It had been a while since Eve had rested, and it showed. Her eyebrows pressed together on her forehead, her mouth set in it's usual frown. Her eyes had lost their usual intelligent glow, instead replaced by a glossy look of utter exhaustion. Dark bags settled underneath, and not one piece of her hair seemed in place, hanging sloppily and mismatched in pig tails on each side of her head.

"Finally," she weakly exclaimed as she entered Oak Town's bustling streets. She sat down on the corner of a wall, careful not to get her clothes dirty. She wasn't wearing anything fancy: a plain white collared shirt tucked into short kaki cargo pants. She placed her bag by her side. Her outfit may have been pain, but it was good for traveling and there was still asthetic merit in wearing a uniform.

When she was sure her seat was free of debris, she then set her sights upon the town. The people here were foreign to her but not completely alien; there was sure to be some merchants here that had also set up in her home town of Orchidia, where she had just walked from. Familiar or not, there was still something exciting about being in a new town. Despite being tired, Eve was happy.

Now, the only thing left to do was purchase a room at the inn and look for work. What Eve really wanted to do was search for anything she could read on magic, but that would have to come later, after her basic needs were met.

Almost as if on que, Eve's stomach rumbled. Without taking her eyes from the street, she reached down to get some food from her bag. That wasn't where she put her bag. She reached around some more. Still the wrong spot. Where was it?

Finally, she took her eyes off the townsfolk, staring at the empty spot where her bag once was. She sat there, dumbfounded. In the five minutes she had been in Oak Town, all of her belongings had been stolen, and she could find no trace of the culprit.

Baron strolled along the Oak streets with a high head and temper as he steadily walked about the terrain with a confidence and swagger that he once lacked a time ago. His eyes were fixated the road ahead, he counted his footsteps with moderation, left, left, left, right, was the pattern, one familiar and malitatistic. Why was he walking with such tenacity? Well he was practicing of course, his basic training for the Rune Knights would probably require such steps.

A tune escaped his lips as his marching was replaced with a nonchalaunt strut as he made his way down the path. He wasn't in anything all that appealing. A white shirt beneath a blue denim jacket with another beige jacket one beneath comboed with a pair of blue sweat pants. On his back wasn’t his usual rucksack but backpack instead holding most if not all of his things. One might say he had adapted to city life, but in reality he was still just a country boy trying to blend in to city living.

The town was unusually crowded today it felt, many shady and sketchy individuals minded themselves as they walked about among the civilians. Baron didn’t think much of the change in setting, sure there were more scum bags than he was used to wandering the streets but it was nothing he and his gun couldn’t handle. Speaking of which on his hip was his holster, fine chestnut leather the casing, even a gun had to be treated well.

Today was likely going to be a day of boredom, he wasn’t quite in the mood for working, but more so he was in the mood to laze around as he always did and perhaps groom his beard a bit before heading back to the inn to rest up for the next day of doing nothing.

As he walked Baron had gotten a bit hungry, he was certain he could tough out the hunger and head home before he got too hungry but something overtook him. He held his stomach and walked on, “So hungry….” his demeanor completely changed from optimistic to pained as he walked along the streets.

Oddly, his hunger would be short lived as he bumped into a scampering child holding what looked like a bag. The once fleeing boy collided with the six foot seven adventure with such force that he dropped what he was holding. Instead of checking on the downed child Baron picked up the bag and continued to walk on, “Mmm.. Might be something good in here…” not realizing he had basically stolen a bag from a child, “Food?” he shook it up to his ear.

It took a few seconds for Eve to gather herself. Being stolen from and stealing things were not that uncommon in the slums where she grew up-- but she had always been on the latter side of it. She was over that now, though, and had been for a while. And anyways, she had only done it for survivability, of course.

She stood up and looked around again, this time paying attention to the layout of the streets before her. In front of her was a bustling road, but directly behind her was a small, dark alleyway.

Of course... she thought begrudgingly. She was right in front of the easiest spot for pick pockets to disappear into. No wonder she didn't notice anyone.

Without a second thought, she took off down the alleyway, lifting her hands to fix her hair as she ran, the two pig tail streaming behind her. With a brisk tug, she pulled half one pigtail of her hair up and half down in order to drive the tie further towards her head. Once it was properly tightened, she repeated it with the other side. Now she was ready to go.

She could see a light up ahead, spilling in from another street that the alleyway fed into. She raced towards it, knowing that she was running out of time. She flew into the open street, trying to locate her lost bag. She looked all around her, left, right, up, left-- everywhere except right in front of her. Before she knew it, she plastered head-first into large man. With seemingly no repercussions for the man, Eve was knocked back onto her bottom, stopped straight in her tracks.

"Oww, oww, oww..." Eve chanted softly to herself, getting up and rubbing her bum. She looked up to the man as he towered before her, raising up one hand in both apprehensive defense and apology.

"Ah, sorry about that," She trailed off as her eyes wandered over from his face to the bag he was carrying. "Hey! That's my bag!" She exclaimed loudly, pointing to the object in question, trying to attract the attention of nearby townspeople. This man did not look like someone she could fight by herself should he decide to run. Perhaps with the help of the people, she would be able to overtake him.

With bag in hand he continued to shake it to listen for anything viable to eat. He shouldn’t have bullied the bag from the twerp but he was hungry and desired to fill his belly with something yummy and maybe, just maybe on an off chance there may have been plenty of goodies for him to munch on tonight unless the kid ran and got his parents.

He fiffled the bags opening, unsure how to open it, his rumbling tummy distracting him from properly opening what was a simple maw of the bag. As he walked he’d cut into an alleyway and stood still for a moment.

For a brief rest he’d stand still and look around the immediate area for signs of food. Truthfully he’d eat anything right now rather it be ramen, eggs, pork, anything as long as it’d fill him up. Perhaps he should have known better than stealing, but he was desperate in a time where he had no money or options outside of going ahead and joining the knights. Which wasn’t that bad an idea, except he wanted to enjoy a bit more in the way of freedom.

He’d walk down the street and cut into another alley, this would be a good place to spill the contents of the bag since he couldn’t find an adequate place to dine. With his right hand on the bag, and his left wiggling his fingers to soon open it before he could so much as pull a zipper he was collided into by a blur. While he was much larger than what hit him, he teetered to the side a bit as the assailant fell onto her rear. After a brief stumble he’d stand again and look down at them, bag in hand.

“Hey watch where you’re going ki-” he caught himself, a woman? Pigtails and all… “I mean excuse me madam mussel, allow me to help you up.” he extended a hand with a smile. In retort she’d raise a hand, a gesture that made him tilt his head and take a slight step back. Never know who knows magic in this town.

When she spoke loudly he knelt down to her level and put a finger over his lips to quiet her down, “Shhhhhh.” he’d reach out and cover her mouth as well, “You trying to get be beat up out here? I didn’t know it was your bag lady calm down.” he spoke frantically, this was probably a bad idea.

Kid? KID?! A definitive pout appeared on Eve's face. She might have been short, but she was a woman, after all! She was not even a teenager anymore! Twenty-one was a far ways away from "kid!"

Eve bent back as he leaned towards her, her eyes narrowing on the incoming hand. It all happened in an instant, and Eve had nowhere to run before he clamped his hand over her mouth to silence her. Instead of fear, pure determination flowed through her. So what if this guy had a good foot on her; so what if he was stronger! How dare he threaten to beat her up!

With his hand still over her mouth, she kicked up with her knee, aiming straight for his groin, simultaneously using her right arm to sweep his hand off her face. She took a few steps back, in order to distance herself from the thief.

"Want more of that?" She growled, putting her hands up in fists in front of her and lowering her stance to balance. She might not have been well-versed in attacking, but she was knowledgeable in defending. It had been a while since she was in a fight - she had stopped once he died...

Her face fell a little, her anger letting up. She looked more sad than anything, her scowl turning into a frown. Fighting was not really what she wanted to do right now. She just wanted her bag, but this guy had gone ahead and stolen it. Speaking of which, how did he get the bag without alerting her at all? With his size and stature, he surely would have made a little bit of sound. Eve was not that spaced out. Perhaps he was a more formidable foe than Eve first

Despite the pout that lingered on her face he was certain that she would concede to his will and allow him to explain where he had gotten the bag. This was all a big misunderstanding and would be corrected as such by the time he was through telling her his side of the story.


Misjudging this young woman would prove to be the last mistake he’d make this evening, without so much as a warning she had kneed him in the groin with the a force Baron had only felt in the kicks of his young sibling once before. Visualization of two eggs cracking played through his mind as his mouth hung open, searing pain shot up his injured jewels and to the pit of his stomach as he fell to his side.

“Oh god. No, no mam I don’t want more.” he curled up into the fetal position and held ‘himself’ as he rolled onto his back, gasping and wheezing as if he had been stabbed. He honestly felt like he was going to throw up she hit him so hard.

His voice had gone a bit high pitched as he began to mumble, “Why?” he asked her, eyes closing shut as he had come to rest on his right side, ‘mama your baby is hurt…’ he had short flashbacks of eighth grade as he slightly began to cry, just enough for a single tear but not enough to masks the pain he was in.

IN short, she knocked him back into fifth grade. “I didn’t even take you bag.” he finally spoke through gritted teeth, “I swear, just please stop hitting me.” his breath had finally come back to him, though now that the pain had lingered for a moment he sat up “Do it again!” he enthusiastically bellowed.

“You hit pretty hard kid.”

Eve watched with a little too much pride as the grown man rolled around on the floor, her sadness washing away with the man's bellows of pain. It was not that she necessarily enjoyed it, but, man, did she love serving justice. It felt good, being the one in power, a stark contrast to how she was treated back at home. In the orphanage it was always do this or learn that. But now Eve was in power, Eve could decide what she wanted to do, and Eve could decide for herself who was going to steal her back and who was not.

Seeing as he was helpless, she assumed a more casual stance, crossing her arms and puffing out her chest with a small, satisfied smile.

"Why?" The man managed to choke out as he was rolling around on the ground. His voice incited anger in her, and Eve raised her leg to kick him again, but she soon lowered it and grabbed her bag instead. She decided she had hurt him enough. He was incapacitated, after all. Any more would just be bullying.

"What do you mean, 'why'?! You stole my bag, you thief!" She said angrily, unzipping her bag to make sure its contents were still there. Luckily, they seemed more or less in tact. Her food, namely a bundle of bananas, were a little smooshed, but they still looked edible.

“I didn’t even take you bag.” She heard him choke out.

"What?" She said, hesitantly.

“I swear, just please stop hitting me.”

She hadn't planned to, and he seemed genuine- or as genuine as someone could be after taking a blow to the groin. She felt almost sorry, taking a few steps forward to close the distance between them, only for him to sit up enthusiastically, as if he had never taken the blow.

"Do it again! You hit pretty hard kid." He said.

Unbelievable. He had deceived her. He was not even hurt! He was mocking her! Now filled with undeniable rage, Eve gently caressed his face in her hands, placing one hand on each cheek. She leaned close to him, so that her head was level with his.

"Hey~," She said, a soft smile on her face. "I'M TWENTY-ONE!" She yelled, attempting to ram her knee into his forehead while keeping his head in place with her hands.

"I'm not a kid, damnit!"

Despite the smile on his face and craving for more pain he was indeed hurt, so much so that he was certain that he’d probably have a voice crack for a few years. The pain, it was terrible, it lingered on and on in his stomach to the point that he felt like he was indeed going to vomit on the ground or himself. Instead of aching, however, he looked up at her with a tender smile and asked for more to which he expected to catch another knee to his ‘area’ with great gusto.

He coughed a bit more into a closed fist as he tried his best to get up. Instead of shooting up immediately he had found himself on his knees as he looked up at the nameless woman yet again. The vixen loomed over him like the victor of their spat, proud of her handywork as the man below her tried his best not to lose his lunch.  

In retort to him asking for more instead of getting hit again he had been gently caressed by her soft, ginger touch. Baron couldn’t help but smile up at her as she leaned into his personal space. Uncertain what to do he’d smile on and lean in a bit as well, “Hi~” he’d reply enthusiastically as he finally managed to hide the pain he was in.

Just as quickly as the soft touch arose, came brutal reality. Before he could do so much as gasp a knee was thrown into the crown of his head knocking him back again. His eyes had been glazed over as she stunned him with the blow. A dark, black bruise was already beginning to form on his forehead.

For a moment he’d register the pain again, he was certain that she probably had just given him a concussion. With as much eagerness as before he tried to sit up only to dizzily fall back and rest on the concrete floor.

“T-thank you…” he dreamily said as he watched small translucent buzz around his field of vision for a moment, “But you uh… You got me all wrong.. I didn’t uh…” he sat up once again, “I didn’t take bag… Some kid had it and I took it from them… You gotta beleaf… me… Get it? Beleaf? Like a leaf?” he fell back as his last words trailed off.

“Twenty one is a nice age though.” he held up a ‘thumbs up’ to her as he continued to see bickering little stars.

Once Eve had done the deed, she took a step back from her victim.

Hurmph. That'll show him. She thought with a smirk. She once again crossed her arms over her chest in triumph, leaning over him to check her damage. He was not completely knocked out, but he seemed truly incapable of fighting back, now.

"T-" He began, still splayed out on the ground. Eve looked at him with anticipation. What was he about to tell her? How could he possibly come back from getting beat up after taunting the girl? "Thank you."

"Thank you?!" Eve repeated, baffled. "Are you some sort of pervert or something?" She narrowed her eyes, inspecting the growing knot on his forehead. There was no way he did not feel that.

"You got me all wrong.. I didn’t take..." Eve shook her head. This again? She stood on guard, ready for him to sit back up and ask for more punches.

"...Some kid had it and I took it from them" He sat back up and Eve was indecisive about hitting him again. On one hand, he did have a really punchable face. On the other, she did not want to give him what he wanted. "You gotta beleaf… me… Get it? Beleaf? Like a leaf?"

"....What?" Was all Eve had to say in response. Perhaps she had done a harder blow than she thought. That, or this guy had a really bad sense of humor. Eve decided it was the latter.

"So you stole from a kid, then. Unbelievable!" She sighed, taking a banana out of her bag and swiftly unpeeling it. She took a big bite out of it, crouching above the man on the ground. "I think we all learned a valuable lesson today. No more stealing. She wagged her finger, holding the banana in the other hand. "And no more mistaking people's ages." She added, half-heartedly. It was not really a lesson to be learned, and it was probably an honest mistake, but there was no way she was going to forgive himm for that.

"Look, since you took a hard beating, I won't turn you into the police. Just remember this and stop stealing." She sighed, and took another bite of her banana.

The way she bit the banana made him shudder, mostly because he wanted some of that action himself. He needed more potassium in his diet after all.

After a slight beating and a concussion Baron was certain that he wouldn’t want to asks her for anymore punches until his current concussion wore off… If it ever did. He was a bit dizzy, he couldn’t hear quite straight out of one of his ears, but alas he did catch her words. Or, well, he caught the ones that weren’t calling him a pervert.

Baron admittedly liked pain, he was a sucker for a good walloping and often made it his business to get involved in the scrapes and scraps of bruisers at the local bars in order to fulfil his pain loving desires. When this woman committed such random acts of violence against him, why, he had found the jackpot in curing his boredom for the day.

“N-not a pervert at all.” he chuckled as he rubbed the slowly growing bruise on his forehead, “At least I don’t think I am.” his hand retracted with every gentle touch. Evidently, he was going to need quite a few bags of ice to make this new lump go down.

Like a child he sat on his bum as she wagged her finger at him about stealing and guessing ages. Did she think him daft? Considering the first impression he made probably so, but she had no right to make such assumptions of him! He was still a man after all! So what if the kid was probably crying when he took the bag from him, it wasn’t even theirs to begin with.

Whilst she ate he’d point to the banana, “Can I have one or two of those? I can trade you one in return.” he’d weakly smile, “I mean, when I go grocery shopping ofcourse… What’s your name doll face?”

Eve watched with a sigh as Baron tried to touch his wounds, shaking her head as he winced every time he did. She was going to tell him to give it up, and that no matter how much he touched it, it was still going to hurt. Then, she remembered he liked pain for some reason, so she was conflicted. If he was causing himself pain, and he liked it, did that mean he was pleasuring himself in front of her? Did that mean she had just--

Eve did not want to think about it.

"No, you can't have one, you thief." She scoffed, taking another bite. However, the hunger in her stomach reminded her of something, a feeling of long ago. It was hunger, true hunger, the kind that drove her to madness, the kind that drove her to steal. She sighed and took out the rest of the bunch, four bananas in total.

"I'm leaving this here, for some idiot to pick up or something." She placed the bundle down next to him, barely glancing at the man in front of her.

Then, without giving her name, she was off, backpack on her back, to the streets of Oak Town.

-exit-

While she seemed cold as ice she was actually as sweet as peach tea as she dropped the nanas for him, calling him an idiot. He half expected her to call him a baka, but accepted the gift all the same because he could tell she cared about him one way or another, why else would she inflict pain on him AND give him a snack? She was so kind and for someone who looked kinda like a kid very mature for her age despite all of the pain and bone ache he now had. So what if he had a tiny little concussion.

He took the bundle of nanas, and held them close to him as he teared up, “Thank you mam!” he called after her, “Thank you so much!” he sniffled as he felt tears forming in his eyes, “I wish more kids would act like you!” he called, “Kind and nice” he rambled on for a bit before finally giving up and veering back leaning against a dumpster as he peeled yellow treat and ate it.


This was quite a score, he got to get beat up and on top of that she gave him a nice treat for him to enjoy on a cold day, what a lovely girl he’d have to thank her some time.

-thread end-