Julie could see the abnormally busy market at the far end of the alleyway. The early morning sun was pelting down like it were high noon; the rays fell upon her with an oppressive heat that made it hard to breathe. She felt terrible for those who genuinely live down here. The red sun was an ever-watchful deity that scorched the barren soil across Venstar, making the world a neverending desert world. Julie pulled up her hood, hoping to get away from the light and hopefully slide into a crowd unnoticed. The hood blocked her dry eyes from the harsh sun. A group of young children ran past her as she moved; they kicked a soccer ball back and forth amongst themselves and shouted at one another in directions she didn't fully understand. She looked down at the river of children forming around her; like a single stone, she diverged their paths as simply an onlooker.
"Pase! Pase,'' One girl called out, running in front of the rest. She was calling for the ball. Julie followed a smirk forming a small dimple on her cheek as she watched the children play. The girl's brother or something like that dribbled the ball with passion keeping it away from all the defenders. He kicked it with all the forward momentum he could muster. It flew, overshooting the sibling he had meant to pass to, and glided neatly through a broken window as if aimed intentionally. It crashed into one of the buildings to their side—an ordinary building for the slums of Venstar's merchant capital where unlucky humans lived. The kid grabbed his torn shorts, pulling them down slightly into place, and grimaced. The radical play had brought the whole caravan to a standstill. An older mother stuck her head out a broken window; she shook her fist widely while shouting at them. However, her height only allowed the kids to see her first as she shouted.
"Los chicas es loco," She said. Julie chuckled under her breath, the ball being thrown back out the broken window, and the kids scrambled for possession, charging back the way they came away from the buildings. A breeze followed them, blowing in Julie's face as she trudged forwards. Her green cape fluttered as the kids ran away from the scene.
***
"Hello, my name is N.O., and I am the narrator of this story. Although, due to the unique nature of its' telling, your character has yet to meet me."
***
Julie had started that day like any other; She was on the hunt. She stalked the busy merchant center, one of many scattered all over Venstar. The sand from the back streets shook off her brown boots as they stepped onto the cobblestone road. She slowly shifted into the crowd of traders blending in with her slim figure. Swarms of crazy characters of all shapes and sizes walked beside her; Humans and Arka alike flowed around her indistinguishably by the sheer number of people. She blent into the crowd with ease, looking around at all the people setting up shop for a busy selling day. A herd of camels walked by her, the caravan meeting up with the other guild members. They stopped unloading their heavy pouches freeing the creatures' lumps. After a long day of travel, they lapped up water as their human owners hugged and greeted each other.
Julie was looking for a mark, preferably an Arka. They were tall mean-looking creatures, usually seven feet in height, making them seem to be skyscrapers of people compared to little ol' her. She knew they were usually a bigger paycheck involved when she stole from one of them over a dilapidated human. She looked up at an orange-skinned fellow now glistening from the morning light as he laid out his seafood for sale and another Arka looking at his wares; they only possessed two arms. Making them likely to be not of the aristocratic wealth that made up her usual targets, but there was still a defiant arrogance to the owner. It was evident in how he talked to the human buyers who were kind enough to browse his shouty wares. It was not something that should surprise her at this point but still an unbecoming note she'd noticed about their species so far. The other Araka was looking over the frozen octopus for sale. He looked over the sloppy sight, clearly thinking it couldn't indeed be the exotic human cuisine the seller was pegging it to be. Julie decided it was time to move on, but before she did, she crept ever closer to the buyer. She bumped into a nearby human. He was pushed suddenly into the Arka's back, causing a collision.
