He’s no police officer or knight. Heath didn’t accept the mission because it innately helped someone, but because he was curious. Who was stealing from Sugar & Spice? Was it a who? Or was it a what? Why wasn’t it taking the money from the cash register? Obviously, it wasn’t some common thug. They would’ve gone for the registers or the safe first. So then what? He didn’t know. But he wanted to. With multiple possibilities and little proof to cross out any of them, Heath had come prepared. Sneakers, a hoodie, and a pair of mist chocolate chip muffins stuffed in his backpack that he'd managed to hassle the owner to leave him with as a, sort of, bonus for promising to catch whatever was threatening their livelihood.

The visit earlier in the day had served two purposes. Firstly, he’d had a chance to quietly look around the place without bringing too much attention to himself. He hadn’t learned much other than it was a pretty locale, and where the exists and dumpsters were, but whatever. It as a start. Better than going in blind. And secondly, he had a trump card if he didn’t hit the right note with his partner on the first impression. Couldn’t do this if they didn’t get along. He really hoped that wouldn’t be an issue though, but one could ever be too careful. He spotted her from a distance but didn’t call out first, afraid of being a little too loud if he tried to get her attention that way.

He pulled his hands out of his pockets and returned the wave, along with a small smile. “Yeh, nice to meet you Alana.” He greeted before letting out a snort. “I’m kind of hoping we turn out to be more than pest control, but a job’s a job.” He added with a shrug. The blonde gave his partner a once over and did his best to commit her face to memory. “I’m sorry if I’ve kept you waiting.” The witch added as he averted his gaze to look at Sugar & Spice, already closed for the day. “You’ve got a plan in mind?” Heath prodded.

Alana’s demeanor gave him a small sense of relief. She looked confident enough, and he is eternally grateful one of them knew what they were doing. He still didn’t have too much experience with missions and jobs. Some were easier than others. This hopefully wasn’t as shit as tracking down giant wolves in the farmland. He nodded quickly. “Good.” He returned with ease before giving her a thumbs up for the plan. “That sounds good to me. Let’s go by the dumpster then.” With one last glance at her, he made his way to the back of Sugar & Spice after taking a few minutes to go in a roundabout way. There wasn’t a hurry yet. It wasn’t like they had seen something attack the storefront. That would’ve been ballsy when it wasn’t the dead of night.

“I couldn’t find many entrances. I guess some windows would work, but didn’t seem like anyone broke those yet.” he said quietly to his partner. It was still early, as far as crime committing went in Sundial. Heath personally preferred waiting until 2:30 am. It was a sweet spot. The streets were better, quieter. Unlike now, where he could hear the distant cawing of birds. The bustling of the town was dying down as a chilly night overtook them, but nothing like past midnight just yet. Heath made a face as the sweetly acrid stench of rotting pastries in a dumpster hit him. He held back a gag, and made note of the freshly thrown out trash at the bottom of the smelly thing. “It…just occurred to me that I neglected to ask for a key.” The writer looked over at Alana, briefly wondering if it was rude to assume she could get them inside. Maybe she had a copy of the keys. “You wouldn’t happen to have a copy?” Good save, Heath.

She doesn’t seem terrible, but he still can’t help but feel slight unease at how she looks at him. But it’s probably just him, really. The unfamiliarity of coven rituals and mission protocol was obvious, and he honestly found himself feeling more like a bumbling giraffe than a capable fledgling. Hell, maybe if he had been a little bit more involved with his coven he wouldn’t have this issue at his age. Nevertheless, he smiles appreciatively as she passes him the keys, and quietly sets to unlocking the back door. The lock clicks and he holds back out the key to Alana. “Thanks.” He stated curtly before stepping through and holding open the door for her.

There’s a smell of lingering baked goods. Hints of jams and sugar mixed in with the smell of buttery breads all seemed to be a permanent feature of the bakery. Not that he minded, it was far more pleasant than the dumpsters outside. He doubted anyone but them were inside yet. Sinclair appears at his ankles, body low to the ground. “We should’ve come later.” The coati hisses before sauntering off to inspect the rest of the rooms. Heath closes the door behind them once his companion has passed through, and locks it as well. “Were you planning on hiding out inside or in here?” he asked softly as he began to carefully maneuver through the kitchen. He made his way around the rather large island and began stepping towards the double doors that let into the actual storefront. All the way to the right of where they had entered was a small hallway, probably where the offices might be. Heath hadn’t exactly been granted a grand tour of the place. He’d only sat with the customers and quietly spoken to the owner.

“Right then, I’ll find some nook in the storage and hunker down.” He states as the separate to begin inspecting the place. The fading smell of warm food makes him sleepy for a moment and he rubs his eyes before looking around at the cash wrap. Register untouched, some leftover foodstuff still decorated the display. Sinclair jumps on top of the counter before looking up at his witch. “I don’t smell anything off.” he explained, his tail flicking around in boredom. Heath shrugs a response. It’s a bakery what were they expecting?

He then turns on his heel and waves for Sinclair to follow before the familiar takes the lead and drag him through the rooms he’s snooped through. There’s nothing special about storage. And there’s no basement to hide in. He doesn’t hear anything, and his partner is quiet. Very briefly Heath casts a glance at the double doors once more, suddenly craving something sweet before shaking the thought off. No. He must have self-control.

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And yet… a couple of hours of nothing but dead silence, he finds himself scooping up some of the left-over pastries from the display. They don’t feel stale at all. “You really need a snack right now?” Sinclair hissed as Heath’s quick break to stretch his legs had become a ‘Committ Petty Theft in Your Employer’s Place of Business’. “It’s a display, it’s not going to be eaten ever. It’s a waste.” Heath whispered back as he placed the napkin with a couple of pastries on the kitchen island. He’d figured Alana may want one as well. If the owner even noticed he would pay for them but he wasn’t exactly used to sitting around and doing a stakeout. He had been about to find Alana when Sinclair stiffened at a sudden noise. Heath did as well before as quickly and quietly as he could backing out of the kitchen and waiting. He was almost tempted to call out to Alana but if it was her she would’ve already said something wouldn’t she? So he waited, frozen solid as he tried to resist the temptation of moving or looking. He held back a sigh, about to bite into a croissant he’d taken.

Heath tenses up, his heart practically stopping at his partner’s familiar shows nemself. He lets out the breath he’d been holding. “The vents?” Sinclair echoes before giving Heath a look. So, help him if they had been hired to help solve a pest problem. The coati would riot. The familiar didn’t seem to care too much for the current state of affairs, so the blonde simple nodded and tried to make himself useful. There couldn’t be that many vents in the building anyway. It was just a small shop after all. “Right, ok.” He said in affirmation before moving quickly to check if there was a vent in the storage room. There was a small window, for who knows what reason, but it didn’t look open. Sinclair scrambled up some supply boxes to stand closer to the vent in that room. After a few minutes of twitching his ears he shook his head.

With that settled the pair moved back out to the main café area. This time Heath had enough time to, as quietly as he could, grab a chair to stand on while listening in on the vent. There was the far off sound of something moving along though it was pretty far. He tugged on the vent. It didn’t budge. He moved back towards the kitchen to see if Huginn was still around. “We didn’t find anything of note.” Heath murmured, just in case the familiar was still somewhere in the dark. In any case, his partner seemed rather capable and he had already checked the other vent escape routes. If there was something in the vent it’d most likely come back out from where it had entered. But where?

Shouldn’t there be a vent to the outside by the back of the building? Sinclair suggested as Heath crept around in the dark. The witch paused mid stride before nodding a couple of times and quietly going through the back door. He closed the door gently enough that it didn’t click shut before making a face again as he passed that disgusting dumpster bin. Even with the lid on it, it still reeked. “There.” Sinclair whispered, forcing Heath to step around the bin. It wasn’t flush with the wall at all, like he had thought initially. There was a crack of space and in-between was a small hole where a ventilation lid lay on the ground. The hole was wide open. “Fuck, it is a rat.” Heath growled to himself. They really WERE pest control. UGH. “Flush it out then, try to avoid Lana.” Heath stated as he patted his familiar who swatter at him. “You figure out a way to communicate to her I’m going in.” the coati hissed, before turning on his witch a wriggling into the vent. He figures Sinclair will be fine but moved back towards the back door and carefully cracks it open. Sinclair all the while curses in the back of his mind. He can smell the rat bastard. He can smell it and Sinclair swears, he will skewer it in icicle needles when he finds it.

It’s easy to ignore the crow familiar, until ne makes nir presence known. Heath holds back a hiss in surprise. He clenched his fists and listens quietly. He hadn’t meant to anger Huginn, but as per usual he did. He had a knack for annoying other people’s familiars. It was a hidden talent of sorts. “Mmm. Thank you-” He sputters loudly as he’s slapped by the bird’s wing. Truly, he had a talent for getting on the nerves of other witches’ familiars. Sinclair is rummaging through the dusty vents before freezing in place as Heath’s voice whispers in his head, Come back. She got it. Sinclair doesn’t protest, disappearing into the outer strata for a few moments, before reappearing next to his witch once again, clean but still a little upset about rat catching duty.

Heath meanwhile, can’t quite see Lana’s partner anymore so he moves back inside to meet up with Lana again. Sinclair follows close behind. “Lana.” The blonde utters, his voice low as he carefully roams down the hall and towards the offices of the bakery. In the darkness he can see something writhing in an inky black grasp. “What’d you catch?” he asks quickly, curiosity getting the better of him as he takes a few steps closer to the mass. “Too fat for a rat.” Sinclair declares, disdain dripping off his words. He is tense, ready to pounce and bite at something for forcing him to degrade himself in such a manner as to walk on sludge stained concrete next to a dumpster. There’s a snarl form the fat animal, a sense of indignation coming across as it registered Sinclair’s words. “I don’t think that’s a rat.” Heath offered as the familiar began writhing a little more violently, probably out of anger and panic that it had been caught.

“Squeeze it while you’re at it.” Sinclair offered lightly. Heath gave him a look hoping the coati would settle down. They’d caught it everything was fine now. “What are you doing here?” Heath asked slowly. A growl. More writhing. “I ain’t a snitch.” The words come out muffled. The blonde defers to his partner, frowning at the familiar.