Two to make trouble...(Armind/VICTIMS!)

[Rowana]

Finally, a day when he didn't have to be stuck inside doing useless chores. It had taken Nabrik almost a week of good behavior to convince the riders that he could be trusted outside the Weyr. Really, just because he was young didn't mean he was stupid. Good pranking was all about keeping your mouth shut in the first place. It was Alph that was the real problem. No one but Selenitas and the exiles had them. But Nabrik refused to be separated from anymore of his impromptu family, so Alph had to come too, with fervent promises to stay quiet.

Free of his ride almost as soon as they reached the Hold, Nabrik quickly lost himself in the crowd. Hiding under the boy's shirt, Alph poked his head out to join him in wide eyed staring. Lighthouse didn't really have Gathers and certainly nothing as exciting as this! Nabrik grinned. So many unsuspecting people who had no idea who was lurking in the shadows. Combined with the adding bonus of going back to his secret home, and this was the perfect place for some long overdue mayhem.

We play games? Alph suggested in a whisper. He was eying some of the contests and children's games with interest. "Oh, we'll play games, Alph," Nabrik agreed, clearly having other things in mind. Alph sighed deeply. His boy was going to cause trouble again, he should have known. Nabrik strolled over to the food stall, sniffing at the tasty treats and contemplating what to do first.

[Requiem]

Now Armind had snuck a ride to the Gather. How had he done so? You'd be surprised how many dragons would be willing to conveniently 'not notice' a stowaway in one coiled forefoot when they were bribed with shiny river stones and polished wood. The Weyrdragonhealer's dragon was a chatty creature, easily talked into things and tricked into doing what Armind wanted her to.

The boy was striding through the Gather, taking everything in with eager, wide eyes. He'd never been to a southern Gather before. (Nor did he know why a bunch of people were walking around with a red ribbon attaching them, but oh could he think of so many ways to take advantage of something so...easy to entangle.) Torn between evil thoughts and a shiny objects all around, Armind was very much lost in his own little world.

That was when he caught the smell of food. The child's eyes half-lidded. Oh some of that...just smelled so good. If there was ever a time for the master of all thieves to strike, it was now! Armind got his sneaky on, hunching low to the ground and creeping along past the line of waiting people. (Nevermind that this was by far more conspicuous than just walking up to the table.) Glancing from left to right, he ducked under the cloth covering the table. Then an arm with no body attached could be seen sneaking up and a hand searching searching for something on the table. It landed in something squishy.

Armind wiggled his fingers for a moment, trying to divine what this slimy, cool stuff was. Then his groping found the edge of the bowl he'd just stuffed his hand into, latching there. Well, whatever it was, it had to be better than an empty stomach...

[Rowana]

Something hand shaped was sneaking over the counter. Nabrik's eyebrows went up at the sight. He glanced at the stall owner, who seemed distracted by other customers. Quick as a wink, Nabrik ducked under the table to find another boy about his age. Nabrik grinned victoriously. "You know," he whispered. "I'd go for a pie. Less mess after." Not to mention easier to dispose of the evidence. Alp eyed the new boy from his hiding place, but true to his promise, he said nothing. Inwardly, the salamandyr sighed. His boy was going to get into even more trouble with help.

Nabrik leaned against a table leg, wary of the feet of the stall owner. "What's your name?" He felt much better talking to this boy than the older candidates back home. Besides, if he liked stealing food, who knew what other pranks they could get up to together. It was always good to have an accomplice, not to mention a potential scape goat. Not that Nabrik would ever betray a friend, but they had only just met.

[Requiem]

The body sliding under his table had Armind's hand snaking back beneath the table, his legs gathered beneath him so he could make a break for it. But it was just another kid like Armind himself. He checked his flight impulse, instead turning his hand over in front of him and licking experimentally at the goop on his fingers. Oh, yuck. The boy pulled a face, then shot a wicked grin at Nabrik. "A pie would be much better than this slop." He waved his hand around, spraying the newcomer with it.

"It's Armind. So, whatever-your-name-is. Think you can solve my no eyes problem? I'd love to steal a pie, but I can't properly see." Then his gaze found something most interesting in Nabrik's hair. Armind's voice dropped even lower. "You either have a really weird case of alien lice, or that's one of those annoying frilly lizard-bugs. I don't remember you at Selenitas?"

The twelve-turn-old's eyes narrowed to slits as he regarded Nabrik contemplatively. Didn't they say something about some of the Selenitas people fleeing like cowards when the Wastelanders came? Armind shrugged it off. He didn't really care if Nabrik was a scairdy cat, just so long as he helped Armind get that pie. (Now the boy really had a craving for it.) "Come on, be my eyes for me?"

[Rowana]

Nabrik rolled his eyes at Armind, wiping himself off with a shelve. Yeah, that was really mature, he thought. Just who was this kid anyway? Still, free pie wasn't something to turn down. "Its Nabrik," he shot back, acting uninterested. "And I might be able to help. "If there's a pie in it for me too." He leaned to check the cost was clear, when Armind noticed his passenger. Nabrik froze. Shards, M'kai was going to string him alive. Something almost worth seeing his new Candidate Master do, just not to him.

"Alph," he hissed, glaring as the brown moved to his shoulder. Alph very sorry, the salamandyr whispered sadly. Well, he couldn't lie now, Alph didn't exact look anything like a fire lizard, but he didn't have to say the entire truth. "Yeah," he shrugged. "I was there a while back, but father didn't approve." It was the truth, in a way. His father definitely wouldn't approve, if he ever found out.

[Requiem]

Armind lifted a brow at Alph. Whoopsies. Not supposed to see that salamandyr in Nabrik's hair, was he? The boy wrinkled his nose at the one who'd just dropped in on him a moment ago. "You're not a good liar. But I don't care if you're one of them." Actually, Nabrik wasn't lying so bad, but Armind was clever enough to know that the salamandyr had to be apologizing for a reason. Why would he be hiding for any other reason?

Waving all that aside, Armind nodded back out from beneath the table. "I'll share, but you're definitely not helping me under here. Come on. Hurry. The longer we wait, the more time they have to catch us." Really. Silly kid. The northern child hunkered down, waiting for his cues so that he could steal the pie and they could be on their way. After that...well, he wasn't sure yet. There were so many possibilities.

[Rowana]

"I ain't lying," Nabrik hissed back, offended. He just wasn't telling the whole truth, that was all. Still, it was good to know Armind was that smart. They'd make a good team for more than pie stealing if the other boy was up for it. Shaking aside the differences, Nabrik grinned. "You just make sure your ready," he advised, peeking under the clothe.

When the coast was clear, Nabrik ducked back into the crowd. He strolled back to the stall, as if nothing had happened. Eying the rows of sweets, he waited until the stall keeper was busy. Then he tapped the table in front of the pies, signaling Armind where they were. If he was quick, they'd have two pies before the owner new what happened.

[Requiem]

Armind didn't bother arguing with the other child. They both knew what was what, after all. Nabrik's tone alone made that one clear. The twelve-turn-old snorted at the other's comment. Tch. He was always ready to demonstrate his ability as the best thief ever! So he simply waved the other boy on. Just get moving. He'd take care of everything, that he would.

It took rather longer than Armind had expected. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure he hadn't been left completely behind. (Some people got prickly about being called liars, after all. Or it was possible that the other child didn't want Armind telling anyone about where he was from.) That was when he heard the tapping several feet to his left. A glance down revealed boy-sized shoes. Well, hopefully this was Nabrik.

With all the courage of youth, he skittered down in the direction of the tapping and reached up where (hopefully Nabrik) was standing. Fingers found some very warm plates. Quickly, he made them disappear with him beneath the cloth, crouching low and moving down the line of tables with the cloth still covering him. Until he reached the end. Armind quickly emerged from beneath, gave a quick wave to Nabrik and ducked into the crowd before anyone could see him. If he was lucky, anyway.

[Rowana]

Nabrik leaned away from the table, carefully moving down towards the rolls so that Armind's hand was blocked from the stall owner's view. He put his hands behind his head casually, whistling until he was sure the other boy was clear. Then he strolled away until the crowd swallowed him from sight. He dodged around several folk before reaching Armind and his sweet captives.

Nabrik grinned, having decided that Armind was definitely alright. "Not bad," he allowed. His eyes lit on the pies and sparkled with mischief in the making. "I bet you and me could do a lot together. What do yah say? Partners?" At least for today, Nabrik thought. It was a pity he couldn't ask Armind to come back with him, but the adults would probably have a fit.

[Requiem]

Armind wrinkled his nose. "Got both my hands, don't I?" Which probably meant nothing to Nabrik, but where he came from, that's what happened when you got caught. (Nevermind that people had looked the other way with Armind and he was really a pretty poor thief. He had no way of knowing that.) The child thrust the second of the pies at Nabrik.

"I don't know." He eyed this one for a long moment. "Are you gonna turn coward and run on me?" His companion had already run at least once, hadn't he? Not exactly the most dependable of cohorts. Armind shrugged one shoulder and turned away, then, digging his fingers directly into the pie and popping the chunk into his mouth. He licked the juices off his fingers.

Maybe he should give Nabrik a chance. Just one, though. "Okay. Partners. But first you've got to prove you ain't no scairdy." His eyes narrowed, contemplating as he swallowed another chunk of his pie. A small smile spread across his face. "Bet you can't tie his shoes together without him noticing." He nodded to a big man seated at one of the tables, neck deep in what seemed to be an argument with the woman across from him. "Bet you're too scared to try."