Breaking In... For Justice! [Rina]

[Anonymous]

"Well, I knew I could do magic of course but mages are all amazing and powerful and rich, aren't they? I didn't think I was one!" Sethunya was still buzzing with excitement over this revelation. Being a detective was cool enough, but being a detective who was also a mage, that was even better. Apparently she'd been one for some time, even.

Although Keoni was now saying he didn't know anything, she wasn't going to believe that. Even if it hadn't actually been true before he'd said it, it had to be true now! That was how things worked, right? She almost glowed with eagerness to test this new theory. "What if it works? It's worth a try!"

[Anonymous]

"Well...yeah...I mean, I always thought they were. But you can do magic. I saw you!" It was like talking to a brick wall. A brick wall that went in circles. Keoni was starting to wonder if he could just spout gibberish at her and she would make some weird sense of it.

"What works? Sensing them? How you even know if it worked?" Well, this was at least better than trying to confront the criminal, "Do we find a mage and see if ya can feel them or sumthin?"

[Anonymous]

Sethunya wasn't entirely sure why they were still arguing about this. She thought she'd explained herself quite clearly, for her. Maybe she should try one more time and make sure to fully expand on each step. That seemed to be how other people communicated, and they managed quite well. She took a deep breath and made a start. "Well, yeah, that's obvious!" She slowed down, carefully linking her thoughts together. "But I thought there had to be something extra... To turn someone from a person who does magic into a mage... Because it's such an awesome word! 'Mage'." She giggled. "But if not, then I am one! And that means I'm awesome!"

Keoni had a point here, though. How would she know if it worked? Hmm... "Oooh, I know this one!" She scrunched her face up in concentration. Clearly, it would only work at the most dramatic point possible and not at any other time, so she'd have to wait until then to test it. So... "We go looking for weird stuff!" she declared. "Then when I use my powers, the person I sense must be the culprit!"

[Anonymous]

"Oh, well, I donno. I can't use no magic. Is that like...different levels of somethin?" Keoni shoved his hands into his pockets, hunching his shoulders again. This had the be the longest he had ever talked to a girl before and he felt a little cheated that the girl seemed to be insane.

Her next burst of logic had the boy frowning, trying to puzzle that one out in his head, "Well, I mean...I guess so. If ya sense somethin' then....ya, I guess that must mean a mage. But are we gonna...what? Look for a fireball or like....flowers?" His interactions with magic were limted to street performers and stories told in taverns.

[Anonymous]

"Yeah, that's it!" Sethunya grinned, pleased with herself for her newly-found powers of comprehensibility, and decided to see if she could keep it up. She explained, "Y'see, there's like awesome magic that you use to save the world and stuff, and then there's other magic that's kinda useful but it's not really for heroing with so it doesn't count 'cos it's normal-people magic. At least that's how I always saw it!"

She tilted her head. Keoni seemed to have the right idea... A fireball would definitely be dramatic enough, but she wasn't sure about the flowers. If it was a romance plot they could work but she didn't think it was quite the right time, and anyway, she was wearing entirely the wrong kind of dress for that sort of thing! "Uh that could work but I was thinking more we find a person in trouble! There'll probably be a mage involved somewhere, right? And we get to be amazing!"

[Anonymous]

"There is normal-people magic?" Keoni blinked, "If there is, how come I ain't got none? I'm normal people." Maybe only city people got powers like that? He and his brother had come from the country and no one there had powers. Kids that showed any magic talent always left to go study. He gave Sethunya a considering look. Then again...she might just be insane. It was hard to tell with magic.

"Whoa! Wait! What?" He took that back. She was for sure insane, "Why would we wanna look for trouble? What is it with ya? You got a death wish or somethin?"

[Anonymous]

"Ummm... Well, normal people are normal people whether they have magic or not, but then there are the awesome people that have magic and they're mages and there are the awesome people that don't have magic and they're heroes, or something... I don't really know but I think that's how it works!" Sethunya fiddled absent-mindedly with a hair ribbon. She'd made that up on the spot, really, but she thought it made sense. On the other hand, Keoni seemed to think that any magic at all was amazing, which it so was not. All she even did with hers was make stupid costumes. She wasn't even allowed to use any of the really good colours. Apparently everything had to be tasteful, which she was sure was code for boring.

Death wish? Surely not! Death would be horrible, just lying there, forever, not going on any adventures or anything! It probably also involved doing chores and eating all her vegetables. Just awful! She shook her head emphatically. "No no no! We don't look for trouble for us! We look for someone else in trouble and we help them and then good things will happen, and I'll be a mage and you'll be a hero! It'll be great! Trust me!"

[Anonymous]

"Oh....okay..." Keoni wasn't really sure he believed all that. But there was something about Sethunya. She was just so sure, it made it hard to remember the real world didn't always work like that. She had the ability to drag people along into her view of the world.

Being a pretty girl wasn't hurting either.

"Me? A hero?" Keoni laughed, "You are kidding right? Who ever heard of the street kid thief who was a hero?" His brother might have some heroic qualities about him, but he sure didn't. And Heroes were all big, strong and handsome and....heroic. Keoni was none of those things.

[Anonymous]

Sethunya gasped and squealed happily. He understood her again! Oh, this was wonderful. The fact that she confused people wasn't lost on her, although she usually blamed them for their inability to follow her train of thought. "I made sense! Did I make sense? Yay!"

She still didn't figure out what he was really doing when she met him, even though he pretty much admitted it right here. No, she was barely even thinking about that any more. His, um, trade, was met instead with enthusiasm. "You're a thief? Well, that settles it! You'll definitely be a hero! Yep yep, the kind that struggles through adversity to become a champion of the common people!" She clasped her hands in front of her and gazed into the night sky, eyes sparkling. "I never thought I'd meet one of those!"

[Anonymous]

Keoni gave Sethunya a confused look, before giving her an awkward smile. He liked when she was happy, but really, she was hard to keep up with. Maybe being a mage just melted the brain? Powers of the universe and all that.

Frowning, Keoni felt really lost again. Hadn't she known he was a thief? Why else had she come to warn him the guy he was robbing was some criminal? Reaching up, Keoni rubbed his temples, feeling a headache starting. It was hard keeping up with her, "What are ya even goin' on about? Me? A hero? Lady, I'm about as far from a hero as ya can get."

[Anonymous]

"Oh that's okay! It just means when you eventually become one it will be that much more satisfying!" Perfectly normal logic, that, at least for her. Sethunya blinked and looked at Keoni, slightly concerned. She might have seemed self-absorbed and unobservant, but she did notice things about people. It was just that normally she interpreted them in entirely the wrong way. "Is your head hurting? I have something from my granny for that too! She's weird but real good with plants and stuff even though they're so boring!"

She folded her arms and pouted. "Anyway, we've been walking for whole minutes now and not a single person in distress! I'm beginning to think that these alleyways are not all they are cracked up to be..." She sighed, seemingly disappointed at the distinct lack of crazed murderers or roaming gangs of armed thugs, and peered around. "Look, there's not even any rats!"

[Anonymous]

"Look, I hate to break it to ya, but I'm no hero." This girl just seemed to be living on a totally different world then everyone else. Heros were big and muscled and...blond and good looking. He had seen a few plays before, "Besides, I don't wanna be a hero. All that...fighting and stuff. I don't want no part of that."

He glanced around, having somewhat forgotten they were supposed to be looking for someone, "Well, that's good. Means no one is hurt."

[Anonymous]

Sethunya didn't get it. Why didn't he want to be a hero, it didn't make any sense! Heroes got to do all the coolest stuff, they got all the romance and most of the time they were practically invincible. If there were any downsides to that, she couldn't see them. "I suppose fighting is only fun if you're the one that's winning..." she conceded. "But then if you are the hero you will be!"

She didn't want people to be hurt, as such. She just wanted them to be in enough trouble that she could help them. Meeting Keoni earlier had been pretty much perfect. "I guess that's good, but it isn't very exciting." She sighed despondently. Where should she go next? She needed a clue!

[Anonymous]

"I don't generally win fights. My brother does though." Keoni shrugged, hunching his shoulders a little, "I really think you are confused. Heros...are like special and...big and strong and handsome and stuff. You need to find someone like that to be heroic."

He didn't really want to keep talking about heroes, but he was starting to understand Sethunya's special brand of insanity, "I bet, uh...I'm a...sidekick." Keoni was starting to think the man she had come to warn him of wasn't actually a criminal. The girl seemed to see things in her own way.

The fact there was no one in danger seemed to disappoint her and Keoni felt a little guilty, "Um, well...maybe we could ask around for a mage? Or....something?" He wasn't really good at this stuff and didn't really know what would cheer her up.

[Anonymous]

"Hey, yeah! You would make a great sidekick!" Now that Keoni mentioned it, it was so obvious! Demonstrating why she was a costumer and not an actress, Sethunya rambled on, "You could be doing all the fiddly bits like trying to open a door or something, and the hero is fighting all of the bad guys and then they say 'Hurry up, I can't hold them much longer!' and then you say 'Almost there!' and then you get in the door just in time and... wipe... your brow, like it was really tough!"

She posed dramatically with the back of her hand against her forehead. "Phew!... See?" It might be for the best that the boy turned out to be a sidekick, because that was just what she needed! It got sort of lonely being a Plucky Young Heroine all by herself. The only problem was that he'd mentioned a brother, so he was probably already sidekicking for that guy. What a shame...

She brightened up at his suggestion. "Yes! A mage! I remember now!" That was what they'd been looking for anyway, wasn't it? Darn her short attention span! She walked with more purpose, if not any faster than before. She didn't know where exactly they were going, but they were going somewhere and they were going to do something! Something important!

[Anonymous]

"Uh...yeah...exactly." Keoni really didn't know why he hadn't just taken off. The girl was absolutely off her rocker. But he was having fun and this was actually the longest amount of time he had ever spent with a pretty girl before. Well, with a girl really. He didn't have Keani's charm.

So he continued to trail after the girl, glancing around, "Ain't there like...some magic shops n' stuff in the nicer parts of town?" He knew there were actually. He and his brother had stolen some minor magic items from one once, light sticks and stuff. "Maybe we can find mages there?"

[Anonymous]

Sethunya giggled. It never crossed her mind that the boy was agreeing with her to make her shut up, because that would be ridiculous! No, he understood her, which was essential in a sidekick. This was all just perfect!

And he was being so helpful, too! "You're right! Magic shops have all sorts of strange and suspicious items! There's bound to be some excitement in a place like that! Let's go!" Her enthusiasm was somewhat dampened by the fact that she didn't know the way, well, at all. Being the heroine, she should really lead... But what was a sidekick for, if not to help her out? Plus she was technically a Beautiful and Exotic Stranger from a Faraway Land, so it was practically required. She grinned. "I'm from out of town, so you should show me the way!"

[Anonymous]

At least she seemed happier now. Though he needed to think up some way to get her off this mage kick. He really didn't want to get in trouble with someone that could hurl fire at them.

When Sethunya mentioned not knowing the way, Keoni gave a small smile. He tried to avoid smiling widely as the scar across his cheek did weird things to his smile, "Sure. No problem." He could take her a round about way, buy more time to figure out a better plan to distract her.

Heading off, Keoni glanced over at the girl again. She really was odd, "So...when you are saving people and stuff, what do you do for fun?"

[Anonymous]

Sethunya slowed down a little and fell into a relaxed skip a step behind Keoni. He seemed very happy to lead, why, he was even smiling so nicely! And she was more than happy to let him. Hopefully it meant they would get there without being sidetracked too much. Even when she knew where she was going, she never seemed to arrive.

His question took her a little by surprise. What did she do for fun that wasn't this? It seemed like he thought this was her job or something. Oh, if only it was! "Well, this is fun! I'm always looking for adventures, it's wonderful how many mysteries you can find if you just know where to look! And, well, I read a lot," - she hesitated slightly, trying to find a way to make it sound less mundane -  "but that's just research so that I know what I'm looking for!"

[Anonymous]

"You can read? It seems like a waste of time to me. There ain't many pictures or anything and it's all just...scribbles on parchment." Keoni wrinkled his nose at the very idea of bothering with books. He had never learned to read and was never going too.

"How come ya want to find adventure so bad?" Seemed strange to want to stick your nose into danger. The scrawny thief was more than happy to run far and fast in the opposite direction of danger.