Allan was not a morning person. He hated the inevitable moment when he finally had to get up, leaving behind the warm sheets and blankets of his bed for an icy floor and rooms just that side of too cold. Long practice let him roll out of bed, a blanket still wrapped around his shoulders, as he hurried towards the bathroom. He needed to piss, he needed coffee, and if there was anything edible in the fridge, he needed to grab something for breakfast.

Kicking at the door, Allan headed straight for the toilet to do his business. All this time, his eyes were closed, sticky at the corners, and he rubbed at them with the back of his hand. To put it gently, he looked like death. But hey, it was so early in the morning and he just woke up, no one could really blame him. A loud grumble emanating from his stomach reminded him of his next destination, and he made his way to the kitchen.

Inevitably, it was a disaster zone. The counter was cluttered with all sorts of cutlery, and the takeout cartons from last night piled up on top of the trashcan. Grimacing when he walked right through something sticky, Allan flipped open the lid of the coffeemaker and removed the old grounds. The thought of a hot, steaming mug of coffee was more than enough to cheer him up, as he rummaged through the pantry for something he could make it with. But alas, his heart sank when he remembered that he ran out of coffee powder just the night before. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Allan realised he was going to have to go out and get some instead. He contemplated braving the fridge, but to be honest, he wasn’t sure if it was worth it.

On one hand, he was hungry. On the other hand, he had to be [i]really[/i] hungry to face the furred something that lurked at the back of his fridge. Allan knew it probably used to be rice, but at this point, it resembled a ball of green fluff. Which was cool, but also really fucking gross and he’s not sure if he’s up to looking inside. In the end, he decided the risk wasn’t worth the consequences, and that having his breakfast somewhere else would probably be a better option.

A quick teeth-brushing and ice-cold shower later, Allan felt a little less shitty. The young man pulled on some fresh clothes; just a white t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. It was nothing special, really, but that was the point. To be a successful pickpocket, one had to look as inconspicuous and unremarkable as possible. Ignoring the fact that he’d been caught once, Allan considered himself one of the best at what he did. Unlike the so-called leader of their little band of criminals, he didn’t often discriminate between financial status. More often than not, he does try to keep to their creed of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, but sometimes, his sticky fingers seemed to have a will of their own.

Allan was out the door and on the streets after he shrugged on his favourite leather jacket. He already had his destination in mind. There was a diner just a few blocks away, and he’d been there too many times to count. Mostly because of their pancakes, of course, he didn’t know what they put in them, but they were to die for. The fact that a member of the ‘Merry Men’ worked there was only an added bonus. It probably wasn’t the healthiest thing; subsisting on nothing but chow mein and pancakes, but hey, he still hasn’t gotten a heart attack so far.

It only took Allan ten minutes to walk to the aforementioned diner, but he’d bumped into at least fifteen people on the way there. But then again, when were the streets [i]not[/i] filled with people. He had plenty of opportunity to pick a few pockets, but he wanted to wait until after he got himself a cup of joe to do so. Pushing the door to the diner open, he quickly slipped inside.

“Morning, Aria! Morning, Marian!” Allan greeted cheerily, noticing two familiar faces sitting in a booth together. “Really hope I’m not interrupting something here. Should I just help myself?” He punctuated this sentence with a quick gesture towards the kitchen, a joking grin on his face. He wasn’t serious, of course. In fact, letting him anywhere near an open flame was a disaster waiting to happen. Allan was probably one of the worst cooks in the entire world. He didn’t know how, but one time, he even managed to set a pot of water on fire. For him to cook up a stack of pancakes, well, that was way beyond his area of expertise.