Kyle looked beside himself and over his shoulder, but there was nothing and nobody there. He glanced down at the bag he was carrying, but dismissed the idea.

By new toy, he means me, doesn’t he? Ugh, shi–

“So, Mr. Butler man,” the thug said, strolling up to Kyle. He had his right hand in the pocket of his coat, while the other whirled around the backpack. and took each step slowly and deliberately. Not wanting to start anything immediately, and not sure how to react otherwise, Kyle froze on the spot. He nodded to show acknowledgement to the man walking up to him; he was a couple inches shorter and must have been in his mid twenties, with a handlebar mustache and curly hair poking out from under his tophat. He looked Kyle up and down, his eyes gravitating towards the bag holding the anime figurine. “What can I do ya for?”

“Uh… I’m sorry?”

“Apology not accepted. Ya gonna have to be more sincere than that,” the man said, wagging a finger in Kyle’s face. A pair of goggles rested on the rim of his tophat, as well as a playing card: a Queen of Hearts. Kyle quickly noticed that the man’s hand was filthy and smelled repugnant, but he restrained himself from smacking it out of his face.

“No, I mean–”

“Hey, I’ve always wondered,” the thug said, clearly not caring about what Kyle had to say. “What is a “butler,” exactly? Yes, ya’re a servant, and ya serve, yeah. And maids are maiden servants, of course, but… that’s not the case for butlers. So what is it? What makes a butler a butler?” He crossed his arms, resting on his backfoot as he waited for a response.

“I… I don’t know,” Kyle replied after thinking for a moment. “I think you butt…le?”

“Ya think I what?” the man said, turning an ear closer to Kyle.

“No, I didn’t mean–”

“Hey, Biggs! Ryas! Did ya hear what this oversized penguin just called me?”

In the midst of their talking, the thug’s companions had sorted themselves out and made their way over, hanging back by a few meters to let things play out. Neither had goggles sitting atop their hats, but they each had a playing card. The bigger one had a 4 of clubs, while the other’s was a 3 of clubs.

“Ah, no, I didn’t catch that Pete. Did yous here em, Ryas?”

“I think he called Pete a butt or something?”

“I swear on me mum’s grave, ya two are the lousiest lackeys in all of Clavishburg. And if it weren’t for Orias being the shite-hole it is, I’d dare say the two of ya are the worst in all of Avalonia.”

Kyle did his best to take a deep breath quietly, putting a step in between him and the trio. They were bickering again, and he silently hoped they would start throwing fists at each other once more. Taking on more than one of them in a fight right now would have no chance of ending well for him. Even trying to fight one of them, he wasn’t sure he would come out okay, much less alive. Go figure. Everyone else probably saw the hats and booked it.

His eyes dropped to the bag that the man named Pete was carrying; it was definitely his backpack that had been stolen, no doubt about it. Kyle quickly began thinking of how he might be able to nab it and run without getting caught. I might be able to land a surprise hit on his face to stun him so I can grab it. Or maybe a kick to the knees would hurt him enough to keep him from chasing me? But I don’t know what to do about the others, especially the big guy–

“Hey, Mr. Butler,” Pete said, snapping his fingers in Kyle’s face. He raised the backpack in the air and shook it. “Ya got yer eye on somethin’, hmm? Do ya?”

“What?” Kyle asked, not realizing that he’d been obviously staring at the backpack.

“Wait a mins, Pete!” the larger man named Biggs said. “I thinks this the one we nabbed the bag from back in the park! The one we caught sleepin on da bench!”

A cold silence followed as the hair on Kyle’s neck stood up. I mean, it was obvious, sure. But did he really have to go and say it out loud?

“Biggs?” Ryas sighed.

“Yeh?”

“Shut up!”

“Oh. Okays…”

Pete’s eyes were shut as his two pals made fools of themselves. “The two of ya are really takin the wind out of my sails, right now.” As he opened his eyes, Kyle could see the exhaustion in them, as if it was taking everything in him to not just turn around and leave immediately, bag and all.

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Kyle said. “That is my bag–” 

The two thugs in the back took a few steps forward as he spoke, and Kyle could feel the immediate shift in their temperament as they looked down on him.

“But!” Kyle continued, holding his hands up, “You can have it! I just need one, one thing from there. Then I can be on my way.”

“And whys should we listen to ya?” Pete said, snarling. He looked Kyle up and down once more. “Not knowin’ any better to avoid a group of Hatters like this… Ya not from around these parts, huh? But ya ain’t no Lanceran, I can tell that much.”

“No, I’m not,” Kyle admitted. “I’m… it doesn’t matter. But the thing I need, it’s medicine. For… my young master,” Kyle explained. “Without it, he can’t be very active at all.” You guys wouldn’t spurn me if it were for a kid’s sake, would you?

“Oh please,” Ryas said, waving a dismissive hand. “Well off twerps like that are hardly active anyways. It won’t change anything.”

“Please,” Kyle said, holding his hands together as he looked at Pete. “I’d hate to see him be stuck indoors, relying on everyone to do everything for him like a real twerp would. Please, would you help a lowly butler out?” After a moment, the short thug made a grunt.

“Y’alright then,” he said, nodding. “I’ll let ya take the meds back. But what do wes get in exchange?”

“What do you mean? I’m letting you keep the rest of–”

“Excuse me?” Pete said, turning an ear to Kyle again. “You are letting us keep the thing wes have right now? I get that right?”

Kyle bit his tongue, closing his eyes as he rolled them. Typical thuggery crap, always trying to shake you down for more.

He let out a sigh, holding up the bag in his left hand. “Then how about you take the gift I’d gotten for my master, instead? It’d sell for a few thousand at least, to the right buyer. But it’s not worth nearly as much to him as his medicine.”

Pete squinted as he peered through the sheer plastic bag, trying to get a look at the box held within. Kyle thought he saw Pete’s eyes widen for a moment before he gave a single nod.

“Dealeo.” He tossed the backpack to Kyle, who dropped the plastic bag in order to catch it. “Oi, don’t bust it up all ‘cause wes taken it now!” Pete said, reaching down to pick up the bag.

Kyle ignored him as he quickly unzipped his backpack. “Wait… where is everything? Wasn’t there more stuff in here?” All Kyle could see in the bag were his shoes.

“Oh, yeah, ‘bout that…” Pete said, smirking. “See, wes didn’t care much for the butler outfit, and no respectable Mad Hatter would be caught wearing those other clothes. And no idea what those papers were goin on about, so we gave ‘em all a wash by tossin them in the city moat. We appreciated the refreshing water, though.”

“You what?” Kyle’s jaw dropped. No, please tell me this is just a cruel prank!

He felt the inside of the shoes, and found his brick battery charger inside one of them, while the other was empty. He moved the shoes to the side, and let out a sigh of relief as he saw the L-shaped red plastic case for his inhaler buried underneath them. “Oh thank god, it’s still here.” He nimbly thumbed the cap off with one hand before realizing the three thugs were still watching him. “Wait, if you didn’t want anything to begin with, then why would you want the backpack back–”

“Don’t ask stupid questions, kid,” Pete said, gesturing for Kyle to return the bag. “You got what you wanted, right? Then go on and run back to your master. Don’t wanna be late for supper, yeah?”

“Well, let me make sure that it’s still working first,” Kyle said. He brought the inhaler to his mouth, feeling a cool sensation as the medicine coated his throat. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing that his asthma wouldn’t be a problem for a few hours now. “Yeah, works just fine,” he said, nodding. 

“Oh,” Ryas said, rolling his eyes. “It’s one of those kinds of medications, huh? I see how it is.”

“Well, ya gotta start 'em young, right?” Pete said with a disgusted smirk. “Although, that explains ya not bein familiar with our little troupe. Ya and ya master’s family are from Orias, ain’t ya?”

“Does it matter?” Kyle asked, not sure what they were getting at. “Whatever, here’s the bag back, just like I said.” He returned his gaze to Pete, whose outstretched hand was also holding the bag Kyle had just forfeited. 

Seeing the three gang members standing before him, Kyle was briefly reminded of the absent space on either side of him where his own best friends would normally be. I really shouldn’t, but… I don’t wanna be a rotten egg forever. Right, Nick and Tony?

In a split second, Kyle changed his mind. Quickly placing the inhaler in his butler jacket’s inner pocket, he put both hands behind the backpack and shoved with all his might, throwing it in Pete’s face. Caught off guard, the thug dropped the bag he was carrying and was sent stumbling backwards as he tried to catch it. Biggs and Ryas both turned to watch as Pete danced for a moment to keep standing. When they turned back to face Kyle, he had already picked up the plastic bag and was booking it down the street.

“Well? What are ya blokes doin?” Pete said, standing up straight as he threw the backpack to the floor, giving it a solid kick. “That there’s an oversized penguin that's finally learned about flight. Now it’s time wes show him how Hatters fight!”

The trio of Mad Hatters took off after Kyle, shouting as they made chase.