𝙴𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝙾𝙵 𝚂𝙿𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚂 - ᴀɴ ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ ᴀᴘᴘʟʏꜰɪᴄ

𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝚆𝙾 ♤ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ ᴄᴀʀᴅꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʀɪᴍɪɴᴀʟꜱ

—AUSTRALIA—
ꜰᴏᴜʀ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜꜱ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ

The chiming of a clock breaks the not so silent night of the new city of Melbourne, eerily announcing the coming of midnight. The silvery moon was the only light provided in this part of the city, at this ungodly time of night, casting ghostly shadows onto the streets. The sound of drunken laughter and shattering glass splinter through the streets, adding a particularly unnerving effect to the crisp air.

Most of the good people within the city were withdrawn safely behind locked doors, keeping out and away from the dangers of the streets on this dark of night. And the not so good people, well, they were the ones scampering the streets, relishing the darkness and the secrecy it provides.

And one of these was a man, leaning against the brick wall of an old building, concealed by his dark coat and the shadows cast by the storehouses that littered the streets of East Melbourne. Watching the shadows with a certain calmness, he rest his head against the wall at his back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his dark coat. The night air held a certain frigidity about it, the crisp air almost having a sharpening effect on his mind and senses.

It's almost time, He reminded himself, watching the looming shadows around him with a certain calmness. The nights here held a certain promise to them, much unlike the fog-laden, ominous nights spent scampering London. Considering the place was technically a floating prison yard, it seemed a half decent turn out compared to the countless places he could've wound up in.

His sharp gaze flicking left and right once more, he pushed himself off the wall, pulling a top-hat over his head before wandering deeper into the eerie shadows of the alleyways of the East Melbourne port.

The sound of crashing waves drone quietly in the distance, the harbour welcoming in the high-tide the full moon brought on. An unusual sound to his ears, but one he had grown used to with the more time he spent in this part of the city.

Striding through the quiet streets, he made a point to carefully glance left and right into the silent alleys he passed. He'd learnt the hard way that people liked to use the shadows to their advantage, hiding out of sight until passers-byes like him got close enough to leap at. And five out of ten times, they were armed.

Yet another reason why he shouldn't be wandering around at night.

Desperation does funny things to people, The man thought to himself, quickening his pace, not feeling in the mood to take chances. Of all people, he knew what desperation could do to a person, the risks you were willing to take in that position.
And those risks he took had ultimately stuffed up multiple aspects of his life.

But that didn't matter now. Not with the plans ahead, the good things in store.

Pulling right off the street into an alley, the sound of waves grew louder as he came closer to the Port of the city. Old storehouses surrounded the alleyway he entered, and he slowed his pace, his eyes scanning the dark surroundings with care.

The cawing of a Crow flying overhead catches his attention as he watches the black silhouette glide over rooftops above, the glimpse of a silent, fleeting shadow reminding him of what he must look like to some, snooping around the port's alleyways, as quick and silent as that crow, melting into the shadows and places where people couldn't see the trouble he caused.

A slight thought nagged him from the back of his mind, how there may not be much trouble left for him to cause if the initial step of his plan failed.

Nonsense, he told himself, hoping to extinguish the thought. And with reason, there were very little reasons why this plan of his wouldn't work.