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Ivy woke suddenly, dagger drawn, held in front of her face. Her eyes quickly scanned the room for anything and then she realized that a beeping noise was coming from her side table. Slamming her hand down on the time keeper that had woken her up, she placed her dagger next to it. Her black hair hung lightly down her back as she threw her head back in attempt to cool down from the sweat that had formed on her shoulders and neck during her dream.
The room was stiflingly hot and she stumbled across her 15x10 foot room and threw open a window. All the noises from the street below flooded the room and the light accentuated her pale skin. Moving away from the window she opened the trunk at the foot of her bed. Her blue eyes surveyed the chest and she pulled out some brown pants and a knitted green sweater with a loose hood. Some holes in the sweater showed anyone who was observant this was one of her commonly worn pieces of clothing.
“Time to get a new wardrobe.” She mumbled to herself and pulled the clothes on over her underwear. Padding across the floor she tapped on a spot by the door twice and a small panel popped open. Inside rested two daggers other then the one by her bed. Their hilts were dull and worn but the blades they supported were sharp and shined in the morning sun. Picking them up, Ivy carefully slid them into two loops on the inside of her pants.
“Another day...” Ivy closed the panel and slipped into some shoes. She opened the door and walked down the wooden stairs that were at the end of the hallway. Nodding to the apartment owner her feet carried her out the door and onto the people laden streets.
The people around her were dressed in a variety of fashions most of them looking like they had just come out of the renaissance age while others flashed metallic colors to match the new fashion of gold and silver and others who dressed like her who didn’t have the budget to afford either. She jogged at a gentle pace down the street and stopped at one of a million food stands. It was completely identical to the stores around it but Ivy had come here enough to not need to even look at the name of the restaurant.
The small Asian man behind the counter grinned when he saw her. His bald head shinned from the sweat and the sun, but somehow it seemed to match his wide set face and dark skin. His face made him look like he was meant to be laughing all the time and not a serious note about him. The black hair that was sparsely situated around the side of his head was sticking up at odd angles from all the running around serving people had done.
“Hey! You want you usual?” he said his voice covered with a heavy Chinese accent.
“Yeah that would be great. She placed 2 copper coins on the counter and watched as the man took the coins and turned to his stove to get her noodles ready.
“So Bao, How’s business?” She said making small talk as she watched him cook.
“So-so, so-so, Everybody to poor to buy food, You only good customer.” He turned around with his always present smile and handed her a plastic bowl and a pair of chopsticks. “You keep care of yourself.” She nodded, thanked him for the food and walked off. Taking a bite of her noodles she pulled her hood up over her head to protect her fair skin from the glowing sun.
Out of the corner of her eye Ivy saw two men ahead of her that looked out of place. The had tall black top hats on their well groomed heads, their suits matched almost perfectly, except for the collar each of them wore. She trailed them carefully as she ate her breakfast. After the last noodle was gone she threw it in a recycling bin by the sidewalk. A sign on it said


Ivy couldn’t help but laugh at these signs. Everyone knew that the cans used magic to mark who actually used them and different spells to mark those who didn’t. No one had the money to spare and no one could escape the guards when they came to get the money they were owed.
Watching the two men still she saw the coin purse at the taller man’s side sway with the weight of the coins. Jackpot. Ivy thought to herself and carefully positioned herself behind the man. Flicking her wrist a dagger swung into her hand and she lightly passed the overly sharpened edge through the coin purse. The bottom of it dropped out and 20 or so gold coins fell into her hand which she then stored quickly in a breast pocket of the sweater, with the skill of one who had been doing this for to long.
Then she pulled out a map pretended to look at it and turned the other way walking down the street. That should confuse anyone looking for the thief . At about halfway down the street she turned down a side alley and walked along the wall of a building. Making a sharp turn and then heading down a man hole, finding herself in an underground room.
The stone walled room was thrown in to sharp contrast by the one large candle glowing in the center of the room by a large pot. Taking 18 of the coins she stole she dropped them into the pot with a few satisfying clinks.
“See you made a hit today.” Ivy turned quickly but calmed down when she saw a girl with braided white hair walking towards her.
“Yeah, it seemed to good to be true. Marci where’s Steve?” She walked across the room and hugged the girl in a friendly embrace. Looking around for the woman’s husband
“He’s upstairs with the orphan’s. So many more have come in since you left.” Ivy’s mind flashed back to the 16 long years she spent in Marci and Steve’s flat learning, playing, living.
“How are things.” Ivy asked following Marci up the stairs and into the flat above.
“Okay. Steve’s got a new job and with the generosity of you and your friends it has been much easier to take care of all the new kids.
“Hey we have so much to thank you for. But I’d be careful…” Marci cut her off with a glare.
“I don’t want to know where the money came from but we will be careful.” Ivy laughed and opened the door to the apartment. A flood of children attacked her as she walked through the door.
“Ivy, What’d you bring us, What’d you bring!” They all pulled her into the living room where a middle aged man sat on the coach with a baby in his arms.
“Hey Ivy!” He waved and kept feeding the baby with a old bottle that had the look of being used to many times in one lifetime. Before she could wave back she was pulled to the ground by a little girl who looked to be about nine.
“Hi!” She gave Ivy a big hug and then sat down in her lap. The rest of the children sat around her and chatted amongst themselves.
“They seem extremely happy to see you.” Marci laughed as she said it.
“Doesn’t anyone else stop by anymore?” Ivy asked as she dangled one of the kids from her arm.
“No they just leave the money and go.” Steve’s eyes looked downcast, “Not that we don’t appreciate it….” Ivy nodded understandingly and turned back to the kids who were making a subtle ruckus.
“Shhh…Everyone be quiet and I’ll show you what I brought you.” All the kids immediately quieted and started at her with the large expecting eyes of a child who has just heard that a present was on the way. She stuck her hand into the pocket of her pants and pulled out thirty or so small pebbles.
They were a dirty grey at first glance but if you looked closely each stone was made out of hundreds of tiny flecks of blue, black and white stone. Handing one to each of the kids she threw hers into the air. To all the kids surprised it floated there and she batted it around with her hand showing it wouldn’t fall. The stones were enchanted with a simple levitation spell. They were children’s toys and she had gotten them half price off a street vendor who was leaving town for one reason or another.
“YAY!!!” Shouted all of the kids as they stood up and threw the stones into the air. This gave Ivy a chance to stand up and walk towards the kitchen without the young ones noticing her disappearance.
“Thank you so much Ivy, That was a great gift.” Marci exclaimed as she followed her.
“Yeah I thought they would like it.” Ivy looked out the window down into the street. “Well I got to go to work so,” she kissed Marci on the cheek, “See yah.”
Ivy jumped out the open window and landed two floors down and rolled. She waved up at Marci pulled her hood up and dashed down the street.