OOC: For a start, I'd like everybody to have their characters forget all about Chisalu... because I revamped her. A lot, as in she actually has a history now, and she looks like she's actually homeless and blah xD I'll be posting her history, when I have time. Plan to use her in my writing assessment next week even.

Basically, big changes. Character kinks ironed out. By the by, what does everyone think of her new design?



Ignore the uglyuglyugly art. The point is she looks much more homeless. Also, what's with no pants? Aesthetically quite pleasing to the eye though. Anyway, enough of that. Pretend this is Chisalu's debut.

IC:

Individuality is not a particularly debatable thing, at least on a one-to-one basis, but then, like a single cell in amongst a sea of others, extracted and examined alone, it shows its own paths, and patterns. Yet, amongst a swarm of cells, frothing and bubbling to and fro, these paths and patterns transform, mutate. Blending into a mess. A single thing, but just as one can extract meaning from the movement of a cell, one can extract movement from many cells. Translate it into a pattern. There is a natural capacity for a person to decipher meanings, and it was this same capacity, that Chisalu was - unknowingly - using. It was this understanding of a crowd, and ability to pick out the stragglers that gifted predators with their meals, and hopefully, Chisalu with hers as well.

She scanned the crowd carefully, sitting cross-legged under some wooden slates, probably meant to be stairs. Had anyone glanced at her, they would have seen a shivering mirage of a child; the impression of pinkish-reddist hair, all tangled in a smudge; red eyes, almost brown; a faded, frayed shirt, but undamaged and little else. Yet, where the shadows barred across her, she seemed to waver and blur away. A shadow-meld, further marking her as a Sheikah, but not as effective now that she had slunk out of the darkness that helped form her illusion, and now left the bare minimum camouflage. Given that it was no longer effective, Chisalu let the light grip of the meld drip out of her. Through her fingers, and suddenly she was solid, very solid. Bounding up, she bounced on her toes, balancing lightly, double-checking her particular target.

A middle-aged man, weighed down with bags. Chisalu hopped forward, executing another form of meld, one not born of blood, but of experience. At the age of ten, experience is an odd thing to claim, and only constant, vicious practice could bring it to any level of usefulness. A constancy as sure as breathing, except that, that same experience was what made breathing constant. Death or taxes was irrelevant to her though; she paid no taxes, and she had the fearless sense of immortality that exists in the young. Practicality more than fear motivated her.

The man staggered; Chisalu leapt forward to help him, beaming and reciting a series of insipid lines. Reciting would be a bad word; Chisa was proud of her acting, and took care to live in her character, improvise to the scenario. A more personal take increased trust. Thusly, she wandered away emptying out a satchel carefully into her hands. Two rupees, and what looked like baubles, and in short, largely useless to her. Here, practicality took a side-step, and tore off its mask, jesting in a malignant, masquerade fashion. She bundled the baubles up, and the bag, and darted under the stairs again into her newest lair. A small space, pressed between the buildings, and dark, but glittering in that darkness. Despite this, the smell of food that was waiting too long rose up and curled about her nostrils. She was hungry, and her mouth welled... But no, she must save that food; she would steal more. This stuff was to be stored. She couldn't eat it.

Carefully, Chisalu, thumbed at several pieces of driftwood, pushed them aside, along with the emptied pouches, remains of a single boot, and other "collectables" she had stolen, but had no need for. Tucking the baubles away, and digging about in the nearby rubble for a little cache of rupees. Dumping the two she had just acquired, she reburied the cache and darted away again, shadow-melding and slipping along the side of the wall. Namely so her lair wouldn't be potentially seen.

She deftly hopped up onto a small ledge, and glanced around. Her success had been short-lived, as the prize had not been much, and petulantly, her stomach rumbled at her. Chisalu spat to the side, clearing her mouth of saliva in a distinctly barbaric manner, and rubbed her arm along her mouth to get rid of the remains. Being cute, and cleanly (as much as vagrant required) was a difficult balance to get, so as to incite pity, but not incite disgust in people. Chisalu scraped her arm and palms along the ledge, sitting down on it like a perching sparrow; saliva was not a particular favourite amongst people, only she was so hungry. Wandering thoughts had a way of wandering to her stash, but she resolutely raised her eyes once more to examine another potential - and hopefully more bread-loving - target.

A man with long golden hair strode past the alley. He had his usual loaf of bread under one arm, and was silently chomping away at the piece he'd torn off of it. His face was without imperfection, and he his long golden hair ran down towards the center of his back. He wore nothing but a pair of ratty old pants, which were crowded into ankle-tape around his ankles and lower calves. The same tape wrapped around his forearms, wrists, and hands, the tape winding in-between each of his fingers. He was barefoot as always, and his body was in impeccable condition.

He hummed a tune as he merrily walked, and stopped at the ally. He turned his blue eyes down the ally, and spied a hungry homeless child. If he flaws, one of them was surely his overly trusting nature, and another his giant heart. The man turned and smiled at her. "Hi there! Want summa my bread? North Caslte has a pretty good bakery! Nothing compared to Rauru, where the ingredients are harvested right next door at the Dent Family Farm!" He tore off half of the loaf of bread, and extended his arm towards the ally. "Here! Have some! I insist!"

OOC: Welcome back, Persona! We've had an increase in activity here as of recent, so you showed up just in time! Be sure to check out the "Future of Hyrule Adventures" topic too. If you can't post to be more specific about your thoughts, then just leave a vote in the poll as I have in yours.

New design looks great, by the way.

OoC: To Persona- I like you already. Also, I like your drawing style.

IC:

Twin shadows streaked along grimy alley walls, criss-crossing and hovering, as if with indecision, and finally pooled onto the ground. A thin Sheikah, a green-haired Hylian boy, and a shaggy cat materialized from within.

"They almost caught us! I told you to just knock that guy out," Seth said accusingly as the last traces of shadow trickled off his body like liquid darkness, collecting at the cat's feet and disappearing.

"Doesn't matter, we got what we came for," was Arrika's gruff reply. The priceless painting Rhyss wanted was wrapped up in a large piece of canvas and tucked under her arm. A purple rupee and a diamond ring for herself was deep in her left pocket, so overall, it hadn't been too bad of a heist.

"Hey, look, there's a fool," Seth said wrly, nodding towards a golden-haired man who had approached a scrappy-looking girl. "Hmm, not even a panderer. Just a bit too nice for his own good."

"Imagine that, someone helping another person purely out of the kindness of their heart," Arrika replied as sarcastically as she could, but watching the two strangers sent chills down her spine. The scene was too reminiscent of the day she'd met Kobas, and part of her wanted to whisk the homeless girl away and protect her. But she stilled her hand- the blonde man seemed to be genuine in his intentions and really, when did she become Child Protective Services?

"He's pretty," the green-haired boy commented. "Want to stick around?"

"You were the one obssessing about getting back to Rhyss as soon as possible."

"He can wait. Look at his face! I could measure his features with a ruler and get perfect proportions every time. If that's not a sign of attractiveness, I don't know what is. Come on," he said, tugging on her arm, and the pair of vagabonds scaled the closest building to watch what transpired from a roof.

Chisalu had seen mousetraps before. There were two parts to mousetraps, one was the spring, which would click out and snap the rodent's spine or otherwise crush them. This was the functional part, the killing part; an execution that was soulless. Still, completely ineffectual without the heart of the trap, that being the other part. The other part was the cheese. Heart of the trap it might be, but it was not exactly a kind one. Malicious, was the word that sprang to mind.

So, Chisa gazed stoically at the half of loaf, not even bothering to effect the persona she cultivated for just such moments. Her very circumstances had invoked pity, and she could afford to be extremely wary. After examining what was offered to her, she flicked her gaze at the person who offered it. Blond, tall and a hero. The question was, whether he was a malicious mouse trap, or a genuine idiot. Her instinct was to assume people deserved to be used, but she was aware - nastily so - of people who caught a thief in the act.

The only answer was to probe this character. Though, surely it couldn't hurt to reach out and grab the bread?

No, this was how a mouse died, and Chisalu was not going to be a mouse. The game of cat and mouse, or moustrap is only won if you're not the mouse. The mouse never wins. Not unless you believe those lying cartoons (anachronism for the sake of reference, see if you can catch it).

"F-For me?" Chisalu looked at the man with wide eyes, scanning the bracing bandages uncertainly. Bandages mean warriors. Warriors mean saving-complexes... or the capacity to beat someone. And this man was very capable of beating her. Very very capable. She inched back down the alley as subtly as she could, her eyes drawn unstoppably to the proffered food nonetheless.

Despite Chisalu's efforts to appear capable, and cunning, she did however have one error in that her focus was completely monopolized onto one thing (two, if you count the bread). Ergo, she missed Arrika and Seth, even with the illusions coiling off their bodies, at least, she did. Until they began to speak. The pointed ears of the denizens of Hyrule are not particularly meant for show, and in particular, it was argued the Sheikah hearing range was better than that of the average species. As such, Chisalu's head whipped round like a cobra that has heard the approach of a mongoose and realizes something much faster and dangerous than it is about.

Namely two beings whose thieving experience and skill could probably floor Chisalu's. Chisalu narrowed her eyes, twisting her head back at the blonde man, and smiling. Her attention still on the other two strangers. In the way of children, Chisalu labelled both of them as 'adult' and in the way of a pickpocket, as ones she'd best avoid stealing from. This blond buffoon on the other hand, might yet be an ideal pocket to pick. Nervously, she hoped the other two wouldn't catch her in the act; Witnesses had this funny way of making things difficult. For now, she knew better than to try to pry their pockets. At least, not whilst their attention was on her, and this-

Chisa's smile widened, showing off delight. This man, who may or may not be a good source of money. First to detect if he was simply a trap, however, and likely to spring in and break her back like a twig.



OOC: Good to be back, and Alias is five letters to Persona's seven. Awesome~ Glad to hear of an activity increase, mind you, been trailing the Gossip Isle thread, and it looks freakin' awesome. Checked in, dropped $0.02 on the floor and a vote in the poll~

Thank; she actually looks ragged now XD

~

Thanks Arrika ^///^ I'm quite a fan of your work over at Gossip Isle.

OOC: I like the new design, I think that this medium of character introduction is a lot more depth providing, no offense. And I loved the art, and I would have to agree, not trying to be a pedophile, but the whole long shirt with no pants thing seemed to draw out that kind of cute attractive side, to a character her own age mind you. Mine has another on his agenda.

IC:

And so through the crowd another suspicious character approached. A dark-haired man covered in an overcoat and dawning a black pointy-beak based mask, one concealing his eyes and nose, though leaving the typical eye holes for the eyes of course. The irises were a kind of reflective sapphire, and those who know him might be able to tell you why, though really only two people could possibly successfully do that, and one of them was dead.

All in all, he appeared pensive, yet no doubt not up to normal errands within North Castle, perhaps he was taking care of business best left not talked about, or perhaps he was merely browsing, studying the people and their flows. He saw an urchin to the side (not Chisalu), using crude but effective techniques to pick pocket people. He was like that little boy once, all those many years ago, even before his care providers passed. Back then, he did it for sport, it soon became him though, a means to survive. And now, he was a professional, and one working at cleaning up his act as well.

Then the pointy-eared Hylian known as Thealter, or Thea for short, detected something. Arrika. A sound unmistakable amongst the crowd. He approached the destination, but didn't find the lithe thief, but instead saw a man offering a young lady some bread. The girl was no doubt an urchin by the way she dressed, and probably likewise a thief. While he approached, he took his time to drop a handful of red rupees upon the pavement, being rich himself now. He made sure nobody, not even a certain thief could detect he made his mistake purposefully. But he definitely made sure that Chisalu noticed the outcome of what he did, even if it wasn't right away, that's what direction he would walk away from, it was only natural. Meanwhile, his gaze met a roof top, spying Seth and more importantly, her. He knew her to be attentive, and he knew how much his masked frightened her. She would notice he was here, and while he checked the position of the sun in the sky, not an uncommon trait amongst errand-runners back in these days, he made sure to look a glance, just for a moment, with those crimson red eyes.

Upon reaching the girl and the man, he lowered his mask to reveal his actor-like physique, practically one to rival the golden-haired one. "You look pretty hungry, young madame," he commented. Then turning towards the warrior, "Are you certain this morsel alone is enough? While bread can be nutritious, she cannot live off bread alone. Would you like a nice slab of meat perhaps?" he asked back to the urchin, not bothering to ask her which kinds, thinking she wouldn't be able to know beef from pork from chicken from steak by name.

OOC: None taken; at least Chisalu finally has depth of some kind and isn't a cobbled collection of random traits strung together for no real reason. Oh the shame. Also makes her look quite vulnerable and is a chance to practice drawing unhealthily skinny legs, which (as you can see) I'm not good at... oh lord.

IC:

Rupees. Red ones. Glittering and shining on the floor. Chisalu's eyes had now reached a saucer-like state, as she heard them tinkle on the ground. Watched the light clip through them out of the corner of her eye, spin lightly on a facet, before toppling over and gleaming tauntingly at her. She couldn't grab them, not with the two men watching, and at any moment, another hungry, desperate thief might pluck the prize - which she had seen first and so was rightfully hers! - up and traipse off with them. She could have stamped her foot, ground her teeth and glared in fury at these circumstances, but instead continued pretending to focus on the man with the bread, head tipping in a more than slightly sincere gesture of nervousness.

This was prior to her spotting the most startlingly, horrifyingly interesting figure step through the crowds towards her. Unlike the prickly sensation of Arrika and Seth's attention, Chisalu was not keen enough to notice anything odd about this man. Or perhaps, too fascinated by his mask. Her attention leapt, and twisted about the mask, staring at the bright eyes, and fascinated by the black cloak. Most people are curious about things, but - forgiving the beak on that mask - Chisa could be downright nosy. Her obliviousness to the man's slightly forbidding form, in lieu of how terribly interesting it was, led to her confident that her strong childish persona would render him unable of intending her harm.

Her left hand, which had been twitching towards her dagger, lost all purposeness as she watched riveted by this stranger. Even the rupees seemed to pale before this mystery, but not for long. All too soon her stomach gave a hearty snarl, gnawing away at her insides like a dog worrying a tick. The thick grumble of her belly made her hands suddenly clutch up at her shirt, revealing as she pressed her torso in puzzled embarrassment, the level of protrusion in her ribs. It would be easy to link this delineated bone to the thickness of her joints in comparison to her body, and the sharpness of her collarbone. Her pulse would be felt from every corner of her, thrumming through the thinning flesh. Starving.

Not to mention that money, carelessly swept on the floor, in front of her, the half chunk of bread and the sudden offer of meat. Chisalu, still grasping at her mid-riff, stared up at him anew. Quickly she composed her sentence, unable to halt curiousity.

"Why are you dressed like a bird, sir? You look something awful silly..." She stuck her tongue out, eyes flickering to the rupees. To the bread. To the mask. All while she slowly remembered the eyes of the two others, and the hairs on the back of her body tingled and prickled.

Her stomach gave another mutinous growl, but this time, Chisalu merely had to pretend to be ashamed, aware that with every grimace her body insisted on sounding out, she could induce further pity in those around her. Hunger; nothing but a tool to slip into the minds of people. She hid, from long routine, her flash of disdain and contempt. People sold out their loyalties too easily, and their emotions were too easily tossed about, like ships in a little sea. She need only cast her net.

The man realized how reclusive she was, and closed his eyes for a moment. No doubt she'd been through hardships. It would probably be difficult to trust anyone after living on these dirty streets. He opened his deep blue eyes and stared solemnly at her for several seconds. He placed the bread down next to the rupees offered to the girl (a mighty generous donation), and took a few steps back.

"I'm watching my weight anyways..." He lied. "I won't eat that half, so if you don't want it, then just leave it there." He nodded to her, and stuffed another piece of bread in his mouth. "I travel all over the plashe. If you shee me around, jusht hollar!" He smiled widely, his mouth full of food. "Shee ya!" He called out as he strolled away, back down his intended path.

OOC: If you want to join Gossip Isle, we can find a way for you.

"Oh, is that your new boyfriend?" Seth said, spotting Thea. "Please tell me he at least took the mask off when you two- Ouch! Alright, alright!" the green-haired boy growled when Arrika tugged on his pristine white scarf like a noose.

"He's not my boyfriend," Arrika stated flatly. "One night doesn't mean anything."

"You're just saying that because you're hung up on- Argh! Fine!" he hissed when the older girl tugged on his scarf so hard that he smashed his face against the tiles on the roof. "Oh, smart move. He knows we're here now."

Arrika's eyes locked with Thea's. She glanced down at him passively.

"Ugh, even the little rat knows we're here," Seth grumbled. "Funny. She looks a lot like you used to."

Arrika glanced down at the tiny girl with a mix of disgust, pity, and disbelief. Had she really been that thin, that desperate? And, not for the first time, she wondered- would she have died of starvation on the streets if not for Kobas? The irony stung.

"Oh no. Ohhhh no. You want to help her," Seth suddenly accused. "No, I'm not saying I just read your mind. You've been blocking that pretty well lately. It's the look on your face that gives it away."

"She's so obvious about it. She's going to get arrested. Or worse," Arrika replied.

"And this is our business because...? I swear, ever since you came back from Gossip Isle, you've just been... different," Seth struggled to say.

"I just don't like seeing people like her."

Seth sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You can't save everyone. And honestly, she'd be better off not getting mixed up with us." And Rhyss, he thought silently, although the mage's preferences were decidedly male at the moment. "Oh... he's not bad looking either," he non-sequitored after seeing Thea remove his mask. "It's the eyes that got you, isn't it? Not green like... you-know-who, but bright enough."

"If you're going to joke about him, just say his name," Arrika snarled. "Kobas. See? I'm not afraid of it." Her fists clenched, and she could feel, without looking down, the weight of the silver wolf's ring on her left hand.

"You look pretty hungry, young madame," he commented. Then turning towards the warrior, "Are you certain this morsel alone is enough? While bread can be nutritious, she cannot live off bread alone. Would you like a nice slab of meat perhaps?"

"And generous," the boy added under his breath. "Do you think I could get in on this?"

"I want to help her," Arrika said with conviction.

"If you feed her, she'll just keep coming back for more," Seth pointed out.

"Just a few more rupees. Or some clothes. She must be freezing at night. Look, I've got my light cloak on me right now, and I was planning on getting a new one anyway, so..."

"It's a bad idea," the psychic stated flatly as the Sheikah girl lithely leaped to the ground below.

"Well, I dress this way because it's comfortable, I suppose, and warm as well. Plus, it does a nice job of hiding my face from those who I'd prefer not notice me," explained the mage to the young girl.

Thealter took a step back, though used a slight push of magic to make it seem as though the rupees were rolling down the uneven stone street, closer to the girl. At least nobody else would walk off with them. And if she didn't notice, he would point them out and urge for her to gather them. Perhaps if she was willing to accept some protein, he might have a job proposition for her, but a street child like her would no doubt turn it down. It's a shame, Orpheous loved helping out the needy, and they were always in need of informants and gathers who could operate the tricky streets of North Castle.

Then again, maybe the girl had potential for more, but it mattered not right now. First, the urchin would have to make up her mind on the bread, but it appears that the golden-haired warrior was not trying to implement a trap. He actually gave the bread to her (seeing as how 'leaving it by the rupees' doesn't really work, I already spoke to ZV on this). And presumable intended to leave of all things. A kind citizen after all.

"I see I wasn't the only one who was reminded of myself when I saw her," commented Thea softly, only for Arrika's ears, he had just moved beside the thief who had joined in the outskirts of the discussion from the roof tops. "She struck a chord with you as well?" He paused, reflectively. "I can get her on her feet, I know this place that will pay her in coin for any street knowledge she provides. Enough to buy food, clothing, and rent shelter. But if you want to relieve her immediate needs, just as I plan to, I have no problem with that. I was just about to take the girl out for some quality juicy meat, you know, steak and such. If you want to tag along, I could buy," he noted.

"Also, nice to see you again. Too bad you won't take off your mask now. Your sadness runs deeper than this poor girl before you. I'm good with people; I have a way of figuring out what they're feeling. You don't have to pour out your heart now, but if you want to talk about it with me later, that's fine as well." He finished, then stood back, leaning against the wall while he waited for a reply from the thief and watched to see how the urchin would react to the bread.

OOC: Also, the Antros is still docked Everbreeze, so Persona could join, in theory.

Chisalu watched him shut his eyes, as if in thought, and once more twitched her fingers towards her knife. Despite her precautions, the man merely stared at her - her staring back every inch, like a suspicious scavenging animal - before carefully placing the bread down next to her rupees. More accurately, her rupees. Dagger wormed into her hand, and tucked behind her wrist, her hands jolted out towards him, however, he stepped back a few paces. Chisalu tried to cover up her gesture, succeeding in making it appear as though she'd had a mysterious spasm. Not suspicious in the slightest. Chisalu continued watching, eyes flicking between the masked man, the two above her, and in particular the retreating man.

Perhaps if he ever did appear before her again, she might try to make a protector of him, assuming he had the mettle for it. Well-maintained muscles usually stated as such, as she had observed earlier. Chisalu then stared hollowly up at the masked man, her smile dripping out of her face, before she yanked it back up, and dropped down to the floor quickly to grab the bred, hurriedly seizing the rupees in the same moment, and praying the man did not see her do so. He would no doubt desire his money back - Chisa had not figured out it was a purposeful drop, and as such, tried to hide the rupees in the bread.

As quick-thinking went, it wasn't a bad plan, and Chisalu was soon on her feet, hopped several paces back from the masked man. She had been a little too exposed as she had scrabbled for the bread. "I don't need to use a mask" She stated, building up her point, "I can disappear" Chisalu declared, feigning a open pride in herself. She expected he would understand that statement; the Sheikah skill at shadow melding was not extraordinarily secret. "After-all... nobody cares what happens to me..." She let her eyes sink into the floor, digging down into it, her lip trembled, not in a sickeningly false way. But in the way of lies that have used a grain of truth. The truth was, Chisa did feel very alone in the world, but the deeper truth was not that this could bring her to tears, or shake her voice like a branch under a flitting bird, no, she preferred being emotionally cut off from others in many ways.

She was shy a protector though. So, she took her fear of being attacked, and solemn notion of being alone, and she built them deep into her words, her face, her very posture. A half-tremble. A fear lurking in the dark, and a delicate little girl. Chisalu plucked at heart-strings, but the only way to do that was to use little truths, and let them bubble into a story. One did not weave those cardioid strings inside people into something of worth without a little honesty. Selectively spoken, and selectively shown, but still, the truth inside the mask is what brings pity up.

Speaking of masks, she stole a glance at the man. He seemed distracted by somebody else, and a half a pace further from her, as her hearing had told her, but still excellent to check. Not that she minded his distancing either. Only that, he was distracted, and Chisalu pressed her loaf closer, glancing at the glittering rupees inside the bread, and her knife, pushed into it as well. It was close, but in an awkward place to bring out, without disturbing her food, and money. But then, Chisalu bit into the surrounding bread, and chewed, her stomach twisting gleefully, but she felt sick. A waste. She could not afford to waste bread, and the urge to reprimand herself for what she had done was tempered. She couldn't bring herself to swallow.

It's already damp from my saliva... it'll waste if I don't eat it now..

Logic had its way of agreeing with her cramping belly, and she chewed some more, swallowing uncomfortably. Despite this waste of rations, she had succeeded in something, her knife was now close enough to her teeth for her to yank it out quickly. She feigned further nibbling, looking ravenous; another truth, she was ravenous. Her fingers clutched at the bread as she gnawed, eyes looking at the masked man. What was he- -looking at those from above. She felt like the mouse, surrounded utterly by little walls and tangle-points. This didn't sit well in her stomach, which made a little gurgle, either complaining about the fierce smell of food, the attack of food after starvation, or the nervousness and dread that filled her in this claustrophobic, entrapped feeling. She suddenly wished the blond man had not left her, she had probably been safer with him around.

Red eyes hooked onto blue eyes, and she carefully bit the handle of her dagger. She waited. Daring him to attack. She could disappear; like a little shadow spitfire, twirling down the dark alleys into the holes, and nooks and crannies she knew. It would never have occurred to her he too could have lived on her streets, as a small boy, and might know its little secret safeties as well as her. She with her shadows. Her knife. Her ducking, weaving, out of normal range body, and the desperation that could rip through her weak body.

Oh, attack me, if you dare, it'll be like trying to beat smoke. In short, she was very scared of her current situation. Did he know she had his rupees? Had his friend on the roof seen? Or perhaps... the rupees were a trap. She should run, but unlike before, she had heard the offer of meat. Prized over all foods. She lingered, testing the waters, and hoping to anything they wouldn't scald her.


OOC: ...Might might might -very sorely tempted-

"Here. You must be freezing," Arrika said, taking off her cloak. Her brand-new navy blue cloak, airy and light, one she had coveted in a shop window for twelve whole hours before night fell and she had the chance to steal it. She draped it over the girl's shoulders before the little thing could scamper away, which she certainly seemed to be ready to do.

"Pathetic," Seth called from above, lying on his stomach with his head propped up on his elbow and his foot swaying in the air like a lazy cat.

"Pour out my heart to you? And what, Thea, would ever compell me to do such a thing?" Arrika replied. She was surprised- no, completely astounded at Thea's willingness to help the little Sheikah.

Sauron yowled loudly and leapt down from the roof as well. The shaggy cat sniffed at Chisalu and circled her questioningly. He suddenly snorted, as if to say he had seen enough and there hadn't been much to see at all, and streaked back up to the roof in a shadowy form.

"See, even the cat says not to bother," Seth drawled, scratching Sauron under his chin. "Wait, did your boyfriend say he's buying?" The green-haired boy sat up suddenly, looking down on them with a devilish grin.

"I don't know, Seth, maybe if you'd stop interrupting I could hear what the hell's going on," Arrika snapped back, even though she had understood the entire conversation perfectly. "That's great, Thea, it's really nice of you to offer, but I-"

"-we're in," Seth interjected, fearlessly leaping down to join the other three thieves, white scarf billowing after him.

"Seth, what about Rhyss-"

"-I'm hungry," the psychic stated openly, and sidled up to Thea, entwining their arms together. "And you," he said flatly, addressing Chisalu. "Relax. For once, you're not in bad company. A day as good as today will probably never happen again for the rest of your life, so pay attention."

"Well, that's quite good for you, to be able to disappear with such skill and such fashion," spoke Thealter, commenting to the young urchin. "However, people do care about you. You remind me of somebody I used to know, and I'd see you well fed and employed. Plus, the Golden Goddesses love all of their children," he added. "So, I would get you some meat, but you're going to have to go out on a leap of faith and accompany us to find a meat stall," he said, knowing that Seth intended on dragging his party with him.

Then the mage addressed Arrika. "Well, you're not one for much talk. I didn't quite think you'd pour your heart out; yet, I think discussing what's troubling you is an important part of life. So, if you want to, that's fine, if not, that's fine too. But people care about you too."

He was unhappy that the lithe thief nearly declined his invitation, but Seth seemed all for the trip for some meat. Whoever Rhyss was, he was going to be quite displeased that his friend and, as Thealter deduced, lover was putting food and the potential for more above him. Then Seth wrapped his arm around Thealter.

In an instant, Thealter wished to withdraw. But he realized that if he humored the Hylian, he might get on Arrika's good side. Plus, Thealter recently started to enjoy making people happy. Totally not who he once was. He blamed that as he blamed the rest of his recent problems. Mind you, Thealter wasn't about to let Seth defile him, he was merely humoring a flirtatious young man. Thealter offered out his free arm for Arrika to take, wondering if she planned to take it. "Well, sorry. Looks like your comrade has other plans. It'll be fun, come on!"

Leaving the thief to decide what choice she intended on making, he turned back to the urchin. "So, kid, what do'ya say. Free food, even more importantly, meat. And you're amongst safety. I nor that Sheikah have no intention of hurting you, and I don't think the Hylian has any plans of doing so either. Personally, I think he has other things on his mind. My name is Thealter, feel free to shorten it however you want. Most people do. And, if you would humor us, we plan on taking you a few streets down to the nearest meat stall and buying you a meal."

Chisalu felt the dead-weight of the cloak, and its heaviness told her of its worth. The slump her shoulders took under it was a little whisper of value, and yet its lightness for the curling warmth in comparison told her it was well-made. All these tiny, hushed little facts swirled through Chisalu's head quickly. More than this, her survival instinct was not whispering, but screaming, and trampling through her head in a great cacophony, painful shouting of instinct, and sense. It made her head feel like it was going to coil in, and snap. Stress.

Chisalu whipped round, now looking up at Arrika, and a flash of something crossed her face, writhing out from under her wide-eyed mask, and past even the genuine fear of being surrounded. Blankly, bluntly, trembling, she stared. If she had been cold before, it was nothing to this icy sensation in her now. Locking fast her eyes to Arrika's, hers contracted, like a nictating membrane of ink, until her pupils were mere pin-pricks.

The sensation of the cat. Chisalu lashed out, but too late, and too slow for the cat. Her little dagger clutched between her teeth, and her little hand marked with a passing scratch (small inch of powerplay, can be removed). Chisa returned to round-eyed looking at Arrika.

"Sheikah..." She stated. This element had seemed so fantastical before, and Chisalu could not quite unwind her nerves. She looked at Seth, and something clicked. Nothing was harmful here. Unpleasant, but, harmless. Quickly her dagger was rehidden, though she couldn't pretend so well that they forgot it had been there. She dragged her mask up, snapping it back onto her face, and beaming up at them. "Okay then~!" She beamed at Seth, and nodded, her little hands fists pumping the air excitedly. "I'll remember!"

Chisalu's enthusiasm leveled with Thealter's option. She didn't want a job. She didn't want people. The Golden Goddess only loved her own children, and cared little for those born with sand clinging to them; they were children of vultures, that was what had been said. Children of vultures, pecking out their own livers to survive, bound to the rock of duty. Chisalu was not a masochist, even when she couldn't bring herself to eat, she found now pleasure in that. "I can disappear... hm, but for now I won't~!" She grabbed onto Thealter's arm, held out to Arrika, but her eyes watched Arrika.

Correction, she would disappear as soon as she needed to, or wanted to. Just like that cat. Her little dagger would leave scratches and she'd be gone before they had time to catch her by the tail.

Arrika pointedly ignored Thea's hand and took Chisalu's. As much as she wanted to help the little girl, she wouldn't have gone so far as to hold her hand. The kid was filthy, there was no denying it, and it wasn't the most pleasant of sensations... but it was definitely more endurable than holding Thea's.

"Why do you hide your face? You've got nothing to be ashamed of," Seth said plainly, looking up at Thea with the type of large eyes that he knew could melt the hearts of matriarchial, pudgy women, and most charitable folk. He was rather endearing, once you got past the fact that his eyes held a poorly concealed weariness and cynicism that no boy his age should ever have.

Thealter smiled at the young girl, trying to be nonthreatening. He was highly offended however that the older thief did not his hand take. Was he suddenly not good enough? He was starting to have flashbacks about that expedition. "I'm glad to see you wished to come with us," he said simply. Then he turned to Seth's question. "Mourning," he commented, passively. "Have you ever lost something that was your everything?" Then he turned back to the urchin. "Do you have a name, kid?" he asked, curiously.