Arrika had frozen as she realized Kasei was behind her; he was sort of like Alpha to her; all-powerful, unapproachable, highly intimidating, and could probably kill her with just one finger. She caught the bag of money nervously but couldn't help but grin. She had a feeling there might be a lot more than 400 rupees in that wallet.

The thief counted out 400 rupees and gave them to Aria. "Go ahead and order whatever you think she'll like... She likes you a lot more than me, and if I buy her food she'll think I poisoned it or something crazy like that..." Her eyes flickered to the still heavy wallet, then back to Kasei, but while she schemed she couldn't help but feel unnerved from the way Keychain would look at her, as if she had been comparing Arrika to someone she knew... someone she even hated...

Before Keychain could even glance around and take in the pub, she found herself being pulled by Arrika, weaving through the crowd of people with ease. Passing the bartender's wife without notice made Keychain frown. Didn't these people notice others around? she questioned to herself.

She only had to wait shortly when Arrika stopped at a locked door. Using a key to unlock the door, Arrika opened the door. Keychain followed in after her with slight hesitation. She really didn't pay attention to the words that spilled from Arrika's mouth, but more examined the room. She only remembered easily the last sentence that was a command that Arrika said.

When Arrika left, Keychain was shifting her weight from foot to foot. She frowned as she knew that she should have mentioned earlier that she has a shift in her small white bag.

"Quiet," she mumbled to herself before deciding that she needed that bath. She didn't like how she smelled currently. Too much dirt was on her skin for her liking. Even her hair felt heavier on her head with the amount of oil.

But, she thought to herself, no soap. Sighing, Keychain knew that she couldn't get around it. "But," she muttered out loud, "I got my wish for cold water." Even though she tried to cheer up her spirits a little, it didn't seem to work.

No longer delaying the need for a bath, she slipped off her brother's pajamas. The scratchy material had rubbed her skin raw, making her frown. She relaxed in the water a bit before scrubbing away the dirt. The black splotches on her skin soon faded to gray, then to her normal pale, sickly color. She dumped water over her head, damping her ashy red hair.

Even though without soap to make her feel clean, she knew most of the excess oil in her hair was gone and the traces of the dirt was gone from her skin. She almost banged her head when she went to grab a towel out of the cabinet under the sink. She wrapped it around her body and went back to her white bag.

She flipped the bag upside down and shook it to empty it out of the few materials inside of it. Her white shift fell out, perfectly clean from that day she ran from her burning home. The small book about wild plants fell out and her folded up pictures scattered across the floor. Keychain growled angrily. She always got mad because the papers were much too big for the book and bulged the pages when she folded the pictures enough to fit in the book.

Worrying later about the pictures, Keychain quickly dried her body and slipped on her shift. Feeling comfortable in her own, soft clothing again, Keychain breathed in deeply. She perfectly smelled the scent of wild berries. It was her smell. The one that her brother always picked on about, saying that he wished he smelled so good all the time.

Keychain sighed and ran a hand through her damp hair. The ashy red hair looked darker, more like a blood red color now that water clung to each and every strand of hair. Keychain frowned as she looked at herself in the dirty, cracked mirror. She looked more feminine with her hair down, but she couldn't abandon the look her and her brother kept for themselves.

Keychain grabbed her blue silk ribbon and washed through it with clean water. Soon the brown look wore away enough to show the blue color. When she was satisfied with how clean it was, she slipped it back into her hair and tied her hair back. She left only her bangs out, which were close to being long as her hair that she tied back. The bangs framed the side of her face, covering the corners of her eyes slightly.

Not knowing what to do until Arrika or Aria came back, she went back to her little book and picked up her pictures. Piling the pictures on one another, she found herself busying herself. She leaned against a wall-with her pictures next to her- and read through the book that she could recite easily.

Keychain pondered if she should sleep before they came back. Even though she knew that she would awaken a little after she fell into slumber by her stomach, she still thought that a small nap would help her out. But, shrugging her shoulders, she felt herself enchanted with the small book.

"One of that, one of that, ooh, one of those, two pounds worth of that, and five cups of that!" Aria ordered of the keep, and payed the money. "What'd you buy?" Kasei said, walking over to her. His grandaughter looked at him with an inncoent face. "A full ham, a full steak, mashed potatoes, a soup delux, and five drinks." She answered, handing back the single, green, rubee that was left after her purchase.

Kasei looked at the little gem timidly. "You'll make me bankrupt." He said, and turned to Arrika. "Can you go see if the girls ready? The food will be here soon.

Arrika grabbed the platters of ham and steak and went back to the room where she had locked Keychain in. It was as if she had somehow used a kind of magic to aid her, for she maneuvered through the rowdy people without dropping anything and of course, without attracting attention.

She knocked on the door lightly first, guessing that her charge could just be climbing out of the bath. "Keychain?" She opened the door 5 seconds later without bothering to wait for a response; that girl was going to have to learn to be quick. That, and Arrika had been very generous by giving Keychain 2 seconds more than Kobas would have given her.

Keychain jumped at the knock. She scrambled to her feet, dropping her book on the ground. She felt her face redden. She left the yellowed, crisp papers scattered everywhere on the floor when they had fallen out, not expecting to have anyone return to the room for a while.

Well, maybe she was expecting someone to come to the room soon. She couldn't stop herself from reading the same sentence over and over again, not even realizing it until she stopped herself from reading. Her attention was mostly pulled to the door, wondering if anyone knew of the room. She was straining to hear any noise in the quiet room.

She tugged at her thin night wear. The nights were warm, so she never needed anything heavy. She frowned when she realized if she would need any heavier clothing for her stay here. She didn't know what the weather was like, so she had to ask someone.

She was surprised and not surprised to see Arrika with a tray of food. She wondered if Aria would come up here, or if it was a room that only Arrika could come into. She shook this thought away, finding it stupid and wanting to laugh at herself.

Her cleaning side wanted to pick up the papers, stuttering an apology for being so messy, but even if she wanted to open her mouth, she just stood there, with her hands folded behind her. The sound of her stomach made her silent and embarrassed. The food just smelled so good.

"So, does she like the food?" The girl called Aria asked, popping her head in. "Hey hey, you got to eat up, really! If you don't you'll shrivel up like an old guy!" The shiekah said, with a smile. "Here, i'll help." She said.

As she walked over, she grabbed a steak, and held it up. Holding it to Keychain, she attempted to stuff the meat down her throat. "EAT UP! "

OOC: I'll probably edit this later >>;

Keychain looked shocked. She went to protest that she was going to eat, but found Aria trying to force feed her, making her gag. She quickly grabbed Aria's arms and made sure that she wasn't about to choke on the steak.

Disgusting herself some, Keychain placed the steak on the plate away from everything else. She carefully took the plate from Arrika's care, nodding her head at her with a small smile.

"I'll eat at my own pace, thank you," Keychain mumbled. She sat down and crossed her legs, the plate resting directly in front of her. Her eyes boggled when she saw all the food. She looked at everyone, her eyebrows creased together. "I hope you guys didn't expect me to eat this all by myself."

She looked at the food. Her eyes trailed to the steak. Since it was already in her mouth, she might as well eat it. Her head was bowed down as she focused on cutting the steak into small pieces. Her ashy red hair falling into her face, but she didn't push it back at the moment.

OoC: Well, then I'll need to edit mine if you edit yours, Kasei.

Arrika rolled her eyes as Aria attempted to force feed Keychain. "Eat as much as you can, because chances are you're never going to see this much food for a while." She sat on the floor beside Keychain, shifting a bit as Kasei's wallet bunched against her leg in her pocket. She grabbed the ham and began slicing it with amazing dexterity for all of them, peered at the soup, made a face, but then drank two big spoonfuls. "What was that, Aria? Some vegetarian mix? Smells like raw herbs." She got rid of the awkward taste with a large chunk of ham, then started on the mashed potatoes.

Keychain glanced at Arrika and Aria. Her jaw slowly moved up as she chewed her food. With her mouth preoccupied, she pondered over how she should plan out her questions and requests to the two. She needed money, yes, but she also needed to find a place for rest and living. How the room looked to her didn't seem very "home sweet home."

Keychain placed her utensils down and looked at the two shortly. She opened her mouth and spoke, "Do you know a place where I can do odd jobs for a time being?" Her face flared red over the fact that the silence was broken by her sudden question. "O-or does someone need some help in a shop? I may not be the m-most talented person, b-but I learn fast and can help people out."

She bent her head back down. She gripped the end of her shift and didn't meet anyone's eyes. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she knew that the color on her cheeks made a tomato jealous.

"That's it? You're going to be a maid, after all you've went through?" Arrika said harshly, slamming her bowl on the ground and remembering the state she had found Keychain in. "A maid. How about a housekeeper, or someone's servant?" she scoffed. "You managed to get away from whatever's been tormenting you, just so you can be ordered around for the rest of your life?" She paused, letting her words sink in, and for some reason she was growing very annoyed and even angry with Keychain. "The only way to make it in this world is to start standing on your own two feet. You've got legs, learn how to use them!"

Aria smiled widely. "Hey, hey! Sovelis-sensei used to say that!" She said, smiling. It must've slipped everyone's mind, but the Tempest did indeed train Aria for a short time. "Hey, you can't become a maid!" She said, quickly changing topic. "If you do, what if you get a bad master?" She inquired. "I know a place you can work! It's the PFH, Kasei works there!" The little shiekah said exitedly.

OOC: T_T

Keychain looked shocked at Arrika. Her shoulders started to shake unconsciously. Her blue eyes were wide and resembled saucers. "I-I-I never said anything a-a-about being a maid!" she squeaked out her defense in a pitiful way. "When I said odd jobs, I meant something that would be one time! L-l-l-l-" Keychain stopped and bit her lip. She knew that she looked weak, pitiful, and vulnerable. She hated it.

But what she hated more were the words that Arrika spat at her. She didn't know why or how, but Arrika reminded her too much of Anne. Anne and her tauntings, the daily beatings, and the angry quarrels that she always won because of Keychain's weak state. She just couldn't look up at Arrika without seeing a trait that Anne had. The words that spilled from Arrika's mouth fueled her anger that seeped into every pore of her body.

Gritting her teeth, Keychain stared straight at Arrika. The words that Aria spoke seemed to meet deaf ears to her. "The type of people like you are what I hate the most! Why don't you get out into the world, stop being a thief, and maybe even sticking on of your two feet into your mouth!? And while you're at it, stop acting like Anne!"

As quickly as it came, Keychain's anger disappeared. Her eyes widened with horror and realization at what she had just spoken. The words that had spilled out of her mouth couldn't have been controlled by her. It was like trying to hold water in your hands; pointless. She covered her mouth with her hands and stared down at the ground.

OoC: Sorry I haven't replied, I don't get email notifications for some reason and school is being a ... never mind.

IC: It took all of her self control not to strike Keychain.

"Stop being a thief?" She laughed hollowly instead. "And do what, exactly? It's all I'm good at, and all I'll ever be good at, in case you haven't figured that out for yourself yet."

Arrika remained staring straight at Keychain and took a deep breath. If she continued, it would be the point of no return. She could just walk away now, and everything would be as it was, like an undisturbed, glassy pond, perfect and familiar.

"I've made up my mind. I don't care if you think you hate me... you're not the only one. You can come with me if you want, Keychain, and I'll teach you everything I know, and no one will ever walk all over you ever again. Or you can go with Aria... and have a peaceful life, and never have to think of a little street urchin like me." The air seemed tight and constricting, making her words seem heavier.

"So... what's important is what you want to do, and what you think is best. If you want to stay with Aria, that's your decision, and I won't bother you about it."

Keychain didn't reply instantly. She didn't even look at Arrika. Her head was bowed down deeply. She stared down at her hands that were shaking. One laying over the other palm upward. Her eyes focused on the markings that crossed over one another, finding them fascinated.

"Anne tried to change me," she finally said after a few seconds of deathly silence. She felt the air being tense around her, and it made her squirm. "My brother once tried to change me, my friend tried to change me." Keychain bit her bottom lip. She knew that her twin brother didn't mind who she was, how she acted, or anything, but she wasn't all too sure of Aqua. The graceful dancer always tried to get Keychain to do something new each day. "So, why do you think you can change me? A total stranger who knows nothing about me?"

She could remember Aqua's voice as she spoke to Keychain for the first time. She remembered that they were on opposite sides of a gate. Aqua had refused to look at her, only spoke. The brunette explained how Keychain seemed to unapproachable since she would all too easily scurry away from people. It was all so weird, but she listened and never spoke until the end.

"And even, if you wish to help me, then you must call me by Key, since that's how it's been like." Keychain finally looked up at Arrika. "The ways of a thief are dangerous. I've seen Anne get into numerous trouble because of it. I don't disgrace it, and I don't like it. Like my friend once said, 'Some have what they need and more, others don't and looked down on because of it'." Keychain almost forgot that she had changed the subject and rushed back to the reason behind her nickname. "By calling me Key, it shows others that you are actually someone that I trust. Err...w-we-well, that's how it was."

Keychain rubbed her eyes and yawned. She didn't realize that her fatigue was taking over, but she could feel it seeping into every pore of her body. She yawned again and ran a hand through her ashy red hair. Her hands came to her ribbon and she tugged it out. A habit she did when she was about to go to bed.

OoC: It's okay, I've been planning on making like two new topics in addition to the two that I added a little while ago. (One in which has no replies and five views ) Also, expect soon a picture that I did of Keychain when she wears a dress. I showed it to one of my friends and he thought that she was extremely pretty. XD

"I think I can change you... because I've been changed myself. So many times, all on his whim, and I don't want to see someone else get hurt like I did," Arrika said. "Key... I'll call you that if you want, but I guarantee that you'll be called worse names and more if you come with me. I never said it wasn't going to be hard... it will be, that at least I can promise you."

She looked from Aria to Key, her dark eyes calm although she almost felt like retching. "If that's that, I guess I can start lesson one right away. Your first mistake... never trust anyone but yourself, not even me. Never give yourself away so easily. If you have to trust someone, remember that in the end everyone's always out for themselves, and you become a pawn or fade into the background." A half smile twitched on her face, momentarily revealing sharp, pointed teeth. "If this still sounds like the life for you..." She left the question hanging, and only put out her hand for Key to shake.