W A N D E R ING- Open!

[Fox]

Having already emptied the first bottle that she snagged, Fox leaned against the side of game stand. Popping it open, she took a sip and glanced around her. Her red hair was probably tinged with the smell of beer, and she had a feeling some of the liquid actually lingered on her fingers. Savoring the burn, she moved on and walked along the small space alloted for people to walk around in. At first, it was uncomfortable having the searing liquid go down her throat, but it soon became comfort. Fox could probably drink down 10 beer bottles before she began to feel the affects of being drunk.

There weren't too many people willing to befriend Fox- but that was okay, really, it was. Maybe it was the grin. Or the eyes. People would always say "its in the eyes". Nobody could believe the jolly preacher could have a daughter like Fox. Well, he did and she's still here. Here to stay. People in general weren't really Fox's thing, anyway. Sure, she might have her drinking buddies and friends...but she wasn't social savvy like some people were. Even though being a social expert helped sell papers, it wasn't the only way to do it.

She began to pick up bits of conversation, as she wasn't easy to spot. If she tucked her hair into her hat, wore an extra jacket, Fox could pass very easily for a guy. Stashed into the sides of her jacket were the bare necessities- a bottle of beer, a scrunched up newspaper and a pencil and some paper. Fox pulled her hair out of the cap, looking at her surroundings. Brooklyn wasn't too familiar to her- but she knew her way around fairly enough. Besides, a good place to snag some drinks and food was O'Bradys, even if the food tasted horrible. If she wanted something a bit...fancier, she could've gone to the fancy italian place. It was a further walk, but it was some of the best food she'd ever had.

Surrounding her, were hundreds of people. All of them wandering, having fun, maybe playing a game or two. Games weren't what Fox preferred either. She took another swig from the bottle and kept wandering.

[Hype]

Hype walked through the crowd at Coney island. He remembered he used to love coming here all the games and fun. It wouldn't matter if he would act crazy or not. He had some cash on him and felt like playing a few games, looking at all the choices he was overwhelmed. His mind jumping from game to game all the people pushing and shoving. It was nearly impossible for him to choose. He liked the crowded place, the amount of others made him feel comfortable. He tried to hold a conversation with a few people in the crowd, but after a little more than a minute they would walk off. It was hard to figure out why so many people were put off with his friendly demeanor. He liked to talk and make friends that should be a good thing. He wasn't discouraged though. He continued to walk through the crowd.

Soon memories of his family started flow through his head. Both the good and the bad. His family's house was in Brooklyn, but he decided when he ran away years ago he'd never return. The thought of visiting his family always entered his head for a moment, but it was easily dismissed by his new thought of things in the present. AS he wondered through the crowd, someone stood out. It wasn't that they were wearing anything extraordinary, it was just that they weren't having as much fun as all the people surrounding them. Almost as a second nature he walked up to the person. Looking at them he figured the person was teen age boy like himself. The guy had been drinking and still was. The smell of alcohol was strong on him and it was obvious that he'd been drinking more than what he was holding. Hype sped over to him to catch up.

Hype stood in front of the new person, twiddling his figures like usual. "Hi there! My name is Hype. I used to live her in Brooklyn, but my family was mean so i went alllll the way to the Bronx. It's as nice place, alot of people say i talk too much, but i don't see why. There's a saying that says 'Silence is Golden' but i don't see why. How do you make friends without talking? You can't I bet it's impossible. Oh, unless you're one of the people with the hand things they use to talk. They move their hands really fast, I think that's cool. i want to talk with my hands." He took a breath from his constant talking. He was talking his usual speed a mile a minute. He was going to continue with then the random thought of games entered his head. 'What's your favorite game here? I can never decide I have so many, but I'm not good at all of them The ring toss is probably my number one, but then there's the dart games which i love. i can send the darts going really fast. One time I thing they zoomed to the target. Oops sorry I'm getting a head of myself. Who are you and what's your favorite game? I learned not to talk to strangers, but if we know each others names then we're no longer strangers right!" Hype was looked at him with an innocent smile on his face.

[Fox]

Putting the bottle to her lips, she took a long, lingering sip. Licking her lips, she surveyed the crowd of kids. All of them were either having a try at one of the games, eatin' some junk food, or doing some other random thing. Her eyes even picked up on a couple of kids fishing for wallets in the pockets of passersby. Peeking into the bottle, she only saw a small amount of amber liquid, swirling around in it. She sighed and shrugged- she could always get more later. Taking another sip, she tried to savor it.

But, her treat was short-lived. Less than a minute after she lifted the bottle to her mouth, a boy practically steaming with peppy energy walked over to her. Rolling her eyes, she tried to ignore him the best she could.

Until she heard his voice.

It was perky and peppy- already, Fox had a feeling she wouldn't like him. The kids voice reminded her of a peppy, domestic dog. Her eyes widened slightly as the kid went on an hour-long ramble- or so it felt like- about practically, his whole life. She took another sip of beer. Maybe she could just, nod, shrug and mumble her way through this conversation. Besides, this guy probably could be put in front of a brick wall and have an avid conversation with it. Right now, Fox was probably as close to a brick wall- in terms of emotion and voice- as a person could get.

"Jeez- slow down the're, kid", she said almost angrily. Nah, she didn't say it angrily. Just a bit...irritated. Fox usually kept herself calm, cool and collected. She had a feeling that this kid could annoy the hell out of anybody. Fox was just the only target he could get his bloody voice on.

"What'd ya' think yer doing, talkin' like that? Give the them the chance to respond, would ya'?", she asked, taking another sip from her drink. The sharp, thick smell of beer stained her fingers and tainted her breath. Beer was a hard smell to disguise- maybe with a little rain, a shower, and a handful of mint leaves, it would be covered. Eh, whatever. Its not like Fox had anybody to cover it up for. The people she had for friends were either drinkers, used to be drinkers, or had a beer once in a while.

[Hype]

Hype was glad to be talking to anyone. He took a breath to try to calm down and talk slower. That probably wasn't going to happen. It took Hype a moment then he finally realized it. "Hey you're a girl. That's weird I thought you were a boy. I mean i know a lot of girls dress like boys in the lodging house. I always do that. I think it's funny I'm observant sometimes then I'm not. The only thing that matters is I'm observant when I have to be you kno'? Being observant all the time is a bad thing. Too much of a good think is a bad thing. Air is another subject. Because too much water and you drown, too much food and your stomach bust, but never too much air." Hype had a logic of his own. Everything made perfect since to him, even if it was just aimless babble to others.

She wanted a chance to respond. He stood there as patient as he could. He was tapping his foot and shifting positions every few seconds. He looked around at all the games and noises going on. He looked back at her still waiting for a response. After a whole minute he couldn't help but say something. "You drink alot. I don't think that's a bad thing because I drank before, but people say I'm crazier than usually and should never drink. Is coffee bad too? People won't let me get coffee. I don't know why they say it would only make me worst off." then the realization came to him. There weren't any other Bronx newsies around. "I should drink some coffee now. When i ever i get this idea people say no, but no one can stop me now."

He looked up at the girl how looked a bit agitated, but not to the degree most people where after talking to him for so long. He realized he hadn't asked her name or at least didn't get a reply. "Sorry I tend to do that and talk for a while. Have I told you my name? Oh well, saying it again won't hurt it's Hype from the Bronx. Don't get the idea I'm vain though. I think vain people are kinda funny. Anyway, I'm doing my best to stay on track, what's your name? Are you a newsie too?"

[Fox]

"Yeah, I'ma goil. Ain't nothin' wrong with it", she said sarcastically. This was a kid that Fox couldn't tune out- and that was quite a feat for him- so she figured she'd just pay attention to him. "Hell yeah, yer observant alright. Whats yer name, kid?" Fox took another swig from the beer and chewed on her gum in an annoyed way. This kid just didn't know when to shut up. She placed a hand on her head and cradled it- beginning to feel the effects of a migraine.

She raised her eyebrows when the boy took a pause for her. What was there to say? This kid had probably covered every single topic there was to talk about. Then when he brought up the topic of drinking, Fox pointed her(now empty) bottle at him. "Ain't nothin' wrong with drinkin', girlie. Saying its bad is a load a'garbage." Fox took a look at her empty bottle a bit forlornly, but still held onto it.

"Good thing nobody eva' given you coffee, kid. It'd make ya' even peppier than ya' are now", she said. Fox snorted, thinking, that ain't possible. "Yeah, I'ma Newsie. Manhattan. Bronx, eh?" Best to stay on track? Fox ran her fingers through her hair, stuffing the empty bottle into her jacket.

[Hype]

As Fox was talking hwe was pacing in place tapping his fingers. He nodded his head when she said that she was a girl. in Hype's opinion she talked way too slow for his taste. He wanted her to talk faster, but to him most people talked way too slow. "I'm not a girl? Why'd you call me girlie? That weird because on time a girl said i was hot, but it was winter. It was so confusing. I thinks it's a paradox thingy. you know an oxymoron. those are words that are contridicting, but people say them. Deafening silence. See how can silence make you go deaf. Well loud noises does that, but I'm not sure it's possible though. Don't you agree? i hoped yoo followed, because for some reason people have no idea what I'm saying."

He started to look around at the places. "Want some more alcohol? I might be able to find you some. I think iI remeber my way around. Hey by the way what's your name? What's your name, what's your name? I really really want to know. If I don't then I can't talk to you because you'd be a stranger and talking to stranges is bad. Well you know my name so I guess it would be okay, since you know me. So we can still talk because of that get it?" To Hype everything he just said made perfect since.

[Fox]

Fox couldn't help but start to chuckle at this insane kid. "Yeah, so uh, Hype. I called ya' girlie cause I call everyone girlie. Even if they're a guy. So, even though ya' ain't a girl, I call ya' girlie", she explained. "No, I'm followin' ya' kid. Not literally follwin' ya, just listening to ya'." As ridiculous as this kid was, you had to admire him- Fox would put her money on the fact that he probably hadn't taken more than three breaths in his sentences.

"My names Fox, Hype", she said sly. Fox pulled her hat back on her head and turned over to Hype. "Yeah, yeah. Sure kid." Her ears honed in when he said that he knew where to get some drinks. Being Fox, she knew thousands of little tricks and tips about the city. In her bunk back at the lodging house, she collected maps of the city, and marked little points on them- had written notes on them, too. She didn't need them, but she liked having them down on paper.

"Remember ya' way around, hm. Thats good, girlie. Not many people have somethin' of a good memory these days", she commented sneakily. A part of her kept urging her to empty the extra bottles she had in her bag, but she resisted it. O'Bradys wouldn't be open tomorrow, and she always liked to have a drink a day. Not healthy, but whatever. She couldn't explain how many times she'd gotten the "drinking is bad lecture", but people would eventually realize that trying to convince Fox of that was futile. Sure, she could go without a drink, but she chose not too. Plus, if a Newsie ever wanted a cheap- sometimes free- beer, they could come to Fox.

[Hype]

"Oh so you call everyone girly. That's kinda weird, but kinda of not either. I hear there ar people who call everyone Joe and mac. I'm not sure why people do that. When i hear those days i think of Coffee and food. Oh so that word has two meanings, why did people make english that way? Well the real question is who made English? maybe it was the people who made Spanish and other European languages like Korean." He blinked twice wondering what he was talking about, even he wonder to how he got so off track sometimes.

He found out her name was Fox. That was most likely her newsie name, but Hype couldn't blame her. he didn't like his real name. "Fox? that's a neat name. So you must be tricky and clever like as fox. It would be neat if you had fox ears, but that's just crazy now isn't it." Hype started to leave the crowded places, and waked in the streets of Brooklyn. Even though he lived in the Bronx now he would frequent Brooklyn, so he knew it by heart. "just follow me and you'll get more drinks in no time. My memory is better than an elephant's." After walking down the streets a little more they finally reached a small building with a few people outside. "They don't care who they sell it to, just as long as they make a sell. i wonder if that's good business?"

((sorry for the wait my muse is dead))

[Fox]

"Uh-huh...I call everyone girlie", she said again, cocking her head to the side. Scanning him with her amber eyes, she let out a hmm. "I neva' heard someone call people Joe or Mac. I ain't callin' people the things I drink n' eat." Well...she didn't really drink coffee. Just...beer. And water. And more beer. "Who made English?", she repeated,"I don' know, Hype. Run it by with some other newsie." Crossing her arms, she eyed him curiously with a sly grin on her face. The kid went off topic a lot. Like, more then the usual alot.

"Fox ears...", she mumbled to herself, following Hype."Ya, Ya...I know this place. Usually, I go ta' O'Bradys...always crowded there- people can't usual tell what'cha doing, but this is pretty good." Giving Hype a pat on the shoulder, she leaned against the wall and let one of her eyes edge around it. The place was dimly lit, filled with the low hum of a bar. People were milling in and out of the doorway, but that would be fine. "Hey- Hype? Do me a favor. Make sure these people don't block the doorway when I get out, 'alright?"

She slipped into the building, quickly nestling herself under a table. People walking by couldn't see her, and she just kept her eyes on the prize. Two bottles of beer on the bar. Just as they were placed down, she jetted up to the bar and snagged them. Bolting towards the exit, she reached Hype and gave him a pat on the shoulder and slid into the alley next to the building. Snickering slightly as some people from the bar ran outside looking for her, she turned back to Hype. "They're stupid...ain't gonna find me."