David
**He doesn't say a word, too occupied with thinking about losing his mother**
Danny
**He doesn't comment.** Come along then.

**Noticeably, he pockets the handful of glass beads from his hair. They seem to have some sort of sentimental value to him...**
David
**He hides his face so that no one notices him**
There's people in this kingdom that know who I am...
Danny
Whoever could have guessed... **He mutters as they walk by a billboard packed full with Qaysar's wanted posters.**

I don't have any currency on me. That might pose an issue...
David
**He slightly laughs**
I didn't know who were capable of humour. 
**He pauses**
A while back I robbed this kingdoms bank vaults. That's why the bounty on me here is slightly higher than the one in Kahlo... Even though they would be sending me to Kahlo's authorities.

**The bounty on him here happens to be just about double the bounty on him in Kahlo**
... Like I said, slightly above the one in Kahlo...
Elizabeth
|| wait so it's 40M? 😭
Danny
**He thinks for a moment.** That's quite impressive. I suppose under other circumstances, I would have been the one seeking you instead.
Timothy
|| yes, he robbed the royals directly here 💀
Elizabeth
|| P H E W, luckily knox isn't pro-royal, he's only pro-kahlo
David
**He slightly smiles**
Yeah I guess you would.
Danny
**He cocks his head.** As long as you get the bounty off you, I would have no duty to fight, aside from honor.
David
Thats the plan at this point. 
**He pauses**
Why do they call you "The red ace"?
Danny
**He walks closer to Qaysar, lowering his voice.**

Well if you've heard the stories, you would know the battles I've fought. Twenty rogue elves in a single night, all alone. Vampire families who have plagued Kahlo for eons. It's true, that I alone am the reason the Elder Forest can be stepped foot in without that foot coming out torn. **He laughs bitterly, as if the forest brought bad memories...**

An ace can do it all. If Kahlo were to enter war... The rest of Ambrosia *Fears* The direction I turn the tides.

They say "Red" Because... **He looks at his hands.**

Red is a color of grace. But also of violence. And it is to violence I am forever bound.

**He's silent for a little.** So where does the greatest living thief in all of Ambrosia come from?
Timothy
|| bro complimented him :0
David
**He laughs a bit**
Funnily enough, I'm from Kahlo... I was born into a family of nobility.
**He takes a deep breath**
My dad- was always horrible at his job as a father. I was always closer to my mother, until she- she died. **His face has an expression of sadness**
When I was 18 I ran away and it was then that the "Legend of Al-Qaysar" Began.

What about you? What's your story?
Danny
**Like a statue, he shows him no sympathy.** So we both have lost our parents... And ran away when young. Only to end up as outlaws.

**Almost silently,** *I wonder of all villains are made this way.*
David
**He laughs**
Funny how things turn out huh?

**Almost silently as well,** Neither one of us is a villain.
Danny
**He rolls his eyes.** Now *That*, would be a myth.

**He seems to be calculating how much he wants to tell. Then he sighs.** My past is irrelevant. I am what I am. And it serves you best to believe I've always been this way.
David
**He seems somewhat serious.** Well, I steal from the rich and donate it all to the poor and you, well you only ever did what you were instructed to by the Royals.

**He nudges him a bit** 
Oh come on, no fair. If I tell you something you should tell me something back too!
Danny
**Plainly, a little amused.** There is no fairness or equality. You can use me as proof if you'd like.
Elizabeth
**They approach the bustling capital of Kazumaki. There are merchants at every corner, shops and signs and flags. Sailors sharpening their swords, passersby making talk. For all its wonders, Kazumaki was one thing: alive.**
David
**He smiles and pushes him a bit** 
Come on! Don't be shy! 
Who is Knox? Just some guy from Kahlo?
Timothy
|| how r they gonna bond if only knox gets to find out stuff about qaysar but not vice versa
Danny
Well my father was a knight. He was praised by both the king and Kahlo. I come from a filthy neighborhood just outside the capital with my three brothers... **He trails off.** Two of them are gone, for the better. The other took our maiden name. I don't have other family, so that makes me the last Feuerborn.

Is that enough for you?
David
Oh, I'm sorry for your loss? 
I've... Never had any siblings so I don't know how those type of relationships work...
And, as you could've guessed already from our earlier encounter... I'm not the best at making allies... Or friends. 
**He pauses**

**He seems like he feels guilty somewhat**
Do you... Ever feel guilty for something you've done or caused...?
Danny
**He looks at Qaysar wryly.** Again, it's better that they're dead.

**He thinks for a moment.** I suppose... That a long time ago, I made the mistake of trusting the wrong person. He didn't seem like more than an innocent kid. *I was wrong.* Those who were born of violence will know nothing but violence. Which makes his crimes my own.

**He suddenly falls quiet.**

Someone's listening in.
David
Not a great experience when it came to family then...

**He becomes quiet, he looks at Knox in suspicion, sort of asking him with his eyes "Who"**

My only regret in life just so happens to be similar to yours somewhat... Almost a decade ago I encountered what you'd call a... Psychopathy, I defeated him and all but my regret is not killing him. He's in a.. Prison, you could say... Yeah, a prison, but I fear if he gets out what sort of evil he'll unleash on the world. 
**He pauses for a moment**
***DON'T*** Try figuring out which prison he's in...
Danny
**He raises an eyebrow.** Sentience itself... Is enough to harbor evil. And those who know nothing but death will have it follow them their entire lives. You should kill the man while you still have the chance.

**He grabs Qaysar forcefully by the collar and makes him move along, falling deaf on whoever's "Ears" Were listening. In a hushed tone.** *I wasn't going to ask about the prison.*
David
I don't have the time to go kill him...

**He goes closer to him and whispers** Eventually... You'll find out where he's held... Maybe I can give you the satisfaction of letting you kill him.
Timothy
|| FORESHADOWING ^^^^^^

|| OH YEAH this was foreshadowing to Lue C Fair
Danny
**He huffs.** The only satisfaction will be getting the job done.
Elizabeth
**As they walk along the bustling square, they notice a child running behind a couple stalls. She has large eyes and her hands are covered with black grime. She seems to recognize Qaysar.**
James
**She calls out.** Al-Qaysar? Qaysar help me! Those men are after me!

**She screams and grabs onto his clothes, hiding behind him as two men—*Pirates*—appear.**
Danny
**He draws his dagger at the young girl and pushes her back, making her whimper.**
Gilbert
**The larger of the two approaches with a slight grin.** Allow me to apologize, sirs. You see, that runt is a runaway from her master, the wealthy Duke of the Akari Islands. She will be punished for the trouble she's caused when we return her. So please, gentlemen. Hand us over the child.
James
**She shouts as the two pirates step closer but is afraid to get closer to Qaysar because of Knox's knife.** Please do something! I can't go back!
Gilbert
**He continues to walk closer. Upon closer inspection, it seems the large pirate has a gaping scar across his neck. He's seems to be a minor crook from these parts, with a bounty of 10k...** Insolent brats like you should be happy you live! **He laughs.**
Danny
**He whispers to Qaysar.** *Both of these reek of trouble. We have a mission. Abandon the girl but be prepared to fight the pirates if needed.*
David
**He looks at Knox then back at the girl, unable to get himself to leave her alone as she's begging for his help**

**He places the girl behind his back, grabbing out his twin sickles**
I don't care who this dumb Duke is, no one can belong to someone else.
Danny
**He glares at Qaysar.** Our battle is in Kahlo. She may suffer now, but my entire country will suffer if we waste time here. **He seizes the frail girl by the collar, making sure she doesn't run away.**
James
P-please, stop it sir! **She kicks and screams but to no avail.**
Gilbert
**The two pirates approach closer with self-righteous smirks.**
David
**He stares at Knox** I won't watch as an innocent suffers.
**He grabs the girl**
I'll take care of her, for now. 
**He looks at the pirates**
Go back to your master, tell him there's no more girls for him to take, and if he seems bothered by it, tell him he can take it up with Al-Qaysar, if he has the balls. And tell him to come to me himself, and not send some goons with a mere 10k bounty.
Danny
**He grabs Qaysar's shoulder hard.** Drop the girl. We have a kingdom to take back.
Gilbert
**The lead pirate laughs.** Master? Aye, I don't have a master sir! The Duke offered a 50k deal for the missy, not bad methinks. Your friend there is wiser than you, so c'mon let's all be on our ways now! I can even pitch in a grand for your troubles!
James
**The girl has no options left, her legs give in and she breaks into tears but none of the passersby listen to her weeping.** *Please please, they'll do terrible things to me, d-hic!-don't let them take me!*
David
**He moves his shoulder away from Knox's hand**
No girl is going anywhere.
**He grabs out his twin sickles, pushing them hard up near the pirate's neck**
Gilbert
**He snarls, threatened, and reaches for his scabbard.** Look, ye yellow-faced fellow. We can talk it out! Give us the girl, and no one gets hurt.
David
**He slightly pushes his twin sickle up, making a mark on the pirate's neck**
The time to talk this out already passed.
**He further pushes up his twin sickle, making the pirate slightly bleed by his neck**
Leave now, while you still can.
Gilbert
**His eyes widen at the mark.** No one... Gets a cut on me. **He barks to the other pirate.** Abort! We'll get the rest of the crew! **He glares at Qaysar and the two rogues flee with anger.**
Danny
Hold up! **He shouts, but not at the pirates... **
James
**A small glimpse of her disappears around the corner, escaping with a magical stick in her hand... So this was a setup.**
Timothy
|| why is it that whenever qaysar is nice to ppl in knox's presence, things only wind up in knox's favor of the idea of "Never be nice" 😭
Elizabeth
|| wait when was the first time—
Timothy
|| no like in general, here is an example, and then in the prison with the incident with Lue

|| alt timelines but still yk
Elizabeth
|| knox didn't try to kill this child—
Timothy
|| no but didnt the street girl run away with one of their weapons or something

|| meaning she wasnt all innocent

|| im assuming the magical stick refers to qaysar's combat stick thing?? Idk i might be confused 😭
Elizabeth
|| oh yeah, that happened
Timothy
|| yeah so knox would use this to be like "See, never be too nice" Or something
David
Hey! **He screams at the girl** Come back here! **He runs after her, luckily he still had his twin sickles in his hands, he wasn't completely "Naked" In terms of weaponry**
Danny
**He chases after Qaysar and the girl, prepared to fight if necessary.**
James
**She darts in and out of the crowd, panting and trying not to make a scene. These are *Her* Streets. She has the home advantage... But her small legs are no match for the people's thief with a 40M bounty.**

**She trips as she enters an alleyway, the stick flying from her hand. She cries out, scrambling for it.**
David
**He grabs her by the legs.** You messed with the wrong person. 
**His tone is different from before now, his facial expression was a scary angry one**
**He quickly goes and grabs his weapon**
What exactly where you trying to accomplish here?! Did you think you could manage to run off successfully?! 
**He was FURIOUS, he couldn't believe that a little kid could have such evil intentions**
You DISGUST me.
**He looks at knox**
She's all yours, **Handing her to him and looking away quickly**
Timothy
|| hes essentially telling knox to hurt her...
Elizabeth
|| qaysar allowing him to commit violence on a kid 😭 are we sure he's still qaysar
Timothy
|| hes disappointed in the kid 😭

|| ironically enough if knox even lays a finger on her qaysar would step in and stop him anyways 😭
Elizabeth
|| I can introduce the subplot now >:3
Timothy
|| def didnt think this was the plot of this entire thread-
Danny
**He spits on Qaysar's back.** As if I would do *Your* Bidding. This kid is nothing but a nuisance and you fell for it. Pick up your stick like a *Good* Mutt. We have supplies to gather.
Elizabeth
**Suddenly a voice rings out. "Halt, strange travelers!"**

**From the rooftops appears a tall, feminine figure. She has two men flanking her, both nasty pirates like the ones they encountered before. Other men appear, jeering and pointing at the two. She has a large cutting knife in her hand and smirks down at them.**
Wanda
**She puts a hand around her waist.** My my... Al-Qaysar and von Feuerborn. Anyone would recognize your crimes, even from across the great mountain range. What brings you to Kazumaki, men?~ **She holds out her arms as if to greet them and laughs.**
James
**She cries out to the thief.** Help me! They're trying to hurt me!
Timothy
|| i genuinely dont know where that name comes from-
David
**He puts down the street girl, pushing her head forward.** I don't wanna see you within a mile radius.
**He puts his combat stick on his back, but he's holding his twin sickles in his hands, *Just in case***
Timothy
|| thebes the old city in egypt?
Elizabeth
|| I was more so thinking thebes in greece where oedipus killed his father like the prophecy said 😭 + the ardennes is the forest the french hardly protected during ww2 which is how germany took over france
Timothy
|| there's two of them, not my fault
Elizabeth
|| I THOUGHT YOU WOULD GET ARDENNES THOUGH
Wanda
Leaving so soon? I think you boys forgot something~ **She holds up a familiar knife in her hand... It's Knox's cutting knife.**
Danny
**He's surprised and checks his pocket. Sure enough, it's been swiped.** Quite some talent...
Wanda
**She tosses it back to him.** The name is Thebes Ardennes, but around here they call me the *Queen of Thieves.* **She looks to Qaysar with a hiss.** Be careful who you're talking to. That's my little sister.
Timothy
|| I DONT CARE ABT DETAILS LIKE THAT IF THEY RELATE TO BATTLES
David
**He smiles.** You'd think she'd know better if she's learning from one of the best.
Timothy
|| qaysar is good at flattering ppl apparently

|| NOT FLIRTING BTW
Elizabeth
|| time to continue this 💪
Wanda
**She rolls her eyes and hops down from the roof.** Now look here, I don't mean to cause you boys trouble. I make deals, that's all, and right now I want one with you.
Danny
**He glares at her, his hand firm around the cutting knife.** We're not interested in a game.
Wanda
**Giggles a little.** Hear me out first. Word travels fast in the underground, and right now you're both refugees who could use my help. Sure I *Could* Turn you into the local hunters for a profit. But there's a particular... Let's say lord, who's been after my sister. You boys don't mind cutting off a hand or two, do you?
Hoyt
**She looks at Qaysar, hesitant, then looks back at Knox with fear in her eyes.**
David
**He seems a bit annoyed, slightly laughing at her words**
Let me make it clear, you can't make us do, or turn us into *Anything*. 
**He pauses for a moment**
And yeah, I do have a problem with cutting off a hand or two, 
I. Refrain. From. It.
_ _
Especially if it's for a kid who just stole my weapon a minute ago.
Wanda
**At his last sentence, her hands ball into fists but she inhales deeply.** You won't be cutting off any hands, I'm a pacifist... **She grumbles, clearly upset.** Unless absolutely necessary, of course. 

All I need is a strong and agile force who can give me backup. I'll climb this bastard lord's tower, rip up Bonnie's contract, and then the guards around here won't have any legal grounds to hunt her down anymore. Simple as that. 

**She snaps her fingers and one of her thieves tosses a large bag to the ground. Gold coins scatter everywhere.** I take it lost travelers like yourselves could use some cash? I'll make it worth your while. Outlaw to outlaw's promise.
David
**He grins**
How much gold is that?

**He points at the bag**

**He thinks for a moment**
Triple it. 
One third for Knox, one third for me, one third for the poor - which ***I*** Will handle personally...
Wanda
**She seems surprised at his sudden enthusiasm, then steps forwards and offers her hand.** Each bag is 5,000 gold, enough to get you a real beauty of a weapon and some more. I take it we have a deal?
David
Up to him.
**He looks at knox, qaysar was on board, but Knox is unpredictable...**
Danny
**He grimaces and tucks his hands into his pocket. Even someone as stubborn as him can see this would be a quick way to get enough gold for the supplies... He sighs and holds his hand to Thebes.** We accept.

Darkness consumes more of Kahlo every second we wait. Tell us the plans along the way.
Wanda
**She grins and shakes his hand, then looks to Qaysar.** Let's go then
David
**He nods, following thebes**
Wanda
**She scoops up the bag of coins and tosses it to one of her companions, then calls to the rest of her gang.** AY. Take Bonnie to a safe place. Her big sis can handle things from here.
Hoyt
**The girl pouts, but doesn't argue as she leaves with the thieves.**
Wanda
**She leads them down the alleyways of Kazumaki's town square. The fragrant orange scents and fresh sea breeze die as they enter deeper into undercity territory. The sky itself seems to be turning darker than it should have been, though she has an excited grin.**

You boys keep up. It's a lucky day for all of us, after all, what are the chances we three legends all happen to have something the other wants! 

**She stops at a rundown street. It seems like a remnant of what once was a lively corner of magic vendors and librarians, now a dusty alley with writing on the walls. She turns to the two with a hand to her chin in thought.**

We'll take a boat to some nearby islands where the Lord Akari lives. His family has owned plantations for centuries there... We should be at low tides until we reach the tower where his office is. It's heavily guarded, but we'll have to sneak past and save our forces for the lord himself. Then we find the contract, rip it up, flee, and you boys get paid. Does that sound alright?
Danny
**He seems hesitant.** By boat? Where would we get that from?
Timothy
|| I love how qaysar clearly doesn't care but knox is asking a bunch of stuff
Elizabeth
|| qaysar fr can't be bothered to save a child from slavery 😭

|| and I thought he was the hero
Timothy
|| I didn't think it was slavery + she did try robbing qaysar so she ain't innocent
Elizabeth
|| the guards from earlier were chasing her down because she's a slave who ran away
Wanda
**She takes them over to the harbor. It's obscured by dense buildings, making it difficult for the authorities to find. There's a boat hanging in the waters, tethered to the dock. She looks to Qaysar.** 

You seem the strongest of the bunch, so row on. **She points ahead to a couple flat planes in the distance.** Next stop is the
David
**He rolls his eyes, he doesn't know if that was a compliment or her trying to get him to row the boat**
Knox, care to help. 
**He slightly smiles, if he was going to have to row, Knox would too.**
Danny
**He sits back and crosses his arms, his eyes closed. He has a small smirk.** You're the strongest of the bunch. Go on.
David
**He slightly smirks**
My arms are still in pain from my first encounter with you and your wife.
_ _
Unfortunately I won't be able to do it alone.
Danny
**He rolls his eyes and taunts.** So much for caring about your people then.
David
**He slightly laughs, but a bit annoyed**

A ***Thief*** Is not from my people.
**He's quiet for a moment**
Besides whoever said I wouldn't help row?
Elizabeth
|| b-but he is a thief
Timothy
|| his people are the poor, not criminals

|| that's what he means

|| also he takes from the rich so it ain't rly stealing

|| would we want a time skip
Elizabeth
|| It's been a while, the thread archived 😭

|| and ye, timeskip