I'm sorry.

I wrote a bit of angst again.

At least it's kinda happy?

Also, I managed not to hurt Tech in this story! He's always getting the short side of the stick lol.

Tw: Ansgt, blood.

Anzati limped as she walked through the crowded Pantoran streets, her eyes locked on her target. She tripped on purpose and fell onto someone, slipping her hand into the purse.

"Oh I'm sorry!" Anzati cried out as she pulled some credits from the bag. "I tripped!

"Be careful you klutz," the woman who just got robbed glared at Anzati and dusted herself off.

"Of course!" Anzati nodded frantically. "I'm so sorry ma'am!"

The woman huffed and rolled her eyes, continuing with her journey down the street. Anzati turned away and played with the credits in her hand.

She knew this would be enough for a meal. Perhaps there was even enough for a toy! She'd always seen those in the market and they seemed fun.

She limped toward the market, heading for the fruit stand. She grabbed a Meiloorun and handed the stolen credits over to pay for them.

There wasn't enough for a toy after she bought her dinner.

No matter, she'd save up enough one day.

Anzati climbed to the top of a building and sat on the edge, overlooking the bustling people. She swung her legs idly and ate the fruit she had bought.

When she was finished, she laid on the roof and fell asleep quickly. 

She woke the next morning and saw one of her friends crossing the street below. 

"Vino! Up here!" She shouted and waved wildly, hoping he would see.

He didn't look up and walked in the other direction.

Anzati ran for the ladder that led to the roof, and in her hurry, she forgot about her left ankle. It gave out from beneath her and she fell to the ground, scraping her palms on the rough surface.

Purple blood bubbled to the surface, and she let out a little yelp at the pain. 

She picked herself up and looked down at where Vino was. 

She couldn't see him anymore.

Anzati went down the ladder, hobbling as she went down the streets. She wiped her hands on her tattered shirt and cringed at the blood the now smeared her clothes.

Her stomach grumbled and she sighed.

Anzati started looking for a target to steal from, and saw a man with long, brown hair standing at a pawn shop with a droid next to him. A small girl with blonde hair examined a toy next to them.

Anzati blew out a breath before walking toward them, as smoothly as she could with her hurt ankle.  The man put his pack on the ground to show the droid off to the shop keeper, and Anzati made her move.

She stopped to look at a trinket on the counter, and bent over to carefully inspect it. Her hands went toward the bag under the table, and she carefully opened it.

A hand firmly gripped her wrist.

"What are you doing?"

Anzati's veins filled with ice and she lifted her gaze to see the long haired man glaring at her. His grip loosened for a moment when he saw the fear on her face, but he tightened it just as fast.

"I dropped my bracelet and I guess I opened your pack! It was an accident!" Anzati tried to lie her way out, but he looked unimpressed.

The man looked up at the droid who shuffled closer. The girl gave Anzati a curious look and tilted her head.

The shop owner stepped forward and scowled at Anzati. "Shoo! I don't need you making trouble in my shop!" 

The man released Anzati and she scurried as far away as she could get. She stumbled between market stalls, bumping into a woman with black hair and an orange helmet.

She didn't stop to apologize, she just ran as fast as she could, hoping they didn't call the law enforcement after her.

Anzati stopped in an alleyway and leaned against the wall, sliding down to the ground. She clutched her ankle and tears rolled down her face.

What did she get herself into?

She just wanted food, and she tried to steal from the wrong person.

And now she was going to get arrested.

She buried her head in her arms and cried. Her shoulders shook and her throat ached as she sobbed.

A pair of boots stopped in front of her, and she saw them through the gap in her arms. She looked up and saw the man from the store.

He looked at her in concern and offered her a hand.

She scrambled away from him winced as her scraped up hands made contact with the ground.

"How old are you kid?" He asked and stepped back to give her some space.

"H-how old are you?" Anzati asked, unsure if she should be giving away that information to him.

"Just answer the question, kid," he crossed his arms.

"Twelve," Anzati said.

He sighed and looked up to the sky. She chewed her lip nervously, scared he would hurt her.

"My name is Hunter," he told her. "What's your deal, kid? Why'd you try to take my things?"

"I'm Anzati. Are you going to have me arrested?" She brushed her purple hair from her face.

"I'm not going to hurt you kid. I'm just trying to figure out what to do with you," Hunter said.

"What you're going to do with me?" Anzati's eyes widened. 

"Don't worry, I might just give you a couple credits and send you home to your parents," Hunter put his hands on his hips as he mulled over what he was going to do.

Anzati slowly nodded.

"Why'd you do it?" Hunter suddenly questioned. 

"I was hungry!" Anzati's lip trembled. "But I didn't take anything! You stopped me before I could!"

Hunter ran a hand through his hair. "Then ask someone at home for credits instead of stealing! This leads to trouble! Someone could have you arrested one day!"

"Okay," Anzati nodded, twisting her hands. "I- I will."

He froze. "You don't have a home do you?"

Anzati paused before shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, kid, I didn't think," Hunter apologized.

"It's okay," Anzati wrapped her arms around her legs. "I've had worse said to me."

Hunter sighed and held out a handful of credits. She stared at him in disbelief.

"What's that for?" She asked.

"For you," Hunter gestured for her to grab them. "Take them. I'll just raise the price on Ech- my droid to make up for the loss of these credits."

Anzati scooped them from his hand and eyed him suspiciously like he'd laugh, grab them back, push her over, and run away.

"I'm serious. They're yours to buy whatever you want," Hunter said. "Just promise me you'll stay out of trouble?"

Anzati hesitated, knowing that as a thief, there was no way she could keep the promise.

"Anzati," Hunter narrowed his eyes at her. 

"I promise," Anzati said, crossing her fingers behind her back.

"See ya, kid," Hunter saluted her before jogging away.

Anzati watched him go and put the credits in her pocket, her heart swelling at the thought of being able to buy a toy.

Anzati saw the blonde girl wandering down the street looking lost, and the woman with the orange helmet watching her. She didn't know what the woman wanted, but she knew she had to help the girl.

"Hello," Anzati said as she limped next to her. "My name is Anzati."

"Hi! I'm Omega!" The blonde girl waved.

"There's someone watching you," Anzati whispered. "Come with me, I know a safe place to hide."

Omega gasped softly, but followed Anzati through the market, where they ended up at the ladder to the roof.

The climbed up, and Anzati spotted the woman silently follow them. Anzati guided Omega to the roof's edge. 

"We're trapped!" Omega cried out.

"Don't worry," Anzati's hand slipped into her pocket and latched into a small device. "We'll be fine."

The woman reached the top of the ladder and walked toward them with her hands up to show she was unarmed.

"I don't want to hurt you, I just need Omega," she coaxed. "I'll give you some credits if you step away and pretend you never saw this."

Anzati pretended to consider it. "How much?"

The woman opened her mouth to speak, and Anzati whipped the device out from her pocket and threw it at her.

It electrocuted her, and Anzati covered her mouth as the woman twitched on the ground.

"Where'd you get that?" Omega asked in amazement.

"Hunter's bag," Anzati sheepishly said. "He didn't notice I took it."

Omega cringed. "Hopefully he won't be too mad when he finds out why."

"Why was she after you?" Anzati asked, limping to stand next to the unconscious body.

"I don't know," Omega replied. "But I'm sure Tech will know. He knows everything."

Anzati nodded, not sure who Tech was.

"It was nice meeting you Anzati, I need to go find my brothers," Omega put her feet on the ladder  rungs. 

"Goodbye Omega," Anzati waved.

Anzati returned to the alley, and collapsed to the ground, her ankle giving out again.

Maybe she should get medical help instead of a toy.

But she really wanted one.

But her ankle was throbbing in pain.

But she would need food.

But a toy would be so fun.

Anzati rolled up her pants leg and saw how swollen her joint was. She closed her eyes and pretended it was fine.

She rested her head against the alley wall and slowly began to drift off, deciding to figure out what she'd do with the credits in the morning.

"Anzati?" Hunter's voice broke her out of her drowsy state.

"Hunter?" Anzati peeled her eyes open. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to thank you. Omega told me what you did," Hunter nodded to where the blonde girl stood, holding hands with the droid. 

"You gave me credits. It was the least I could do," Anzati told him.

"Holy kriff, what happened to your ankle?" Hunter pointed at the still exposed joint.

"I hurt it running away from someone a couple rotations ago," Anzati wrapped her arms around herself. "It doesn't hurt that badly."

Hunter raised an eyebrow and crouched next to her. He gently rolled her ankle in a circle, making her shout out in pain and squeeze her eyes shut.

"Uh huh," Hunter stood back up. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I was planning to see if it would fix itself," Anzati admitted. 

"Hunter," the droid spoke up, its voice oddly humanlike. "We do have a medpac on the ship..."

Anzati looked away, hope swelling in her chest.

"Whaddya say, kid?" Hunter looked back at her. "Want to come with us to the ship? We don't mind if you tag around for a bit."

"Oh thank you!" Anzati stood up, leaning against the wall for support. "I want to! Yes, please!"

"Let's go then," Hunter said. "Wrecker's gonna love you."

Anzati walked by Omega's side as Hunter led the way to their ship.

Awww a happy ending!

Tech: what's that?

Hunter: a Meiloorun. We picked one up at the market.

Tech: nooo... I meant the Pantoran child standing next to you.

Hunter: oh yeah this is Anzati. I kinda adopted her.

Tech: ... of course you did.

I was thinking of maybe writing a part two?