Private Empty Your Pockets

[Tamiko Sabo]

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Valery Noble

Walking the upper levels of Coruscant was by all definition an art form. It took a certain level of skill to fly under the radar, especially when slinking up from the belly of the underworld. She didn’t stray far into the sun on the regular. Not enough that the jarring sophistication of the marble lanes became habitual. But on the occasion, she felt bold enough to surface for a breath, to skim a few credits off those whose pockets wouldn’t feel a thing.

The market district was a perpetual hive of activity, swarming with aristocrats who had a reliably loose hold on their credits, ready to throw them at whatever vender held their attention. It was a scene Tamiko felt plenty familiar with, one that undoubtedly had a small grin playing on her lips.

As had become ritual, she’d stripped away the residue of the lower levels to avoid raising immediate suspicion. Wearing her hair down to obscure the scars warping her face to her best ability, she dressed simply. All attempts to appear unassuming, as if she was merely waiting for a friend to try on clothes with, to feign excitement over a pair shoes and shower with adoration and empty compliments. Leaning against a bench, generously shaded by an overtly symmetric tree she eavesdropped from one superficial conversation to another searching for a target.

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[Valery Noble]

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Location: Coruscant​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Link!​

Tag: Tamiko Sabo ​

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Looking down at the wallet in her hands, Valery stepped away from a market vendor and double-checked the credits she still had. As a Jedi, she never cared about making money, so she never had much. Only what she needed to get water, food, and other necessary supplies. But in recent years, her need for more money has increased quite a bit, especially after her daughter was born. ​

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This is what brought her to Coruscant's market as well — she was looking for a few things to bring home for Vera. Some necessities but maybe something for her to play with too.​

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"Hmm, should be enough," she muttered to herself before her eyes turned to a small picture of her fiancé and daughter she kept inside her wallet. No matter how weary she was, her family could always make her smile and with everything that has been happening in her personal life, she really needed those brief moments of joy.​

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After a moment, Valery finally stored the wallet back in a rear pocket and began to move along the outskirts of the market to try and find what she was looking for. Her body language showed her exhaustion and lack of focus, but there was still a lot of confidence and strength in the way she carried herself. Most of it was just concealed underneath layers of weariness.​

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[Tamiko Sabo]

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Valery Noble

From her position in the shade, the pickpocket scanned her surroundings, letting the slow surge of indistinct conversation filter through. After a moment a couple words of confirmation reached her. A woman talking to herself, counting whatever credits she had on hand. Likely alone, too focused on whatever brand she was hunting down to pay Tamiko much mind.

Hmm, should be enough.

Let’s hope so. Responding with an internal quip, a slight grin played at her lips. A couple easy credits to score, probably enough to pay for a real top side meal.

Shifting languidly she readjusted her jacket, tracking whatever voice just spoke in an unhurried pace as she moved away from the bench. Shadowing Valery, her attention appeared to be solely devoted to window shopping. A pair of sunglasses concealing the fact that was utter chit.

Pushing further down the strip she closed the distance between the two with relative nonchalance, hands tucked into her jacket pockets like just any other bystander. As a couple approached from behind, Tamiko slowed allowing them to overtake her and provide some semblance of cover. Untucking a hand she passed Valery, slipping the wallet out from her pocket and subsequently tucking it into an inner pocket of her own jacket. Quick and generally unnoticeable.

After the fact she pulled ahead of Valery, seeming to deliberate a moment before slipping into a corner shop.

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[Valery Noble]

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Location: Coruscant​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Link!​

Tag: Tamiko Sabo ​

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As Valery walked through the market, a hand came up to rub her eyes, and she did her best to stifle a yawn. But nothing really worked to get the exhaustion out of her system. Not the busy market and loud people around her, not her medication, and even good nights of sleep hardly seemed to have an impact.​

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But life always kept moving forward, and she either moved along or was left behind to feel even worse.​

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Right now, she was just trying to push herself through and get some much-needed things for her daughter. Looking around though, she wasn't quite finding what she was looking for, and as a result, she spent far too much time browsing. People were passing by on all sides, some even bumped into her, but it hardly phased.​

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That was, at least, until she felt something strange.​

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Valery couldn't quite place it at first, as the Force called out to her when she least expected it to. But as she came to a stop and reached for her rear pocket, she felt that something was missing. Her heartbeat instantly picked up, and she began to frantically look around. There was an older couple, some kids... ​

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No, no no...​

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"Hey you, wait!"​

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She spotted a woman heading into a corner shop, and something told her that she had something to do with it.​

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[Tamiko Sabo]

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Valery Noble

Wallet secured in the lining of her jacket, the victory was incredibly short lived. Some internal instinct flaring up a moment before a slew of words reached the girl, discretion compromised. Kark.

Pickpocketing the upperlevels was always a dice roll, one with more than unfavorable consequences. The type she didn't feel inclined to stick around for. Gritting her teeth in mild frustration, she almost spun on the spot. Funny how Valery barked an order, likely without any intention for Tamiko to follow it.

And of course she wouldn't.

Sensing Valery encroaching she reacted. Sending a rack shelved with dresses sprawling out onto the sidewalk as a makeshift distraction. Hoping to leave enough of a crowd in her wake, Valery would struggle to squeeze past.

Everyone had to make a living somehow, cash didn't exactly come flowing from the underworld. She'd never attempted to question the morality of it, never had the time to in her constant state of instability. It was a decision between going hungry or sacrificing someone's day at the mall.

Feet striking the marble sidewalk, the girl wasted no time tearing through the wallet. Hastily
transferring its contents into her own jacket without much concern for what she took. After the fact, she threw out the pillaged item to the ground behind her, completely emptied, family picture and all.
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[Valery Noble]

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Location: Coruscant​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Link!​

Tag: Tamiko Sabo ​

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The second she called out to the woman, something changed about the way she walked. Her pace quickened and she felt something echoing through the Force — she was the one. As quickly as she could, Valery began to sprint after Tamiko, only to run into the first obstacle moments later. A rack with clothing was tossed onto the street, and people were standing in the way.​

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Squeezing through and likely bumping over a couple of civilians in the process, Valery chased after the woman but she knew she was at least a step behind. ​

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On the path that followed, she snatched up the wallet that was dropped but, as she expected, nothing was inside of it. Valery wasn't one to get saddened over losing some credits, but she did need them for the supplies and to get back home. Then there was the family picture...​

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With a frown on her face, she let the Force explode through her body, augmenting her speed with the hope of catching up somewhat. But as she got a bit closer, she decided to try something a little more tricky. With an outstretched arm, she reached out through the Force to try and pull the legs from underneath the woman.​

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You're not going anywhere.​

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[Tamiko Sabo]

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Valery Noble

The girl was forced to the ground before she could even begin to process what happened. Weightless for a moment as some disembodied force pulled her leg out from under her. Only finding the time to brace her arms protectively, the marble streets didn't much cushion her impact. Causing her to land roughly on her side with enough force to dislodge a handful of stolen merchandise from her jacket. Credits and the like pooling out onto the strip along with a pair of snapped sunglasses.

The blind pickpocket seethed, drawing herself up her elbows as she forced herself to recover, immediately put on defense. Chit. Valery was close behind, and whatever massive streak of misfortune Tamiko just stumbled on was allowing her plenty of time to catch up. With gritted teeth the kid straightened, grabbing her arm gingerly as bruising slowly spiraled from the point of impact. Hurt like hell, but that wasn't something she wanted Valery to know, stifling a grimace.

It was like she'd tripped on air, but she didn't have much time to assess that as the Jedi drew near a sense of boiling irritation radiating from the woman.

Despite her fogged vision, she glared at Valery with plenty of contempt in her eyes. Lowered defensively as if getting ready to flee. Or attack. Whichever came first.

"I take it you think I have something of yours?"

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[Valery Noble]

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Location: Coruscant​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Link!​

Tag: Tamiko Sabo ​

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"I know you have something that belongs to me."​

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Valery's fiery eyes settled on the woman who she had been able to tackle with the Force, and it was pretty obvious that she was frustrated. Her body language, her tone, her expression — nothing hid the fact that Valery wasn't exactly happy. Whether it was because of the lost credits or the more personal items though, Valery herself wasn't even too sure about it.​

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Maybe just the idea of someone stealing from her was what bothered her. Combined with her being exhausted, she was a lot easier to frustrate than normal.​

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"I need those credits back." She said as she began to step closer and closer.​

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"Return the credits and picture to me, and I'm letting you go." She stopped and briefly looked around, noticing that they had drawn quite a crowd at this point. A lot of people were looking their way, wondering what exactly was going on.​

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[Tamiko Sabo]

CORUSCANT​

Tag: Valery Noble

The kid could practically sense her inching closer and reactively grew more defensive. Like some stray dog slowly being back into a corner, ready to bear their teeth. Though the girl couldn't see the crowd the pair began to attract, she felt them, eyes bearing into her imputatively. There was no easy way out of this, that was certain.

The air was ablaze with tension, fueled by the mutual anger felt by both thief and victim alike. Tamiko ready to strike another match.

She looked momentarily confused as the woman mentioned something about a picture. You couldn't much discriminate what you took as a blind pickpocket. Whatever she'd unintentionally stolen clearly held significance in some way the girl couldn't discern. Didn't care to.

Valery certainly wasn't looking to get any pity out of her.

Assessing the situation, it was obvious she needed a way out. Since none seemed ready for the taking, she'd have to forge her own. Hand dropping to her boot, she resurfaced with a hold on a dagger. Wasn't her intention to attack Valery, just dissuade her from taking another step forward.

I need those credits back

"Then you can come take them." Voice dry and leveled she stared down the woman, adjusting her grip.​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Coruscant​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Link!​

Tag: Tamiko Sabo ​

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The tension was rising quickly between them — Valery could feel it with each step she got closer to the woman. When people were forced into situations they saw no escape from, they often lashed out in ways that could even be against their own nature. As if animalistic survival instincts kicked in and took control of the body and mind.​

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So as much as she wanted to grab this thief and drag her along to the nearest police station, Valery remained very cautious in her approach.​

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This seemed to pay off rather quickly too because after getting a few more steps closer, the woman produced a dagger from her boot. It had the intended effect, as Valery immediately stopped moving to turn her gaze to the weapon. But while she retained the level of calmness expected from a Jedi, the people around them quickly began to back off.​

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"She's got a knife!"​

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Valery glared at Tamiko and slowly raised her hands up, not in surrender but to keep herself ready to act. "Drop the dagger and what you took from me. This isn't worth it and will only end badly for you." her tone wasn't threatening, but she did make it clear enough that she wasn't just going to back off now.​

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[Tamiko Sabo]

Tag: Valery Noble​

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Her hold on the dagger tightened out of mounting anticipation. While the surrounding crowd suddenly dissipated, keeping a wide berth from the girl as if she were some live bomb, the Jedi only remained staunch in her approach.

With a deadpan expression she blinked up at Valery, a moment of vulnerability icing over, “I’ll take my chances.”

Without warning she advanced, sending another ripple of panic through the crowd. The girl broke into a run down the small stretch of space now clear of pedestrians. Bracing herself, Tamiko divided her escape into two distinct actions. First swinging the knife in Valery’s direction in hopes the woman would step back out of self-preservation allowing her the room to scale the wall to Jedi’s side. Whether or not that went exactly as planned, the girl jumped the side of the building. Hands grappling with the edge of a gutter, her bruised muscles screamed in protest as she hauled herself onto the roof. Her ascent was made quick, staring down at Valery for a brief moment as she collected her bearings.

With a cold blink she turned, ready to scale herself back down to the underworld through a winding path of rooftops.

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Coruscant​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Link!​

Tag: Tamiko Sabo ​

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The swinging of the knife in her direction had the intended effect. Valery wasn't overly afraid to be stabbed, but she didn't want to risk it in her current condition. Her family would likely not appreciate her taking too much risk over a wallet either, so she remained careful and watched Tamiko climb her way up the rooftop.​

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But while the woman had likely hoped for this to be her escape, Valery had other plans. Using a Force-empowered jump, she made her way up to the rooftop in a single jump and landed with that same fiery expression. If the woman were to escape into the underworld, she wouldn't be able to follow after her.​

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There was no way she'd go down there like this.​

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"Stop being foolish," Valery said before she extended a hand and tried to pull the dagger from the woman's hand using the Force. It was her only real option to disarm because she really didn't want to fight up-close. It just wasn't worth it.​

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