Amanda, Meggan - Tuesday lunchtime
Jun. 7th, 2005 12:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsLittle Girl Lost: Amanda takes Meggan to a petting zoo in Central Park and during a brief bathroom break, Meggan encounters a face from Amanda's past.
Meggan fed the last of the little pellets in her cup to a baby goat, who nosed her hand gently. She petted it solemnly, then scampered back to the railing, where Manda was watching and smiling. "Fed babies!" she said proudly, holding up the empty cup.
This was FUN. They'd come to the big stinky city-place, and then found a big green place in the middle where there was a 'petting zoo' with lots of baby animals and chickens and things she could pet. Manda had assured her that the babies wouldn't be in the enclosures and cages for always, it was just so that kids could visit them. And it had been fun... she'd never really gone close to many animals before, except Bella and Joyita and Frank. And these were small and fuzzy.
And she had Manda all to herself for the whole afternoon. That was a GOOD thing.
Amanda chuckled as the goat trotted after Meggan, nudging her with a curious bleat. "Looks like you've made a new friend," she said, leaning on the railing and enjoying the sunshine coming through the trees. Summer would no doubt be hot, but this early on it was actually rather pleasant, especially after weeks of being stuck inside with exams and study. And having Meggan to herself was reminding her of just why she had taken this on. To see the little girl enjoying herself so much, the smile on her face...
Meggan giggled, scritching gently behind the kid's ears. "Goat," she told Manda solemnly. "Baby goat." Babies were sweet, she thought.... Dani's baby was adorable, all small and cuddly, and the Big Furry Man who Manda didn't get along with had let her hold it, just for a minute. The little goats and sheep and chickens and so on weren't quite that cute, but they were nice. "Babies good."
"When they're not cryin' an' makin' a mess all the time," Amanda said with a chuckle. She had no illusions about the practicalities of baby-rearing - she'd gotten off easy, with Meggan. "But yeah, they are cute, aren't they?" Then she shifted, realising that the giant bottle of apple juice she'd had earlier perhaps had been a mistake. "I've got t' go t' the bathroom, Meg. You need t' go?"
Meggan shook her head. "No." She trotted along the fence to the gate, leaving the baby goat behind a little regretfully. It was cute. She rejoined Manda, tucking her paw into Manda's hand. "Stay Manda." If Manda was going, she was going too, cute animals or no cute animals.
"We can go back when we're done," Amanda promised as they started heading for the public toilet building a little way away. The grass was soft and springy and Amanda wished she could go barefoot. Bloody gum chewers - she'd learnt the disgusting way that bare feet in New York wasn't fun. "Or maybe we could go down t' the pond, feed the ducks?"
"Feed ducks!" Meggan voted. There was less competition for the ducks - there had been a lot of little kids in the petting zoo. And she could sit on Manda's knee - she was getting a little tired.
Then they reached the squat concrete building and she wrinkled her nose. "Smell BAD!" she said fervently. It reeked - not only of people-dung, but of sickness and alcohol and all sorts of nasty things. "No in! BAD!"
Amanda couldn't help but agree, but needs must and she'd slept in places that had smelled worse. But she couldn't exactly drag Meggan in with her... "If I go in, will you stay here and wait for me?" she asked, stopping under a nice shady tree a decent distance away from the smelly toilet building. "I won't be long, I promise, but I really need t' pee."
Meggan considered and nodded, plopping down onto the grass. "Wait," she agreed, smiling up at Manda. She did NOT like bad smells like those. They brought back too many memories. "Stay put. No bad smell."
"That's my good little monkeygirl," Amanda said fondly, crouching beside her to plant a kiss on the top of Meggan's head. She put her bag down beside Meggan and pulled out Meggan's bear. "Someone t' keep you company, yeah?"
Meggan nodded, cuddling the bear. "Wait." She reached up to pat Manda's cheek gently. "Fine."
"Be back soon," Amanda repeated, trying hard not to start doing the Pee-Pee Dance. She hurried off towards the toilet block, glancing over her shoulder and giving Meggan a little wave before disappearing inside.
Meggan waved back, and settled down. She was used to Waiting Outside for Manda - who still, for example, liked to have Bathroom Time by herself. "Saw goats," she told Teddy, smoothing his bow. "Sheep. Chickens. Babies, lots." She looked around. Nobody was really close by, which was restful, but there were still people around.
Like the man standing unobserved, watching the small girl. "About time," he murmured to himself - he'd been following the pair for most of the afternoon, waiting for Amanda to slip, as she inevitably would. And there it was. Thrusting his hands - well, one hand and a stump - into the pockets of the coat he was wearing despite the sunshine, he strolled over to Meggan's tree, an easy, genuine smile on his face. The little tyke was going to make an extremely wealthy man of him. "Hello, darlin'," he said, crouching beside Meggan, but not too close - no need to panic her just yet. "That's a fine looking bear ye've got there. What's his name?"
"Teddy." She examined the man curiously. She didn't recognize him, but he was feeling happy and relaxed. Maybe he wanted to tell her how cute she was - that'd been happening a lot today. Manda liked it, too... she felt proud, when people thought Meggan was cute. "Name you?"
"'Tis a fine, traditional name for a bear," Patches said, smiling even more broadly. So trusting... this was going to be simple. "I'm an old friend of yer mam's," he said, nodding towards where Amanda had gone. "People call me Patches. What about you, sweetheart? I bet such a pretty little girl like yeself has a lovely name to match."
"I Meggan," she told him, relaxing. If he was a friend of Manda's, then it was all right. "Wait Manda." He smelled a little odd, but... she checked again... she still didn't sense any malice or bad-temper.
"Meggan? Now that is a pretty name." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small chocolate bar. "Do ye happen to like candy, Meggan? I've got too much for me to eat all on my ownsome. Maybe you could help me eat it while we wait for Amanda?" He settled onto the grass beside her, still taking care not to crowd her.
Oooh, chocolate! Meggan nodded, holding out her paw for it. "Please," she said, remembering several lectures on being polite when someone gave you a treat. "Chocolate good!"
"Aye, that it is." Patches gave her the bar, his smile never fading. If anything, it was positively beatific by now. "Ye've got very nice manners, too. Amanda must be very happy to have such a nice little girl like you around."
Meggan nodded, opening the chocolate and taking a bite. "Meggan Manda happy," she agreed, smiling. "Manda good. Take care me." She set her Teddy down, beside Manda's bag, so she wouldn't get chocolate on him. Treats weren't good for bears.
"It's a good thing, to be happy. You know what would make me happy, Meggan?" Patches asked, glancing down at the girl, careful to keep the arm that ended in a stump in his pocket. The chocolate bar was steadily disappearing, good.
Meggan shook her head. "What?" she asked, popping the last of the chocolate into her mouth. Actually, he was already very happy, but maybe he wanted to be even MORE happy. Maybe he wanted to see Manda?
"A nice little pot of money," he said, grinning even wider as the chocolate disappeared. "Just a million dollars or so - I'm not a greedy man. And ye can help me - do ye want to know how?"
"How?" Meggan yawned. She was very sleepy, suddenly. Maybe the animals had been more tiring than she'd thought.
"By coming with me," he told her, snaking an arm out and lifting her into his lap. The drugs in the candy had been strong, but they had a mutant metabolism to work on. And Amanda would be back any moment. He stood, hoisting Meggan into his arms, her head drooping onto his shoulder. "Yes, darlin', someone like you is worth a whole lot of money to all sorts of people. So you just rest easy and come along with Uncle Patches now."
"No," Meggan mumbled. "Wait Manda..." And then she was unconscious, limp and light in Patches' arms.
His grin was almost shark-like now, and he cradled Meggan carefully with the bad arm, as if she was the most precious thing in the world. Which she was, to him. He dug into his pocket with his only hand, and drew out a small smoky-black crystal. "Off we go, poppet," he said. "But first, lets make sure no-one'll bother us none." He spoke a couple of harsh-sounding words, and the crystal glowed for a moment, triggering the counter-spell wards he'd paid a pretty penny for, and he tucked the crystal carefully in Amanda's bag. "There, all taken care of," he said, and with a jaunty whistle, he set off across the park, for all the world like a father out for a day's play in the park with his tired-out little girl.
It was a flustered Amanda who emerged from the toilet block a minute or two later. Queues, gah. It always astounded her that every public toilet always seemed to have a queue. Still, she'd finally gotten out and now she and Meggan could go feed the ducks and maybe get ice cream from that place she and Charlie had found... And then she registered the empty spot beneath the tree, her bag and Meggan's teddy bear still there, but no Meggan to be seen. She glanced around, a little wildly. No reason to panic yet, she told herself, maybe she was getting a drink from a fountain or something... "Meggan?" she called. "Where are you? C'mon love, no playin' games..." But there was no shiny brown-haired head anywhere to be seen, so sound of Meggan's giggle as she came out from playing tricks on her Manda. "MEG!"
Passersby gave her curious looks, but didn't intervene in true New York fashion. Amanda went back to the tree, looking for a sign, a clue... There was nothing, except a chocolate bar wrapper she didn't remember packing in her bag or giving to Meggan. Fear rose then, thick and choking, and she grabbed Meggan's teddy, holding it close even as she tried to calm down enough to remember the words of the location spell. Wherever Meggan was, she'd be able to find her, whoever had taken her hadn't reckoned on the magic... "Spirits of the air, heed me, lead me to the one who is lost, lead me to the one I seek..." she began, in too much of a hurry for the formalities and shoving the spell through with raw power. "Reveal..."
She got no further. It was like her spell had run into a wall, only walls didn't amplify and fling magic back at you. The backlash was enormous, and she gave a strangled cry, eyes rolling back in her head. Light flared up around her, burning the grass around her feet and the leaves above her head brown. Amanda had no time to register that thought, or in fact any others, as unconsciousness slammed into her like a runaway train.
OOC: Posted early on account of the time zone difference that would require me to sit up until 4am or something silly like that.
Meggan fed the last of the little pellets in her cup to a baby goat, who nosed her hand gently. She petted it solemnly, then scampered back to the railing, where Manda was watching and smiling. "Fed babies!" she said proudly, holding up the empty cup.
This was FUN. They'd come to the big stinky city-place, and then found a big green place in the middle where there was a 'petting zoo' with lots of baby animals and chickens and things she could pet. Manda had assured her that the babies wouldn't be in the enclosures and cages for always, it was just so that kids could visit them. And it had been fun... she'd never really gone close to many animals before, except Bella and Joyita and Frank. And these were small and fuzzy.
And she had Manda all to herself for the whole afternoon. That was a GOOD thing.
Amanda chuckled as the goat trotted after Meggan, nudging her with a curious bleat. "Looks like you've made a new friend," she said, leaning on the railing and enjoying the sunshine coming through the trees. Summer would no doubt be hot, but this early on it was actually rather pleasant, especially after weeks of being stuck inside with exams and study. And having Meggan to herself was reminding her of just why she had taken this on. To see the little girl enjoying herself so much, the smile on her face...
Meggan giggled, scritching gently behind the kid's ears. "Goat," she told Manda solemnly. "Baby goat." Babies were sweet, she thought.... Dani's baby was adorable, all small and cuddly, and the Big Furry Man who Manda didn't get along with had let her hold it, just for a minute. The little goats and sheep and chickens and so on weren't quite that cute, but they were nice. "Babies good."
"When they're not cryin' an' makin' a mess all the time," Amanda said with a chuckle. She had no illusions about the practicalities of baby-rearing - she'd gotten off easy, with Meggan. "But yeah, they are cute, aren't they?" Then she shifted, realising that the giant bottle of apple juice she'd had earlier perhaps had been a mistake. "I've got t' go t' the bathroom, Meg. You need t' go?"
Meggan shook her head. "No." She trotted along the fence to the gate, leaving the baby goat behind a little regretfully. It was cute. She rejoined Manda, tucking her paw into Manda's hand. "Stay Manda." If Manda was going, she was going too, cute animals or no cute animals.
"We can go back when we're done," Amanda promised as they started heading for the public toilet building a little way away. The grass was soft and springy and Amanda wished she could go barefoot. Bloody gum chewers - she'd learnt the disgusting way that bare feet in New York wasn't fun. "Or maybe we could go down t' the pond, feed the ducks?"
"Feed ducks!" Meggan voted. There was less competition for the ducks - there had been a lot of little kids in the petting zoo. And she could sit on Manda's knee - she was getting a little tired.
Then they reached the squat concrete building and she wrinkled her nose. "Smell BAD!" she said fervently. It reeked - not only of people-dung, but of sickness and alcohol and all sorts of nasty things. "No in! BAD!"
Amanda couldn't help but agree, but needs must and she'd slept in places that had smelled worse. But she couldn't exactly drag Meggan in with her... "If I go in, will you stay here and wait for me?" she asked, stopping under a nice shady tree a decent distance away from the smelly toilet building. "I won't be long, I promise, but I really need t' pee."
Meggan considered and nodded, plopping down onto the grass. "Wait," she agreed, smiling up at Manda. She did NOT like bad smells like those. They brought back too many memories. "Stay put. No bad smell."
"That's my good little monkeygirl," Amanda said fondly, crouching beside her to plant a kiss on the top of Meggan's head. She put her bag down beside Meggan and pulled out Meggan's bear. "Someone t' keep you company, yeah?"
Meggan nodded, cuddling the bear. "Wait." She reached up to pat Manda's cheek gently. "Fine."
"Be back soon," Amanda repeated, trying hard not to start doing the Pee-Pee Dance. She hurried off towards the toilet block, glancing over her shoulder and giving Meggan a little wave before disappearing inside.
Meggan waved back, and settled down. She was used to Waiting Outside for Manda - who still, for example, liked to have Bathroom Time by herself. "Saw goats," she told Teddy, smoothing his bow. "Sheep. Chickens. Babies, lots." She looked around. Nobody was really close by, which was restful, but there were still people around.
Like the man standing unobserved, watching the small girl. "About time," he murmured to himself - he'd been following the pair for most of the afternoon, waiting for Amanda to slip, as she inevitably would. And there it was. Thrusting his hands - well, one hand and a stump - into the pockets of the coat he was wearing despite the sunshine, he strolled over to Meggan's tree, an easy, genuine smile on his face. The little tyke was going to make an extremely wealthy man of him. "Hello, darlin'," he said, crouching beside Meggan, but not too close - no need to panic her just yet. "That's a fine looking bear ye've got there. What's his name?"
"Teddy." She examined the man curiously. She didn't recognize him, but he was feeling happy and relaxed. Maybe he wanted to tell her how cute she was - that'd been happening a lot today. Manda liked it, too... she felt proud, when people thought Meggan was cute. "Name you?"
"'Tis a fine, traditional name for a bear," Patches said, smiling even more broadly. So trusting... this was going to be simple. "I'm an old friend of yer mam's," he said, nodding towards where Amanda had gone. "People call me Patches. What about you, sweetheart? I bet such a pretty little girl like yeself has a lovely name to match."
"I Meggan," she told him, relaxing. If he was a friend of Manda's, then it was all right. "Wait Manda." He smelled a little odd, but... she checked again... she still didn't sense any malice or bad-temper.
"Meggan? Now that is a pretty name." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small chocolate bar. "Do ye happen to like candy, Meggan? I've got too much for me to eat all on my ownsome. Maybe you could help me eat it while we wait for Amanda?" He settled onto the grass beside her, still taking care not to crowd her.
Oooh, chocolate! Meggan nodded, holding out her paw for it. "Please," she said, remembering several lectures on being polite when someone gave you a treat. "Chocolate good!"
"Aye, that it is." Patches gave her the bar, his smile never fading. If anything, it was positively beatific by now. "Ye've got very nice manners, too. Amanda must be very happy to have such a nice little girl like you around."
Meggan nodded, opening the chocolate and taking a bite. "Meggan Manda happy," she agreed, smiling. "Manda good. Take care me." She set her Teddy down, beside Manda's bag, so she wouldn't get chocolate on him. Treats weren't good for bears.
"It's a good thing, to be happy. You know what would make me happy, Meggan?" Patches asked, glancing down at the girl, careful to keep the arm that ended in a stump in his pocket. The chocolate bar was steadily disappearing, good.
Meggan shook her head. "What?" she asked, popping the last of the chocolate into her mouth. Actually, he was already very happy, but maybe he wanted to be even MORE happy. Maybe he wanted to see Manda?
"A nice little pot of money," he said, grinning even wider as the chocolate disappeared. "Just a million dollars or so - I'm not a greedy man. And ye can help me - do ye want to know how?"
"How?" Meggan yawned. She was very sleepy, suddenly. Maybe the animals had been more tiring than she'd thought.
"By coming with me," he told her, snaking an arm out and lifting her into his lap. The drugs in the candy had been strong, but they had a mutant metabolism to work on. And Amanda would be back any moment. He stood, hoisting Meggan into his arms, her head drooping onto his shoulder. "Yes, darlin', someone like you is worth a whole lot of money to all sorts of people. So you just rest easy and come along with Uncle Patches now."
"No," Meggan mumbled. "Wait Manda..." And then she was unconscious, limp and light in Patches' arms.
His grin was almost shark-like now, and he cradled Meggan carefully with the bad arm, as if she was the most precious thing in the world. Which she was, to him. He dug into his pocket with his only hand, and drew out a small smoky-black crystal. "Off we go, poppet," he said. "But first, lets make sure no-one'll bother us none." He spoke a couple of harsh-sounding words, and the crystal glowed for a moment, triggering the counter-spell wards he'd paid a pretty penny for, and he tucked the crystal carefully in Amanda's bag. "There, all taken care of," he said, and with a jaunty whistle, he set off across the park, for all the world like a father out for a day's play in the park with his tired-out little girl.
It was a flustered Amanda who emerged from the toilet block a minute or two later. Queues, gah. It always astounded her that every public toilet always seemed to have a queue. Still, she'd finally gotten out and now she and Meggan could go feed the ducks and maybe get ice cream from that place she and Charlie had found... And then she registered the empty spot beneath the tree, her bag and Meggan's teddy bear still there, but no Meggan to be seen. She glanced around, a little wildly. No reason to panic yet, she told herself, maybe she was getting a drink from a fountain or something... "Meggan?" she called. "Where are you? C'mon love, no playin' games..." But there was no shiny brown-haired head anywhere to be seen, so sound of Meggan's giggle as she came out from playing tricks on her Manda. "MEG!"
Passersby gave her curious looks, but didn't intervene in true New York fashion. Amanda went back to the tree, looking for a sign, a clue... There was nothing, except a chocolate bar wrapper she didn't remember packing in her bag or giving to Meggan. Fear rose then, thick and choking, and she grabbed Meggan's teddy, holding it close even as she tried to calm down enough to remember the words of the location spell. Wherever Meggan was, she'd be able to find her, whoever had taken her hadn't reckoned on the magic... "Spirits of the air, heed me, lead me to the one who is lost, lead me to the one I seek..." she began, in too much of a hurry for the formalities and shoving the spell through with raw power. "Reveal..."
She got no further. It was like her spell had run into a wall, only walls didn't amplify and fling magic back at you. The backlash was enormous, and she gave a strangled cry, eyes rolling back in her head. Light flared up around her, burning the grass around her feet and the leaves above her head brown. Amanda had no time to register that thought, or in fact any others, as unconsciousness slammed into her like a runaway train.
OOC: Posted early on account of the time zone difference that would require me to sit up until 4am or something silly like that.
