They did get creative, although it took some time to adjust to their new reality. In fact, Vance and his brother had no idea that they had been reasonably well-off, at least compared to their peers and neighbors. Moving to the other end of the spectrum was hard, and it wrought changes in both the boys and their mother. The relationship between the family members moved to be a much more practical one, and rather than being drawn closer together by hardship, they were simply using each other to survive. Love began to slip out of their lives, a creature comfort for which they had no time.
Vance's mother wouldn't allow them to beg, and there weren't many odd jobs available for such young children. Still, when they did manage to bring home some coppers (and occasionally even a silver or two), they were greatly rewarded with affection and encouragement. As time went on, this transactional aspect of the family dynamic became almost second nature to Vance, and while he may have missed the way his mother used to be, he rarely had time to consider it in much detail.
The next three to four years became a transformational period for the family, as they found ways to adapt to their new life and to thrive. Slowly, Vance (and Richard as well, he suspected, although they never spoke about it) disabused himself of the notion that his father would ever return. Despite her promises, his mother never wanted to discuss his father or what happened the night he disappeared. He often thought of his mother's far-off stare and dirty clothing when she had come home from her long search for his father, but he never reached any satisfactory conclusions.
Vance wasn't exactly alone in this new family situation, as several of the boys he went to school with were without fathers. Debtors' prison had taken some, others had been taken by sickness, and one or two had fantastic stories of fathers killed by bandits raiding merchant caravans, or being lost at sea - although to hear Mrs. Gowtha say it, these men had most likely just run off. In any event, Vance and his brother joined the ranks of the fatherless and the poor, and it molded them into something very different than they had been before.
Richard dealt with the stress, the fear, and the longing for his mother's praise by becoming a bully. Other children avoided him, lest they and their pocket money part ways (and often their more valuable possessions to boot). By the age of twelve - the age at which school ended in their part of Juldania - Richard had managed to corral a small group of large, mean boys that were ostensibly just hunting for money, but seemed to actually take glee in inflicting pain on others. They were known and feared by the children, and distrusted by the concerned (yet too busy to truly intervene) parents of the district.
Vance was never so direct, nor did he have the size and temperament necessary to be a bully - and even if he did, simple economics would have proven to the young boy that there just wasn't room for another strong-arm in their neighborhood. Instead he became sly, and sneaky. His natural smallness, as well as a lifetime being out of his elder brother's spotlight, perfectly prepared him for a position as a thief. Vance would pickpocket when he could, and various things of value would manage to make their way into his hands when nobody was looking. Even cash tills in shops weren't safe from the burgeoning criminal.
Vance had something else going for him as well - foresight. For instance, when he saw that the penalty for failing to bring home any money was far greater than the reward bringing home more than expected, Vance would hide away extra winnings from a particularly successful outing, saving them for a rainy day. He planned his routes and his timing in advance (as opposed to Richard's tendency to just shake down whoever he happened to see), and even brought in Ben as a lookout and distraction, giving himself more time to make his move. Ben got a small bit of the money for his trouble, and didn't have to do much for it other than hang out with his friend.
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Of course, Vance's mother knew and understood the difference between her children's approaches, and while she had become a shrill, calculating woman, she was also able to use her wiles to set them against each other. It wasn't uncommon for her to tell Vance all about how he was the smartest, and how he could really make something for the family - both binding him closer to herself, while also trying to gain more control over his actions and uncover his cached winnings. At the same time, Vance overheard more than once Richard being told that it was his strength and bravery that would make him the greatest.
Their mother's words had the intended effect, driving a wedge between the two boys and increasing their competition. However, something else had changed other than their mother's attempts to force them to commit even more petty crimes. Richard's aggressive personality had become exaggerated to the extreme, and his wrath seemed focused on Vance more than anyone else. It was almost expected that he try to one-up Vance, perhaps even sabotage him a little bit, but it was difficult to account for how he had gone from Vance's protector and confidant to his enemy.
Richard was mean to everyone - and Vance was no exception. It seemed, if anything, that Richard looked for ways to make Vance as miserable as possible. He'd strike him when he could get away with it, tease and push him when he couldn't pull off physical violence in the rare presence of adults, and virtually never spoke to him directly, ignoring any well-meaning questions or even offers to work together. Something had changed beyond just the removal of their father, and Vance couldn't figure out why his big brother hated him so much.
As time went on, Vance had to reconcile his feelings of what were "right" and what was necessary. An outsider would have been quite surprised by how easily he accomplished this, especially at his young age. But children are, if nothing else, resilient and adaptable. Vance realized that what mattered to him was what he needed - namely, regular food and a night without a beating. The concerns of others were their problems, and he couldn't worry about everyone. Even trying was just exhausting, and had very little payoff. It was more important to worry about what he could control, and what he could get done for himself.
It was in this light that Vance's relationship with Ben started to change somewhat. No longer was he content to have Ben "play along" and help him out from time to time, but now he began to direct him, to coach him, to give him specific things to do and places to be. As Vance's ambition grew, so did his need to control Ben so as to remove any possible variables from his plans. Ben's role was still primarily that of a lookout, but they never played or did anything fun together - it was all about work now. Vance had learned from his mother how to dole out and withhold affection in order to get someone to do what you want, and used the same techniques on his long-time friend, until Ben was firmly under thumb.
One problem that Vance realized he needed to deal with was the problem of aging. It seems silly for such a young boy to worry about such things, but the truth was, a boy of ten attracts a different kind of attention and suspicion than one a few years younger. He had to change up his techniques, and learn a few new skills, in order to be successful. Vance was a careful boy, and had yet to be caught in any way that had a real consequence. However, such a run of luck couldn't last forever - that's just the life of a thief.
Eventually, the day came when Vance was caught, and it didn't go well. He and Ben had a particularly tense discussion that morning about their plan for the day, and Ben was either distracted, or angry enough at his friend to let him fail. In any event, Ben failed to alert Vance that someone was staring right at them when Vance reached into a purse for his third haul of the day. The onlooker shouted the intended victim to attention, and proceeded to grab Vance's arm. While the man dragged Vance off to the side of the road, Ben slipped quietly away.
As luck would have it, the very same Constable Terrence that typically patrolled Vance's neighborhood happened to be in this square (far enough from home that Vance was surprised to see him), and intervened just in time to stop what was clearly going to be a savage thrashing. He inspected Vance to be sure that he didn't have anything that didn't belong to him - it was good that Vance always did a hand-off to Ben for just this sort of risk after a lift - and then proceeded to take him home, lecturing him sternly the whole way there.