Chapter Text
1872
Whitecod, Massachusetts
~
Arthur Morgan meets a girl named Edith two days after his daddy beats him so bad he blacks out.
Today's not a bad day, all things considered. The locals aren't chasing Arthur and his daddy out of town, and the law can't be bothered to deal with them, what with the sheer number of other drunk hooligans in this area.
But Arthur hasn't eaten since yesterday morning, and the hunger has started to morph into something near pain at this point. He knows Lyle's got money or cans stashed in some tree hole or another, but Arthur can't be bothered to go looking for the old bastard, lest he be met with another beating for daring to be hungry.
So here he is, leaning up against the fencing by the general store, scuffing his shoe in the dirt. He doesn't paint a terribly conspicuous picture, leaning up against the railing in front of the general store like he is. He's still nursing the wounds from the thrashing- skewed nose and purple and blue splotches spreading all along his cheekbone. Got his hands fisted in empty pockets, chipped fingernails catching on the crumbs and lint sticking to the inside lining. To the rest of the town, he's just the son of another drunk, loitering about while his daddy's off over yonder.
They're slumming it out in a dying fishing town- Whitecod, or something like that. It's the sort of backwater village that hasn't gotten anyone but drunks or layabouts left in it, and where the only jobs left are fishing or gambling. Half the stores are boarded up and closed off. The other half are near empty. The only place still bustling with activity are the fishing docks and the local saloon. Even the general store is almost entirely devoid of people.
Arthur kicks at a clump of mud, squinting at the shop’s front door.
A tin of crackers will be enough to tide him over for the rest of the day at least, hopefully. Swiping something and bolting usually works, but the streets here are soft and wet; the chances of him getting scruffed by the local law are higher than usual. He could try sneaking in and sneaking back out, but there's no shot that he makes it past the clerk without being spotted.
He mulls it over for a few more moments, before his shoulders slump and he sighs, giving up. Thinking ain't exactly his strong suit, and grabbing something and legging it hasn't exactly failed him yet. Even when he does get caught by the shopkeep or a lawman, he can usually still get away with a small tin shoved in his coat. Why change what works?
A housewife and her two kids choose this moment to wander into the store. They're a poorer white family by the looks of it, all pale skin and dust-coated clothing. Similar enough in appearance to Arthur that he can duck down behind them and blend right in, slinking into the shop on their tails.
While the clerk is distracted by the lady and her kids, Arthur ducks behind a row of stock. There's rows of tin cans stacked on the shelf Arthur's chosen as his cover. He quietly slips one off the shelf— tinned crackers. That'll do; staples like that will keep well, and if Arthur can find a dry place to stash the tins, he'll hopefully have food for the rest of the day and maybe even tomorrow.
He peeks over the top of the shelves, keeping an eye trained on the clerk as he quickly scrabbles for tins to shove into his jacket. He's a reedy kid- the sort of skinny that comes from being underfed rather than being young, and the jacket he's wearing is one of Lyle's old ones. Arthur's practically swimming in the thing, but that just means that he's got more space in his pockets.
The noise in the store drops to a lull as the lady pulls her two kids out of the store, her shopping finished. Without their chatter to drown out the sound of his movements, Arthur freezes in place, not daring to reach out for more goods, lest he be heard.
The bell above the general store door jingles again. Arthur dares to peeks up over the top of the shelf. An older man- in his forties, and probably one of the town layabouts- shambles through the door and makes a beeline for the counter.
Arthur's so focused on the man that he almost misses it, when a small hand catches the door behind the man, pushing it back open just as it's about to close. A small blond girl in a light brown dress peeks into the store. She looks to be around his age, all button nose and bright blue eyes. A stereotypical sort of pretty farmer girl.
She glances around a few times, before stepping into the store. She smiles at the clerk, offering up a small wave, and glances toward the shelves. Her eyes catch on Arthur's.
Arthur flinches, immediately shrinking back down behind the shelf, wrapping his jacket tighter around him. He's only got two tins of crackers on him; assuming the girl doesn't snitch- if she caught him at all- it'll be enough to tide him over for the day, at least. Even if he had hoped to have gotten a complete meal out of this trip.
He stays frozen, hunkered down behind the shelf, for a few tense moments. All he can hear for a few tense seconds is the old man's grumbling, and the clerk flipping through his stores.
When nobody starts yelling at him, Arthur slowly rises back up, glancing warily over the top of the shelf. The store clerk seems to be flipping through the cash register, still dealing with the old man from earlier; the girl is nowhere to be seen.
A finger lightly taps Arthur on the shoulder. Arthur chokes of a shriek, bodily flinching away. He nearly collides into the shelf behind him in his scrambling, and only the small hand wrapped around his forearm keeps from from toppling the general store racks like a row of dominoes.
The young girl from earlier smiles sweetly at him, a finger raised to her lips. This close, Arthur can see freckles dashed along the bridge of her nose.
"Hello," She greets quietly, voice a whisper. Arthur jerks his arm away, yanking out of her grip. She's still smiling at him, but her gaze has traveled to behind Arthur, toward the row of crackers.
"That's dumb as shit." The girl continues bluntly. Her voice is lowered just enough that the clerk wouldn't be able to hear her, but Arthur bristles just the same.
"Whadda'you know?" He wheezes, clutching a tin of crackers to his chest. "Like you've ever stolen a thing in your life."
"You're gonna get caught as soon as you walk past the clerk." She barrels on.
"Not if I run fast."
She raises an eyebrow at Arthur, oddly elegant and judgemental for a kid who's definitely not older than him. She makes grabby-hand motions at Arthur, and when the boy doesn't comply, reaches forward and starts patting him down, brushing dirt and dust off of his worn jacket.
She pauses, scrutinizing Arthur's face; Arthur scowls harder. Before Arthur cab react, she whips a dirty hand out, smudging streaks of dirt over Arthur's face. Arthur flinches when her fingers press on his bruises, but he can't so much as fight back, not without dropping the tins in his arms.
"If you're gonna try and steal something at least try to clean up a little bit." The girl sniffs. "That way you don't look entirely like a street rat."
"I know what I'm doing." Arthur hisses back. "This ain't the first time I've done this."
"Yeah? And how many times have you gotten out without getting caught by the clerk?"
Arthur's sulky silence is answer enough.
The girl snickers. "If you're gonna be a thief at least be a smart one. The dumb ones get caught and killed." She withdraws her hands, but she's still way too close to Arthur for comfort. "Have you got a nickel on you at least? Buy some candy, that way you look like you actually came in here for a treat."
"No." Arthur mutters mullishly.
The girl clicks her tongue. "Tell you what," she says, "You got a big jacket with lottsa pockets on you. You grab what you can and we split what you grab. I do the talking and make sure neither of us gets scruffed by the law."
Arthur narrows his eyes. He definitely ain't a good talker, and getting caught by the law now means getting caught by his daddy, which won't end good for no one. He's starvin', but he knows himself. Wouldn't get three steps past the counter without being spotted, and there's no chance he makes it all the way to the edge of town without being caught, not with his short legs, the muddy roads outside, and the cans weighing down his coat.
Still, he's known this girl for maybe a grand total of five minutes. She could be just as bad at this whole heisting thing at him. Arthur eyes her critically for a few moments. Her dress is clean too; she looks like she could be the daughter of the general store clerk, or one of the other better-off men in this town. But the temptation of a proper cover for some food... Arthur slumps with a sigh.
"I get the majority."
"Seventy-thirty, that work for you?" The girl fires back rapidfire.
"I have no idea how much that is."
"You get the majority." The girl amends. She reaches upward to mess with Arthur's hair, patting it down flat against his scalp.
"You want anything specific?" Arthur bends backward, craning away from her fingers.
"Canned veggies. Nothing acidic though." The girl offers up. She steps away from Arthur, hands on her hips and squinting as she admires her work. Arthur squirms under her gaze, feeling not unlike a bug that's just had its rock lifted up.
"Acidic?"
"Like tomatoes and coffee. Things that normally taste a bit sour." She nods to herself approvingly, then glance down at herself, patting down her dress and flicking off specks of dirt from the brown fabric. "Don't worry about it. Just grab some stuff to eat. I'll take care of the clerk."
"And how exactly are you doing that?"
The girl flaps a hand at him. She twists around, stretching up to peer over the shelves at the store clerk.
"Call me Edie," She says, "You're my kid cousin Artie, and we're just here to pick up some penny candies as a treat before we head on home. I'll handle the talking bit. Just grab the things and don't get spotted, and keep quiet on our way out."
"Grab the stuff. Keep my mouth shut, look at my feet and hide behind you." Arthur parrots slowly.
Edie snorts on a laugh. She reaches over, patting Arthur twice on the forearm. "You got this." From one of her pockets, she pulls out nickel, and promptly skips right off to the clerk's table.
"Hiya, mister!" Her voice immediately goes high-pitched and saccharine sweet. "Have you got any penny candies? Momma told me to get some treats for me 'n Artie."
Arthur tunes out the rest of the conversation, ducking in between the shelves, trying to look like he's only a curious kid doing nothing more than browsing. He manages to snag the two tins of crackers from earlier, a can of peas, and a small can of sardines.
He slinks back towards the front of the store, where Edie's still chatting away. The girl points at varying flavors of candies spread out on the counter, and when she spots Arthur awkwardly shuffling towards her, she waves him over.
"I didn't know you had any cousins." The clerk- Mr. Markson, apparently- remarks.
"Momma's side of the family. They're just passing through, and we've got to 'show them proper hospitality', whatever that means." Edie wrinkles up her nose as she mimics a voice.
The clerk barks out a laugh, offering the small handful of penny candies. They're a mix of peppermint, hard sugar, and caramel candies. Edie catches Arthur eyeing them, and slides a piece over. Arthur unwraps it and pops it in his mouth. Caramel. Yummy.
"Thanks, Mr. Markson." She says, smiling sweet as can be, as if Arthur isn't standing right behind her with his oversized jacket filled with illicitly gained goods.
Mr. Markson waves the two of them off. "You kids have a good day."
Edie's still smiling brightly as they exit the general store, stepping out onto the front porch. Edie takes Arthur's hand in hers, gently tugging him to turn left onto the street.
Arthur instinctively starts speeding up his pace as soon as his feet meet the dirt. Edie's grip tightens into a vice, and Arthur lets out a noise as she yanks on his arm.
"Don't be dumb," She hisses, dragging him down to a leisurely stride. She unwraps a peppermint candy and offers it to Arthur. "Running is the easiest way to get caught when no one's even looking for you yet." Arthur gingerly takes the candy, popping it into his mouth. Sharp coolness bursts on his tongue, almost painfully so. Arthur's face must do something, because Edie takes one look at his expression and bursts out laughing.
"Not your taste?"
"Tastes weird." Arthur mutters. Edie snorts. She begins sorting the candies in her other hand, all the caramels clamped between her pinky and ring finger, the peppermints between her middle and pointer finger, and the sugar candies left in her palm.
"I never did get your name, by the way." She says casually. She hands over the caramel candies to Arthur, dexterously dropping half the sugar candies in his palm.
"I'm Arthur. Arthur Morgan." Arthur squints at the candies, then shoves them into his coat pocket.
He glances back up to see Edie's face twist into something complicated. But quick as it rises, the odd expression fades, shifting into a grin. "Hah! Would you look at that? I actually guessed right." She laughs. "Edith's my real name too. Can't go lying about that in this tiny-ass town." She unwraps one of her sweets and pops it into her mouth. "Note for you, though. Don't be giving your family name out all easy like that. Makes it easy for the law to follow you. Within civilization, at least."
"I know that." Arthur says petulantly. "But you ain't gonna snitch on me. We're- uh." He stutters to a stop, lips pursing as he looks for the right word.
"Partners in crime?" Edie offers, snorting on a giggle. "Fellow rat children? Co-conspirators?" She says the last word in a snooty voice, then bursts into laughter again. Arthur can't quite find what's so funny about the word. He shrugs helplessly.
She wheezes to herself for a few more seconds, wiping a tear from her eye. Arthur eyes her dubiously.
Whitecod's a small town, sandwiched between the coastline and a set of imposing cliffs. There's a patch of woods that separates the town proper from the sheer stone; it's the same forest Lyle and Arthur are currently camped out in. They're too poor to afford an inn room, and the region is so drained of wild game that the largest predator around is the common red fox. The most dangerous thing in that forest right now is probably Lyle himself.
They're drawing close to that edge of town by the forest when Edith latches onto his arm again, tugging him closer towards the treeline. Instinctively, Arthur digs his heels into the dirt. Edie rolls her eyes.
"I know a spot where we can make camp." She says, tugging more insistently on Arthur's arm. "Heat up some of that food if you'd like."
"How do I know you ain't just dragging me off to rob me?" Arthur snipes.
"Buddy," Edie snorts. "I just helped you steal food. Have some faith in me, yeah?" She winces as soon as the words are out of her mouth, and releases the grip she has on Arthur's arm. Arthur frowns at the reaction, but when Edith makes a beeline for the trees, he follows in her steps.
"You from Whitecod? Properly?" Arthur asks. Edie's definitely some sort of long-term resident, what with the way she'd easily crept through town. But Whitecod's a small enough town that even Arthur himself could probably easily find his way around after a few weeks.
Edith snorts. "Born and raised." She says bitterly. "Been here my whole goddamn life." She ducks under a low branch, squeezing herself between two bushes. Arthur ducks down after her, wincing as branches and sharp leaves scrape along his skin.
It's quite a stark difference, seeing the woods in daylight. Arthur had grown used to only seeing the woods at night. It'd always be dark whenever he'd finally been so drained he crawled back to his bedroll. And in his effort to wake before Lyle, he'd always be back up before the sun properly rose. The trees and shadows would all blend together, shifting the landscape into an eerie and confusing mess.
Sure the spindly trees are still creepy in their own right, even in the daylight, but something about the sunlight falling through the canopy makes the forest feel alive in a way it never did at night.
Edith pushes aside another low-hanging branch, finally revealing a small clearing. There's a patch of large rocks situated on one side of the clearing, situated such that they create an overhang, perfect for a temporary shelter. There's the remains of a firepit, tucked away just to the side of the rocks. A massive, spindly old tree stretches up over the entire clearing, streaking the ground with shadows of its branches. Arthur can hear a creek burbling away somewhere in the near distance.
"Well," Edie says dryly, hands propped up on her hips, "Home sweet home." She reaches along the side of her dress, slipping her hand in a pocket that Arthur only just notices is sewn into the folds of her skirt. He boggles as she pulls out a pack of matches and a knife.
"How old are you?" Arthur asks slowly. "Your daddy don't got nothing to say 'bout you runnin' round with a knife?"
Edie snorts. "Old bastard don't got any say in the things I don't or do." She wanders to the edge of the clearing, grabbing a handful of dried leaves and twigs. Arthur slowly approaches the firepit as she sets the kindling in the circle of stones. She strikes a match, dropping it in the center. The leaves go up in a whoosh of flame.
"Still didn't tell me your age." Arthur grumbles. "I'm nine." He offers up. He pulls out the cans of stolen goods, setting them on the ground in a line in front of her.
"Like I said," Edie hums. "I'm older than you." She wanders back towards Arthur, spinning the knife around in her hands as she bends down to grab the can of peas. In one swift movement, she stabs the knife down into the top of her can, popping it open.
She dumps some of the peas directly into her mouth, then holds the container out to Arthur. Arthur takes it gently. He peels open his own tin of crackers, dumping some pieces onto a dry staple.
"How old though?" He asks, passing the peas and a cracker back to Edith.
"Eh, ten or eleven? Probably." Edith shrugs. Arthur doesn't think he's ever met someone less interested in a conversation than Edie is right now. "It's complicated." She takes the cracker, upturning the can of peas over it in the same way Arthur has. She places the can on the ground next to Arthur when she's done, and drops down onto the forest floor next to him.
Something makes a popping sound, and Arthur reaches forward with a stick to nudge the can of sardines out of the fire.
"You gotta momma or a daddy to head home to?" Edith suddenly starts. She bites down on her morsel of food, the cracker snapping between her teeth.
Arthur reflexively scowls at the mention of Lyle.
Edith rolls her eyes, probably assuming that the expression is directed at her. "I've never seen you around here and I've lived in this damn town my entire life. Nobody ever comes up here on purpose unless they're a gambler or a drunk. And you sure as shit ain't old enough to be either."
"Just passing through." Arthur finally grumbles. He pokes at the can of sardines with a finger, wincing and drawing his hand back when the metal burns against his skin. He'd left the fish too close to the fire. "Momma's been dead since I was a baby. My daddy's one of them gamblers and drunks."
"And that type ain't exactly good at feeding their kids." Edith winces. She grabs the edge of her skirt, using the thick fabric to pull the can out of the fire, uncaring of the ash and oils staining the cloth. In one smooth motion, she pops open the can of sardines, angling the container so that the heated fish juice explodes away from the two of them. She offers the can to Arthur, with the cloth still wrapped around it. Arthur grabs another cracker, takes the can, and upends some of the fish onto the cracker. He bites into it, then frowns. The center of the fish is still cold.
"Feel free to come find me if your old man doesn't feed you." Edie says easily, motioning with her knife at the empty cans. "Starving's one of the worst ways to go."
Arthur squints at her suspiciously, but doesn't refuse. He ain't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, and Lord knows Lyle ain't gonna be feeding him regularly. But speaking of…
"How've you been feeding yourself, then?" Arthur asks. "No way you've been robbing the store that often. The clerk hasn't caught you yet."
"Who says I ain't just good at shoplifting?" Edie waggles her eyebrows at Arthur. Arthur makes a face, and Edith barks out a laugh, turning away at him to take another bite of her cracker-pea stack. "But yeah, usually I'll fish or trap something, or pick some roots out in the woods for veg." Some of the peas slide off her cracker, slowly dripping down her arm. "You wanna learn?"
"What, to rob the general store better?"
"Hah!" Edith raises her arm to lick the peas off her skin. "Maybe one day. But I was talking about things like learning how to fish and hunt. You lot tend to be wanderers, right? And if you stick out to the wilds, and you know how to hunt and forage, then at the very least you won't starve."
Arthur wrinkles up his nose at the thought. " I ain't no good at fishing. Or hunting either." Lyle certainly hadn't been, and all of Arthur's skill set is just crumbs he's scraped off the old bastard. The closest he and Lyle had every gotten to eating fresh game was picking apart the bloodied mess that was a fresh, horse-trampled, rabbit.
Edith shrugs. "Well, you're still a kid. You've got time to learn." She leans forward, grabbing a stray stick to poke at the dying fire. "Necessary life skills, and all that. You got anything else you need to heat up?" Arthur shakes his head, throwing the last bite of the sardine-cracker stack into his mouth. Edith hums and rises to her feet to stomp out the rest of the fire.
"I can teach you how to trap animals, if you'd like." Edie continues. "How to skin them too, well enough that you can sell the pelts for some spare change."
Arthur huffs. "I just said I wouldn't be no good."
"You gotta start somewhere. 'Sides, not like you'd be bothering me. I haven't got anything else going on with my day, and if nothing else, I'd like to be your friend." Edith says.
Arthur grumbles. "I don' even know how long I'll be in town for. That'd be kinda a shitty friend."
"Then when you're older, come back and find me. Or, well," she pauses to laugh. "Maybe I'll head out and find you." Edith shakes her head, waving Arthur off. "So, yes or no. Want to come hunting with me? I'll feed you while we're at it."
Arthur pouts. "You don't have to bribe me." Though he will admit that the idea is enticing. And Edith is certainly one of the more pleasant people Arthur's been around, even amongst his fellow street rats.
"So?"
"Yeah, I'll come." Arthur sighs, shoulders slumping. "Don't go blaming me if we can't catch anything."
Edie laughs. "If we don't catch anything I'll blame the woods." She promises, teeth glinting as she smiles. "Do you have a hunting knife?" She wipes her own blade down on her skirt, cleaning off the canned pea juice.
"No, but my daddy's got one." Arthur offers. "I could stop by and nick it, if it's real important."
"Will he miss it? Or you, for that matter." Edith asks.
"Pro'ly not." Arthur admits, shrugging weakly. "I don't even think he's back at camp right now." Or at least, Arthur sure hopes not.
"Then go and grab it. I'll wait for you back here." Edith gestures up at the massive, gnarled tree that curves over the stones behind them. "Sun'll still be up for a while yet, but if we catch something we can cook it and you can hold onto it for dinner."
"Right," Arthur says, pushing himself up to his feet. "I'll be right back, then."
Edie laughs, offering Arthur a jaunty little wave as he slinks out of the clearing.