Sky Min (gotsomebite) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-09-12 22:56:00 |
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One of the best things about Emillion, Sky learned in the past two and a half months since arriving to the city, was the bazaar. It was always bustling and there was always something going on, even after the riots, which Sky had had a field day with acquiring all sorts of gil and trinkets. Today seemed like business as usual, with prices back down and most businesses having reopened. The crowd was dense, the smells of food wafted through the air, and many unsuspecting passerby were ripe for the pickings. In fact, Sky already had about twenty gil to his name and a potion from a mage from whom he’d already swiped. He sat at a bench, happily munching away at his takoyaki, when he spotted a familiar blonde amidst the crowd. Sky almost abandoned his post to try to redeem himself for their first meeting, but then he remembered what Ari had said: never Guild. Chances were good that if that woman did a job for Arwel, she was part of it somehow, Sky was pretty sure. Maybe ignoring her would be a better bet. After all, his takoyaki was too delicious to stop eating now for anything. It might’ve been a solid plan, if not for Damia spotting him from where she stood, wrapped in simpler, looser clothing than usual. After all, she needed to make a living out of her singing when she wasn’t being recruited for heists or illegal imports deals. Her hair was braided, wildflowers tucked in here and there, and by all appearances, she looked-- normal. But though the clothing had changed, her face hadn’t. She was a sight for sore eyes, unfortunately, which meant people were more likely to do double takes than ignore her. Sometimes, it might’ve paid to look plain. With a ripe, oversized plum in hand, the corsair sauntered over, more like a tired citizen seeking to rest their tired legs rather than a wolf narrowing in on its unsuspecting prey. But surely, surely he’d notice her walk up. “Tiny,” she greeted him, dropping down onto the bench half a breath away from him. One long leg came up to cross over the other as she drew the plum to her lips. “Taking in the sun in hopes you’ll grow a little taller?” Crap. Sky wrinkled his nose as he glanced at her. He hadn’t had a good feeling when she had drawn nearer and nearer and now that she was sitting next to him, he couldn’t help the scowl even as he stuffed another ball of takoyaki into his mouth. “No,” he snapped, “and I was here first.” So scram, he had to bite his tongue from saying. Her lips pulled into a smile. “I’m sensing some hostility,” she noted without any surprise, just before taking a small bite and talking around her plum. “I noticed on the walk up that this bench doesn’t have your name on it anywhere. Are you sitting on it? Maybe that’s why I missed it.” What a kid. Only brats said I was here first, Finders keepers-- that sort of talk. Maybe it was his time of the month. Shut up and go away. Once again Sky bit his tongue from saying it, if only because he recalled their last encounter. Though, come to think of it, wouldn’t someone come to save a poor, adorable teenage boy from being manhandled by an adult woman? Sky figured he could take the hit in pride, but by now he’d waited too long. “What do you want?” he challenged instead. Was she here to make fun? Steal his takoyaki? Threaten him? He continued staring at her with narrowed eyes. “If I recall,” she began, lapping up stray plum juice with a quick tongue, “you were the one who tried to steal from me, so if anyone should be hostile, it’s me. Behaving like a bad loser makes you look even worse.” The plum was tapped against her lips. “But I do have a proposition for you, if you’ll stop behaving like a grumpy girl for two seconds.” “I’m not a grumpy girl,” he retorted instantly, but he was curious about what this woman had to offer him. He doubted it’d be anything good, but like hell was he going to turn down something that was actually awesome and then be called a fool later for it. “And what is it?” His tone held his suspicion. The blonde hummed, as if appreciating the cooperation. “Just a little chance for you to redeem yourself.” It didn’t need to be said that she was referring to the last, and first, time they’d met. “You want to earn your sticky fingers, you’ll need to try a little harder. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is this.” She leaned toward the kid, not close enough for him to feel her breath, but enough for him to feel her eyes burning into him. “I challenge you to steal something from me. And I don’t mean something easy. Take it off me, and replace it with a rolled up note so I know it was you. Because I’m so generous, if I catch you the first time, you can have a second chance. If you fail your second try, well.” The plum was tossed up and caught in her hand. “I guess that means you won’t have your prize. What a shame that’d be.” Sky instinctively drew back when she leaned in close, his scowl only deepening as she spoke. He wasn’t sure if he liked the sound of this, but never let it be said that Sky Min backed down from a challenge! “What’s the prize? And what happens if you do catch me the second time? Not that you’ll even catch me the first time.” This kid was arrogant. Damia supposed, in her own youth, she’d been equally arrogant, if only because she needed to live in her father’s shadow. Her father had been a corsair, and an excellent thief, actor, entrepreneur-- everything she’d wanted to be. It occurred to her that while she knew nothing about this boy except for his name (if it’d been a real name) and his affiliation through Arwel, she didn’t care much for this brattiness. She withdrew, tapping her foot in the air. “Tiny, if you want to get anywhere in this city, you should tune down that over-confidence before it gets you flung down the nearest sewer drain. Besides, from what I’ve seen, I’m sure I’ll catch you the first and the second time if you don’t try just a little harder.” And that was as much advice as she was willing to part with. “As for your prize, you have two options: you sell what you steal and see what that gets you, though there’s a chance it’ll be worthless, or I pay you.” A bead of fruit juice was licked from her wrist. “And I’m not stingy, either.” Sky rolled his eyes. He didn't need a lecture, but he was more focused on the prize instead. No free food or shiny trinkets? And he wouldn't be stealing shiny trinkets off of her? What was the point then? "Then pay me," he said, deciding that that was the better deal of what she offered, if she was truly "not stingy" as she claimed. There were many who said that and thought they were completely reasonable with their stinginess, and Sky rarely had the ammunition outside of puppy eyes to try to get his way. A snort. “Steal from me first.” The bench didn’t so much as groan as Damia pushed off it, not even bothering to smooth out her shirt. “You have three weeks,” she informed him, biting into her plum and lapping away stray juices when they threatened to escape her lips. “Think about it. Don’t tell me what you decide on-- I like surprises, even if they come in grumpy, bratty packages.” She directed a (smarmy) smile down at him. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Tiny.” And without allowing room for a retort, she was leaving Sky where he sat, braid swinging between her shoulders. |