A short, young boy wove in and out of the bustling crowds. A disheveled mop of thin chesnut-colored hair draped across his head. A stubborn whorl of hair jutted from behind his left ear and swayed every time he bobbed his head to and fro, inspecting the people and wares around him through large yellow eyes. Angular brown splotches were painted on both his cheeks, which were stuffed full of food. His plump cheeks and perpetually vacant expression, as if confused about where to go next, gave the strong impression of a squirrel.
He casually nibbled on a piece of bread as he flitted from one stall to another, wandering and exploring aimlessly like a curious child. With barely any room to maneuver, he bumped into several merchants and shoppers along the way. Most paid the youth no mind at all, but were quick to grumble irritably at his obvious lack of manners.
The boy stopped briefly by Selena, and eyed the food in the stall while a warm pastry bun still dangled from his mouth. His sharp eyes caught a glimpse of one of her coins disappearing into her pocket, and his gaze was fixed to it like a moth to a flame.
A furious shout rang out over the crowd. "Oi, that little rat robbed me blind!"
One of the middle-aged merchants was looking through the crowd at the boy. The man's face was beet red, as he continued bellowing. "Get back 'ere you little weasel! You don't steal from Ole' Gilfrey! I'll make mince meat out of you!"
The child whipped his to see where the shouts were coming from. His eyes held a feral glint as they narrowed at the merchant. His attention snapped back to Selena's pocket with the same wide-eyed wonder he had before. He looked up at her quizzically while gulping down the bread in enormous bites.
Gilfrey pushed through the crowd after the boy, passing by Yasha and blustering the whole way. The guards patrolling the adjacent thoroughfare perked up. Then, as if on cue, the boy leaped into the air and vaulted over the stall. His nimble feet hit the ground at a sprint.
December's nose twitched and wrinkled as it picked up a strange, yet warm and inviting scent around Himitsu. It smelled sweet but with an accent of burnt air, like pastries cooked by a short-circuiting toaster. Her senses told her she was smelling something similar to magic, which had the unique stench of burnt sugar, but this was somehow...
different.
"Do you guys smell that too?" she asked absentmindedly, obviously distracted by some kind of scent in the air.
"It's not a spell...but..."The scent disappeared as Himitsu regained her lucidity. December looked at her curiously for a moment, and was about to ask what was going on, until Danielle stole her attention with an exaggerated pose.
"Right, right the magician's guild sounds like a solid plan. But!" Danielle decided to strike an unnecessarily dramatic pose for good measure. "Before anything else happens I am finding the nearest clothing shop and getting myself some proper attire! You two can go there together first will I get a little shopping done, or can can come with me first if you like, but we'll meet up there regardless. If we're gonna be here for a while we better learn as much as you can."
December recoiled internally at the thought of a former man going clothes shopping as a girl, but the feeling was colored with a twinge of guilt. She had already pawned Akena off onto Lexus, which was a questionable move to say the least, one which she felt ashamed about no matter how much she tried to justify it.
She knew she couldn't avoid her problems for long, but she would at least try to pick and choose which ones to deal with. Her conflicted feelings about meeting her long-time-surrogate-sister-turned-real-sister seemed so much more complicated than helping Danielle find new clothes, which was more appealing by comparison. December's imagination already running wild in the back of her mind with all the different ways she could screw up. Shopping and investigating the Magician's Guild were welcome distractions for the time being.
"You're right." She said after a nervous pause.
"We should find you suitable clothes first. I couldn't tell you how many lecherous looks you've gotten just this morning." An impish grin played across her lips.
"I stopped counting at 50."
