The docs were crowded this time of day. It was a perfect setting, people pressing against each other, brushing through, pushing past, trying to get from A to B while the shipworkers did their thing, unloading and loading shipments and supplies. Victoria preferred the docks, and she especially preferred them right now.
What was an innocent touch or a brush of her hand here and there, when there were so many other hands, elbows and knees (people do weird shit, yknow) everywhere else? Nobody would notice if their pockets got a little lighter, at least not until the redhead was well blended into the crowd.
She walked on, music in her ears, arms along her sides, taking in the crowd carefully. Slim pickings today, but Victoria didn't let that discourage her as she set her eyes on a new victim, takin in his figure, and deciding. All it took, really, was to casually brush up against him, bump into him a little as they passed each other, nimble and clever fingers working their way into his pocket and away again. Quick, smooth. "Oof, sorry," she muttered, glancing at him as if she was genuinely apologetic, before she kept moving, walking just a touch faster than she had moments before, sticking both hands into her pockets to protect her loot.
Repairing boat engines quieted his mind and kept his hands busy, but it was his least favorite time of day, when it was swarming with people like this. She was hardly the first person to get that idea. It had occurred to Will the first time he set foot on the docks that this was the perfect hunting ground for thieves, and it certainly had its fair share of crime. While he wasn't hypcrite enough to oppose stealing on the face of it, and even liked to keep his hand in from time to time, he never contributed here. For as much as he resented his half-brother, he'd taken at least one thing from him deeply to heart. He only stole from people who could afford to lose it.
He'd had more than a decade to let that resentment settle in him though, and it barely twinged these days, eclipsed by much more recent losses. Everland was a fresh start for Will. He'd been on the straight and narrow for over a decade in the military, that last tour costing him his arm, some dear friends, and a good chunk of his peace of mind. Fransokyo Robotics was the main reason he'd chosen this place, the metal clockwork arm still an unfamiliar weight at his side.
It was the flesh hand that reached out to snag her elbow and drag her to a halt, however. He'd be a terrible thief if he didn't know when he was being pickpocketed. She was good, he'd give her that. Robin Hood himself would have been proud. He was half-tempted to let her get away with it, but replacing his IDs was a hassle he didn't want. "You can keep the cash, kid. I won't even ask why ya need it. Just give me back the rest."
