time to steal the show

tagged by: absolutely no one, i’m chasin my bliss tagging: points. you.

SPARROW.    - innocence, big dreamer, waking up too early, walking home, being afraid of meeting new people, slim hands, always cold, reading a book under a tree, the smell of the forest, missing your home.

EAGLE.           - independent, ( caring too much for others ), sharp looks, walking down the city late at night, the tallest and most spectacular building, iron, being single and okay in a world that tells you that being single is bad.

SWIFT.            - falling in love easily and heavily, traveler, the infinity of the bluest sky, storms, broken smiles, forgetting people who used to be your beloved ones, feeling out of place, mistrusting people, a fleeting romance.

CROW.            - feeling as if you have seen so much and as if you know a lot, prejudge, tight hugs that leave you breathless, a grey sky, serenity, intelligence, ( being left behind ), chains, smoke, the pride of someone wise.

DOVE.             - petals, ( jealousy ), being tired of living with the same old faces, whispered secrets, marble, sundresses, white clothes, the first sunset of winter, pride in who you are, ( learning to get over someone ).

SEAGULL.       - family, golden light, the sea murmuring in your ear, summer afternoons, caramel ice cream, collecting seashells and other things and calling them treasures, living breezy and carefree, swimming in sunlight.

─ ✦;     Therion was always so vigilant, watching prizes like a hawk, quite fitting for a skilled thief like him, but his shocked reaction made it all more evident just how out of his depth he was, a fact that is met with a low, brief chuckle from the dancer. Still, his words suggest that he doesn’t know any more than she does about their current situation, and that makes her wary of her surroundings.

“I’m not up to anything, given that I only came here a few days ago,” She carefully looks at his face, hair, outfit - yes, it’s Therion, the one and only. Primrose’s mouth opens again, but now she isn’t smiling. “Out of our fellow companions, though, you’re the only one I’ve seen here. What a fortunate coincidence.”

Among the city-wide festivities, the music and the food, talking to an old comrade was like a breath of fresh air, but the situation was still off from her point of view – Therion being here, too, set off a few alarms. If their companions were here, then they just hadn’t come across them yet. It’s as if someone had kidnapped them into this idyllic place, for whatever agenda they had.

“I don’t remember how I arrived here,” Primrose says, arms crossed over her chest. “Do you?”

Therion manages a scowl at Primrose, despite the fact that her words make his chest go tight. You’re the only one. That’s fine. Neither of them have been here for long, so there’s a chance they could find the others. If Therion and Primrose were able to be snatched, why wouldn’t the culprits take the others, too? The city’s big enough, maybe they’ve just missed each other--

But, no, he won’t start up that nonsense. Primrose’s sudden appearance beams like a beacon of hope, but Therion has learned to turn away from anything of the sort. It’s enough, more than enough, that Prim is here. Let alone any others. He tugs his scarf up over his mouth-- nervous habit-- and shakes his head.

► “No. Woke up next to a cliff. Same as a bunch of people, far as I can tell. I don’t think we’ll learn what happened any time soon, either. This place is too... vague. And all this festival shit--” He waves a hand, gesturing to... everything, honestly. “It makes it harder to find any decent information. If I knew where to look for it.”

The way the pamphlet had read when he first found it, the people in charge don’t plan for him to go back to Orsterra. There was barely any mention of getting back, just details of adjustment to life in the city and other bullshit.

The slots rolled in the background. Catra hadn’t come to this place to play, her luck had always been terrible since she was born. She was just here to for the people. 

“Yeah, I mean my personality is fake as hell but the ears are real.” 

Catra said, with a fake laugh. She already knew she was different from others. She didn’t need the reminder. She suddenly jumped up from where she was sitting. She walked to close the distance between them, and overconfident swagger to her steps. The stray cat strutted. 

He had that look about him. Perhaps it was the messy hair, and the mismatched clothes. To Catra he looked like a kitten somebody had left all alone in an alleyway in a cardboard box marked please give a good home. Catra wondered why he was staring at her like she was some kind of monster. (Well she was, but staring was so rude). They were actually quite similiar. 

Catra stopped just in front of him. She raised her claws-

And then tried to poke him harmlessly between his eyes. 

“My eyes are up here, you know.” 

She was just teasing. 

“This outfit doesn’t have pockets anyway, it’s leather. Lemme guess you’re staring cuz you’re jealous of how good I look.”

Her response trips Therion up, a sharp scoff of laughter leaving him before he can catch it. Poor bastard he is, he doesn’t realize he has walked into a trap (if conversations can be called ‘traps’) until she’s approaching, looking like for all intents and purposes, she’s the queen of the damn place. 

He’s ready to choose between fight or flight, tense and reaching for-- wait, he doesn’t have a good weapon anymore. Just a wooden dagger, like something a kid would own. Therion scowls, fingers reluctantly wrapping around the handle under his mantle before she raises her-- wait, she has claws, honest to Aelfric claws, and he just provoked her? Great.

But he doesn’t get slashed at. He doesn’t even feel a swipe. He leans back, but her odd choice of action takes him off guard, and he can’t get back quick enough before she has thoroughly poked him. The scowl deepens, and Therion gives up on the dagger and instead bats her hand away.

► “Keep your hands to yourself,” he mutters, like an absolute hypocrite. "I’m not--” He huffs, crosses his arms. “I’m not jealous. I don’t need to worry about what I look like.” He stopped worrying about that needless shit long ago. (And yet he still hides the scar over his eye whenever he can.)

      ⚘ Though she giggles lightly at the stranger’s predicament, she soon stops the moment a glare is shot her way. However, despite this, Margaretha still offers him a smile as she tucks her hands behind her back, now approaching him. While it’s very likely that the stranger wishes to not converse with her, well… The dancer simply can’t help it, especially with now being in an environment that isn’t consistently dangerous.

      ❝ Hmmm! That’s the question on everyone’s minds, isn’t it? ❞ comes the brunette’s reply, humming in thought for a moment.

      ❝ I’m not entirely sure myself! It’s all rather mysterious, isn’t it? ❞ and now hazel hues drift upwards to look at the various planets and stars that continue to float and swirl around the area, wonder reflecting within the woman’s eyes.

      ❝ I think it’s just for display purposes… To be educational? Or something like that, maybe, ❞

‘Rather mysterious,’ she says, full of wonder like this place is some kind of marvel. Something about her mannerisms is familiar, but Therion refuses to look deeper into it than that. He doesn’t need to start thinking about people he probably won’t see for a long while. If ever again.

► “Can’t think of anything I’d learn by looking at a bunch of floating orbs. I’d bet it rakes in the attention, seeing how many people are here just to sit and watch these things float by.” Granted, he was also lured in. Just... for different reasons.

Now that he has someone who seems happy to answer his questions, though, he can unload them one by one. There’s only one large one on his mind regarding their surroundings and the surroundings of those surroundings, though.

It’s only natural for a thief, after all.  Especially for one who’s just trying to get the scoop on what in the world is going on with this island.  He’s not looking to start any sort of riveting conversation, considering he woke up next to a cliff not even a week ago and the only people he can tolerate having a conversation with have disappeared, but then-- well.

He’s intrigued, to say the least.  And considering he can’t steal any actual money from people (damn this invisible currency), he’s bored.

► “So,”  he says, settled against the bar,  “are the ears real?”  With all the other weird shit he’s had to witness so far, he wouldn’t be surprised if caits were more prevalent here than Orsterra.  But, wait, this person looks more human than cait...

If his eyes narrow as he inspects further, don’t expect him to apologize.

► “C’mon,”  he says.  “Go. Truffle sniff, or whatever.”  When he’s met with a snort and comical sniffing from the pig, he gently (very gently) nudges it with his foot.  “Don’t make me turn you into bacon.”  It’s a bad threat, considering he doesn’t think he could ever kill something this... cute, for lack of a better word. That, and he gets an awful glare from a pixie when they hear him.

He sighs and rolls his eyes, stooping to pick the thing up.  

► “What’s wrong with you?  You’re too small to not have any energy.”  He turns it this way and that, before scoffing and narrowing his eyes at someone else who has yet to truly venture into the forest’s depths.  “Is this rigged?  I don’t want to deal with a dud.”

Snagging one out of the air is easy.  There are so many that no one could possibly miss just one, right?  Especially one this small-- apple-sized at best, with swirling clouds over it.  Stashing, though, is another thing, because the moment Therion tries to fit it under his mantle, it breaks from his grip with a startling strength and returns to floating, lifting the purple fabric with it.  Therion, pissed and grumbling, yanks his mantle back down before it’s pulled over his head.

One of the first things you learn as a thief is to avoid drawing attention to yourself.  Almost having an entire accessory removed in public (with no small amount of muttered curses) breaks that rule easily, and Therion’s left with a scowl that he turns to the first unlucky stranger he catches glancing at him.

► “What-- what are you even supposed to do here?  What’s all this for?”  He doesn’t mention his bumbling failure, nor the not-stolen planet that lingers above his head a moment more before resuming its lazy meandering.  “Seems like a bunch of frilly nonsense, to me.”

i’ve been sticking off twitter for a while, but i’m slowly getting back to it so i’m over there at astronomicallie if that matters!!  i’ll give my discord out upon request (feel weird having it out in the open), so if you wanna chat hmu!

what could we chat about, you ask?  i’ve recently been into persona 5, fire emblem (three houses gave me brainworms, hate that for me), and ace attorney.  but i’m into lots of stuff, idk!!

i never fail to go nuts over pokemon mystery dungeon (the explorers of arc... quality), the to the moon series, and howl’s moving castle (book&movie).  i say this because i feel like that gives a good idea of who i am as a person.

Therion can think of many, many people who would want to tie him up and steal him away in the night, but very few of them know what he looks like.  So, why...?  He pulls his legs in to cross them, hunching in his position.  He’s not bound, and his surroundings--

That’s when he notices to gaping chasm beside him, and he breaks out into furious swearing.

► “Fucking--  shit, fuck--”  He scrambles up, ignoring the mocking voice in his head that calls him a coward under every other part of him screaming at the drop.  His stomach still feels like it’s falling, skin tingling when it doesn’t feel wind whipping past it, but he ignores it with a clenched jaw and looks around.  He recognizes nothing, and the people around him are no exception. 

Things get stranger from there.  Some wheeled thing approaches him, and when it’s clear its master won’t let him walk alone, he finds himself strapped in and guided elsewhere.  It’s by far the weirdest kidnapping procedure he’s ever heard of.  And, he notes as he takes in the pamphlet and the strange device beside it, the most complicated.

He’s been on his own before.  Should have stayed on his own, honestly, because he can’t get rid of the tiny knot in his stomach that forms whenever he wonders just how far he is away from the group.  He’ll handle this, and... get back, if he feels like it when he gets the opportunity.

22  /  he/him  /  canon point taken from post-chapter-3

his name is therion and he is a thief.

a really good thief, at that.  master-level shit, been in it since he was a child.  will absolutely swipe something from someone just to prove he can.

certified lone wolf, was (very badly) betrayed years ago and has extreme trust issues as a result.  has recently joined a group of 8 people on their own journeys out of convenience.  he definitely hasn’t started relying on them.  of course not.  that’d be stupid.  he learned his lesson.

has an iron shackle around his wrist; a visual representation of his hubris.

to get that thing off, he needs to collect a bunch of ‘dragonstones.’  but now he’s here, so apparently that mission’s on hold for now.

sarcastic, cynical, closed-off.  he’s also a scarily good actor for his ruses. 

he’s not all bad, though.  he’s observant, sharp, and can be loyal when he finally allows himself to get close to others.  (though he’s always expecting anyone he trusts to betray him, he himself tries not to do that.)

basically plays himself off as a big bad thief who’s always up to no good, but nothing’s ever so black-and-white.  (don’t tell him i said that, though!!)