Life in City Streets [Solomon/Violet]

The City of Lights was a hell of a lot different from what Violet was used to seeing. She read about this place in articles and saw pictures of it online, but to see it up close like this was a seriously different experience. Any time she found a new place to hang out, there was something else that caught her eye. The city was pretty fucking impressive, but alas, it has the same shitty problems as any other city she heard of. You had to buy your food, and she didn’t have any money or a damn job. Time to snatch or scam someone out of their hard earned cash.

The first was some old woman who didn't zip up her purse while she was window shopping at some idiotically priced clothing store. Easy wallet snatch! There was a good amount of money in there too, nice! Some rich old bag like her wouldn't go hungry if she missed this. Violet pocketed the cash and tossed the rest into some nearby dumpster before searching the street for her next target. It wasn't hard to spot the happy-looking blonde coming her way, so Violet began walking. She looked away, intentionally bumping against him as her hand slid into his pocket, grabbing whatever she could find, and hoping it was another packed wallet.

"Oof! Hey, careful now..." Violet said kindly, expressing an even sweeter smile as she tapped his shoulder to distract him from her removing her hand from his pocket with whatever she could grab. "Sorry about that." Violet waved with her empty hand, another method of distraction as her other hand slid his things into her pocket. She kept walking until she turned down an alley out of anyones sight.

"Oh, sorry about that. Carry on as you were, miss."

Solomon sighed exasperatedly as he tapped his hands at his pockets. Pickpocketing was the worse. He didn't fancy himself as some symbol of righteousness, naturally paying no heed to the thought of being robbed by a beautiful woman in the middle of public - yet he was all too familiar with how appearances could be deceptive.

For a moment, he pretended not to follow after, playing the role of the unsuspecting blue-eyed blonde with not a care in the world. in that next instant, however, platforms of reishi pooled below his feet, elevating his body toward a skyborne vantage point, earning the attention of a few curious civilians. Paying no mind to them with anything other than a gentlemanly wave, he walked along the air until he caught the woman descending into an alley way. Of course, he didn't approach her quite yet. He simply pulled out his mobile device, hid in a position where he was least likely to be detected, and observed the woman in silence. Accusations would do him no good here. Evidence, however? No one could ever deny that.

In the alleyway, Violet felt safe to take a quick look inside the wallet. FUCKING SCORE! Violet's eyes widened in excitement when she saw the amount of money that guy had. She let out a squeak, hopping a few times to let the rush of energy out. She pulled the money from the wallet and slid it into her pockets.

"Guess who gets to actually fuckin' eat for a few days," Violet said, still smiling. "That's right, me. Might even nail myself a damn shower at a gym somewhere!"

Violet tossed the wallet, with everything else inside, into a nearby dumpster and began making her way deeper into the alley, heading toward another street.

Solomon clicked his tongue at watching his wallet be tossed into the dumpster, but remained mindfully poised of his objective, recording everything on his mobile device. Gathering the necessary evidence, he slowly descended toward the ground, stepping through each platform of reishi as though he were walking down a flight of stairs.

When she had properly left the scene, he formed a reishi rope to pull his wallet from the dumpster. Using the rope to remove any remaining debris, he carefully placed it back within his pocket. Now, for the next part of his plan. Play the rule of the oblivious man who met her moments ago.

Vanishing and reappearing somewhere in the distance, he positioned himself in the streets as he searched for her in the crowd. Playing the role of the man charmed by the beautiful woman he saw moments ago, he approached her with a hurry in his steps, feigning soft exhaustion as he flashed an innocent smile.

"There you are... I had been meaning to catch you, miss, but before I turned around you were already gone. Forgive me for if I come across bold, but you are a stunningly beautiful woman. I thought I might as well try my chances at asking you out to lunch at least. What do you say?"

Violet was lost in thoughts about food when the blonde from before suddenly showed up. She tensed, stared at him with the straightest face she could. Her first instinct was that he realized what she had done and came back to get his money. However, she was wrong. Her face lit up red, a good clash against the hair she was rockin'. The compliment was more flattering than she expected, especially since he was a hottie himself. She wasn't used to positive comments about herself.

"Uh, I... Well..." Violet couldn't answer after stealing his money. "Um, that's real nice and all, but today isn't a good day for that... I, um... I need... something... from the store. Yeah, I have errands to run..." As she began the rejection, she saw his eyes sadden and could not handle it. She mentally groaned. "No, I can put it off. It's not every day a girl gets asked out on a date like this, so I'd love to go to lunch."

"Thank you, Miss. I'm truly grateful. My name is Solomon Richter. Might I know the name of the lovely lady?"

Solomon had offered that furrow of the brow to feign sadness. He had to. Naturally, his plan would have failed and her crime, although relatively light compared to everything else in the world, would have went unanswered. Relief painted his expression at her words, and he bowed in a gentlemanly fashion, grateful for her acceptance. Of course, he certainly found her beautiful. That part was genuine. Hearing her words made him feel somewhat guilty since she genuinely accepted the date, but he cast it in the back of his mind for now. Presenting his arm, he pointed to a restaurant that wasn't far away from them. A few paces would have them there in an instant. Turning back to her, he'd flash a warm smile.

"Shall we?"

"Oh, um..." Violet's cheeks reddened more. "You really are kind of prince-like, ya know? My name is Violet. You don't need to call me lady or anything like that. It's a little, ya know, strange? Anyways! It's very nice to meet you, Solomon."

As Solomon presented an arm, Violet sucked in her lips, a nervous gesture that made her face a look a little odd. Taking a breath, she curled her arm with his and walked with him. "Yes, we shall?" Violet said, a bit nervous, her tone shaking.

"So, where are we going?" Violet asked, mentally convincing herself that this was just a lunch date. It wasn't something big, like dinner. Lunch dates were for older people, or friends, right? There was no way that this guy would actually like her.

"Prince-like? I'll take that as a compliment. Violet is a nice name."

Solomon was already regretting his decision somewhat, even if he was the one who had been robbed. He sort of expected her to turn him down, but here he was, taking a woman out on a date at random to prove a point? Couldn't he have simply chased her down and been done with it? He supposed he could explain himself after the fact, but was it really alright to play this sort of game? Shaking his head, he turned his gentle gaze back to the woman as he smiled.

"I know a wonderful place a couple of blocks away from us. While we walk, I'd like to get to know you better. How long have you been in the City of Lights, Violet?"

The feeling boiling at the pit of Violet's stomach was a steaming pile of regret. Saying yes was stupid. Robbing a nice guy was stupid. Why did he have to turn back and talk to her? Things would have been so much easier if he didn't! Violet made a mental note to hurry further from her targets from now on, or... not to rob anyone at all. Maybe this was a sign to get a damn job!

And now he wanted to get to know her? Oh god...

"Four days," Violet spat the truth. "I guess I should get to know you too... So, how long have you lived here?" It was awkward copying his question, but she was seriously stressing out. "Pretty dumb question if I'm just copying you. How about... what were you doing before I distracted you from your day?"

"Don't worry. That isn't a dumb question at all, Violet. I've been living here for over a year now. To answer your second question, before I bumped into you... I was on my way to see if there were any duties I had to attend to concerning the Vandenreich. Such was not the case, and well... captivated as I was by how pretty you were, I decided to indulge in making the attempt to ask you out on a date. So far, I don't regret that decision at all."

Solomon felt a stronger pang of guilt in that false admission. He hadn't even really paid attention to anyone during his trek. There was no doubting that she was attractive. Almost anyone would be able to confirm that. Yet, here he was, playing the role of this man who had been charmed at first sight. Already, he found himself hoping the woman would reveal her hand since his would have come across far more cruel. Already, he could imagine his peers like Natasha and Liltotto, chastising him and calling him an idiot for playing with a woman's feelings when he could have simply pursued her in the streets. Idiot! Another soft exhale followed as they made their toward the door, with him opening it like the genuine gentleman he was.

"How about you? What were you doing before I interrupted your day?"