thenearshore | A Prayer of Finding

[Forrest isn't without sympathy either, but it's true that the wallet might not even be here anymore.]

It's possible. If only we had some way of tracking it.

Yeah...Though I guess if he'd had a GPS on it or something, he wouldn't have needed to wish for it.

[In Prism, the risk of tracking made it dangerous to lift wallets from Upper Plate residents, save for those who could afford disabling tech. Japan didn't quite seem to have Prism's level of technology, but some things seemed pretty standard...

[Like security cameras. Psyche blinked a little as she noticed one scanning the path they were on. She'd idly wondered if it could even pick up on them, before she thought of something else it might've seen]

Oh-he'd said he only lost the wallet a few days ago! There might still be footage within that period, if he dropped it in view of them.

G... P... S...?

[Forrest has learned a lot about modern technology since coming here, but there are still things he doesn't know about. He's going to trust that Psyche knows what she's talking about.]

Oh! Yes! That's a good idea.

[...]

...How do we look at it?

[There was that reminder that not all of them came from places with more 'modern' technology. She absently added]

It's a tracking system.

[She fiddled with a strand of her hair as she thought about the 'how'. They probably couldn't just ask to look at it but...]

It's probably in one of the stations we passed. Our best bet is checking the one with management, since they'd probably be the ones with free access to the footage.

[Getting in was an issue but, well, there was some advantages to not being seen by most.]

Ah, I see.

[Tracking is something he knows. At least in theory.]

So all we have to do is ask, then?

[Oh Forrest.]

Um. I...think we'll have better luck doing what we've done before and just sneaking in. As long as we don't take anything with us, it should be fine.

[They didn't want to become thieves themselves, after all. Fortunately, for them, the station in question wouldn't be too far away. It was a rectangular building near the entrance of the park. At the front was the guest services counter, including brochures of the park's attractions and a map of the area, and lost and found, which they'd checked a short while ago. At the back was the employee entrance. The knob turned in her hand...however, as the door creaked a little - revealing a small break room - voices echoing from inside, a man's saying]

...ut out some more pickpocket alert signs....we're not liable for missing objects...

Oh, I see.

[He wasn't sure if this was a place they'd normally be allowed or not. But if it's for the greater good and they're not going to steal anything while they're there, he doesn't have a big problem with it. Turning to Psyche, he whispers.]

It sounds like it's already been reported.

Probably, considering how frantic he seemed about it...

[She nodded with a whisper. However, the man's voice let out a frustrated note as he continued]

Anyway, some punks wrote shit all over the playground the playground. Got to find and clean it up before someone's parents sees it and starts complaining. You can drop the reports off in the office, I'll take care of them later.

[Psyche gave Forrest a tug to the side as footsteps quickly approached and the door banged open. The man stomped out, muttering, "Stupid kids," under his breath, leaving them a clear view of the back in his wake - a small breakroom, with coats and bags hung up on the side, a larger map of the park with memos on sticky pads in the wall, and a petite woman carrying a considerable stack of papers down the left hall to the 'office'.]

[Forrest steps aside to allow the man to pass, looking back to where he came from once they're clear.]

Maybe there's something useful written on the map of the park? If it's the work of a pickpocket, there might be a pattern to where he's been preying on victims.

[She nodded, taking a brief look back at the hallway the woman had gone (she could hear some generic JPOP playing, along with some frenetic clanks of a file cabinet) to make sure they weren't going to be walked on anytime soon, before approaching the map. There was the basic stuff, such as shift order, reminders, and a strongly worded letter to keep the break room clean. However, smaller notes, marked by colorful pins, were scattered around the map - 'graffiti, playground'; 'littering, Nyanchan statue'; 'underage smokers...'.]

Ah-here's ours.

[Marked with a shiny copper pin, 'pickpocket, wishing pond'. Her finger slowly traced the board, frowning deeply, as she noticed how many copper pins there were compared to the other colours.]

....I guess that explains why they had a such a big stack of papers.

Well... that's fairly conclusive.

[Forrest frowns at the map and all of the pins.]

I wonder if he'll return again tonight. We may be able to catch him in the act.

Maybe. If he doesn't show up by the pond, he might show up back to his regular haunts.

[Tracing her finger over the board, she silently mouthed to herself general placement, before pulling out her phone and taking a picture of the map.]

Do you have any idea how you would like to confront him?

[Psyche had some thoughts. Less than nice ones, given what she considered he likely deserved, but it wasn't her call.]

I'd like to capture him and turn him in if we can. He's human, and his crime is earthly. He should be dealt with by this world's authorities - not those of heaven.

[Forrest has never been one for vigilante justice.]

[Psyche, meanwhile, already had an affinity for such things. Though she couldn't remember, the deep-rooted instincts were still there, along with the thought he could use a little 'fear of god'. However, she nodded]

Okay, then. I'm sure we can dump him at one of the police boxes, if not here. The manager looks like he'd enjoy getting his hands on him.

[Which might be punishment in itself. She took another look at the hallway for the woman (she could now hear furious scribbling accompanying clangs of drawers) before stepping back.]

C'mon. We have a few hours to scope his hunting grounds until he should show up.

It would be even better if we could convince him to turn himself in, but I'm not sure if that would work.

[He isn't completely clear on how Psyche's natural abilities operate, after all. Can she throw guilt bombs at him?]

But that should be good enough. He should at least be made to face the appropriate punishment for his actions.

Yeah. However it ends up happening.

[As long as he paid for it in some way, Psyche could accept that. And besides, their primary concern was getting the wallet back.

[A few hours later, the sun was starting to fade and Psyche and Forrest had scouted out all the points on the map. Eventually, they found themselves back at the wishing pond. There were two couples, a trio of students wishing for success with exams, and a few individuals milling around. Psyche took a sip from her iced coffee bottle as she scanned the groups]

I'm kind of surprised how popular places like this are...though I guess that explains why the pickpocket would be working here.

There's certainly no shortage of potential marks.

[Forrest frowns as he looks out at the people gathered around the pond. He's not entirely happy that they have to wait for someone else to be stolen from, but catching the thief in the act is the only way.]

Where do you think the thief will strike?

[She fiddled with a strand of hair as she thought about it. The knowledge came faster than she might've thought 'normal', as though buried in her unconsciousness instead of thought out]

Well, tourists are usually a safe bet. If we could be seen easily by Far Shore residents, we could've just set one of us up for bait.

[They weren't exactly tourists but a 'foreign' blond and a redhead stuck out. So that left the next best guess. Her eyes strayed to the groups...particularly, a couple that looked particularly close and oblivious to the world, and then to the trio of students fooling around.]

Chances are good, the pickpocket will cause a commotion of some kind or present themselves as something showy to distract the target. Then take advantage of the target being too flustered to notice when something's gone missing until it's too late.

So we'll need to watch for something like that, but pay attention to what they're doing with their hands... right?

[He's picking it up slowly.]

Indeed. It's like...street magicians. They'll often be showy with one hand while the other's slipping something behind your ear.

[While she didn't have knowledge of street magicians, the tricks associated with theft were there. As such, when she saw someone accidentally bowl into one of the trio of students, drawing an embarrassed, indignant screech, she quickly went over to investigate while telling Forrest]

That might be it. Keep an eye on everyone else, though, just in case.

[Indeed, while most of the pedestrians at least turned their heads towards the commotion, one dressed like an unobtrusive business man approached one of the couples, who appeared to be moving elsewhere to regain privacy. He greeted them with a meek smile and a clipboard, asking them if he could ask them a few questions for a survey.

[He toed closer as the man agreed, shifting to pick up a pen from his pocket, while shifting his weight closer to the woman's shoulder bag.]

All right. I'll let you know if I see anything.

[Forrest watches the other groups intently, hoping to catch the moment. The businessman sticks out especially as the only one not reacting to the noise, so he keeps his eye trained on him. Of course, as an amateur observer, he doesn't see anything he thinks is odd quite yet.]

[As the couple talked with the man, the man handed over the clipboard and a pen, keeping them talking the entire time over the questions on the survey. A charity of some sort? based on the words that drifted back to Forrest. He even managed to make the couple laugh over some joke as he did, getting them to play around with the questions in some animated manner...

[As he pointed to the next question with one hand, in a blink-and-you-miss-it motion, his other hand reached into the bag's side pocket for a cellphone wallet. He shifted his weight away from them and, in the same movement, slipped the phone up the back of his shirt and took the clipboard back from the two. There was that shyness again as he thanked them very much, they were the nicest pair he'd met today and he hoped they had a good night, before walking away.]

Psyche!

[Forrest whispers loudly across the clearing to her, hoping to alert her without giving either of them away. It'll be easier to catch the culprit if he remains unaware of their presence until they have him countered. He points to the businessman, quickly beginning to circle around so they can pin him during his escape.]

[Psyche'd been watching the passerby profusely apologize to the trio, while getting increasingly irritated at their continual accusations of trying to pick a fight and been debating on stepping in when she heard Forrest call. She responded immediately. While he went from around, Psyche followed the man from behind.

[The man was making a beeline for the edge of the park, out of range from the security cameras that they'd seen on the map. He flipped through his survey papers and kept glancing at his phone, as if he were on a schedule, before he surreptitiously stepped off the path, near the trees, and out of the range of the cameras. He appeared to be 'adjusting' the back of his shirt, where the phone had been.

[As soon as he was out of the camera range, Psyche sent a rippling shockwave (the equivalent of a sharp tap) to the back of one of his knees, sending him tripping with a curse.]

[The phone comes tumbling out as the man falls - along with a wallet or two that he'd secreted away elsewhere - and Forrest circles around the other side to cut off his escape.]

Hey! That man is a thief! Stop him!

[He can at least be noticed when he's specifically calling attention to himself, and now there are plenty of people to help apprehend this guy.]

[While Far Shore residents usually didn't pay them heed, the commotion had already caught people's reactions, priming them enough a few park-goers turned their heads. The man paled, left his dropped goods, and promptly cut through the bushes, running for a side path. Psyche followed, ignoring a smack to her face from a branch, calling]

He's heading for the exit!

[He'd have to hurry, though. The woman let out a cry as she realized her phone was missing and her partner ran off to catch up along with another passerby.]

[Thankfully, since this is a hot spot for theft, there are some police patrolling the area. Forrest catches sight of them on their way, pointing them out for Psyche so she can help corral the thief.]

Officers! The thief is getting away!

[There was a flicker of confusion on one of the cop's faces as Forrest yelled. He looked around, as though knowing someone was trying to get his attention without knowing the source. His partner, however heard and grabbed his shoulder and propelled him after the thief. The thief looked back long enough to register his new pursuers before beelining for the exit, possibly relying on the off-the-path obstacles to slow them down.

[Either because he was distracted by them or because he'd already forgotten Psyche like so many from Near Shore, he missed Psyche flanking him with an outstretched hand. The foliage got in the way but she took what shots she could, firing weakened blasts to knock him off-balance and throw him off-course. He swore ("The fucking hell!?"), recovering from a hard smack into a tree, instinctively moving away and trying to dodge whatever was hitting him...

[Then, for good measure, she sent a harder blast at his head. Enough to make him cry out and take a nasty drop into the dirt. Enough to disorient him enough he was too winded (and possibly concussed) to stand up until one of the officers yanked him up into their waiting arms. Only once they seemed to have a solid hold on him did Psyche stop running, panting shallowing against a tree with her eyes locked on the pickpocket. If Forrest approached, he'd notice a cool, sharp focus in her eyes.]

[Forrest does eventually circle around to Psyche. He couldn't do much himself, as his only offensive option is fire magic. It might have caught the thief, but it would likely have burned the park down in the process. He does wince at the cold precision with which Psyche drops him, and after a moment of watching her stare back at him, he quietly speaks up.]

...Psyche?

[She blinked a little, as Forrest addressed her. Some of the coldness disappeared as she said]

Oh-um, looks like we might not be able to properly to inspect him and see if he still has the missing wallet....But I guess since the cops got their hands on him, they might be able to get that information out of him, especially with how many theft reports there are in the area already.

[Though she sounded mostly herself, there was still a sharp, critical edge to her look as she watched the officers pull out more than a few objects from the thief's person.]

Yes... I think things should be all right from here. The authorities will make sure the stolen items are returned.

[He's a lot more trusting of that.]

[Psyche'd feel better if they handled it personally. However, as long as the wallet was returned, they could count this as another prayer answered. And that was the whole point of this.

[Even if Psyche did hope that headache would last the pickpocket a long while. She turned her back to the pickpocket with the moment, physically and emotionally, and swept her sweaty bangs out of her face.]

They'll probably contact him soon but we can always leave him a note anyway? Just to let him know Lakshimi's looked into his wish and it'll be fulfilled soon.

It's worked out well for us so far. I wouldn't feel like the job was complete if we didn't leave the usual calling card.

Yeah.

[She nodded, taking a few leading steps towards the same direction the pickpocket had (it was the quickest way out, after all)]

C'mon. We probably have enough time to take care of it before we head back.

[They could wait to the next day, technically, but the impact of the prayer probably worked better if they got it to them before the police did.]

A Prayer of Finding

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