Thanks for all the reviews for the prolouge! Keep em coming folks!
"Each player must except the cards life deals him or her:
but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game" -Voltaire
"Hey! Get back here you brat! Damn thief!"
"Yeah, not gonna happen." Cara grinned and adjusted the bag of stolen goods over her shoulder as she quickened her pace down the cobble stone streets past several shops and multiple, curious on lookers who lifted their heads in brief acknowledgement of the chase before they went back to their work.
"Officers!" she heard the butcher yell from behind her. "Help me arrest that delinquent!"
"Right away sir."
More footsteps joined the pursuit creating a nosy clatter of leather against stone behind the fleeing thief but she hardly felt any need to panic. Common officers weren't that fast anyway though they were, unfortunately, persistant.
"Keep up officers or you're never gonna catch me!" Cara cackled turning a corner sharply and knocking into a man with a tray of red apples, overturning it and sending the red fruits spinning through the air and causing the man to fall ungracefully to the ground. She caught one as it fell, hardly breaking her stride as she continued up the street with a brief "Thanks alot!" to the bewildered apple seller.
Cara continued to run down the streets until a sudden sharp pain in her chest cause her to stop at a cross road "Damnit" she pressed a hand to her chest till the pain subsided as quickly as it came. "Got to make sure I don't over do it." She broke back into a run.
Then she skidded to a stop at the sight of a dead end, blocked by the high brick wall of a building. She ran up to the buildings back door and tugged on the handle but found it locked. "Woopsy" she smiled weakly and turned to confront the approaching officers and the butcher.
"You've got no where to run now!" the officer at the lead raised his gun to point at her. "Of course, the infamous red devil. It's about time we finally caught you. You've been causing enough trouble in Central!"
Cara sighed theatricly and placed a hand on her forehead "Really, so many titles to come up with and the best you can pull out is in reference to my hair color?" she glanced at them and smirked "I had hoped it be a little more creative."
"Shutup!" the butcher's bulbus face was a shade of deep, angry red. "Hand back over my goods! You're cornered and have no where to run! I'm tired of you stealing of of me brat! Now drop the goods and-" he stopped at the evil grin that had spread over Cara's face.
"Oh, don't count me out quite yet" she let the bag drop behind her and held out her outstreched hands. She flicked her right, then left wrist, resulting into a shiny knife slipping into each. She smirked and looked up "Cause I'm far from finished!"
Before the officers had time to Cara shot forward like a bullet knocking the first officer off his feet, grabbing him by the back of the neck as he fell and slamming him onto the ground and knocking him out instantly.
"Hey!" the officer beside him raised his gun to fire but there was a loud clang as as Cara swung her knife upwards and knocked the gun from his hand then brought the hilt down on his head. He joined his comrad on the ground.
Moments later the other two cops were on the ground as well and Cara admired her handywork contently then she scooped her bag back from the ground and hefted it over her shoulder. She started to continue on her way but the butcher blocked her path.
"Hmph, forgot about you." she muttered, irritably.
"I will not stand for this!" he growled heatedly. "Give me back my goods or-"
"I've lost intrest in this conversation" Cara sighed, launching herself into the air. Her foot kibked up and contacted with the butchers face bringing him down and she landed on one knee just ahead of him.
Sighing once she lightly brushed herself off and sheathed both of her knives then continued on her way at a brisk walk down the back streets. Another sharp pain made her winse but she shook it off, refusing to let the pain get the best of her.
"Home sweet home" Cara sighed, dropping her spoils on the gound next to her other stolen goods. She lived in a basement under an old shop, recently gone out of buisness. She usually didn't stay in one place for too long, she tried to keep moving around.
Cara had an odd look about her. She was small and a bit wirey with pale skin and gold eyes oddly mixed with her short cropped, spiky, red-brown hair, for which she had been called the "red devil" among those she stole from. Because of her build she was quick and agile but lacking in strength which evened itself out in the long run. She wore always wore a black jacket and a bandage over her right hand for reasons she told no one. As far as everyone else knew the bandage simply covered up an injury.
In general she kept her distance from normal people except of course when she stole from them. It was one of her rules: don't get attached to anyone. It had been like that since she had skipped town a year and a half ago. And sense then, as she suspected her condition was getting slowly worse.
There were occasional pangs throughout the day if she overworked herself, but those she could deal with. Then there were the attacks, excruciating siezures, some times so bad she passed out. The gap between these attacks was alowly but surely, closeing.
Sighing Cara rubbed a hand over her face, plopping down on a wooden crate. Fatigue was a near constant companion now and days. "I used too much energy." she muttered bitterly. "Got stop makeing a show of it and get things done quicker next time. Got to be more careful."
She began to withdraw her knives from where she hid them on her person. She always kept at least six on her at a time: Two in her belt, two in her boots and two up her sleeves. She paused as she lifted one knife from her boot at the sound of a scuffling noise behind her. Whirling she sent the knife spinning through the air in the directiong of the sound.
The knife embedded itself in the wall, inches from the thieving hand reaching into Cara's newly acquired spoils. The thief froze eyes wide in suprise.
The thief, to Cara's suprise was a young girl, about ten or eleven years old very frail and small looking. She had tangled blonde hair that hung to the middle of her back and pale almost colorless blue eyes that seemed strangely distant.
"Step away from the goods or next time I won't miss" Cara stood and readied another knife, pointing it threateningly at the girl.
"Is it really nessasary to kill me over an apple?" the girl demanded, straightening and glaring twoards Cara.
"Missing wasn't an accident you know." Cara let a smirk play over her face.
The girl laughed nervously "Uh... right."
Cara cocked her head to the side, studying the girl. Though her glare was set in the right direction her eyes seemed distant, as if they weren't quite really looking at her. They seemed kind of glazed.
"Kid?" Cara asked slowly. "Are you... blind?"
The girl's hands clenched and she tensed visibly "Yeah! What's it to you!"
"Uh... how the Hell did you find your way down here?" Cara asked, confused.
"Oh sure" the girl said sourly. "I guess the cripples are to weak to fend for themselves! To weak! They need able people to look after their every little move. They can't do anything themselves! I guess they're just-"
"Hey slow down kid!" Cara had a sudden urge to laugh at the childs antics. "Just a simple question!"
"I can see!" the girl huffed, plopping down on a crate and resting her chin on her folded hands. "Just not like you see."
"I'm lost" Cara sighed after a pause.
The girl sighed and un laced one of her shoes, then tossed it twoards Cara. She caught it and held it up, raising an eyebrow "This is a shoe."
"Flip it over" the girl sighed, motioning with her hand.
Cara did and saw a strange array of odd shapes, lines and equations covering the shoe's bottom "Uh... these are transmutation circles aren't they?" she asked, rotating the shoe around in her hand trying to understand the markings. "Alchemy stuff right?"
"Uh huh" the girl nodded. "I specialize in Earth Alchemy. It took awhile for me to perfect it but I finally found a way to take the vibrations in the ground and amplify them in order to increase sensitivity in my feet. That way I can tell almost the exact locations of everything around me depending on substance and rate of movement. Same with my gloves" she held up her hands, allowing Cara to see white gloves adorned with blue transmutation circle stiched into each glove.
"Ok" Cara said slowly. "I have no clue what you just said but I'll take you're word for it." She tossed the shoe back to the girl but it flew past her shoulder and hit a wall a few feet away instead. "You missed." Cara pointed out bluntly, a slight smirk forming on her face.
"I can't sense air currents" the girl rolled her eyes. She casually slammed her still covered foot against the ground and a stone spike shot from the ground, catapulting the shoe through the air and back to her hand.
"Then how did you catch that?" Cara challenged.
"Simple physics" the girl shrugged. "Based on the relative location-"
"Ok, ok never mind" Cara shook her head, grinning slightly. "Got a name kid?"
"Chole" the girl said, smiling.
"Uh huh" Cara's eyes narrowed. "Now uh, back to the matter of you trying to steal my food."
"I was hungry." Chloe replied.
"Well then go buy some" Cara stated obviously.
"Did you buy yours?" Chloe challenged.
"Uh..." Cara was caught up short by the kids remark. "No... but I'm not nearly as charitable as the people I got it from." she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "In other words, I'm far less easy to trick and rip off."
"...I'm out of money." she muttered, bending her head slightly.
"Ask your parents for some." Cara shrugged carelessly.
"Why do you think I resorted to stealing anyway!" Chloe snapped. "I ran away! I was just a burden so I left!"
Cara sighed pushing away the fact that this girl had a simaler past to her "Not my problem."
Chloe's jaw dropped, she was obviously expecting a different answer "Wha..."
"Well you've made it clear you don't want to be treated like you're disabled" Cara reasoned. "You seem to be just fine on your own with your alchemy, and you seem to be plenty capable of taking care of yourself. I see no reason to help you." she shrugged non shalantly. "You got to earn your place in the world kid. You think I've had anyone to help me. Not a chance. Now get going. Nice meeting you." Without another word, Cara turned her back on the open mouthed girl and began organizing her knife cabinet.
There was silence behind her and for a moment, Cara thought Chloe had left.
Then the girls voice returned stuttering "I-I can help you!"
"How's that?" Cara asked, not turning around, an amused smirk spreading over her face.
"I can sense where dangerous people are, warn you when their coming. I can make things alot easier! I'll... be you're eyes so to speak." Chloe answered firmly.
Cara rubbed a hand through her hair. Ironically enough, it made sense. Plus with warning about pursuers she could avoid sticky situations that might cause her to waste energy or trigger an attack. The girl might be useful to have around.
After a long pause Cara turned back around to face the determined looking Chloe "All right, fine. You can work for me kid. Under three conditions. One: Do not trust me. If it's benificial to me I will lie and break promises. Two: Don't hinder me. The moment you start slowing me down I'll drop you and move on. And three, this is especially important: Don't rely on me. You can never trust someone to stick around for ever so you've got to be able to take care of yourself."
"Don't trust, don't hinder, don't rely on" Chloe nodded. "Got it."
"Good then it's a deal" Cara stood and held out her hand then smirked "Oh right, you can't see this can you?"
Eyes narrowed Chloe swung her hand up to tightly clap the offered hand much to Cara's suprise. "I sensed a vibration got through your body" Chloe explained testily. "And yeah, it's a deal."
Cara grinned. Maybe haveing this girl around would work in her favor.
What do you think? Leave a comment and REVIEW PLEASE!
