The shrill of childish laughter echoed off of the walls of the alley way, paired with a gleeful bark. </SIZE> The slap of bare feet seemed to resonate along, followed by angry shouts from older men. Phrases from 'Get back here, you rat' to 'Stop, thief!' contaminated the morning atmosphere of one of the shopping districts in Sietch Zensunna.
"Can't catch me!" shouted the young red-headed girl as she darted around a corner, leading the men further into the shopping district. She adjusted her arms around her catch of the day, a magnificent pile that primarily consisted of food, with some clothing, and the occasional random item. Beside her, Xei made the sharp turn and let out another bark, his tongue lulling from inside his mouth. The pack wrapped around his neck and torso contained the same assortment of articles. A pair of pants flapped behind him, falling out of the bundle. He didn't mind, and neither did she. All that matters is that they got away, and had fun doing it!
They headed towards home, back in the heart of the Grand Palais. All that they needed to do was lose the angry men behind them and they'd be good for sail. But the trick was losing them, of course. Ahead of them, Tenrousei eyed another sharp turn and clicked her tongue against the top of her mouth. Xei got the signal and they both angled a hard right. She slipped a bit, but managed to regain her footing and continued on.
However, the next turn they took brought them straight onto a main pathway. Tenrousei swore, pausing momentarily to look around. They'd managed to get some distance on the men. Thankfully, none of them seemed to have an aptitude for Chakra manipulation, otherwise they'd have been caught already. Xei's bark brought her back to attention and she nodded.
"Right, let's go this way," she said, headed to cut across and into one of the alleys across the road. The shouting could still be heard in the distance, but it was fading. They'd be free of them soon enough. She laughed and grinned, wildly, turning around another corner and into a wall. Everything she held went flying up and into the air in all directions. She let out an 'umf' and fell back onto her backside, her palms scraping against the hard packed earth. Xei, skidded to a stop before making the turn.
What had felt like a wall wasn't a wall, but was in fact a very large man. An angry, very angry, large man. His hands were on his hips as he stared down at Tenrousei with a judging glare. "What do we have here?" he said, sharply. "The little thief. I knew you'd head back this way. Figured you were a street rat from the Palais. You're filthy enough. Someone should beat some intelligence into you, you little rat." He leaned forward to reach for Tenrousei, but met a flurry of white fangs snapping wildly at his fingers. He jumped back from Xei, who stood in front of Tenrousei, snarling.
Tenrousei let out a barking laugh as she rose to her feet and quickly gathered up a couple of the things she'd been carrying before and made a run for it. Xei quickly followed behind after a swift snap at the man's crotch, causing the massive pork ball to jump back and lose his footing. Xei was gone before the man's face slapped to the ground.
The pair ran on, nearing the glass walls of the Grand Palais. They slowed, continuing at a fast walk. Tenrousei looked over her catch, frowning. "Crap, I forgot the sweets! Oh, well..." She sighed and once more, found herself running into a wall. As she fell, losing the catch again, she swore. She growled, reached for her kunai, and looked up at the man. But, it wasn't the man. It was a small boy, just under her height with black hair, and a shy face. Equipped with a crow of black and white on his shoulder.
"Wh-... What? Wha--"
Xei erupted in what sounded like a canine version of a snicker from behind her.
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<SIZE size="85">Word Count: 693