Legacies || Hermitcraft

Chapter XIX - The Trickster

"E-excuse me?" He asked her, pointing at one of the departing streetcars. "I can't find my Momma... I-I let go of her hand by accident and I think she left without me!"

The woman's eyes went wide, and she gasped, evidently sympathetic for the small, crying child. Cub watched on, hoping that the distraction that the other child was causing would give him the opportunity to get what he needed. "Oh, you poor thing! Do you want me to help you find her? I can take you to a security guard if you need to-"

"N-no!" The child blurted, his tone oddly panicked, but he quickly cleared his throat and began again. "Uh, no... Thank you, but I'll be okay. I know where my Momma went, I just don't have any money to go and follow her..."

He then trailed off, his eyes going wide when he noticed Cub standing behind the woman who was helping him. Cub's eyes went equally wide, and he was about to turn in the hopes that he could run away in time, when the other gave him a quick nod and a brief yet mischievous grin as if to tell him to continue.

Hesitantly Cub did so, grabbing a hold of some coins in the young woman's bag and withdrawing his hand again just seconds before she reached into it to do the same. The child beamed gratefully as she handed him the change, drying his tear-stained cheeks and giving her a respectful little bow of his head. "Thank you very much!"

"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" The lady asked him, closing her handbag once more as Cub took a few steps back and pocketed his profit. The other child nodded, making eye contact with Cub once more as he smiled.

"Yeah, I'll be okay... I'm gonna go and find her now. Goodbye!"

The child briefly titled his head to the left and then back again, still maintaining eye contact with Cub, before running off in the same direction. Cub, taking his action as a sign to follow him, did exactly that, albeit hesitantly and with caution. He could see the other boy ahead of him as he pushed past the crowd of people waiting for the next streetcar, wondering why he wasn't doing the same, but before he could come to the conclusion of what had happened he was led into an alleyway where the other child was waiting for him.

"Hi!"

"Hi..." Cub replied dubiously, frowning as he glanced around the alleyway. It was dark, gloomy and overall quite run down, hardly the kind of place you'd expect such a young child to hang around in, but one that Cub was still all too familiar with. Piles of rubbish were shoved into every corner, nook and cranny they could fit into, every window on the buildings was broken and cracked, and the buildings themselves seemed long abandoned and uncared for.

Cub's gaze once again landed on his new acquaintance, whose bright smile and generally positive attitude contrasted their dim and despondent surroundings greatly. He was like a little ray of sunshine amongst a dark and cloudy sky, and although Cub saw no reason to be scared of him, he still kept his wits about him in case that statement changed. "Did you get what you needed?"

"Hmm?" Cub questioned, snapping back to attention. The other child pointed to the coins in his hand, which he quickly slipped into his pocket with a little nod. "Oh, uh... yeah, I did. How come you didn't snitch on me?"

"Why would I?" The other child questioned. "We're in the same boat! I'd much rather help you than drag you down for no reason."

"The same boat...?" Cub repeated, looking his peer up and down. He certainly didn't appear to be in the same situation as Cub, but with that said, privileged children didn't tend to lurk around dark streets and hidden alleyways. The boy laughed a little, and for the briefest moment, Cub could have sworn he saw his green eyes flash a bright, electric blue.

However, eye colour was the least of his concerns, as when he looked back at the child Cub was shocked to see that his appearance had changed entirely. His neatly combed hair was now unkempt and messy, his once nice clothes were threadbare and covered in ash stains, but most notably, his skin was now littered with an array of scars, far too many for such a small child to possess. "Yep, exactly!"