Volume I: Ant. Chapter 4: The Marksman:

After her first time, Sophia would find her pickpocketing to get gradually easier. Though, she would get herself into trouble every now and then. But she'd always manage to weasel herself out and she was generally decent at remaining undetected. She mainly liked to do it near bars, pubs, and taverns as they usually gave her easier targets. As Sophia's time as a pickpocket continued, she learned multiple lessons:

1. Bars provided the best opportunities. 9/10 times she wouldn't get noticed fishing her hands in a drunkard's pockets before making a clean getaway.

2. Never do it inside the bar. A fourteen-year-old girl wandering around a bar on her own is bound to attract attention. And the fact she wasn't buying anything, would gradually grab even more attention.

3. Drunk people are the best targets. She'd target them multiple times because they'd be too drunk to notice her, let alone remember her. Though if she did get caught, the consequences were more severe. One time, she got caught by a drunk and came home with a black eye, a bloody nose, and a busted lip. Her siblings endlessly interrogated her on what happened. But Sophia would only say she got into a fight and refused to elaborate.

4. Stay away from people with tattoos on them. In the Mistral slums, that generally meant they were part of a gang. This led to Sophia getting shot at one time.

5. Sometimes Sophia would find unmarked bags, trash bags. or small briefcases in alleyways. These were usually filled with money. Because of that, Sophia made a mental note: 'NEVER, EVER TAKE MONEY FROM THOSE! EVER!' She wouldn't even go near them. It's one thing to deal with an angry drunk. It's another thing entirely to deal with Mistral's organized crime or local gangs.

6. Don't waste time on people who look to be wasted drunk. Their pockets were usually empty and trying them could lead to a beatdown free of charge if things went awry. It was a waste of both time and teeth.

Over time, Sophia's pickpocketing was making considerable progress in the situation as it provided a decent boost. Her siblings would have disapproved of her methods. So she made sure they were none the wiser. The pickpocketing would gradually become more regular as time went on, but she'd make sure to keep the times she did as separate as possible so no one suspected.

During one of Sophia's pickpocketing sprees, she would come across a bar that seemed to be pretty rowdy on the inside on this particular night. It sounded as if the crowd inside was watching something amazing. Out of curiosity, Sophia walked in. A significant portion of the patrons were all huddled near one of the far walls, fixated on something. Sophia nudged her way through the crowd to see what was going on. During her small voyage, she would hear multiple comments from the crowd that gave her a better idea of what she was heading toward:

"Is this kid for real?" One patron sounded astonished.

"Come on, man, you really gonna let a kid show you up?" Another taunted.

"This little guy's got serious aim." One man praised.

"So this is the so-called 'Marksman' I've heard about, huh? He's about as small up close as he is far away." A woman in the crowd joked.

Sophia's ears perked when she heard the word 'Marksman'. During her time picking drunk pockets, she would like to occasionally eavesdrop on some of the conversations. One of the things she most commonly heard was talks of someone who would travel around bars and taverns and inns who went by the moniker, the 'Marksman.'

In the middle of this crowd, near a wall, there was a man in front of a filled dart board. Some of the darts were scattered about. Meanwhile, there were other darts clustered together as if someone with very precise aim tossed them. Judging from the man's visible frustration, Sophia could tell which darts were his. He was clearly losing.

The fourteen-year-old Sophia then looked past the man a bit. There, next to him, was his opponent. A literal child, no more than 10 years old. He had light tanned skin and smooth black hair with streaks of a silver undertone. The boy also had grayish white dots in the center of his pupils. At first, Sophia thought they were cataracts. But they didn't look like it at a second glance. They didn't look like contacts either. For clothes, the boy wore a pair of dirty black jeans and a dark-red jacket that was clearly too big for him as he had to roll his sleeves back with every throw he made. Because of how short he was, he was making his throws from atop a barrel.

The child had a confident look on his face as he reared his arm back. The child wasn't one to taunt; however, he had a look in his eyes that showed he was relishing in his inevitable victory. Once he threw his dart, it found its mark right by the previous ones he had thrown. There was clearly much more accuracy and precision in his shots compared to the other man. When the sound of the dart hit the board, the crowd erupted with sounds of surprise, shock, and praise. The boy's opponent would punch the air, seemingly swearing under his breath. The game had just ended.

The boy didn't bother working the crowd despite his confident appearance. He didn't even seem to be paying attention to them. He was just focused on what he was doing and beating his opponent.

"Pleasure doing business, Mr. owner." The boy turned to an older man, who was apparently the owner of the tavern.

"Yeah, yeah..." The owner dismissed him before calling over someone to get the boy's room ready.

"As for you," The boy turned to his defeated opponent. "...good game." He then stuck his arm out to the man.

Out of embarrassment and frustration, the man hesitated.

"What? Do you wanna rematch?" The boy joked.

The little prod got the crowd to chuckle, which in turn, got the man to lighten up a bit. Slightly humored, the man planted a fat sack of lien in the boy's hand. The boy slipped it into his jacket and the man would then reluctantly shake hands with him. Seconds after, the crowd quickly dissipated and the area around the dartboard became almost barren. Once that happened, the boy took a deep breath as he seemed like he was taking the moment to relax and unwind a bit. The only people that remained were Sophia, who continued to look on, and the boy. He seemingly noticed her standing there, but he paid her no mind.

"Y-you're a kid!" That was all Sophia could muster to say.

"And you can see." The boy responded sharply as he hopped back onto the barrel and crossed his legs.

"You've... got quite an aim." She gave him some praise as she was still processing what she saw.

"Thanks." The boy said as he counted his money. The way he said it was as if he were brushing it off. The compliment meant nothing to him. Almost like he's heard it hundreds of times before.

Seeing the money the boy earned, Sophia had an idea come to her mind.

"You up for another game by any chance?" The girl stepped up. She shined the boy a smile that had clear intentions of putting lien on the line.

"Nah, I'm good." The boy declined. "I've earned enough tonight."

"I have good money that you could win, you know?" She flashed him a pile of lien sticking from her bag.

The boy eyed the cash. The amount Sophia had on her immediately made him suspicious. On top of that, the varying physical conditions of the lien made it look as if she had gotten it from multiple people.

"You stole that money, didn't you?" A sly grin grew on his face.

"Did I ever say it was my money?" Sophia shrugged her shoulders.

The boy let out an amused laugh.

"I like you." He told her bluntly. Despite his confidence from earlier, the boy seemed much more comfortable one-on-one compared to when he was the center of attention. He was a bit looser and less restricted or reserved. The boy seemed to Sophia like someone who does not say much, but will say what he means. He was as short and blunt as his stature reflected

"So, what do you say?" Sophia stuck out her hand.

"Sure, why not?" The child accepted. He grabbed a cup of darts and handed them to his opponent.

The two would stand behind the dartboard and the boy would allow Sophia to make the first throw just out of courtesy.

"So, that one guy called you the 'Marksman'?" Sophia asked as she threw her first dart. It landed generally close to the center of the board.

"Yeah." Marcus confirmed with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "But I don't really like being called that to be honest."

"I mean it fits." She commented on his nickname.

"I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it." Marcus would take his turn and get slightly closer to the center than Sophia.

"So what's your real name then?" Sophia asked out of curiosity as she tossed another dart.

"I prefer to just go by Marcus if I'm being honest. Marcus Manson's my full name by the way." Marcus picked up another dart from his arsenal and tossed it. With a loud tap, it landed exactly where he intended it.

"Sophia Avalon." Sophia threw another dart.

"Nice to meet you, Sophia." Marcus said with a bit of happiness in his voice.

"So, do you usually introduce yourself before or after you beat your opponent?"

"I don't really introduce myself, to be honest." Marcus said to Sophia's surprise.

"Oh? What makes me the exception then?"

"You asked." Marcus hurled his dart as it connected to the board, followed by another loud tap. "You're the first to ask for my name actually."

"Huh... Interesting..." Sophia didn't seem to have a response ready, so she silently threw her dart instead.

"So just curious." Marcus tried to keep the conversation going as he seemed to be enjoying it. "Why'd you go out of your way to challenge me to a game of darts? I mean you saw what I did to that guy earlier."

"Oh, no reason." Sophia then made her next throw and landed her dart on the edge of the bullseye. At this point though, she wasn't aiming much as the two started throwing their darts blindly.

"Don't lie. Everyone has a reason for something." Marcus responded. "I wanna know what yours is."

"Alright fine." She relented. "Just trying to take care of some people is all."

"Huh... Wonder what that's like." Marcus responded.

"It's a pain." Sophia joked, with a hint of honesty. "But it's the good kind of pain. The kind that makes it all worth it. The kind you come back for."

"Hm.. I see. So you're what they call a masochist." Marcus commented bluntly.

Sophia let out a burst of laughter as she wasn't expecting him to say that.

"Who knows? Maybe. I mean, I keep coming back for more, so I must be." She joked in return as she let out another small laugh.

After saying that, there was a small silence between the two.

"So, is it just you?" Sophia asked him out of curiosity.

"Yeah." Marcus answered almost casually.

"Where are your parents?" Sophia asked with concern.

"Don't know."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Only child." He answered.

"How do you even survive out here, then?"

"Darts. And these." Marcus showed her his hand as he wiggled his fingers. "I go to bars and taverns a lot. What I like to do is find the owner and challenge them to a game of darts. Sometimes they'll pick someone to face me. If I win, I either get lien, a meal and drink, or a place to sleep, plus bath. Depends on what I'm competing for to be honest. On really good days, I get all the above. But people are rarely that generous down here."

"Sounds tough. Being on your own." Sophia said sympathetically.

"I'm used to it." He dismissed before putting on a smile. "Besides, I make it work. Today, I just won me a comfy room with a bath. Plus, that guy the bar owner picked to face me decided to bet some of his own money, which means I also have money to pay for a meal or two!"

"Ah, well it seems like you have everything all figured out."

"Yep! So, tell me about your end. What's your situation? Who are these people you're trying to take care of?"

"Sick mom. Dad's out working while my big sister is helping as much as she can with her job. Wasn't making much of a difference, so me and my brother'd scrounge for loose money. Didn't do a whole lot, so I resorted to 'finding' more if you catch my drift." Sophia put quotes around 'finding'. She didn't want to accidentally alert the people in the bar that she was a pickpocket.

"Does it work?" Marcus asked with curiosity.

"It's making things more doable, to say the least. So... I'd say yeah."

At this point in the game, neither of the two were really paying attention to their game. The dartboard had darts littered across the surface. Some were even stuck to the wall. It was as if they forgot they were in the middle of a game and were just reflexively throwing their darts. Eventually, one of them would notice.

"Hey, uh, do wanna call this game a draw?" Sophia offered. "I don't think the owner will be very happy seeing that we made a dartboard out of his wall."

"Huh? Oh!" Marcus was a little confused as he turned his head to the direction of the wall. Once noticing, he let out a small chuckle. "Ehh, sure. Why not?"

Sophia and Marcus would then retrieve their darts from the board and the wall and dropped them in a small mug to hold them. Once doing that, the two would end up sharing a meal and continue their conversation as they got to know each other better. During this time, Sophia would take the opportunity to make a proposal to the boy.

"So let me get this straight," Marcus said as he placed a scoop of mashed potatoes into his mouth. "You want me to help with your situation?"

"That's about right." Sophia confirmed as she looked down at her drink. "Look, I know it sounds like I'm asking a lot-"

"I'll do it." Marcus interrupted as he swallowed his mouthful.

"... Come again?" Sophia blinked twice as if she didn't process what she just heard.

"I said I'll do it."

"Oh... well... that was easy." She gave a relieved smile and took a sip.

"On one condition." Marcus grabbed a chicken leg and nibbled a piece of meat off.

"And there it is..." She muttered to herself. "And what would that be?"

"Pretty simple. You promise to play darts with me every day. At least one game a day. Does that sound fair?"

"...That's it...?" Sophia was caught off-guard by the simplicity of his conditions.

"Yep! That's it."

"What's the catch?" Sophia looked suspicious as she put some food in her mouth as well.

"Catch?" The boy cocked his head to the side.

"Come on! That's a really simple request in response to what I'm asking of you."

"There's no catch. I like you and I want to spend more time with you. I don't really have a lot of friends- well, I don't have any friends, really. And you seem nice-"

"You've only known me for like half an hour."

"And yet it feels like I've known you forever." Marcus joked around a bit.

"If you knew me that well, you'd know that would be a bad thing." Sophia joked in response as she poked fun at herself. "You don't socialize a lot like this, do you?"

"Nope! Not like this at least. Conversations like this are a bit rare for me. Most of my talk is usually just making bets with tavern owners and the occasional small exchange with opponents. Am I doing good?"

Hearing Marcus say that, caught her off-guard again a bit. Sophia looked at the child with a bewildered expression. Despite his confidence and almost snappy demeanor upon meeting him, once he eased into things and got comfortable, he seemed just like a normal kid. Albeit seemingly slightly introverted at first, but still a normal kid. A kid who knew his way around things, but still just a kid.

"Yeah. You're doing fine." Sophia assured the child as she gave off a bit of an older sister vibe before returning to her normal demeanor. "So, so long as I promise to play darts with you everyday, you promise to help me with my situation at home?"

"That is what we said." Marcus confirmed.

"Well, alrighty then." Sophia stands up with a smile on her face. "That sounds like a done deal!"

"Sounds like it." He wiped his fingers with a napkin and stuck out his hand. "See you tomorrow, Sophia."

Sophia then took his hand in hers and gave it a firm shake.

"See you tomorrow, Marcus."

With that, Sophia would pivot on her heel and left the boy sitting there. She left with the lien she stole earlier and headed home. She would end up receiving an earful from her sister for staying out so late. In response, Sophia would simply pretend like she was listening. She let her sister talk while giving her the occasional, "Uh-huh", "Yeah, yep! Got it.", "Good to know." and many other small, interruptive responses that were basically the equivalent to saying, "Shut already and leave me alone! I just walked through the door, dammit!"

When her sister finally let her go, Sophia would put her stolen lien in with the rest of her and Lucius' stash. She would then continue the rest of the evening as normal while keeping in mind the promise she made to the boy. After her meeting with Marcus, Sophia was confident things were going to turn around. And as a bonus, her meeting with Marcus would be the start of a new friendship.

**Chapter End**

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Hey, everyone!

Sorry this one is about a day late. This chapter needed a little more time in the kitchen. So I took another day to flesh it out a bit more.

Anyway, with this chapter, we meet Marcus Manson. The somewhat introverted, yet confident kid with an incredible talent for aim for someone his age. This chapter is basically just introducing him and getting know him a little bit. I want to know what you think of him so far. The reason I say that is because he will be a recurring character in the future and appear in future volumes with a bigger role in regard to Team SLVR.

In Sophia's backstory, he doesn't make many appearances. In fact, this is the most screentime he gets. But he's basically Sophia's closest friend as well as her lifeline in her situation. Aside from that, I can't say much about him without getting into spoilers, but the important things to know is that he is Sophia's friend and will return in a later volume. Anyway, I think that's it. I didn't have a whole lot to say this time.

Well, there's one more thing I want to say. I like to give my oc's theme songs. Reason why is because, Usually when I'm writing a certain character, I'll listen to a certain song (or set of songs) that I feel fit the character. It gives me a better feel for them and how I want to write them or depict them. I also think it's kinda fun because it might also give readers an idea of what his character is like. I think it's fun at least. I'll be doing this for almost all my oc's. Marcus' theme, by the way, is called "Watch Me Now" by Tommee Profit. The theme might not match how he's depicted here, but it'll fit better later down the line when he becomes more prominent and makes more appearances.

Anyway, with hat said, the next part should be out soon. Next chapter is... going to be heavy... So, yeah... get ready for that one.

But in the meantime, here is the next fun fact:

Fun fact #20: Marcus Manson's name is a pun derived from the word "Marksman".