Ravyn: Night. A dark alley. The is there Candy comes to the realization that she remembers nothing. She has just stumbled, running as far and as fast as she can...she knows that. Her foot is still in the pothole where she tripped...not injuered or stuck, just a bump in the road she didn't expect. She has a scraped knee from where it hit the pavement when it hit. Clear sky, almost 30 degrees out...and shadows everywhere.

Candy D'Mirque: She looks hurriedly to the left, then right, and up, behind her. All around, lost, confused, wild. She was running. Why? Her lungs are on fire. Why? Slim hands push herself up to stand, and, huffing for breath, scraped palms push matting, damp hair away from her cold and sweaty forehead. She doesn't dare speak out yet, listening intently for anything but the hammering rush of her pulse.

Ravyn: Sounds of cars on the nearby street...sound of footsteps nearby. Water dripping from the rooftops to the floor. The hum of power lines...especially strong, that. Everything's heightened, perhaps due to her paranoia. No once approaching her that she can tell.

Candy D'Mirque: There are footsteps. That's enough now, fear of the unknown pushing her own. She gasps for her breath, and pushes up running down the alley, gagging on the stench of urine and filth. Running, cold but running to escape the ice, the dark and fear. She can't escape the bodily ache yet, but adrenaline might hopefully push her far enough to reach... What? No clue. Light? Light. Light, a door to close. She doesn't know where, no, nor who nor how. But if she can -see-, or..hell, at least remain alone? She'd be able to see what was coming from a higher place, maybe. ....Why is she running, again?

Ravyn: She makes it to the end of the alley...or, at least, where it T-intersections, splitting off right and left. The footsteps continue on...more shuffling then running, though oddly, it appears to be not losing any ground, as much as she's running.

Candy D'Mirque: She gulps an icy breath and ducks left, halting beside the nearest wall and bracing, peering back furtively to catch a glimpse of her pursuer.

Ravyn: Just a homeless man, stumbling down the alleyway. He doesn't even appear to have noticed her...and from the smell of him, it's not hard to see why. The man is drunk off his ass, bottle still in hand as he staggers along..

Candy D'Mirque: She stops, gasping, panting, and gulping for air then, slumping against the side of the building. He doesn't follow -her-. She must, then, be safe. Ish. Regaining her breath and stopping that sharp pain in her lungs is top priority, then.

Ravyn: The bum stumbles by her, spilling some of his precious drink as he goes. He makes it down the alley a little ways, giving Candy some relief, no doubt...before stopping and looking back to her. "Hey...hey, you..." He turns around and starts staggering back toward her.

Candy D'Mirque: "Eh?" She asks of him, only a little surprised that he -is- concerned with her. She backs up a step, preparing to flee the way she's come. "W-what do you want? What is it?"

Ravyn: "Y...you, uh..." He fights to speak through the haze of alcohol. "You, uh...got any spare change, missy?" He leans against the wall as he takes continued steps toward her, apparently unaware of her fear. "Hel...help a man out? C'mon...I betcha do, right?"

Candy D'Mirque: "I.. I don't know," she stammers honestly, hands pushing down for pockets, for... what the hell is he talking about? She gulps another breath. "How do I get up? Higher than here?"

Ravyn: "Higher?" He blinks a couple times, completely confused by that. More steps take him closer, until he's well in her personal space. "Whaddya mean, higher?"

Candy D'Mirque: She retreats several steps, and points up mutely. Retreating further, out of arm's grasp. She glances down to herself, wondering for a moment why she's wearing anything to allow her poor feet to be so -cold-.

Ravyn: "Like, what, to the top of a building?" He blinks a couple of times...the more she backs up, the more he steps forward. "Gotta climb the...the...um. Escapey thing." He points up to a fire escape.

Candy D'Mirque: "Th-thanks," she answers in a mix of cold, fear, and breathlessness. Her cold hands shove into the pockets of her somewhat antiquated pants, retrieving...earrings. Small, hard golden studs with sparkly, cheap stones. All she could immediately dig. These she shoves out to him. "Here," she offers quickly, and lets them drop to him, waiting or not, turning to rush for the escapey thing. Escapey thing. Escape sounds like a good word. A frightening, hopeful word. She retreats quickly, anxious and cold. She isn't dressed richly by any means - a little out of date, practical, blending in to a working class crowd. Easier to do with her dark hair matted to her flushed face.

Ravyn: It's quite a struggle for her, what with the pull down ladder's rungs being slick and wet, but che manages to get it down and scramble up it.

Ravyn: The homeless man drops to the ground and picks up the earrings, frowning at them a little. Maybe he can pawn 'em...he staggers off, down the alleyway the was he was originally goiing.

Candy D'Mirque: And she hurries her cold and achey self to find...hell. The escapey thing. Climb it, however she can find the nearest one and a way up it.

Ravyn: ((Just to clarify...the pull down ladder is the escapey thing. It's a fire escape...she's scrambled up it to the first landing.))

Candy D'Mirque: (( ^_^ I figured it would be a fire escape, and she'd have to find a way to the ladder and up it, yes. She's up to the first landing total, or just before something else happens? ))

Ravyn: ((I was assuming that was your thinking...just wanted to make sure. *S* She's up to the first landing total right now.))

Candy D'Mirque: (( Cool. ^_^ If you're up for it, let's do go on! *giddybouncesnug* ))

Ravyn: ((I am. *S*)) She makes quick work of the rest of the fire escape A few people glance out their windows and look up after her as she climbs upward, eventually clambering onto the rooftop of the four-story apartment building she's decided to scale.

Candy D'Mirque: Heedlessly, she backs up onto the roof of the building, hugging arms around herself and looking around now. The wind is more free to whip her hair here, but she can see, and feel safer put so much higher above...whatever she should be afraid of. No, really. Furtive again, she paces the rooftop, looking out over the edge to watch for anything...well...err...anything.

Ravyn: As she peers over the edge...WHOA, she's high up...she sees, on the street below, cars moving along. Awnings in front of stores...an all-night diner off in the distance. Phone booths, telephone poles. A few scattered people, hurrying their way home...just another day in the life of New York.

Candy D'Mirque: A little dizzy, but unafraid of the height itself, she sinks down in a corner of the roof. Just along its sides, jutting up and all. She nestles there, arms around her knees, huddled, alone. Her mind races while her body drags in air, blessed, needed air. Calming slowly, the tide of unanswered questions comes crashing down in its place now. "Where the hell.. -Who- am...but... what -happened-?"

Candy D'Mirque: In moments, she eases her legs down, shivering and digging into her pockets, pulling out everything inside of them. Phone. Paper. Utility knife. She has to open and examine the knife to see what's there, and though she pushes buttons on the phone, it remains dead weight, useless. Hell...

Ravyn: Silence on the rooftop. The world up here is quiet and dead...until a fluttering sound is heard, behind her, and a sparrow lands on a small chimney stack on the roof.

Candy D'Mirque: She swallows, hard, turning around to watch it. She perches on her knees, skinned and fine, to watch the little thing on the thing. Oblivious to most else for the moment, she watches in the cold, blinking at the...thing. "Hi," she offers quietly.

Ravyn: The bird looks at her oddly for a moment, head cocking, and makes a quiet, whistling sort of sound as it looks up at her...apparently, about as skittish as her.

Candy D'Mirque: She smiles a little at that, going still but for the shiver setting in. " Of course I'm afraid, but -you- can hop away. What's holding you back, huh?" ...Though really, already that 24 hour diner is looking inviting...

Ravyn: It gives that call again, looking up at her almost curiously, before it launches off again, proving that there was, indeed, nothing holding it back.

Candy D'Mirque: She watches it go, swallowing hard. The lump rising in her throat eases again. Swallowing her fear for a short time, she makes her way down the escapey-thing again. There's not enough conscious pride in her to feel foolish - only anxious, wondering, worrying on her way down. Down again, and damnit, this time toward where she remembers the place with light and food to be.

Ravyn: She makes her way to the cafe without difficulty, feet traversing off the curb and across the street, up to the door of the diner. It's a cheap, crappy sort of place...not realy high on cleanliness. But it hasn't been shut down yet.

Candy D'Mirque: She'll figure out this 'money' thing right fast, no doubt. She slips in to the place, One arm hugging across her front to hold the other, looking about uneasily. Skittish, yes.

Ravyn: The waiter behind the counter, an older man, maybe late 30's, looks up to her as she enters, grunting a bit. "Howdy." The place is otherwise abandoned.

Candy D'Mirque: "Hi." Her voice is small at first. She clears her throat, and walks on to the counter, fidgeting anew in her pocket. Her mind reels, races - which to ask first. Nervousness shines like the sweat on her forehead. "Can you..help me, just for a minute? ...Please?"

Ravyn: "Sure thing, honey." He smiles a little, looking her over. "What's wrong?"

Candy D'Mirque: "I don't know what this says," she admits hesitantly. Start easy. She pulls the folded note from her back pocket and lays it on the counter with care. Her hand is rough but thin, hard worked. Her lips purse, and she shifts uneasily. "Can you please, please tell me? Does it say where I am? Is that where I am?"

Ravyn: He raises an eyebrow and takes the note from her, opening it up and looking it over. "Umm...sweetie, you're here. The Lucky Cat, in Brooklyn. This, I don't know what the hell it is." He hands it back. "Looks like nonsense to me."

Candy D'Mirque: "Oh.. Does it..say anything at all?" She takes it back, folding it carefully, frowning and replacing it in her pocket. "Brooklyn," she murmurs, testing the sound of it as if foreign. "The Lucky Cat. Oh, I.. I see. I think." Only, not. This leads to a little nodding, and some jutting out of her lower lip, a pout of thought rather than a threat of tears.

Ravyn: ((Has she actually looked at the note herself yet? You had specified the knife and the phone, but not the paper when she examined her pockets.))

Candy D'Mirque: (( Ooh, sorry. She did look at it, but being, you know, illiterate... ))

Candy D'Mirque: (( There are familiar symbols, and she can recognize his seal, but she can't read, understand the meaning of what she writes.. illiterate. A cow on the box means it's milk. His seal means it's important. The curvy-squiggly lines means it's important and she'll be in the basement if she messes up. That sort of thing - basic, rudimentary understanding that only takes her so far as she -needs- for his purposes. ))

Ravyn: ((Gotcha. Was just checking.)) "Doesn't look like any writing I know. Some kinda code, maybe." He shrugs.

Candy D'Mirque: "Thank you." Her head bows, more in thought than anything at the moment. She chews her lip, and shifts weight from side to side. "Is there...some place...Sorry, this is taking a minute. To sort. Is there somewhere people go, I mean..." She pauses, straightens up her head a little, though she still unconsciously slouches and stoops a bit with posture to make herself appear smaller than she is. "Is there a place for people with no names? Anywhere here - near here?"