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Post by Administrator on Apr 16, 2010 15:46:45 GMT -5
Stacks upon stacks of crates that are loaded on and off of ships. The newsies like to jump off the crates into the water on hot days.
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Post by Banshee O'Hara on Jan 27, 2011 17:49:33 GMT -5
Banshee leaned back against the crates, listening to the sound of the water as it lapped against the dock. It was cold, but he didn't feel like going back to the lodging house just yet, as there was bound to be a crowd and he was in the mood for quiet. Well, as quiet as the Brooklyn docks could be, anyway.... Most of the activity was further down, however, and Banshee had managed to find a little corner of solitude.
Shivering a little, he pulled his coat tighter and fished a cigarette from his pocket. Fighting the wind a bit to light it, he finally got it lit and took a long drag, his eyes drifting shut as his mind wandered in thought. As it always did, the first thing it lingered on was the grey afternoon that had changed the course of his life and sent him running to America. Even now, it bothered him, though he'd never admit it to anyone.
Sighing, he opened his eyes to stare out over the water, hoping some of the activity on the ships might distract him. It annoyed him to no end that he craved the solitude, but that once he had it, he couldn't enjoy it. Eyes focused on the ships, he took another long drag and tried to clear his mind of ghosts, at least for the time being.
((Tag Avalanche))
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Post by Avalanche on Jan 27, 2011 18:16:21 GMT -5
"Gangway!" A couple of younger boys were jumping over around and through the stacks of crates. "Comin' through! Watch out!" they jumped over Banshee's head and continued on down the line.
Avalanche had been chasing them in a game of tag, and they were winning, at the last second he got a hand on one of them, and then tripped on a crate and crashed and burned in front of Banshee.
The boys stopped running and laughed. "Avalanche!" one of them called making his name fit what he'd just done. Avalanche couldn't help but laugh as he stood up.
"Yeow," he said looking down at his arm. "sorry boys I think i'm out of this one. You guys keep playin', I'll catch up with you later."
"Okay!" one boy said, "See ya!" the other said. Avalanche shook his head and smiled as the boys went off.
He suddenly looked around and saw Banshee. "Oh. Hi," he said chuckling a little. "Hey... I hate to be a bother, but you ever put a dislocated joint back in from where it came?" he asked kind of holding on to his right arm. Avlanche always had a way of making an entrance, most of the time it wasn't on purpose.
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Post by Banshee O'Hara on Jan 27, 2011 20:14:24 GMT -5
The sudden sound of running feet and a couple of yelled warnings indicated that Banshee was no longer alone, and he shook his head as he glanced up to see two young boys jumping from crate to crate over his head. Rolling his eyes with a small chuckle, he wondered if he had been that seemingly carefree at their age. Since their age would have put him in the orphanage at the time, he doubted it, but he wasn’t about to go digging through those memories to be sure.
Heavier footsteps and a crashing noise were all the warning Banshee had before a decidedly larger form tumbled from somewhere above him and landed hard on the ground in front of him. Well, boyo, ya wanted a distraction, he thought with a rueful shake of his head as an extremely tall boy unfolded himself from the ground and exchanged friendly banter with the younger boys. Hoping to maybe remain unnoticed, he remained quiet and smoked his cigarette.
His hopes were dashed, however, when the boy looked around and saw him. Banshee recognized him from the docks, though he’d never had any contact with him before. He seemed easygoing enough, but Banshee tensed a bit anyway, just in case appearances were deceiving. He nodded his head a bit at the boy’s offhanded greeting then raised his brow at his inquiry. “Ah… No… I’ve seen it done, but,” he shrugged his shoulders apologetically as he took one last drag of his cigarette and flipped the butt into the water. “Sorry,” he added, knowing the arm had to hurt like hell.
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Post by Avalanche on Jan 27, 2011 20:31:40 GMT -5
"Alright, well you're gonna learn," he said with a tough smile. Avalanche was not going to negotiate this. "It's not hard, and you don't really have to do much, really." The boy looked familiar, but a lot of the Brooklyn newsies did. Avalanche worked at the docks, and since this guy was a Brooklyn newsie he'd probably seen him around.
"So it's back farther than it should be, all you have to do is hold on to my shoulder near my neck, then shove my arm forward. If you hear it pop ya did it right." He took his hat off of his head and put it in his mouth to bite on. "If ya do me this, I owe ya, deal?" He really needed to get this done, and ya didn't need to be a doctor to do it, or have any training, or anything. It was going to be better to get it back into place and over with than walk around with it out of it's socket.
"Alright, so whenever," he said taking a deep breath, closing his eyes and looking the other way. It wasn't gonna be pretty, and it wasn't gonna feel good, but gotta do what you gotta do.
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Post by Banshee O'Hara on Jan 27, 2011 23:52:59 GMT -5
Banshee’s eyes narrowed at the boy’s non-negotionable tone, but he chose not to comment on it, as he figured were it him, he would be in a hurry to take care of the problem as well, and really, the request didn’t seem to be that difficult. That didn’t mean he was going to jump right up and do the boy’s bidding either, and he sat there a moment longer than necessary before getting casually to his feet. He shrugged at the boy’s offer of an owed favor and shook his head. He wasn’t much for owing and being owed favors. If he was going to help someone, he wanted to be able to do it out of loyalty or friendship, and not because it was owed, and he didn’t want anyone feeling like they had to do something they didn’t necessarily want to do for him either. “I’ll do it, but ya don’t owe me nothin’,” he said, his tone neutral as he approached the boy.
Banshee put his hands where the boy had told him and gave the injured arm a strong shove that resulted in a sickening pop. Stepping back, he waited, hoping that it had gone back in place as it should have.
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Post by Avalanche on Jan 28, 2011 0:27:22 GMT -5
The curses started loud and strong and rough as the arm went back into place, but thankfully were all muffled by the hat in Avalanche's mouth. But MAN did that really REALLY hurt. He grasped his shoulder in agony with his left as tears that weren't from crying but just from pain came from his eyes. It wasn't the concept of fighting back tears, it was that it was the body's reaction. And when there was pain there was no stopping it.
After a few seconds he started calming down, breathing normally and eventually even took the hat out of his mouth. "...thanks," he said quietly. "Sorry I was so harsh," he added. "Just I knew it was gonna keep hurting and I would have rather gotten it all over with as quick as I could... so... thanks," he said again with a deep breath.
"Uh, anyway... I'm... Avalanche, er that's what people call me," he said with a shrug. "May I ask your name?" he asked just trying to make friendly conversation because for some reason traveling didn't sound like fun at that moment.
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Post by Banshee O'Hara on Jan 28, 2011 1:16:35 GMT -5
Banshee looked away as the boy dealt with the pain. He knew all too well the struggle to overcome the effects of intense pain and didn’t envy the boy one bit. Instead, he busied himself lighting another cigarette and watching the water until the boy had collected himself enough to speak. Banshee turned to him, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he exhaled a stream of smoke. “I’da been in a hurry t’ get that sorted out myself,” he allowed with a slight shrug.
Banshee smirked a little at how fitting the nickname was, at least today, and dropped back down to sit on one of the crates before answering. “I’m called Banshee,” he said, his tone neutral.
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Post by Avalanche on Jan 28, 2011 1:44:35 GMT -5
"Pleased ta meetcha," Avalanche said with a nod. "I'd shake your hand but," he looked down at his right hand, "well I'm sure you understand," he said chuckling a little. "I hope you don't mind if I sit around here for a little bit. If uh... if you don't wanna be here that'd be okay," he reassured him. He would fully understand if Banshee just decided to leave.
He sat down on a lower crate and kind of sat his arm in his lap. He figured he'd start back home after he felt a little bit better but for a second he definitely needed to relax.
"So, you a Brooklyn Newsie?" he asked as though he already knew the answer. "I think I've seen ya around. I work down here at the docks and used to be a newsie myself," he said. "Got a little too old for it myself though," he said honestly.
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Post by Banshee O'Hara on Jan 28, 2011 2:13:35 GMT -5
Banshee relaxed a bit at Avalanche’s easygoing nature. He shrugged and gestured at the crates. “They’re no’ mine, an’ I guess ya got as much right t’ sit here as anyone,” he said easily, a trace of humor in his tone. Truth was, he found himself warming slightly to the older boy’s casual friendliness, and made no move to get up as Avalanche took a seat on a crate near him.
Banshee nodded as he took a drag from his cigarette. “Aye… Ya looked familiar as well,” he admitted, studying him with well hidden curiosity. He knew plenty of lads over the last year that had moved on to other employment, but he had never been close to any of them, nor spoken to them after they left. He was content being a newsie, and had no real desire to be anything else. But Avalanche’s words echoed a worry that had been occurring with more and more frequent regularity as he got older. He knew he had awhile before encountering the problem of being to old, but the fact remained that it was inevitable, and if he dwelled on it too long, he did worry that he had no real skills to offer in the adult work world. “Ya like workin’ the docks, then?” he asked casually, trying not to sound too interested.
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Post by Avalanche on Jan 28, 2011 23:51:53 GMT -5
Avalanche smiled at the man, accepting his sort of welcome and tried to relax on a crate and attempted to ignore the shooting pain in his arm. He took a deep breath and then took his left arm and pulled out cigarettes and a matchbook to try and take the edge off.
He got the cigarette lit as he listened to Banshee ask about the docks. He took a drag and then blew the smoke out of his mouth. "It ain't bad. Not all that different from being a newsie really. Except ya aren't paid by the crate," he said chuckling. "Ya report in almost a little later than the newsies, work til lunch, ya get time off." Just like being a newsie, get up sell the morning, then you get time off for lunch and such. "Then in the afternoon ya come back and work a bit more, then ya even get the evening off how about that?" He smiled a little and took another drag from his cigarette. "I dun mind it much, not as much freedom but in general, kinda worth the money."
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Post by Banshee O'Hara on Jan 31, 2011 9:11:14 GMT -5
Banshee continued to smoke as Avalanche talked about the docks. Though he was careful to keep his face neutral, he was filing away the conversation in his mind to be thought about at a later time when he was alone again. “Aye, it sounds like it’s no’ too bad,” he allowed with a shrug. “Specially if the money’s good….”
He continued to stare out over the water as they fell into a silence. Taking the last drag off his smoke, he tossed the butt into the harbor and released the smoke slowly before glancing once more at the older man. “D’ya miss it ever? Bein’ a newsie an’ all that?” Banshee again kept his tone casual as he asked the question, but he watched Avalanche closely.
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Post by Avalanche on Jan 31, 2011 12:11:59 GMT -5
Miss being a newsie? Did he? He had to think about it for a moment. "Probably in the only way you could think," he chuckled a little. "I did miss my friends," he explained. "When I got the job down at the docks I had just come back to New York," he'd gone on a trip hoping money would be better elsewhere. No such luck. "So I got my own place. However, they don't really care where ya live. You could work the docks and live in the Lodgin' house for all they care," he said with a smile. He wish he would have thought of that when he returned. But seriously, where would he live? Live in Queens and go to Brooklyn every day? Quite the walk for a job. "So I don't miss bein' a newsie... just the people who came with it," he said nodding finally.
"As for the money? It's definitely better," he said with a nod. "More of a working salary than one for simply making it by day-to-day," he explained. "As long as there are ships comin' in you can always get work, and they'll always pay ya for it. Some times there's no ships, so there's no work, so you don't go." It was a very loose business, though for the time it was fairly well organized to be completely honest. Not quite a 9-5, but some days it really could be. And then some. The hours changed day to day, but he didn't mind that any. Gave him lots of free time to visit the family that he had in the newsies that he missed.
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Post by Banshee O'Hara on Feb 1, 2011 4:37:44 GMT -5
Banshee nodded as he listened to Avalanche. He hadn’t actually thought before about the reasons why he enjoyed being a newsie, and now that he actually was, he figured there might be some truth to his words. He hadn’t actually really formed any bonds or friendships with anyone, but the thought of leaving the lodging house was a strange one to him. He had always been surrounded by others, whether at the orphanage, or in the lodging house here. Though he wasn’t involved with them, he took comfort in knowing the others were around, even if days like today did prompt him to seek out solitude.
The thought that he might be able stay in what was, for now, somewhat of a comfort zone, though he didn’t choose to think of it in those terms, and still make the transition into more long term employment was good news to him and he couldn’t stop the slow smile that spread across his face. Catching himself, he quickly guarded his expression, and instead concentrated on Avalanche’s words. “Makes sense,” he allowed. “Long as there’s always ships comin’ in, a man’s no’ gonna go hungry….” He shrugged slightly. “Might be you’ll see me down there someday, aye?” he said with a tiny smirk.
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Post by Avalanche on Feb 1, 2011 14:46:10 GMT -5
He smiled and nodded. "I think that'd be alright," he said. "They're always lookin' for more guys to help." He wasn't going to mention it, but with the sailors going out and across the ocean, or even just up the coat occasionally they'd catch a sickness, and the dock workers at time caught it too. It wasn't usually much but scurvy, but occasionally if someone was sick on the boat, it could contaminate several people, knocking several of the dock workers off their feet for days at a time. So they were always looking for more people to fill in for those who would be sick.
"Though in the winter," he said, "sometimes the bay freezes over, making hard for the smaller ships to get in. If there isn't enough force in them to knock them through the ice, and they'll just float out in the bay until people can get the ice broken up. I've had a few days off here and there too," he explained. No work to do, no reason to go to the docks, though some people still did looking for an extra dollar or if they were desperate. Some would help break the ice, others would sit and hope the ships made it in, or wait for a larger one that could break the ice easier than the small dinghies.
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