Second Chapter!
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Yet another thanks to my wonderful Beta, Sweet Sassy Sarah! This chapter is dedicated (again) to you!
Damien's POV
(A/N- Damien Decomas's mother died when he was three, and a few days later he was on the street. He lives in the East District of Summersea, in Emelan, and goes by Streetfox or just Fox on the streets he calls home.)
"Yo, Fox!" A whispered voice sounded at the end of the tunnel. "Mhm?" I called.
"It's Swift. Can I come in?"
"Sure." 'In' was a small notch in the side of a hill, dug into the middle, which had two exits. A front and a back, for extra protection. Swift came into the one room hole, and sat down in the middle of the space. Along one wall was a pallet, which I was laying on, and at another end was a small hole for ventilation, where a fire was sitting, stoked and roaring. I hate fires, but it was cold! Always cold, during Snow Moon. It didn't take a genius to figure out why. I hate the cold, too. Though it keeps the Bags away. You know the type. A lot of money, rich dressed, shoving it in our poor, dirty faces. Disgusting.
"Fox, I am frozen out there an' Alleypup really needs some shoes! He stole more rags for his feet but its snowin' out there and there already be about three feet a' snow on the ground. Can' ya help? Ya got friends in high places…"
"Shush. I ain't no friend of any Bag, you knows it. Get Alleypup and the rest of tha Weaver's in here. Now." Our gang is called Weaver's for our ability to weave in and out of crowds to escape from tight situations, and the way we weave our bodies into small places to hide. Swift left hurriedly, sending Alleypup first. I should have realized he'd be waiting outside.
"Sit down by the fire, Pup. Ya Must have been afrozen outside."
"Yeah, I wazzabitcold," He said through chattering teeth. He sat by the fire.
"Throw your rags in the fire. Ya don't need 'em. We'll share these." I handed him a fine pair of snow boots, barely worn and fleece stuffed.
"Aw, thanks Fox!" Pup said as he shoved them on his feet. I noticed two toes on his left foot were a gross blue, and one on his right was already black. Just at that moment, Swift came back with the rest of everyone. Our gang was made up of five people besides me, the Leader. Swift, AlleyPup, and Sorrow are my guys, Alleypup being the youngest at nine. The girls were Trip and Cut, and they would more than happily do both to you. They weren't the sweetest of girls, but they wouldn't have made it this far if they were.
"Damien, it's a boatload o' cold out there! You 'spect us to 'nything out there when we froze nearl everythin' off?" Cut asked.
"Yeah, while Mothe' Natah' runs her course, let's stay here. We can get enough food fer a while. Nothin'll happen!" Said Trip, and Sorrow nodded.
"Th' weather ain't nice out there?" I asked them, though I knew the answer. "Looks fine to me! Why, it looks liked it did last year, an' the year before that, too! Why, I even remember the year 'for that and the winter looked just the same! Let's go, Weavers. If you wants to keep your names, we go." They all followed me outside, which was miserable. Since I had given Pup my good shoes, I had on thin slippers I stole from a merchant not to long ago. He wouldn't miss them. As we walked along the banks of snow, I kept Pup close to me and showed him how to avoid piles of snow that looked like they wouldn't hold and might send him into a snow bank if he put his weight on it. He smiled and trotted ahead, never missing a step.
We went in to a shop selling hot buns, and managed to nick two of them without the Seller noticing. We split them three way each and ate them. We stalked the other gang's territory, the Sakes. They too could weave in and out of crowds, but they were bad at catching us, and had no legs to run on. Basically, they were the slowest gang I had seen … ever. Not seeing a sign of them, we walked back around our territory, making sure all of the street kid's in our watch were somewhere kind of warm. One tiny thing, probably as old I was when I started on the streets, so around three, was blue all over and couldn't breath. My gang turned away as I put him out of his misery.
"There's the best way to go." I said. They nodded, but we left quickly. "I wonder what his name was." Pup said.
"Nothin' now." Trip retorted.
"Shut up," Pup said. "Just 'cuz you don't feel nothing for little kids dyin'-" he started but I cut him off.
"Trip cares as much as she should. You mightn't care little enough." He looked solemn.
"Sorr' Fox. I just hate seein' little thin's being dead. It's a waste."
"I know." I hugged his shoulders, and Trip hugged him fully, making him smile.
"So what you common slums doin' out so late? Huh, Weazlebeez?" It was Tramp, the leader of the Snakes.
"Just doin' a little Snake Killin'. Nothin' big." I retorted to laughs and 'woops' from my gang.
"You think your cool, donchya Fox? You and your prisses ain't leaving tonight, that's fer sure!" Just then, the entire Snakes team came rushing at us. They had seven, not including Tramp, but I was sure my five could handle them. I went after Tramp. I threw snow in his eyes, blinding him for the quick second I needed to jab my elbow into his stomach. He dry-retched, and came at my side with a punch. Blocking it, I swung to hit him in the nose, but was caught off guard by a kid in Snakes. He punched my back, and I doubled over, winded. Kicking up as I fell, I kicked Tramp right under his throat, sending his head snapping back onto his neck, instantly breaking it.
"Oops," I said to him as I got up, still wheezing from the punch. Seeing Tramp down, the Snakes ran, all getting away but Tramp.
"Fox! You okay?" My gang ran up to me.
"Fine, just peachy. Who let the kid punch me?"
"Don' know. Looked like he missed Trip and you got the full butt of his force." Swift said.
"Eh. Trip, don't let 'em miss just to hit someone else next time, kay?"
"Yeah," she said sullenly.
"Come on, lets head back to Mound." The nickname of my house and our gangs' domain, the Mound, and my pallet sounded wonderful right that second.
Once we arrived safely inside, I allowed Cut to look at the bruise on my back. She whistled in pity.
"That's a scorcher, fer sure!" she said. "Ain't nothing to do until it fades. Could be a while though."
"Fine." I retorted. "It'll be a while before the Snakes pick a new leader anyway, so it should be coupla soft weeks. Store up on food. Get a lotta rest. Try not to freeze. Someone spy on the Snakes and report back to me day to day like, ya hear?" They all nodded. "Good. Now, it's been a long day. All those with a warm somewhere, get goin'. Those without, ya can stay here, but I'll be asleeping and ya better not make much noise. I'll skin ya if ya do, no joke." They nodded. Trip left to meet up with her sweetheart, Jaque, who was staying for a month to visit. He was a traveler, a merchant scum, but he was kind to her and gave us food, so I let him share a space with us. Cut helped Pup lay down some extra blankets next to my fire as Swift and Sorrow left. I fell asleep to the cracks of the fire and the even breathing of Pup and Cut as they both fell asleep, too.
:-X-:
The next day, Pup, Cut, and me walked about near the edge of East District, which was a Truth section. It was neither Weaver nor Snake territory, as was the Market area and the Sewer Area. Sometimes Temple dedicates came by here, bringing the Mire medicines. In the earlier years, with Flick by his side, they had awaited the arrival of Briar Moss when he would come with his teacher, Rosethorn, to drop of medicines at the Mire. But, since Flick's terrible death, Briar never came anymore. He was the only Bag I ever liked, 'cuz he really wasn't a Bag, just a Rat dressed in a Bag's clothes. I hope that hasn't changed in the years we haven't seen each other. Just as we expected, a wagon rode up bearing the signs of Winding Circle. Out popped Rosethorn, who waved at us, kind of, and then got back to work peeling back the canvas and grabbing bottles and jars and jugs. Looking at each other, Cut and Pup started backing away from the almost-Bag. I followed them, not wanting to have to explain to them that Rosethorn is meaner than she is Bag-ier.
"You know, I am awfully thirsty." Pup said. "Let's go to the pub and see if we can steal something warm."
"Yes, please!" Cut said, not really asking my permission. They walked ahead and I trailed them. When we got to a pub, they went in the front entrance, dancing and singing and looking merry.
I crept around the back, ready to nick three hot drinks when a girl of undetermined age, somewhere near mine, grabbed my arm. "You and your thief friends aren't stealing form my Pa's pub! No way!" She said as she held on with all her might. I pulled and pushed my arm forward and back, trying to break her hold, but she was strong. She had blonde curls and dark brown eyes.
"Leave, or I will swear to magic you to a bear!" She said and slammed the door, but not before dumping a bucket full of dirty water over my head. I held my arms up, as if to stop the cold downpour that would surely be my death, but then nothing came. I looked up, and her astonished face was looking at me between a crack in the door. I looked to my sides. The water had flown down them like waterfalls, not leaving a droplet on me, and had tumbled to the snow, where it had immediately frozen to ice in the extreme weather.
She pushed open the door and exclaimed,"You…you…pushed the water away. It barely touched you! How did you do it? Where'd you learn? They never taught me that at South Wind School for the Slightly Magical, and I studied there for five years!"
"Eh…I don' know what you are talkin' bout. I ain't magical." I said.
"You have to be! Come on, I need you to meet Rosethorn," She vanished for a second, and came back with mittens and a scarf and some boots.
"I know Rosethorn," I said dismally.
"Yeah? How?"
"A friend of a friend." I said. "But it don't matter! I ain't magical and that's the end of it!"
"Yeah, well to you maybe, but not to me!" She was playing with a bunch of knots, and then a sorry looking branch came and dragged me off my feet. Sitting on it hard, it zoomed off in the direction of the Mire.
"You'll meet her and she'll take care of you!" said the girl down below. I gulped and hung on. How could she make a branch swing me off my feet?
"Oh woops!" She cried as it suddenly stopped and dropped. "I'm not that great at holding powerful spells…" She said as she helped me up. "But there is Rosethorn! Oh Rosethorn, this boy has magic in him!" she said as she towed me over to the woman I knew form a distant.
"Bunny, not now!" Rosethorn snapped.
"But he belongs with you!" She whispered something in Rosethorn's ear, and Rosethorn looked me up and down.
"Yeah, all right. I'll take him back with me. Thanks, Bunny." The girl walked off, looking pleased with herself. "As for you." She turned to look at me. "If you even think about running off I will cut off your ears and hang you by your thumbs at the well at home. Don't touch anything in the wagon, don't smell anything in the wagon, and especially don't taste anything in the wagon. Now, get in the wagon, and wait for me to come and get you. NOW."
I hastily scrambled up onto the small wagon, not giving fleeing a second thought. "I ain't goin' to no-" I started.
"DID I SAY YOU CAN TALK? Now, shut your gutter mouth or learn to speak properly. Actually, just don't speak. It'd be better for all of us." She rubbed her temples like she had a headache. "I'll call in Niko to have a look at you tomorrow I guess…I have to finish here first…" She continued talking to herself as she unloaded the rest of the herbs from the wagon and put them inside. Then she closed up the canvas roof, told me to be good, and left. And, for once in my life, I was good.
End of Chapter Two. I know it's short and not that great but I am tired (I know it isn't a good excuse) and my beta is waiting. Oh how I loveeee Sweet Sassy Sarah (no homo.) She saves my life.
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