Thick as Thieves

By Dixxy Mouri

Chapter Fifteen: Down the Rabbit Hole

Karsh just had to find Norris.

“What? You’re leaving? You and the blond kid were only here a few months!”

“I’m sorry, but plans have changed – take whatever’s left in the apartment. All I want is the safety deposit and then I’ll be on my way, sir. I know this is short notice but something’s come up and I’m afraid we won’t be living here any longer. The building was a pleasure to live in and you were a very nice landlord but I’m afraid this part of my life is over.”

“Whatever.”

By the time dawn broke the morning after Norris disappeared, Karsh had already run through several emotions. He was heartbroken, then infuriated, and then weeping as he fell asleep on Norris' side of the bed. When Karsh woke up, he stared at his boyfriend’s pillow for several minutes, thinking about the smiling blond who used to lie there.

“Karsh, why do you look so grumpy this morning?”

“I’m behind at the forge – I’m not looking forward to going there today.”

“Well, you have a few minutes – come back to bed for a little bit.”

Then they’d just lie there for a few minutes. Norris would curl up a bit and rest on his shoulder, breathing softly as he closed his eyes and wrapped one arm around Karsh’s waist. Sometimes they would talk a little when they did that, reassuring each other of the troubles going on at their jobs or comforting each other when the pains of loosing Dario and Glenn came back.

Now, Norris truly thought he was doing what was best for his boyfriend.

Unfortunately for Norris, not even Karsh always did what was best for Karsh.

Unfortunately for Karsh, he had no idea where Norris had run to.

“You’re asking me WHAT!?”

“I can’t finish my apprenticeship – I need to leave town!”

“What the hell, boy!? I put way too much time and effort into your to have you-”

“With all due respect. . . I can’t stay! I’m sorry, I really am but this is urgent!”

“Fine. But take this with you – don’t get yourself killed.”

“You’re just giving this to me?”

“If you decide to come back I’d take you in a second.”

Where did a wanted man run to when he was in hiding? The way Karsh saw it, he would have the entire continent of Northern Zenan to search for hiding places. Shifty bars, gambling rings, maybe even a pirate ship or something like that. . . he had no idea where to begin.

Karsh ended up on the northern shore of Northern Zenan after a few days. It was tough going on foot – he really didn’t want to spend the money for a horse and he doubted he could afford it – but seeing the northern shore was comforting. At least he knew he could get that far by himself.

As he set up his camp for the night, he thought about that. He’d done it alone.

Karsh sat down and stared out at the ocean as he thought about it. He had really never been alone before. When he was little he had his parents and Dario, and eventually Glenn and Riddel. He had people all around him in El Nido. Dario, Glenn, and Norris had been with him for the years following the fall of Guardia, and then it was just him and Norris for a little while.

But now he had no one. Everyone in El Nido probably thought he was long dead by now. Maybe his parents or Garai were still holding a torch for him, but it had been five years. Poor Glenn was dead – that still bothered Karsh – and Dario could be living with the nuns in Fiona’s Forest for all he knew.

And Norris. . .

Karsh shivered. He got closer to his fire, but quickly realized it wasn’t helping.

“WAAAHHHH!”

Karsh woke up to the sound of the wail a few days later, feeling grumpy and uncomfortable. It wasn't the first time he'd slept outside, but it would never be as nice as the bedroom in his old apartment. Certainly not with screaming in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night.

Still. . . the voice didn't sound like an animal's, and if there was something like that going on this late at night it couldn't have been good. That voice didn't sound very old. . . where did it come from? He grabbed his ax, closed his eyes, and listened for a second cry.

“LEMME GO!”

This way! Karsh started to move through the woods, slipping through the brush and branches of the woods. Years of training as a thief helped him stay silent as he moved towards the source of the cry. The voice was definitely young – younger than he was, and he was only a teenager himself.

“Doesn't she have any money on her?”

Karsh found his mark – there was a clearing nearby with the ruins of what appeared to be an old cathedral or something sitting in the middle of it. Through the crumbled walls he could see the shadows of men around a campfire. He took a deep breath and crept closer to the ruins.

There was a small form curled up in the midst of a group of around five bandits, with one man standing at the lead. “C'mon, a little lady like you running around all by herself doesn't have something? You must've lifted a few wallets or something, didn't you?”
“NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“You don't screw with Francis the Furious and the Bandit Brother like that.”

Karsh raised an eyebrow. Francis the Furious? What kind of a name is that?

The figure was wearing a big, baggy hood and cloak – a tiny face with big, terrified blue eyes. Karsh realized it was just a little girl – no older than twelve or thirteen. His eyes widened in surprise. They were just going to hurt some little kid?! What could she possibly have that they’d even WANT!?

“Look, you give Francis something valuable and he'll let you go – now just give us something, okay?” said one of the other bandits. He advanced on the little girl, who squealed and backed herself into a corner. “Come on, you're not making it any easier on yourself, are you?”

“STOP IT!” the girl screamed. “GO AWAY!”

The bandits began to laugh. Karsh felt himself getting angrier by the second, so he stepped out of the shadows and decided to lure the men away from the child. “HEY! OVER HERE! WHY DON'T YOU PICK YOUR FIGHT WITH A MAN!”

This got the bandit's attention. The leader (Francis, he presumed) stepped forward. “And just who the hell are you?” he said. Francis cracked a grin. “Don’t tell me you’re going to try and save her? You can’t take all of us on by yourself, or are you just that stupid?” The rest of his gang snickered.

“You’re damn straight I’m going to save her,” he said, brandishing his ax. Karsh lifted his head, egging them on. He had to get them away from that girl before she got hurt! “Come on, there's five of you and one of me – don't tell me you chickens are afraid of me?”

Francis and he men ran at him. Karsh held his ground, hoping that all of his training at the forge has paid off. “You can't know you've made a sword or an ax correctly if you don't know how to use one, right, m'boy? Let me teach you the basics of both.”

Swords and ax met – from the angle and the weight, Karsh didn't think Francis was particularly good. Still, his own training was rusty at best – little bits and pieces left over from what his father taught him, and the very different style his master had been teaching him at the forge.

The bandits circled him while he was busy with Francis. Karsh swore under his breath. This was NOT how he'd envisioned this little rescue operation at all. The girl was watching him with terrified eyes. “What are you doing, Mister!?” she asked. “You're going to get hurt!”

“Believe me, kid, this is NOT how I was planning this!” he said.

The girl in the hood started to panic, ultimately grabbing the branch of a nearby fallen tree. She got to her feet and held the stick out in front of her – she started to swing, crying out. She managed to knock one of the bandits on the side of the head, but Francis and the other three were still standing and now very angry with her.

Luckily, the little girl had taken the attention away from Karsh, who was easily able to take out two of Francis’ mooks. There was no way he could have handled all five of them, but two of them were within the realm of possibility. “Thanks, kiddo, but I think I’ve got this now.”

Francis sneered as the girl dropped the stick and retreated to her corner. “Really now, ax man? Tell you what – you beat me in a duel and I’ll let you walk away with the girl. If I win, I get everything worth value on your person. Does that sound like a fair deal to you?”

“It sounds like a fair deal but I trust you about as far as I can throw a tree.” Karsh kneed Francis in the groin, letting the man fall to the ground. “Don’t let me catch you harassing little girls, you got that, Francis? She’s a kid, and I will kick your ass if you do it again. You got that?”

Francis’ last standing bandit had long since vanished, leaving just him, the crying and whimpering bandit leader, and the girl. He kicked Francis a second time on his way over to the girl and knelt down, extending his hand. “Come on, let’s get you out of here, okay?”

The girl nodded and took his hand.

Once Karsh led the girl back to his camp, he started to disassemble the camp. It would be a bad idea to go to sleep in the middle of the woods with a bunch of angry bandits looking for me – they might have woken up and found their friend by now. He turned to the girl, who was standing awkwardly by the former firepit. “Okay, just let me grab my bag and I'll get you into town – that's where your folks are, right?”

The girl had remained mostly quiet since he rescued her. “Uh uh.”

Karsh raised an eyebrow. “You. . . don't wanna see your parents?”

“My parents aren't here,” she said.

“What do you mean? Are they farther away? Maybe in Truce or Dorino?”

She sniffled. “They're in El Nido.”

Karsh's eyes widened. EL NIDO!? He knelt down. “You came from El Nido!?”

The girl nodded. “Uh huh. Before the port closed.”

“Are you serious?”

“Very,” she said, looking him in the eyes. “I told my mommy and daddy I wanted to go on an adventure and they laughed at me, so I stowed away on a boat and before I could get back the man at the shipyard said I couldn't because General Viper said people couldn't go there anymore even if you were from El Nido and then he chased me out.”

Karsh closed his eyes. “That wasn't a very smart move on your part, kid.”

Her eyes began to water, and then the girl started to wail.

Karsh winced – he hadn't meant to make her cry. He quickly covered her mouth. “Shh! The bandits will hear you!” She was still whimpering behind his hand. Karsh slowly retracted and held up his hands. “It's okay, it's okay,” he said. He got down on both knees. “I'm from El Nido, too! I got stranded here before the port closed down, too! We're in the same boat, kid!”

The girl was still sniffling, but she was eyeing him with curiosity. “Really?”

Karsh nodded. “I was born in Termina – my father was a Dragoon and a blacksmith, and my mom helped him run the forge when she wasn’t trying to keep me and my friends in line. Seemed like she was always yelling at us if we did something bad or patching us up when we got hurt or making sure we had snacks for when we were hungry.” His eyes lowered at the memory. “My parents are probably back there, too. Probably think I'm dead by now.” He sighed. “I'm alone here right now, too.”

“That’s sad.”

Karsh sighed with relief – at least she was calmer “So where are you from?”

The girl swallowed. “You don't wanna know.”

“Sure I do. Where you from? Termina, Guldove, Arni?”

“Um. . .” The girl reached up to her hood, fingering the edges. “Marburle.”

Karsh's eyes widened as she lowered her hood and two big brown bunny ears appeared from under the hood. “A demi-human?” he asked. He fell backwards and started to laugh. “You really are from El Nido!” He looked at her and smiled. “I'm not laughing at you, I'm just. . . I haven't seen anything from home in a long time.”

“You're happy to see my ears?”
Karsh nodded. “You're from home! Sure there are Mystics in Medina, but there aren't any demi-humans running around here like they do back in El Nido!” He almost started to cry. “I miss El Nido. . . the smell of the salty air, the clean water, the sights and sounds of Termina. . . you don't get that around here. The cities are getting so dingy and poor – at least Termina was mostly middle class.”

The girl knelt down next to him. “You really are a good guy, aren't you?” She raised a large, furry brown hand and extended it to Karsh in friendship. “My name is Janice. What's your name, Mister?”

“It's Karsh,” he said, offering his own hand.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Karsh,” she said.

“It's just Karsh – no ‘mister’ necessary,” he said. He sat down and crossed his legs. Janice crossed her legs across from him as well, seeming to warm up to him a bit. At least she wasn't afraid of him anymore. “So tell me, Janice, what exactly are you going to do now?”

Janice frowned, deep in thought, and then brightened. “Can I stay with you!?”

Karsh's eyes widened. “Janice. . . I don't know if that's a good idea,” he said.

“Why not?”

Karsh sighed. “I’m looking for someone very important to me.”

“So why don't I help you look for him?” she asked.

“It'll be dangerous,” Karsh said with a warning look. “I'm looking for someone who's

probably hiding with a bad crowd right now, even though he's not a bad person himself. You could get yourself hurt, even with me around to protect you – how old are you? Ten, eleven?”

“I’m twelve.”

Karsh coughed. “See what I mean?”

Janice pouted. “I can learn how to fight, too!” She took a fighting stance and started to punch at the air with her big, furry hands, jumping from foot to foot. “Pow, pow! Pow, pow, pow-pow!” She grinned. “I'm little now, but I'll grow! I’ll be big and strong and I’ll be able to fight, too!”

Karsh sighed. “I'm warning you. . .”

“Do you really want to be alone until you find your boyfriend?” asked Janice.

“Well. . . no, I guess not-”

“So then take me with you!” Janice leapt at him, bringing him to the ground as she wrapped both of her arms around his neck. “Please, Karsh, pretty please? I don't wanna be alone! You even said it yourself, we're in the same boat, stranded far from home!” She looked at him with those big blue eyes, pouting. “Please please please please PLEEEAAASEE!!”

Karsh gave up and smiled. “Just don't get in the way, all right?”

“YAY! KARSH AND JANICE, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!”

Even as Janice’s grip tightened, Karsh couldn’t help but smile.

He wasn’t alone anymore.

Author's Notes

Francis was about due for a cameo.

That's right, it's Janice! The first of several canon CC characters to appear aside from those originally listed back in Thieves!

Who else will join? You’ll find out soon enough.

Once again, special thanks to Crystal Cat Chan for being a beta reader and the person I spend the most time talking with about this fic.

Until next time!

Dixxy