Never Growing Up

DxFoe

DxFoe

Member
It wasn't easy living in the streets of London. The Neverlanders were constantly forced to move and skirt around the 'respectable' people of the town. Currently the small group were hiding out in an old alley near a few buildings that weren't too kept up anymore. They'd been there for a week or so, so by now Lucy was getting antsy as she did quite often. When nothing ran them out of their 'home' for a while it made her nervous, unused to staying in one place for long. The group was lucky that Theodore was able to keep her from forcing them to pack up. Currently their small community was made of a few blankets that they's assembled to resemble tents.

The morning was brutal, at least for Lucy considering she hated mornings. The leader had always loved night since it was the time where most people in the town were least active. She yawned lightly as she pushed herself up from her makeshift bed that was made out of blankets that people had thrown out. Oh goody another day.

@romamaro @whoaeasytiger @Korruption @Doodles​
 
Carling had sauntered back into the alley, seemingly nonchalant, yet making sure that no one saw her. It didn't take much effort, though. She was a thief by nature. While others slept during the night, Carling had constantly made little trips all over the community, taking things here or there. She definitely did sleep during the night, but Carling didn't need much rest. She was pretty sure the others were aware of what she did during the darkest hours of the day, but it didn't matter. Even if they knew, no one had ever caught her, even though she didn't put much effort in being discreet. "Morning," she said, nonchalant, keeping her even stride, barely sparing a glance for Lucy. Her voice was always clear like bells, maybe even a little cold. Although she was merely 11 or 12, she didn't remember, and while her voice wasn't harsh or gravelly, simply speaking could send a small chill down someone's spine.
 
Frank, known as 'Wolf' by his cohorts, was sitting outside of their 'home'. Living on the streets had taken a toll on him in the form of dark circles under his eyes and his ribs poking out of his skin.
He was leaning on a large walking stick that was more than twice his height, lapsing in and out of sleep as a result of staying awake ever since nightfall the day before. He watched drowsily as people came and went, paying no mind to them so long as they payed no mind to him.
During his time on the lookout he would occasionally search through abandoned piles of garbage or look through lonely boxes in hopes of finding something interesting, which never yielded any sort of exciting outcome.
As he heard Carling's voice he turned his head and proceeded to get up and go back into the home to report his 'findings', as usual.
 
Lucy nodded a morning greeting to Carling as he past before following her, moving further out of her own 'tent.' "What'd you steal last night?" She asked the younger girl. She was clearly the thief of the group, well to the rest of them, more often than not to people outside of the group they were just a bunch of kids. "And Wolf did anything happen outside of the camp last night?" She asked turning her head also toward the younger boy. It was honestly a miracle that Lucy, a girl only 16, could lead all of these other youths. She'd survived on her own for years and had been taking care of other children for years as well.

@Doodles @Korruption
 
Carling let out a cold chuckle. "People are careless," she stated mildly. "I stole this stuff without even trying." She snorted. "I think I might have dropped something at some point, and no one noticed," she said that sarcastically. Of course it wasn't true. Carling didn't drop things. She had practiced the art of stealing for over 5 years.
Carling grabbed her small satchel, opening it and looking inside, even though she already knew what she took. "Nuts, pastry, a couple sweets, cold rolls, cold beef, two of some filthy rich lady's many silver bracelets, some rich kid's shoes that were thrown out..." Carling continued listing things in a blasé voice, "...and a lot of gems rich ladies put near their doors for some stupid reason. We're selling these rocks," the blonde finished, raising her head to look Lucy in the eye.
Outsiders might think that she was just some fragile little girl who received a place in a ragtag little group out of pity. Lucy, Wolf, and everyone else who had lived with her for at least one day knew better. Even if she didn't mention that she was a thief, even if she didn't steal anything, those who had to bear with her for more than a few hours could tell that her demeanor said it all. She and Wolf were the youngest in the group, but Carling had this nonchalant yet confident manner. She was the most likely to stray from the group, and didn't listen to Lucy that much. The blonde seriously wondered how Lucy put up with her.
"If you want information, I could spy," Carling offered indifferently. Although Sam was the official runner and spy in the group, Carling could easily be a spy as well, as stealing and spying went hand and hand. She enjoyed spying, since it was similar to being a thief, except you steal information instead of tangible items.
 
Lucy nodded as she listened to Carling's report. "You know as well as I do you'll do what you want, but if you can I'm sure it'l help Sam out" Being the leader it frustrated Lucy that Carling wasn't the most obedient but she understood. They were street kids after all, everyone in the group didn't have to be a part of them, though it was much easier being with a group than alone. She wasn't the best one to be in the leader position after all, so she understood. Her trust issues contributed to that considering she never actually trusted most of her little gang that is besides her second in command.

{sorry they've been short i'm at school}
 
Wolf shook his head, as he had nothing out of the ordinary to report. He propped the walking stick he was holding to sit against the wall closest to his tent and crawled inside silently.
While inside, he paid no mine to their conversation, as they were generally all the same. Instead, he searched under his poor excuse for a blanket and pulled out a black-and-white photo. It was the last remaining memory he had of his family.
It was him, his mother, and his older brother. The picture was taken right after his brother had died, but like most other families they propped him up as if he was still alive and snapped a picture. In it, he had to be about six or seven, he couldn't remember, and his brother had just reached the age of adulthood.
He held the picture to his forehead and whispered "Komm zurück," as he usually did right before he went to bed. It seemed almost like a prayer to him, that if he said it enough times his family would return. Though, that had yet to happen.
 
Theo had never been an early riser.

With that said, the commotion in their makeshift camp for their band of misfits tousled the sixteen year old out of his slumber. Carding a hand through mousy blonde hair, Theo sat up and stretched - his makeshift bed of strewn together sheets that was notably further from the rest of the group. As much as he looked upon the Neverlanders with a certain kind of fondness, Theo liked his sleep, thank you very much.

Climbing out of bed, the lanky teen wandered towards the rest of the group, plucking a pastry out of Carling's unexpected grasp as he passed. He towered over the blonde - Theo quickly hitting his growth spurt and he had recently climbed to around six foot. He flashed her a quick smile before tearing a piece of the pastry and shoving it into his mouth.

'So...' Theo said around a mouthful of food, 'What's on tap for today? I could always help you two, by the way if you decide to get intel.' Theo said as he gestured towards Carling, glancing at Lucy for approval before he popped another piece of pastry in his mouth.
 
Carling scowled, snatching the rest of the pastry out of Theo's greedy little hands. "I'm not your little servant," the younger girl scowled. "Some gratitude would be nice." She took the rest of the pastry for herself, dropping a cold roll in her second-in-command's hands before walking away to her 'tent' to organize the items she had stolen. "Split the roll," she called out behind her.
To be honest, Carling didn't know why she was in this little group. Even though she wasn't even a teenager yet, she was fully capable of taking care of herself. Lucy, Theo, and many of the others didn't do much; Carling got the majority of their food and valuables. Lucy was the so-called leader, but if Carling didn't listen, what was the point? Theo was just her little lapdog, Wolf just stood in one place for half a day, which was actually quite impressive, considering how long Carling would last. But besides having loads of patience, what did Wolf do that was actually important to Carling's survival on the streets.
Nothing. He didn't benefit her, Lucy didn't benefit her, Theo didn't benefit her...
 
Sam rubbed her shoulder as she made her way back into the alley. A small cut could be seen under her eye that bled but wasn't too serious. She had woke up a few hours early so decide to go look around the area. She didn't expect herself to be caught up in a gang fight, luckily she was able to pull through. When she finally made it back to her "home" she seen that almost everyone was up and around. "I'm back." She said before tossing a sack she had in her hand. "There's some food money or for what ever you want to use it for. Should last use for a little over a week." She looked over at Carling who was at her tent. "And no, I didn't steal it. Wouldn't want and try and take our job!" she said with smile. She walked over and sits down for a moment on the wall. "So, what are we doing today, Miss. Leader?" she says with a small laugh. She winces and rubs her shoulder a little.
 
Lucy looked up at Theo, yes up and she hated it. They'd been about the same size before he grew and she of course was most likely finished with that standing at 5'4. Well around that considering they didn't really have anything to measure themselves with. "I would say you could help with intel but I don't think Carling wants you to." She sighed, that girl had been trouble since she joined, obviously not fully committed to the group. It wasn't a requirement by all means but it would be nice to know their most skilled thief wouldn't steal all they have and run one night because someone got on her nerves.

She glanced at Sam as she arrived back into the camp, noticing her small cut though saving that for later. "Thank you Sam." She smiled a small smile which was all she could muster with most of them, "As for today we should start looking for the next place to set up." She spoke with a bit more leadership. "We've never been able to stay in one spot this long and we need to be ready to leave when something forces us to."

@Korruption @MidnightStar @whoaeasytiger @Doodles
 
Wolf was long asleep by the time Sam had come back, and his near-silent snores could be barely heard from inside his tent. He wrapped himself in one of the small tattered rags the group often used for blankets or pillows and had fallen asleep rather quickly. As he slept he held the black-and-white photo to his chest to keep it safe.

((OOC: Sorry it's so short but it's hard to create a long description of someone just sleeping, y'know.))
 
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