Rich Nights of B'Haddu

Fsssshhhhht. Fssht. Fssht. Fssht. Fsssssssssshhhhhhhhhhht.

Akira's tall ears flicked with each sound, her little spray paint gun suppressing most of the noise but not perfectly. In the distance she could just hear the city's night life dying down. The sun was coming up, meaning the starry sky was almost faded, and the heat was quickly rising. This was one of the ideal times for her to practice her artwork, depending on which part of the city she was in. She hadn't been here yet, and as far as her scouting told her, this was the best times, unlike some sections where sunset was ideal. She wasn't able to hide the sound very well here, but traffic was minimal, though through traffic was moderate during the night. This was a moderate sized alleyway between some bigger roads.

Fssssht. Fssht fshht fssht fssssht.

Almost.

Fssssht. Ffshhhhht. Fshhhhhhhht.

"Come on."

Fssshhht.

Perfect. She had just enough spray paint to get her signature without needing to load another canister. She split her used ones into a pouch in her supply bag, and-

"...can barely walk. Should never have let you talk me into staying up this late."

"Oi, you had fun, didn't ya?"

Nope nope nope, time to skedaddle.

Akira twisted her loaded canister, disconnected it from the spray gun, locked it, and dropped it in the main pouch of her bag, along with the gun. Kicking off the ground, she darted on all fours down the alley, and then used her momentum to pop back up to a bipedal stance as she turned the corner. The main road was empty, mostly, aside from a cluster of people heading indoors. She walked casually--or at least she thought so-- and once the door was shut, she began jogging again. A quick glance to her wrist-mounted computer told her she had about five minutes. Tight window, but she could make it.

The little device was one of the simpler devices available. It could tell time, track timers, and so on, but it also tracked the exact time that certain temperatures were reached. And Akira had five minutes to reach a "checkpoint" she set, otherwise her planned shortcut would be burning hot. She could still use it, but she obviously preferred not to scorch her paws if she could help it.

After checking the lines of sunlight on the nearby buildings, and estimating that her time was accurate, she slowed her jog briefly, and pulled a pair of headphones from her neck up to her ears. A little bit of dramatic music always helped her stay focused.

Today was a little bit of an ominous day. Twangy, fast paced music in a minor key was the mix she pulled, and with the pace picking up, her own running speed accelerated to match.

Down a set of stone stairs, a long alleyway. Some steps she skipped, some she took one at a time at a brisk pace, one paw touching the wall to help her balance.

At the end of the alley, she crossed a bridge covering a medium-sized gap in the cliff face. The tall buildings on either side of the gap helped shield it from the sunlight.

A sprint down another main road, and she reached her checkpoint. Nearly a whole minute. She slowed to an even jog, a more leisurely pace compared to before, and began to focus on the music she had playing. She had a few minutes left of the track, and now she could make it the rest of the way home with ease. With a good distance between her and the graffiti she left behind, she could zone out completely, rely on her muscle memory to get from this part of town to home, and enjoy her music. Maybe even pull a few parts of it for her own next track.

"Another good morning," she said softly, smirking to herself.