Grand Valley was truly a sight to see. Every street had something interesting to witness: holographic trees often showed up on some sidewalks, a few cleaning robots roamed the streets, and unique flowers hung on the walls of each shop. Even the street lamps were high technology. Aqua once mentioned that Grand Valley has thousands of residents, and the area they were exploring was just a small part of it.
"Shopping district…" mumbled Xena as she read the neon-lit sign near the entrance. She and Aqua entered a large open gate. And what lay beyond amazed her. Hundreds of people flooded the wide streets. These people wore expensive-looking outfits that could probably pay for her family's rent. On the sides stood an array of shops that held clothes so expensive—clothes that only the rich could afford. Xena looked down at her pair of clothes. They were no match against the ones these people were wearing.
"Why are we here?" Xena asked, confused. She felt insecure and saddened after seeing how these rich people dressed. The person she questioned smiled mischievously as her eyes darted from one person to another.
"To look for prey," replied vaguely by Aqua. She instinctively held Xena's hand while they both slowly moved forward. "Just watch…" The tone in her voice changed in an instant; Aqua became focused and straight-faced.
She dragged Xena amongst the sea of people and blended in too well. The hustle and bustle of the crowd brought a minor discomfort to Xena since most of these people were twice her height. Just watch, Aqua said, but the crowd was so large that Xena couldn't even get a grasp of what Aqua was doing.
All Xena saw was Aqua's swift hand entering people's bags and exiting out of it with a wallet in her grasps. The owners of the said bags were too damn busy chatting to notice that Aqua had just stolen a valuable item.
"H-hey. What are you--" Xena asked as she watched Aqua continuing whatever she was doing. However, as she got dragged along with the wave of the crowd, her black hoodie almost revealed her unique white hair. Thankfully, Xena's fast reaction prevented what could have been a disaster.
The two of them finally got out of the sea of rich people while Aqua had a satisfied smile on her face.
"Another successful day." Aqua's pearly white teeth showed as she placed three wallets inside both of her pockets.
"Did you just… steal?" the white-haired girl asked. Aqua placed her finger near her mouth and told Xena to close her mouth, but the panic was not obvious in her eyes.
"I'll tell you later. Come on, we gotta go before these people notice anything," Aqua mentioned once. Before Xena could respond with anything, Aqua had already begun dragging her through the streets. They both ran as fast as they could. The current of the air was too strong because of Aqua's speed that Xena's black hoodie almost revealed her unique white hair. It was a pain to hold it down just to prevent any people from seeing it.
It was odd that no one cared nor noticed two random girls running around the shopping district alley, but Xena guessed that the rich were too busy to care. Both Xena and Aqua ran long enough that Xena reached peak exhaustion. As the wind caressed her sweaty face, she noticed the look of each building near the sidewalks change the farther they went. One by one, the expensive and sophisticated shops slowly disappeared. They both slowed down at a street with two shops that looked like it was on the brink of closing down. The usual hubbub was absent, making the atmosphere look and feel empty.
Xena and Aqua went inside a dark alleyway between two shops. Xena panted and gasped for air. She was struggling to keep her breathing in pace while Aqua looked perfectly normal, as if running for ten minutes didn't tire her out. With her hands on her knees, Xena attempted to catch her breath.
"Come on, we only ran for ten minutes!" teased Aqua. But unlike her, Xena was no expert with speed and stamina. A chuckle escaped Aqua's mouth while she tried to drag Xena toward the alleyway.
"Where are we going now?" Xena asked whilst still in the middle of catching her breath. The alley got darker as they strolled. Broken street lamps on the wall flickered while a few sounds of cats meowing echoed through the walls. Beyond them was a small wooden gate about the height of Aqua.
She stopped to look at Xena. "Finally. We're here," Aqua said. The metal piece that secured the gate clung as she flicked it open. The wooden entryway opened and revealed an empty, small front yard. There were two dogs casually sleeping in front, but immediately rose in excitement when they saw their owner. Aqua's smile grew larger while she happily greeted them in return.
"This is the entrance to my humble abode… or something," announced Aqua with full excitement.
"Is abode even a word?" Aqua furrowed her brows as she asked herself.
"Anyway, it's not much but wait till' you get inside." Her eyebrows wiggled up and down. The dogs sniffed Xena out of curiosity; her scent was an unfamiliar one, causing interest. Aqua moved toward a wooden door and slowly opened it to reveal a spacious warehouse.
Xena's eyes rounded in amusement and shock. The warehouse looked comfortable to live in. The walls were tall, bigger than Steven's at least. Fairy lights hung on the high walls, giving the space a distinct atmosphere. The living room greeted Xena. Right off the bat, Xena saw an enormous television screen. It was twice—no, thrice the size of the one her family had. White leather couches stood in the living room around the television. Beneath them were a wide black and white carpet that gave the living room area a finished look.
"This is basically where I've been living for the past three years." Aqua smiled. Her hands were comfortably placed in her pockets. Xena scanned the area in amazement. She never knew one could live in a warehouse, let alone make it look comfortable and neat.
"It's amazing," admitted the amazed Xena. Aqua nodded her head as she agreed to the little girl's statement.
"I decorated it along with a friend of mine."
As Xena explored the area, the two dogs outside entered gleefully. They sniffed the couches and welcomed themselves on top of it, immediately dozing off.
"Do you live alone?" asked Xena. She noticed there was a staircase that stood near the open kitchen. This warehouse was much bigger than it seemed.
"Nope. I live with a friend who owns the shop below us. She gave me this place to live,"
It was amusing to Xena. All her life she lived in a tight, secluded bubble known as her home. She had never seen these warehouses that looked this nice, nor had she seen people living in them. Compared to the warehouse, Xena's home pales in comparison.
Aqua jumped over the backside of the couch and sat comfortably on its cushions. She met Xena's eyes and told her to sit.
"Time to show what I got." She rubbed her hands together as if she was preparing herself. Aqua reached for something and her pockets. And low and behold, the wallets she had stolen finally appeared. There was not one, not two, but three wallets of different colours and sizes. The first one that caught her attention was neon blue. It stood out amongst the three not only because of its colour but also because of its width.
"This one has a lot of money inside it, I can tell." Aqua laughed a loud laugh. She slowly revealed the contents inside the said wallet, and she was right. Her hands trembled with excitement as she looked at Xena.
"That's a lot of money…" acknowledged Aqua. Inside the wallet were multiple cards that Aqua claimed were redundant. She said she cared more about the cash. The stack of money sitting on top of the wooden coffee table drew Xena's eyes in.
"500… 600… 1000…" Aqua counted quietly. Each number amazed Xena. She thought it was outrageous to carry thirty arans in one's pocket, but watching Aqua count about a thousand arans worth of money blew her mind. One-thousand Arans is enough for surviving two months, complete with food and necessities. She couldn't imagine how those people could carry such an extensive amount of money.
Still, Xena felt bad for those people. She looked at Aqua with concern. "Don't you think it's bad to steal?" she asked the busied Aqua.
"Bad? Not really." Aqua's eyes darted towards Xena's. "It's their fault for carrying an irresponsible amount of money."
"But…" It was still unacceptable, Xena thought. And although it was, Aqua refused to believe so.
"What if those people needed their money?" It was fortunate that Xena still had her morals left, and that she still had a little care for those people she hardly knew. But her statement caused Aqua to shoot a sharp glare at her. She paused in counting the stack of cash.
"If those people needed their money, they wouldn't be shopping around in that district." A sigh escaped her mouth as she finally placed the stack of cash down. Xena's eyes lowered. She hadn't thought about the point that Aqua stated correctly.
"They go around the shopping district, buying things that they probably already have. Just for the sake of having it," she said. "Plus…"
"I've been doing this for years, yet they made no police reports. Those people just don't care and they never will long as they've got the cash."
"Even if they lost one small wallet, they always have another one. This is Grand Valley, where the money is never the problem. Can you believe it?" The ends of Aqua's lips curved into a mischievous grin. Xena felt her emotions clashing inside her. She couldn't even figure out what was right or wrong anymore.
"Okay," Xena mumbled. Was she convinced? Or were her morals still weighing over her? Either way, it confused Xena.
Aqua cleared her throat, which caught Xena's attention. "I've been wanting to ask, why were you running away in the forest?" A look of curiosity appeared on Aqua's face. The question was simple, but it was hard for Xena to answer. How is she going to reply, anyway? That a pedophile almost sexually assaulted Xena, leading her to kill him with her own blood? It sounds ridiculous. And his death remained a mystery to her.
"Something happened," replied Xena.
"What happened?"
"Something I find odd…" Xena avoided Aqua's strong, curious eyes. She felt awkward, and the surrounding silence didn't help her.
"You know what I find odd? I find it odd that a young girl ran around the forest and casually just asked a stranger," she said, "--which is me to tag along. So what really happened?" Aqua's brows raised to show her doubt.
Xena gulped a small lump down her throat. Finally, she replied, "You'll find it weird."
"Oh please, I've seen a lot of weird stuff, so just tell me." Aqua's never-ending questions frazzled Xena.
"I don't know. I—I probably caused someone's death. The death of a man." She avoided Aqua's eyes and hugged her knees in fear. Just speaking about it brought her chills.
"You… killed a man?" asked Aqua. She didn't know if she wanted to believe the little girl in front of her. But her body language proved that Xena was telling the truth.
"I really don't know. I don't think it was me. Please don't tell anyone." Xena sighed.
Aqua nodded her head to reassure her. "Don't worry, I won't."
"But…" she continued.
"You said you can control blood, right?" Aqua asked, smiling mischievously. Xena knotted her brows and nodded slowly. Judging by the look on Aqua's face, Xena knew she was up to no good.
"I guess... I'm not sure," replied Xena.
Aqua smiled, mischievously. She responded, "Good. Let's test it out tomorrow and I'll see if you're telling the truth."