It took about three incidents before Faisal began to truly suspect that something was messing with his supply bag. At first whenever he saw that the latch was to the side the swordsman had shrugged off the occurrence as just a mishap, a figment of his imagination or even a trick caused by the wind. The second time he was a bit more concerned, but once more brushed it off as something small to not worry about. It wasn’t like some ghost was haunting the training ground….right? The hybrid frowned at the thought, he was not someone who was typically that superstitious but it was definitely strange indeed. There has to be something that I’m not seeing. He mused as he walked around the little area of the manor that he had claimed for his sword practice. Usually it seemed deserted but now Faisal was suspicious. Was a servant messing with him whenever his back was turned? So he decided to play around with a bit of trap making. Buying some rope and a bag of fresh jerky, some coins and a large cloth gave him the perfect inspiration for his trick.

“Okay let’s see…” Faisal waited until midafternoon and began to quickly set everything up. Usually his mornings were full of meetings and working about the manor, mostly taking care of the family business as the heir and so his training usually waited until late afternoon. It was during the evening when things were darker that he suspected the thief was getting into his supplies. Strange that they only take my food and my shirt that one day. He frowned at the thought before securing the ropes and hiding them under the fine blue material of the blanket that he had purchased for this occasion. Now all he had to do was wait on the perpetrator to arrive. They always come back to the scene of the crime after all. He just had to wait for it. “Time to train then.” Taking out his sword, Faisal began to sharpen his blade. The action was calming and something he did at least every other day. While he wasn’t one to really fight often it never hurt to always be prepared in case of emergencies. It was something that his father had taught him and Faisal often made certain to always be on alert. He was especially sensitive to his surroundings, something which proved helpful a few moments later when he was in the middle of going through some stances. Hmm? Pausing, Faisal kept his pose but tried to get a good look at the ground from the corner of his eye. He swore that something had moved in the shadows and the suspicion was proven whenever he heard the snap of the trap latching around something. “Gotcha!” Faisal grinned as he lowered his weapon and twisted around to investigate the trap. It was already getting dark for the evening but he could see the small form wiggling from where it hung upside down in the rope.

“You are a little guy, hmm?” Faisal quirked a brow as he studied the creature. It wasn’t native to Oba but he had seen some as pets for a couple of nobles before and he recalled that they were known as loatoa. It definitely was not the thief that Faisal was expecting but at least he had solved the mystery. “Alright let’s get you down.” The loatoa hissed at him but Faisal ignored its warnings. If anything the sight of the little guy made him worried because it looked a bit scrawny. Once he got a good hold of its scruff and held it back so it couldn’t bite him, Faisal found himself wrapping it up in the blue blanket. “Looks like you need this food more than me.” He murmured as he tried to calm the creature while offering it some of the dried meat from his satchel. It looked like a stray? Maybe someone had tried to raise it but it had escaped or proven too much for whatever child wanted it? The thought made Faisal grimace as he kept his hold on the loatoa. Whenever his fingers stroked its fur the brownish color seemed to be more from dust and dirt than from its actual fur. The realization made his frown deepen and Faisal felt his heart softening more. “Alright. I think if you’re okay with it I can take you home with me and get you food and a bath.” He rubbed his fingers along its back gently, the motion soothing as the loatoa munched on the food. Somehow it seemed that instead of getting someone in trouble for being a thief, Faisal had instead snagged a….pet?

Oh boy.

[791]