A Pocket Picked (Volinir)

[Cassidy Finch]

79th Summer, 512 Velvet nimbly weaved her way through the crowds of Ravok's streets as she looked about for the marketplace. Now that she wore more respectable clothes, a plain pair of cotton trousers and a matching shirt, she fit in much better with the crowd in the area. Though there were many slaves in the throng around her, the vast majority was the lower class and workmen of the city. Instead of being pushed aside and shoved out of the way, people would move around her in the same way she moved around them; like she was an equal. The young woman knew she was not free--not yet anyway--but the thought that others could confuse her for a free woman made her smile. Despite this, the crowd still made Velvet uncomfortable. It reminded her much of the cage she had been trapped in for several months previously, bouncing her and dozens of other slaves up and down on the rough road all the way to Ravok. Generally, this would be tolerable for short periods of time, but the slave had been threading her way through it for hours now. She had been on her way to the market to pick up some food and other necessities for her master when she had somehow gotten turned around and lost in the city streets. It felt like she had been in the thick of this city for ages, and the slave knew she had to find somewhere to rest and clear her head or she would never find her way to the market. Velvet stood on the tips of her toes to see a bit better, but it was useless. Being her size, she knew it would do nothing but make her look silly. Luckily, Velvet managed to catch a glimpse of a relatively secluded alley off to the side of the main street. Immediately, the slave made for it as quickly as she could. After stepping on a few toes and pushing a couple people who were smaller than herself(something she would normally never dare do), she nearly fell into the dimmer, narrow confines of the alley with a gasp of relief. After spending a few moments relishing the elbow room, Velvet took a couple steps forward and shivered as a bit of the grime--gods only knew what it was--that coated the alley squelched between her toes. Her master would likely be displeased by seeing her home with such disgusting feet making stains on his floor, but that was not important right now. Though she strove to please him in the hopes that he would eventually award her with freedom as he promised, she knew that she had little choice in the matter. Velvet could either stay in this alley for a while and collect herself or panic in the throng that shuffled by just a few feet away from her and never find her way. Wishing to distance herself further from the crowd, Velvet walked several feet further into the alley. After the first few steps it became much easier to ignore the filth; Velvet thought briefly that she was smart for rolling the legs of her trousers up a little so they would not brush against the dirty street. Once she was safely away from the crowd, the slave breathed a sigh of relief and shut her eyes, relishing the fleeting peace she had right now.

[Volinir Orchid]

A whining growl escaped from Volinir's stomach as he tramped through the market. Food had been difficult to come by recently, and only the lesser food needs of his kind had kept him from spending the better part of his time near starvation. Which is what had brought him to the marketplace. It was risky. Very risky. But it was that or starve. His tattoo was covered by two makeshift bandages covering his hands, and he sifted through the crowd, balking where the bodies pressed together especially closely. Broken ribs weren't something he was fond of. A couple tomatoes found their way into a rough-woven rucksack, as well as a small smattering of dried pork cut into strips. Encouraged by his success, and feeling a little daring, Volinir plunged back into the crowd, looking for someone who seemed distracted. Fortunately, that wasn't hard to find. A short girl with dirty blonde hair engaging in some sort of hopping ritual. So either a rain dancer or someone who was very, very lost. Both were just swell for Volinir. Slender fingers reached into her back pocket... And were yanked forward with the rest of him when Velvet suddenly decided she'd rather have some breathing space. Sharp nails hooked onto a coin purse and yanked it out of their resting place, causing it to land in the alley with a squeamish splat. Now, Volinir wasn't clumsy, but he'd already been reaching out and leaning forward to better vanish into the throng of people after doing his work, and he hadn't expected to be moving forward. As such, he kept stumbling forward for quite a while, tripping and running right into Velvet.

[Cassidy Finch]

At the sound of her coin purse slapping against the grimy alley floor, Velvet's eyes snapped open in shock. Immediately she whirled around to face the noise, expecting to see a skulking thief making off with the coin she had borrowed to buy the things her master would need. Instead, the young woman was shocked to see a scrawny excuse of a man bumbling into her and knocking her off balance. As she teetered back in an attempt to regain her footing, the greasy filth that coated the alley slipped underfoot and sent her toppling to the ground in a heap. Angrily, the slave glared at the man. She could feel the oozing slime seeping into her clothes, and just knew she would be getting a beating because of it. Sevris had bought these clothes yesterday, and he was sure to be furious that she had gotten them filthy so quickly. This was no way at all for her to earn her freedom, and it was all this man's fault! Velvet shoved him off of her furiously as she scrambled to snatch her coin pouch away before he could get to it. "What is wrong with you?" Velvet accused, her voice shrill with anger. Unlike the larger men who had the power to beat her and do whatever they pleased without consequence, this man did not look like he could hurt her. Feeble and weak, that's what he was. If she were more confident in her ability to utterly defeat this man, Velvet would have taught him a lesson right then. Unfortunately, she knew that in her weakened condition from months in that shykehole of a cage, she was nearly as bad off as this would-be thief. Her sunken cheeks and thin limbs rivaled his own, but he seemed...unnatural, somehow. It reminded her almost of a spider.

[Volinir Orchid]

Color flooded Volinir's cheeks as he landed on top of Velvet, and he hurriedly skittered off with a bit of less than peaceful help on her part, his abnormally long arm scooping the purse up. He'd have bit her to keep her still, if it weren't for his state of hunger. He may have been forced to steal to survive, but he wasn't about to kill. "What is wrong with you?" he heard the girl shriek. Her emaciated state made Volinir's heart clench, but there were plenty of starving people in Ravok, and all of them were filth. He was positive that if Velvet had a chance, she'd torture or humiliate him to amuse herself, or have him killed for a feast. As such, he didn't feel too much guilt about robbing her. He didn't know she was a slave, after all. Who pays attention to someone's hand during a robbery? "Petch off, azo!" he snarled, This just isn't your day!" Stumbling back on all fours, Volinir's hands found the wall again, and he stuck to the slippery surface with little effort, clambering up like an agitated arachnid. The slick that was coating his hands and feet, as well as the wall made it difficult to get a decent grip, and he slipped a couple times in spite of the innumerable microscopic hooks sticking out from his skin. Still, he was making decent ground. In a few ticks, he'd be completely out of reach, and in a few more, on the roof and out of sight.

[Cassidy Finch]

"Petch off, azo!" he snarled, This just isn't your day!" As the man crawled off with her purse, Velvet lept after him without a thought. Though it occurred to her that he really shouldn't have been able to climb directly up a wall like he was, all that occupied Velvet's mind was getting her money back. Her clothes were filthy, her feet moreso, and she hadn't gotten anything at the market. She'd be better off dead if she lost the money, too! As the thief--whatever he was--crawled up the wall, Velvet's leap sent her nearly crashing into the wall as she jumped up after him in desperation, trying to cling onto his ankle and somehow drag him down to her level. "No you don't!" Velvet shouted up at him, "That's not yours!" Despite the venom in her words, the young woman's heart wasn't in it. In fact, she was very close to tears. If she went back to her master's apartment in her condition, she was sure he'd beat her and leave her to die in a gutter somewhere. The denizens of Ravok weren't known for their mercy, and her master was of the Ebonstryfe, the most merciless of those in this filthy city she was stuck in. "Give it back, you petching thief!" This time, the emotions in her were crushed by overwhelming anger. She couldn't, wouldn't let this monster take her only chance at freedom and a real life from her.

[Volinir Orchid]

"That's not yours!" Volinir froze. A hop skip and a jump and he'd be on the roof and out of sight, but... He just couldn't rob her. Something about her voice struck a cord with him, and he squeezed his eyes shut in shame. He couldn't rob her, but he also had to eat. So he took two gold mizas from the purse, then dropped it down after her. "Take it." he said sharply, trying his best to still appear cold. "And get out of here." after a moment's hesitation, he added, "Get yourself something to eat, too. You look like you've been starved." Volinir wasn't a very good thief. Too noisy, and oftentimes, too sentimental. If he wanted to be honest with himself, the only reason he was a thief was because he couldn't get any other jobs with his tattoo. Two mizas wasn't much, but it would feed him. A small price to pay for keeping a woman's livelihood intact. He sighed and continued climbing; if Velvet didn't do anything, he'd soon be off.

[Cassidy Finch]

Just as her would-be robber was about to escape over the roof and to safety when he paused, just a moment away from getting away with her money. He withdrew two mizas from the pouch and dropped it down to her as she stared at the man in frank disbelief. After catching the purse in her hands, Velvet came to realize how strange this situation was. A thief had taken her money, climbed up the wall like some insect, and gave her the money back. What was the purpose? It didn't matter, Velvet decided, she had the money back. "Thank you..." She said with a somewhat suspicious expression, "But why?" Thieves, especially Ravokian thieves, didn't return stolen property to their owners. It just didn't happen! Despite herself, Velvet was curious about this spindly man. Normally, she would either run or try to rip the man down and give him a few solid kicks to ensure that he could not carry out whatever plan he surely had in store for her. This time however, Velvet was not so certain. The man seemed to have no anger towards her, and though the words he spoke to her were cold, he seemed not to hold any malice towards the slave. She decided that, for now, she was safe enough.

[Volinir Orchid]

The Symenstra stropped again, and slowly slid back down, falling freely a few feet before landing with an audible splat in the grimy alley. He shivered a little. He didn't want to know what the slime was, he just knew he didn't want it on his feet. Volinir ran a hand through his hair before turning to face his "victim," his brow furrowed. "Look, I'm just hungry. By the looks of it, so are you." the thief's gaze turned to her hands, soon spotting the black tattoo on the back of one of hers. "I was like you once, y'know. Before I decided I'd had enough. I don't know if you're new here, but..." he grimaced, "Believe me, it's better roughing it out here, than it is getting beaten and belittled in there." A few ticks of silence passed between them, before Volinir decided to speak again. "Anyways, um... Take care of yourself, Miss... And um..." he shuffled his feet awkwardly while he scratched the back of his head, "If you tell me who owns you, I promise I'll slip you a pie or something." The Sym wasn't entirely sure why he was offering this, but it just didn't feel right to turn his back on a slave without another word, or at least trying to help. Shame that he'd forgotten to look mean. He might have almost been able to salvage his reputation as a vagik.

[Cassidy Finch]

Velvet's would-be assailant hopped the short distance to the ground, landing in the grime of the alley. He seemed much less cruel and threatening now that he was not trying to make off with her money. Though Velvet was fairly certain he would do her no harm, she was still wary nonetheless. For all she knew, he was going to slit her throat and leave her corpse here. The man ran his hand through his hair, his brow furrowed as he spoke to her, "Look, I'm just hungry. By the looks of it, so are you." He then looked to her hand, which she quickly hid behind her back. That mark was shameful, a sign of how powerless she was. She did not want some petching, thieving scum to see it. Unfortunately, her fears were realized with his next words, "I was like you once, y'know. Before I decided I'd had enough. I don't know if you're new here, but..." The man paused briefly with a grimace before continuing, "Believe me, it's better roughing it out here, than it is getting beaten and belittled in there." Well, that was unexpected. The man used to be a slave, like her. Velvet tried to catch a glimpse of a mark similar to her own on his hands as she tried in vain to think of something to say to him that wouldn't make her seem like a fool. Before long however, the man continued on with his speech, "Anyways, um... Take care of yourself, Miss... And um..." he shuffled his feet awkwardly while he scratched the back of his head, "If you tell me who owns you, I promise I'll slip you a pie or something." At his words, Velvet felt her anger rising. Who was he to offer help? For all she knew, he was being hunted down right now. How could he get freedom so easily, just by walking off? It wasn't fair! She had to end up with a member of the Ebonstryfe, didn't she? It was just her luck that her owner would be one of the people who had the resources to hunt her down no matter where she went. With her cheeks flushed with her fury, Velvet replied, "I don't need anything from you! You take my money, and then try to help me? I don't even want a pie!" The young woman knew she was being irrational; after all, it looked like the man really wasn't trying to hurt her. It just angered her for some reason that he could be free, and choose to live off of others' work while she was condemned to a life of servitude when she was fully willing to work hard if it meant freedom. The unfairness of it was just too much. Velvet did not turn away from the man for fear of being stabbed in the back, but her glare clearly indicated her intention of storming off if it were at all safe for her to do so. Her anger continued to flare within her chest, like a furnace whose tendrils of flame curled outward into her limbs, filling them with energy. The ability to openly exhibit her anger like this gave her a strange sense of satisfaction. Most of the time, she had to endure her humiliation and abuse quietly, without giving even a hint of defiance. It felt nice.

[Volinir Orchid]

"I don't need anything from you! You take my money, and then try to help me? I don't even want a pie!" Now it was Volinir's turn to get angry. "Hey! I didn't have to give you your petching purse back!" he barked, gesturing angrily at her, "You think I want to be a thief? You think I chose to creep around like a common thug? I can't even get a damned job because my old owner has his fingers in half the city!" he took a step towards her, positively livid, "I try to do you a good turn," another step, "and you have," another step, "the nerve," another step, "to act insulted!?" he shoved at her shoulders. "Fine, then! Caetszo!" Understanding that most people didn't speak Symenos, Volinir elected to make the meaning of the curse very, very clear with a very, very rude gesture. He stood there seething for a few ticks. That ungrateful little vagik! He could have fed himself for weeks with her coin! Sure, he wasn't much nicer to people than she was, but this was different. In a way. Almost. Barely. Eventually, his shoulders sagged, and he languidly slapped a hand on his forehead, letting it slowly slide down his face. He used to be angry, but now he was just tired. Tired and hurt. "You know what, just go away..." Volinir said wearily, "Sorry for trying to show some shred of decency. I should've known it doesn't exist here." he sneered. He simply couldn't put any real malice behind the words, though, "When you're beaten to death, that's not on my head." With that, he turned on his heel and started to trudge out the alley, tucking the two gold pieces into his pocket. Perhaps if he was lucky, he'd find some less noisy, and much less pitiable marks to steal from.