[crow]

Suvi held her tongue, and also the triumphant grin that threatened to surface. This was in a sense what she had personally been hoping for, though of course she would never say as much. It wasn't out of any sense of spite, but genuine curiosity. Dante's secrets and the worldly way in which he presented himself made him much too fascinating a figure. Not that she would ever admit that to his face either.

So when he finally spoke, she listened attentively. Her scrutiny had the opposite of its intended effect. Dante only felt more awkward, but he had said that he would speak, so he did. “I... I hadn't lied about being a medic's apprentice. My mentor really did take me to the war with him. I have a... an uncle,” he said hesitantly, trying to find a word to describe Blue. Suvi's gaze sharpened, and he laughed nervously.

[Petting Zoo: 77]

[crow]

He put his hands up in front of him, as if trying to shield himself from the force of her glare. “I'm not trying to--- no, it's just that it's complicated. My father is very much estranged from me, and my 'uncle' is an old friend of his who took me in.” He didn't quite dare use their names. It was always his mentor, his uncle, never Kenric and Blue, an old habit from his childhood in the Courts. Names had power--- perhaps not in Elliot or Suvi's hands, but maybe in those of people they knew. “He didn't want to let me go, for fear that I would find trouble there, but my mentor convinced him.

His conviction to keep me with him didn't last very long. I had a run-in with a strange woman... A demon, I think she was. I don't know what she intended to do with me, but she was injured, so I healed her. For that, I think, she let me go.”

[Petting Zoo: 78]

[crow]

He wore a puzzled expression the entire time, telling his story. He still didn't understand it very well himself, and gave them only the brief version so as to spare them any of the more inexplicable details. He did cut out the worst of it--- the violence, the sewers, the blood. Part of it was to protect his nature, for he wasn't sure how they would take the revelation that he was a dhampyr, whatever their assertions about being on his side. Part of it was the fact that he remembered how badly Suvi had taken to the subject of animal births.

Continuing, he said, “I had been missing for quite some time at that point, so of course I had to explain what had happened when I returned. I wasn't harmed, but my mentor feared the worst. He decided that my uncle had been right after all, and he meant to send me back.”

[Petting Zoo: 79]

[crow]

“And you didn't want to go,” Suvi finished for him. This she understood perfectly well. “So you're a runaway, huh?” she said, grinning at him. He didn't know how much his story had done to humanize him in her eyes. Here, at last, was the glimmer of true mischief that showed her she had something in common with him after all--- or so she thought, anyway. “Don't worry, your secret's safe with us. I bet those two are stuffy people anyway, huh?”

Dante, amused to find his guardians described in such a manner, laughed. “I can see how you'd find them stuffy, yes.” The idea of her meeting Kenric wasn't so strange; Dante had seen him treat children before. However, he had a hard time picturing Blue and Suvi in the same room together, much less what Blue would make of her if they did end up meeting.

[Petting Zoo: 80]

[crow]

The smile disappeared from his face quickly, however, at the thought of Blue. Despite everything, he felt a pang of longing for the vampire. He was sure that Blue would be searching for him by now, distressed that he should have gone missing, and fearing the worst.

Elliot clocked the change in mood and set down the Mocha Pichu reluctantly. It was a pity--- they were just becoming friends, and the fur of the little creature was softer even than he could have imagined. Dante was clearly in need of some kind of intervention, however, and he could always come back to play with the Pichu some more.

Placing a hand gently on Dante's shoulder, he said, “Do you miss them?”

Dante jerked up at the touch, and Elliot withdrew his hand. He had meant it as a comforting gesture, but he knew sometimes that touch wasn't for everyone. One of Dave's dogs was like that. “It's okay if you miss them. It's okay if you can't go back either. Do you want to talk about it?”

[Petting Zoo: 81]

[crow]

“No,” Dante said quickly, then checked himself. “... No,” he repeated after a moment's thought. “No, but thank you. I'd... I'd prefer if we---”

Whatever he was about to say, however, was cut off by an angry yell from the direction of the bakery. “Get back here, you little varmit!” All three children looked up, and the rabbits went very still, some of them trying to burrow their heads into the hay. At first it wasn't clear what was happening, only that there was some sort of commotion. Dante's sharp vision then caught sight of something moving through the crowds. Quietly, he cursed. The other two remained confused, either failing to spot the runner or because they didn't recognize it. Elliot caught the curse though, and glanced at him uncertainly.

What Dante had spotted fleeing the scene was a Thorn Thief. About the size of a small child, it was ducking and weaving through the crowd, who paused to watch its passage with indignation or confusion.

[Petting Zoo: 82]

[crow]

Whatever thoughts they had about the Thorn Thief's appearance gave way to shock when a large man barrelled past them in pursuit, shoving aside anyone who might be in his way. Many of the festival-goers were muttering darkly in the wake of disgruntled people he left behind him.

Suvi squinted, then gasped in shock; it was her turn to recognize someone. “Hey, that's the guy who pushed me! He tried to shove in front of me when I was in line!” Funny how he kept showing up again and again. At least this time it had nothing to do with her though.

She would have been perfectly content to leave him be, but apparently Dante of all people wasn't. “Here, hold her, would you?” he said, passing the Diosol in his arms to Suvi. Both the girl and the bunny protested this transfer, but he was already off as soon as Suvi had a sure grip on the Diosol.

[Petting Zoo: 83]

[crow]

They watched, baffled and dismayed, as he began to duck and weave his own way through the crowd--- not towards the Thorn Thief directly, but to where he anticipated the creature would stop. Dante was quick, much quicker than either Elliot or Suvi would have guessed, but even then the Thorn Thief was the faster. And the angry man, perhaps because of his more direct path and greater height, was gaining on it even so.

“You don't think he's gonna try and stop that thing, do you?” said Suvi. She sort of hoped he wasn't. If the Thorn Thief had pissed off the man, then she was rooting for it just by virtue of her continuing grudge against him.

Elliot, who was wincing as an old lady was knocked off her feet, said, “I don't know. I'm pretty sure he's going to do something.”

[Petting Zoo: 84]

[crow]

“Whose side do you think he's on?” Suvi frowned as she watched. She would have been more anxious if she had more of an idea about what was going on. “He's the law-abiding type, right? Do you think he's going to arrest the Thorn Thief?”

Elliot hummed thoughtfully. “I don't know about that. He did run away from his mentor, and he didn't tell us what he's been doing for a living since then. Besides, how do you know the Thorn Thief's the guilty one here? Didn't you say that guy was a jerk?”

“Yeah,” said Suvi, with feeling. “He's a real piece of work. I hope he really did get his stuff stolen.” It wasn't very charitable of her, especially considering the season, but everything she had seen of him had only deepened her negative impression.

“Oooh,” said Elliot, “you'd better hope Santa didn't hear that. You're going on the naughty list for sure.”

[Petting Zoo: 85]

[crow]

Meanwhile, Dante was doing his best to get through as quickly as possible. He uttered a litany of 'excuse-me's and apologies to those he passed, but never stopped to look at them. He had to get there in time--- had to reach Skitter before the man caught up to him. Why had he left the Thorn Thief to his own devices? Though, on the other hand, by this point Skitter should have understood that stealing was a bad thing. Even if Dante's moral teachings hadn't sunken in, the threat of consequences such as these should certainly have swayed him. Dante couldn't imagine that this had been the creature's intended outcome.

“Skitter!” he called into the crowd. Now that he was amidst the sea of people, he couldn't see either of them. The people had taken note of him, however, and had by this point concluded that he might know something about one or the other of the two making the commotion. They parted to let him through more easily, though he barely noticed. “Skitter, where are you?”

[Christmas Tree: 86]

[crow]

His question was soon answered: the Thorn Thief burst out from behind a woman and curled itself up into Dante's shadow. Dante wasn't much taller than Skitter, but the Thorn Thief was thin and slender. When he wanted to be compact, he could fold himself up to become very small indeed.

Dante wanted to ask Skitter what happened, but he didn't have the chance. The man broke through just moments later, breathing hard. Upon seeing him, Dante was surprised that he had managed to chase Skitter so far. He was large, plump, and would have cut a foreboding figure if he wasn't so visibly exhausted. His face was completely flushed red, though whether that was from exertion or rage was hard to tell.

“Tell that blasted thief,” he said between pants, “to give me my cake back!” His voice, too, would have been more imposing if it hadn't been so breathless. As it was, Dante felt the sudden urge to laugh, which he stifled as quickly as he could. There was no point in losing control of himself and escalating the conflict further when he hardly knew what it was.

[Christmas Tree: 87]

[crow]

Clearing his throat, he spoke in a clear tone, loud enough for all gathered to hear. He didn't know if the crowd's support was something he could win, but a crowd at a holiday event likely didn't want violence. Even if Skitter was found to be guilty, they would keep the punishment reasonable, Dante was sure. “I'm afraid I don't understand,” he said. “Sir, could you please explain what happened? I'm sure we can sort this out in a civil manner.”

The man scowled, clearly upset at Dante's interference. “Don't give me any of that nonsense. That little stinker stole my cake! I want it back, or else I want him locked up! And I want to speak to whoever's responsible for letting him run amok here in the first place.”

At this point, Skitter peeked out from behind Dante and hissed sharply. “Not yours! Was belonging to small pink one! Big one pushed. Big one stole! Thief! Thief! Bad bad bad.”

[Christmas Tree: 88]

[crow]

“What did you say? Be quiet, you! Uncivilized liars, these things,” said the man. He was beginning to recover his energy, and was getting louder by the second. The crowd was muttering uneasily, but Dante couldn't read whether they agreed with him or not. Meanwhile, Skitter's grip on his shoulder was starting to hurt.

“Alright,” he said. “I've heard your account.” He had to raise a hand to forestall the man when he opened his mouth to make an angry retort. “Let's hear what the Thorn Thief has to say. It's only fair, wouldn't you agree?”

Now he was glad for the crowd's presence. The man's expression clearly said that he didn't agree in the least, but he subsided unhappily under the scrutiny of the crowd. “Fine,” he said, “but you're wasting your time. It's all going to be lies anyway.”

“We'll see,” Dante said. “Alright, what do you say? Did you steal this man's cake?”

[Christmas Tree: 89]

[crow]

Skitter hopped up and down several times. “Lies lies lies! Skitter tell truth! Big one push small pink one. Take cake, no more cake, no cake for small one. Small one cry and cry and cry. Loud loud. Skitter take cake, give to small one. Big one shout, chase Skitter with chair! Skitter run fast-fast. Not want to be Skitter pancake.” He pantomimed as he spoke, flailing his spindly arms wildly in an earnest attempt to illustrate what had happened.

The Thorn Thief's strange, simple speech took a bit of deciphering, but Dante had been with him a while. He had more or less the hang of it. “So... Let me see if I have this right. You were in the bakery, and you saw a... a child? Yes?” Skitter nodded fervently. “A child. Right. And you say she was in line to get a piece of cake, but this man pushed her, and took it for himself?” More nodding from Skitter. “So you decided to take the cake from him and give it to the child to stop them from crying... and then he chased you with a chair.”

[Christmas Tree: 90]

[crow]

“Very scary! Big one know more bad words than Skitter,” said the Thorn Thief, shivering for emphasis. Dante, who knew Skitter to have an alarming repertoire of curses, had to repress again the urge to laugh. It was really not the time... but he would certainly have stories to tell later, when it was over. If they got out of this intact, anyway.

By then, the man had had just about as much as he could take. “That's all nonsense! The cake was mine and we both know it. What's a snivelling kid got to do with it?”

Dante turned to him, gaze sharpening. “So you admit that there was a child involved? Are you verifying his story?” he asked. The man paused, taken aback for a moment.

“What? N-No! There wasn't a kid at all!” he said, but Dante had caught him faltering.

[Christmas Tree: 91]