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 Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 12:34 pm
As winter slowly eased back into the cold northern lands, the city folk were preparing for spring. The spring festival was a three day event, with different artisans and merchants selling goods meant for anything from spring cleaning to landscaping. With this being the first day of the event, the morning opening was greeted by droves of customers looking to snatch the best items as their own. One child was there doing a different kind of shopping though. Isabela's fingers wiggled when she saw the large purses people had brought with them for making their purchases. She couldn't help herself as she slipped into the thick of the crowd, carefully lightening the loads of two purses. She couldn't help going for a third attempt though, and shrieked when a hand snapped down to grab her arm.
With winter now behind her, Solange felt more at ease to get out and work. Her children were growing into healthy little spitfires capable of giving a babysitter hell as she returned to life as a bartender. As her shift ended, Solange found herself thinking of them more with every little look she gave to the growing festival outside. What would Casey think of the whole thing? Would Hawke want one of those little flowered masks? She slipped around the meandered masses, taking in the displays of potting plants and seeds. It wasn't until a sound caught her attention that she turned to see a cop taking a child by the hand. What's this... A pick pocket and a shitty one at that. Normally Sol would have just walked away, but her mothering side kept pulling her back to the child. I'm going to regret this. Taking in a deep breath, she released a stream of fire into a nearby lattice display, catching the wood on fire. In the distraction she reached for the kids hand. "Move it!" and took off running down the street.
Isabela tried to yank her hand free, but the officer was much stronger and more prepared than she'd been for a tussle. She was irritated at herself for letting herself get greedy and caught, and panicked at the same time. The officer's building was scary! She didn't want to go there! She looked over in shock as something suddenly caught fire, feeling the poor officer forced to release her to attend to the fire and the frightened crowd. She yelped again as she was grabbed once more, eyes widening when she saw an adult pokehuman standing over her. Move? She didn't have to be told twice! She bolted as fast as she could after the woman, her feet truly barely touching the ground as she was pulled along, the woman much faster than herself. Though relieved to be escaping the officer, her brow knit slightly. Why was an adult helping her?
Solange kept her eyes locked on trying to avoid the crowd while keeping a firm enough grip on the girl’s hand. When she had crossed into another block she slowed down to catch her breathing. "What the hell, kid?" She released her hold, and put a hand on her ribs. It had been a while since she had exerted herself, pre-pregnancy more like, and Solange hadn't been prepared to exercise today. A few mingling browsers tossed looks their way, but she heard a few mumbled voices saying something about "sisters" and "daughter" so she wasn't too concerned. "Why bother stealing if you're going to get caught?”
Panting softly, a bit more used to running, she blinking up at Solange with large eyes. Wait... the adult wasn't mad at her for stealing.... but mad because she'd gotten caught? She took a couple steps back for instinctive safety, and stuck her lip out in a pout. "I wasn't plannin' ta get caught," she grumped. She reached down into the hidden pockets of her dress and sighed with relief. The other items she'd snatched were still there! "Besides. All the street folks say practice makes perfect. Just practicin'."
Solange shifted her stance to something more comfortable. She'd already been on her feet a full nine hours now, so she was happier now than ever for her choice in footwear. For once she had left her boots at home in favor of a pair of sneakers. They were harder to shift gears with, but so much easier to run in. "No one ever plans on gettin' caught," She pointed out. "Street folk will sell you out just so they don't get caught themselves. You nee-" Solange heard sirens and whistles. Turning her head, she saw a few officers blending into the crowd, keen on finding something without actually seeing it. "s**t, we'd better get moving.”
Isabela cocked her head. This was one weird adult; but cool, too. Her head snapped around as the sirens rose, eyes narrowing. They would be looking for the little thief.. and for the fire starter... She fought the urge to run, trying to walk quickly and calmly down the alley and away from the ruckus and searching eyes. "So.. why ain't you turnin' me in?" she asked, looking up at the adult suspiciously. "I gotta trade what I got for things I need. I ain't sharin', if that's what you want.."
Hustling along behind the younger girl, Solange kept her head craned over those around her as she watched the Suits. They were asking a lot of questions and it wasn't likely that no one had noticed them, as odd as they looked. "I don't want your stuff, kid. Whatever you took isn't worth my going to jail off trying to pawn it." Spotting a fire escape, she pulled the ladder down as quietly as she could. "I'm not turning you in because I'm feeling gracious. Now hurry up and get ta climbin'.”
"Well, good." Feeling gracious? Now Isabela was really suspicious. Everyone wanted something... Her eyes widened as the ladder was pulled down, and her white cheeks darkened. "....don't look up my skirt," she murmured bashfully as she hurried up the escape. Even if she was a street rat, she still had her modesty! She went all the way to the top, panting softly again after the steep climb as she stepped onto the roof of the building they'd just scaled.
Seriously? As if she were some kind of lewd *****, but it wasn't as if the kid would know that. Her little bashfulness was enough to get a chuckling smile out of Solange. "Just climb." She shook her head and pulled herself up onto the ladder. Solange made sure to put the ladder back to rights before making her way up the fire escape two steps at a time. By the time she made it to the top she was rethinking her stance on necessary cardio workouts. They really couldn't hurt! "Which way is your place from here?”
Looking up, Isabela's gaze shifted around with uncertainty. "Well, I don't got a stuck place." She straightened up and looked around some more. "So.. my place is everywhere, you could say. I wanna get some food first though, an' then I'll find a place." Brushing a bit of dirt from the front of her dress, she finally looked at the adult with a big smile. "Thanks fer the help."
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 12:47 pm
Solange just sort of...looked at the kid, like one might if she had grown a second head. Why was this so odd to her now? When she was younger she didn't have a home, either! Then again, Cordelia swept her up pretty quickly so...
Being a mom has royally screwed me up.
"Look, at least take this." Solange reached around for her wallet and pulled out all the bills she had before handing it over to the child. "And lay low for a while. Also, if you get in trouble again call me. Not much I can do, but at least you won't be alone." She took out a receipt from her pants pocket and scribbled her name and number onto it. "If you can't find a proper place to sleep, you call me then, too. I don't like the idea of you runnin' off all willy nilly like this, but not much I can do if I don't wanna strap you down."
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 1:12 pm
Isabela leaned away from the strange look she was getting. What?! She looked down at herself, brushed at a smudge that had stained her dress, and looked back up. Was a stain that bad?
She couldn't help gawking slightly as the money was held out to her. ...No one had ever just given her money before! Was... was this woman really simply concerned about her? Her hands snapped out to grab the bills, as though expecting the adult to start laughing and hide them away again. Wow... She could get a few lunches with with much!
Shoving the bills deep into a pocket, she next gave the receipt a confused look. Then she turned it over, and saw the writing. "Soo-lahg-nee.." she said slowly, attempting to sound out the name on the paper. That was an odd name... "No straps gonna hold me anyways!" she announced firmly, though her tough tone was bellied by the fact that she was unconsciously holding the paper as gently as she could rather than simply stuffing it into a pocket with the rest. Even if it was fleeting, someone was actually concerned for her... She didn't know how to react to that!
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 1:41 pm
She gave into a little laugh, almost unconsciously, before stifling it so it wouldn't look like she was making fun of the kid. "Sol is fine, if you can't remember that one." It wasn't the easiest to spell, and teaching it to her kids was going to be a b***h. Thanks, Cordelia. "Snips is fine, too. That's my street name."
Now she was really having a hard time not laughing! This kid reminded her so much of herself that it was endearing. "Alright, alright, no straps! When you need a ride I'll give you a helmet instead. How's that sound?" Moving to the edge of the building, the adult chanced a peep over the side and found that the coast was clear. Didn't mean that the cops weren't around the corner, though...
"It's too quiet," she murmured. "Could be a good sign, or a trap. Still, it's not like you really got away with much, so I'd say we're good."
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 1:57 pm
Isabela's eyes narrowed, but the confusion over Solange's snort didn't last long. "Snips?" That one did make her giggle. "Don't got a street name. I'm Isabela." She looked down at the paper and pursed her lips. "Dunno how ta spell it for ya."
She grinned at the offer for the helmet and nodded. "Helmet works!" When Solange didn't jump after looking over the edge, Isabela walked over as well to take a peek. Glancing behind them, she reached to poke at Solange's shoulder. "The roofs are all close here. Can you just hop ta the next few over an' go on farther down?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 2:03 pm
Turning her head, Solange looked out over the rooftops before looking to Isabela. "Well, yeah I can...but can you?" There was genuine concern there. Solange was old enough to have the height and she was fast to boot, but if Isabela slipped up in the slightest....
If I was stronger I could just toss her. Or carry her. This was the one time she wished she was more like her idiot brother. He wouldn't be sitting here worrying about things. Instead, he would have just hoisted the kid and jumped. Probably to his death, but something would be getting done.
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 2:20 pm
Isabela straightened up and pursed her lips again. After a long moment, she got up and walked over to check the length of the jump. It would be close... "Yup!" she suddenly announced, spinning with her hands on her hips and a confident smile.
Before she could chicken out, she hurried back to the adult's side, braced herself, and bolted for the other roof. Her gut clenched when she reached the edge, launching herself over the "pit."
She just barely made it, flailing her arms a little for balance as she teetered on the edge of the next roof. She fell forward with a squeak, paused a moment to take inventory of herself, and jumped up to her feet. "I'm good!"
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 2:35 pm
It all happened in a flash. Solange couldn't even reach out to stop the girl before she was flinging herself over the pit. She put her fist over her mouth to avoid screaming after her, thus ruining their 'hideout' strategy. If her hair hadn't already been white it would have been now!
Solange jogged to the edge and waited until Isabela had stopped teetering before finally allowing herself to breath. Was I like this as a child? Arceus above, this child was going to kill herself some day. "Okay...just be careful, and call me if you need anything. Got it? Anything." For some reason she couldn't place she had become attached to the street rat. "My bike is still on the street, so I need to go the other direction."
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 2:49 pm
Isabela rubbed at her sore knees, but was otherwise quite proud of herself. Looking over at Solange, she felt her shoulders slump a tiny bit. They had to part ways already? ...Well, why did she care! She had always been alone! This was just a nice break.
Despite her disappointment, she smiled and nodded. "Thanks. I will." Running to the other side of that building, she peeked down into the alley. No cops! Grinning back at Solange again, she decided to forgo the leap of doom and scurried down the fire escape to find some food and a safe place to lay low, as requested.
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