After three further escape attempts Kat was getting a bit fed up. Trying to reassure the child seemed to have no effect. Sitting down at their level just opened Kat up to be hit, and even if that didn’t hurt, it wasn’t fun either. Kat was running out of ideas. *I can’t see how I’m getting information out of this kid. I suppose I could try scaring them… but I don’t want to traumatise any children.*

[What about bribery?]

*That could work… it’s also a decent way to give them money without feeling bad.* "Ok, I get that you’re going to keep running away, so how about this? I’ll ask you a few questions, you answer them, and then I’ll let you go," said Kat.

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The child frowned, their entire face scrunched up with concern, annoyance, and thought. Kat just let them take the time they needed to figure out the answer, at least they weren’t trying to escape. "Hmm… Big Sis said not to answer any questions if someone asked me though…" said the child eventually.

"Well… don’t you want a chance to talk about this Big Sis, of yours?" asked Kat.

This seemed to cause the child to enter another round of intense thought. Kat and Lily just waited patiently, though Lily was now leaning against Kat, keeping her nose buried in Kat’s hair. For Lily, it was a very pleasant way to waste time. In fact, it wasn’t wasting time at all. The child finally came up with an answer, "No. Big sis would be mad, and I don’t want to get in trouble,"

Kat nodded, as if this was understandable, and it sort of was… but if Kat was actually going to cause problems for the elf, it was much too late. "I understand. Though… if I give you one of these coins," Kat pulled out a coin worth the rough equivalent of 50 earth cents, "would you be willing to answer some questions,"

At this point it was no surprise that the kid needed more time to think. This time they sat down, and seemed to be thinking extra hard. Their little ears wiggled up and down as they thought. Kat decided that was adorable, and needed to find out if older elves did that as well. "Two coins!" was the answer the child gave in the end.

Kat nodded, and the little elf looked rather smug, as if they’d just made off with Kat’s entire fortune. Kat just continued smiling, trying to reassure the child that this was fine. "Ok, but before we get to the questions, I’m going to need your name," said Kat.

"Isn’t that a question?" asked the elf.

"No, it was a statement saying I need your name first," said Kat. _{Google search 𝒇𝚛e𝗲𝘸e𝚋𝑛o𝘃𝙚𝒍. c૦𝒎}

"Hmm… THREE coins!" insisted the elf.

Kat rolled her eyes and pulled three coins out, Kat had at least a hundred of them left so it was no issue. The elf snatched the coins from Kat’s hand without asking, and then hid them away. Kat wasn’t paying too much attention, and was surprised to note she wasn’t entirely sure where the coins went. Note to self. Watch that next time. This time it was Kat’s turn to wait patiently. She wasn’t going to say anything else until the child gave its name.

"Boot. My name is Boot," said ’Boot’.

*Welp. I guess they don’t have parents around. Or, their parents hated them I suppose. It also doesn’t clue me into the gender of this child… or their age. I really want to know ’why’ boot, but I’m not going to waste a question on it.*

"I see, well my first question is, why did you try and steal from me?" asked Kat.

Boot made a grabby motion and Kat rolled her eyes, holding out the coins once again. This time though, Kat watched Boot swipe them. Boot swiped the coins and pulled their raggedy coat out with their other hand. The hand with the coins dipped into the coat as if she was putting them in a hidden pocket, but in slow motion it was easy to see Boot dropping them into their other hand, which then fell back to Boot’s side before dropping the coins into the kid’s oversized boots.

*Thematic.* "You looked like an easy mark," said Boot.

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"That’s not much of an answer," said Kat. "You need to explain what you mean by that. I can guess a lot… but I’m paying you g- real money for these answers,"

Boot thought about this for a few seconds before nodding. Kat smiled, glad that she still understood kid-logic. "Ok… I guess you’re right. Well, you look like a tourist because I’ve never seen anyone that looks like you before. Big Sis says that tourists have more money than sense, and don’t like running. So I was gonna run off, and you probably had a lot of money in that bag, which you do, and you probably wouldn’t chase me for it,"

"What makes me look like a tourist?" asked Kat.

Boot made another grabby motion. Kat rolled her eyes, but decided Boot had been fair with their answer so handed over two more coins, that once again ended up in Boot’s boots. "Your dress isn’t long enough for you to be a mage, you don’t have any armour on and your skin is much too pretty,"

Lily burst out laughing and Kat winced, because Lily had done so right beside her ear. "Are you making fun of me?" asked Boot with a huff.

Kat, knowing how kid-logic worked… made a grabby motion with her hand while Lily was too busy laughing. Boot growled and looked from Kat’s face to her hands, then back to her face… before looking down at their own hand. "Fine," grumbled Boot. Apparently, they were only taught how to hide money, not that they shouldn’t reveal were it was, because Boot reached back into their boot to get the money without hiding how they were doing it. Kat decided not to comment.

Lily was still laughing, so Kat said, "As my girlfriend is laughing to much, allow me to answer what she finds funny. The first, is that while I might not be a mage she is. Next, I can summon weapons," Kat decided to be a bit showy and summoned her fans with a puff of fire, "and I can regenerate from serious wounds so well they don’t even leave scars, so I don’t need armour,"

"That’s cheating," said Boot with all the certainty of a five year old.

"It might be," said Kat with a nod, "But it’s true. Now, my next question, is are you getting enough to eat?"

Boot of course waited for Kat to hand over the money before answering with, "I don’t understand the question,"

"I mean do you ever feel hungry?" asked Kat.

Boot still seemed confused, "I don’t get it,"

*Not sure what that means for their nutrition… but fine whatever.* "That’s ok, I’ll count the question as answered," Boot perked up when Kat said that, "Just this once," Boot’s smile fell. "I can’t have you answering ’I don’t know’ for all my questions. Then you’re not really answering them. Right… um… hmm… do you manage to keep warm?"

"Of course!" said Boot with a big smile. Then they paused, realising that they’d answered the question without getting paid. Kat smirked, but handed the coins over without issue.

*That’s one less thing to worry about I suppose. I’m just not sure what to do with that information. So Boot might be going hungry, but doesn’t have to worry about freezing to death. I guess I can live with that? What do you think Lily?*

[I suppose I can as well. Boot looks small, but if I take a look at their arms, it’s not like they’re all skin and bones either. I suspect, even if they’re not getting a completely healthy amount of food, they are getting enough. This is a big tourist place… and as silly as it might be, tourists with extra money are great targets for pickpockets.]

Kat pursed her lips. She didn’t like the idea of just leaving a child on their own, but Boot clearly had at least one person looking after them, possibly more. In addition to that, it wasn’t like Kat could take the kid with her. Not only was she not going to just force that onto Callisto and Vivian, Kat wasn’t sure she could even take Boot through the portal. That’s not even getting into the fact Boot was an elf, and thus, would look very out of place on earth. *I can’t save everyone, and Boot seems like they know what they’re doing. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth… but I guess we’re leaving.*

Kat stood, returning to her full height and said, "Thank you for answering my questions Boot. You’re free to go now," Boot nodded, but waited for a few seconds, just in case Kat made a move to take back her coins. Boot watched the pair carefully as they edged around Kat and Lily. As soon as they were out of reach, Boot sprinted back off the docks and into the city.

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