Another Homeless Night (Open)

[Brittany Chevalier]

The dirty blond, hair hazel eyed girl huddled on the bench in the park in an attempt to keep warm in the cold night air. She had figured that it was autumn, or more commonly known as fall, due to biting cold. She shivered as the wind blew through her thin clothes, and attempted to cover herself more with the newspaper she had dug out of a trash can for a blanket. She wasn’t able to find an abandon building to sleep in, and had settled for the park instead. It wasn’t cold enough to her for her to go to a shelter, and the warm meal she had eaten at the soup kitchen earlier was starting to wear off. She knew it would get colder now that that her meal was no longer keeping her warm.

Brittany did not know how long she had been living like that, only that she had lost count after the first year. As the wind blew across her blackened soled feet, she made a plan to look for a pair of shoes that perhaps would fit her. It would help her keep warm at least. If she was lucky, perhaps she would find a decent coat or jacket to use. Then she could get rid of the threadbare sweater she had on. It did its job a month ago when she dug it out of a dumpster in an apartment complex, but it wasn’t quite as cold then either. She only hoped that she could last through this night, and wake up to the welcoming, thawing rays of the golden sun as it crests the horizon. A smile graced her cold, pink, cracked lips as the thought of the warm golden light kisses her nearly frozen skin as if to say you made it another day.

Her thoughts froze when she heard rustling nearby, and her instincts kicked in. She stayed perfectly still like a possum playing dead. She hoped that whoever or whatever it was would just continue on their way and not notice her laying under the sheets of newspaper. She did not wish to find another place to lay her head this night, as she got a strong feeling that if she did she would end up in some dark alley. She had spent a few nights like that, and she did not wish to repeat the experience. Other homeless people would harass her and attempt to use her for…things. Things that she did not want to mention ever. She stiffened again as she heard the rustling get closer to her, and closed her eyes tightly in hopes that she wouldn’t been seen.0

[Selina Kyle]

Selina wasn't exactly a good person. That said, she wasn't exactly a bad person, either. She was kind of in between, a grey space, impure without being toxic. She did her fair share of thieving, generally from people who had far too much anyway, and she did a bit of giving away, too, generally to people who really needed it. She was kind of a modern day Robin Hood, if he had been more realistic. She stole from the rich, gave to the poor, and relished in the occasional purchase of insanely expensive shoes. A girl was allowed to indulge herself, wasn't she?

She supposed she pitied the meek because, once upon a time, she had been one. She had been an orphan, unwanted and alone. She had been a recluse in juvenile detention, as overlooked as she was disdained. She had even been an invalid, unable to move of her own volition, which was about as low as anyone could be in her estimation. So when she saw someone in a similar situation being taken advantage of, well, understandably it pissed her off. Every once in a while, she knew from personal experience, people just needed a break from the heartache.

So if this dipshit crackhead thought he was going to sneak up on a little homeless girl in the park, well, he had another thing coming. "Going somewhere, hotshot?" she asked, her voice like velvet on the night. The dirty man, who looked like he hadn't bathed in weeks, stopped in his tracks as Selina stepped out from behind a tree, apparently sizing her up. He must not have thought the slim woman looked very threatening, because he didn't immediately turn tail and run. That only made her smirk.

"Let me give you a hint," she suggested, narrowing her green eyes in amusement. With a spin, she landed a roundhouse kick in the man's gut. When he bent over, she spun again and landed another kick to his chin, which spun him around. Standing flatfooted, she finished the combination with a punch to his back, which sent him flying a few steps forward. "The correct answer is 'away,'" she suggested, and with a fearful look over her shoulder the bum did just that. Mentally patting herself on the back, the trim woman turned around to see if the girl she had been protecting had run off in fright yet.

"Coast is clear. You still here?" she called in a voice surprisingly warm. It was easy to tell that though she had a rough hand with jerks who steal around parks at night, she used a softer touch with children.

[Brittany Chevalier]

We live like there ain't no tomorrow
No regrets, no time for the sorrow
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brittany attempted to keep her head down and hoped that whoever was headed her way would just pass her by, but deep down she knew it was just a wisp of smoke to hope. Everyone seemed to want something from here, and tonight didn‘t seem to be an exception. She had learned long, long ago that hope and dreams elude her. She wanted to work for Wayne Enterprises someday, but with her background and history she knew that Bruce Wayne himself wouldn‘t even look at her application. She would bet her entire life that he wouldn‘t even look at twice at her. She just had that kind of luck going for her. Her mind snapped back when she heard a female voice demand the person coming toward to indirectly run away.

She swallowed with slight disappointment, even though she knew her hope was futile, as she heard whoever it was continue their way to her. What she had heard next was something she didn‘t quite expect from a complete stranger. To her, it sounded like the woman and her ‘visitor‘ fought. Could the woman be protecting her? Or perhaps she wanted Brittany for something herself? She did not know, but no one had stood up like that for her before. When she heard the unknown person run away from the attack. Next thing she heard was a warm softer tone ask if she was still there. She opened her eyes to see a slim woman standing in a light of a park light.

Brittany sat up, letting the newspaper drop off her and drift to the ground as she looked at her protector. She looked the woman up and down as she decided if she should trust her or not. She finally decided on the former as the woman did kept her from harm for the time being. ”Yes. I‘m still here. And thank you, Miss…” She trailed off, not knowing what to call her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keep movin one foot in front of the other
We all looking for something Hey, hey, hey

TIME :: Night
TAG :: Selina, Open
MOOD :: A bit frightened but grateful
WORDS :: 325
NOTES :: (Any notes)
SONG :: (Song to represent the thread/post)
STATUS :: Done
CREDIT :: Brittany!0

[Selina Kyle]

Selina tilted her head as she got a better look at the girl, quickly taking her in and sizing her up. Her manners were polite, which reminded her of another girl about her age some years prior. Her younger sister, Maggie, had been about the girl's age when they were split up by the government, and despite coming from an abusive father and later a neglectful orphanage Maggie always had the sweetest disposition. Her sister was a grown young woman now, but this girl reminded her starkly of the child she once was and after a moment a smile graced her pretty features at the association.

"You can call me Lina," she offered, using Maggie's nickname for her. There was only one other person left in the world who called her that, so she was unlikely to ever be found out by sharing that name. Though the girl seemed innocent enough she had to be careful. She had no intentions of her brand new career ending in a life long prison sentence, after all, and the more cautious she was the longer she could get away with it all.

She was without her mask just then, though the rest of her 'costume' as it was remained intact. She had been thieving earlier that night, and had come to the park with the intention of spreading some of her wealth. There was a side of Gotham that not many got to see, which see saw every time she slipped on her mask and stepped out in the dead of night. Crime wasn't the only sin covered by the hustle and bustle of the city's daytime. Neglect was another, and here in the park were many victims of the city's inaction. People who had somehow become lost and homeless, nameless, and without anyone to speak up for them dotted the park at night, making their beds where they could. Some of them had got there through no fault of their own, but inherited the stigma earned by the rest, a stigma that found them largely ignored by most of the people who passed them by. It was harder for Selina to ignore them, because she saw them every day.

"What's your name?" she asked, before slowly approaching the bench. "And may I sit down?"

[Brittany Chevalier]

We live like there ain't no tomorrow
No regrets, no time for the sorrow
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brittany really didn‘t know where she had gotten her manners from, perhaps it was the strict way the caretakers at the orphanage drilled into her before she ran away three years ago. She couldn‘t give her parents any credit because, well because she never had any. Of course once she thought of it, she was always polite and easily meek. That was why she was one of the orphanage‘s bullies favorite targets. It was as if she had a big sign hanging over her head saying ‘Come and beat me up‘. She did not miss that part of her life one tiny bit. She thought she could do better, and now there she was sleeping on a park bench. At least she was not getting beat up every other hour.

She thought that Lina was rather a funny name, perhaps it was a nickname or short for something. Like her name for example, only government records have her as Brittany. On the street she was known as Britt or Raven as she is known among the ‘community‘. Why she ended up with that name, no one knows but she likes it. Everyone she had met only has one name, and it is considered rude to ask for their full name, so she just goes with the flow.

Brittany looked Lina over as if she needed to decide on whether to trust her or not. She noticed the clothes she had on, and wondered if she was a thief. It was quite possible, as she herself had stolen from those who could afford the loss. She had never taken anything more than she absolutely needed, nor made a profit from it. She was rather good a pick pocketing, but she had never broken into someone‘s home or place of business to survive. ”I‘m Britt, but nearly everyone knows me as Raven. And it is a public bench.” She finally answered after some thought to the situation. She only hoped that she wouldn‘t be taken back to the orphanage.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keep movin one foot in front of the other
We all looking for something Hey, hey, hey

TIME :: Night
TAG :: Selina, Open
MOOD :: A bit uneasy
WORDS :: 337
NOTES :: (Any notes)
SONG :: (Song to represent the thread/post)
STATUS :: Done
CREDIT :: Brittany!0

[Selina Kyle]

Selina lifted an eyebrow. Scratch that about the nice manners. She nearly pointed out that while it was a public bench, she couldn't very well share it with her because the girl was lying down on it and therefore taking the whole thing up. But she remembered her patience, smiled less warmly, and merely took a seat on the ground. Well, she supposed she didn't have to love the brat just to hand out a few stolen necessities, and kids would be kids no matter how many times you corrected their smart mouths. Better to simply overlook it, so she did.

"Dunno how you got the name Raven," she wondered aloud as she set her small backpack between her legs and began to rummage in it. "You're about the least Raven-looking thing I've ever seen, all that golden hair and pretty blue eyes." She pulled out a fleece blanket she had taken from an outdoors goods store and set it on the ground. "Besides," she continued as she reached inside the backpack again, "Ravens are disgusting creatures. They follow along after better predators and scavenge the maggots off their kills." She looked up at the girl, trying to decide if the name was fitting or not. She supposed that if she made her way through life begging and digging through trash, she wasn't really that far from her namesake, after all. But she always believed you ought to shoot a little higher. Cats, for instance, had nine lives and always land on their feet. Far better for an assumed alias, in her opinion.

"Here," she offered, standing to drop the blanket onto the bench for the girl to use. "And take some money," she then continued, turning her attention to the next thing she had pulled from her pack, a rather large wad of bills. She pulled a few from the stack and then stuffed the rest back into a pocket of her backpack, closing it back up again. She held the money out to the girl, and nodded for her to take it. "Be careful not to flash that around. You'll get worse than that guy from earlier."

[Brittany Chevalier]

We live like there ain't no tomorrow
No regrets, no time for the sorrow
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brittany didn‘t know why the woman didn‘t sit on the opposite side of the bench from her, but instead she had sat on the ground in front of her. She watched as Lina dug in her bag for something, and wondered why she had a bag so full this time of night. Instead it wasn‘t her business, so she let it go herself and just watched her dig in that bag of hers.

Then the woman began to muse how much similar Brittany looked to the black bird that the others had named her after. When she had mentioned that ravens follow others and scavenge, she then immediately knew why they called her that. She isn‘t above begging or digging for her next meal, but if she had to dig she usually ends up sick. Just thinking about that make her face turn into her ‘sick‘ one.

She then watched as the woman got to her feet and dropped a nice looking fleece blanket on the bench next to her. Her hand immediately reached over and felt the soft, warm fabric and she smiled truly knowing that she would be able to stay warm. When Brittany looked up, the woman was holding a few large bills out to her. Her eyes got wide and her other hand slowly reached out to take the green paper as if it was a dream. When she finally did take the cash, she heard the warning that was given. ”Thanks, Lina. And I won‘t.” She knew what happens when she flashes and shows off her ‘winnings‘ for the day. She gets beat up, and her loot stolen from her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keep movin one foot in front of the other
We all looking for something Hey, hey, hey

TIME :: Night
TAG :: Selina, Open
MOOD :: Shocked, surprised, unsure
WORDS :: 275
NOTES :: Sorry if it is short, haven’t had my caffeine fix yet…
SONG :: (Song to represent the thread/post)
STATUS :: Done
CREDIT :: Brittany!