" 'ey, mincemeat." Kaiden ignored Lenard's self-imposed nickname; he didn't care to respond to such petty teasing, and he certainly wasn't going to start answering any of their stupidly incessant questions about charming one's way out of a situation as a smelly, uncultured, violent brute. [i]Once you entertain one inquiry, the rest will keep coming..[/i] He thought to himself as he continued to tolerate Lenard's persistence in acquiring his attention. Thankfully, Tran kept silent and didn't bother him anymore, so that reduced the amount of unnecessary vibrations his ears had to deal with. The soft clink and clank of the sack of stolen goods carried by his leaner junior gave him a little bit of reassurance that they were at least doing that part of the job right.

"Oi, mincemeat." [i]Just keep trudging, this oaf will stop soon enough.[/i] 

"Ey, you listening to me??" Kaiden continued to walk on through the crowd, hoping his tireless chatter will cease to exist as long as he tops up his patience.

Suddenly, Lenard grabbed the man's shoulder, forced his ears close enough towards his mouth, and yelled, "OI, YOU FUCKIN' DEAF OR SOMETHING??" Kaiden recoiled sharply away from the mentally lacking brute, feeling his ears ring harshly and his cane falling from his hand, and tripped over a rock as his audio projections fuzzed and blurred in his mind. His body fortunately recovered his balance and cushioned his fall with his knees and elbows, but the chiming bells and the dizziness did not stop at meddling with his disorientation until he took the time to crawl away from the crowd. He felt feet rub and hit against him, and at one point, some rude, unforgiving man tripped over him, almost toppling into a bunch of barrels and crates a few meters ahead. He screamed unintelligibly at the blind, young man angrily, and delivered a swift kick to his ass, causing Kaiden to groan in pain. [i]Oh for fuck's sake, this [b]cannot[/b] be happening.[/i] He dragged himself with steady determination, feeling around for his surroundings, and happened upon a stone wall with an opening. He felt his head begin to stabilize more and more, and the dysfunctional tremors that sent his audio map out of whack also started to paint a more concise picture for him. He slowly crawled into the opening, spreading his legs out like a wary tortoise, and his foot smacked upon another wall at the opposite end. [i]So this must be an alleyway then, good..[/i] Kaiden thought to himself as he slowly recollected his mental and physical state carefully. "EY MINCEMEAT!?" The voice of Tran rang shrill and close, and his sudden swerve and halt in his momentum signified that he had found his lost companion. "Oi, lugnut! Mincemeat is here. No you dumb ass, over here!!" The rumbling mini quakes that came with each heavy step told Kaiden that both of his “comrades” were running to his “rescue”. His jaws clenched hard, and his hands balled into fists tightly with anger within a snap of a finger.

Kaiden slowly got up to steady himself. As Lenard approached within reach, he did a hard sidekick to his abdominal area into a wall, making the titan groan with pain and sharp surprise, and flicked a throwing knife dangerously close to his face. The blade nicked a part of his cheek and caused a thin ribbon of blood to dribble down his neck. Packing an eerily serene smile that sent shivers down both Lenard and Tran’s spine, he slowly unsheathed one of his short swords menacingly and slashed the weapon at the hulk’s neck. The razor sharp edge of the steel halted abruptly mere centimeters away from the Lenard’s soft, pulsing artery, and the blade stayed there for what seemed like forever. The boulder of a man could not stop his teeth’s incessant chatter, the sweat from bathing his entire face, and his face from holding a constant, terrified expression. The boy could sense Tran’s violently trembling knees and the soft, rapid pulsing of his heart against, and his sinister grin grew ever so slightly in knowing that he inflicted the desired psychological effect. “Listen you smug, cocky, asswipe,” Kaiden growled in a deep, threatening voice. “Don’t ever. EVER. Fucking scream in my ear ever again. I could have slaughtered you filthy, lowly scum several hours ago when you annoyed the SHIT out of me, but I was being kind and generous. However, I’m not a fucking charity, so don’t expect me to keep sustaining the seconds on your pathetic lives if you keep this crap up.” He moved the tip of the blade from his neck and jutted it towards Lenard’s eyes. “You wouldn’t like it if I scraped off your eyes ever so slowly, and you wouldn’t like it if I just chopped off your arms and legs to bleed you out, right?” The titanic figure hastily nodded his head in agreement, and Kaiden allowed himself to blow some steam in a heavy, drawn-out sigh while slowly sliding the sword back into its sheath. “My ears count for two senses: my “vision”, and my hearing, so loud noises that are near to me will disrupt me heavily,” he explained in a steady, controlled voice that leaked of exasperation as he turned out of the ally and walked towards the nearby Gutted Karak in the West District. “I need them to fully work to even get by in life, just as you need your eyes and your ears to be a healthy human being. So don’t be a dumb fuck next time, and keep your mouth far, FAR AWAY from my ears. Understand?” The terrified duo moved their heads up and down in unison, not saying a word, and meekly followed him from behind to sell their stolen goods in the inn where a well-known, underground fence awaited their arrival.