The smell of salt familiar and yet fresh [Open]

[Feleti Eidothea]

There was a bright look of wonder on Leti's face as he explored the streets of Saryus for the first time. It was technically the second village he had visited now that he had begun a journey to see the whole of Teronna. Ethlund hadn't been too different to home if he ignored how much people stared. Seeing the busier streets and smelling the salty air was the first time he felt validation for all the training and  pleading he had done to get his father's approval to venture off. 
The people here didn't seem to pay as much attention to him as he wandered about having a look at the town. Well that or they were better at hiding their curious glances. He had meant to look for a nice inn to settle at but had been distracted by the fish markets. His home was technically close to the ocean but Sayrus was another world when it came to fish. There were just....so many. Even just seeing the people haggling over the stalls was an entertaining chaos. He was used to markets as a small more trade based affair. 
Leti contemplated buying something to eat from one of the stalls selling an interesting assortment of skewered fish.

[Apollo Parish]

Apollo fit in almost anywhere. Sometimes too much. But he preferred it that way, most of the time. No one looked twice at a young man with fair hair and dark eyes and clothed in brown leather and green cloth. It made it that much easier to pilfer and apple from the market or a few coins from a pocket. Never too much, of course, or he'd have to explain where he got everything to his brother and his higher sense of morals.

Blending in made it easier to see than been seen. It was why the young man in the indigo cloak stood out so much. Well, that and his white hair. The hair just screamed weird to Apollo. The cloak...well, if the guy had been wearing much of anything else, it would have screamed money. Still, he tailed the man from a casual distance, partly curious, partly predatory. Tourists were easier marks after all, poor or not.

He chuckled to himself as the poor sod seemed to be considering the fish market in wonder. Admittedly, Apollo was jealous of the innocence. It manifested as annoyance. Maybe that was why he was following the guy. Jealously. He huffed. Well, really, there was nothing for it, was there?

Sidestepping past the white haired man and the other passing hagglers, he brushed against him slightly, deftly checking for a coin pouch of some sort as he moved to purchase a skewered fish of his own. He waved down the vendor and pointed at one and then added, "Make it two."

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti did indeed have a coin pouch at the ready. He had a lot of pouches actually, there with the pouch with bandages, the one for salve, the one for herbs good with cold...and so on. He didn't carry his whole inventory like that of course but there was perhaps more of a gamble than the lad realized. Earning money hadn't been a problem with the amount of impromptu healing he had been doing. It wasn't all too hard to come by work as a healer even traveling about as this one was. People didn't trust as him as much as they would their own but it was hard to argue with his 'pay what you can stance' and insistent smile.
He easily moved aside as the other man bumped past him. "ah, pardon me" came an easy apology, as leti worried perhaps he had gotten in the way of a local trying to get a quick lunch. It might have been true that the young man didn't have exotic features but the determined sort of expression the man wore was a rarity in it's own rite. Leti was innocent to the world but a good judge of people. Unfortunately the meant he had pegged the young man as a good sort, ignorant of the sticky fingers.

[Apollo Parish]

The thief wasn't too surprised by the number of pouches - he had a few himself - but it did throw him off. What threw him for even more of a loop was that on of them was very definitely a coin pouch, from the weight and texture. Clearly he had misjudged the guy. It only made him warm to the idea of him as a mark.

His surprise meant his first pass came up empty. At least the man didn't seem to suspect anything yet. He had such a handsome face too th at Apollo almost felt guilty. Almost.

The amount of coinage made him curious. Apollo couldn't help it. Sticky fingers were already a downfall sometimes, but he knew that curiosity killed the cat. It also made the cat super excited because life was to be tried, not just survived.

"S'alright," he shot over his shoulder, paying for his snack and debating over his next move. Cold or warm. Long or short. Decisions, decisions...

Apollo turned and then paused, eyeing the stranger up and down, being sure to stare at his hair and then down to his worn boots and back. "You aren't from here." He wondered if the guy got that a often. Probably. Best to sound like the usual lot. "You lost or somethin'?"

[Feleti Eidothea]

The healer didn't seem bothered in the least by being looked up and down. He was more than used to being sized up.
He also was more than used to being immediately pegged as not a local.
"aren't we all lost in some way? " He mused with a gentle smile but with a small chuckle he did answer "I'm from quite a ways off, just wandering about." He planned to stay for a few days, maybe a tad longer if he came across a patient particularly in need. Then he would as usual resume his route on toward the capital. He had been making a slow journey toward the castle ever since he came to his decision. A lot had happened and he had trained under cain with a wavering heart for years after meeting that soldier. Once he realized that he needed to go to the capital and join the army as a field medic he had no choice but to slowly bring himself closer and closer to crossing paths with that man.

[Apollo Parish]

Apollo snorted, but honestly had no idea what the man meant. "Not me." It sounded like some ancient proverb. Only Apollo had never heard it before and it wasn't exactly very positive. Not that Apollo minded being lost. It was less that he knew where he was going and more that he didn't have somewhere he aimed to go. "I'm exactly where I want to be," he said, though he forced a bit of a sad tone. Traveling with his brother as a mercenary might be a bit mundane, but he found he rather liked mundane.

"Mayhaps I can direct you? Need an inn or are you really just looking to 'wander about?'" Angel would slap him outside the head for not coming up with a plan besides small talk, but he had never been one for planning all that far in advance. Best to just feel the guy out. And keep an eye out for other opportunities, of course. It didn't hurt to be open minded, after all.

He could come up with somewhere to 'wander' if he had too. Long as this fellow didn't find him too annoying. Apollo figured if he played the 'I just want to get out of this town' vibe a bit, he might buy himself some time to get somewhere.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti could admire someone who was happy where they were. It wasn't often that you met a person who wasn't dreaming of being elsewhere. In any case the healer seemed pleased with the offer.
"That would be lovely, I should be much obliged." He was plenty willing to follow a complete stranger. Perhaps anyone with sense would have told him to be less trusting. Then again, he himself was concerned with being taken advantage of and more concerned with being goaded into violence. He had a lot of time to reflect on what he had done. More then being afraid of what he had done, he was afraid of how much he had wanted to do it at the time.
Still he was the type to believe the best of everyone. Thus here he was falling quite easily into being led off by this still unknown local.

"I do have tendency to get lost." Not that he could get too lost if he had no particular destination either.
At leas the roads to the capital were easy to follow.

[Apollo Parish]

Apollo was a little surprised that worked. Guess he was just as lucky as he thought he was. That or this guy really wasn't from here. Some backwater little town, likely just like the one Apollo himself had grown up in and just as quickly deserted.

Considering they were in a port town, he figured the docks were his best bet. There were all manner of inns and taverns and hell, even the big boats were pretty to look at. Apollo had been on a few of them himself, but he enjoyed land much more. The idea of the docks did give him an idea, however. One that made his smile a real one, if not for the same reason. "Lovely. Have you been to the docks here yet? Finest port in all of Teronna!"

He gestured for the guy to follow him and led the way. "Where ya tryin' to go then that has you so lost?"

[Feleti Eidothea]

Seeing as the healer had really only just made his way into the city he really hadn't seen much. So he was happy to have met a local kind enough to show him about. It wasn't often he came across people so willing to spend time on a stranger.
With a completely genuine smile he replied "I haven't yet. I'm looking forward to seeing the sea." There were trees and mountains blocking the view back in his home town and the roads toward the capital had all been inland.
It was a bit of a shame to have lived on an island all his life and never seen the sea.

He easily began following the man as he answered "I'm headed to the capital...guess I'm just dragging my feet a bit." Maybe sightseeing was how some would describe it. Since he wasn't actually sure what awaited him in that busy city. He told himself it was for experience that he had stopped and spent so much time at towns and villages along the route. Part of himself knew that it was also a way of preparing himself incase he bumped into bastian and was slashed down on sight.

[Apollo Parish]

To be fair, it was a rather large island. Most of them were. Large enough that it wasn't surprising to hear. Of course, it would have been surprising if the traveler had said he had seen it before. Just one of those things.

"The capitol, eh?" Apollo snorted as if the place offended him somehow. He had been on the outskirts once or twice, but their mercenary group didn't get jobs there often and he wasn't the favorite, so even if they did go talk to a client, he was more often than not left to his own devices. Such as right now. The Chargers might baby his brother, but Apollo got no such attention. "Saryus has a prettier view of the ocean than the bloody capitol. Smells a lot better too!" One of those was more subjective than the other and more were probably second hand information. "I'd be dragging my feet too, if I was you." A lie - Apollo would explore the alleys of the city in a heartbeat.

It was only another block or two, round some short buildings, until they were in view of the docks. There was a central sort of open area, with small warehouses on either side, before the cobblestone met sturdy wooden planks, large piers that broke out into smaller ones. It was cold enough still that most of the smaller fishing craft were at dock and the larger ships were out...doing something, Apollo had no idea what ships did besides ferry people between islands and fish.

He paused and took in an exaggerated breath of salty air and finished his snack. It smelled even more like salt here than it had at the market. And then before Leti could say anything further, he grabbed the white haired man's sleeve and tugged him after him. "Come on! There's a better view over here!" And proceeded to dash off, faster this time, toward one of the warehouses. There was a retention wall just on the other side of it, and often lots of cargo awaiting loading that they could use to climb up (provided they were quick and no one noticed them) to get a good look over the docks. It was a sheer drop of about eight feet to the water on the other side.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Feleti was plenty used to being scolded after people heard where he was going. He had seen the full range of reactions at this point. Many people didn't see the point in heading for the big city, it was dangerous and the people were cold and he was only a commoner after all. There were others impressed with his drive. Most merely shrugged with a lukewarm well wishing.
He merely chuckled at the young man's dismissal "perhaps that's true." It wasn't as though he had any proof to the contrary.
That and the ocean smell was pretty nice in a fishy sort of way.
He was about to make a bit more conversation when the port came into view. His eyes widening as they met the sight of the waves breaking on the endless horizon.
His bewilderment was soon broken by his companion dragging him off down the dock. The running took him by surprise and he stumbled at first but was able to keep up well enough. He scrambled up the crates behind the other man.

Seeing the view un hampered by the boats was indeed it's own sort of majesty. The sea really did seem to stretch on forever. The waves were like indecisive mountains constantly changing the landscape, well, seascape in front of him.
The healer seemed remarkably unconcerned about the drop bellow. A tolerance built from living on a cliffside.

[Apollo Parish]

Apollo enjoyed the scent of the ocean. The fresh crisp air, the salt, the breeze... He was always excited to travel and help the sailors so he could learn himself. Plus sailors liked to gamble even more than he did.

The mercenary noticed from the off hand pull that Leti was no slender youngster. He was tall, yeah, but he hadn't expected the guy to ne quite so solid. Apollo was a fighter, combat trained, but hardly tested. Looking at his 'friend' he wasn't sure which of them was the senior but he filed the information away that the man's clothes were deceptive.

He stood almost heroic like on the edge of the wall, glancing behind them in case they had unexpected guests in the form of warehouse guards. He did briefly enjoy the awe on the other guy's face. Part of him did honestly mean well, he wasn't entirely misleading the guy. Just a little. Or a lot, but any good lie was a little bit true.

But...he was also more than a little invested in getting his hands on that coin purse. Mostly for himself. Partly for some of the other pick pockets he knew around who could use a good meal. But even that was mostly for Angel's concerns. As far as the young man cared, he deserved something more out of the world than he got.

"I never get tired of that view," Apollo enjoyed the view for a moment and then hopped down to make his way down from the wall, attempting to get on hand on Leti's coin purse and giving the guy a hard shove toward the water in the process, ready to book it no matter the outcome.

[Feleti Eidothea]

The awe of the veiw was quickly shattered when leti felt the odd shove. It was certainly hard enough to knock him off balance, luckily his reaction was quick enough to not send him into the water below. It took very little time for the man to put two and two together. He was pretty naive but he wasnt stupid by any means.

He effortlessly hauled himself nack up and over to begin the chase. He wasnt going to let the lad get away without at least a stern talking to. It wasnt his first run in with a pick pocket but it was certainly the first time one had spent so much time in his company before attempting it. Somehow that made him all the more deteremined to catch the theif. His face set with determination as he gained ground on the poor guy.

[Apollo Parish]

So maybe he shouldn't have tried something with someone so capable. Or taller than he was. That stranger had a lot of leg on Apollo. But he did have a head start and his smaller stature wasn't entirely a disadvantage. He'd made a habit of dodging crowds and carts down streets and alleys and he was quite a bit more familiar with this place than his mark. Well, okay, maybe he wasn't a mark anymore, considering he had gotten what he wanted and now the game was to get away.

Apollo certainly enjoyed the adrenaline of the chase.

He left the dock behind quickly, taking an alley from the market place and weaving between small houses and sketchy shops. He could hear the man's feet sticking with him the whole time and as he drew closer decided maybe a foot race was a poor life choice. Apollo clambered up some crates at the end of an narrow street and wall ran up the building beside it, catching the lip and just barely pulling himself up. He wasn't a particularly strong fellow, not like the guy he was running from, but he was nimble and quite good at finding even the smallest hand holds.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti certainly had to admit the guy wasn't easy to get a hold of. The little guy was quick!
The healer wasn't as used to layout of a more urban area so the thief almost lost him once or twice. But his determination helped him stay hot on the guys tail. With how difficult it was to get in arm's reach he knew he would have to find a way to cut off the man's path if he wanted to catch the rascal.
As Leti watched the nimble thief begin to clamber up some crates he could tell where the acrobatics were headed. His eyes scanned the area and he pushed himself to double his speed. Only he didn't run directly after, no he instead ran around to another side of the building where there was a cart partially loaded around the side of the building. He used the cart as a jumping off point to help him up the building. He wouldn't have described it as graceful or nimble, he used sheer force to climb up. He made it just as the man had finished pulling himself onto the roof and wasted no time closing the gap between them.

He practically went in for a tackle, blocking the poor thief with his body. He was pretty out of breath at this point so he couldn't get the words out but the angry look on his face made it clear a scolding was forthcoming.
"That- *pant* -was very - *more panting* unkind! "