Legacies || Hermitcraft

Chapter XIX - The Trickster

Without even addressing his unexpected change in appearance, the boy took Cub's hand and led him further down the alleyway. With the child's back now turned to him, Cub could see two, tiny blue wings protruding from his shirt, the exact same ones that he himself bore. Eyes wide, Cub dug his heels into the ground, forcing the other child to halt too.

"Wait, wait, hang on!" Cub exclaimed, already out of breath. Today had been a long and tiring day, full of many unexpected twists and turns, and Cub was more than certainly owed an explanation by now. "What's going on? Who are you? Where are you bringing me? And how...?"

"Yeah, I probably should have explained some of that sooner." The other boy admitted, frowning a little. His frown then immediately switched to a bright, enthusiastic smile, and he held out a soot covered hand. "I'm Scar!"

He must have noticed Cub's surprise, as Scar then laughed. "It's ironic, I know, but I like it. What about you?"

"Oh, uh... Cub." Cub replied, taking Scar's hand and hesitantly shaking it. However, Scar didn't let go, instead turning around and using his other (yet equally ash-coated) hand to point at one of the old buildings nearby.

"Nice to meet you Cub. As for where I'm going, it's at the top of that old tenement house." Scar explained. "I don't actually own a home there, obviously, but nobody goes there anymore and the council is too lazy to demolish it. You aren't by chance in need of a home, are you?"

Cub slowly nodded, not surprised that Scar had managed to guess so accurately. Homes were sparse, especially for those who weren't willing to spend a fortune on rent, and for a parentless child with no job or education, there was no point in even trying to find a place. "Well, most of the homes in there are full of mould, broken glass and absetos- aste- abtes-"

"Asbestos?" Cub guessed, raising an eyebrow. The only reason he knew of it was because the buildings in his area were full of it. Despite being toxic and dangerous, it was also cheap and sturdy, and in the parts of the city where the best alternative to medical treatment was 'walking it off', it was no surprise as to which of those things was considered more important.

"Thank you!" Scar exclaimed. "That's exactly what I meant. Anyway, most of the building is an absolute kip, but the attic loft isn't too bad. It gets kind of cold in the winter, but I have loads of lights and blankets up there and that makes it a lot better."

"You're inviting me to live with you...?" Cub questioned. "But you don't even know me, you just learnt my name! How can you trust me?"

"Well, the fact that you've just said that tells me that you're honest." Scar pointed out. "And I've never actually met another Vex before... at least not another independent one. We should stick together! As for me trusting you, trust can get you pretty far if you're careful about. I mean, take the lady by the street car, she trusted me, and now I'm five gold richer than I was yesterday."

"So it was a scam!" Cub exclaimed, as Scar led him through an old, splintered set of double doors. They led to a flight of creaky, decrepit stairs that went up at least five or 6 floors, and without once letting go of Cub's hand, Scar began to make his way up to the top. "You know, I was wondering why you didn't snitch."

"Like I said, same boat." Scar explained, and Cub nodded.

"And what about that thing you did? Where you made yourself look different?"

"Oh, that?" Scar questioned. "Just a neat little trick I learned, turns out it's far easier to get people's money and sympathy if you look like the kind of person who doesn't need it. I could teach it to you if you want, the only thing is that it can be pretty-"

Scar was cut off as he suddenly tripped on one of the steps, falling to the ground with a loud crash. His previously cheerful face was now wracked with pain, and the moment he tried to inhale, he immediately began to cough violently. Alarmed, Cub helped him up, and Scar held on closely to him as he tried to steady himself. "Scar! Are you okay?"