Well this has gotten interesting. (Lara)

lara skidded around a corner, and slid into a pile of crates. With a clatter and crunch, they scattered across the front of the alley way. Good. That might slow those goons down a little. Sprinting, Lara flew down the street, small bag clutched tightly in one hand. It swung and knocked against her wrist.

Eyes glittering, Lara looked over her shoulder. One. Two. Three. Four. All four of those thugs - wiry brutes, dressed in sweaty clothes with stubble on their faces - came tearing around the corner after her. The small, weasely one tripped over a crate and cussed. No doors or even windows opened into this narrow crack between stone buildings. The only way out was through the other side. Lara put on another burst of speed.

Idiots. Stealing that little bag of gems had been so easy. Picking their window lock? Easy. Finding the stolen gems? Easy. Everything went swimmingly. Well. Until they came home early.

Pelting down the street, steps light and quick, Lara whipped out of the mouth of the alleyway and turned to see... Oh great. A civilian. "Hey! Hey!" Lara reached out for his sleeve. "You gotta get out of here, move!"

"Huh?" Dragging the stranger along for a minute, Lara looked around for another side-street to dodge into. A hiding place. Something.

After a second the guy was running beside her without being pulled along. Must have spotted the thugs.

"I take it you've gotten yourself into a mess huh?" "Kinda!"

The thugs were gaining on them. They couldn't keep going on a straight course. Lara needed to find a way out. And fast. "Here! We're going this way!" Grabbing the strangers' sleeve again, the girl dodged into another narrow side-street, looking for a doorway, a window, a pipe to climb. Wait. Maybe the civilian wasn't that agile... he kept up with her without a problem, but if you messed up climbing to evade an enemy, you'd be left pretty vulnerable. Lara was used to climbing pipes, spouts, and rough walls. This guy didn't look like the urban climber type... and his safety was kinda her responsibility now. After all. She got him into this mess.

The four thugs piled into the street, their thick boots beating against stone with a dull thudding sound. Come on, come on... Gimme a way out...

Aha! Another side street... "To the left!"

And...

Lara skidded to a stop. A brick wall blocked their path. Too tall to jump. No crates to stack and clamber up on. No nearby windows or doors. "Back back back!"
Too late. The thugs were almost at the entrance to the little dead-end street. Lara brushed a lock of red hair out of her eyes. Then she turned to Abel. "Okay. We have to climb. Now. Climb or fight."

For a brief moment, Lara gave Abel a funny look. Trust him? What was he talking about? Then their pursuers came to a stop at the gap between the two buildings. Catching sight of Lara and Abel, their faces stretched in crooked grins. Slowly, menacingly, they advanced between the tall, whitewashed buildings, pulling out stilettos and sticks like billy clubs.

"Okay!" Lara crouched a little, poised to run, jump, climb, fight. Whatever his plan required. "Whatever it is, we gotta do it now!"

Never taking her eyes off the advancing thugs, expression grim and a little fierce, Lara waited.

Lara felt Abel take hold of her. "Just hold on!!" What was he doing? Lara wanted to shout the question at him, but there wasn't time for her to do anything but wrap her arms around his waist and hope he knew what the heck he was doing.

She kept her eyes fixed on the approaching thugs the whole time, so she didnt notice Abel's shifting appearance. It was impossible, however, not to see a strange motion from the corner of her eye. All at once, Lara was staring wide-eyed at a pair of magnificent black-feathered wings as the two rose into the air. Just in time, too. Looking down, Lara could see the pale, upturned faces of the thugs, their eyes round and glassy like marbles.

"You alright?" "Y - yeah... I- I think so!," Lara gasped. She could feel the strange softness of feathers on Abels' arms. She could hear the gentle rhythm of wings rising, falling, spreading, furling. Slowly, her shock at the transformation receding, Lara began to smile. Eyes glittering with excitement, she glanced at Abel and grinned. She was flying.

@abel

"That's good, just making sure considering this is still rather new to me." What did he mean? The thought that Abel might drop her or fall out of the sky crossed her mind. But it was only a fleeting thought. Lara was too caught up in the exhiliration of flight to care about falling until they fell. Too soon, Abel landed on a rooftop, setting her down as soon as he had a good foothold. "Sorry about that... I didn't really know how to explain with such little time."

"No need to say sorry. You moved fast and saved our necks. I should be thanking you. So, thank you."

Lara looked at the stranger. Who was this guy? Some kind of morph, like a werewolf? He had a kind face... and open expression. And he had saved her from those thugs: half of the people she knew in her old life would have left her there.

"Sorry to drag you into trouble..." Lara held up the little sack of stolen goods and looked at it ruefully. "Had to get these back where they belonged... and those roughs weren't tickled to see me pilfering their honest, hard-won wages." Fastening the bag to her belt, Lara looked at Abel's wings. "Were you born like that? Or... did you get those some other way. If you don't mind me asking..." Lara caught herself, and looked a little abashed. But only a little.

"It's alright. Oh... no I haven't always been like this, like I said I'm very new to it and well... I actually only ended up able to do this last night."

"Well. Not much time for practice, then." Abel looked human again, and he looked a mess. Splits in his shoes. Rips in his shirt. A little gust of wind blew a swirl of black feathers over Lara's shoes like a drift of dry leaves.

He was new to this? What did that mean? He was probably under some kind of enchantment. Maybe even a curse. Lara turned to take stock of their surroundings. The steep slope of the roof stopped in curling eaves, sticking out far from any windows below. A soot-black chimney pot let out a plume of black coal smoke. Well. Somebody was home, so breaking into the house itself was a bad idea anyway. Suddenly, Lara spotted a way down. A little line of rusted rungs, leading from the underside of the eaves to the top of the second floor. Not far from that, in the alley below, a little platform of stacked crates near the servants entrance made a good place to jump...

"Alright. Are you much of a climber? I think I see a way down."

Suddenly, she turned and held out her hand. "I'm Lara, by the way."

"Um.... Not too sure, though won't know till I give it a shot right?" Lara smiled. That was an attitude she liked. Try it out and see. Although, that kind of thinking could get you killed, too, so... Best not to be an idiot about it.
Shaking her hand, he introduced himself. Lara nodded, a crooked smile on her face, then turned to face the rusted metal rungs sunk into the side of the building. "Alright... Well, if you fall, transform again. I'll go first. Follow me and you'll be fine. Don't worry: I'll talk you through it."

Running lightly to the edge of the house, Lara stopped and lay flat on her stomach. "Oh, and one more thing. It's probably best not to talk too loud. Don't want to alarm the residents. I'd get in trouble for makin' the keybladers look bad." Just for a second, Lara grinned. Turning, she slid off the edge of the roof until she was hanging arms-length from the eaves. Now for the tricky part. Swinging her feet, Lara gripped the closest metal run with her toes. Slipping one hand under the eave, she pressed against it with her palm. Held herself in place. Whipped her other hand down, against the building. Then she let herself drop, with a sickening falling sensation, until her hands caught the highest rung of the ladder. It didn't bend or jerk: the metal seemed pretty solid. It should take Abel's weight, even after a drop like that.

"Alright, Abel. You ready?" Lara called out in an audible half-whisper. "Grab the edge tight and let yourself down feet-first."