Open On The Streets

[Aaron Fangbearer]

Timestamp: 31st Summer

It had long since been evening by the time Aaron had been able to escape the common scene of the bars and his master, Vivianne, to walk the dirt-filled streets of Sunberth. For a city that had the sun in its name, it was a very dark and dubious place to live. Thieves swarmed about and large men picked on smaller men. Thankfully Aaron was one of the much much larger fellows of the city. He stood nearly six feet and seven inches, having to hunch over to get through most common ways like the door to a bar or inn.

Aaron had a dark look about him, his eyes heavyset beneath his tightly knit brows of bushy proportions. They were naturally blue, a hue of azure that caught the light and caused his normally round eyes to squint and narrow so he took on the look of a cat most of the time. His canine teeth stuck out between his lips as he walked, the sharp objects too elongated to hide in this form. He looked human anywhere else, but his eyes, teeth and lack of hair on his body gave away the fact that he was kelvic, already branded by slavery due to the still-red mark around his neck. It had been a while since Vivianne had bought him and he had come to find the existence quite complacent.

Still, his thoughts did not draw his eyes from the crowds as he walked, always weary to those who might try and pick his pocket for what little coin he possessed. Even with arms as thick as trees and a look that could kill, some people in this city were still willing to risk their life to pick his pockets, which surprised him little. It was only a matter of time before some amateur tried again.

[Amora Jade]

Her careful stride and the fact that she watched her feet the majority of the time she walked proved her clumsy nature to anyone who may be paying any attention. Half of the problem was probably her hair, it fell to her waist and was unusually thick. It was a major fault of her's to be so off-balance on her own feet, especially with the life she had chosen. Only being petty thief at the moment, she hadn't much ability to size-up an opponent, or in other words she didn't know who would be an easy target for her thievery. More often than not she failed when she attempted to pickpocket someone on the streets, and seemed to get herself into more trouble than it seemed worth it yet she continued to try. As she scanned every soul roaming the area she had picked only a few targets, but hadn't worked up the courage to go through with her plan yet. Having learned from her past mistakes, Amora was sure not to bring any money with her (sometimes when she failed to pickpocket, the victim would turn around and take her money instead.) Instead, she planned to buy lunch off the money she picked from someone else. After she scanned the area once more, she decided to take on a much larger target, hoping the he was all bronze and no brains. She walked a normal pace past him and looked the other direction as she found her hand on some mizas. Her heart raced as she realized if she was caught, she would probably end up being killed, but it was too late to back out now...

[Aaron Fangbearer]

Aaron wasn't one to go without noticing things. Amora's scent caught his nose far before she slipped by, her hand clumsily digging into his coin purse to snatch a few mizas, but unable to get more than five. Immediately, his azure eyes hardened and became rather feline as they snapped onto the girl, his hand swiftly reaching out and grabbing the girl's hand and yanking her back towards him before she could run away. His musculature figure was far more lithe than it appeared and his grip was an inescapable vise.

He owed his feline features to his kelvic side, which was that of the perceptive hunting cat, the black panther. His eyes narrowed as he allowed the girl to be loose for a moment before he grabbed her by a fistful of her shirt and bringing the girl up off her feet by the cuff of her nape. He snarled slightly, eyes narrowed as he bared his pointed canine teeth, which were just as sharp as any black panther's.

"Foolish, child." He snarled into her face quietly, "Return it." It was a simple demand and it was easily backed by his intimidating stature, which seemed to exhume a sense of fear into everyone that wished to look into the pits of his eyes. He would get his coins back one way or another. He let her dangle there for a moment, his snarl still evident as his nose whiffed in her scent. He hadn't looked prior to lifting the girl off her feet, but he could smell her femininity.

He did not wish to admit it, but he had a soft spot for women, especially after Vivianne had saved him from the slave pens. He knew they were soft, but they all had a slight... swagger that threatened to draw him in. He did not want to acknowledge the churning feeling in the pit of his stomach, but it was there and his snarl became a half-look of disdain and anger. With a simple grunt, he dropped the child and shook his head. "I changed my mind. You can keep it." He states with a frown, glowering down at the girl. He was quite intrigued as to why she chose to steal from him, but he let it pass by as he awaited her reply.

[Amora Jade]

Her breath was cut short as Amora was jerked back towards her victim. She attempted to struggle against the grip, but it was as if she was being held by steel. The second her hand was set free she tried to back away, but felt herself being lifted from the back of her shirt. As the man spoke his voice sent a chill down her spine, while his feline glare struck her with deep fear and she froze. Never before had she seen someone of Kelvic origin, and it frightened her. She had only heard in stories, from her mother, of the beings who were able to change their form. Sunberth didn't harbor much of other races, it was mainly a human population. It was possible that she had passed a few of his kind on the streets, but had never come face to face with one of them. When she noticed his razor-like teeth her fear turned into the realization that this would be her last moments alive. Amora was mentally preparing herself for her fate, knowing she didn't stand a chance even if she tried to defend herself. Her lack of fighting skill mixed with the size of the man she had underestimated made the fact inevitable. Her fear only increased as she was dropped to the ground, she hadn't realized how tall he really was until she fell. He spoke again, but she couldn't hear the words, due to the loud heartbeat in her ears. His look of disgust burned into her, causing her to flinch and close her eyes for several moments before reopening them. He hadn't struck her yet. Slowly she looked up at him, still fearful yet able to breathe again. For a moment she only looked up at him, worried he might snap and decide to kill her rather than let her go. When he didn't seem to want to hurt her, Amora carefully pushed herself off the ground and onto her feet. While dusting herself off, she noticed the coins that were still gripped tightly in her hand. She cringed as she loosened her fingers, the coins had actually been forced into her hand for so long that one had made a small cut in her palm. Instead of giving them up for sparing her life, she held onto them. She wasn't one to give things back she had taken. Again she looked at him, with a worried look stuck on her face. Taking in a breath, she worked up the courage to speak, "Thank you..." Her voice was a bit shaky and barely audible, she wondered if he could even hear her.

[Aaron Fangbearer]

It wasn't hard to hear her. Aaron could pick up the subtle beating of a fly nearby as it passed them, but his hearing toned in on the child that stood before her. He leaned over, so his face was almost level with her own before speaking.

"Thank me?" He let out a breath in a mocking scoff. "You are a foolish child born of the filth within Sunberth. Even a slave such as I owns the intellect to know not to thieve from people twice my size." He snarled, eyes narrowing. "Something tells me you are new. No instinct to fight. No tolerance for fear. Weak." The last part was accompanied by an exhale of his hot breath, which didn't stink as much as she might have thought it should. It smelled a little of his recent meal, which had been a rabbit that had managed to run across his path.

"Why do you steal if you have no guts?" He asked, his eyes still narrowed and his face in hers. He was unarmed, but something about his demeanor stated that he didn't fear her at all. He had a pair of gold-lined gauntlets with small, red stones in the center of them. It made sense why he wore them; his body was toned like that of a body-guard's while his arms almost were as thick as trees. If she could guess at one thing, she would sooner think him a brawler before a swordsman.

"Answer me."

[Amora Jade]

When he moved towards her, Amora flinched slightly.. until he started speaking. He was making a fool of her for thanking him, thought of her as filth. It offended her more than she thought simple words could. Having been born here and never traveling elsewhere, this was her one true home. To her it was beautiful, even with all of the crime. It was the normal way of life here and outsiders couldn't understand how they could stand a place like this. Once you see someone struggle to survive, you become much more appreciative of what you have. Sure, the lack of fighting skill in a place like this seemed like suicide to most, but to her it was normal. Even if she wanted to learn, she had no one to teach her. Amora's father was murdered when she was very young and she rarely ever saw her brother. Her mother is who raised her and she didn't find fighting to be an important trait for a thief of their nature, so she taught her to flee rather than to stand and fight. Running away would have been in her best interest at that moment but her blood boiled with the anger from basically being called dirty and unintelligent. In opposition to how she was taught and against her best instincts, she stood her ground and glared right back at the Kelvic man trying to disprove his statement of her having no guts. "Most people of your stature have no brain to match." She gritted her teeth and stood taller, "I thanked you for my life, the only thing I really have." Amora valued every life highly, so the fact that he spared hers meant more than he could ever know.

[Garin Campbell]

Garin eyed the pair from the shadows, hand on his dagger, with an amused grin. He considered attacking them, but decided to watch them quietly. He sized the slave up, knowing he could take the man, and then his attention turned to the girl, and his grin turned to a broad smile of malicious delight.

Garin was actually a small man. Not very tall, and not very muscular, and almost an albino, he was so pale. Though, in his stormy grey eyes, glinted a light of cunning, intelligence, and cruelty. Drawing himself up to full height, which wasn't a very impressive sight, he put on his bravest, most heroic face.

"What is going on here?"

He asked quite bluntly.

"Has he hurt you?" He looked at the woman.

[Aaron Fangbearer]

Aaron bared down upon the girl a bit longer, his feline eyes narrowing slightly. "You will be forgiven... for now." He said in a low tone, just before the man made himself known.

Turning to face the newcomer, Aaron drew himself up to his own full height, which dwarfed this man's by a long shot. Not only was he vertically superior, but his muscular aperture was twice that of Garin's. The mere confidence this man had brought a smile to Aaron's grim visage, making him seem even more intimidating.

"The concern is unwarrented, child." Truly, Aaron was the youngest of the three, only seven years of age, but he still seemed oldest by sight. "This girl chose to pick the pocket of the wrong person. Lucky for her, I do not harbor hate towards those who do not warrant it. I have not harmed her physically." He glanced back at the girl, his eyes lightening slightly as he frowned.

"Either way, she seems to wish confidence on herself. She is brave..." He turned back to face Garin, "Similar to you. Do well and find her a place to stay. She seems to need it." He walked past Garin, pausing to rest a hand on his shoulder and lean in, whispering into his ear, "Get her a meal... and a new set of clothes. I would do this instead, but my master would not wish me to tarry around another woman."

With that, he walked on from the pair, not even bothering to look back. Garin, on the other hand, would find his hand leaded with a small pouch that the large man had handed him containing the weight of nearly ten Gold Mizas, enough to buy a good room and meal for the two of them for the night. The kelvic might have been large and intimidating, but he still seemed to have a large heart beneath all that brutality.

[Amora Jade]

The fact that the scene between the kelvic man and herself had attracted someone else aggravated Amora even further. She just wanted to turn on her heels and run the other direction, she wasn't one to explain herself or her actions. It was the end of her fuse when it was assumed she didn't have a place to stay, she had lived right here in Sunberth since even before she was born in the Sunset Quarters apartments. Letting out a loud, annoyed breath, she watched her victim leave and then turned to the newcomer, "I don't need your help, I'll be on my way." Proud of her successful pickpocketing, she turned and began to walk the other direction, leaving the newcomer to figure out what to do with his new money. It tempted her to take from him as well, but after a scare like that'd she'd rather not take her chances again.

[Garin Campbell]

Garin looked down at the money, with a mildly amused look in his eyes. If only the Kelvic man knew him better. He wouldn't have trusted Garin with the money. Or the girl.

A plan began forming in Garin's mind.

Garin, with a brief, devilish grin, jogs to catch up with her. As he catches up, his expression is replaced with a gallant look. "No, no. He wished for me to pay for your room and some food, and I shall do it."

Whether or not she agrees, he goes to take her hand and lead her towards the nearest inn.

"You are fortunate he didn't attack you. I'll admit, though. You've got guts, trying to steal from someone that much larger than you."