The heist seemed to be going well at first. Kiara’s team had caught the trainer off guard and gave him a good scare. Even better, they had somehow managed to separate the trainer from his guardian. She would have no choice but to trust Marcus to handle the aron. Her eyes were locked onto his as she glared at him, but to her surprise, he quickly recovered from his fright, even without the discernable presence of his guardian. Even more surprising to her was that after he recovered, he still proceeded to empty his pockets, seeming to be willing to give her everything he had out of pity for Temira. She found his attitude sickening sweet and insulting, but in the end, if they got they money she guessed it wouldn't really matter.<br/><br/>For a few seconds, she lost herself in thought, pondering his actions, his apparent generosity. She suspected he was toying with her, pretending to cooperate while hiding most of his funds, but one look at his aura convinced her otherwise. There was a kind of gentleness about him, a purity that she almost envied. At first she thought his kindness was rooted in fear, but he seemed to have recovered so quickly that she had a hard time holding on to that notion. Was it possible that he could be strong and still be kind and gentle to complete strangers, even ones who threatened him?<br/><br/>She was about to take the money that the trainer offered her, until she heard the voice of the leader of those pesky Poison Half-pints. Rage flared up inside of her, threatening to boil over, as Dendra’s obnoxious voice grated in her ears.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">“Nightfire staked its claim here years before you pesky wanna-be punks showed up. You’re outta your league here.”</span>She quickly cast inferno at the source of Dendra’s voice, her dark-type senses allowing her to pinpoint the location even through the thick smoke.<br/><br/>Temira also lost her composure, and with a growl she cast poison gas, spraying toxins in Dendra’s direction. Only Javen, the pure dark-type Poochyena, managed to keep his composure. “Yo, K!” he hollared, “Chill! Don’t lose your head, girl! You know there’s more of them, and they probably got us surrounded.”<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">“Shit!”</span>Kiara exclaimed. The boy was right. She was aware of three others besides Dendra, and no doubt they had her group surrounded. She hoped Marcus wasn’t having to deal with all three of them and the Aron at the same time.<br/><br/>She was about to say more when the Aron showed up out of the smoke and Marcus’s ember attack fell harmlessly to the ground beside her. Kiara heard the comments and threats she made, but her mind was focused on Dendra and her group. At least Marcus was with them again, and her group was still intact.<br/><br/>Kiara was finally able to suppress her anger and regain her composure to bark out new orders.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">“T, watch for Dendra and attack if needed. J and M, keep your guard up, if you see, hear, or smell any punks, attack immediately.”</span>She turned to face the Aron herself. She didn’t have time for another attack, but she glared at her and stood her ground. She could see that she had underestimated her opponent, as the girl stood strong, protecting her trainer, in spite of having taken a hit. Between the stubborn Aron and the punks surrounding her, the heist would likely end up being foiled, but at least with her team together, she could formulate an exit strategy.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)"> “My own size?”</span>she said to the Aron with a growl,<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">“<i>You</i> might be my strongest opponent yet.”</span>While her words were directed at the aron, she made sure she was loud enough for Dendra to hear them.