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Post by vampirechicken on Feb 7, 2013 6:23:58 GMT -5
The sky was bleak that afternoon, the clouds cast a grey shadow across the faded stones in the graveyard. A youth dressed in baggy shirt and pants, brown hair cropped short and wide green eyes paced back and forth pensively. The youth stayed in front of one stone in particular. It was newer than the others, the grave freshly filled in and flowers littered it's base obscuring the date of his birth and demise, but the name was visible. It read P. Gallagher.
The youth looked around uncomfortably as if something was approaching from behind them, whatever it was urged them to move on, fast walking back to the street uncertainly.
Danielle was afraid, her world was falling apart, everything she had known to be true was a sort of elaborate facade, it was about the money all along, it was always about the money.
She hadn't questioned the kindly old housekeeper Marcie as she had sat her down and chopped off her long chestnut hair, given her a sack of bread and 2 apples.
The news that Mr. Gallagher was killed was still ringing in her head, leaving no room for more questions.
...."An accident" .... "A tragic turn of events."
"You can't stay here dove." Marcie had said, using her pet name for Danielle, a name derived from her love of her grandfathers tiny white raptors or "doves". She stood her up and pulled the girls dress over her head and slipping a mans shirt over her in it's place. "You can't come back hear, not ever ya hear?!" Marcie handed her a pair of men's trousers urgently. There were tears in her eyes, Danielle could see, the woman had never cried in front of her before. "You can't keep your old name neither, you need a new one honey, the name Gallagher will get you killed ya hear?"
...And so the youth was sent out onto the streets of new york that day, no name, no gender and no purpose besides 'stay alive little dove, you're in my prayers'.
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Post by spiritandsand on Feb 7, 2013 7:33:27 GMT -5
A crowd of people had gathered on the big square not far away from our poor nameless youth; a tall dark man in a fancy dress standing on a platform was what had caused this riffraff to approach.
"Come closer, ladies and gentlemen, and be amazed by the magnificent Chauncey and his magic bird! You will not believe your eyes when you see dear Lily-Rose here dissapear in my palm, and reappear in the other! Come closer!"
Chauncey was walking around flashing a light-colored sparrow-sized dinosaur covered in feathers in his palm to the people as to assure them that it was real.
And just as he was in front of a little girl, he clenched his hand, seemingly squeezing the bird, but when he opened his hand again it was gone. The little girl gasped, on the edge of tears, but then he showed her his other hand, and in that hand the bird appeared, chirping cheerfully, and the girl clapped.
Chauncey made his bird teleport from one hand to another in smooth and fast movements, he even lifted his hat at one point, where the astonished crowd would find the bird sitting on his head.
"And now, my fine audience, for my next act I need a volunteer", he said and stepped onto his tiny platform again to have a look over the crowd.
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Post by vampirechicken on Feb 7, 2013 7:45:37 GMT -5
The youth's green eyes widened at the sight of such a wondrous feat. She stopped, trying to blend into the crowd of onlookers, curious at how a dinosaur could disappear and appear again in one piece, at first fearful that he might harm the creature. She liked his pet, it was like her grandfathers doves, tiny toothy mouths in a fluff of pale feathers, they had been her friends growing up.
Watching him produce the creature alive and well under his hat made her laugh and clap in delight, despite her dark mood.
She found herself at the front of the crowd before she knew it, and suddenly the magic man was gesturing to the crowd. A rush of enthusiasm took over her better judgement and she stepped forward, straightening her shirt awkwardly.
"Ooh ooh! Pick me sir!" she said in quite an un-masculine manner, fortunately the crowd were more focused on the magician than on the cross-dresser at the head of the crowd.
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Post by spiritandsand on Feb 8, 2013 6:59:15 GMT -5
Chauncey looked down from his home-made pedestal and fixed his glare on the youth. His smile turned broard and hungry, and the crimson eyes gazed at her like if he was a cat, and she was a bird - not that any of these creatures existed yet, but I am sure you get my point.
And in the blink of an eye his attitude returned to the casual performer he had been all the time.
"Ah yes, you, come up here my boy", he put an odd pressure on the word "boy". Of course he could see that she was a girl. One cannot bullshit a bullshiter.
The youth stepped excited onto the platform.
"What is your name", Chauncey said putting a hand on her shoulder.
"uh T..um.. hm", she stuttered, she obviously had not thought of a male alias yet.
"Okay Tom", Chauncey pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket and spreaded them out to form a fan, "I want you to pick a card, whichever you like, and memorize it. I shall not see it, but you may show it to the audience."
'Tom' picked a card and held it up to show the crowd while Chauncey folded the deck again looking the other way. Six of Spades.
"Have everybody seen it? Good, now, put it back into the deck. I will try to summon Tom's card"
Chauncey mixed the cards, and tapped on the deck one time. Then he spreaded them out again, and a single card had its head turned up. But it was not Six of Spades.
"Oi, thats the wrong card!" someone called out from the crowd, and they started to murmur.
"Oh my. This is terribly embarrassing, I.." Chauncey got interrupted by Lily-Rose that started to chirp on his shoulder.
"What is it dear?", Lily-Rose chirped again, "oh I see. Ladies and gentlemen! I know where Tom's card has gone! Try to look in your left pocket, boy."
And in 'Tom's left pocket was Six of Spades.
The crowd laughed and clapped, and a few coins got tossed in front of 'Tom' and Chauncey.
"Thankyou, thankyou, that was all ladies and gentlemen, I will be back on monday, do not miss it!"
People slowly started to walk away from the square on their way to whatever destiny they might have. Chauncey stepped down from the platform and picked up a coin from the ground.
"A penny for the lady, thankyou for your help", he said and gave it to 'Tom', and then started to gather his stuff and the rest of his salary. Lily-Rose bounced around on the ground pointing out any coin that her owner might have forgotten.
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Post by vampirechicken on Feb 9, 2013 3:37:53 GMT -5
She was amazed when the card appeared in her pocket, feeling a rush of excitement as she pulled it out as she knew that it could only be magic that put it there. She stood enthralled as he addressed the crowd and sent them on their way, her pale freckled face had turned a shade of pink.
"Th...thanks..." She took the coin tentatively and looked a little starstruck for several seconds, suddenly though her face fell into a look of terror. "L...lady? No sir my name is Tom, Tom smith." She gasped, holding the coin to her chest and looking from side to side as if expecting assassins to descend on her from the sky.
She tried to follow him down off the platform gracefully but tripped over her own feet and stumbled embarrassingly right into his chest with a loud frightened yelp.
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Post by spiritandsand on Feb 9, 2013 4:18:23 GMT -5
Chauncey nodded sarcastic and sent her one of those glares that said "yearh right, and my mother is an old planet", as he rose from the ground and walked over to her.
"I have eyes love, but do not worry, I live on keeping secret so your identity is safe with me."
The only signs of surprise he showed when Tove tripped was dilated eyes, but he managed to catch her without tilting over. He looked down at her with a sly grin and stroke a hand through her short hair.
"You should find your way home now, your mother must be worried about her little dove", he said and released the grip around her, and started to walk away with his stuff - which was actually just a single army bag - in the weird direction of an alley.
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Post by vampirechicken on Feb 9, 2013 4:38:36 GMT -5
Her heart almost skipped a beat when he called her 'dove' and she could only squeak in response. Why did he call her that? Only Marcie called her that. Now he was leaving and she didn't know how to react, her disguise was useless and despite the magicians words... she had no mother to go home to.
If only her grandfather was still alive, she could go right home and sit in his office, in the big leather arm chair next to his desk, listen to his stories that he told so many times.... It was a strange thing that only a week ago he had been sitting in that room with her and telling her to get a haircut.
Raising her hand to her head and feeling her short hair, she leaned against a brick wall and watched the man leave with a cold empty feeling in her heart. She could never show him her hair now... never hear him say "Dani, when I said get a haircut I didn't mean hack it all off." and then laugh heartily.
Unless....
This man had powers.... that much was obvious... he could defy the laws of physics...
Maybe he could do other things too.
A spark of hope erupted in her chest like a firecracker, filling her with excitement and she bounded off down the alley after the magician.
"Mr. Chauncey WAIT! WAIT!" She cried out until he stopped and faced her again. "You can do m...magic, can you... I mean... can you... help me?" she stuttered.
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Post by spiritandsand on Feb 9, 2013 5:58:10 GMT -5
The alley was not many steps away, and Chauncey was already in the process of picking out two wallets and a pocket watch from a crack in the wall when 'Tom' called out his name. Luckily for her he was a very patient man, also he found her too adorable, so chasing her away was not an option.
"It depends", he said and flashed his cheshire smile, "what seems to be the problem?"
Lily-Rose had found comfort in the crack where the loot had been before, and her drowsy eye was fixed on 'Tom'.
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Post by vampirechicken on Feb 9, 2013 6:08:21 GMT -5
"C...can you... I mean I know this sounds.." She stuttered, pausing to take a deep breath. Her insane hope was fading as fast as it had appeared, if he could bring people back from the dead then he wouldn't be making a quick penny on the side of an alleyway. He would be a famous doctor, how could she have been so stupid. "I... nevermind... I thought maybe you could... but that's crazy." she dropped her head without explaining her babbling and backed away a few steps.
"I can't go back home sir... perhaps you could direct me to an... inn or something where I could sleep, if it's not too much trouble." she asked at last, crossing her arms over her chest.
The day was late, she would be on the streets for the night if she waited too long.
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Post by spiritandsand on Feb 9, 2013 8:42:18 GMT -5
Chauncey lifted an eyebrow at the nonsense she spok about. It did not make him any wiser in the matter of finding out what she actually wanted, but when she started to utter coherent sentences it dawned on him that she most likely didn't have something to return home to. It kinda reminded him of his past living on the streets and stealing to survive.
"Hmm", he stroke his goatee, "I am too on my way to find a place to stay for the night, so I could just as well take you with me now could I not? Just follow me, and we will find something."
Lily-Rose fluttered onto her owner's shoulder and crawled up under his hat. It would soon get dark, and they started to walk. Chauncey remembered that he had passed a decent-looking inn not far away.
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Post by vampirechicken on Feb 9, 2013 10:00:38 GMT -5
"Oh...u..mmm ok."
The girl dropped her head and followed him out the alley still with her arms crossed. Her face was a shade of pink again, she hadn't expected that much from him, only a point in the right direction. She spun the coin between her fingers and realised that the coin Chauncey had given her was not enough to get a room on her own anyway.
She was reluctant of his offer though, not because she was suspicious, she was much too naive a girl to have such thoughts. She was reluctant because she felt like an awful burden suddenly, what possible reason could he have for being so kind?
She made a quiet humming sound like she was about to speak but she ended up remaining silent til they reached the Inn.
The folk passing by didn't seem to realise she wasn't a young boy, but she felt their eyes on her in her imagination. She stood a little behind the magician as he opened the door.
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Post by spiritandsand on Feb 9, 2013 14:17:10 GMT -5
Chauncey casually walked inside, and as if it was the most normal thing in the world he went straight to the desk.
"I would like a room for the night, two seperate beds please. And can I have some bread and cheese brought up as well? Thankyou."
The inn-keeper gave him a wry glare and a key, telling that they could pay the next morning.
"I hope you do not feel uncomfortable about sharing a room, but it would be such a pity if some sinister character should find you sleeping alone. I have heard the most gruesome stories", Chauncey told as they walked upstairs.
Their room was nothing pompous; it consisted of two beds as promised, a sink with mirror, one table, three chairs and a hallstand, all closed inside four faded-brown walls... And a single window.
Chauncey took of his hat, and on his head sat two identical Iberomesornises that immediately flickered around chirping before they settled down on one of the chair's backrest.
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Post by vampirechicken on Feb 10, 2013 4:34:06 GMT -5
The girl was quite uncomfortable about sharing a room that she hadn't paid for, but she said nothing. Again it was this mans help or the cold wet streets, but she began to wonder again how she could possibly repay him for all his kindness.
She stumbled up the stairs after him, feeling nervous and clumsy as she could ever remember feeling.
The room itself was simple and small enough that she felt safer the minute she stepped inside, she felt like curling up under the table with a pillow and sleeping like that if she was honest. But that might be considered odd, she settled for throwing off her boots into the corner and sitting crosslegged on the bed closest to the wall.
"There's t...two?" she gasped in surprise as the tiny animals flitted out from under his hat. For a moment she only stared but eventually her mind put the facts together. "You aren't really magic... are you...." She said dully, scrunching up her sheets around her knees so she had a sort of nest.
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Post by spiritandsand on Feb 10, 2013 6:05:32 GMT -5
"Magic is a broard term", Chauncey said and opened the window just a bit. The two birds flew onto the frame and let the mild breeze hit their fluffy chests.
"Does it matter how I", he twisted his hand and Six of Spades appeared between his thumb and index finger, "summon a card as long as I do it?"
He made the card dissapear again, took off his jacket and tossed it on a chair on which he sat on looking thoughtfully at her without a word.
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Post by vampirechicken on Feb 10, 2013 6:38:54 GMT -5
The girl shrugged although he wasn't looking at her to see it.
"I suppose so." he sniffed, his words made her stuck on how to respond. His silver tongue and tricky way of talking reminded her of an Egyptian sphinx from one of her grandfathers books. The girl so loved to read those books... she hadn't brought anything along when she left. Only the apples and bread that Marcie had given her, and the clothes on her back.
"Sir can you keep a secret... if I keep yours that is?" she said quietly.
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