Kids and Thieves

[Deleted]

Location: Residential District

{{ OoC: March 16, 2521. 1:10 p.m. Open to all. }}


Erin sighed as she walked down a street wearing her usual clothes, which were old and slightly worn and torn on the hems, including those of the khaki capri pants legs and black coat sleeves. Earlier, she found a job she could get... but as usual, she was turned down. It seems hopeless for her.... But she has to keep trying. Although... she should probably try again after she gets something in her stomach. She still didn't get to eat lunch yet and she barely had much of a breakfast this morning.

"I think I'll go pick pockets or steal some food now. I'll look for a job after I get a bite."

"... Are you sure you wanna stop now? N-not that I'm forcing you to keep looking...."

Model Sn really wants his Biomatch to find a job but he can't let her starve herself so he lets her steal as long as it's for survival.

"Well... I don't think I can keep going on an empty stomach all day. All I had this morning was that bottle of milk I managed to steal from a store, and it wasn't nearly enough."

"... True. Eat something before you shrink and vanish into thin air."

"... Model Sn!"

Oh, come on! She's not THAT skinny, is she?! She rolled her eyes when her Biometal snickered. That chunk of metal.... Well, he's only teasing her. It was nice of him to try and lighten the mood. Erin glanced around the street. Hm.... Not as crowded as she hoped but maybe she can still get away with picking pockets with a little luck.

[Blossom]

As for Blossom, what was she doing? She had slipped out of the Hunters' Camp on a train yet again, in hopes of being able to come to the city and play with her self-declared new best friend, Yu. Unfortunately, for the little girl, she didn't seem to be able to find Yu. It was a pretty big city, but why wasn't Yu present where he had been when they met?

It was confusing for the little six-year-old. She glanced at her child's version Hunter's badge, and just shrugged and stuck it in her pocket with her coin purse that held the EC she'd received as allowance. Maybe she could buy some candy somewhere! There weren't too many people present, just a lady in khakis and a black coat and several other people that she didn't recognize.

Hm, where was Yu?

[Deleted]

Erin passed by a random person and quickly picked a few EC from a pocket. Well, not enough to buy food but it's better than nothing. She then spotted a little girl who seemed to be either lost or on her own. *le gasp* Free-range children on the loose! Does she herself count as one? *shot* Hm. She doesn't like stealing... and she'd feel very guilty stealing especially from children. Well... maybe just one EC won't hurt. She'll target the rest of the adults after picking this girl's pocket. Although... Erin is kinda curious about the kid. Can she be going somewhere? Where are her parents? Okay. Maybe she'll pick the pockets later.

Model Sn stayed hidden in Erin's coat pocket. This one should have a hole. Wait. It does. But the hole should be a little bigger for him. He tried to spot some potential targets Erin may go after. He couldn't quite see the girl she had her eyes on but he felt his Biomatch move.

".... Erin? Who're you stealing from now?"

"Pipe down, Model Sn. I'll steal later. I wanna know something."

".... H-huh?"

Steal later? But why? Did she find something? Man, he's curious himself and as much as he wants to stick out of the pocket and see, he can't let himself be spotted. Rats.

Erin followed Blossom and spoke up when she got close enough.

"Hey, little girl. Are you lost?"

[Henry Steele]

And there was another thief in the area--albeit one who wasn't in the mood for stealing today. Well, stealing food or money or the like. But it wasn't as though people kept pens in their pockets all that often, and the ones who did kept them in well-protected pockets.

He observed what seemed to be two girls nearby and stroked his chin slightly. There had to be an idea for a scene in a novel from this. He would hold his distance for the moment, watching how they interacted. He shouldn't really interfere just yet. Not unless the scene played out different than how he was thinking it would already.

Not that he could see any pens in their pockets anyway.

[fiona]

And after a hard morning's work.. Fio found herself going out for a walk. She'd done all the shopping, both for home and for work.. and even took up Aven's suggestion of getting that new generator. She'd found one at a reasonable price, even though it was still EC she didn't want to have to spend. But if it would save her money in the long run..

Tucked away in her pouch.. her Biometal Model Fi. Of course she wouldn't leave home without him. What if there was a spontaneous outbreak of Mavericks? Though.. what were the odds of that. And she did get lonely without the little guy around. Fi was practically a roommate to her.

Fio noticed the other girls in the area, but hadn't quite noticed Henry just yet. Oh, if she'd known that her boyfriend new-found friend was here.. and quite possibly up to no good... Tucked behind her ear, however.. just happened to be a pen. She'd had it with her earlier when she was doing the shopping, but forgot it was there after some point of time. Oh well.

"...Fio, there's a Biometal nearby.."

She glanced down to her pouch. A Biometal..? Couldn't have been the girl.. too obvious. Was it the other one..? Or maybe there was another person here with a Biometal.

[Blossom]

Oh Yu~! Yu, where are you~? Blossom continued to look around, her childish bag stuffed full of snacks in case she got hungry at her side. Maybe she should have gotten directions to his house at some point. She honestly had no clue where to find him. Of course, when a girl approached her, Blossom waved cheerily at her.

"Hi miss! I'm not lost, I just, uh... I just don't know where I am going~." As if that changed things. In Blossom's mind, though it meant something completely different from being lost. She was a Hunter! She wasn't allowed to get lost, nope! That would be a bad thing that a Hunter was doing!

She was also blissfully unaware that Erin planned on picking her pocket, or that Henry was watching them, or that Fio was nearby. She didn't know them, after all! So much for stranger danger...

[Deleted]

Model Sn gasped kinda loudly. Erin... is planning to steal from a child?! Wait. She mentioned wanting to know something. What does she want from the little girl she's speaking to?

"Erin! I thought you don't steal from children! And what are you planning to do if it's not stealing?!"

Erin smiled and waved back, pretending she didn't hear her Biometal. This little girl is so adorable! She glanced around and eyed Blossom's bag for a brief moment before speaking again.

"Erin? I think I sense something."

"But isn't that the same thing? Well... where do you want to go? Maybe I can help you get there somehow. I mean, I've been in the streets a lot so I know where a lot of places are. What's your name, by the way? My name's Erin Hong."

While Model Sn was listening to Erin speak to a little girl she was now thinking of helping, he thought he sensed a Biometal nearby. Who can it be? A friend? An enemy? A sibling? He can't be too sure, and now he needs to get his Biomatch's attention. He wiggled a bit in the coat pocket and spoke up more.

"Erin?! Are you listening to me? I sense a Biometal nearby!"

Dang it. The more Erin looks at and speaks to this cute kid, the more she feels like not pickpocketing her. It would be a crime to do such a thing to a child as adorable as her! Agh! To heck with stealing!

"ERIN! I SAID I SENSE A BIOMETAL NEARBY! LISTEN TO ME, WILL YOU?!"

.... Scrap. Model Sn froze. He just shouted at his Biomatch, and for all they know, that other Biometal and its partner could have heard him.

[Henry Steele]

Henry had kept his distance for some time, letting things go where they may. Ah yes, there was a short story at least in the scene unfolding between those girls--the teenage girl and the little girl. He smiled softly; it did his frail heart some good to see a stranger try to help a complete stranger. At least, that was what it looked like to him. Aw, how sweet.

...And then someone entered his field of vision that looked all too familiar. He slowly moved to try to get closer. Closer. Just behind Fio he snuck, his eyes on quite a lovely prize--nah, two lovely prizes. The first prize was Fio, of course; however, there was also the pen he had just noticed, tucked behind her ear. He carefully and stealthily reached up for the pen, trying to slide it from behind Fio's ear without getting caught. Even if that was rather the impossible thing. Honestly, he seemed almost like he was...yep. He was trying to get caught by Fio.

[fiona]

Fio was minding her own business, not even aware of the little thief standing right behind her. That pen hanging off her ear piece.. she was completely unaware of it's presence. After all, what were the odds she'd reach around that area to scratch her head or play with her short hair in the near future anyway? Probably wouldn't even notice til she went to take a bath or something.

...Or in this case, as it was being pulled away ever so slowly.

She whipped around, turning attention away from the girls and finding herself face to face with the little sneaky devil. Henry..

"Henry! Wasn't expecting to run into you again so soon. How are you~?"

Model Fi sighed, staring into the fibers of her pouch. What all else did he have to do? She was completely ignoring the fact that there was a Biometal in the area, and now she was distracted by lover boy here! "Fio, fer the love o' Asimov.. There's a Biometal!"

Though Fio did hear him, and not just Fi, but that other Biometal yelling practically the same thing as her own Biometal. Wasn't another one of Fi's family members, was it? Oh well.. She smiled up at Henry, really glad to see him, though.. she did notice he'd taken yet another thing of hers.

"First my bed sheet and now my pen..? You like taking my stuff don't you?"

[Blossom]

Blossom couldn't hear the Biometal at all, so she just beamed happily at the woman, not knowing that she was plotting to steal stuff from her. There wasn't anything in the bag besides her snacks, anyways. Besides, if Erin was nice enough, Blossom could potentially share snacks with her.

"Is it?" Blossom blinked. Being lost and not knowing where you were was the same thing? Who would have guessed? "Um... I'm looking for my best friend. His name is Yu. He's taller than me and has a racecar and wears a red hat... do you know him?"

Ah, so her name was Erin, huh? "Nice to meet you, Ms. Hong! My name is Blossom. I'm seven!"

She heard Fio and Henry talking, but since she couldn't make out their words, deemed it completely unimportant. The Biometals went completely unheard by her as well, since she wasn't a Biomatch nor was she related to one.

[Deleted]

Well, it seemed the little girl couldn't hear Model Sn at all so Erin was relieved at that. Darn Biometal. Can't he keep quiet for a moment? She glanced down at her right coat pocket where Model Sn was in and tapped on it with her finger a couple times to send a Morse code (sorta), not realizing this could be noticed especially by Henry and Fiona since the pocket is in their view. --.- ..- .. . - Obviously, she can't speak to him right now without letting strangers know he's here and they can't communicate by telepathy. She did hear what he said earlier. So... another Biometal is nearby? Who could have it? Erin hopes it's not an enemy. She smiled in amusement at Blossom. She didn't know it was the same thing? Ah, well. So the little girl is looking for her best friend and his name is Yu? Hm....

"Best friend, huh? Must be nice. So a race car and a red hat? Hm.... Sorry, I don't know him. But I'll help you find him. Did he tell you where he lives?"

Model Sn suddenly felt himself being tapped on. Erin is sending him a message in Morse code? Keeping track of the dots and dashes as well as the pauses, he spelled... Q-U-I-E-T. What?! She's telling him to be quiet?! He couldn't quite tell if she listened in the first place, but he probably should keep quiet for now anyway. Who knows how close that Biometal is? He mumbled to himself.

"... I kinda wish this pocket hole is a little bigger. Now where is that Biometal?"

"What a cute name. Nice to meet you, too, Blossom. You can just call me Erin if you want. I know I look very short but I just turned seventeen this year."

[Henry Steele]

Oh yes, Henry had to steal that pen. That pen was just so shiny. And it was on Fio, for Legion's sake! Not that he had feelings for her. No, just a full-blown crush that he expressed in neutral ways like trying to steal her pen. He would keep pulling as long as he thought he could get away with it.

A soft chuckle issued from the young man, and he pushed up his green-rimmed glasses with a grin. Yep. The sneaky little devil was right there, in the flesh, fingers delicately wrapped around the pen. "Well hello there, Fio~. I'm doing well. What about you?" That cheshire cat grin was not hiding the truth that he had stolen the pen.

However, the chuckle would give way to a slight headache. Henry rubbed his temple with his free hand, gritting his teeth but trying to keep that grin he was forcing. Nope, he didn't understand the biometals, though he could hear some sort of strange frequency while they spoke--or in Fi's and Sn's case, screamed--to their biomatches.

He gave a cheeky chuckle. "Until I steal the ultimate prize from you." The ultimate prize? Her heart, of course! Henry wasn't giving up until he got what he sought!

He glanced toward the girls again. It seemed they were still talking, at the very least. His eyes didn't quite catch the morse code being tapped. They were still darting back toward Fio occasionally. Nope, he didn't want to look away too long!

[fiona]

Well that was a good thing that Henry was doing well. Fio had only seen him yesterday, and he'd been doing pretty well. Though.. a part of her did wish he didn't have to go to Thor's so soon. Left her with just Model Fi for the rest of the day. Not.. that she liked Henry or anything! DENIAAAAAAAAL There was just something about this guy.. something that made her feel all warm and fuzzy. It was probably just the way he'd been wording things.. Yeah, that was it. His way of words had gotten to her. No wonder he wanted to become an author.

"I'm doing alright. Just felt like going for a bit of a walk and enjoying my last day off til next weekend. Gotta go back to running my food truck tomorrow. Going to be a long week, too." She extended her hand, holding it out in front of Henry. "Can I have my pen back?"

Fio gave Henry a look of concern when the other started rubbing his head like that, attempting to keep that grin. "Henry..? Are you ok?" The guy had only gotten out of the hospital, and if he needed to go back... Hadn't he acted like this yesterday too? He'd said something about some buzzing sound then, but she didn't hear buzzing. Though in that case and this one.. Model Fi had been speaking. Maybe...

She could barely hear that other Biometal, the one saying nearly the same thing as Fi had. Looking over, she did see those two girls talking, the one tapping her pocket. Nope. She didn't know Morse Code, or anything about how to understand it. Just looked like regular tapping to her.

Her train of thought was quickly broken by Henry. W-what did he say?! The ultimate prize.. he didn't mean..? A fierce blush crept onto her face, her eyes darting off to the ground. This man...! "G-good luck.. w-with that."

As for Model Fi, he'd stay quiet a bit longer. Not so much for that other Biometal's sake, but he wanted to know exactly what lover boy here was telling his biomatch. Was he flirting with his biomatch again?!

[Blossom]

Blossom blinked as the lady tapped her pocket a couple of times, but wrote it off as a nervous habit. Oh well, it was probably nothing. She nodded as Miss Erin and her talked about Yu and how to possibly find the boy.

"Yup! He's nice and funny, not like the boys back home." She made a bit of a face thinking about them. "He did, but um... I don't remember it."

Just Erin, and no miss? That was fine with her! She was much taller than the little girl in front of her, so Blossom was a bit confused when she mentioned how short she was.

"Short? But you're taller than me, Erin! I'm the really short one... and seventeen! Wow! You're exactly ten years older than me!" Now wasn't that just the coolest thing? For a seven-year-old, at least.

[Deleted]

Well, better for people to think it was an odd habit of tapping. Erin doesn't want strangers to know of Model Sn. And her Biometal had better not reveal himself. She giggled at Blossom's face. The little girl must not like boys much.

"I take it you don't like boys much? Are there a lot of boys back at your home? Where do you live?"

Well, it's not surprising that Blossom doesn't think Erin is short. Of course, the teenager would look taller to the little kid, even with their height difference being around a foot. Erin is still rather short for her age, though.

"Well, yeah, I'm taller than you since I'm older. But I'm a teenager and still not even five feet tall yet. Some people thought I was in middle school when I'm supposed to be in high school. Sometimes I wonder if I'm actually shrinking. That would be weird."

And probably kinda bad for her. How is she gonna look more grown-up if she can't even reach five feet before she turns twenty? Even her deceased mother (who was also a shorty) was taller than that (though by an inch)! Well, Erin still has plenty of time to grow. Not as much as Blossom does, but three years isn't terribly short. Well, being ten years older than someone isn't the coolest thing to Erin but it's not so bad.

"But yeah, ten years older than you. I guess I'm pretty much old enough to be your big sister. Do you have any siblings, Blossom?"

Well, this is a good chance for Erin to finally make friends. She'd been alone in the streets for eight years with no one willing to be her friend. And Model Sn had been her only companion for almost four years. Maybe she's finally found someone who will accept her.

".... Erin... this could be your chance to finally have a friend other than me...."