XiaoAether (Aladin)

Meeting by Fate?

Xiao was, as usual, looking around at the many shops for an opportunity to open. He was slightly startled when a woman came and asked him his monkey's name. He looked over, then to the monkey in question. " Tao. " He grinned, and then looked back at the woman. He was proud of such a partner. " That's a lovely monkey.. " The lady smiled, and allowed Tao to jump over to her shoulders. Xiao eyed the lady very calmly for something valuable. Tao seemed to catch on, and they both locked onto one thing. " That's a lovely necklace, " Xiao gestured, crossing his arms. The lady asked where Tao came from, and he wasn't about to reply in the streets. He noticed that the lady who had come with the other one had begun reaching her hand for his bag. She pocketed a cup he'd stolen, but hadn't succeeded. Xiao was quicker than that. He took it back, and smiled again. " I believe this is mine? " Smile still there, he waved them off, cup in hand. But.. might have backfired when the lady had started telling one of the guys by the shops something. They both looked at him, before the man started stomping his way. He caught on pretty quickly, and turned on his heel to be on his way. He had to admit, he was pretty good at this sort of thing. The man wasn't in sight yet, but he was sure he was still coming. He went under some banners, as Tao lept onto a nearby crate onto a roof. They walked almost side by side, until under a plank where Tao hopped back onto Xiao's arm and crawled onto his shoulder. He climbed over some kind of skinny crate, and leapt over a wall. He landed on a table, and was now on the other side. He was glad now more than ever no one ever batted an eye at these sorts of things. " How'd we do Tao? " He looked at the monkey sitting on his shoulder as she handed him the lady's necklace. " Good monkey. " Xiao patted her head, before pocketing the necklace and continuing at a walking pace.

Xiao walked into the rather crowded selling spot. He usually sold the stuff he stole there, but it seems the lady had been catching onto him. " Whatever you stole today Xiao, I want none of it. " Xiao was kind of fazed by this, but really he should have seen it from a mile away. " Woah, woah woah. I didn't steal anything, " He evidently was not a very good liar. A majority of the people standing there looked at him, and he looked at the table somewhat guiltily. " It's a.. Family heirloom. " Xiao scratched the back of his head. Practically pleading with the woman. " Xiao, I'll give you one bag of dates, nothing more. " He frowned. He really wanted to bargain it for at least 3- but she threw the one at him and had threateningly told him to get out. He looked at the woman defeatingly, and walked out of the shop. As he walked the dusty street, He opened the bag and shared a portion of the dates with Tao. He looked over to see a few starving children. It gave him a glimpse into his own childhood, and although Tao had practically signaled him not to, he gave them the whole bag. All he wished for when he was a kid was for somebody to show him kindness- but no one did. That's why he was grubbing and stealing off the streets.

Aether gazed at some kind of hard fruit. Then at the crowd. The crowd of his people. He was, ofcourse, undercover. Hidden in a bunch of drapes. He put the fruit down when he spotted a few starving children. He walked over to them with much haste, and very sweetly crouched down and said " Hello! " He smiled affectionately at them, and caressed the larger one's cheek. " Are you hungry..? " Aether noticed how diminished the children looked, and unknowingly offered them 2 slices of bread from the nearby stand. He had a wide smile on his face as they ran away happily. But his happiness was gone when a man from behind him began yelling. " Hey.. hey! You stole from my stand! " He turned around and had.. No clue what he was talking about. Xiao turned, his attention peaked. Aether pleaded. " No, no.. I didn't steal. Sir, I didn't have any money. " The man was hearing none of it. Not a word. He looked down at Aether's wrist, and snatched it rather aggressively. He gasped. " Let go of me! " That's when Xiao slid in, and grabbed his wrist. " Woah.. take it easy. " He tried to reason, but the shopkeeper was clearly angered. " No, No! This one, he stole my bread! " Aether looked slightly offended, but began his statement. " Those children were hungry, I- " He was very rudely interrupted by Xiao, who had asked the man to give them a minute. But, once again, the man wasn't going to agree on it anytime soon. " How about you, keep your street rat nose out of it! " Xiao completely ignored the man and turned around. He gently held Aether's wrist. " Look, do you have any money? " He whispered. " No, I- " Xiao interrupted. Again. What was up with this guy? " Then trust me. " They both fell silent for a moment as if something magical happened. Xiao hinted at a smile, and then turned. Aether hadn't even realized that Xiao had slid his bracelet off of his wrist. Before he knew it, the teal haired had handed it to the shopkeeper. The man took it very pleased, and placed it in his pocket. Xiao took Aether's hand, and led him away. " Hey, I'm not leaving without that bracelet- " He fought. He really did. " You mean this bracelet? " Xiao held up the very same one taken from his wrist, and Aether was left speechless. But how unlucky, that the shopkeeper had noticed. He called out Xiao's name, and they both stopped. Aether innocently asked, " Are we in trouble? " He was scared now. Castle confines had never really prepared him for this. " Only if you get caught. " Xiao smirked, before pointing in the direction. " Down that alley. Tao knows the way, " Aether was slightly caught off guard by a monkey traveling to his shoulders, but he hastily ran the way he was told. Xiao had a huge grin on his face as he held up the bracelet. " Looking for this? " He turned around, and began his great escape. A bunch of guard began his trail. He didn't expect that many. That was totally overkill. He slid himself to an entrance of a skinny alley, and truly ran with his heart. There were a lot of different obstacles. He overcame them in a very creative yet graceful way. Aether had finally ran into him, and without a thought tried following him in a less.. Graceful matter. But, was lost again soon after.  Thank god for Tao. Xiao unexpectedly ended up in a room full of women. At Least he had some fans..? He stood up in haste, and awkwardly left through the window. As he made quite the entrance, Aether watched in awe. But.. the landing was much less awe worthy. " There are stairs, you know? " Aether held back a laugh, for the sake of being literally chased. " Where's the fun in that? " Xiao grinned as they walked in haste. Aether was pretty trusting this whole time. Other than.. Now. This man, who apparently went by Xiao, was telling him to jump to another roof with a pole. On their 3,2,1 countdown, Aether hesitated. He didn't jump. It was terrifying. Xiao climbed his way to the higher part of the other building, and sat. As Aether panicked, he really just gave it his all. The guards had reached the roof, and he just jumped. He landed right on Xiao, but both were very quick to move to their own spot. This was no time for sitting. They both got up and started running again. Xiao grabbed a rug as Tao led Aether the other way. He dropped the rug and jumped on a rope, as if faking he fell. Which, they all believed. As they went away, Aether emerged from behind a crate. He really thought Xiao had fallen, and so when he climbed and appeared on the side of the roof, it scared the living daylights out of him. Xiao panted. " Come on, I know a place where we'll be safe. "