"What are these?" She said softly.

,, Cookies. ,,

"Oh, ... those things my siblings used to beg our mother for?"

She nods. ,, Theyre homemade. Not real, of course, but still quite delicious. ,,

She smiled, remembering the laughter of her little brother and sister as they used to beg their mother for cookies. She'd laughed at them, not knowing what they where and so not thinking them anything special, but now and then their father used to bring home a treat or two of sorts for the little ones. He had always known that just a hug had been enough for Trisha, just a hug. Something that had been special between the eldest child and their father.

Soon a third appears. This one is a black fox.

"These are adorable, to be honest." She said.

(Just gonna yeet this in here)

Jack had gone to go check out who was getting pummeled by the Skulls. Vic had asked who it was, and he answered, "some poor kid. They've had him pinned to the floor for the last quarter of an hour making him lick up anything they drop. It's horrible, but what can you do? I mean, better him than us, right?" Luckily, Victoria was spared from answering. Jack crashed down onto the bench beside her and tucked into a massive bowl of slop.

Soon, a crunch could be heard followed by a peal of ugly laughter. Beneath it all was a quiet sob that seemed to claw its way into Vicky's chest and burrow right inside her heart. "Did you see who it was?" She asked again. He was lifting a spoonful of food to his mouth and paused to consider the question. "No one you know, kiddo," he said eventually, but his hesitation had already given away too much.

Aaron growled at the crunch. That meant it it was over though. She walked over slowly and collected her food before sitting back down. She kept her eyes closed as she took each bite so as not to think of whatever poor kid had been pummeled today. Thinking about it would only cause her anger. Dangerous anger which would get her into trouble.

Jack was now staring at the table like there was an escape plan written on it. "This place is full of unwritten rules," he whispered without looking up. "There always has to be someone to take the punches. That's how it works. It isn't fair, it isn't right, but that kid licking slop up off the floor over there means that we get to eat in peace. If there was no scapegoat then we'd all be in danger. If you fol--"

"I follow you," she barked. Her anger surprised her, it didn't make any sense. Back in school, she and her best friend had always been picked on. They didn't fight back, they didn't argue, they gave you what you wanted, then went and cried in the corner. She wasn't sure why she felt such a burning anger inside her at the thought of someone getting picked on now, such rage at the idea that nobody was going to help him. "So we just leave him until he can't go on anymore then hope the next scapegoat isn't one of us, right?"

"Listen," spat Jack, his fraying temper obvious from the way he glared at his bowl. "You've been here one day and you think you can change things. I've been here five years and I know how the system works. You try to be a hero then you'll get a shank in the back, you try to help that kid then tomorrow it's gonna be you both down on the floor, licking up slop. Let me know if you're going to do something stupid, kid, 'cause I'll ditch you like that." He snapped his fingers.

The thin, wet cry from the canteen had coated Jack's very word, leaving Vic with a gut-wrenching mixture of frustration and fear. She couldn't work out which emotion was which, they just sat like unwanted guests in the pit of her stomach.