Solo Festive Larceny

[Brandon Blackwing]

Day 88 of Winter 515 AV

The Azure festival, a nighttime celebration of … something. Brandon wasn't entirely sure what exactly was the reason for the festivities, as he'd never really been all that interested in cultural event of any kind, but if he had to guess, he'd say it was in honor of Zintila. Although, the Star festival in Spring was already dedicated to her. Syna too had a special festival in her honor -in Summer, obviously- and Leth had his own party in Fall. So... what was being celebrated during the Azure festival? All the aforementioned gods? It certainly was possible; Lhavitians liked their festivals after all, so he wouldn't put it past them to have claimed one festival a year for the gods was not enough, so they needed another one. Obviously an excuse to throw a party, but he couldn't imagine any Lhavitian now or back then arguing about it.

As a result of the festival, the streets were even more crowded than they otherwise were, filled to the brim with celebrating people having donned fancy clothes, as well as a mask. Brandon was no exception, though he was not up and about to party, oh no. This was a great opportunity for work; picking pockets, to be specific. Honestly, this was a perfect scenario for him; the crowd was dense, allowing for a quick escape when necessary, along with the option to blend in easily. And more importantly, due to the festivities, no one was paying all that much attention to their surroundings. He didn't need a distraction, he didn't even need to be as cautious as he otherwise had to be. The festival itself was one huge distraction, it was his cover.

Brandon's choice of clothing had been rather brazen for a thief though; the pants and shoes might not have been conspicuous, but the bright orange vest with flame pattern embroidery certainly did stand out. However, that was exactly the point. Brandon believed that you could become invisible by standing out. Not in all situations of course, but in this particular one, he was certain that the colorful vest would allow him to avoid detection. After all, if one noticed their purse had been stolen, they wouldn't expect someone dressed so conspicuously to be the culprit. No, the suspect was without a doubt some shady figure in clothes that were plain and inconspicuous. Admittedly, plain attire would stand out way too much during this festival, however, that didn't change the reasoning of the average person.

As such, Brandon gracefully moved through the crowd, slipping through gaps others would have overlooked. Despite the streets being packed, he did advance rather quickly, a result of his experience as a pickpocket. Crowds were his refuge and shelter, they were his prey and nourishment, but they were also his means of transportation. Crowds were not an hindrance to Brandon, and thus they did not hinder his movements. If he had to draw a parallel, he'd describe it as himself being a leaf caught in a gust of wind. He merely went with the flow without really forcing matters. Or more accurately, he made use of space available to move, not forcing the crowd to make room for him -as that usually had the opposite effect, in his experience- while still moving along with the crowd.

He slipped past a woman in a colorful dress, a purse swung over her shoulder, dangling beside her hip. Brandon wasn't too sure what he'd find inside, but obviously there had to be a wallet in there, among other things. There was a clasp lock on it, but Brandon's nimble fingers had it opened instantly without a problem, and immediately after, wasting no movement at all, his hand fished out a small coin pouch hidden within. Even when there were a multitude of other small objects in there -small hand mirrors, make-up, and what else have you- the wallet was singled out within less than a tick. Brandon's light touch made no sound, nor did it stir the contents of the handbag, or alarm his target. Picking pockets was all about finesse and swift fingers; Brandon was a master of both.

Just as smoothly and stealthily as it had entered, his hand exited the purse again, depositing the wallet in the pocket of his pants, and then he had passed the unfortunate woman, walking by as if nothing had happened. The whole of the act took him perhaps a tick, maybe a little more, of such tremendous level was his skill. He allowed a small grin to part his lips, then swiftly moved along the currents of the crowd.

Credit goes to Engghaen

[Brandon Blackwing]

It was evident that Brandon wasn’t the only person who’d joined in on the festivities in order to make a profit; many a busker had come out to perform, as had musicians and vendors selling small foods. Lhavit may have been in a state of rationing, but during festivals –so everyone had noticed at the midwinter celebration- those things were conveniently forgotten. After all, a festival without as much food and drinks as one desired was not a true festival at all. That, and it would be rude to the gods to be stingy when celebrating in their honor.

The addition of all those other vultures to the festival only made things even easier for Brandon, adding more and more possible distractions. However, sometimes they also had the opposite effect, but Brandon didn’t mind it all that much. Even though he was at work –if it could even be called that- his prime objective always was to enjoy himself, and the performing artists made that very much possible. Music was everywhere, at some places a cacophony of many musicians’ overlapping songs, but in others an up-beat swinging melody. The latter could be found at one of the squares, where a band of those maestro’s had a whole crowd engaged in a folk-dance.

Obviously, he couldn’t just barge through the dancers to steal their wallets and pouches. He’d be painting himself as a target for many eyes just by walking through, disrupting the dance. No that was not an option, but it mattered not at all. There was enough of a crowd standing around the whole group of dancing Lhavitians, watching in awe. Some were clapping along with the music, while others couldn’t suppress the vibe and let the beat swing their bodies like it was no-body’s business. Brandon smiled, moving through the spectators smoothly while unleashing his superior pickpocket technique upon some of them.

His hand slipped halfway into the pocket of a vest here -returning with a wallet, fingers fished a couple coins out of a purse there, and all the while he kept moving, sometimes not so accidentally bumping into someone to be able to reach their valuables better. He excused himself politely every time, effortlessly keeping his grin off his face. After a brief while, the music stopped, and the dancing crowd dispersed, heading in all directions, but not without being replaced by a fresh one. People who’d been spectating before rushed to the center of the square, hoping for a spot. Brandon was caught in the middle, dragged along with the crowd of enthusiastic partying Lhavitians. He attempted to resist at first, but eventually decided to just roll with it.

Who gives a shyke? It’s the Azure Festival, the bat shrugged as he strolled to a free spot, noticing he was paired with a woman in a bright yellow gown. Her mask was the same bright hue, decorated with sparkles and glitter. They made quite a pair. Brandon gave a shallow bow to the woman, and she responded with a curtsy, an ample smile on her red lips. “Allow me to warn you that I can’t dance in the slightest,” Brandon confessed, “nor do I have any idea what dance we’re supposed to perform.” His partner did not seem to mind at all. “It’s a traditional Lhavitian dance,” she clarified, but Brandon just shrugged. “Well, then I will lead,” the woman stated, “just follow my movements.”
“Much obliged.”

The music started, and Bran took the woman’s hands in his, then letting her drag him along in the dance that he’d watched from the sidelines just a chime or so prior. It wasn’t a difficult dance at all, now that he was partaking in it that became even more obvious. The standard set of steps were very basic and only required a little coordination and control over one’s limbs. The few pirouettes and such thrown in every so often weren’t that hard to perform either, and soon enough Brandon felt confident to take over the lead, which earned him a smile from his partner. “It’s not that hard, now is it?” she remarked, adding that she found he was rather good a dancer too. Brandon replied he was merely worried he might step on her toes or kick her in the leg.

Soon enough the dance was finished, and all sweaty pairs of participants separated. Brandon and his partner did the same, and during the releasing of her hands, the Kelvic subtly slid one of the rings she wore off her finger while distracting her mind with idle chatter. Another bow from the bat, and a curtsy of the woman, and they each headed their own ways, the yellow-clad woman bumping into a man as she turned around rather abruptly. She nearly fell, but the male could just grab her wrist, much to the bat’s delight. Then Brandon let the dissipating crowd of dancers drag him along to the edge of the square.

Credit goes to Engghaen

[Brandon Blackwing]

The Kelvic thief drifted around the city for a bit, mostly just following the crowd as it flowed through the streets and alleys. It did not take long before he found himself becoming hungry due to the almost omnipresent smell of festive foods. Grilled vegetables, meat on sticks, meat pies… After a while he couldn’t really take it anymore, breaking from the passive roaming state he’d been in before to actually seek out a stand where they sold one of those delicacies. Obviously they weren’t too hard to find; almost every major street had at least one, and at just about every path leading up or down the tiers there were several more competing with each other.

Brandon bought some sort of salad wrapped in a pancake made out of dough, which was surprisingly good. Apart from the vegetables, there was juicy chicken meat hidden within, all made even tastier with a delicious dressing of some kind. Sadly, the roll was consumed way too fast, and the Kelvic was left with a craving for more afterwards. Still, even if he bought another one –with the money stolen at the festival, naturally- he suspected he’d just be left with the same effect. Sly dogs, they’d probably used a dressing that stimulated these kind of cravings.

A sigh, and the bat unhitched himself from the spot against the wall. His hand came up to wipe his mouth quickly, and he stared at it for a moment, assessing the amount of sauce left on his face. Nothing, good. He reached for the mask, now on the side of his head to make eating easier, and pulled it back over his features. His fingers lingered as he pondered, removing the mask then, placing the cord between his teeth. Then he fished a small white ribbon out of his pocket, gathered his locks together at the back of his head and tied them together quickly. The mask was put on after that.

He returned to the crowds then, that sea of people celebrating and partying unaware of the wolf within their ranks. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, prowling through their midst, looking to steal away valuables and coin. Perhaps it would ruin the night for some people, other’s might not notice until much, much later, but they would curse and swear and perhaps shed some tears. But hey, wolves were people too, and they had to eat just like everybody else.

Something was happening in front of him, it seemed, the sea of people became a wall there, with the majority refusing to move. Not a dance this time, there was a lack of music in that area… or at least a lack of musicians; there was music everywhere after all. Brandon decided he’d force his way through, to see what was going on, and to pick some pockets in the process. He placed a hand on the shoulder of a bulky man as he pushed past him, the man turning to the position he believed the owner of the hand to be, though he found that the culprit was on the other side –classic misdirection, really.

Using that first motion, Brandon slipped some nimble fingers into the pocket of man’s pants, on the leg opposite to the shoulder his hand still rested on, and all the while he kept pushing past the man. The fellow’s head turned towards the bat then, who had assumed an apologetic expression, his fingers already having both found and acquired the wallet from the pocket, as well as having slipped it into his own. He used that one hand to touch someone else’s shoulder, purely for show, the first breaking contact between the bat and the bulky man as Brandon slipped in front of him completely, now using the same maneuver –minus the stealing- to put some people between himself and his still unsuspecting target.

Credit goes to Engghaen

[Brandon Blackwing]

The core of the crowd seemed to be an artist offering to sketch the face of volunteers for a couple topaz Kina. She was working on a tall man in a tuxedo at the moment, and Brandon took a tick or two to assess her skill. As to be expected of someone attracting this kind of crowd –not counting the people who were just standing about out of sheer curiosity, and had no real idea what was going on- the woman was more than adequate at sketching portraits. The speed with which she drew was impressive, as was the way her eyes flitted from the paper to her model and back, several times a tick.

Brandon was tempted to have her draw him, but soon realized that he’d rather not have his face put on a piece of paper. Sure, he’d love to use it as a gift for Dru, however, he wasn’t quite sure she would like it. They hadn’t spoken since both of them had left Wind Reach, after all. Brandon figured that it could be because she didn’t want to trouble him, and maybe because she thought she could hide her being in Lhavit from the bat if she stayed out of his way. Like someone of her race could actually remain hidden for long. Not only had word that the spider had arrived in the city reached him during his first day in the city, but after a bit of asking around, he had also found out where she lived, and where she worked. Honestly, it was just as easy as finding a good pub.

On the other hand, it was also likely the Spider was angry with him. Things had become a little awkward after she’d mentioned she was pregnant. He couldn’t really hold it against her though; she’d expected him to be excited about it, and while she’d said otherwise, she had expected him to help raise the soon-to-be-born children as well. But most of all, she had been disappointed in his lack of care. It didn’t matter to him at all, not really. A sigh escaped him.

He pushed the thoughts away, preferring not to think about it too much. Those were things for another time, when he was once again shadowing her, gauging her condition and how she was holding up in the foreign city. For a Symenestra, it couldn’t be too easy living in a city not quite welcoming to them… then again, Wind Reach wasn’t really all that different, and she managed to fit in just fine there. Was he worrying too much? Maybe a little. But why shouldn’t he? Brandon did care for her after all, she was a person he held dear. Of course he worried from time to time.

Turning away from the sketch artist, Brandon dove back into the crowd, slipping through the sea of people with a little more purpose and direction than before. He’d spotted a man dressed in a long coat covering most of his garments, however, it was not buttoned at all, hanging open, revealing extremely colorful clothes. That wasn’t what had attracted Brandon’s attention though, he couldn’t care less about the costume he’d donned for the occasion. What did matter was the bulge on the inside of the man’s coat. It had to be one big fat wallet, filled to the brim with Kina, all hidden within an inner pocket of the long coat.

The man seemed to be in a hurry, and the thief quickened his pace a little, bent on catching up as quickly as possible. Despite having marked the man with a mental target, he didn’t ignore all other easy marks that passed by. His hands seemed to have a will of their own, moving like hungry snakes, fluidly slipping in and out pockets, stealing wallets and coins, depositing it in his own pockets unnoticed. His pockets were soon running out of space though, and the bat slowed down his stealing spree quite a bit, only giving into temptation to swipe the apple out of someone’s hand when they weren’t looking; it’d come in handy soon.

Credit goes to Engghaen

[Brandon Blackwing]

Like a shark having picked up on the scent of blood, Brandon followed his mark through the crowd, now moving considerably faster than before, mostly because he was entirely focused on overtaking the guy, and not on filling his pockets as he walked. The man was in a hurry, but he did not manage to move all that quickly, rejected by the crowd. Naturally, as the crowd was an entity which despised pushy individuals, tightening the gaps and strengthening the defenses whenever someone attempted to force their way through. On the other hand, it also dejected weak-willed people, mercilessly pulling them into the Jetstream and tossing them about. Some drowned when that happened, submerged and cut off from the light, sinking like a rock, eventually crushed by the unforgiving trampling feet.

I’m a sailor, the bat realized, relishing the metaphor. The crowd is my sea, the ocean I circumnavigate. It is my home, my love, my source of income. And just like the actual sea, the crowd was a fickle mistress too; it protected the pickpocket, but one mistake and it would turn on you, battering you with crashing waves and sea creatures. Perhaps one of the greatest fears of a true pickpocket was being crushed by the crowd they thought they knew, they trusted. Just like sailing, traversing the crowd could not be done without the necessary focus, without being on guard. Yshul may govern the sea of people where the thieves dwelled, but that did not necessarily mean she twisted things in your favor. Still, a quick prayer never was a superfluous luxury.

They passed by a performance of some Dusk tower members –or was the Dawn tower the one holding the reigns over most reimancers in the city? Brandon never could recall which was which- a choreography making use of their magic. A fiery spectacle of bright flames twirling and flowing through the air, blazing in a rainbow of colors. It was almost hypnotizing, a black hole drawing in the attention of all but those of steel will. Yet, none was unaffected by the excessively beautiful display of fire caressing the air with its dance of light and heat. Brandon caught himself staring, his own gaze locked on the ever-changing image, he was transfixed on the spectacle the Tower had produced.

An inevitability, but it did not excuse the lack of concentration he had placed in this hunt of his. It’s merely a result of trying to be watchful of everything in my immediate surroundings,he tried to argue, but he was cursing nonetheless when he didn’t see his target for a couple ticks. Shyke! Hand he slipped away when the bat had been distracted? Eyes darted all around, scanning the masses for the one man, initially finding nothing… but then his orbs detected motion that went against the flow of the crowd, a disturbance in the system that mimicked the sea. Chances that it was his man were slim, though, on days like these, not a lot of people were willing to go against the crowd, instead choosing to become part of it, walking along with it. This individual had shown the opposite behavior. Brandon took the gamble and went after him.

Soon enough, Brandon was back on the guys heels, and what do you know, it really was his target. A stroke of luck indeed, paired with experience. You have my thanks, Yshul, with you smiling over me, I cannot fail. Well, not that he thought he’d fail either way, but still. The power of coincidence could not be underestimated, even with his superior skill, the chances of success were not one-hundred percent.

The target was using a crude version of the thief’s method of traversing the crowd, slipping through gaps and openings, though it wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. Brandon followed, then took a path parallel to that of his target, increasing the pace so he got ahead of him. Taking chances was part of this whole line of work, however this couldn’t really be labeled as risky. Approaching from behind would be too suspicious, thus, Brandon had figured, he had to strike from the front. Which was why he increased his lead a little more, then turning around, becoming part of the crowd, walking in the opposite direction. He adjusted his route to that of the target, setting things up nicely to bump into the man not quite accidently. Brandon shifted the apple in his hand slightly, ready to move.

And there it was, the moment he’d planned for; his hand was already on the move before they collided, heading for the inner pocket of the coat, the small apple tucked in his hand in such a way that his fingers were left free. They slammed into each other then, and his hand snuck into the pocket, out for the wallet he believed was hidden there. Only, there was no wallet, no coin pouch. What he got were three balls about the size of an egg, balls made out of some sort of sock stuffed with sand or cherry stones. They were easily malleable, and the bat grabbed all three at the same time, clamping them between his fingers. At the same time he released the apple, and retracted his hand, safely bringing it back to his side as both men parted a little, then each heading in opposite directions.

In an alleyway, where Brandon had found a secluded spot near a dead end on a lower tier, the bat inspected the balls he’d swiped instead of the wallet he’d been so sure was the price to be found within the coat. They were juggle balls, looking pretty shabby though colorful. He wasn’t really sure why he had still decided to steal them even when they hadn’t been the price he’d been looking for. He’d even used the apple to make sure the man wouldn’t notice the absence of weight and bulge in his pocket. A tactic he’d rather have used to get his hands on a considerable purse… Ah well. The guy was lucky, Bran had been fooled. Now he’d walked away with all his coin, but lacking some juggle balls. I hope he’s a busker, that way I still get a laugh out of it, the bat mused, already smiling at the thought of the man pulling out a small, half-eaten apple instead of his props. I’d have liked to see that… But I’m too late already, I’d better deposit my loot at home and go enjoy the festival some more.

A great plan, the Azure Festival only can about once a year after all.

OOCFeel free not to award me any money as loot from this thread, as it is supposed to be a job thread. I’d like to get those juggle balls though

Credit goes to Engghaen

[Bee]

Pollinating Your Grades!