AnnouAdded a part in chapter 48 that expins Vivienne's current goals for now. I wasn't satisfied with it. The ge is in chapter 48 but if don't want to dig for it here is the ge:

  Spoiler“My iions?” Viviened, her grin growing into something more wolfish, needle-sharp teeth catg the golden light. “To hold up my end of the deal I made with Akhenna—disrupt Praxus’ pns, scatter his precious order into chaos, and, well…” She gave an exaggerated shrug, spying her inky, cwed fingers. “…maybe have a bit of fun while I’m at it. As for the how? That’s still a little murky. She didly hand me a pybook. So for now, I’ll focus on gaining power, learning more about this world, and, most importantly, enjoying myself.”

  Korriva’s brow arched slightly, her expression unreadable but undeniably calg. “I suppose that sounds abht,” she said after a beat, her smirk subtle but unmistakably present. “It would be someone like you that Akhenna would appoint.”

  [colpse]

  “So,” Vivienne began, falling into step beside Rava as they wove through the bustling streets, “we’re heading to the seamstress first?”

  “She’s the closest on the list,” Rava replied, her eyes sing the road ahead. “And her cim about a mannequin walking off is… odd, to say the least. Seems as good a pce to start as any.”

  Vivieilted her head, her qui of eyes glimmering with mischief. “You know, I’ve been thinking—priorities and all—I really should work on making that wolf form I absorbed smaller.”

  Rava raised an eyebrow. “Smaller? Why?”

  Vivienne grinned, her teeth glinting as her voice took on a mock-serious tone. “So you have a talking dog panion while we sleuth around. Very detective chic, don’t you think?”

  Rava sighed, but the er of her mouth quirked up despite herself. “And here I thought we were trying to stop a thief, not audition for a py.”

  “Oh, this is all reted, I assure you,” Vivienne said, waving a cwed hand dramatically. “On that note—hypothetically, of course—do you happen to enjoy rexatis and have a weakness fe portions of food?”

  Rava stopped mid-step and shot Vivienne a baffled look. “What in the world does that have to do with your forms?”

  Vivienne’s face lit up, her wide grin earning a few nervous gnces from passirians. “Definitely a Velma,” she decred, almost boung ooes. “A tall, very buff Velma. With magic. A one-of-a-kind archetype!”

  Rava pihe bridge of her nose, a long sigh esg her. “I don’t even know what a Velma is, but I’m pretty sure you’re out of your mind.”

  “A, here we are, solving mysteries together,” Vivienne quipped, her tone light. “Fate works in mysterious ways.”

  As the two rounded a er, the street began to narrow, transitioning into a quieter part of the district. The bustle of merts and shoppers faded into the occasional ctter of tools and faint hum of spinning wheels. The air smelled faintly of dye and fabrid signs bearing needles, thread, and patterned cloth adorned several shopfronts.

  “There,” Rava said, nodding towards a modest workshop with its shutters wide open, dispying an array of ly crafted garments. A colourful sign above the door read Mira’s Stitchery.

  The seamstress, Mira, was a lean, older lekine woman with silvery hair streaked with darker shades of grey. She stood behind the ter, carefully stitg a piece of fabric. At the sight of Rava and Vivienne, her ears perked up, and she waved them in with a warm, if slightly frazzled, smile.

  “Well, if it isn’t Lady Ravanyr,” Mira greeted. “And… a friend?” Her curious eyes darted to Vivienne, lingering briefly on her cws and strange qui of eyes before returning to Rava. Vivienne could taste the fear from this woman and it alpable.

  “A strange friend, yes.” Rava agreed. “We’re here to ask about your missing mannequin.”

  Mira set down her work aured for them to step inside. “Oh, that strange business. I still don’t know what to make of it. e in, and I’ll tell you what I .”

  The pair stepped ihe workshop, the smell of fabric, wood polish, and faintly floral dye hanging in the air. Bolts of cloth were ly stacked against the walls, and partially finished garments hung on raear a worktable cluttered with spools of thread, scissors, and measuring tools.

  Mira leaned against the ter, folding her arms. “It’s been days now, and I still feel like I’m losing my mind over it,” she began, her voice tinged with frustration. “I’ve never had anything stolen before, let alone something like that. Who would even want an old mannequin?”

  “Did you see it happen?” Rava asked, her tone calm but focused.

  Mira shook her head. “No. I left the shop locked for the night, and when I came ba the m, it was gone. No sign of a break-in, no broken windows, nothing. Just… gone.”

  Vivieilted her head, her cing idly against the edge of the ter. “You mentiohe mannequin was old. Was there anything special about it? Unusual material, a charm on it, maybe seal value?”

  Mira frowned, her ears flig back thoughtfully. “Nothing like that. It was made of pin wood and ed in cloth, well-used but sturdy. It was here when I opehis store. Not worth much to a me, really—more practical than anything else. But...” She hesitated, gng around as though afraid someone might overhear.

  “But?” Rava pressed.

  “Well,” Mira began slowly, “the night before it vanished, I could’ve sworn I heard something moving in the shop after I’d locked up. I thought it was just the wind rattling the windows, but now...” She trailed off, worry creasing her brow.

  Vivienne’s expression sharpened, her qui of eyes gleaming faintly in the dim light. “You think it walked off on its own.”

  Mira’s tail twitched uneasily. “I know how it sounds,” she said hurriedly, “but yes. I keep thinking ba that sound—wood creaking, like footsteps. And now, it’s all I think about.”

  Rava exged a gh Vivienne, her scepticism tempered by curiosity. “Where was it st?”

  Mira gestured towards the back of the shop. “I keep my mannequins ioreroom when they’re not i was the only one missing.”

  “Mind if we take a look?” Vivienne asked, her tone surprisingly gentle.

  Mira nodded ahem to the storeroom, a narrow space lined with shelves holding folded fabrics, tools, and sewing patterns. At the tre of the room was ay spot where a mannequin had clearly stood for years—its absence marked by faint scratches on the wooden floor.

  Vivienne crouched, running her cws over the marks. “N marks. If it left, it did sht.”

  Rava she air, her sharp senses pig up faint traces. “There’s a st trail—wood and something faintly metallic.” She g Viviehink it’s ented?”

  “Possibly,” Vivienne replied, standing and brushing her cws off. “But why would someone ent a mannequin, of all things? Seems like an odd choice for a thief.”

  “Uhe thief didn’t know what they were stealing,” Rava mused.

  “Or,” Vivienne added with a grin, “it’s our thief.”

  Mira’s ears fttened as she stared at them. “You think my mannequin is out there stealing things?”

  Vivienne’s grin softened as she waved a hand dismissively. “Right, obviously not. Mannequins don’t just decide to take a stroll. Maybe someone carted it off to sell or repurpose.”

  Mira looked a little relieved. “That’s what I thought at first. But it doesn’t make sense—who would gh all that trouble for something so ordinary?”

  “Could be someone desperate,” Rava said, her tohoughtful as they stepped bato the shop’s main room. “Or someone using it for something we haven’t figured out yet.” She turo Viviehe st trail leads out of here. Let’s follow it.”

  “Onward we go!” Vivienne said brightly, brushing dust off her hands.

  They thanked Mira and stepped bato the street, the bustle of the district trasting with the quieter interior of the shop. Rava she air, her sharp senses pig up the faiallig again.

  “It heads this way,” she said, starting toward the edge of the market district.

  As they walked, Vivien her tone light. “So, what’s your theory, Detective Rava? A rival seamstress sabotaging Mira’s business? Or maybe a prankster who doesn’t know when to quit?”

  “More likely someone ented the mannequin to avoid dragging it around,” Rava said, keeping her voice low. “Though that doesn’t expin why they’d steal from Mira in the first pce.”

  “An opportunist, maybe?” Vivienne suggested. “Someone saw it and figured they could use it for... something. Or someone ented it a long time ago, and now it’s ag up.”

  Rava’s ears flicked. “If it is ented, we’ll o know why. And if it’s been tampered with retly, it might lead us to whoever’s behind the other thefts.”

  The two fell into a steady pace, weaving through the thinning crowd. The trail led them toward quieter streets, where the sounds of the market faded into the background. The st grew fainter as they moved, but Rava kept her focus, occasionally stopping to make sure they hadn’t lost it entirely.

  “Do you think it’s tied to the other thefts?” Vivienne asked after a while.

  “It’s possible,” Rava admitted. “But it’s too early to tell. If the thief is enting objects to do the work for them, that’s no small feat. We’re dealing with someone who knows what they’re doing.”

  “And here I thought the worst we’d find was a hungry mannequin trying to buy fabric for itself,” Vivienne joked, her griurning.

  Rava shot her an exasperated look but said nothing, her focus returning to the trail.

  Eventually, the st led them to a small jun where several alleys branched off. Rava paused, sing the ground fns, while Vivieilted her head, her eyes catg subtle movements in the shadows.

  “This way,” Rava said, pointing toward an alley that curved sharply out of sight.

  Vivienne followed, her tone light but her posture alert. “You know, I might’ve been too quick to dismiss the whole ‘walking mannequin’ thing. Maybe Mira’s mannequin had bigger ambitions.”

  “Bigger than being stolen?” Rava asked dryly.

  “Bigger than being a mannequin,” Vivienne said with monity.

  Rava didn’t dignify that with a response as they reached the end of the alley. It opened into a quieter area he edge of the district, where the buildings were older and the air cooler.

  Rava stopped suddenly, her witg. “The st splits here. Fainter, but heading in two dires.”

  Vivienne closed her eyes briefly and inhaled, her expression sharpening. “There’s a strong taste of aether that way,” she said, raising one cwed hand to point. “It’s like... faint echoes. Something ced into the air.”

  Rava g the dire Vivienne indicated and nodded. “That’s the dire of the Daelric estate. The boy there—Fenrik—reported his hairpin stolen. If this part is accurate,” she tapped the map they’d marked earlier, “he’s one of the few who spotted the thief, albeit only briefly.”

  Vivienne cocked her head, her dark eyes gleaming faintly. “Then it’s as good a lead as any. Aristocrats have a habit of notig details if it suits them.”

  “And exaggerating them if it doesn’t,” Rava muttered. “Still, we ’t ig. It’s close enough to check out.”

  Vivienne grinned. “And the other trail?”

  “Leads further out of the district,” Rava replied, sniffing again. “It’s weaker, likely older. But we’ll follow up on it if this one doesn’t pan out.”

  “Priorities,” Vivienne said with monity. “Aristocrats first, mysterious alleyways ter.”

  Rava huffed but said nothing, already striding toward the Daelric estate.

  The streets grew quieter as they walked, the bustle of the market district fadiirely. The cobblestones were well-kept here, the houses rger and adorned with carved stonework and wrought iron. The estate itself came into view after a short walk—a stately building surrounded by high hedges and a sturdy gate.

  As they approached the gates of the estate, a guard stepped forward, dressed in a but practical uniform bearing the crest of the lesser family. His eyes briefly flicked to Vivienne, his posture stiffening, but then his gaze nded on Rava, and he ined his head respectfully.

  “Lady Ravanyr,” he said, his voice steady but deferential. “I wasn’t expeg to see you here.”

  “We’re following up on a matter involving a missing hairpin and other... peculiarities,” Rava replied smoothly. “May we speak with the family?”

  The guard hesitated, gng toward the manor. “The family is currently hosting guests, but I believe the young master—Fenrik—should be avaible. Shall I inform him of your arrival?”

  “Please do,” Rava said with a curt nod.

  The guard stepped aside and signaled ao rey the message, leaving the group momentarily alo the gate. Vivienne leaoward Rava, her voice low and teasing.

  “You and quite the presence. ‘Lady Ravanyr.’ Has a nice ring to it.”

  Rava rolled her eyes but chose to remain silent, her expression as posed as ever. A momehe gates creaked open, revealing a stunning figure—a young woman, no older thay. Her long, jet-bck hair tumbled down past her bare shoulders, glossy and wild, while her silk dress g to her form in such a way that it left little to the imaginatioe her modest proportions. Her face was a masterwork of symmetry, sculpted as if by an artist’s hand, and her pierg e eyes gleamed with an almost unnatural sharpness. She was, notably, as tall as Vivienne, and there was an undeniable symmetry betweehough the differen their bearing was clear.

  “Master Fenrik,” Rava greeted, her tone calm, her bow respectful.

  The figure before her, effortlessly graceful, returhe bow, a sly smile curving her lips. “Lady Ravanyr,” Fenrik responded, her voice light but unmistakably male beh the delicate yers. She straightened, meeting Rava’s gaze with an iy that bordered on challenging. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “My panion and I are iigating a series of thefts iy,” Rava begaone as cool and unreadable as ever. “We heard you lost a hairpily—and that you may have seehief?”

  Fenrik’s eyes flicked toward Vivienne, and in that brief moment, her posed exterior cracked. Her gaze widened, and she gasped softly, her por skin paling slightly. Before either of them could react, she let out an involuntary squeal, her graceful form stumbling backward as she scrambled to hide behind the gate. The swish of her silk dress was almost melodious in the sudden tension.

  Vivienne’s grin only widened, her sharp eyes gleaming with amusement. She leaned zily against the gate, exuding a rexed fidence as she took in Fenrik’s flustered retreat. “Well, with how little rea I was getting today, I was starting to miss this,” she teased, her voice smooth and lightly mog, the sparkle of mischief dang in her qui of eyes.

  Fenrik peeked out from behind the gate, her breathing still uneven as she tried to recover her posure. She hesitated, then offered a shaky smile, though the lingering wariness in her pierg e eyes betrayed her disfort. “I… Your friend is unique, Lady Ravanyr.” Her voice was a careful bance of curiosity and politeness, as though she hadn’t yet decided whether to ugh or stay cautious.

  Vivieilted her head, her smile turning sly. “Oh, we’re not watg you, Lady Fenrik,” she said with a mogly formal tone. “Just gathering information.”

  Fenrik blinked in fusion, her brows knitting together. “Lady?”

  Vivienne’s pyful smirk faltered as she g Rava, who was clearly amused. Realization struck Vivienne, her eyes widening slightly. “Oh. Oh, I’m sorry,” she said with genuine surprise, her usual posure momentarily giving way.

  Fenrik’s lips curved into a demure smile, though the faint shadow of unease in their expression lingered. “No offeaken, my dy. I like to keep people guessing.”

  Rava couldn’t suppress a soft chuckle. “I’m learning so many of your weakoday, Viv.”

  Fenrik leaned subtly closer to Rava, l their voice. “What… is she? I’ve never seen anyone like her before.”

  Rava smirked, crossing her arms. “Unique. I’ll leave it at that.” Her tone was deliberately cryptid she gave Vivienne a sideways gnce before tinuing. “For now, we’d like to hear as maails as you share, so we locate your—” she paused, gng at the part in her hand, “hairpin?”

  Fenrik heir expression softening slightly as they stepped out from behind the gate. “Yes. It was a gift from my father for my seveh birthday. It’s very dear to me.”

  Rava’s expression softened just slightly, her tone remaining professional. “We’ll do what we to recover it. Tell us everything you remember.”

  Fenrik csped her hands delicately in front of her, her sharp e eyes thoughtful as she reted the i. “It happee at night. I had been sitting in the garden, enjoying the moonlight. It was quiet, peaceful—until I heard footsteps.”

  “Footsteps?” Rava echoed, leaning forward slightly. “Where?”

  Fenrik gestured vaguely behioward the shadowy edges of the estate. “he outer wall. At first, I thought it was one of the staff, but the sound was… off. Quick, deliberate, like someone moving with purpose. I turo look, and that’s when I saw them.”

  “The thief?” Vivieerjected, her qui of eyes glinting with i.

  “Yes. A figure cloaked in darkness. They were agile, almost unnaturally so, and their movements were fluid, like a shadow slipping through the air. I couldn’t make out much detail except—” Fenrik hesitated, her brows furrowing, “—red hair. It caught the moonlight for just a moment. Then they were gone.”

  Rava’s lips tightened. “Red hair, that was on the report. Any other details? Build? Height?”

  Fenrik shrugged. “They disappeared before I could get a good look at them. I think they weren’t too much taller than myself… Afterwards I realized my hairpin was missing. I hadn’t eve it being taken. One moment it was there, and the …”

  “Gone,” Vivienne finished, her voice ced with intrigue. She tapped her cws rhythmically against the gatepost. “And you didn’t see their face?”

  “No,” Fenrik said regretfully. “Just the hair. It all happened so quickly.”

  Rava shifted her weight, her gaze focused. “Did you notiything else? A sound, a st—anything out of pce?”

  Fenrik frowhinking hard. “The air felt… strange. Like it was charged. And there was this faint hum, almost like whispering, though I couldn’t make out any words.”

  Vivieilted her head, her expression thoughtful. “Magic. Sounds like an entment or a cloaking spell.”

  “Possibly,” Rava agreed. She gave Fenrik a nod. “You’ve been very helpful. We’ll follow the trail and see what we uncover.”

  Fenrik dipped into a graceful bow. “Thank you, Lady Ravanyr. And… your friend.” Her e eyes flicked to Vivienne, a mixture of curiosity and trepidation still lingering in her gaze.

  Vivienne gave a mock bow, her smile mischievous. “Always happy to leave an impression.”

  Rava rolled her eyes, gesturing for Vivieo follow as they turo leave the estate. The streets felt quieter now, the air heavier with the weight of their growing mystery.

  “So, what do you make of it?” Rava asked after a moment, her tone measured and thoughtful.

  Vivieapped her cws against her , her expression sharpening with a mix of intrigue and smug certainty. “The red hair’s sistent, and the weird magical vibes line up with what I was sensing earlier. This is defihe mannequin. I’d bet everything I own on it.”

  Rava arched a brow, the fai flicker of amusement crossing her posed features. “Firstly, that’s absurd. Sedly, you don’t even own the dress you’re wearing. That wager holds about as much value as your theories.”

  Vivienne squinted dramatically at her, a mischievous grin tugging at her lips. “Oh, you’ll see. You’ll all see!”

  Rava sighed, shaking her head as she resumed walking. “I’ve seen enough already.”

  SupernovaSymphony