Pickpocket

Even after the Extinction, one needs to watch out for their belongings while being in a Crowd. In places where the cases of pickpocketing happened often, Spirits representing it started to show up. Pickpockets look for anyone distracted at the moment, trying to steal from them. They usually throw away what they stole moments later, however, never in a place where their prey would search for it.

Appearance

Just as all of the Spirits born of the Crowd, Pickpockets mostly look identical to them. The only real change are their hands. Most of the other Crowd Spirits don't have them, no matter how detailed their body is. Still, noticing the hands in a Crowd is a pretty hard thing to do.

This story is a continuation of the story from A Face in the Crowd and a third part of the story from Spirit: The Crowd.
Having dealt with the Face in the Crowd and leaving the predatory Spirit on the other side of the mall, Professor Kostek could safely continue his journey. He left the building and used his detector to check for any hostile Spirits. He rolled up the sleeve of his protective suit to check the time. Only to discover that his watch has been stolen.
It was truly an awful day.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Spirit: The Crowd

Origin/Ancestry

Humans, crime

Taboo:
Pickpockets can only steal the items their prey isn't currently thinking about. Additionally, catching one of them when they try to steal something immediately destroys their manifested form. If they were already in a weakened state, they will die if that happens.
As Spirits born of the Crowd, they cannot leave it. If pushed outside, just like with being caught, their manifested form breaks apart or they die.
Reproduction:
Spirits cannot reproduce.
Social structure:
Despite what one might think, Pickpockets are extremely social. If they show up in a Crowd, it is rare to find only one of them there. More often, at least two of them cooperate with each other, one serving as a distraction, while the other one steals from their prey.