A Pocket to Pick

Despite the midday sun sitting high in the sky, Central City was abuzz with the clamoring sounds of people going about their daily routines. While most were out doing some weekly shopping, there were always at least some people out with no real destination in mind. Today, one of these people was Jack Fulhelmknight, aka The Pirate Jack, simply walking around the city with no real intentions. As he passed by the various shops, Jack would occasionally peer inside, a lazy look on his face and portrayed by his body as he casually looked at all of the people. As usual, Jack's dark skin and "roguish" appearance did attract some eyes; mostly those of the young women who happened to spot him passing by. While their first look might have been to see if he were an Ishvallan, they continued their gaze as they noticed his Amestrian eyes and stunning looks. Of course, none of them dare approach him; either being to captivated by his appearance or too afraid of his rouge looks. For Jack, this was lucky, as he didn't really feel like causing a commotion in such a crowded city.

As he continued walking, Jack spotted a small food stand a couple yards in front of himself. Seeing as he currently was dead broke, he quickly began to devise a distraction to snag something from the stand. Reaching into his pocket, Jack quickly produced a small metal circle, about the size of a coin, and held it in the palm of his hand. As he kept up his pace, Jack waited until he was only a couple of feet away from the stand before discretely tossing the metal object a few feet to the left in front of a group of children. As soon as they heard the distinct sound of metal hitting the ground, the children quickly began looking around for the source. As this began to draw some attention, one of the kids found the metal circle and held it up high in victory, not yet realizing that it wasn't a coin. As this now had the attention of the owner of the food stand, trying to figure out why this kid was making such a fuss over a piece of metal; Jack walked by the stand. As he passed, it seemed as if nothing happened, even to one who would have been looking at him from a few feet away, but if one were to look more closely, they would notice that a single apple had vanished from the stand. Quickly walking away before the stand owner even looked back at his stock, Jack found a nice little corner far enough away to inspect his prize. Quickly, Jack produced the apple from his pocket, and after looking at it for a second, he quickly took a bite. "Damn, this is so good on an empty stomach" he said to himself before taking another bite.

Murazar was wandering central, no he wasn't looking for a deader or a contact. It was just a normal day after drinking and carousing with general spade. The man was a handful to keep from too many of the ladies, the alcohol was impossible to keep from him however. The only one it was harder to take from was himself, he admitted it he was an alcoholic. Yet he didn't care, it kept him sane enough not to go out and take out whoever got in his way.

He just happened to pass by a small, yet strange event. To him it was obvious as all simple tricks that were technically illegal. Plan of action, Diversion, action, escape. Simple enough, nothing fancy. He decided to follow right away, just for the fun of it. Killing time was a nice thing sometimes. Especially when there was absolutely nothing left to do.

He stayed a few paces away from the slightly younger man who had stolen a simple apple and was eating it wolfishly. Murazar frowned to his back and stopped his silent footsteps, he spoke calmly with a slight trace of disappointment in his tone." Is this all you can do? Stealing apples to eat, that is barely enough to sustain yourself. " He kept his hands close to the bags of dirt, just in case. Sometimes alchemy was the only way out. He just hoped not to have to use it.

Although Jack didn't hear anything in particular that would allude to another presence, he could feel that someone was approaching him; something that could be dangerous after his previous act. Discretely checking to make sure that his .44 Caliber Magnum Revolver was readily available in case things should turn ugly, Jack quickly lifted his head away from the apple; now finished, to look at the stranger. "All I can do? heh, I am not a career thief, I am merely dead broke and hungry" Jack said with a slight laugh, his charismatic nature shining through slightly. "Besides, I don't want to steal so much that he is then put into my situation" he added to his first statement, now standing up straight and looking at the stranger. As he did so, Jack caught a glimpse of a garbage bin out of the corner of his eye, and with a small display of dexterity, easily tossed the apple core into it from a distance. Of course, Jack wasn't trying to show off or anything, but he didn't want to take his eyes off of this stranger while he could still be a threat.

"So tell me, do you make it a habit of yours to comment on stranger's eating habits?" Jack asked jokingly with another slight laugh. It wasn't like he was trying to taunt this stranger or anything, he just wanted to get an idea of what kind of person he was. While this may have seemed a little odd, someone's reaction to a simple joke could be a valuable way to judge that person's base personality. Of course, it could also result in Jack either having to pull his gun or simply run away; which is why he used a simple an non-offending joke. "Anyways, what would your name happen to be stranger; mine's Jack" Jack said, ending his question as a statement. While this stranger may not have asked his name, Jack knew that it was a good custom to introduce yourself before asking someone else their name.

The day was a long one for Edward, especially when he had just spent half of it with the Fuhrer! Why in the world didn't he catch that sooner? Out of all the people in Central, he spent it with her. "That dirty, rotten, no good...." He soon stops talking to himself out loud when his attention was drawn to the children wrestling around for some object. It was interesting, very interesting nontheless. His mind began spinning like a clock, little pieces of the puzzle where ticking together like tiny gears. It was quite clear to the criminal that this was a ploy. Out of the corner of his other eye, L quickly catches a glimpse of a man slipping into the shadows, followed shortly by another. "This is going to be good..." L mumbles under his breath before slowly creeping towards the darken alleyway. With his right hand, L begins trailing it against the red bricks of the small shop, humming a gentle tune.

L pauses right before the entrance to alleyway, quietly eavesdropping on the conversation that had just begun between the men. There was no doubt in his mind, he knew they knew he was there. Who wouldn't? It wasn't as if he were just trying to keep it a secret. Just as the pirate looking fella nonchalantly ask the other his name, L swings around the corner and gives a nice long cackle. "Well, look at you two. I hope I'm not interrupting your play date. I just couldn't resist the urge to follow two young men down this alleyway." L shrugs his shoulders as he pulls out a packet of cigarettes from his back pocket. He quickly lights up one, and inhales the smoke deep into his lungs.

Murazar grinned momentarily at his joke before answering him calmly and unfazed," Only if i'm not bored or twiddling my thumbs. Otherwise I dont bother what I see." He watched a new figure show up, his hands clenched tight. He was still prepared to fight. He replied to him also in the same kind of way as he did the young thief. " Another bored soul, well someone who still has theirs anyway." He grinned morbidly, his might as well have been lost for all purposes.

He decided to introduce himself, " Mr. Fox at your discretion. Who are you two?" He bowed his head just slightly, which was more of a polite askance than a sign of respect. He let go of his hands relaxing them. The phosphorus dirt blowing in the slight wind. It circulated all around, the odorless breeze gave him a sense of security. If he had to fight it would be easily accomplished now, and none the wiser.