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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 16:47:53 GMT -5
"What about Whisper? She could know."
Spot frowned. Ask Whisper? He wasn't so sure about that, but Lacey did have a point. This map was from Queens after all. It just didn't sit well with him that there were so many symbols and marks and lines in Brooklyn. What could they mean?
"I suppose," he started slowly and somewhat reluctantly. "She might know something..."
He looked back at the map and ran his finger over Brooklyn. At least whoever made the map labeled the boroughs. Poorly written and spelled but it was better than nothing.
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 18:08:38 GMT -5
"I suppose. She might know something..."
Lacey nodded, glad that he hadn't completely shot down her idea. He sounded cautious, but she couldn't blame him; Whisper hadn't really done much to make them trust her, but she figured that it was worth a shot. After all, Whisper wasn't a very good liar.
"If ya want to. Or we can always try figurin' it out for ourselves. There ain't much ta go off of but you and I know this borough like the back of our hands." She suggested.
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 18:55:51 GMT -5
"If ya want to. Or we can always try figurin' it out for ourselves. There ain't much ta go off of but you and I know this borough like the back of our hands."
Spot pursed his lips thoughtfully and nodded. "Lets... lets see what we can figure out what we can on our own before we ask Whisper."
After all, he didn't know how to contact the girl from Queens.
"We should get inside..." he added. The snow was falling thickly again. "It'll be easier to think once we warm up a bit."
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 18:59:41 GMT -5
"Lets... lets see what we can figure out what we can on our own before we ask Whisper."
Lacey nodded. That sounded perfectly fine to her.
"We should get inside... It'll be easier to think once we warm up a bit."
She blinked. She hadn't realized that the snow had started to pick up again until he indirectly pointed it out. She nodded slowly, having to keep herself from taking Spot's hand again. While she would have done it otherwise, they weren't far enough away from the lodging house for her to have much of an excuse that time around.
Beginning to walk back towards the familiar wooden house, Lacey's attention remained on the ground below her.
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 19:08:08 GMT -5
It was a quiet walk to the lodge, but Spot didn't mind so much. They would have plenty to talk about once they reached inside. He absentmindedly took Lacey's hand as they made their way to the boys lodge. Mr. O'Quinn was certainly puzzled at their entrance but welcomed them in and offered them both some hot chocolate as they made themselves at home inside the library. The boys were busy elsewhere.
He pulled up a coffee table and set the map down on it. "Well... where ta start?"
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 19:15:44 GMT -5
The feeling of Spot taking her hand brought a smile to Lacey's lips, although she didn't break the comfortable silence between them. She simply gave his hand a gentle squeeze, walking with him inside and greeting Mr. O'Quinn briefly.
"Well... where ta start?"
Lacey sighed softly, sitting by the coffee table and doing her best to make out exactly where some of the lines were leading on the map. "Well, maybe we should see if we can figure out where some o' the landmarks are on the map? Like, the places we know real well." She suggested.
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 19:23:27 GMT -5
"Well, maybe we should see if we can figure out where some o' the landmarks are on the map? Like, the places we know real well."
He gave her a sheepish look. That should have been the first thing to do. "Well..." he eyed the map carefully. "These are the docks." He traced out by what seemed to be water on the map. "And over here is the bridge."
His brows furrowed. "Not sure what some of the symbols mean but this squiggle here is the boys' lodge and the same squiggle is over where the girls' lodge is."
He wasn't sure what to make of it, but now that he had someone to go over it with, it would make things a little easier.
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 19:29:38 GMT -5
"Well... These are the docks. And over here is the bridge."
Lacey nodded, watching as he traced out the different parts of the city. She glanced over it, scanning it for anything else that would be easy to point out.
"I think this would be around Central Park then." She suggested, pointing to a darker area that expanded out for a good part of the borough. "The the racetrack could be right around 'ere." She gestured to it.
"Not sure what some of the symbols mean but this squiggle here is the boys' lodge and the same squiggle is over where the girls' lodge is."
"There are too many weird symbols for my taste." Lacey muttered, squinting a bit at a few of them, which appeared to be smudged with age. The map itself looked as though it would fall apart at any moment.
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 19:53:14 GMT -5
"I think this would be around Central Park then. The the racetrack could be right around 'ere."
Spot nodded. He hadn't thought about the parks being important. It might lead to something. There were quite a few symbols at the parks. Unless those were trees and the person who drew the map was a terrible artist.
"There are too many weird symbols for my taste."
He readily agreed with her. "That's the main problem. I don't get what they mean and why they are there..." He frowned a bit as he pointed to a torn corner. "I think this was where the symbols were listed..."
One could barely make out what seemed to be a few symbols but their meanings and the rest of the symbols had been torn away.
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 20:00:57 GMT -5
"That's the main problem. I don't get what they mean and why they are there..."
Lacey nodded, reaching up only to run her fingers through her hair, allowing some snow to fall out of it and tumble onto the floor as she glanced over the the map once again. The symbols made little to no sense, and the placement didn't help all that much.
"I think this was where the symbols were listed..."
Glancing up to the top corner, Lacey agreed. There seemed to be the faint remnants of a key there, although it wasn't anything that they could go off of. Looking closer at some of the doodles, she could see things like plus signs and strange crosses drawn on the map, but none of them were very strategically placed. Some were around Central Park, some were closer to the lodging houses, and some were connected back to Queens with lines. Some lines were dashed, some weren't.
"How could anyone from Queens even read this? How old was the kid?" She asked.
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 20:07:11 GMT -5
"How could anyone from Queens even read this? How old was the kid?"
Spot bit his lip and avoided Lacey's eyes as he traced random patterns on the map. That had been a question he had been kinda hoping to avoid.
"I was about ten at the time..." he admitted. "Kid was younger than me."
That was all that he was willing to admit. Things had been bad at the time. He hated to think about that kid, it had been so long ago... he didn't ever find out what had happened to the kid. The bulls had appeared at of nowhere and he just ran, taking the map with him.
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 20:10:18 GMT -5
"I was about ten at the time... Kid was younger than me."
Lacey gawked a bit at his response. "Ya got into a fight in Queens when you were ten?" It wasn't that she was surprised, just sad that things had been going on for that long with Spot and Queens. She just wanted him to be happy.
She bit her lip softly, reaching out and gently placing a hand over Spot's, sensing that there was something on his mind that wasn't quite so pleasant. "I wish that there was something that I could do... Ta make ya happy." She murmured, lowing her voice, her attention momentarily turned away from the map.
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 20:21:52 GMT -5
"Ya got into a fight in Queens when you were ten?"
Spot winced. Thunder had given a good earful at the time. He had just been so determined to impress Dragon that he ignored his brother's warnings.
"Yeah..." He stared at the map. "Wanted ta impress the leader."
"I wish that there was something that I could do... Ta make ya happy."
His blue eyes met her hazel ones in surprise. He hadn't been expecting her to reach out and hold his hand. And her words... they had surprised him too. She was the first person outside of family and Mr. O'Quinn to ever mention his happiness. "You... want me to be happy?"
"Ahem!" There was an awkward silence as Spot realized that Mr. O'Quinn had entered the room with hot cocoa. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 20:27:30 GMT -5
"Yeah... Wanted ta impress the leader."
Even though it may not have been the best reaction in the moment, Lacey couldn't help but quirk a smile. After all, if she didn't know how that felt, then she didn't know who did.
"You... want me to be happy?"
Lacey swallowed thickly. There were a million things that she thought about saying, gazing back into his eyes and seeming to lose the ability to form words. Instead, she found herself nodding, hoping that it wouldn't need much explaining beyond that.
"Ahem!"
Almost immediately after hearing Mr. O'Quinn clearing his throat, Lacey's hand flew off of Spot's, her gaze dropping to the ground as she tried to hide the redness of her cheeks. "Ah, um, thank you, Mr. O'Quinn." She quickly thanked the older man, taking her cup carefully from his hands, allowing the warmth from it to sweep over her body. It wasn't, however, nearly as fulfilling as the warmth from Spot's coat pocket and hand.
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 20:44:05 GMT -5
Spot fell into silence after thanking Mr. O'Quinn and accepting the hot mug. The lodge owner quirkier his eyebrow at the leader and Spot knew he would want some answers. At least he could worry about that later...
He turned his focus on the map as he sipped his hot cocoa. He didn't really want to discuss anything for the time being. He needed to recover his senses.
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 20:48:51 GMT -5
The silence that fell over the pair of them after Mr. O'Quinn entered was one that Lacey didn't know how to break. She found herself about to say something, but not being able to actually get any words out.
Eventually, she just gave up on trying to talk, huffing and looking back at the map as she took a sip of the warm liquid from the mug. Every now and then, she would look over at Spot through the corner of her eyes, although she was actively avoiding making any sort of eye contact with him.
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 20:55:06 GMT -5
Spot felt a bit frustrated with the silence. They weren't going to figure out anything if they didn't talk... but he didn't know what to say.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Maybe this had to do with before Dragon and Queens' old leader..." He folded his hands together. "I did hear rumors when I was younger that Queens and Brooklyn once got along... but I always dismissed it as lies."
He wasn't sure what Lacey had heard but maybe she could give her thoughts or share her knowledge.
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 20:58:31 GMT -5
"Maybe this had to do with before Dragon and Queens' old leader..."
Lacey was a bit startled when Spot finally spoke up again, looking over at him as he spoke, finally managing to tear her hazel eyes away from the paper on the table in front of them.
"I did hear rumors when I was younger that Queens and Brooklyn once got along... but I always dismissed it as lies."
She nodded slowly. She had heard about it once or twice, and she didn't see why not. "Maybe. But don't ya think more people in Brooklyn would've passed stories like that down? I mean, all the boroughs probably got along at some point, but if it was back with Dragon being leader... Don't ya think we'd know?"
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 21:39:07 GMT -5
"Maybe. But don't ya think more people in Brooklyn would've passed stories like that down? I mean, all the boroughs probably got along at some point, but if it was back with Dragon being leader... Don't ya think we'd know?"
Spot sighed, resting his chin on his hands. "That's the problem I suppose. You would think more people would know... but then Dragon wasn't one ta tell even me everything." He frowned. "But I feel like there might be somethin' there all the same. If we haven't hoid before... maybe it has ta do wit' this map."
He could be wrong, but he trusted his gut. It had rarely failed him before.
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 21:43:02 GMT -5
"That's the problem I suppose. You would think more people would know... but then Dragon wasn't one ta tell even me everything."
Lacey nodded slowly. She supposed that it made sense, although she didn't understand why Dragon would have withheld such vital information from the person who was going to be taking over the borough for him. It didn't fit together for her.
"But I feel like there might be somethin' there all the same. If we haven't hoid before... maybe it has ta do wit' this map."
She bit her lip, sighing softly as she looked back at the map. "Well... Maybe we could start with trying to figure out what one of the symbols means? There's this one little symbol here, towards the edge of the lodging house... Maybe we could try finding out what it means? It can't be too far." She suggested, pointing to one of the small doodles on the map.
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 21:50:37 GMT -5
"Well... Maybe we could start with trying to figure out what one of the symbols means?"
Spot nodded slowly. "Yeah... it's been hard trying to figure them out by myself..."
"There's this one little symbol here, towards the edge of the lodging house... Maybe we could try finding out what it means? It can't be too far."
He got onto his feet and set his lips in a firm line. "Yeah it ain't too far. Maybe we can at least figure out one thing before it gets too dark."
And well, maybe he was a little bit too relieved to know that they still had time together.
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 21:55:49 GMT -5
"Yeah... it's been hard trying to figure them out by myself..."
Lacey quirked a smile, "Well, I'm here to help you. You won't have to be alone now."
"Yeah it ain't too far. Maybe we can at least figure out one thing before it gets too dark."
She nodded, casting a brief glance outside. If they could get something done, then she would be able to rest a bit easier that night. While she wasn't good with puzzles or riddles, she liked to think that she was good at noticing things that other people would overlook. Perhaps that would come in handy.
Rising to her feet beside Spot, she took another quick sip of the hot cocoa that Mr. O'Quinn had made her before flashing Spot a smile. More time with him was something that she would give up a lot for. "Shall we go then?"
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 22:41:30 GMT -5
"Well, I'm here to help you. You won't have to be alone now."
Spot's lip twitches to form a pleasant smirk. "I appreciate it."
"Shall we go then?"
He nodded holding out his hand for her to take. "Yeah. Stay close. It gets rough over here wit' the boys and it getting late," he warned.
The boys weren't bad but they liked to be tough and show off and get into trouble. They weren't anything like the Queens newsies, but they could come close at times.
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Post by Lacey on Feb 11, 2017 22:45:11 GMT -5
"I appreciate it."
Lacey bit her lip to hide her own small smirk, although she didn't reply.
"Yeah. Stay close. It gets rough over here wit' the boys and it getting late."
A small flutter in Lacey's stomach nearly went unnoticed by the girl as she took Spot's hand. It was something that she could feel herself getting used to, and it was something so different than what she had always had with him. She enjoyed it. "Done. I'm right beside ya." She nodded, determined to keep things that way. She didn't know what she would do if something bad happened.
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Post by Spot Conlon on Feb 11, 2017 22:53:16 GMT -5
"Done. I'm right beside ya."
A small smile played on his lips. He liked it when newsies listened to him and let him do his job as leader and protector of Brooklyn.
"Good..." he said softly.
They made their way silently out of the lodge, map in hand. Spot gave the map to Lacey so he could keep an eye out on any mischievous boys who might happen to pop by.
"Closer to the bridge, right?" he asked, scanning around for clues and for any trouble.
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