<span style="font-style: italic">What a peacock,</span>Santi thought as her green-eyed gaze alighted on the last student in the group.  Flashy clothes like those were almost a certain lure for robbery... the young Velle man might be safe from being mugged while in a group as he was, but pickpockets were another matter entirely.<br/><br/>She was almost insulted that none of the youths seemed to pay her much attention as she passed them by, closer than necessary but not cutting straight through the crowd.  Stupid kids... too busy thinking about all kinds of useless things instead of noticing a sleekly-clad woman.  Bums.<br/><br/>Still, she satisfied her anger quickly and easily enough as that pretty boy passed her by without a second glance.  Her gait didn't change, and her arms swung normally to her sides for the most part... but a flick of her wrist and a barely-perceptible movement of her forearm resulted in a seamless dip into his most obvious pocket.  He never even noticed as she walked away with his entire day's spending money.  Poor boy might end up washing dishes... too bad for him, though.  Santi had done a lot worse than that, though it<span style="font-style: italic">had</span>occasionally involved some soap...<br/><br/>She smiled, amused by her thoughts and already tasting her coffee as she angled toward the only open shop.  However the smile on her face froze as her gaze slid sideways to movement not so far away.  It was just some random guy crossing the street, she thought first... but when she saw the eyebrow raised and his face angled in her direction, a shiver went down her spine.  Even with his sunglasses on, she knew he was looking right at her... and she knew, as well, that he'd seen what she'd just done.  Oh, crap...<br/><br/>She slowed, not quite coming to a stop as he reached her side of the street.  Would he confront her?  Or would he disregard her actions as just another example of the city being itself, live and let live?  She had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't let her just walk away from him... but since he hadn't shouted out what he'd seen, maybe he didn't want to make a scene either.  She'd probably be better off facing him right here on the sidewalk, with possible witnesses wandering nearby, than turning into an alley and facing him where no one could see.  On the sidewalk, if he tried to snatch her prize from her she could always scream rape...<br/><br/>She was walking slow as they neared each other, and she was trying to see his eyes through the sunglasses.  Would he let her pass him by, or would he stop her?  If he stopped her, would he be violent, or quiet about it?  Maybe he didn't care about the wallet at all... maybe it was<span style="font-style: italic">her</span>he wanted.  Who knew what could turn on a potential client...<br/><br/>As they approached, she finally decided to stop.  "Umm," she said softly, and licked her lips, "can I help you, mister?"