Northern Docks

[Pallet O'Shea]

Pallet shot Ki a crooked smile, "Whatever inspires me really... but mostly landscapes. Painting is kind of a way to help me remember things too... Like my hometown, Ireland."

Pallet's smile grew remembering her home before New York City; the lush green landscapes, the quiet of the country, the steep cliffs, and happy smiling families. Family. Her family. The smile on her face slowly faded. Her family was gone. All but Shamrock, Byron and herself. It may have been years ago but she remembered it like it was yesterday. Hearing movement in the water in front of her she was brought back to the present and the smile returned to her face.

"What is it you do? I mean you haven't always worked at the docks have you? I just don't remember seeing you around... Not that I come down here a lot but... you're too nice to have grown up here, in New York City..." Pallet combed a stray piece of hair behind her ear but it just fell right back in her face.

[Ki Harper]

He grinned as she describing painting her homeland, vast landscapes and lush greenery that he heard about at his mother's knee when he was just a kid, but never seen with his own eyes. Ki had always thought some day that he'd like to go, spread his wings and see the world a little, but there was much to consider before he even could take a step towards that dream. He had a place in the circus waiting for him once is father's body began to give out more and Ki would be expected to take over his role full time - not that he really minded, he loved his life with the circus. "I'll bet they are beautiful," He said, drifting a little in the water and enjoying the coolness of it after the hot day on the docks. "Your paintings I mean."

By now her eyes had gotten that shadow again, that look that had appeared a few times when he asked a question and he frowned, hating to think that it might be his doing. Ki didn't wish ill on anyone, but particularly not a pretty young woman who had a lovely smile that he much preferred to see than the darkness in her eyes that brought shadows to her features. But as before the moment seemed to pass and her smile returned and she looked over at him with a question and he slipped down in the water to his neck as he smirked over at her.

"Too nice, huh?" He grinned and then shrugged, sending tiny waves of water rippling out from his body as he considered her comment. It wasn't the first time he'd heard it, and Ki had been around enough to know that his outlook on the world tended to be far different than those he walked the streets with. He considered it both a combination of a gift from his vast and varied upbringing and the innate qualities passed down from his parents, including a steadfast patience that mystified most. "You would be right though," Ki continued, surging up a little and gliding towards the dock and then with a kick of his legs switching direction and floating back towards Pallet. "I've only been in New York a few months, traveled up from New Orleans where my family was. We are all part of a traveling circus..." He glanced down at his shoulders and then looked over to her with a sheepish look. "I'm the strongman."

[Pallet O'Shea]

Pallet looked him up and down--what she could see of him that was. "Strongman... Huh? Yeah. I can see that." She shot him a smile and swam a little closer to him. "I've never met someone from the circus before."

Pallet dipped her head backwards into the water and pushed her hair back out of her face when she surfaced again. "What got you into the circus?"



_{((Sorry it's not longer. Getting back into it.))}

[Ki Harper]

Ki's eyes couldn't help but watch the water as it slid down the dark stands of her hair as she lifted a hand and pushed her hair out of her face. Her response to finding out his career was more or less typical, circuses seemed to fascinate those that weren't inside them and Ki could understand why - his life had been far from ordinary. "Family business," Ki explained with an easy smile as he drifted a little closer to her in the water, floating easily beside her.

"My whole family is involved one way or the other, my cousin and I grew up as a part of it and I imagine that's the way it will stay," Ki explained with a slight shrug, barring this little excursion into New York to follow Devan, Ki hadn't really given much thought to life outside of the circus. It was just part of who he was, part of how he lived and he already knew that some day he would be going back. He couldn't stay away forever. "Dev and I are just taking a little break," Ki explained, his eyes studying Pallet as he shifted a little closer in the water. There was a long strand of her hair across her forehead, missed by her own slender hands and without thinking Ki reached out a large hand and gently brushed it aside for her, smiling down at her as he did. "Wanted to see what life outside the traveling caravan was really like."

[Pallet O'Shea]

Pallet couldn't help the blush that colored her cheeks at Ki's simple gesture. Usually even just having a man standing so close to her or just a simple gesture from a man of Ki's size and build, would give her an uneasy feeling in her stomach--terrify her. But, the fluttery feeling that his touch caused, was far from unease.

Pallet looked up at Ki, chewing on her bottom lip. She nervously cleared her throat,"So, what was it like growing up in the circus?" She tried to imagine growing up like Ki might've. She could picture herself learning to be one of the girls riding atop the beautiful feather adorned horses that danced around the ring with grace. "Seems like it would be a kids dream," she added smiling up at him.

[Ki Harper]

Ki dropped his hand away once he realized what he had done, a forward move by any account and while Ki wasn't usually confined by the social constraints of most, his mother had raised him to be polite. But Pallet didn't seem put off really, in fact, Ki noticed she was cutely chewing on her lip, seemingly not minding his attention and for some reason the knowledge made his feel a little warm. Off kilter by that realization, Ki drifted away from her just a touch to give himself some more distance and he mulled her question.

"Suppose it was, though I didn't know any different," Ki acknowledged with a slight incline of his head as he considered the places he had been and seen in his life already. "It was exciting, there was always something new to see or do, and I guess it might bother some people, all the moving around - but we loved it." Ki explained, cutting his hands through the water and then turning to smile over at Pallet. "Because the caravan and the people in the circus, that was my home and my family so as long as I was and am with them, then that's all I needed."

Glancing up at the sky, Ki saw that the sun was now sitting impossibly low, about to cloak them in darkness and for the first time he noticed that the air had gotten chillier, the sizzle of the afternoon now having all but disappeared. "Starting to get late," He commented to Pallet, looking over at her and allowing his eyes to sweep over the delicate features in her face. "Probably should think about heading back home."

[Pallet O'Shea]

Pallet smiled and nodded with understanding. She knew exactly what he meant by feeling like family with people who weren't blood relations; and they were all you needed. Her family had felt the same way about the Hastings, and she and Shamrock still felt that way about Byron. They just needed each other.

Pallet glanced up at the sky and noticed the sun had gotten lower in the sky since she first got in the water. She was enjoying the company of Ki so much that she hadn't noticed how much time had passed until now. The girls were probably wondering what was keeping her because she rarely stayed out so late by herself, and Shamrock should be by the house soon to check in before heading back to his own house.

Pallet smiled, "I didn't realize how late it had gotten. My friends are probably wondering where I'm at." She made her way over to the dock and gracefully lifted herself up out of the water. She sat on the side and started to wring the water out of her hair. "Talking to you has certainly made time fly by," she commented, trying to hide her blush behind her hair. She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a long grey ribbon, and after giving her hair a quick braid, used it to tie off the end of the braid. She stood up and began getting herself dressed again. She picked up her corset and put it back down deciding to forgo trying to get that thing tied herself, then she pulled her dress over her head and struggled trying to get all the buttons fastened--only fastening the few bottom ones she could reach.

Pallet stood awkwardly waiting for Ki to get himself dressed as well, with her arms wrapped around herself trying to hold her dress up while trying to keep herself warm from the slight breeze that would blow and send goosebumps down her arms.

[Ki Harper]

While Pallet busied herself with getting dressed, Ki gave her the privacy he knew she needed and deserved by taking a few long strokes, enjoying the feel of the cooling water for a few moments more. When a quick glance confirmed she was nearly decent, he pulled himself out of the water and made quick work of a drying himself as best he could and slipping back into the dry clothes that he had left on the dock. Only then did he turn and face Pallet, only to be greeted by the delicate curves of her exposed back from the dress that she had barely been able to button.

And now it seemed he was presented with a bit of a conundrum. Allow the pretty girl to walk the streets with her shirt only half buttoned, or offer the somewhat intimate service of doing the buttons for her. Mentally Ki debated, somehow wishing for Devan's input, before determining that it was far too cold for her to wander the streets half clothed and they'd already been swimming together so it hardly seemed that improper. "Why don't I see about getting some of these for you," He said easily, decision made as he walked over towards her and reached up with his large hands and gently began the somewhat tedious work of handling the tiny buttons. His fingers were a bit clumsy at first as they struggled with the delicate round closures, but he found a rhythm and made fairly quick work, making certain to instantly step away and give her some distance.

"What do you say I walk you back to the lodging house?" Ki offered, noting again that it was getting darker by the moment and knowing that he wouldn't feel right leaving her behind to walk home all on her own. Besides, he found he liked watching her smile and thought maybe he might get the pleasure of one or two more before they parted ways - if he was lucky.

[Pallet O'Shea]

Pallet bit her bottom lip and pulled her long braid over her left shoulder out of the way as Ki stepped closer. As his fingers made quick work of the buttons at her back, her cheeks flushed a light pink color and her heartbeat quickened. Heat spread through her body from the nearness of the large man and the intimate—yet innocent—gesture. “Thank you,” she whispered when he finished.

As he stepped away, Pallet turned around. Now that they were both on equal ground she was able to see how tall he was. A man of his size would normally cause her a great deal of unease, but not this man. He was handsome and built like the Greek statues she saw at the Louvre as a child.But he was kind and gentle.

Pallet smiled up at him, "I would like that. Thank you." She didn't want to say goodbye to him just yet. She quickly put on her shoes and gathered up the rest of her things.

[Ki Harper]

"Good," Ki said with an easy smile as she agreed to him walking her back to the lodging house. "That's good, because I'm not sure what my mother would have done if you said no and I allowed you to walk it alone," He winked down at her and watched her gather up her things. "She'd have my hide." There was truth in what he said, his mother had raised him to be a gentleman, strange perhaps for a woman whom had come from the world of gypsies whose customs could be different - but in the end that may be the exact reason that she had took such pains to drill kindness, gentleness and caring into her large son's head.

"So," He said, as they turned up the dock and headed towards the heart of the Bronx, cool air blowing in off the water and he wondered if she was chilly with her hair damp. "Do you like it here? In America? In New York?" Since she came from Ireland he could only imagine that it was a different sort of life being here and Ki didn't know how she had ended up an ocean away from her home - but that wasn't his business and everyone had their stories.

[Pallet O'Shea]

"It's nice here..." A chill ran down Pallet's back--a combination of chills from her damp hair leaving a trail down the back of her dress and memories from her past. She crossed her arms in front of her chest tighter hoping it would warm her up a bit. As for the other reason for her chills...

Pallet looked up at Ki. She hasn't known him for very long but he had trusting eyes. And, it would be nice to talk to someone. "I miss Ireland though. It's quiet there." Her face lit up thinking about her family. "You see, me family was The O'Shea's of Galway. Me da was the youngest son of an Irish baron. We owned one of the largest horse ranches in Ireland; we even had a few tenants... Everyone loved me mum and da, and me da bred the most sought after horses in Ireland..."

Pallet gave Ki a wistful smile before continuing. "Me mum passed away giving birth to me baby brother Liam. And Liam followed her soon after. I ended up taking care of me da and brother Aidan when I was just a kid myself... Me da hired on some help, Mr Hastings and his son Jackson. They became part of our family--we were going through the same things since they were dealing with the death of Mrs Hastings themselves..."

Pallet moved her long braid off her back and pulled it over her right shoulder. With the slight breeze in the air blowing against her damp back, goosebumps began to appear on her arms from the chill she felt. She bit her lip, cleared her throat, and continued with her story. "About a year later, some men tried buying out me da's land but he refused the offers. The men became so angry and desperate for the land that they broke into our home one night--Jackson, Aidan, and myself escaped and hid in the woods nearby as they shot our fathers." Tears began to fall down her cheeks as she remembered hearing the gunshots and seeing the bloody bodies of both men. She turned her face away from Ki's direction hoping he hadn't seen. "Since none of us had any other family and afraid the men would be looking for us, we boarded a ship and came here..." More tears made their way down her cheeks. Would she ever see Ireland again? Or her home?

[Ki Harper]

Ki listened with quiet interest as she talked, her accent musical to his ears even as she told him the sad details of what had brought her to the city. It was the sort of tale that echoed so many he had heard since he'd moved here with Devan - and once again he was thankful for his own family and life, unconventional and yet loving and wonderful...and whole. His heart went out to her and her voice broke slightly and he turned his head to look down at her, studying her profile and sensing her sadness in the growing darkness. Ki was almost sorry he had asked now, that he had caused her to think of sad memories and thinks she might rather not.

"I'm sorry," He said softly when she finished, not know what other words he could offer, and even those seemed so frail and insignificant in light of what she had lost. Giving her a moment to compose herself, Ki let his eyes move down to the set of her thin shoulders and the way she tried to protect herself against the chilly night air - more than likely compounded by their dip in the water. Shedding his coat, Ki gently reached over and set it around her shoulders, knowing it would be far to large on her but he didn't see any sense in her shivering her way home. "There you go, just something to keep you warm until we get you home."

[Pallet O'Shea]

"Thanks." Pallet shot him a grateful smile and let the over-sized coat warm her up. "And, please don't be sorry... At least not for me telling you about my past."

Pallet pulled the sides of the coat tighter around herself. She was practically swimming in it but it was warm and comforting and it smelled like Ki. "I'm usually listening or taking care of everyone, and comforting the wee ones." She bit her bottom lip. "It's nice to be able to talk and have someone listening for once," she quietly added.

[Ki Harper]

"I'm not sorry you told me," Ki said, reassuring her as he shoved his hands in his pockets and mentally made a note to slow his gait and his stride so Pallet could keep up with his long gait. "I'm sorry that you have to experience all that," He explained, looking down at the top of her head and resisted the urge to reach out and set a hand on her shoulder to give a gentle squeeze, instead settling for a sympathetic smile. "No one should have to have that kind of pain in their life, I know a lot do...but that doesn't make it fair or right or..."

He shrugged a little and decided instead to steer the conversation in perhaps another direction, lighten the tone a bit as they headed down the street now a bit more populated with people. "You are fond of the little ones it seems," Ki said, noting that she had mentioned more than once that she kept an eye on them. "Doesn't hurt to have a few friends for yourself - no one wants to be a care taker all the time," Ki said, recalling the times he and Devan had no doubt driven their parents to distraction -- and the other adults who may have been charged with keeping an eye on them at any given moment.