Tabethe

After Tabethe steals something, she creeps closer to her target and uses her tentacles to slap the victim's face, deliberately exposing herself. After she's discovered, the loud or small exclamations, the high-pitched or restrained expressions of anger, together with the fumbling gestures as they search for weapons, are all fun to Tabethe. She cannot suppress her laughter, and mobilises her nimble body to mimic them before leaving in triumphant pleasure.

The legend of "Demon Tabethe the Red Hand", spreads around a small town by the sea of Hyperborea.

She is a small, agile girl who can get her hands on any treasure she desires.

She comes and goes, leaving no trace, and has no fixed home, so no one knows where to find her.

She changes into thousands of forms, and no one can see through her disguises.

But these rumours only spread among the local thieves, who always hide their treasure before sleeping to avoid "Demon Tabethe the Red Hand" visiting them.

Tabethe only steals from thieves. She never steals from ordinary people.

Tabethe can turn herself into anything, and it is very difficult for ordinary people to see through her disguises. She uses her special mimicry ability and hides herself in any environment whenever she wants. This talent has made her a genius thief.

A thief should not return stolen treasure to its original owner.

But one time, a blue dress doll was returned to its owner.

It was the only time Tabethe returned something. "Demon Tabethe the Red Hand" gently placed the doll she had stolen at the foot of the girl's bed and hesitated to leave. She said a lot to the doll, rising and sitting down, picking it up and putting it back down, until the sun rose, which reminded her it was time to leave.

The girl who pretended to be asleep knew something was going on from her murmurs. The most important person to "Demon Tabethe the Red Hand" is a girl in a blue dress. It was the yearning within her heart that brought her here, compelling her selflessly to return the doll, despite its resemblance to that girl.

Tabethe is not a native Hyperborean. She originates from the Republic of Luca, which is far away from here.

She does not remember much about her childhood, just dark and rough seas seared within her memory. That's when her family was shipwrecked.

Perhaps the sea showed her mercy, and carried her to the coast of Hyperborea. When she woke up, she was no longer the apple of her parents' eye, but an orphan in a welfare house.

The darkness of night enveloped the little orphanage as Tabethe walked cautiously through its corridors. The narrow corridors felt like they were digesting her like a great monster's intestines. What's worse, Tabethe hadn't had a proper meal in a long time.

Go to the kitchen, go to the kitchen, there is food in the kitchen.

The courage that hunger brings is difficult to fathom. She hesitated whether to change her route, knowing that this path might lead her to the orphanage's "bad adults". The staff of the orphanage were all "bad adults". Not only did they never let her eat enough, but they also frequently raised their fists at her and said hurtful things.

But Tabethe decided to give it a go. Her empty stomach helped rid her of fear. She clung to the walls and hid in the darkness. For a moment, she felt like she was swimming on a sea of concrete as she approached her hunting ground.

However, when she arrived, she was met not with delicious prey but with a patrolling "bad adult". Blow after blow from an iron pan rained down on her, and inside it there still lingered the scent of stewed fish, a taste she had never been allowed to experience before, no matter how much she begged or behaved during the daytime.

She etched each heavy blow and every cruel word into her heart, chewing on them repeatedly to fill her starved stomach. Someday, she believed, she would escape this place and break free from this suffocating, deep-sea-like night sky.

Tabethe has a particular fondness for fresh sea fish, which she claims reminds her of some cherished memories.

Those memories were set on the western coast of the Empire, in a small town whose name even Tabethe cannot remember. Those memories always contain fresh fish, dim yellow lights, fishy air, and... a deep-blue dress.

Before Tabethe became "Demon Tabethe the Red Hand", she was just a thief shunned by local merchants.

When talking about Tabethe, they would shake their heads in frustration. Although she only stole food, the pranks she pulled after each theft were infuriating for them. Over time, they started calling her "Demon" out of annoyance.

Later, the "Demon" became "Demon Tabethe the Red Hand", and the merchants were no longer bothered by her. They guessed that Tabethe had lost interest in stealing, or maybe her personality had changed for some reason. Either way, they simply stopped calling her "Demon". However, this name now spreads among the thieves with a whole new meaning.

One day, the orphanage received several guests in white coats. In order to welcome these supposedly esteemed visitors from a place called the "Alchademy", preparations started early in the morning. At that time, Tabethe thought that her opportunity had come.

The night sky on the evening of her escape resembled the turbulent depths of the sea in her memories. Even though she was not fully prepared, she decided to take advantage of the adults being distracted and flee to the neighbouring town. She feared that if she lingered even a moment longer, the suffocating sensation of drowning would consume her.

Over time, her mimicry skill got better and better. No one even noticed her during her daring escape. For the first time, Tabethe realised that the night sky was so vast and beautiful. The stars twinkled above her head as if they were smiling at her. From that moment on, the night sky was no longer the deep sea she feared, but a protective hue that guarded her smooth movements.

From that moment onwards, one orphan named Tabethe disappeared from the orphanage in the small town on the west coast, and a dark-skinned thief with waving tentacles appeared in the town nearby.

When Tabethe first heard that her nickname was now "demon", memories of the orphanage flooded her mind. Just as she had thought, the merchants were the same, and all adults were nasty.

A small desire for revenge grew inside her. Tabethe, who had always stolen food, was determined to do something truly demonic.

Under the moonlight, she stealthily sneaked into a fish stall she often visited. A small amount of fish was neatly arranged there, and behind it was a small building made of inexpensive bricks. Inside, there was barely any decent furniture except for a cooking pot and an aged wooden bed. The only remaining item was a locked drawer, Tabethe's target.

A dim light swayed in the fishy breeze. Tabethe hesitated briefly, before gripping the handle of the drawer. She then thought to herself, "If I open this drawer, I will be a real 'demon'."

"Get away from there!"

Tabethe yanked her hand away from the drawer and turned around. As she did so, a deep-blue dress came into her sight. The dress was the colour of seawater and waved in the breeze like the ripples on the sea.

The owner of the dress was a girl with a childish face. She turned around and grabbed two fish, then told Tabethe about her mother's illness, the change in the drawer, and how she occasionally saw Tabethe salivating over the fish. Tabethe stared with wide eyes, still taken aback, as the girl stuffed the fish into her hands. The two fish were weighty, and the tighter Tabethe clenched, the more they slipped away from her.

"You're giving me these two fish? But do you have anything to eat yourself?"

"I'll be fine. And I think... you need the fish more than I do."

The girl's voice was soft with kindness, making soft waves in Tabethe's heart.

Tabethe has excellent stalking skill. She used to stalking merchants long ago, but now she only uses it against thieves. The thieves she follows are often unaware of her presence because they are too busy tracking their own targets.

Were it not for that girl at the fish stall, Tabethe would be a thief rather than the "Demon Tabethe the Red Hand" forever.

The fish that the girl handed over that night was incredibly delicious, yet the fish stall no longer experienced Tabethe's presence. Guilt and goodwill intertwined within her, bitterness spreading through her heart. Tabethe savoured it all from a distance, not disturbing the girl again. It was not until her curiosity about the fish stall overcame the complexities of her emotions that she decided to cautiously approach it.

However, the blue dress was not there. The full moon shone brightly over the lifeless stall and the fish were no longer fresh. The house was silent and the walls resembled giant tombstones. Looking at the empty drawer in the corner, Tabethe was determined to find out what had happened.

Day after day, the fish at the stall rotted away, but Tabethe did not let any thieves approach the stall, even though there was nothing valuable. She guarded it like it was a physical treasure, or a treasured memory.

And one day, the blue dress reappeared. However, it had since turned grey, the colour of contaminated seawater.

"Sorry, I have no food for you this time, and in the future. My mum passed away recently."

Looking at the girl's dirty face, Tabethe did not know how to comfort her. Tears washed away the dust, leaving two streaks on her face. Her once bright eyes had gone dim, like the depths of the dark sea. Tabethe's tentacles twisted uneasily, and she patted her pockets up and down, slowly taking out a small piece of carefully-wrapped fish and presenting it to the girl.

"You're giving me this fish? Do you have anything to eat yourself?"

"I'll be fine. And I think... you need the fish more than I do."

As the girl took the fish, tears ran down her face along the streaks. These tears were good, Tabethe thought. At least they revealed the girl's vulnerability and brought a glimmer of starlight to her deep, dark eyes.

On sunny afternoons, Tabethe often sits on the side of the street, lazily tilting her head and squinting up at the blue sky. The sky is dotted with white clouds that resemble fish scales and snowy white waves. Bathing in the sunshine, Tabethe drops her head and gently shakes it a few times with her eyes closed. When she opens her eyes again, she sees people on the street illuminated with warm daylight.

At this moment, Tabethe often puts her head in her hands, switches off her brain, and stares at the passers-by casually. She looks at old merchants, solemn soldiers, bickering fathers and sons, as well as... a pair of giggling sisters. Tabethe's pupils suddenly contract, and she stares at them in silence for a while. When the clouds turn fiery red, the sisters return to their warm home in the sunset's glow. It's also time for Tabethe to leave, and so she walks towards the street leading in the opposite direction, where no sunlight can reach.

"I know life is hard, but we shouldn't steal from kind people, right?"

Tabethe admitted that the girl's question made her realise that kind adults should not pay for the crimes of bad adults. "If I continue to steal from kind people, I'll be a 'bad adult' someday too," said Tabethe.

Tabethe once had something and then lost it. She experienced this twice.

The first time she had pure love from parents, but then it was devoured by the ruthless deep sea.

The second time she had a friend, but she was taken away from her by that girl's parent.

Was she taken from her? No. Her dad who had just returned from the army wanted to take her far away. Maybe it was the best thing for her. Tabethe told herself, "I should be relieved. She shouldn't live in the gloomy streets like me. She can stand in the sunshine and enjoy life as it should be now."

Tabethe tried hard to put a smile on her face as she bid the girl farewell, but she still felt her heart being overcome by a strange feeling, burning and itchy. It spreads throughout the tip of her nose and the corner of her eyes. Her nose tingled, and her eyes misted over.

"Thank you, Tabethe."

Her friend's goodbye moved Tabethe, making her want to share more of her feelings in that moment.

If possible, she wanted to wear respectable clothes, walk hand in hand with her friend on the street, taste the latest sweets together, discuss school, then sneak back home by climbing over a wall. She would pretend to have been home the whole time when facing her parents, only to be playfully caught in the act.

"I want to be your real sister," Tabethe yelled in her mind.

But her lips parted slightly and then closed slowly, firmly.

"Take care." Perhaps this was the best way to say goodbye.