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A broad grin spread across Marietta's features. "See guys!" She called out, slapping Amarisa on the back as she looked at the group. "I told ya she'd be a good addition to the game!" The girl's instinct was never wrong, and something told her this kid was going to make the game so much better. "So, it's all settled," Marietta continued once the other kids had joined them. "Ama and I are gonna be the Charge and the Keeper. We're playing for coins and candy today so show whatcha got." Each of the six dug deep into their pockets. Sim and Tim drew out two pieces of candy each plus a handful of coins. Reese produced a measly two coins and one piece of candy while Dolorez had equal handfuls of both. Garo managed to scrape out four coins and three pieces of candy after a moment. Meanwhile, Marietta produced several candies and a small pouch of coins which jingled as she tugged it out from under her hoodie. With the coin pouch open, she held it out to each kid in turn, waiting till they deposited their share into it before moving to the next one. Amarisa would be the last reached. Once hers was done, the dark-haired girl would seal up the pouch and tuck it away inside the secret pocket once again. Its contents considerably heavier, she took extra care to place it so it wouldn't clank and give their position away during the game.

Their prize now secured, Marietta looked back at the group of young teenagers encircling her. "Everyone knows the name of the game. Any one of you guys tags us and the game's over." There were nods of acknowledgement from all of them. "Right. So, where should home base be this time? Any suggestions?" A volley of suggestions flew through the air at this. Places ranged from the noodle shop down the street to the island in the middle of the bay. Some were easier than others but, ultimately, it was Garo who suggested the winning area. "The marina's a good one, Garo!" Marietta beamed cheerfully. "And, for some extra fun let's say it's a specific boat. Hmmm...Oh!" She snapped her fingers. "The Lady Calypso- that's the one we'll use. I know the owners and they don't mind us using the boat for a game." At the murmured consent, the girl clasped her hands together and nodded. A look of excitement and competition filtered onto her face. "Let's get started. Once everyone's set, give a shout then Sim'll do the starting whistle. Have at it guys!" Everyone scrambled off at that, spreading out to find the perfect starting location for the game. Marietta smiled at Amarisa, "Don't worry. We've got this. I'm really good at this game. Haven't been caught yet! And I don't intend to start now. Ready?" The second she got the affirmative, she would grasp the blue-haired girl by the hand and dash off in the opposite direction from the others. First thing was first, they had to make sure their path started in a well-hidden area.

Katashi narrowed his eyes darkly at the man. Despite his warnings, despite his threats, the man persisted in his endeavor to recruit the Illusion mage. “Are you so certain this man is only angry with you for your dealings? Because I could not fault him for being so with other reasons.” He gave the man a very pointed look as he said the last. His feelings on the matter should be made perfectly clear. Yet, the other was not finished in the least. The man claimed he would not be so foolish as to appeal to the sympathetic nature of one such as Katashi. Though you are still foolish enough to not heed my warnings, the dark-haired male admonished silently, letting out a noisy breath through his noise to indicate his displeasure. Instead of sympathy, it seemed, the shady individual chose to appeal to the ideal of financial gain. The Illusion mage’s brows rose at this notion. His crimson orbs studied his unwanted guest carefully as he produced a manila envelope. It was an envelope which appeared to contain information on Damien. What information that might be, Katashi had no way of knowing in that moment. He would simply need to find out. “While it is no secret amongst my guild that Damien is troublesome to me, I have no need of causing trouble for him. For that in turn would cause issues for me…which I would prefer not to deal with. And, as it so happens,” he raised his arm to brush a stray strand of hair from his cheek. “I already know many things about my guildmates. Much of which would make even the most hardened criminal flinch. What is to say I do no already possess the knowledge contained in that envelope?” The dark mage would stand quietly in place to await the response of the other. Perhaps, if by some twist of fate, the man had information on Damien that Katashi did not then he might be persuaded to provide some measure of aid to him. Some but not a lot.

The man smiled and held the envelope close to his chest. "Well... I'm not normally so insistent. I run a 'the customers who need me find me' sort of business. And this guy is a notoriously idiotic bruiser. Doesn't like not getting his way, you know?" He smiled a bit and listened to Katashi, his explanation of not needing to cause Damien problems just making the man smile wider. "Well, whoever said anything about purposefully causing problems? This could be something to help you buy him off your back for good. Maybe... help him capture and keep that little blonde bird he's so obsessed with for good?" His smile shifted to a cheeky grin and he waved the envelope quickly back and forth, well out of Katashi's reach. "I mean... what better way to get him to leave you alone without causing you or him any troubles than to hand him the thing he wants the most in all the world? And even then, you could feed him bits of info here and there to cow him when he gets uppity... but there is no guarantee that you don't know what I have. Only chance. Buuuuuut... I do know that he's on his way out of the country soon..."

The man did himself no favors. His very demeanor irked Katashi. His level of persistence was beyond any the dark-haired male had encountered for quite some time. Yet, as much as it pained him to admit it, he was becoming more intrigued by the man’s proposition. To gain knowledge which might aid Damien in his goals and, subsequently, fulfill Katashi’s promise to lend assistance in the matter was rather enticing. He would be remiss not to consider the possibility it afforded. With his pact complete, he could move on to other endeavors. His expression remaining impassive, the Illusion mage posed a question to his intrusive guest, “You say your information might allow Damien to capture the one he seeks…does it also allow him to fulfill his other goal?” He shifted his stance so that he could face the other more fully. “And what of his plans to leave? Does that envelope of yours have details of where he seeks to go? I find it hard to believe he would make it so easy to determine information such as that. He dislikes informing anyone of his travel plans. I myself have difficulty drawing out the knowledge from him.” As it stood, he was currently unaware of any plans Damien had of departing the country. His last bit of intelligence on the Stone mage indicated he was still within Fiore, attempting to gain access to the royal ball fast approaching. He, of course, would not divulge this to the man, but would try to whittle out what details he could.

She nodded, smiling knowingly at the other, “Yeah it is! I love running on rooftops. You can see way out across the town or harbor, depending on where you’re at. Plus, between you and me,” she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “They’re really good for hiding from your parents when you don’t want to do chores. I love taking naps on roofs. Nobody ever thinks to look up there either so I can sleep all day if I wanna.” Marietta winked. Nothing was as good as a midday nap nestled in the shade of a rooftop awning. “As to how we’re gonna get up there,” the dark-haired girl pointed across from where they were huddled. A metal ladder gleamed back. Its lower rungs were just within reach if Marietta stood on her tiptoes. “I didn’t pick this alleyway for nothing.” She giggled lightly then stood to her feet. Motioning for Ama to follow, she grabbed onto the lowest rung of the ladder and pulled down. Its hinges creaked and groaned as it slid lower, allowing them to climb up with ease. Marietta made sure to go second so she could tug the lower half of the ladder back into place. They didn’t want to give away their plan by leaving it. It’d be a sure sign they had taken to the rooftops.

“Come on,” Marietta said once she’d clambered over the edge of the roof. “The marina’s this way. We’ve probably got a good hour before the gang regroups at the marina. If we can get there before they do that then we’ll be good to go. Either that or they go straight for the marina and wait us out. It’ll be fun either way though.” She laughed girlishly before starting off in the direction she’d indicated. As she said, the rooftops were all spaced close enough to allow them to jump from one to the other without fear of falling and getting hurt. Although… Marietta hesitated just for a second. Turning to look at Ama, she gave her a reassuring thumbs up. “Since this is your first time doing this, you gotta remember one thing. Don’t look down when you go to jump. I made sure the distance wasn’t bad, but a lot of people freak out anyway if they look. If you want, we can jump the first one together?” She held out her hand and waited. The second Amarissa took it, if she took it, she would start the countdown. “On three. One. Two. Three!” At that, she would take a running start and leap across the gap between rooftops, sticking the landing on the other side. Exhilaration coursed through her veins. Wow did she love doing that!

Marietta grinned widely at the blue-haired girl. Everything was going according to plan. With any luck, they would be at the boat within the next hour. The game would be over, and they would have their prize. “Let’s get to it then!” Without hesitation, the duo made their way to the rooftop. She was pleased to see Amarissa wasn’t afraid of the jump from one rooftop to the next. It made the task less difficult if the person wasn’t scared of the prospect. She’s a natural it looks like, Marietta nodded approvingly. The girl was already asking to race to the last one. “Alright,” she chuckled, “If you think you can handle it. But I’m not gonna take it easy on you so be prepared!” The dark-haired teenager waved her hand, indicating a row of roofs slightly to their right. “Guess you need to know the way, huh? Path’s pretty easy really. You go five roofs that way then three roofs to the left. Another two roofs ahead and we’re there. Think you got all that?” Her tone was light and teasing as she peered at her from the corner of her eye. If she could remember the way, then this would make the game go that much faster. “Remember though. We still gotta move quietly while we’re up here. The guys may not know we’re up here, but they’ll still be able to hear us if we get too excited. Last thing we need is to slip up because we got cocky, yeah?” It was probably an unnecessary warning but it was always better safe than sorry.

“It’s all right,” the girl smiled at Amarissa. “So long as you keep it in mind from here on out, then we’ll be good.” Her features brightened even more at the suggested rules of the race. “I like your style. I’m game. Let’s say loser gets half of the other’s share of the prize? Liven things up even more.” Who knew, if the game became even more fun because of this then she might suggest it to the group for future games. Once they were agreed, Marietta gave a nod of her head. “Right then, let’s move out. Ready? Set…Go!” She whispered as loud as she dared, bolting towards the edge of the roof. Wind ruffled her hair as she sailed over the ledge to the roof next door. Adrenaline pulsed in her veins. The thrill of the game coursed through her, driving her to victory. Her feet barely touched the stone rooftop. Legs and arms pumped back and forth to propel her forward. Faster and faster she went, though she made sure to keep well out of sight as she moved. Years of practice and play had made her like a phantom. A wisp of smoke that was glimpsed for an instant before it dissipated. This held true even here on the rooftop course.

Despite their race, Marietta made sure to keep track of Amarissa. Not just because of the additional rules, but also to make sure she didn’t lose her charge. How embarrassing would it be if she showed up to home base without her? Fortunately, the bluenette was fairly good at keeping pace. Marietta had to slow down once or twice, though she would deny it if Amarissa asked, to maintain close proximity. One by one, they closed the distance to their goal. Five rooftops turned to four then four to three and three to two until, at last, the dark-haired teenager’s feet landed on the last of them. “Whew!” She pumped her fist excitedly, keeping her voice in a whisper. At a glance, it looked as if her plan had worked. The gang hadn’t beat them to the marina yet. Spinning around, she beamed at her companion. “Looks like the plan worked. Now all we gotta do is climb down and get to the boat. Easy as whistling.” Marietta couldn’t wait! She took the girl’s hand once again and guided her to the side of the roof where another ladder greeted them. Taking two rungs at a time, the teenager slipped down to the alleyway, peering around the corner for any sign of the gang while she waited for Ama to do the same. “All clear,” she whispered, satisfied that they wouldn’t be seen. Seconds later, she darted from between the buildings with her charge in tow. Her mind focused on her one goal- get Amarissa to the boat.