Snippet #1227125

"Right then, time to see about getting this done." Balthier turned to his partner and cocked an eyebrow. "Which of these windows would you recommend, my dear?"

Fran regarded him steadily for a moment. He was so flippant sometimes that she simply couldn't understand it. Being of a more serious disposition herself, she understood not what moved him to make light of grave situations. Had it been the sort of thing that ever caused him to be more reckless than was appropriate, she would probably have found another companion in the world of Humes. As it was, she knew that underlying it was a wit sharper than most of his kind could boast, and thus she largely ignored it.

Closing her crimson eyes, the woman felt about for any lingering mists, or sign of habitation. "There is at least one within," she said dully, "but if we enter from the east side, they will be unlikely to know of our approach." As thieves, she and Balthier were well-used to entering hostile spaces, and this sort of stealth advantage was actually rare. Usually, there were guards to contend with. The fact that there were not in this case did not put Fran at ease; rather, it made her a twinge uncomfortable for all its strangeness, a fact that Balthier would be quick to detect.

Rather than comment on this, though, the man simply selected an eastern window and knelt upon one knee, cupping his hands to form a foothold for Hope, the obvious intention being to throw him at the windowsill, where he might catch hold and enter the castle proper. Fran, for her part, turned her back on the whole operation and attuned her senses to the entrance, just in case something should come by with the intent to surprise or ambush them.