Coming To America || Without A Home
Jul. 4th, 2021 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsDarcy and Sooraya scour the warehouse district for lost kids...
"I can't help but wonder how many of them are out there." Sooraya remarked idly as she peered into another alleyway between two warehouses. The streets were starting to empty out, most of the workers heading back to their residences and only the many who didn't have a house were remaining behind, huddling around fires and in what shelter they could find. "This is only one small gang, but there must be so many more kids out there."
"Probably quite a few, similar to the underground at home," Darcy replied. "Maybe more if there aren't any benevolent, wealthy patrons around." She shifted her satchel slightly as they continued their trek. "Do you think we'll run into them tonight, or just find one of the places to leave them food and water?"
Sooraya scanned another alleyway, frowning as a pair of eyes seemed to glow at them from the twilight. "I'm pretty sure we'll find some kids, but if it are the kids we're looking for... that's the big question. And even if we find them now... it's not like we can do a lot for them. Not at the moment."
"That's true," Darcy acknowledged. A faint chalking, 3 lines that almost resembled claw marks, caught the edge of her attention. She tapped Sooraya lightly and inclined her head at the marks. "We might be best walking down a block or two and trying the next area, in case marking here is similar to the States."
"Not a bad idea." Sooraya agreed as she glanced unobtrusively at the marking, then caught the glowing eyes again. This time they were clearly peering at them. "It kinda feels like we are playing around here." She caught Darcy's gaze, then quickly flicked them in the direction of where she had seen the eyes.
Darcy nodded, noticing the eyes as well. The sounds of faint laughter chased them as they moved away from that particular alley. "If there's markings, maybe we'll get lucky with a safe water one? Or at least fewer danger symbols." They'd moved down a few warehouses, and Darcy braved a look into the access road between them.
A small pop! behind them was followed almost immediately by the sound of a child cursing in Spanish, then another pop! as they teleported away again, realizing there was no way to easily lift a wallet off these women. A ripple of activity seemed to go through the silent area before someone finally stepped out of the shadows - a taller, but clearly young girl who at first glance seemed perfectly normal - until one noticed the ears hidden under her hood and the claws in place of nails.
"Será mejor que salgas antes de que Jefa regrese."
Spanish definitely wasn't one of Sooraya's languages, but having been close with Angelo for years she had picked up a few sentences. "I hope you speak better Spanish then I do?" She hissed at Darcy before smiling and stuttering out a few sentences she knew: "No pretendemos hacer daño. ¿Habla usted Inglés?"
"¿Entrega de un amigo en común?" Darcy asked sheepishly as she carefully unzipped her satchel. "Aperitivos para trabajadores. A-ha!" She got a grip on a bottle of water and a small bag with wrapped snacks in it and held them out to the young girl in front of them. "Se le pidió que verificara la seguridad." Spanish wasn't Darcy's strong suit either, but hopefully she could scrape enough together to get a point across... and hopefully this was one of America's lost ones.
The girl stares mistrustfully at them for a moment before darting forward lightning quick, grabbing the snacks and water. She sniffed the snack before taking a small bite. There was more rippling in the shadows - a reminder that the girl wasn't alone. "Jefa's gonna be mad if she catches you hanging around," she warned in thickly accented but decent English. Then she grinned. "It's funny when she gets mad."
"We'll keep that in mind," Darcy replied wryly. She pulled out a few more waters and snacks, setting them on the ground before stepping back to Sooraya. "Time for us to get out before the warning has bite?"
"Not just yet." Sooraya quickly shook her head at Darcy and stepped forward. "I'm sure she won't be if you bring more things like that back with you? That she sees how you help to provide for your friends?" She gestured at the supplies on the ground, catching the girl's eyes flashing back and forth between herself, the kids still hidden in the alley and the supplies. "We have that and more where that came from... how about a trade?"
An indiscernible whisper echoed from the shadows. The girl tilted her head, one ear twitching under the hood. "Is that true?" she asked, as if either woman could have possibly heard that little noise. "There are people fighting the Sun Chaozhou - the bad men. Do you know them?"
"We do." Sooraya easily confirmed. "They are our friends and we don't like what the Sun Chaozhou are doing." She let that sink in for a moment. "So... do you we have deal?"
The shadows moved again, and the girl's gaze drifted away. "Jefa doesn't care if we can provide. She wants us to take care of each other." That, of course, didn't stop her from snatching up another snack and tossing it into the darkness. She wasn't stupid; one took free food where one could get it. "Okay. Maybe Jefa won't get mad." A couple more kids slunk out of the shadows - two boys, too skinny and too tall. One of them was eyeing the food hungrily. "The others are going to stay here. They know how to hide. And if we don't come back..."
Her voice drifted off, but the threat was clear - Jefa would be pissed.
"And if you don't come back, Jefa can take it out of my hide," Darcy promised firmly. "But we plan on making sure you can come back with supplies for your friends."
And Kyle finds the leader of the gang.
Madripoor smelled like everything Kyle hated - smog, the press of too many people in crowded space, tar and rotten fish and diesel. It's just that it also smelled like everything he loved. Smoked fish, savory little dumplings, spiced fried dough and honey, mint and basil and garlic and curry and cinnamon.
He'd packed cash, distributed it in small bills here and there in every pocket, and worn a jacket with inner pockets just for that reason, and he'd hit four stands already and was pretty sure he could hit another six before he'd have to think about what he was eating besides "street food good" and "am I spending enough that a pickpocket might pay attention to me."
In Lowtown, there really wasn't anywhere to sit and eat, but there also wasn't anyone who did more than a slight double-take at his teeth or claws. There were convenient walls to lean up against between market stalls, and nobody seemed inclined to pay too much attention to the big blonde white dude absolutely destroying a container of chicken rice. The two inch claws sticking out of his absolutely destroyed shoes probably helped.
"Jefa, what about the gweilo over there?" A small girl tugged on America's jacket for attention, eyes cut to the side to point at a lazy-looking blond man across the street.
She didn't even have to get a full look. "Look down, Ai. See the feet?"
The girl gasped. "He has feet like Cheng!"
"He's also looking for something," America noted. "You go around to the others. Go to ground while I find out if he's part of the reason other kids are missing." The child took off, turning invisible in the crowd.
America made her way over to the blond, propped herself on the wall beside him. "Hey, Blanquito."
"Did you just call me little white dude?" Kyle asked, and then ate another forkful of chicken rice, chewed, swallowed, and then picked at his teeth with the tines of his plastic fork. "Sorry, that's about as good as I get with Spanish, and if you're Portuguese, you're shit out of luck. So, you wanna sell me so bootleg movies, it's English or ASL, that's all I got."
"The nineties called wanting their knockoffs back. You do know about the internet, right?" She pushed up her sleeve to show off a line of designer watches. One still had blood on it, oops. "We're much higher end, here."
"Nope. Never heard of an internet." Kyle said, shaking his head. "And I defo don't want a knockoff watch. I mean. Dude." He shot his jacket cuffs, showing bare wrists, but more importantly, clawed fingers. "I mean yo, do I look like a guy who wants to buy a used Rolex?"
America stuffed all of her emotions in the deepest pit of her mind for the next question. "Maybe you're interested in a livelier product?"
Kyle Gibney was not a man who hid emotions well. He didn't even try to suppress the flash of fang and snarl that came out of his mouth. "The fuck? Lady, you can get the fuck out of here with that, if you're trying to sell what I think you are."
America melted back against the wall, half relief and half frustration. "If your answer had been different, you mighta got a knuckle sandwich for free." She hooked her thumbs in the pockets of her shorts with a heavy sigh, turned her head to look at him. "Don't suppose anyone else has been flashing questions like that around?"
"Not been here that long." Kyle bent his head to take another bite of rice, and looked closer at the woman who had approached him. Tall. Dark hair. No way they were that lucky. He'd already been chatted up by people looking to roll the idiot American. "Only other person I met tried to mug me." He grinned. "Didn't' go well for him."
"I do hope he's feeling well-ventilated. This heat can be brutal," America said cheerfully. "They're my kids' favorite targets, but sometimes they get caught and I have to patch the adorable little pendejos up."
"He's, uh.' Kyle took another bite of rice while he thought. "He's enjoying his new color palette. Purple and blue really brings out his eyes. So, your kids like, not yours as in you grew them yourself, but the ones all over the place here that were whispering about the big white dude being a spicy baby who had to buy a bunch of horchata to cut the heat on the dried squid?" He grinned. "Cause I heard at least one of them saying I was a spicy baby. I totally am. I can't do heat at all."
America couldn't help her laugh. "Never say that to a woman you're actually interested in, Blanquito."
"What, I'm a spice wuss?" Kyle waved a hand dismissively. "One, I mean, you are my type, which is people who can kick my ass, but I'm not single, and two, I'm pretty sure I'm not your type." He grinned. "I mean come on, I've got queerdar. Or Bifi, or whatever the internet's calling it now. Also it's the truth. Super nose, super ears, super wuss about spicy."
Her expression turned more puzzled with every word. "Bifi? Wait, wait." She took a step back and looked him up and down. "How are you at tracking?"
"Fucking amazing, why?" Kyle said, around another mouthful of rice.
"You're about to be my new best friend."
"I can't help but wonder how many of them are out there." Sooraya remarked idly as she peered into another alleyway between two warehouses. The streets were starting to empty out, most of the workers heading back to their residences and only the many who didn't have a house were remaining behind, huddling around fires and in what shelter they could find. "This is only one small gang, but there must be so many more kids out there."
"Probably quite a few, similar to the underground at home," Darcy replied. "Maybe more if there aren't any benevolent, wealthy patrons around." She shifted her satchel slightly as they continued their trek. "Do you think we'll run into them tonight, or just find one of the places to leave them food and water?"
Sooraya scanned another alleyway, frowning as a pair of eyes seemed to glow at them from the twilight. "I'm pretty sure we'll find some kids, but if it are the kids we're looking for... that's the big question. And even if we find them now... it's not like we can do a lot for them. Not at the moment."
"That's true," Darcy acknowledged. A faint chalking, 3 lines that almost resembled claw marks, caught the edge of her attention. She tapped Sooraya lightly and inclined her head at the marks. "We might be best walking down a block or two and trying the next area, in case marking here is similar to the States."
"Not a bad idea." Sooraya agreed as she glanced unobtrusively at the marking, then caught the glowing eyes again. This time they were clearly peering at them. "It kinda feels like we are playing around here." She caught Darcy's gaze, then quickly flicked them in the direction of where she had seen the eyes.
Darcy nodded, noticing the eyes as well. The sounds of faint laughter chased them as they moved away from that particular alley. "If there's markings, maybe we'll get lucky with a safe water one? Or at least fewer danger symbols." They'd moved down a few warehouses, and Darcy braved a look into the access road between them.
A small pop! behind them was followed almost immediately by the sound of a child cursing in Spanish, then another pop! as they teleported away again, realizing there was no way to easily lift a wallet off these women. A ripple of activity seemed to go through the silent area before someone finally stepped out of the shadows - a taller, but clearly young girl who at first glance seemed perfectly normal - until one noticed the ears hidden under her hood and the claws in place of nails.
"Será mejor que salgas antes de que Jefa regrese."
Spanish definitely wasn't one of Sooraya's languages, but having been close with Angelo for years she had picked up a few sentences. "I hope you speak better Spanish then I do?" She hissed at Darcy before smiling and stuttering out a few sentences she knew: "No pretendemos hacer daño. ¿Habla usted Inglés?"
"¿Entrega de un amigo en común?" Darcy asked sheepishly as she carefully unzipped her satchel. "Aperitivos para trabajadores. A-ha!" She got a grip on a bottle of water and a small bag with wrapped snacks in it and held them out to the young girl in front of them. "Se le pidió que verificara la seguridad." Spanish wasn't Darcy's strong suit either, but hopefully she could scrape enough together to get a point across... and hopefully this was one of America's lost ones.
The girl stares mistrustfully at them for a moment before darting forward lightning quick, grabbing the snacks and water. She sniffed the snack before taking a small bite. There was more rippling in the shadows - a reminder that the girl wasn't alone. "Jefa's gonna be mad if she catches you hanging around," she warned in thickly accented but decent English. Then she grinned. "It's funny when she gets mad."
"We'll keep that in mind," Darcy replied wryly. She pulled out a few more waters and snacks, setting them on the ground before stepping back to Sooraya. "Time for us to get out before the warning has bite?"
"Not just yet." Sooraya quickly shook her head at Darcy and stepped forward. "I'm sure she won't be if you bring more things like that back with you? That she sees how you help to provide for your friends?" She gestured at the supplies on the ground, catching the girl's eyes flashing back and forth between herself, the kids still hidden in the alley and the supplies. "We have that and more where that came from... how about a trade?"
An indiscernible whisper echoed from the shadows. The girl tilted her head, one ear twitching under the hood. "Is that true?" she asked, as if either woman could have possibly heard that little noise. "There are people fighting the Sun Chaozhou - the bad men. Do you know them?"
"We do." Sooraya easily confirmed. "They are our friends and we don't like what the Sun Chaozhou are doing." She let that sink in for a moment. "So... do you we have deal?"
The shadows moved again, and the girl's gaze drifted away. "Jefa doesn't care if we can provide. She wants us to take care of each other." That, of course, didn't stop her from snatching up another snack and tossing it into the darkness. She wasn't stupid; one took free food where one could get it. "Okay. Maybe Jefa won't get mad." A couple more kids slunk out of the shadows - two boys, too skinny and too tall. One of them was eyeing the food hungrily. "The others are going to stay here. They know how to hide. And if we don't come back..."
Her voice drifted off, but the threat was clear - Jefa would be pissed.
"And if you don't come back, Jefa can take it out of my hide," Darcy promised firmly. "But we plan on making sure you can come back with supplies for your friends."
And Kyle finds the leader of the gang.
Madripoor smelled like everything Kyle hated - smog, the press of too many people in crowded space, tar and rotten fish and diesel. It's just that it also smelled like everything he loved. Smoked fish, savory little dumplings, spiced fried dough and honey, mint and basil and garlic and curry and cinnamon.
He'd packed cash, distributed it in small bills here and there in every pocket, and worn a jacket with inner pockets just for that reason, and he'd hit four stands already and was pretty sure he could hit another six before he'd have to think about what he was eating besides "street food good" and "am I spending enough that a pickpocket might pay attention to me."
In Lowtown, there really wasn't anywhere to sit and eat, but there also wasn't anyone who did more than a slight double-take at his teeth or claws. There were convenient walls to lean up against between market stalls, and nobody seemed inclined to pay too much attention to the big blonde white dude absolutely destroying a container of chicken rice. The two inch claws sticking out of his absolutely destroyed shoes probably helped.
"Jefa, what about the gweilo over there?" A small girl tugged on America's jacket for attention, eyes cut to the side to point at a lazy-looking blond man across the street.
She didn't even have to get a full look. "Look down, Ai. See the feet?"
The girl gasped. "He has feet like Cheng!"
"He's also looking for something," America noted. "You go around to the others. Go to ground while I find out if he's part of the reason other kids are missing." The child took off, turning invisible in the crowd.
America made her way over to the blond, propped herself on the wall beside him. "Hey, Blanquito."
"Did you just call me little white dude?" Kyle asked, and then ate another forkful of chicken rice, chewed, swallowed, and then picked at his teeth with the tines of his plastic fork. "Sorry, that's about as good as I get with Spanish, and if you're Portuguese, you're shit out of luck. So, you wanna sell me so bootleg movies, it's English or ASL, that's all I got."
"The nineties called wanting their knockoffs back. You do know about the internet, right?" She pushed up her sleeve to show off a line of designer watches. One still had blood on it, oops. "We're much higher end, here."
"Nope. Never heard of an internet." Kyle said, shaking his head. "And I defo don't want a knockoff watch. I mean. Dude." He shot his jacket cuffs, showing bare wrists, but more importantly, clawed fingers. "I mean yo, do I look like a guy who wants to buy a used Rolex?"
America stuffed all of her emotions in the deepest pit of her mind for the next question. "Maybe you're interested in a livelier product?"
Kyle Gibney was not a man who hid emotions well. He didn't even try to suppress the flash of fang and snarl that came out of his mouth. "The fuck? Lady, you can get the fuck out of here with that, if you're trying to sell what I think you are."
America melted back against the wall, half relief and half frustration. "If your answer had been different, you mighta got a knuckle sandwich for free." She hooked her thumbs in the pockets of her shorts with a heavy sigh, turned her head to look at him. "Don't suppose anyone else has been flashing questions like that around?"
"Not been here that long." Kyle bent his head to take another bite of rice, and looked closer at the woman who had approached him. Tall. Dark hair. No way they were that lucky. He'd already been chatted up by people looking to roll the idiot American. "Only other person I met tried to mug me." He grinned. "Didn't' go well for him."
"I do hope he's feeling well-ventilated. This heat can be brutal," America said cheerfully. "They're my kids' favorite targets, but sometimes they get caught and I have to patch the adorable little pendejos up."
"He's, uh.' Kyle took another bite of rice while he thought. "He's enjoying his new color palette. Purple and blue really brings out his eyes. So, your kids like, not yours as in you grew them yourself, but the ones all over the place here that were whispering about the big white dude being a spicy baby who had to buy a bunch of horchata to cut the heat on the dried squid?" He grinned. "Cause I heard at least one of them saying I was a spicy baby. I totally am. I can't do heat at all."
America couldn't help her laugh. "Never say that to a woman you're actually interested in, Blanquito."
"What, I'm a spice wuss?" Kyle waved a hand dismissively. "One, I mean, you are my type, which is people who can kick my ass, but I'm not single, and two, I'm pretty sure I'm not your type." He grinned. "I mean come on, I've got queerdar. Or Bifi, or whatever the internet's calling it now. Also it's the truth. Super nose, super ears, super wuss about spicy."
Her expression turned more puzzled with every word. "Bifi? Wait, wait." She took a step back and looked him up and down. "How are you at tracking?"
"Fucking amazing, why?" Kyle said, around another mouthful of rice.
"You're about to be my new best friend."
