Video: Of shuttles. And possibly kid gangs.

[lafautedevoltaire]

[The face of a young boy sitting quite casually in one of the shuttles appears on the screen. All the steady eating has brought his apparent age closer to nine or ten, even if he's really probably thirteen.]

For the new people, my name's Gavroche. I work down in the shuttle bay. Everyone needs to help out on board. If you want to learn about fixing the shuttles, I can show you all about it.

[19th century street urchins are the obvious experts]

If you want to actually learn to fly them you should talk to Monsieur Wash, his number's CFO» 023 » 064. He's the one to talk to about actually joining up, too.

[He's about to hang up when he remembers one more thing]

Oh! I noticed there were an awful lot of new kids this jump. We should stick together.

Comments

( video )

[lafautedevoltaire]

No... Heather and Ned look after him though. Kinda like parents... good ones, that is.

[An important distinction]

( video )

[gowrong]

Good. Six is too young not to have parents, or, like, pretend parents.

( video )

[lafautedevoltaire]

Way too little.

Things go badly for kids that little on their own in Paris.

[That's why he'd had to do something for those boys]

( video )

[gowrong]

( somewhat dark, somewhat dry: ) Things go badly for kids on their own everywhere.

( video )

[lafautedevoltaire]

I was managing alright. But it's hard on the streets.

[And yet better than living with his parents]

( video )

[gowrong]

( she's already gotten that people here are from various different times and places and the like. they're all different; some had streets, some had spaceships, and there were probably some world oddities she'd yet to discover. joy. )

What'd you do?

( video )

[lafautedevoltaire]

Whatever I had to. Sometimes I'd manage to apprentice for a while. Sometimes I'd run errands for bread.

Sometimes I had to steal or starve.

[He shrugs]

And I didn't want to starve.

( video )

[gowrong]

No one wants to starve, ( she gravely agrees, giving something of an abortive little nod before settling into her own head; mulling over her thoughts and working her jaw like she's chewing on her tongue.

she does chew the inside of her cheek a little, just while wondering how best to phrase her question so as to not seem suspicious herself. somehow she doubts this rag tag group of kids would want a murderer in their midst any more than her last gang had. )

Did you ever — you never killed anyone though, did you?

( video )

[lafautedevoltaire]

It never got quite that bad.

[That wasn't quite true. He'd had the gun. He'd had the bullets.]

Almost, at the barricade.