Not a soul seemed to stir within the silence of the town, leaving those who were passing through to wonder if the town had been deserted or if it truly was always this quiet. That question though would come to be nothing shy of a farce, as a faint voice echoed off the walls of the surrounding buildings. There was no real direction as to which the voice had been coming from due to the echoes, but one could gather that it had not been all that far off. Though, the words would come to inaudible noises, a few shadows would streak across a couple of the buildings and shortly after two forms would come into view.

One was nothing more than a mere child and the other was that of a grown man hot on the child’s heels. The grown man seemed highly out of place in this pursuit due to his large stature and the rapid succession in which his chest rose and fell. It would only seem to take a matter of minutes before the man would tire and give up pursuing the child, but that would only rest upon whether or not the child would make a vital mistake and slip up. Finding nothing as such presenting itself as a possible outcome, the child continued to bolt along through the streets, the tight cloak that bound itself around his narrow frame seemed to billow behind him from the air that rushed past him. There would be nothing to falter his escape, at least not yet…

Rounding his way around the corner, his eyes would peer over his shoulder and at one of the walls of a nearby building to see if he could catch a glimpse of the old man’s shadow. Still unsure if the man was still pursuing him or not, as no form of sound could be heard over the pitter-patter of his own footsteps on the cobblestone roadway. Deciding to maintain his focus upon escaping, his eyes would shift just in front of him again only to catch a glimpse of a pair of legs. By then it was too late as he came into a rough contact with the quite rigid structure of the person and stumbled back a step before flopping onto his rump. With a look of shock, his eyes would lift up to the person standing before him. From his current standpoint, he might have been better off staring up at a giant. Tilting his head off to the side, he would carefully study the large man before him, at least until the other one finally came to a halt behind him, desperately panting for air.

Having recognized the one in front of him as part of the city’s so called guards, his attention would turn itself to the one behind him. Leaning back, his head would roll backwards as wall until his eyes would make contact with the Inn keeper’s. The Inn Keeper growled lightly, “You little urchin! Give me back what you took!” The boy simply smiled and shrugged his shoulders in response, before the guard in front of him would grab him roughly by the collar of his cloak and tug him up to his feet. A look of surprise took itself upon the boys face, but it would quickly become washed away when the guard spoke, “Listen here. We don’t take kindly to thieves, especially ones who place stupid, now are you going to give it back or should I make you?”

The boy carefully began to reach into the confines of his cloak as if he were actually going to give it back, but it would only be a ploy. Because the second he had done so, he would bring a foot sharply back behind him, before bringing it careening forward and out to the shin of the guard. With a low thud the toe of his boot would come into solid contact with the bone of the guard, causing him to yelp in response. Taking the opportunity to run, he would push his way past the guard, making sure to avoid the grabs of the Inn Keeper as he had done so. Narrowly escaping the two of them, they would pick up in pursuit only to have already fallen a good distance behind him. Rounding his way around yet another corner, his eyes would shift across his surroundings before falling upon a wandering woman. Perfect…Perhaps he would be able to pull something out of his sleeve and get these two off his case once and for all.

Continuing in his sprint towards the woman, be would brush precariously past her, almost threatening to knock her over should he have gotten any closer. The second he would though, he would stop almost instantly on the tips of his boots, before turning and running up to the woman’s left side and latching his hands to her left. The second he would, the two men would round the corner and stop dead in their tracks not too far off from him and the woman.

The guard lifted a brow and scratched the back of his head as he eyed the woman for a moment and then the child, “You’re not his mother are you…?” The thought seemed to confuse him greatly, due to the shear appearance of the woman. There would be no chance that she could be his Mother, but what relation did she hold to the child…? The Inn Keeper glanced between the guard, woman, and child, slightly confused as well by the entire situation, “Does it really matter? Whoever she is, she’s got to know this kid and if that’s the case. Then if the little punk doesn’t return what he stole, then she could pay for it. Now stop standing there like a blundering dolt and do something!” The guard turned his attention off to the Inn Keeper for a moment, “Bite your tongue or I’ll let the kid steal from you again.” The Inn Keeper laughed and chided in, “Oh and that’s different than now, how? By standing there asking stupid questions, you’re only giving him a chance to get himself off the hook!” The guard growled at the insolence of the Inn Keeper, but would pay him no further mind, “Well, whoever you are lady, I’m going to have to ask you to get that kid of yours to return what he stole or you’ll be forced to replace it, understand?”

The child lightly tugged at her arm and looked up at her with pleading eyes, hoping that she would not let him loose to these dogs, knowing full well that they would more the less work him over for doing what he had done. And when they were done, they would simply cast him off to the side like some form of garbage that would prove to no more use. It had happened countless times before, but it had grown old and it was something he wasn’t all that fond of having happen to him. There would be a simple fix to such a thing and that would be to simply stop stealing, but if he had done that, then he would have more the less died from starvation by now…

The city glowed softly; lanterns lined the streets, hanging from poles, or over house doors. They kept away the darkness, a small circle of light surrounded each one, but the light never seemed to be able to penetrate much farther than that. Statues rose up depicting shadow creatures. One had a body set like a velociraptor, large claws jutting from its large back feet and front arms. It had a head like nothing she’d ever seen, and fangs the size of a human’s forearm. The City of Lanterns or Balefaire rested on the edge of Hauntwood. It was odd to see many people out in the streets and this day was no different. The streets seemed to double back on themselves, or twist in random directions. It was hard to tell where you were or even recognize where you had started off.

A woman wander through the streets, utterly lost. She turned a corner, hadn’t she been here before? She surveyed her surroundings. Everything looked the same as the last; the lanterns constantly changed sizes, shapes, and varied in placement along the streets. She spun in a slow circle. The lanterns glowed, the streets were dark. Where had she started? What way was she going? She sighed, and moved in a promising direction. No one was around to even ask directions and it seemed that she might be the only soul alive here. Occasionally shadows moved behind dim-lit windows. They seemed like wraiths and so she never bothered to knock.

She listened to her soft footfalls as she moved. She became so enveloped in just wandering, listening to the silence, that when a small boy almost knocked her over she snapped back. Surveying her surroundings did no real good since it all looked the same and suddenly. . . There was a weight leaning against her left thigh. She looked down and saw a small boy clinging to her and then her ears drew her eyes over to two men rushing forward. They stopped dead. It was a guard and another man. The guard spoke up.

“You’re not his mother are you…?” Shadeen opened her mouth to say something, but. . . nothing came. She didn’t have any words to even say. The other man with the guard saved her. “Does it really matter? Whoever she is, she’s got to know this kid and if that’s the case. Then if the little punk doesn’t return what he stole, then she could pay for it. Now stop standing there like a blundering dolt and do something!” The men started an argument at this point and she was too stunned to do much but stare at them a little dumbfounded.

“Well, whoever you are lady, I’m going to have to ask you to get that kid of yours to return what he stole or you’ll be forced to replace it, understand?” She glanced down at the boy, her jade eyes meeting his own. They pleaded with her and she knew that he was in deep trouble if she didn’t decide to help him. She draped a protective arm around the boy’s shoulders and spoke to the guard. “Give me a second with my,” What was he to her. They obviously knew that he wasn’t her son. Nephew maybe? It would have to work. “Nephew.”

She wasn’t sure if pulling him to the side where the two men couldn’t hear would be such a good idea. So she played along and crouched down facing the boy and holding both his hands in her own. “Now,” A name, she needed a name. “Kaden,” It would work. “I’ve told you before that you shouldn’t steal anything. Once I pay the nice men tell them you’re sorry and we’ll be on our way.” She prayed he would play along and not get her in trouble with him. She gave his hands a squeeze and stood up to face the two men.

“Now what did he take exactly? I’ll gladly pay for it, but I need to know if I have enough,” She reached into her pocket a pulled out a few gold pieces and smiled at the guard. Please let this boy have stolen something reasonable. Something that wouldn’t bankrupt her.

Kindness…It was something many never showed him in his entire lifetime. This woman had been among the few that had, which came as a bit of a shock to him. Normally when he pulled these sorts of stunts they would often let him loose to the dogs, hoping he would get his just desserts for committing such a crime to begin with. To most, it seemed to be fitting, but it had been most cruel for him. How could a child like him possibly stand up to brutes such as these and what deemed it a tolerable fate to doom someone like him to? People were sick, only intent upon getting their own jollies off at the expense of another’s misery. At least, it was what he had witnessed throughout this city, for he was far too afraid to venture to anywhere new on his own. It wasn’t like he was afraid of the people, but more so of the vast unknown and the high chance that he may end up getting lost. And getting lost without food wasn’t a good thing, not at all.

When she addressed him by an unfamiliar name, his eyes would part from hers and then to the guard in order to make sure that they were buying the woman’s ploy. The action would remain unnoticed by the guard, and his eyes would soon return to the woman. Her next words would take him off guard for a second, and his mind would run rampant. She was actually going to pay for something that HE stole…A person that she had never seen before…A complete stranger. It didn’t make sense; no one could be that nice it had to be some sort of ploy. Deciding to wait and see how much further she would go, he would turn from her and face the two in front of them.

Issuing a quick glance back towards the woman, his eyes caught the movements of her hands as she began to toil with a few gold coins. That was all he needed to know, to know that she was indeed truthful with her gesture. By no means was he going to allow her to pay for something that should be his own responsibility. So the second that she would ask her question to the guard, he would lift a hand up, as if to tell the guard not to say a word. Meanwhile, his other hand began to rummage around the confines of his cloak only to pull out a nice gold necklace with a medallion hanging from it. With a quick jerk of the arm and a flick of the wrist, he would let the necklace sail through the air and towards the waiting hands of the Inn Keeper. Again his hand would plunge itself into the confines of his cloak, before pulling out a hefty pouch of coins. Again he would toss the stolen item to the Inn Keeper and resume plucking out a few trinkets. They would all consist of a set of keys, a small wooden box encrusted with cheesy looking jewels, and lastly a small crystal like rock. Returning those final items in the same exact manner as the previous, his hand would plunge itself into his cloak one final time, this time pulling out a long, slender, leather like object and dangled it in front of him. At first appearance, it didn’t look like much of anything, but to the Inn Keeper it was none other than the very belt that held up his pants. A malicious grin crossed the child’s face, as he began waving the belt back and forth in front of him, before tossing it off to the side.

The Inn Keepers eyes began to widen when the boy held up his belt and in a futile attempt, he would begin to rush forward to grab it, but his pants would immediately drop to the ground and trip him up. Only to send him sprawling face first onto the cobblestone roadway beneath him.

The guard watched with a sick amusement as the pudgy Inn Keeper took a spill on the pavement, but would make no movements to either go after the boy or help the Keeper, “Seems things are in order here. The items are returned, my job here is done. You’re on your own now, Keeper.” And with that, he would turn on the balls of his heels and wander off to complete the rest of his shift.

The Inn Keeper growled in agitation at the boy, before clambering up to his feet, pulling his pants up once more. Keeping a hand just at the button of his pants, he would maintain a firm grip there in order to keep them supported before rushing at the boy intent to make him pay for such a joke.

The boy grinned wryly, but would make no issuance of any sound of laughter. Though the grin would slowly fade when the guard would depart and the Inn Keeper would recompose himself and start after him. Quickly turning back to the woman Shadeen, his hand would latch to hers, before jolting off in the other direction of the Inn Keeper, prepared to pull her along if need be.

((OoC: Short posts, more gold. Haha like you said))

Shadeen’s jade eyes lit up as she watched the boy pull out gold necklace with a medallion hanging from it, a pouch of coins, a set of keys, a small wooden box embedded with jewels, and a small crystal like rock. Her eyes never left his, expecting him to pull out a crown, or some extravagant item. Shadeen was washed with relief that he hadn’t let her pay for all of that. Not only would it have bankrupted her, but she probably would have had to wander around naked, since they would probably demand the clothes off her back. She shook herself out of a stupor in time to see the boy toss the innkeeper’s belt back to him. She could neither laugh, nor scold, she was just a little lost in thoughts. She was glad he had not made her pay.

She nodded to the guard when he spoke, turned and walked away. She watched the innkeeper retrieve his belt and stalk off after the guard. She felt the little boy’s hand slip around her own and lead her off down the street. She walked for awhile before everything registered for her and she was finally able to pull the boy to a stop. He was so short. it had been awhile since she had been with a child. And he was just a child. She squatted down on her hind quarters and turned the boy to face her. She didn’t really know how to talk to children, and so she decided that it was best to talk to him as though he wasn’t a child.

“Well then Kaden,” She cocked her head to the side and smiled at him, “What would your real name be? And I’m Shadeen, just so you know.”

The city didn’t look like the kind of place a child should be, or at least not alone. She surveyed where they were, and where they were even going to go, she didn’t know this place too well so it was up to the boy where they went to now.

“Why did you steal all that stuff anyway?”

When she pulled him to a dead halt and turned him to face her. His head would tilt itself to the side in a curious manner while she spoke. Kaden…It wasn’t a bad name and certainly wasn’t something he minded being called. When she began asking her questions and introducing herself, he would wave a hand sporadically as if to tell her to stop. Not even bothering to waste his time trying to sign to her, a hand would reach into his cloak only to pull out a book.

The book was covered with thin leather like exterior, which held a few intricate designs on the cover and was held shut by a leather band. Undoing the band, he would plop bum first upon the ground and place the book open upon the cobblestone roadway. Holding no care to the world around him, he would remove a pen from his cloak and begin scribbling out a few things onto a blank sheet of paper in the book. The handwriting seemed barely legible, but it was mainly due to the rapid movements in which he would bring the pen stroking across the page.

“I have no real name. Most just call me Farant, but I like Kaiden better, that is what you’re calling me, right? Why did I steal that stuff? To survive…Why else? I appreciate the help; I’d hate to think of what they would have done when they caught me. Even though, I know they’d make sure I’d never forget it. You have no idea how cruel people are….I suppose you have no idea where you are, do you? Besides, why did you help me?”

Shadeen watched the little boy pull out a book and pen and begin scribbling on one of the many pages of the book. She scooted herself over to a position so that she could see what the boy was writing without him having to move the book to show her. It was curious how this little boy didn't speak. She wondered why. Then it came to her and she could almost smack herself.

"You're a mute. . ." She whispered the words more to herself than to the little boy who went by Farant. She was glad he liked the name Kaden. It was a name she had always wanted to call a child, although she always thought it would be her own.

"You're just a little boy, and you were in trouble. That's why I helped you. I know that it's probably not the answer you were looking for but . . . well . . ." Shadeen shrugged. She never really thought about 'why' she helped someone. She just. . .did. "I just hope that the guards don't come back and see you or get you into anymore trouble. Why are you out here all alone though?"