The Dreaming Land

Chapter 12: Finesse and Style

Misha moved through the crowded street with easy, slipping her hands in and out of the pockets of passersby. Orius had given her a few tips and tricks, and she wanted to see if she could put them to good use. The good people of Belle Fonte were too busy enjoying their carefree lives to notice the little girl in the black dress dancing between them, fingers around their coin pouches.

With Orius out of commission for a few days, she felt as though she needed to pull her weight for the group. Normally he did the penny pinching, but she was just as good at it. There were a lot of things she was good at, she felt, but combat wasn't one of them. The others had such a finesse in the heat of battle, and she felt as though she were a liability. Sure, Orius had gifted her a dagger of her own, but she didn't know how to use it. Nor was she sure she even wanted to.

She had the beginnings of a talented thief, but as Orius warned her, it wasn't the life she wanted. Pickpocketing was fun, until she got caught. It would only get worse the older she got, too. The worst that would happen is she'd get tossed out of a store or two, or get a talking to from a city guard. In a year or two, she'd be facing time in a dungeon for her crimes.

Stepping off the street, she looked around at the bustling mass. She didn't want to just blend in, she wanted to be one of them. Eventually she might want a family, a home, and a decent job. A thieve's life wasn't the life for her, not anymore. Checking how much she'd managed to grab, she decided it would be enough, and continued on.

-

Orius was the only one at their room in the inn by the time Misha returned. Quintir and Imara had stepped out to have some lunch and survey the town for any guards from Gigas City. He'd spent most of the day, and yesterday in bed to rest up. His leg was feeling a lot better, but Quintir had warned him about pushing himself too hard, lest he tear the stitches and reopen the wound.

"How'd you do?" Orius asked, sitting up.

"Pretty good, I think." She said, pouring the coins over the desk.

"Wow, you got a great haul." Orius said, sizing up the pile of coins.

"Think so?" She smiled, "The people here carry so much coin, it's crazy."

"Are those all gold?" Orius gaped.

"Yeah." She laughed.

"Misha, you just tripled how much money we have." He said.

Looking at the pile she realized he was right. She'd just spent the afternoon absentmindedly snatching coins without thinking about how much she'd picked up. Orius knew if he tried to get away with a haul this big, he'd be caught in an instant. Misha was still young, and easy to overlook, so it made sense. Either way, they had a lot more money to work with.

"I know exactly how we're going to spend that money." Orius said with a smirk.

"How?" Misha asked, sitting down on the end of the bed.

"Well for starters, we're not walking to Trasa's Pass." Orius said, "And I don't know about you, but if I'm going to be buying any clothes, it's going to be something nice."

"I like this plan." She smiled.

-

Getting around town with his leg all bandaged up wasn't easy, but Orius managed. People were more mindful of someone who was injured, which was an odd feeling for him to be so acknowledged. He worked quite hard at trying to go unnoticed. Having so many eyes on him was a bit unsettling. Eventually, however, they reached the store Orius had in mind.

It was a tailor for high quality outdoors wear. Orius had made due with whatever he could afford when a piece of clothing needed to be replaced. This time, he was going to treat himself to something nicer than the averaged. The sign above the door read Hasen & Co., carved into a cedar plank and painted white and gold. In the front window there were some high quality hunting coats, hanging off mannequins.