A Thief and a Gentleman

It was still a lot to take in; being spoiled like this was new to her and Sharna doubted she’d ever get entirely used to it no matter how long she was with Neal. It was just one of those things. She still internally questioned how she deserved someone like him on a regular basis. She knew if she said it outloud Neal would - rightly - have a lot to say about that, as he always did when she believed herself not good enough or not deserving of him and the things he did. 

 Another grin broke out across her face as she watched Neal pop open the champagne, all this smiling made her face ache a little but she didn’t mind in the slightest. She felt giddy, like a kid at Christmas.

Taking the glass she raised it to Neal’s, the clinking sound of them connecting deeply satisfying. “And to my amazing boyfriend for doing all of this.” 

Neal chuckled into his champagne. “You deserve it,” he said. And he very well meant it. He knew Sharna had had a difficult upbringing and the things Theo had done to her made him furious beyond anything he had felt before. She was kind and big hearted and really did deserve every last good thing in the world and not the shit that the universe had thrown at her for so long.

If he could make her even a little bit happy it was worth it.

The car stopped then and Neal downed the rest of the champagne. It burned slightly but it wasn’t too bad. He slipped out of the car and held the door open for her. “Ready for the next part of your birthday present?”

Ah well, it came with their work. Both of them would simply have to get on with it, there were more unpleasant things to be dealt with as a hunter. Such as whatever beast had taken it upon itself to savage and kill innocent civilians. It was worse than the bodies of its victims, how unpleasant they may have smelled. 

Another bite was taken from the sugar mouse as she continued to read. It had been a quiet few weeks, too much so for her liking so it was about time something out of the ordinary happened. Not that she wished harm upon anyone but mundane living was not something Sharna was suited to. 

Folding the paper up and handing it back to Neal, Sharna huffed a laugh. “Now there is a great mystery. I’m sure it will have the constabulary scratching their heads for weeks to come.” Perhaps a little unfair, but she was not fond of most police officers. The feeling was mutual, no doubt, they would have more ire for her if they knew she was a vampire. The very sort of monster they used her to catch. 

“Yes, and remind them to please do nothing to the body yet. I want it as it was found. As much as I respect the dead I cannot do my work if their bodies are repaired and treated in preparation for burial.” The mortician was usually on top of such things given he was by now aware unusual deaths usually brought herself and Neal to his establishment. Occasionally he was not, or one of the young men learning the profession would have begun the clean up and embalming process. It made her job harder. 

“No doubt,” he chuckled. Much like Sharna, Neal was not particularly fond of Law Enforcement. He didn’t dislike them as much as she but he still was not entirely a fan. The only real cop he ever liked was back in America in New York.

Officer Peter Burke had chased Neal down for years trying to catch him as Neal ran a series of cons all across the State. Neal had actually come to England to get away from the American police. Peter let him run and to this day Neal still wondered why.

“I will go contact him then,” Neal said as he set the paper down on the desk before turning and heading out of the room.

They had a telephone in the hallways near the front door. It was a rather nice one, black with gold designs along it. Neal picked up the ear and mouth pieces and asked the operator to get him the local mortuary. The second the mortician heard his voice, he knew to keep the body as is. Neal thanked him before hanging up and returning to the sitting room.

“We is keeping the body for us but he asked us to make it quick. The family wishes to bury their loved one as soon as they can.”

Monsters were nothing. Murderers and other heinous criminals were nothing. Being out alone in the wilderness was nothing. Managing to not hang up after the first ring? That was something Sharna Hikari struggled with. She could practically hear Luce laughing all the way up in Portland. 

It wasn’t like she did this often. Never, really. Not since Liam. She had been with people but it wasn’t even casual dating. Just a night or two to make her feel less lonely. She knew better, knew what Theo would do otherwise. 

Yet here she was. Maybe she was being stupid, it wasn’t as if this would definitely go anyway even if Luce had insisted Neal had been blatantly flirting. Shar was terrible at that stuff, always had been. 

He hadn’t ran screaming for her or gone to the law. He knew something wasn’t right, he knew she was lying about everything, including her name. Yet he still wanted to know her. Maybe that was why she was actually ignoring common sense for a change. 

Neal’s voice on the other end of the phone pulled her from her thoughts and banished all chances of hanging up. “Hey,” Sharna found herself rising from her chair, wandering over to the window. “it’s Alex. I, uh, hope I’m not interrupting anything.” 

A grin broke out onto Neal’s face upon hearing Alex’s voice. He had been hoping to hear from her. Maybe that was strange, she had nearly shot him. Most people wouldn’t be looking forward to a call from somebody like that but also most people wouldn’t have given that person their number either.

Neal always had lived rather fast and loose and no ankle leash was going to stop that. It just confined such behavior to a smaller radius. Thinking on the tracker, would Alex mind? She did seem like a dangerous sort though not in the way that put Neal off. But then even dangerous types seemed rather adverse to the anklet.

He supposed it was because it was almost like a warning. Like because he was caught, they could be too.

I guess we’ll see, he thought.

It was going to suck that she couldn’t tell Dad about her new friend. Well, not right away. He’d get rid of the babysitter and hire a new one. One that wouldn’t let her go where she pleased or make it impossible to sneak out. She wouldn’t have met Danny if she’d had a proper babysitter. 

Still grinning she let herself be pulled along. She had to walk a little faster so she could keep up but she didn’t mind. She wanted to see what it was! Besides, a said she was… what was it again? Oh yeah, like a little antelope— fast and agile. 

Twigs crunched under her feet as they reached the trees. She’d have to come back here sometime, maybe with Dad. See i they could in any animals. Tree groves were a good place to find them, even in cities. She just wanted to see something other than pigeons, rats and cats. 

Eh, that was a thought for another day. 

The trees cleared, and Sharna came to stop just after Danny. 

“Wow!” 

No one was here. A whole park - well okay, it wasn’t a whole park, some things weren’t finished - to themselves. She let go of Danny’s hand, stepping forward to twirl around and try to take it all in. “No one else knows this is here?” 

Danny shook his head in answer to her question. “Nope. Nobody. It’s all ours.”

True, he couldn’t really say that nobody else knew about it but in all the time he had been coming here he hadn’t seen another soul in the abandoned park so as far as he knew, it was a secret that was all his. Or, well, had been all his. Now his new friend knew too but that was okay. It was now their secret.

The park was not particularly old so the equipment was still in good shape despite not being taken care of against the weather and such so Danny did not fear being hurt while playing...not that he would anyway. Ellen said he was too fearless for his own good.

“What do you want to play on first?” he asked. There were swings and see-saws and monkey bars, entire play sets and a climbing wall. The park would have been amazing if it had ever been finished. It definitely would have been extremely popular.

“Exactly, what the birthday girl says, goes.” Shar teased, grinning over at Neal. She’d never even jokingly abused that fact before, it felt good to be able to do so for once. Not that she was going to be a brat about it, it was just fun to play around. 

A barely-audible purr came from Sharna. It was brief, gone as she squeezed their now-entwined hands. Just loud enough so that Neal could hear it, but that the river didn’t pick up on it and ask questions or pass her some weird looks. “I know I don’t have to, but I want to. You deserve it.” Everyone wanted to know and feel that they’d done some good, that their actions were met with gratitude. 

A hum left her and Shar gently bit down on her lip. Not that she actually had to think that one over. “Sure, wouldn’t want it to go to waste. It’s not like either of us need to watch for the limit.” Doubly funny considering that wasn’t a problem for her in any case, vampirism and all. 

They would only keep going back and forth on how the other deserved this or that for the remainder of the night if neither dropped it and given Sharna liked to argue at times, Neal decided he’d concede this time.

Instead he smiled and shook his head as he fished out two champagne flutes. Now came the fun part of popping the cork out of the bottle. This was something of an art and if you didn’t pop it correctly you’d either spray champagne everywhere or injury somebody.

Neal, of course, managed to open it correctly, the satisfying pop as the cork flew out of the neck of the bottle filling the car. He’d pick up the cork on their way out of the car but at that moment, he went about filling up the flutes and handing one to Sharna before taking up the other one.

“To the birthday girl,” he said, putting out his glass for a cheer.

With her coffee finished, Sharna had headed back home. Or well, ‘home’ whilst she was here. The apartment given to her by grateful client (a rare thing) was well beyond anything she could afford on her own. It was sparsely decorated., she didn’t exactly have the time or money to focus on interior design. 

Really, she should have been focused on dealing with that shapeshifter given it was still on the loose, but her mind had been entirely focused on Neal. Even now she was perched at the kitchen table, staring own at his number in her phone. 

She had called Luce about it earlier in the afternoon after first getting back. The werewolf had - in no uncertain terms - told her she had better damn well call him back. If she didn’t, Luce would be coming down with Nova and would do it herself. Shar didn’t doubt her, she’d known the other woman long enough to know that was a promise. 

Would he be finished work now? It was getting late but she didn’t know what he did, he could be working all hours for all she knew. But if she didn’t do it now, she’d talk herself out of it until Luce really did intervene. 

Stomach churning with nerves, Sharna tapped the call button on screen, bringing the phone up to her ear. 

He made sure he looked like himself when he walked into the office after parting from the woman. Happy but not too happy so Peter and the others didn’t catch wind that he might have met someone. They’d interpret it immediately as romantic and yes, while Neal had flirted, he wasn’t entirely sure if it would become a romantic thing between them.

No matter. Neal focused on work, going through the motions of banter and looking over reports and evidence. The whole time, in the back of his mind, he wondered if she would call him. Hoping she would, really and at some he chastised himself because he felt as though he were turning into some needy creep. He was absolutely nothing like that.

He had just stepped into his rooms when his cellphone went off. Part of him figured it was Mozzie so when he saw the unfamiliar number on the screen, an eyebrow went up.

Clicking the green button, he put it up to his ear.

Swallowing the bitten-off head, Sharna reached for the tea Neal had prepared. As always she heaped in sugar but avoided the milk. She had never taken to it in black tea. Stirring her cup,she lifted it from its saucer and held it carefully in her hands. After taking a sip, she set it back down. 

Back to business as usual, however much she desired to crawl back into bed. It was a terrible habit, but nocturnal as she was it was hard to break. Especially when most of their work was conducted late into the night. One of Neal’s many, many talents was managing to get her out of bed and keeping her there. 

“Hm,” Sharna took the paper, grey eyes flickering over the page briefly. She would read it properly momentarily. “I truly do have to wonder how these people delude themselves to such a degree. Really, we’re in London for goodness’ sake. What sort of animal do we have capable of such a thing? An aggravated bloody badger?” Her head shook. It was truly unbelievable. 

“A pity there’s no pictures. Seeing the bite marks might’ve let me determine what it was before having to go out and investigate. I really do hate morgues.” It was the smell, no matter how much she had learned to live with and adjust her heightened senses over the years, she never quite managed to close herself off from the scent of so much decomposition in one place. 

Her attention returned to the paper, reading it as she spoke. “Anything else out of the ordinary?” 

“That would make two of us,” Neal commented. He absolutely hated morgues. He hated being around dead bodies in general but morgues had a certain uneasy quality to them. As if the dead would rise at any moment and given the line of work he was currently in, he knew that was very possible.

“As for anything else our of the ordinary, well, there was the theft of thirty pounds of toffee but I don’t think that’s quite up our alley...as much as you like your sweets. Other than that, the papers are empty of anything truly interesting.”

It had been a slow time for them as of late.

“Shall I contact the morgue and tell them we’re coming then?”

The best part about the place was that the mortician was very discreet and didn’t give them a hard time or look at them funny. Neal suspects it’s because the man figures that they are private investigators but he never asks for details.

Neal making an off-handed comment about how he and Sharna were something like Holmes and Watson seemed to paint enough of a picture for him. And he knew that as much as he thought himself a Holmes, he was Sharna’s Watson. Everybody else, including the mortician seemed to silently agree with how they looked at him.

How he could be so vibrant and full of life at all hours was something Sharna could not comprehend. It was not a negative trait, no she found it quite endearing secretly. It was just baffling. 

“Neal sometimes I am convinced you have more sunshine in you than the damn sun itself.” Not that it was much of a stretch in England of all places, the sun was a rare sight. Sighing, Sharna cracked an eye open and rolled onto her back. Well, she was awake now. If she got out of bed to close the curtains to go back to sleep, she would only end up more awake. 

He’d already won. But the promise of sugar mice ensured she would drag herself from her bed. “A shocking development,” she murmured, one side of her mouth twitching upwards ever-so-briefly. “but very well, give me a few moments to make myself decent and I’ll be out.” 

The neighbours found their arrangement scandalous enough without her wandering around in nothing but her sleepwear to add to it. Once Neal had left the room, she rose from the bed, sliding her feet into the soft white slippers placed at the bedside. She grabbed the long robe hanging from the hook on the wall and wrapped it around herself, tying it securely so it did not slip undone. 

With one final grumble she headed out down the hall and into the parlour, settling herself down opposite Neal and immediately reaching out or one of the sugar mice laid out. “So,” she began, lifting the sickeningly sweet treat to her lips. “anything interesting heard in this morning’s gossip today?” With that she took a bite, taking the head off first. 

He could hardly argue with her words. Neal was an optimist and often people told him he shone so brightly it could rival the sun. Some found it endearing and others saw it as annoying. Very few were indifferent to his attitude.

His eyes scanned over the headlines of the papers, taking in the most interesting ones to look over once he’d swept over all of them.

Neal glanced at Sharna once just as she came into the parlor and then they were back down at the papers, this time reading the articles that stood out the most. One of which looked very promising and right up their alley with the type of work they did. Neal was surprised, in a way, that their friend at Scotland Yard had yet to contact them on the matter.

He looked up towards Sharna again when she spoke to him and watched as she bit the head off the treat before speaking. “There was a triple homicide at Charing Cross Station last night. Victims were left half eaten. They say the teeth do not appear to be a human’s. Some are saying an animal did it as the papers usually do.”

Neal stood from his desk, paper in hand, and crossed over to Sharna to show it to her. The only picture used in the article was one of the station itself.

There was something she could get. Dad worked a lot, he watched her like a hawk when he was around but his job was hard, that much she knew. Her babysitter was useless. She would tell Dad about it but she liked being able to sneak out and explore. He’d find out eventually, he always did. For now, she was going to enjoy it. 

“Same with me. Dad’s always working and my babysitter sucks.” But she wouldn’t have gotten to meet Danny if she had a good babysitter, so it wasn’t all bad. She’d think up a good lie about how she met him later, she’d cover the babysitter’s back with it too. 

A grin rose to the girl’s face, her cheeks hurting from how wide she was smiling. “Sure! Do you know if there’s anything other than pigeons around here? I like them but they’re all I’ve seen. Oh! And some dogs and cats but they’re pets so they don’t count.” That was the only problem with big cities, animals got scared off.

They had something in common there. Somebody who was always working and a caretaker who was useless at well...taking care. Danny felt bad for his mother, of course, but that didn’t mean he did not feel neglected as well and was rightfully upset by it. Ellen told him to be patient, that his mother might get better soon. He tried to hold onto that.

“Yeah, follow me!” Danny said excitedly as he took Sharna’s hand and began to walk towards the field. If they cut through it there was a playground back there. It was part of another park. One that was meant to be built last year but after constructing the children’s playground and half a bathroom, funding ran out and they abandoned it. Nobody seemed to know it was there and it was still in excellent condition.

An early riser she was not, though the bustle outside did cause her to stir soon after sunrise. As always she had simply pulled herself back undo the be throws and gone back to sleep. It was needed considering her job kept her up long into the night and on occasion right up until dawn was approaching. Her nocturnal nature did not help matters but that was a secret known to only a select few. 

Light flooding into the room pulled her from her peaceful slumber. A cat-like hiss let her as she pulled the sheets over her head to shield herself from the light. Neal was cruel, even if it was the only way to ensure she actually woke up, it was a devious tactic. 

“The sun is doing more than enough shining without me adding to it, Neal.” Sharna’s voice was muffled as she turned her face down into the soft material of her pillow. She was always something of a grumpy child when first woken up. 

“A pity the rain didn’t last but I suppose the streets are a mess enough as it is.” She turned her head a little, eyes closed again now. The one downside to living somewhere like London: the streets were filthy often, and whilst the rain took care of much of the build up of filth, it left behind a mess of sludge and mud in its wake. 

“Did Mr. Potter have anything to say this morning?” That man was a menace in his own way, snooping about their business. 

Neal barely even blinked at the sound of the hiss that came from under the throws. He was used to Sharna’s distaste for mornings and it was far more amusing than surprising now to hear that sound. As was her grumpiness at being woken up.

“That’s alright, I have enough sunshine in me for the two of us.” He grinned in her direction despite knowing she couldn’t exactly see him but surely she could hear the smile in his voice.

“Mr. Potter, for possibly the first time in his life, had nothing to say to me. Only let out a rather undignified snort and went into his own home. I suppose that’s progress. Now, come into the parlor, I have sugar mice for you.”

Sweets, and in particular sugar mice, were a weakness of Sharna’s that Neal had learned to exploit some time ago when he was trying to get the other to get out of bed. Luckily for him it worked out in his favor. A bit like, funny enough, coaxing a mouse out with cheese.

“Mmm, we’re gonna have to rain check on that. I’m pretty sure I’m allowed to flatter you everyday of the week.” All right, that might have been excessively sappy, but right now he deserved it. Well, in her opinion he deserved it all of the time but especially right now. No one had ever done so much or her and she’d never be able to thank him enough. 

She believed him, at least she would accept it for now, there was no point pushing at it and really, she didn’t care how he got the limo so long as no one was hurt. Knowing Neal, that definitely wasn’t something to be worried about. “Well wherever it came from, it’s amazing.” 

Once they were both settled into their seats, Shar reached across the space between them and rested her hand on top of Neal’s, fingers gently brushing back and forth across his. 

“Thank you,” she murmured, a faint smile on her lips. “for this. For everything.”It wasn’t so much about what he’d done, but the fact he had done it. All of it. Just for her. Sharna was still overwhelmed.

“Who am I to argue with you especially on your birthday?” Neal could barely keep the humor from his voice. It was cute when she got a little more well, he didn’t want to use the word sappy but he supposed it was the only thing that worked right now.

He looked down at their hands and after a few moments of simply letting Sharna run her fingers across his, he turned it over to lace their fingers together.

“You don’t have to thank me, I’m happy to do. You more than deserve it.” He leaned over to the center console in the back and opened it, taking out a dark green bottle with a golden label.

“Champagne?”

True, maybe Neal had gone a little overboard but he was serious. Sharna did deserve to have a wonderful birthday and if that meant going above and beyond then so be it. Neal wanted to make up for all the other not so good birthdays she had had.

That was something she wasn’t going to argue with. it was possibly true, depending on exactly where her measurements changed. But it didn’t matter what she did, her measurements never changed. Her body remained the same as ever, something she would’ve thought he’d have grasped by now. But she wasn’t looking to start a fight. 

The Queen said nothing as she walked to the other side of her room, stepping behind a screen partition that gave her privacy when dressing. She changed as quickly as she could without truly rushing. She was a monarch, she had to have her composure and certainly did not hurry for anyone. 

The dress fit well, as expected given her never-hanging body. Though she never was sure how well lighter colours and shades looked on herself. Sharna had always favoured darker tones but, like any good tailor, hers would have none of it. He was right, of course. A queen needed gowns for every occasion and darker pieces weren’t always appropriate. 

“How does it look?” She asked, stepping out from behind the screen. The soft blue brought out her grey eyes, according to both Neal and her tailor. It was, perhaps, a tad shorter than what she was used to— stopping at her knees. But it was light and airy and wouldn’t leave her desperate to retreat inside from the sun every five minutes when attending an outdoor function.

Still, no doubt the tailor would have some complaint, however minor.  

For a moment when Sharna came out wearing the dress, Neal nearly told her that she looked gorgeous. Luckily he caught himself before it left his mouth and instead he smiled politely at her and nodded.

“You look lovely, my lady.”

Even the dear tailor made a noise of appreciation which shocked Neal every so slightly.

“It looks well enough,” he looked at Neal. “You know where to send the payment.”

“Of course.” The tailor packed up and was gone in record time. He had said he had other jobs to get to so him making a quick exit was not surprising.

“At least that was a less painful affair than usual,” Neal joked with a light laugh. “Would you like a few minutes to relax or would you prefer to get changed now so we may go to the stables?”

A ride on the grounds may be soothing to her, let the tension of dealing with the tailor leave her body but so would a nice cup of tea and some quiet time. Ultimately, as with everything else, it was entirely up to her what she did.

If she wasn’t interested, she would’ve said so. Sharna was a liar and plenty of other things besides but she didn’t like to toy with people like that. It was its own special type of cruelty, one she - hoped - she wasn’t capable of. So his name and number went into her phone to let him know she was serious.

Even if she did still think he was absolutely out of his mind to want to see her again. 

Oh well, she enjoyed his company so why not? She wouldn’t be here long enough for him to learn out what she was anyway if she managed to track that shapeshifter down quickly. The downside of her job— she was never in one place long and definitely not long enough to form any kind o relationship, platonic or otherwise. 

“I will if you try not to get shot in the head. Hopefully your job is safer than mine.” Sharna offered Neal a smile and nodded her head. “Have a good day, I’ll be sure to call.”

After talking to Luce, that is. She needed the werewolf’s opinion on this.

“I look forward to it.” Was the last thing he said before he was gone. He couldn’t promise to not nearly getting shot in the head again. Oh, he’d try, but someone White Collar Division work involved a lot more guns than he thought it would.

Seriously though, why were there so many guns? Maybe it was just the cases he and Peter and the team got handed to them.

Oh right, Peter. He was heading to work. Right. Okay...he was going to need to act as casual as possible. If he walked in with a big grin on his face and spring in his step, he knew Peter would be wondering what girl had caught Neal’s eye now and he really didn’t want to tell the other man anything right now.

Besides, they hadn’t gone on a date or anything.

Neal walked through the streets of London amidst the hustle of bustle of the late morning crowd. He had a bundle of newspapers and books under one arm and in his opposite hand he held a small paper bag which rattled as he walked.

He took the long way home that day. It had rained terribly the previous night and his usual route home was so thick with mud that he would dirty his freshly cleaned clothes and shined shoes should he head that way. Neal was not a vain man but he did have a taste for nice clothing and would like to try and keep them that way as long as possible.

So while he would normally arrive home at eleven o’clock sharp, he arrived at eleven o’five which made his overly suspicious neighbor across the street eye him. Because anytime that Neal did anything out of the ordinary, that man’s mind raced.

“Hello, Mr. Potter,” Neal greeted. The man snorted and went inside. Neal wondered if it was because he was from America that Mr. Potter thought there was something weird about him but he could never be certain.

Heading into the large house, Neal stopped to put the bag contents of the bag in the ice box. He left one of the jars out, however, the red liquid bright as a ruby.

He then put on a pot of tea and went about setting up the tray, putting sugar, milk, honey, and a few tea cookies as well as some sugar mice on a small plate.

Once the tray was set with tree and snacks and the jar of the red liquid, he returned the books and newspapers under his arm and went upstairs to the sitting room. The tray was set onto the table while the books and papers were settled atop a large, mahogany desk.

He passed through a few other rooms until he reached a bedroom where he crossed to the windows and threw open the curtains, letting sunlight stream in to fall on a figure still in the bed.

“You have more than a special talent. You have many of them. So many you still keep catching me by surprise.” Maybe that was far too damn sappy and cheesy, but it was the truth. It was one of the many things she loved about Neal.

Shar happily looped her arm through his, far too excited to see what else Neal had planned for tonight. No one had ever made such a fuss over her before or any reason, least of all for her birthday. Maybe this was what kids felt like on Christmas morning. 

“Neal—” Words died in her throat and instead the vampiress was left with a gaping mouth as they stepped outside. That was a limo in front of them. An actual, freaking limo. 

“That’s a limo.” Sharna said, aware she was stating the obvious but her mouth was trying to catch up to her brain. “How did you even—“ Sharna broke off, laughing. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. I probably don’t event want to know the answer. But let’s go!” 

One again she was tugging Neal along, this time into the opened limo door. A grin to match his own spreading across her face. He really had gone above and beyond— just for her. 

“You know, it’s supposed to be me flattering you today, not the other way around.” Peter would say he didn’t need his ego stroked anymore if he was there now and the thought nearly made Neal laugh but he kept it in well enough, only allowing his lips to twitch upwards.

Her reaction to the limo was better than he had anticipated and he could kick himself for not filming this but it would always be there in his memories at least. It was one of those things you’d never forget.

“Hey, I’ll have you know, I obtained this legally.” As far as I know. With Mozzie, anything was possible, but also with Mozzie, the chances of it having been obtained illegally was far too high for him to even attempt to say any more and so he kept his mouth quiet and let her practically drag him into the limo.

He settled down on the seat, close to Sharna but far enough where she had some breathing room. No reason to be right on top of her.

“And now to take you to the main attraction.”

Neal had spent days going over the various restaurants he could take her to to pick the one that would be the most perfect for her birthday. He truly hoped she liked it.

“Me too!” What was it Dad had said about her? Fast as a cheetah, slippery as an eel. Something like that. It worked, she was faster than most of the boys in her last school, they didn’t like that much and stopped letting her play with them.

Maybe she’d ask dad to cook some rice. Birds seemed to like that and he’d just think she wanted to feed them. Not capture them to set on bullies.

Shar gave a nod and followed close behind Danny. She wasn’t used to the city yet, she didn’t want to get lost. She didn’t want her babysitter -however bad at the job they were - to get in trouble i she did.

It was somehow peaceful here passed the playground even though they were still in the middle of the city. The stream reminded her of home, though that was a long way away. It was nice. Quiet.

“I won’t, scout’s honour.”The girl grinned. “How did you find this place?”

Sharna swearing not to tell a soul about this secret little place made Danny like her even more. A lot of kids wouldn’t keep it to themselves to save their lives. Not that Danny really knew what that meant but he heard the adults say it a lot.

“I found it adventuring. Mom never watches me and Ellen is gone a lot so I can do what I want most of the time.” And so he spent most of the time exploring and finding ways to hustle people out of money. He was pretty good at it too.

Besides, they really needed it. His mother couldn’t work with the condition she was in and Ellen wasn’t able to give much. So Danny got what he could taking money out of ladies’ purses or just flat out scamming and lying.

His little scheme about collecting money for the school had been his biggest one yet. Danny was pretty proud of that one.