Stealing a Meal (Aliara Cantrell)

[Sarina]

Timestamp: 49 Fall, 514 A.V.
Hunger fueled Sarina’s walk as she swept down the street. Having an empty stomach was a common occurrence for her these days. It had been a while since the stores had closed and she was starting to hope they opened up again soon. At first Sarina had been able to find food fairly easily by stealing it from other people but as the days went by and the shops continued to stay closed less and less people had food to steal. When this happened she had had started by breaking into random people’s houses and stealing whatever food she could from there but now that basically no one had food, such guess and check methods didn’t really work anymore. Now she spent her time scouring the streets looking at the people who were walking around. When she saw someone whose cheeks and eyes weren’t sunk in from starvation she would follow them to their house, usually a more glamorous house, and take as much food as she could get her hands on.

Today that was what she was doing. Walking down the relatively not crowded street she was able to look at each person’s face as they walked by, assessing them for starvation. She was careful not to make eye contact as that could potentially cause and unnecessarily awkward situation. The hood of her cloak was down so as not to inhibit her vision but also allowing everyone else on the street to see her face. If she had been worried of someone else doing the something she was she would have been sure to keep her hood up cloaking the not starved glow her face still possess but she was positive there could be no one else in Sunberth smart enough to have this idea much less be able to carry it out. And so, with her head held high Sarina turned a corner and made her way into a slightly more crowded street.

She saw a few people who looked as though they might have food but she wasn’t sure and she was not going to follow someone around all day without being sure they even had what she was looking for. Sticking to a edge of the street so she wasn’t noticed to much by passer bys she noted someone across on the other side of the street walking quickly in the opposite direction as Sarina.

The person was a girl possibly a little older than Sarina was. She had dark black brown hair and was wearing a magenta cloak. She kept glancing around like she could feel Sarina’s gaze but didn’t know where it was coming from.

Sarina quickly turned around and started walking after the girl, being careful to keep her distance. Keeping her eyes on the girl only for a second at a time during a glance she followed her. Quickly glancing at what the girl was carrying, she assessed what the girl was carrying. She had a basket with a blanket covering its contents. Sarina could guess the basket didn’t carry any food as it would be dangerous for anyone to be carrying food in this hungry city, even if it was concealed by a blanket. It was more likely something she had got or was going to give to a relative or friend that she was going to visit. That description was a little vague for Sarina so she took another glance at the girl, this time at her out fit. From behind her where Sarina was standing she could only see her magenta cloak. After shifting her eyes for a second on to the girl’s hair she glanced away returning her eyes to the cobblestone ground. Her hair was in a slightly messy braid. Sarina could guess the braid had been neat when she had done it and from walking around in the street it had gotten messy. There were fights everywhere in the streets; it was the whole reason the store had closed in the first place. Even though she didn’t think the girl had gotten into a fight herself she, if she had been walking in the street, had likely had to go some obscure way in order to avoid that fight. While this could have happened before she got here and she was still on her way to where ever she was going, Sarina guessed it was more likely for her to be going back to her house.

So, with the thought in mind that she wouldn’t have to follow the girl to far she continued walking after her.

[Aliara Cantrell]

The town was turning against each other, family against family all just to survive in a barren land that had turned Sunberth against its own dwellers. Fights were breaking out in the streets, people would kill just for a scrap. At first it hadn't of been that bad, people just rationed what they had left in their kitchens but now, now it was serious, people had run out of all supplies.

Some people had even attempted to forage for themselves, however most of the time they would poison themselves or if they were lucky occasionally find some berries that wouldn't kill them. Desperate times call for desperate measures and that is how Aliara Cantrell found herself sneaking behind a beautiful girl with blue eyes hoping to steal whatever scraps she had.

Aliara had tried to find other ways but she was desperate enough without being stupid that she wouldnt go into the forest. She couldn't hunt, she couldn't see what would kill her or not. Aliara had spent the first couple of days donating her food to the orphanage for later on when the children began to feel sick, however not it left Aliara thinner than a rake and with shallow cheek bones.

Purple, Aliara was following a lady in a purple cloak, badly… She was hoping that the basket she carried held food, no amount of miza’s could barter for food anymore so Aliara had no choice but to ambush this poor girl for half of what she had.

Her hand on her kuri Aliara noticed a girl. All her features were covered but Aliara, who had been paid to take out the threats, knew what a thief looked like. Walking behind her Aliara pretended not to notice the girl before she calmly came up behind her and slid her Kuri out of her sleave. It lightly rested on the thieves throat and Aliara took the chance to wrap her arm around the small starved figure. She spoke, her voice but a whisper.


“Thief… It is unhonorable to steal the food from those who are starving to begin with…”
.

[Sarina]

Feeling a knife slide against her neck and a arm wrap around her body, Sarina was fairly sure she was being mugged. Instantly, she stopped walking moving and made her breaths shallower. She was a bit surprised when the figure spoke in a dangerous whisper right next her ear, making her wince a bit.

“Thief… It is unhonorable to steal the food from those who are starving to begin with…” Sarina was surprised by the girl’s statement. Very few of the citizens of Sunberth cared at all about honor and even fewer would go as far as to threaten someone to get them to be honorable. The other thing that startled Sarina was the fact that the girl knew she was a thief. She was walking behind the purple cloaked girl but she hadn’t stolen anything yet. Keeping an eye on the woman in the purple cloak as she continued to walk away Sarina made her reply.

“And I suppose it is honorable to sneak up behind people and hold knives to their throats.” Sarina’s reply came in a hiss just as dangerous sounding as the girl who had her knife to Sarina’s throat did. Slowly and cautiously Sarina’s hand made its way to the pocket in her cloak that held her Tamo Daggers. Pull the two out she kept them sheathed in each other so that they formed a sort of stick.

Quickly, she slid the daggers between her neck and the knife. With the sheathed Tamo daggers Sarina pushed she knife away from her neck. With a forceful lung she broke free of her captors hold and turned around to face her. She kept her eyes on the purple cloaked girl for as long as she could before she had completely turned around. Judging from the direction she was going, Sarina could guess the woman was headed to her house in the Tent City. Hoping she could possibly catch up with her later Sarina turned her full attention the woman in from of her. Tossing off the hood of her cloak Sarina looked over the woman she could now look in the face.

She had bright blue eyes and blond hair that hung in curls around her face. Her bronze skin informed Sarina this woman spent plenty of time in the sun. She was rather tall so Sarina had to look up slightly to talk to her.

“Why are you here?” Sarina highly doubted the woman was here because she wanted Sarina to get a sense of honor. It was far more likely Sarina had stolen from the woman’s family in the past and she was coming to get her revenge or at least something to that extent.

[Aliara Cantrell]

The woman had smarts she had to admit. Aliara hadn’t expected her to react the way the woman had, however using the situation to her advantage she balanced the point of her kuri on her fingertips. Her sea blue eyes challenging the woman in front of her to make her move, Aliara’s hand was only a few inches off her cutlass if it came into a fight.

“It is my job, I believe I get paid to get back property from any of your sort.”

Using her kuri again Aliara brushed the hair out of her face and took a step forward. Aliara wasn’t really wearing anything that portrayed danger, her loose white shirt and loose breaches told the public that she didn’t feel the cold much, which wasn’t exactly true but what swordswoman like to tell their client they are freezing.

“Are you stealing for yourself or for your family is the question though? Do you leave them with nothing?”

There was a difference between this woman and Aliara, Aliara went with the drawn sword ‘give me two scraps of your food or I take all of it’ approach which usually ended with the person running or giving her one scrap that she would half between her and a child.

There was a difference between open mugging with a sword and what this thief did; it was wrong to steal something without their knowledge. With both options being wrong Aliara had to give some pity to the woman, it had been a while since the food had disappeared from the streets. The sunken cheeks showed as much. Raising her eyebrows Aliara waited impatiently for the common criminal to answer her questions. Tapping her feet Aliara brushed the hair out of her face again and scanned behind the woman, the lady she had been following had quickly disappeared around the corner, her heart sighed, she could not brave the forest to pick random berries and hope they don’t kill her or the children.

“Do you steal for Children that are starving in the orphanage?”
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[Sarina]

The woman looked like she was ready to take Sarina in a fight. Her light blue eyes stared at Sarina. Glaring, as if she was waiting to see what she would do. Her hand rested just over the cutlass at her side. She looked like she was ready to grab it if Sarina made any move to attack her.

“It is my job, I believe I get paid to get back property from any of your sort.” Suddenly quite a few of Sarina’s questions fell into place. She had been wondering how the woman had known she was planning to steal some food. If it was her job she was most likely trained in picking out people who were going to steal. She had also wondered why she cared so much. It made sense if she was just doing her job.

Next the woman questioned her motives for stealing and if she totally stripped her victim of their food or not. Sarina selected her response carefully. This woman seemed dangerous. If it was her job Sarina could guess she had taken down more than her fair share of thieves and she didn’t want to have to fight her.

“I take for my family and I always make sure to leave them with at least some food.” Sarina stared back at the woman as she lied. She decided it was best to make her cause seem as justified as possible so maybe the woman would let her go. It was only partially a lie. She wasn’t stealing for her family. She didn’t have any family to steal for or at least not one she could take to. The part that wasn’t a lie was that she left the people she robbed with some food left. Ordinarily she might have taken all their food but now, because food was so few and far between, she left them with some because taking all of someone’s food might be as good as killing them.

Sarina started to think about her parents. She hoped they were ok in the food shortage and that they were managing to get their own food. She struggled with the idea of going to see them. Of course she wouldn’t meet with them but maybe she could just spy on them for a bit. Leaving that question unanswered she returned her attention to the situation at hand.

The woman’s next question confused Sarina a bit. She asked if Sarina was stealing food for the orphans. Sarina hadn’t thought about the fact there were people, like the orphans, with no way to get food. Her first reaction was to lie and tell the woman she was stealing for the orphans but if felt extremely morally wrong for her to do that. It seemed alright to lie about her family but the orphans were completely different. She couldn’t say she was stealing for the orphans if she wasn’t really doing so.

“No, I’m not.” The answer was blunt, strait forward and uncommonly honest. It would be a very admirable thing for this woman, who didn’t look that well off herself, to be giving food to the orphans, no matter how she got the food. “Are you stealing for the orphans?”

The preciously defiant look that filled Sarina’s eyes was now filled with a completely different look. She was completely out of her depth. She was getting into a more moral part of the conversations she could have. Morality had never been her specialty, understandably seeing as she was a thief. Hoping she could steer the conversation away from these topics and possibly keep going with her life so she could get some food, she awaited the woman’s answer.

[Aliara Cantrell]

Aliara was slightly fascinated by this woman, she was a thief however she left the people with some food left. It was getting harder and harder to find someone with enough food to steal and leave some behind, her stomach growled and Aliara cringed slightly. She was over tired and starving, every night she would lie in bed listening to her stomach complain about the lack of food.

“I do yes… however i am not every good, and people are running out of food”

It was true over the last couple of moons Aliara had notices the less and less her ambushes began successful, she usually ended up with empty hands and an apologetic smile. As much as she wanted to help out during the shortage but lately she had been causing more trouble than it was worth, everyone was desperate in times such as these so she couldn't really judge the lady in front of her.

Brushing that hair out of her face Aliara looked after the woman she had been following, she had been heading to the tent city, maybe not the best target, she could be extremely poor being one of 12 and the food she had collected wasn't even enough for her family. Aliara hadnt thought of that until now, she didn't know the circumstances of the people she was ambushing… Aliara was scaring them enough that they would fork over all their food then run away with thier life. Nothing in that suggested she remotely cared what happened to them, but she did it was just desperate times for desperate measures.

“Ill make you a deal…. You leave that lady alone and ill leave you alone…”

It was risky but Aliara needed to stop wasting time questioning a thiefs honour, slowly drawing out her cutlass Aliara used it as slight motivation for the lady to agree with her, pointing it towards the woman she took a step forward. The tip of the cutlass touched the ladies chest, and Aliara raised her eyebrows in a silent challenge.

“What’s your choice?”
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[Sarina]

Sarina was surprised when the woman told her she did in fact steal food for the orphans. Normally it was extremely rare to find a charitable person in Sunberth and even less so during the food shortage. It tended to bring out the worst in people so Sarina was intrigued by this woman.

The woman extended a deal to her. Her safety for her intended victim’s safety. The woman pulled out a sharp looking cutlass and steadied it in front of Sarina’s chest. It would have been far easier for Sarina to accept the deal and leave. The girl she was following was long gone by now and even if she was lucky enough to have some food, which wasn’t likely, it would have been next to impossible to find her again, not to mention far too much work. She would be significantly more profitable to just find a new victim and take their food than to try and track down the woman she had originally planned to steal from. But that would be admitting defeat. It would be saying the woman had beaten her and she would accept her terms of surrender.

“What’s your choice?” The woman prompted her to give her answer.

Allowing a smug smile to pull at the corners of her lips, Sarina stepped forward to the side, pushing the cutlass away with the palm of her hand. “While your offer sounds appetizing, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.” Now it was Sarina’s chance to make a deal. Having denied the woman’s offer she needed a follow up to show she had a good reason of declining not just her own stubbornness.

“While we are on the topic of deals, I have a proposal for you.” Sarina paused, allowing for the dramatic effect. “Any one with enough food to feed orphans must have plenty themselves. If you give me enough I will be sure to leave that woman alone.” The confident smirk stayed on her face allowing the woman she was talking to to know she was in charge of this conversation.

The people walking by were starting to give them odd looks. Undoubtedly they were looking at the weapons drawn in the two woman’s hands and wondering if they were going to have a fight. Sarina honestly hoped it didn’t come to a fight. She had always been better with her words than brute force but if it did come to combat she was ready with her Tamo Daggers. She waited to see how the woman would react to her offer.

[Aliara Cantrell]

Aliara looked into the thief s serious eyes and couldn't help herself but burst into Hysterical laughter. Switching the cutlass into her other hand Aliara lifted up her shirt to show the thief her visible ribs, a woman who had walked back looked at the pair and frowned, Aliara simply copied the frown and turned her attention towards the woman.

“I have more fat on my bones then sickly starving kids, i give all but what i need to stop myself from dying.”

Rolling her eyes Aliara reached into her boot and pulled out a small wrapped parcel. the cloth was soft and had hopefully protected the small lump of bread she had picked all the mold off of. It was dry and stale, Aliara had also gotten it out of the trash however this far into the town starving Aliara hardly thought it mattered anymore. Breaking the bread in half Aliara’s stomach growled in protest and she began to feel a little light headed.

“Here, I know you're hungry to, no denying it, you can have my half of what i give.”

Reluctantly Aliara held out the bread and sheathed her cutlass. Suunberth need food desperately and if it didn't come soon it was going to get every dangerous to be a slow runner.

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[Sarina]

Sarina was surprised and at least a little disturbed when her attacker suddenly burst into laughter. Was this woman mad? The mood of the conversation lighted considerably when the woman switched her cutlass into a far less aggressive position and pulled up her shirt showing off her ribs. Sarina let her confusion run over her face, waiting for an explanation from the woman. The woman’s face changed back into a frown.

She explained that she was indeed giving food to the orphans. As their conversation the woman continued to tell Sarina more things that were honorable about her. It was oddly refreshing to find someone who actually cared about others in Sunberth. The problem was Sarina couldn’t figure out why. This woman was starving why she would give food to other people. It just didn’t line up in Sarina’s mind. Things that Sarina didn’t understand bothered her and so, while under normal circumstances she would have just walked away from the woman, she decided to stay and talk.

Sarina didn’t respond to the woman’s comment and instead just waited for her to continue the discussion. Reaching into her boot the woman pulled out a small wrapped package. Was this woman really going to give her some food? The idea made no sense to Sarina. She unwrapped the small package receiving a small and old looking piece. The piece was stale and looked like it had had plenty of mold removed from it but the food still looked good to Sarina.

The woman broke the bread. Sarina studied her face while she did. It looked reluctant. Obviously the woman didn’t want to give up her food but she was and Sarina couldn’t figure out why. Did she really want Sarina not to steal from the woman? So much so that she would give up her own food? The woman’s next statement didn’t help to stop Sarina’s confusion, in fact it amplified it.

“Here, I know you're hungry to, no denying it, you can have my half of what I give.” The way she said gave Sarina no doubt she giving up her food out of good will. The woman sheathed her weapon and held out one of the halves of the bread. Sarina stared at it for a second. It was food and food was good at a time like this when there wasn’t much to go around. On the other hand, Sarina felt a bit guily about taking anything from the woman. Ordinarily Sarina would have taken it and not given it a second thought but there was something about this woman that made Sarina not want to take from her.

“I don’t need your bread. It is horrible quality! You probably got that from some dumpster somewhere. Do you really expect me to eat that?” Sarina would never go right out and say that she didn’t want to take from the woman so instead she just pretended to be extremely snobby. Sarina let the woman’s hand hang in the air with the bread.

While Sarina had had a sudden change of heart about the woman, she still didn’t mind being mean to her. She was well aware that her statement might bother the woman but it didn’t really matter to her. She doubted the woman would get aggressive. Before the woman had drawn a weapon and threatened her but Sarina didn’t think this woman was the type of person who could bring herself to actually hurt anyone. Threatening was one thing but actually attacking someone was a completely different game.

[Aliara Cantrell]

“Well have fun starving to death you snob,”

Aliara knew it was rude and slightly mean but she was only returning what was given to her in the first place, wrapping the bread back up Aliara placed it back in its original spot and glared at the woman, People were starving to death but this woman was stubborn enough to refuse food? Aliara glared again sighed.

“You, You are ridiculous! people are starving to death! Death! you know that right?”

Groaning Aliara threw her hands up in the air and turned around muttering under her breath, Aliara couldn't work out why the woman refusing had such an effect on her, it meant more for the kids but she couldn't take her mind off of it. The woman had refused it on the stance that it was stale and mold have been picked off of it, there was no other food! Unless you were drowning in miza’s and had a large store.

Even then many people gave food up if they had large amounts but this woman had refused! it was more than just rude it was stupid! Groaning again Aliara began to walk, she might as well consider today a bust, no food had been found and when she had attempted to play nice the woman had refused.

“Trying and think of that next time you decline food! It was a nice gesture!”
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