How Not to Steal (Open!!)

[Anonymous]

A small sigh escaped her lips as she wandered through the forest, hunched over a little. It seemed like it had been days since she had managed to get herself lost while roaming around looking for something to snatch. In reality though it had only been a couple of hours. Boredom could make one believe it had been longer though. But anyway...it had been a few hours since she left Ketra in hopes of finding wandering travels to steal from and a few hours since she had managed to get herself lost. "I guess wandering off like this wasn't a very smart idea.." she mumbled to herself since there wasn't anyone else around to talk to. Plus it'd just be strange if she started to talk to the animals.

It was when she heard the snap of a twig or something nearby that she stood up straight and started to look around, on full alert. "Hm..?" She arched a brow when a small bush near her started to rustle a little. "Ehhhh...?" Katina quietly tiptoed over to the bush and stared at it for a moment. Whatever was there hadn't moved. She could smell it. It wasn't a person...didn't smell like a person. It had to be an animal...or so she hoped anyway. Her different colored eyes studied the bush for a moment, waiting for whatever was to come out of hiding. "Pfft...not coming out are you..? Then I'll make you come out." she boasted.

Quickly she moved the small bush twig like branches out of the way so she could peer into it. She blinked and stared dumbfounded at what was there. It looked like a rabbit. It was white like a rabbit...had ears like a rabbit. So it had to be a rabbit. "OH MY GOD! RABBIT!!" she squealed happily. The poor little creature didn't like the noise and immediately took off in the opposite direction. "Oh hey! Wait! Rabbit! Come back!" It was her dog like instincts kicking in, telling her to chase the poor little animal that she loved to cuddle so much.

Without really thinking about it she took off after the little white blur that was bouncing around frantically trying to get away from her. "Nahhh I just want to hold youuuuu." she whined. The poor animal wasn't convinced or well..didn't understand her obviously. 'If only I could've been like a rabbit rather than a dog!!' The thought didn't sway her though, she was determined to catch that poor scared animal and hug it whether it liked it or not!

[Anonymous]

"How... Peaceful." It was not every day that the giant found himself alone, without the constant pestering of his menacing companion. While traveling the forest, Azalie had bolted; claiming to be bored she had flown off to find a town in which she could satisfy her 'urges'. She would be back by morning at most, after spending the night with some unlucky creature. Not that the golem minded the wait, he was all up for peace an quiet. It was a nice change.

Taking full advantage of the opportunity, Ophicus took to exploring the forest alone; careful to deal the least amount of damage that he could. Not far from where the two Arcana parted ways, the golem came across a crystalline lake; undisturbed by any kind of civilization. A truly wonderful sight. The emerald green water reflected the sun's rays onto the giant, causing his body to sparkle; much like the water itself did.

Quietly taking a seat by the water's edge, the Arcana found enjoyment in taking in the wonders that nature had to offer. If only Azalie would settle down and watch a bit, maybe her heart would soften as well. Alas, perhaps a delusional thought, but the golem could not help but hope for the best. Remaining as still as a statue, Ophicus simply rested; watching and listening.

A number of birds and small animals began crowding around the large creature, its magical aura drawing them close. Within his rough features a tiny smile could be noticed if watched closely. Much to the golem's dismay, his peace would not last for long as another voice seemed to be filling the air; growing louder with each passing moment.

[Anonymous]

okRandver used his staff to see where he was going, the forest floor was dangerously unevern and there wasn't enough heat to tell where things were. He looked up, his red eyes burning.

His sight was an unusual thing, he had lost his eyesight when in a fight with an older centaur boy and now all he had were two useless globes that looked like they were on fire. Instead, he used the heat from creatures' bodies to judge distances, which way they were facing and anything solid near them. In the city it was far easier but out here it was damned annoying. He was currently having trouble with several roots and had caused more than one small fire in anger. He was not in the mood for any nonsense.

'Who goes there? Come out or I will blast you out!'

He pointed towards something for medium hieght...possibly a dog. He aimed a few feet in front of its head and blasted a shot of fire at it.

'Come here. The next one won't be in front of you.'

[Anonymous]

For a brief moment she came to a stop after losing the little white creature. A frown adorned her lips as she glanced around, trying to figure out where the rabbit had gone. "Aww...I lost it..." She sighed a little before walking forward some. Her advancing seemed to scare the rabbit out of its hiding place and once again the chase was on.

It didn't last very long this time though because as she broke through some trees, she noticed something shiny. Well two different shiny things. One of course being water from a lake. She could easily tell that. But the other thing...she wasn't too sure. The rabbit gathered around the large sparkling thing with the other small animals but Katina wasn't really paying attention to that. Her different colored orbs were settle solely on the thing that was sparkling that all of the animals had gathered around.

"Shiny....." she murmured as if she were in a trance. Her once frown had curved up into a smile as she slowly stepped forward, inching towards what she could only think would be something that would get her lots of money. After all...most shiny things did have some kind of value to them. 'Jackpot!'

She jumped back though, snapping out of her trance like state, when something blasted just inches from her head. "AH!!" she squeaked, drawing her arms close to her chest as her heart started to pound rapidly. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she whimpered. Honestly she had no idea what had caused the blast but she figured if it was a person they had to be nearby, right? If not..she was just talking to herself again. "I just wanted the shiny! Don't hurt me."

[Anonymous]

Quiet, at last. Unfortunately for the golem, it would be short lived as the same girly voice as before filled the air. By the sound of it, she was chasing something; presumably a small animal of some sort. Annoying? Perhaps, but Ophicus had always enjoyed the presence of children; not to mention it was better than Azalie's constant slaughtering of innocent people. Hmmm... A way of turning that crazy woman into a child would be most convenient, so long as her memory was erased as well.

The giant's thought process came to an abrupt stop however, as the wind now carried a shrill cry to his ears. It was that same, high-pitched tone of before, but this time it was fearful rather than holding the innocence it did before.

He instinctively turned towards the sound, finding, much to his surprise, a young woman and not a child as he had first suspected. She was huddling herself looking frantically in another direction. Nearby, a much larger creature stood; the trees hid most of his body though, causing the golem to be unable to note the fact that he wasn't human.

A confrontation it appeared. Hopefully a misunderstanding that would be resolved quickly, as violence wasn't something Ophicus held in high regard. Nonetheless, he watched from his seated position; just in case his intervention was required.

[Anonymous]

'By the Gods, child! Stand up.'

Randver lowered his arm and went over to the girl and pulled her to her feet.
'What the hell are you doing sneaking around like that?'
She looked a little insane. Now that he was holding her, he noticed that her form was too large for a child, or at least a human child. He could feel the heat from her heart pounding in her chest. She might not be a child but she certainly acted like one. her every action was as erratic as her heart pulse.

He lifted his head, there was something else nearby perhaps. It did not seem alive, it did not have the reight heat for it. The thing had a dull warmth to it, just soft enough for him to be unable to determine its shape.
'Who goes there? I'm in no mood for hiding games.'

[Anonymous]

"Child..?" Well there was definately someone else there because they had just said something. "I'm not a child." she protested but was thankful that he didn't chose to hurt her for some odd reason and was helping her up instead. It was true that she did act like a child around things she liked. Especially shiny things, rabbits and foxes. This attitude was most likely because of her dog like ways..for the animals at least. Of course she'd get excited around shiny things because she was a thief.

"Sneaking around? Oh does that mean I scared you? I'm sorry. I wasn't sneaking around..I actually got lost...and then I started to chase a rabbit. It came here." she explained quickly, all in one breath. She slowly started to calm down now that she knew she was in no danger and she was glad her heart had stopped pounding against her chest. 'I'm going to die a young age because of a heart attack..' She shook the thought away though when she once again remembered the rabbit as the person holding her now started to talk to someone else.

"Ah mister...I think we're the only ones here. Other than all of those animals and the shiny thing I saw before you scared me." she stated, looking up at him. "May I go get the rabbit..and the shiny?" Now she had no idea why she was asking him if she could go retrieve the rabbit that had run away from her. It could possibly be because she didn't want to make too many sudden actions that would startle him and get blasted at again. She hadn't exactly seen what the shiny thing was either because she was scared out of her wits. Because of that she could only think of referring to it as 'the shiny'.

[Anonymous]

Other than watching the trade off between the other two characters, the golem felt no need to interrupt; thus remaining seated where he was. Noting that there would be no confrontation which required immediate action, he turned back towards the lake. With birds chirping upon the massive man's head and shoulders and animals freely prancing about, one with no knowledge of his existence would most likely confuse him for a statue. A huge, diamond statue at that; probably expensive enough to buy a whole kingdom with.

The silence was broken again, this time by the male figure the Arcana had previously seen through the trees. A threat to an unseen foe it seemed. Being out in the open, Ophicus figured that was not directed at him, thus paying little heed to the words. He instead turned his attention to some of the animals that had been frightened by the roaring voice. A soothing hand gently reaching out to them.

That man was certainly jumpy. Already he had wrongly attacked an innocent girl, yet he was ready to pick a fight with someone else. Foolish. Such actions reminded the golem of his feminine counterpart; the woman was never satisfied if there wasn't any kind of violence involved. Keeping to himself however, Ophicus ignored the pair as well as he could.

[Anonymous]

It was probably just a hot rock he had felt, it was very dim.

'Shiny?' he couldn't se so he had no idea what she was talking about. 'Lead the way and I will follow.'

He poked his staff out in front of him and let it sway to and fro. It would make sure any loose branches would not trip him. With the girl leading the way, he would be able to watch wheree she hopped over rocks as well.

[Anonymous]

Her different colored orbs lit up happily when he told her to lead the way. This was her chance to actually be able to get something that could get her a lot of money. Hopefully. I mean what she had saw was just sitting out in the open. There was no way she would be able to mess up something like this? Plus..it was out in the open...it couldn't have belonged to anyone. Right?

She went a little bit ahead so that he could follow along and went towards where she had seen the shiny object and all of the animals.

As soon as she got to the area, her eyes lit up a bit more because the first thing she caught site of was the little animals there. Mostly her eyes connected with the little rabbits. Her instincts kicked in and she automatically went after one. Luckily she managed to get to it before it ran away. She held onto it gently even though it didn't seem content in her arms. "Awwww rabbiittttt~" she cooed, rubbing her cheek softly against its white fur.

She stopped for a moment when she realized then that she was right beside the shiny object. "Ah! Shiny! There you are!" she said happily.

[Anonymous]

Ophicus had gone back to his thoughtful state, thus had not noticed when the pair of creatures closed the gap between them and himself. Not until the obnoxiously cute, child-like voice projected through the air again. This time much closer than what he'd expected. In fact it was right beside him and many of the animals had fled from the ruckus she had caused. How disheartening. But wait, what had she just said?

"Shiny?" The golem whispered to himself as he turned to face the source of the voice. The girl in turn faced him, revealing what he had thought to be a bad joke. At least luck was on the giant's side today; for had Azalie been there to hear such a comment, she would not have let the Arcana live it down for quite some time.

The sparkle in her oddly colored eyes and the tone of the girl's voice portrayed her happiness, causing the golem to think twice before correcting her. Perhaps he could play along until his partner showed up.

"Hmm... Can I help you girl?" The monotony of his deep, grumbling voice did not portray much emotion, despite of trying to show a more humane face.

[Anonymous]

Randver frowned. The creature did not seem to be of any harm, though he was hard to sense. Randver was grateful that the sun was reflecting off him, otherwise he would have been as invisible as all the other damned rocks he had tripped on.

'Greetings. What manner of creature are you that does not have a heart?'

[Anonymous]

Katina blinked once...and then twice before her eyes went wide. Wait..what she had thought was just a rock or something was looking at her and on top of that it talked. "Ah! The shiny talks!!" she squeaked. She released the squirming rabbit in her state of shock and didn't chase after it when it quickly ran away like all of the other animals. She sat up straight then, putting her hands in her lap as she studied what she had once thought was a very shiny rock or something.

She sat there in completely silence as she studied what she had planned on running off with. "You talk!" she stated again before smiling happily. "Either I've gone crazy or I'm going to be rich." she added on happily, closing her eyes.

That was when what he said clicked in. "Help me? Hmm...yea...let me steal you?" she said happily as if it were a normal thing to say every day. When the person she had run into before came over as well though, she glanced at him before glancing back at her shiny friend. "No heart..?"

[Anonymous]

A hint of annoyance crossed the golem's sharp features as the girl got through her initial shock. Of course I can speak. The words ran through the giant's mind, but he was not one to use sarcasm so willingly; besides it wasn't as if she was being troublesome in anyway. At least not yet. The lass' next comment however came as a bit of a surprise to the magical being.

"Let you steal me?" He whispered, almost to himself. "Isn't that like kidnapping?" The golem continued. This girl was certainly odd. Too innocent perhaps, if that was the word, for her own good. Pausing for a minute Ophicus studied the stranger, not a child as he had first suspected, but a young woman. People could be so interesting sometimes.

"I..." Interrupted by another voice, the Arcana stopped almost as soon as he began his answer. So the other person was a centaur. A very straightforward one.

It was true that the golem had no physical heart, but being told something like that cold really be off putting to some; and Ophicus just happened to be one of those some. A nod was the giant's response to the greeting, the question, on the other hand, he figured was best avoided. He was an Arcana after all and the summoning of said beings into the physical plane was strictly forbidden; the man was not about to take a chance in case that one of these people were among the few who knew about the Arcana. Even though it was a secret closely guarded by alchemists.

"I am sorry child..." Turning his attention back to the girl, Ophicus began where he had previously stopped. "... but I'm waiting for someone."

[Anonymous]

'I asked you what you are. I cannot see you so either stand in the sun so I can sense you better or tell me what you are.'

Sometimes, being blind was frustrating.

[Anonymous]

"Kidnapping? Would it really be that?" Katina asked, frowning a bit. Well that wasn't fair on her behalf. She liked stealing yes but she didn't like kidnapping. It just wasn't something she did or was willing to do. It wasn't something she'd stoop down so low to do just to get money.

When the person she had met first spoke again, she blinked and looked over at him before looking back at the shiny rock person. She was slightly confused about why the other person could not see the shiny thing like she could without sunlight. Honestly he was big enough to see after all. Well for her anyway.

"Child..?" She couldn't help but giggle at that. It really wasn't the first time she was mistaken as such really. She acted far too much like one sometimes. "I'm not a child." she said, smiling happily. The smile faded a little though when he said he was waiting for someone. "Ohhh..okay.." So that meant he already belonged to someone anyway. The would probably get mad if she had tried to steal him. She puffed her cheeks out a little then in a pout. "I didn't know you were already claimed.."