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[sup][h2][color=gray]Festival of Free Pockets[/color][/h2][/sup]


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“𝗔𝗹𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁! 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀. 𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂? 𝗣𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀! 𝗜𝗳 𝗮 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂? 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲! 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?” Ordered like a true dictator. Tomoe stood atop a sizeable stack of emptied wooden crates. Her chest puffed out and her diaphragm filled with oxygen to fuel the aggressive shouting aimed towards the small group of four young street rats.

[i]”What ifs we not able to steals stuffs?[/i]” Asked a young brown-haired folk, his bright blue eyes blinked anxiously and his sandals scraped across the dusty floor beneath him.

“𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧! 𝐁𝐮𝐭, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 — 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.” The boisterous confidence of this wish-they-were ringleader probably seemed far more inspiring to her own ears. And then she spun on the wooden soles beneath her feet to face the steady flow of people passing the alleyway by without a care. These musty in-between of the city were great for it, hiding in plain sight.

Then the young thief bounced from her imaginary podium with a hand in each of her pockets. She marched past the small group of misfits and took the lead for them to follow, and they did, until Tomoe reached the edge of that current of people. They were all so fixated on the festivities, most with their eyes trained up towards the spectacles in the sky rather than beneath them. The small entourage dispersed, each kid clad in a small brightly colored kimono and a waxed paper mask. A shit-eating grin slowly spread from cheek to cheek upon Tomoe’s face, happily beaming the crooked pearls between her lips as she followed suit to the rest and entered the crowd.

Like a piece of driftwood she allowed the current to carry her to the larger mass of people. Her vulpine eyes noted every wallet and satchel she passed along her way. Some were intentionally light, locals who knew better would not bring so much to a large gathering like this. But others, especially those who were not so familiar with this city, did not take any precautions. Her small hands deftly found their way into a number of pockets along the way, feinting small innocent bumps and stumbles to dispel any attention. Eventually the ebb and flow would take her to the center of events where the largest crowd gathered. 

“𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫! 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫! . . . 𝐍𝐨-𝐧𝐨-𝐧𝐨…” Tomoe whined out.

Her form shrunk down as he hugged her knees and shook nervously. The big green eyes in her sockets snapped around her, clocking any cautious faces, and more importantly [i]anyone who was concerned[/i]. Eventually a young woman pressed through the crowd and hunkered down with Tomoe, her well-done makeup and beautifully maintained raven hair painted her an easy mark. She was the daughter or wife of someone with wealth, most likely, and her arrival caused Tomoe to blossom out with the greatest of dramatics.

[i]”Where is your mother? You shouldn’t be alone in a crowd like this!”[/i] The beautiful young woman’s tone was urgent, and her voice was hushed. 


“𝐈-𝐢 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞.. 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞!” This was Tomoe’s most trained act out of her whole arsenal. Her eyes watered and her lower lip pressed out and trembled, practiced routines were the easiest.

The beautifully dressed young woman stared down with sympathy, unaware that this young girl was likely just a few years younger than herself. But still her delicate hand reached out to take the callused grip of Tomoe, and the young thief offered the wealthy woman a little squeeze of gratitude. But as the woman began to lead Tomoe out of the crowd, the wolfish grin crept back onto her lips.

Like taking candy from a baby.