A Stroll on the Streets (Open)

[jimmydalad]

Andreth was back on the streets, taking a nice walk. Though Titan Tower was safe and protected, he found himself wanting to walk among the many streets of New York City. The Tower did get boring after a while, he had to admit. However, he hoped he didn't get in trouble for doing this. He didn't really know all the rules yet, and he hoped that this wasn't one of them.

He felt the familiar tarmac on his feet, the sounds of NYC in his ears, it felt like home to him. It was his home for 6 years after the incident and Andreth still wondered how he survived. It wasn't like he was any good at surviving.

He needed to do this, needed to hear the familiar sounds that he lived with, feel the familiar flooring underneath him that he lived on for so long. He needed to just take a calm, relaxing walk.

[cage]

The sun beat down merrily on Leslie's porcelain face as she stared tired up at the clouds rolling by the alley she had slept in the night before. Large tires could surprisingly be comfortable and Leslie made a mental note that she would stay here tonight as well. More like one of her thoughts told her that she should and she agreed with it half-heartedly. Her stomach grumbled cruely and she groaned back at it. She had gone over a day and a half without even a morsel, so she got up with the intention of doing what she had to to get some food.

The sound of footsteps on the street beckoned the small girl and she ushered herself forward toward the walking person, whoever they may have been. Perhaps they had some food or some money for food, she didn't really care how she got food, she just needed it. Leslie spotted a boy coming toward the alley and she shyly approached him with wide eyes staring him down. "Do you...have anything to eat?" she asked humbly.

"He probably doesn't. They never do, stupid." the voice in her head mused jeeringly at her. She was so sick of hearing it, she just wanted to lay down and sleep forever.

[jimmydalad]

Andreth was suprised by the sudden appearence of a young girl. She had pale skin and Andreth couldn't shake the feeling he had seen her before. He then recognized her as the girl who was with the street performer.

"Do you...have anything to eat?" She asked him. Unfortunately, he didn't have any food whatsoever. Looking down at her, he said to her.

"I'm Sorry, I don't have any food right now... Why are you on the streets? Don't you have a home?" Andreth asked the girl. He realized that this was a stupid question as she obviously doesn't have a home if she was on the streets begging, but he wanted to talk to her. He could empathize with her as he lived on the streets up until now.

He stooped down so that they he was at her eye level. If he could help anyone out right now, that would be amazing. He wanted to get to know her, to be her friend. It's hard to be alone in this world, he should know. As long as he had at least one friend, she'd be better off.

[cage]

His answer was certainly not the desired one, and she exhaled softly, her eyes downcast. On the bright side, she was beginning to feel a bit more chipper with the sun feeding her skin its warming UV rays, but that would only be able to sustain her for so long. Why was she on the streets? The golden question. Why was thirteen year old Leslie Nash thrown out into the streets? The girl hadn't even had the luxury of an adult sitting down and telling her what she had done that was so bad. Her eyes trailed up toward the boy's eyes and she realized she had recognized him and that it couldn't hurt to talk to him at least for a little while. Aside from begging the only human interaction Leslie had gotten recently was a dance with a charming singer.

"Doctor Phillis said I was dangerous." was the sort of out of context answer Leslie gave to the boy. Social graces were not exactly her strong suit. In fact not many things were as she had not had suitable guidance for quite a few years of her life now. The girl raised her self, rather her personalities were raising her. Most people didn't know that about her just by looking at her though. The schizophrenia was something that rarely reared its ugly head in front of other people as it was something that had only developed because she spent so much time alone anyhow.

[jimmydalad]

"Doctor Phillis said I was dangerous." Was the girl's reply to his question. Dangerous? Andreth very much doubted that such a little girl could be dangerous at all. She was so little... unless... She was a mutant. But what powers could she have?

"Dangerous? Why? You aren't dangerous at all. Actually, you're pretty cute." Andreth said to the girl. He shouldn't be upfront in asking her powers as that would only scare the girl. She seemed to be innocent and she didn't want to her to be scared of him.

"You know, I used to live on the streets as well. I understand what you're going through." He said to her. He wanted her to trust him as Andreth did use to live on the streets. He knew how hard it was to do live alone, especially at this age. He wanted to help get her a new home or at the very least help her, he wanted her to know that there are people that care and want to help her. He never looked away from her, as a sign to her that she can trust him.

[cage]

A small smile stretched over her lips at his compliment. He mentioned that he too had experience in living on the streets and Leslie perked up a bit at that, her eyes quizzical.

"You really did? What happened to you? Did you find a home?" Leslie had seen plenty of homeless people in her searches for food and other amenities throughout the city, however they mostly kept to themselves and sometimes they looked to frightening to approach, so Leslie had not really talked to anyone who understood her situation. If this boy had been young when he had been homeless, and he had found hope, maybe she would too.

"Of course he found a home, idiot, does he look hungry to you?" Leslie's ignored though piped up in her head, and she maintained her smile placing her arms behind her back and straightening up a bit.

"You should probably not waste time with this one if he doesn't have any food, you know." her thoughts reminded her irritated]. She contemplated this and her stomach growled in agreement, however she ignored all of it and waited intently for his answer. it was nice that he wasn't just saying "no" and walking away from her in a more hurried way like most people did. The fact that he stopped to talk to her was very comforting.

[jimmydalad]

When Andreth mentioned him previously living on the streets, her mannerisms completely changed. She perked up a bit, and a small smile formed across her face, revealing her chapped lips. He found it very easy to emphasize with her as he was also young when he was on the streets, probably even younger than her. He knew this girl had probably been through a lot.

He gave her a warm smile as she asked him if he found a home. In all honesty, he did, but he still didn't feel as if he had fully integrated as of yet. He was still new and his powers weren't that good when compared to others. He had no idea what powers she had, but she was too young. He couldn't take her in, not now. Looking into her hopeful eyes, he saw a bit of himself staring back at him. It touched him a bit.

"I did find a home and eventually, you will to." Andreth said to the little girl in a warm tone. The girl was too young, too young to get involved in all the chaos with the Reavers and the United. Though she could be gifted with mutations, he felt that she was too young to join the titans, that was one thing for certain. She was only around 13 years old. Andreth felt an older brotherly protection for her. She didn't want her to get hurt or to get her into something she wasn't prepared for.

"You must be quite alone on these streets. If you want, I can visit you wherever you are. Is that okay? What's your name?" Andreth asked the little girl. He had never felt like this before. Such protective behavior for a girl he just met. But, Andreth felt it. He saw him in the girl and the instincts took over.

[cage]

So the boy had found a home afterall, and he wasn't hurting anymore. That meant that she would to. Didn't it? It was only fair afterall.

"You're wasting your time, moron." Leslie's thoughts teased her. She ignored them and tried to stay focused on the conversation at hand. She was asked if she wanted him to visit her, and what her name was.

"Yes Leslie, he might bring food next time." her thoughts advised and she nodded at them, though it was possible she had been nodding at Andreth's words. She looked behind her and pointed into a large alleyway.

"I live in there." she told him plainly. Any adult would be embarassed and blanch at the mention of living in such a dirty place, yet it may have been either to Leslie's age, or her disorder, that she simply didn't carry that sense of pride that told her what was socially acceptable and what was not. "My name is Leslie." She wasn't exactly sure what else there was to say to him at all. This was a rather confusing encounter, and the hunger and thirst often left Leslie in a bit of a daze. "Erm...I have to go find food now." Leslie scratched at her head and looked up at him apologetically.

In truth she very much wanted to have a long conversation with the man, but her physical needs were definitely outweighing the emotional ones at this rate and she was just a bit too young to actually feel too sorry for leaving a conversation or to understand why it was rude.