Beyond the Alluring Sky

One - Full Axis

"Oi! Stop, you brat! Someone, stop that thief!"

Kei laughed as he tore through the streets, his thin, black boots kicking up the loose desert sand in his wake. His heart pounded in his ears. Kei urged onward with a burst of adrenaline, his body pushing itself to the limits. He darted through the throngs of endless people, ignoring the cries of alarm and irritation as he bumped into them. The voices of merchants, customers, children, camels, mules, and stray dogs all melded together – everything creating deafening noise in his ears.

Kei turned and took refuge inside a shadowed alleyway. He stopped, crouching low into a squat. As he caught his breath, he ran a hand through his layered black hair; a pair of longer bangs fell back into place, framing his face. With his free hand, he dug inside his knapsack, his heart still thumping against his chest. His hand touched cloth and he pulled it out, wrapping the black cloak around his shoulders. Kei put the two loaves of bread into his knapsack and took a deep, calming breath. A gentle, warm breeze brushed his cheek, sliding through his hair and lightly lifting it from off his neck. He stood up and withdrew from the alleyway, easily blending with the crowd. Two frantic guards rushed through the cobblestone street.

Kei's mouth tugged upward. "Now... just try and find me," he whispered under his breath, confidence filling his smirk.

He nonchalantly mingled with the crowd, observing the market stalls as if he were a potential customer. This main road was one of the widest roads in the city of Allegetra; therefore, most lower class merchants and traders had set up stalls and shops along its edges. As Kei pretended to be interested in some glassware at one stall, he kept a careful eye on the flurry of activity he had caused moments ago.

Smells of all types either assaulted or tantalized the nose; pungent, savory, ambrosial, spicy, musty – the unique combinations overpowered the air. Ragged, dirty children raced by, often underfoot, with gleeful cries in their voices – barking dogs joining them at times. Clusters of women rambled on about the latest gossip, while others walked by with large baskets on their heads. Boisterous men laughed and worked side by side. Mules and camels brayed as their owners pulled them along. Ears were bombarded with the shouts of merchants and shop owners, who did everything in their attempts to entice passersby to stop, look, and buy at their stalls.

The shops sold a variety of things from common vegetables to foreign fruits, cheap trinkets to beautiful jewels, wooden bowls to pristine porcelain, everyday livestock to exotic beasts – anything wanted or needed could be had and most could be afforded to the lower and middle class. However, if one wanted something of superior quality and worth, one had to go higher within the city to the upper class marketplace.

Kei lifted a hand, shaking his head at the old woman who worked at the glassware stall. She picked up a bowl, pointing to it with dark wrinkled hands, and nodded excitedly. Undeterred by his declining hand, she gestured to him, as if this item were the rarest thing to behold – and, of course, as if it were his duty to buy it. Kei let a soft smile flow through his features, blinking twice over deep, dark blue eyes.

The old woman went crimson.

Kei turned away. Old women were too easy to dissuade. He glanced around, looking for the two guards who were searching for him. Upon finding them, Kei frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"What d'ya mean, I stoles this? Ge'off me, ya fool!" shouted a man, wrenching his arm out of a guard's grasp. "I ain't no thief! I bought this here bread with me own, hard earned runes."

People stopped briefly, glaring at the two guards, before they went about their way. The guard grumbled some half-hearted apology and turned away with his companion. Barely a few seconds went by before one of the guards grabbed a woman by the arm, stopping her in the middle of her clique of friends.