Notes: This is a side-story for Grasping Liquid, showing Crow's adventures in London that occurred in the two months between Chapter One and Chapter Two of the main story. At the moment I've planned for it to be maybe two or three chapters long, but we'll see how that pans out. Sadly it probably won't make too much sense if you're reading this entirely as it's own thing, but you'd only really need to read the first chapter of Grasping Liquid for context, given that the other events haven't happened yet. So I'd recommend reading at least the first chapter of Grasping Liquid if you're not following that fic but want to read this one.
The train was crowded and noisy, but this was exactly what Crow wanted of it. He'd slipped onto the coach in the early morning crowd and had made a point of sitting near a large family who had at least four screaming kids of varying ages. This way when the ticket-checker came along he was flustered by all the wailing of the children and mistook Crow for being part of the family, which is exactly what Crow had hoped for.
Getting out of buying a ticket had been his first scam of the day.
Once they were on the move and it was all a bit more settled, Crow made his way to a quieter part of the carriage. He was sure not to go too far away from the family, just in case the ticket-checker came back around and thought it was suspicious.
For the rest of the journey he mostly looked out of the window and felt himself buzz with excitement at all the unfamiliar sights that zoomed by. 'Unfamiliar' is exactly what Crow wanted. He'd experienced too little of unfamiliar in his life. The streets of Misthallery were all he knew and he'd trodden on them all so many times that the spark they once held seemed to have vanished.
But today that was changing. He would no longer be the kid who'd only ever been to one place his entire life. Instead he'd travel to places he'd never been before and learn about them, learn how to work them in the same way he worked Misthallery. Even if he only intended to stay away from home for a short while, the pressure would add to the challenge. Crow wanted challenges.
Because of that, he'd known that the only place in England that would be good enough for him would be by throwing himself in at the deep-end.
London.
It seemed to take forever to get to the capital, but once he arrived there was no mistaking it. Crow felt a sense of naïvety for having referred to the little country station he'd got on the train at as being busy. In comparison to Kings Cross it wasn't even a drop in the pond. People were packed together so tightly here that Crow wondered how they managed to move at all – they must be experts. Certainly you could tell the locals, who flitted through like fish in a stream, compared to the dawdling tourists.
Crow had no time to be a dawdling tourist.
He all but jumped off the train, clutching his bag close so he wouldn't lose it. The large family went off in another direction and Crow almost wanted to thank them for their unwitting help before they disappeared from view entirely.
Being shoved around by the crowd was somehow thrilling. It didn't take Crow too long to pick up the flowing himself and weave through. Along the way he allowed himself a bit of light pickpocketing. Because the bustling of the station made it so much easier than it would be back home and here Crow wouldn't have to feel bad about stealing from people he knew. Even so, he told himself, he'd only take from people who looked rich enough to deserve it. Crow had some rather skewed ideas in that department.
Mostly he went unnoticed, but when he was almost at the door he did hear an exchange from one hapless victim.
"Samuel, what have you done with my pocket-watch?"
"I swear I don't have it, Unko!"
Crow chuckled to himself and slipped outside into the open. There he found himself greeted by an unusually bright day. Everyone knew that London was often the most grey, overcast city in England, but it seemed he'd been fortunate enough to come on one of the few days when the sun was shining.
He hadn't expected the streets to be any quieter than the station was and this did indeed turn out to be the case. The wealth of people darting here and there had been joined now by cooing pigeons and honking car horns. Truly this was the place where everyone wanted to be. And therefore was the place Crow wanted to be as well.
He breathed it in for a moment, though he had to admit that the air wasn't as nice here as it was back home. He wanted this foulness, however. He wanted all of this.
If he stayed there too long he'd only become disconnected from the rhythm of the crowd, so this brief pause was all he allowed himself before he went on his way again. Right now Crow knew he had no idea where he was going or even where he might end up when the day was over, but he didn't think of this as a problem at all. On the contrary, Crow wanted to get lost in London as best he could, so he could find his way on his own strength. Because of this, he wandered along for what seemed like hours, enjoying the people and places he saw as he went.
There were so many places in London he'd heard people talk about growing up – Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben – all those sorts of important buildings. Being able to see them was nice, but they weren't why Crow was here. Even so, he did stop to look at each one as he went past. For a brief moment he even considered dropping into Gressenheller University to see if Mr. Layton was there, but figured that wouldn't be the best way to spend his first day at London. And besides, a student standing near the gates had been watching him irritably as he walked by, so he didn't think he'd be able to sneak in without alerting her. Once Crow was safely away from the gate she went back to applying her lipstick and muttered something along the lines of 'Mr. L's fans will do anything to get in here, ugh...' Crow had to smile at that.
Before he knew it all his wandering had turned afternoon into early evening, with the brilliant white sky now having made way for calmer reds and purples. As much as he'd been putting it off, Crow knew that he'd have to look for a place to stay soon.
A bit more wandering couldn't hurt though, especially now that he'd reached some of the quieter streets and he could take his environment in at a slower pace. These particular streets suited Crow, they were rougher and more residential. Less shops littered them and there were more houses. The people he saw here were obviously those who spent every day in London, the magic having long worn off for them in the same way that it had done in Misthallery for Crow.
Crow couldn't imagine being anything but thoroughly enchanted by London.
And he mused to himself that today had also been a good day for making money while doing minimal work. If he lived here then he might not even need the black market – though this was a fanciful idea, he knew. Pickpocketing was all right every now and then, but he'd feel too bad if he kept it up. What Crow lived for was making people part with their money willingly, because of his wit and cunningness at selling them what they thought they needed.
All the same, he didn't think one more penny out of another person's pocket would hurt...
A small crowd of people were coming up. They seemed unconnected with each other, except for a tall girl who was talking to a boy who might have been her brother. Out of all of them, they looked the most distracted, so Crow silently picked them out as being the ones who'd possibly have their watches snatched.
It was a simple enough procedure that he'd done so often he was almost on autopilot as he brushed by the girl, who seemed to be angrily telling off her friend. However, things did not go to plan this time.
A sharp hand grasped firmly around his wrist.
"What do you think you're doing?" the girl demanded, as she turned to glare at Crow. Her expression was so sharp that Crow couldn't stop himself from cowering away from it.
"Bzzt! Incorrect! Stealing from Becky will grant you a penalty," droned the boy; him being the only other person in the crowd who stopped at the commotion. He sounded like he was doing an impression of one of those game show hosts that Crow sometimes heard on the radio.
Crow shook off his initial stunned reaction, tugged his arm away from Becky and legged it. Though it seemed he wasn't getting away that lightly, as it soon became apparent that Becky was hot on his trail. He glanced back over his shoulder to see her marching after him with grim intent, the boy left trying to keep up.
"He's going to get away!" yelled Becky, but then she seemed to look passed Crow, "Is that...? ...Umid! Grab him!"
It was too late by the time Crow turned his head around again. He'd ran straight into this Umid person, who firmly grabbed hold of him and held him still, despite all his struggling. In moments Becky had caught up with them.
"Can you believe this guy? I've got a good mind to drag him to to police station by his ear!" snapped Becky. And Crow genuinely believed that she'd do exactly that.
"What seems to be the problem, Becky?" asked Umid.
His voice sounded calm, despite the situation and Crow looked up to properly take in the boy who was holding him. Umid appeared... nice. He was just as tall as Becky was, but seemed considerably more relaxed. Looking at him somehow made Crow feel a sort of fuzzy embarrassment that he'd never gotten from being pulled up about pickpocketing before now.
"Contestant tried to steal money from Becky, but failed the challenge," buzzed the boy, who seemed to have caught up while Crow had been looking at Umid.
"What Max said," Becky tutted.
"I'm sure he didn't mean to," hummed Umid. He gave Crow a look that, while pleasant, was also stern enough to suggest that he should agree with him.
"Y-yeah, just... sorta 'appened..." lied Crow.
"'Just sorta happened' my foot! Look at his bag – it's practically bulging from all the stuff I bet he's nicked today," argued Becky. And Crow knew she was right.
"Now, now, that could be anything in there," Umid reasoned.
"Have him empty it out then," suggested Becky, her face curled into a cruel grin.
"On the street? Ya can't do that!" protested Crow.
"Fine, we'll take him back to the hotel and he can do it there," Becky instructed.
Crow looked weakly up at Umid, but his captor shrugged helplessly; "When Becky decides she's going to do something there's no swaying her, I'm afraid. It looks like you're coming with us."
The four of them made their way down a few more streets. If Crow had hoped that he might be able to get away in this time then he was sorely disappointed, as Umid kept a tight hold of his arm the whole time. For whatever reason Crow found that he didn't mind. When all this was over he would somehow get out of here and in the mean time, being next to Umid wasn't something he objected to all that much.
They eventually stopped outside of a place called the Weathered Duke's Hotel. It was a tall building that seemed to maintain its modesty, despite being a bit shabby around the edges. Crow supposed that this added to the mythos of this apparent Duke, whoever he might be, having survived all that's been thrown at him. Or maybe they just couldn't afford all the repairs and had to make do as best they could. That sounded just as likely.
Becky directed them through the door as if she owned the place, the noise they made waking an elderly woman who was dozing behind a counter.
"...Wassat...? Oh, Becky, I see you've brought friends..."
"This boy tried to rob me, Granny. We're going to interrogate him," corrected Becky.
"That's nice... do it quietly so you don't disturb the guests," Becky's grandma yawned, before she returned to her slumber.
Crow was led through to a what seemed to be a staff-room off to the side of the corridor. There was a definite feeling that this room was meant to be more practical than presentable, as in comparison to the lobby it was quite cluttered. A low table, surrounded by mismatched chairs, sat in the centre. Crow's bag was emptied out onto this.
And sure enough, all of his day's earnings came tumbling out. There were bracelets, pocket-watches, rings and a few wallets – though Crow hadn't particularly taken anything that would be of too much value. Mostly just trinkets they could resell back at the market.
"Jackpot..." Max murmured. He sounded vaguely impressed.
"Look at all of this..." gaped Becky, "Those rings definitely belongs to that Babette lady who stayed here the other week, the one with the little dog. And this here has Pierre Starbuck's name on! He's a famous footballer, however did you manage to get him?" Crow wished he knew who he was at the time, so he could have gotten more out of him. Nevertheless, Becky continued her scrutiny, "And this pocket-watch has that logo on it... from the whatsit... I know it's got something to do with the trains anyway."
"I got that one from a little black-haired fella at the station," confirmed Crow.
"Mr. Beluga! My word, have you had a right tour of London's rich and famous," Becky proclaimed, "It's a good thing I'll be able to get most of these things back to their owners."
"Ya know all those people?" Crow checked.
"Everyone stays at the Weathered Duke's," assured Becky, with a wink, "We're practically famous ourselves."
"Are ya...?" Crow mumbled. He didn't mean for it to come out so doubtfully, but Becky picked up on it all the same.
"Well, of course we are," she assured, "We might be just a little hotel now, but everyone knows us as the people who survived in the underground London. When we opened this place we got a bit of local fame as the ones who ran a hotel and believed we were ten years in the future. Though now we just get lots of guests because we're known for our excellent service."
Crow wasn't entirely sure what Becky meant by underground London or ten years in the future, but it did sound as if this place's quirkiness had put it on the map.
"Right... that's nice then. So, um, I guess I'll be off," Crow tried, as he eased himself out of the seat.
"No you most certainly will not!" snapped Becky. Once again, her commanding tone stunned him. It made Crow lower himself back down onto the chair.
"Come on, Becky, I think he's sorry," Umid chuckled. For some reason he seemed to be taking considerable amusement from all of this.
"Even if he is, we can't just let him wander around London unchecked," argued Becky, "Just look at how many people he robbed. It'll look bad on our reputation if someone associated with us goes stealing all our customer's goods."
"But I ain't associated with ya," protested Crow.
Umid ignored him and instead addressed Becky, "Then we can keep him here. He looks like he's from out of town and I bet he wants a place to stay. That way you could keep an eye on him and also put him to work, so he can pay off his debts to society."
"Granny did say we could do with some extra hands around the place. And this way we wouldn't have to pay him actual cash," agreed Becky.
"Wot do ya mean ya wouldn't? I ain't workin' for free!" whined Crow.
"Your payment is that we won't tell the police about all of this," Becky threatened, as she motioned to the table, "You should consider yourself thankful that we can get most of these items back to their proper homes."
"Oh yeah, I'm always thankful about losin' a whole day's work..." Crow grumbled, though he didn't have it in him to protest too much.
"So it's settled then," Umid chipped in, "Our mysterious guest will stay here, Granny Margaret gets a new worker and London is safe from this upcoming dangerous criminal."
"Somehow I don't think you're taking this as seriously as you should be, Umid," sighed Becky, "But all right, we'll have him. What's your name, kid?"
"It's Crow. Just Crow," he answered.
"Well then, 'Just Crow', I don't think you need introductions at this point, but I'm Becky, my Granny Margaret back at the counter there owns the hotel, this little guy is our resident loiterer, Max, and your saviour here is Umid, who's helping out at the hotel while he stays in London," Becky reeled off. She counted names on her fingers as she went, "There's a few other people you might meet, but I'm sure they'll introduce themselves if they need to. For the moment, Umid will show you up to one of our staff bedrooms. We all live in the hotel, so don't try any funny business."
"Wouldn't dream o' it," promised Crow. And for once he meant it.
"All right, so off you go then. Max, you start gathering up that loot. We've got a lot of honest work to do returning it all tomorrow, I reckon," instructed Becky.
Umid took this invitation to sneak Crow out of the room, both of them waiting until they were out of earshot of Becky before they spoke again.
"Becky is actually very nice," assured Umid, as they made their way up a staircase, "She just gets in a bad mood when people, eh, try to rob her."
"I reckon she wouldn't be the only one," confirmed Crow, "Though I am impressed that she stopped me. Not many people catch me out. Um, she's serious about returnin' that stuff, ain't she?"
"Yes, she is," Umid firmly answered.
"Just checkin'. So... Umid, why did ya 'elp me anyway? I've 'ardly got an honest face," Crow asked.
"Maybe I thought I could see something in you. And so far I have to say that I've been right – you've agreed to all of this without any more of what Becky would call funny business after all," Umid evaded. The answer was not at all what Crow wanted, but it was the best Umid was going to give him right now; "Anyway, here is our room. I'll give you some time to get settled, but I'll be back up later."
"All right then. Thanks," mumbled Crow. He didn't draw attention to the fact that his bag had been left downstairs, so he currently had no belongings to get settled with.
"You're welcome," replied Umid, "And Crow...?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't give me a reason to doubt my first impressions of you. If you do hurt Becky, Max or anyone else at this hotel, you will be hearing from me," Umid warned.
"Y-yessir..!" squeaked Crow.
As Umid turned and left, he felt his face go a warm shade of red. He didn't know what it was, but something about the idea of messing up in front of Umid made him feel more embarrassed than it would do with anyone else.
Though he reasoned it was just because he wasn't use to making mistakes. Back home he could do everything flawlessly and weave through the streets like they were nothing to him. Hadn't that been exactly why he'd come to London in the first place? He'd gotten so sick of completing all his challenges so effortlessly that he needed to move onto something that wouldn't be so easy for him. Making mistakes here was what it was all about. He'd learn from this, grow as a person and return to the Black Ravens stronger than ever before.
A-and hopefully in the meantime he wouldn't end up looking too much like an idiot in front of Umid... Not that it mattered too much, but somehow to Crow it felt like it did.
He settled down onto the bed and reasoned with himself that, other than the obvious embarrassment, today hadn't gone all that badly. He'd found a place to stay where all he'd have to do to pay for it was a bit of hard work, something Crow wasn't shy of. He'd maybe even made some new friends, if you could count them as that. They were certainly the beginnings of friends, if nothing else.
Putting it that way, Crow had to conclude that his London holiday was shaping up quite nicely indeed.