One could hardly fault Zell for ignoring his surroundings. Two hot dogs in hand, each done up with the works; their pleasing scents wafted in his wake. Though perhaps ignoring his surroundings would lead to bittersweet partings with his precious items? To start, whilst he was in line initially, there was a situation developing not far from the vendor's stall. The guards were growing increasingly agitated, despite trying to keep their voices to considerate levels.

The source for the guards frustration was none other than Lumina. Initially, they held her up under suspicion she was trying to smuggle their precious metal ore. "No,no,no. Where would I put such a thing on my person? No pockets here...or here, see~?" innocent though her response may sound, did she have to demonstrate the lack of pockets with touch? Now they were flustered ontop of frustrated, for Lumina's point was compelling but looks were deceiving. Yet none felt up to the task of a body search. What would citizens of Sonora think if they saw them thoroughly patting down a young girl?

"You wouldn't lie to us, would you missy? You're sure that you don't have any of that precious metal on you, yes?" naturally Lumina shook her head before smiling. "I'm very sure I don't have it on me." Lumina reiterated before turning and pointing in the direction that Zell was coming from. "I think he might have what you're looking for, look closely at the edge of his pockets."

Naturally the guards needed to squint, waiting for the young man to come into better visibility. That was when Lumina worked her magic, a simple illusion and the guards would see what she wanted them to. A bit of ore, in a thin prism shape, poking out from one of his pockets. That was all it took for them to stop hassling her and immediately make a charge for Zell, crying out "HALT!" as they did.

"Boy, these guards sure get bent out of shape about that metal ore. Someone should teach them that it's wrong to monopolize resources found in nature." there was a twinkle within her blue irises, for who better to teach the guards and by extension, Sonara; the error of their ways? Her parents taught her better than that, sharing was caring, as was giving back. She imagined what another city in Zephon could do with this technology? "I wonder what those Monks would think if they saw it. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces!"

Not that she was entirely in the clear yet. The guards needed to have not a single doubt within their minds about her innocence. That meant she couldn't just run off and let a stranger deal with the consequences. Though it would be fun to see how far they'd take their presumptions. Shame Zell might lose his hot dogs due to the guards attempting to tackle him as part of detaining a potential smuggler!

With the guards sent flying, Lumina giggled in delight. This was way too much, she hadn't expected him to fight back, which meant he was definitely on the radar! Lumina began to clap enthusiastically, "Bravo, bravo. That was an excellent display of physical prowess; I'm impressed." Lumina proceeded to walk over to Zell as the guards landed and were promptly winded. They'd need a moment or two to get up. Good thing Lumina only needed a moment to work her magic. Ah, not actual magic in this case, just her way with words.

"Of course, now you're going to be in big trouble." Lumina continued, her hands moving to cover her mouth to express shock and awe. For a moment her eyes widened, then they downcast to look to his pockets. Now the real magic came, as Zell would see the source of what the commotion was all about. A little prism of special metallic ore, the city's life blood. They'd never trade it to anyone else and it was used to make all their grand inventions! "Having that in your pocket marks you as a potential smuggler. Don't worry though, I'm here to help. You'll have to run though, ready?" she moved her hands from her lips, then signaled with her left hand three fingers. Then two fingers, then one finger, which was her index finger.

"Let's go!" her hand balled up into into a fist as she pumped it in the air before promptly running further ahead. She'd look back over her right shoulder, just to be sure Zell was following her. Those guards weren't going to get up for a while longer but once they did, they'd probably radio for backup. Code red, code amber, code something, either way, smugglers didn't leave those walls. So how did the little trickster decide get into this smugguling business anyway? Well it all started when a caravan passed through Metaia. There was talk of Sononara having interesting technology that could do all kinds of simple and advanced functions. Though the mystery was that the caravan had no examples on their person to prove as much. When asked why that was, they explained the situation and that caught Lumina's attention.

So she made her way here, to confirm what was said but it wasn't enough to see the completed products. She needed to see the source material and well... she had. Though there was an important caveat to that and it was the crux of her deception to boot. "Make sure you don't touch it, fingerprints and all." Lumina informed though she was sure there were many questions to be asked. Sadly, the roller coaster was just getting started!

So much success and so quickly to boot! Lumina could hardly contain herself, she wanted to laugh but she needed to keep up this plot for as long as possible. Unaware of Zell's...lacking intelligence, she'd reason that she solely had him caught in the heat of the moment. Thus she'd drive up his anxiousness further as they ran. "We need to get off the main roads, quickly!" she stated, before pointing to a side road, then another. She'd practically mapped this escape route out ahead of time. Which meant Zell would soon be treated to Sonora's underworld, a place where the Black Market thrived.

Thus Lumina came to a slow descent. Granted, they weren't really 'underground', not yet anyway. She'd entered a building that seemed to be abandoned. A simple warehouse, scarcely lit but known to the criminal agents. It was a wonder that someone was paying rent on this place but nobody knew who. Nor did they likely care, so long as it continued to be a place where they could meet under the eyes of the zealous guards. Invading Zell's personal space as soon as he came to a stop, she made a motion to snatch the prism ore from his pockets. It had to be done quick to feel like she genuinely did it.

"This little thing caused so much trouble..." she began, holding it with her left hand which was properly covered. "I'll find a place to hide it but you... I don't think you're going to be safe in Sonora anymore. I'm sure the guards and other people have memorized your face. You poor thing, are you still hungry?" surely he must be, so she'd use that to appeal to him. There were a few dusty crates, some covered with a a black tarp. She'd rummage about a few of them before opening it just enough to slip her left hand in and drop it in carefully. Then she'd close it just as carefully.

"Keeping you here until nightfall is safest. There should be some food around here and a bit of entertainment too. Once night sets in, the guards focus their attention to the North. I'll sneak you out of Sonora and bring you to a safe place down south, in Metaia." she explained, with so much confidence, so as to reassure the would be criminal. Little did he know that he'd actually be aiding the real smuggler with an operation that whilst many tried and failed, could just be the first time someone pulled it off.

Lumina gave Zell a sympathetic look. Part of stringing him along the way she had, was making him become completely dependent on her after all. She'd let him say his piece and well, he was entitled to some information, so why not provide it? "It's nice to meet you, Zell Dincht. My name is Lumina." she began, placing her right hand over her chest.

"That stone in your pocket, is a type of rare metal that exists solely within Sonora's mines. It's not meant to leave the city and only select people should be handling the ore in that form, before it's used to make up various technologies in the city. The secret is that it resonates well with magic." Lumina explained, now covering her mouth with both her hands. Then the mysterious girl twirled on the ball of her left foot, so that her back was facing Zell for a moment.

"You're probably wondering how such even got into your pocket? You're obviously a victim in all this, right? Well, recall your actions previously, weren't you around a lot of people?" Lumina was admittedly leading him into his own answer, to help make the deception real. Leveraging what he saw and what was around him previously, things which she'd not seen mind; would work wonders. Her sea blue irises observed him scrutiny. Waiting for the moment of realization to occur in Zell's eyes.

"As for why this happened to you... well, you're a smart guy Zell. A would be smuggler wants to get a rare ore outside of a city that polices it. Said smuggler is trying to make a break for it but not far from your position were guards, interrogating a young girl about those very ores. What would you do~?" further leading, even buttering him up with compliments that weren't true.

Now, she'd bring her left hand to cusp her cheek. Her elbow being propped up by her right hand. The look of genuine concern on her face, would indicate just how much trouble Zell was in. "Just remember to breathe, I'm going to help you, please don't forget that, Zell." and well, she did mean it too.