Closed Old Habits Die Hard (Adi Skyglow)

[Stefan]

13th of Spring, 513 AV.
18th Bell, 30th Chime

Licking the scar on his lip, Stefan strolled through the second tier of the city of Riverfall, though it was more of a quick walk than a stroll. There was a nervous smile on his face, interrupted by the tongue on his lip. He didn’t usually did that, only when he did something wrong and was sure that he was going to get caught; after all, several years before, that’s how he got that scar in the first place.

He failed this time, and now was being chased... thankfully; he wasn’t stupid enough to do it to an Akalak, but to a sailor that was passing through the docks of the city. They were stubborn, so they could deal with the problems themselves, and not try to find help from the protectors of the city. That gave him a good chance... but alas, Stefan was out of practice.

Now, a few minutes before the lovely spring sunset, he was escaping again from someone he didn’t know. Old habits die hard, after all, and even though he picked pockets in his youth before just to survive, now he did it just for the thrill... playing the game of cat and mouse was exciting, but of course, it became a lot less exciting once he got caught. And he did get caught on the docks, but thankfully managed to hide behind some barrels, taking silent breaths, before he was able to get caught. After that, he fled as stealthy as he could, but was still sure that they were tailgating him... he could feel it in his gut, in the scar on his lips, and on the back of his neck, almost like his pursuer was chasing him.

And he loved it.

But of course, he needed a scapegoat... something –or someone –to help him blend... since it was late, there weren’t any crowds to hide, but there must be something he could do...

That’s when he saw that pretty girl. He couldn’t tell what was her race, as she looked fairly normal; perhaps being a Human... but it was a perfect opportunity. Stefan took off his light shirt, believing that it could help him to not to get recognized, and tied it in his arm, then approached the gal. Well, there goes nothing, he thought.

“Good evening! Lovely day, isn’t it?”

[Adi Skyglow]

And it was a lovely day, to Adi at least. She'd finished an early evening meal and left soon after for a walk around the city of Riverfall, which had recently become her home. Unfortunately it wasn't a home she knew the streets of. Tonight, she planned on rectifying that. Her walk started from her house, a small cottage on the south side of the city. It had been a slow day for Adi, which was a welcome relief from the noise of the city. Even better was the fact that today was a day off for the Vantha storyteller. Though she loved her job, it was hard to make a name for one's self as an entertainer in Riverfall. There were already a lot of them-bards, better storytellers, wandering artists...the list went on and on.

As she walked, she began drafting up a story in her head. Uh. A tale from Avanthal? About...the smallest ice carver. That could work. The little ice carver who was only a child, but was determined to get their work displayed in Morwen's castle. Once she'd established the premise, ideas popped into her head left and right about the little ice carver. She couldn't quite picture the child in her head...was it a boy? A girl? What hold was the child from? Ugh. Why can't I see the little carver, even though I can?[/i][/color] Adi continued meandering through the streets of Riverfall, humming to herself as she thought. Barely any attention went to her surroundings-which was exactly what she was trying NOT to do. This was a trip to get familiar with the city, not to...oh, who is that?

A man caught her eye then, someone she hadn't yet met. Meeting a stranger in Riverfall-a city still very unfamiliar to her-wasn't much of a surprise, though it wasn't what she'd wanted. Adi gave him a polite smile and a brief appraisal with violet eyes that developed orange tones as he approached her. He seemed mostly human, thankfully. It occurred to her that he might be a Svefra, though the thought was quickly dismissed when she remembered the ocean eyes Svefra had.

"A very lovely day. Perfect weather for an after-dinner walk, in my opinion," she responded. The orange faded from her eyes, which returned to their usual fully purple color. Had she been able to see her eyes, Adi would have thought that the orange that drained from them poured directly into the sky. The sun was setting, and it was beautiful. It was the first time in quite a while she'd been able to relax enough to truly enjoy the setting sun.

With a smile, the Vantha tilted her head in the direction of the man opposite her. "I'm Adi. Adi Skyglow. I would offer you my hand to shake, but unfortunately I'm recovering from an injury." Her tone was apologetic, though it didn't bother her that she was unable to shake hands with him. Handshakes were not her forte. Socialization wasn't, either.

[Stefan]

“The name’s Stefan; Stefan Teagan, at your service” he said with a little bow of his head with the most polite smile he could muster, though he could feel his mouth shivering with excitement. “An injury? That’s a pity, what I wouldn’t do to kiss the hand of such a gorgeous woman” he chuckled a little bit, barely catching a glimpse at the colour change of the Vantha’s eyes.

He flirted as he always did, and tried to remain calm, but if Adi was observant, she could see some odd things Stefan was doing. First of all, he was licking the scar on his lip, and second, he was moving his eyes to his back, almost if he was restraining himself to turn his head.

“It is indeed a lovely evening for an after-dinner walk, though I only came here to stretch a little... you know, feel the spring breeze, see the sunset, all that stuff...” he wasn’t actually doing anything of that, and didn’t even bothered to look at the sunset. He didn’t mind sounding like a complete lunatic, talking to a random stranger about trivial stuff... all he needed was to look inconspicuous, not for her, but for someone else... and if all else failed, he just needed a good distraction.

“You know, it is somewhat frustrating that this place still has winter all over it... the night’s chilly sometimes and-“ he didn’t bothered to finish the word, because as he turned his head to his back, a huge, if not nervous smile crossed his face. Almost as suddenly, he started to run, and leaped behind a low stone wall, covered in the lovely plants that the Akalaks used to decorate the city.

With that, a man came in, like in a scene of a play. His clothes, including his leather coat, gave away the fact that he was a sailor, and the expression on his face gave away the fact that he was not only angry, he was furious. He looked around, and when he didn’t found anything, he started to speak at Adi “Gal, did you saw a man around here? Green shirt, a mop of brown hair, skinny as the void, and soon to be a dead man!”

Silently, Stefan came out from behind the wall, crouching and walking silently behind the man. Using one of his hands to make a circle, he made a sign to Adi to say her to carry on the conversation, while his face begged her to not to say anything about him. As he did, the young thief got near the man, and snuck his hand into the pocket of his coat. Slowly, taking long, silent breaths, he started to steadily move his hand, trying to find some mizas in the man’s pocket.

Stefan was committing a deadly mistake, and he knew it, because he learned it the hard way before: he trusted a complete stranger to aid him in his shenanigans. But it was his only option right now... except it wasn’t. He could have just simply walked away when nobody was looking, but in that case, he wouldn’t have been able to pick the man’s pocket, and where is the fun in that? So he continued to fiddle in the sailor’s coat, giving a silent prayer to Yshul inside his head.

[Adi Skyglow]

Though Adi didn't look at him carefully enough to see his lip quivering, it wasn't hard to see Stefan's need to restrain himself. She wondered absently what he was trying to hide.

The man seemed tense and preoccupied mentally, worried more about something she couldn't guess at than the conversation she was trying to have with him. Stefan honestly sounded like a raving lunatic.

Morwen's stained undies...what in the world is he doing?

The took that crossed the Vantha's face as Stefan disappeared was one of disdain that quickly returned to something more normal when she noticed a very angry-looking man walking quickly towards her. Adi had two choices and she needed to decide instantaneously which one she'd go with. She could turn in the smooth-talking human, or she could cover for him.

Sensing an interesting story behind whatever it was Stefan had been doing before he'd introduced himself to her, and the potential for an adventurous night, she adopted a goofy grin. Waving lazily to the leather-clad sailor in front of her, Adi stumbled towards him. "Sun's pretty!" Adi slurred, looking somewhere above the man's forehead. "Brown messy void?" she added, opening her mouth and barking out a laugh before clapping the man on his shoulder. "'M no Rak'li, but y'might wanna get that check'd out." She blinked slowly at the man, taking a step back.

Looking at him very seriously, Adi got another idea. "Y'know, I did see a man run by me earlier. Y've gotta promise y'won't tell'im I told ya where he was, first." Her pause gave Stefan a moment to get what he wanted from the man's pockets and hide himself again.

[Stefan]

Fiddling the man’s pocket was something akin of an art, at least to the young thief. The coat was tick, so it was hard to sense his hand entering, but it he would still be able to sense Stefan’s hand if he actually touched him. All it required was a firm pulse, nimble fingers and quick wits to do it.

But of course, there was the distraction. Stefan was actually baffled when the gal actually decided to help him, but he was not complaining. No one should trust an estranger when it came to this type of business, but one of the lessons was that anybody can surprise you.

The Vantha talked with the sailor, acting like she drank all the beer on the city –and it was actually a good acting, at that. However, it was a nasty surprise when Adi stumbled into the man, and then touched his shoulder, as that reaction made the man flinch, if ever so slightly. But even a slight flinch would ruin everything, as all came into the fact that the man should never notice what he was doing.

And then, it came the moment when Adi told him about revealing his location. It was obvious that she was going to lie... otherwise, she would simply had to point on his direction, and he would have been a dead man right on the spot. But instead, she was greeted by a gruffly “So? Speak up! Where is that scoundrel!?”

Almost as the same time, Stefan managed to pull out a few coins –only two gold mizas. It was a mediocre reward, but it would had to do for now. Stefan nodded at Adi and then walked silently behind the same low wall, breathing silently and hoping that his cover was not blown. But on the inside, he was smiling; the old habits gave him a good boost of energy and excitement.

[Adi Skyglow]

Adi grabbed the man in front of her by the shoulders once she was sure the thief in front of her was done playing in the irritated sailor's pocket. With her eyes constantly flicking around her surroundings, a devious smirk grew across the young Vantha's face. She leaned in even closer to the man, breath hot on his neck, and purred into his ear. "'E turned'n ran down th'alley when 'e saw ya," said Adi, gesturing to her left, where there was indeed a narrow alley that wound between two buildings.

Then she released the man and slapped him heartily on the back. He took off down the alley she pointed him towards in pursuit of a man who'd just-unknown to Stefan's pursuer-had his hands in his pants!

Adi turned around to watch and make sure the man was gone before she stole over to the wall Stefan hid himself behind. Crouching down on the side away from the path, she spared a quick glance in each direction before she looked directly at the man and raised an eyebrow.

"I think you owe me one of those," murmured the Vantha towards Stefan and his prize. Her left hand was extended towards him in a gesture that-had he not heard her-would make her purpose clear. Two gold mizas were the spoils from this event, and Adi felt that covering for Stefan and distracting the man while he took the sailor's money were actions that deserved a reward. A single gold miza didn't seem like much, but to someone who struggled to make four of them on a daily basis, it was a lot. Just one miza could buy her a meal.

Though she didn't say it out loud, the Vantha was curious about the fine art of larceny. If the messy-haired man chose not to share his riches, Adi would demand knowledge from him. Knowledge of how, exactly, one could get away with having a hand in a stranger's pocket. And, of course, knowledge of how to remove one's hand from the stranger's pocket with their valuables tucked safely inside one's own fist.

[Stefan]

Stefan watched from behind the small wall, as the sailor quickly stormed off to an alley. Success! He managed to get away with the scheme, even though somebody helped him.

Letting himself lean against the wall, he allowed himself to breathe deeply and chuckle slightly. By the gods it was exciting! That rush that one felt when making these kinds of things was something unique, and even though Stefan originally made it to survive, now it was a really fun sport for him; a sport that could cost him his life, but a sport nonetheless.

Raising his head, he could see the ever-changing eyes of the Vantha in front of his brown ones, as she extended her hand towards him. Not only she did help him with the theft, but also wanted profit, even though it was dishonest? Stefan liked this gal already without knowing her. “Seems only fair, lass, but let me introduce myself; this time the right way.” He grabbed Adi’s extended hand and kissed it, then placed the golden miza on her palm “Stefan Teagan; wine connoisseur, lover, bard and liberator of other’s properties, at your service.” He said to her, putting some poetry on the last one, even though it was just more elegant word for “thief”, but he was content with it.

For a moment, Stefan was considering just ending this here, do some small talk, flirt a little, and then leave, but he again thought about the easiness of the Vanthan taking the money... again, it was a horrible mistake to trust a estranger in such business, but this time, it seemed that he could find a partner... but he needed to make sure first. He was pretty sure that she would accept; it was a gut feeling, but if she didn’t... well, he’ll work something out, even though if the result would not be pleasant.

It was something like an interview, so with an expression of his hand, he offered Adi to seat alongside him behind the wall “Care to sit down with me? The company of such a lovely lady with a silver tongue is indeed pleasant... “He snickered “You did a good job there, my dear, even though it was a little sloppy... but it was good anyway, so I can appreciate that. But... don’t you think that two golden mizas is a little mediocre prize? I’m pretty sure that we could do a bigger profit for it, can we? Think about it as a short-term business, like a pleasant one-night stand... it can remain like that, but if you are good at it and actually like it, we can talk some more. What do you say?”

[Adi Skyglow]

Her eyes flicked constantly from color to color, betraying her mood which was uncertain at the moment and had yet to settle in one stripe. With a smirk, she leaned back against the wall Stefan hid behind.

Adi flushed at the man's gesture. Something chivalrous for a change. And from a...well, from a thief of all people. Unexpected, but not unpleasant. "And I'm Adi Skyglow, runaway Vantha, drinker of alcoholic beverages, and amateur Miza liberator. It's nice to meet you."

A wine connoisseur, eh? Could prove interesting.

She clutched her hand around the miza and pocketed it, quirking her head to the side to listen to Stefan's words. She elected to sit next to him, careful not to attract too much attention to herself. Though the sailor was gone, they weren't likely to get off scot-free if he saw her playing with a miza she hadn't had in her hand only minutes before. The Vantha raised an eyebrow as he explained what he had in mind, pretending to take a minute to think it over. Adi's answer was there in her head before Stefan even finished his question.

"I'm definitely interested if you're willing to teach me," she replied, a smirk playing across her face. And Adi was. Thievery had always appealed to her in a different sort of way than any pursuit of the fine arts did-well, isn't the litany of larceny a fine art of its own?

Upon further thought, Adi realized it was an art. It took serious effort to identify a mark and to figure out how to approach them, more effort to hide once the deed was done...and what if you got caught in the act? There were serious penalties for stealing.

The idea of learning to live out of pocket-out of other people's pockets, at least-appealed to her.

[Stefan]

Stefan smiled calmly, pleased. As he watched the Vantha’s eye colour to change radically, he knew that the gal did was more that it meet the eye. Now this was going to be interesting “Good, lass, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Let’s assume that your classes start... now! Follow me, and do it quick! Those pockets aren’t going to empty themselves.”

Stefan stood up from behind the wall, and with a movement of his hand, told Adi to follow him. He started to move quickly, but without running, towards the street, always getting by the shadows to avoid being seen, and to avoid every guard, or rather, every person. He licked the scar on his lip again... his heart was racing, like an erratic yet rhythmic song. One of the parts of this is to remain unseen, and he always tried to do that part right.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the Zhongjie Warren. A bazaar: one of the best places for a wayward pickpocket to practice their art. The bazaar of Alvadas, the Bizarre, was full of opportunities, for example... and also a lot of risks. As it seemed, Adi was nothing but a novice, and she herself said so. They needed to thread careful.

“Alright, my dear, we’ll begin with something easy...” Stefan said, as he sat on a bench. Even though it was night, there were a few persons on the place, buying and selling what they needed, exchanging their gold coins. “I know it’s disappointing, but trust me on that... after all, the first time I stole something, this happened” he said pointing to the scar on the right corner on his mouth vertically, near his nose, crossing through his lip and ending near his chin “If you’re good, and lucky, you will not need to have one of these... it would be a shame, your face is too pretty to have scars, you know.”

He started to look for a potential mark... he needed something easy this time for Adi to try. And if everything went wrong... he needed a good escape route.

“Alright, look at that...” he said pointing discretely at one of the stands, which sold some simple bracelets made with leather strings and bone; simple, yet beautiful. “I’m going to talk to that Akalak on the stand, and I want you to take something when he’s not looking. If you want to feel daring, try his pocket, but if something goes wrong –and it usually does –is every man for himself. Remember: your hands need to be quick, your senses on tune, and your head without a doubt; if you doubt, you’ll be caught in no time... pay attention to the mark and their movements, and also their surroundings, and when you take the object, get away, but don’t run or look suspicious. Just find something else and look distracted.”

He stood up and walked towards the stand of the bazaar, wondering how in the world he ended up as a teacher, much less for larceny... but if it did result, well... it could prove interesting. After all, it was not only something fun and pleasurable –at least for him –it was a business. And Stefan did love to mix pleasure and business.

“Evening, lad! You made these yourself? Quite nice...”

“Yes, I made them myself” the Akalak said proudly “Do you like what you see?”

Stefan feigned to examine the bracelets, one by one “Quite nice indeed... sadly, they’re not my much of my style, but I’m looking for something out of good quality. Do you have something out of it? It’s a special gift for an especial someone...”

“I see... what kind of someone, if you allow me to ask?”

Stefan smiled “A lover... I want something nice for her. I’m sure you got something...” he said, continuing the conversation, and waiting for Adi to do the deed.

[Adi Skyglow]

Adi stood up straight after Stefan did, dusting her hands off on the legs of her pants. She hurried after him, following the brisk pace he'd set-a quick walk she could maintain for a long while if need be.

He led her into the Zhongjie Warrens, a bazaar with a name that was hard to pronounce and so was usually referred to as the Warrens. As a newcomer to the city, Adi was still unsure of its exact layout. She hadn't even been there before tonight. Well, there was a first time for everything, and a visit to the city's bazaar was one of the more mundane firsts of the season, thankfully. Musing, the Vantha sat on tthe bench next to Stefan-not too close, since he was a pickpocket!-and listened quietly to his instructions.

Stealing was, it seemed, a dangerous art.

When he finished his portion of instructions to her and departed for the Akalak's stand, Adi waited a chime before getting up herself and following after Stefan, though she altered her course slightly to lead her past a diferent booth beforw reaching the Akalak jeweler. He sold bone jewelry, as Stefan had said he did. No unpleasant surprises there. The young woman said nothing while she browsed the trays of hand-crafted ornamental baubles. Her eyes, purple tinged pink, landed on a bracelet that was a leather strip-fairly thin-strung through many small circular beads made of what Adi could only hope was animal bone. Its simplicity attracted her almost immediately.

The young woman's heart was pounding in her chest with nrrvous energy, and her palms were beginning to clam up. This was daring and exciting and felt a lot less illegal than it actually was. In her excitement, she didn't think to look back at the owner to make sure he wasn't looking at her before she palmed the bracelet and turned away towards Stefan, a slight frown on her face. If the shopkeeper looked at her, hopefully he'd just think she didn't like anything he had to offer.

Adi walked behind Stefan and tapped him lightly on the back as she passed, letting him know that she was done. Heart still racing in her chest, she hurried away from the Warrens until she reached a bench. It wasn't the same bench Stefan had led her to earlier. There, she collapsed and cackled, pink eyes squeezed shut. That was exciting!