On the Run!

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"Mmhm, the people of my district hold it once a month to sell anything particularly special or rare. Everyone from the slums goes to it, it's more of a monthly event now than an actual market." he explained as they walked, raising his voice a little as the noise around them grew louder. "The cheering is for the Midnight Dance - it's really rare that we actually have it at midnight, but it means that the market is half over... it doesn't actually end until sunrise, but most people leave before then." he told her, walking through one last alleyway to emerge once again on the main street, which looked a lot different now that they were in the midst of the slums. The lights were brighter here and vibrant market stalls were beginning to appear around them from the fringes of the market, vendors calling to them in the hope that they might buy something.

"All of the women of the district come together to perform the dance - it's not much, but it's entertainment at least huh?" he grinned to her.

Phoenix stopped only once in this trek into the centre of the market, having ignored most of the vendors as they walked. But a middle-aged man who had been sitting against one of the building had called out, "Oi! Red!" and Phoenix had stopped to glance at him, smiling as the recognition in his eyes told that this man, whoever he was, was friend. "Who's the bird?" the man shouted again, Phoenix smirking and throwing him a dull silver coin which he pulled out from seemingly nowhere.

"That's not for you to know, is it?" he chuckled and continued onwards, silently motioning for Rory to keep up with him.

[Angel ♥]

Phoenix quickly lost Rory's attention as they stepped into the market. She had never been to such a lively place with so much colour and noise and so many different people! She found herself dropping behind Phoenix a little, her hand still on her money pouch, her gaze swiftly flicking between the stalls, her eyes alive with wonder and intrigue. This was why she had left the castle, to see places like this! To be free to wander around a place like this for hours and just take in all the sights and scents and sounds. Even she, a Princess, had never seen items like some displayed on the stalls, delighting at the exotic collections that some of the vendors had gathered.

Her gaze moved back to Phoenix as he called to her, nodding just a little as she moved to catch up with him, not wanting to get lost in a market like this no matter how wonderful she thought it was. "This place is...huge! I've never seen anything like it before..." She murmured to him as she caught up, not seeming to notice all the odd looks she was getting. Yes, Aurora was standing out already, she just looked too clean to be from the slums, her clothing too well made and well kept.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"Yeah, remember that whole blending in thing we were talking about? You're doing really well." Phoenix grinned to her as he paused in the centre of the market which was filled to the brim with noise and people. At least here no matter what she said or did would be ignored, at least, until she did something drastically out of character for a slum dweller. He tried to hide his amusement at her interest and curiosity; she really had never experienced most things, had she? "Here." he smiled and walked forwards to purchase a small, simple wooden rose from a vendor, turning to hand it to her with a grin. "That's for trusting me to catch you." he winked. He'd even bought it honestly, what was getting into him? He'd better slow down before he found himself doing stupid things to impress her.

He led her back through the market towards it's very core, where a pleasant, simple tune floated through the air towards them. The dancers (Layla included, he observed) were now positioned in a small circle, the simple melody swiftly becoming more jubilant as they began to dance. Although it didn't take much talent or effort to learn the dance, that they could all do it perfectly in unison was something special, even Phoenix had to admit to that.

[Angel ♥]

"Blending in...um...oh yeah." She smiled at him rather shyly, trying to make her amazement less obvious, tugging her hood a little further up to cast more of a shadow over her face, as if that would make her stand out less. At least most people just seemed to give her a curious look before carrying on with their own business. At least that seemed to be one good thing about the slums, no-one was paying too much attention to her. If she had taken Phoenix to the palace everyone would be whispering and staring as he walked past, at least the slum dwellers seemed to be a little more poliet.

She blinked at him as he offered her the rose, suddenly feeling rather flustered as pink dusted over her cheeks. "Oh...thank you Phoenix...it's pretty." She murmured, seeming to stumble over her words just a little as she reached out and took the rose. She may be a Princess but she wasn't really used to that type of male attention. She was more used to fake and exagerated compliments rather than Phoenix's rougish charm.

She twirled the rose between her fingers as she followed him, a smile touching to her features as she spotted the dancers, seeming rather impressed by their timing. The simple music and dancing was charming really, especially in comparison to those overly complicated dances that Aurora had to learn as a child.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"Don't be silly. Compared to you it's mediocre." he grinned at her as the dancers continued, nodding at Layla as she gracefully slid past. The girl threw him a funny look as she spotted Rory beside him, the thief throwing her a subtle gesture which obviously meant 'we'll talk later', considering that she rolled her eyes and continued dancing, a little smirk on her face. "At least she didn't stop and slap me this time." he chuckled to himself, smiling at Rory as he turned away again, intending now to find Kade - that amulet was becoming a pain in the neck for him to carry around. "Do you mind tagging along with me for a few minutes? It won't take long, I just need to find a friend. You can ask about your friend too, if you like. Kade's been around, he knows things. Or at least, he likes to think that he does." he winked at her and moved through the sea of people all too easily. "Just... don't let him see your face. I will not be fighting him for you tonight."

The man, Kade seemed to be lingering at the back of the market, surrounded by people who could only be thieves. He was a large man, but seemed jovial and kind-hearted, despite the fact that he was obviously an outlaw as well. His eyes lit up when he spotted Phoenix, grinning broadly. "Red! I was thinking you'd gotten lost or killed round by the palace! Turns out you were only finding something pretty to spend the evening with." he winked at Rory, Phoenix actually looking quite irked, laughing weakly.

[Angel ♥]

He was making her blush like a fool again, Rory hoping that he wouldn't be able to see her reddened cheeks. She was too tongue tied to actually respond to him, merely smiling to him sweetly. Oh, he must really think that she was a simple fool, not even able to take a compliment without turning into a flustered wreck! The poor little Princess had never been trained in the art of flirting, but it seemed that being around Phoenix was going to give her a crash course in the subject.

"Hmmm, why would she slap you?" She asked, seeming bemused once again as she looked up at Phoenix. If he though that she would slap him for being with her then did that mean that they were together? Ohh, that was an arkward thought, she didn't want to cause an arguement between them. Phoenix was only helping her...

"I don't mind tagging along, I like looking around this place." She nodded to him, trailing through the market after him to find this Kade person. She found herself blushing once again at Kade's comment, rubbing at the back of her head as she cleared her throat quietly, shuffling her feet a little. What was it with these people and embarassing her?

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"She'd slap me because she's the one who we're going to be staying with tonight, and I didn't tell her I was bringing company." he laughed, "Don't think anything like that, she runs an inn Rory." he shook his head at her, before turning his attention back to Kade. "You're right. She's something pretty I'M going to be spending the night with, do don't go getting ideas." he told the older thief firmly, who only gave a booming laugh and clapped him around the shoulders.

"I'm not out to steal your woman, Red! Not tonight, anyway, she looks more nervous than a bird caught by a cat." he grinned, "I'm only out to steal what you've stolen. Or didn't you manage to get it for me?" he gave a mock sigh, "My God, Phoenix Gracia. And I thought you were a master thief, the best Cressa has to offer, the quietest, the stealthiest--"

"Shut up, here's your damn amulet." he rolled his eyes and passed the bundle over from inside his waist-coat; ah, that was better. He felt lighter now, more at ease. "And if you don't mind, and you're finished harassing my friend," he stressed the word, "We'll be off. The market's almost over, y'know."

[Angel ♥]

"Ahhh, well...you never said that, did you?" She pouted to him a little, glancing back over to where the women were dancing. That Layla girl was pretty, she wouldn't be surprised if they were something more than friends, even though he had denied it. Phoenix seemed to be the type of person that women fell for, though he didn't seem to be the type for comitment or anything like that. He was just your typical womaizer, as Aurora was finding out, and was was growing increasingly worried about what he thought they would be doing together tonight. All she planned on was sleeping, thank you very much.

She clasped her hands together behind her after checking that her money pouch was still there, glancing up to Kade and Phoenix to watch the parcel change hands before glancing away again. Ahhh, she should have guessed that Phoenix was a thief, which made her feel just a little uneasy around him. Then again, he couldn't be a terrible person could he? She couldn't forget that he had returned her money to her tonight, and he was helping her.

Rory seemed to relax as Phoenix stressed that they were 'friends', some of her worry about whatever he was planning evaporating. Tsk, she should be ashamed of herself for not trusting him when all he had done was help her.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

Kade was laughing even as Phoenix led them away, the thief sighing and allowing a soft smirk to himself. People thought HE was bad, Kade was like the father he'd never wanted. He chuckled lightly, shaking his head and wandering back into the midst of the market. "There anything you want to see?" he asked Rory, now even more aware that this was her first time around a market, which explained her curiosity and why she tended to stand out more than usual, "Anything you want to buy?" he was watching the dancers too, painfully aware that as soon as the dance ended he and Layla would have their little 'talk' which would probably involve a lot of slapping and her telling him that she let him stay at the inn for free because they were friends, NOT so he could bring any woman he liked to stay. That was going to be a fun conversation.

But then, Phoenix could get out of most things pretty easily, couldn't he? And he was a famous liar, he could spin a story about Aurora without a second's doubt. She already looked like a noble at the very least, it would be simply to give her a reason to be in the slums without involving that fated word 'princess'. The music stopped a little while later and he turned to smile at Rory, mostly because he'd prefer to prolong this little meeting with Layla for as long as humanly possible.

[Angel ♥]

"Hmmm, I want to see everything...but I don't think we have time for that, do we?" She asked with a small smile, taking to twirling the rose between her fingers once again as she thought, letting her gaze wander about again. "You think that I should maybe buy a new cloak?" She glanced down at herself and her silk cloak before looking back up at him. "This one really does make me stand out too much..." Yes, she was going to give this whole 'blending in' idea a try. She could hide the rest of her attire under a cloak, so having an average cloak would help her to fit in. Plus she would have time to let her hair down tonight too, which would help.

"But...the music is stopping? Don't you want to go meet your friend?" She looked up at him, tilting her head a little, sensing his reluctance to meet up with Layla any time soon. "And you said that the market was almost over..."

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"You don't need to buy one, I'm sure there's one you can borrow at the inn." he told her - cloaks weren't exactly rare, there was always one lying around somewhere. Phoenix didn't really care for them personally, they were too hard to move about in... and cloaks tended to get caught on things, something not very useful when you made a living out of getting out of places quickly. "Of course I want to meet her... it's just, when she's in a bad mood she's sort of like this evil she-beast, and she tends to growl and shout rather than speak and... and... she's behind me isn't she?" Phoenix actually looked as though he was expecting this, Layla's pretty face appearing over his shoulder.

"Evil... she-beast?" she asked in a soft voice, "Why, Phoenix, I never knew you felt so fondly about me. Come with me, I want to growl and shout at you." he grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and dragged him away despite his protests. And then her voice could be heard throughout the market; many obscenities were used and the hard slap that echoed through the air was no doubtedly from her hand connecting with Phoenix's cheek. People paused to stare, curious for a moment before they realised it was Phoenix, and continued as though it was nothing... it seemed being beaten around by Layla was a regular occurence.

"Well, s'rare that somethin' so pretty turns up in these parts." a gruff voice came from next to her, the man that loomed above her just as large as Kade, but without all of the happy-go-lucky charm. No, this man was just full of seediness and all the things that nobles seemed to think defined the slums... and he was leering at her. "How 'bout coming with me tonight?"

[Angel ♥]

"She can't be that bad...and...yeah...she's kind of stood right behind you..." She nodded to him slowly, looking pretty worried about Phoenix as she watched Layla drag him across the market, wincing a little as she started yelling. Oh...maybe his description of her had been justified; the girl seemed...fiery to stay the least. Poor Phoenix, maybe she should shuffle over there and try to save him, though she was worried that Layla's anger would then be turned on her and Rory wasn't used to someone shouting at her. Layla would probably reduce someone like Rory to tears with a few well placed insults.

The Princess sort of...flinched as that voice came from next to her, her eyes widening as she realised that while Phoenix was being yelled at she was all alone and had no-one to protect her. Oh no! She hardly dared to look at the man stood beside her, and when she did her gaze was filled with distaste; she actually seemed insulted that he was talking to her, nevermind what he was insinuating. "Excuse me?" She blinked, sounding outraged. "I shall be doing no such thing. I think that you should leave now." She huffed, unaware that she sounded all too noble then, though she was aware that she was swamped by this mans shadow and was ready to run off if he got any closer to her.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"You think I should leave? Well, someone's got a sharp tongue, haven't they?" the man was still looming over her, not looking as though he was going anywhere. Though he did grab her arm roughly, smiling in a way that clearly meant that something bad was about to happen. "I got news for you, love. I ain't goin' anywhere without you." he laughed, not seeming to have realised by now that Layla's obcenities had stopped, and they were now at least talking normally. "Looks like yer Prince Charmin' has found somethin' else to occupy his time with anyway. He won't miss you." he told her, moving to walk away and drag her with him, his awful laughter ringing around the once again bustling market.

"Hey, excuse me?" the large man turned around, confused, only for Phoenix's fist to shoot out of nowhere and thump into his face; admittedly, the thief was on his toes to even reach that far, and he wasn't that strong... but that was a direct hit, and blood spurted from the other's broken nose. "Yeah. Don't touch her again, okay?" he smiled lightly, the man roaring like some kind of animal and lunging for Phoenix, who swiftly ducked and ushered Rory over to where Layla was standing. "Won't be long." he told her, "Stay here a minute." he turned back to face the monster of a man, quite a crowd having gathered around by now.

As a rule Phoenix tended to avoid fights but he was known to have had a brawl or two - while he wasn't strong he certainly was fast, and that made the difference especially when it came to this large, stupid opponent.

[Angel ♥]

He grabbed her arm and Aurora screamed, a typical reaction really, rather fitting of the situation. She did, however, look terrified now though, unable to break free of the man no matter how much she struggled, digging her heels in to the ground only meaning that he was dragging her along. Rory was only dainty though, and she had even broken her rose hitting him with it, but the monster of a man just...hadn't seemed to have felt it. "Let me go, let me go, let me go!" She demanded, though her voice lacked any authority at all. Where was Phoenix when she need him?!?!?

She scrambled away from the man as his grip on her loosened, almost tripping up over her own feet as she dashed over to hide behind Phoenix. She was shaking by now, rubbing at her arm as she took deep breaths, trying to stop herself from crying. Aww, she was all shook up now, never having imagined that someone would just come up and grab her like that in the middle of a market! Maybe this place wasn't so wonderful at all. She just wanted to go where ever they were going for the night so that she could hide away from everything.

She nodded to him a little as he left her with Layla, not even looking back to see what Phoenix was doing to that man. On this one occasion she had decided that violence most definatly was needed.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

Yes, the lumbering fool did seem to have struck a nerve by going for Rory, and there was no laughter in the thief's eyes as he glared across at his opponent, the crowd around them seeming to have made the perfect arena to fight in. Though he seemed to have recovered quite quickly from getting his nose broken, rushing at Phoenix and looking positively murderous. Of course, the thief was expecting this, ducking out of the way very quickly and managing to kick the larger man to the floor, much to the amusement of the crowd. This continued for a while, Layla smiling at her a little. "Hey, it's okay you know? That guy's a creep, you just gotta take it as it comes. Besides, he won't bother you again, it's rare I get to see Red lose his temper." she laughed softly, "And sorry about earlier, but that she-beast comment deserved a slap." she folded her arms.

Phoenix did seem to have the upper hand right now, dodging around the other man's blows and staying just out of his reach at all times, making his opponent increasingly frustrated. But of course he got caught eventually, the thief slammed heavily into a wall with the giant's hand around his throat. Though he didn't even seem worried, and the reason became clear when his opponent suddenly released him and growled a curse, before barging off through the crowd, which cheered at the remaining thief. Phoenix gave a light grin as he quickly slid the dagger back into its hidden sheath with great subtelty; he wasn't one to be intimidated, and he'd play dirty when he had to. There was no doubt about that.

"You alright?" he asked her as the crowd dispersed, rubbing the back of his head; that was going to bruise. Ow.