Life was very different for Raven now that she lived in the Mansion and didn't have to worry about actually making money in order to pay for rent and food. It was a good, if rather unusual, feeling. Now she could tell fortunes only when and if she felt like it and she no longer had to concern herself with fitting in because, apparently, her room and board was free regardless and while she still didn't fully trust that free actually meant free, she was going to take full advantage of it for as long as it remained.

One of the primary advantages of the current situation was that Raven found herself with an abundance of free time, something she was normally forced to fill either with readings or with trying to find herself enough food to survive. Of course Blackwing helped with that and usually between the two of them they did all right, even during the winter months in the years they were homeless, but it still took up a great deal of time, time that could be spent doing other things, such as searching for interesting objects that might fill her own nest or Blackwing's nest. Her own nest, of course, being her room at the Mansion. The idea of having a steady place to live that might actually last more than a few months was another interesting development in her life.

On this particular afternoon Raven found herself in an unfamiliar part of the city, but that was never something to concern her. For one, it was still summer so if she was forced to sleep in the streets it was warm enough to do so comfortably, and for another Blackwing had excellent eye sight and the advantage of a bird's eye view of the city which helped immensely in navigating back to familiar territory. For the time being, however, she was content just to wander, riding her bike and looking at the many people and buildings around. The bike itself was a rather excellent street bike, something she found a few days after a little mutant girl had blown up her old bike. It turned out be be something of a blessing as her new bike really was much shinier, newer and simply worked better than the old one.

Blackwing, as he usually did, sent any images of what he currently saw and found interesting through the connection back to Raven. Most of them she ignored until one particular image that consisted of some beautiful colourful fabrics inside a window. Fabrics that she simply had to have. Of course, normally such windows were locked against intruders but every once in a while she got lucky and the recipient left the window open or at the very least unlocked, obviously inviting someone to come in and acquire whatever their heart desired from inside. It was particularly likely during summer.

Following Blackwing's mental beacon, it wasn't long before Raven found herself on the bottom floor of the house of her target. She spotted the fire escape ladder immediately, just a little bit too high to reach from the ground. Never one to give up easily, she recalled seeing a construction sight just down the way and, peddling back to the site, picked up a step ladder that just happened to be lying around. The only reason she was even able to get it back to the house was because it was small and even then she almost crashed into a wall trying to balance it. Once back with her ladder, she chained her bike to a nearby lamp post, set up the ladder and proceeded to climb, ambidextrously navigating from the small ladder onto the larger fire escape ladder.

Once Raven had made it up to the level of the target room, she tried to open the window and was thrilled to find out that the owner of said room hadn't thought to lock it. With a happy caw back to Blackwing, she casually opened it and stepped through, leaving it open just a crack behind her.

There was a stranger in Sveta's room.
A stranger that came in through the window.

She went up to the roof to get some spices for the lunch she was cooking; she checked in the kitchen first, but couldn't find any, and she remembered they had some on the tiny rooftop garden. So she climbed up the fire escape, and then came down again; and when she came down, her window was open, and there was someone in her room.

Sveta dropped the spices into her pocket, and peeked in, with her back against the wall. It was a young woman. What on earth was a young woman doing in her room?! She didn't look familiar at all. That was bad, but also, good. At least it was not the evil blonde woman.

She looked around for something to use as a weapon. She could always just climb down, and go around, or climb down, and call the police; but they would see her if she started climbing, she made a lot of noise. At they would definitely see her on their way out, unless they were planning on leaving through the locked door.

There was also a huge bird sitting on the fire escape. It was a mean looking bird. Much too close for comfort.

Sveta panicked, and did nothing.
Maybe they'll go away.

Raven couldn't have possibly been happier with what she found in the room she had entered. Not only was there some lovely clothes made out of rich bright fabrics, the most fascinating of all being the gloves, but there was also lots of interesting and shining jewelry. She herself had never been a big jewelry fan, but Blackwing loved it and it made for excellent bargaining for crows and ravens alike. Blackwing sat perched on the fire escape, looking through the window so that he could give his opinion on every object Raven picked up and he certainly was opinionated too!

Opening up her backpack, Raven began looking through the jewelry, picking up a few choice objects and putting them into her backpack. She wasn't greedy and wouldn't take everything, just her favourites and Blackwing's favorites too, of course. She was just about to start going through all of the lovely gloves, some of which extended all the way up to the elbows (lovely things that she absolutely had to have) when she heard a noise behind her.

Turning, Raven peered up, Blackwing echoing the movement from outside, to spot a very attractive blond woman staring down at her. "Oh, is this your room?" she asked casually, going back to routing through the lovely gloves. She picked up a particularly enticing dark red pair. Blackwing, however, kept careful eye on the woman. After all, sometimes humans didn't appreciate when you went through their stuff without asking.

Peering in through the window, Sveta watched the young woman sort through her gloves and jewelry. She let out a breath she's been holding.
She was just being robbed. She relaxed.

>>"Oh, is this your room?"

She blinked.

"Yes, it is." she said, standing in front of the window now. The woman didn't look like she would attack her. Of course, she was ready to move, in case she would. "And those are, my tings. You are stealing from me."

Just to make the situatin abundantly clear to everyone.
Including the creepy bird.

Raven sighed sadly as the blond woman proclaimed that this was, indeed, her room and that Raven was now stealing from her. When put that way, she supposed it was technically true and now that she had been caught at it, she couldn't in good conscience continue what she was doing. Of course it was the other woman's fault that she had left her window open for just anyone to enter and take what they wanted, that fact was indisputable. And of course whatever she had gotten up until this point was hers by right of possession so she wasn't about to give it back, but the presence of the owner and the implied disapproval of her taking anything else prevented her from taking anything else.

"What do you want for these gloves?" Raven asked, holding up the pair of lovely crimson gloves she had just been admiring. Just because she was no longer permitted to actually take anything else, didn't mean that she coudln't bargain for it. And really, those were perhaps the loveliest of everything in the room. Crimson was such a perfect colour and the fabric was soft and rich.

It was at that moment that Blackwing sent Raven a mental confusion and Raven sent the confusion right back at him. She hadn't noticed before in the excitement of going through all sorts of interesting stuff, but now that she paused to consider, she seemed to be feeling much more energetic than usual, almost as if she had just drank a whole pot of coffee all at once. She cocked her head to the side, looking very much like a human bird, considering the blond woman standing before her.

>>"What do you want for these gloves?"

Sveta blinked. She'd expected to hear a lot of things from a thief, but not that. How often does a thief offer payment?... For one item, at least.

"I need de gloves" she sighed, stepping into the room and leaning against the windowframe. She lifted her hands, now covered in plain light blue gloves "It is... a medical ting. I have to wear them."

The red ones the woman picked, they were pretty too. She'd never worn them. She was waiting for the right occasion. And the right dress.

"What can you offer for them?"

Just out of curiosity.

Raven didn't really like the idea of the woman before her having some sort of medical condition. What if it was a skin condition and it was contagious? She sniffed at the gloves and didn't detect any scent of decay or illness, in fact they smelled downright new. That was good enough for her, she decided, she would just have to remember to wash the gloves before she wore them, just in case.

"I don't want all your gloves, just these ones," Raven clarified, just in case there was some sort of misunderstanding. "What kind of medical condition?" The idea that some people didn't like to talk about their medical conditions didn't even enter into her mind. She was curious and therefore she would attempt to satisfy her curiosity in the most direct way possible.

While waiting for an answer Raven began digging through her backpack to find what she might have stashed there that she could offer in bargain. Money was out of the question because she didn't have more than a few dollars, and she had learned through hard experience that she couldn't bargain with things that had previously belonged to the person she was trying to bargain with. That often ended in yelling and sometimes thrown objects and other unpleasant occurrences that involved pain and unhappiness, mainly for Raven herself. Finally she found something that she thought would be suitable and pulled it out in success. It was a blue silk scarf, only a few shades darker than the woman's current gloves, something she had found in an unoccupied room of the Mansion. "Would this be suitable payment?"

There was seriously something wrong with this woman.
(Sveta was aware many people thought the same about her)
She acted like... something. A raccoon. Or a bird.

>>"I don't want all your gloves, just these ones. What kind of medical condition?"

She didn't answer the question, because she didn't really have anything to say, for long moments.

"Sensitive skin" she muttered at last "I can not touch things just like that."

Especially mutants. She wondered if this woman was a mutant.

>>"Would this be suitable payment?"

Nice scarf!

"No." she shook her head, then sighed "I tell you what. You give me back the things you took from me, and you can keep the gloves."

That was a fair deal, for a thief. She could have just called the cops.
(Unless she had something better to offer.)

Well, sensitive skin didn't sound so bad, Raven decided. At least that wasn't contagious, not that she had ever heard of. "You know, you can come inside. I won't bite." Then, realizing that some people found Blackwing to be a rather intimidating bird, she sent a mental command for him to move out of the window so the woman actually could come inside. With a mental protest, the great raven did just that, perching himself on the roof where he could still peer down and see everything that was happening.

Raven considered the woman's counter offer, secretly happy that the woman was, actually, willing to bargain. So many humans would have just screamed and then called the cops, which was no fun at all. However, returning everything she had taken was out of the question, that just wouldn't be smart at all.

Looking back into her bag, Raven could see a couple of necklaces and a few rings she had taken. She picked on up in offer and Blackwing let out a very loud and indignant caw of protest, very clear that she was allowed to bargain with any of the objects except for that one. That one was his. Nodding in long suffering agreement, she took out the two necklaces instead. "These two necklaces for the gloves." She displayed them in all their glittering gold glory.

>>"These two necklaces for the gloves."

Muse's eyes narrowed, and she folded her arms over her chest, and she did everything else possible to show she was not satisfied with the bargain.
Secretly, she was enjoying it. Just a tiny little bit.

"No." she shook her head, and glanced towards the bird. Was the woman... communicating with it?... Was she a mutant, or was she just nuts?

"You pack out what you took from me." she offered "And I tell you want I want back for the gloves." she paused "The rings, you can keep. I do not wear those." because of the gloves.

"Are you mutant?"

Glares and crossed arms were often the human way of saying no, I am not happy with what you've offered me today. In fact, it was one of the few human expressions that Raven herself sometime adopted. There was just something about it that was very strongly worded without saying any words at all and that she could appreciate.

"The necklaces for the gloves." Raven paused, making a show of contemplating the merits of the offer. She sent a silent question to Blackwing to see if he was willing to accept that offer and, because he got to keep his ring, he sent back a tendril of approval. "You have yourself a deal," Raven finally agreed. She extended her hand for a handshake in order to seal the bargain. It was another thing that humans did that she had taken a liking to.

"Yes, I am a mutant." Raven looked at the woman quizzically. "Unless ravens tend to stalk humans now?" She grinned and sent a feeling of fond delight through her connection to Blackwing. She might not affiliate much with either humans or mutants but there was no one closer to her than her familiar.

>>"The necklaces for the gloves. You have yourself a deal,"

Sveta nodded. It was good enough for a deal. She was fond of the necklaces. She was not so fond of the rings. Or the gloves.

The woman held her hand out, and she shook it, without even thinking about it.

>>"Yes, I am a mutant. Unless ravens tend to stalk humans now?"

Just as she expected. Sveta smiled at the woman. Another mutant. Was she luring them in with her powers, or what? Was it part of her ability, or just personal charm, or just plain bad luck?
She wondered.

"Do not steal from me again, or I call the cops."

Still smiling, she let her hand go.

Raven liked the strange Russian woman. She was willing to bargain and even seemed to have a knack for it. The shook to seal the deal and then...something strange happened. In the moment their hands parted ways, every sense she possessed heightened, even those not normally much superior to human. Her eyes happened to glance out the window and it was as if she could see for miles, which said something given how far she could normally see. Her ears picked up conversations from several rooms away and even her sense of smell improved and she could smell the blond woman's scent clearly.

Raven clamped her hands down on her ears, trying to drown out all the conversations going on around her. It wasn't painful, nothing was loud enough for that, it was just horribly confusing! From outside she received a mirroring mental beacon from Blackwing. Still having the presence of mind (barely) to check on her familiar, she looked out the window at him and let out a rather distressed cawing sound as she saw he was half again as large as he was normally.

"What have you done to me?" Maybe if she stuck cotton balls in her ears that would help.

>>"What have you done to me?"

Sveta chuckled, which must have sounded rather loud for the lady, and folded her arms again.

"Dis is why I need the gloves, see?" she grinned "Your power is stronger now, but if I touch you with my skin" she raised one hand, wiggling her fingers "It be worse."

She glanced at the bird. It looked bigger. And very annoyed. Oops.

"It will pass in minutes" she added, and sat down on her bed; she nodded to the woman to sit, in case she was feeling dizzy or something "Sorry, did not want to hurt you."

She really didn't.

"My name is Sveta."

The woman made her powers stronger? Raven blinked at the woman, trying to put the buzzing, milling crowd of humans out of her head. If she could ignore a murder of crows sitting all around her, it should be nothing to ignore a flock of humans, right? With immense determination and will power she did just that and was even mostly successful. The idea of increasing her powers, however, now that was fascinating.

"You are amazing," Raven stated with awe, though the effect was ruined slightly by a shake of her head to try and get the buzzing out of it. Blackwing was paying far more attention to the exchange than was normally his want to do so, his intelligent eyes almost glowing with comprehension. Even he was, Raven realized, affected by the Russian woman.

"I'm Raven," Raven answered, slipping on her new gloves. With her newly improved eyesight, they were even more lovely.