Nowa the Cake Caper! (Marius Valdemar)

[Nowa]

He tried twice, and both times got caught. That bakery left many things out in the open, but hid the best stuff behind a locked door. He could get through it, and even did on his second try, but he never got away with the giant cake they had hidden back there. It's very aura screamed of yum and joy. He was human again, in his somewhat over-sized robe. He had his tools hiding among the man pockets hidden within. He sat at a nearby park, wondering how to best get to that wonderful cake. That baker was always back there, but he left to chase Nowa away. Maybe he just needed to be two people at once! He looked around the park, and saw some children, somewhat bigger then him playing around. Maybe, he just needed another person. People didn't normally like him taking things, but not everyone did. He scanned their auras, staring at them as they played. He had to look for the best choice to help him, but what would he find that told him who that was? As he watched, he found one that stood out. Mischief, even that added a flavor to an aura. He found one that had that very shine to it, along with quite a boost of confidence. He found his ally, but, how to get his attention? He wasn't sure what they were playing, they ran about poking or hitting each other. It kinda looked like chasing, but who was being chased seamed to jump around and change randomly. He picked somewhere closer, then closer again. He sat on a nearby bench, almost curled into a ball. He kept staring, he had to think of a way to ask. He was rather close, they didn't seam to notice him in their activities, or maybe they just ignored him. He wasn't quite sure what to do, they were all bigger, and were probably faster because of it. He muttered to himself. "What are they even training for?"

[Marius Valdemar]

If they could, the orphan thieves would pull a Trick every day. That's what Marius Valdemar called the little heists they pulled in order to pay for the food that kept them all alive; his lots-of-fun Tricks. There was a certain thrill to directing the orphans, making every child know the part he or she was to play. And then when a rich one walked by, they'd walk along unassuming of the soon to be emptiness where their coin purse was. It was best when they kept on walking, oblivious of the daring crime the playing children had just committed, but there was also fun to be found in scattering and leaving the rich one behind screaming themselves hoarse for someone to stop them. By the time someone responded, the orphans would have already faded into the illusions of their beloved city.

But no, they could have their Tricks every day. That would be dangerous, and so the Tricks had to be planned out ever so carefully. He had learned from his friend the Iron Philosopher how to find a rich one, find out where he goes and what he'll do each day. In this way Marius always managed to stay one foot ahead of those who would ruin the orphans fun. But sadly, today there was nothing to do. It was Marcus who suggested that they should lose themselves to the city, explore and play chase. They played at Rich Ones and Orphans, a game where one child would be a Rich One and try to tag the Orphans, who ran about and taunted him when he was far away. Marcus was currently it, which frustrated him. He was the largest in the group and the strongest, but also the slowest. He would have to chase an Orphan until they grew tired, but that also meant that Marcus tended to be a Rich One more often than not.

Marcus was currently employing this tactic against Marius, but the cocky child wasn't too worried. He ran backwards, sticking his tongue out at his friend while just out of reach. However, as often happened, Marius's smugness took the better of him and he ended up colliding his heel with a section of tree root that was (not so strangely for a city such as Alvadas) sticking out from the pebbles. Marius cried out and sprawled backwards onto the bench behind him.

His head landed on something soft, but the rest of his body ached from the impact. Marcus stood above him and poked him sharply in the ribs. Marius cried out, "Alright, alright! You got me, dung for brains!" Marcus just grinned and trotted off breathing heavily.

It was only then that Marius decided to look up to try and figure out what exactly his head was on. Above him was a chin, then a hooked nose, then a pair of eyes staring down at him. He lifted his head off the boy's leg, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Er, sorry kid. I didn't see ya there." He said with a reserved smirk. "Whatcha doin', sitting here all alone anyway? I haven't seen you before around here at all. What's your name?" The questions poured out rapidly from his smiling mouth.

[Nowa]

Nowa watched them run about, hitting and chasing one another. It seamed very odd training, but maybe they'd learn to avoid getting hit? Maybe they'd learn to hit, too. All the running was good, though, it would make the slower ones faster. It seamed odd, in that regard, that he was watching the slowest one more then the others. His aura was the one that sparkled and said 'pick me!' He wasn't happy chasing the others, but he tended to be happy when running away. They all seamed to run from one person at a time, that was something. Nowa wondered if it held any meaning. It was during this wondering that their wandering had then running practically around Nowa. He was much closer then he was, but kept watching as they went about. Before he knew it, the one he was watching tripped and fell right into his legs! He curled up a bit tighter, then relaxed to look at the person. He wanted his attention, anyway, so why not now? He looked at the boy, who looked back. As he decided what to say, the other boy spoke up first. He had a few questions. "I'm Nowa. I was trying to think of a way to get your attention. I have questions for you, too." Nowa stood up, his bare feet sitting on the ground again. His arms shot out behind him as he leaned forward a bit, and began to speak again. "I want a cake, but I can't get it. I'll share it with you if you help me get it! Will you help me? What's your name? Do you like cake? Do your friends want cake? It's a big cake." It could have been a mirror, a smiling mouth spouting out rapid questions, but a bit more intense. His staring could almost come off as creepy, a side-effect of his magic. He watched the aura carefully, so he'd have a better idea of what to say next. He got nervous, though. What if he wanted all the cake? What if he just said no? As he began to sway a bit from side to side, he began to fuss with his hair out of habit.

[Marius Valdemar]

The grin that was smeared all over Marius's face twitched wider into a full fledged smile of amusement. He laughed openly in front of the younger boy, admiring the kid. "A cake huh?" He said and sniffed. He wiped his nose with the end of his already dirty sleeve. "Who doesn't like cake? Lemme guess. It's over there, in the bakery that's sometimes there?" Marius pointed.

He twisted his upper body so that he could get a glimpse of Marcus behind him, still trying to catch his breath. He whistled short and sharply, and the large boy came trotting over. "My new little friend Nowa here wants to pull a Trick he says." Marius told his thieving mate when he reached them. Marcus looked the Kelvic up and down and folded his arms gruffly over his broad chest. "Oh yeah?" He said. "What's he want to get?"

Marius explained the goal and where to get it to Marcus, and the large boy hmmmed and hummed. Finally he said, "Alright. Long as we all get good portions of it! I know the baker, and he's one like to chop off our fingers and make them into bread!" Marius laughed at that and turned back to Nowa. "Looks like we're in, friend. How do you want to go about this eh?"

[Nowa]

A trick? Tricks were something the bad man made him do for food... was this so similar? He didn't like it being called a trick at all, it just felt wrong. He didn't have another name for it, though. With an unpleasant expression he muttered somewhat... "Trick, I don't like that word." He looked up again, realizing he forgot to mention the plan. A smile on his face again, he spoke up rather cheery once again. "I open the back door and he chases me out, like always. But, this time, you guys sneak in after he leaves and grab it! It's just sitting on the table, it wants to be eaten! I can see it! It might be heavy, too, but you're bigger then me." A simple plan, really. It left a lot of details out, but Nowa simply didn't think that far ahead. He was rather new to teamwork, after all.

[Marius Valdemar]

Marius raised a brow at his objection and Marcus grunted softly. "Trick is just a word for these things that I came up with." Marius said and scratched the side of his nose. "We don't have ta use it if you don't wanna."

The two boys listened to the Kelvic's plan patiently. "It sounds good, but there might be a few things in our way, ya know? Hold on one sec'." Marius turned and put both of his index fingers in the sides of his mouth and blew out a loud, sharp whistle. The attention of the small gang turned to him, and he waved them over. "Hey, you orphans! Get over here!"

Once they had all assembled around them Marius explained what the plan was. "Now my new friend Nowa here," Marius put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "He says that the cake is just sitting there beggin' to be eaten. When's the last time you had cake eh? Luc? Green-Nose? Now, I dunno about you all, but I think I deserve a little cake! And by a little, I mean a whole arm full!"

The band of orphans cheered, and now they all seemed ready and willing to pull the thing off. "Now once Nowa gets the ol' baker out of sight, everyone take a side and lift. If you're too small to grab it, just make sure there's nothin' in our way. If we trip and it falls, we're gonna be in a whole mess o' trouble! Got it?"

Five faces, including Marcus, nodded eagerly at Marius and Nowa. The smiling boy turned to the Kelvic, a mischievous-as-ever grin splayed out upon his face. "Anything else you wanna add, friend? Are you ready?"

[Nowa]

They didn't need to use that word, a sigh of relief. He hated that word. Then, Nowa was surprised. All of them would help? He didn't think he'd be sharing that much cake. Well, it was something he told himself he'd do, even if he didn't get as much. He had to try all of the foods! They all seamed eager to help, that was great. He didn't even need to scan their auras to see it was working out. Cheering happy faces, it would work well! Nowa was excited. He hadn't worked in a group before, but seeing so many willing to help meant he would finally get that cake. "I'm ready!" OOCGRAH! Can't bring myself beyond that just yet. <_< I was planning to write in part of the heist, too. Well, you can either start work on that or continue waiting, I'll eventually edit that part in if ya don't reply I suppose.

[Marius Valdemar]

"Right then," Marius stated vigorously. "Orphans! Look alive! Let's go get us something sweet!"

He led the ragtag band of misfits through the short distance that led to the bakery. Marius strode slightly ahead of Nowa, who was followed in turn by Marcus who grinned but kept his silent manner. Marius purposely kept the young Kelvic close to him for practical reason: he wanted to be sure of Nowa's plan and keep an eye on the boy. He did not trust idly, and something like this could get them in more trouble than it would be worth. If the Kelvic decided to bail on them without any profit to be spoken for, Marcus was there to enforce his will. But if things all went well then this kid named Nowa was on his good list, as all who were able to feed his little gang were.

They reached the front of the store and the scent of cooking bread hit them and made all their stomachs growl in turn. Marius ordered that they split apart for the moment; something necessary so they would not draw attention to themselves. The laughing boy sent the other orphans to the side of the building to wait for the signal.

The three of them crept around to the back, and from there Marius let Nowa take the lead.

OOCFeel free to take charge of part or the rest of the heist, making Marius do what needs to be done. I'd rather that not be very much however. Or, if you want, nothing is at all wrong with short posts so don't worry on that end.

[Nowa]

OOCHiatus (sp?) aside, my head has cleared away all the smog afflicting my poor Nowa... today at least. Time to steal a cake!

Nowa made his way to the bakery, he didn't even approach the front, however. He promptly made his way right about to the side ally, which had a new building to the side of it. No windows or doors on this side, so it was even easier then before. Nowa would look to the boy shadowing him, wondering what part of the plan he missed. He went out of his way to push him aside and further behind the alleyway, (unless he resisted at all, as Nowa isn't strong enough.) "You'll hear me leave, I'm sure." He went back to the door, and pulled some tools from his various pockets. He made a look around, to make sure he couldn't see the other kids, then continued. He took a moment to look at the lock, and stuck his tools inside. It shouldn't be hard at all, he thought to himself. This is the third time I've done this, and it gets easier each time. Despite telling himself that, he found himself taking a couple minutes all the same. As he finally heard the lock click, he heard a voice from above him he recognized. "So, that's how you got in. Where did you get those?" Nowa looked up as he quickly hid his tooks away. "I, um." He thought of something quick, though. "I'll show you if you give me some cake." He moved away from the door, putting the baker between him and the door. He had a clear shot around to the front of the store. "How about I catch you and take them?" As he said that, Nowa ran off. "No way!" He yelled as he raced around. He ran around to the new building, and tried the door. It didn't open, so he continued to run off with another scream. "He's going to eat me!" "Get back here you little thief!" The crowd out shopping stopped and stared, clearly trying to avoid getting involved. Nowa looked back, he had some distance. He knew the baker was faster, but maybe he stumbled? Nowa turned another corner, around a different way. He didn't track where he was going, the city was always nice to him. Today, he would leave his fate to Ionu! As if answering a call, the very next bend he rounded left him right at the entrance to the temple. He looked back, and not seeing the baker he climbed into a cart nearby full of robes. A minute later, a new person pulled off the robes. "And what are you doing in here?" "I saw all these robes, and was looking for another me in here!" He chuckled to himself. "Well, I don't think you'll find him there, did you try a mirror?" Nowa looked at him confused, what was a mirror? The man pulled out something small and round, and showed it to him. When Nowa looked, there was another him right there! Nowa looked in awe for a bit, moving about to watch the other one copy him. His curiosity was tapped, he had to look carefully. He looked at the aura, even just a glance told him quite a bit, it was a trick! "That's not me, but it sure looks like me!" The man laughed again. "You'd better be on your way, these clothes need to go." Nowa agreed, though he didn't say anything. He got off the cart, and now he just had to find the kids again. He hoped to find cake with it, he was very excited to think about it. He started running off again, he had to hurry! He wondered if he should try flying there, but then he'd be way hungrier then the cake would fill up, so he kept to his run.