Preparing the skewers took longer than Riven thought it would, as every minute that the shopkeeper took extra in grilling the meat, made Riven more and more restless.
’Please do it faster....’
He thought internally, his focus fully locked on the shopkeeper’s hands, when suddenly, disaster struck!
One of the customers standing beside him suddenly stumbled forward.
"Oh, watch it!"
The man barked, as he crashed shoulder first into Riven, causing the young boy to lose his balance for a brief moment while the bouquet of roses nearly slipped from his hands.
"I-I’m sorry..."
Riven apologized instinctively, as he hurried to steady himself, his attention completely occupied by the unexpected collision.
It lasted no more than a heartbeat.
However, that single heartbeat was all the second man needed.
His fingers moved with practiced precision.
One quick slice across the worn leather strap.
One smooth pull.
And Riven’s satchel silently disappeared into his hands before being passed to his partner in one seamless motion.
The exchange was so clean that, by the time Riven looked back up, the second man had already turned away as though nothing had happened, while his companion calmly walked toward the shop’s entrance with the satchel tucked beneath his cloak.
Three steps.
Four.
Five.
Then both men suddenly broke into a sprint.
Only then did Riven feel it.
The familiar weight hanging from his shoulder... was gone.
"What—?"
He blurted out in confusion, instinctively reaching toward his side, as his hand grasped nothing but empty air.
For a single frozen moment, his mind refused to accept what had happened.
Then it finally registered.
’My satchel!’
Inside it were the remaining silver ornaments he had stolen from Hagrid’s house.
The bronze coins the flower seller had just returned.
But more importantly...
His revenge diary.
"THIEF!"
Riven screamed at the top of his lungs, as he instinctively dropped the bouquet of roses onto the wooden floor before charging straight out of the stall without the slightest hesitation.
"THIEF! THEY STOLE MY BAG!"
Riven screamed, as not a small number of passersby immediately turned their heads toward the commotion, only to cast sympathetic looks in his direction once they realized what had happened.
"Poor boy..."
One woman muttered quietly.
"Should’ve held onto his belongings a little tighter."
An old merchant sighed.
"Are there any town guards nearby?"
Another passerby wondered aloud, as several people looked around expectantly.
However, despite the growing interest, nobody actually stepped forward to help.
"STOP! THE BAG HAS MY DIARY!"
Riven yelled desperately, as he chased after the fleeing thieves with everything he had, weaving recklessly between wagons, pedestrians, and merchants while refusing to let the satchel disappear from his sight.
Behind him, Dara tried his best to keep pace.
"Riven, let it go!"
He shouted between heavy breaths.
"We can’t afford to get lost here! If you take too many turns, we won’t even be able to find the inn again!"
However, Riven never even looked back.
His entire world had narrowed to one thing.
The satchel.
And so, after taking a couple turns, Dara gradually slowed to a stop before bending over with both hands resting upon his knees.
For several long moments, he simply stood there breathing heavily while staring in the direction Riven had disappeared.
Then, after a long moment of hesitation...
He turned around.
"...Sorry, Riven. But you’re on your own from here."
He muttered beneath his breath, as he chose to run back towards the skewer shop instead.
Meanwhile, Riven continued chasing the two thieves without slowing down for even a moment.
The streets of Stoneville twisted constantly, forcing him to dart around handcarts, leap over crates, and squeeze between crowds of people as the thieves effortlessly threaded their way through the busy town.
’Faster...’
He urged himself, as he instinctively began circulating Aether inside his body to strengthen his muscles.
’Even faster....’
He thought again, as although he had yet to reach the Ember Rank, the weeks of relentless training beneath Garron had already strengthened his body considerably, allowing him to squeeze every last ounce of speed from his exhausted legs.
Little by little... the distance between them stopped increasing.
One of the thieves glanced back over his shoulder.
"...He’s still there?"
He muttered in surprise.
His companion also looked back before raising an eyebrow.
"The brat’s persistent."
He laughed.
However, instead of panicking, both men simply smiled, as without slowing down, they exchanged a knowing glance before abruptly turning into a narrow side street, as Riven followed.
Meanwhile, far behind them, unnoticed by everyone involved, a lone town guard silently watched the chase unfold from the opposite side of the market and gradually joined the hunt, as he chased from a distance, without exposing his involvement.
For a while, the thieves continued to lead Riven away from the main roads towards increasingly smaller alleys, until finally, Riven rounded a corner and saw them standing still.
PantPant
He breathed heavily, while before him the thieves stood tall and unfazed, wearing wide smiles as though they had been waiting for him all along.
"...Scurry away while you still have the chance, boy."
One of the thieves muttered, casually tossing Riven’s satchel from one hand to the other.
"You don’t want to mess with us."
The second man smirked.
"We’re with the Brothers."
For several long moments, Riven remained completely still, while being robbed of breath.
PantPant
"I..."
He began, struggling to steady his voice.
"I just want my diary."
He pleaded.
"You can keep the money... and everything else inside the bag."
He said, as his trembling eyes remained fixed upon the satchel.
"Just... please give me that back."
The two thieves looked at one another before bursting into laughter.
"The diary?"
One of them chuckled.
"What makes that little book so special?"
He asked, as he deliberately dangled the satchel in front of Riven before swinging it back out of reach.
"And what exactly are you planning to do if we don’t give it back?"
He mocked, as Riven slowly tightened both fists and searched for an answer, only to find none.
’What can I do?’
He wondered helplessly, as he began to tremble in fear and frustration, not realising that in his state of elevated emotions, he had started to summon a mini storm.
WOOOSH
CRACKLE
Around him, the wind quietly began to stir.
A loose piece of cloth hanging from a nearby window suddenly fluttered despite the air having been completely still only moments earlier.
While far above the rooftops...
Dark clouds slowly began gathering across the once-clear sky, as storm Aether gathered around him in ample quantities.