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Description
Cicero crept through the alleyways, searching. Usually around this time some of the bakeries and fruit and vegetable stands would start throwing out their products that were going bad. A little too stale, too bruised, or starting to look or smell a little funny. In a somewhat literal sense, it was Cicero's bread and butter.

Ah, there! He saw a wyngro with a basket of produce, dropping it unceremoniously into the alley. No doubt intending on getting it later after packing up their stand for the night to take to a compost, but wanting the less than favorable items to be out of sight and out of mind as long as there were evening customers.

Just what he needed.

The moment the Wyngro was out of sight, Cicero skittered over and peeked inside. There were some pretty questionable specimens here and there, but for the most part, it wasn't half bad even if there were only a couple edible fruits left. Just not 'pretty' enough to be sold. One man's trash was another man's treasure, though.

Cicero sat down next to the basket, leaning his back against the wall comfortably. He pulled out an overripe fruit and his tiny foldable knife--one that may or may not have been stolen long ago--and started cutting off the slimy bruised bits. He tossed them back into the basket without care, chomping down on what was left.

He made short work of what little was edible, wiping off his mouth and cleaning his sticky blade. Just a little bit more food and he would be happily well fed for the night.

Looking for a big of variety, Cicero found his way toward the butcher's shop, standing up on his hind feet to peer through one of the windows. The stuff the butcher threw out was almost never good to eat, rotten meat obviously a very bad idea, and raw meat in general difficult for the little street urchin to make safe for consumption. So food from the butcher's almost always meant something like jerky, precooked sausage, or the like. Things that would almost never just be found outside.

In between customers, the butcher was in the back doing what butchers to best, preparing another corpse of some recently slaughtered animal for sale. Which also meant that some of the products were not being observed.

A wide, Cheshire grin spread across Cicero's face as he pulled the cracked window open wider. The front door had a very noisy bell on it that would alert the butcher to a customer's arrival when he was busy, so Cicero wanted to avoid that. With the shop open, there was no need to have the windows latched. A perfect bonus for Cicero's little heist.

He crawled inside, staying low and listening. The steady thunk of a heavy knife slicing through meat and hitting a cutting board put him at ease, and he slipped behind the counter.

Oh Chii, there was so much food. It made Cicero's mouth water with anticipation. As much as he wanted to sit and gawk and browse, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone came in or the butcher returned to check on the front of the shop, so Cicero quickly grabbed what he could that could be eaten without preparation and scampered back to the window.

Chunks of jerky hanging from his mouth and a short line of linked sausages wrapped around his neck, Cicero climbed back through and lowered the window back down again, back to where it was. If he was lucky, the butcher would none the wiser.

Triumphant, Cicero sped away from the butcher's shop, finding a pleasantly secluded little area far away in case any suspicion arose. He sat against a crumbled brick wall--probably torn apart during the Warptide attack a while ago--and kicked out his feet comfortably, dropping his loot into his lap to pick and choose what he wanted to eat first.

A couple sausages disappeared quickly, followed by several strips of heavily spiced jerky. Cicero chewed with his eyes closed, thoroughly enjoying the rare, flavorful experience. Didn't get this kind of thrill or quality of food at the Nook. While he did end up there on occasion when he wasn't in the mood or couldn't find food for himself, Cicero much preferred finding his own way through things. The zip of adrenaline from doing something he wasn't quite supposed to do was something he thrived off of.

He was just picking through the last of his food when movement caught the corner of his eye. He looked over abruptly, spotting a scruffy looking but very large black and red coatala peering at him through the faint red light of the setting sun. Cicero glared back and flicked his hand toward it.

"Shove off, this ain't for you."

The coatala hissed fiercely, and Cicero jumped. The darn thing was practically a tank, scarred and bitten. Used to fights. Used to getting its way. It crept toward Cicero with an unnerving confidence.

"H-hey! What did I just say? Scram!" he shouted, gathering up his treats into his arms and getting up to his feet to look bigger and more imposing.

The coatala didn't so much as pause.

"I said get out of here!" Cicero shouted, bending down to snatch up a piece of brick and tossing it at the coatala.

Against expectations, the coatala growled deeply and charged.

Cicero shrieked and dropped his food, sprinting away a few feet. Luckily the coatala was more interested in the meat than it was him, but not so luckily, that was his food that it was now sniffing!

"Get away from that!" he yelled, stomping his feet to seem noisier and more intimidating. The coatala gave him a dull look, and while maintaining eye contact, picked up the last sausage and started to eat it.

"Hey! Stop!" Cicero wailed, now charging at the coatala. The creature hissed fiercely, dropping the remaining sausage, and swiped its claws at Cicero. He skittered to a stop just out of reach, but the coatala wasn't done. It moved closer to swat again, this time clipping Cicero on the nose.

He flinched away, eyes watering. "Fine! Be that way! I was full anyway!" he hollered, turning tail and sprinting a few feet away. He looked back over his shoulder to see the coatala already back to gobbling down the rest of the sausage, glaring at him with murder in its eyes. Daring him to try again.

Not wanting to risk life and limb for the sake of a couple scraps of jerky covered in brick dust, Cicero bared his teeth at the coatala one last time and ran away, grumbling curses under his breath.

TL;DR - Cicero steals some food and a coatala bullies him out of it.

To be fair, Zeke is a pretty mean ol' coatala haha

CICERO'S GALLERY

2 - Fullbody

1 - Story ~1100 words

3/1827

Description
Cicero crept through the alleyways, searching. Usually around this time some of the bakeries and fruit and vegetable stands would start throwing out their products that were going bad. A little too stale, too bruised, or starting to look or smell a little funny. In a somewhat literal sense, it was Cicero's bread and butter.

Ah, there! He saw a wyngro with a basket of produce, dropping it unceremoniously into the alley. No doubt intending on getting it later after packing up their stand for the night to take to a compost, but wanting the less than favorable items to be out of sight and out of mind as long as there were evening customers.

Just what he needed.

The moment the Wyngro was out of sight, Cicero skittered over and peeked inside. There were some pretty questionable specimens here and there, but for the most part, it wasn't half bad even if there were only a couple edible fruits left. Just not 'pretty' enough to be sold. One man's trash was another man's treasure, though.

Cicero sat down next to the basket, leaning his back against the wall comfortably. He pulled out an overripe fruit and his tiny foldable knife--one that may or may not have been stolen long ago--and started cutting off the slimy bruised bits. He tossed them back into the basket without care, chomping down on what was left.

He made short work of what little was edible, wiping off his mouth and cleaning his sticky blade. Just a little bit more food and he would be happily well fed for the night.

Looking for a big of variety, Cicero found his way toward the butcher's shop, standing up on his hind feet to peer through one of the windows. The stuff the butcher threw out was almost never good to eat, rotten meat obviously a very bad idea, and raw meat in general difficult for the little street urchin to make safe for consumption. So food from the butcher's almost always meant something like jerky, precooked sausage, or the like. Things that would almost never just be found outside.

In between customers, the butcher was in the back doing what butchers to best, preparing another corpse of some recently slaughtered animal for sale. Which also meant that some of the products were not being observed.

A wide, Cheshire grin spread across Cicero's face as he pulled the cracked window open wider. The front door had a very noisy bell on it that would alert the butcher to a customer's arrival when he was busy, so Cicero wanted to avoid that. With the shop open, there was no need to have the windows latched. A perfect bonus for Cicero's little heist.

He crawled inside, staying low and listening. The steady thunk of a heavy knife slicing through meat and hitting a cutting board put him at ease, and he slipped behind the counter.

Oh Chii, there was so much food. It made Cicero's mouth water with anticipation. As much as he wanted to sit and gawk and browse, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone came in or the butcher returned to check on the front of the shop, so Cicero quickly grabbed what he could that could be eaten without preparation and scampered back to the window.

Chunks of jerky hanging from his mouth and a short line of linked sausages wrapped around his neck, Cicero climbed back through and lowered the window back down again, back to where it was. If he was lucky, the butcher would none the wiser.

Triumphant, Cicero sped away from the butcher's shop, finding a pleasantly secluded little area far away in case any suspicion arose. He sat against a crumbled brick wall--probably torn apart during the Warptide attack a while ago--and kicked out his feet comfortably, dropping his loot into his lap to pick and choose what he wanted to eat first.

A couple sausages disappeared quickly, followed by several strips of heavily spiced jerky. Cicero chewed with his eyes closed, thoroughly enjoying the rare, flavorful experience. Didn't get this kind of thrill or quality of food at the Nook. While he did end up there on occasion when he wasn't in the mood or couldn't find food for himself, Cicero much preferred finding his own way through things. The zip of adrenaline from doing something he wasn't quite supposed to do was something he thrived off of.

He was just picking through the last of his food when movement caught the corner of his eye. He looked over abruptly, spotting a scruffy looking but very large black and red coatala peering at him through the faint red light of the setting sun. Cicero glared back and flicked his hand toward it.

"Shove off, this ain't for you."

The coatala hissed fiercely, and Cicero jumped. The darn thing was practically a tank, scarred and bitten. Used to fights. Used to getting its way. It crept toward Cicero with an unnerving confidence.

"H-hey! What did I just say? Scram!" he shouted, gathering up his treats into his arms and getting up to his feet to look bigger and more imposing.

The coatala didn't so much as pause.

"I said get out of here!" Cicero shouted, bending down to snatch up a piece of brick and tossing it at the coatala.

Against expectations, the coatala growled deeply and charged.

Cicero shrieked and dropped his food, sprinting away a few feet. Luckily the coatala was more interested in the meat than it was him, but not so luckily, that was his food that it was now sniffing!

"Get away from that!" he yelled, stomping his feet to seem noisier and more intimidating. The coatala gave him a dull look, and while maintaining eye contact, picked up the last sausage and started to eat it.

"Hey! Stop!" Cicero wailed, now charging at the coatala. The creature hissed fiercely, dropping the remaining sausage, and swiped its claws at Cicero. He skittered to a stop just out of reach, but the coatala wasn't done. It moved closer to swat again, this time clipping Cicero on the nose.

He flinched away, eyes watering. "Fine! Be that way! I was full anyway!" he hollered, turning tail and sprinting a few feet away. He looked back over his shoulder to see the coatala already back to gobbling down the rest of the sausage, glaring at him with murder in its eyes. Daring him to try again.

Not wanting to risk life and limb for the sake of a couple scraps of jerky covered in brick dust, Cicero bared his teeth at the coatala one last time and ran away, grumbling curses under his breath.

TL;DR - Cicero steals some food and a coatala bullies him out of it.

To be fair, Zeke is a pretty mean ol' coatala haha

CICERO'S GALLERY

2 - Fullbody

1 - Story ~1100 words

3/1827