Linebeck stared at the map while Link clung to his sleeve, on his toes. "We're pretty close to the library, if we make our way back on to the main street we'll be there in a matter of minutes."

Link nodded and hopped back. "Let's get going, then!"

Linebeck sighed and led him through the alleyways. They'd gotten much closer to the library yesterday and had spent the majority of this day walking. The teen was surprised that the younger orphan hadn't complained too much about... well, anything. He stopped, kicking a trashcan. A bird flew out from behind it, then flopped to the ground. It attempted to fly again, but only stumbled forward.

It let out a frustrated squawk. Linebeck pulled out his knife, intending to put it out of its misery, but Link tugged him back. "Don't kill it!"

Linebeck stared at Link. "Why? We need food, we can clean it off and cook it over some fire. I bet the library will let us do that."

"But, but..." Link bit his bottom lip. "It's a little bird! We should just let it go! I don't want you to kill it!"

He tugged harder on Linebeck, who shoved him off. "It's going to die anyways!"

Link shouted back, "No it's not! If we let it go, it'll live!"

Irritated, Linebeck pointed at the poor thing. "Look at it! It can't fly! The wing is broken. Some random cat's gonna come and kill it anyways. It's like a mercy kill. It'll be less painful if I give it a quick stab as opposed to being chewed to death."

Link's bottom lip quivered, and he turned away. "If you're going to kill it, at least be fast."

Linebeck sighed and crouched down next to the tiny animal. Meaning to be quick, he stabbed it through the back, and it let out a loud squawk, then went silent. Went limp. There. He knew a few kids that would buy the feathers, usually to then sell to merchants around the city. He plucked a few out until Link shook his shoulder. "Stop, stop, that's kinda creepy... can we just keep going?" Linebeck quickly stuffed the feathers in a coat pocket. They continued back on their way to the library without much to say to each other.

They reached the library about three hours after noon, and Leaf greeted them excitedly when they walked in. "O-oh hey, Link, Linebeck! Good to see you two again! Oshus should be somewhere in the bookshelves, he's helping out Neri. Ciela is out getting new books. We got some funding a few days ago!" He pointed further into the library. A few kids were wandering around. Before Link and Linebeck walked off, Leaf asked, "Oh, yeah, Link, do you have an idea of what you're going to do from now on?"

Link was quiet, then took Linebeck's hand, holding it tight so he couldn't flinch away. "I'm going to stick with Linebeck!"

What?

Linebeck jerked his hand roughly out of Link's. "Look, listen. I won't say I hated this week, but I'm not going to have you tagging along for damn near six years. You'd be fine on your own, you little leech. You can survive on your own just fine, you could probably find a nice group to join. Just leave me alone. I'm a loner, I work better alone. I can give you a map, I can give you tips, but I'm not about to let you become my goddamn shadow."

Link backed away a bit, looking hurt. "B-but, you're the only person out there I know. And I know you care about me, or else you wouldn't have been helping me in the first plac-"

"Yeah, like I was gonna let you die. Doesn't mean I was about to let you follow me around. I'm not gonna keep you around, alright? I'm here to drop you off and let you leave, alone."

Behind them, Leaf stammered, "H-hey, Linebeck, maybe let the kid stay? There's a good chance he-he'll die-"

Link stumbled forward a bit, meeting Linebeck's eyes with his own. "Ok, I get you think I'll be bad for your own chances. But, if you think about it, I've been really helpful. I've held money for us, gotten us food, and even saved you recently." Linebeck glared down at him, but his gaze seemed less fierce. He seemed to be considering the words. In the tense silence that followed, Link backed up again. He rubbed his arm stressfully. He didn't want to be on the streets alone, really. Sure, he had an idea of what to do, and he could even team up with other orphans. But it wouldn't feel right if he wasn't with Linebeck.

Sure, it had only been a week, but Link had grown close to the older boy. He didn't want to have to leave him after a week. Linebeck shot another glare at him, and his insides twisted. There was a good chance he'd be forced to be alone at this point; he wasn't going to let that happen so easily. Stress-filled moments passed, and Linebeck finally mumbled, "Fine. He has been useful, and, who knows? We might make a good team. Eventually." Link smiled, having caught on to a gentler tone of voice at the end.

They held each other's gaze for a few moments, and Link heard Leaf's quiet relieved sigh. Link glanced to the side, spotting both Neri and Ciela. They jumped when they saw him see them, then turned back to a bookcase. Linebeck followed his gaze and growled. "I thought Ciela was out getting books. Why're they watching, anyways? That's a bit damn rude."

Leaf shrugged and leaned over his desk to see his sisters. "Sorry, they're not usually like that. I think she might've come back a bit early. She's got a key to the back door, and usually comes in through that if she has extra books." He sat back and sighed. "Well, I'm happy that you'll let Link stay with you, Linebeck. And, Link, try to ignore him if he gets rude, I've noticed that he can get into a bad mood often if you say the wrong thing."

Linebeck shot him an angry look but Link just smiled. "Ok." He glanced over at Linebeck again. "Can we stay here for a bit?"

Linebeck shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Why not. I've got some books I want to read, anyways."

Link nodded, watching Linebeck walk off into the shelves. He glanced up at Leaf and shrugged. The young man shrugged back, looking very much relieved. Link jogged after Linebeck, who stopped and pulled out a few books from the shelves. Without so much as a glance towards the younger kid, Linebeck mumbled, "So, you're sticking with me from here on out, no questions asked, huh?"

"Yep. Thanks for letting me stick with you, even if you don't actually want it."

Linebeck sighed, walking to a table with the books in his arms. Link trailed after him. Placing the books down in a stack, Linebeck said, "I do want it, it's just that I don't like to trust people for long periods of time and having you around might make things a little harder but might also make other things easier." He stared at the top book and slid it onto the table. "We might as well stick here for the night. It's getting late. Tomorrow we can head out, find that house that key belongs to, steal from them, and then see what happens next." He sat down and began to read the book.

Link stared at him, and then at the book. It was long page of text. The book Linebeck had read when they first met had pictures. "Why doesn't that book have pictures?"

Linebeck didn't look up. "It's a novel. It doesn't have pictures. A few novels do, though."

"Oh. It looks like a harder book to read." Link sat down next to Linebeck and stared at the page. "The words look small. I bet that's a pretty long book."

Linebeck nodded, checking the cover. "Yeah, this is a longer book. I've read it before, though. I could start from the beginning for you, if you want. We- we could read it together?"

He waited as Link stared at the stack of books. He pulled out the thinnest book in the stack and stared at it. "Have you read this one? It doesn't look as long."

He showed it to Linebeck, who took it from him. "Oh, this one? I read this one all the time. Well, anything similar to it."

Link stared at it, and asked, what do you mean? What can be similar to it?"

"It's sorta an adventure that takes place on the ocean. Pirates and stuff. It's cool. I really like it."

Link nodded silently, pointing at the book again. "What's it called? The cover looks kinda blank. Is it so old that the cover got rubbed off or something?"

Linebeck turned it over and nodded. "Yeah. I asked the old man about it. It's really old. It's good, though. Sure, we can read it together." The older boy patted the seat next to him, inviting Link to sit next to him.

Link hesitated, then sat next to him. "It looks like it's been read a lot. What was it like when you first saw it?"

"It was pretty much like this. I read a different version before finding this one in the library. But it's been read quite a bit. It's apparently really old, though, yeah." Linebeck flipped through a few pages to the first. "Tell me when you want me to turn the page. I'm a faster reader than you. You can also ask me about anything you don't understand. I've read this a bunch of times." He glanced up for a moment, spotting the three siblings huddled around Leaf's desk. He sighed, then glanced over a Link, who was closely reading the book.

Linebeck slipped the book back into the spot he pulled it from. Next to him, Link didn't say a work until he pulled it back out from the shelf. "Can't we borrow it?"

With sigh, Linebeck took the book from Link's hand and put it back on the shelf. "No. We need library cards to check out books. And as nice as they are to us, the guys here don't give them to orphans. I mean, we live on the streets and stuff." He gestured for Link to follow him, and they walked out of the bookshelves. Link waved at Leaf, who waved back before Linebeck tugged him out the door. "C'mon, we should find a place for tonight. It's getting late."

"Is it?" Link asked, peering around. It was cloudy, so he wasn't sure what time it was. "I guess we were in the library for a bit, but is it really getting late?" He tilted his head up at the sky. Linebeck sighed, stopping walking. "There's a clock in the library. You probably didn't see it. It's around seven. We need to find some food, then a place to sleep." He glanced around, pointing over at an alleyway. "C'mon, let's head down there." Link trailed after him into the alleyway. It was narrow, claustrophobic.

Linebeck left Link at a small shelter while he looked around for food. He'd left his coat in the shelter, as it was warmer than usual that afternoon. Link sat against the wall, his knees pressed against his chest. He glanced at Linebeck's coat, picking it up and looking it over. It looked strange, the inside lined with pockets that looked unevenly sewn on. The knife was left in a smaller pocket, the map in a larger, a small matchbox tucked inconspicuously in a tiny pocket near the collar. Link turned it over a few times, taking in the details of Linebeck's coat before the young teen returned.

Linebeck snatched his coat out of Link's hands and laid it next to him as he sat down. "Don't touch it. I got a little bit of food." He handed Link a few dirty-looking orange slices.

He wrinkled his nose distastefully at them. "Ew."

With a sigh, poking his own slices, Linebeck mumbled, "Just go with it. It's kinda rare to get these anyways. Good as both food and water. Hm..." He trailed off as he ate one of his slices. Link stared owlishly at him for a moment, expecting him to continue. When he didn't, Link took a bite out of one of the slices. It was sweet, but muted, almost by the dirt. Watery. Maybe they weren't that old. Link ate his slowly, Linebeck finishing his off quickly. Once Link was done, Linebeck spoke. "We should find a flask or something. A can... canteen? Screw it. Dunno what they're called, but we need a sort of container to hold water. They're pretty hard to come by."

Link nodded, peering up at the sky. "Why do you think it's warm now? Isn't' it almost wintertime? I mean, it's not really warm, but it's nice." He tugged his beanie down over his ears. "I hope it rains."

"It might rain. It's super cloudy today. Also, sometimes, since we're a metalworking city, it gets warmer due to more work being done. It spreads around the city." He hugged himself, glancing up and down the alley. "The metal factories are way, way across the city. It smells kinda bad over there." Reaching into his coat pockets, Linebeck showed Link the map. He pointed at a large rectangle on the far left of the map. "That's the factory." He paused. "Do you wanna visit a few places before settling into a daily routine? I mean, you clearly haven't seen too much of the city, and it doesn't hurt to know your way around." He handed Link the map. "Just... keep them in mind. I can make a list later." He turned and laid down, curled up, his head on his coat.

Link stared at him, then at the map. Not too much stood out to him. Linebeck had captioned a few larger areas, obviously important. There was a large park area, the homes of the city leaders, each of the wall checkpoints, and more areas that Link had only heard about in the past few days. He memorized the names silently and tapped Linebeck's shoulder with the folded-up map. "I have a list in mind. Here's the map back."

With a slight groan, Linebeck fumbled with the map before snatching it out of Link's hand, lazily stuffing it back in his coat pocket. "It's getting late. Leave me alone and get some sleep." He curled up tighter, pulling he feet under the shelter. Link sat up, not feeling too tired, but still curious, with a new question in mind. "Is it possible to have a permanent shelter? Like, a private one? That only we can live in? Like... a little home?"

Linebeck grunted and rolled over, now facing Link. "Dunno. I've heard of it, but what would be the point? I don't like to stay in one place. It's unsafe. Besides, that'd be really hard to do." He went silent and glanced at the ground. He ran a dirty fingernail along the concrete, Link flinching at the faint grating noise. "But... I guess we can find a place to stash important things. In fact, I've got a camera hidden in a place in the city, and it hasn't been touched each time I return to it." He peered up at Link. "I've got it marked on the map. I'll show it to you if we pass it. Let's sleep, for now."

With the only sound being quiet shifting, Link laid down on his side, balling up his beanie and using it as a pillow. Linebeck didn't turn the other way, but closed his eyes quickly, and kept them closed. Link sighed, then yawned, and did the same, ignoring any other noises as he tried to fall asleep, but the constant cawing of birds, distant shouts, and various other noises kept him up. It got quieter, but there was a cold wind as it got later, and Link started to shiver. He'd nearly given up on sleep when something like a blanket was tossed over him- he felt it and recognized it as Linebeck's coat.