Convenience stores were yet another gem of this vacation that he'd set off on. It wasn't that Artie had never been in one — he had, it was just a rare thing that he ever got to go to one alone, and without people giving him a look. Usually, he was accompanied by his school friends, or the family butler, or someone who could direct him properly without him getting wrapped up in chatting to someone on the side. Plus, back in Circhester, there had hardly been a reason to get them, since most packages were sent directly to the palace, and anything that wasn't... well, mother was sure to find someone who would.

[break][break] There were only two things that one could not get - or rather, Artie didn't really like asking for. The first, of course, was smokes and the second was a Monster energy drink. The latter, he'd never tried. The former... well, he wasn't supposed to have tried. 

[break][break] Artie was just ringing up his purchases, accompanied by no one other than Rue who sat on his neck peacefully, when there was a flash of movement as someone left the line. The blond smiled blithely at the cashier as she placed his things in a baggie, and then glanced behind him. Huh. That face looked familiar. 

[break][break] Without paying, the boy stepped off the line and found himself walking over to Lulu Flint , attempting to grab her elbow. "Hey — do I know —" When he got a close look, however, he beamed. 

[break][break] "Sha-sha! What are you doing here?"

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He wasn't laughing at him. At least, not mostly. Though even if he said it, it wasn't like @derrick would have understood — then again, maybe he would. So Artie decided to tell him.

[break][break] "I wasn't laughing at you," he quipped. "I was laughing with you." The fact that the blue-haired man had not - actually - been laughing was negligible. Or at least, it was to Artie.

[break][break] Either way, there was a distraction in the form of the two thugs that drew both of their attention, and of course, @derrick was quick to jump to the scene of the crime. He headed over to the two thugs, who were groaning from the effort of their crash. As it turned out, they were not as durable as Mr. Hot Topic over here, which was a good thing. Artie watched with a bit of appreciation as he cuffed the thieves and picked up the stolen jewels.

[break][break] Curiously, the blond looked over to see the shiny gems that Derrick had in his grip and with permission, of course, reached over to roll one into his palm. The gleam reflected in his ice-blue eyes, before he turned them back over to the other. While nice, they weren't of particular interest to him — the family safe had more than their fair share of similar ones.

[break][break] Instead, he commented, "You know your way around those handcuffs." There was a bit of a twinkle in his eye, as he stepped to @derrick . One of his shoes crunched against one of the thugs' palms that were laid against the floor, an unpleasant crunch following. Again, unfortunate, but had nothing to do with Artie. He smiled blithely. "Could you teach me?"

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Maybe the garageband singer was smarter than he looked. He seemed to immediately understand Artie's intentions, and even praised him for his quick thinking, even pumping his arm in the air to show off his fire-like spirit.

[break][break] Or maybe not.

[break][break] In a split second, the taller man disappeared from Artie's line of sight - he slipped on the newly created icy road, immediately sliding down the slope belly-first. The blond was stunned -- but only momentarily. "C'mon Badar, let's go!" Grinning, he hopped on the Sealeo and slid down the icy road right after @derrick , but no doubt, more graceful than the other.

[break][break] After all, he was a prince. It was only to be expected.

[break][break] Derrick's screams mingled with Artie's laughter in beautiful cacophony, and it was only a second before the two reached the bottom of the slope. The blond hopped off his Sealeo agiley, just in time to see the other catch up from his rather ceremonious crash into a rock. What was the phrase - idiots couldn't get hurt? Or was it that they couldn't get sick? Either way, it seemed that Derrick didn't seem to be injured, which was a good sign. It would have been inconvenient if he was. Not to mention pretty gross.

[break][break] Once again, Artie was praised, and he smiled brightly at it, but the words also had him tapping his chin in thought as he looked around. It was true - where had those thieving rats gone? There was a sudden thunk and Artie looked up, just in time to see the two thieves crash into the very same rock, the jewels spilling from their pockets.

[break][break] They on the other hand didn't appear to have escaped unscathed.

[break][break] "I think," Artie said, with a bit of a laugh. "I found them."

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Oh, an archeologist had lost it? Artie looked down at the badge, rubbing his thumb against the glossy sheen. The face that stared back at him was a blond, blue-eyed guy, not unlike him, but unlike him, he looked like a total dweeb. He had this shy, almost awkward grin and definitely looked like the kind of guy that would misplace things. Or at least, that was Artie's opinion of him. It was unfortunate for him - this Miguel - but the whole situation was fortunate for Artie.

[break][break] He looked back at @derrick as he explained the situation, and found himself nodding in sympathy. "Yeah, that's unfortunate, " he said, though his voice sounded more distracted than it did sympathetic. Though, it did make sense - was why the ID had been so easy to swipe, since the guy was the type of person to lose things.

[break][break] Perhaps the normal thing to do would have been to relinquish the tag once realizing the situation at large. However, of course, Artie was many things but normal was probably not one of them. Distracted, he stepped around the blue-haired man and instead found his attention on the two other individuals in the nearby area, two individuals who somehow looked even more suspicious than a blaze blue punk rock kid, and a thief.

[break][break]Also, to be clear, Artie wasn't the whole steal-things-cause-it-was-fun thief. He was a in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time thief.

[break][break] At least, today he was.

[break][break] The blond watched as @derrick ran past him to yell at the two actual thieves, glowering at them and demanding that they empty their pockets.

[break][break] 'Oh shit, bro,' one of them said.

[break][break] 'Bro, let's fucking git!'

[break][break] Before Derrick and his rather imposing pokemon could so much as speak another word, the two intruders scrambled to their feet and sprinted. However, they weren't sprinting exactly. The gravel beneath their feet rose as two Dugtrio aided them in their flight, leading them further down the excavation site and down an incline. "Huh," Artie found himself saying, shocked into stunned silence. What the heck? He'd never seen anything like that before. A laugh bubbled to his lips immediately, and his fingers clutched at his chest, grabbing at his shirt fabric. "Hahaha! That's hilarious!"

[break][break] He appeared suddenly behind Derrick and his pokemon, slapping the other on the shoulder. "Your friends are hilarious, man." With his other hand, he grabbed the pokeball at his waist and released Badar. The Sealeo appeared loud greeting, slapping his fins against the ground. Artie pointed in the direction the two thugs had disappeared to. "Badar, help us catch up with them!"

[break][break] Surely enough, the ice-type opened his maw and released a Blizzard aimed at the ground, just parallel to where the two thugs were riding down the incline on their ground types. It created a perfect icy slope, and as a prince of Circhester, Artie was perfect apt at skiing. He turned to his companion, @derrick , and grinned cheekily at him. "We gotta beat 'em to the bottom, right?"

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