I picked my way through the small crowd to one of the food stalls. The others here were used to me- so I didn't catch anyone's eyes. With my dark eyes set on the area before me, I slipped a hand into the pocket of a nearby Dorgeshuun citizen. As soon as my tentative fingers closed around their prize- I withdrew my hand silently and slipped my earnings into my pocket. I stole a glance at the person I had just stolen from and was glad to see that he was none the wiser. After repeating the process a couple more times, I drifted to a new crowd to lift a few of their coins.

"Thieving human!" Shrieked a woman I had just 'borrowed' five gold coins from, "You horrid little thing!" She lumbered over to where I stood and grabbed me by the wrist. Panic built up in my throat, but I forced myself to look calm. Acting guilty would just further incriminate me.

"Guards! Guards!" Shouted the woman. Oh crap. I swiftly pulled my arm away from her and darted to the left. Luck didn't smile on me that day, it seemed. My foot caught on my hair and I fell onto my face.

"O-Ow..." I groaned as the guards pulled me off the ground and dragged me to the Council Chamber. I was in trouble. Zanik was going to kill me.

"You again." Ur-Zek sighed, "What has the human done this time?"

"Twelve counts of stealing, sir," said the guard as he tightened his grip on my wrist in case I tried to run for it again, "this would be her fourth offense this week."

"Summon Zanik," Ur-Zek commanded, taking me by the collar of my shirt and pulling me into the Council Chamber. The guard saluted and went off to find my caretaker. Ur-Zek glared at me and went back to his chair. Several minutes passed before the guard arrived with Zanik.

"Oh dear..." Zanik sighed as soon as she saw me standing beside the door. She dismissed the guard and took a seat in the nearest empty chair.

"Your human," Ur-Zek said contemptuously, "has been caught lightening the pockets of our honest people since the day she could speak. What exactly have you done about it, Zanik?"

"I'm sorry, sir!" Zanik blurted apologetically "I've been so busy trying to keep relations good between the dwarves and our people... I'm afraid I have neglected her a bit. I'm sure she was only hungry, right human?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Hungry." I mulled, not taking the hint very well. They hadn't offered me a place to sit, so I was standing in the corner, studying a locked treasure chest. The Dorgeshuun weren't very worried about thieves- so the locks were wondrously simple. While Zanik tried to win my freedom, I was puzzling over ways to pick this particular lock.

Ur-Zek rolled his eyes, not buying the story. Nevertheless, he didn't feel like detaining me. In a utopia like Dorgesh-Kaan, why keep a prison? The locks on the doors at Zanik's house posed no challenge and I could open them easily. He sent me away with Zanik and told me to go straight to class.

"Why can't you behave, human?" Zanik sighed as she closed the door behind me, "Why can't you just eat breakfast at school? Why do you need to steal money?"

"I can't eat that stuff they serve!" I shouted angrily, pulling my hand away from her, "It's horrible! I need to buy food from the gourmet dealer!" Zanik watched me with careful disinterest.

"I'm sorry I can't buy you food like that, but you can't steal. If you push them too far- they'll banish you to the tunnels." Zanik sighed, "is that what you want? An eternity wandering in the dark by yourself?"

"Won't be much different from now," I shot back at her, my temper still smoldering, "everyone in this stupid city HATES me!" As soon as the words left my mouth, I darted away from her. This time, I was careful to keep my hair away from my feet. I ran for a few meter before stopping to look over my shoulder. Zanik had not followed me.

I walked to the crafting district silently, being careful to avoid any attention at all. The crafting district was my favorite place to go when I was feeling sad. It was too dangerous for Zanik, and offered plenty of places to hide. My favorite places to sit were beside the furnace and one of the disused rooms. Today, I chose to curl up beside the furnace and vent my frustration to the floor.

"I hate them!" I fumed, "Why do they all treat me like I'm some kind of disease? Sure, I'm different, but that does NOT give them the right to.. to..." I stammered the last sentence and gave up. I buried my head in my arms. What am I?

The warmth from the furnace and my empty belly were starting to make me drowsy. Yawning, I curled up into a comfortable position and closed my eyes. No one will look for me, and if they do, they won't bother me. No one cares enough.