For a Year (A Greatest Thief Novella)

Baisan - Namesake

Baisan was out of practice.

At one point he had been really good at picking pockets. But as their little family had grown, and he had taken on more of a leadership role, he had stopped being the one actually pickpocketing. He relied on Finn, then the younger boys. Or Ninavi's dramatic begging performances.

After getting caught for the second time that morning he retreated to the wall near Castin, nursing a split lip. He poked it gently and did his best to avoid meeting Castin's amused look. "What? I haven't been hit in ages," he grumbled. "Where were you? Isn't your whole job protecting us?"

Castin shrugged, his shoulders shaking as he laughed. "I thought you had it under control."

"No, you didn't." Baisan left his lip alone to look at his wrist. It would bruise, but that wasn't anything to worry about. "I'm not good at this anymore."

"You'll get the hang of it."

Castin wasn't particularly good at picking pockets either. He never had been, that was how they had met. They had been inseparable since that moment, and Castin had never stood by and watched Baisan get hurt before. Baisan narrowed his eyes at his friend. "What's going on? You're not paying attention."

Castin knew better than to lie. "It's just that Stria and I need to talk to you later. Alone."

"About?"

He glanced up, a gesture every Native Zian knew meant he was sending a prayer to any one of the numerous goddesses and gods they believed in. "I can't tell you. Not without Stria."

Baisan knew this was coming. They were going to tell him that they wanted to get married. Or maybe they were going to ask him if they could. Either way, Baisan was going to support it. Even though marrying Stria would take Castin that much further away from him.

He didn't say any of that, just sighed. "Well, Ninavi and Leker probably had better luck. Let's go find them."

Ninavi and Leker had managed to collect more money than Baisan had. After meeting with them, Baisan and Castin took their money to see what they could buy. They would steal food if they got desperate enough, but Finn liked paying. At first Baisan had argued, but as Finn always did, he managed to convince Baisan to change his mind. So they paid for what they could.

The money bought them a small bag of grain that they could boil with water, as well as a few onions. When they brought food home, Castin cut the onions into thin slices and Baisan sent Orrun and Leker to get water from the closest fountain. That night, they ate a plain but filling stew. After eating, Orrun, Leker and Ninavi started to play with a deck of cards they had recently stolen. They were trying to learn the games Finn could play.

When Castin caught his eye, Baisan tried to hide how little he was looking forward to this conversation and he got to his feet. He followed Castin and Stria outside, where they all sat on the step just like they had almost a month earlier. The stars were just as bright as they had been that night.

"So?" Baisan prompted. He was prepared to pretend to be happy for them. It wasn't really fair, he knew that. He loved Castin and Stria and he wanted them to be happy. But things had changed so much recently, and he wasn't prepared for another change. Not so soon after losing Finn. He couldn't lose Castin.

It was Stria who answered. "I'm pregnant."

All of Baisan's carefully prepared words and reactions disappeared. He jumped to his feet and whirled around to face them. "What?"

Castin was eyeing him warily, but Stria just looked at him steadily. Almost like he was a child throwing a tantrum. She slipped her hand into Castin's, but didn't look away. "I'm pregnant," she repeated.