Public Something Worth Stealing

[Samnai Rouber]

Year : 829 ABY
Location : Middle City, Taris

Being poor is to have a hard life. Being a homeless street brat in the middle of a city is worse.

It should be known that the life of a street brat, a child with no parents or warm home to come to, is one filled with desolation and a deep, stinging humiliation—a wound that festers as the child grows bigger and eventually becomes untreatable, carried for an entire lifetime. Samnai, at age fourteen, feels that humiliation every day.

Today is another day of wandering in the marketplace, dashing behind walls and into alleys while searching for a chance to grab-and-run while hiding away from the suspicious hawkers, who stand well-prepared in case they catch someone sniffing around their goods.

Samnai is a part of the former. Her eyes, shadowed by matted hair, look for the best target to steal from. Being one of the older (and slippery) kids in their ragtag group, she usually takes the duty of the semi-daily pickpocketing in the market.

The Upper City guys, the ones with the finest fabrics and haughtiest are the easiest, while the towering people with stoic faces and pressed uniforms were to be avoided. It seems today, however, that neither of these two groups were present, which left only the local people browsing the shops and manning them—and even they seemed sparse.

Samnai wasn’t stupid enough to steal from the locals, they neither had enough money nor were they careless enough with their things. After waiting until the sun was halfway up, she decided it would be a bad day today and got up to leave, when someone caught her eye.

They didn’t seem a local—or at least, she hadn’t seen them around. They did seem like the ticket to not going hungry today, though. Her eyes glinted.

She walked out as casually as possible, looking like she was just walking by as she lightly snatched the bag hanging by their side and slipping it into her clothes. The person still didn’t notice. Good—

A hand tightly grabbed around her hand, forcing her to turn around and see her victim’s face.

Samnai’s own face pales, dreading.

Spoiler: OOC

Source for the image : https://www.deviantart.com/stephanieboehm/art/market-scene-565954008

 

[Levi]

“You know, it’s not often that I’m the one being stolen from,” Levi stared down at the urchin not with malice, but with an amused smile. Perhaps he should have expected something like this, taking a stroll through the middle city while presenting all the sartorial flair of a higher class. Finely dressed, but not often audaciously so. Nonetheless he stood out among the rabble for more than just his devilish silhouette.

“But I’m impressed, seeing as you almost got away with it.” He raised a trimmed brow, “Almost.” With some casual sleight of hand, Levi swiped back his bag of credits, but not without leaving a few behind in her palm. Precise in his manipulation and deception: marks of a true thief. And far be it from Levi to not show-off at a given opportunity.

“Keep it up, and maybe one day you’ll be earning more than just pocket change. Now run along, and try not to spend it on something… frivolous.” He was not known for being an empathetic man per se, but he did have principles. Was it so wrong for a child to want fresh food, and a warm bed? He nodded past the girl expectantly, “...Go on. You won’t see me yelling for the cops any time soon.”

Samnai Rouber​

 

[Samnai Rouber]

Getting caught in the middle of the marketplace was just another regret added to her long list. She stilled and looked up at the horned man, fearing further at the smile on his face. If there’s one thing she learned, it’s that the calmest expressions hide the worst rage behind them. Samnai could only imagine what he might be thinking.

However, her fear was for naught, as her emotions quickly turned into confusion when the man dropped a few credits on her palm.

What.

At best, she thought he would just snatch away his bag, give a disgusted look and not report it to the cops. He did take back his bag, but left her money? Was this some sort of bait?

…Yeah, this was clearly a test to see if Samnai would take it. She’s not that dumb to fall for it. But she also needs it. Desperately.

Glaring at him through hooded eyes, she asks in a hoarse voice, “What’s the catch?”

She also steps away for good measure. If needed she will just make a dash for it and hide away in some trash-hole.

Levi

 

[Levi]

Levi guffawed at the girl’s suspicion, “You are a smart one.”

He squatted down beside her, particular in his posture so as to not messy his apparel, “Nothing’s ever free, is it? Not really, anyway. There’s always a cost, a catch, an exchange.” The monologue continued. It was difficult to tell what about him was or was not genuine. Most every word that rolled off Levi’s tongue sounded like a half-truth, hiding a dozen different ulterior motives behind his disarming grin. But to the girl, he spoke with a certain candor, as if she were an old comrade who’d weathered the same storms as he. While Levi was never an urchin, he saw kindred spirits in many of his fellow thieves. Especially the ones without a choice.

“Even handouts like mine. You know what the catch for that is?” He asked, pointing to the credits in her hand. The answer was a little more conceptual, rather than material, but he otherwise gave no indication to the meaning behind his lesson yet. Eyes like gold stared expectantly, waiting to see if she had an answer to the test.

Samnai Rouber​

 

[Samnai Rouber]

Sammai flinched when the guy squatted beside her, not trusting his motives. Who willingly gives a thief your money?

He spoke with warmth in his tone, which made her feel—strange. It’s been a long time since she had any of that directed towards her, and even sounding so sincere. Still, she didn’t let her guard down and let him speak, trying to decipher his intent through his words.

She squinted at him. Looked at the money, then back at the dude. Then back at the money. Only one reason could come to her mind—he clearly didn’t want things from her, so the only thing left was—

“You want me to work for you?” The words were disbelieving. But that still didn’t make sense. She had a feeling it was something else, but this was the only thing that could come to her mind.

Levi

 

[Levi]

Levi stroked his pointed beard in thought, “I like where your head’s at, kid, but no. Maybe when you’ve got a few more years of experience under your belt.”

The Devaronian shook his head and gestured at their surroundings, “No, the price you pay… is living like this. Charity is only given to two kinds of people. You, the poor little street rat…” He pointed at her, then at another individual further away: a corpulent, well-dressed man who had just arrived to browse the market, “And him. The upper city fat-cat, resting on his unearned laurels.”

Levi had no catch in mind, no payment she wasn’t already paying. What he offered was a lesson. Unsolicited, sure, but a lecture was hardly the worst thing she could get for trying to steal. “And believe me, that man gets a lot more charity than you do. That doesn’t seem very fair, does it?” He studied the man carefully, sizing up his mark when a new idea crossed his mind. “See the way he acts, the way he dresses? Tell me, what can you learn about him just by looking at him? There’s more than even you might realize.”

Samnai Rouber​

 

[Samnai Rouber]

Samnai felt surprised at his words. They were nothing she didn’t know before—the world is unfair. Very unfair. But to hear it come out of someone else’s mouth, and someone who can clearly afford to not know?

It felt…strange, though not in a bad way. She didn’t let her guard down, but no longer felt such hostility as before.

She followed his gaze to the other man, and furrowed her brows. “He…he could be from the Upper City, but he could be a tourist too. No one from there comes here unless they want to stare at us like this is a zoo.”

Samnai paused, then continued with more confidence. “He’s looking around but not going near any stall, so he’s just here to observe. He’s also keeping away from the main path, so he doesn’t want to touch anyone but still see what they are doing. They do that, sometimes. Going around the place while flinching away from anyone that looks poor. He also looks amazed, so it’s his first time coming here. There’s a wedding band on his finger, which means he’s older than he looks—”

Realizing this was just a stranger she was rambling to, she quietened and hung her head down.

Levi

 

[Levi]

"Excellent." Levi's grin widened with every detail, like a proud parent. When the girl stopped, he nudged, "No, no, that was good, really." He continued to smile, but there was a hint of sadness as he spoke again, "You have been at this a while, haven't you?"

Nonetheless, it went as quickly as it came, and he tried to return her focus to the business at hand. "So, he's a newcomer to the middle city, young but married, and obviously, rich. That leaves me with a few more assumptions," Levi began his own assessment, playing off of what she started, "Namely, that he is, well, a bit daft. Or at the very least naive. And that makes him the perfect mark. Interested in evening up the score a bit?"

He grinned again, turning back to the girl, "He's no doubt got something of value in all those pockets of his. Probably a few inside his jacket, too. Could maybe even snatch the ring, if we're feeling lucky. Which, I am." The con man was in his element, now.

Samnai Rouber​

 

[Samnai Rouber]

It felt like the man had experience in this work. Samnai felt a strange thrill at that—she was the best person at pickpocketing she knew, and meeting someone who was also good at that was very pleasant.

She nodded at his words. “He looks stupid. And very easy.” Her eyes shined at his question, and she looked upon the other man with a rather terrifying determination.

Brushing her dirty clothes, Samnai appeared cool as she approached the man. A group of people blocked the view and when they disappeared, everything looked the same as before. But Samnai went back to where the man was sitting and glanced around before opening her fist, revealing credits amounting to a hundred.

She whispered. “He would notice his ring gone, so I just got his jacket instead.”

Levi

 

[Levi]

Levi peered curiously towards the crowd as he watched the girl make her move. Shortly after she came back, as he suspected, with a healthy handful of credits. The devaronian nodded affirmingly, “How about that? Nicely done.” He closed her hand back over the credits once more, and winked, “Surely I don’t have to tell you to make sure that stays out of sight?” Hers weren’t the only prying eyes around these parts. Honor among thieves wasn’t quite so simple a concept for the most desperate of them.

The mention of the ring may as well have been a personal challenge to Levi. He stood back up and dusted himself off, “Ye of little faith. Give me just a moment…” With that he strutted off back towards the very same man, who had yet to actually notice that his credits were gone.

Levi played the part of just another patron, facing away for a moment before ‘accidentally’ bumping into the man. On contact, he dropped a pouch of his own credits; Money lost, but mere change compared to the value of a ring. As if on cue, a collection of poorer folk and urchins seemed to spring onto the credits that now scattered across the ground, creating a whole other distraction, “Goodness! You really must watch your coin around these parts sir!”

The man, already flustered by the sudden action, was distracted trying to pick up the credits that he thought were his. All the while, Levi helped, and when all their credits were either picked up or stolen, the crowd faded. With just the two men left, Levi raised a fist of credits, and laid them in the other man's palm, “Terrible luck, chap. Might be best to just cut your losses before any of them get a little more daring, hm?” As he set them in his hand, he used his confusion against him, and gently slipped the ring off his finger. With a quick straightening of the man jacket, and a genial pat on the shoulder, he set him on his way.

Levi then returned, with the ring in hand, showing it off to the girl with pride, “You can learn something for your elders, after all.” He flicked the piece of jewelry up into the air, and back down to her.

Samnai Rouber​

 

[Samnai Rouber]

Samnai watched with curiosity as the man went up to the rich guy. She felt impressed at the expert way he got off the ring, the other man didn’t even look for it! Her impression of this strange person went up another notch.

She caught the ring and looked at the ruby set in gold. She tossed it back to the man, “You earned it.”

The rich man went away after cursing, still not noticing his empty hand. Samnai looked at the stranger in front of her with less hostility now, though experience made her put up the guard still. She won’t be easily swayed by his will, even if he’s quite good at conning.

Levi

 

[Levi]

“Never underestimate the power of confusion,” Levi nodded approvingly to his own advice. Being a con artist was all about taking those advantages. Distraction, deception, and of course a deft hand.

He caught the ring as she flicked it back, a bit surprised by the apparent generosity. The devaronian chuckled again, “I like you more and more by the minute, lass.” However he dangled the jewelry in front of her once again, “But ah, I don’t need it.”

“I know a guy who runs a pawn shop on this level. Duros fellow, a bit grimy?” Levi asked, seeing if she was at all familiar with the man he mentioned, “He’ll give you a good deal for that. So long as you don’t try and steal from him in turn,” He smirked a bit, remembering that his first encounter with the fence nearly played out in just such a manner.

“And I suppose that’s my lesson of the day, young one. May you make use of it in the future. There’s always more to learn. Especially if you wanna get out of here one of these days.”

Samnai Rouber​

 

[Samnai Rouber]

Samnai stared at the ring, before quietly pocketing it. “I know who you are talking about. He doesn’t mind me outside his door as long as I don’t make trouble.”

She nodded at the man’s words, taking them in. “I will remember that.”

The sun was high up in the sky now. Zuly and the others must be waiting for her to bring something. With this in mind, she dusted off her dress and looked at the strange man. She said, “I need to go, my friends are waiting.”

After a moment of hesitation, she continued, “Goodbye then. Thank you for not telling on me.”

Even if she couldn’t quite comprehend right now why exactly he spared her, she would not withhold her gratitude for it.

Levi