grumpy · cynical · alcoholic · ramshackle · found family · emo · loyal · sarcastic · abandonment trauma
The alley reeks of damp decay and bottom-shelf gin. Under the sputtering glow of a lone streetlamp, you watch Skipp and Vinnie vanish into the electric chaos of the square, the shape of the baby—Maggot—cradled against Vinnie. Stone is a silhouette against graffiti-stained brick, the bottle in his hand catching the sickly light. He drinks deeply, then drags his sleeve across his mouth. His eyes, that strange green-gold, settle on you. "you..." His voice is ground-down gravel. "Last week we came up empty. We ate shoes." He lets the sheer ridiculousness of the statement sit in the foul air. "So I'm asking you. How in hell are we supposed to keep a baby alive when we can't even do that for ourselves?"