Ah, the bread sure hit the spot. It was delectably warm and made his belly feel full. Now it was time for the cake. The myrmidon who had given it to him had told him that it was filled with fruit. Virde hadn’t had anything but apples and bread for what seemed like an eternity. It was nice to have a fruity sweet every once in a while. The red haired thief grinned as he sunk his teeth into the sweet bit of goodness, humming in pleasure. Maybe he should settle down and become a baker. He would teach his children how to bake delicious cakes such as the one that he was eating. He could finally live in peace and have no one chase after him with a broom. [i]That sounds tempting…[/i] 

But he wouldn’t do it. After all, he [i]was[/i] a thief. He enjoyed living a life on the run, dodging guards and sleeping with any woman that he wanted. If he wanted something, he would get it for free, no matter what. It certainly was interesting being a thief… he didn’t understand why people would rather be sheep than wolves. Sheep just followed the crowd, while the wolves watched over them and were not tied down by allegiances of any kind. Yet, they were incredibly lonely and often spent their free time by themselves. Virde believed that he was the latter. And how he loved his lonely life.

After eating his dessert, Virde decided to head toward the joust. He could cut some purses and leave with a hefty load before the joust could even start. With the amount of money he would steal from the people attending the event, he would be able to get a room at an inn. The thought of being able to actually rent a room again brought joy to his heart. [i]I’ll finally have a bed to sleep on again… and a few bottles of rum, at that![/i] The grin on his face spread further as he approached the jousting area and slipped into the crowd.

There were a whole ton of people. Men, women, children, you name it. They all came to see armored men on armored horses smash lances into each other. Virde would sometimes watch a few rounds of jousting tournaments from perches above rooftops. It was a brutal sport; the men who competed would often get hurt. Sometimes, they died. It was sad, but he supposed that humans naturally wanted to see blood and gore and the like. For them, it was entertainment. 

By the time the joust was about to start, Virde’s clothes were stuffed with coinpurses. There was a greedy glint to his eye as he looked around the crowd. [i]This’ll keep me in a room for a few months, at least.[/i] he thought as he snaked his way over to his next victim. [i]I’ll take one more purse and get the hell out of here.[/i] the thief grinned, pulling out a dagger and beginning to deftly cut the rope that held the purse to the person’s belt. [i]A little bit more, and I’ll be rich~[/i]

---

[i]There’s a joust today?[/i]

Sina’s lips blossomed into a grin. She adored jousts. They brought excitement to her heart and made her shudder in anticipation. Who didn’t like jousts? Sure, sometimes the worst happened and a man or two would be seriously injured or killed… but it was a contest of pure strength. The way the contestants’ horses rushed at each other, completely trusting their riders… It made Sina shudder. [i]I wish there was such thing as a wyvern joust. I would sign up for one if I knew how to use a lance.[/i] she thought as she made her way to the jousting arena, munching on her apple.

Her eyes drifted to the sky, and she saw that Balerion was slowly descending. Perhaps he wanted to spend some time with her as they watched the joust? Sina didn’t mind—maybe, just maybe, if she sat on her wyvern’s back, she would have a better view of the joust than most people. Her grin only spread as she was buffeted by the wind pushed aside by the green wyvern’s wings. Balerion landed with a light grunt and peered at Sina with wide, blue eyes. The wyvern rider giggled as she pet his muzzle. [b]”Come on, boy. We’re going to see a joust.”[/b] she told Balerion as she walked to the side and pulled herself into his saddle. Taking his reigns, she began to guide him toward the arena.

People gave her wary glances as they approached the tournament, but said nothing else as they returned their gazes toward the arena. Sina’s moss colored eyes followed theirs, her hand pushing aside her silver hair to get a better view of the tourney. Excitement began to well in her heart once more, and she patted Balerion’s neck. [b]”Balerion, do you see that? We haven’t seen a joust in a long time, right?”[/b] the wyvern only purred in reply. [b]”You better not be thinking about eating those horses. I rather not be thrown in prison for the rest of the year.”[/b]

While some people might think wyverns were thick and aggressive creatures, the pretty woman thought differently. To her, wyverns were even more intelligent than horses. Balerion had more than twice a horse’s power, but he was twice as graceful. He knew how to control his power well. Sina felt the wyvern shift his feet and tuck his wings closer to his body. [b]”Good boy.”[/b]