said as he got past the abandoned crates, careful to keep them up. 

He dumped the sacks of food on the ground and looked at his sister with a smile. Jared reached out to her and softly petted her head. There were rare times when he showed outright affection. Whenever she successfully completed a task or really needed some socialization, he would show her that affection. Jared disliked showing affection to others in general. Even a puppy had to work hard to get a single pet. But for his sister, he was more willing to reveal his heart. 

"You did wonderful." Jared praised his sibling, "Next stop is Mrs. Jeriston's pet shop. We'll pay for her stuff." 

Mrs. Jeriston was exceptionally nice to them whenever they passed by. Sometimes the shopkeeper would give them snacks like pies or apples. This was why they didn't steal from her. Kind behavior towards them was paid in turn. Sometimes Jared would even drive other pet shops into the ground by stealing from it to help her business. That and the cash never hurt. 

"You ready to go?" He asked, "Lets take the shortcut today."

The shortcut was going to the left further into the alleyway. It would lead them around the disaster they had just created and help them get to the shopping district without being noticed.