Her eyes wandered to and fro from the crowd.  A jingle of coins, a slight shuffle of paper money, and a symphony of valuables rang in faintly in the air.

She breathed and soaked it all in.  Ahhh, the sounds of future treasures.

“Bella.”

The 17 year old turned around and saw her blind friend, tapping his white cane impatiently.

“What is it, Noone?”

“You were thinking of stealing again, weren’t you?”

“No…I was not.”

“You liar.”

Bella grinned.  “Yeah – I was.  You caught me.”

Her friend sighed.  He looked in her direction.  “Could you at least stay focused for 5 minutes?  We have to get to the next boat before it leaves port.”

“Alright already!  Don’t be such a grouch.  It’s hard to believe that you’re younger than me.  You act like a worrisome geezer.”

Noone frowned.  “Could you at least try and act like you’re older then?”

Ortheus nuzzled against his master, trying to get his attention.

“Look, you’ve even upsetted Orthy with your grouchiness.  Just relax – I have things under control.”

Noone sighed again and resigned to his fate.  “Okay.  Just remember, we need to leave soon – and no stealing.”