Lark finished securing the last sigil to the tree trunk and climbed down. He filled his morning

  quota an hour early today. Early enough to join Bramble in her last class of the morning. Mr. Timber, his

  employer, didn't require the boys to attend the classes if they had free time. That said the orphans he hired

  that did attend were given better servings of food at the end of the day. If you consider the fact that he

  gave the boys quotas they could finish early if they just tried it was obvious he expected them to take the

  lessons.

  The class for the day turned out to be arithmetic Sparrow had finished earlier and Bramble was

  already tutoring him. Willow, Bramble's roommate, waved him over. Lark gave her a polite smile and a

  nod of the head. In contrast to Bramble's independent spirit and ambitious attitude, Willow was a

  somewhat meek and subservient girl. As such she had trouble keeping up with the lessons, so Lark spent

  his hour reinforcing the days lesson in her mind. Bramble was at least a week ahead of her and simply

  wouldn't let 'her boys' fall behind the girls. Bramble and Sparrow as a result got the best food out of the

  boys and better than some of the girls.

  Willow was orphan at the oldest age among the four. Her parents died to disease when she was

  ten. Her parents didn't have any real status, but her mother never needed to work and her family never had

  any debts. Sparrow had been five. His mother worked in the home of some city noble. There he learned

  the importance of etiquette and an education. Lark had been even younger. His only impression of family

  was people looking down on his young mother and her broken spirit. He knew what his mother did to

  feed them, not while she was alive, but even when he learned about it later he simply chose not to think

  about it.

  Bramble was younger still. She became aware of the world on the street, alone. For a time she

  was a member of a gang of orphans. Later that year Lark joined her. Two years passed in relative peace

  before suddenly half the members were gone and the other half were fighting. Then without warning

  Bramble grabbed his hand and that was the last Lark saw of that gang of kids. The next day Sparrow

  showed up. That same week they first met Willow. Looking back Bramble leaving the gang and meeting

  Sparrow were connected.

  When Lark was eight they faced a particularly harsh winter. Two events happened that year

  which saved the trio's lives. First Bramble decided to trust Lark with her deepest secret. Second Lark met

  Stolen story; please report.

  Willow. Bramble's secret was obviously enough her gender. The streets aren't kind to girls its a simple

  fact. This was ultimately the reason he met Willow.

  Willow's father was escorting his wife and daughter to the market. Lark happened to be out

  shopping. Some kid trying to earn his way into a gang was out cutting purses. He ran into Lark and a

  moment later Willow's father had his hand on Lark's shoulder. “Thank you for returning my coin purse.”

  was all the man said. So all Lark did was reach into his shopping basket and pull out the purse in

  question. Stealing from an armature thief is a simple enough task. Then seeing Willow Lark responded.

  “It was a simple enough task, and for an orphan like myself earning the good will of a fine businessman

  like yourself can be worth more than expected.” Then with a slight bow Lark slipped away into the

  crowd.

  Later that same day as the market was winding down Lark encountered Willow a Second time.

  She was being harassed by some boy and Lark stepped in. the boys looked to come from families of

  decent means. Enough that Lark felt they would have a notable amount of money on them. One of the

  earliest things he had learned growing up was how to lose a fight convincingly without getting injured.

  Take a few hits fall a few times trying to retaliate or dodge and then run away, and if you should steal a

  few purses during the event all the better.

  The fight, like most fights ended with the arrival of the guards. Thankfully he managed to avoid

  questioning this time, he had a reputation for trying to defend women and girls and Willow's father told

  the guards that he had sent Lark to help find her when she had gone missing. He walked Willow home

  that day. Exchanging small talk with Willow's father they came to an understood deal. Willow needed to

  get out more. If she had some friends he wouldn't need to worry about her. If there was a responsible

  group of kids to look out for her then he could send a fair amount of good will their way. Lark reminded

  him that a single girl among a group of boys wasn't the best for that girl. If Willow's parents could

  possibly house a girl close to Willow's age it would likely have a positive effect.

  Bramble was furious with him when he told her about the deal and a week passed while she

  refused to speak to him. Then one morning she came to him with a scared look on her face an asked to

  meet Willow's family.