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Dirid says nothing. He kneels down and starts to pick the coins, couting them. Then--

- Hey, there's one missing! - he glares at Dakota and then at the other girl, the one Dakota called Allica. - Which of ye is the thief?

He coninues to look between them.

Dirid jumps foward before thinking. The apple comes. He raises his hands to protect his head. The apple hits his old backpack, which opens - several copper coins starts to fall, dancing on the street pavement, hiding themselves in the grass.

- No!

- I'm going far away fom here, Kota - he says and adjusts the backpack on his back. - Far away. And ye can't come with me. So... farewell.

He takes a step.
Stops.
Turns to her again.

- Yer lucky that apple didn't hit my head.

A grin.

He raises an eyebrow and glances rather bored at her.

- Nay - he says. - And, stop poking me. I'll not marry ye, girl.

But he grins widely.

Distracted, Dirid doesn't notice a round shadow growing, approaching to the ground in front of him.

Splat!

He jumps back, startled suddenly, and then hears the giggles. He stares at their direction, to the tree.

- You!

"Sheesh... apple throwing? I guess I'll stick for the poke..."

Dirid tosses the coins inside his leather backpack. - No use in counting! - he says to them, as if scolding the coins. - Nah. He stands and stretches, not caring to remove the grass from his baggy ocean blue shorts. He rubs his eyes a moment and glances up, at the sun. "It's late", he thin...

Dirid was counting the coins he "found" that day. 1... 2... 3... He was sitting on the grass, out of the city. He "found" quite a good number that day. 4... 5... 6... His mind, however, kept remembering him of someone, although he didn't know why. The truth is that if she was a b...