Characters: Laurence, Micolash, Gehrman, Lyza, Ozen

Word Count: 4.735

Summary: Laurence moves out and gets a job.

(Author's note: This break was not as big as the other, but I actually wanted to have this ready far far sooner! I guess I can finally call myself a true AO3 author because this delay happened because my partner was brought into the hospital and nearly died and, uh, he's better now, but wow, that messed with my head for a while. I don't have much free time as long as he is still in the hospital but I slowly chipped away at this chapter and I think it finally is in a shape that I can publish. Please enjoy.)

"What's wrong, Laurence? You look pretty down for someone whose birthday is tomorrow.", Micolash asked.

Laurence sighed and stared into his teacup. He had run into Micolash while outside and Micolash had invited him to have some tea, so the both of them had sat down at a free table outside of one of the tourist's cafes.

"I haven't found a room yet.", Laurence admitted after staring into his tea for one minute.

"Ah yeah, I was wondering why you were barely talking.", Micolash said, "Normally you say a hundred words in one minute."

"I am not in the mood, Micolash.", Laurence sighed again.

"It is about time you find a room, hmm?", Micolash said, taking a sip from his tea that was sweetened with five spoons of sugar. Laurence grimaced only thinking about drinking something that sweet.

"It's not as easy as you and Gehrman made it out to be.", Laurence sighed again, "The rooms are all so expensive and the tourist tours just don't net enough money. I have trouble getting enough groups. They all tend to follow the Red Whistles now, apparently I am too old now and lost the charm I had when I was still younger..."

"There is a reason that Willem mostly lets the Red Whistles do the tourist groups.", Micolash said, "But surely there are rooms that aren't too expensive..."

"Yes, in the slums.", Laurence said, stirring his tea even though he didn't put anything into it, just to keep his hands busy, "Who wants to live in the slums?! It is full of dirt and sickness and your death there is even more certain than in the Abyss."

The slums of Orth were truly a miserable place. People who couldn't become legal delvers or orphans that weren't taken into Balchero usually ended up there. Laurence sometimes went there to feed the roaming cats, but living there...

"I am sure you can find a room that is a bit on the outskirts.", Micolash tried further, "You like to fish, so you could find a room at the shore. You know we have enough tunnels through the mountains to make the trip back into Orth shorter than having to climb the mountains."

"Yes, I also thought about that.", Laurence said, finally stopping stirring his tea and taking a sip of it, "But just when I thought I found the perfect room, Yuria was there. Do you think I want to live in the same place as Yuria?! After all the rumours she sowed about me and all the pranks we played on each other? Fuck no!"

"So...", Micolash started and Laurence finished the sentence: "Yes, I need to find a better job, but that has been difficult... I asked Pisk and Ryba but they said they don't need help right now and my job in the clinic gets paid by me getting education and lately I didn't need to come by that often, so that asking for a regular job is for naught... and everyone else I ask either doesn't have enough work or enough pay or they suddenly have something else to do..."

Micolash didn't mention that it probably was because Laurence was known as the one who talked too much. As mean as Yuria's rumours had been, one thing about them was true. A lot of people perceived Laurence as annoying and they didn't want to be near him more than necessary.

"I think I am getting your problem now.", Micolash said, "But you have to find a room soon, you quite literally have to leave the orphanage tomorrow. Master Willem shows no mercy. The moment you turn eighteen, you have to leave."

"No wonder with all the newcomers...", Laurence grumbled, "Still, would it kill him if I could stay a little longer?! At least so that I wouldn't have to sleep on the streets."

"It is summer at least, so you don't have to freeze.", Micolash said.

"I still don't want to sleep on the streets! I could get mugged!"

Micolash threw Laurence a look. As if anyone would be dumb enough to try and mug a delver. Even the Blue Whistles were dangerous enough to easily win a battle against a regular human. Only illegal delvers would be strong and brave enough to face Orth delvers and those encounters normally took place in the Abyss.

"You could maybe find a room in an inn until you have your own place.", Micolash suggested.

"If I had money for this, I would have found a room already.", Laurence hissed, "How were you able to find a room so easily anyway?"

"Because I and Rom took a room together.", Micolash said, "Our birthdays are close, so we decided to move in together. With two people you have more money to spend and even though the room sometimes is a little cramped, we mostly spent our time there to sleep, so it is no problem. Aren't you having a girlfriend, Laurence? Why don't you move in with her?"

"Oh, about that...", Laurence stared into his tea, "That didn't work out. Apparently I 'cheated' on her. I don't get it, really, there were no feelings involved, she shouldn't have made such a fuss! Anyway, she dumped me pretty much immediately after she found out."

"There are, uh, rules in a relationship, Laurence.", Micolash said, "I guess you aren't ready for a serious romantic relationship yet."

"No, I guess not.", Laurence said, "But what is there to it anyway? You go on boring ass dates, watch the sunset while having to cuddle while it is far too hot and carry around all her groceries. I didn't see any benefits at all."

"Yeah, you don't get it yet.", Micolash said, "You will get it once you find the right one. Like me and Gehrman."

"Speaking of Gehrman, he also had no problems finding a room.", Laurence grumbled, getting them back to their former topic, "And he didn't have Maria to help him out, she's still at the orphanage."

"Are you talking about me?", Gehrman suddenly was at their table, startling Laurence who almost dropped his tea cup which he just planned to drink from.

"Just wondering how you could so easily find a room...", Laurence murmured.

"Oh, that was easy, the doll maker I worked for helped me find it.", Gehrman sat down at their table, nodding to Micolash, his glance conveying "He annoyed you for the last fifteen minutes, right?"

"Well, I don't have anyone that can help me find a room. And my tourist tours are not popular anymore and I barely earn any money outside of delving and nobody wants to give me a job and I might have to sleep on the streets for several days and Master Willem apparently doesn't care about any of this. He told me to come back once I am a Moon Whistle, then he has a job for me, but he can't use any Blue Whistles that are old enough to live on their own. Fucking old geezer. That is his fucking revenge because I drank all his booze, I just fucking know it."

Gehrman and Micolah were trading a look. Laurence was clearly starting to get worked up, the constant use of the f-word was proof enough for it.

"Laurence, if you need some more time, you can come crash at my place.", Gehrman offered, "You can sleep on my couch until you have found your own place and a job that helps you pay the rent."

"Gehrman, have I ever said that I fucking love you?!", Laurence jumped and pulled Gehrman into a tight hug, which was impressive because Gehrman was so much taller than Laurence.

"Normally you don't say it so directly.", Gehrman murmured, "But remember, you only can stay until you find your own place."

"Of course, I will search every day as long as we're not on delves.", Laurence promised.

"I'll help too when I am not working.", Micolash said.

"Thank you, Micolash.", Laurence smiled at him and then at Gehrman, "Thank you, the both of you. I will make it up to you somehow."

"Aw, come on, we are friends.", Gehrman said, "And friends help each other. Just be there for us when we need your help."

The next day Laurence came with a rucksack full of clothes and a few little personal items. He had at least managed to convince Willem to keep the rest of his belongings in the orphanage until he could fetch them.

Gehrman's room wasn't the biggest one, but because they mostly would spend time there while sleeping or when it rained, it wouldn't be too much of a problem. Laurence sat himself on the couch. Not as comfortable as a bed, but it was better than sleeping on the streets.

"Happy birthday, Laurence.", Gehrman said, "I would give you your gift, but I think that should wait until you have your own place."

"It probably is something to decorate my new home, huh?", Laurence said. He actually didn't want to get his gifts right now, there was only that much room in the rucksack.

"So, as long as you help me clean this place, feel right at home.", Gehrman said, gesturing at his room. It was looking rather comfortable actually. Gehrman had a bed in a corner, a small cupboard for his clothes, a desk with a lot of drawings and blueprints lying around (of course), a nightstand with a small electric lamp and the couch that Laurence occupied at the moment.

"I don't see a kitchen.", Laurence noticed.

"Yes, the kitchen here is a collective room. As is the bathroom. You might want to take a sunstone with you if you need it in the night though, they tend to switch off the light in the hallway."

"Just as in the orphanage.", Laurence murmured, "At least this time I don't have to explain to any teacher why I am outside during bedtime."

"Yeah, that is not a thing anymore.", Gehrman said, "You can use the kitchen as long as you use your own ingredients and wash everything that you used. Though, I would suggest that you leave the meals to me, I am clearly the better cook of us two."

"You are the best cook of our group.", Laurence agreed, "Micolash is second. Your stuff is just lacking salt."

"And that is why you are only above Maria.", Gehrman said, "Not everyone likes their food as salty as you."

"You just have no taste.", Laurence said, starting to loiter on the couch, "Anyway, thanks for letting me crash here, Gehrman, I hope I find my own place in a few days."

Despite Laurence looking for a job and a room every single day, it took him a full month until he finally managed to find a place of his own. It went on for so long that Gehrman already started to joke around that people would think they are married because they occupied the same space for so long already. It led to Laurence scrunching up his face in disgust. He could just not imagine having a romantic relationship with Gehrman at all, Gehrman had always felt more like an older brother to him. And fortunately, Gehrman felt the same paired with the fact that he simply couldn't feel attraction to men.

However, it was a bit difficult, because Laurence couldn't spent all his free time in Gehrman's room and sometimes Gehrman wanted to have the space for himself, so that Laurence often would stay up late and wander through Orth, sometimes he even stayed up long enough to watch the sunrise over the Abyss. It was always a sight to behold.

So when Laurence finally found a job and a room of his own, both on the same day, he skipped towards the shared room with Gehrman, excited to learn about his reaction.

Of course Gehrman was still at work and so Laurence impatiently waited for him to return to the room, dusting off the little amount of furniture that was placed into the room and loitering on Gehrman's bed, messing up the sheets (a thing that drove Gehrman crazy). Finally, after what felt like hours upon hours had passed, Gehrman entered the door.

"Surprise, Gehrman!", Laurence cheered, both arms in the air, still sitting on the bed.

"Wha- Laurence, you are messing up the sheets. Again!"

"Well, not anymore, because I found a place of my own.", Laurence said, "Finally. That took far too long."

Gehrman entered the room and said: "Oh, really? I was kind of used to having you around again. You sure made this room more lively."

"And here I thought you would be overjoyed that I'll finally move out.", Laurence said, though he had to admit it made him glad that Gehrman liked having him around. Laurence also had to admit that he would miss Gehrman's food again. He just made the best rice omelettes.

"Oh, I would have kicked you out in another month.", Gehrman said, "So, where did you find a room?"

"Aha, that is more what I was expecting.", Laurence grinned, sure that Gehrman actually wouldn't have kicked him out, but surely would have chewed him out. "You know the Delver's Tavern? A Blue Whistle quit their job there upon being promoted to Moon Whistle and there was a job offer with an attached room and I got the job."

"Is it a good idea to let you work at a place that serves alcohol?", Gehrman said, "We all remember how much you liked to steal Master Willem's booze."

"Ah, but that was only to annoy the old geezer.", Laurence waved his hand, "I am not going to get drunk on the job. I also am not working in the kitchen-"

"Good.", Gehrman said.

Laurence rolled his eyes and continued: "I am waiting tables and cleaning and mixing drinks and such. And because so many delvers come there, I am sure I can learn a lot about the deeper layers of the Abyss."

"Well, that sounds doable for you.", Gehrman said, "So when can you start?"

"Tomorrow.", Laurence said, "And I am supposed to move into the room today, so I pretty much have to say goodbye to us being roommates already. But don't worry, Gehrman, I will visit you regularly."

"You just want to eat my rice omelette.", Gehrman grinned, "Well, it probably will feel a bit lonely without you here, but we both know that this room is too small for two. Do you need help getting your stuff over?"

"Yes, thank you.", Laurence said, "You know I was never the best at carrying stuff. I always get into trouble when we find too many relics."

"Yes, I know.", Gehrman said, already opening a rucksack to shove Laurence' stuff inside. Together, the both of them managed to pack up Laurence' meagre belongings and were off to the Delver's tavern.

Once they arrived, the both of them were shown to Laurence' new room. It was a nice, cozy place which was already furnished with a bed, a desk with a chair, a small wardrobe, a nightstand and a wall shelf. As usual, a bathroom was not attached and all the employees who lived at the tavern were supposed to share a common one.

"Will I ever have my own bathroom?", Laurence said jokingly as he put his clothes away.

"If we really buy the house on the hill, maybe.", Gehrman said as he helped Laurence put his things away, "Laurence, you know that you can always ask me for help. And the others too. Micolash, Rom and Maria, we all belong together, even if our ways parted."

"Yes and same goes for me.", Laurence said, putting the little doll of himself onto the night stand, "Whenever you are in need of someone who can dress wounds, ask me. And also if you are in need of salt, I got really good at finding rock salt in the Abyss in the meantime."

"Why am I not surprised.", Gehrman grinned, "Oh, and you can also come and ask if you have... certain troubles."

"What kind of troubles?", Laurence asked, not looking at Gehrman, "You need to speak clearly. How should I know what you are supposed to say?"

"I mean when you have troubles with romance, Laurence.", Gehrman sighed, "How can you be so smart and so dense at the same time..."

"Hey.", Laurence complained, "Anyway, romance isn't for me. I found this out last year. Thanks I guess, but I don't think I am trying to have a girlfriend again."

"Yeah, I heard about your... infidelity...", Gehrman said, face scrunched up.

"Stop calling it that. There were no feelings involved.", Laurence grumbled, "Nobody gets this but me, I swear. But anyway, I kinda didn't even like the girl who liked me, so this relationship went nowhere anyway. I think I like to keep my relationships simple and curt from now on."

"You'll break a lot of hearts this way.", Gehrman said, neatly folding Laurence' clothes before putting them into the wardrobe, "Ah well, one day you'll get it."

"Micolash said the same.", Laurence mentioned, filling his night stand with personal items, "I don't know what you are talking about and I don't want to find out."

"Yeah, I think it is better if you take your time.", Gehrman said, "Come on, let's finish unpacking so that your new boss can show you your work place. Surely you want to go to bed on time."

"When have I ever been to bed on time?", Laurence grinned, earning himself a nudge from Gehrman.

Laurence thought that working at the tavern should be a breeze and at first he seemed to be right. Tourists were brought into a fancy part of the tavern and given a menu that would make sure that their sensitive stomachs wouldn't rile up. Laurence knew how to handle tourists thanks to the tourist tours, but he also wasn't interested in them anymore.

The delvers were so much more interesting. It were mostly Moon and Black Whistles attending, with the one or other Blue Whistle strewn in-between. Laurence could pick up all kinds of conversations, rumours and tales while he was working. Sometimes the delvers even brought some ingredients from the Abyss which he could deliver to the kitchen for a special meal.

However, back then Laurence hadn't experienced rush hour. Work had been busy, sure, but it had all been manageable and Laurence had enough leisure time to be able to clean up or just rest his feet for a minute or anything. Rush hour was different. It was evil.

During rush hour Laurence barely had time to do anything but wait tables. He had to run back and forth from the dining room to the kitchen and he had to make sure to deliver the right meals to the right tables. The first time it happened, Laurence had been very not prepared and so each day onward, he would make sure to be absolutely comfortable in his own body before rush hour happened. It still was a challenge to get through every single day however.

Of course waiting tables wasn't Laurence' only task. He also was allowed to mix drinks for the patrons at the bar and he had to clean up when nothing else was to do. Laurence didn't mind cleaning up the guest room, there mostly was some mud or spilled food or drinks, but Laurence quickly learned to fear if he had to clean the men's restroom. He didn't know what happened there, but it had to be more scary than the lower layers of the Abyss. Not even the orphanage restrooms had looked like this! Laurence was always more than glad when this task had to be done by one of his co-workers.

Despite everything, after a few weeks, Laurence was comfortable in his new home and job. It kept each day busy if he wasn't going on delves. Unfortunately it also meant that he couldn't see his friends much because he was mostly working during the evenings. They said they would come visit him at work soon though.

This day wasn't today though and so Laurence was waiting tables like usual. It wasn't rush hour yet, so Laurence mostly mixed drinks and delivered snacks to the tables. Once he noticed that a new couple of patrons had entered, he approached their table.

"Welcome to the Delver's Tavern. What can I get you today?"

The sentence had already been engraved deep into his mind.

"Oh, if that isn't ginger boy.", a girl's voice came from the table. Something in Laurence dawned as he stared at her and then it clicked.

"Blondie?!", he said, staring at the girl. It had to be her, she had the long curly blond hair and the helmet with the feather and she was wearing a...

"You are already a Moon Whistle?! But you are barely older than me."

"Mhmmm, it has benefits being the student of a White Whistle, ginger boy.", she said.

"My name's Laurence, I think we have been over this...", Laurence hissed.

"You called me blondie just a minute ago.", the girl said, "Don't you remember my name, Lawrence?"

"Oh, you are doing this on purpose, L-", Laurence hissed and then stumbled over his words. Her name had started with an L. And then? Damn him and his terrible name memory. He hadn't met the girl in years, how should he remember?

"Lisa?", he tried, knowing what a pathetic attempt it was. The girl cackled.

"Almost, it's Lyza.", she said.

"Quit fooling around, Lyza.", the figure next to her said, "You know that I hate japes."

It was only now that Laurence even looked at the figure next to Lyza. Honestly, it was impressive that he had overlooked her, because she was towering over the both of them, even seated.

"O-ozen the Immovable...", he stuttered, taking a step back. He still remembered the hit that he had suffered from her hand, "A-anyway, I am here to work, so what can I get you?"

"Hmmm... I heard this place is serving a fantastic corpse weeper steak.", Lyza said, studying the menu. Laurence could see how Ozen seemed to study it from her position too.

"A-and what would you like to have, Lord Ozen?", Laurence forced a smile. He couldn't let them know how afraid he was.

"Hmm, I haven't been on the surface for a while.", Ozen said, always talking in that long drawn-out tone. Laurence wondered how someone could talk so slow and at the same time still sound that threatening.

"I am taking the whole menu."

"Pardon me?", Laurence surely must have misheard. Nobody would be able to eat the whole menu. He cast a help seeking look at Lyza, but all she did was cackle again.

"She means it, you know. Master Ozen can eat a whole lot."

"I doubt anyone could eat the whole menu.", Laurence said, "At least not without exploding."

As Ozen's gaze fell on him, he quickly took another step back and then hurried towards the kitchen. "One whole menu, coming up.", he shouted back at the table and then had to give the order to the kitchen, shocking several chefs and the tavern owner himself when he had to relay that they were serving Ozen the Immovable.

Of course it was not possible for the kitchen to prepare every dish at once and it also was not possible for Ozen to eat them all at once, so Laurence spent several hours serving her the various meals of the menu. Lyza had already finished eating and was downing drink after drink. She surely could hold her liquor... but it also made her talkative, so Laurence decided to indulge her and talk a bit with her. Maybe he could get useful information.

"So you are already a Moon Whistle?", he started the conversation, "I am sure you are not much older than me, and the general age to be promoted to Moon Whistle is twenty-two."

"Yes, I am nineteen and like I said, it has benefits being the student of a White Whistle. You can get promoted much earlier. Besides, maybe I just have a special talent. After all, I have been taken as the student of a White Whistle."

Laurence didn't need to hear the silent "and not you" to know that it was there.

"It's not like there are a lot of White Whistles around to take students in.", he murmured, "I think there was a new one appointed not too long ago, a young man or someone..."

Laurence wasn't too interested in White Whistles. That was more Micolash's thing, but Laurence also didn't thrive to become a White Whistle. Delving down to a place which he couldn't return from... it scared him.

"Yes, the Sovereign of Dawn. And I will become a White Whistle too one day, you'll see.", Lyza grinned, "I wonder what kind of sovereign I will be?"

"If you keep up that pace with the drinks, the Sovereign of Drunkards.", Laurence scoffed as he picked up Lyza's empty glass and replaced it with a new one. He expected her to be offended at his words, but she was actually laughing her ass off while he went to get the next round for Ozen. Laurence guessed that alcohol put her into a good mood.

Oh, how wrong he had been. It only took three more drinks and one delver making the mistake to approach Lyza with a god awful pickup-line and there was chaos. Lyza had made it more than clear that she was not to be toyed with and soon a full fledged fight had formed. Laurence hid inside the bar, trying to minimize the damage by securing the bottles (a few of them had broken already), not daring to get out of his hiding place. Once the noise finally stopped, he carefully stood up to peek over the bar, expecting to see Lyza beaten up (the rejected Whistle had quite a few friends), but there she was standing, bruised, but mostly covered in the blood of her enemies. All while Ozen was still calmly eating herself through the menu.

"She's not the Sovereign of Drunkards, she's more like an annihilator.", Laurence murmured to himself. Were all would-be White Whistles as crazy as the actual White Whistles? Laurence thought of Micolash and determined that they were. There probably was a certain kind of madness someone had to reach to achieve the level of White Whistle. It wasn't even a rank that the guild gave out, only people who found a certain relic could become White Whistles and Laurence heard that it was notoriously hard to find.

Now that nobody was fighting anymore, Laurence sighed and organized himself some cleaning supplies. The tavern was a mess. As he and his co-workers got to work, he saw the tavern owner approach Ozen and Lyza and he dared to chew them out, but he was shut down after Ozen only said one word.

Ozen still ate her dessert and once she had paid (a hefty sum, but White Whistles apparently could afford it), she and Lyza were leaving. Lyza turned around before she was through the door and said: "That was fun. You should have joined in."

"Do I look like I enjoy pain?", Laurence' voice dripped with sarcasm. He would have been knocked out in ten seconds flat and besides, he was working here, he couldn't get into bar fights. "Though... I guess I would like to have a battle with you someday.", he admitted, "I really would like to know who can hold their liquor better."

Lyza's face beamed at his proposal. "Oh, I am going to take you up on that offer, ginger boy."

(Author's note: Hmmm, I kinda think I could have done more with the whole roommates thing, but I couldn't think of anything, so it was more of a stepping stone. Maybe the both of them reference being roommates in the future.

I swear, each time I write Lyza she is taking over the narrative! I kinda want to write something from her POV the more I write her, my own idea of her backstory as long as the manga stays mostly quiet about it. Would anyone be interested in it? My only problem is that I find it kind of hard to write down Ozen's voice.

I actually think I will end the Blue Whistle Arc here. The next chapter will very probably start the Moon Whistle Arc. I want to get to the interesting stuff finally, now that I am not stuck with them being children anymore.)