Noah kept walking, a little faster now.

Francis easily kept up.

Noah turned his head. "Fuck off, ok?" Then he reached a cottage that looked so worn down that it looked more like an uninhabited shack. And it was, officially. The door was shut with timber. But Noah managed to open the window and climb through. It was dark inside.

"You have to ask nicer than that." Francis poked his head in, wondering if it were an empty house or his actual home.

The answer came when Noah lit a match, and used it to light some fibers in the fire place. There was glass on the floor near the window, no furniture, and the wallpaper was coming off the walls. It clearly belonged to a landlord who cared more about driving up the prices than letting a poor family live there for a pittance.

However, there were some blankets in a corner and a little boy sat wrapped in them, shivering. He looked up at Francis with big eyes.

Noah meanwhile, took some coals from his pocket, put them in the fireplace and lit them.

Francis looked at the place before noticing the kid. He frowned and called out to Noah. "Hey, what's this? Why are you wasting money on drinking if you got a kid at home?" He didn't know the relationship the guy had to the kid, but clearly they were close and most likely related in some way. If the kid depended on him, he shouldn't be using pennies on cheap beer.

Noah frowned, looked around and spotted James.

"James! I told you to go home!" He turned to Francis. "Mind your own business!"

"I wanna be a big boy like you, Noah, and stay out as well!" The shivering boy moved closer to the coal fire and sniffed. He pointed at Francis. "Is he joining as well?"

"You owe me a drink, until I get it, your business is my business when I feel like it. " He gave a big smile and looked at the younger kid named James. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't think you have the space to share. "

"Well, there's a tap just outside. There's your drink." Noah said. He took off his coat and put it around his little brother. "Ye bloody fool," he muttered. Then he started poking up the fire.

Francis arched a brow. "When you put it like that.. " He climbed in through the window and brushed himself off. "So is this your home?" He asked the younger boy.