Julie
*Gallery logs, gone too? Security management's pretty light-weight here.*
-
Fey doesn't have any bias against the Beastkin. Rather, she sympathizes with the species. Coming from unpleasant origins herself, she finds herself siding more with the humanoid fauna than her own racial siblings. Though even so, a Beastkin thief would still be plausible. 

"Can't sense magic for my life. Not that tuned in the arcane, sorry. Though, I am pretty attentive."

The possibility f the thief being a mage? Given that the last expo didn't give much information on how it happened, it could be a mage. Surely not a beast-kin mage, though. *Perhaps another elf?* Doubt an Oriate would have much interest in such.
Cora
```Lee nods in understanding. "That's okay... I can. I can point out people with notable magic activity. I can give you the 'sitrep' once we're inside so I have time to look at everyone again."
The line slowly proceeds forward. It's not single file so much as a large group of people being sorted. There were at least 50-strong here, and by order of law, the 'pass through' tour needs to be changed in method - all 50 people must be inside for the full three-hour expo, none to leave until the period ends. Most people found this to be a strange turn of events and a very sudden change in rules, but they didn't seem to mind.
"If we're short on people, would you mind taking nightwatch as well in case the thief shows up? We could definitely use more manpower."```
Julie
"I don't mind taking nightwatch." *You're paying me, after all.*

Fey did plan on staying at the gallery during its later hours. With the thief making their actions this day prior, they would do it in the same time-frame, right? If she were the thief however, returning to do the job again seems.. Risky.

"If you don't mind me saying, but did you consider that one of your guys might be the culprit?" 

It isn't that farfetched. The thief posing as a guard in the exhibit, marking the way in and out without a speck of suspicion. Fey could see it being the case..
Cora
```Lee shook her head initially, but then stopped and thought about it.
"One of ours... Don't think so. On that day nearly all of us were elsewhere... But it's possible. I hope it wasn't one of us." She sounds really concerned about it now, the possibility that one of her coworkers could have stolen it. "Removal of evidence could be possible if it was one of ours, which might have thrown us off."
Lee looks ahead and realises that they are much closer than before already, the two of them being the third group in line to go in. Not the last, but near it.
"Alright... Time to get to work," Lee says, somewhat unenthused as she speaks. The worry that it's another lawman weighs heavily on her.```
Julie
With her suggestion, Fey had made the once composed Macen woman worry. The lack of evidence could be done by a double-faced crook in the guardsmen, or just a man who nicked a uniform. With how the law enforcers struggle in availability, one perpetrator in their clothing wouldn't bring much attention. It'd be good to follow up on this theory. 

"Do you know the people who work with you? Anyone you don't know join in recently?"
Cora
```She nods. "Yeah, I know everybody in my precinct... None of them seem to have any notable feelings about art, but... Well, I hope it wasn't any of them. I don't know how I would feel about it."
Now they were at the front of the line. Lee and Fey are let straight in, after the first lawman finishes his discussion with the teller.

Inside, the building was all white with many paintings lining the walls. Several side hallways lead to different areas with art for different themes. Before yesterday, the expo was meant to tour everybody around each zone, but because of what happened, now everybody who comes it won't be allowed back out, under any circumstances, until the expo ends in three hours.
"So here's three people I noticed with high magic activity while we were out there," Lee says. "A blonde high elf woman with a white dress and black bow on her waist; an elderly-looking Blue Oni fitting in with a pale-blue complexion and mostly black clothes; and a Mogash man, the only one attending this event. While you get started there, I'll keep watch... Unless you need me to do something else?" Lee asks, requesting orders if any. If there were no requests, Lee would investigate some others who she has not mentioned, deciding that she might as well investigate potential suspects as determined by the law rather than her and Fay.```
Julie
The bright interior of the building, complete with the artsy crafts hanging against the white walls made her really feel out of place. Shrugging it off to the side, her lengthy ears soon flicked at the sound of the Macen's voice.
-

A female blonde high elf, an old Blue Oni, and a Mogash. 

High Elves are pretty tuned in with magic, and despite her limited knowledge of Onis, she did hear that the blue ones are good at magic. And Mogash? Brutish, smart people. Not much known for their arcane prowess, so having heard this surprised the quaint elf. 

A very strange set. That's for sure.

"No, don't have anything for you to do."

While Lee could go ahead and pick out potential suspects, Fay would immediately attempt to locate one of the three within the exhibit. A crowd filled with close-to 50 people couldn't be *That* Hard for someone of her calibre.
Cora
```Les nods her head in understanding. "Then I'll go do some recon. Keep in mind we won't be able to leave this building for three hours - security reasons - but the gallery offers food, drink, and facilities so we should be fine. I'll be at the café by the end of each hour if you want to meet up."
Now that Lee and Fay knew what to do, the former went off to do recon like she said.

Fay could go to any of the zones of the gallery. There were five different areas for different art types, and one spot in the middle of the building where the restaurant is.
The five art topics are;
- Historical
- Abstract
- General
- Advanced
- Beginner
'Advanced' and 'Beginner' probably generalise more complex and less complex art styles respectively. Strange how abstract art isn't lumped in with those two... But there's a dedicated Historical topic section.
Judging by how an art piece about slavery went missing last time, Historical sounds like a good place to start to find the most likely culprit, but Fay could go anywhere she pleases.```
Julie
There's a cafe? Hopefully free food. She hasn't eaten breakfast yet.
-
Indeed. Choosing History would be the first place the young elf should take notice to. Fay doesn't have a lick of understanding art to a degree, but she does know that old, preserved things sells a lot in the collector's world. And so, Fay ambled her way in the room.

She really does feel like an outsider here. Only wearing a cloak which hid her more battle-utilized apparel, and armaments. It didn't take too long for some to take notice her here before going back to their viewing. At this point, Fay observed the entirety of the room, attempting to locate one of the described persons Lee had said.
Cora
```Fay heads to the History section. As she passes through the hallway, she sees the elderly Blue Oni hobbling on his cane with a young Pale Oni by his side... A child in fact, very likely one of his grandchildren, or direct children considering how long Oni live and can bear children. They are both in their Fit In form, but also both show their natural Oni traits - their demonic horns, and subspecies skin tone, though only partially so each has a couple shades of blue and white respectively.
The child runs around energetically, but stops when the elder calls him to slow down. The boy walks back to his elder's side, and they both smile to each other; the boy loving for his elder, and the old man being reminded of his days of youth, several hundred years ago.
Fay could confront him now, or let him be for a while. The old man does have a child with him and the kid could prove somewhat distracting, but it may be worth talking to him.```
Julie
*Ah, they're family?*

The sight of two is refreshing, to say the least. The old man being a culprit didn't seem like the case for Fay, perhaps someone like him with family wouldn't dare to risk their safety. Financial issues could come into play... But Onis live a nomadic lifestyle, she recalls. Won't hurt to ask him, though.

Clearing her throat, Fay made her way towards the two. A small wave from her right hand to catch the elder's attention.

"Excuse me, could I bother you with a few questions?"

Presenting a kind front, she stuck a smile on her young features for the child. Wouldn't want to make them feel uncomfortable.
Cora
```The old man looked to Fay and the child stopped with wide eyes. The boy was initially scared, but Fay's smile made him more comfortable.
"Sure," The elder says. He crouches down and touches the boy on the shoulder, giving him a small bag of coins, and tells him to wait near the restaurant. The boy takes the coins with a smile, hugs his elder, and runs off to the restaurant.
Now the old man straightens back up... And seems to demonstrate how frail he is. His whole back creaks and he groans painfully as he stands, planting a hand on his back and leaning backwards into it. He stops for a moment before charging up a bit of pale magic into his hand and touching his chest with it... Then he seems to be able to move again. His back and body still creaks but he doesn't appear to be in so much pain anymore.
"Ah, that's better," He says. "Sorry about that... I'm getting really old. Magic is the only thing that seems to be easing my pain recently... What is on your mind?"```
Julie
Watching the old man fixing himself up did clear up some suspicion she had. Doubting someone of his age could pull off such a theft. His little show-case of white magic had maybe given her a clue of what he specializes in. Unless he has one restoration spell among many, many offensive ones. 

"Your magic. Are you a healer?" 

Better to nail it down. Thinking that any other statement like asking if he'd been at the last expo would off-set the man. Fay, albeit acting slow at the moment, did like to confirm anything before-hand.
Cora
```He tilts his head a bit with an 'ehh' expression on his face. "I suppose you could technically say that. I do heal other people as needed, but I actually use painlessness magic to stop myself from hurting in my old age," The man explains. He brings up his hand, the same he used to self-cast the spell, and charged some more pale magic around it. It seems to show very slowed electrical pulses, potentially referencing the nervous system being disabled or mitigated. "I created this spell that lets me get rid of pain for a period of time. Studying biology and anatomy, and using what I learned to come up with it. It doesn't fix my bad back, but it does let me get active and do things without being bedridden."
He lets the magic dissipate and returns the hand to his pocket. "Would you like to learn it? I would gladly teach a weaker version of it for free, if you have spare time."
The old man seems very friendly... And even with this peculiar spell, too frail to pull off a heist so perfect.```
**Note: Accepting the spell will cost 2PP after the quest is complete.**

Just a second reminder ping.