Thief Antics

"Tra la la la la." Maghai almost danced about but did not do so as he walked about through Denerim's market district. It was a good day, sunny with a little breeze and people milling about like sheep. It was a good day to be a pick pocket with all of these possible targets about.

Today he was in good clothes which had been given to him by the king's wardrobe ... people or whatever they were called. He almost looked like a noble himself, well at least a servant who was well liked. That blew his mind. He looked like any other person in the market, like any other well dressed Elven worker who got to do chores for their bosses, or were they masters? He could never remember so well. The point was that he did look like he was on his way to do some chores and with a coin purse that had more than enough to get the requested products his boss required.

Yes, his coin purse had money in it. He'd already swiped a good amount and sold the prettier coin purses for more loot. Now he was strolling about looking for more. Never take from those who need. Was his motto but if it was someone who could do without then he took.

(Note. I'm sorry if I was supposed to notify you or something before posting. Just let me know if I messed up)

Cestrah awoke in the street, standing up from the alley floor that she’d slept on the night before. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, remembering the events of the night before. She’d collected some money, but it hadn’t been enough to please her father, who’d been doing the same thing he’d done for years; drinking. He saw the small sum and snatched it from her hands, counting it. Upon deeming that she hadn’t done good enough, he grabbed her by the back of her neck and put the money down on the table next to many empty bottles of ale. Cestrah started to panic, but knew better than to try to get away from her father. He pushed her against the table, hitting her face down onto the flat surface, but not with enough force to cause major pain. “Does this look like enough money to you?!” He yelled. “This will maybe cover one of my meals and a bottle of ale!” He then picked her back up from the table and thrust her out the door. “You’d better stay out there until you make more! Get out of here you pathetic brat!” And with that, he slammed the door shut. Cestrah was already tired from working all day, so she figured she’d just sleep out there. It was far from the first time she’d had to sleep outside on the hard ground, so it had stopped becoming as much of an issue.

So, she woke up and saw that it was a bright, sunny day. Perfect for picking locks in an inn or something. All the visitors would be out sightseeing, maybe to the market or the castle. And so, she set of towards the closest inn, walking inside. The innkeeper seemed immersed in a book right now, so she was able to easy slip by him toward the rooms without notice. Now, there were many doors to choose from. She put her ear to the first door and heard some people talking, so she moved to the second. For this one, she could hear some rustling sounds. That obviously meant someone was inside. The third one, however, had no sound whatsoever. And so she began picking the lock. She was just about to make it when she head a noise behind her. There was a man, a very large man at that, behind her. He’d come out of the second room and saw her trying to pick the lock. Picking her up with two hands at the shoulders, he gently carried her towards the front desk. She struggled to try to break from his grasp because she was terrified. Would he call the guards? Would she be locked up? “P-Please... don’t call the guards...” She quietly begged. The guy didn’t respond, but when they reached the front desk, he walked right past it, heading for the door. Cestrah breathed a sigh of relief. He was just throwing her out. That was something that had happened many times before in different places. Opening the door, her tossed her out onto the street. She landed on her feet, but fell onto her knees, scraping them on the ground. She leaned against the wall of the inn, but soon thought it best to change where she was, just in case any guards had seen her get thrown out. She walked into the market plaza, finding a bench and sitting down. Her knees were bleeding somewhat badly, but she had nothing to really clean it with, so she just rubbed her hands on the wound, trying to get rid of the blood. She then let out a heavy breath and leaned back on the bench. What a glorious failure.

Wander wander look look. Meh it was getting boring out here as people started to dwindle off going to some Androste service and he would not steal from a church or inside one. No way. That was something a novice would do. Stealing there was dangerous! Oh sure one could get caught in a market but it was usually only a couple of people to deal with. In a church it was a lot of furious people who were offended that you stole in a church and if caught there was less chance of talking, or puppy dog eyeing, your way out of it.

Then something interesting happened. A teen was thrown out of an inn and then went to sit down some distance away. Maghai followed curiously as he was not sure what to make of this but when he saw her rubbing scraped knees he walked over and knelt in front of her, using the darkness to cover his movements until he was right there with a damp rag which he'd wet down in a cleaning solution Jez had given him. Before the girl could say anything he wiped the wounds.

"It's ok." He smiled up at her like a puppy dog which would be strange to almost anyone, "There! My sister's medications are the best! See they are all clean and will heal up just fine. You must have been scared being tossed out like that. I've had that done to me as well but usually with me they boot me in the butt too and I look like," He made a ridiculous face between shock and some "oh my ..." expression then put out his hand, "Hi! I'm Maghai. You?"

Cestrah was saddened by her failure, but she didn't have a very long time to think about it, because soon an elven man appeared from nowhere and started cleaning her wound. Instictively, she tried to retreat herself, but couldn't move back into the bench. Now with this man touching her, she was almost scared for what'd happen next. He said that he'd seen her get kicked out of the inn, which made her heart drop. At least until he mentioned about how he'd had it done to him multiple times as well. Now Cestrah was more nervous than anything, but she didn't want to be rude to him after he'd helped her with her knees. The way he was talking to her was strange, in a way she'd never heard anyone talk like before. It was like a mix of humor and comforting that she never knew existed. She looked at him confusedly. Half because of her inexperience in anything social, and the other half because he was helping her. In the many years of doing this, nobody had actually helped her aside from throwing a few coins her way. He then introduced himself.

"I'm..." she said quietly, trying to remember her name. Her father never used it, and nobody had ever asked for it, so the name stopped being important. Finally after about five or six seconds, she remembered. "Cestrah Makunia... Why are you helping me?" she shyly asked the elf. It was a very different change from the norm, so she was wondering brought on this kindhearted act.    

This one was a bit strange but Maghai figured she must be from the streets and abused at that. He may have been childish and his mind addled from all the drugs he'd used throughout his life but he was streetwise and smart enough to know many things others would never give him credit for. He'd seen a lot and most would not believe that he would have noticed.

"Well ... you just seemed so lonely and I was lonely for a long while too. A couple years which is probably nothing compared to how long you've probably been lonely." He shrugged and tried to make her not feel so scared of him so he sat cross legged and moved back a bit to reduce how threatening he must have seemed, "I know lots of people are not nice, especially if you are poor or an Elf or just not from around. It is ... mean. I guess maybe your spunk to go in that place and try something caught my attention. I don't know really but you seemed like you need a friend. Maybe some help."

As Cestrah heard Maghai's words, she looked at him in surprise. This person wanted to help her? The comment tht put her into a whole new shock was when he mentioned that she looked like she needed a friend. He may have been right... She'd never had a friend... Just from his words alone, she started longing for a feeling of friendship for the first time.

And Maghai seemed like a very kind person. Then her old, non trusting ways broke through her illusions of friendship. That's right. Seems. It hit her. She had done it on many occasions to get something she wanted, acting very kindhearted to get people to let down their guard and trust you. Then you can use them as you please to get what you want. Her overactive mind put together everything in paranoia. He probably wants to help her so he can turn on her after they get anything of value and make off with the prize. She knew she wouldn't let herself get fooled by it.

She stood up from the bench, rubbing her neck. Grazing the bruise and flinching as pain shot through her body served as a reminder of how much time she was wasting. She genuinely feared what would happen if she didn't make enough money two nights in a row. "Th-thank you Maghai..." she said quietly, nervous about what his plans could have been. She realized how strange she must be seeming, but she was scared of many things and didn't have time to face them. "I...I'm sorry, but I have a lot that I need to get done... I wish I could stay around... But I really have to go..."

She rubbed her sore neck and tried to break eye contact, looking at the floor beside her as she stood up.



 

He blinked in confusion then looked down at his hands, "Oh. I thought you wanted a friend too. I ... was going to ask you to come to get some food with me but ... here." He handed her his pouch of coins and stood, "You need this more than I do, I figure, but you really should get away from whoever is making you steal for your stay. I mean ... you're so thin and those bruises are really not nice."

Maghai looked towards the market then back at her, "I'm just over by the palace in the afternoons. My offer of being a friend still stands but we won't be here much longer. I think the hero wants to leave in the next couple of days." He took her hands in his and smiled, "Ok? Come say hi. I'll be around there hanging about."

She held the bag of money, but suddedly felt quite horrible. Maghai seemed very down and said that he was actually leaving town soon. And he was with the hero of Ferelden? Cestrah re-evaluated what was happening to her. She'd always wanted more than what she had, but it had never been possible. What if she could... Leave? "Y-you're leaving Denerim? I... Cou.... Could I... If it's not too much trouble... Come with...". She quickly regretted what she'd said. "W-wait... I can't go. I have to help my father make money... If I leave, he'll be..." 

The lure of a new life was confusing her, creating a pull between the resonsibility she had and the things she wanted for herself. She lost focus and found herself sitting back down. With a shaking hand, Cestrah reached out ad handed Maghai back his bag of money. "I... I can't take this from you."

The girl was confused, that much was clear to the Dalish, but the exact reasons why was beyond his capabilities to figure out until she almost asked to come with him and then mentioned her father. He swayed from side to side to look at the bruises then sat down when she did, handing her back the money once more, "I can get more. It isn't a problem for me to get more." He waved towards the market which was now without many people, "And I travel so we catch food on our own and ... did you really want to come?"

Maghai put his hands on Cestrah's and tilted his head, "The hero will probably be ok with you coming with us. We can go ask and that won't hurt anything, now will it? It doesn't hurt to ask. But ... your father. Is he the one who gives you these bruises or do you get them trying to get money? Is he sick?"

Cestrah started to shift uncomfortably upon mention of her father. "He... He isn't sick... He just... Drinks..." She averted his gaze and thought about it once more. She deeply wanted to go, but her father would be very angry at her. Her final decision came to her, but still made her nervous. "... I'll go... But I need to talk to my father about it." Her shuddering hand released Maghai's and she put it over her mouth loosely. "I... Don't know what he's going to do... I'm kind of scared... I guess I'll go talk to him, and meet you near the... Palace, you said?" She asked nervously.   

Maghai had never dealt with a drunk father but he had dealt with many drunks in inns and bars and that was more than enough for him to figure that this was probably not a safe situation. He got up and grabbed her hand, nodding at her, "I will come with you. You shouldn't go alone to tell him something like this."

The strange Elf suddenly felt protective of the young thief. He did not want her to be hurt again and he was going to make sure she wasn't, "Let's go see him now."

Cestrah nodded cautiously. “Y-yeah… okay. I guess I’ll lead the way…” She led Maghai towards her house, but upon reaching it, she decided she didn’t want to drag Maghai into this mess. “I… I should face him alone. I’m worried he’ll be even angrier if I bring someone else in there… And don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be fine…” She knew she was probably lying to herself but quickly walked into the house, her heart racing. Her father was asleep in a chair, so she poked him to wake him up. He saw her and shook his head to wake himself up better.

“What the hell do you want? It’s barely past noon.” He then took notice of the bag of the money Maghai had given her. “You made that much today? Alright, that’s probably good then, now give it here.”

In retrospect, she probably should have left it outside. Cestrah breathed heavily, dreading saying these next words. “Ummm… Father, there’s some people from outside of town… One is the hero of Fereldan.”

Her father gave her a shocked look. “You stole from the hero of Ferelden? That’s impressive… Thought there would have been much more from someone of that stature though.”
“N-no… What I’m trying to say is… I’m going with them when they leave Denerim.” She finished. Upon looking at her father’s face, he was obviously furious.

(NOTE: Heavy swearing in this part. Cestrah’s dad is not a happy camper)

“You’re doing what?!” He yelled. “No! You’re not fucking going anywhere! You’re staying here to make money, not chase after some knights like some fucking child!”

Her entire body was shaking and she closed her eyes. “I’m going… I’ve already said I would, and there’s nothing you can do to keep me here!” She yelled, raising her voice to her father for the first time. She opened her eyes to see him lunge towards her, picking her up by her throat and hitting her against the wall.

“Oh really?! I could break your fucking legs, couldn’t I?! Ungrateful little bitch! After raising you and everything, you want to run off after some dream of yours?!” He brought her from the wall and threw her to the ground, very hard, knocking the wind out of her. She let out a pained exhale and started crying from the pain. Her father stepped over her, rearing back his foot. “Maybe this’ll knock some fucking sense into you!” He seethed, and then brought his foot forward, kicking her hard in the ribs. There was something more to the pain than just blunt force, but Cestrah was far too scared to think about it right now. Her father then left her crying on the ground and sat at the table, counting the money she’d brought.

This was not good. This was not good. He should have gone in with her but he had not and now he could hear fighting inside. Rather, a beating. Maghai opened the door and walked in, adjusting his eyes to the light as he shadowed into the darkness as he left the door open. The man would not be able to see him as he checked the girl upon the floor but he quickly stood and snarled at the man.

Her father was big but that did not matter to Maghai as he lifted Cestrah into his arms and went to go out the door but a coin fell from table and clanked in front of the Elf, startling him as he was worried about the girl more than keeping hidden in the darkness. Now there would be a show down, he just knew it. He wanted his own little slave and Maghai was NOT about to let that happen.

Big blue eyes narrowed into an unusual glare and his lips curled up in a nasty sneer. He wasn't much better at looking mean than his sister was. He looked almost like a puppy thinking it could scare something but unfortunately he and his sister were just too cute to scare much, even with an evil glint in the eyes.

"What kind of father treats their child like this?" Maghai asked as he set the girl onto the floor, flicking out his knives which NOW made him look vicious. Maghai had killed many a time and the way he twirled his weapons with precise motions indicating that he knew how to use them and now that he had them out he grinned. He still did not look scary if one looked at his face but his slinking movements with the way he adjusted his body showed that he could be as dangerous a predator as a ferret after a hen.

"I am taking the girl and she will be traveling with us. If you so much as try to stop me you will be gutted where you stand like a bug." He snapped.

Her father was surprised by the sudden intruder, but quickly picked a knife off the kitchen counter and held it in front of him. He glared back at Maghai, who was holding his daughter. “What the fuck kind of people would want this little brat? She’s worthless.” He said, navigating his way stealthily towards the window. It simply looked like he was pacing though. “I need her, see? I’m not a good worker, so if I don’t work, no money. That’s where that little bitch comes in.” He said, pointing at Cestrah, who still hadn’t recovered from the kick. She clutched Maghai’s shirt tightly, wishing the pain would go away.

“The girl brings home money, she has a home. If not, she’s an intruder and is dealt with like one.” The man then quickly threw open the window. “Guards! Guards! An elf is kidnapping my daughter! Someone stop him!” He threw an empty ale bottle at Maghai for time, and dashed towards the money, grabbing the bag and diving towards his bedroom, locking the door behind him.

Maghai snorted out his nose, put his knives away and picked up Cestrah grumbling "Chicken." under his breath. There was no sense squabbling with the creep so he did not do so. Guards came, that was true but this time Maghai was already hidden and moving. He was no slouch in shadowing and was gone before the men would even have a clue which direction he may have gone in.

The Elf took back roads, carrying Cestrah with as much care as was possible and only came out of the shadows when he reached the palace gates, "I have a wounded girl. The warden commander ... can you get her? I am Maghai ... Jezarine's brother, remember?" He started to panic as he came into the area as he was not sure how much the girl was hurt. He moved towards the gardens, guards going with him as he did so.

The guards knew Maghai by now so they did send people off to get the commander.

"Jez? Jez?" He called, looking about for his sister.

While being carried by Maghai, Cestrah started feeling much more pain then there was previously. Now with the time to think of this pain, she felt her chest until she felt it. Her father’s kick had nearly broken a rib. Using her finger, she pushed to confirm her suspicion, but gasped in pain. She also noticed when she pushed that it was bending way more than it should. She then noticed that there were many guards around. Habit made her very nervous around guards, and this time was no exception, but her lightheadedness was starting to kick in. It struck Cestrah as unusual for her to have lightheadedness from a cracked rib, so I had to be something else. Maybe internal bleeding or a concussion? It couldn’t be a concussion though, as her head hadn’t been hit too hard… She looked up at Maghai and closed her eyes. “Maghai… Thank you for… everything you’ve…done.” She said between long pained breaths. “I… I think I have… a cracked rib… and I’m really… Dizzy…” She then tried to take her mind off the pain. “Who is Jez? If you… don’t mind my asking?”

"Shhh. Quiet now. It's alright." He said as he bumped his sister's bedroom door with his hip. He leaned down and turned the knob then stepped in to see his sister reading a book in a chair, "Jez! This girl is hurt. I need your help. She says her rib and I think internal too." Maghai rushed her to the couch and set her down, "Jez is my sister. I know we don't look alike but we are twins, Mom was light and Dad was dark. Anyway, she will help you and you will be alright!"

He moved back, fear in his big blue eyes as he worried for Cestrah's life.

Jezarine looked up from her book and went stock still as her brother came into the room but was up and at the side of the couch when she realized what was going on. She immediately started checking within the girl with her healer's sight to see exactly what was wrong. It wasn't too bad so that was good but she still had to work fast or it could become really bad.

Her hands moved across the girl's frame as she directed her abilities out to do what she did best and healed the injuries, bone and flesh. There would still be stiffness and some pain but she could not do any more than she had. The body would work on the rest of the healing as it needed.

"I've done my best now the rest is up to you." Jezarine smiled and even though she was darker than her brother they still had some of the same facial features, especially the big eyes even if his were blue and hers were a chocolate brown, "So what happened here? Oh. My name is Jezarine."

Cestrah became nervous again when she met another person she didn't know, but she put the feelings aside to deal with this injury. Jezarine examined her and seemed to heal her, so Cestrah just laid back and accepted what was happening despite her never seeing anyone use magic. It majjde her wary, but she knew it was for jher own good. When Jezarine asked her about what had happened, Cestrah questioned herself on how much she should say. 

"I was... Kicked in the ribs very hard... I think it's only cracked, but it still hurts a lot. " She decided not to bring too much attention to the fact that it was her father that did it. It wasn't needed from a medical point of view.

"If I get to leave Denerim, it was all worth it." She said weakly. "I think I just need to get some rest now."  

Calliara have been wandering with no direction for the last couple of hours. It seemed that the estate was so quiet, and she felt strange feelings about it. The estate had never been that quiet. In the old times, it had been usual to see some drunk Wardens running almost naked down the corridors and terrorizing maids, the master cook would be running after them with a frying pan and yelling at them for sneaking in the kitchens, Duncan would be hiding somewhere to laugh in peace and not having to lecture them.

Good old times.

Now the estate was awfully quiet, until the Dalish saw a very nervous and crazy Maghai carrying a girl and screaming Jezarine's name. Calliara sighed, feeling a headache starting to grow, and knowing she would regret it later, but followed him in silence and knocked on Jez's door before stepping in.

''I am sorry to interrupt. I saw Maghai running like a headless hen and I wanted to be sure that I really saw him carrying a da'len'' The Wolf looked curiously the very young girl. Pain in her face. Smelling like fear, sadness and nervousness. Not good. ''Is there something I should know?''

Worried sick. Maghai bounced about from foot to foot trying not to worry but he knew what a punctured lung could do to a person. He was glad that he was able to get the girl to his sister in good time but still fearful that je may have jostled her too much. Jezarine seemed sure that it was now alright and the girl explained to Jez the basics of what happened.

Then he heard Calliara and turned to her almost frantically, "It's all my fault! He cried out in his upset, "She was so alone and needed somewhere to go but her father's a drunk and wouldn't let her leave because she stole moneyy for him but she didn't get to eat much if anything but I shouldn't have told her that I was leaving the city with the hero butvshe needed away from her father you see he beat her and kicked her a.nd I had to rush her here. Please oh please Wolf talk to the hero and ask if this girl can come with us or I am afraid her father will do somethinf like chop.off her legs cause he is really realy mean and said he would!"

Maghai held onto Calli's sleeve like a child wanting a cookie and afraid he would not get one, his eyes tearing up with worry for his new found friend.

Cestrah looked sadly at Maghai because she had him this worried. “M-Maghai, I’m alright…” She didn’t know for sure but wanted to avoid him becoming too concerned. Her other concern was how much of the story Maghai had blurted out. She let out a heavy sigh, sitting up a bit and enduring the pain that it brought. “Don’t blame yourself for all this… It was my decision to come with you after all…” She said with heavy breaths.

Jezarine put her hands on the girl's shoulders, "It's ok. Magpie gets like this. She will be fine Mag. I was able to fix the internal damage but it will hurt for a while yet. Don't worry, Mag. She won't be going back to that place."

She walked over to her brother and put a hand on his shoulder, "Calm down. Go sit on the chair close to her head." A smile was given to Calliara as she got her brother away from her.

The healer turned back to Cestrah, "As a physician I have the right to give asylum. I believe Calliara will discuss this matter with the commander and everything will be ok. So ... what is your name?"

Cestrah's eyes darted nervously around the room. There were a lot of people in the room now, by her standards at least. The white haired girl, whom Maghai had called wolf, seemed to almost be analyzing her at one point. It was quite nerve wracking for her to be the primary focus of attention for once. She was then snapped back into reality by Jezarine asking Cestrah what her name was. Laying back down onto her back, Cestrah replied. "Its... Cestrah. Cestrah Makunia. You're travelling with thw Hero... So are... Are all of you grey wardens?" She asked nervously. 

Calliara blinked when Maghai grabbed her arm and started shaking her while speaking faster and faster. She blinked twice and stared at him, trying to understand everything the elf was throwing at her, and silently nodded. A child beaten. Well that was obvious.

Without a word, she gently removed Maghai's hands from her sleeve and left the room just to be back after ten or more minutes with a waterskin and some muffins from the kitchen. ''Take this, girl. You're obviously starving'' She said, with her calm voice as ever.

Once the girl was eating the muffins she studied her and listened to Jez's words as well, nodding from time to time, but thinking.

''I am a Grey Warden. Jezarine is a healer who works with the Wardens, and Maghai is her twin brother. So'' The Wolf smiled gently, but her eyes were cold '' this is your father's doing. Where do you two live?''