You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two [Marius]

[Ifran]

Watching young Marius' mind move from one perspective to a new one made Ifran smile and there was nary a trace of smirk to it either. He wondered if this was the sort of feeling his own master, Taharqa, had felt when his young apprentice made a new discovery a new achievement. Not that young Marius was his apprentice. They were nothing more than strangers breaking bread, sharing talk, but that was something. "I know plenty of rich men, and they are almost invariably boring, with nothing to teach me. My master once made me spend a month begging in the streets of Yahebah where the Benshira would spit upon me for their memories of slavery to my people. I..." It was strange for Ifran to misspeak, so cool and collected was he even at the worst of times, but here he paused and remembered that experience. There was anger mostly, and a boy's hatred, a trace of vulnerability. "It was not true poverty I experienced," he said finally, quietly. "I knew that I could decline the trial, return home to the opulence of Ahnatep. All the same, I did not know how long it would go on, and every once in a while a person would show genuine kindness and it made me question my understanding of the world. "I think," he said carefully, "that I am showing you kindness. Perhaps I have ulterior motives. Perhaps you will have a sense of fairness that will not let you rest until you have repaid that kindness. Perhaps I will let you return us to equilibrium, or perhaps I will never see you again and you will have a memory of a strange, six-armed man from Ahnatep who was willing to feed you while you listened to his boring words."

[Marius Valdemar]

The boy's smile turned idle, and he was silent for a long moment as he contemplated this information. When the wooden spoon scrapped what seemed to his ears louder than the hubbub of the bar he suddenly realized that he had finished the soup. He pushed the bowl away slightly and finally spoke. "Well then you are just about the nicest six-armed stranger that I've ever met. Not that I've met many, mind you." He said as the glibness returned to his smirk." Marius's mind tried to unravel the image of this graceful and eloquent creature dressed in rags in the gutter, one arm outstretched begging for alms and getting cruelty in his palm instead. Now that was hard to imagine. It was obvious that the event still brought strong emotions to him, Marius could tell that much from the elusive twitch in Ifran's expression and voice. It was hardly noticeable to most people, but the little thief often practiced reading people from what his old master Crow had taught him and he managed to pick up on it. Of course, essentially all of what the Eypharian felt was veiled, so the fluctuations could have very well been something completely unrelated. Marius had no way of knowing. Either way Ifran was right in that he had treated the boy to a rare taste of generosity felt in this city to a lowly urchin. Even if he did have a hidden goal, Marius felt bad for accusing him of such. "I'll be honest with you, Master Ifran." He said politely. "I am no knight, no honorable squire, not even a stable boy looking after some big shot's horse. I know what I am and I know what I'm capable of. You did me a solid, sir, and I won't forget it and I won't shirk to repay it. The only problem is I don't know what I could possibly do to help out someone such as yourself, but I assure you I'll find out! The very least I can do is pay for some drinks. I know of the tender here, and he doesn't rightly care who drinks his swill as long as it's paid for." Before Ifran could respond Marius signaled the same maiden that had served them before with two fingers held up, the customary sign for two ales. It was all Marius could afford, and so he hoped that it would be enough for his new friend. He reached into his shirt and withdrew some of his saved coin from the Tricks he pulled and tossed them on the table for the maiden to retrieve when she brought them their two large, foamy mugs of booze.

[Ifran]

Ifran just smiled, and it was a kinder thing that most saw from him when he lived in Ahnatep. Sometimes he wondered if Alvadas were making him soft, or if it was just easier to strip away those masks he wore in his homeland because nothing one saw in Alvadas could be trusted anyway. There was a freedom in that. There were some who might have protested a boy his age imbibing such drink, but Ifran figured if he was man enough to earn the coin, he was man enough to drink the swill, and accepting it at face value showed the young man respect. He likely did not get a lot of that in his life. He took up his mug with one hand, still managing to look more relaxed with five other arms sprawled comfortably, and raised it to toast. "Thank you for your drink, young Marius. To your very good health." He liked the little scamp, and found he did respect his resourcefulness, and how he knew the value of fair trade even though he was a thief. There was, perhaps, something noble in his spirit despite the circumstances in his life. He liked him better than most of the people he knew in Alvadas, in fact.

[Marius Valdemar]

"And to your good fortune while in Alvadas, may she bring good fortune to you." Marius brought his mug against Ifran's, spilling some of the head onto their hands in the process. He brought his to his mouth and slurped off the foam before tilting his head back and taking a long drink of the ale. He came back with a foam mustache, to which he wiped away with the end of his dirty sleeve. The two enjoyed their beverages and their company for a while, but the sun was beginning to slowly set over the city of illusions, and Marius's drink was beginning to show signs of the bottom. His head was also rather clouded, and he knew he had to leave soon. This feeling was confirmed when the orphans suddenly showed up outside of the tavern, looking in curiously for him. When they spotted him, they waved and beckoned, and Marius heaved a drunken sigh. "Well mister Ifran, it looks like I have to leave you. Thanks again for the meal and you know, not turning me in for trying to pick your pocket. We'll see each other again sometime while you're here, I'm sure of it." Marius said with a wide grin. He leaped from the chair and started for the door, stopping before he reached it to give the Eypharian a tip of an imaginary hat before he pushed through the door and returned to his life as the leader of his orphans.

[Bedlam]

Thread Completed!

Ifran

Experience:
2 Teaching

Lores:
The Evenhanded Urchin

Marius

Experience:
1 Larceny
1 Observation

Lores:
The Altruistic Actor

Notes:

I liked what you two did in this thread, though it was mostly talking. It’s very interesting to see that sort of camaraderie breed between two people of such different social statures in the city. It’s an interesting dynamic; the rich and mighty and the little street urchin, talking, finding common ground. Where does this dynamic go, I wonder? Hopefully one day we’ll find out.