Legacies || Hermitcraft

Chapter XIX - The Trickster

Timeline: September 1997

Word Count: 3.5k

TW: Implied Abuse, Neglect, Internalised Ableism 

Survival didn't always mean chopping down trees, slaying monsters and finding a cave where you could sleep through the night. It wasn't always the glorified, heroic experience that so many people made it out to be, and in fact, it rarely was.

For some people, survival meant spending the night on the streets, with nothing but an old newspaper to keep you warm. For some people, survival meant always watching your back, for fear of someone lurking behind you. For some people, survival meant stealing from others just to put food on your plate, and if there was one person who knew those experiences better than any other, it was young, stray vex by the name of Cub.

When Cub had come to the city, he'd expected a better life than the one he'd just left behind. Now he often questioned that choice, wondering if he'd ever build a better life for himself whilst sleeping on curbs and pickpocketing to feed himself. He was nothing but a helpless child, too young to get a job yet too poor to go to school or find a place to live, and every second of his life was made a misery because of it.

Once he'd first arrived in the city, it hadn't taken him very long to accept thievery as the only means of providing for himself. At first he'd hated it, but over time, he became numb to the guilt by telling himself that the people he stole from weren't the kind that would miss a handful of coins and trinkets.

And he wasn't wrong, because Cub never stole from anyone who was already poor; he was smart enough to know that doing so was both pointless and downright immoral. He instead made his way into the heart of the city, where people were wealthy and carried around money that was just waiting to be pickpocketed, and would spend several hours there each day taking as much as he needed.

He would usually pick out someone who had a bag or a purse with them, and would take advantage of his small stature to sneak up behind them and quietly reach his tiny hand into their bag. He usually just ended up grabbing a few loose coins and running off again before he could get caught, but occasionally was able to get a hold of something more valuable that he was able to trade off for more money.

It was a system that worked well, as although it rarely yielded him much, it was quick, easy, and could be done over and over again to gather enough money. He'd gotten caught once or twice, but otherwise Cub saw very few downsides to his method. There was of course the issue of morality, but he chose to ignore his guilt and persisted nevertheless.

Today was another day just like the rest, and Cub had already spotted his next target. A young woman standing near a crowded streetcar station, paying no heed to her handbag or its contents. Cub could easily slip between the crowd of adults, and if she were to notice something missing, he'd already be gone and the blame would be someone else's to take.

He slowly inched closer to her, reaching out his hand to open the bag, when a choked, tearful sob made him stop in his tracks. Gingerly Cub peeked past the lady, worried that she was the one crying and that he might have to find somebody else to take from, but to his surprise he instead saw another child standing before her.

The young boy in question looked to be the same age as Cub, likely 7 or 8 years old, but unlike Cub he was far more neatly-dressed and (seemingly) affluent than the young vex would ever be. However, his shining green eyes were filled with tears, and he was evidently distressed as he tugged at the young woman's skirt to get her attention.