From under his hood Ghastly stared at his best friend in utter disbelief.
"So you're telling me," he said slowly, "you couldn't have committed the crime because at the time you were too busy committing another crime?"
Skulduggery, the rotten bastard, didn't even have the good sense to feign remorse.
"Exactly," he said in that smooth voice of his. He wiped some soot off his breeches and straightened his shirt. A nice attempt that did nothing to disguise the fact that he looked a mess. If Father saw him he would more than likely mourn the loss of such fine clothes. If Mother saw him she would most definitely laugh in his face.
The scarred mage shook his head. He then turned his attention to the person standing beside his clearly demented friend.
It was a young man about half a head shorter than Skulduggery. He had blondish brown hair and a genuine smile. His clothes were in a similar state of disarray. Around one eye, red skin was already turning purple.
Looking back at his friend he could detect similar evidence of a recent fight. Ghastly sighed.
"What happened," he asked, voice resigned.
Skulduggery sat down on a crate that stood in the alleyway the three of them occupied, looking for all the world like he owned the place and that he did not, in fact, have a bloody lip or was favoring his right side.
"Well if you must know," he drawled, "I had just retrieved that trinket my client lost, and was making my way back here, when I decided to take a stroll through the harbor. You always meet the most delightful folk near and on ships. Isn't that right, Ghastly?" He grinned and Ghastly resisted the urge to give him a black eye. Skulduggery rambled on.
"So there I was, enjoying the sight and the smell of sweaty workers and burning coal when I happened upon this poor fellow just as he was accosted by a bunch of what can only be referred to as ruffians. I, of course, could not help but do my civic duty and lent my assistance."
The stranger snorted and Ghastly looked at him and promptly blinked.
Light hair had turned dark and dark eyes had turned light and the smile was now a smirk.
"I believe it was not civic duty," the shapeshifter said, amusement coloring his tone, "but guilt that guided your actions. The ruffians paid me no mind until one of them noticed their purse had mysteriously vanished."
"Ah," Skulduggery said succinctly. "Well. That isn't untrue."
Ghastly lifted a hand to cover his face.
"Skulduggery. Please tell me you didn't."
"A strange request but as you wish. 'You didn't.'"
Ghastly glared at him through his fingers while the stranger, now sporting bright red hair, laughed.
"Hopeless," he said when he had calmed. He held his hand out to Ghastly. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."