It was a fairly dreary morning but that could be attributed to the thick smog caused by fireplaces used to warm homes. Arthur was the first to rise in the crowded hour of six. He lived there with other urchins who had nowhere else to go. The youngest was a twelve year old boy named John, and the eldest was a young woman a few years older than Arthur himself named Elise. He could see them sprawled across their one roomed abode. Elise waa given the only bed while the rest of them slept on the floor. John was tucked halfway under the small table they had pushed into the corner to make enough room for everyone to sleep.
They had barely enough coin to scrape by with rent but today was a new day and they were determined to get by. Arthur gently shook the others awake and set about slicing a bit of cheese they had left over from the night.
John sat up, still half sleep with drool staining the corner of his mouth and cheek. "Wha? Arthur?" A slice of cheese was offered to the boy and he automatically began eating. The young boy worked with Elise in the dust yards while Arthur worked at a shipyard. He was trying hard to turn his life around for those he cared for but it was a struggle. His fingers itched with the need to take shiny things and sell them for a few more coins to fill their bellies with. It was a constant struggle for survival. Arthur sighed softly as he finished up his food and a wet rag was passed around so they could wash their faces and smooth their hair before departing for work.
At five foot seven with a lanky build, Arthur was an average man with strawberry blond hair and green eyes with little flecks of brown. His clothes would need to be washed soon but that could happen tonight. As they filtered out of their small shared home, Arthur made his way towards the docks. His employer was a man named Cornelius Morgan, a miser of a man who'd made his fortune as the son of a merchant who dealt in spices. The man wasn't nearly as rich as others, Arthur had heard, but he was still richer than his employees.
The most he'd heard of the man was about his wealth and how he was trying to marry off all of his daughters as soon as possible. From his understanding the eldest three--or was it four?--were married already.
Weaving his way through the busy streets and muck, he wondered if he'd come across Reed today. They'd grown up in the streets together, even with Arthur being older by a handful of years. He hadn't seen the boy in a while, maybe a day or two, and he wouldn't conceal his worry. He'd served enough jail time to know that it was hell on earth.
Thankfully he didn't live too far from the docks so he arrived on time. In front of the main building was a fancy carriage pulled by two sleek black horses with white patches on their faces. No doubt his employer had just barely arrived.
For a few moments Arthur froze in place, musing what it was like to be able to have such fancy things. The sound of the carriage door opening caught his attention and he blinked rapidly a few times. The voice that he could barely hear about the hustle and bustle was clearly feminine, a second voice alerted him to the presence of another man. He couldn't make out their conversation but it really wasn't his place to know what they were talking about anyways.
As Arthur made his way past the carriage to skirt between the main building and a warehouse, he caught sight of the people who'd been talking. One was a tall boy with long fingered hands and neatly combed dark hair, and the other was a small girl with her hair coiled into a small bun at the nape of her neck. They were both dressed in fine clothes with shiny silver buttons that could feed him and his friends for a while.
"You can't be serious. You know father will never let you-"
"Have you heard of the slums, dear brother? The poor need help. If we can put them on the path to salvation then they can go to heaven." The girl said, following alongside her brother. Arthur was close enough to hear that snippet of conversation and he realized that it was true. There had been an influx of charitable folk all around. They wanted to help but some were ill-eqquiped for the amount of people in need. Ah well, the rich could help if they wanted to, or at least debate about helping. Arthur had to get to work.
When his shift finally ended just as the sun was beginning to go down, Arthur popped his back and continued down a narrow alleyway in order to swing by a small market so he could pinch a few things before swinging by to see his friend. Hey just because he got paid didn't mean he had enough to feed five other mouths and enough to pay rent. As he came out of the alleyway he smacked into someone. Blinking, he looked down at the small figure he'd run into.
The girl looked familiar although he couldn't place where he'd seen her before. Her dress was common and plain but showed little signs of wear, as if she hadn't worked much.
"Sorry miss." Arthur said, helping her off of the ground. The girl stared wide eyed at him, silent for a few awkward moments before she found her words.
"Ah apology accepted."
Honor cursed herself for making a fool out of herself but she was terribly out of her element. She'd come to East End with Emily, the slightly older girl that she thought of as a sister. They'd known each other since they were knee high through their fathers. Emily's family wasn't as prosperous as her own but they were nearly there.
It was Emily who'd convinced her to help in the slums but also the one who said in order to help better they needed first hand accounts of how the poor lived. They'd been separated a while ago, or perhaps Emily had gone astray of her own will, Honor couldn't be certain. All that she knew was she was frightened and alone and in clothes that were scratchy and a little too big on her.
"Name's Arthur Beckett." The boy said, looking down at her. Should she give her full name? Likely not. Even if there was more than one Morgan family around she didn't want to risk word of her slumming to get back to her father.
"Honor. Just Honor." She said, twisting her hands together in a nervous manner.
"Well Miss Honor, why don't you accompany me to the pub? Was going to meet a friend there for a round of drinks." Arthur said.
Honor wasn't sure if she needed to be wary of him or not. Emily had warned her that there were.some folk in the slums that were vile beings, but she'd assured her that most were simply wanting to live until tomorrow. Honor nodded her head before following after him. It wasn't like anyone else would be willing to talk to her, and there was the chance that Emily possibly wandered into a pub so it wouldn't hurt to look there. As they passed through a thinning market she caught the way he snagged a few carrots and stuffed them into his pockets for later.
Did he not have enough money? Honor frowned as she followed but said nothing. She had to remind herself that these people hadn't been born into money like she had been. They needed to fight for their earnings, she simply existed to be gifted with fine dresses and jewels. Once they reached the pub Arthur wandered in quite comfortably while Honor needed to work up the courage to do so. She'd never been in such a place nor had she seen men drink anything other than wine at parties.
She latched onto Arthur's jacket, the material rough under her fingers, as he led her to the back where he usually met with Reed to share some drinks. He was hoping that Reed wouldn't mind the girl tagging along. Arthur was still trying to figure out where he'd seen her before.
@OliveYou
They had barely enough coin to scrape by with rent but today was a new day and they were determined to get by. Arthur gently shook the others awake and set about slicing a bit of cheese they had left over from the night.
John sat up, still half sleep with drool staining the corner of his mouth and cheek. "Wha? Arthur?" A slice of cheese was offered to the boy and he automatically began eating. The young boy worked with Elise in the dust yards while Arthur worked at a shipyard. He was trying hard to turn his life around for those he cared for but it was a struggle. His fingers itched with the need to take shiny things and sell them for a few more coins to fill their bellies with. It was a constant struggle for survival. Arthur sighed softly as he finished up his food and a wet rag was passed around so they could wash their faces and smooth their hair before departing for work.
At five foot seven with a lanky build, Arthur was an average man with strawberry blond hair and green eyes with little flecks of brown. His clothes would need to be washed soon but that could happen tonight. As they filtered out of their small shared home, Arthur made his way towards the docks. His employer was a man named Cornelius Morgan, a miser of a man who'd made his fortune as the son of a merchant who dealt in spices. The man wasn't nearly as rich as others, Arthur had heard, but he was still richer than his employees.
The most he'd heard of the man was about his wealth and how he was trying to marry off all of his daughters as soon as possible. From his understanding the eldest three--or was it four?--were married already.
Weaving his way through the busy streets and muck, he wondered if he'd come across Reed today. They'd grown up in the streets together, even with Arthur being older by a handful of years. He hadn't seen the boy in a while, maybe a day or two, and he wouldn't conceal his worry. He'd served enough jail time to know that it was hell on earth.
Thankfully he didn't live too far from the docks so he arrived on time. In front of the main building was a fancy carriage pulled by two sleek black horses with white patches on their faces. No doubt his employer had just barely arrived.
For a few moments Arthur froze in place, musing what it was like to be able to have such fancy things. The sound of the carriage door opening caught his attention and he blinked rapidly a few times. The voice that he could barely hear about the hustle and bustle was clearly feminine, a second voice alerted him to the presence of another man. He couldn't make out their conversation but it really wasn't his place to know what they were talking about anyways.
As Arthur made his way past the carriage to skirt between the main building and a warehouse, he caught sight of the people who'd been talking. One was a tall boy with long fingered hands and neatly combed dark hair, and the other was a small girl with her hair coiled into a small bun at the nape of her neck. They were both dressed in fine clothes with shiny silver buttons that could feed him and his friends for a while.
"You can't be serious. You know father will never let you-"
"Have you heard of the slums, dear brother? The poor need help. If we can put them on the path to salvation then they can go to heaven." The girl said, following alongside her brother. Arthur was close enough to hear that snippet of conversation and he realized that it was true. There had been an influx of charitable folk all around. They wanted to help but some were ill-eqquiped for the amount of people in need. Ah well, the rich could help if they wanted to, or at least debate about helping. Arthur had to get to work.
-ยค-
When his shift finally ended just as the sun was beginning to go down, Arthur popped his back and continued down a narrow alleyway in order to swing by a small market so he could pinch a few things before swinging by to see his friend. Hey just because he got paid didn't mean he had enough to feed five other mouths and enough to pay rent. As he came out of the alleyway he smacked into someone. Blinking, he looked down at the small figure he'd run into.
The girl looked familiar although he couldn't place where he'd seen her before. Her dress was common and plain but showed little signs of wear, as if she hadn't worked much.
"Sorry miss." Arthur said, helping her off of the ground. The girl stared wide eyed at him, silent for a few awkward moments before she found her words.
"Ah apology accepted."
Honor cursed herself for making a fool out of herself but she was terribly out of her element. She'd come to East End with Emily, the slightly older girl that she thought of as a sister. They'd known each other since they were knee high through their fathers. Emily's family wasn't as prosperous as her own but they were nearly there.
It was Emily who'd convinced her to help in the slums but also the one who said in order to help better they needed first hand accounts of how the poor lived. They'd been separated a while ago, or perhaps Emily had gone astray of her own will, Honor couldn't be certain. All that she knew was she was frightened and alone and in clothes that were scratchy and a little too big on her.
"Name's Arthur Beckett." The boy said, looking down at her. Should she give her full name? Likely not. Even if there was more than one Morgan family around she didn't want to risk word of her slumming to get back to her father.
"Honor. Just Honor." She said, twisting her hands together in a nervous manner.
"Well Miss Honor, why don't you accompany me to the pub? Was going to meet a friend there for a round of drinks." Arthur said.
Honor wasn't sure if she needed to be wary of him or not. Emily had warned her that there were.some folk in the slums that were vile beings, but she'd assured her that most were simply wanting to live until tomorrow. Honor nodded her head before following after him. It wasn't like anyone else would be willing to talk to her, and there was the chance that Emily possibly wandered into a pub so it wouldn't hurt to look there. As they passed through a thinning market she caught the way he snagged a few carrots and stuffed them into his pockets for later.
Did he not have enough money? Honor frowned as she followed but said nothing. She had to remind herself that these people hadn't been born into money like she had been. They needed to fight for their earnings, she simply existed to be gifted with fine dresses and jewels. Once they reached the pub Arthur wandered in quite comfortably while Honor needed to work up the courage to do so. She'd never been in such a place nor had she seen men drink anything other than wine at parties.
She latched onto Arthur's jacket, the material rough under her fingers, as he led her to the back where he usually met with Reed to share some drinks. He was hoping that Reed wouldn't mind the girl tagging along. Arthur was still trying to figure out where he'd seen her before.
@OliveYou