Thievery
"Did you get your gold back, brother?" Thor asked. He stood to the side of the busy street, holding the reins of both his and his brother's horses. He studied Loki's face as he slowly approached, a frown on his face, as if displeased by something. "Surely a common street pickpocket did not manage to foil your attempts to regain what is yours?"
"No, Thor, I got it back," Loki rolled his eyes, holding up the leather pouch holding gold coins.
"Ah, good. Then what displeases you?"
"I had to chase down a common street thief," Loki muttered evasively.
"So you apprehended him?" Thor asked, tilting his head slightly.
Loki shrugged and examined his saddle. The leather strap that had held the pouch had been slit just below the golden buckle. There was no way for him to reattach it. He would have to get a new bag to hold his gold in.
"Are you going to have him thrown in the dungeons? Whipped? Hung?" Thor pressed.
"None, Thor. The thief returned what is mine and then ran off. I shall inflict no punishment," Loki said flatly, recalling the playful, jaunty, cocky neko girl. What an odd creature.
"Surely he must pay for his crimes? I highly doubt you were the first to be victimized by the thief. He should pay for the others who were not so lucky as to regain their property."
Loki, with a sigh, dropped his bag of gold into another saddlebag. There was nothing else for it. He would have to clean out the bag later and make sure he didn't lose any of the coins. He swung up into his saddle. "Do you ever shut your mouth, Thor?"
Thor seemed taken aback by his younger brother's brusqueness. He swung up into his own saddle easily and smiled slightly. "Sometimes. I have to eat and sleep, don't I?"
Loki scoffed and gave his older brother a half-smile. "Thor, you chew with your mouth open and snore and drool when you sleep. I don't think even then do you ever close your mouth."
Thor chuckled. "In that case, I suppose we can safely answer your question with a no."
The two brothers laughed a little and gently nudged the sides of their horses, easing them into a slow walk, continuing their perusal of the market. The neko thief was soon put at the back of the younger prince's mind as he continued along.
Noir, however, was not so easily distracted from the brief meeting with the royal prince.
All three neko thieves were well aware that the dozen golden coins the prince had left for Noir was enough to feed them anywhere between two and four weeks, depending on how much they stretched it. The three sat together in a rather seedy pub, hunched together in a corner over a plate of venison (of rather questionable quality, but it was the first "proper" meal they had had in some time).
"So," Blanc murmured in a low voice, casting a furtive glance around the moderately busy pub. "What are we going to do?"
Noir raised an eyebrow and she tore off a strip of venison and popped it into her mouth, chewing with her slightly abnormally-long canines. "About?" she inquired after swallowing.
"The gold," Blanc whispered, dropping his voice to an almost inaudible level.
Noir seemed to consider for a moment, absentmindedly tearing shreds of meat off the slab in the middle of the table and nibbling them. "Keep it. Spend it. Slowly, naturally," she murmured, glancing around the room full of pickpockets and thieves to make sure nobody was eavesdropping.
"You're sure it's safe to spend the prince's gold? Won't people wonder how we got our hands on the coins?" Blanc asked. Marron was nodding nervously in agreement, fiddling with the frayed hems of her brown fingerless gloves.
Noir raised her eyebrows. "My fellow scoundrels, no one ever gets suspicious." She paused. "Well, not in the places we go to," she vaguely gestured around the pub. "As long as we pay, they don't care how we got the loot."
"Speaking of how you got the loot," Marron whispered abruptly. "Why'd you give back the money, and why'd he give you some of it back?"
"I thought you were watching the whole time?" Noir inquired, looking at her fellow bandits.
They both shook their heads. "We watched from afar. We couldn't hear the conversation. And we didn't even manage to watch the whole thing. All we saw was you talking to him, not wearing your cloak," Blanc explained. "Nice bow, by the way."
Noir smirked slightly at the memory of her exaggerated bow to the prince. "Thanks. Anyway, he caught up with me…" The black-haired neko trailed off a moment as she recalled how she had fallen through him. And then he had said everyone always fell for that. It must have been some trick. Though how he had managed to pull it off, she wasn't sure. "He caught up with me and pulled off my cloak after I tried to get away again… So he found out I'm a neko. Then he demanded I give back the gold, and I did, because I really had no other choice. He asked me if I thought I should be punished, and I said there wasn't any right answer to that question. He said it was nice to see that not all nekos had dust for brains. I said we did have more for brains, and then I asked if we could just forget the whole pickpocketing business. He asked if I would stop pickpocketing for good, and I said there wasn't any other way for me to make a living. Then he just said not to steal from him again, and that it would probably be easier to steal from Prince Thor. And then… he left after saying he could still get me in trouble if he wanted. And then you two came along."
"When did he put the gold in your cloak, then?" Blanc asked suspiciously.
Noir shrugged. "I don't know. The prince seems to have a few tricks up his sleeve. Personally, I'd like to find out what they are."
"Naturally, you do," Blanc rolled his eyes.
"You can't, though," Marron put in.
Noir smiled ruefully. "Suppose you're right." The other two just nodded, appearing relieved by her submission. Noir traced the shape of the green handkerchief hidden in her cloak. She merely smiled as she touched the smooth fabric.
Two and a half weeks later, Noir crouched on a rooftop with Marron, peering down upon the Trade District. They had continued to pickpocket, but were no longer scrounging for every bit of copper. Since the prince's generous gift of gold to the black neko, things had been slightly easier. But little of that money remained, and Noir and Marron were back to routine pickpocketing while Blanc was staying at their hideout to guard their small stash of coins and food.
Marron peered down upon the street while Noir hung back, counting the coins they had already gained that day. The black-haired neko's tail twitched slightly in irritation. "Why is it that people never carry more than perhaps two gold coins, and mostly silver and copper?"
"Because they know pickpockets are on the prowl and don't want to lose all their money in one fell blow," Marron replied, pursing her lips as she looked down on the street.
"Mm, yes," Noir murmured absentmindedly. "Curse their common sense. I wish people were stupider sometimes."
Marron chuckled a little. "Of course. Do you think just stealing some food will be good, and we can call it a day?"
Noir glanced up as she swept the meager pile of coins into a thick leather pouch. "I guess so. What's the rush, Marron?"
The brown neko looked dubious. "There are a few royal guards down there. I've got an inkling they won't take kindly to a couple of hooded figures sneaking through the street."
"Royal guards?" Noir repeated, creeping to the edge of the roof and peeking over the thatching. There were indeed four royal guards roaming the street, seemingly at random. "Wonder what they're here for?" she wondered quietly.
Marron started to shrug and shake her head, then paused. "Look there," she muttered, gesturing.
Noir looked, and her gray eyes widened slightly. The two princes were walking through the crowd.
Marron nudged her companion. "I bet they brought guards to make sure they didn't get pickpocketed this time," she said, her tone slightly teasing.
Noir smirked but didn't respond, looking at the princes. "He's still handsome," she proclaimed. "I want one."
Marron giggled and rolled her eyes. "Noir, I think he's a little out of your price range."
"Question, Marron: as thieves, when is the price of something relevant? We don't normally pay for half the stuff we want," Noir said reproachfully.
Marron sighed. "Give it up with the prince, Noir. Besides, if you're going to be mooning over a prince, why not at least make it the Crown Prince? At least then I would be able to understand your fancying him better. But Prince Loki's second in line. He's not a great warrior, from what I've heard. He's not as friendly, from what I've heard and observed. And he's not even as handsome."
Noir shot Marron a dirty look. "You just don't get it. Are we going to get some food or not? There's a bakery stall just there, a produce stall there, and a butcher display over there," Noir changed the subject quickly, gesturing to each part of the street.
Marron considered for a moment. "I can swipe some fruit and vegetables, and you can grab some goods from the bakery. If we don't get caught, we can grab some jerky from the butchers."
Noir abruptly shook her head. "We're not robbing anything from the butchers."
"Why not?" Marron asked.
"Don't know about you, Marron, but I don't want to go anywhere near a couple of brawny men who swing butcher knives for a living and have a few on hand."
Marron considered, then nodded. "Fair point, I suppose."
Noir nodded knowingly. "Let's go."
The two descended the back of the building and split up, going to their respective targets.
Noir meandered for a few moments, pretending to inspect the wares sold on the street. She strolled nearer to the baker's stall and glanced around before backing up so that her lower back bumped the table. She pretended to scan the street for something, standing on tiptoe and craning her neck. The people who noticed her evidently searching for something glanced at her, then around the street, as if they would be able to find whatever she was looking at. Noir took their distraction to reach behind herself and slide a handful of rolls and slip them into a pocket on the inside of her cloak.
Loki watched the unmistakable hooded figure from about ten feet away, smirking. Clever, really; using misdirection to make her thievery go unnoticed. She was slipping a few rolls into her cloak when she glanced around the street, and their eyes locked briefly. He could clearly see her eyes widen in shock, and she dropped a roll accidentally.
"Oy! Are you stealing that?" one of the attendants of the bakery stall asked indignantly as he caught sight of the hooded neko diving for the fallen food.
Noir straightened, eyes wide, as she realized she had been caught in the act. She started to back away quickly.
Loki looked on for a moment, knowing this was bound to end badly. He wondered if he should step in. No, he shouldn't defend the neko. She was, after all, a neko. A thief who had picked his own personal pocket. But for some reason he didn't particularly want to see her hauled away in chains, to be whipped or imprisoned or executed. He strolled forward, pretending not to notice the baker's merchant was coming out from behind the display table to apprehend the bandit, who was still backing away. He deliberately stepped in front of the merchant, and the short, portly man collided with him.
"Out of the way, you-!" the baker started to shout, trying to get around the prince so that he could get at the thief, who was now making her quick getaway. The merchant abruptly stopped in the middle of his insult/command when he saw who he had run into. "I—Your Majesty, my deepest apologies, I did not see—did not realize—"
"How dare you run into a prince of Asgard," Loki said bitingly, glaring down at the man.
"I—my sincerest, deepest, apol— what can I do to make it up to you, Your Highness?" he sniveled desperately.
Loki glared another moment, and then his eyes travelled to the display table of baker's goods.
Noir dashed away, weaving in and out of busy streets into the back alleys of Old Town, the less-reputable district where most pickpockets and thieves resided. She was sure no one was pursuing her, but didn't stop until she entered an empty alleyway. She leaned against a stone wall on one side and slowly slid to the dusty cobblestones, panting for breath. She closed her gray slit-pupil eyes and tried to slow her racing heart. That prince. He had gotten her out of trouble with the law again. She had simply stopped dead when their eyes had locked on the street, and fumbling that roll… almost caught. But she knew that Prince Loki had purposely distracted the baker so she could get away. He had seen her thieving. And he had helped her get away with it.
"You know, I was under the impression that nekos were supposed to be skilled, stealthy rogues that never got caught in the act of thievery," his cool voice said.
Noir's eyes snapped open and she was on her feet, knife drawn, in an instant. The prince stood at the entrance to her alley, smirking.
With a deep sigh, Noir slid her dagger back into the sheath at her hip. "I do hope you realize I've never been caught before I met you," she said, a slight accusing edge to her voice.
He scoffed lightly. "You're blaming me?"
"Yes," Noir said haughtily, crossing her arms as her tail, hidden under the cloak, twitched in irritation.
"How exactly is it my fault that you're suddenly being caught in your law-breaking left and right?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at her.
Noir smirked. "I never said it was your fault. I just said I blame you."
The prince regarded her with amusement. Noir couldn't help but smile when his eyes roved her face.
"I suppose I owe you thanks," Noir said slowly.
Loki considered, then nodded. "Yes, I suppose you do."
Noir held her cloak in one hand and crossed the other over her chest, bending at the waist in an exaggerated bow. "My deepest gratitude, thanks, and appreciation, Your Highness," Noir said in a formal voice, though slight sarcasm colored her tone.
"Awfully well-spoken for a street rat… or cat, as it were," Loki said, slight taunting in his words.
As Noir straightened from her bow, she gave the prince a dirty look. "Yes, well. I try my best," she said drily.
"As we all do." He nodded. "Try not to get caught next time, little thief. I don't particularly like being rammed by a short and fat baker."
Noir frowned. "Apologies, Highness. I didn't purposely get caught, nor did I purposely mean for you to get rammed by the merchant. Did he apologize?"
Loki smirked. "Of course he apologized. I'm a prince, in case you hadn't noticed."
Noir resisted the urge to say 'Oh, I noticed all right.' Instead, she simply nodded.
"As apologies, he allowed me to choose anything from the bakery free of charge," Loki continued slowly, though now he was beginning to wonder what had been going through his head when he had decided to do this. "I chose a frosted pastry. I thought you would probably appreciate it more than me." From his pocket, he produced a small green bundle about the size of a fist. He held it out for the neko to take, beginning to wonder what in the nine realms was wrong with himself.
Noir blinked and took the bundle. She unwrapped it, finding that a green handkerchief was wrapped around a sweet roll with pale pink glaze coating the top of it. A soft smile curved the corners of her lips, and she glanced up at the prince again. "I've never had one of these," she admitted, touched by the kindness.
"I assume nekos do eat regular food, right?" he asked scathingly, quickly trying to balance the gesture of caring with rudeness, determined to not be too friendly with the neko bandit.
Noir fought back a smile, and was glad that her cloak covered the amused twitch of her tail. "If we didn't, I wouldn't have been stealing rolls, Your Highness."
The prince shrugged carelessly. "As if I have any interest or care in what you do or don't do. Eat what you like." He turned on his heel and started striding away quickly, unsure why he suddenly felt like a dunce.
"Your Highness," Noir called after him, quickly catching up to him, standing in front of him and walking backwards so that she could continue talking to him.
Loki gave the neko a questioning look, somewhat impressed by the way she walked backwards without once stumbling or tripping, as if it was just as easy as walking forwards. "Yes, bandit?"
Noir smiled slightly, amused by the fact that he still just called her 'bandit' or 'thief' or 'neko.' He hadn't asked her name. But she wouldn't give it without being asked, anyway. "Here." She tore the pastry in half and held out a piece in each hand. "Take your pick."
Loki gave her a doubtful look. "It's yours. I don't want to share food with you. I've no doubt it's all covered in neko filth now, anyway."
Noir frowned. "Fine. I'll keep it all for myself, then," she announced, starting to tuck both halves into her cloak.
"Give it here," Loki ordered suddenly, disliking the way the neko was now denying him the pastry.
Noir smiled slightly and held out both halves again. Simple. Reverse psychology. "Take your pick."
Loki glanced at the two halves of sweet roll. He took one at random, not seeing any major difference between the two pieces.
"I wanted that half," Noir said reproachfully, wanting to badger the prince as she looked ruefully at the half that remained in her hand.
He threw her a look. "Tough luck, neko." He licked his piece of frosted roll with exaggerated relish, claiming it as his own with a superior look.
Noir laughed a little. "As you wish. It's all yours, Majesty." She delicately took a nibble of her own half of the pastry, and her eyes widened. "This is good!" she exclaimed, taking a bigger bite now that she knew she liked it.
Loki smiled. "You've never had one of these?"
Noir shook her head, picking a flake of strawberry-flavored frosting off the top and sucking on her fingertip with zest, smiling at its sweetness.
"Why not? They're common treats."
Noir's smile fell. "Because I never had money for them, Your Highness, and was more focused on swiping bare minimum, not extravagance and treats."
Loki paused, remembering that despite the girl's pluck and spirit, she led a hard life. He just nodded. "Sorry," he muttered, suddenly feeling like a spoiled, inconsiderate ingrate.
Noir shrugged, seeing him grow somber at remembering that she had never had privileges such as he had had growing up as a prince. "But I thank you for allowing me to have this one indulgence of luxury, Your Highness," she smiled reassuringly. She held up the last bite of roll to him, as if to toast him, and popped it into her mouth.
The prince smiled slightly. "You're welcome, little thief. I hope this doesn't become a habit of yours; running into me in order to receive gifts after failed attempts at thievery."
Noir scoffed. "Well, you make it so fun, Your Majesty. What's a thief to do when she gets rewarded by a prince of her kingdom every time she gets caught stealing?" she held up her hands helplessly.
Loki laughed and shook his head. She was a funny creature, this neko bandit. He rolled the last bite of sweet pastry between his thumb and forefinger, looking at it thoughtfully. He had always had luxury and extravagance available to him, like the simple joy of a dessert. He glanced at the neko again. He smirked slightly and simply ate the last bite of his pastry.
Noir quirked her eyebrows and gave the prince a thoughtful look, fingering the green handkerchief the pastry had been wrapped in. It was the second one she had received from him. If she kept going this way, she might be able to make a scarf. She would like that; a scarf of the prince's handkerchiefs. As it was, she could tie the two together and make herself a kerchief to tie around her neck, or a bandana. The neko surreptitiously slipped the square cloth into her cloak, into the same pocket as the first.
Loki realized that they were still walking, meandering through the city aimlessly. And the thief was still walking backwards, facing him as she walked in reverse. "How do you do that?"
"Do what?" she asked as she maneuvered the slightly uneven cobblestones of the street without paying the slightest attention, or even glancing down once.
"Walk backwards without looking where you're going. It's… odd."
Noir cocked an eyebrow, then realized what he meant. "Ah, I don't know. Nekos are naturally more coordinated and acrobatic than other races," she shrugged and then slowed and turned so she instead walked beside the prince. "Better?"
Loki just shook his head in wonder at the neko. "You're an odd one."
Noir smiled faintly. "I'm flattered."
The prince shook his head again. "Don't you have more people to rob, thief? Don't you have something better to do than stroll around the city aimlessly with a prince?"
Noir smirked. "Don't you have some taxes to levy or bonbons to eat? Doesn't a prince have something better to do than stroll around the city aimlessly with a common street rat… or rather, street cat, as it were?"
Loki smiled wryly. "Firstly, the king is the one who levies taxes. The blame is entirely with him for that. Secondly, I haven't eaten bonbons in some time. They're more of a child's candy. Thirdly, the only thing I have to do besides this is return to Thor's company, and he doesn't provide any particularly groundbreaking ideas."
"Ah, so it is my scintillating conversation that captivates you and holds you in my company rather than returning to the tiresome humdrum of tedious royal life?" Noir teased, a smirk playing on her lips.
Loki laughed a little uncomfortably, self-conscious of the fact that she had basically summed it up. Well, it wasn't really royal life that bored him. It was the people therein. He enjoyed his extravagance and luxuries beyond belief. On the other hand, the lords and ladies of court were dull. The neko was witty and sharp and quick. He rather enjoyed her conversation, though he wouldn't admit it. "You think awfully highly of yourself," he teased.
Noir rolled her eyes. "No, not really. Only when hyped up on sweet pastry," she said sarcastically.
Loki scoffed. "Right. Lucky that won't be happening anymore. I think I should be going back to the tiresome humdrum of tedious royal life," he said, giving her a pointed look.
Noir smiled. "Of course. And my partners-in-crime are probably wondering where I am."
"No doubt Thor has the guards scouring the city for me," Loki sighed. He gave the neko a slight smile. "Hopefully I won't need to save your hide again."
Noir scoffed. "Hopefully you won't distract me from my job."
Loki threw her a devilishly handsome grin. "Well, I can't help it… Sometimes I just have a distracting effect," he taunted, and was astonished when a magenta tint stained the neko's pale cheeks. The sight was… amusing. He was beginning to realize that the neko liked him even more than he thought. The thought made him grin crookedly. What an ironic cliché: the thief and the royal, separated by class, brought together by sentiments.
"Well, realizing that the prince caught you thieving is a rather distracting idea," Noir stammered out. But the prince was right. He did have a rather… distracting effect. And that smile…
Loki just shrugged. "Well, perhaps I shall see you again, perhaps not. Maybe you'll learn to be a real neko and not get caught thieving."
The neko looked affronted and indignant. The prince just chuckled and held out his hand for the neko's, a wicked thought crossing his mind. The girl frowned confusedly for a moment, then proffered her hand for the prince. He started to raise it to his lips to kiss her knuckles, but paused when he realized the fingerless black gloves she wore covered the area.
Loki raised an eyebrow at the thief and delicately slid the glove off her hand. He then raised it to his lips and gently brushed his lips against the pale skin of her hand. He then released her hand and offered her fingerless glove back. He almost laughed at the shocked expression on her face.
Noir was absolutely positive she was turning eighty new shades of red that would put a strawberry to shame. She numbly took her fingerless glove back, hands shaking slightly."Th-thank you, Your Highness…?" she wasn't sure how a lady was supposed to respond. But she certainly felt like she should thank him.
Loki smiled at the neko's awkward hesitancy and bright pink cheeks. "You're welcome, thief…?" he mimicked her uncertain voice, then smiled reassuringly at her. "Perhaps I'll see you, perhaps I won't," he said simply, then turned and began walking back towards the trade district, feeling smug and lighthearted as he left the neko still breathless in his wake.
Note from LoquaciousQuibbler: D'aww… so cheesy and fluffy XD I decided to write at least one more chapter after I posted the first… I didn't get any reviews on the first, but after thinking about it, I wanted to write a little more of Noir. She's fun. She basically says all my thoughts about Loki…. "Delicious." "I want one." Hee. Not gonna lie, I was kind of thinking of the song "One Jump Ahead" from Aladdin when I wrote this. I love that song. The movie is awesome.
"Just a little snack, guys…"
"Rip him open: take it back, guys!"
Anywho… I still can't decide if continuing this story would be worth it. I like writing Noir, but I don't know what would happen in her story. So this may be it. But if you'd like me to continue, PM me or leave a review.