Trade for

Xetka

Artemis belongs to them.
Sethunya and Blake belong to me.
This story was a pleasure to write ^^ Enjoy everyone! <3

---

The Great Cookie Heist

Artemis breathed in through her nose, scenting a heavy aroma of flour, yeast and cheese. If she shut her eyes she felt the sudden sensation of sinking back into a soft and warm lump of dough, so relaxing that she could just fall asleep in the moment if not for the hunger it inspired. Her stomach growled and she came out of the vivid daydream. The ten year old cat was climbing trees with her friend, Sethunya. Well, it was less climbing and more lazing around now. The mid-morning sun was just so pleasant to feel as she laid back on one of the branches of the tree. But that bakery across the road... From the moment it opened, the delicious smell of bread wafted into the street along with melted cheese that was no doubt layered over the top of buns with other toppings like olives, bacon bits and so forth. Artemis had skipped breakfast and it was almost lunch time... naturally this was torture. And what about those cream pastries sitting in the window of the shop? They may as well have eyes staring at her! She just had this feeling that they were watching her and she couldn't put them out of her mind even when she wasn't hungrily gazing at the window.

"Hungry?" Sethunya suddenly swung down into view, legs hooked over a branch higher up.

Artemis snapped out of the deep focus on her stomach and the bakery, almost startled enough to fall from her perch when the cheetah's face appeared only an inch away from her own. "I was thinking about some food..."

The cheetah giggled. "Scared you, didn't I?"

"N-no!" stammered Artemis. Sethunya pointed at the cat's claws digging into the branch beneath her and winked, causing her to pout. "I didn't get scared."

Sethunya dropped down onto the branch with Artemis and crouched, looking at the bakery. "I heard that they started making cookies this week... I want to try them."

Artemis' ears perked up. Cookies? Her grumbling stomach agreed that they'd make a delicious meal right about now. "You don't have money, do you?"

Sethunya sheepishly smiled. "No..."

"Are you suggesting..." Artemis slowly sat up, reading mischief in the cheetah's eyes. "... what I think you're suggesting?"

"Whoever gets the cookies gets to eat them all," said Sethunya, making a decisive nod. "And I guess I'll believe you weren't scared before if you win too."

Artemis frowned and pouted. "You're on."

The pair of felines pounced onto the ground with a casual landing and looked both ways before crossing the road. The bakery... Artemis had been in plenty of times with her parents to buy something. The food was really nice but... Well, the wolfess who worked there always looked kind of scary when she didn't know customers were around. She just seemed grumpy and didn't seem scared of disciplining other people's kids. Yeah! She seemed like the kind of baker who'd spank a kid with a rolling pin or some big spatula! Artemis rubbed her behind at the thought of hard wood or metal leaving a red mark. She couldn't let herself get caught... Besides, those cookies sounded really good and Sethunya needed to eat her words!

They arrived outside the bakery and the building seemed to stretch in height, looming overhead like a mad wizard's tower built by a drunken architect. The cat and cheetah looked at each other, each making quick tilts of their heads that gestured towards the door and dared the other to go in. Artemis trembled in her boots, seeing that Sethunya did the same but unwilling to point it out. If she was here alone she'd reconsider the whole idea right now but there was no backing out when she had her reputation on the line; Sethunya would never let her live it down if she ran away!

Both too full of pride to do the responsible thing, they swiftly put one hand each on the door and pushed it open, scampering inside as the customer bell rang. Oh no! Artemis had forgotten about that! She dived down on the floor with Sethunya, pressed up against the foot of the displays where the wolfess would not be able to see them from deeper in the bakery. Footsteps. She was on the other side!

The violet-eyed wolfess looked around. "Huh?" She could have sworn she heard the customer bell but nobody was in. She sighed. Maybe she wasn't getting enough sleep. "Or some kids are playing around with the door..." Blake shrugged and moved on. Donuts never iced themselves!

Artemis breathed a sigh of relief and peaked through the glass of the displays, catching sight of the baker's tail as she vanished from sight. She sniffed. Flour, yeast and cheese. She was never going to find the cookies like this! She'd just have to get into the kitchen area and snoop around!

"Psst..." Sethunya got the cat's attention and pulled a cheeky face from the top of some racks as she crawled across the top of them, deeper into the bakery. Already? Artemis scrambled over the top of the displays and quietly dropped onto the floor, darting behind some wheelie trays loaded up with loaves of bread. She wasn't going to let the cheetah win!

Artemis frantically looked around, trying to be the first to spot the cookies. Donuts, bread, pies, danishes, pizza slices and pretzels! Her stomach grumbled angrily. If she wasn't mid-competition then she'd nab something from here and chow down! How frustrating it was! The baker walked past, a mere metre away, and Artemis sidled up against another wheelie tray, stunned that she wasn't caught. Her heart pounded in her chest as adrenaline filled her body. She had to get those cookies and get out fast. Maybe Sethunya had eyes on them? The cat looked up at the cheetah crawling on the top of the racks but she was looking around just as frantically, leaning over the edge and straining her eyes to see what was sitting on different benches.

Artemis' ears perked up. She could hear the baker coming again! After looking around for a place to hide she noticed the opening under the benches and dived under, wriggling her body through the tight space as quietly as she could. Boots marched past and Artemis gasped for a much needed breath of air before continuing to inch her way along the floor... wait, she smelled cookies! The scent was coming from where she could see the baker standing! That way!

Artemis arrived at the spot and peaked out from under the benches. The wolfess was holding a tray... Fresh cookies! Those were the best! She placed them down on the bench and walked away. Now was the time to strike. The cat scrambled out and jumped to her feet, swiftly snatching up cookies one by one. She held an arm against her chest, cupping it to hold the cookies in a pseudo basin but they were stacking up fast. Maybe she should have found a bag? No, it was too late for that! Just five more cookies and she was getting out of here! Four. Three. Two.... Oh no! There was no more room for this one! She looked around. Wait, why not eat it! She crammed it into her mouth, sighing in delight as it almost melted against her tongue. It was so soft yet crumbly and the sugar level made it almost taste like caramel.

Blake hummed a simple tune to herself as she finished serving a customer. They just wanted a loaf of bread so it was a quick sale; none of the waiting for them to be tempted between a scone and muffin. Clattering. A raucous noise came from deeper in the bakery, a lot of things falling on the ground. What? She ran in, sighting a small cheetah laying in between a bunch of pots and pans. To the side? Some cat was nabbing her cookies! "Hey, kid!"

Artemis jumped and started to run, cramming cookie after cookie into her mouth like a chipmunk stuffing nuts, trying to munch without choking. The wolfess gave chase but with long legs it didn't take long to catch up. However, the cat was so terrified that she dropped the rest of the cookies on the ground as her feet were briefly lifted into the air as fingers tugged on the collar of her shirt.

"What do you think you're doing, brat?!" Blake pinched the cat's ear and dragged her along, collecting the cheetah in much the same way as they went.

Both the girls squirmed, professing a million apologies as they followed behind at the wolfess' sides. Maybe she'd let them go if they were a pair of random rascals... but it was an unfortunate thing for them that she knew their parents and that they didn't live too far away. She had some words to say to them... Once outside the bakery, Blake lifted them onto her shoulders, one arm each, and locked up for a while.

Artemis finally stopped squirming and crossed her arms. If it wasn't for Sethunya's blunder then she might have gotten away with the great cookie heist. But even knowing the trouble she was about to get in... a small smile crept over her face. The cookies were really tasty... well worth whatever punishment awaited.