Lanni's

[Administrator]

A small cafe with the best coffee in Brooklyn!

[flare]

Flare sat back in her seat in the corner of the cafe. It was near closing, and this was the best time to come in if you were a newsie. The owner didn't mind if you sat for a bit as long as you bought something and stayed out of the way. Sometimes you even got a free muffin if there were some left at the end of the night, like the one Flare was picking at now. The door creaked open and Flare looked up to see who else was coming in this late.

[sneaks]

Sneaks slipped in the door, desperate for a good cup of coffee. He came here a lot when he was playing cards late at night. Noticing a striking girl in the corner, he sauntered over and sat in a seat close to her table, and ordered to cups of coffee, one for himself, and one for her, telling the waiter to send it over with his regards.

Without looking at her, he started shuffling his cards.

[flare]

Flare looked the kid over, whoever he was he wasn't a Brooklyn newsie unless he was new. Either way, now wasn't a good time to be a stranger in Brooklyn, Spot and the rest weren't taking any chances. She turned away and went back to her muffin, attempting to let herself relax when Giovanni stopped by her table. Flare looked up confused when he left a coffee at her table. Giovanni pointed to the boy who had just come and said it was on him.

Flare wasn't sure what to make of this. She turned to face the boy and held up her coffee. She nodded at him to say thanks before relaxing back into her seat. The coffee helped calm her nerves a bit.

[sneaks]

Sneaks looked at her a bit. She must be a Brooks newsie..not that it really mattered. He wasn't paying attention to lines. He would fight whomever got in his way, regardless if they were on his 'side' or not. She looked Slavic...perhaps Russian or Czech even..

"Çäðàâñòâóëòå!, ìèëàÿ äåâóøêà. Âíèìàòåëüíîñòü äëÿ òîãî ÷òîáû âûáðàòü êàðòî÷êó?" Translates into: Hello pretty girl. Care to pick a card?" He leaned foward a bit and slid the Ace of hearts onto her saucer.

[flare]

"Delayet ta liniya kogda-libo rabotayet?" Does that line ever work?
Flare asked without dropping a beat. She then smirked and added, "An' privet tam simpatichnaya devochka, hotite vybirat' kartu makes moeh sense, but Ise guessin' you ain't Russian, so dat's not bad."

She placed her cup in top of the card on her saucer before finishing her muffin. If he thought some smooth line about her being pretty was going to make her swoon, he was in for a rude awakening.

[sneaks]

Sneaks smirked. Ohh..he liked her style. "I'm Czech actually. And if that line had worked, I would have made you pay for that coffee there." He was quiet for a moment, then started shuffling his cards again.

"So...I assume you are a brooks newsie, probably." He sipped on his coffee. "Shame that a 'hattan' newsie like myself has to risk a soakin' to get a good cup of joe." He blatenly called himself out...he wanted to see how she reacted.

[flare]

Flare arched an eyebrow at the kid, she was right, he wasn't from around here. It was pretty ballsy to walk into Brooklyn when Spot Conlon wanted nothing more than to soak you.

"Ise new ta Brooklyn, came from de Kitchen not long ago. An' what's a shame is dat me brudda's a Queens newsie."

[sneaks]

Sneaks nodded. "I've spent some time in the Kitchen. Stopped going there lately. I gamble, ya see...and my string of luck could get me killed there...so my luck would be my bad luck, you could say."

He smirked. "This war seems so...trivial. One dead child." He shuffled his cards. Stopped. Then started again. "I could see the fuss over two, three...but an all out war...honor is honor. But I say the leaders need to read bluffs. Cause someone is sure bluffin." He stood and sat in the chair across from her. "And its keepin' ye from your dear old brother." His words sounded harsh in one light...but not if taken in another context. One could never be sure about Sneaks' meanings...

[flare]

Flare looked at the kid, rather annoyed. Sure the war wasn't going to solve anything, but one dead kid was one dead kid too many. She leaned in and looked him in the eye.

"Dat one dead kid was barely eight an' dey did a real numbeh on 'im," she said evenly, "A war ain't gonna solve nuttin', Ise seen it 'appen enough in de Kitchen ta know dat, but if de situation was reversed, Spot would neveh let a moidah o' one o' Jacky's boys get swept undeh de rug."

She leaned back and took another sip of her coffee before continuing. "As fo' me brudda, it'll woik itself out Ise shoah, it always does."

[sneaks]

Sneaks shrugged. "As I said..someone be bluffin'." He paused. "Thing is...kids are dying on these streets every day. We should notice those too, not just a newsie kid." He took a gulp his coffee. Did he just show softness? Perhaps.

"I may seem insensitive, but I'm just sensible.." He ran a hand through his chestnut hair. "Forgive my rudness. You still don't know my name. Nicholi. But most call me Sneaks."

[flare]

"Yea, but Spike was one o' ours, an' wese spossed ta look out fo' eachodda," she said quietly. What was Spike doing in 'Hatten by himself anyway? The younger ones always seemed to move in twos for their own protection. Hell, older newsies did that still when going to toerh burroughs usually. She pulled herself from her thoughts and looked back at the boy.

"Iveta, but no ones called me dat in yeahs, it's Flare now."

[sneaks]

Sneaks nodded. "We are all supposed to look out for eachother, but human nature says self before others...it is the constant fight between nature and soul.."

He smirked. "The things we do to fit in...in our motherlands, woe be it for us not to use our given names..."

[flare]

Flare looked over at the boy as she finished her coffee. He wasn't as bad as she first thought, well, at least when he knocked off the I'm King of the World attitude. She chuckled lightly, her name wasn't even Russian, her mother just liked the sound of it.

"Why come all de way out heah when youse know dat 'Hatten & Brooklyn are fightin'?"

[sneaks]

Sneaks smirked. "Well, this place has the best coffee I've found in my wanderings. And I frankly dont give a sh*t about the sides. I'll fight whomever tries to start something with me, regardless if they are from brooks, bronx, hattan, or queens." He finished off his own coffee and shuffled his cards again. "After some of the stuff I've been through, this is kids stuff."

He laughed at himself. "I'm sorry, I know, I know..this is very serious business..but gah we must look like silly kids to the outside world."

He also threw in. "I'm also a fast runner..." Sneaks could take one or two kids, sure...but he wasn't stupid. He would run if he had to.