Chapter Text
Around the almost empty streets of the Lowend, the air was rather quiet. A lonely, scrawny young man walked silently, hiding through the shadows of the residential buildings and apartments. He wore a hood over his messy, irregularly grown hair, and his bright yellow eyes were cautious of any nearby movement. Limping, he slowly walked far from the Lowend. He looks up, noticing the Spoke; a tall tower-like building that is, for most part, a transit station of the Hub.
He reached the Midline Freight Hub, and then stopped. Moritz hid behind one of the huge shipment containers, and stretched his hands to reach for his pocket, frantically running his fingers around in search for chits. He took the remaining few cryo chits out of his pockets and counted them. The man sighed, deeply at discomfort by his current condition. His stomach rumbled as it craved for some sustenance he could not afford at the moment.
He really didn't want to do this, the risks were higher than the rewards, but no workers around the Eye would accept a clumsy, suspicious and boney guy to do work for them, especially as he was just thrown out by the owner of a small ramen factory after Moritz was found consuming a lot of their products instead of working. Out of currency, Moritz only had one option for him, one that he thought he could do better, and sneak out his way to scavenge for goods without being noticed. The best place he could scavenge for scrap and components to sell was the freight hub, and their countless containers loaded with most of the time mechanic parts from commissions or received from cargo ships. Certainly, some stuff won't be missed, right?
He watched out for any Midline security members and cameras, and sneakily used the shadows as a way to hide and infiltrate the most hidden shipment he could find. He immediately ducks when he hears a nearby voice come from the other side of the shipment he was attempting to steal. Moritz held his breath as one of the freight hub operators passed by, shouting a few orders for the workers responsible for unloading the shipments. Moritz stood still, hoping the operator wouldn't notice him hiding in the shadows of the tight gap between two containers. The operator walks away, and he releases a relieved sigh before standing up.
Moritz sneaked his way towards the doors of the shipment, and he quickly worked his way through the locks, trying to do as little sound as he could. He manages to unlock the shipment, and quickly wriggles inside. In the dark container, he carefully walked around and tried to reach for something with his hands amidst the darkness. After a few seconds of exploring, his hand feels for a nearby crate and rushes towards it, prepared to unbox it and take whatever he could.
But when he opens the crate and reaches his hand inside, instead of feeling the sensation of cold metal plates or rusty machinery, he feels soft, small rounded objects between his fingers, followed by the damp smell of dirt. Confused, Moritz takes one of the items off and analyzes with his hands through the darkness. Incredulous, he realizes that the crate was just full of Matsutake mushrooms.
A curse leaves his mouth, and he looks around for something else to steal. But Moritz was afraid that he was already inside the container for too long, and by the looks of it, there might be nothing else but crops from the Greenway in there. So he just reaches to the open crate and grabs a handful of mushrooms and shoves them in his pockets before leaving. At least, he would have something to eat this time.
Moritz rushed out of the container and attempted to partially close it, to not look like someone had been in there. After that, he sneakily ran off, using the shadows as cover, back to the dark alleys of the Lowend.
In an empty, tight alleyway, Moritz struggled to walk until he reached its dead end. A small cheap compact stove, bags of tools and other goods, and an old mattress were there on the floor of the small alley area. He let himself fall on the mattress, exhausted, and he turns around to massage his hurting feet. A few cycles ago, he injured himself in one of his past stealing attempts, but he still couldn't afford to rest due to his dire situation, constantly in need of both cryo and food.
Moritz sighs, kneeling over next to the rusty stove, and pulled the mushrooms out of his pockets. He searched through his stuff to find a pan and some remains of seasoning and sauces. He wasn't a good cook himself, but it was better than having to eat them raw.
He started cooking, and the fragrant smell of cooked matsutake filled the alleyway, to the point that a small, black and sleek figure popped in the alley. Moritz turned around to notice that his cooking skills had caught the attention of one of Lowend's curious cats.
The stray meowed, expressing their hunger. "Also looking for a meal, kitty?" Moritz whispered to the cat. He looked at the cooking matsutake, then back to the cat. "I'll be done in a moment, don't worry."
Moritz finished cooking the seasoned, moisty and slightly bitter matsutake, and poured a little on the ground for the stray. They smelled it first, curious, but then started biting good chunks out of it.
"Don't eat too fast, it's hot." Moritz carefully picked up the pan, putting it on a piece of cloth so he could lay it on his lap to eat. Both Moritz and the cat eat silently, his eyes busy looking up towards the windowed glass panels that lead directly to space, and the large spoke that carries the Hub crossing that view. How long could he sustain himself on the Eye like that? Will one cycle things change, or will he always be in fight or flight mode, scrambling to survive?
As he wondered, the cat finished their meal, and approached Moritz for more. He looked sympathetically at the curious stray, then picked up one more mushroom from his pan to give to the cat. They quickly gulped it down. Seems like someone likes his cooking.
When Moritz finished, he patted the cat's head for a while. "Are you like me…? Or do you live an easy life with people feeding you?" The cat purred quietly, then Moritz let out a grin "...What am I saying… you're just a cat. You just do cat things all day. No worries about human responsibilities… I would be jealous."
Suddenly, the black cat stood up, something calling their attention, and they ran out of Moritz's hideout. He tried to follow them with his eyes, but quickly lose them out of sight. His smile fades.
"... You're just a cat…"
He laid down on his mattress, his head still busy with thoughts about his last painful days. Moritz sighs, and decides to brush these thoughts away and just go to sleep. It's unfortunate to live in that lonely situation, but that's all he could do. Just live carelessly, just survive, waiting for a change to happen, something new to happen on the Eye.