Looking for Trouble|Skyheort | Talen'sul

[hisdivineshadow]

Elias whistled a drinking song to himself as he strolled around Talen’sul, occasionally eliciting small flames from his thumbs as he snapped his fingers to the beat. His spirits were still high from the previous night, when he had gotten himself thrown out of a pub for repeatedly lighting other patron’s drinks (and beards) on fire. It had all been good clean fun, but the barkeep had taken exception to his sense of humor.

Not like it’s the first quick exit I’ve had to make, Elias thought with a chuckle. With luck, he expected, word hadn’t had time to filter around to the other drinking establishments in Talen’sul, and he’d be able to find another cheap tavern to hit up tonight. Drunks were always the most fun to tease. Especially angry drunks.

And if I can get there early enough, I’ll have time to set up one of my more creative gags. His grin broadened, and he continued in his search for an open pub, whistling as he went.

[Northen Light36]

Acqua's on edge tonight. She's been good for weeks, but her old urges are hard to resist and so she's found herself out in the streets, hunting for a couple of pickpocketing jobs. It goes against her rule of not working in the area you call home, but she's already disobeying Alethia by being out this late. Acqua doesn't intend to make things worse by leaving the city.

Spotting Elias, Acqua grins to herself. A man that cheerful just might have a bit of copper on him. And even he doesn't, it's still good fun. Resisting the urge to giggle, Acqua draws a tiny knife, no longer then her finger and attempt to slit open Elias' money bag as they both move into a small crowd.

[hisdivineshadow]

Spotting a tavern on the next corner, he reached down to pat his money pouch, reassuring himself that he still had enough copper to buy a few rounds. His hand came upon nothing but the fabric of his pants. Pausing, he patted around his belt with both hands, but there was no answering clink of metal.

"Huh?" Frowning, he turned to look behind him. Maybe he had dropped it, somehow? Then he spotted the tuft of brown hair ducking back through the crowd. And the coin purse -- his coin purse -- clutched tightly between nimble fingers. "Hey!"

Ignoring the protests of several men he nearly bowled over, Elias charged back through the crowd, intent on catching his thief. Of course, she wasn't going to make it easy for him to follow. The fire elemental grinned in spite of himself. If she wanted a game, he'd give her a game.

Holding both hands out, he flicked his fingers off the tips of his thumbs as if he were flinging crumbs at her. Flames sparked from his fingertips, streaming down the alleyway past her and swirling together to block her path. The fire rose up into a vaguely humanoid shape, a burning specter that reached out for Acqua with twisting, snakelike limbs and gaped wordlessly at her in a silent scream.

[Northen Light36]

Acqua yelped, but it was in surprise, not fear. No water type has a real fear of fire. Lifting her hand to her water sign, she quickly sent a blast of water at the spector and kept running. Her knowledge of Talen'sul's back streets is shaky though and a wrong turn leads her into a dead end.

[hisdivineshadow]

Elias grinned in spite of himself. This thief was no slouch -- catching her should prove to be a good bit of fun. He tailed her through the streets, almost losing sight of her until she ran herself into a corner.

He stopped at the entrance to the alleyway and caught his breath for a moment. "Whoo," he exclaimed, laughing, "that was a nice warmup! Thanks." He held a hand out toward her. "My name's Elias. And who do I have the pleasure of chasing down today?"

[Northen Light36]

Acqua eyes him warily for a moment, before deciding he's either a good actor or he's honestly not annoyed at being pick pocketed. She grins and raises an eyebrow. "Someone who's not going to give you her name," she replies. "Not making it that easy for the guards to come after me. How'd you know, mister? I'm usually pretty good at not getting noticed."

[hisdivineshadow]

"Bad timing, that's all," he admitted with a chuckle. "Otherwise, I'd never have noticed. You're really good." Elias spent a long moment sizing her up. "So, what now? I'd rather not fight, as you look more than capable of handling yourself. Any chance I could prevail on your guilty conscience?"

[Northen Light36]

"Don't have one," Acqua chuckles. "But I'd rather not spend this afternoon treating burns so..." Acqua tosses Elias back his money bag. "I don't need it anyway. I only took it out of boredom."

[hisdivineshadow]

"Boredom? Sounds familiar." Opening the pouch, he looked in and made a quick visual count of the contents. The coins seemed to be all there, few as they were. "I was actually looking for a place to chase off my own boredom. Care to join me?" He smiled at her, eyes twinkling with mischief.

[Northen Light36]

Acqua hesitates. "I really should head home..." she murmurs, then shrugs. "Oh, why not? I'm already in trouble. Staying out longer won't change anything. Where were you going?"

[hisdivineshadow]

Elias chuckled and turned away. "First cheap bar I can find. Come on, I'll buy you a drink." Glancing at his coin purse, he added, "And I do mean a drink. You really couldn't've picked a worse mark, chickadee. I'm just about broke."

[Northen Light36]

"A glass of juice won't put you out much," Acqua replies. "I don't drink alcohol, not anymore." Pausing she adds, "And don't call me chickadee. Come on, there's a decent bar two blocks south."

[hisdivineshadow]

"Well, what should I call you, then? Somehow I doubt you're the type who goes for 'darling' or 'my lady.'" He affected his best (reasonably good) impression of a stuffy, upper-class accent, barely keeping a straight face as he did so. "But, whatever you say, Sheila. Go ahead and lead the way." He gestured to the road ahead of them.

[Northen Light36]

Acqua groaned. "Fine, if you must call me something, you can use Kit," she replies as she leads the way towards the bar she'd mentioned. "Here's the place," Acqua adds when they get within sight of the bar.

It's not a fancy place, but it's in a reasonable area of town and doesn't scream "here dwell thieves and murderers".

[hisdivineshadow]

"Kit." Elias considered for a moment, then grinned. "I like it. It suits you." Grabbing the door, he stood back and held it open for her. "I'm trusting that this isn't some sort of trap, you know. I'm placing my life in your hands." He said it in a serious tone, but with just enough irony in his voice to mark it as humor.