my reply is... long. oops. so I'm gonna chuck it in the spoilers box so my post isn't a monster length haha-
Smithson was minding his own business, almost humming to himself out of contentment, when he heard a voice coming from... Above him? He winced and froze, glancing around for a second before finally looking up and seeing a woman dangling from the roof. She sounded... Desperate, and the middle-aged man had no idea what to feel; there was the sense that he should just shrug it off and keep walking, but at the same time... There was this conscience, nagging at him and whispering into his ear,
Don't you want to make sure you don't create another regret for yourself?
Besides, you shouldn't just let her fall. If someone found out, they could very well use it against you. Wouldn't that be a pain? To have your position be reduced to nothing?
He sighed and shook his head, muttering to himself, "No. No, I really don't want that to happen to me..." Smithson trailed off before rubbing the back of his neck and gazing back up at the other party. The desperation seemed to get stronger by the second, and eventually, he just... Looked down at his bag, scrounged through it for a bit, and plucked out a ball.
"Get down, huh?" he called to her, not exactly caring how much of a fool he looked like in public right now, "I mean, I could work with that. Just... No movies, though. I'm not the movie type of person, but I certainly wouldn't mind using the money for something else." He coughed loudly after this thanks to the fact that he spoke so loudly that he probably strained his larynx in the process. Loud coughing asides, it was difficult to tell if he was being that sincere; after all, he did have an existential crisis over how being a bystander could adversely affect him. Also, the fact remained that he was willing to assume that she didn't have that much money compared to him, so what difference would a few dollars make? Well... At least if he bought anything basic, it technically wouldn't be coming out of his pocket...
Smithson opened the ball to reveal a large blue jellyfish creature, which looked up and around before letting out an "oooo." To make sure this wasn't a completely stupid idea, he stuck out his hand and touched said creature, its surface feeling a lot like a cushion. Okay, guess that could work. Once more, he looked up and asked loudly, "Hey, miss! You're not afraid of falling, are you?" While in the middle of another coughing fit, he pointed at where he wanted the jellyfish to go, to which it went with no question.
Once he regained his breath, he waved his hand and explained (as loudly as he could without destroying his voice box), "Listen, you're going to have to use some... Trust around here. Let go o the building right now. My Jellicent over here will shoot a plume of water at you and gradually allow you to descend once you hit said spout. Also, its surface is relatively rubbery, so even if that doesn't work, then... At least you'll be able to know what falling into a giant cushion is like." His voice cold, it became painfully clear that he wasn't exactly doing this for altruism's sake, but rather his own; if it failed, it wouldn't be that bad for him, as he could just wave it off and claim that "hey, at least I tried."
But if he succeeded, then... Well... He'd be okay with that too.
Smithson spat at the ground while glaring up at a thief, who had just so happened to conveniently snatch his bag when the former was unaware. Being the stick that he was, there was no way in absolute hell that he'd be able to take said satchel back even if he was taller; Smithson was just too weak to actually put up a fight, and it was clear as the other party leaned into his face.
"Listen, mister," the individual, only distinguishable due to wearing a bat mask, hissed sourly, "I know that for years on end, you've done nothing but lounge in the high life while you leave people like myself to starve to death. You have no compassion, do you? How about you give me a portion of what you have, so that I can feed myself? It won't hurt you a single bit, except maybe your ego. But you really do need to step it down a notch... Or two... Or all of them." The masked person laughed while leaning back slightly, then pulled out a knife. "Don't worry too much about the knife, by the way. I won't use it on you if you cough up the money..."
Backed into the dead end part of the alleyway, Smithson sighed and crossed his arms before asking, "So, what happens if I don't give you anything?" He kicked at the ground, making sure to stir up some dust; however, said dust appeared to have no effect thanks to the mask blocking it. The individual cackled almost gleefully when the dust settled, then approached him again - this time with the dagger hovering just inches from his face.
"You know what happens" was merely the reply, leaving Smithson's stomach to drop to the lowest it had been in... Years, probably. His hands scrambled around the base of his coat, before realizing that his money was probably in his bag. And guess who had his bag?
He pointed at the bag and commented with a shaky voice, "You... You do realize that my money is probably in the bag, right? I have absolutely nothing in my coat. Unless you just want an excuse to stain that blade of yours-"
"Precisely, actually. I know you're being insincere if I just take the money. But if you're gone, then..." The words became muted to Smithson as blood rushed in his ears. Well, this was it. A catch-22 had been made, and by goodness did he hate being trapped in it! He supposed that in a way, he was going to die as he lived: bitter to the very end.
Suddenly, out of nowhere (as if a deux ex-machina had rolled in), the usually quiet man started frantically shouting to the outside of the alleyway, "Hey! Anyone! Help me! A life is at stake, and it's certainly mine! I'll give you some money or... Something if you help! Just... Act fast! It's a very, very time-sensitive situation! You'll see what I mean when you get there!" The outburst was enough to stun the individual for a few seconds, but that status was definitely not going to last long.
follow-up to the post below, as per usual hehe-
It wasn't long before the bat-masked fellow had recovered enough from the yelling to hiss, "You really think that's going to help you, sir?" They laughed while flashing their knife. "Pathetic! How Pathetic! You're such a snake that you can't even hold onto your own stubborn, elitist principles! What does that say about you?"
Smithson scowled while holding back his answer, Not much. This wasn't the person he wanted to admit this vulnerability to, not at all. Even if it cost him his life, he just wanted to prove them wrong, so he just crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. At this point, he might as well wait for someone - someone who'd help him out of this situation but had a chance of not even arriving at all. The latter was definitely a very real possibility, just like the blade in front of him, but he ignored it in a surge of hubris. How nice.
His senses were so preoccupied with the thief that he barely noticed a shadow slink into the same alleyway and ask, "What's with all this noise?" The middle-aged man tilted his head to get a peek of this newcomer, while the other party just adjusted the mask and snorted. Sighing with relief, Smithson just nodded at the arrival, mostly because he was too tired to do much at the moment. Next time, he was definitely going to place that bag somewhere more secure, he knew that for goddamn sure.
Now, the event that occurred next was all a blur to Smithson. It was probably for the best, because he had no idea what happened. Even later on, when he told Walker about his near-death experience, there was always that sense of "I have no idea what I saw, and I'm not sure if I want to know." It seemed like a mix of magic, technology, and... Just hand-to-hand combat, but... As far as Smithson knew, it definitely wasn't something typical of home. Maybe that was why I screwed myself over so much in the first place... Undella Town sure sounds wonderful right about now. The only thing he really remembered was the light that almost blinded him, but other than that... Nothing. The thief, though, seemed to be stunned by it. Well, at least the job was done. He shuffled his hands, or at least he thought he did so; it was so bright that he couldn't exactly tell.
The next thing he knew, the light had faded, and the shadow revealed itself to be a perfectly respectable fellow. Initially still retaining his tension from the previous few minutes, Smithson eventually relaxed himself enough to take back the bag while giving him a nod; while doing so, a genuine - albeit soft - smile was on his face, a rarity for a man like himself.
"Thank you for the help," the middle-aged man stated with a dip of his head, "I'll certainly think of you when I need help." He also took the card and gave it a cursory read before nodding once more. "Yes... That could work.." he muttered before looking over at the other individual once more and repeating his thanks before leaving to continue his day - still clearly a bit shaken by what had happened but otherwise fine.