Nina would have never imagined a crutch could be so useful. She checked one last time that Inti was in the right place and carefully adjusted the tip of the oh so helpful piece of wood right in that tiny gap in-between two paving stones that would guarantee that she would lose her balance. It had taken her some time to perfect that little technique but it worked like a charm now as it had many times prior.

She bowled forward with her best cry of surprise right into a woman that had been moving in the opposite direction through the thin crowd that surrounded them. Then she let herself fall to the ground at the woman's feet, all the while making sure her crutch would fall on the paved street with as much clatter as possible.

Every pair of eyes around them fell upon her as the pair of loud and unexpected noises attracted the attention of the half dozen of people in their viscinity. Every pair of eyes except two. Her own and Inti's whose instincts hadn't been alarmed by the loud sounds as he'd been expecting them.

To him they were a signal and in that small moment where no one was watching he slipped a large loaf of bread under his shirt. Nina smiled internally, readying herself to grovel in apology and sniffle about making sure that she would watch her step next time to cover his escape. Now all her accomplice had to do was walk away and disappear inside one of the streets nearby and nobody would even notice that anything was gone. That is not what he did however.

Instead he grabbed a second loaf and the girl's eyes hardened as she groaned in irritated anger within her mind. Why couldn't he just stick to the plan? She could see the instant end, the eyes of the surrounding bystanders and merchants going back to whatever they had been doing previously after having assessed the surprising collision as non-threatening. She knew he did not have time to innocuously stuff the second loaf under his shirt before the merchant's gaze fell upon the deed and caught him red handed. She knew because it was not the first time that this had happened. And so she also knew that she had no choice but to shout.

"Thief!"

She pointed at him and their gaze met for a brief instant as he looked at her. He started running then, before anyone else around them had the time to react. The merchant swore and started running after the little rogue, a particularly empathetic bystander tried and failed to catch him by the back of his shirt. Meanwhile Nina got up and away from the scene as quickly as she could, the woman she'd bumped into seemingly having already forgotten her and moved on past as Nina rose. The merchant was already turning back as she limped away from the scene by squeezing her tiny body between two stalls. He could not be away from his stock too long if he wished for his stock to stay intact, as a matter of fact Nina was pretty sure she'd seen someone use the opportunity to grab themselves a loaf of bread as well.

But it didn't concern her, all she needed to focus on at the moment was to be gone as fast as she could and be far away when the merchant would put two and two together. What were the chances of a rat creating a commotion right as another one stole from him? To say they were not high would be an euphemism of truly calamitous proportion. Nina having been the one to alert him to the theft itself would buy her a little bit of time and she had to make it count if she did not want the man to catch her. The prospect of losing a bunch of his stock for the day wouldn't be as much of a deterrent to chasing her if he could be certain to catch her after all. And he would be if she was not far away by the time the realisation hit.

As she left she was reminded for a brief instant of the look in Inti's eyes as she'd called him out. He'd been surprised, which annoyed her to no ends. Her accomplice wouldn't have felt betrayed of course, after all that had been the signal they'd agreed on together. It allowed her to warn him he was about to be spotted or caught while also making her look innocent for long enough that she'd be allowed to make her getaway despite her current handicap.

So no he'd not been betrayed, he'd been surprised. And it angered her to no end, it meant he'd thought he hadn't been about to get caught. That he'd thought he'd been good enough, fast enough, clever enough the he did not need to stick to the plan. HER plan. She grit her teeth as she headed towards their meeting place. They would be arguing again tonight, but first they had a few other markets to visit.

Nina was fuming as she made her way back to her secret place. Inti had deviated from the plan two more times over the course of the day! As if the one time hadn't already been enough! He had gotten away with it too! Both times! It was irritating enough when his greedy improvisation and blatant disregard for her meticulous directions lead to consequences. But when he was not only unpunished but rewarded even for his reckless actions it threw her into a dark fury such as the one she was in right now.

What was his problem anyway? Why couldn't he tell her beforehand if he disagreed with her planning? Was it that he wanted to rub in her face that he didn't need her? That she was inadequate? Did he think that she was some helpless weakling that he indulged out of the virtuous goodness of his heart? A wrathful cry escaped from her mouth as her anger briefly overwhelmed her and she hit a nearby stone wall with her fist. Her hand hurt but it had helped, she stayed immobile with her clenched fist pressed against the stone and took deep breath as she felt her frustrations receding. She hit the stone a few more times, much more measuredly, until she finally felt herself calm down. It was only once she knew that she would be able to think with a cool head once more that she started walking again.

Those dark thoughts were not the truth, she knew they weren't. She knew it because they'd argued about this many times since the beginning of their partnership and, although these arguments rarely did anything more than provide her with an opportunity to vent, they'd happened so many times that Nina would have had to be dim as a riversnake for her not to understand his reasons for flaunting her plans so frequently.

That did not stop it from hurting though, it did not help her not to feel inadequate. If he could get away unnoticed and with more loot by not following her plan then what good was her planning, her directions? What good was SHE? Every single time it worked out for him it made her feel like a burden, a useless burden that relied on him. And she hated it. She hated the idea that she relied on him, or that she would ever rely on anyone for that matter. She'd hated it ever since her mother had abandonned her, betrayed her trust and left her to be thrown out in the street simply because Doros had said so.

There had been a lesson in that though, her first real life lesson. That power was the only thing that mattered. And every time that Inti demonstrated that her help was unneeded was a stark reminder that she was not the one with power in their mutual relationship.

It was with these somber thoughts in mind that she finally reached the river and then the bridge underneath which she'd made her home over a month ago now. Inti wasn't sitting on the edge of the street this time around which meant he was likely already on the hidden platform beneath, ready to divide the day's catches. She let her crutch down on the ground before she lowered herself past the edge of the pavement until her feet rested on the tiny ledge of stone. She gripped the pavement above her head tightly and grabbed her crutch as she started shuffling along the side of the bridge. The pain in her leg was barely a distraction now which was a rather big change from the first few times she'd done this. She remembered that it had taken her a lot of effort at first to stop herself from looking down at the thin shore far below her feet and focus on the risky path. Now she could probably shuffle her way to the alcove with her eyes closed.

Nina's accomplice was indeed waiting for her there, the day's loot that they hadn't eaten during their quick meal at noon bundled in a mess on a sheet of coloured linen. It was one of the few things they'd stolen that wasn't food and they washed it regularly so that the food didn't get dirty from laying around on the ground. She sat at the opposite end of the cloth, glaring accusingly at the boy in front of her.

"You didn't follow the plan. Again." She said with a chill to her voice.

"Look Nina, I'm sorry, I know you hate when I do this. But it's just... the guy was distracted, more than usual I mean. I thought I could get away with it. And, well, I did. Thanks to you." She breathed deeply to keep her emotions under control. Remember Nina, she told herself, he is not mocking you. You know why he takes those risks. She waited until the fire of her anger had dimmed to answer him.

"You know, one day you'll be wrong about that. If you keep doing risky stuff that we didn't plan for one day you'll get caught. What will your siblings do then if you end up like me?" He looked as if she'd slapped him and the argument petered out then and there. He lowered his head and started divvying up their loot. Usually there would be a lot more ranting and shouting before she would mention his 'family' but she'd already vented most of her frustrations on the way. It always led to this anyways, this discussion that was now all too familiar to them, she'd just accelerated it greatly compared to the usual. The two of them divided the food they'd stolen in a heavy silence that was only perturbed by the sound of the river flowing lazily below them.

She let him take a much greater share of it, only leaving her enough for dinner and breakfast. There was a reason for this and, although she'd acquiesced to it, it left Nina with a sour taste in her mouth. It was the reason why Inti always tried to get as much food as he could during their thefts. His siblings. Not natural siblings mind you, they were simply a band of younger rats that he'd taken under hiw wing. Not that you should call them rats to his face. He strongly disliked the name and though he could bear people calling him or Nina a rat he would always descend into a furious rant whenever Nina slipped up and called his siblings by that name. Something about it marking them children as animals, as less than human, less than worthless: vermin.

Personally Nina didn't mind the name because she thought it true. After all the abandonned children of Rhea were little more than parasites sucking on the blood of society to survive until adulthood. But she was getting lost in her thoughts. Inti was done taking his and his siblings' share of the food. He took off his shirt and arrayed the small pile of bread, fruits and vegetables on it before tying it all up in a makeshift cloth bag that he could carry back. Without a word and avoiding Nina's gaze he started to get up as he grabbed the bag from the ground. Despite herself the girl felt a deep pang of anguish as he started to leave in utter silence. She called out, her tone almost pleading and her voice filled with a deep loneliness that surprised even herself.

"Won't you... Can you stay and eat with me? I'll apologize if-"

"No, it's fine, you were right, you don't need to apologize. I'll stay and eat with you." He sat back down and pulled a large piece of corn out of his improvised bag. She grabbed the crescent bread and the pair of apples she'd taken for herself and they both sat on the edge of the small platform to eat. The bottom of the bridge above them brushed against their hair and their legs dangled above the water flowing below as they ate in silence. Nina felt a little ashamed at how much she'd come to appreciate these moments together. It had taken eating alongside someone else to realise how lonely she had really been while eating on her own. Even now with the heavy and silent atmosphere of their recent fight between them she still relished the short moment. It was much better to be uncomfortable than to be lonely she'd found and she was anxious at the thought of not sharing dinner together with Inti.

At her great sadness it was over much too quick and soon her partner-in-crime departed, bidding her good bye this time. Once he was gone Nina nestled herself in a corner that the alcove dug into the foundation of the bridge above her and waited for sleep to take her. It was a little lonely, sleeping on her own, but she fought those feelings by doing something that warmed her heart. Something that she had not been able to do for a long while and had only recently been able to do again. Something she could only do now thanks to her having met Inti a month ago.

She looked forward to tomorrow.