Recco kneeled there for awhile before suddenly standing, turning to walk towards the door, though he let the guard's hand slide off instead of shrugging it off, still viewing the man as a friend as moved to exit.

"H-hey, kid! Wait!" the guard called after, concern washing over his previously sarcastic demeanor. He hoistered his halberd and followed after, calling after him. "Kid, wait!"

Recco looked over his shoulder at the guard and seemed to pause for a second, seriously considering waiting, before shaking his head and breaking into a run, leaving that room and heading for the exit, maneuvering past anyone who may have been between him and the door, weaving and sliding past them.

The guard called out after and took off in pursuit. To no avail, though; armor and lines of people make for slow moving for large, metal-clad grown men. Soon the sound of the genuine worry in his voice was lost as Recco put too much distance between them, his voice lost in the din of the city.

Recco quickly looked around for something to climb, hoping to set himself away from the general public, his mind completely focused on just getting away from it all the best he could.

~~~

Peering around the edge of the crate behind which she and Yulia were hidden, Soli vainly attempted to slow down her beating heart, sure that the merchant standing not twenty feet away would surely hear it and call for the city guard to come arrest them.

[color=aqua][b]"Do you remember the plan?"[/b][/color] Yulia whispered suddenly, rolling her eyes when Soli flinched. The smaller girl nodded twice in response.  In all honesty, it was a rather simple plan that had a low chance of failure if Soli could maintain her invisibility spell.  It was just that Soli hadn't really expected to have to steal her food, or anything else for that mater, if she wanted to eat.

[color=aqua][b]"Good. Go ahead and... do whatever it is you do to disappear so that we can get this over with,"[/b][/color] Yulia continued, her blue eyes scanning the crowd so that she could confirm that Jair and the other boy, whom Soli had learned was named Perrin, were in position. 

In the meantime, Soli focused and attempted to draw on the power that surrounded her.  Unfortunately, the threads of energy were proving more difficult to manage than they had been earlier, and it took her more than a few minutes to grab hold of enough threads to turn her invisible. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Soli stood and tapped Yulia on the shoulder to let her know that she was ready to go.

As soon as she felt the pressure of the unseen hand on her shoulder, Yulia let out a shrill whistle that was remarkably similar to the cry of a bird common in the area.  Upon hearing the signal, Jair and Perrin started slinking towards the merchant's stall as if attempting to approach unseen. As they did so, Soli stepped out from her hiding spot and made her way behind the stall where the merchant was standing, his attention directed at the two boys as they approached.

Yulia had explained on the way to the marketplace that what Jair and Perrin were doing now was a fairly common tactic among street urchins. Essentially, one of the pair would approach in a fairly obvious manner while the other approached more subtly. If all went according to plan, the merchant would be distracted by the obvious approach and fail to notice when the subtle urchin swiped some of his wares from the stall.

This merchant, however, seemed to have been burned a few too many times in the past, as he kept his eye on both of the boys while trying to appear as though he was oblivious to their approach. When Perrin was a few feet away from the stall, he made as if to grab something from behind another person.  At the same time, the merchant sprang into action, pulling a long whip from his belt and making as if to chase Perrin. Once Perrin began running away, he stopped and turned towards Jair, the whip lashing through the air.  Having seen merchant turn, Jair jumped back out of the whip's reach, but didn't make as if he was going to run away, which forced the merchant to step further away from the stall if he wanted to scare Jair off.

While Jair was leading the merchant on, helped out by Perrin occasionally approaching again, Soli began grabbing whatever she could from back edge of the merchant's stall.  Once she had a decent amount of food bundled in her arms, mostly bread, cheese, and fruit, she began running back towards the crates where Yulia was still hiding.  Upon reaching her destination and slipping into cover, she kicked Yulia lightly to let her know that she was there.  After mumbling a bit about being kicked, Yulia whistled again and stood, slipping back towards the edge of the marketplace and motioning for Soli to follow.

A few moments later, the two girls arrived at the rendevous point, a tiny alleyway sat a little ways away from the marketplace.  With a breath of relief, Soli dropped her invisibility spell as Yulia grabbed a few sacks that they would use to carry the food back to the "house" without drawing too much attention to themselves.

[color=aqua][b]"I gotta say kid, you did a pretty good job out there,"[/b][/color] Yulia said as she finished dividing their haul up among the bags.  Soli beamed a little at the compliment, still breathing a little heavily from the strain of maintaining the spell for the third time that day in addition to carrying a fair amount of food.  Around ten or so minutes later, Jair and Perrin showed up, the former holding his arm and wincing every so often.  After another round of congratulations on a job well done, they divied up the sacks, leaving the lightest for Soli, and began making their way home.

[color=lightsalmon][b]"Yeah, the old man got me towards the end there,"[/b][/color] Jair explained sheepishly when Yulia asked why he had been holding his arm, interrupting his boasting regarding his part in the plan.  Seeing Yulia's smirk, he continued hurriedly.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"It didn't really count though.  I was distracted because I thought I saw Soli walking towards where you were hiding."[/b][/color]

[color=limegreen][b]"S-sorry,"[/b][/color] Soli mumbled as Jair finished speaking, a faint quiver in her voice.  Shifting her bag, she rubbed at her eyes vigorously in order to keep the tears she felt building up from falling.  Consciously, she knew that it wasn't really that big of a deal, and that Jair's injury was probably little more than a scratch.  But, that didn't make it any easier to control the surge of guilt she felt at being responsible for his injury.

[color=lightsalmon][b]"Hey, it's alright,"[/b][/color] Jair said with a smile.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"You warned us that you couldn't promise your trick would work.  'Sides, I should have been paying more attention to the angry fat guy that was attacking me with a whip."{/b][/color]  Despite herself, Soli couldn't help but giggle a bit at the mental image Jair's words conjured up, the guilt that had weighed so heavily on her just a moment ago gone as if it had never been.

[color=lightsalmon][b]"But let me tell you about what this lug did.  It was the most impressive thing I think I've ever seen!  He..."[/b][/color] Jair continued as they entered the district to which their home belonged.


Unbeknownst to them, Recco observed the group from behind a stack of musty old crates, taking care not to be seen while taking note of the sacks they were carrying, a mischievous grin slowly appearing on his face as he noted that Soli's might be the lightest one. With practiced ease, he scaled the stack of crates until he reached the top before looking back down at the group, reaching out his hands and muttering a quick incantation, attempting to take Soli's sack with a spell.

Jair was finishing up his story concerning Perrin's amazing feats back in the marketplace, when the sack in Soli's arms began leaning to the side and behind her, almost as if something was pulling on it.  [color=limegreen][b]"G-guys!"[/b][/color] Soli stammered as she tightened her grip in an attempt to keep a hold of the sack.  

As the others turned to inquire as to what was the matter, the force on the bag intensified, spinning Soli around where she stood so that she was more or less facing the direction from which they had come.  Unfortunately, Soli was rather lacking the strength department, even for a Kokiri, and a moment later the sack slipped from her grasp, causing her to fall forward as it did so.

Immediately, the group sprang into action, somehow deciding without words that Perrin would stay behind to guard the remaining sacks as Yulia and Jair chased down the sack that was currently zipping through the air towards a stack of crates, unaware of the strange childlike silhouette standing on top of them.


Recco grinned at his success, but that grin quickly faded when he realized just how fast the sack was being pulled to him and barely was able to brace himself in time as it slammed into his chest, Recco barely able to steady himself as he nearly toppled off the crates.

[b]"Ow...for Din's sake I should have saw that coming..."[/b] he groaned to himself, but his smile quickly returned when he looked at his prize. It quickly turned into one of mischief as he saw the two kids running up to the crates and hefted it over his shoulder, leaving one hand free as he waved with a high pitched giggle.

As the bag zipped through the air ahead of them, it gradually gained altitude and naturally drew Yulia and Jair's attention to the silhouette standing on top of the crates ahead.  Once the figure had a hold of the sack, it waved mockingly, giggling as it did so.  Yulia, a bit more cautious than Jair, started to slow down when she realized that something wasn't quite right with the figure.  

[color=aqua][b]"Jair, wait a mi-"[/b][/color] she started, cutting herself short as Jair threw himself into the stack of crates, coming out the other side and rolling to his feet before jogging back towards the carnage to look for the perpetrator.  Yulia sighed but jogged to join him anyway, feeling fairly certain that the stranger would be dazed from the fall.

Recco, seeing the boy charge the crates, quickly leaped off the stack, though as he landed, he stumbled back on his rear thanks to not taking in the bag's weight. Noticing the boy walk up to the crates, he quickly dusted himself off and rubbed his head a bit before letting out a shrill whistle, more glad they hadn't seen him fall than anything else, but not through with his game. 

[b]"Hey genius!"[/b] he called mockingly, a wide smirk on his face as he tried to get their attention again.

Hearing the mocking call, Jair and Yulia looked over to to see the figure standing off to the side as though nothing had happened, indicating that Jair's plan had clearly failed.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"Ugh!  Where'd this kid even come from anyway?"[/b][/color] Jair said, clearly frustrated with the series of events that were transpiring.

[color=aqua][b]"I don't know, but maybe we could be a bit smarter about this?"[/b][/color] Yulia responded coolly, stepping over the ruined remains of a crate to stand next to him.  Jair sighed, but nodded.  Clearly, the figure was more agile than he was, which would make brute force rather ineffective.  [color=aqua][b]"Good then.  Follow my lead;  I think I have a plan,"[/b][/color] Yulia continued, motioning with a tilt of her head for Jair to circle left as she started to circle right.

Meanwhile, Soli had pushed herself into a sitting position, albeit with a little help from Perrin.  Almost as soon as she recovered from the daze that usually accompanied a collision with the cobbled stone that made up the majority of the walkway, she lashed out,  grabbed a hold of several threads, and began weaving them, too angry to give what she was doing much conscious thought beyond getting the stolen bag back.

Once she was finished, she sent the woven threads into the earth, the energy directed at the plants that managed to somehow survive along the cracks of the cobblestone roadway under the stranger, feeding them and causing them to grow rather rapidly.  While she fed them the energy, she reached out with her mind and ordered them to rise to the surface and ensnare the figure.  Shortly, the cobblestone began to crack a little as the plants forced their way to the surface and began lashing at the individual holding the sack and restrain him.

Recco stood ready and moved to leap before falling over, seeing plants had wrapped around his feet out of nowhere and, for a moment, looked fairly awestruck by the trick before looking back to the two older kids, grasping just how much trouble he was in. [b]"That's, uh...a pretty clever trick you guys have. But a step closer and you'll regret it."[/b] he said, hoping that alone might make them back down as he tried to think of a way to free himself, his mind wandering once again to wonder how they did that before he shook his head again, focusing solely on the group as he tugged his feet against the plants.

Yulia and Jair had both jumped backwards as the plants burst through the road way, jaws gaping as they tried to figure out was was happening.  A quick glance over at Soli revealed that she was probably responsible, her tiny form slumping against Perrin in apparent exhaustion.  Scoffing at the stranger's bluff, and satisfied that the plants were pretty harmless, Jair stepped forward, pausing as the plants shifted out of his way.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"C'mon, kid,"[/b][/color] Jair said, holding out his hand expectantly.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"Give it up.  We caught you fair and sq-... well, we caught you anyway."[/b][/color]

Recco seemed to be considering something and, in truth, he was half tempted to leave a burn mark on this boy's foot before conceding defeat, but decided against it, tossing him the sack. [b]"That was fun while it lasted! But is the magic girl okay?"[/b] he asked, looking past him as he tossed the sack, tugging at the plants again to try and dislodge his feet.

Jair looked at the boy in bewilderment as he caught the sack before eventually just shaking his head and passing it off to Yulia, who was already heading back to the others, clearly convinced that Jair could handle things on his own.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"I think so.  ,"[/b][/color] he responded, looking over at Soli and Perrin as the latter picked up the small girl and slung her over his shoulder.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"She just seems tired, which I guess makes sense seeing as how she summoned a bunch of plants to catch you. "[/b][/color]

Seeing the boy struggling with the plants that still ensnared his feet and realizing that Soli wasn't going to be able to make them let go in her condition (i.e. sleeping), Jair knelt down, pulled out a small knife, and began to help.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"What's your name anyway?"[/b][/color] Jair asked to break the silence, the sheer number of leafy tendrils that coiled around the boy's legs rendering the task of freeing him slow going, even with the knife.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"And how did you manage to steal the sack in the first place?"[/b][/color]

[b]"Let me answer that question with another one. Need a hand?"[/b] he asked before muttering an incantation, a small purplish black bolt firing from his hand, searing away the one opposite of the one the boy was cutting, not wanting to hurt him in the process, though he had to hide a cringe as he'd knicked himself in the process, not exactly being in the best position to aim nor being renowned for his accuracy for such a small, close target, but moved his leg, pretending to just show he was free, but in reality, trying to shake off the pain. 

Seeing the sudden purple bolt shoot out of the boy's hand, Jair jumped back, holding the knife at the ready before he realized that the boy was just freeing himself.  With a sigh, he slipped the knife back into its sheath.  Clearly, the boy could free himself, and it'd probably be faster to boot.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"So, you've got magic like Soli then?"[/b][/color] Jair asked, apparently thinking about something. [color=lightsalmon][b]"Y'know, now that I think about it, what's a Skull Kid like you doin' in Castle City anyway?  Can't say that I've seen too many of you're kind around here."[/b][/color]

[b]"Soli...is that the magic girl?"[/b] he asked before shaking his head and focusing on the second question. [b]"Would you rather live in an almost neverending forest where your friends tell you that you can't leave or you die and there's monsters that want to kill you...or here?"[/b] he asked in return, thinking the answer was pretty obvious when the two places were compared. [b]"I mean I don't want to sound rude, but this place is a heck of a lot nicer. In Lost Woods, we couldn't even play with the other kind of forest kids. I...forget what they called them? Whatever, anyways, the point is that my old home was not as nice as here."[/b] he said, getting over his rambling.

[color=lightsalmon][b]"Yeah, Soli's the 'magic girl,' I guess,"[/b][/color] Jair said with a nod, putting his hands up defensively when the boy began to get a little heated in his explanation as to what he was doing in the city.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"Hey now, I didn't mean anything.  I was just curious.  I've never really been outside of the city myself, so I wouldn't really know.  But yeah, it does sound a lot nicer here given that description,"[/b][/color] he responded, opting to ignore the boy's mentioning of the Kokiri so that he wouldn't have to explain that they were reportedly wiped out by the army.

[color=lightsalmon][b]"I suppose Yulia's going to kill me for this,"[/b][/color] Jair mumbled to himself before clearing his throat and speaking to the boy again.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"If you're looking for a home, I guess you could come stay with us.  Yulia might take some convincing, but I'm sure Perrin wouldn't mind.  After all, it'd be better than you living on the street and getting sucked into one of the gangs or something."[/b][/color]

[b]"I definitely could use a place to stay! I'm liking my decision not to blast you in the foot more and more! You guys are actually kind of cool!"[/b] he said in a cheerful tone. [b]"What's in the sack anyways? It wasn't exactly that heavy? And it was kind of soft."[/b] he asked quizzically, though gesturing as if they should walk and talk and head back to Jair's friends before casusally placing his hands behind his head, a childish grin plastered on his face.

[color=lightsalmon][b]"Great!  And thanks, I guess.  I'm Jair by the way."[/b][/color] Jair replied, smiling as they started walking towards the others.  Now to just convince Yulia that it was okay for the boy to tag along.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"It's food.  Soli's bag mostly just held some loaves of bread."[/b][/color]

As they neared the others, Yulia began shaking her head.  [color=aqua][b]"Why do you keep inviting people to live with us?"[/b][/color] she said once they were within a reasonable range.

[color=lightsalmon][b]"C'mon, Yulia,"[/b][/color] Jair replied, shrugging.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"You know the gangs won't care if it looks like we're 'recruiting' with their stupid war going on.  They'll be way too busy fighting each other.  And besides, it wouldn't really be good for anyone if the gangs got a hold of him.  He can use magic like Soli."[/b][/color]  

Yulia started to shake her head again and opened her mouth to speak, but Jair stepped closer and continued in a whisper before she could.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"Besides, you know that we wouldn't be living there if it wasn't for Zur inviting us when we were living out on our own."[/b][/color]  Yulia seemed to consider that for a few moments before finally nodding, displaying more exasperation than she really felt.

[color=aqua][b]"He can carry Soli's bag then,"[/b][/color] Yulia said as she shouldered her bag and began walking the rest of the way to the house, Perrin following fairly closely with a sleeping Soli slung over his shoulder and his bag hanging from his other hand at his side.  [color=aqua][b]"And no funny business!"[/b][/color] With a reassuring smile directed at the boy, Jair slung his own bag over his shoulder and made to follow, though he made sure to wait for the boy to catch up.

Recco grinned, shouldering Soli's bag and quickly running to catch up, more than happy to have made more friends such as these four and, while he wasn't quite sure what they meant by the gangs and their war, he just took it in stride, forseeing a lot of adventures in the future.

Satisfied, the faint hints of a smile spread the edges of the young man's lips. With an exhale, he stood, rolling his joints softly to liven them again after the sitting-then stepped down, the tips of his boots making a soft [i]tap[/i] as he landed on the ground just three paces ahead of Yulia. With the soft, warm smile and twinkling eyes of a wizened old man, the white and black-clad young man raised an open hand to signal for them to stop. "A moment, if it please you, children." While, by his tone and demeanor, it was wholly a request, a strange compulsion settled into the children, an urge to acquiesce.

The young man-in his early to mid-twenties by the look of him-slowly moved his gaze over each of them. It was... strange, as though he was looking past them-or moreso [i]into[/i] them, his silvery eyes looking upon them as though intimately familiar and [i]seeing[/i] them, their very souls naked and bare. It was unnerving, or at least unsettling, though offset for the sheer lack of any malice in his expression, any contempt-just acknowledgement. Slowly, his gaze drifted back to Soli, face partly obscured under long bangs for a man-pure white and feather, parted at the center in a shape and demeanor reminiscent of swan wings.

"I have business with your sleeping friend," he said, voice simple. "And you, child of the Lost," he said, upturning his hand in gesture to Recco. "Just a words and a proposition... and a gift for what is to come." By appearances, the man looked harmless-even angelic, almost, with that white hair, eyes, plain white tunic and black pants. Simple, yet... the vague sense of something... [i]else[/i] in those eyes, in how he carried himself, belied... what, exactly?

((A collaboration between me, TaliPaendrag, and Nevis. I think it went pretty well, honestly!)