August 29, 1885 - London Park

One of the few days her ma had off, and it was a nice one. A day at the park. Not something that was regularly allowed considering how much work and chores had to be done.

Alina was currently climbing a tree, avoiding Josiah as he chased her with was likely not mud. She was a good climber, and it helped that she wasn't holding anything. It slowed him down and gave her the advantage. That, and she was a faster person in general.

Then she heard yelling from a few feet away. Josiah's mother was yelling at him to get down. The two families had been living together ever since Alina and her family could afford to help pay rent. Which meant rules were still being figured out and inforced between parents. Not that it was Alina's or her mother's fault that Josiah was climbing a tree when he knew not to.

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Magic by Lady!

Ronan unlike Martha let her child climb, and watched with a steady gaze just beneath the tree, arms relaxed just in case she needed to catch her wee bit. She wanted her daughter to explore her own strengths and weaknesses and have a sense of familiarity about all it. Martha came over shaking a spoon at Alina, "YOU TOO MISSY!"

Ronan struck her arm out. "No." She stated firmly, "Go on lass, keep on."

Martha looked to Ronan like she was mad, "She'll break her arm, or worse crack her skull if you let her keep on like that, ye got money for bone mendin potion I suppose!"

"Not today she won', but perhaps tomorrow or some other unlucky day if she doesn' take the time to hone her skills now and build up her strength. We can' always be there for 'em Martha, try as we might. Wee bit gots to learn." Her gaze never left her daughter, and as far as Josiah went that was Martha's problem.

She wondered what Martha did as a child, probably not much, probably stayed cooped up inside and helped with womens work, where it was safe. Not Ronan, every chance she got she was running with the lads, scraping her knees, getting bruised, climbing and jumping. Stealing and making mischief until caught and sent back to homestead prison.

  

She paid no mind to the fact that Martha was yelling at her lad, but briefly looked down with a scrunched nose when she got yelled at as well. The lady was not her ma, so how was it her right to say what Alina could do? With her mother's words spoken, she kept climbing until she found a sturdy branch and sat, holding on to the trunk for support.

"Ma! I got higher than last time!" She called down. Josiah was the fool of the situation. One never climbed while holding something, unless one absolutely had to. How he had climbed was far less careful, and she was sure he would have fallen if he had climbed any higher. But boys weren't good listeners unless it was their ma's yelling at them.

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Magic by Lady!

"Hmph," came Martha, but let it be as Alina climbed, that did not mean Josiah was off the hook though. The second he tried to skirk around her she had chased him down and snatched him by the ear. She then set her spoon on him and marching him towards the park bench, "What I say about playin with the dung and tryin to bust your skull! You think I want to loose another one of you!"

Ronan took a solid breath at hearing Martha, harsh fact child mortality. Her gaze followed Alina and she smiled, "Well look at ye! Can ye see the world from up there lass?!" She called up. A hand went to her brow to block out the sun and give her a better view of the girl. "What's the furthest thing ye see?!"

  

The woman sure was mad. Alina was typically smart enough to get herself out of trouble, at least with her mother and aunt. She knew their standards, and mostly followed them. Though her attempting to sleep outside on some nights did not sit well with her mother, certainly.

She didn't really think on what Martha said. It was so normalized, losing someone around her age and younger. She never really was too shocked, though it did sadden her when it happened.

Her mother's question caused her to look around for a moment. "That show place! The one were the one eyed man works!" She called out. He was an older gentleman, loved children. Typically offered apples on occasion. His own had grown and were either married or looking. He talked about his children sometimes. One tamed beasts, and those were her favorite tales.

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Magic by Lady!

Ronan laughed. She loved to hear her daughter's excitement, it was better than any music. "Oh?" She had done a bit of burlesque at the vaudeville theatre to help earn some extra income, and often Willie as he was called offered to watch Alina in the theatre, telling her stories and giving her apples, and teaching her card tricks. Of course he often had a few other rugrats to watch too, as Ronan was not the only mother to take to the stage.

"Can ye see Big Ben lass? Can ye tell me what time it is?" It was something they had been working on as of late, telling time, with Ella still in school to become a Kitchen Maid, which had slowed down their progress in finding affordable living, there hadn't been much in the way of schooling for Alina. Often she was left with friends who Ronan had no choice but to trust. A few times, things didn't quite pan out. Martha though had gained her trust, and it would be up to Alina to figure out how to navigate that woman's wooden spoon, as she had learned to navigate her Auntie and Ma.

  

Alina liked those nights. Getting to hear interesting stories and play cards with the other kids. Often she was overjoyed to spend some time with Willie and the other kids. She did wonder how many stories were true, but that didn't matter. They were delightful just the same.

She looked for the clock tower until she spotted it. "One... thirty, ma!" She called out. It was actually one twenty. Whether it was because of distance or misunderstanding was anyone's guess. But she was quite close never the less.

Alina remembered some of the times there had been incidents with those who watched her. Them wandering out to leave her alone for over an hour, or forgetting to feed her, or even passing out drunk. An ex lover of one once showed up and started yelling at the person watching Alina, and neither person had a hint of a filter to them.

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Magic by Lady!

Ronan couldn't see Big Ben what with all the trees, but based on the ways the shadows fell it seemed about right. She smiled as another question came to mind, "And which way is North lass? South? East? West?" Ronan may not have had much of an education in books, but she did have street smarts. Her neck however began to cramp from looking up so long, but she would suffer not willing to take her eyes off her kid.

"Oy Alina why don' ye come down from there? We'll get some fish and chips what ye say?" It was a special treat, but today was a special day. She got to spend time with Alina, time she wished she had more of.

  

The little child in the tree looked at the sun, than thought for a moment. After that, she pointed in the for directions, though did get East and West mixed up. But she did get each direction right. If anything, she knew where the shops were, for the most part. The more unfamiliar, the less she remembered of their whereabouts.

Fish and chips was a right good reason to come down. Much better than what Josiah had gotten. Alina made her way down carefully. As she went down, a squirrel scampered up the tree and stopped at a branch by her hand. She tilted her head and stared for a second before continuing. No need to get bitten. Soon she was down, and smiling broadly at her mother.

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Magic by Lady!

Ronan grinned and swept Alina up spinning her about and kissing her cheek before setting her down, her own smile going from ear to ear. "That's me wee bit, sound and smart." She looked over to Martha gesturing to her kid, "See, no cracks, maybe ah bruise or ah scrape. We goin to get fish and chips, ye commin!?" Martha thought it over, "Sounds good! But we got old fish back home." She called back.

She chuckled shaking her head looking at the pouty Josiah, who just wanted to be a boy, but he was the eldest boy, work would soon be upon him and his family needed him healthy. She looked down to Alina, "Think ye can navigate us to the nearest chippy lass?" Why not turn it into a bit of a scavenger hunt, Ronan didn't mind wondering about all the live long day if the girl had forgotten.

  

The young lass laughed and giggled as she was swirled around by her mother. She hopped up and down a tiny bit when she was put down, briefly looking at Martha when her mother addressed the woman. "Sound as big ben." She stated with pride and cheer.

Sometimes Alina felt bad for Josiah. So much responsibility placed on him to be the most mature of his siblings. It made her glad that she was an only child. Not expected to be better, or to rise up in comparison to an older sibling. To just be her. To sink or swin on her own.

Her mother's idea sounded like a grand one to her. She nodded eagerly and then went forth with excitement. Whether the others actually followed or not was not something she was overly concerned with. As long as she had her ma.

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Magic by Lady!

Ronan kept close to the child moving swiftly after her, but allowing her to maintain her freedom. She was close enough to where only a daft fool would fail to realize the two were together, but far enough to where Alina felt independent. The wee bit had always had a mind of her own, something Ronan had a rather love/hate relationship with, but could she blame her, and was being clingy better? Ronan thought not, clingy children were sickly children in her experience.

Needless to say she was lucky she was young, and spent many hours on her feet else keeping up with the rascal would be a nightmare. A year eeking out a life on the streets would have taught Alina, if only slightly, who to steer clear from. Men with canes. Beggars. People staggering about and speaking with slurred speech, and horses who could easily trample the girl. Ronan had used such time as a valuable teaching tool, though a difficult one to manage. "Are we almost there Wee Bit?" She teased as she went after her, "How bout now?" She giggled herself, as she gave the small child a taste of her own medicine. "I'm tired and hungry wee bit. Perhaps I should eat ye, nom nom nom." Ronan slipped up beside her and tickled her sides briefly picking her up before setting her down and letting her go again.

  

Shop after shop they went. And Alina loved the freedom of taking lead. Even if she only vaguely knew where they were headed. They didn't get fish and chips often. Some faces she recognized, and she waved. Few waved back.

The young little witch was good at staying out of trouble. And when she was actually in trouble, she was good at getting out. A cunning child indeed, good at getting what she wanted with plenty of things. Though she wasn't one to want for much.

Alina shrieked in mock terror and pure delight as her mother tickled her. For a moment she sped up once freed, before slowing down to her original pace. "Almost there ma." Of this she was fairly sure.

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Magic by Lady!

Ronan kept one eye on her child and her other eye on everything else as they rushed down the road. Luckily for her she had a smart child who knew how to steer away from most danger, but her hand quickly moved to grab her arm and pull her to her as she came perhaps a bit too close to a butcher's dog. "Don' get to close to it lass, they like blood." The dog growled in warning, hackles raised, Ronan held Alina close til they were around it and then let her go again.

She was eternally on the look out for her bundle of joy, ever since she had been born. Eli often chided her for fretting over the girl when they went on jobs together, but she couldn't help it. Alina was the best thing to have ever happened to her. Loosing her was unthinkable, and just then, just as her thoughts strayed so did her eyes and, "ALINA! ALINA!?" Where was she. She scanned left and right, her heart began to race, fear tied her guts in knots.

  

In truth, Alina didn't really notice the mutt until it started growling. The fur blended in so well with their surroundings. Still, Alina whined in annoyance at being handled. She wanted to go. And she did just that, darting at a faster pace once released.

Even now, Alina didn't know much of her father. Had never really cared to know. Knew the man last year wasn't him, but she hadn't liked him too much either. Didn't really trust many men. Willie, she did. Josiah was a boy, so she sort of trusted him to a degree.

She kept going with a lack of knowledge that her mother's eyes had wandered. And then she spotted it. The chips place! Having actually gone the right way, she was proud of herself as she happily went inside. Not hearing her mother's panicked voice soon after.

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Magic by Lady!

Ronan felt panic sweep over her and choke off any sensible thoughts, where was her daughter, who had her girl? She pushed and shoved as she moved through the ever increasingly busy street, people around her becoming disgruntled as they were unexpectedly jostled. Luckly she spotted the chippy shop and hoped, prayed that Alina was in there.

Stepping through the door she made the sign of the cross and breathed a sigh of relief that was perhaps who only saving grace from tripping over own to feet. She rushed to Alina and grabbed her before hugging her to her and this time not letting go. She needed time to let her heart settle out of her throat, and the knots untangle in her stomach. In gaelic she spoke, "Your safe sweet girl, your safe. God bless your safe."