Thanks sooooooooooooooooooooooo much to uh…Kender? Yeah, well, they never seem to sign on when they review…but! He/She/Person/Living thing/It/Individual supplied me with the thief's name! Yaaaaaaaay!!!! Here's the next chappy!!!
Chapter 3
No choice
I awoke late in the morning to the sound of things being shoved around. I blinked in the near-noon sun, all things registering in my mind. Though, I gained a sly expression and stood silently, walking around the opposite side of the cart that the young thief was obviously rummaging around in. He was on the left side of the cart, searching under the flap beside the wheel. I walked to the back of the caravan and leaned against it, folding my arms and peering around the corner at him. "You know, I'm not a heavy sleeper."
He nearly fell over, several loaves of my mother's bannock bread falling from his arms. He turned and dashed away, but before he could reach the end of the safety of my chalice, he tripped over a small rock and sent my belongings flying.
"As graceful as your moogle," I remarked with a laugh, walking rather quickly up to him and setting a foot down firmly on his reaching hand towards a loaf of bannock.
He glared up at me, secretly taking out a dagger from his belt.
"So who are you?" I looked up and down at his odd garb. The golden straps stretched across his chest and abs reminded me of some footwear I'd seen back at the cobbler's shop, and I had to suppress a giggle to keep my serious demeanor.
"It won't matter…" he released his hand from under my foot and stood slowly. "After I kill you!"
I simply stepped to the side as he lunged at me, his dagger outstretched. "Yes, but until you kill me…" I sighed lazily. "You need to work on your social skills."
He snarled as he tugged and pulled with no avail at his blade, which had gotten stuck in the wood frame of my caravan.
Kicking the backs of his knees, I grabbed hold of his wrists and forced him to kneel, holding his arms behind his head, standing on his calves. Try as he may, he could not release himself from my grasp. "Something my father taught me. Now. What were you saying about that name of yours?"
He wriggled and growled, growled and wriggled.
"…If you haven't noticed, you're getting nowhere with that," I informed him smartly.
He tried to crane his neck backward to look at me, and I peered down at him. He had a peculiar shade of brown eyes. What it reminded me of…almost frightened me. It looked as if he had no soul. As if he were just another living thing walking on this planet, eating and drinking the resources of Gaia until they were gone. Well, anyway, as he was looking up at me, he tried…yes, tried…to spit at me, however, his spittle simply flew into the air and landed back on his face, making him even angrier.
"Perfectly vertical. Good job." I laughed slightly. "We're getting nowhere, you know."
"I don't need to tell you anything," he growled, still trying to writhe away.
"Oh beeeeeastiiie," I called to the sleeping blue lump that pulled my cart. "Brunch snack?"
The young thief quickly spouted out, "Bal Dat! My name is Bal Dat, curse you!"
I beamed sarcastically at him. "Oh, well now that we've got THAT straight, how is your nose feeling?" I'd nearly forgotten until he looked up at me again and I had seen a little excess blood just above his lip, where he must have missed when he was cleaning himself off.
He obviously didn't want to answer my question.
"Alright, let's try another. What were you doing robbing me?"
"It's my job!" He finally gave up trying to free himself and just stared at the ground angrily.
"A thief are you…?"
"Of the Striped Brigand!" he announced proudly, though his face was still stubborn.
"Well, in order to repay all this bread you've spilled and ruined, you'll be coming with me to help collect Myrrh." I let him go, backing away easily. I needed all the help I could get, and somehow I knew he wouldn't run.
"How are you gonna keep me here?" he asked matter-of-factly, not standing quite yet.
I hesitated a moment before looking for an excuse. I spotted Mog dozing over beside the ashes of the fire and gave Bal Dat a devilish grin. "My moogle's nocturnal," I lied. "He'll keep you here during the night and I'll keep you here during the day."
Bal Dat gave me a twisted expression. "Moogles aren't nocturnal."
"That one is," I said, picking Mog up (without much effort, seeing as to how he weighed practically negative two pounds) and shoved him into the cart with ease, his pompom bobbing to the rhythm of his slow breathing. It wasn't a surprise he was still sleeping after all the ruckus. "How else would I sleep comfortably at night, knowing there are monsters and thieves about? I need something to keep watch."
"Even if he is nocturnal, he's not fierce enough to keep me here…is he?"
I merely smiled at Bal Dat and let his imagination take part before adding, "I wasn't the only one who scared away your teammates. A word to the wise…" I paused, hopping up into the cart and snapping the reins to start my beast. I smiled back at Bal Dat, waiting for him to come. "…Don't wake Mog halfway through noon."
Bal Dat quickly hopped up beside me.
"Sure you don't want to ride in the cart?" I asked innocently.
A snort from Mog, almost as if it were qued, made the young thief just shake his head quickly, eyes tuned on the road in front of us.
"Ohhh," I said disappointedly, as if soothing a child to pet a large dog. "He's really not that bad when he's half unconscious…" I barely mumbled out the latter words.
I didn't know why Bal Dat didn't take all those opportunities to run…but that was alright. I was a little nervous about being out in the world alone. My entire life I'd been hidden in the shelter of my family's love, and now to be separated from them…I needed someone to help me fight the insanity I was sure was going to tempt me soon.
"So…how is it you're able to travel through Miasma without a chalice?" I asked, the bright sun shining down on the back of my neck. It was a little after noon, and Mog was still snoozing.
Bal Dat's lifeless eyes stared at the trail ahead. "Oh. That." He searched through a pocket and took out a small sliver of something beautiful. "My crystal shard. It's not big enough to create a large force field, like yours, but big enough to keep the Miasma from getting to me. My fellow friends have one for themselves as well."
I stared at it for a moment, thinking. Wouldn't it have to be renewed with Myrrh as well? Well of course, they probably stole some from someone's chalice every so often or something. I turned my eyes back to the path. "Where do you come from?"
"I…don't know."
I just looked at him. Often times I've known people to not like to share their past. His expression told me not to. So I didn't. I tilted my head to the side as we reached a worn sign pointing to the right, a trail leading off the main caravanning road. "River Belle Path" was what marked the sign. The path it pointed to, looked as though it had not been used in years. The place where the wheels of caravans and other things used to tread was now covered in long grass. Mine would be the first to pass the old sign in generations…
"Lunch?" I suggested, hopping from the cart. I frowned. I wasn't even hungry. River Belle Path. It sent a shiver down my spine.
Bal Dat took extra care as he rummaged through the cart, as far from Mog as possible. As for me, I took out my Diary and wrote in it.
Diary Entry 4:
I never thought a thief could be so timid. Bal Dat is. He's man I spoke of in the last entry, and is now journeying with me to find Myrrh. For how long? I don't know. Home seems so far from here…
Putting away my Diary, quill, and ink, I took out a fresh piece of parchment and an envelope, and began to write to my mother.
"They say that wicked creature prowl the road along this beautiful river bank, but nobody has ever seen one. I once asked a man why, he simply replied, "Because anyone who happens upon one is promptly eaten!" But it is long since anyone has met such a fate. For nowadays, people take another route, far away from the spooky road. Only we walk the old road now... Travelers in Crystal Caravans."
I sealed the letter with a small bar of wax I warmed over the fire Bal Dat had started while I was scribbling away. Kissing the letter gently, I thought, 'Mother…I'll be alright…'
Well, there's Bal Dat for ya! At first I'd decided to just make up a name to cover the areas without his name when I didn't know the real one, so if there's a random "Darian" anywhere, that's also Bal Dat, and I just skipped that Darian. Sorry, not only am I too lazy to recheck it, we gotta go work at the other house to get it clean. Final Inspection is tomorrow . ^.^ Hope you guys are alright with it. Review and I'll hop to writing another chappy! Remember, the more reviews the better cuz it puts me in a good mood =D