| Details for Duty |
| Summary: | Artemis meets Marius and learns of a band of thugs that she now believes must be taken care of. |
| Date: | February 1, 1940 |
| Location: | Westminster, London |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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Due to the hard snow from the night before, Marius decides not to use his bike for the day's deliveries. Instead he's walking, with a slight limp, as he's carrying a couple bags full of meat deliveries for credit customers. He stops from house to house, lightening his load with each visit. He's currently down to only two packages left.
Artemis is dressed in an outdated dress of an aquamarine colour, buttoned up in front. A long coat is worn over top, along with a scarf wound around her neck and a wool hat on top of her head. Bushy, honey blonde curls fall from under her hat, and she lifts a gloved hand to idly brush back some hair that managed to sneak into her eyes. Then she moves both hands to the strap that crosses in front of her, adjusting her bulging bag that she always has with her. As she walks along, the young sixteen year old is on her own, enjoying the cold, fresh air and the busy centre. She greets everyone that passes by her, watching people wandering around. One of the people she watches happens to be Marius, smiling softly to herself as she watches the man limping. It wouldn’t be of any surprise to her friends that she ends up approaching, smiling brightly to Marius. “Hello,” she offers out cheerfully. “Can I help you with that?”
Marius blinks at the girl as she approaches. He's got a small bandage on his forehead as well. "I.. I'm fine, Miss. Thank you. Actually.." He says, pointing to her bag. "I could ask you the same." He looks at the girl oddly, then looks around "Where are your parents? It's not typical for a girl your age to be walking around unchaperoned." he says, thinking of her safety. "Where are you headed?"
Artemis nods her head in acknowledgement as she draws back a step. She’s not going to push her help on anyone. “I’m Artemis Meliflua,” she pipes up talkatively. Yes, a pure-blood name. She really doesn’t think of the danger of giving out her name to a stranger, but she blinks as she looks at the man curiously with the bandage around his head. But it isn’t polite to stare, so she focuses on meeting his eyes as she speaks to him. Her fingers curled around her strap, she shifts the bag a little in an unconscious gesture. “I live relatively near,” she answers friendly, gesturing out with a hand. “My parents know where I am, sir,” she says assuredly. “I like checking out the city when I have a break.” Her eyes twinkle as she smiles brightly, apparently delighted that the stranger has shown concern back for her.
Marius nods and looks around. "Alright. Be careful. Some of the alleys aren't very safe. There were some ruffians about just last night." He says, perhaps that has something to do with his recent injuries. "The name's Marius." He says, certainly not about to fake his last name, recognizing the girl's last. It's as if that world can't help but bleed into his. "The pleasure is mine, Miss Artemis." He bows slightly. "Are you looking to see anything in particular? A friend of mine had shown particular interest in the clock tower and the Abbey."
Artemis blinks and her bright blue eyes widen as she looks around in alarm. “Ruffians?” She looks both concerned and interested as she glances around, and then glances back to Marius with his limp and bandaged head with her mouth gaping. She quickly closes it though, and curtsies before him in response to his introduction. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” she says, genuinely friendly before she frowns. “Hmm, I wasn’t looking for anything in particular,” she answers. A troubled look crosses her features as she shakes her head. She casts another glance around before looking back to him. “Has the law officers taken care of the ruffians, sir?”
Marius shakes his head. "I doubt it. There's no interest for them to do so. These gents have been operating in this part of town for quite some time. Young men, unarmed, thinking they can rob and steal for whatever they want." He shrugs. "But you're safe. It's daylight and I'm here. No one will want to attack you now. Just be careful walking around here at night by yourself. I strongly advise against it."
“Really?” Artemis blinks, cocking her head a little as she looks up at Marius curiously. Letting out a ‘hmm,’ Artemis looks thoughtful as she glances around. “If they’ve been such a problem than someone needs to deal with it. Who else knows about them?” The girl looks up at Marius, offering him an appreciative smile. “I’m suddenly very glad that I ran into you, sir. It makes one feel a little more comfortable to know there are people about making sure others are safe.” She lets out a breath, hands holding onto the strap of her bag. “Hmm, what could they be after, I wonder?” she says in a quieter tone, this one meant for herself as she thinks aloud.
Marius raises a brow. "Everyone knows about them. They're part of the local legend about this place. They're after money. Most of them are orphans trying to keep out of the orphanages." Marius seems to know an awful lot about them, but he refrains from mentioning his own experiences as one of them. "They mostly work as pickpockets and sneak-thieves. The older ones take to thuggery at night, hence why I suggest you get to where you need to before nightfall. This is a nice enough neighborhood during the day. At night, it's a totally different story."
Artemis’ fingers tighten its hold on the strap as she looks down, pressing her lips together thoughtfully. “I don’t usually stay out past dark,” she murmurs out in a concerned answer. Oh dear. And here the girl is now wondering what she can do for these people. “There’s an officer’s duty to keep a place safe,” Artemis suddenly states as she looks up. “Furthermore there’s a duty to help people seeking help.” Because that’s what a life of thievery and thugs means, obviously - pleading for help. “Thank you, sir,” Artemis suddenly says, bowing to the man. “I’ll… I’ll be careful,” she says brightly. Oh geez, what is the soft hearted girl up to now?
Marius raises a hand. "You do so.." he says. "Have a good day." he says, not sure what else to tell the girl. He doesn't believe in hiding the truth, even from children. He'd learned the hard way and at an early age what kind of life these urchins live. Better the girl knows now and is prepared than to learn the hard way.
“You too,” Artemis returns with a smile. As she spins around, looking around, she lets out a nervous breath but has already decided. Now that she knows about this it’s now her duty to try and fix it. People are always appreciative of good food, right? As she bounds off, she ponders just how much baked goods she’ll need for tonight.