For Curisoity's Sake!

This was the last thing he wanted to have happen, he could hear what sounded like footsteps behind him. Increasing the mild panic that he felt, his heart raced and he could hear it in his ears. Instead of worrying about how fast his heart was going, After a few turns down unfamiliar alleyways, the noises behind him stopped. He partly thought he was being followed, and the lower depth of Brookfell isn't a place one should be in, at least alone. He doubled over, hands on his knees, he huffed in the air, doing his best to catch his breath and fill his burning lungs. At least it seemed he was left alone now! 

"Now to… get out of here," Haku muttered between his pants, rising up and moving his hair from his face. It was frazzled a little already, but now a few ends were sticking out in odd places, as well as from his side braid. 

He took in his surroundings, noticing he wasn't quite sure what alleyways he traveled down. He was quick to touch his TD and look at the opaque blue screen. He did find a map of his area, but it looked so confusing. Either way he shook his head and started moving in the line it told him to move. He should be able to get out of here easily, right? 

There were a few twists and turns that he took, though on his pathway he thought he heard voices talking. As curious as he was, since it sounded almost like near silent arguing, he approached the alley corner close to the voices. Honestly, he didn't mean to eavesdrop, but what they were saying he was curious about.

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"We're low on our quota, Kitty," One of the tall, burly men of the group said as Gabriel stood before them with his hands on his hips and his tail twitching behind him in agitation, "Real low." 

"I know that!" Gabriel threw his hands in the air, ear flattening on his head as he very nearly bore fangs at this man, Richard he thinks his name is. Dick. "Doesn't mean we gotta risk our necks accosting every person walkin' down the street." It was a valid point, getting the money needed for this months quota wasn't going to be easy if they were all locked in a jail cell. 

"Runnin' scared, Pussycat?" Another man said, Bill, maybe? Gabriel rounded on him, resisting the urge to hiss. They loved taunting him, getting a rise out of him. He was the most animated out of their little trio and it was a good source of entertainment for them. Gabriel just folded his arms over his chest, leaning back to glare at them both with icy eyes. 

"I ain't scared," He wasn't, he was just smarter than both of them when it came to picking marks, "We'll get our money elsewhere. Don't need to go chasin' down every tail running through the streets. Cops are pro-fuckin-lific these days and I'm not lookin' to be arrested, again." 

That at least seemed to get through to his two 'partners', as they stopped looking at Gabriel to looked between each other thoughtfully. Gabe felt like he could hear the gears turning in their heads, and he half expected smoke to start coming out of their ears. 

"Alright, alright," Richard held his hands up in surrender, and Gabriel started to sigh before the man cut his relief off, "But we can nab that one." 

Gabriel whirled around to where Richard was pointing, and caught sight of a blonde mop of hair that he swore was too familiar to be a coincidence. Was he...eavesdropping? In this place? Gabriel swore he'd warned the man to stay the fuck away from here, and here he was! At the worst possible time! Just great.  

He was right, they were indeed arguing, the longer he stayed against the brick structure the more danger he could sense himself in, despite knowing that he could possibly out run them, he didn’t move. That voice was familiar, he did peek around the corner a little, probably the mistake that he shouldn’t have made, as he noticed the long tail and ears. Well that was that, he was spotted. He took a breath, he knew any quick movements would cause them to try and chase probably, but what was Gabriel doing there with them? 

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He couldn’t continue being a coward, and while he did have his pokemon with him, he’d rather not risk them getting hurt, surely maybe he could talk his way out of it. He slipped out from the corner of the buildings and sighed, moving to put his hands on his hips, and his blonde hair falling a bit before his eyes, obscuring his vision a little. 

He tried to stand tall for now, his blue eyes narrowing slightly at the three of them, more focused on the other two men than just Gabriel. “I… take it you’re not going to willingly give me directions to get outta here, huh?” 

Someone that was nice in Brookfell without getting something in return… that was a laugh. He flicked his blue eyes to Gabriel, not fully addressing him for now, it could make matters worse if he acted like he knew him.

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"Directions?" Bill was the one to speak up this time, hands on his hips in a mirror image of Haku as he looked the man up and down. He did not belong here, that much was obvious. It actually played into the whole 'I'm very lost please help me' tactic he was going for, but once Richard and Bill were on the scent of an easy mark, they were hard to dissuade. 

"You get yourself lost, kid?" Gabriel asked, piping up and stepping to stand in front of the two taller men behind him. He wasn't exactly a physical shield or anything, but he felt better here, "Wrong neighborhood to go sightseeing in." His tail had gone unnaturally still behind him, the only real sign that he was maybe even slightly nervous or anxious, his face a cool mask of indifference otherwise. 

"Mm, we could help ya outta here, but it's definitely gonna cost ya," Bill stepped forward and around Gabriel, earning him a scowl as he brushed the man's arm thoughtlessly, "What that cost is, is gonna depend on you." 

"Lemme at least scan 'im before you go rough-housin'," Gabriel said quickly, holding up a hand like he was going to stop the man, "Make sure he's not protected." 

Gabriel seriously doubted Haku had corporate grade cyberware or insurance premiums, but that didn't mean Bill and Richard had to know that. Gabe was the one that scanned the marks, and if he told them Haku was the next crown prince of Grovehart, well they'd maybe believe him. 

"Come outta there, stand here," Gabe stepped forward again, tail swishing, as he pointed to the ground for Haku to stand in front of him. He held an arm up, a sensor and other optical outputs lighting up as he prepped the scan. Regardless of what he found, he already knew what the outcome was. 

This was a great evening to be caught, he had just wanted to get back home, if he hadn’t panicked and probably for no reason, he wouldn’t have wound up in this situation anyways! He’d… have to make up to Gabriel later, if the man was willing to help him out again.

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Well at least Gabriel also seemed to be playing along with the tactic, he slightly sided, letting his blue eyes flick to the one that stood beside Gabriel. The other men made him a little more nervous, it could go either way. He walked forward as he was told, letting his blue eyes follow them, and then slowly landed back on Gabriel. He wanted to apologize to him, for being ‘caught’ in a sense. 

“Don’t do anything funny, alright,” he spoke up to Gabriel, he tried to have a bit of … force? Intimidation in his tone. He didn’t look like a fighter, and it was a bit obvious he wasn’t, but… maybe he could help with that a little?

He stood in front of Gabriel where the optical lens was, and his gaze narrowed still at the other two, his voice dropping in tone, almost below a whisper. “Sorry.” He was sure the other two men wouldn’t hear him, more due to the fact they didn’t have ears like Gabriel. 

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Gabriel started to wave Haku's apology off before he realized he was the only one who could hear it, and he probably looked suspicious. "Don't worry, it's not going to mess up any of your pretty hardware," He said as an excuse for his hand wave, though he glared a little at Haku for making him slip up. An almost soft glare, though. 

He held his wrist up to let the scan begin, which mostly just took a reading of his face and then virtually connected to his system to pull data. Gabriel didn't understand how it worked - only that it did. A great mind than his own had built it, he'd just stolen it once upon a time and it turned out to be useful in many situations. Like this one. 

"Mmm, platinum response," He said in a defeated tone. It was a lie of course, Haku didn't have any fancy corporate backup that would swarm on them the moment a hair on his little head was bent askew, but Gabriel bent the truth for the man's sake, "His heart rate gets too high and whatever corpo he's attached to will know about it. You wanna take the risk?"

He'd turned to look back at Rich and Bill, asking the question like it was a genuine one he expected them to answer. They were stupid, sure, but not that stupid. Gabriel wouldn't entertain them otherwise. They took one look between them and shook their heads in unison. 

"Just our luck, some corpo brat falls into our laps and we don't even got the means to take advantage," Bill lamented as he started to turn away, kicking a trashcan as he went. 

"Get 'im out of 'ere," Richard said, glowering down at Gabriel, how stopped the scan and disengaged the tools on his arm with a nod. He would have suggested himself as guide if they hadn't, so he was glad that step at least was taken care of. 

"C'mon, I'll get you as far as the main road to the upper city," Gabe said with a bit more force and disdain than he really felt. He locked eyes with Haku and nodded for the man to follow, walking at a brisk pace away from his teammates with his tail twitching behind him. Waiting to see if Haku would follow was pointless, he doubted the man wanted to take his chances with the big beefy brutes they were leaving behind. 

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At least the scan didn’t take long, that was a relief, the glare did make him flinch a moment, as he hadn’t meant to… wait why would he act odd anyways. Not only did he flinch for the glare, but he felt his heart leap a moment when the trash can echoed through the alleyway. They seemed really angry about not.. capturing him, was that what they wanted?

Although he was curious, Haku didn’t stay around the big brutes too long to find out, so he quickly picked up his pace to follow Gabriel away from them. He glanced towards him, though it was just through his lashes as he kept his head down a bit, much like a defeated puppy. This made the second time, if his memory served him right. 

“I didn’t think I’d run into you down here,” he spoke lightly, tilting his head a bit to look back in the direction they had come from. He didn’t want Gabriel to get caught being nice to him, neither of the men back there seemed nice at all. “Didn’t mean to get caught either.” He felt like he should explain why he was even down there, or how he got there anyways. 

He had to have taken the wrong turns, that was just his luck. Fiddling with his messed up hair finally, he offered Gabriel a light smile in regards. “Thanks for the help, again Gabriel.” 

He paused a moment in their path, thinking about something he thought about asking, though he soon caught up to him, letting out a sigh of his own now. “You’re not gonna… get in trouble because of me, right?” 

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Gabriel grumbled a little as Haku trailed after him, mostly because he didn't want to be in this situation right now and less because he was actually unhappy. His fluffy cat ears were flat on his head when he spun around, pinning Haku on the spot with his sharp, slitted eyes. 

"I sure hope not, cause I don't like stickin' my neck out for people!" He said in an angry whisper, pointing the man in the chest accusingly, "Especially not stupid ones that'd go wanderin' around down in the belly of the city alone like this." 

There was venom in his voice but it wasn't really...that potent. He sighed after, his shoulders dropping from the tense position they'd taken up around his jawline. 

"What are you doin' down here anyway? Aside from gettin' your ass in trouble, again," This time his face held a bit more of an almost playful look as he raised a brow at Haku before turning to begin leading them back to the main road again. The lower rings were complex mazes of side streets and alleys, both inside the cave system and around it, but there was always onne main road that spiraled from the upper city down into the depths. It was as good of a landmark as any for someone lost down here, if they could find it. 

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“I-It’s not like I wanted to b-be down here you know,” Haku stuttered out, taking in the features as he sighed more to himself than anything. “I thought I was being chased and… I got lost in the streets down here alright.” He finally admitted, letting his head hang low a little. He was usually calm and a bit better collected than he was displaying, but he didn’t like being pointed at as the problem - though he very well knew he kind of was.

When the tone shifted, he felt a little better, glancing a look back at the feline-fused trainer, he relaxed somewhat and moved to rub the back of his neck. “I came down here for a babysitting call. When I left after the owner showed up, at some point I thought I was being chased. I know there are echoes still down here, and things can be further off or closer than they seem, so I panicked a little and just started darting in and out of alleyways and roads without paying much attention.” 

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He did give him a wavering smile, “I’m not exactly… built for strength you know, I… haven’t really had to defend myself before, obviously. Besides,” his tone grew softer, “you’re emotions are kind of easy to read.” He paused once more, he was still tempted to pet the appendages, to feel the soft, fuzzy fur or if his hand would go through them or not. 

“What… were you doing with those men anyways, Gabriel? They… don’t really seem like a crowd you’d… you know, hang around if you had the choice?” he wanted to ask more questions, but he could refrain for the time being. He didn’t want to cause him to puff up his fur, so to speak.

Gabriel snorted at Haku's explanation. Babysitting? How absurd. Sounded a lot like the man from what he'd gleaned in their past few interactions, though. He bristled when he was called out for having well-telegraphed emotions, though he knew that was true despite his best efforts. Gabriel did not pout about it. 

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"I work with them," He said simply, shrugging as they walked through the darkened alleys, making turns that Haku never would have guessed to make but Gabriel seemed to know without thought, "Well. I work for the same people they do, which I guess makes us coworkers. We got teamed up on this months project and so I'm stuck with 'em, for now." Tilting his head to look back at the man over his shoulder, he grinned, flashing his longer and sharper than normal canines. 

"You're right though, I don't like 'em much," He'd admit to that, easily, "They're rude, crude, and I don't think they know what hygene means. If you're gonna work with a fused person ya gotta consider they might have heightened sense, ya know? I can smell 'em from a mile away." 

Gabriel made a blech sound, shaking his head which made his ears flop around a bit. He was in a much better mood being away from those guys, even if he still wasn't exactly a chipper kind of guy. 

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Haku squinted a little at the information he was given, at least it was better than Gabriel brushing it off. He sighed a little, watching the ears and things before he shook his head a little at the other two. “They… honestly sound more like a detriment than a help to you.” Perhaps he should be quiet about his opinions, but at least Gabriel didn’t seem too angry with him anymore. “Who… Do you work for me?” he finally piped up, stepping a bit closer when the alleyways would allow it so he could be beside Gabriel. 

“I try not to judge others for their jobs they have, or what they do. Brookfell is.. hard to live in,” he paused with a bit of a huff, “I don’t usually ask my clients questions about their professions or their personal lives. I just babysit their kids, or watch over their pokemon while they’re away. It’s at least something that I’m able to do well.” 

Though he watched the ears flop a little, worsening his temptation, Haku steeled himself and settled to fiddling with the long sleeves of his outfit. “I bet it's a hassle to work with them, if they don’t know anything about hygiene. Sorry you… have to work with them. Do you three bicker often like that? I could… i heard them a bit before I got curious.” 

As cliche as it was, he had a curiosity about him to know about things around him, or people that caught his interest. Usually that would be a sign of a feline attribute and not one of a dragonkite variety.

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Gabriel nearly flinched away when Haku came closer, but he managed not to just in time. Old habits died hard, and he wasn't a fan of people in his space, really. He scoffed a little at so many questions. This guy was sure chatty!

"M'not tellin' you who I work for. It's better you don't know," If there was a bit of mystery to his tone, he wasn't doing it on purpose, "Also, it's probably good you don't judge people. Or try not to. Brookfell is a shit place with shit jobs and shit people, you'll never be able to see the good in it if you go 'round judgin' everyone for every lil thing." He nodded his approval of that at least, ears bouncing on his head a bit. 

"You know what they say about curiosity though, you really should be more careful," He stopped as they exited the current Alley they were in, gesturing sweepingly with his arm at the now spacious and much more traveled main road. Tilting one's head revealed it's spiraling ascent back up to the upper city, even if it was a bit of a climb to get there. "Tada~"

His brows furrowed a little at Gabriel, but he just let it go for now, he would probably run into him again, as it seemed their occasional accidental meetings kept happening. He smiled regardless of the Sanyatto fused male. “I thought the saying was curiosity killed the cat.” A bit of an attempt at a tease. Haku didn’t expect much from him though, at least he helped him back to the main road. He looked at the spacious place, as the sights… Well what sights there were familiar to him. He could get home from here. 

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“Thanks again, Gabriel,” he stated lightly, stepping away from him to get a bit closer to the main road. Though he did turn on his heel for a moment, to look back at him. “Maybe the next time we see one another it’ll be under different circumstances. This doesn’t exactly leave the best impressions, does it?” He chuckled gently, knowing that he could turn his back without Gabriel jumping him. After all, why take him so far away just to kidnap him in broad daylight. 

“See ya around, try not to get into too much trouble at least,” he stated in a bit of a joking tone, as he had started to walk away. He had some… things to find out later.
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Gabe watched the man with, well, curiosity as he teased him back and stepped out onto the road. Haku was interesting, and not in a horrible 'stay away' kind of way, either. Gabriel might have offered to walk him up the rest of the way if he knew it wouldn't take at least another hour and he didn't have other places to be. Instead, he shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant about his help tonight. 

"Don't mention it," He said loftily, "Seriously. I'm sure I'll see you again, that seems to be the pattern these days." The man didn't sound overly fussed about that this time, unlike the last time when he acted like it was a huge inconvenience for him. In fact, there might've even been a little smile pulling at the corner's of his mouth as he watched and waited for the man to start his trek upwards. 

What a night. 

Umbras Words: 1813

Livs Words: 1876