[zapdragon555]

Lupin made quick work of the crowd, and kept his eyes peeled for the tackle shop front that he'd pinpointed. Fishhook-shaped sign came into view (so thin and ineffective for typography...), and Lupin peered around the corner to see a red panda-shaped figure, a familiar little pigeon at his side. "Not a bad stunt you pulled there, buddyboy," Lupin chirped, flashing a sharp-toothed grin that was probably meant to be friendly, but it came off a little more goofy and unassuming than anything else. "Y'come here often?"

[Jaykobell]

He pulled out a knife from his pocket. If they wanted to eat this, they would have to remove those bones, preferably, and then they would have to cook them up. He looked around; there seemed to be plenty of boxes to burn, and old newspaper too. This alleyway was a dump more so than anything, to be honest.

Ah, but he was used to that. Living in a dump. Living in the streets. Things hadn't always been this way, but his better days were arguably behind him.

[Jaykobell]

He was still searching for it. He was searching for a place to call "home". He'd had a home, once; with his friends, and his mom. A tiny town, one that was destined to crumble and fall, and to become dust over time. No jobs, no opportunities, people leaving. No money. It was pointless to stick around.

So he hadn't. One day, after a particularly horrible argument with his friends, he'd decided to leave it all behind. He'd taken his essentials, and he'd done it. He'd hoped on a train.

[Jaykobell]

He'd always figured that doing that would bring him happiness. That it would bring him "home", to a place where he could make something of himself, where he could become somebody. Where he could be more than deadweight, where he could be respected, appreciated.

Instead, he'd just brought all the problems along with him. After all, wasn't he right here, sitting in a dark, dirty alleyway, stealing, just like he'd done back home before?

He was the problem, wasn't he?

[Jaykobell]

The gentle cooing of his little friend brought him back to reality. He blinked slowly, and he looked down at the little bird, head tilted to the side. "Sorry, little buddy," he apologized, and he brought a paw closer so he could pet the bird. "Well, I guess you can eat 'em up without cooking and stuff." He, himself, could opt for some sushi, or just, well, raw fish. Ah, but he didn't really fancy that...

But for now, he would cut some pieces for his little friend.

[Jaykobell]

He got to work. He sliced the fish with a certain delicacy, a certain finesse. He was no chef, but living alone with a single mother had taught him a thing or two about cooking. And, well, being out here, alone, he'd had to make due. And when you only get one chance at anything, you learn how to cook it and handle it well.

He cut a few pieces, and as he did so, he handed them over to his little pigeon friend. "Don't choke," he teased.

[Jaykobell]

The pigeon immediately got to work on eating up those little bites so nicely cut up for him. Considering his condition, he had to flip his head around and wobble this way and that in order to pick up and swallow the pieces. With some of them, he tried to swallow them, and instead would, in fact, choke, and then spit them out.

"Awh, Cookie, c'mon," the red panda said, shaking his head a little. "Take your time, lil' guy. Not like..."

[Jaykobell]

He had been about to say that it wasn't like they had anywhere to be, or as if anyone would be catching them here.

But then a voice spoke out to them, and he was immediately alert, and he was immediately wary.

He turned his around to see a weasel standing there, smiling. There was...something about him. He wasn't sure if he could trust this guy.

But what he had said was concerting. No way...had he been seen stealing earlier, at the fish market?

[Jaykobell]

He tried to play it cool. The only thing that somewhat broke the tense atmosphere was Cookie, who was seemingly unfazed, and who was still trying to eat up his little fish bites.

It was his style to try and deflect, to try and lie his way through things. He hated the fact he'd been caught, but he supposed, were this weasel interested in catching him and making him pay for the fish, he would've done something by now.

He still didn't fancy it at all.

[Jaykobell]

But there was little he could do now. If he had been seen and caught red-handed, there was no use denying it. "Uh...thanks," was all he could muster on the spot, to the compliment. Could one call that a compliment?

"What's it to you?" he answered afterwards, in response to the weasel's question. He had no clue who this guy was; he wasn't about to cough up that yes, he did come here often. It was a treasure trove for free food, that fish market.

[zapdragon555]

Noticed, the weasel let his grin grow naturally—he could tell by the eyes that this guy wasn't much of a dangerous criminal at all, and thus, someone that Lupin could definitely get along with. Lupin was a crook, sure, but he didn't much care for fraternizing with truly morally bankrupt individuals. You're pretty morally bankrupt yourself, he could hear Jigen's voice in his head with a cheekier sort of expression.

Still, Lupin could tell that he'd spooked the red panda, and he slipped his paws out of his jacket pockets to hold them up in a sign of peace, still smiling almost goofily. "Well, I'm not a narc, I can tell ya that much. Guy's gotta eat, trust me, I've been there." It had been a decade or so, but he'd been there.

[zapdragon555]

About that time, Jigen suddenly made his appearance, flapping wildly as he tried to land beside Lupin, but managing to skid the alleyway wall instead. He lost a few oily black feather sin the process, cursing sharply as he tried to right himself on gangly legs. This was why he rarely made a habit of flying, these days. Too difficult to swap between the two modes of locomotion. He never did learn proper. "Ah, Jigen, darling! You're late to this important meeting," Lupin chirped, his tone lighthearted as he twirled his wrist towards the red panda.

[zapdragon555]

"I'm not late for fuckall," Jigen muttered, not so much aggressive as grumpy, as he rubbed his beak with a wing. In his other wing, he still held the bag of fish they'd bought. He tilted his head back to reveal a rather kind-looking eye which had been previously hidden by a mop of feathers and fedora, even with such an irate look in his gaze. "This the fish thief?"

"Fish thieves, Jigen, the pigeon helped," Lupin pointed down to the bird that was attempting, still, to choke down some tiny pieces of fish. Lupin clapped his paws together and clasped them, looking back towards the red panda with some amount of theatrics that his partner seemed to lack.

[zapdragon555]

"Anyhow, where are my manners—you can call me Lupin," he began, checking for any glint of recognition in the red panda's eyes. His name was well known among thieves, but he wasn't sure if this guy qualified as a thief, so much as a smalltime sticky-fingered street punk. But he could never be certain, anyhow. "And my handsome buddy over here is Jigen."

The crane grunted in halfhearted acknowledgement, finally seeming to finish the process of smoothing down his suit jacket. Lupin continued, his tail twitching slightly where it lay against the pavement, some sort of excited tic. "Like I said, you seem pretty good at this, at least at stealing fish. We came to this town to nab a little something of our own, and we could really use a guy who knows his way around here."

[zapdragon555]

"We ain't stealin' fish, though," Jigen interjected, peering into the sack to make sure their dinner was still intact. Indeed it was, and he closed it, eyeing the fish that was half cut to pieces, presumably by the red panda. He stared for a moment, then grunted again, flicking a wing towards it. "Y'got a place to cook that? You'll get sick as shit if you eat it raw. Been sittin' out in a stall. Th'bird's probably fine, though," he added, pointing to the pigeon. He lamented that he'd left his old camping stove back at the old safehouse overseas. But there was still...

"Hey, if my offer to help us out a smidge appeals to ya, you can come back to our safehouse for a spell and we can cook that fish into something good—whaddya say?" Lupin beamed, reading Jigen's mind in an infuriating way. The crane suddenly hated the idea of inviting this random street punk into what was going to be a restful break from this crowded little town, but the boss was the boss.