Often considered one of the worst neighborhoods in the city,
----
It's been a long day, even though the
dry cleaners didn't open as earlier as it would on a weekday. But Rahne's been up since dawn, just the same, and now in the
gloaming, she's making her way quickly along the street, pondering where to go
next. She's not quite ready to go back home just yet; perhaps the library is
still open for a few more hours. She's lost in her thoughts as she makes her
way through the somewhat intimidating folks on the street, skirting a wide
circle around two men yelling loudly in what she can only assume is Spanish,
going to great pains to avoid eye contact and act as if she doesn't even notice
them there, only a few feet away. Then she's past them, and continuing along at
her brisk pace again.
What sane teenaged girl makes her way
through the dusk-marked streets of Spanish Harlem alone, unarmed and rather
casual about it. Intimidated by those on the street? Definitely
not, although Loren wouldn't fall into the intimidating category herself, given
her size and the fact that she just seems to be walking quickly. Going
from A to B and knowing where she's going. A guy says something to her in
Spanish, which she apparently understands enough of, to turn and respond, in
the same language, "You couldn't afford me." Like she even LOOKS like
a hooker.
Rahne really needs to stop getting herself into situations like these.
The tiny redhead gathers her cape more tightly across her shoulders as she
ducks to cross the street to avoid another run-in with the natives. Avoidance
is key, she's found in her time in this city. She
murmurs something unintelligible under her breath, as she hops up the broken
curb on the other side of the street, bringing her closer to Loren and the
unsuccessful john. She's too busy keeping her head ducked to notice anyone,
however.
The john switches to English and snorts.
"You're scrawny, but maybe I'll just take what I want." Loren's eyes
narrow, and her stance shifts. "I would recommend against that course of
action, the young girl says. It's not like anyone here would do anything if he
did pull her into an alleyway. But from her tone, she's not at all afraid of
him.
Rummaging in her pocket, Rahne pulls out a small, wrapped candy, which she carefully
unwraps and pops into her mouth. She casts a quick look around at the dirty
streets, half-tempted to just drop the wrapper to add to it, but in the end,
winds up sticking the empty bit of plastic back into her pocket. In her glancing,
she catches sight of Loren, thinking she looks vaguely familiar, but unable to
place her immediately. She hesitates, torn between trying to figure out from
where she knows Loren, or just getting out of there.
Of course, he answers by reaching to
grab her. She answers by swinging the other hand into his stomach sideways. He
doubles over and Loren just steps backward. "I warned you." She turns
to walk away, coincidentally towards Rahne. On a
nearby street corner, somebody who clealry is a
hooker claps...and the attacker is losing his lunch. Got any sympathy?
Rahne's eyes go wide at that, and her face grows a bit flushed and
panicked. She casts a quick look over at the clapping hooker, then another to
the attacker, then finally one to Loren again. Where /does/ she know her from?
"I, erm-" she begins, as Loren comes near,
but seems to rethink and just trails off instead, taking a look around for a
possible route of escape.
Loren spots you, and, as if she didn't
just hit a would-be rapist hard in the gut, says, "Hey there...didn't we
meet in the library?" The guy's recovering, but still looks pretty
miserable. Can one argue he didn't deserve it, though?
"Ach, erm,
aye," Rahne replies in a bit of a stammer,
glancing over at the beaten guy out of the corner of her eye, before bringing
her focus back to Loren. "The Library, aye."
Well, that answers that question. "Are yeh ...
all right?" she enquires now, her eyebrows going up again, as her gaze
again slips over to the guy as if to clarify.
Loren nods. "I'm fine. He will be
too, in a little bit. Might make him think twice about grabbing a girl on the
streets again," she says calmly. "I'm...afraid I forgot your name, though."
Rahne is still seeming a bit uncertain and on edge about the whole scene,
and the slowly falling darkness isn't helping matters much. She crams her hands
down into her pockets, locking her elbows, as she offers in soft reply, "Rahne." From within the pocket of her oversized pants,
a crinkling noise can be heard, as she begins fidgeting with the wrapper she
stuck there only moments before. "Ach, dunnae
feel so bad 'bou' forgettin'
yehrs, then..."
Loren smiles. "Loren. And...I'm making you uneasy,
aren't I." The problem with knowing how to fight
is people assume you /will/ fight, all the time, and with the slightest
provocation. She's not sure how to tell Rahne she
isn't that kind of girl.
"Ach, nae,"
Rahne replies quickly, shaking her head. "S'jus' ... S'jus'
the neighbourhood and all, aye?" Though her behaviour might suggest
she's a bit uneasy with it all, but then she usually is pretty fidgety. She
draws her hands from her pocket now, bringing the wrapper along with, to fiddle
with it in the open now.
Loren nods. "Some people think
because I can fight I'm going to fight them." She grins a bit. "I
only fight people who need to be fought, if you know what I mean." A pause. "You didn't give me your name." As for
the neighborhood, Rahne
might note the other is still alert, eyes not always on her, but flicking
across the area.
"Rahne,"
the Scottish girl offers again, forcing her voice a bit louder this time. "Ach, nae. I'm meanin', yeh're no' gonna figh' me, aye? Be a bit of
a surprise, I reckon." Though perhaps not quite for the reasons Loren
would be thinking. Blushing a bit, she offers a crooked grin, trying to convey
that she's only joking about the matter.
Loren chuckles a bit. "Like that
guy got? People see girl, they think victim in this part of town. I figure you
know how to look after yourself, though. You don't seem stupid, anyway."
She frowns a bit, glancing at a rather rough looking guy, past you. "Why don't we not talk in the middle of the street in
Rahne laughs softly, ducking her head into a nod of agreement. "Ach
aye," she replies in a low voice, casting a furtive look around at the
others. "Yeh 'ave somewhere else in mind?" She lifts her head
now to take a quick scan of the area and see if anywhere looks like a place
they could go. Then something occurs to her and she goes a bit pink. "Or,
ach, we're yeh meanin' for
us to go our sep'rate ways?"
Loren shakes her head. "I was
suggesting we get a bit off the street, that's all...there's too many rough
types out here for a casual conversation." She thinks. "Trying to
think of anywhere close that isn't a dive bar.
Rahne nods a bit, managing to look both relieved and embarrassed at once.
"Ach, I'm no' ... Only sev'nteen," she
explains in agreement. "Dunnae have much poppy
... money, either." Idly, she scuffs the toe of her beaten up sneaker
against the cracked pavement.
Loren nods. "I'm under age as well,
although half the places around here don't care. But I know..."
Loren smiles. "I know a place...coffee shop. A bit cheap, but not
too...rough, ya know."
Rahne offers a grin and a nod at that. "Aye, sounds 'bou' righ'," she says in
reply. "Cheap and safe sound bonnie, aye."
She draws her cloak tighter around herself, stepping forward a half-step but
waiting to follow Loren.
Loren leads the way into a small, dingy
coffee shop, but one that doesn't seem to welcome the rough customers. Many of them, anyway. "And I have a bit of money,"
she notes. Offering to buy? One might presume so. "So...why
you out here on your own?" The fifteen year old asks the seventeen
year old.
Rahne shakes her head a bit as she follows along, studying the
surroundings. "Shoul' have enough for a
tea," she notes up-front, something in her tone saying she isn't about to
let someone else pay for her if she can help it. Sure, if might mean having to
do a few extra small jobs, but she can afford it. "Ach, jus' went for a
walk after work, go' a bit turned around. Wasnae in a great hurry to get back, aye. And I dinnae know if the Library was open." She shrugs, as
she gets settled into an empty spot.
Loren moves to sit opposite you. She's
got a casual grace to her movements, like a dancer or, of course, a fighter.
"Still,
Rahne nods, looking a bit sheepish again. "Ach
aye. Dinnae really mean to be comin' 'ere lik' this. I dunnae ken the streets well, yet. S'no'
much be'er than my neighbourhood, I reckon," she
notes with a bit of a sigh. "Yeh're ... from aroun' 'ere then?"
Loren shakes her head. "No, I have
a bunch of relatives in
Rahne shrugs again, going a bit flushed under the scrutiny. "Ach,
luck, I s'pose," she offers with a faint smile.
"I was jus' passin' through, though. To the library, maybe. Or 'ome, failin' tha'." She digs into
her pocket again, pulling out a handful of small change and idly flicking
through it as she converses.
Loren nods. "Well, looking like
you're going somewhere usually helps. Usually. I think
that guy had been drinking or something." She settles back into her chair.
"He didn't seem quite with it."
With a faint nod, both at the words and
the count of the money, Rahne looks back up from her
change, dropping some of it on the table and stuffing the bit that's left back
into her pocket. "Ach, aye. Yeh
seemed to know how to handle 'im, eih?"
Loren nods. "It was his stomach or
his groin, and the stomach was more convenient. He's not the first guy, unfortunately, I've had to cool off that way. I don't
like it, but..."
Rahne shudders faintly, wrinkling her nose as she nods in agreement. "S'no' proper, at all."
As usual, she's good at that whole understatement thing. "I 'ope 'e'll think twice 'fore tryin' it on another lassie, aye?"
Loren nods. "Right."
She shakes her head. "I can't believe he mistook /me/ for a hooker."
Given she's small, dressed in a fairly reserved manner /and/ has A cups, it's
not surprising she'd be mystified.
Rahne nods slowly, her eyes wide. "S'tha' wha' it was?" She'd missed that part. "Tha's jus' ... Aye, 'e was fair blutered,
I'd say. Yeh dunnae look lik' tha' ... Bu' yeh ken tha' already, aye? 'e's an edjit,
if yeh dunnae mind my sayin'." That's strong language for the redhead, too.
Loren nods. "He asked me how
much...I figure you didn't catch the Spanish?"
She doesn't assume everyone speaks it, after all."
Rahne lets out a low snort, shaking her head. "Ach,
nae. Dunnae speak
Spanish. S'no' really spoken where I ... was a bairn. Ach, well, I stan'
by wha' I said," she says determinedly, giving a
resolved nod.
Loren nods. "Drunk.
Or on something else." She shakes her head.
"I fail to understand /why/ people have to cloud their judgement with
drugs."
Rahne looks a bit saddened as she nods in agreement. "Aye,
tis ashame, aye. S'no' gonnae mak' anythin'
be'er. Bu', you cannae tell 'im tha', I reckon." She sighs, shrugging her shoulders in
defeat.
Loren nods. "Some people won't
listen to reason." She frowns a bit, trying,
perhaps, to think what to say. "You won't catch me trying anything like
that."
Rahne nods, looking serious despite the faint smile. "Ach, no' me
either. S'no' ... Well, s'jus' no' a thing to do,
aye?" Idly, she rolls a quarter along the table, then
twiddles it between her fingers.
Loren smiles. "Besides, I like to be in control of my faculties and,
well...effective. When I need to be."
Rahne nods again, although that's not really her reason for avoiding such
things. "S'jus' ... no' the sort of thing to do,
I think. Be'er to just stay ... natural-like, aye?" She shrugs a bit,
still fidgeting with the coin.
Loren nods. Then, oddly, she ventures
something. "Talking of things that aren't natural, there are some really
weird rumors circulating on the street."
Rahne looks up at the change of topic, one eyebrow quirking in curiosity.
"Ach? Wha' sort o'
things, eih? Reckon there's all manner of rumours 'roun' 'ere." Still, she seems to be listening somewhat
more intently now.
Loren hrms. "A green guy with
a twenty foot long tongue," she says finally. "Figure whoever saw
/that/ was on drugs unless there's like an alien invasion or something." Except she wasn't. She was stone cold sober...
Rahne's eyes go wide in a way that might betray that she's seen or heard
something similar too. "Tad-... Yeh, erm ... Someone said to 'ave seen tha', aye? Ach, tha's ... Tha's crazy, aye."
She gives a short burst of fake, forced laughter. Lying never was her strong
point. "Whereabouts, eih?"
Loren shrugs. "I heard
Rahne chokes, breaking into a quick cough at that. She jerkily draws
herself up straight, quickly getting the coughing under control. She attempts a
weak smile, but it's hardly convincing. "Ach, aye.
Some real ... radge ideas in the
city, aye?
Loren frowns. "Are
you...okay?" Well, this is odd. A chance encounter, but perhaps she does know...and is afraid to tell? Well, given how Cade treated her...she can understand being afraid.
"Ach, braw, fine," Rahne says quickly, waving a dismissive hand. "Jus'
... throat go' a bit dry, aye? Tis dry in here."
She casts a look around, taking a deep breath. "So, erm,
who was it, 'xactly, said to be seein'
all this?" she asks, attempting subtlety.
Loren uhs. "It's just rumors I heard." She remembers Cade,
breathing down her neck. Calling her 'dawnsiwr'.
Telling her she's a freak. Killing a man for her. Committng that
unpardonable crime. For her.
Rahne nods slowly, drawing in another deep breath and seeming to relax a
bit now. "Ach, aye. Righ',
lik' you said. Jus' rumour aroun', aye." And the fidgeting with the
quarter continues. "Strange, eih?
Things lik' tha'.
The gadgee who seen tha'
must 'ave been fair guttered."
Loren nods. "What do you think they
/could/ have seen? I mean, taking the momentary hypothesis that they did see
/something/. Which I know makes no real sense..." But she knows what she
saw. She knows what had her cornered in that alley, even if she has no name for
it yet.
Rahne awkwardly rubs at the back of her neck as she shrugs her shoulders
limply. "Ach, I ... dunnae know. Erm - costumes, maybe? I - cannae say, really. S'jus' ... a radge
gadgee, perhaps? Crazy
fellow? If they're jus' ... rumours, aye? Could be someone wasnae tellin' the truth
wholly?" Throughout her spiel, her eyes remain lowered, watching the
quarter as she twists it around on the surface of the table.
Loren nods. "But what if they
aren't? What if there really are some kind of crazy
freaks around in the city...I dunno. Maybe they're
aliens."
Rahne coughs again, softer this time. "Ach, I ... wouldnae go thinkin' lik' tha', now," she speaks
up quickly. "S'jus' ...
Surely, tis nothin',
aye?" She's not entirely sure why she doesn't want Loren thinking
like that, except it makes her feel a bit less secure about her own secret.
"Yeh ... dunnae really
believe tha', do yeh?"
Rather than sounding as if the idea is ludicrous, she sounds actually sincere
in asking - almost hesitant.
Loren hrms. "I don't know
what I believe. I don't think the person who saw this...is into taking drugs or
drinking excessively, but come on. Green guys with twenty foot tongues."
Rahne looks sharply back down at the table, attempting another soft
chuckle that doesn't sound much more authentic than the first. "Ach, tis crazy, I'm sure most woul'
say." She shifts in her chair. "And yeh
think it migh' be an ...
alien? Yeh
plannin' to do anythin' 'bou' it? Tell anyone? Aside from me, I'm meanin', o' coorse."
Loren shakes her head. "Honestly,
who the heck would believe me. Green
guys and spotty guys." Which is why she can't even report a murder
she witnessed. A killing there was no true need for. Her eyes seem to darken a
little.
Rahne nods slightly, actually looking a faint bit relieved. "Ach aye. Aye, dunnae tell
anyone, I agree. They'd ... be lookin' to lock you
up, eih?" She tucks a lock of her fiery hair
back behind her ear, but it falls right back into place again. "The ... green mannie. He dinnae try to do anything to yehr
... friend, was it?"
Loren nods. "Yeah...look. I have to
go, but..." She pauses. "The guy with spots.
If you see anyone who looks like that...like...don't go near
him." She likes Rahne, and the girl
clearly knows...something.
Rahne quirks an eyebrow, looking faintly curious at that. "Ach, aye, I'll ... keep it in mind, aye," she answers slowly, thoughtfully. Clearly, there must be another man with spots around then, since Cade's never been anything but nice to her. "I'll be ... seein' ya then. 'ave a good night."