• Memory • The better pickpocket

[Eternity]

Vhalar 10 721

Eternity sat in the viewing area of the proving grounds in the early morning. It was early in the morning which was the best time to get any training done if one wanted to avoid the heat. Eternity didn’t know how people survived training in the summer months especially if they were expected to wear combat gear which never looked like they were built with staying cool in mind. She had come out here to watch a handful of times throughout the summer but couldn’t even stand sitting in the shade. She was glad that it was no longer summer and that she could comfortably observe without constantly worrying about her water supply.

Eternity wasn’t the only one who decided to show up so early. A handful of people took seats to observe the people training in the grounds. They all seemed to be keen on watching something, anything. So far all there was to see was people doing stretches and warm up exercises.

“Suppose we showed up a bit early didn’t we,” asked someone who just sat next to Eternity. He was of medium build with scales and wickedly sharp teeth. He had a long tail which he just laid out carelessly on the floor because there weren’t enough people around for it to be a nuisance. His weight seemed to test the limits of the bench and Eternity felt as if she might start sliding towards him if he even weighed one more pound. Of all people for him to come bother, why her?

“Yes, I suppose we did. What brings you here,” Eternity asked. She didn’t mean to sound rude but she knew she did. She had nothing against people of other backgrounds but she couldn’t help but feel put off. It wasn’t that she felt unsafe, given that this was a public space with plenty of witnesses. The feeling was mostly awkward.

He scowled and grinded his teeth. He looked right at Eternity and said, “Okay I’m not good at this kind of thing. I saw you and thought you looked pretty so I came over to have a chat. I can see by your expression that you’re not interested.” He looked genuinely upset and sad at the same time. It was a very pitiable expression.

Eternity was indeed “not interested” as he had said. Though, she didn’t want to come off as some kind of jerk. She liked and said, “This expression is just how I look when I’m surprised. I’ll have to say this is the first time someone like you has complimented my appearance.”

“Don’t patronize me, I know that look well. You think I don’t get it ten times a day? I bear no attraction to people of my own kind, I can’t help it. I was born this way!” He scowled once more and looked away.

Ordinarily Eternity would have already started plotting a way to get this guy’s money but she just felt sorry for him. She thought for a moment about how she wanted to handle this and said, “I hope you find what you’re looking for, but I’m afraid I can’t help you.” She stood up to go find somewhere else to sit. She was surprised that he didn’t try to stop her. When she finally took a glance back at him he looked perfectly content. He even bore a smirk on his face.

“What a weirdo,” Eternity thought as she sat down elsewhere. She couldn’t help but keep an eye on him because he was so large and he did have a way about him that was memorable. She watched as he went to someone else and tried the exact same thing. The woman left and once again he sat there looking content. Had Eternity not been paying very close attention she might not have noticed him pull something from his pocket. Eternity couldn’t tell what it was but it did look suspicious. Soon enough he went off to talk to yet another person. This time a man. The man left and once again the scaled one looked as happy as ever. Eternity focused very hard because she wanted to identify what exactly happened next. He pulled out something and that’s when Eternity gasped.

“That’s a purse!” Eternity thought. It was way too small for someone of that size to call his own. He couldn’t even open it with his large hands so he had to slice it open. From this distance she couldn’t tell if it was her purse, or that other woman’s purse, or maybe even someone else’s purse entirely. All she knew that it was not his.

Eternity slid her hand to her waist and noticed that her purse was indeed gone. Not that she carried much money with her but it made her feel like a fool. She thought back to the tactics that had been employed to rob her of her money. He’d preyed on her emotions and clearly used her desire to escape as a distraction to slice her purse away without her noticing. Now that she thought about it, she did remember feeling a pulling sensation but she didn’t pay it any mind.

“How could I have been so stupid?” she asked herself. “And what am I supposed to even do now?” Eternity thought about alerting the authorities or even making a scene. She decided not to though. The best revenge would be to steal her money back. She had trouble thinking of a good way of doing so though. She was very intimidated by his size and knew that even if he didn’t know how to fight all he had to do was fall on top of her to squash her like a bug.

After some deliberation Eternity decided that she would sneak up behind him and quietly threaten him. She would tell him to give her money back or she would make a scene. It seemed like a decent plan in her mind so she put it in action. She kept to the back of the viewing area and made her way to her target. She walked quietly when she got close and took a seat directly behind him. When she finally relayed her threat, the male thief chortled.

“How about this for a counter? Give me your word that you’re going to go home right now and forget all about this.”

Eternity frowned and asked, “and why would I do that when I could have you punished for your crime?”

The scaled one gave it some thought and said, “because if you don’t I’ll slash your pretty little face.”

The timing of his threat didn’t make it very intimidating. This was ultimately a bad thing because it made Eternity think that she had a chance at challenging him instead of backing off. If only she was proficient with the dagger at her waist. She put her hand on it and thought about drawing it. The adrenaline built up inside of her and a part of her was totally ready to fight to the death. She hated being humiliated by someone who’d bested her.

“Calm down,” she thought, but she couldn’t. Her calming thoughts turned to “how hard could it be to stab someone? Just do it!” Just as she was about to pull the dagger out someone shouted at the from behind. That only fueled Eternity’s anger, as if she needed something else to be mad about.

“Everything alright over there?” Eternity and the scaled one turned their heads to see someone looking at them keenly. He had noticed Eternity’s not so veiled attempt to draw her blade and he was not in the mood to have a fight break out. He couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just take their conflict into the open space not too far away where everyone else fought.

“Everything’s fine!” Eternity shouted back. She fumed and stormed off without even trying to snatch her money back. She didn’t even bother reporting the crime. She just quietly plotted revenge in her head. Surely she would run into him again since he wasn’t hard to miss. And when they met again she would do her best to outwit him.

As Eternity walked home she practiced moving her hand to her dagger. She thought she might get a little faster at it, though it mostly just made her look strange on her trip back home. When Eternity did get home, she continued working on her dagger skills a little. She practiced pulling it free and stabbing the air with it. With each repetition she pictured driving the knife into the thief. She pictured all the different angles one could be stabbed. She mimed going for his neck, then his shoulder, then his back. She kept at it until her anger subsided after which she just felt sad. She felt mostly grateful that she had backed off since she could have made a life altering mistake. She questioned whether she should even carry a weapon if she would be tempted to use it over something so trivial as losing a bit of money.

[Pig Boy]

RPG Rewards:

Eternity

• XP: 10
• Knowledges:
  • Tactics: Distractions help with thievery
  • Tactics: Play on someone’s emotions to get a desired response
  • Combat: Blades: Stabbing air
  • Detection: keeping a close eye on someone
  • Intimidation: Making a threat
  • Discipline: Sometimes it's impossible to remain calm

Link to Review Request on the Forum: Standing Trials

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level

Notes: First, I'd caution you to be more detailed with certain knowledges. I almost didn't award the blades knowledge, as stabbing air wouldn't teach one anything. In the future, please add more detail to your named knowledges that reflect the text. While technically she did stab the air, what really taught her anything at all was the muscle memory of praticing a fighting form. So please be more detailed and specific with the knowledge, it'll help you vary up the knowledge you claim, and stretch your character's potential.

Also, I really didn't notice Eternity meditating during this thread at all. So I switched the last knowledge to a skill that's more appropriate to what she did during the thread and to the knowledge itself.

Apart from those issues, your writing was clear and easy to read. This was an amusing scenario on the whole, with the Ithecal's melodramatic reaction driving her away after robbing her, to get away with the robbery. WHy he didn't just leave before checking his loot though? That wasn't a smart move on the npc's part. Still, hopefully Eternity learned her lesson, and becomes more aware of people picking her pocket.

Good job!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!