Not you again!

[Anonymous]

Things had gone well, the house had been empty and there had been plenty of coins and small trinkets to grab. Things that were easy to turn into fast coin for him and his brother. It made a lot more than pickpocketing, but it could be much more dangerous. He wished Keani was here, he always felt a little calmer when his brother was around.

He moved carefully to the window, slipping back outside it and closing it. It had gone so smoothly! As he carefully closed the window, Keoni was sure that something was going to happen. There was no way his luck was this good.

[Anonymous]

With noticeably furtive looks around her, Sethunya crept around the corner, back flat against the wall. There was evil to be found everywhere out here in the old country, and sniffing it out was a lot more fun than sniffing out dinner or talking to an innkeeper or whatever else it was she was supposed to be doing. It didn't really matter though. She was on the trail of a horrible demon, and vanquishing it was necessary for the survival of the world! This was way more important than the costumes for some silly new play!

Shuffling along sideways, she kept an eye back the way she'd come. She might have got its attention already, and if she had it'd be tracking her... Her shoulder bumped something behind her and she leapt away with a yelp. An ambush! Oh no! She turned to face the awful creature, ribbons bunched up in her fists ready to bind it and render it harmless, when a huge grin spread across her face. It wasn't a monster at all! In fact, it was exactly what she needed!

"Hey! You rescued yourself this time! It's so good to see you learning!" she greeted the skinny boy, clapping him enthusiastically on the shoulder before leaning in with a conspiratorial stage whisper. "Now come with me! There's danger about!"

[Anonymous]

Oh Gods no.

No no no no no no NO!

It was her again! The insane girl with the blue hair and the nice legs. Keoni stared at her in open mouthed horror. "You! Why are you here! I don't need to be rescued! Danger? What?"

[Anonymous]

"Yeah, danger!" Sethunya beamed, oblivious to Keoni's horror... Well, not quite oblivious, since it was only natural for him to be scared when there was trouble in the air. It was all right, though. She'd help him rise above his fear and at the crucial moment he'd do the right thing and save the day, so that she could save the day for proper a few minutes later. That was what sidekicks were for, after all!

"There's a demon ghost here! I'm trying to find it and it's trying to find me and I'm sure there'll be all kinds of adventure and I need you to help me!" At that, she grabbed his hand and started away from the building. They'd been dallying too long, and if they didn't move on it was sure to find them and enslave them to its awful will to do its awful bidding! And that was just awful!

[Anonymous]

"What? Demon ghost? There is no such thing!" He hoped. Keoni didn't believe in things like that. He didn't believe much in things he couldn't see or touch. But he knew well enough from his last meeting with the crazy one that he got to go along for the ride or try and make a run for it now.

And her hand on his was kinda nice. So he let himself get dragged along, "And what adventure? Where are you taking me?"

[Anonymous]

"That's just what it wants you think and then you let your guard down and BAM there's a demon ghost in your face and nothing you can do about it! Don't let it trick you!" Sethunya warned him, her face a mask of seriousness. Her sidekick wasn't going to fall prey to some rookie mistake! That kind of thing was for bit characters who only got one line and no name. Well, she reflected, the boy kind of didn't have a name in her story either but he'd been in the prologue already so he had to make it to the end!

As they darted away from the building, she kept glancing around, trying to spot anything that might look like the doings of a demon ghost. The thing itself wouldn't be easy to see, being a ghost and all, but those in the know could spot when there was evil afoot! Quickly, they reached the cover of another house and she dragged him with her to lean against the wall, explaining, "We have to find someplace it can't get to us and then we can work out how we're going to defeat it once and for all!"

[Anonymous]

How did she do that? No matter what was thrown at her, Sethunya always seemed to have some...reason why her crazy reality was right. She had to have been possessed by something! With a sigh, Keoni gave in, "Well, where can we hide then? And what exactly defeats one?"

He needed to get away from the robbery anyway and not point in arguing and lingering around. He really didn't want to get caught. Not with his pockets stuffed full of stolen goods.

[Anonymous]

Sethunya was taken aback slightly by his questions – she hadn't put much thought into what exactly she would do. She'd thought she might wait for something bad to happen and then get inspiration from that, but maybe she could be one of those heroes that planned things instead. "Ghosts can't cross running water!" she declared after a moment's thought. "So we just need to find a river or a stream and get on the other side of it and then we can think about what to do to rid the town of this terrible curse!"

"Oh!" she realised. Sometimes there were extra problems for the heroes, and she wasn't going to get caught out, oh no! "Unless it's a water demon and then it can just move the river and then we'll be in trouble but I don't think there are many water demons in these parts so we'll probably be safe!" All eventualities now covered, she looked around once more and dashed away from this wall too, pulling the hapless boy after her. If it was a water demon, she didn't want it anywhere near that river while they were crossing it! "Move again!"

[Anonymous]

"What?! That does-agrh!" Keoni found himself suddenly dragged along and he wasn't really going to try and stop here. That would mean more lectures on how whatever it was that was chasing them would catch up and all that.

"Well, is it a ghost or a demon? Maybe its some spirit." Keoni rolled his eyes, not really believing much of stuff, "Tied to the land and it will get us unless we aren't touching the ground."

[Anonymous]

Sethunya's eyes widened as she considered the boy's suggestion. A malevolent spirit, that was bonded to the very land the town stood on? That sounded like an adventure! Perhaps the town had a dark secret, and had to sacrifice virgins to appease the monster's wrath, and she'd get to save a damsel in distress and oh, that would be so fun! At last she grinned and squeaked, "I think you've got it! So all we need to do is be not touching the ground and we'll be safe and we can fight the evil and it can't touch us!"

That sounded easy enough, but as her mind whirred she realised that it wasn't quite as simple as it seemed. Sure, they could climb a tree or convince someone to let them into their attic, but whatever they stood on would still be touching the ground and they'd sort of be touching the ground through it. They could get in a boat or on a raft or something on a river, but that meant looking for one, and lots more time spent where the demon could get them! They needed something closer, something that was right here... Her eyes settled on the boy's shirt. "Aha! I know! Hold on, this'll be really really quick I promise!"

Tugging on a handful of the cloth, she concentrated and the fibres began to snake apart, the ends flowing towards a space in the air in front of them. She'd always wanted to try a magic carpet, but she'd never been wearing enough to do it without ending up scandalously naked. Just one more reason why she needed a sidekick!

[Anonymous]

What? But he had been kidding! He had made that up and now Sethunya was running with it. He really should have known better. Hurrying along after the girl, he was surprised when they stopped. And even more surprised when his shirt started to come apart.

"Whoa!? What are you doing?! STOP!" Keoni grabbed at his shirt, trying to keep it in place. It was the only one he owned, plus the scars on his lower back were already visible and panic was raising.

[Anonymous]

"It's okay, I only need it for a little while, I'll give it back even cooler than before!" Sethunya insisted, her concentration focused on the gradually forming carpet in front of them. This was a new transformation so she had to make sure she did it perfectly – she was even weaving in a pretty pattern so that it would look right. Who knew what tiny detail was essential to making it work? If it didn't, they'd be vulnerable to the demon and it would swallow them up into the earth and they'd never be seen again, so she needed to do an immaculate job.

Her sidekick at least had to understand that, right? This was so much more important than fifteen minutes of chilly nipples!

[Anonymous]

"No! STOP!" Keoni grabbed Sethunya's wrist, voice cracking with panic and fear. He was not okay with having that part of him exposed to anyone, "I said stop it! Put it back! Right now! Please!"

[Anonymous]

"But the demon will get us!" Sethunya whined, her magic coming to a dead stop as the boy broke her concentration. The section of the carpet she'd been working on had had its pattern totally ruined, and she was going to have to spend whole seconds fixing it – precious seconds in which the horrible spiritdemonghost could sneak up behind them and eat their defenceless souls! Indignant, her dark brown eyes met the boy's lighter ones. "Who's going to save the town if it chews us all up?"

[Anonymous]

"I don't care! Put it back!" Keoni actually felt kind of bad for ruining her fun, but he kept his arms locked tight around the edge of his shirt, trying to cover as much of his bared skin as he could, "Look, I'll find you stuff, okay? Just, put my shirt back!"