Jenkin

Everyone quickly accepted one fact: where there's Jenkin, there's Brown, and where there's Brown, there's Jenkin. And whenever Brown acted alone, make no mistake, Jenkin was behind it.

"What do you mean by 'stolen'? I have an alibi!"

So said the girl, holding the item Brown had "borrowed."

Unlocks at: Awakener Level 1

A.F. 315, @2@1, 08:13 a.m.

MTC On-Site Response Team 3 and members of the Dissolution Item Control and Management (DISM) Group β7 arrived at Dissolution Area L-E-933 (formerly the Rogers Wax Museum, @2 Southwark Street) to take over the task from MTC Team 1 and DISM Group α2, conducting area neutralization work.

09:24 a.m.

While clearing the subterranean area of the museum, DISM member James exhibited symptoms including headaches, nausea, and vertigo.

10:47 a.m.

Rowland (Team 3), Zachary (DISM), and Bolton (DISM) fled the subterranean area. The trio reported that the underground darkness swallowed them, plunging them into a floating starry void. Tangible colors intertwined within the space, gorgeous yet bone-chilling. These colors then condensed into countless rats that rapidly surged toward them.

Bolton refused to continue and returned to the Committee's Londinium office. Rowland and Zachary accompanied Team 3 Captain Fisher back into the underground area for further inspection.

1:03 p.m.

Following a systematic search, Captain Fisher located and recovered Silver Core L3202 from the residual dissolution wax in the underground area. It was then transferred to Mythag University for further processing.

<Italic:Neutralization Report of Dissolution Area L-E-933>

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 3

Jenkin's overly nimble hands once raised concerns that she'd become a fixture in the <Italic:Mythag Daily>, not as an interviewee, but as the mastermind behind several thefts.

Though she did become a regular of the paper, it wasn't due to old habits. Provided there were enough pastries, even a master street survivalist was willing to set aside her former trade and enjoy a well-earned retirement alongside her mouse buddy.

The real reason she appeared in the paper so often? The editor pays far too generously.

Shh, keep your voice down, you never know where she might be, ready to trade what she's overheard with Hannahh for more candies and cakes.

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 5

"I'm not an orphan," said six-year-old Jenkin. "My mom just went to work. She'll pick me up after she's done."

She never wavered, nor did she dare to. This belief was the protective incantation she clung to whenever she jolted awake at night from nightmares filled with black slime. It was her only comfort whenever she tried to recall her mother's face but could only see a black shadow.

Gritting her teeth, she stood watch at the welfare home's gate through spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Only on the morning the home closed down did she wipe away her unseen tears and leave with her mouse friend.

"I am an orphan," said ten-year-old Jenkin. "I don't have parents. I only have Brown."

She told this to herself and the mouse perched on her shoulder. It was true, people might be wary of children suddenly approaching; East End street children were infamous throughout Londinium, but no one suspected a mouse scurrying by their feet. Through this tacit cooperation, the girl occasionally enjoyed a full meal, and dreamed in the sewers of fireplaces and pastries.

Yet the bitter winter spared no one. It brought her sickness and high fever, bringing the Grim Reaper to a halt by her side. The girl lay dying, with only the mouse circling frantically about her, hoping for any attention at all.

A young woman stopped and wrapped the girl in a warm embrace.

"I'm not an orphan," said thirteen-year-old Jenkin. "I have my sister Mason and my best friend Brown!"

The girl stood before an old house, holding the mouse close, her face bright with a radiant smile.

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 7

Street life was never difficult for her.

When hungry, she looked for work; if there were no jobs, she resorted to her own "handiwork" to get by. She and Brown worked in such perfect sync that they could scrape by without anyone else's help.

/n"We don't need anyone," she vowed, the mouse on her shoulder squeaking in agreement. "We only need each other."

But every snowy night, she could not help but gaze at those windows glowing with warm yellow light, watching the people inside embrace and share warm wishes over a meager dinner.

It wasn't that she needed a roof over her head or soft pillows on a luxurious bed, she already had a companion she could trust. Yet she remained curious: what did it feel like to have a home for good?

That question found its answer the day Mason adopted her.

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 9