Open Chronicles A Petty Thief

[Eira Valqen]

Our story begins at midday amongst the crowded streets of Alliria.

The sun hung high in the sky above the rounded rooftops of Alliria, the stone-paved streets winding throughout the buildings like a body of water. These roads were crowded with people moving here and there, many storefronts bustling and small carts set up with different goods for sale. A rather harmonious hum arose from the crowd as the population conversed.

Canals swerved throughout the layout of the area, small boats bobbing gently in the dark waters. People walked along the edge of the water, pacing quickly as they headed towards their next destinations. A particular figure stood out amongst them - a snow elf.

Eira was weaving throughout the people silently, feet moving quickly and she made her way towards the business stands. She seemed eager, but not because she was excited to pick up a fancy new souvenir. She was beelining for a particular fruit stand, her stomach grumbling in complaint as she eyed the selection. She slid behind a browsing customer, watching the fruit only through her peripheral vision. Suddenly, a blue-tinged hand flashed out and grabbed a spiky orange fruit, sliding it into her pocket. Eira glanced around, wondering if anyone had seen as she began to leave the scene of the crime.

As she was searching she felt a pair of eyes on her back. She slowly turned around, shoulders tense. Someone had seen. Would they tell her off? Chase after her? Ignore it?

 

[Sam Calloway]

The moment was now. There wouldn't be better opportunity, and the irony would be insanely hilarious. She had been eying that stall as well, but the proprietor knew her face by now. But it was just her luck that now she wasn't getting close to the stall, heck, she wasn't even stealing FROM the stall!

The lady had turned her back and was facing the other way, snatching the fruit from her pocket would be a synch, she could practically see it poking out!
She ran forward and bumped the lady in a casual way just as somebody would in a crowded street, of course it was a bit cliché, but for a piece of stolen fruit she doubted anyone would raise a fuss.
In the brief moment of the bump she had put just enough pressure so that she wouldn't immediately notice that the fruit was missing. At least, that's how she did it on tourists and other ignorant country bumpkins, anyone else would probably never notice till she was long gone.

After she had the fruit securely hidden on her person she mumbled an apology and attempted to continue on her way with the prize in her possession.

 

[Eira Valqen]

Eira narrowed her eyes at the contact of the bump, lip curling slightly. She made no response after the apology, keeping her lips sealed as her eyes glittered coldly.

It took the snow elf a few seconds to notice what had happened. As soon as a twinge of doubt crossed her mind, her gangly hand immediately went to her pocket. Alas, there was no longer anything there. She should have known.

Now, Eira had only caught a quick glimpse of the other thief, but did remember her bright red hair. She whirled around, catching a flash of red with her eyes. Eira was the one who was supposed to be stealing, not being stolen from. She started to hurry after the girl, pace speeding up as she went, swerving between people.

 

[Sam Calloway]

After going a ways through the crowd she decided to look back. She didn't think there would be any reason for the other thief to chase her, especially someone older than her over a piece of fruit... But when she looked back surprise lit up her face when she saw the pale elf weaving through the crowd after her!
She gave an involuntary yelp and ducked down to weave through the crowd, using her size to better navigate between the legs of all the adults surrounding her.

She was surprised the elf lady would chase her over some fruit, but she wasn't unprepared. She made a beeline straight for an abandoned building with a tiny hole that she could barely crawl through herself. If she could reach that then she was confident that she could shake the elf from her trail.
She weaved and dodged through the crowd, holding the fruit tight to not drop it.

A wagon suddenly pulled up in front of her path and she had to make a snap decision. She ducked underneath the cart risking the wheels and thankfully came up unharmed on the other side. The hole wasn't far now, she just had to cross the remaining distance across the town square to reach the boarded up building and the barely visible hole that declared her victory!

She bolted across the square, not looking back or slowing down. She had to make it!
She knew that once she reached the hole she would have to slow down and crawl, but if she's won enough distance she could still make it through before her pursuer caught up.
She crossed the last stretch of open space and finally reached the building and hole. She wasted no time and got down on her hands and knees... Freedom was so close!

 

[Zier Xya Zythos]

GODS! This is HILARIOUS!

The city life isn't something he prefers; He loves the wide open skies and lush, seemingly endless forests with that pleasant outdoor smell that never gets old. Perhaps that's because he's elf. He may prefer the forest over the city, but the temptation of adventure got the better of him. He arrived here from a crowded caravan, departing from Elbion and traveling to Alliria. (Hopped onto it with the same call to adventure). He disbanded from it and found himself here, on a rooftop and watching over the large crowd of conversing people when he saw something that made him shake his head in disappointment.

A snow elf stealing something from a business stand.

He couldn't see what exactly it was because he's too far away, but it was clearly stolen. He's not going to interfere; Why would he bother himself with something so insignificant as stopping a fruit thef-

She didn't -- Someone else did not just steal a freshly stolen fruit.

Turns out, she did. The fruit was practically hanging out her pocket and now it isn't there, and it doesn't appear to be on the ground, not that he can see. She used one of the oldest tricks in the book and it worked.

The saying is apparently true that there are no honor among thieves and Zier has a front row seat to watch the drama unfold. Watching the action, he sees the snow elf chase after her, and Zier bursted out in almost uncontrollable laugher. They're probably going to argue or FIGHT over something so frivolous. There's definitely more important things happening elsewhere and these people are chasing each other? it's gold!

He couldn't let this comedy go, he HAD to follow it. Unnoticed of course. He got up and started skipping across the rooftops to keep up, and he's glad he did. He saw the girl duck and disappear completely from view, and he realises that's her intention to escape capture. That made him laugh more, and he almost lost his balance. He kept leaping along, seeing the girl dodge a cart. He was impressed by her agility and reflexes, and he laughed yet again at how unnecessary this is.

He saw her run towards a building and he knew that he'd lose sight when she got there. He hopped off the roof, demonstrating some speed and agility of his own as he swiftly wades through the crowds and carts while maintaining the stealth needed to get him to another building unnoticed. He hid behind a wall, seeing the girl begin to climb into the hole of the other building. He peeks out every few seconds so he could continue watching this hilariously petty thievery!

 

[Eira Valqen]

The events of the pursuit made Eira wish that she wasn't a snow elf. They were particularly slower compared to other elves despite their powerful legs. She also wasn't as agile. The girl was small and was able to move through the crowds a lot better than her, which gave Eira yet another disadvantage.

It wasn't about the fruit anymore. It was just a measly orange. She wanted revenge. How dare someone steal from her, especially in such a lowly fashion? It was infuriating.

Despite her thoughts on the situation, as Eira weaved throughout the crowd she found herself questioning her decision to follow this girl. It didn't really seem worth it and the pursuit was driven purely by emotion. She had to swerve around the cart due to the poor timing and sheer size of Eira. This slowed her down a bit more and by the time she caught sight of the girl once again she was trying to fight through a small hole.

She was still quite far from the girl and wasn't sure if she was going to make it in time. "Hey!" She exclaimed after the girl, her tone filled with annoyance.

 

[Sam Calloway]

She didn't stop. It was a tight squeeze and she had to slow down a lot. But she had figured out the distance right and had plenty of time to get through before the elf caught up. When the elf called out she vanished inside the building. It was an abandoned guild house with lots of rooms and she was very familiar with the place.

She ran up a flight if stairs and found a boarded up window overlooking the square where she left her pursuer. She peeked through a crack, hoping she would just give up and leave. She would have to hide if the elf lady found a way inside. But for now she just watched, considering whether she should go ahead and eat the fruit considering how much trouble it turned out to be.

She fiddled with a lock of her red hair while she watched from her hidden vantage point. All this for some fruit? She waited impatiently for the lady to give up.