"Hm, she was rather light for how she dressed." I remark under the noises of the street as my fingers slip another bank note clear of its pocket prison. No one's paying enough attention on these crowded roadside walks. Such a perfect killing field for people and finger nosy as me. A couple more motions and I am a couple more slips of minted paper heavier.
I see a gap between some people and pass on through to a set of steps to catch my breath. Licking my thumb, I get to ordering my ill-got money and bundle it up nice and secure. Don't want to be making the wrong choice right after making so many right ones. If it can happen to them, it'll happen to me, too.
Stuffing the roll of notes down my front, I guard myself further against those similar to me. I fake some stretches and get back into the thick of it. Practically dancing on my way back out of the crowd with a fan of money. It all comes back together, becoming such an attractive wad of cash.
I repeat the process until I have a well-developed six pack. Only, not one made of raw muscle, but probably every kind of note in existence. It's enough to make a girl feel stuffed. Gods and goddesses, though, I wish it were food making my gut uncomfortable right now.
I'm sure Hrurim wouldn't mind if I spent a bit of the money getting myself something to eat. But Pops would care. He knows how good I am at things like this. Him teaching me set me to too good of a standard to be able to lie. Still, something cheap is hardly going to make him notice.
What to eat, though? I can either pop into the shops for something or deal out more for a cooked meal. A thoughtful grumble leaves me, almost alike the stomach that should be rumbling. It carries on and on as I survey the street, a bite on my lower lip-
"Ah!" I go, finding a vendor of some kind. My nose comes to life with the fury of an angered tyrant. The smells of searing meat and toasty buns are all that are allowed into its lands. Sauce that has caked up the nozzle and pickled toppings. Such lovely smells.
The vendor waves a lovey-dovey couple farewell and spots me. He gives me a warm smile, almost as warm as his equipment, really. I toss him a note without much care and he gives it little concern. He saw the colour, so I now have the pick of the litter.
"I'll have a wing wrap toastie, please." I say, minding my manners as he wiggles all his free fingers over the sauces and toppings. My eyes shift, glancing at the images of the food on offer. A ponderous click spits out my salivating salvation. It slips back in, running along my teeth in a pre-emptive stroke. Two fingers curl into a fist and I knock on the covers for several things.
I want two sauces, whatever the red is and whatever the white with herbs is. Crisping onions separating the buns from the main body of the bat. Some leafy greens to suck up all the melted fat, too. Best of all, a smothering of butter into the bread to give it a real shine that can match the surface's daytime.
The vendor makes me two, although I only asked for one and I cock a brow. He gives me another smile, putting them both on a cheap slate tray. What little paper he does have covers the top, and he makes sure I have a firm grip. I give him a smile and head off, an eager giggle rippling to the surface as I come across an impossible sight.
"Huh, to think a town like this has a small garden done like the surface." I click, going on in and finding a bench to kick up on. It's not particularly busy for the moment and I have no problems lounging on the full length of the bench. My nearest nail dives in, tearing the paper open and getting a nailful of steam for the trouble. It whips away, waving in the cooler cavern air as the warmth continues to pass through the stone and into my lap and more.
Bringing the first toastie out, I play with the wings of the poor bat now feeding me. No bones to worry about at all and whoever handled the deboning certainly did well. They've barely damaged the top of the wings to do so. Leaving so much crispy crisp skin for me to bite through!
I moan in delight, filling the bigger cavern that is my stomach. So much crunches in my mouth and it's all I can hear. The rest of the town might as well not exist. Bite after bite and anything that comes close to messing with what I can hear ticks me the wrong way.
Giggling. Some woman keeps giggling. My head snaps around, a lengthy draw to my next bite as a snarl takes over in a flash. That couple from before.
Nothing special either way, but happy all the same. A ring of gold and diamond on one finger and a ring of nothing but gold on another. They're quite young, probably... No more older or younger than me, actually.
"Well... My moment certainly got ruined." I say, finding myself combusting into a state of misery as the couple ignores the world around them. Sharing each other's food. Teasing each other with the bits they don't like. Sneaking in moments to have a quick kiss.
A harsh sniffle breaks my focus, and I finish the first of my toasties. The second one doesn't seem all that nice, now. A greasy pile of sloppy oil and charred bat bits. I didn't even care enough to make it something I'd really, really like. Bet those two did, though. I bet they giggled and laughed all the while as I was lost in my own world and as I approached...
"If he can afford a ring like that, surely he's got something on his person?" I sulk quietly to myself, going through my next toastie with abusive greed. No savouring, no time to enjoy it. I just eat it. Munch, mash and cham until I have an empty paw.
I toss the box away and hear it shatter on a bark-skinned root. My eyes go back to the couple as the husband smears some sauce on the wife's fur. She giggles at him, using her greasy fingers to wet willy him. He throws himself back, irking in disgust as she continues to giggle and laugh. Though, not even she dares to lick the culprit finger.
"You're disgusting..." I mutter as the husband exclaims it, a cloth coming out to wipe their fingers clean. She leans close, giving him a peck on the nose and they get up. Their rubbish goes into a bin and they leave the park, leaving me to my thoughts. Like a hooked fish, however, I chase after them through no want of my own.
I use all my training to keep out of sight and focus on what they say. A dream I can never have, not now, not with what I have to deal with. It certainly is something, though, isn't it? Running away from the big bad with the love of your life being the only one you can rely on.
The films and stories have it so often for a reason. Gods and goddesses above. Even back when Serelv was doing films, he did the same thing. Wild in the Underground Country, I'm pretty sure. My word is there so much trivia about him in my heart.
"So... Darling, I was thinking. About our honeymoon?" the wife asks the husband, bringing me out of my wayward thoughts. I let them crash and the survivors burn to their deaths.
"What about it, hm? I've got it all sorted, don't worry!" he insists, a reassuring shake bobbing her decorated head clearly even through the crowd. I click and snarl as some big man gets in my way for only a second or two.
"No-No-No! It's nothing big, I... I'm just very happy you sorted out what you did. You told me at the start of all this I had two choices. And, well... You've worked so hard to make it so I have no choices." she tells him, breaking apart into whispers and swooning as she leans into him and holds him tight.
"I felt so bad telling my precious she had a choice between seeing her favourite singer live and getting married." he chuckles and the pair share a lengthy kiss that never seems to end. I gulp as my cheeks burn and stumble over a crushed can. Getting back up, I straighten myself out and scowl as one part of those words sticks to me.
Favourite singer?
"I just can't believe it!" she almost squeals, dancing at his side.
"I heard Serelv Preslav is one of those kinds of performers that pays real close attention to his fans." the husband laughs and the pair turn a corner, vanishing from sight as my heart skips a beat. There's a Serelv Preslav concert or something soon!?
"CLOSE TO HERE!?" I scream, spooking the entire street and I vanish out of view. Slapping myself down onto a blue wheelie bin, I get my breathing in check. Not a recording, not something that I can find in a music shop. An actual show!
Serelv Preslav is performing somewhere close to here!?
I squeal and squeal, growing hotter and hotter as my inner girl takes over. My legs won't stop bouncing and my hands can't stop squeezing. If we make the right moves, we can go right that way. We can take a break from all this mafia business and see a show directly!
I can... I can see him in person with Pops. Hrurim and... An in-person show.
"Wow..." I struggle to say, my lungs otherwise collapsing into a dreamy mess as my heart flutters. It won't stop doing so, I can't make it stop. I'm going to feint and never see the day again at this rate. Oh, come on, take me to a land of dreams already!
I sigh and shake my senses as much as they can be shaken. I drag myself back to reality and suffer in the confines of it. Still, should we be lucky, we might pass that way. Pops talked about having more moments that are us being a family... This can be one of those moments.
No work, no jobs, no thoughts going anywhere. Me and him, no one else. No Hrurim to banter with, no Nin or anyone like him to sell, trade or snitch on. Me and Pops and the music.
The mood, the feel, all of it. I can share a moment with him that's a little more than just a 'he knows I like this musician' and all that. He'll be able to see it, maybe even feel it himself if the music is right.
Another sigh comes out of me and I slump down onto the ground. My mouth moves about, an uncomfortable truth in my heart. We're not going to go. It's not going to happen...
"Girl can hope, I guess." I mutter, shrugging my pointless dreams aside. I force my way up to my feet and throw myself back onto the street. A clock comes into sight and I stare at its hands as they keep themselves far, far away from the wanted spot. Pops wants me back in the evening and that evening is yet to come.
Bah. Bah... Bah! Baaaaah!
I get back to work with a frustrated shake to my actions. But never a lack of caution. Never that. My eyes meet a potential victim and I go away, too noticeable to them now.
"Take my mind elsewhere, street." I demand of the scenery as the sound of music starts to break its ambience. Each step makes the playing song clearer, and the tune makes me stop. Gods and goddesses, all of them above and in the world with us... It's a damn Serelv song!