You meet all sorts in the dark

[fivefingereddiscount]

Who: Garrett and Vivi [closed]
Where: An alley
What: Just a random meeting, no cuteness to be found here
When: After the crowning

It's late. Late enough that most of the day folk have long since gone to bed, and the night owls' businesses are in full swing. It's for that reason that the Master Thief is prowling around in the alleys, listening to the conversations of various passerby and snatching the occasional trinket from the pockets of unwary victims and filthy gutter. All in all, this is just a normal night for him, even if there are more electric lights on than he feels comfortable with.

And so, the night finds him lurking in a dark alley as he stalks a man wearing far more gold jewelry on his person than is really advisable. With no overhead costs to worry about, he's just taking his time and enjoying the hunt for its own sake instead of just going for the steal.

Comments

[fivefingereddiscount]

Garrett had intended this mugging to be fast and efficient, but he's taken aback when he sees that those eyes are just...eyes. Glowing eyes, but still eyes.

"What the hell?"

He jumps to his feet and instinctively draws his blackjack. Not the most effective weapon in the world, but it'd saved his life more times than he could count.

"What are you?!"

[steepled]

Vivi pulls his hat back a little after the jump nearly caused it to drop. His first instinct is to run, but the man seems more afraid than he is. He doesn't find that to be much of a good thing though. He reels back, wishing he had his magic with him. The man doesn't appear to be armed enough to be considered an immediate threat, but he still caught the mage by surprise.

"W-what do you mean?" Vivi can easily guess what he could mean, but guessing isn't the same as knowing. "You just grabbed me! Why did you do that?"

[fivefingereddiscount]

"What are you?!"

His voice is still quiet, but definitely has much more of an edge to it now. What he wanted wasn't the important issue here, as far as he was concerned. He takes a step back, blackjack held tightly and ready to be swung if this...thing tried to attack him.

[steepled]

Honestly? Vivi's still trying to figure that out. He can, at the very least, give Garrett an answer that he should understand.

"I - I'm a tribute," he answers. He hopes this man isn't part of the peacekeepers because one of the last things he wants is to get in trouble with them. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

[fivefingereddiscount]

"A tribute?"

He lowers the blackjack a bit, but keeps his guard up.

"Well...I guess if they're using dragons as tributes, then they're open to anything. Still doesn't explain what you are."

Less perceptive people would assume this tribute was just an odd little kid. Garrett, however, can see that this 'kid' is very definitely not human.

[steepled]

There are dragons here? He'd ask about that, but that would get them both sidetracked. Vivi reels back a little at Garrett's urging, still unsure if the man is looking to hurt him. People around here haven't seem to have heard of black mages even if they knew of mages at all, but most folks haven't questioned him on what he is other than that they just accepted him as not human.

"I'm a black mage," he says simply. While he's not uncertain, there's a tone in his voice that hints at a more complex backstory...one that he's not willing to share to a complete stranger. "What...what were you doing? Why were you running around just...grabbing people?"

[fivefingereddiscount]

...Habit.

[He finally puts the blackjack away. Whatever this thing was, it certainly sounded and acted like a kid. Probably not too much of a threat. Probably. The word 'mage,' however, definitely deserves to be treated with caution. Magic, in his experience, tended to be bad news.]

And what does a black mage do, exactly?

[steepled]

[Okay, so Vivi can safely assume that he's a thief...but what he attempt to do to Vivi was a straight up kidnapping. His last experience with such a thing wasn't pleasant. Hopefully something similar won't be repeated, especially given that Garrett doesn't even know what he is...should it stay that way?]

I can cast fire spells and stuff like that. [Or...he used to. The Capitol did something to take his abilities away.]

Is there something you want? I...I don't really have anything.

[fivefingereddiscount]

Fire spells? Like...actual fire balls?

[His brow furrows. He'd seen some magic in his time, but nothing like that. At least, not from anyone he'd call 'sane.']

Is there anything I want? Well...yes, now that you mention it. I want to talk.

[He gestures further into the alley. It was dingy and unwelcoming, but at least it was private.]

[steepled]

[Considering that he's still a little rattled at what just happened, privacy isn't really a concern for Vivi at this moment.]

Are you going to try to hurt me? You're a tribute too, aren't you? [He asks sternly, or trying to sound stern anyway. Instead it comes off a little nervous. He doesn't seem to be a peacekeeper because they would know who he is at least. Regardless of his intentions, the man is intimidating to him.]

[fivefingereddiscount]

No. I'm a tribute, but not the kind that hurts people for no reason.

[He's trying to be reassuring and non-threatening, he really is. He's even trying a softer tone, but, well...he's never been good around kids. Or adults, really. People just picked up bad vibes from him, even if he had no intention of hurting or robbing them.

He tries kneeling so that he's at the...kid's...eye level. That's something people did with kids, right?]

Did they kidnap you from your parents?

[steepled]

[The mage unclenches his fist and lets his muscles relax, though still a little bit on the tense side because eye contact with strangers is a little nerve wracking. By "they" the man means the Gamemakers and those in charge. To that, Vivi nods his head.] I don't have parents...but, yeah. They took me from my home and brought me here a few months ago.

[Vivi's upbringing had been anything but conventional, even by Gaia's standards. It must be normal for a lot of other people to have parents and a family but that was something Vivi himself never had. But there was Zidane and Dagger...and the many others he has met since he embarked on his own. Not to mention here with Rick and Daryl, who also seemed to have taken roles as guardians for him.

There's no single definition of family, it seems like.]

Um...if you're a tribute and not a peacekeeper...[And he's prowling around alleyways...the conclusion's pretty easy to see now, but Vivi isn't sure enough to actually say it out loud. The man's a thief...unfortunately for him, Vivi has nothing to take.]