Rob X Punzel ~ Nine!

The merchant district was bustling with its usual energy: a cacophony of voices, noises, and smells. There was a clear demarcation between those who lived in this district and the slums, notable not only by how they dressed but how they paid for the goods they purchased. Those from the merchant district or better paid with coins, sometimes arguing about the price, but more often than not, simply handing over the shiny metal discs. 

Anyone from the slums negotiated as if their lives depended on it, and Becca was familiar enough to understand that often a few coins truly were all that stood between life and death. They also bartered, offering their own goods and services as a direct exchange instead of parting with whatever hard-earned currency they held. 

Over the last two weeks, she’d become familiar with the merchants and clientele in the area. Goldie—as she had slowly accepted referring to herself whenever she had to act the thief—had done her research. If she was going to actively try to nab coins or other goods, she would target merchants who had a reputation for swindling slum dwellers or simply being brutal toward them simply because they were strong enough to do so. Frankly, no one expected someone to be foolish enough to be a thief in the merchant district, even more so when it was a decently dressed, smiling, golden-haired young woman who smelled faintly of crab apples.

“Why do you always smell like crab apples when I'm trying to steal stuff?” Goldie grumbled at her hair in annoyance. “Is it because deep down I'm worried I'm going to get pinched?”

Her hair was trailing behind her in soft waves, catching the sunlight and swaying with each step. Goldie moved through the crowd with ease, simply taking a few extra moments at each stall to look longingly at whatever they were selling before moving on. She’d learned over the last half month that the longer her hair was, the more effectively and happily it could steal. It was an odd symbiosis—the only time she and her hair seemed to get along was when she gave it free rein to steal as much as it could without getting caught.

In moments like this, her hair was soft and straight, wavy and curly only when it was wrapped around an item to secret it away. The light it emanated was also representative of the highest value object it had managed to grab, which usually meant a bright copper shining off her golden curls as though the sun was shining specifically on her. Even now, she could feel it wiggling around to give it more ready access to any loose coins within reach. Letting out a small, wistful sigh, she ran her fingers through the silky strands, trying not to be annoyed at allowing the hated locks to be this long.

Of course, each time she cut it, her hair would attempt to dodge around the blades she was using until she managed to hold it down. Then it pointed at her in a rather accusatory manner after it was sliced. Goldie murmured to herself, “Even with as useful as it is in this line of work… I'd give it up in a moment if it meant I could go back and have a proper apprenticeship with Sorin.” 

Her gentle swaying slowed as she squeezed through a tight spot on the road where a few of the vendors had encroached on the walking space more than was technically allowed. As she came out the other side, Becca—no, Goldie—blinked as a delightful smell reached her nostrils. Looking down, she saw a skewer of steaming meat covered in a rich red sauce being held by a curl. “Are you… bribing me?”

The skewer wiggled, as if her hair was asking ‘is it working?’.

Not wanting to validate the intrusive parasite that was her hair, but also being incredibly resistant to wasting food, Goldie took the offered food and quickly gorged herself on the only meat she had gotten access to all month. As she tossed the thin wooden skewer to the side, her hair swept over her mouth, wiping away all remnants of the treat. Moments later, it had perfectly cleaned itself.

“Yes, I get it, useful.” Goldie tried not to show her hair how much the gesture had meant to her. “I just don't like the way that you’re useful at the expense of what I actually want to do with my life. It's like… like you were bored with having a nice, stable life. But how could that ever be boring? Knowing where you were going to sleep, when you were going to eat, and what your next day looks like? That sounds celestial compared to this constant fear of being caught and losing my limbs—or my life—because I can't control my skills.”

Her hair mostly ignored her, working independently to find the shiniest coins in the crowd and slip them away without being noticed. Once or twice, someone pulled on the flowing mane of hair, but between her rapidly increasing skill levels—and therefore strengthened neck muscles—she barely noticed the annoying tendencies of the immature people in the crowds. 

With a grunt, Becca remembered her new level increases. She swept her finger over her arm to see the new requirements she was working under, making sure to practice what the headmistress had taught her so long ago to keep the amount of information manageable. 

Breakthrough Skill: Ponytail Pixie: Level 3/10.

Wraps around interesting or shiny objects with [Rudimentary] effectiveness.

Moves and reacts autonomously, with [Rudimentary] user control to keep it still.

Strengthens neck muscles by [150%].

Hair becomes [Rudimentary] shock-absorbent, reducing impact damage.

Toughness is [Rudimentary] amplified, making it harder to damage.

Gradually develops [Rudimentary] immunity to various damage types.

Damage Immunities earned: 

Moderate Slashing.

Rudimentary Grappling.

Requirement to advance to level 4: Rely on your hair to save your life 1 time.

Advanced Class: Golden Locks

Basic Skill: Hair Do’s and Dont's: Level 4/10.

Minor telekinesis of [4] feet past length of hair.

[Basic] autonomous auto-hairstyling to reflect conflict with user.

[800%] increase in hair growth during moments of stress.

[Basic] muffling of sound emanating from the user for areas reachable by hair.

[Basic] cushioning of impact. 

[Basic] tracking of the most recent person to inflict damage on hair for up to 30 minutes.

Requirement to advance to level 5: allow your hair to grow to twice your body’s height without cutting it.

“It's crazy how so many people have pulled my hair as I've walked past that I've already gained a Rudimentary-rank grappling immunity,” Becca grumbled in annoyance as she looked over the current advancement requirements suspiciously. “Are you tailoring these to annoy me? Working against me because you know I want to keep you as short as possible?”

As cynical as she was with her semi-alive hair, sweeping her hands through it showed she’d already reached her goal for the day. “Okay… that's everything I need for the next round of training, if Chay keeps to his word.”

Making her way out of the merchant district and back into the slums proper, Goldie slunk down the streets that were already becoming more familiar than she was happy with, passing by the corner with the drop-pot and casually offloading the day's haul. As she had been instructed, she made the drop look anything but suspicious, and simply continued on her way with minimal pausing, relaxing now that she had distanced herself from her duties as a thief.

Turning the corner, Becca blinked in surprise as Chay fell into step beside her, almost as though he’d been walking with her this entire time. Sneaking a glance at him, she found that the young man's face was currently painted with a mixture of interest and something she couldn't quite place. It wasn't exactly jealousy, but it was close. 

“I've got to admit, I envy you a little bit.” At Chay’s words, Becca snapped her fingers as her internal question was answered, but she silently motioned for him to continue speaking when he looked at her quizzically. He pushed on somewhat blandly, “Five hundred coppers in two weeks, if what you just dropped off matches your other donations to the guild.”

“It does.” Becca leaned in to mimic the posture of an intimate discussion, though she kept every muscle taut with the knowledge that this was actually a watchful, careful negotiation between a higher ranked member of the thieves guild and herself. Though they’d been amicable so far, it would take only one misstep for the partnership to turn sour—Chay had already gone out of his way to drive home exactly how they dealt with people who crossed them. 

“You know, it took me almost a year to get to that point.” Chay kept speaking, though now he had taken the lead and was directing her through the slums. “Almost a whole year of learning how to be sneaky without looking like I was. Dozens of near misses with guards and angry shopkeepers. Learning how to be nimble and dexterous, how to keep every exit from the area in mind. Let me ask you this, Goldie…”

He turned to her with the most serious expression she’d ever seen on his face. “If you outperform me, are you going to try and take my position?”

“Only if you’re promoted out of it,” she replied with a shake of her head, “The first real chance I get to not be a thief is the moment I am no longer in the guild. Trying to take your position? Why would I want to get even deeper into this life?”

“I can… understand that.” Chay slowly relaxed, though he still had a sharp look in his eyes. “What if I told you not everyone in the guild is happy that you are doing so well? What if they think I should have you pay more to be a full member, because you're collecting coins faster than anyone else ever has?”

“Just because I'm better at this than they are doesn't mean I should have to suffer more.” Goldie’s lips twitched in a slight snarl that she schooled off her face a moment later. “If someone wants to make me ‘pay my dues’ because they had a harder time getting where I've gotten, maybe they should just get better at it. You know… instead of blaming me because they suck?”

At her words, Chay finally broke out into a full-blown smile once more. “There’s the thief I’ve been mentoring! Just so you know, as you get better at this, you're going to find more and more resistance. Even if you don't want a higher position in the guild, it's based on the money you bring in, not what you want. Pure cash value. Lucky for you, I get a portion of everything you bring in, so I'll always outrank you… unless you take special commissions from the higher-ups, like I did.”

“Don't count on it,” Goldie firmly replied, earning a nod of approval from her rogue mentor. “What's the next training? Breaking into houses or robbing crypts?”

“Nah, there's plenty of people doing that perfectly legally.” The casual acceptance of her outlandish theories made Goldie clam up. Chay’s grin took on a teasing bent as he drew out what they were actually going to do. “No, you're already a quarter of the way through to full membership, which means it's time to learn to move between districts without using checkpoints.” 

Goldie frowned as she realized they’d stepped into a dead-end alley. “We're going to do that here, somehow? I didn't even know it was a possibility; the guards are pretty aggressive about their tolls and taxes.”

“It's not a problem. You'll see.” Chay reached into a pile of trash, pulling out a long rope. “I finally get to introduce you to the thieves' road.”

He started swinging the coil, and the apprentice thief went pale. “Chay… you're going to use that to pull up a trapdoor, right?”

“Nope.” With a grunt, he tossed his makeshift lasso, and it sailed up and over the edge of the house. It caught on something, and he gave it a couple tugs to make sure it was stable. “Do you want to go first, or should I?”

“No… no, no, no.” She backed away toward the entrance of the alley, and Chay’s eyes lit up in delight.

“Goldie… you wouldn't happen to be afraid of heights, would you?”