|
|
Post by Administrator on Apr 14, 2010 23:56:18 GMT -5
Situated across the room from the front desk and to the left of the front door, is a nice cluster of small tables and mismatched chairs. The tables can also be squished together for bigger groups if needed, through the levels aren't even. It's a great place to pull up a chair and relax, maybe play a hand of cards or a game.
|
|
|
|
Post by Prince on Jan 3, 2011 5:36:17 GMT -5
((NEW DAY: Everyone is welcome!)
The sun was shining, hardly a cloud in the sky and... it was frickin' freezing! Welcome to winter, Prince supposed. There was so much snow on the ground the horses could barley pull the carriages through it. However, a little snow was never something that would stop the presses, ergo, a little snow was not going to stop her and her rag tag gang of newsies. And, oddly enough, she was really okay with this. About a year ago this time she would have been moping by a frozen fountain, feeling sorry for herself and her situation. But since then, her hair had started growing out again, meaning it was long enough to tuck back up into her hat! Just as it was meant to be.
Prince galumphed down the stairs in a rather bouncy joyous manner. She was dressed in her usual attire, plus several several layers. She would prefer not to freeze to death today, thank you. However, the baggy shirts to hide the figure, the boyish pants making her look male, not to mention the long(ish) hair tucked up into her brown old christmas present hat, gave off the illusion that she was no she at all, that she was quite frankly a he, and no one was masterful enough to see her that disguise. She may have been a baby faced boy, however, no one had ever assumed she was anything but male, who didn't know her, and that was the way she liked it.
At this point, her hat was in her hand, and her hair began to trail down her back once more, but was now flying behind her as she bounced her way towards the chairs in the main room. "Good morning, good morning, good morning, how are some of my favorite people in the world, hmm?" The Queens newsies house was notorious for being a great place to house children, considering that Prince could be so much of a mother, she highly enjoyed it, and the children equally enjoyed her. She gave one of the younger ones a rather tight squeeze, making him squeak, making some of the others around him laugh at the sound. She stood up straight once more. "Shall we get a move on this morning?"
"Wait!" one of the younger boys proclaimed as he stood up. The boy was known for being nearsighted, and yet something was missing. "I can't find my glasses." And everyone knew what this meant. The glasses were always left in a different place every night before the boy went to bed. Usually he remembered, today he did not.
"Alright alright," Prince said waving her arms to get everyone's attention. "Shall we help Bottles find his glasses?" she asked in a humorous way as to make everyone laugh and pitch in, and that is just what happened. Boys started running up stairs to check the bunk room, people dashed towards the kitchen, Prince herself began looking under chairs and the table. No doubt, if anyone had walked in on this scene, it would have been a humorous sight to see!
|
|
|
|
Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 3, 2011 9:02:00 GMT -5
Roisin opened the door to the Queen's Lodging house and took a cautious step inside, narrowly avoiding collision with a boy as he dashed by her towards another room. After blinking a bit to allow her eyes to adjust to the dimmer room after the glaring brightness of the sun on the snow, she did a quick scan of the room. Although the sounds of shouts and laughter echoed from all directions, the room itself was empty save for herself and one other person.
Roisin raised one eyebrow as she studied the girl before her. At first glance, she had appeared to be a boy, but the dark hair hanging over her face gave her away. She was on her knees, bent over resting on her forearms, her butt jutting out as she peered under under a chair. Roisin couldn't have stopped the grin and accompanying snort of laughter if she'd wanted to.
|
|
|
|
Post by Prince on Jan 3, 2011 20:41:29 GMT -5
Prince groaned. "Bottles!" she hollered, "When's the last time you had 'em?" Prince stood up too quickly and found herself eye to eye with Roisin. "Woah!" she said her voice deepening into a boyish tone instantly. "Two steps closer, and you an' me would both be hurtin," she said with a low chuckle. She glanced around the room for the glasses instead. "How ya be?" she asked before she darted around the room once more as she tried to think if she'd seen them last night or this morning. "Ugh... where are they?!" she was fairly frustrated with the children at this point, but managing at the same time, as she always did.
|
|
|
|
Post by soothsayer on Jan 4, 2011 1:00:11 GMT -5
A smirk crossed Sooth's face as he walked into the room with Bottles glasses between his fingers. He cleared his throat and held them out to Prince, the smirk never leaving his face. It wasn't often his leader was frazzled and it amused him to no end to be able to see it. "Found what you're looking for. Where's the runt?"
He'd actually stumbled upon them almost as soon as Prince had demanded they find them, but his fellow lodgers entertained him far too much for him to end it early. When Bottle approaches him, Sooth holds the glasses out to him and ruffles the kids hair. "Gotta keep a better eye on them, kid."
Glancing around the room his gaze landed on Roisin and he couldn't help the charming grin he gave her. He knew if Smarty saw him eyeing another girl he'd get his kicked, at least until he could convince her to kiss it better. As his mind wondered he turned and started heading for the front door.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 4, 2011 8:35:14 GMT -5
Roisin opened her her mouth to answer Prince's question, then shut it with a wry smile as she realized the girl was far too preoccupied to care about the answer. Instead, she leaned casually against the door frame and watched the goings on with mild interest. She wondered briefly if maybe she should offer to help look for whatever was clearly missing, but she was saved from making the decision when Sooth walked into the room with a smirk and a pair of glasses.
Roisin allowed her gaze to drift over Sooth in appreciation as he handed off the glasses to Bottles with a good natured admonishment. When he glanced her way and flashed her a charming smile, she gave him one of her own in return and let her eyes linger on him a moment as he turned towards the door.
With a little shake of her head, she turned back to Prince, still smiling. "Is it always this lively 'round here, then?
|
|
|
|
Post by Prince on Jan 4, 2011 23:53:58 GMT -5
Prince looked after Sooth and flatly said, "Thanks," she then rolled her eyes a little and was about to head back to the boys when Roisin's question stopped her
"Lively ain't exactly the woid that gets used most but... wull in the mornin' it is. It is in most lodgin' houses." She then relized that she was hardly speaking to Roisin anymore and was now really more talking to herself. "Anywho," she said perking back up. "Is there somethin' I can do ya for?" her voice was still in a lower tone, to give her the appearance of a boy. It was a talent that she had mastered over the years, and was a disguise she was fairly proud of. As for why she dressed as a boy?
She had her reasons that were barely known by anyone, but that was her business anyway, no one needed to know really. She just lived in Queens and liked it there as far as everyone was concerned, and dressed and played the part of a boy because she could sell better as a boy. Of course this was all hiding her secret, but the secret was hers.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 5, 2011 3:09:53 GMT -5
Roisin studied Prince discreetly. Boy or girl, girl or boy, she thought to herself. First glance had said boy, but the longer hair... Not that it really mattered one way or the other to her at the moment. She gave a little shrug. "I was told t' come here an' ask for Prince. That maybe he had room here in his lodging house..." she trailed off, trying to hide the slight hint of desperation.
She had been in New York three days now, and so far had not had much luck finding a place to stay. The cold weather had all the lodging houses filling up, and although she had been able to find a temporary bunk in a couple of them, none of them were able to take her in permanently. She was no stranger to sleeping on the streets, but New York was not Dublin, and winter was no time to be trying to learn the safe places in a new city, if it could be avoided.
|
|
|
|
Post by Prince on Jan 7, 2011 3:32:08 GMT -5
At the mention of her name Prince's lips curled up into a smile. "Well then," she said letting her tone start off low and then start to creep into it's natural (higher, girlish) octave, "you've come to the right place then."
With a flip of a hand and in the blink of an eye, the hair fell down her back slightly, not being in it's previous former glory of feet long, but was slowly working it's way there. "M'name's Prince, pleased ta meetcha, I believe I'm the person you've been lookin' for." She folded her arms and surveyed the girl. "So, looking for a place to say... had room here at the lodgin' house eh?" she said. "Hmmm... wull who am I kiddin'? I've never really had the heart to turn anyone away when they needed help," as could be seen by all the children half her size running every which way. "If you wanna stay here, I think we can find ya a bed and a quilt ta keep you warm, at least through the winter... then you may not want that quilt anymore," she said with a sly smirk. Prince may have been a softie for people in trouble, and maybe she was a bit too soft, but she couldn't help it. She figured anyone looking for a safe warm place was having a rough time already, why make it worse?
|
|
|
|
Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 7, 2011 19:59:42 GMT -5
"Well then," she said letting her tone start off low and then start to creep into it's natural (higher, girlish) octave, "you've come to the right place then."
Definitely a girl then, Roisin thought to herself. Prince further proved her conclusion by shaking her hair out.
"M'name'sPrince, pleased ta meetcha, I believe I'm the person you've been lookin' for."
Roisin raised her eyebrow slightly at the girl's unexpected introduction. This was Prince? Everyone that had pointed her towards Queens had referred to her as a him. Roisin had run the Dublin streets as a boy herself, but although she still preferred the comfort of dressing as one, nobody had mistook her for a boy since she was roughly 12. For Prince to have made it this far with her charade intact was impressive.
Roisin breathed a silent prayer as Prince looked her over. The stress and uncertainty of the last few days, not to mention the toll the long voyage across the Atlantic had taken on her, were starting to creep up on her.
"So, looking for a place to say... had room here at the lodgin' house eh?" she said. "Hmmm... wull who am I kiddin'? I've never really had the heart to turn anyone away when they needed help,"
Roisin let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as relief washed over her. If Prince had turned her away, she still had a few ideas, but they were far from desirable. And though she had always been one to do what she had to to survive, there were a few lines she hadn't been forced to cross yet and she preferred to keep it that way.
"If you wanna stay here, I think we can find ya a bed and a quilt ta keep you warm, at least through the winter... then you may not want that quilt anymore,"
She didn't know if it was the relief at finding a warm bed, the slight rambling absurdity of the statement and the sly smirk that accompanied it, or a combination of the two, but Roisin found herself unable to stop the laughter that forced its way past her lips. She quickly got herself under control and gave Prince an apologetic look, though her eyes still danced with amusement. "T'anks very much," she said as she extended her hand. "I'm called Roisin Dubh, though just Roisin suits me fine..."
|
|
|
|
Post by Prince on Jan 9, 2011 10:52:20 GMT -5
Prince was known for talking in circles and rambling, but she believed it added to her (absurd) charm, so she wasn't against it or at all offended when Roisin laughed. She simply smiled back and was glad she could help the girl out. "Roisin... eh?" she cocked an eye brow at the odd name, but shook the hand presented to her none the less. "Pleased ta meetcha missy," she said with a quick nod.
"Well come on! If ya got anything grab it and let's get you a bunk before we completely miss opening bell!" she said as she hurried towards the stairs. "Bed room's up here," she said.
"And, oh," she added getting in close as though she were telling her deepest secret. "the fact that I'm a girl ain't exactly common knowledge. It's limited to the newsies. Specifically mine, and a few of my friends around new york. Don't go talkin' about me like I'm a girl, to anyone but queens folk, unless they do otherwise. Leadahs from other parts of the city know, but it's kinda... new york's best kept secret, and I'd prefer to keep it that way, if ya don't mind." She smiled like Roisin like one would smile at an old friend. "B'sides... if I find people who don't know and I found out you told 'em? Looking for a place ta sleep is gonna be the least of ya problems." She patted Roisin heartily on the back. "How about that bed huh?!" she said rambunctiously once more, then dashed towards the stairs once more, and then up them.
((We'll just keep posting here, even though we're in the bed room now. Easier than moving the thread.))
|
|
|
|
Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 9, 2011 20:06:52 GMT -5
Roisin grinned at Prince's mildly puzzled look. "Means Rose in Irish, or Dark Rose if ya use me whole name, which nobody really does...." she explained as she shook hands with the Queens leader. "It's lovely t' meet ya as well."
"Wellcome on! If ya got anything grab it and let's get you a bunk before we completely miss opening bell!"
Roisin shook her head slightly, indicating that she had nothing beyond what she wore. Her father had died on the long voyage and with him, the dream of an actual home. Therefore, she saw no reason to keep the few possessions that they had brought with them, and quickly pawned them or traded them for money and food. All she kept were her clothes, which she wore layered on her person now both for warmth and ease of travel, and three cherished books that she couldn't bear to sell, which were wrapped in the one skirt that she owned and slung across her back. Her only other frivolous possession was a locket which had belonged to her mother, which she wore around her neck and tucked safely in her shirt.
Roisin moved quickly to follow the energetic girl towards the stairs, but stopped short, almost running into her, when Prince came to a stop and leaned into her conspiratorially.
"the fact that I'm a girl ain't exactly common knowledge. It's limited to the newsies. Specifically mine, and a few of my friends around new york."
Roisin nodded both in understanding, already suspecting that had been the case, and in reassurance that she had no intention of being the one to blow her cover. Prince's intimately friendly smile caught her slightly off guard and it took a moment for the girl's deceptively light threat to sink in as she followed it with a hearty pat to the back that hinted at a considerable strength hidden beneath her baggy clothing. "You've nothin' t' worry about from me," Roisin said, returning Prince's smile with one that, while slightly more reserved, was no less friendly.
"How about that bed huh?!"
The abrupt change in topic had Roisin staring after Prince for a split second, her mouth slightly agape, before scrambling to follow her up the stairs, shaking her head in bemusement.
|
|
|
|
Post by Prince on Jan 10, 2011 15:09:53 GMT -5
Prince took the stairs two at a time as she headed aloft towards the beds. She took an abrupt turn into the bunk room and then another one to get to the trunk in the corner of the room. She pulled out one of the quilts that had been donated by the local church and then dashed to a spare bed near the back of the room. "Alright, sleepin' beside ya here is Bottles. Maybe havin' a girl b'side him will help him remember where he puts his glasses every night," she said with a chuckle. "Cute kid, but he'd lose his head if it weren't attached. "So here's the beds... exciting huh?" she smiled at herself. "Uh, through here is the washroom, she said as she went to the door. "there's some showers and... some tubs... and some sinks... you get it," she said. "I'll get everyone up in the morning for sellin'... if that's what you're gonna do. Some of the kids here have other jobs like chimney sweep and... things," she said. "Sorry Guess I'm real good at talkin' right now huh?"
She always found it a little awkward showing new people around. It was never as awkward as she made it out to be, but it always got there for her, for some reason. "Anyway," she said, "we spend a lotta time down stairs, and there's some sort of food almost every morning so ya ain't sellnin' on an empty stomach. Uh," she thought about it for a second. "I can't think of anything else... can you?" she asked.
"Oh, but if ya are gonna go sell I'd look around later if I were you, we hafta get goin' here soon. Or you can skip today. It's really up to you I guess."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 10, 2011 21:16:03 GMT -5
By the time Roisin reached the top of the stairs and entered the bunk room, Prince was already waiting for her beside a bed, a worn, but clean looking quilt in her arms. She launched into a rapid explanation of the general layout of the place, which Roisin didn’t even to try to follow, though she did grin at the girl’s rambling. She figured there would be plenty of time later for her to get her bearings. Instead she used the time to remove her makeshift sling of books from her back and deposit them on her new bed.
She did pay attention to who had the bunk next to her, and was pleased to find it belonged to one of the younger boys. While she didn’t claim to love kids, she didn’t mind them most of the time either, and sometimes they could be a great source for obtaining useful information. When Prince asked if she could think of any other questions she might have, Roisin shook her head, chuckling at the girl’s obvious relief.
Roisin was definitely going out to sell… Although she had some money left from pawning her things, she wasn’t eager to use it if she didn’t have to. Besides, the sooner she learned her way around, the better. “I’d like t’ come today, if ya don’t mind,” she said, giving Prince a bright smile.
|
|
|
|
Post by Prince on Jan 11, 2011 0:28:00 GMT -5
Prince smiled. "I dun mind at all," she said shaking her head.
"Yeesh, sure is cold out there though yeah?" she shook her head a little bit. "if ya need some warmer clothes we have a few donations in a box downstairs. Some gloves, hats, and stuff," she said with a shrug. Prince might be a little wacky, a little off the wall, a little circular in her speaking and a little poor at presenting herself, however she was very graceful at taking care of people younger than her, those she cared for, or her own kids. There was no faltering there.
"Ya ever been sellin' before, or would ya like a crash course?" She had taught kid after kid the art of improving the truth, and hawking a headline and sellin' a pape. She'd be happy to do it again.
|
|
(c)Red
