Open Warmth at Last

[Sarina]

Timestamp: 80th Winter, 514

The worst of the cold seemed to be behind the citizens of Sunberth and Sarina was certainly glad for it. Cold had never really suited her, weighing her down with the need to wear warm things and to constantly keep a fire running. This winter had been unusually harsh and so when Sarina woke up to find the distinctive bite the air that had previously chilled her to be gone she was more than a little pleased. Wrapped in nothing warmer than her light black cloak she had set out to find something to do.

As much as the cold didn’t suit her, nor did an emptiness of plans and having such things made her anxious and, more importantly, bored, so today, with no clear plan in mind she set out to find one. There were a number of people roaming the streets, obviously all enjoying the newfound warmth. Sarina eyed each of the people as she walked past them looking for someone with something of value that she could take.

Noticing a man with a small leather pouch hanging from the inside of his cloak, Sarina approached him. He seemed to be new to town with foreign cloths and hadn’t yet learned to keep his money very close to his chest. The man was surveying a nearby woman’s stand that sold cloths. Walking up to the stand Sarina pretended to be interested in the cloths looking only out of the corner of her eye at the man.

As the man leaned over to further investigate the cloth Sarina reached under his arm and to his small leather pouch, unhooking where it was clipped to a pocket on the inside of his cloak and quietly taking the pouch to her own pocket, moving slowly so the coins wouldn’t clink together.

Sarina waited a second to see if the man noticed then, when she was sure he did not, she looked square at him and said, “I’m the Emerald Rose, by the way.”As the man turned to look at her, Sarina walked away with a smirk on her face. The smirk almost immediately melted. Childishly pick pocketing wasn’t how she wanted her fame. She wanted to be known for real heists. It doesn’t matter. She told herself Now at least I’ve got money for lunch.

She knew by now the man would be checking his pockets to see what was taken and by the sharp yell that came from behind her Sarina could tell he had found what was taken. Turning the corner into an alley way Sarina quickened her pace but didn’t break into a sprint. Running away would make this even more of a childish game that it was already.

The man continued to yell at her, demanding she return the money as he sprinted into the alleyway. Sarina continued to walk away giving the illusion of being completely calm as she did. Her fingers danced around the Tamo Daggers that resided in her pocket in the case that she man chose to attack her but she waited of him to make the next move.

[Lo'campo]

It felt nice to roll up one's sleeves to feel the newly found warmth breaking through the winter weather. There still was the skin prickling frost that tickled one's neck, but it would retire soon if things were to warm up as fast as they currently were, and with the blizzard, frozen bodies and gang attacks, it felt good to have one thing off the list of difficulties in the city. This also meant that he would be able to cross things off the ever growing list of task needing to be done. Which was why he was about the town see if there was anything new coming in with the approaching Spring. Making his way from merchant to merchant, he saw many things from colorful fruits to tools and knickknacks. Nothing that he was too interested in to buy even if he did have the money to afford it. Then came the base of all his problems. To bluntly put it, he was broke. Not a miza to his name. Not until Jilene paid him anyway. He missed the weight of his coins shuffling about inside his robes. Done with his window shopping, he turned back towards the alley in search of something else that would grave his attention. Maybe the beach would do him some good though it would be too cold to swim in if not frozen still. He looked at it as a place to think and plan on his next moves. Perhaps a visit to Minerva would be in order as well. Caught in his thoughts he almost didn't notice the woman walking past him, quickly moving to the side so he would not run into her he watched as she made her way past. Her eyes were fixated on something he could tell that made him invisible to her at least. Curiosity peaked at to what would pull her eyes away from the blue giant mass that tower over her, Lo'campo watched as she made her way over to a unsuspecting man, a visitor by the looks of his clothes, and the way he carried himself. The woman crept moving stealth like, blending in with the crowd before gently taking the man's coin pouch from his side. "A skilled thief indeed." he thought to himself watching the scene play out the man still not noticing a thing until she spoke to him before walking away. Eyes continued to watch as the woman walked ever so calmly whilst the man not realizing that he had been robbed ran after her in anger barking for her to stop and return his coin. The woman now made her way back toward him and the way that she had came. This looked like a clean get away. The man's apparel made him slow, tiring him out quicker than he was moving. Only mere inches away from him the woman continued to walk clutching what he suspected to be a weapon just in case her victim were to in fact catch up and attack. Lo'campo had nothing to do with this, he was just leaning against the applauding the feat in his head. The man now in arms reach, the woman passing him. It was until he saw the man reach behind his back did Lo'campo no longer become a witness, but an accompanist. Seeing the man come from behind his back with a crossbow slowly fumbling to load a bolt and fire the weapon, Lo'campo moved between the two. One hand reached for the woman pulling her back and onto the ground out of the way, the other blocking the side of his body as best it could absorbing the pain of the crossbow bolt piercing his skin. An evil came upon him, a feeling that he no longer wanted to hold, but was glad and comfortable with having. A guilty pleasure. Using his non-injured hand he dealt a quick jab to the face of the now dazed man before pulling the woman back onto her feet for a retreat.

[Sarina]

The man had begun to gain on Sarina but before she could decide on how she would deal with him she felt a strong tug on the hood of her cloak. She was pulled off of her feet and thrown backwards onto the cold dirt ground. She was taken by surprise having not thought the man to be close enough to reach her. Suddenly the familiar ping of a crossbow being fired filled Sarina’s ears. She tensed, waiting for the pain of the bolt ripping into her back. When the feeling didn’t come Sarina spun around to see what the delay was. Hundreds of possibilities raced through her mind but the sight that truly met her eyes was not one of them.

A large dark blue man with silvery hair stood over her. Sarina immediately recognized him as a member of the Akalak race, leaving her with many questions as to why he was standing over her with crossbow bold that had obviously been meant for her imbedded in his hand. Her eyes narrowed, wondering if this was some kind of ploy to get money. Possibly he would require she pay him for saving her life. Whatever it was Sarina didn’t plan to give him a miza.

Sarina watched as the man’s non injured hand jabbed her attacker in the face quickly dazing him, then reaching down to Sarina and despite her attempts to move out of his way, grabbed the back of her cloak and dragged her too her feet.

Once standing she yanked her cloak out of her saver’s hands. “What are you doing?” Was the first thing the burst out of her mouth at the man.

She didn’t need to be saved and defiantly didn’t want saving, but more than that she wondered why he had saved her. It wasn’t his business and generally people in Sunberth didn’t go out of their way to help people unless they had an alternative motive, which she didn’t doubt he had.

“I have no intention of sharing any of my money with you so it seems you have taken a hit for the wrong person.” Sarina wanted to make it clear she wasn’t giving anything to the enormous man even if blood was beginning to run down his arm from the wound he had taken for her.

Suddenly her eyes darted to the foreigner she had stolen from. He had previously been dazed and rubbing his face but now he was starting to get his senses back. Grabbing another bolt from his bag he had already began to reload the crossbow. Sarina unsheathed the Tamo Daggers she had grabbed from her pocket when she was thrown to the ground and ran up to the man, quickly stabbing into the wood of the crossbow where the string crossed over it. The string broke in half and the wood splintered as her knife impaled it. Pulling her knife back she ripped the crossbow out of its owner’s hand and then, pulling her knife out of it she threw it on the ground near the front of the alley way.

“You will not be needed that any more. Will you?” Sarina said sheathing her knives back together and placing them back into the inner pocket of her cloak. The man, now weaponless and with little chance of victory ran back out of the alley passing his broken crossbow as he did. Sarina smirked slightly feeling the heaviness of coins in her pocket. Erasing all emotion from her features she turned back to the Akalak and waited for his response.

[Lo'campo]

"I think it was called saving your life." the Akalak shot back wincing at the pain that now shot through his body. He could feel the tip of the bolt in his back sending shocks of pain at each attempt to reach for it. "And trust me, if I wanted your coin you wouldn't have gotten up from the ground. In one move, he grasped the shaft of the bolt forcefully pulling the object from behind him sending one last spasm of pain[ over him before receding to the wound itself.Also, as far as me being needed depends. Do you plan on claiming more items that do not belong to you? You see, I've been looking for something to occupy me until the snow melts. I know it sounds frivolous, but I just want help you so I can have some fun. It's a win win situation. I have fun, and you have extra eyes, ears, and muscle just in case you feel like you're invincible to these again." He spoke holding up the bolt. He knew that he was going out on a limb here asking a thief to allow him to help her steal without any reward, she probably would think that he was crazy, which he was....partially. The point was that he needed something to do that was fun and entertaining. Surprisingly he found this fun and entertaining. Petch he would do it himself if he weren't the tallest thing roaming around. It would make it hard for one to get away or hide. So much for leading a clean life. He would have to apologize to Minerva when he went to visit her, but this was who he was. He could feel the little blood that ran from his wound dry. Rotating his arms he felt pain, not enough to impair his abilities, but he wouldn't push it. Didn't want it becoming something more serious. "So what do you say?" He asked as the woman pondered the idea. "Who would be crazy enough to pursue you with someone of my character in the way." He added to boost the chances of her agreeing to the terms. He felt a little of his own guilty pleasure in his statements. A part of him only wanted to do this for fun, while another part just wanted an excuse to bust some heads together and get the rush the he left behind him not to long ago. Leaning back against the wall of the alley, he awaited her answer.

[Sarina]

Sarina considered the proposal. She worked alone, she had always worked alone but he was right in saying his stature would scare some of her problems away and the idea of having a partner did sound rather attractive.

“Sure. But I don’t need you to protect me. I’m very capable of taking care of myself.” She paused. The man’s offer seemed to good to be true. Why would he want to help me for no good reason? It was undoubtedly some sort of scam but Sarina doubted she couldn’t take care of it and the idea of having a partner, at least for some time, see like a good one.

“Also, please understand, I don’t intend to pay you. You can take whatever money you get but none of mine.” Sarina stopped; waiting to see if that would deter him from his offer. Sarina hoped it went without saying but she did intend to be the leader of their little partnership. She didn’t want her talents going under someoneelse’s name.

Feeling a bit irritated at having to tilt her head back to talk to the giant before her, she decided she should give him some sort of test so she didn’t end up working with someone who would get them both killed. His ending up with a crossbow bold in his hand, even if she would have ended up with it in her back, didn’t really impress her.

“If you want to work for me you will need to prove your ability.” Sarina scanned the street looking for a reasonable target. “See that man.” She pointed to a young rather handsome man who was walking by. “He has a scarlet scarf tucked in that basket he is holding. Take it and bring it back. Doing it without his knowledge goes without saying.” It was a fairly easy goal. The basket had an opened top and the scarf was practically hanging out of it.

[Lo'campo]

Following her finger pointing out into the crowd, he spotted the target that she spoke of. It was a man carrying a basket with a scarf hanging out."Consider it done." he tried to speak with confidence he lacked mentally. How was he going to do this without being noticed? He was a giant. The man would have to be practically blind to not see his large shadow moving behind him and not get curious about it. Taking a breath, he stepped out from the alley and into the open market. It was crowded which was a good thing as he tried to mimick the moves he saw the woman using to sneak up on her target unexpectedly. What worked for her seemed to make an ass of him as those that passed by looked at him with eyes of distrust and quickly strayed away from him. This was not going well now standing back up continuing his journey with a slow stride. He was now a few feet away from his target continuing to close the gap hoping that an idea would come to him before he got there. The man had seemed to not notice his presence right away, but Lo'campo didn't want to let the window of opportunity close. Quickly looking in all directions he tried to swipe the scarf swiftly only to miss as the man moved to the next vendor. Petch he hoped nobody saw that. He didn't want to bring attention to himself. Following the man once more, he went to grab the item again this time letting it slip from his fingers and getting the man's attention. "Do you sell anything other than this? He asked the vendor, trying to seem like it was an honest bump. With nothing being said or done, the man turned and left leaving Lo'campo to listen to the man talk about his wares. He was getting frustrated with the task at hand now locating the man once more and closing in to make his move. Sneaky wasn't his thing, he didn't do subtle and quiet. He would rather bash the pretty face of his than to try and leave unnoticed. He looked back in the direction of the woman imagining a smirk on her face at the humor of his attempts. If she wanted a scarf then dammit he'll get her one. Walking at an angle to cut the man off, Lo'campo put his hood over his head so none would see his face. In one movement, and outstretched arm met with the man's face before shoving it against the wall with force. Moving behind the stumbling sir, Lo'campo put him into a choke hold dragging him into the alley away from the eyes of the market. His muscles tightened as the man struggled to get free as his windpipe closed the more he moved. His grunts and gurgles were drowned out by the sound of the market only around bend of the alley. His shaking about slowly came to a halt, his arms sliding to the ground whilst his body go limp. Waiting a few ticks before releasing, Lo'campo quickly snatched the scarf and miza pouch from the man's person before emerging from the alley. He tried to walk without the nervousness showing in his steps. It was nothing for him to kill a man, so he didn't see why this was any different yet he acted as if there was someone that saw his crime. Taking a deep breath, he focused returning to his original location. "Here you are, one scarf. It was agreed that I keep the miza that I take seeing that I am not being paid correct? And don't look at it as protection, more like an internship." he quoted as he tossed the scarf towards the woman quickly stashed it in his robes to check later. "Lo'campo." he outstretched his hand for a shake.

[Sarina]

Sarina watched in shear disbelief as her partner wannabe awkwardly walked through the street, attacking the attention of everyone around him. If this was what he called steal Sarina would have absolutely no use for him. Sarina could only hope this was his style of doing things and that it worked but from what she could see so far this seemed to be his first time attempting such an action. Am I getting a partner or taking on an apprentice?

She watched as he tried to obtain the scarf not once but twice to no avail. The second time dropping it, and getting the man’s attention. Now there was no thought in her mind that the man might just be doing things his own way. He obviously had no idea what he was doing. She watched as he recovered from his folly only to end up talking to an overzealous vendor. By the time he had finally broken away from the man selling his wares his target was already walking way. Sarina saw her hopeful partner glance back at her before pursuing the man. She smirked lightly as she met his eye. But the look of amusement was all but faded as he shoved the man into the wall with more force that Sarina could have and grabbed him by the neck, dragging the struggling man into a nearby alley. Whatever he did to the man was lost to Sarina as the corner of the building blocked her view of the pair. She didn’t bother to move to a better vantage point knowing that the Akalak had more likely than not kill his victim.

Sarina straitened from leaning against the wall as her newfound partner made his way back to her. He had, in one hand the scarf she had requested and in the other a pouch of mizas similar to the one Sarina had acquired earlier. The man quoted her on how she said he could keep whatever money he got and verified that he was, as she had suspected, looking for an internship. He tossed the scarf towards her and she caught it quickly, stuffing its thin fabrics into her pocket as the man did the same with the pouch of money he had acquired.

“Lo’campo” The man introduced himself extending his hand for her to shake.

“Sarina.” Sarina replied ignoring the hand. “People are going to be after us when they find that body. Which,” She paused glancing around the large man and watching a woman cautiously make her way into the alley where the body was to see what all the commotion had been about. “will be in 3…2…1” She counted down on her fingers and almost as soon as the last one had gone down she heard a scream echoing off the walls of the alley across the street.

“I have no intention of staying around to deal with an angry,” She ran the woman’s image through her mind and decided her connection to the man. [b]“sister.” She finished. Turning around Sarina began to walk further into the alley way. She knew any second now the woman, who she could tell was the dead man’s sister, would be striding over to the man who had murder her brother and the woman who he was working with. Sarina didn’t want to have to deal with that. “You can come if you’d like.” She called back to her new intern smirking to herself; she kept walking waiting for him to follow.