Scarlett suits so many. That which runs streams down the body and drops lightly to the earth, creating red reflections of a former life. The stains which never quiet come out of the scarves, gloves, and head dresses of so many Absolutes and Raised, yet is a clean whip off a smooth mask. This doesn’t lessen the hungry in Demetri’s belly and today would be just like any other. These growing crowds in the square just gave him more targets for the taking. The young man looked over the vibrant colors, soft red, deep blue, and elegant green. None of these colors took his attention, none so much as the golden yellow that showcased a bronze mask, a housewife. His stomach turned at the thought of laziness of those with status.

His own family had been of status once, then fall out of the social graces of someone important. Suddenly his life didn’t matter to the world, so their lives didn’t matter to him. In fact, he had his own personal game in which he hadn’t lost yet. He didn’t plan on losing a round anytime soon as he followed the golden girl through the crowd, making sure to stay at least two head dresses and a hand away from her as the girl glided through the crowd. 

He was just about the slip up close to her from around a statue within the square until a grip had tightened around his own wrist. His grey eyes followed to the hand, up the arm, and into the crowd. The young man had hoped to find a body at the end of the arm but it seemed this person didn’t want to be seen anymore than he himself. With a swift jerk the arm pulled him into a nearby alley and shoved him against the wall.

“Looky what I caught here. We got us a Ghost, eh Rosse” A commonfolk-ed man spoke through plain grey mask that could have been decent once upon a time. He wore an old miners tunic. The beige top covered in evidence of the days work. While his trousers were a simple brown. “Your head is worth a lot to a lot of people..” The yellow-toothed miner snap out with a grin.

“Not as much as the lottery is, eh Yoki” This was the man that had been referred to as ‘Rosse’. His clothing was of a similar style with a slightly more angular mask. “We will make you a deal, Ghost. You can either enter into the lottery and if you win, hand over all your winnings to us, and we let you go..” This man began.

“Or we can kill you here and now, with no one to put you in the ground” The miner, Yoki, finished. His dirty face plastered with a grin that would have make Demetri’s stomach curl if it wasn’t stronger.

“Well decisions decisions. You know, having me back against this marvelous wall with a couple of men. Haha, couple. Say which one of you guys gets the top?” Demetri asked with his lips curled into a comical grin. This was apparently less funny for the two men before him and a blade was put to his throat by this Rosse fellow. “Hey, calm down Rosey, I would, but I’m afraid that I can’t fill out the application, I can’t read” His grin remained. The two man then began bickering between themselves, unsure of what path to go. Rosse commenting on Demetri’s obvious mispronunciation of his name before the other man reminded him of the more pressing issue.

Finally they decided to fill it out for him. “We will do this for you. You give us the creds, hop a boat, and we never see each other again. You are free and we are rich.” Rosse said as the blade retreated slowly from the Ghost’s throat. 

“Fine..Demetri Downes… 28 U-S-E  Y-O-U-R  O-W-N  A-D-D-R-E-S-S, because I don’t have one.” He said laughing to himself as he watched the fool enter in the letters as he gave them. Rosse’s face contracted into an ugly wrinkled thing. “Oh gods help me from this thing” He said lifting his face to the sky laughing once again. The man quickly scribbled out the address Demetri had gave and entered in another, filling out to rest of the application alone.

“Now hand this in, and good luck, for your own sake” The men said as they shoved the paper at Demetri and retreated into the buzzing crowds once again. Leaving the man to himself, he looked down at the paper and, not understanding much from it, took it to get handed in.