Out of the corner of his eye, Zeven saw a little boy skirt in and around peoples legs. He scrambled up and started heading towards him before Chris even noticed the boy was there. He disappeared into the crowd before her eyes, leaving her behind.
She tried to chase after him, running the same way he had. There were people everywhere. Couples, groups, individuals lined the street. Even with his height, she could not see him over the sea of people. Taking a deep breath she stopped moving. With each step she fell further into the crowd, getting nowhere.
The flow of people became more apparent as she stood still. People were moving up and down in a pattern of sorts, there were very few who strayed from the current. Logically thinking, she attempted to reason out where he would be: first, Zeven didn't want to cause a scene so he would head to a place where he wouldn't be noticed easily; secondly, he was chasing someone- a child- who could move throughout the crowd without much thought as to its direction; and thirdly, it was likely that Zeven wouldn't be the only person chasing after the kid.
Trying to put it all together, Chris began to retrace the path that Zeven and the child had taken. working her way against the grain of people, keeping her eyes open for any place that was either off the beaten path or directly on the beaten path that would be overlooked.
There! Her eyes were drawn to the small alleyway enshrouded in darkness. And at the very back, visible only to those looking for it, where two tall shadows. She headed towards them.
As she got closer, she could see that Zeven and a man were standing very close to each other. The man had his back to her so he did not see her arrival, but Zeven did. He spared her little more than a glance before gesturing at her. He kept his hand low so that the man could not see it. Due to the close proximity and the way Zeven kept constant eye contact the man missed Zeven gesturing for her to come closer.
Closer now, she saw that behind Zeven there was a boy. Nine or ten, if she had to guess. He was scrawny and dirty, but there was a look in his eye that let her know that despite his age he was no longer a child.
Zeven gave her another look, before gesturing to his pocket. He slowly pulled out a leather wallet, waving it a moment to make sure she saw it before tossing it low through the air. With her shoulder, she was in no state to catch the flying object, but that didn't stop her from trying. Her good arm outstretched as her knees bent and by some miracle she managed to grab it from the air without making a sound.
Looking at her again, he made sure that she had the wallet in her possession. Before finally announcing her presence.
"It's a good thing I caught you. I believe the thing my wife is holding is the wallet in question." Zeven smiled cordially, but it did not reach his eyes. His eyes were cool and collecting, like a hunter watching his prey step into a trap.
The man spun around on his heel, seeing Chris for the first time. Unsure of what to do she held out the wallet. He snatched it from her hand angrily. when the man moved to take the wallet, Zeven also moved. Pulling Chris into him while still keeping himself between the man and the boy.
The man was now clearly outraged, "Impossible, that thing stole it from me!" he pointed at the boy, flinging his arm wildly.
"You must be mistaken." Zeven kept calm, his smile never faltering, "It clearly fell out of your pocket, which is why my wife had it and not this boy. Unless... you are trying to insinuate that my wife stole your wallet in which case... I would strongly advise you to choose your words very carefully."
He must have seen the look in Zeven's eyes because the man suddenly became very compliant. "Nn-o. No sir, I would never… wh-what was your name again." the man floundered for a minute and Chris looked up to see that Zeven was clearly enjoying the show.
Zeven smiled only seemed to grow, spreading like poison across his face. "Brennan." He leaned down and whispered into her ear, "I think it's funnier than he does. I've even managed to get the patrol men to stop by his house before." Seeming to bury his face in her hair in a loving way, Chris realized that he was just trying to hide his laughter from the man, who at the moment looked like he might piss himself.
Since at the moment, Zeven seemed to be out of commission, Chris decided to step in and end the ordeal.
"If you have what you were looking for you should head back to the market." Chris kept her face expressionless, it was impossible to harness the same unhinged look that Zeven had used so she didn't even try. Not that the man needed any further convincing as he practically ran off in the opposite direction.
Zeven stifled his laughter as he stood back up. Back to his full height, he was intimidating. The way his hood obscured his face added to the illusion as well. Turning to the boy, he towered over him. The boy had to lean his head all the way back to see Zeven's face.
"How many times have I warned you-"
"Yeah, yeah. Go shove it."
"Oh no. I know you did not just say that to me."
Zeven shot his arms out like lightning grabbing Anton and sticking him in a headlock.
"When will you learn? Or do you plan on being an idiot your whole life?"
To emphasize his point he rubbed his knuckles into Anton's head giving him a noogie. He was so involved in the moment, that he forgot Chris was even there until she made a small coughing noise to gain his attention.
He was embarrassed to be caught in this childish moment, but not nearly as embarrassed as Anton seemed to be. With the red line extending all the way up to his ears and across his neck.
"This is Anton. Anton, Chris."
Anton was still in a headlock when he was being introduced. It wasn't until after Chris had waved a hello to him that Zeven let him go.
"Chris?" Zeven put his hand on her good shoulder and his other on Anton's, "how would you feel about some exercise?"
When she didn't immediately object he took that as a yes. Turning to look at Anton he continued, "meet us in the usual place in about 15 minutes. Bring the stuff."
Chris wanted to say something in opposition, but when she saw Anton's face light up she stopped herself. He looked so excited as he ran off, practically jumping off the walls of the alley way.
"Don't worry, I think you will like this."
"With you I always worry."
"... that's probably for the best."
Zeven led the way back to the streets. He kept his hands to himself, leaving Chris to struggle through the crowd alone. However he did creak a semi wake in his path allowing Chris to walk with little trouble as long as she stayed close behind him. Even with this she still was having difficulties, due to her shoulder brushing against others.
A large hand came into view, but its owner did not look at her. He kept the hand there only as an offering not a demand, the choice was hers. lingering for a moment longer, the hand began to retract.
As it disappeared Chris felt a pang in her chest, causing her to surge forward and grab the hand before it vanished completely. She didn't know why she did this, but it felt right. The hand tightened around hers, pulling her through the sea of people effortlessly.
Since she did not know where they were going, she did not know when they would stop walking. the hand and its owner were silent on the matter. The began to drift closer to the edge of the street indicating to Chris that Zeven had found what he was looking for.
There were several stalls in the general vicinity where they got off the street. the hand pulled away from her and took its body with it, once more leaving her alone. She could see where she was going, and as long as he didn't leave her line of vision, she felt okay with being left alone because she was confident that he would not leave her alone.
Zeven bought what he needed from the seller and trotted his way back to her now sporting a wooden bat and a fist sized ball.
"Ready to go?"
"What happens if I say no?"
"We disappoint several children."