Boxing Ring

[Administrator]

In the middle of a bustling street is the noisy boxing ring. One of Jack Kelly's favorite places to sell.

[Jax McCloud]

<New Day>

Jax leaned back in the stands, bracing his elbows on the empty bench behind him as he watched the match unfolding before his eyes. "Come on Georgie!" He hollered half-heartedly, shaking his head as the aforementioned George took one on the chin and bobbled uncertainly on his feet as he tried to clear his vision. George was a nice enough guy and Jax knew he wanted to succeed in the ring but he was going to have to work on a few things if he had any hope of success. Flexing his fist, Jax glanced down at where his knuckles were already bruising, a souvenir from his early bout and win that had netted him a nice pocketbook which would take care of his expenses, at least for a few days.

Fumbling in his pocket, Jax found his cigarettes and pulled one out, striking a match to light it before taking a long, soothing drag off it. As he watched George go down and his opponent net the available winnings, Jax shook his head again. Sorry Georgie, He thought as the crowd settled after the fight and some in the stands stood and moved on to wherever their next destination might be. Jax for his part was in no hurry and though the bruise at his knuckles and the one just across his left cheekbone stung just a little he wasn't inclined to see to them, nor dull any sort of pain with some whiskey, at least not yet. He'd stay and watch, just another match or two, then maybe see about that glass of whiskey, perhaps a woman if one intrigued him, he had coins burning a hole in his pocket and it needed to spent...eventually.

[Fighter Mallory]

A slight sigh escaped Fighter's lips as she walked towards the boxing ring. The day had been draining to say the least. She'd tossed and turned the night before worrying over things best left in the past. It was hard for her to leave them there though when she knew for a fact that they weren't going to stay there. She was sure she'd seen him in Brooklyn, not too far from the lodging house actually. If she had to wager on it she'd say he took a job at the docks and it made her nervous. More nervous then she really wanted to even admit to herself. She stuck her hands in her pockets and blew a piece of hair off her face angrily. It wasn't as though she had any control over what he did with his life, but she would just prefer to not have to be within the same city as him. Fight supposed it was too much to hope that he would've just stayed in Philadelphia when she'd slipped through his fingers once more.

As she turned onto the street that housed the boxing ring she absently kicked a rock before tilting her head up to study the sky for a moment. For such a pretty day she was in a terrible mood. That's why she'd finally decided to come to the boxing ring. It was the only place that ever really felt like home to her. She was hoping she could spend a bit of time there and blow off some steam. Maybe start a fight with one of the drunks that congregated there. That was the main reason she hadn't gone to McGinty's and just drowned her sorrows. She'd been told, none to politely, that if she started one more fight there she would not only be thrown out on her arse but banned for the rest of the year. Although Fighter was almost positive they wouldn't actually ban her she wasn't willing to test that theory.

As she approached the ring she took note of the dispersing crowd, realizing that a match must have just ended but she wasn't worried. There would be plenty more fights for her to watch and bet on if she felt like it. Before finding a seat she got herself a beer and pulled out a cigarette, not bothering to light it just yet. Her eyes darted around the crowd and she spotted a familiar face. Although she didn't really socialize with most of the Brooklyn newsies, she wasn't the type to outright ignore them when their paths crossed. They did live together, after all, so it seemed like something that other people would do. She strode over and took the seat next to him, setting her beer down before striking a match and lighting her cigarette. "So, what's the prospects look like for the fights today? Anything worth putting money on?" She quirked an eyebrow as she tilted her head to study him. She knew his name, it was on the tip of her tongue. Eh, she'd figure it out eventually.

[Jax McCloud]

Jax watched a girl negotiating the stands with keen interest, a few woman spotted the crowd though they tended to be loud and bawdy and mostly there to catch the eye of an available man. But this one, this one walked with determination and the way she moved told him she knew how to handle herself, both on the steps heading his way and probably on the streets they walked as well. It wasn't until she was almost beside him and she lifted her face that Jax recognized her, Fighter Malloy one of the Brooklyn regulars and purportedly had Spot's ear, at least as much as anyone did most days. She didn't speak a greeting, not that Jax expected she would, he would be surprised if she even knew his name considering his tendencies to keep to himself and only frequent the Brooklyn Lodging House common room at the end of days when he needed a bed.

"Georgie just knocked out," Jax said in reply to her question, waving the hand holding his cigarette towards the ring. "Don't know whose up next, some strapper from the Bronx I think, haven't had a draw with him yet." Jax shrugged idly because the truth was he probably should be paying more attention to who was fighting and win, might be good to get a look at future competition, but the truth was at the moment he just flat didn't care. There would be other days and other times for that. He took a drag off his cigarette and eyed Fighter for a moment before sending her a little half grin and flexed his hand again. "Shame you already missed the best match of the day." He winked and the smile on his face widened just as slowly as his speech was, carry over from his childhood on the plains out west. "It was a doozy."

[Fighter Mallory]

Fighter nodded when he told her about Georgie being knocked out. She wasn't really surprised there. From what she remembered of the man, the words duck and bob obviously weren't in his vocabulary. She leaned her elbows on her knees after she'd picked her beer up again, tilting her head to the side to study him with one eye and the fight that was starting with the other. Absently, she lifted her cigarette to her lips to take a deep drag from it. Her eyebrow quirked at his next words and a smirk crossed her face as her eyes darted momentarily towards his hands. "You're fight, I'm guessing. I'm sure you put the fear of god in him" Fighter hadn't actually seen him box before and she was a bit surprised at that. She'd seen most of the Brooklyn boys who boxed in a match but not all of them. Fight made a note to come out for his next match and see just what he was about. Usually she learned all she needed to know about a man by how he faced an opponent. It was one of the things that had drawn her to the Brooklyn newsies initially. They had a lot of scrappers and she could respect that.

Fighter turned her attention towards the boxing ring when the match began in earnest. She eyed both of them for a moment before sighing. "This is gonna be a short lived match. Guy in the black seems to be favoring his right side and it's pretty easy to tell." She shouted for the man to keep his arms up before shaking her head lightly. After taking a long chug from her beer, she set it aside and turned her attention back towards Jax. "So when's your next fight? I'll stop by to watch." Any excuse to get out of Brooklyn and away from all of the thoughts that had been plaguing her lately about the man she refused to acknowledge. Fighter knew better then anyone that you couldn't hide from the past but she was planning on avoiding it for as long as possible. And when she did finally confront it she would make sure she caught him by surprise and taught him a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. If she had anything to say about it he would finally learn to move on and leave her be. Then again she doubted her luck was that great.

[Jax McCloud]

"Fear of my fist maybe," Jax said with a slight chuckle as he took another hit from his cigarette. It hadn't been a short fight, it had been a good one though and Jax had prevailed because he'd kept his feet moving and hadn't gotten caught up in the moment like his opponent had. Jax had made those mistakes before, back when he'd first started picking up matches when they were just roadside attractions cobbled together by bored and road weary men with a hankering for entertainment. He had succeeded early with his instinct and then he'd assumed it would come easy and it knocked him down a few pegs - sleeping on the hard ground because you didn't have any coin would do that to a man. So he learned, he learned to watch his opponents and learn their weakness, he worked to make himself as well rounded a boxer as he could and now...now he was reaping the rewards.

The next fight started and a few minutes in Jax found his eyes straying more to his unexpected viewing companion than the horribly one-sided match that was on display. The slight dark haired girl that he knew had spirit, if only by her reputation in the lodging house, was completely engrossed in the match watching with a critical eye and shaking her head in disgust. "Didn't give himself enough time to heal, got hammered last week in his match against McMillen," Jax commented lifting his chin in a sort of nod of approval, he could appreciate anyone who talked with authority on a subject, particularly one he was interested in. "Friday, not sure on the time." Jax leaned back on his elbows again and sprawled his legs out in front of him in a casual movement that brought some relief to muscles that would be sore in the morning. "Maybe you can toss that critical eye in my direction, give me some pointers, yeah?" He grinned at her and tossed his cigarette aside with a final puff, winking at her so she'd know he mostly meant it.

[Fighter Mallory]

Fighter chuckled slightly at his words, nodding her head. "Always a good thing to have a fear of." Her own knuckles were littered with scars from the multiple fights she'd been in over the years. Hands of a boxer, she knew her uncle would say. He'd also tell her that he hadn't shown her how to fight so that she could pick one every time her mood got the better of her. She couldn't change that about herself though and she figured she'd eventually have to grow out of the habit. For now though it was an excellent way to blow off steam when she needed to. Which for a girl like her was more often then not. She knew her looks could make a man go a little crazy. If her ex was anything to judge that by then more then a little crazy. It was why she was quick to nip any interest a man had her in the bud before it blossomed into something more or they thought to try and pick her up. She wasn't interested in being picked up. Most men lost interest quick enough when they figured out just how bad her attitude was. That was the way she preferred it. She wanted them to think of her as an uncontrollable little termagant.

Fighter nodded her respect for the boxer increasing just a bit. She wasn't the type to not recognize grit when she saw it and the man obviously had a bit of it if he was already boxing again. Too bad he didn't have the style to make up for his obvious weakness. It was one thing to have the sac to come and fight when you weren't in top shape but it was another when you weren't skilled enough to make up for that and would end up in worse shape because of it. She shrugged absently and lifted her drink back to her lips, taking a sip. Fight flashed her patent smirk in his direction again. "Maybe I will, we'll see if you're as lucky as that." She would make a point of stopping by to watch him fight though. She thought it was a good way to measure a mans worth and she liked to know what Brooklyn had to offer for future reference. After taking one final drag of her cigarette she flicked it towards the side before brushing an errant curl off her forehead.

[Jax McCloud]

'Well now you've got me counting on it," Jax said with another easy grin as he decided that for better or worse he rather liked Fighter, if for nothing else than her brains when it came to the boxing ring. Besides he could use the critical eye and maybe she'd have something useful to offer after watching his bout. They lapsed into the silence as the fight ranged on in front of them with the man favoring his side put up the best fight he could but it was a lost cause and before long it almost became too ugly to watch. "Shame, he's a good one when he's not battling an injury," Jax said, shaking his head and pushing himself up from the back bench to lean forward and rest his elbows on his knees. "Should have laid off another week."

With a grimace Jax watched as his opponent landed a sickening, finishing blow and he rubbed his hand over his beard, knowing the pain the guy must be feeling but not garnering sympathy. You couldn't step in the ring if you felt sympathy for an opponent, it was a good way to get walloped and never get up again. The crowd began to disperse again and Jax glanced over at Fighter and though he was tempted to stay and watch another couple rounds with her, his winnings were burning a hole in his pocket and he had a couple itches to scratch and a mouth to feed. "Going to head over to Hell's Kitchen for a drink," Jax said, standing up and giving his muscles an experimental stretch, pleased to find that for the most part they moved with ease. "I'll see you back around the lodging house later." He walked down a few steps and then turned to toss her another smile. "I'll be lookin' for that eye on Friday, don't forget." And then he turned and left with a slight lifting of his chin, jogging down the steps and turning to head for the pub.