Orange you Glad to see Me?
Yuri watched as the kid sidled up to the fruit stand, little hand snaking over the edge to grab the nearest apple. He was young and obviously inexperienced—the stall-tender noticed him in an instant. In mere moments, the air was filled with squeaks and sobs, begging to be let go. Such was the world of the poor. If you weren't fast enough, you lost out. The stakes were just a bit higher than they were for others.
A pair of knights, dressed in an unfamiliar uniform, came over to see what the commotion was about. Yuri followed.
"...what we do to thieves?" the shopkeeper was asking. "You can save your crocodile tears." He raised a knife above the child's prone wrist, preparing to sever it.
Yuri stepped ahead of the knights, who didn't seem like they were going to do anything, and caught the man's arm before he could bring it down. He was strong, but Yuri held steady. "Whoa there. No need to go that far for an apple. Or do you think an apple's worth that much?"
The man sputtered. "This isn't any of your concern. This is the law."
"Ahh, my bad. The kid ran off before I could give him the money to pay for the apple." With his free hand, he reached into his wallet and drew out money to pay for the fruit, and a couple of others. "Here. This good enough?"
"This criminal will just steal again," the shopkeeper replied, though sounding hesitant.
Of course he wanted more money, but Yuri wasn't going to be pushed that far. "I'll take three apples and an orange." He continued to hold out the money.
At last, the man gave in, releasing the child and taking Yuri's money. "Get lost," he growled to the child, who did, but not before Yuri slipped the apple back into the boy's small hands. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said to the man, sarcastic edge to the tone. He took the other two apples and the orange, tossing one of the apples to each of the knights and the orange to a long, brown-haired man who had joined them at some point. Sharing makes the world a better place.
The kid would either learn from his mistake or get caught again, when no one was there to save him. Yuri knew how it worked—he'd been there before. But sometimes, all that was needed was another chance. He turned to leave the scene before the shopkeeper could change his mind and demand more in front of the knights.