After leaving the bakery, Tommy and the Littlelings ran until they reached the backstreets. The rain still fell in sheets, and Tommy kept her head down, wiping the water away from her forehead and eyes to keep watch at the streets around her. Few organized gangs other than the Littlelings roamed the streets of the Builders District, but Tommy knew that the handful of Littlelings she had with her were little protection against even a small sized gang. Although she worried about this, she also knew that since the riots a few months before, the governors would not allow large gangs of children to roam the streets. It was the only reason she traveled with so few Littlelings.

Three blocks from the bakery, Tommy found what she was looking for: a boarded-up building with a large awning opening into the back streets. The garbage pickings along the back streets had not resulted in much of value. One of the Littlelings had found some scraps of tin, which Tommy thought might fetch a few coppers at the foundry. Tommy cursed the rain, wishing it would pass so the townspeople would once again throw out stuff that might have some value to the Littlelings.

Tommy led the Littlelings under the awning and peeked in through the boarded up windows to check for if anyone was about. Tommy was the oldest and tallest among the Littlelings she had brought with her. While there were a few older back at the barn, they followed her for the same reason these Littlelings did: she was the strongest, and she was not afraid to show that strength when necessary, be it against the Littlelings targets, or a Littleling who challenged her authority. While she let them have free run for the most part, there were certain times she expected them to follow her.

Inside the boarded-up house, Tommy saw that it was currently empty, but a family did live in there. They had probably boarded up the back to avoid children like Tommy and the Littlelings from taking advantage of the rear entrance for thieving or worse. Tommy did not mind, however, since she was glad to get out of the rain. Tommy signaled for the bread, and the loaf was passed her way. The Littlelings knew better than to take the first bite without her say so, especially after she was the one who had paid for it.

She ripped a large chunk from the still warm bread and passed it to Sam. He took it greedily and stuffed large chunks into his mouth, barely chewing before swallowing and stuffing another chunk into his mouth. The rains had brought a hunger across the Littlelings that she was usually able to ward off in better weather. She hated it, but knew there was nothing to be done until either the crops were ready for stealing, or she could find enough protection money or goods to feed the hundreds of mouths back in the barn.

Tommy distributed pieces of bread to the rest of the Littlelings, leaving herself with the crusty corner of the bread for herself. She chewed slowly and carefully on the bread. The molars in the rights side of her mouth were beginning to hurt, and she was afraid she’d have to take them out before long.

Few people passed along the backstreet while the Littlelings finished the bread. It was gone all too soon, but nobody complained. After each finished, they walked over to Tommy and touched her stomach, giving a pat or a rub in thanks. Tommy took in their affections, but resisted touching them in return. She knew that it did little good for her to pass on her affection to the Littlelings. They needed to respect and in some ways fear here. There were many others in the barn that were better at affection than she was. She had never known a parent or a kind word, and they had to understand that she just did not know how to pass on the affection they craved.

After he finished eating, Sam went along the back of the house and used his knife to check for any loose boards. Tommy heard a loud crack and turned to see that he had pulled off a large piece of wood near the door. He hefted the wood in his hand and swung it a few times in front of him.

“Any chance we can sneak in?” Tommy asked Sam.

Sam continued to swing the board as he answered. “It’d take a long time to get in, too long for us to stay around.”

Tommy nodded and started back to the street. It was difficult to see where the street ended because of the water. She waded in and her barefoot squished the garbage and mud that covered the ground. She tried not to think of the stuff she stomped through, making her way through the backstreet until she found the side street that would lead to the Littlelings first stop.

They arrived at the Carpenters Corner and went straight to the stone statue that stood in the middle of the corner. The statue was of some long dead general riding a horse. He had once held something in his right hand, but whatever it had been had broken off years ago, and it now looked like he was holding his thumb up to the sky. Bunches of orphans and children waited around the statue. They looked up with little surprise when Tommy and the Littlelings arrived. Tommy visited this corner a few times each week.

Some of the children around the statue began walking off, their heads moving back and forth to watch to see if Tommy was looking in their direction. The Littlelings had already spread out around the side of the statue Tommy stood at, and they casually blocked the path of the children. The orphans around the statue shyly approached Tommy. Many of them had thoughts of joining the Littlelings, of escaping the streets of Varis or the orphanages they returned to each night. Tommy never took these children in. It was easy enough for any child to find out where the Littlelings stayed at night, and if any of them decided to come to Tommy, she would not turn them away, but at every opportunity she discouraged them. She had enough mouths to feed and enough small bodies to clothe. The last thing she needed was more Littlelings to train and keep. The orphans that approached her were too shy to say anything. Tommy wished she had kept some of her bread to distribute to the orphans, most of who looked terribly hungry. But she knew that her first priority were to the Littlelings, not to the random children in the streets.

She ignored the orphans and looked to the other children, children who had parents or relatives in the Builders District. Tommy chose two of the children, pointed at them, and the Littlelings surrounded them. One had almost made it away from the statue before Tommy had pointed. The closest Littleling was Sam, and he pushed the boy toward Tommy. The other one had remained where she had been standing near the statue, her shoulders slumped when Tommy pointed at her, and she approached. The Littlelings made a small circle around the two. When the Littlelings left their station, the rest of the children left the corner, deciding it best to find another place to hang out before Tommy changed her mind or added other children to her list for a shakedown. The only ones that remained were the orphans, who still seemed to hope that Tommy would share some food or money, or decide that today was the day they would work up the nerve to approach Tommy and ask her to take them in.

Tommy studied the boy and the girl she had chosen. While both were dressed better than the orphans that hung around the statue, their clothing was covered in mud, and their black hair was plastered against their heads. “It’s tax day. Please contribute what you can to the Littlelings cause.”

Both children reached into their pouches and removed the coins. The girl presented Tommy with a silver piece, an excellent find. Her parents had probably given her the coin to buy some goods in the Central Square and the corner had distracted her. She’ll learn her lesson from her parents, Tommy was sure, but her worries were not Tommy’s worries. Tommy had to worry about the Littlelings, not the punishment for the girl. After she presented the silver piece, Tommy waved her away, and the Littlelings parted and let her pass out of the corner.

The boy reached into his pouch and turned it inside out to show that it was empty.

“Sorry, Tommy. I got nothing today.” He cut a brave figure standing in front of Tommy. His chin was held up, even if it only reached up to her chest. The boy’s name was Reig, and he lived with both a mother and father outside of the Builders District. He came here to rough it, hang out with the children who lived on the other side of the wall, Tommy was sure. Why he chose to come here instead of the Central District, Tommy could not begin to fathom. Rich children were strange. She had learned that lesson many times.

“That’s not good enough, Reig. You know there’s a tax you have to pay to hang about in this district.”

“I only pay taxes to the governors. I don’t pay taxes to the likes of you and these stinky Littlelings.”

The Littlelings moved in closer to Reig, many of them beginning to bang their fists against their open palms. They were small but their slaps were menacing all the same. They knew how to use those small fists. Tommy looked around, identifying the likely places where the governors’ guardsmen might appear. Because of the rain, the streets were relatively empty except for a few wagons struggling against the mud, and some vendors, who, when they saw Tommy and the Littlelings, had turned away and began hawking their goods in the direction away from statue.

“The rains keep most of the smells away, Reig. I thought you would know that being as you like to spend most of your time among the orphans. Now, why don’t you be a good boy and hand over your money and this won’t turn ugly. There’s nobody to impress around here.”

Sam still held the wooden plank he had taken from the house, and he began swinging it as he approached Reig. The Littlelings gave Sam a wide berth, allowing him to approach from where Tommy stood in front of Reig. Tommy watched Reig’s face, trying to judge what he was planning to do. He was usually quick to pay or run. She was afraid if she beat him too hard, he would never return to the Builders District. Not the best business plan for what she was trying to accomplish with her shakedowns.

Before Sam’s swings could reach Reig, Reig reached into his trousers and pulled out a few coins. He threw them at Sam’s direction, and Tommy saw three copper pieces fall to the floor. It was not a silver piece, but it would buy supplies for the barn, and it was a start. She knew he had more coins in his pocket, but she knew better than to squeeze too hard, when you cut too deeply, sometimes the fruits did not grow back.

“Collect the coins, Sam, and let Reig go. He’s paid his tax for the day.”

Sam seemed somewhat disappointed, but after finishing his swing, he did as Tommy asked, and Reig walked away, his back held straight, and he walked slowly, not turning to see if any of the Littlelings followed. He was a prideful one, Tommy knew.

Before he passed out of the corner, he turned around. “I hear the governors are getting sick of the orphans in the city, Tommy. I’d hate to see you wake up dead one morning. You wouldn’t be half bad looking if you lost some weight and maybe bought some better clothing, and asked whoever hit you with the ugly stick for your coins back.” At that, Reig started running out of the corner. Tommy cursed silently. She should have beaten him down today and taken the rest of his money. She had misjudged him, and she knew his pride was growing with his size. He was still too small to be much of a threat, but in a year or two, after his parents started teaching him the rapier, it would be a different story. She mentally crossed him off her list. He was not worth the risk anymore.

Word count: 2,138

Words remaining: 21,556

Caffeination: Tall Americano and 1 Advil (taken late into the writing)

Feeling: Headachy again. Today was a bad day, and I ended up forcing too many words. It’s mostly just filler with a couple of hints for what will happen. I did make some big decisions that’ll take me out over the next week or so. Now I’m going to bed to try and get rid of this headache.