Street Kids

Hood watched Sheena intently, listening to the instruction as well. His eyes nearly flew over every part she worked on. When the van rumbled to life, he gave a grin, opening the door. "So, who is going to be doing the driving? I can at first, if that isn't too much trouble," he said cheerily, looking to make sure everyone had gotten in. That was the last thing they needed... to come back later and retrieve someone they'd forgotten.
 
May climbed into the back with Jason, she keeps up her appearance of the younger girl, and as Hood mentions driving she decides whether or not to speak up and tell him she can take a turn at it whenever. She keeps quiet however; knowing she can offer later. She sits down beside Jason and glances at him out of the corner of her eye, she leans back and speaks in the fake voice, "So, on a scale of 1-10...how freaked out are you right now?" She grins at him, "I mean, you just found out that a whole bunch of supernaturals things exist, and you seem to be taking it pretty well"
 
Sheena climbs up front with Hood; she wants to be a front seat driver as he drives, not to mention she doesn't really want to be close to Kira and her guy at this point. However, she keeps looking back at them in the rearview mirror, especially Joe.


That cheeseburger trick of his...if he could do that, they would never have to steal food again. In fact...it wouldn't hurt to get on his good side, because something Sheena could use right now is another cheeseburger, that was for sure.


She tries not to look or sound more than casually interested as she asks, "So, uh, Joe, can you make anything food?"
 
Jason watched the Hobo's tricks, interested. The card trick could be explained by slight-of-hand. The coin and flower, a magician's trick. He was friends with Kira, the Animorph; yet he held on to the hope that the boy was normal. Human. After all, how many supernaturals could fit into one city? Certainly not... he took a quick head count. Certainly not five?


But he admired Joe. Take Kira, understanding but skittish, Sheena, jumpy and troubled (if capable), May, nice, but distant; and Hood, of course, creepy and alien. Joe seemed normal. Whether he really could transmute material or not, he was calm, polite, but light-hearted and on top of the world. I mean, just look at his title; "The Magic Hobo!"


He was the character in the novel that cracked jokes while facing an army of zombies. The one that shook the hand of the enemy before he slew him. The type of guy Jason had always wanted to be, he realized, full of confidence. The young boy didn't offer any other inquiries, but watched the newcomer saunter over to the car with Kira, then slid sideways and picked up the rose that had fallen onto the road. It was a real flower, not plastic, new and blooming. He pulled a floret off, stuck it in a page of his journal, and pressed it flat; then hurried to catch up with the others.


He took a seat in the back, glad that Hood, Sheena, and Joe had taken the front seats (for various reasons.) He found himself in the left corner, behind Hood, with May to his right and Kira to the far side. All six of them seemed to fit comfortably.


When his neighbor turned to strike up conversation, Jason considered May's question. He was still a bit disconcerted at her guise as a thirteen-year-old.... come to think of it, he hadn't much interacted with her as a teenager either. But she seemed nice.


"The cliche answer would be 'eleven,' right?" Jason tried to laugh slightly, hoping that he had used the word "cliche" correctly. For the matter, he hoped he had pronounced it right. "I was really freaked out last night when Kira- the talking cat- hopped up on my lap. And then I was seriously... traumatized," he pulled the word out of thin air, "when Hood appeared and you all started going animal." He suddenly saw claws elongating from May's hands, laying loosely over her jeans; but he shook the thought away. "Yeah, I'd have to say eleven," he finished, fiddling with a corner peeling off on his notebook.


 
"Well, ma'am, I can make almost anything so long as I know what it is composed of, but I prefer not to make food out of nothing. I need a base material, if you will." He says, pulling another coin from his pocket. He rolls down the window, to allow decent air flow, and begins to transform the quarter into a plain cheese pizza in a box, figuring he could change it up as they pleased, and hands it to the rude girl. He figured that he could kill their negative feelings about him with kindness, after all, it would be the polite thing to do. He then says, "If you need me to change the toppings, please, let me know."
 
Kira smiled as Joe does his power. She thought it was purfect for him. She kept smiling even though the smell of food wanted to make her throw up. Her empt stomach craved food but yet something was stopping her from eating. She took a deep breath and then looked at the floor. She was feeling sick to her stomach. In fact she wasn't feeling good at all. Still she showed no sign of it.
 
Hood began to drive, moving easily along the near-empty streets until they hit more substantial traffic. The van was not the most maneuverable thing they could have gotten, but it easily held the others comfortably and rode well, keeping up with the flow of traffic quite nicely. As the others talked, he listened halfheartedly, eyes locked on the road and a smile on his face. He loved to drive and it was something he'd not gotten to do for what seemed like a very long time. The smell of food, however, drew some of his attention back toward the rear of the vehicle. "Pizza?" he asked none in particular, wonder if the 'Magic Hobo' was doing another of his tricks.
 
As Sheena reaches back automatically to take the box, then opens it, she looks it over carefully, then sniffs, unconsciously trying to determine whether there's something wrong with it- though she's pretty sure her Lycan half would be able to work through poison in her system eventually and she wouldn't die. Finally she lifts a piece, looking back at Joe, and gives him a brief smile. For her, this is something close to acceptance.


"Thanks." She doesn't waste any more time in eating the slice, wanting to immediately reach for another, but making herself stop and look back at everyone else. "Um...anyone want some?"
 
Kira looks at sheena and shakes her head no. She could feel her stomach getting worse. She covers her nose till she justs shifts into a mouse and then runs up to the driver hood. She manages to open the glove compartment and then runs inside. She curls up and sighs deeply making a squeeking sound but still she trys to sleep it off.
 
As Sheena is the one sitting up front, before the glove box, balancing the pizza on her lap, she jumps when Kira shifts, slamming the pizza box shut on instinctive reaction. When Kira has to climb onto the pizza box in order to be able to reach the glove box, Sheena stares down at her, almost gawking as she climbs inside it. She doesn't dare open the pizza again yet, not wanting Kira to suddenly open the glove box again and smash the pizza, or else get her mice feet on it.


"Uh...aren't you afraid you'll suffocate in there?" she asks her hesitantly, looking down at the pizza again with longing.
 
Kira sighs. "I don't feel good ok! I rather be in here sleeping then smelling that and wanting to throw up!" She yelled out and then sighed. She closed her eyes feeling pretty terrible. She hopes she will feel beter soon. She shivers a bit even though she's not cold. She didn't want anyone to see her in her condition. Not with how she's feeling. She also hopes no one worries about her. She just had to be sick when joe is here. She sighed even though she wanted to spend time with him, she really need to sleep. The movement of the van certainly wasn't helping. Sleep was a good idea at this point. To make sheena more comfortable she turns into a cat and opens the compartment by pushing and then shows she was a cat. Curling up again she closes her eyes.
 
The very first thought that pops into Sheena's head is that if Kira throws up on her pizza, she might actually cry.


Her second thought is some uneasy concern for Kira. Now that she thinks about it, Kira's acted pretty oddly for a while now...and it dawns on Sheena that maybe it has nothing to do with her being a traitor, or even almost being killed. If she's sick...and it's not hard not to be, the way they live, Sheena herself is sick at the moment...


Sheena is quiet for a while, then reluctantly puts her pizza on the dashboard, looking down at Kira on the floorboard (no way could a cat fit in the glovebox lol). "Um. You can stay there...if you want...or...uh...sit on my lap. I guess."


She's quiet for a few minutes after the offer, then blurts out, "Do you have AIDS?" She doesn't mean this to be rude or accusing; it in a sincere concern of hers, that this could be the reason for Kira being sick.
 
(It depends on what type of cat she is....there are cats that are small enough to and plus...if the glove box is empty I'm pretty sure they can for crying out loud....some cats get stuck in car engines lol)


Kira looks at her thinking about sleeping on her lap but then jumps and hits her head when she asks about AIDS. "What!? HECK NO! I'm still a virgin!" She defends herself and then thinks about staying in the glove compartment. (Besides cats are very flexible and like small places to hide. lol animal encyclopedia here...watching animal planet right now lol!) She sighs. "You know I'll stay in here." She said curling up once more feeling very offended. She moans feeling even worse from her sudden movement. "Ugh..." She sighs deeply feeling like crying. She closes her eyes. (I'm sorry I must sound like a know it all right now. booooo me)
 
"So?" Sheena blinks, not getting why she's so offended. "You don't have to not be a virgin to have AIDS. You can have it as a baby, you know...from your mom, or like, blood, or whatever...or drugs. Needles and stuff."


She doesn't realize she is implying Kira might also be a drug user as she looks down at her, frowning. What Kira said about being a virgin is bothering her vaguely; the implication of her shout, in Sheena's mind, is that anyone who isn't a virgin automatically is an candidate for AIDS and also is less than desirable, somehow. Given that Sheena herself has worried before, and tried not to think about, the fact that she herself might AIDS and not figure it out until it's too late, she is unsettled by the comment and stares out the window for a while before replying,her voice low.


"You know, not being a virgin isn't like a crime or something."


Even though in her case, it pretty much was on each of the occasions of her involvement.
 
Kira sighs and listens. "No none of that...I'm not into of that stuff. It's not a crime but for me it's very important to wait till i'm married. I'm sorry I just got a virus or something. Plus I know little about that so i guess I didn't know. Either way I see no way I could have gotten it. Plus my temper is alittle high because I'm feeling so terrible right now." She said her eyes still closed. She yawned.
 
Waiting until marriage until she has sex...for Sheena, that is something that she cannot imagine or comprehend of, on so many levels. For one, she would never, ever, in a million years even want to kiss a man for the fun of it and no other reason, let alone want to marry or love one. For another, she didn't exactly get a choice to wait until marriage, and from what she knows of most street kids, most of the other female ones didn't either. And then after that...well...it wasn't like she could take back anything that had happened...so she hadn't seen anything wrong with using it to get the things she needed, when she had to.


If Kira thinks like that, well, there's no way Sheena's ever going to share her own experiences with sex with her, let alone let on to her that she has engaged in prostitution. Not that she would have anyway, with Hood and Jason and Joe sitting right there...but especially now...


She remains silent, her face very still, and looks out the window, suddenly no longer hungry.
 
Kira opens an eye. She lifts her head and looks at Sheena. She looked around at the boys and then sighs. She manages to make herself move and then plops on Sheena's lap. "Hey you alright? I hope I didn't hurt your feelings." She whispered to her now sitting down. She turns her head away from her feeling bad. She manages to hold off the feeling of throwing up. She looked back at her, tilting her head. Which made her look like an adorible cat.
 
Sheena ignores her for a few moments, then looks down at her, slowly lifting a hand to stroke her, hesitant at first, then more firmly. She finds it a little weird to be petting a cat she knows is in reality a girl, but she can't deny that she doesn't kind of enjoy her softness. She doesn't respond to the question but just pets her slowly, somewhat comforted by the act.
 
Joe looks at Kira with concern, and says, "Hmmm... If I knew what was wrong with you, I could possibly fix it, though I'm just not sure what might be bugging you. You're feeling nauseous... Fatigued... Loss of appetite... You may have Influenza. If you could give me your hand for but a moment, I may be able to help you with that." (Studying to be a Doctor, or maybe a nurse when I graduate) He holds out his hand, offering her to take it.
 
At this comment from Joe, Sheena turns her head, her hand stilling on Kira's back, and stares, somewhat stunned at this declaration of ability. If he can actually heal...well that is one excellent power for them to have along for the ride. Not that she wants him to heal her or anything...not sure she trusts him that much yet...but...stilll...


She waits to see what Kira will do and what the result will be, trying to make sure she doesn't accidentally cough or sneeze in front of him at this point. Not that she has been for a while, it seems to come and go...but at this point it's better to be safe than sorry.
 
Kira looks at Sheena and then lets her pet her. When Joe offers to help her out she looks at Sheena. "Well if you don't mind to much Sheena...I think I will take the chance to feel better." She said jumping down and then turning human as she takes Joe's hand. (lol that's pretty neat considering I made up the symptoms) She looks at him hoping he could help her.
 
May smiles lightly at him, "11? That's pretty good considering." She looks down, "I knew I was freaked out when I found out about my own 'power'. I thought I was human for 13 years." She grinned lightly at him, vanishing the look of slight pain from her eyes as she pushed away her past memories. She then frowned lightly, "So what about you? Why are you on the streets?" She paused, then quickly added, "You don't have to tell me of course, just curiosity."
 
Joe places his other hand on her forehead, and closes his eyes. He sees blackness, then small points of orange light, outlining her blood vessels and arteries. He identified these as the virus, and manipulates them so they flow through her veins, through her skin, into one discolored looking ball. He turns ech virus into atoms, and the ball slowly dissolves away into harmless atoms. "That should just about do it! You may still feel the effects from the virus, but be assured, it will pass."
 
Kira watches and smiles. She huges him starting to feel better. "Thanks joe. You have a much better power then me." She said letting go just a quickly. She looked at everyone and then at Sheena. Her smile faded, she never answered her if she was feeling better. She looked at Joe and smiled and then went back to her seat.
 
Jason watched, fascinated, as a coin slowly became a pizza box in the magic hobo's hand. Perhaps- yes, probably- Joe was supernatural. He felt slightly disappointed, in a way. He regarded Kira's smooth transformations, from a human to an animal nearly a hundredth of her size; and then a cat, again, still thinking about the newest member of their strange little gathering. He felt out of place in a thousand different ways... and then some.


He wondered if he should take any pizza, but decided against it. He had eaten the most fast food, after all. "Uh, you know-" he said, lifting the bag at his feet, "I still have the fast food from earlier. If you want any... of..." he struggled to find a word. What did he mean? Real food? Untainted food? Food from... the real world? The normal world? Nothing seemed right, and Jason let the sentence end there, unsure of how to tell the difference between McDonald's brand and magicked food.


He shrugged, sort of, half-way-not-really, and set the bag back down. It was probably cold anyways. He supposed Joe could heat it up. Like a portable microwave. Only larger. And more sentient, and less inanimate and radioactive. He suddenly wondered where Joe was getting the power to transmute material; if he remembered his physics correctly, energy couldn't be created or destroyed, only changed. Maybe they were all being washed in radiation right now.


Then he shook his head. It was hardly logical for Sheena's bones to stretch and tear and come together perfectly when she went wolf, or for ninety-nine hundredth of Kira's body to disappear when she turned into a mouse. He dimly recalled the author of Animorphs explaining away the disappearance of matter by saying it hung in empty, parallel space- a big blob of flesh- until the shifters came back to human form.


But the author of Animorphs had also said that there were blue, four-footed centaur-like aliens that eventually came to Earth, so... go figure.


When May spoke, Jason cleared his thoughts. How had he gotten on the streets? "I just... left," he said. "My parents are alive. I lived with them for... most of my life. Then I just left. And they didn't really care any less." He shrugged; "I don't really mind."


Then something caught his mind. She had said her powers had only surfaced when she was thirteen; his age! He remembered a snippet of speech from back in the derelict building, of Sheena- or was it Kira?- mentioning that they had remained normal until they were eighteen. Maybe he was supernatural.


The odds are stacked against it, as he knew. The only human member of this party becoming supernatural only a day after they met. But still... it was possible. Someone, after all, won the lottery against one-in-a-million chances.


Sideways, he sighed to himself. Probably not.


Maybe it was better to be normal anyways.
 
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