[attr="class","rubyw"]

At the same time, Ruby's opinion of Aurelie had been steadily climbing all night (though if she knew Aurelie only thought she was "a little rough around the edges," she'd laugh). She had been the one to propose this heist and even draw out a map. And now, Ruby was about to see just how good she was at thinking outside the box. She turned her head at the sounds of the lock being pulled off and the guard speaking sharply, her muscles tensing in preparation for a fight. She moved with Aurelie toward the back door, but the crate slowed them down just enough to make Ruby anxious.

[break][break]Then the guards started swearing, joined by barking and squawking. A lot of squawking. Ruby's eyes lit up with realization when she heard the words "Wingull" and "bread crumbs." So that's what Aurelie had been doing with those! Ruby grinned again and mouthed the word "Nice" at her, not daring to speak up. Ruby probably wouldn't have thought of that; her plans usually ended with "beat them up if we get caught." Seemed she had a lot to learn, too.

[break][break]She waited as Aurelie peeked outside. Seemed the other guard was going to check out the ruckus up front. Perfect. Aurelie's laughter was, in a way, contagious. Ruby didn't laugh along with her, but something in her felt lighter at the sound. When was the last time she'd had fun doing a job like this? For the past few years, it had been about survival, about taking the only road open to her after everything fell apart. This job had gone far from perfectly, but damn, if it hadn't been thrilling and eye-opening. Hell, the fact that they had run into so many obstacles was nostalgic, in a way.

[break][break]"Let's go," Ruby whispered back. With a quick back-and-forth glance to make sure no one else was around, she followed Aurelie in a rather clumsy run toward the aforementioned fence. If it was flimsy, then they could probably break through it with a bit of force. She grunted with the effort of holding her end of the crate with one hand as she reached back to tap one of her Poké Balls. Skorpios emerged, and Ruby immediately whispered for him to be quiet. He looked confused at this command; usually, Ruby's Pokémon came out with threatening battle cries or roars.

[break][break]"Can you rip a big hole in that fence?" Ruby asked, keeping her voice low.

[break][break]Skorpios rumbled softly in thought as he looked over said fence. He found a small hole, likely eaten away by rust, and grabbed one side in each of his front claws. Then, he began to pull it apart, the sound of stretching and snapping metal making Ruby look around to make sure no one was around to hear it. When it was big enough for Ruby and Aurelie to squeeze through, he stepped aside, looking proud of himself.

[break][break]"Attaboy," Ruby whispered. She gave his carapace a scratch, making him preen a bit, before recalling him back into his Ball. "All right, let's get the hell outta here. Know a place we can lay low?" Going straight back to the forge would be a bad idea if they were followed.