Fallow shrunk back, looking at the other two for an answer. "I-i
don't know. Marshall and I don't know anything about the human
customs... they weren't really in our studies." Marshall nodded
timidly, "We're useless in the situation."
Trauma nervously stuffed his dagger--even though it was hidden
well--underneath his cloak.
Abeline linked her arms across her chest, amusement wrinkling her
eyes. "Well..." she began. "I know that humans weren't in your
studies but was pick-pocketing?" A wicked grin flickered across her
face as she waved a watch in the air, the light glinting off of it.
"You learn a thing or two once you move away from home, I'm sure
you've learned." Abeline grinned, looking at them expectantly
before pocketing the watch.
(Sorry I took so long... holiday and jetlag got in the way
>n<)
Fallow nodded, smiling brightly. "That's a plan we can stick to,"
Marshall said, looking around the open park, "Nice job on that
watch, by the way."
Fallow tapped her toe rapidly--an old habit--and looked over to
Marshall. "Tag team or solo?"
He laughed, "That's a stupid question."
(No problem! ^^)
Abeline smiled at Marshall. "Thanks," she said. "Like I said, you
learn a few things." She glanced around, noticing the man who had
owned the pocketwatch fish into his pocket to discover it gone. He
began to grow hysterical, claiming it had taken him months to save
up for it. Despite her hard nature, Abeline felt the tinniest
sliver of pity for the man; he seemed truly upset. "But... we
shouldn't stay here long. People will grow suspicious if things
just suddenly start disappearing, all in the same area."
"I understand your logic there, but are you also implying that we
split up?" Fallow asked, her concern seeping through onto her face.
She was still new to the 'spreading out' concept, but again, she'd
never allied with anyone other than Marshall (for this long, at
least). She felt a connection to this girl, and didn't mind at
allying with her. Fallow quite enjoying being in a group with these
people, but she wouldn't blame them if they decided to abandon her
and Marshall. After all, they were--in essence--threatening their
lives.
Abeline shrugged. "No, I wasn't suggesting that. But... it might be
better if we split up. That way, we can cover more area." She
frowned for a moment, going over the cons. "Then again, we might be
ambushed, or we might lose each other. Well, I haven't been in this
business for awhile. What do you guys think we should do?"
Trauma nodded. "That's true. I suppose we could spread out, but
stay relatively close to each other? And perhaps meet back here?"
He ran a thumb across his chin in thought. He doubted that they
would lose each other, but being ambushed... We can all fight,
and well at that. He glanced over at Abeline, his gaze
lingering a bit. He found himself unable to lock gazes with her and
flitted his face away, slightly intimidated by her striking
features (especially her eyes). They were extremely... intense, to
put it simply.
"Seems like a solid plan to me. Unless our luck hits the fan,"
Marshall said, shrugging slightly with tense shoulders.
Abeline smiled. "Alright!" She said cheerfully. "I hate to be the
one asking all the questions, but who do you think we should each
pair up with? I mean, maybe it would be better if Marshall and
Fallow went together, since you know, they have been relying on
each other for quite some time and will probably do better with
each other rather than Trauma or me. But... you two have been doing
this for much longer than I have, and maybe even Trauma." She
paused, eyebrows knitting. "Now wait a second," she muttered to
herself, eyes narrowing. "We don't even know much about
Trauma. I know that he hasn't hurt us yet, but don't you find it a
little suspicious that he showed up right when the demons
appeared." She hooked her thumbs in the belt loops sewn onto her
jeans. "In fact, has he told you guys anything at all about
himself since I was out?"
"Not extremely much," Fallow answered softly, unsure if Abeline's
question was rhetorical or not. Trauma blinked sharply, taken aback
from the sudden suspicion. He then shrugged, respecting Abeline for
playing it safe. "I'm not sure what to say. I'm not going to harm
you guys, I swear... If you want to question me or something, go
ahead, I guess?" Trauma shrunk back a little, unsure of what to
say.
"Why were you there?" Abeline asked. "I mean, it seems pretty
convenient that within days of finding Marshall and Fallow that you
showed up. I hadn't even known that there were other humans with
powers like mine until I met them. So... why were you there?"
"Elf," he correctly gently, rubbing the back of his neck. Trauma
immediately paused, regretting the decision to correct Abeline (he
was still intimidated by her).
Coaxing himself to continue, he took a deep breath and tried to
find a starting point. "My father and I... had some complications.
As a result, I left the elf village and came into the human world.
I, uh... started out in the forests since I was most comfortable
there. It was pure chance that the demons came by when they did."
"Hmm..." Abeline's hand strayed to her chin, rubbing it as though a
beard were there. Her eyes narrowed as they flickered across
Trauma's pale face, trying to gauge whether he was lying or not.
Finally, she gave a sigh and stood back a little. It wasn't so much
that she believed him... it was more that the people around her
were beginning to give the group odd looks. "Alright." She said,
shaking her head. "I'm sorry for bringing that up," she tried to
add a bit of warmth to her voice. "It's just... I don't want to be
tricked into doing something stupid." She gave a half-hearted
laugh. "Well... are we going to... y'know...? Do you guys still
want to split up?"
It's a tough call. Fallow nodded, a slight upwards curve to
her lips. We could. Abeline and Trauma know how to hide
themselves. The demons will forget about them eventually,
right? She thought, her gaze flickering around her newly-found
allies. She wanted so desperately to know that staying with them
was more benefit than harm, but she couldn't shake the thought that
she and Marshall would lead them to death.
"I think it's a pretty good idea," Marshall chirped, rocking back
and forth on his feet.
"Okay!" Abeline grinned, a genuine one this time. Her nerves were
already pricking with excitement at the thought of going out and
stealing again, though not in fear, but in excitement. "Of course,
we still have to choose who's going with whom. I don't really care
who I end up with. Does anyone have any ideas?"
Fallow's tail flicked giddily, her smile bright. "Marshall and I
could split up, so we'd get a chance to learn each other's... uh...
strategies. Yeah," she said, her voice squeaking a bit. "Abeline,
you up for it?" She asked, turning to the girl. Her eyes shimmered
with a childish joy as she flicked her mass of cyan-colored curls
over her shoulder.
(this is so fitting for Valentine's Day lol)
Abeline felt a strange pang of... what? Excitement? Joy?
No, ridiculous. Why would she? She felt nothing for...
Oh. Oh no.
As the realization dawned on her, a bright blush filled her cheeks
and horror rang out in her mind. Nononononononono... the last time
this had happened, it had not gone well. She had to end this
feeling.
So, as best as she could, she pushed it down, angling her face away
from the twins to hide her blush, and mustered a cheery voice. "Of
course!" She said, smiling.
Marshall returned Abeline's smile briefly, turning his head to look
over at the snow elf. He had talked less to Trauma than anyone else
(despite walking all the way from the forest to the city with him),
and preferred to be with Abeline or Fallow. More of a reason to
get to know him, Marshall thought, pocketing his hands. "We'd
best get going now," Trauma said softly, looking over his shoulder.
They were beginning to draw attention, although it was mostly due
to their loitering and Fallow's brightly colored features (Trauma
wore a cloak that wasn't noticeable at first glance).
Abeline nodded, taking a deep breath, attempting to angle her
thoughts away from... her thoughts. Being with Fallow would be
interesting, to say the least. She didn't know Fallow's strategies
yet, and talking to a person (or closest to that) would be
intriguing, since she hadn't done it for so many years.
Abeline blinked, withdrawing from her thoughts. "Do you think over
there would be a good place to...?" She nodded her head by a hotdog
stand, where an overly plump man was shouting baloney about his
best wieners, that they were better than any of the other ones.
Abeline offered a small smile.
Abeline's gesture drew Fallow's eyes to the stand. The man, his
face pink from all of the bellowing, reminded Fallow of all the
demon markets she and Marshall had gone to during their childhood.
She suspected that the man was spouting just as many (if not more)
lies as the demons would. "I think it would." She smiled before
adding, "my fantasy-like appearance sort of draws attention,
doesn't it?... Maybe it'd be best for me to create distractions,
rather than doing the actual pick-pocketing?" She flicker her hair
behind her ear.
Abeline hesitated a moment before giving a brisk nod. Of course
Fallow couldn't pickpocket. Everyone's eyes would be on her at all
times. Which made her the perfect distraction.
"Good idea! What are you planning to do? You could, like, put on a
performance where you are 'pretending' to be a demon. That'd be
ironic. You could freak out a lot of people by randomly quoting
Shakespeare. Actually, they probably don't have him down in the
underworld, do they? Um... you could accuse the hotdog guy of foul
hotdogs, but that might get us arrested..."