Dawn was just breaking when Kaiode awoke to the sound of an unnatural silence downstairs. He closed his eyes against the darkness of his room and concentrated, stretching his senses to see what had alerted him. Something was definitely wrong somewhere, perhaps an intruder. Strange how the noise of someone trying to be noiseless was so different to normal everyday quiet. A creak of wood; he strained his ears. No, that's the warming of the roof in the rising sun. He held his breath. A stifled thud on the edge of hearing. Now, that's not part of the usual sounds. He tuned his hearing to the sound, feeling with his mind around the rooms downstairs, trying to locate what that noise could be associated with. A chink of glass and rustle of heavy material. Ah. Now he knew where they were.
Sliding from under the bed sheet, Kaiode didn't bother with more covering than the underclothes he slept in. Too much noise, too much delay. He glanced at his sword and bow, and shook his head. The sword had to be released from its metal clasp and unsheathed, while the bow had to be strung. He dismissed them for the same reasons as he had more clothing. Instead, reaching for his hunting dagger, he slipped it soundlessly from its leather belt sheath. Lifting the latch and, for that matter, bracing the entire door to prevent the weight from making the hinges groan, he eased it open and stepped out into the hallway. Now he could see shadows and faint flickering light reflecting off the floor below. It's not bright enough, it must be from a shielded lantern. That means it's someone who doesn't want to be noticed.
Again he stretched his senses, breathing in through his mouth to taste the air, closing his eyes to concentrate his hearing. The cautious step of a heavy man trying to move quietly. He frowned and pursed his lips in thought. The sounds seemed too spread out across what he knew was the largest room in the house. So, more than one person. A change in air currents told him that a door or window had been opened. Well, out-numbered or no, I am not allowing them to run off with whatever they have stolen.
Creeping down the wall-side of the stairs, where he knew they were most solid and unlikely to creak with his weight, Kaiode reached the bottom, without apparently alerting the intruders. Keeping to the shadows he approached the archway, relaxing his grip on the dagger so it fit comfortably in his hand. Pausing and resting lightly on the balls of his feet, he resisted the urge to look around the corner, and instead again focused on his senses. He could feel someone very close, probably in the same position as him, but on the other side of the wall. The other, well, he couldn't quite locate him. Suddenly a slightly louder noise and stifled curse made it all too clear. Kaiode stifled a laugh. He knew that sound well enough, one of the intruders had just walked into the low table next to his father's chair. So many times he had done it himself, he could recognise that scrape out of a million. He even sported a scar on his shin from running into it at full tilt one day, to prove it.
Now, knowing exactly where the men, as he now realised they both had to be, were, he could make his move. Darting through the doorway, he lunged first for the nearest man. His reach was short and merely grazed the burglar across the chest as he turned in surprise at Kaiode's sudden appearance. Finding himself further away than he intended, Kaiode took a quick swordsman's step forwards and thrust again before the thief could recover. This time the blade went home a couple of finger's width or so into the man's shoulder. The man yelled loudly in shock and clutched at the wound, his shirt quickly turning red.
Instinct told Kaiode to duck as the second thief came from behind and swung a bludgeon at his head. Again his senses served well as he felt the man overbalance and he kicked out backwards, solidly connecting with a kneecap. Rolling to the side and back to his feet, he anticipated the first intruder's clumsy grapple for him and sidestepped. Quickly shifting the dagger from right to left hand, he punched solidly into the man's wounded shoulder, using his height to follow through and get the full force of his weight behind it. This time the man grunted in pain and fell back against the wall.
Turning just in time to see the other man coming at him again, Kaiode vaulted a low couch and paused with it between them, catching his breath. His keen hearing alerted him to the sound of more footsteps coming down the stairs, clearly identifiable as his father's. Just keep them from going anywhere and we'll have them.
Moving to the centre of the room, he left an inviting looking opening for the limping burglar to take a swipe with his bludgeon. Unfortunately for the thief, although out of sight, Kaiode had judged his father's speed perfectly, and as the man swung his arm back a hardwood club crashed into the back of his head. Seeing Kaiode's attention now switch entirely to the side of the room, his father turned also, only to see the other thief moving towards the door.
"Oh no you don't" said his father, as he and Kaiode advanced together. Finding himself trapped in a corner the man suddenly charged at Kaiode, thinking him the weaker of the two for his obvious youth. Again, his senses having alerted him to the shift in air currents and sudden adrenaline rush in the man, Kaiode had anticipated the move and swiftly stepped aside, allowing the man's own charge to carry him past. Almost casually, Kaiode stuck out his foot and sent the thief sprawling on the floor next to his accomplice. Before there was a chance for the man to get up, Kaiode was kneeling on his back pinning him down. As his father tied the would-be burglar's wrists behind his back, Kaiode grinned cheekily at him.
"Lucky for you, one of us has the alertness of a hunter still. Being a wealthy merchant is dulling your senses."
His father cuffed Kaiode around the head none too gently, but gave him an affectionate smile, as he moved over to the unconscious thief. "Lucky for you I came along with my club. Go and get some cloths to stop this man bleeding on my favourite Tairen rug while I get him trussed for the city guard like his friend."