The Daily Grind (Keeta)

[Demitri Maebourne]

52nd of Spring, 515 AV Demitri had always had a passion for stealing from lousy drunks. Perhaps that's why she went back to taverns every night, and picked the very easiest and laziest targets. The gentleman she observed tonight was all of these things. Maddok Road was, in fact, the drunkest, laziest, and most foolish sailor the thief had ever encountered. She knew without a doubt that the nilos she might steal tonight would otherwise only go to the Kelp Bar- and they'd gotten plenty of business to stay afloat among the sea dogs of Zeltiva. It was on this night that she'd test that theory. She walked cautiously and quietly down a dark alley, following the stumbling oaf as he attempted to locate his small, dirty flat. She doubted the man would make it; he'd likely pass out by this very building. That was all the same to Demitri. She'd seen his place, as well as the stash of ill-gotten gold he'd won or stolen in his travels. All she really needed was the key. He eased to a halt, and the girl from Sunberth sunk into the shadows just as he turned around to drunkenly scan the alleyway. She looked up at the moon; it was perfect, just bright enough to light her way but not so bright that it would expose her to her prey. She grinned. As Road turned back around and stumbled off to the side, she edged back out of her hiding place and waited for him to trip, fall, and sink into the dirt and trash as she knew he would. Demitri smiled as her predictions proved true, then casually put her hands in her pockets and leaned against the building on her right. She'd wait until he was good and unconscious. Besides, she was expecting someone. She looked down the length of the alley, trying to sight in the darkness a girl with curly blonde hair. She had met Keeta only a week ago, and yet her cheer and general giddiness had already convinced Demitri of her trustworthiness. This feeling was so strong that she had asked her to come along on this little "work trip," having learned of her profession. In Sunberth the girl had almost always had help with her thieving; perhaps she'd fare better here if she continued with that method. So she waited. The light of the moon sank under dreary grey clouds, then fell over her again brighter than ever. She began humming very quietly to herself, something her mother had sung her as an infant. She smiled again. This was sure to be a fun night!

[Keeta]

A moment later, Keeta appeared at the far end of the alley. Unlike her accomplice she made no effort towards stealth, rather the reverse. Tonight she was to take on the role of distraction, and so she paused in the middle of the alley as if lost and thought, then brightened visibly as she saw the drunken man.

"Oh! Hi!" she said brightly in a Sevfra accent, moving down the alley towards him. "I'm rather lost. Do you know this city? I need to meet a man at the World's End Grotto, and I have turned down first one street and then another and it is nowhere to be seen! I have no idea how you land people live in such a maze!"

She spoke excitedly, emphasising her words with motions of her hands.

[Demitri Maebourne]

Her accomplice didn't show up quite where she expected; in fact, Demitri didn't note her presence until she heard a bright greeting at the end nearest their target. "Oh! Hi," Keeta began, emphatically mimicking a seafaring accent. "I'm rather lost. Do you know this city? I need to meet a man..." The slightly older girl whipped her head around, breaking out of the shadows and losing her poise to watch the interaction. The drunk looked up at Keeta slowly and uncomprehendingly as she carried on, her voice carrying through the darkness like the bells of a clock tower. Maddok Road seemed fascinated, and as the conversation continued Demitri saw her opportunity. Slow and silent as a Dhani, she advanced down the alley. Keeta still had the man's attention, for much longer than Demitri had expected; the younger seemed to have a talent for entertaining babble. Demitri inched ever closer, until she was just behind the man. Her hand moved cautiously toward the pocket of his pants. This wasn't so hard; never had been, really. He was already mostly unconscious. It wasn't as if she hadn't done this before... The drunk turned around lazily and the girl fell back in shock. Maybe it was her breathing, or maybe she had bumped his waist as she attempted to pickpocket him. Maybe she had just gotten distracted by Keeta's cheer, or the simple fact that she was once again "partnering up." Regardless, she had allowed herself a serious mistake. She exhaled heavily as Maddok stood, slurring an inquiry and peering down at her over his bulbous stomach. "Wha... Yerr..." There was anger in his cloudy eyes; unaccustomed to being caught after so much time spent honing her skill, Demitri froze in place, her eyes shooting back to her friend in wordless surprise. Then, as that initial shock quickly cleared, she grimaced with a look of embarrassment and apology.

[Keeta]

As the drunk turned to look at the Demitri, a theatrical wince played over Keeta's face, to be almost instantly replaced by her usual smile. After all, when things went wrong it basically amounted to practice, which was not a bad thing.

"Melly!" she squealed, "Where have you been! We have that thing at World's End and we're going to be late. My friend here was going to show me the way."

She gave the man an up and down look.

"He hasn't given his name yet but I like to think of him as Bartameus, due to his noble profile and so on. Shall we go? Which is the most convenient direction?"

As she spoke she casually removed her Tamo Daggers from where they were hidden in her clothing, holding the weapons behind her back. Still ensconced in their sheaths they formed a useful club, should Bartameus prove troublesome.

[Demitri Maebourne]

The new girl certainly didn't do things the way she might have, but not a soul could say she didn't think on her feet. The utter shock returned to Demitri's features as Keeta spoke out, calling her Melly and continuing on in that same bouncy voice. It was a second or two before the girl got herself together, joining in with a laugh that was just a bit too loud. "Sorry I'm late," she said, covering up her slight nervousness with more laughter. "A noble profile, that's quite right!" She was unused to this type of facade; if she ever messed up a job in Sunberth, neither party propagated the illusion that she might not have been stealing. Essentially, she was a bad liar, especially for a life-long thief. She'd have to work on that... Her nervous laugh tapering off, Demitri stood, shaking her head ever-slightly at Keeta to indicate that the daggers were not needed. The man, Maddok- or Bartameus, as he'd likely be called for the rest of the night- let his suspicion dissipate quickly, not nearly sober enough to keep wondering. He grunted and stood, then began walking toward the nearest end of the alley, motioning for them to follow but not looking to see if they did so. Demitri looked at her "partner" for the evening, then grinned slyly and held up a small, brass-colored key; she had been clumsy, not ineffective. She took a step or two backwards in the direction opposite that of their target and threw a thumb over her shoulder, an inquisitive eyebrow seeming to ask Keeta if they ought to just head for the man's home. After all, she'd like to get the looting over with now, in case "Bartameus" did not, in fact, pass out in a tavern somewhere and instead returned home to sleep it off.

[Keeta]

Seeing the key, Keeta did a quick celebratory dance step, her face silently mimicking a cry of delight. Hooking arms with Demeitri for several strides she accompanied her down the alley away from the drunk.

"That went quite well!" she said when they were out of earshot. "Very nice. I'm not sure you look entirely like a 'Melly' but he was too drunk to be critical and I didn't even have to wang him over the head. Hopefully you know where he lives though, otherwise we're going to have to try a lot of doors."

She fell quiet for a moment, then added "I do hope he doesn't have a dog. Can't stand guard dogs, there ever so noisy."

[Demitri Maebourne]

Upon seeing the key, Keeta immediately began dancing, the silence only increasing her unlimited cheer. Demitri couldn't help but mimick her joy, a smile breaking out over her features with reckless abandon as she held back a laugh. The new partner in crime locked arms with the slightly older girl, and they made their way quickly down the alley, trying to get away from the drunk before he became the wiser. Demitri looked back a time or two, though she knew she was probably safe. There was a tavern on the street he'd approached, brightly lit and welcome to all the drunken sops that the night could carry. If he noticed they were gone, he would get himself a nice mug of ale before trying to track down two lost girls. As they turned a corner and could certainly no longer be heard, Keeta spoke again, cheerful as when she was putting on a show for the poor sucker. "That went quite well! Very nice..." As she carried on, Demitri listened with continuing enthusiasm. No, she did not look like a "Melly," but that didn't make a great difference. It was a nice improvisation, anyway. And no, wanging him over the head may not have gone exceedingly well- especially considering the drunk's incredible size and stature. And yes, Demitri had done her research. "Don't worry. It's just a couple blocks down. Look for a little cottage with a big oak door." The girl hadn't done a lot of home robberies, after all. If she didn't know exactly what to do and when to do it, it would be a hopeless failure. Besides, one could never be too cautious in a 'nicer' city such as Zeltiva, built upon a sea of knowledge and eternally catering to the absurdly wealthy. After a pause, Keeta spoke agian. "I do hope he doesn't have a dog," she commented. "Can't stand guard dogs, they're ever so noisy." Demitri looked up, eyes somewhere else as if she was trying to imagine a scenario. "I've never actually encountered a guard dog," she finally said. "Most of the suckers in Sunberth couldn't have afforded them. Besides, I didn't do a lot of house-casing until this year." She looked back at Keeta as they continued to walk down the empty night street. "How do you usually handle them?"

[Keeta]

Keeta made an airy gesture, seeming to include the whole of the north side of the street.

"There isn't one technique for dogs, much depends on things like how big they are and where the house is situated. Some dogs want to bite, and others just bark like idiots. Feeding them sometimes works, they are more mercenary than they let on. Otherwise you kind of have to hold them down on their backs until they get an idea of who the boss is."

She shrugged elaborately.

"Our guy tonight had the look of a sailor, with the weathered skin and so on. If so, he probably won't have a dog since he'd be out a lot. Let us hope for the best and if not I will spring into some sort of action."

[Demitri Maebourne]

"There isn't one technique for dogs," the girl mused, and as she detailed her experiences with guard dogs Demitri smiled to herself lightly. No matter what Keeta was talking about, she always had a lot to say. That might annoy some, but the dark-haired girl found it immensely entertaining. "I suppose I'll have to trust you to do that part," she responded laxly. "The 'showing them who's boss' thing." They kept walking, and as the girl lazily tried to steer the conversation one way or another she searched the night for that small cottage with the big oak door. That cottage there was much too large... and that other one looked very much the same, but it was far too well-kept for the likes of their target. Demitri sighed to herself silently as she scanned the houses, grateful for the relative brightness of the night street. Thank the gods for moonlight! She was just beginning to think they'd gone the wrong way when she saw it. It was just as it had been the previous night, dirty and small and with a large door accompanied by another large keyhole. Maddok had spent more than the average man on the protection of his possessions- but the quality of the lock didn't matter when you had the key, and he'd been all too careless with that. "Here we are," Demitri grinned as she moved for the door. She pulled the key from her pocket and pushed it into the lock, fumbling only slightly before hearing a successful click. She looked at Keeta a bit nervously. As she said, it was doubtful that he'd have a guard dog. But if he did, it could cause quite a ruckus. If he was a bitey, even more so. Further, if there was a dog, fighting it off would hardly be worth the small hoard of mizas they expected from this miniature heist. Slowly, but not slowly enough to appear too suspicious to nighttime passers-by, she pushed open the door. There was nothing there that she could see. Demitri's nerves disappeared once again in a flash, and with her usual unstoppable cheer she held the door open wide, turning to Keeta again and making a grand, sweeping motion as if to say "after you."

[Keeta]

As Demitri worked the lock, Keeta stood in casual attitude examining her fingernails for dirt. It never paid to look guilty when you were doing crime, it made people suspicious. As the door swung open and she was given an invitation to enter, she performed a half curtsy.

"Thank you, mam," she said, moving inside as if she owned the place. Once inside, she paused to wrinkle her nose delicately.

"Not much of one for decor and so on. Not that my hopes were high, but still, a person need not work at squalor so. She moved to the mantel place and using a flint and steel she found there set the stump of a candle alight.