2014.02.12 - Chinatown Angels

Chinatown...yes, the place to go to see tourists go back, see interesting and not really authentic Chinese architecture and smell the herbs and fried rice that can comfort a troubled soul. Really. During this Lunch time rush, there's a young individual with a large trash bag settled on a bench, beside him a golden backpack and at his feet a large dark green duffel bag, and on his other side...an emptyish sort of canvas sack. He/She...Soleil sits there, Indian style with a pair of beat up canvas sneakers on the ground at his feet, a pair of holey dark jeans worn with a dark purple hoodie that's a few sizes too big, his hair pulled up and back out of his face and secured by a pair of chopsticks in a messy bun and he wears a pair of fingerless gloves as he's alternating between pulling fortune cookies out of his backpack and breaking them open as he nibbles on them...and idly sorting through the trash bag.

Dressed in a white hoodie and blue jeans, Zack's not exactly the picture of a hero today. The cold doesn't seem to be touching him either. It's pretty obvious that the hoodie is more for style than anything else. The dark haired youth is wandering through china town hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Humming a little bit to himself as he moves along. Blue eyes track things as he moves along taking notice of his surroundings in a rather discrete manner.

No hoodies for Gabriel. He has a knit cap on his head, hair sticking messily out from under its edge, and is wearing a white Irish knit sweater and blue jeans with a long leather coat thrown over it all. When he sees Soleil its an unusual enough sight that he stop to watch him for a moment then approaches him to say, "This might not be the best area to have all your stuff spread out like that. I know for a fact there's a lot of pick pockets and snatchers that would happily run by, grab one of your bags, and keep going."

Soleil's eye brow raises a fraction as he untucks and moves a foot to rest on his duffel bag, toes curling a bit in the cold and he looks to his golden backpack and then the trash bag before bowing his head politely as he pulls out a carrot, mostly in tact from the trash bag, brushing it off and peering at it curiously before setting it in the canvas bag and continuing the process of digging around, biting his bottom lip as he finds something else, a battery and he squints at it for a moment, eyeing it curiously and then speaking softly to Gabriel. "Oui." He comments in agreement before he takes a deep breath and licks the head of the battery, wincing and nodding as he sets it aside in his canvas bag, taking a momentary break to break open another fortune cookie and tugs the little paper inside out, holding it out for Gabriel, and it reads: We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails." Then he goes back to bag sorting.

Approaching Soleil and Gabriel just by chance, Zack cannot help but compliment the sweater,"Nice sweater? Is it actual Aran wool?" He asks curiously. Stopping and looking from Soleil to Gabriel and back again,"You should find a place to stash things." He says in agreement with Gabriel. He's seen one too many person get their stuff stolen. He licks his lips a bit of a nervous habit, trying to help re-hydrate wind dried lips.

Soleil glances to Zack for a moment and tilts his head to the side before his lips curve in a hint of a smile and he wiggles his toes thoughtfully, selecting another fortune cookie and offering it to Zack in turn. "Oui." He agrees. "But..." He begins in the thick yet purring lilt of a French Accent. "Like a squirrel, I must gather my nuts before I can stash them anywhere." A pause. "It made more sense in my head." He promises before tugging a broken cellphone from the trash bag and studying it thoughtfully.

"You don't have such a place?" Zack asks in his thoroughly upper class British accent,"I was thinking of something a little less of the furry variety of things but the analogy works I guess." He says considering that for a moment,"But I think a more apt one might be you're trying to protect it rather than stashing away in the possibility of needing them later." He adds after a moment's thought about the whole thing. "I'm Zack by the way." He says pulling a hand from his hoodie and proffering it to Soleil.

Soleil chuckles softly and gives a small nod. "Not a place to trust, besides...I am just refinding my belongings, it is nice to have it close." He looks at the offered hand and self-consciously wipes his own hand off on his hoodie before reaching to shake the offered hand. "Bonjour Zack...I am Soleil." He hesitates for a moment before nodding and looking to his bag. "I am only hunting treasures now, but it is a pleasure to be meeting you."

"A pleasure to meet you." Zack says politely as he gives the hand a firm shake before returning it to his pocket,"What sort of treasures are you currently looking for?" He asks tilting his head a little bit to one side. He has a feeling the type of treasure he'd be looking for would be of a very different manner than what Soleil would look for here. His blue eyes seem to shimmer for a brief moment.

"Useful tings mostly." Soleil replies kindly enough, pausing to select another fortune cookie to break open and devour, setting the fortune ticket aside before looking back to Zack and gesturing towards the bag as he pulls out a half eaten package of Oreos and he sighs softly. "The...the young children like these, but I need to find more ah, how do you say...batteries, oui. I need more batteries."

Gabriel has just been quietly watching the exchange between the two men, hands stuffed in his pocket to keep them warm as he listens. Zack's compliment on his sweater is acknowledged with a nod that also answers the question on whether it is Aran wool or not.

After listening for a while he squats down to examine Soleil's treasure stack then asks, "What do you need the batteries for?"

The question makes Soleil freeze for a moment before he takes a deep breath and rummages in his backpack for a moment, pulling out a pink flashlight and then he takes another deep breath. "A-and there's..." He bends over to rummage around in another one to tug out a somewhat battered but functional dark blue and silver battery operated tea kettle and he bites his bottom lip, looking around warily before looking back go Gabriel. "It...helps. For the younger ones, a bit of cocoa or tea or coffee...or for warm water for washing your face I tink. I am being proactive to helping them."

Gabriel examines Soleil's items with his eyes only. Once he's sure he knows what he needs he nods to himself once then looks around him. Spotting a pharmacy nearby he holds up one finger as he stands and says, "Do not move." then heads purposefully off towards the store he set his sights on.

A few minutes go by then Gabriel comes back out of the pharmacy with a bulging plastic bag in each hand. Going back to Soleil he squats down and puts the bags in front of him. "I know exactly what its like to be out on the streets. I think you'll find pretty much everything you need in here for the next few weeks." Inside the bags are extra large packages of each of the battery types Soleil was looking for, a few bottles of kids gummy multivitamins, packs of hot chocolate mix, some bottles of aspirin, packets of band-aids, and even a brand new package of Oreos. Even more unique are a couple of gift cards for the pharmacy and the fact that there is no receipt to be found in either of the bags.

Soleil doesn't really move, besides devouring fortune cookies and setting the papers aside thoughtfully as he watches after Gabriel with a lift of an eyebrow. He's quiet, shaking his head and starting to rummage in the trash bag before... Gabriel returns and he actually looks shocked, eyes widening a fraction as his lips part in surprise and he exhales softly. "Mon dieu..." Trailing off and just looking up at Gabriel and then back down to at the bags and then back up to Gabriel as he untucks his second leg and takes a deep breath, holding a hand to his mouth as he bends over to rummage around the bags and he just swallows hard. "I..." He trails off. "I do not be having um, anyting to trade I..."

Gabriel laughs and shrugs, "I'm just passing along the help I got when I was homeless and out of luck. I'm not expecting anything from you. With one exception. When you're back on your feet, if you have the chance to help someone else that down on their luck, pass it along." Digging into the bags he's brought over he pulls out the two gift cards and hands them directly to Soleil, "The owner of that pharmacy knows me. You won't be able to buy booze or junk food with these but anything else you need you should be good to go. Put them somewhere safe, there's a hundred bucks on each." He smiles in a decidedly mischievous way as he adds, "Today was a good day at work so I had a little extra money to throw at'cha."

"Not everything needs to be a trade." Zack says casually,"There are people who do things for others just because." He says casually as he pulls out a small card,"Contact this number if there's anything that they need as far as clothes or what have you. They'll take care of you and the younger kids." He says offering a business card,"Really it's nothing terribly fancy but they make good stuff that's durable and quite warm in this weather. When it warms up they'll have other things." Soleil just still looks a bit shell shocked, a shaky hand holding the bottle of gummy multivitamins and he's a bit teary eyed, nodding quickly to the two before he's handed the gift cards and he swallows hard, rubbing his free hand on his hoodie and holding the cards to his chest before he's receiving another card from Zack, left eye twitching a bit as he's a tad bit overwhelmed and he nods quickly, hand tucked up under his hoodie and with a squirm the cards are secured somewhere...people can't see behind said hoodie before he exhales shakily. "Your name?" He asks of Gabriel. "And Merci...Merci...Monsieur Zack, and Monsieur..." He looks to Gabriel questioningly.

Gabriel chuckles in response to Soleil's reaction and looks up at Zack, "I think we've sent him into shock. Is there such a thing as being too nice to someone?" Turning his attention back to Soleil he says, "Gabriel, I'm just Gabriel. No Monsieur, no Mr., no Sir. For goodness sake, I'm pretty much a kid still."

"Je vous en prie monsieur." Zack says nodding his head to Soleil,"Hey! I'm younger than both of you so there's really no need to call me Monsieur. Although I guess that considering the French prefer utilizing Monsieur and such for anyone it works but you can address me by just Zack. Especially since that's my first name and not my last name."

Soleil wipes at his eyes and then when Gabriel says his name he blinks, lashes fluttering before crosses himself and just smiles softly. "I was praying, oui...for an Angel or a miracle but Gabriel himself? Mon dieu..." He sucks in a sob, and frowns a bit, wiping his nose and hmphing delicately before smiling softly at Zack's usage of French and he shrugs his shoulders. "Gabriel and Zack, oui...I am Soleil a-and I thank you both with so much, it is...besides the giant drug induced hallucination of a purple cat carrying me away after a witch with a penis I am certain of did somethings...perhaps the kindest ting I have had done since I was arriving here."

Gabriel frowns slightly at Soleil's last few words and then he holds his hand out, "Can I see that card Zack here gave you? I'm going to write an address of a safe shelter for you on the back, one you where you can trust the people that run it. Its a bit of a ways off, in Harlem, but it sounds like you might need a safe place. Make sure to ask for Jonah and tell him I sent you. If you do he'll find you space no matter how crowded the shelter is." As he holds his one hand out the other one digs into the inner pocket of his longcoat and comes out with a cheapo Bic pen.

"Witch with a penis? Interesting." Zack says laughing softly at the whole thing,"I was just rather curious though. How someone from France ended up on the streets here in America." He says casually. He speaks French well enough to notice a native speaker versus someone who just speaks it like he does. "There are always people around that will help." He says in a very simple way of speaking.

Soleil holds up a one moment finger, reaching back up his hoodie for the card and offering it to Gabriel with a soft laugh, he's still a bit overwhelmed. "Of course mons-ah, mon ang-a...Gabriel." He nods firmly before looking over to Zack. "...it is a very very long story, my young ami...trust me, it is not all happy hm? But if it is of any help, I was not always on the streets, non?" He sighs softly. "It has taken along time, but perhaps soon I can be one of those who helps." A pause. "And oui, wizard, witch with a di-ah...with parts, I am not sure. I still believe I may have been high."

Gabriel takes the card from Soleil, flips it over and writes down the address and phone number for a homeless shelter in Harlem, as promised. He also writes down the name 'Jonah Calhoon' before handing the card back to Soleil. Once this task is accomplished he gets to his feet and starts walking down the street after waving at the other two young men, "Nice to meet you both. If you ever need my help talk with Jonah, he always knows how and where to reach me. And now, I have people to see and pockets to pick so I must bid you adieu."

Yep, Gabriel's French absolutely sucks and his 'adieu' sounds more like 'adio'. and did he just say 'pockets to pick'?

"Ah. Yes. They exist. There's quite a few of them in this city." Zack says nodding his head a bit,"If you call my contact be sure to say I gave you that card. When you go there be sure to show the card. It'll validate I sent you." He says grinning a bit,"I know who you're talking about when you say purple catman. Only met one of those in this city so far. He's a good bloke really." He says as he stretches a bit, giving Gabriel a strange look for a moment.

Soleil has to smile a little, watching after Gabriel, bowing his head politely and murmuring 'Adieu' after him before taking a deep breath before looking back to Zack. "He is a curious individual, oui?" Then he looks back to the Zack, arching an eyebrow. "Are you telling me that there is a giant purple cat?"

"Yes. I met him a couple times." Zack says nodding his head a bit,"If that was the strangest thing I've seen in this city I would be happy but it's not even remotely. He's a good person and you'll probably see him again some day."

Soleil ahhs softly, slipping his feet back into his shoes, looking around warily as he works on collecting the bags that Gabriel left him with to sit on the bench as he zips up his duffel bag and considers how he's going to transport things without being mugged and he looks back to Zack, arching an eyebrow. "I..." He trails off. "I was hoping I was ah...seeing tings."

"Unfortunately no." Zack says shaking his head a bit,"I've seen the stuff of nightmares in this city. Not just the magical kind but also crazy men with knives and stuff. You learn to adapt to things though. Gets easier after you've been here awhile."

Soleil rubs a hand over his face and looks down to the ground for a few moments, flinching as he flashes back to the previous evening and then he looks back to Zack with a slow blink. "Ahh...after a while, oui. We shall see."

"Trust me on this one." Zack says shrugging a little bit,"I know plenty of people that were having trouble with this for awhile that have adjusted. Plus how do you think HE feels. I mean he's a bloody purple cat man."

"I would not know. He felt kind. But...all that glitters and seems nice is not always, hm?" Soleil offers a bit sadly before quickly shaking his head. "I am just...adjusting, oui. Getting used to tings here, it is different."