undergrounds | [open] From the Cripples to St. James'...

There's a right nip in the air when the Dodger steps out in the early morning to begin his business for the day. Well, his business, Fagin's business, it's all the same when it comes down to brass coins dragged from the bottom of pockets. He rubs his hands together, making a note to lift himself some gloves at some point during the day - if he recollects correctly, the ones from last year weren't really as decent as he would have liked. Not terrible, but for a gent of taste like himself, they weren't up to scratch.

Scratch... scratchings... pork scratchings. Hm. His stomach grumbled a bit. Looks like the sausages at the den weren't enough. Right, well that decided the plan for the day then. Breakfast first, and then on with the work of the day. The markets would be the best places to check. Maybe the one down by St James, folks would be too distracted to pay attention to a kid nipping among them.

Seemed like a good plan, and the Dodger grinned, adjusting his hat to just the right angle.

Right. Time for work.

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The Dodger falls into step close to her, making it seem like he's just staying close because, well, it is very early morning.

"M'always up this early. It's colder at home than it is out here."

The best covers always have a ring of truth. The Dodger has managed to nudge into her purse, carefully lifting out any wallet he can find. He's being careful, this close even with attention drawn it can be easy to be spotted.

Caroline isn't paying any attention to her purse, focused instead on his story. "I'm sorry to hear that. Isn't there anywhere else you could go, that's warmer and safer?"

The Dodger answers truthfully.

"I'll probably go round to my sister's."

Well, for a given value of truth, at least.

Caroline smiles. It's good that he has somewhere to go. "Family is great for things like that." She feels a familiar ache, as thinking of family makes her miss her own.

"Not if I wake her up this early."

Because he always needs to put a bit of humour into it all.

Caroline laughs. "No, I suppose not. You wouldn't want to interrupt a girl's beauty sleep, after all." She beginning to feel a bit better about the boy being by himself in the streets so earlier, though it still doesn't seem like the greatest life choice.

"She'd get mad," he confirmed, mimicking the reaction of an angry older sister. It's not true, well not entirely. Nancy would be annoyed at him calling so early, but she wouldn't get angry at him. She'd try to find out why he was calling so early.

"Very mad, I'm sure," Caroline agrees with a nod. "But I'm sure if you explained things, it would be okay. For when it gets even colder outside."

"I'll be fine," he gives a very bright smile. "We'll get the heatin' back soon, I reckon." They wouldn't. The den never had heating. Being too warm meant they wouldn't go out and graft.

"I hope so, it's going to get worse before it gets better." Caroline actually isn't sure how cold London gets in the winter. She remembered hearing that the Thames river had only frozen a handful of times in the city's history, so probably not as cold as Virginia. But still, cold enough to want proper heating in your house.

Edited 2016-12-11 18:36 (UTC)

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." The Dodger gives a bright smile, but he does reckon she's got a point. It was getting to the point of being more than a bit of a nip at nights, and a lot of the younger ones kept getting colds they couldn't shift.

Maybe he should lift some more gin. And blankets.

Well, Caroline would just have to hope that was right. And maybe keep an eye out for him on these mornings, to make sure he wasn't shivering on the street. "Well, good. And if not, I'm around a lot this time of the morning, so keep an eye out and let me know."

And there's that pang of guilt he gets when a mark starts being nice.

"No need to worry for me. Pretty good at takin' care of meself."

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you are but the offer still stands."

A doff of his hat in her direction. "Thankin' you."

Caroline smiled at him. "You're welcome. Stay safe." She look at her watch and realized it was very close to sunrise, so she hurried off in the direction of home. It wasn't until she was safely inside that she realized her wallet was gone.

The Dodger does feel a pang of guilt about it... No, wait, it's a hunger pang. Food, and a hot drink, that's what's needed. He wanders off in search.

[open] From the Cripples to St. James'...

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